Three and a Half Cycles

While preparing for the previous post (see the last link below, 'Berlin Candidates - Wrapup'), I assembled a collection of links to similar posts for past events. This was primarily with an eye on maintaining consistency, but the list has other uses, too.

C25: Candidates

• 2013-03-27: London Candidates - Second Week • Includes links to Chessbase & Chessvibes reports for all rounds.
• 2013-04-10: London Candidates - Wrapup

C25: Title Match

• 2013-12-03: Carlsen - Anand, Chess Press Overview • Chessbase & Chessvibes
• 2013-12-04: Carlsen - Anand, Wrapup

C26: Candidates

• 2014-04-09: Khanty-Mansiysk Candidates - Wrapup • also 'Chess Press Overview': Chessbase & Chessvibes

C26: Title Match

• 2014-12-09: Carlsen - Anand II, Chess Press Overview • Chessbase & Chess.com
• 2014-12-10: Carlsen - Anand II, Wrapup

C27: Candidates

• 2016-04-13: Moscow Candidates - Wrapup • also 'Chess Press Overview': Chessbase & Chess24

C27: Title Match

• 2016-12-13: Carlsen - Karjakin, Chess Press Overview • Chessbase & Chess.com
• 2016-12-14: Carlsen - Karjakin, Wrapup

C28: Candidates

• 2018-04-19: Berlin Candidates - Chess Press Overview • Chessbase & Chess.com
• 2018-04-25: Berlin Candidates - Wrapup

C28: Title Match

• 2018-11-xx: Carlsen - Caruana, London

Only six months to wait before I can start filling in that last list...

Berlin Candidates - First Week

As I write this, three rounds of the 2018 Candidates Tournament, Berlin have been played. At this point in past Candidate tournaments, I displayed a crosstable and added a bit of commentary. Let's do it differently this time. Given the results of the last three Candidate tournaments, what do the current standings say about each player's chance of ultimately winning the event?

The following chart shows the cumulative score by round for each of the last three tournaments. If the details are too small to read, you can find the same tables on three pages:-

• 2013 London
• 2014 Khanty-Mansiysk
• 2016 Moscow

The winners of each event are circled in red (in 2013 Carlsen beat Kramnik on tiebreak), as are the players with a plus score after round 3. I've also indicated the leaders after round 7, the halfway point of the tournament, when the participants have played each other once.

In all three tournaments, the eventual winner was from the group of players who had a plus score after round 3. The winner was also one of the leaders after the first half of the tournament. The following table shows the leaders after round 3 in the 2018 Berlin Candidates.

2.5 Kramnik
2.0 Caruana, Mamedyarov
1.5 Ding Liren, Grischuk
1.0 Aronian, Karjakin
0.5 Wesley So

If past is prologue (it's usually not!), then the eventual winner will be one of Kramnik, Caruana, or Mamedyarov. It's curious to note that in each of the last three events, GM Aronian was one of the leaders at mid-point, then faltered in the second half. It's also curious that the ultimate winning score was always 8.5-5.5, or plus-three as they say in the lingo.

'The Best Mind Wins'

Last month brought the unexpected news that Andrew Paulson had passed away: Andrew Paulson, 1958-2017 (chess.com; Mike Klein):-

Andrew Paulson, the founder of Agon Limited and the man with a vision for the growth of top-level chess, died Tuesday from cancer. He was 59.

For more than a year, Paulson played an important role in the development of the World Chess Championship. His first mention on this blog was almost five years ago, when I critiqued the first announcement from Agon.

• 2012-08-29: Evolution of a Press Release • 'The chess world has cut Paulson a lot of slack, hoping that maybe, just maybe, Ilyumzhinov has finally discovered a worthy commercial partner.'

I received a response a few weeks later.

Sent: September 15, 2012
Subject: Recent Blog
From: Andrew Paulson

I read (with interest and pain) your comparison blog from August 29th. It's an uphill battle trying to bring up to speed our PR agency in chess terminology and establishing for them the tone I feel appropriate for communicating with a wide range of media outlets. Where they got 'fixture' instead of 'tournament' is a mystery to me!

However, we are working to try to find more interesting formats for staging chess than a proscenium stage with a couple of cafeteria tables and a plastic backdrop cluttered with logos of never-before-heard-of sponsors. You may have seen on various sites a rendering of a purpose-built arena Pentagram has been working on. And we are (for the moment) calling it the cockpit as this alludes both to 'cockfight' and to the knobs and dials and gauges that one finds in the cockpit of an airplane (with which we will be adorning the status screen in the playing hall from March).

