World Championship 2010

[IM Jack Rudd]

Or Nc4; same idea. Although can black tie white's pieces up a bit with ...Nxf3+ and ...Qa2+ now?

[Arshad Ali]

Well, at least Anand has a perp now and give that he's only got 3 minutes on the clock, that's what he'll probably opt for. Oops, didn't realise they get 15 more after the 60th.

[John Saunders]

Now the GMs are criticising 57 Rhd5 and wondering whether Black might yet save the game. Well, when the going gets tough, the tough have their dinner. That's what I'm going to do anyway.

[Ben Purton]

Deary me, Topalov is a total twit...... Qa1 is one of the worst endgame moves ive seen......o wait Bc6 also

[Ben Purton]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Ive got a bet on anand to win the whole thing, so this is promising , as he can make topalov play like 50 moves to a draw

[Jonathan Rogers]

He only needs to play f3-f4 to gain another fifty moves, and again when he plays f5, etc. So the Bulgarian public may get to see the long games to the finish that they are believed to crave!

This must be winning for White. Some may remember game 1 of the "world championship" between Karpov and the same Anand in 1997/8.

[John Saunders]

Amazing game. As Har-zvi said, very entertaining but perhaps not of the highest quality. Top-quality endgame play is a thing of the past, it seems. Anand will be kicking himself when he sees how many (computer) wins he missed, and he now only has one more white. Good save from Topa, though.

[Jonathan Bryant]

Top-quality endgame play is a thing of the past, it seems. Anand will be kicking himself when he sees how many (computer) wins he missed ....

Those folk that Alex H is trying to persuade to switch to Qplay finishes in that other thread ... I can just imagine them pointing to this game and saying, "See?"

Funnily enough, at the same time I can also imagine people pointing to this game as an example of how great Qplay finishes can be.

It was certainly very entertaining to watch the end.

[Matt Mackenzie]

The comments at chessgames.com are predictably hilarious

[Neville Twitchell]

Is there anywhere I can put an online bet on the world championship or indeed any chess related bet? I cannot find such a betting site.

[Neville Twitchell]

I have just managed to answer my own question. You can bet on the match with Betfair. But nonetheless I would be interested to know of other internet sites where you can place a bet on it.

[Matthew Turner]

You can bet on the outcome of the WC at Betfair, or individual matches at Bwin.
Paddy Power offer odds on the Olympiad and Irish Champs (both team and individual)

[Alex Holowczak]

Top-quality endgame play is a thing of the past, it seems. Anand will be kicking himself when he sees how many (computer) wins he missed ....

Those folk that Alex H is trying to persuade to switch to Qplay finishes in that other thread ... I can just imagine them pointing to this game and saying, "See?"

Funnily enough, at the same time I can also imagine people pointing to this game as an example of how great Qplay finishes can be.

It was certainly very entertaining to watch the end.

I see that as a perfect buffer to my argument. Grandmasters have to deal with it, so why can't we? Grandmasters make mistakes under such pressure, and don't play perfectly, so why should we?

Chess needs to be entertaining to draw in fans. This is certainly more entertaining than if they sealed a move and came back tomorrow to finish it off, by which time the world and its wife would have found a win for Anand.

[Arshad Ali]

Chess needs to be entertaining to draw in fans. This is certainly more entertaining than if they sealed a move and came back tomorrow to finish it off, by which time the world and its wife would have found a win for Anand.

*Shrug* -- chess as a knuckle-biting spectator sport benefits; chess as a science perhaps suffers. But yes, the game does need fans.

[Jonathan Bryant]

I see that as a perfect buffer to my argument. Grandmasters have to deal with it, so why can't we? Grandmasters make mistakes under such pressure, and don't play perfectly, so why should we?

That's the point I was making. Both sides of the argument can use the game in support of their case - for the reasons pointed out by Arshad above.

This is certainly more entertaining than if they sealed a move and came back tomorrow to finish it off, by which time the world and its wife would have found a win for Anand.

Depends on the adjourned position. You will be too young to remember this but adjourned positions in World Championship matches used to generate quite a bit of publicity back in the day - Game 24 of Kasparov - Karpov, 1987 springs to mind. Could Gazza win? Could Karpov hold? It was like a good cliff-hanger on an episode of Doctor Who! I was working in a bank at the time and I remember discussing the adjourned position with a couple of customers I happened to overhear talking about it while they were waiting in the queue.

Yes I know it would be different now with computers and table bases and what not but not necessarily always the case.

FWIW I happen to think that on balance it's probably a good thing that adjournments have been abolished for World Championship matches but while there have certainly been gains from this change we've definitely lost something too.