Candidates Tournament 2020

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Mick Norris
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Mick Norris » Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:48 am

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 8:21 pm
How much help (compared to Karjakin) will Nepo get from "the Russians"?
Pete Doggers reported
Interestingly, Nepomniachtchi didn't mind revealing the players who had helped him prepare. Besides the general coach of the Russian Chess Federation GM Vladimir Potkin, he named GM Ildar Khairullin, GM Nikita Vitiugov, and GM Peter Leko, adding: "I'm very thankful. I can't describe it with words."
Surprising, as players often try and keep seconds secret; there's also the possibility that he'll get help from others now e.g. Svidler was second to Alekseenko; maybe even some advice about WC Matches from Kramnik?

Like Karjakin, I'd expect Nepo and his team will get lots of high powered computer assistance to help prepare

Unlike the last few challengers, Carlsen can't be very confident of winning a rapid playoff, so the match should be very interesting, if Nepo's nerves hold up
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JustinHorton
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by JustinHorton » Wed Apr 28, 2021 12:23 pm

I'm wondering if they'll meet OTB before the match
"Do you play chess?"
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Jonathan Bryant
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Wed Apr 28, 2021 12:44 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 8:21 pm

How much help (compared to Karjakin) will Nepo get from "the Russians"?
I was also wondering about this. Karjakin is, as well as being Russian, a highly visible supporter of Putin - which I'm sure did him no harm in terms of the resources available to him.

Tim Harding
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Tim Harding » Wed Apr 28, 2021 10:10 pm

JustinHorton wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 10:11 pm
Tim Harding wrote:
Tue Apr 27, 2021 9:52 pm
Of the 15 decisive games in the tournament
Typing error for 25?
No just a brain-freeze. What I meant to say was 16 decisive games in the second half, of which 10 were in the last three rounds, compared with 9 decisive games only in the first half.
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Chris Rice
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Chris Rice » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am

Nepo and Carlsen have been rivals for longer than I thought. Here is a stunning 4 minute video with Magnus being interviewed by David Howell which demonstrates just how phenomenal his memory is.

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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by David Sedgwick » Fri Apr 30, 2021 10:13 pm

Chris Rice wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am
Nepo and Carlsen have been rivals for longer than I thought. Here is a stunning 4 minute video with Magnus being interviewed by David Howell which demonstrates just how phenomenal his memory is.
Emil Sutovsky is not impressed.

https://twitter.com/EmilSutovsky/status ... 2486185990

LawrenceCooper
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by LawrenceCooper » Sat May 01, 2021 10:35 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 10:13 pm
Chris Rice wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:16 am
Nepo and Carlsen have been rivals for longer than I thought. Here is a stunning 4 minute video with Magnus being interviewed by David Howell which demonstrates just how phenomenal his memory is.
Emil Sutovsky is not impressed.
He rarely is :)

Chris Rice
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Chris Rice » Sun May 02, 2021 10:24 am

Nepo won't be able to play under the Russian flag in his match versus Carlsen, due to the WADA ban on Russia for international sporting competitions. Peter Doggers article here. Yesterday I was looking on the FIDE calendar to see what tournaments might be happening in the next couple of years and was quite surprised to see Sochi still listed as the venue for both the 2022 World Chess Olympiad and the World Senior Championship. However, the article by Peter Doggers does reference this, at least in part:

"FIDE's Chief Marketing and Communications Officer David Llada provided the following statement:

FIDE can confirm that, due to the WADA sanctions against Russia, Ian Nepomniachtchi will not be allowed to play under the Russian flag at the World Championship match in Dubai.

This ban forbids Russian athletes and event organizers to display publicly the flag of the Russian Federation, the name “Russia”, (in any language or format), or any national emblem or national symbol of the Russian Federation, including on their clothes, equipment, or other personal items, at any event under the denomination "World Championship".

CAS directly clarified to FIDE that these restrictions do not apply to the qualification stage of any world championship, like the World Cup 2021 and the Women's World Cup 2021 that will take place in Russia later this year.

Likewise, the WADA ban does not apply to the Chess Olympiad 2022, since this event does not have the status of "World Championship." Formally, this status belongs to the World Team Championship."