We didn't 'buy' the commercial rights, per se, as our relationship with FIDE is a revenue sharing agreement; I felt that this should be corrected. And, although the deal is exclusive, I thought that it was a bit 'in your face' to boast about it so I toned it down.

I do recognise and appreciate the slack being cut!

Agon had been in the public eye since the beginning of 2012. I backfilled the gap in the next post.

• 2012-09-05: C25 Candidates & C26 Grand Prix • 'Following is a series of relevant articles from Chessvibes.com.'

There was a flurry of activity around Agon and Paulson in the following months, during which I documented Agon's first event in 2012-2013 Grand Prix, London (October 2012).

• 2012-09-26: Agon's Paulson at the FIDE General Assembly
• 2012-10-24: The Agon Schedule
• 2012-11-21: 2012 FIDE General Assembly : Whither the World Championship?
• 2013-01-03: What Is Going on Here?
• 2013-01-30: Agon Chief-of-Staff Robert Fontaine
• 2013-03-06: A House Divided
• 2013-03-20: London Candidates - First Week

I summarized posts about the Candidates tournament in London Candidates - Wrapup (April 2013). The next mention of Agon was negative.

• 2013-07-17: Catching up with FIDE • 'To approve the proposal of Mr. Makropoulos to authorize the FIDE President to take the personal decision as to whether to terminate the contract with Agon.'

Agon went into eclipse and there was little news.

• 2013-12-18: 2013 FIDE Executive Board : Whither the World Championship? • 'We can only assume that both projects [CNC and Agon] are going the way of all previous FIDE commercial endeavors.'
• 2014-12-24: 2014 FIDE General Assembly : Whither the World Championship? • '4.5. Agon. Annex 13 is a letter from Agon with a change in the Agon/FIDE interface team.'

It took me nearly a year to come back to that letter in 2016 Candidates, Moscow (November 2015), where I quoted it:-

It was the company's responsibility [Agon] to appoint two individuals to represent the Company on the Interface Team referred to in the Agreement and that following the change of ownership of the Company, and the resignation of Mr Andrew Paulson as a director of the Company, it was suggested that Mr Paulson should be removed as a representative of the Company on the Interface Team and that Mr Ilya Merenzon and Mr Maryey Shekhovtsov be appointed as the Company's representatives with immediate effect.

The story had already assumed the qualities of a soap opera, which I followed on my main blog.

• 2014-02-06: Chess Leaks Like a Sieve • 'A few days later, Tim Rayment (TheSundayTimes.co.uk) brought news of a 2012 deal between Ilyumzhinov and Andrew Paulson of Agon'
• 2014-11-20: Carlsen - Anand II : Rumblings • Livemint.com: 'Andrew Paulson, the founder of Agon, who until about a year ago was the principal promoter of the sport and described himself as the chief executive of world chess, has sold the firm to an associate, Ilya Merenzon, for £1.'

Another obituary, Andrew Paulson, Chess Impresario and Serial Entrepreneur, Dies at 58 (nytimes.com; July 2017), reported,

[Agon's] first major event, the 2013 London Candidates’ Tournament, was widely considered a success on the basis of the sponsors who underwrote the costs and the audience it drew. After that tournament, though, Mr. Paulson, reportedly already ailing, was unable to generate the sort of buzz that might have transformed the game into a profitable venture with pizazz, technical wizardry and marketing slogans like "The Best Mind Wins."

If Ilyumzhinov had indeed 'finally discovered a worthy commercial partner', the time was too short to make much of a difference. RIP, Andrew Paulson.

Chess in Manhattan

I added links for the official site (see nyc2016.fide.com) plus the latest FIDE news to my page on the World Chess Championship : 2016 Carlsen - Karjakin match. The latest news was announced in FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2016 (fide.com; 10 August 2016):-

The FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2016 is to take place at the Seaport District in Manhattan, New York. [...] The Match arena will be built within the Fulton Market Building, a five minute walk from Wall Street, and will also feature dedicated spectator and VIP lounges with panoramic views of the Brooklyn Bridge as well as retail space, a restaurant, TV studios and much more.

