Is AW and AL Armageddon win and loss? As in all draws go straight to Armageddon? Is it 1.5 pts for AW and 1 for AL with 3 for a straight win?
Yes, all draws go to Armaggedon, and no draws before 30 moves. That scoring looks correct.
Christ. Ding gave up a mate in two to Magnus yesterday. It’s not good. Also, I miscounted, there are only four rounds left now.
You’d think he might just bail on the world championship, but he’d be giving up €800,000.
Oh my, that was so hard to watch. I have no idea what’s going on but clearly one of the very best players in the world (and reigning world champion) doesn’t miss forced mate in 2 with 35 minutes on the clock.
I assume he will still defend, but it’s very hard to argue that he should be the favorite against Gukesh at this point, ratings be damned.
It’s no excuse for overlooking a mate in two, but Ding has to conceal his best opening prep. He needs it for the match against Gukesh.
A few years back, a human playing against a computer made a blunder that resulted in a mate the very next move.
“Ding is not even playing chess at this point – he’s just moving pieces.” (Link won’t embed.)
Could this all just be because he’s preoccupied (and mentally fatigued) with preparation for Gukesh?
Ding has talked openly about his battles with depression and insomnia in the last year, including checking himself into a clinic twice.
I wasn’t clear about this above, but I really feel for the guy and I hope he gets this worked out.
Thanks – I didn’t know that about him. I’m also rooting for him to find better mental health, regardless of how it impacts his chess.
“We are awash in Grandmasters!” Gift link from the NYT.
I admit, anytime Nigel Short takes a position, my instinct is to go the other way.
That article feels like they found one curmudgeony twat that nobody agrees with and made an article out of it.
My view would be:
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The number of GMs was always going to increase, partly because you keep the title for life, but more just because of the ballooning number of players. There are just a lot more players at every level, including the top level at which players are capable of winning tournaments and individual games against the best players in the world (just not the majority of games).
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If we really wanted there to be some small pool of the world’s very best, then of course there is the “super-GM” title which is informally used in some quarters and FIDE could make official but…
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Most sports and games don’t need titles anyway. You have a rating, you have tournament standings, that’s it.
To me GM is equivalent to saying “NBA basketballer” i.e. you’re definitely amongst the world’s best but it doesn’t mean you’re a likely contender for MVP let alone GOAT.
Oh and a bonus point:
- Nigel short’s Elo is now below 2600. So if we really make GM more exclusive, including removing the lifetime status, I have bad news for Nigel.
Was the aim to sicken the opponent, win, the match, or both?
Brian
Today in the world speed chess championship semifinals, Hikaru Nakamura faces off against Alireza Firouzja, but more excitingly, Magnus Carlsen will be facing Hans Niemann. Niemann has really taken on the role of heel in all of this, giving interviews talking about how the whole world is against him etc. etc. etc., and how he’s going to take them all down. Bluster aside, he’s played in some high profile matches in the last couple of months and done quite well, I think he’s currently 18th in the world.
Update: Nakamura lost to Firouzja, and Carlsen started with a big lead against Hans (6-2) and then coasted, saying after the match that it was essentially over at the point, and he was bored after that and just grinding it out.
Nakamura and Niemann then played in the 3rd-place match, with Nakamura out for blood, and he beat Niemann soundly, 21-9. Carlsen dropped into the studio to commentate part of that match, which was entertaining. One thing I’d noted about Niemann was that he has a tendency to play very well and then make one big blunder in strong positions, and Magnus called that out as well.
Here are some clips from Nakamura-Niemann.
Equinox EV – Don’t Change | Chevrolet (youtube.com)
Carlsen-Firouzja final today. Carlsen has said in the past that Firouzja is one of the few upcoming players he considers brilliant, so this should be fun.
The Chess Olympiad starts September 10 in Budapest. There are 197 teams entered (the host country can enter multiple teams, so Hungary has three). Each team generally represents one country or political designation - e.g. Palestine and Chinese Taipei. Some entities are “grandfathered” - having participated independently for many years (Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and others.). If I’m not mistaken - “Ireland” includes Northern Ireland.
Every Asian country is represented except Russia, North Korea, and East Timor.
Every African country is represented except Congo (Brazzaville), Benin, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Rwanda.
Every European country is represented except Russia, Belarus, and the Vatican.
Every North and Central American country is represented except St Kitts and Nevis.
Every South American country is represented.
Several tiny South Pacific island nations aren’t represented.
There seem to be no “handicapped” (deaf, blind, disabled) teams this year, but there is a “Refugees” team.
A shame… I’d love to see Francis’s chess skills.
I take it that Russia and Belarus were deliberately excluded?
Round one of play starts today (literally as I type this, as I just saw Wesley So’s opponent make his opening move), and I will be watching! Glad to see Peter Svidler is commentating. (though wait, Robert Hess on the other channel, hmmm)
Did anyone see Levy Rozman (aka Gotham Chess on YouTube)'s interview with Hans Niemann? Niemann comes across like an arrogant child.