Talking Chess

Avoid this post. It’s just me and an old friend of mine, Naveen (Nana) chatting about our common hobby, chess.

anbharadwaj: Twelve-year-old Negi gets his second GM normhttp://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2895
indian_genius: wow! thats great news!
indian_genius: equal to 5 series wins against pakistan.. unfortunately not front page news
anbharadwaj: he he...yeah..seriously..
anbharadwaj: he would have been a superstar in russia or any of the east european countries..
indian_genius: so one more to go before the title and the world record?
anbharadwaj: i dont think he will be the youngest ever...i think Carlsen got it earlier...but he will be the youngest GM around if he gets there soon..
indian_genius: who's carlsen?
anbharadwaj: Magnus Carlsen, winner of Wijk Aan Zee, Group B
anbharadwaj: Norwegian..
anbharadwaj: rating 2550+ and 14 yrs. i think..
indian_genius: hmm..impressive...
anbharadwaj: who, carlsen, or my knowledge of chess current affairs..
indian_genius: both!!
indian_genius: sometimes u wonder what u have achieved despite being twice as old as these ppl have achieved in 15 years
anbharadwaj: i dont wonder...i know...nothing!
indian_genius: a degree, a job and a mundane life.. or maybe i'm talking abt myself alone here anbharadwaj: u shud get married nana... or have u already?!
indian_genius: no i mean.. i know i have achieved nothing.. am wondering what it must take to resolve to achieve something so young...
indian_genius: why? so that i could add job, degree, marriage to my list of "accomplishments"? indian_genius: the answer is nowhere close bye
indian_genius: btw
anbharadwaj: good deeds in your last life..?!
indian_genius: well.. i won 3 games straight on yahoo games y'day
indian_genius: that's all i have in terms of accomplishment...
anbharadwaj: wow! you know, its never too late to start, u know...
indian_genius: have struggled to a 1500 rating..which is roughly half of anand's elo rating anbharadwaj: if u give up your job, i will give up mine and become ur coach!
anbharadwaj: 1500? i thought you told me once that you were an 1800+ guy..
indian_genius: 1800+? must have been in my school/college days..
indian_genius: no way with my current levels..
anbharadwaj: hardly play any chess myself...make do with following games played in tournaments..
indian_genius: we shud play sometime.. the only question is how many moves u'll take to crush me
indian_genius: remember those days we had analysed the dragon to death?
indian_genius: before the inter-univ tournaments?
anbharadwaj: yeah...and i still lost playing it
indian_genius: I actually used to played the dragon virtually every time with black..
indian_genius: yeah..and now I can't find my bearings after 8-10 moves
indian_genius: that's the pits.. i actually got crushed online on yahoo by somebody with a typical king side attack.. that was the pits
anbharadwaj: yeah...but it used to be frustrating as opponents used to play Bc4 and d3 and then its no fun...
indian_genius: well yeah... but one of the final rounds, my opponent went nearly all the way..
indian_genius: g4, h4, 0-0-0 and all..
anbharadwaj: yeah, nowadays everybody knows the refutation to the classical dragon...
indian_genius: and he was a very strong opponent too..remember i had to play out of my skin to save the attack..
anbharadwaj: there's something called the accelerated dragon now for black...
indian_genius: but the key in the sicilian is the end game, isn't it?
indian_genius: if u can survive the middle game, the end game gives black a cleaner pwn structure
indian_genius: so better chances even on equal material
anbharadwaj: most of my sicilians are decided b4 the endgames either for or against..
indian_genius: hmm..true...but if you are up against it, sometimes u just remember that if u can survive and simplify, u have more than even chance..
anbharadwaj: hmmm...i guess...i havent played the dragon much after BITS actually...am a Najdorf convert..
indian_genius: actually that's the killer instict i seem to lack now playing chess on yahoo...when i get into complex situations, i usually backed myself to get out if it earlier.. now no more.. anbharadwaj: yeah...i remember u used to grind ur heels in and defend mightily against anything..