Match principals mentioned in the FIDE announcement included 'Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive of Agon Limited, owner of World Chess and the commercial rights holder to the FIDE Chess Championship cycle' and 'Alan Baum of CAA Premium Experience'.

Formed in 2015, CAA Premium Experience is a best-in-class, full-service hospitality, event management, and marketing practice with more than 50 employees working with Fortune 500 companies across hundreds of global sports and entertainment events annually.'

Google Maps points to the site of the match....

...while New York news sources provided local commentary. Speculation Ends: Date and Venue Set for World Chess Championship in New York (nytimes.com):-

Mr. Merenzon said that securing a venue for such a long period proved harder than expected. Among the other sites considered: Trump Tower. The players will compete in a soundproof glass room, in front of 300 spectators plus VIPs, who will have a lounge area. Regular tickets will cost up to $50.

World Chess Championship to Be Played at South Street Seaport (wsj.com):-

The match -- a duel between two grandmasters in their mid-20s -- will take place on the second-floor atrium of the Fulton Market inside a glass, soundproof room that organizers are referring to as the "cockpit." As Carlsen and Karjakin play, attendees will be able to engage with the moves on the board in various ways. Since individual games can take hours, sometimes with prolonged stretches between moves, Merenzon wants to give attendees some options.

Cockpit? Where have we heard that before? In an early Agon press release from the previous cycle: Evolution of a Press Release (August 2012); 'the purpose-built arena and cockpit for the matches'.

2016 Candidates, Moscow

I created a new page for the 2016 Candidates Tournament, scheduled for March 2016 in Moscow. For now the page has only a couple of links to FIDE.com announcements like 2016 FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament:-

According to FIDE regulations, the list of players includes the top two performers from the 2014-2015 Grand Prix: Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana (both of the USA); the winner and runner-up of the 2015 World Cup, Sergey Karjakin and Peter Svidler (both of Russia); as well as the loser of the 2014 World Chess Championship match, Viswanathan Anand of India; Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Anish Giri of the Netherlands, based on their 2015 FIDE ratings are likely to have qualified to participate. The eighth and final participant is Levon Aronian of Armenia, who was chosen as Wild Card entry by the Organizers.

Another paragraph informs that Agon is still very much part of the story.

About World Chess by Agon Limited: Agon Limited is the official partner of World Chess Federation (FIDE) and owner of commercial rights to the World Chess Championship cycle. The company aims to develop and commercialize chess, create favorable environment for partners, players, and brands, and to significantly expand the broadcast coverage of the sport. With this in mind the company introduces World Chess brand, targeting 600+ million chess players and spectators all over the world.

Agon became owner of commercial rights in 2012. The company successfully managed the 2012-2013 Grand Prix cycle, the 2014 World Championship Match, and the 2015 Rapid and Blitz World Championships. For commercial and partnership opportunities, please visit www.agonlimited.com.

The last time I recall covering Agon was on my main blog during last year's World Championship match, Carlsen - Anand II : Rumblings (November 2014). The post started,

Pre-match Press Conference: Who was that fellow sitting to the right of the match stakeholders? Introduced as 'the organizer of the tournament, Ilya Merenzon', this was the first time I had become aware of him.

Agon also received a subsequent mention on this WCC blog in 2014 FIDE General Assembly : Whither the World Championship? (December 2014).

Then let's hear from the Presidential Board in November about forthcoming events. • 4.5. Agon. Annex 13 is a letter from Agon with a change in the Agon/FIDE interface team. [...] I don't have much to add here. It's Christmas Eve and there are better things to do!

Christmas is long past, so let's look at that letter, which is dated 17 September 2014.

'The Chairman' was identified as Mr. L. Buckley assisted by Mrs. C. Farrow as secretary. Mentioned in the clipping are Andrew Paulson, Ilya Merenzon, and Matvey Shekhovtsov. Now that we know the Agon cast of characters, we can continue with the story.

2014-15 GP

I ended my previous post, 2014-2015 Grand Prix, Khanty-Mansiysk (GP), with a promise 'to add the participants to the index that cross-references players and events'. For the results, see World Chess Championship : Index of players.

The chart on the left is similar to the chart I developed two years ago for 2012-13 GP / 2013 WCC. It shows the 16 players who competed in the four Grand Prix events, along with the total score accumulated in the three events where they played. Is this the first GP -- for men or women -- where there were no additions to or substractions from the original list of players?

