English Chess Forum

It means the tour final will be Carlsen, Dubov, Ding & Naka I think

Mick Norris wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 04, 2020 5:52 pm

It means the tour final will be Carlsen, Dubov, Ding & Naka I think

I hoped for a victory for Nepo in this final, just so he could join Carlsen, Dubov and Nakamura in the tour final - what a foursome! Do you think Ding will regain some form?

I think the main question is whether Ding will have a decent internet connection

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 04, 2020 5:26 pm

"No idea if anyone's watching, or if anyone cares"

I was! Very impressed the other day when they were studying a position and Karpov suggested sacrificing a rook and gave a long line showing it won, Grischuk and Judit Polgar were also impressed. There were also questions whether Karpov was sitting in the Czar's palace or his own house...

I watched the last mini-match of the semi between Nepo and Giro where Karpov was also commentating from an impressive building which turned out to be the Moscow Central Chess Club. Interesting thing was Tania Sachdev asked him where he was as 'it looked very royal' and Karpov replying that he didn't understand the question initially before saying where he was.

I was constantly amazed at how many move suggestions that Grischuk and Karpov made that were corrected by Judit Polgar whose speed of analysis was frightening. I'm pretty sure Karpov sloped off early on that day as he simply couldn't keep up with her.

Mick Norris wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 04, 2020 6:43 pm

I think the main question is whether Ding will have a decent internet connection

Grischuk: "It's time for Russian hackers to attack internet in Norway. Last hope!"

TWIC final report

There is not long now to wait for the Tour Final (I've seen Kiva named as the sponsor) which runs Sunday 9th to Thursday 20th August 2020. Carlsen faces Ding in the semifinals, Nakamura plays Dubov in the other. Ding's ongoing issues with the Internet and disconnections during games - which have been plausibly explained as being caused by him having to play via a VPN as he can't connect directly to Chess24 - are likely not solvable which is a pity as it is a huge disadvantage.

"I was constantly amazed at how many move suggestions that Grischuk and Karpov made that were corrected by Judit Polgar whose speed of analysis was frightening."

She's being doing some excellent articles in New In Chess about her battles with really strong players (Karpov in the latest one, Korchnoi the one before that) with assessments of their style of play. I hope she extends the idea and writes a book...

Judit was good, but Karpov the highlight for me. He gave the impression of enjoying himself, whereas his great successor tends to give the impression he is fulfilling his contractual obligation

Paul Cooksey wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 05, 2020 7:00 pm

whereas his great successor tends to give the impression he is fulfilling his contractual obligation

Well, he is a WSJ contributor. It would be a crime against nature to do anything beyond the level for which you are appropriately compensated.

Tbf maybe when Gazza is approaching 70 himself, he may have a slightly different attitude.

"Tbf maybe when Gazza is approaching 70 himself, he may have a slightly different attitude."

Yes, Karpov no longer has an axe to grind. I get the impression though that Kasparov has an unlimited supply of axes.