Monday
Apr192010
Anand-Topalov: The Polls Are Now Open
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 10:52AM I'm offering three polls, please read each carefully!
Question #1: Who do you WANT to win?
Question #2: Was this the person you wanted to win before Volcanogate?
Question #3: Who do you THINK will win? (Feel free to add a score - it's a 12-game match, and there will be tiebreaks if it's 6-6.)
Reader Comments (57)
Question #1: Anand
Question #2: Yes, but even more so now after V-gate.
Question #3: Unfortunately, this is a tossup in my mind. Wouldn't be surprised if it's 6.5 - 5.5 or 5.5 - 6.5. Don't believe it'll go into tiebreaks though.
Anand, yes, 6.5-4.5 Topalov.
1. Anand.
2. Yes. Btw I don't think the Volcano Incident has escalated into a Gate. Yet.
3. Topalov. Usually better prepared, wants it more. Anand doesn't seem to enjoy being World Champion.
1. Anand
2. YES.
3. Anand
1. Anand.
2. Yes.
3. Anand, by one point.
Question #1: Anand
Question #2: Yes.
Question #3: Tough as both have erratic form. Im going to go with Topalov by two. 6.5-4.5
1. Anand
2. YES.
3. I hope Anand wins by the Fischeresque score of 7-0 after this disgraceful lack of sportsmanship on the part of the Bulgarians.
Angry Anand is going to take out his frustration on Topalov OTB, I hope.
1) Anand
2) Yes
3) Topalov - I fear that "volcanogate" has secured it for Topa (although I always wanted Anand to win I felt Topalov had the advantage before this mess too). Reading the releases recently from Danailov and the BCF it feels like they have started the match already (the mind games at least), it's hard to see how Anand will recover from all this. Hope I am just being pessamistic though and chess isn't in the disaster I think it is.
1. Anand
2. Yes
3. 6.5-4.5 Anand. I feel that Topalov's nerves don't do well in a match - the quality of his play dropped considerably against Kramnik at crucial times. I think Anand will be steady enough to take advantage of the errors.
Interesting to see that Topalov is so unpopular that not even 1 person is rooting for him so far!
1. Anand,
2. Yup,
3. Topalov with 6 1/2.
Whoops, my last answer isn't clear. 6 1/2 to 5 1/2, i.e. by one point.
1. Anand
2. Yes
3. Too close to call, probably tiebreaks.
Anand
Yes
Anand wins on tiebreaks.
1. Anand
2. Yes -- not that I like Anand more, but I like Topalov less
3. Anand, because (i) he's a significant favorite in a tie break (a tie not being unlikely); and (ii) although they're probably on a par in tournament chess, in terms of recent matches, Anand was very impressive against Kramnik, whereas Topalov was not very impressive against Kramnik & Kamsky. This suggests that Anand's match preparation is superior, a major factor. Bulgaria worries me though, but that can hardly have escaped Anand's attention, so perhaps there's nothing to be worried about.
Anand
Yes
6.5-3.5 Anand
Anand
Yes
Anand
1. Anand
2. Yes
3. Anand 6.5-5.5
1. Topalov (just kidding, Anand of course!)
2. yes
3. 7.5 -4.5 for Anand
Q1 - Topalov because I like his style.
Q2 - Topalov
Q3 - 7 - 5 Victory to Topalov
Anand
no.
7-5 Anand-Topalov (Anand's better preparation + unjustified rock-for-bishop exchanges by Topolav ;-) )
Anand, yes, 6.5-4.5 Topalov.
1) Anand
2) Anand - Volcano has not become a gate yet. Although Bulgarian Chess Federation ("BCF") President Stefan Sergiev's (long version of the) statement was ridiculously impolite. Going as far as implying that Anand is already in Sofia and is just playing a trick with this postponement request is crazy and insulting to Anand! Are we sure
If Fischer or Kasparov would have been in Anand's shoes, they may have not played until this guy (and all of BCF) was fired for issuing such unprofessional statement
3) Anand wins on tie-breaks.
MK, I don't want this post hijacked by material that belongs in any of the three previous posts. So I removed the commentary portion and moved it to the Vishy Meets the Volcano post instead.
Anand
Yes
Anand 7-0
The third question is for predictions, not desired outcomes!
