22.09.2009 – Exactly 25 years after their first encounter the World Championship match in Moscow the perennial opponents Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov are playing a twelve-game rapid and blitz match in the Spanish city of Valencia. The rounds start on Tuesday at 19:00h CEST (21:00h Moscow, 1 p.m. NY), with two days of rapid games and one for blitz. Watch it on Playchess.
Karpov vs Kasparov Rapid Chess + Blitz Match
The twelve-game match commemorates the 25th anniversary of the first Karpov
vs Kasparov World Championship match in 1984-85, played in the Hall of Columns
of the Trade Union House in Moscow. There will be twelve games, four in rapid
chess, to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, plus eight blitz games on Thursday.
Each round starts at 19:00h CEST (= 21:00h Moscow, 18:00h London, 1 p.m. NY).
Live coverage is planned on the official web site and on the Playchess
server.
Karpov and Kasparov in their 1984 match (which was abandoned after 48 games)
Kasparov and Karpov exactly 25 years later, after their arrival in Valencia
Press conference with Sulaiman Al-Fahim, Anatoly Karpov, Antonio Lys, Garry
Kasparov and Jose Antonio Garzon. Dr. Al-Fahim is the former CEO of the Hydra
Properties real estate development company in Abu Dhabi, and also the owner
and chairman of British Premier League football club Portsmouth.
The match arbiter Geurt Gijssen
Karpov drew white for the first game, Kasparov black
The playing venu: Centro Cultural Bancaja in Valencia
Garry Kasparov feeling at home in Valencia, Spain
Kasparov's wife Daria – the two have a daughter named Aida
Kasparov's mother Clara, who has accompanied her son throughout his chess career
Simultaneous exhibition on the day before the match: Kasparov won 20-0
The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server .
If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!
Previous articles
Karpov-Kasparov: Grudge Match in Valencia 30.08.2009 They played each other in five
big World Championship matches, most famously in 1984, when their first
encounter was abandoned after 48 games without a final decision. Now to
mark the 25th anniversary Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov will play
a 12-game match four rapid and eight blitz games from 21 to 24 September,
2009, in Valencia, Spain. Details
and statistics.
22.09.2009 – Nobody watches long interviews on the Internet any more Google and YouTube have satiated us pretty much. But sometimes you have to make an exception. Here are Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen talking about their cooperation to make the latter the number one in chess. The discussion on Norway's NRK Nett-TV talk show is charming and insightful. Video and full transcript.
Fredrik Skavlan, 43, is a Norwegian TV personality, who started out as a journalist
and cartoonist for several Norwegian newspapers, also illustrating children's
books on the side. He currently hosts an award-winning show on NRK
Nett-TV, and last Friday had Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen as his guests.
We are told (by Tarjei Svensen of Oslo) that the show is actually recorded in
Stockholm, Sweden and aired on Swedish national broadcaster SVT. Skavlan's talkshow
has been the most watched show on the main Norwegian TV channel NRK for years,
until it was taken off and moved to Swedish national TV. Last year it become
the most watched program in Sweden as well, so for this season NRK and SVT decided
to co-operate. This was the first program in the new season, and SVT aired it
at 9 p.m., while NRK aired it 25 minutes later. You can watch the show here:
The interesting part (for us) begins from about 42:00 minutes into the video
The section begins with some stock footage of Kasparov winning the 1985
match
against Karpov and getting the World Championship title, one he retained for
fifteen years.
Velkommen, Magnus Carlsen og Garri Kasparov!
After that the guests are introduced and the talk show with Garry and Magnus
can begin.
Skavlan: You retired after twenty years as the number
one chess player in the world.
Kasparov: Eventually we all retire…
It was four and a half years ago. But what made you decide to be a trainer
for this young Skandinavian talent Magnus Carlsen?
Kasparov: I would say the world class talent, don’t limit him to “Skandinavian”.
After I stopped playing professional chess I still kept my passion for the game.
I thought I had to look for other things to expand my horizons, but I never
wanted to leave the world of chess completely because I saw that I had not accomplished
everything. Chess had failed to make the same breakthrough as football in the
60s and 70s, or tennis and other sports that became professional. Perhaps one
of the reasons was that our game lacked a western-born star since Bobby Fischer.
