Candidates 2014: Extreme Commentary
If you've been watching top level chess on the internet for any time now, you'll know that when it comes to post-game press conferences, Peter Svidler is quite the talker. He is wonderfully articulate even in English, though it is not his native tongue, and just as a matter of personality he loves to talk. Whenever I've seen him at such a conference, he has dominated the proceedings.
Likewise Vladimir Kramnik. While he is not as eloquent in English as Svidler, his grasp of the language is certainly very good, and he too tends to dominate press conferences. His style is a little different - a bit more variation heavy and shorter on psychological narration, but his conferences are enjoyable and impressive as well.
So what would happen when these two shared the spotlight in a post-game presser? Further, how would they cope with the regular interruptions necessitated by the need to have their comments translated into Russian?
The fascinating result can be seen below, starting at the 5:31:10 mark. I can't recall ever seeing anything like it before, but it was pretty amazing, almost savage. Enjoy!
Reader Comments (12)
Poor, poor translator .....
The best part 5:57:28:
Kramnik: Can you just, eh ok so check. Kh3 ehh ?
Svidlier: Like a boss.
Incidentally you can add the following to the end of the link to take you right to the time: #t=5h31m10s
[DM: My impression was that that worked only for links, but that for embedding one had to do something more, like calculating how many seconds in it started and maybe something else.]
In light of Svidler's near win against Kramnik using 1.c4 to create a full bodied middlegame with chances to outplay Kramnik, should Anand open with 1.c4 to play for a win in Round 4? Opening with 1.c4 also has the advantage of preserving Anand's 1.e4 and 1.d4 preparation for later rounds.
On another note, is Sandipan one of Anand's remaining faithful seconds after Nielsen and Kasimzhanov moved on?
Extreme commenting, yes! This might become the mother of all video captured post game analyses. The translator also did a tough job. May be in that case it was not too bad, to have the translation breaks for catching up with the eloquent comments.
As most players after a long mach, Kramnik seemed to be very exhausted, but anyway awake and eloquent, while Svidler made the impression, to be just on operating temperature (may be a bit more) but not exhausted at all.
When I recall Carlsen in post game analysis, (as for some other elite players) for him it seems to be extremely awkward to form thoughts to sentences, as if he still were in a different universe, not ready to return to the real world. (Which in some respect reminds me at Stefan Zweig's fascinating novel "The Royal Game".)
Dennis, as a German with very few opportunities to meet native speakers, I only know the term "Extreme Programming" which is done pairwise, with the idea to get better quality when developing software. Is this one of the analogies you had in mind?
[DM: That would have been an interesting sense, but it wasn't intended. I was referring to the vigor of the the conference: both players ignoring the translator, analyzing nonstop, both using their own mouse, talking over the other on occasion, etc.]
I was looking for their post game analysis. I also enjoy Peter Leko and Nakamura post game analysis as well. Thanks for posting.
"In light of Svidler's near win against Kramnik using 1.c4 to create a full bodied middlegame with chances to outplay Kramnik, should Anand open with 1.c4 to play for a win in Round 4?"
Question asked and answered. Anand's 1.d4 ran into Kramnik's meticulous opening (to end of the game) preparation with Kramnik emerging the practical victor by getting an easy draw with the Black pieces.
Oh well, at least Anand retains the lead.
Grischuk's tongue in cheek comment about Kramnik's poor preparation with the Black pieces looks like a warning to Kramnik's opponents!
In retrospect, the most amusing part is when Svidler says at the beginning they should try and make it briefer than usual (at 5:31:23 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNxfDkMO9o8&t=331m23s, if anyone wants a direct link). It’s admirable how Both Kramnik & Svidler always try to win the press conference, regardless of the game’s result :-)
If I was very rich, I would try to arrange a match between these two wonderful GMs, not just for the games, but for their press conferences afterwards!
And the interpreter (translation is written, interpretation is oral) is doing a fine job. (I can judge; it's my profession.)
[DM: I grant the technical point (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_interpretation), but will probably stick to the colloquial terminology for blogging purposes. (But maybe not - the seed has been planted!)]
Does it seem to anyone else that Svidler feels more comfortable speaking in English than Russian? There was one point were they received a question in Russian, and while Svidler answered in Russian, he quickly switched back to English.
[DM: The thought did cross my mind once or twice, but he can barrel on just as well in his native tongue. He's just an impressive guy!]
Absolutely fascinating. Extreme commentary indeed. I have a working knowledge of both languages, and I would say that poor Anna Burtasova did well under the circumstances. Anastasia Karlovich, on the other hand, was oscillating between amused, annoyed, and detached. Great spectacle!
Just had the chance to watch this. Amazing. I think Svidler could very nearly pass for a native English speaker, and Kramnik speaks English quite well himself. I think if I were even a 'run of the mill' GM, listening to these two analyze would make me want to throw the board out the window.
Yes they know a lot!! But sadly even that doesn't prevent them from miscalculations and oversights. Look at the chance Be3 and Nc5 to follow.
I think if you had those guys around you all the time, you would be 200 points higher in your rating very soon.
[DM: You are right! Not necessarily that I'd be 200 points stronger, though it's nice to dream a little, but on those rare occasions when I've been able to spend prolonged periods of time with stronger players the effect was noticeable. At a bare minimum one is pushed to keep up, and even that sort of implicit deliberate practice makes a huge difference.]