In the 2012-2013 Grand Prix, GM Caruana had the best overall score, but did not qualify for the subsequent Candidates event. In the 2014-2015 Grand Prix, he was one of three players to finish with the best overall score, GM Tomashevsky being the odd man out who failed to qualify. You can look at this in two ways. Either the qualifying process is inherently random -or- the GP scoring adds another dimension to a closely contested series. I'll take the additional dimension.

Zonal Qualifiers C25-C26

Continuing with Small Projects for 2015, the next project isn't so small. In Zonal Index Update 2014-10-15, I mentioned, 'List players qualifying to the next stage', i.e. players qualifying from the zonals to the next stage of a World Championship cycle. Since 1997, the next stage has been a knockout tournament.

I have many documents collected on my hard disk, but how to organize them? I started with the two most recent cycles:-

• C25: Zonal Qualifiers 2010-2011
• C26: Zonal Qualifiers 2012-2013

Each page has two parts. The first part gives some info about the source of the list. The second part gives the list of qualified players as published by FIDE. I'll continue backwards in time to see how this works for previous cycles. The new pages aren't yet linked from any other page. That will happen when I'm happy with the structure.

Small Projects for 2015

A year ago I set out to accomplish a number of Small Projects for 2014. It's totally out of character for me, but I actually accomplished all of them.

World Computer Championship: I wrote two posts on the topic.

• 2014-02-12: WCCC Ain't What It Used to Be
• 2014-12-31: Guardian of the WCCC

The ICGA, responsible for organizing the events, hasn't kept up with the underlying technical evolution and their champions no longer include the strongest competitors in the world. Can they adapt?

World Correspondence Championship: With the exception of the 27th championship, which finished last year, the list in 'Small Projects 2014' remains the current status. No new events were started in 2014.

Zonals: After completing the tasks listed in 'Small Projects 2014', I wrapped them up with a second set of tasks.

• 2014-07-16: Zonal Index Update

Ditto for the second set, but the third set of tasks remains open.

• 2014-10-15: Zonal Index Update 2014-10-15

Grand Prix: The following pages now show 'Overall Standings'.

• 2011-2012 Women's Grand Prix
• 2012-2013 Grand Prix

As for 'Small Projects 2015', I have nothing beyond the tasks for the zonals.

'Happy to Take the Money'

In my previous post, Books on the Carlsen - Anand Matches, I mentioned the low ratings given by customer reviews for the Keene / Karlovich books. One comment on the book about the 2014 match baffled me:-

I am returning my two books. I bought one, and Amazon sent another when I said the first one was defective. Well, the second one was messed up, too. All of the chess diagrams in the second half of the text are complete nonsense, e.g. a diagram may have a black knight sitting on each light square: 24 black knights at once.

I couldn't imagine how that looked on the printed page. By coincidence, a few days later in 9046. Carlsen v Anand match book, Chesshistory.com reproduced a pair of pages from the same book. It boggles the mind that such a blatant series of errors could slip through the proofreading process. Then it struck me -- the book has never been proofread!

The Amazon 'Look Inside' feature (a real godsend for books like this one) offers many more examples of errors. See, for example, the following photo and caption from page 7.

'One it entitled to wonder...'

'Us chess players do not ask questions. [Us] are just happy to take the money...'. That pretty much sums up the philosophy behind this book.

Books on the Carlsen - Anand Matches

Anyone interested in a book on one or both of the Carlsen - Anand title matches? I imagine many people are, so let's take a look at what's available. Amazon.com currently lists five titles. I've grouped them here by author, with links to the corresponding Amazon pages.

Karsten Müller

• Carlsen - Anand 2013: Match for the World Chess Championship; Aug 15, 2014

Jon Edwards

• Magnus Carlsen v Viswanathan Anand: The 2013 World Chess Championship (Chess is Fun Book 37); Nov 25, 2013
• The Carlsen - Anand Rematch: The 2014 World Chess Championship (Chess is Fun Book 35); Dec 9, 2014

Raymond Keene and Anastasiya Karlovich

• Carlsen - Anand Match for the World Chess Championship; Dec 19, 2013
• Magnus Carlsen - Viswanathan Anand 2014 Re-Match for the World Chess Championship; Dec 19, 2014

Bookfinder.com lists only the Keene / Karlovich titles: Title is anand carlsen; Book is written in English. Why is that? The Müller and Edwards titles are listed on Amazon as 'Kindle Edition', implying that they are only available in digital format.

