SPRAGGETT ON CHESS: 2011-08-28

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Indifference

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

''After the first blush of sin comes its indifference.''

Henry David Thoreau

Grischuk playing the best chess ?

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

The 4th round of regulation-time games finished today, and only 3 have managed to move forward: Navara, Svidler and Radjabov. The rest have to sweat it out in the tie-break games tomorrow.

What can one say about the chess being shown at the World Cup? The word exciting comes to mind...and I am certain no one would object strenuously. But what about quality? You know, that dirty word that chess historians like to use when comparing one generation with the past...I think it is better not to use that word in Khanty Mansiysk! Quality of play should be an intrinsic measure of where the chess community parks its apples. In my opinion, very few games are being played there that will be talked about soon after this event is over.

We hear a lot about FIDE elo calculations, rating inflation and how bad it is for the promotion of the game to have short and boring draws. But where are those same conscientious objectors when we talk about lack of quality of the games being played today in the chess world? Sure, the time control is faster than before and that excuses the poor endgames being played. Or does it? It seems to me that chess is losing prestige in the world because the game is being dumbed-down in the Kirsan period of time. Faster time controls and shorter-matches should not be an end in itself...

Is Fischer rolling in his grave because of what the game has become?

That being said, this writer does enjoy playing over exciting games. And thanks to some of the players, especially Alexander Grischuk, we can still find one or 2 games that chess fans can appreciate for intrinsic qualities not directly related to the clock or the number of spectators and sponsors.

GM POTKIN

GM GRISCHUK

Here most grandmasters would have probably castled and played for f5 sometime in the near future, trying to create a sort of attacking position. No doubt the spectators would have approved! But needing to win (Grischuk lost the first round) in order to equalize the score, Grischuk had more on his mind than what the peanut gallery would have to say after the game was over.

He played the Fischer-like 18.Na4!! , emphasizing the importance of good endgame play and small advantages (you know, what Steinitz and Lasker wrote about ). After 18...Bb4 19.Bc3 f6?! (trying to get some counterplay). Grischuk came up with the elegant 20.Bg4!! and Black found himself in a strategically lost position.

No doubt the specators had no idea of what was happening here....they rarely see great chess these days.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Today's winning beach bum

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

Why we are proud Canadians

'' In Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Canada has at last produced a political leader worthy of assassination.''
Irving Layton

''Canadian money is called the loony. How can you take an economic crisis seriously?''
Robin Williams

Our loony

''Canada is like an old cow. The West feeds it. Ontario and Quebec milk it. And you can well imagine what it's doing in the Maritimes. '' - Tommy Douglas

It is not difficult to imagine...

Typical girl next door

''Canadian girls are so pretty it's a relief now and then to see a plain one.'' - Mark Twain

A sight for sore eyes?

''The beaver, which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy rodent known to bite off it's own testicles or to stand under its own falling trees''-June Callwood

'Until I came to Canada I never knew 'snow' was a four letter word.'--Alberto Manguel

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

Who is Yaroslav Zherebukh ?

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

2011 WORLD CUP GIANT KILLER

18-year old Yaroslav Zherebukh

While certainly no unknown --Yaroslav is currently ranked number 18 amongst the world's highest rated juniors--the Ukrainian grandmaster has taken everyone by surprise after 3 rounds of the World Cup elimination tournament in Khanty Mansiysk. He has defeated all three of his opponents in the tie-break matches, Eljanov, Felgaer and Mamedyarov!

True, while he has only scored 50% in the regulation time-control games (90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game --plus 30' per move)--one win, one loss and 4 draws, and the over all quality of his play is not much higher than his rating, Yaroslav is the first to admit his surprise that he has got this far:

''Truly speaking, it is a surprise for me as well. Before coming here I was joking with my parents: of course I can pass three rounds, but how shall I outplay Eljanov? That is why it is clear I am amazed myself how I could manage it. Perhaps the maximum concentration during the game — this is what necessary. One mistake, one wrong move and you go home. I don’t want to go home so far.'' Link

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Zherebukh was born in 1993 in Lvov and learned to play chess at age 7. By 10 he was already playing in FIDE rated tournaments. Here is a short list of his successes to date , as written by the man himself:

LINK

Yaroslav seems to have made a jump in playing strength in late 2008, soon after achieving some remarkable results such as winning the super strong Cappelle La Grande open in 2010. Even so, his rating did not jump into the stratosphere because of lack of important invitations to strong tournaments. There are so many strong players in the world right now and so few tournaments for players such as Yaroslav to play in and prove themselves.