13-year-old Magnus Carlsen playing Kasparov back in 2004
I met Magnus five years ago for the first time. We played in Reykjavik, and
it was amazing. He was just thirteen years old, and I experienced great trouble
by the way – survived by a miracle in game one and won game two. At some
point I thought I could do some good for him. We had common chess friends and
we established communication and eventually came to the conclusion that it could
benefit both of us and the game of chess.
And your aim is to make him the world’s best chess player?
Kasparov: He’s on the way there, but obviously we all
need advice. I got advice from the great Soviet champions like Mikhail Botvinnik,
when I was young, and I think that my advice and help might contribute to his
eventual success.
(To Magnus) Do you feel sure that you won’t disappoint him?
Magnus: You never know. But I feel certain that I have the
potential to be number one for many years, and I will do everything to work
towards that goal, and not let him down.
How does it feel to have Garry Kasparov as a trainer?
He has the most knowledge of chess in the world – of openings, of psychology,
the feeling of playing at the top level for twenty-five years. It’s doesn’t
get better than that in the chess world. It is a challenge of course…
Are you a little afraid?
(Kasparov answers) Look, we all are afraid. Probably to have a little fear
is part of human nature. What is very important is that the fear will not take
over.
I have this idea that there is there is something called Russian discipline?
Am I right Alexander?
Alexander: Absolutely. And I kind of recognise myself in you,
Magnus, when I was young [laughter].
Alexander Rybak is 23, originally from Minsk in the Soviet Union. He is now
a very popular Norwegian singer, composer, violinist, pianist, writer, and actor.
He represented Norway in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, and won
the contest with 387 points — the highest tally any country has achieved
in the history of Eurovision — with "Fairytale", a song he wrote
and composed. You can watch it in the YouTube video above.
Kasparov: A small correction: it is not Russian discipline,
it’s the discipline of people who grew up in a non-free world, in totalitarian
countries where your choices were highly limited and you had to work really
hard. You could do music, you could so sports, you could do science. Everybody
wanted to be successful, and since you did not have political or business opportunities
– law was almost non-existent – so anybody who had talent would
work really hard.
That was probably an advantage, not only of people from Russia, but from China,
from other countries where they needed to show their best to get to the top.
In the western world lacked the same kind of determination because they had
other options, they always thought they would have other opportunities. I hope
that Magnus is now learning that there is only one spot: number one. Everything
else is irrelevant.
You know there won’t be much time for dating...
Magnus: Yes, there is a very strict regime on that.
Maybe it is difficult to combine chess and dating?
Kasparov: For the undisputed number one there will be more
options…
If you and I sat here at a chessboard would we the same thing, or something
different?
Magnus: It depends: would the pieces be in the starting position?
If it is an empty board I think we see the same thing. But if it is a certain
position I will immediately start to look for opportunities. It happens automatically.
Kasparov: Even if you show a position from the middlegame
to Magnus or to myself we may reach different conclusions, because everybody
uses their own technique . In tennis you have different styles – some
players have a very powerful serve and rush to the net, some play from the back
line. It’s the same in chess – you have more aggressive players,
more defensive players. But the style doesn’t differentiate the strength.
What helps us is that we both belong to different schools of thought. I am more
an aggressive player, Magnus is more of a Karpov-like player, which again helps
us to work.
How do you keep your mind sharp? Are you still playing a lot?
Kasparov: No, I am not playing at all. But in order to work
with Magnus I need to keep my mind sharp. I am quite happy now because chess
helps me to feel fresh. We have players like Korchnoi and Smyslov who played
for a very long time, to their 60s and 70s. But obviously now chess is getting
much, much younger. Before I left chess I made a joke that I had to face players
who did not yet have the right to vote. Now the average age of top chess players
is, what, 25? Maybe even less. I think it is the dynamic of our society. You
need more information, you need more energy, you have to work with computers,
so by the age of fifteen today a player can learn more about chess than Bobby
Fischer in his entire life.
When you are not playing chess you are a political activist in Russia,
and Putin’s opponent…
Kasparov: …which in Russia is the same. Political activist
must be Putin opponents.
What about Putin, do you think he is a chess player?
Kasparov: Putin has always claimed to be a good judo fighter.
He always relies on brute force. I would compare him to a godfather who runs
a casino and always benefits from our doubts, fears and emotional weakness.
In the end I hope that all godfathers will end their days where they belong.