anbharadwaj: and all of attacks used to come up short!
indian_genius: correct.. always thought there was one precise move against every attack... all that remains is to eliminate the bad moves and u can find it every time..
indian_genius: of course, then we wud play wth mor time.. today's chess is all instant.. 12 minute games are supposed to be slow
indian_genius: hardly anybody plays with unlimited time.. gives u no time to dig into positions..
anbharadwaj: i am still horrible with those time limits...i never had a talent for playing fast..
indian_genius: need to learn the najdorf from u.. always run short of ideas after 10-12 moves there
anbharadwaj: please...even i cant tell u anything more than 10-12 moves...like all sicilians, wait for white to overreach and then counter attack...thats all..
indian_genius: talking abt najdorf, did u see anand's game against karjakin?
anbharadwaj: amazing!
indian_genius: yup.. what a game!
anbharadwaj: yes i did, what a game...
anbharadwaj: he gave up two pieces so calmly...
indian_genius: i thought e5 was supposed to be bad for black in najdorf...seems like standard now..
anbharadwaj: he must have seen 15 moves ahead when he played Nc7!, i think...
anbharadwaj: yes, thats the sveshnikov variation, became well known after Leko's success with it...
indian_genius: no even before that...who wud have thought u could confidently play b4 in response to g5, then a4 in response to f5... u have to really believe in black's ability to create a mating attack..
anbharadwaj: mebbe he beleived in white ability(or lack of it) to create enuf problems!anbharadwaj: thats how he lost to Kamsky!
indian_genius: i agree though.. nc7 was pure genius.. actually i'm surprised that karjakin took the knight and walked straight in..
indian_genius: well, i didn't see that kamsky game..
anbharadwaj: yeah...he came up short tactically there...
indian_genius: which round, u remember?
anbharadwaj: somewhere in the middle...5th or 6th i think..
indian_genius: got it.. round 6..
indian_genius: u r a god.. u remember everything
anbharadwaj: he castled queenside in a queens gambit game..playing the black side...
indian_genius: cool.. quite unheard of right?
anbharadwaj: yeah...he underestimated his opponent..
anbharadwaj: and he played cautiously for the rest of the tournament, gave draws with white to people like Mamedyrov and Tiviakov...
indian_genius: anand of all ppl underestimated kamsky?
indian_genius: one who made life hell for him in the challengers?
anbharadwaj: seriously...u wud thik he would know better given their history!
anbharadwaj: the report said that he has now lost his last 2 games against kamsky...
anbharadwaj: the previous one being Dos Hermanes '95!
indian_genius: yeah.. kamsky has always been his nemesis
indian_genius: hey.. this was not a question of attack...this was bad pawn structure..
indian_genius: i can't believe he played f5.. weakened his e-pawn which got evntually gobbled up..
anbharadwaj: yeah...he overeached..
indian_genius: and he actually lost an opposite coloured bishop ending! even with a pawn down..
anbharadwaj: yeah..i think kamsky had connected central passers?
indian_genius: no he created them! i think anand mishandled the ending too..
indian_genius: his king move at the beginning was a mistake.. he gave a pawn virtually for free..
anbharadwaj: hmmm...i think kamsky played well in the middle and endgame....
indian_genius: kamsky started winning only after he gobbled another pawn on the g file..
anbharadwaj: in his other games..he lost most of his games right out of the opening...
indian_genius: u know the rule right.. opp coloured bishops with a pawn are fine.. u have to create a blockade on the same color as ur bishop..
indian_genius: which was the other loss?
anbharadwaj: u shud check another inter interesting game, Anand vs Tiviakov, draw for tiviakov playing scandinavian!
anbharadwaj: Anand virtually never had a chance...
indian_genius: which round mr genius?
anbharadwaj: hmmm..10, 11?