The part that's missing I guess is that the "Russian athletes" competing in the World Senior Championship, as that presumably has to be classed as a World Championship, won't be able to display the Russian flag either.

Mick Norris
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Mick Norris » Thu May 06, 2021 3:18 pm

Nepo interview
The strategy was not to lose
Some quite interesting observations, worth reading to the end I think
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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Thu May 06, 2021 4:42 pm

Mick Norris wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 3:18 pm
Nepo interview
The strategy was not to lose
Some quite interesting observations, worth reading to the end I think
Just read it all. Indeed well worth reading to the end.

Here is a quote:
Ian Nepomniachtchi wrote:So, I guess we’ve known each other for almost twenty years. At some point, I think in 2010 or 2012, we used to work a little together; there were some training sessions. Once, I think, I was even second to Magnus in some London tournament in 2012 (I might be mistaken).
I am not sure if Nepomniachtchi is being serious there (you surely wouldn't forget being second to Carlsen)? But he was indeed second to Carlsen in the London Chess Classic 2012 ("some London tournament"!).

See here for a forum thread about Nepomniachtchi's visa problems back then:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5023&p=105918

And further down that thread, a recollection from me about seeing Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi dining in a nearby Pizza Express:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5023&start=15#p106026

I got the impression back then that they were good friends (not just from the demeanour at the table, but from reports in the chess press), but maybe not, if you take at face value what Nepomniachtchi said in his interview:
Nepomniachtchi wrote:He has a nice personality, he’s a very nice dude. I can’t say we’re close friends, but I think we have quite a nice relationship. Still, as you know, you can have no friends over the board, and I think we were never friendly to each other when we were playing chess, and especially now, when you think about the match, you probably should... [interviewer: "Forget your past?"] It’s not even about forgetting the past or thinking of the future. Now, it’s a rivalry, an undeclared war (laughs), so the situation has changed a bit.
Interesting dynamics there. Maybe the start of some mind games already?

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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by David Sedgwick » Thu May 06, 2021 8:52 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 4:42 pm
Here is a quote:
Ian Nepomniachtchi wrote:So, I guess we’ve known each other for almost twenty years. At some point, I think in 2010 or 2012, we used to work a little together; there were some training sessions. Once, I think, I was even second to Magnus in some London tournament in 2012 (I might be mistaken).
I am not sure if Nepomniachtchi is being serious there (you surely wouldn't forget being second to Carlsen)? But he was indeed second to Carlsen in the London Chess Classic 2012 ("some London tournament"!).
I took Nepomniachtchi to mean that he wasn't sure that the year was 2012.

I didn't know Nepomniachtchi then and my memory of the time is Carlsen telling me that I should call him "Jan" (ie not "Nepo" and don't struggle with "Mr Nepomniachtchi"),

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 4:42 pm
I got the impression back then that they were good friends (not just from the demeanour at the table, but from reports in the chess press), but maybe not, if you take at face value what Nepomniachtchi said in his interview.
They were perfectly amicable, but throughout their lives they have been rivals rather than close friends.

James Plaskett
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by James Plaskett » Sun May 28, 2023 11:02 pm

Apropos this from Señor Rice´s post here -
Only security, forward operating team and players are allowed in the playing area and players’ premises. Any player wanting to leave the playing hall (e.g., lavatories, a smoking area) had to be accompanied by one of the arbiter team or a nominated volunteer.
I remember Professor Mestel telling me that, forty odd years ago, he would ask opponents not to smoke. I replied that I would not do so.
"Wouldn´t you? Why not?"
"I just wouldn´t."
"I would."

And some fifty years ago I remember that a guy who was just a few years older than me and whom I knew as "Malley" and who became aware of my frequenting the Bedford chess club, asked if you could object if your opponent was smoking.
A man ahead of his time...

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MJMcCready
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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020

Post by MJMcCready » Mon May 29, 2023 9:08 am

Very much so. It does make you wonder what the next thing to be banned from the board will be. If you factor in the rule changes made over the years, there's more things been banned/outlawed/not allowed than first appears.

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