Media blitz: Kasparov and Carlsen in Oslo 17.09.2009 A scheduled training session with
Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen was used as an occasion to meet the
Norwegian press. The two sat down for a friendly game against Education
Minister Solhjell, and all three answered questions for a Channel 2 journalist.
The government is set to back their brightest chess star, said the Minister,
and his country's bid to host a Chess Olympiad. Video
report.
Breaking news: Carlsen and Kasparov join forces 07.09.2009 It was the best-kept secret of
the year: Magnus Carlsen, at 18 already the fourth highest ranked player
in the world, has won the legendary Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest
player in chess history, as his personal trainer. The goal is to make
Magnus the world's number one in the course of the coming year. The Norwegian
newspaper VG
has broken the news.
22.09.2009 – At the Grand
Slam Masters in Bilbao Alexander Grischuk took second place behind Levon
Aronian. Whereas he had good results with white and won two of those games, he
had to submit to two defeats as black. GM Karsten Müller has annotated for ChessBase
Magazine Online Grischuk's pretty endgame success against Alexei Shirov
from round two. In it, it is once again the bishop which triumphs over the
knight. Analysis of the ending
Grischuk-Shirov Endgame
DVDs
21.09.2009
– In the first game the higher-rated player, Nigel Short, was somewhat shockingly defeated by his young Ukrainian challenger Zahar Efimenko, who had the black pieces. Today the British GM struck back with his own [...]
21.09.2009 – The six-game encounter between former World Championship challenger Nigel
Short and the promising Ukrainian grandmaster Zahar Efimenko started with musical
pomp in the West-Ukrainian town of Mukachevo. In the first game Efimenko showed
great style in beating his more famous and higher-rated British opponent with the black pieces. First round report with GM commentary.
Universal Event Promotion (UEP), the company that staged major events like Kramnik
vs Deep Fritz and the World
Championship Anand vs Kramnik, is now continuing their series of the first-class
matches with an encounter between former World Championship candidate Nigel
Short and the very promising Ukraining GM Zahar Efimenko. The event is taking
place in the West-Ukrainian town of Mukachevo. It is a classical match over
six games, with time controls of 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus 30 minutes for
the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting with
the first move. Efimenko is seconded by GM Alexander Beliavsky, Short is playing
without a second.
From the :
The 44-year-old Nigel Short belongs to the greatest of his craft. He caused
a stir with numerous successes in his early years and was considered a prodigy.
In the World Junior Championship 1980 he won the silver medal behind Garry
Kasparov and very soon he became a chess grandmaster at the age of 19, the
youngest in the world at that time. After winning several tournaments and
a victory against Jan Timman in the Candidates final 1993 he got the opportunity
to fight for the highest chess crown. The match against Garry Kasparov, which
took place outside the World Chess Federation and under the aegis of the Professional
Chess Association (PCA) and can be considered as the climax in Short's career.
He lost against the mighty Russian 12.5 - 7.5.
Although Short temporarily disappeared from the scene after this defeat he
still plays at the highest level to this day and is always a most welcome
guest, especially because of his dynamic and aggressive play. His current
Elo is 2706 whereby he ranks numer 29th in the world.
Nigel Short, UEP President Josef Resch, Zahar Efimenko
The 24-year-old Zahar Efimenko belongs to a group of young and talented Ukrainian
players. As a youngster, his biggest success was a victory in the World Junior
Chess Championship U-14 in Oropesa del Mar. In spite of some strong rivals
he plays in the national team and won the Ukrainian championship in 2006.
In Germany he is known for his participation in the Bundesliga, where he plays
for the team of Werder Bremen. The young Ukrainian, like Short, is known for
his constant search for the initiative and for the fact that he has no fear
of big names. He is supported by the president of the Universal Event Promotion,
Josef Resch, and lives in Mukachevo. His current Elo is 2654 whereby he captures
the 83rd rank in the world.
The match between Short and Efimenko promises six high class and exciting games
with a totally open result. You can follow the games at the official
UEP website of Universal Event Promotion and the Mukachevo
Chess Club website. Naturally you can watch the games at ,
together with thousands of other members.
