Anand on Kramnik on Anand

A number of recent articles discuss the forthcoming Anand - Kramnik match from the players' point of view.

• ‘Kramnik and I share an awkward relationship’ • Q:
  What kind of relationship do you share with Kramnik after what he said in Mexico? Anand: We are not great friends. [26 April 2008; dnaindia.com]
  
  
• Interview with Vladimir Kramnik • Q: Is Vishy Anand World Champion? Kramnik: It is not a question of simply yes or no. [12 July 2008; Chessbase.com]
  
  
• Times of India on 'Kramnik's psychological warfare' • 'Kramnik’s stance in some of the above quotes smacks of double standards and selective amnesia.' [17 July 2008; Chessbase.com]
  
  
• Anand: A champion should play all formats • Q: Is it binding that only match-play should decide a world champion, not a tournament play? Anand: How to find a true World Champion is an enigma all chess players are very keen to solve. [23 July 2008; Chessbase.com]
  

Let the match decide!

Kasparov vs. Karpov 1975-1985

The next tome in Kasparov's series on the World Championship has been announced for August. Since I first heard it about it from Newinchess.com, I'll reference their page: Kasparov vs Karpov 1975-1985.

The full title is Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 2: Kasparov vs Karpov 1975-1985. It's the sequel to Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 1: Revolution in the 70s, a book published in March 2007, that didn't receive much attention. Amazon.com lists 'K-K 1975-85' for $29.70; Amazon.co.uk lists it for £28.50. At current exchange rates, that's twice the price. Here is the 'Amazon.com Sales Rank (in Books)' for the series:

• My Great Predecessors, Part 1 (August 2003); #282,544
  
• My Great Predecessors, Part 2 (January 2004); #286,583
  
• My Great Predecessors, Part 3 (November 2004); #261,378
  
• My Great Predecessors, Part 4 (Fischer, January 2005); #40,735
  
• My Great Predecessors, Part 5 (March 2006); #183,014
  
• Part 1: Revolution in the 70's (March 2007); #264,777

Even Garry will admit that Fischer sells. I already have Kasparov's books on the 1985 (KK2), 1986 (KK3), and 1990 (KK5) matches. How much new material is in the latest series?

U.S. Zonals 1954-89

I added clippings for U.S. Championships which served as zonals to the pages for these cycles: 1954-57, 1957-60, 1960-63, 1963-66, 1966-69, 1969-72, 1972-75, 1975-78, 1978-81, 1981-84, 1984-87, 1987-90, and 1990-93. The clippings are taken from Graeme Cree's U.S. Chess Championships.

Subzonals

I recently reviewed Bill Hook's memoirs titled Hooked on Chess. While reading it I noted mention of four events that he called 'Caribbean Zonals':-

• p.066 1969 Quito, Ecuador
  
• p.080 1975 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  
• p.134 1985 San Juan, Puerto Rico
  
• p.148 1990 Pinar del Rio, Cuba

The first two events square with my notes on the World Chess Championship Zonals, but the last two don't. I have:-

• 8 Caracas 1985-03
  
• 8 Cali 1990-04 • 8? Pinar del Rio CUB 1990-00

From this I gather that Hook's 1985 and 1990 events were subzonals, preliminary events where the top players in a region compete for the right to play in the zonal. I've encountered other mentions of these from time to time, but always pushed them aside, since I had enough on my plate tackling the zonals themselves. It's time to take them more seriously.

A few recent news reports mentioned that subzonal 2.3.5 was in full swing. A search on the FIDE America site returns about 19,000 from fideamerica.com for subzonal. Most of these are because the keyword 'subzonal' is currently used in a sidebar.

This leads to a few new topics of research:-

• When were subzonals introduced in the Central American zone?
  
• Are subzonals used in other FIDE zones? (I think I've seen them in Asia/Oceania)
  
• Where is it documented how different zones have split themselves into subzones?

One document which could be useful is 'Regulations for the America's Men and Women Subzonals Tournaments', but I haven't located it online.

Soviet Zonals 1951-87

I added clippings for Soviet Championships which served as zonals to the pages for nine cycles: 1951-54, 1954-57, 1957-60, 1960-63, 1966-69, 1969-72, 1972-75, 1984-87, and 1987-90. The clippings are taken from Graeme Cree's Soviet Championships.