The two Keene / Karlovich works are both listed on Amazon as 'Publisher: Ishi Press'. I am extremely reluctant to buy anything published by that outfit, not just because the book on the 2013 match has two stars (out of five) based on three customer reviews, while the book on the 2014 match has one-and-a half stars on two reviews.

I already have one book by Ishi Press: ELISTA DIARIES: Karpov-Kamsky, Karpov-Anand, Anand Mexico City 2007 World Chess Championship Matches by Anatoly Karpov and Ron Henley; December 5, 2007. The Karpov / Henley writings, which make up the bulk of the book, are first rate, but the rest is not.

For example, the last page of the book discusses the following photo. The discussion is signed 'Sam Sloan'.

'Hot Tomalis [sic] on the Mexican Professional Chess Player circuit?'

'Nondescript women'? Before reading Sloan's petty, sexist writeup, many players would recognize Arianne Caoili and Aruna Anand. They might also wonder what they have to do with the Karpov / Henley material. In a word, they have *nothing* to do with it.

Back to the Keene / Karlovich works, the name Raymond Keene also raises a red flag. I have a number of his books on title matches, which I listed in World Championship Bibliography. While I wouldn't mind buying another work in his series, other knowledgeable chess fans wouldn't go near them.

The names Ishi and Keene taken together convince me to keep my money in my wallet. Buyer beware.

2014 FIDE General Assembly : Whither the World Championship?

Just like last year's annual 'Whither' post, 2013 FIDE Executive Board : Whither the World Championship?, the documents released by FIDE for its big meeting are less interesting than in previous years. Maybe the organization is running more smoothly; maybe they are less willing to air their dirty laundry in public; maybe both.

First let's hear what FIDE President Ilyumzhinov had to say in August about the main events. If you need help finding the originals of the documents referenced below, see the post on my main blog, FIDE's 'Chess in Schools' 2014.

As you are aware, the World Championship match which ended by victory of Norwegian wonder child Magnus Carlsen, took place in Chennai in November 2013. Please join me once again in congratulations to this remarkable Grand Master and Norwegian Chess Federation with its outstanding success. I would also like to note, that World Champion is also a top rated player in the world. The match was organized superbly and for this I’m especially grateful to Vice President of FIDE, Mr. Sundar, All India Chess Association and the match organizing committee. The match prize fund was 2,55 mln USD with the total budget of the event exceeding 5 mln USD.

During my discussion with the Tamil Nadu State President H. E. Ms. Jayaram Jayalalithaa, I expressed my gratitude for my patience as all of you know Chennai had been candidate for this match 2 years earlier and I also thanked Tamil Nadu State Government for the support of the development of the chess, especially for inclusion of chess into school curriculum in this province. This match would set a good model of interaction between a National Chess Federation with local state and government bodies in respect of development of chess.

Next important event for us the Candidate Tournament. Once again brilliantly organized by Khanty-Mansiysk. The Mayor of Khanty-Mansiysk, President of the Ugra Vasily Filipenko is present here among our guests and I would like him to pass our most sincere gratitude to the leadership and the government of Ugra and personally Governor Natalya Komarova. It’s a pleasant fact that the interest to this event broadcast was higher than the once to the previous Candidate Tournament in London. Chess lovers in 207 countries and territories visited the official site and could enjoy the games transmissions through Chess casting application created by FIDE. This year’s calendar was full of the vents organized in Khanty-Mansiysk with the above mentioned tournaments and the Presidential Board in March, 4th Womens’ Grand Prix stage in April, followed by Women’s World Rapid and Blitz Championships.

The 5th stage of the Women’s Grand Prix was organized in June in a picturesque Lopota in Georgia and a final 6th tournament was moved, will take place in Sharjah instead of Mongolia. The change was due a serious illness of the President of the Mongolian Chess Federation which unfortunately interfered with the activity with this federation.

Dubai has successfully organized Men’s World Rapid and Blitz Championship with the unique situation when one player Magnus Carlsen has having become World Champion in all the formats.

We are going to announce final schedule for the new series of the Men’s Grand Prix Tournament. This year 2 legs will be organized in October-November in Baku and Tashkent respectively and the other two legs will take place early next year.

