2018 World Championship in London

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Brian Towers
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Brian Towers » Sat Nov 17, 2018 4:36 pm

After d4, c4 and e4 from Carlsen is it time on Sunday for 1. f4? He clearly has a good chess sense of humour even if he isn't smiling in this match yet.
Ah, but I was so much older then. I'm younger than that now.

Chris Rice
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Chris Rice » Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:15 pm

Half time report on the match from Jonathan Tisdall.

"Watching the press conference live in London after game 6 - with much of the public audience still present in the room - was a glittering argument for experiencing the match in raw form - just watching, and generally seeking human guidance. Because when the players reappeared on stage for the Q&A session, they were met with a roar of approval, and a prolonged session of standing applause and enthusiastic cheers from ticketholders."

Jonathan Bryant
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Sat Nov 17, 2018 10:54 pm

Chris Rice wrote:
Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:15 pm
Half time report on the match from Jonathan Tisdall.
On twitter he made reference to watching the endgame oh game 6 in the company of Jonathan’s Mestel and Speelman. I bet that was an entertaining and informative place to be.

Chris Rice
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Chris Rice » Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:37 am

Are anti-cheating measures for World Championship matches about to be upgraded to include polygraph tests on the players?

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JustinHorton
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:44 am

Or is this just a gimmick to get the match into the papers again, and one in quite bad taste?
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Richard Bates
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Richard Bates » Sun Nov 18, 2018 1:07 pm

JustinHorton wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:44 am
Or is this just a gimmick to get the match into the papers again, and one in quite bad taste?
The players should sue.

Jonathan Bryant
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Sun Nov 18, 2018 4:30 pm

Chris Rice wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 10:37 am
Are anti-cheating measures for World Championship matches about to be upgraded to include polygraph tests on the players?
Maybe after that they’ll throw Mag + Fab into a pond to see if they float.

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JustinHorton
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Nov 18, 2018 6:10 pm

Now throwing Merenzon into a pond, there's an idea.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:18 pm

Seven draws. Clearly building up to a really exciting game tomorrow (game eight) when my visit is scheduled. 8) Either a breakthrough (with only four games left after tomorrow's game) or an historic eighth draw in a draw. Apart from the obvious K-K matches, what are the precedents for eight draws in a row (i.e. how often and when has this happened before)? If anyone has time, can they summarise how long each game has taken and the shortest, average and longest game durations have been? And when the time control is (i.e. potentially the most exciting part of a game)?

EDIT: On the overall match situation, quoting a comment from elsewhere: "Does Fabi have the advantage now with 6 whites?".

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IM Jack Rudd
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:34 pm

Kasparov-Anand in 1995 started with eight draws.

David Sedgwick
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by David Sedgwick » Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:39 pm

There were eight consecutive draws in the Capablanca - Alekhine match, from Games 13 to 20. After Alekhine won Game 21, there were a further seven consecutive draws from Games 22 to 28.

Under the present rules, of course, none of those games would have taken place. Had the results been the same, Alekhine would have won 6½ - 5½, with wins in Games 1, 11 and 12 against Capablanca's wins in Games 3 and 7.

Karpov - Kasparov 1984 featured even longer sequences of draws. From Games 10 to 46 inclusive, there were only two decisive results.
Last edited by David Sedgwick on Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Richard Bates
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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Richard Bates » Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:51 pm

The problem is that the two players (and I think Carlsen especially), whether because of the format or otherwise, are taking risk averse chess to extremes. Carlsen already looks like he is aiming for the tie break. I don’t buy this stuff about “highest quality chess” or how closely matched the two players are. They are purposely targeting positions where there is a large margin for error, and where it will take really quite serious mistakes, or poor play over a long period, to create a serious advantage.

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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by David Sedgwick » Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:03 pm

Richard Bates wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:51 pm
The problem is that the two players (and I think Carlsen especially), whether because of the format or otherwise, are taking risk averse chess to extremes. Carlsen already looks like he is aiming for the tie break. I don’t buy this stuff about “highest quality chess” or how closely matched the two players are. They are purposely targeting positions where there is a large margin for error, and where it will take really quite serious mistakes, or poor play over a long period, to create a serious advantage.
I agree with your earlier suggestion that that is unlikely to change in future matches unless they are longer.

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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by Alex Holowczak » Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:19 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:03 pm
Richard Bates wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:51 pm
The problem is that the two players (and I think Carlsen especially), whether because of the format or otherwise, are taking risk averse chess to extremes. Carlsen already looks like he is aiming for the tie break. I don’t buy this stuff about “highest quality chess” or how closely matched the two players are. They are purposely targeting positions where there is a large margin for error, and where it will take really quite serious mistakes, or poor play over a long period, to create a serious advantage.
I agree with your earlier suggestion that that is unlikely to change in future matches unless they are longer.
Before the match, I predicted (admittedly not here) that Carlsen was favourite, on the basis that the tie-breaks ought to favour him rather than Caruana. At the very least, they would give him an advantage relative to the standardplay. Therefore, it makes sense for Carlsen to take a risk-free approach, and aim for a 6-6 draw even when it was 0-0. I'm sure Carlsen knows this too, and according to Richard's point here, it would explain his play.

I've watched a number of dull matches in knockout stages of the World Cup/European Championship. After 120 minutes they are 0-0, and you get the sense that both teams have got the penalty shootout they were aiming for. I don't think anyone has suggested that the way to solve the problem of those matches where teams are playing for a shootout is to lengthen them to 240 minutes; rather they've been grateful for the penalty shootout to put the game out of its misery.

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Re: 2018 World Championship in London

Post by David Sedgwick » Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:37 pm

Alex Holowczak wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:19 pm
I've watched a number of dull matches in knockout stages of the World Cup/European Championship. After 120 minutes they are 0-0, and you get the sense that both teams have got the penalty shootout they were aiming for. I don't think anyone has suggested that the way to solve the problem of those matches where teams are playing for a shootout is to lengthen them to 240 minutes; rather they've been grateful for the penalty shootout to put the game out of its misery.
Do you really consider that to be a valid comparison?

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