indian_genius: 11 it is!! you are a certified genius
anbharadwaj: thank u thank u
anbharadwaj:
indian_genius: why did he give up the g pawn?? don't understand that..
anbharadwaj: i think he was lookin for some initiative which he never got any advantage of...
indian_genius: relatively boring game after initial sparks..
indian_genius: although i wouldn't want to play queen endgames.. u have to analyze so much in those..
anbharadwaj: yeah...disappointing result for Anand against the scandinavian...
indian_genius: u mean he shud have won against a "weak" opening like scandinavian?anbharadwaj: of course, and comparitively a 'weak' opponent like Tiviakov
anbharadwaj: if u r looking u shud check out another rocking game, Topalov-Aronian, not sure about the colors...
indian_genius: was looking at another anand win..
indian_genius: bacrot..round 8..
anbharadwaj: oh yeah...he ate up bacrot...
indian_genius: have seen till move 42, and still white (bacrot) seems to have the edge... bizarre game! am wondering how he lost
anbharadwaj: in the end...blunder!
anbharadwaj: bacrot made a bigger blunder against topalov too in the endgame and lost!anbharadwaj: and that too in a King pawn endgame...
indian_genius: no wonder... what a pity.. its move 50 and still i wud put my money on white! atleast a draw..
indian_genius: wow.. cool game.. don't think this was a blunder alone.. it's amazing how much anand was putting on him the last few moves just with the rook, b and n...pins, double attacks, forks et al.. ..skilful play forcing the blunder..
anbharadwaj: yeah...attack out of nowhere...
indian_genius: actually.. was looking at the last position...have u seen it?
anbharadwaj: i seen it before...not right now..why?
indian_genius: on 2nd thoughts..am wondering why he resigned there? am sure i'm missing it..
indian_genius: they don't have annotations in these games right?
anbharadwaj: i think he was going to lose his a pawn or something...?!
anbharadwaj: where r u lookin...corus?
indian_genius: yup..
indian_genius: yeah.. but he's getting it back..
anbharadwaj: they have a report, also in chessbase...they have a report...
indian_genius: he could lose one more, but could turn out to be rook awn 2 vs. 1.. not hands down winning always//
indian_genius: ok...chess base eh?
anbharadwaj: yeah..chessbase.com
indian_genius: how do u search?
anbharadwaj: hmmm...go to any round report which will have lonks to other round reports and games...
indian_genius: hmm.. i searched online database for anand bacrot..
indian_genius: the last game was Oct 2004..
anbharadwaj: no no...go to round 13 big report..
anbharadwaj: 63.Rb4 Nf3+ 64.Kh3 Ne1 65.Bd1 Nd3
anbharadwaj: analysis after resignation
indian_genius: yup..indian_genius: i was wondering abt Rb4 only.. got my answer!
indian_genius: so he basically will get 2 pawns.. quite a bizarre game actually.. the commentator seems to agree..
anbharadwaj: yeah..
indian_genius: saw a photo of this guys magnus carlsen as well..
indian_genius: so young..
anbharadwaj: yup...he will play in group A next year!
indian_genius: even karjakin looks so young..
anbharadwaj: yeah..16 i think!
indian_genius: anand my contrast looks visibly old .. am sure he has a few good yrs in him though..hope he makes 3000+
anbharadwaj: whoa! 3000+...only if he get the fritz 9 installed in his brain!
anbharadwaj: he's on his best rating ever, so I guess he's playing the best chess of his life...
anbharadwaj: kasparov was at the top of the game till he was 40+ so maybe vishy has a few more years left in him...
indian_genius: exactly.. and sustaining 2750+ for a few yrs now is more and more difficult...so he's doing gr8..
anbharadwaj: the site has good photos rite?
indian_genius: was just seeing the other game u mentioned...
indian_genius: topalov aronian.. boring till move 15.. and suddenly xchange sac out of the blue!anbharadwaj: topalov is the king of exchange sacs!
indian_genius: fundu game...