The drawing of lots, with match arbiter Oleg Tovchyga (left) officiating
Liliya Sholomey, a singer from Moldova, performed at the opening ceremony
Photos Viktor Manak
Schedule of the Short-Efimenko match
Saturday
19 September
CEST
Opening ceremony, drawing of colours
Sunday
20 September
15:30h
Game one: Short-Efimenko
Monday
21 September
16.30h
Game two: Efimenko-Short
Tuesday
22 September
16.30h
Game three: Short-Efimenko
Wednesday
23 September
Free day
Thursday
24 September
16.30h
Game four: Efimenko-Short
Friday
25 September
16.30h
Game five: Short-Efimenko
Saturday
26 September
16.30h
Game six: Efimenko-Short
Game one
The first game of the six-game match was a resounding victory with the black
pieces for the local grandmaster Zahar Efimenko. In an exciting and aggressive
game he took his British opponent apart to draw first blood in this event. The
following commentary was provided by German GM Klaus Bishoff.
Short,N (2706) - Efimenko,Z (2654) [B23]
Match Mukachevo UKR (1), 20.09.2009 [GM Klaus Bischoff]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Nge2 Nf6 5.0-0 e6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4. All
these transpositions have now led to a Sozin Sicilian. This was Fischer's favorite
line against the Sicilian, and Nigel has even used it to try to make life difficult
for Black against Kasparov. 7...Be7 8.a3
With this innocent looking little move Nigel tries to avoid a theoretical battle.
The move in itself is not stupid at all, he wants to keep his Sozin bishop.
But of course Black is given extra time to finish his development. 8...0-0
9.Ba2 Bd7 10.Re1 a6 11.Be3 Rc8. Zahar is now ready for Ne5-c4. If he could
then protect this wonderful knight with b5, Black would be fine. 12.f4!? The exclamation mark is for the courage. But Nigel is weakening his king.
For me it looks a bit strange to combine Rfe1 and f4. 12...Nxd4 13.Bxd4 e5!
14.fxe5 dxe5 15.Bxe5 Bc5+ 16.Kh1. Unfortunately 16.Bd4 does not work.
Black has 16...Bg4 with a double attack. 16...Ng4
Black is now winning the exchange. 17.Bg3 Bf2 18.Qf3 Bxe1! Brave! If
Zahar had less selfconfidence, he could have gone for 18...Bxg3 which
leads to a draw. After 19.Qxg3 Black has 19...Qb6 20.Nd5 Nf2+ 21.Kg1 Nh3+ 22.Kh1
Nf2+ with a perpetual. 19.Rxe1 Qg5 20.Bf4 Qg6 21.Bd5. It was safer to
try 21.h3 Nf6 22.Be5 Rfe8 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Qxf6 gxf6 25.Bd5 Rc7 26.Rf1 White
has chances to get away with a draw. But he would have to suffer. 21...Bc6
22.e5?! My engines do not like this move at all. But Nigel wanted to prevent
Sf6. 22...Rfe8 23.Bxc6 bxc6!? It was also possible to play 23...Rxc6
Zahar probably did not like 24.h3 Nf6?! (but 24...Nh6! is playable
with a solid advantage.) 25.Rd1 and the knight suddenly has no good squares. 24.h3 Nf6 25.Rd1 Nd5 26.Nxd5 cxd5 27.c3 Qe4!
The rest is easy for Black. White needs Bd4 for more resistance, but he will
of course never get this. 28.Qf2 Rc4 29.Bg3 d4 30.Rxd4 Rxd4! This is
a well-known method. After winning the exchange, you should always try to exchange
your opponents last rook. 31.cxd4. 31.Qxd4 was also hopeless. After
31...Qb1+ 32.Kh2 Qxb2 White has no compensation at all. 31...Rd8 32.Qf1 Rxd4
33.Qxa6 h5 34.e6 fxe6 35.Qb5 Rd5 36.Qe8+ Kh7 37.Kh2 h4 38.Bc7 Rg5
This brutal move is winning the house. A perfect start for Zahar, who played
very well today. 0-1. [Click
to replay]
The games are being broadcast live on the official
web site and on the chess server .
If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!
Pictures from Mukachevo
The venue of the match: Cinema Theatre "Peremoha", Mira Square,
Mukachevo
The central street of the Ukrainian city
Catholic church in Mukachevo
The well-known "Saints Cyril and Methodius" statue in contemporary
Mukachevo. The Byzantine Greek brothers are credited with the creation of the
Slavic Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets.
