Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

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Mick Norris
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Mick Norris » Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:57 pm

Am I right that Ding can't qualify as he can only catch Caruana but Fabi has a better tie break?
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JustinHorton
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by JustinHorton » Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:58 pm

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by JustinHorton » Mon Mar 26, 2018 10:25 pm

Some interesting comments in the post-game interviews: Caruana saying that he thought the loss to Karjakin did him a lot if good, enabling him to play more freely, and Grischuk saying that he was trying to whip up some play at the end, since he thought a draw was basically no better than a loss.
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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Tue Mar 27, 2018 12:44 am

Petrosian went on quite a long unbeaten run in Candidates tournaments; his last eleven games in 1959, all 27 games in 1962 and his first 17 games in 1971 for a total of 55 games.

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Steven DuCharme » Tue Mar 27, 2018 3:49 am

I predict So's game will conclude quickly. He will then observe Karjakin and Shak's games. If either wins before Fabi's game concludes he will signal Fabi that he should play for a win.

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:05 am

I sometimes have difficulty following the ganes live. If some kind person is willing, could they post updates (results and key positions and moves) during the final round? Either that or a link to a simple site that only gives results and moves without a display or analysis. Thanks.

Time for a quick poll on who from the four remaining contenders people want to win? I am supporting Caruana.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by JustinHorton » Tue Mar 27, 2018 9:44 am

I'm mostly supporting a dramatic finish (which is cruel in a way, I suppose, since it would presumably involve some last minute snatching away of prizes).
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Mick Norris
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Mick Norris » Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:27 am

JustinHorton wrote:
Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:58 pm
No
Thanks Justin; I had read Mark at TWIC saying Ding was out of it, but have now seen:
1) Among the top 3, if there is any tie, the tiebreak order is Mamedyarov, Karjakin, Caruana.

2) Ding wins only in the exact scenario of Karjakin-Ding 0-1, Grischuk-Caruana 1-0, and Kramnik-Mamedyarov 1/2-1/2.
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Nick Ivell » Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:39 am

Some interesting tactics in the Caruana - Aronian game. Indeed, I would say they come under the heading of 'undeserved tactics'. Black gets positionally outplayed, gets presented with a golden opportunity (...Nxb4, as suggested by the engine, allowing both rooks to get active with severe danger to the White king) which neither player saw.

Svidler's comment was that 'no one plays ... Nxb4'. He was right. That gets me thinking that even the top players are, strictly speaking, tactically weak. Because ... Nxb4 came out of a clear blue sky, neither player even considered it. This was clear from the press conference. To his credit Caruana realised straight away the danger he would have been in.

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Roger de Coverly » Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:58 am

Nick Ivell wrote:
Tue Mar 27, 2018 10:39 am
Some interesting tactics in the Caruana - Aronian game. Indeed, I would say they come under the heading of 'undeserved tactics'. Black gets positionally outplayed, gets presented with a golden opportunity (...Nxb4, as suggested by the engine, allowing both rooks to get active with severe danger to the White king) which neither player saw.


The stockfish at chessbomb suggests that .. Rd4 is the follow up with a possible threat of .. Rg4 as well as .. Rg8. White is two pieces up though.

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Thomas Rendle » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:01 am

Short of time you need a reason to consider a move! If players are tactically weak it's more that they miss a move/idea rather than lack of ability to calculate, and that's really the biggest advantage computers have. It's well known that top players tend to consider fewer, not more moves each turn (just they tend to only consider the best moves - but in crazy positions this does break down).

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Thomas Rendle » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:02 am

With more time you sometimes get to ...Nxb4 out of desperation, but it's unlikely you start there!

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Nick Ivell » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:15 am

By 'tactically weak' I of course mean in an absolute sense. I suggest this will always be a weakness of the human game. In a way, I'm pleased this weakness exists! I mention the Caruana - Aronian game because it strikes me as a typical example of our tactical weakness. I'm not even sure that lack of time was a serious factor.

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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by Adam Raoof » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:23 am

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:05 am
I sometimes have difficulty following the ganes live. If some kind person is willing, could they post updates (results and key positions and moves) during the final round? Either that or a link to a simple site that only gives results and moves without a display or analysis. Thanks.

Time for a quick poll on who from the four remaining contenders people want to win? I am supporting Caruana.
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Re: Candidates Tournament in Berlin March 2018

Post by JustinHorton » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:55 am

In the old days we might well have got through game, tournament, magazine annotations and tournament book without anybody even considering ...Nxb4. And then down the track it would be "...it wasn't until several years later that a Swedish amateur wrote into to Chess Life with the remarkable suggestion..."
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