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My Quebec readers might remember Jaroslav playing in the Quebec Open in 2009!

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

Monday, September 5, 2011

Today's words of wisdom

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

Ernest Hemmingway

Today's winning smile

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''Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.'' Voltaire

Giving up the fight....

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Alexander Morozevich pondering his 12th move, which was to come with an unexpected draw offer!

GM Grischuk

GM Morozevich

12. Rc1 (!) drawn!!

With this draw, Morozevich was eliminated from the World Cup, having lost the previous day with the Black pieces against Grischuk (the matches are 2 games each). Morozevich left the tournament hall without speaking to journalists, but Grischuk stayed around and made himself available for comments.

Grischuk was elated with the fast draw. He had expected a fight to the death game. Why did Morozevich offer the draw? Grischuk refused to speculate: "I think it is up to journalists to find this out – it is part of their job."

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WHAT HAPPENED?

FEAR OF FAILURE?

Some sports psychologists define fear of failure as the irrational fear of not succeeding. Morozevich had lost the first game , a very tense and exciting struggle. In order to keep his chances alive in the World Cup, it was absolutely necessary to win the next game. He had nothing to lose by trying.

Perhaps Morozevich did not like the added pressure that a draw would be equivalent to a loss. A consumate professional with a long history of top-level chess, however, this kind of pressure was not new to him in anyway.

Most likely Morozevich did not want to not win in front of the whole world and his many fans, and took the easy way home. Now, atleast, he can say that he did not lose. But isn't that childish? Ofcourse, but it is his right. Morozevich, as a chess player, is an uncompromising fighter. But today, it was not the chess player who sat down at the beginning of the game. It was simply the man himself....a man lacking the confidence and resolve to face what needed to be done that day.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Today's winning smile

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS

Saturday updates

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The big news today in the third round of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk was Judit Polgar's demolition of Karjakin's Berlin Defence in the Spanish Opening.

Things seemed to be going quite normally for the Ukranian GM, but then Polgar chucked a pawn to let her Bishop into the Black Queenside and was soon a pawn up. She converted the pawn into a touch down with relative ease.

GM Karjakin

GM J.Polgar

Polgar played the surprising 20.e6 (!) and after 20...Bxe6 21.Bxc7 Black had difficulties dealing with the simple plan of Bc7-b8-a7. Infact, Black lost a pawn!

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Judit is in great form in this tournament. However, tomorrow she will play Black against Karjakin. According to my database, she has lost all 4 games she played the Black pieces against the Ukranian. So perhaps it is a bit early to celebrate...however, I am certain that the majority of my readers would not mind seeing her get a draw tomorrow!

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CLOSER TO HOME...

Tony Ficzere, Western Canada's most active chess organizer and editor of the CFC's e-magazine for the past 2 years, has stepped down as editor. Tony claims that he simply has become swamped with work..however, considering how little the federation was paying him for his efforts,it seems likely that Tony will come out on top! IM Porper will take his place.

GM Anton Kovalyov has been living in Montreal since the summer of 2007 but has refused to change his federation to the CFC, preferring to remain associated with the Argentine federation (FADA). However, this relationship has recently soured, and Anton told me this week that he will now change his federation to the CFC. This does not mean, however, that he will play on the National Team anytime soon....

Anton, the highest rated player resident in Canada for some time now, is one of the top juniors in the world. Inside Canada he has been largely ignored. But of course, world class players are always ignored in Canada!

SPRAGGETT ON CHESS