The Opening Ceremony of the World Championship match between Magnus Calrsen and Viswanathan Anand is scheduled in November 7th of Sochi. The match will take place in the Olympic Park area which is 5 minute drive the international airport. The managers and the representatives of both teams can select their accommodation from the substantial number of new hotels built for the winter Olympics. The match will be held in EXPO Centre which was home for the Winter Olympics media centre and is equipped with latest technologies.

Then let's hear from the Presidential Board in November about forthcoming events.

4.5. Agon. Annex 13 is a letter from Agon with a change in the Agon/FIDE interface team.

5.11. Women’s Chess Commission. Annex 33 is Commission’s report for Tromso GA. Annex 34 is proposed regulations for FIDE Online Women’s World Blitz Championship 2014 for Tromso GA. Annex 35 is Minutes of the Commission’s meeting held in Tromso.

5.21.1. FIDE World Cup 2015. The event shall be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, 10 September – 4 October 2015.

5.21.2. FIDE World Cup 2017. The event shall be held in Batumi, Georgia, 1-25 September 2017.

5.21.3. FIDE World Championship Match 2014. The event is being held in Sochi, Russia, 7-28 November.

5.21.4. FIDE Candidates’ Matches 2016. Venue to be decided.

5.21.5. FIDE Grand-Prix series. Mr. G. Borg to report. Baku, Azerbaijan : 1-15 October 2014; Tashkent, Uzbekistan : 20 October - 4 November 2014; Tbilisi, Georgia : 14-28 February 2015; Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia : 13-27 May 2015.

5.21.6. FIDE Women’s Grand-Prix series. Mr. G. Borg to report.

5.21.7. FIDE Women’s World Championship 2014. The event is postponed. Mr. G. Borg to report.

5.21.8. FIDE Women’s World Championship Match 2015. Bids open 1st January - close 31st March 2015. The event will be held from 11 to 31 October 2015.

I don't have much to add here. It's Christmas Eve and there are better things to do!

Label Maintenance

The LABELS listed to the right -- C00:1946-48, C01:1949-51, etc. -- are a useful technique to group posts dealing with a specific World Championship cycle. For many years the numbering was straightforward: one cycle ended and the following year another started. This worked until the infamous C15:1991-93 cycle, when the World Championship split into two because of the Kasparov - Short title match. The scheduling of title events became increasingly erratic.

After the title reunification in C22:2005-07, the scheduling started to improve slowly, but for a number of cycles the chess world was faced with overlapping cycles where a new cycle started before the previous cycle had finished. For example, the 2009 World Cup at Khanty-Mansiysk (C24) was played before the 2010 Anand - Topalov title match of the previous cycle (C23).

When I started this blog in 2007, I was never sure how long a cycle was going to last. When a new cycle started I used a question mark ('?') to indicate the end of a cycle, e.g. C25:2011-?. When a cycle finished, I could eliminate the '?', but after Blogger.com changed its interface a few years ago, I wasn't sure how to do this without changing each post separately. Fortunately, a technique for a global change exists and I used it to close the most recent cycles, e.g. C25:2011-13.

Now that FIDE has brought the World Championship into a steady two year cycle, we can predict when a cycle will end, making the question mark unnecessary. I eliminated it for the current cycle C27:2015-16, and hope that FIDE will be able to maintain a two-year rhythm. World class chess needs the stability.

[Reference: A post on Google.com, I have a question about my labels..., explains the technique for making a global change to labels.]

Carlsen - Anand II, Wrapup

The Carlsen - Anand title match ended a few weeks ago, and I'd like to do a post just like last year's Carlsen - Anand, Wrapup (2013). First, here are the posts from this blog.

• 2014-11-12: Carlsen - Anand II, the First Week
• 2014-11-19: Carlsen - Anand II, the Second Week
• 2014-11-26: Carlsen - Anand II, the Third Week
• 2014-12-03: 2014 Carlsen - Anand (crosstable and PGN)

Next, here are the posts from my main blog.