indian_genius: even at the end... playing 2 bishops vs. 2 rooks..but connected passed pawns proving deadly..
anbharadwaj: yeah...its a kind of a game which i think a comp program will not play...
indian_genius: wonder if he saw it all when he saced the exchange!
anbharadwaj: i dont think he would foreseen the the second exchange sac when he made the first...
anbharadwaj: the second actually made the game fit for a collection!
anbharadwaj: a beauty!
indian_genius: yeah... although psychologically first wud have been toughest.. position looked so innocuous! by the time the second came, it was a bit clearer that he wud have compensation...
anbharadwaj: yeah...u r right...but Topalov does it again and again...there's an article on the corus site about the exchange sac...discusses about 5-6 games of Topalov over the years having exchange sacs...
indian_genius: is it? how do u search?
anbharadwaj: hmm..i think its on the right hand pane...
indian_genius: oh..27 Jan, exchange sacrificer! got it..
anbharadwaj: i had read another funny article on chess about why Tal was a compulsive sacrifice player...
anbharadwaj: because in his chess rules...a knight never goes back...so he has to sacrifice the knight!
indian_genius:
indian_genius: powerful logic considering he was world champ at a time when there were so many great players..
indian_genius: topalov sacs are amzing considering he doesn't get compensation for at least 10 moves after he made them! Almost makes them on instinct i think...
anbharadwaj: yeah...he has a feel for the position...almost like how Tal used to play...
indian_genius: he even made the sac against anand.. and then drew after nearly 80 more moves indian_genius: 97 move matches at this level must be nothing short of gruelling...
anbharadwaj: yeah...Anand was better actually i think in that game..but couldnt convert...
indian_genius: must be heartbreaking for the guy who thought he could win..bcoz otherwise they cud have agreed to a draw before
indian_genius: oh, so it was anand?
anbharadwaj: i think the game see sawed..ultimately i think Anand was giving perpetuals
indian_genius: yeah.. that's right.. last 7-8 moves
indian_genius: btw, this online database is amazing!
indian_genius: virtually every game available on pgn for free?
anbharadwaj: yup, you could also check out chessgames.com
anbharadwaj: you will find all games played ever!
indian_genius: yes the same site..
indian_genius: it has a link to chesslive.de
indian_genius: which allows u to search by player, by match etc... all games!
anbharadwaj: no, chessgames.com
indian_genius: ok..
anbharadwaj: oh ok, chessgames has detailed chess theory too...plus lots of discussion forums...
indian_genius: looks like a grand site..lots of details..
anbharadwaj: yup, its a monster site...
anbharadwaj: though not much reporting...for that nothing beats chessbase
indian_genius: i just played the ivanchuk-topalov xchange sac..my favourite dragon.. and am still baffled as to why white resigned!
indian_genius: mr genius...any site with games and annotation as well?
indian_genius: i know i'm asking for too much now...
indian_genius: but then u never know with the internet.. could actually be surprised..
anbharadwaj: hmmm....actually these are the only sites i visit...another one is chesscafe.com
indian_genius: btw.. do u have the chessmaster cds?
indian_genius: i think v10 is the latest...
indian_genius: has a couple of tutorials that are really nice...
anbharadwaj: nope...browsing websites is my only activity related to chess as of now...
indian_genius: apart from of course an entire opening database and a vast collection of games..
indian_genius: the reason i got it is that pirated versions are easy to get here!
indian_genius: btw, in touch with any of the bits chess guys?
indian_genius: vinay?
anbharadwaj: oh...even if i got it, I dont think i will have the patience to do justice to it...
anbharadwaj: no touch with Vinay at all...wat abt u?
indian_genius: same here... no time and no patience either... so much is the pity..
indian_genius: no.. lost touch a long time ago.. he was in bangalore only the last time we were in touch...
indian_genius: but that was ages ago..
indian_genius: finished b-school and was working with one of the fmcgs i think...
anbharadwaj: huh? i thought he was with Bank of America...