1) Not a fan of either player. I used to admire Topalov's dynamism, but Tolietgate and his
apparent slide into being yet another chess great of small humanity kinda soured that.
So, no preference. Not the two best players in the world.
2) No change. Hasn't this kind of posturing and seizing an opportunity for psychological initiative
become the norm apres Fischer?
3) I suppose Anand should be the favorite, but not by as much as many believe. Anand wins in tiebreak
games.
1. Anand
2. Yes
3. 7-5 Anand
1. Anand.
2. I was for Anand all the way.
3. Anand will, hopefully, win. By one point.
1-Anand.
2-Yes. The Volcano might have changed some plans regarding when to take off, but it can hardly have changed these two guys' personalities.
3-Anand, hopefully. But it's going to be much tougher than his match with Kramnik.
Two prevent any misunderstandings, by "take off", I meant the initial part of the process of flying.
A. Anand
B. Anand
C. Anand, 6.5-4.5 (The last game will not be played).
1) Anand
2) Anand
3) Topalov (but beware, my predictions never come true!)
1. Anand
2. Yes, Anand
3 Anand - the better player, won't get distracted because he's not the type to get angry
I knew Anand was popular, but never thought it would be such a completely overwhelming majority. Maybe this blog simply doesn't attract Topalov fans, in which case Dennis must be doing something right.
@acirce: LOL. You're probably at least half-right: my pro-Kramnik position during the 1996 match and occasional criticisms of Topalov's and Danailov's misbehavior over the years probably has chased off Topalov fans - or more accurately, perhaps, Topalov apologists. I am a fan of Topalov the chess player, and I suspect many others here are too. But when he opens his mouth...
1. Anand
2. Anand
3. Topalov (6.5-5.5)
"The third question is for predictions, not desired outcomes!"
Anand
Yes
Anand 7-0
Well Dennis its still a theoretical possibility..no? So I am sticking w/it ;)
1) No preference.
2) Yes, still no preference. I know it's strange not to have favorite players, but for some reason I've never had chess heroes; I just enjoy the clash of titans and am hoping for some brilliant games.
3) Anand 6.5-5.5
1. i have no rooting interest
2. n/a
3. i believe topalov will win by one point
1. Topalov
2. Yes.
3. I think any result is possible. And I mean that if they play several matches the outcome can be every time different. It's the Topalov uncertainty.
1. Topalov.
2. yes
3. Anand 6.5-4.5
1. Anand
2. Yes.
3. Anand in tiebreaks.
Anand
Yes
Anand - especially now because as Kramnik did Bulgarians are making a mistake by provoking Anand. If he was not motivated before, now he will be. Best of Luck, Anand.
#1 Anand
#2 yes
#3 whoever first forfeits a game. Has anyone ever lost a world championship match after forfeiting one game? So probably Anand.
1. Anand. While I like Topalov's play, I've been completely put off by everything he and his posse have done away from the board since Toilet Gate.
2. Yes. More than ever given the nonsense going on.
3. Who knows. I'm just hoping this isn't the second WCC match in 40 years to be decided in Iceland...
1 Well, I want the one who plays the most exciting if not always sound chess to win - my feeling is it will be Topolov
2 Yes
3 Topolov 6.5-4.5 but if it's 6-6 Anand
1. Anand
2. Yes. Volcanogate didn't come as a surprise ... of course I don't mean the volcanic eruption and resulting travel crisis, but how the Bulgarians deal with the situation - there were precedents not only in Elista, but also earlier Bulgarian insults against Anand prior to the match.
3. Anand on tiebreaks (assuming and hoping that the match will be decided over the board)
@acirce and Dennis: Chessvibes is also quite critical of Topailov and, more recently, Sergiev and still has many Topalov fanposts in the comments - so there must be other reasons than "Dennis doing something right"? Maybe this site has a predominantly American audience and/or, for some reason, attracts less "trolls" (who actually know little about chess and don't appreciate Dennis' regular diet of quality analyses - here we go again: Dennis is doing something right).
Topalov
Yes
6.5-5.5
Anand, yes, Topalov if there are no tiebreaks, Anand if there are tiebreaks
1) Topalov (I admire his play on the board in spite of the other stuff)
2) Yes
3) 6-6, Anand wins tiebreak