• 2014-11-07: GM King on Carlsen vs. Anand II
• 2014-11-11: Anand - Carlsen, Game 3
• 2014-11-14: Magnus Street Art
• 2014-11-17: Carlsen - Anand, Game 6 : The Opening
• 2014-11-18: Carlsen - Anand, Game 6 : Carlsen's Blunder
• 2014-11-20: Carlsen - Anand II : Rumblings
• 2014-11-21: Beavis and Butthead at Sochi
• 2014-11-23: Carlsen - Anand, Game 11
• 2014-11-24: Carlsen - Anand, Game 11 and Match
• 2014-11-25: Carlsen - Anand, Game 11: Anand's Gamble
• 2014-11-27: Carlsen - Anand: Winner's Interview
• 2014-11-28: Carlsen - Anand II : the Venue
• 2014-12-05: World Championship Broadcast Blitzed
• 2014-12-09: Carlsen - Anand II, Chess Press Overview

A lot more can be said about the match -- and has been said on other web resources -- so I expect there will be other posts to come. In any case, after two big matches in two years, we now have to wait two years for the next match. Who will Carlsen's next challenger be?

2014 Carlsen - Anand

I added the crosstable and PGN to my page on the 2014 Carlsen - Anand title match. I also added what appears to be the official logo, first noted on this blog a few weeks ago in Carlsen - Anand II, the First Week. Here's another image worth preserving:-

From: sochi2014.fide.com

Awards and Medals: FIDE/Agon and Adamas, Russia's premier jewelry company, join forces to mark great sporting achievements with great awards. The medals that have been awarded by President Putin to Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand, were made from silver and represent remarkable craftsmanship and design.

With this match, FIDE aligned all World Championship events on a two year cycle. Will we see Carlsen - Anand III in 2016?

Carlsen - Anand II, the Third Week

We left last week's report, Carlsen - Anand II, the Second Week, with Carlsen leading +2-1=5 after eight games and four games to be played. Following is a summary of the week's events, from TheHindu.com.

• Anand faces difficult situation against Carlsen, after game 8
• Short draw, a shot in the arm for Anand [game 9]
• Game 10: Carlsen closes in on title
• Chess: Pressure could be decisive at the business end, after game 10
• Anand fumbles, Carlsen retains crown with a game to spare [game 11]
• Carlsen retains World Chess championship, after game 11
• Carlsen reigns supreme again

The week's tally of +1-0=2 gave Carlsen +3-1=7, or 6.5-4.5. The match was over and Carlsen had retained his World Champion title for two more years. There was a controversial, newsworthy guest at the closing ceremony.

Putin, Anand, Carlsen, Ilyumzhinov

After congratulating the players, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, said, 'This match was followed by millions of people. Chess is considered a great part of world culture.'

Carlsen - Anand II, the Second Week

It was a great week for world class chess. Last week's report, Carlsen - Anand II, the First Week, left the match tied +1-1=2. During the seven intervening days, we had four games and three rest days, Carlsen taking the lead with +1-0=3 in the new games.

The overall score of +2-1=5 leaves Anand in a better position than at the same point last year (see Anand - Carlsen, the Second Week, November 2013), when the score was +2-0=6. In 2013 Carlsen won the ninth game and drew the tenth to clinch the title with two games left to play. In 2014, with four games remaining, Anand must win at least one game and draw the rest if he wants to take the match into tiebreak.

Here's a summary of the past week's events, presented by TheHindu.com, one of my favorite Indian news sources. Their chess correspondent is Rakesh Rao.

• Anand cannot afford to be defensive, after game 4
• Anand dominates drawn Game 5 with white
• Carlsen cashes in on Anand’s blunder in sixth game
• World chess title: Carlsen holds the whip, after game 6
• Game 7: Passive Anand holds Carlsen in a marathon
• Carlsen sleepwalks to a draw in Game 8
• World chess title: Time Anand overcame his black blues, after game 8

If I were responsible for the match, what would I change? Not much, with the possible exception of the press conference. I spent time reviewing all of the press conferences held since the opening ceremony and am relieved that they are not re-broadcast on mainstream, network television. The press officer in charge shows no enthusiasm, the players show no interest in communicating, and the assembled journalists show no desire to extend the proceedings. Here's a typical exchange from the session after game eight.

Q: You say you weren't in the best of shape at the beginning [of the game]. Could you elaborate? • Carlsen: No.

Is it any wonder that outside interest in the match is nil? I can understand that the players are tired after a long game and that they don't want to give information about their preparation, but the purpose of a sporting event is to provide some entertainment to the world at large. The entertainment value of chess press conferences is close to zero.

***

The introduction to the official videos usually features the logo that I captured in my 'C-A II, First Week' post. The animated sequence starts with chess pieces dropping on to an empty board, then the board morphs into the player's eye, then the eye morphs and rotates into the full logo. I managed to capture the board morphing into a player's eye.

That's more entertaining than the typical press conference that follows.

Carlsen - Anand II, the First Week

It was only two-and-a-half years ago, during the Anand - Gelfand title match, that watching live transmission of a high level chess match was a special treat: World Championship Chess on TV (May 2012). These days it has become commonplace.

Today the live video on the official site went down during the last portion of game four and the associated #c24live Twitter feed started filling up with 'live stream lost!' tweets. At least the tweets aren't filled with engine evaluations the way they were in the early days of live chat on the play sites. Come to think of it, there's not much difference between Twitter and live chat.

GM Peter Svidler and IM/WGM Sopiko ('Giggles') Guramishvili got off to a rocky start as official commentators. During the first games the GM would talk and talk and talk (no problem here; this is what he was hired to do) while the IM/WGM would giggle and occasionally interject an informed 'yeah'. Now there is some real back-and-forth between the two. The male/female, GM/IM contrasts work well provided that there is real interaction and some chemistry between the two commentators.

In the title match section of my previous post, 2014-2015 Grand Prix, Tashkent, I mentioned, 'I couldn't find an official logo' on the official site. The official videos start with the image that I've captured below. The eyeballs everywhere make it a little creepy, but it's better than nothing.

Coincidentally, after four games this year's match stands at the same equal score as last year's match, which I documented in Anand - Carlsen, the First Week (November 2013). Last year I mentioned

A Google News search on 'anand carlsen' has mushroomed to 'about 73.300 results'.

This year I'm seeing '103.000 results'. Other than that, the prediction from a year ago --

Kasparov: A Win For Carlsen In The Upcoming World Championship Match Will Be A Huge Win For The Chess World

-- hasn't happened. Carlsen got more press as a challenger than as a champion, the prize fund for the 2014 match is well below the 2013 match, and the Women's World Championship is in limbo. That's not what I call 'a huge win'. Chess's ragged outlook notwithstanding, I'm looking forward to the second week of the match.

***

Later: Here's a summary of the week's events as reported by TheHindu.com:-

• Anand finds a way to hold Carlsen, I am slightly relieved: Anand [game 1]
• Carlsen cracks Anand’s defence [game 2]
• Anand has the time to hit back, after game 2
• Anand hits back in style to level scores, Feels like a match now: Nakamura [game 3]
• Anand forces Carlsen to draw by perpetual checks [game 4]

2014-2015 Grand Prix, Tashkent

I added the crosstable and PGN for the Tashkent Grand Prix tournament to my page on the 2014-2015 Grand Prix. Only one week separated the last round of the first event, 2014-2015 Grand Prix, Baku, from the first round of the Tashkent event.

The FIDE calendar says the last two Grand Prix events will be held February 2015 in Tbilisi, Georgia, and May 2015 in Moscow. This means that the entire Grand Prix cycle will have taken only eight months to complete.

***

I also added a link for the official site to my page on the forthcoming 2014 Carlsen - Anand title match, due to start in a few days. I couldn't find an official logo, so I used the image shown on the right.

The official site is a break from the normal look of FIDE sites. It tells us,

The look of the 2014 World Chess Championship, conceived by Pentagram, the famous design studio, stands out from typical chess events designs and represents an effort by FIDE to rebrand chess and make it more attractive for chess players and partners.

The site's schedule omits the starting time for rounds, but the TWIC page World Chess Championship 2014 tells us,

Games start at 3 PM local time, 1 PM CET, 12 PM GMT, 7 AM US East Coast.

I haven't decided where I'll be watching the match, so I'll start with the official site.

2014 Carlsen - Anand

I added a new page for the 2014 Carlsen - Anand title match to the index page for the World Chess Championship. According to FIDE, the match will take place 7-28 November 2014, 'on the territory of the Olympic village'.

The match still hasn't been confirmed by both players. Chess-news.ru reported earlier this week that Carlsen Postpones Signing of the WC Match Contract At Least for Two Weeks. The current World Champion has washed his hands of FIDE in the past; see my post Groan Prix (December 2008) for details.

C26 Zonal Rating Reports

Returning to Small Projects for 2014, I added links for cycle 26 zonal events on ratings.fide.com (C26 = the current cycle) to Zonals : Links (and Other References). All of the C26 events on World Chess Championship : Zonals were present and accounted for on ratings.fide.com.