Interview Archive
Did I just mention interviews? Go here (HT: Brian Karen), and you'll find interviews to keep you busy for days. It's far from comprehensive, and it doesn't look as if has been kept up to date, but it's a fun browse all the same.
Did I just mention interviews? Go here (HT: Brian Karen), and you'll find interviews to keep you busy for days. It's far from comprehensive, and it doesn't look as if has been kept up to date, but it's a fun browse all the same.
From the Financial Times, c/o Jaideep Unudurti, and better than the usual patter.
When we left off yesterday in our Cap d'Agde recap, Anatoly Karpov had drawn the first game of his semi-final with Mariya Muzychuk while Etienne Bacrot had defeated Vassily Ivanchuk. After that, Karpov defeated Muzychuk in a long and eventful ending to make it to the final. First it was a knight vs. bishop ending, then a fascinating pawn ending, and then a queen ending Karpov pulled out after more than 100 moves. Bacrot then defeated Ivanchuk a second time, and Saturday's final was set.
Karpov and Bacrot drew both rapid games (25' + 10"), and so the match moved on to a blitz phase (), and only here did Karpov taste defeat for the first time in the entire tournament. Unfortunately for Karpov, he lost both games - and despite having won positions in both. In the first, blunders near the end cost the game, while in the latter he was still winning in the final position and so presumably lost on time. Alas - but that's blitz. Despite his tremendous success in the preliminary stage Karpov still came in second overall, but even so it was a fantastic result. Of course a very good result for Bacrot as well, and congratulations to both players are in order.
It was a close, but in the end #25 Notre Dame triumphed in this friendly rivalry game, scoring the last touchdown and (finally) making a defensive stop at the end to win their seventh game of the year.
Three wins to go (plus the bowl game).
Next victim: Pittsburgh.
Music lovers, this one's for you:
I just wish they'd hurry up about it. Right now Navy has just regained the lead in a back-and-forth struggle, 34-31, with just under 9 minutes left in the game. The inevitable glorious Notre Dame success is being televised on NBC. (No reading material today as I was out coaching some of my young charges at a scholastic chess event.)
Getting caught up on the preliminaries of the rapid event in Cap d'Agde, Anatoly Karpov coasted in after racing out to an 8/9 score. He drew four of the remaining five games quickly, only bothering to win against bottom seed and tailender Nino Maisuradze (who probably shouldn't have been there). His score of 11/14 was good enough to take the top qualifying spot with ease.
Etienne Bacrot took the second spot with 9 points, but the last two qualifying spots weren't so cleanly decided. Three players finished with 8 points - Vassily Ivanchuk, Yannick Pelletier and Mariya Muzychuk (with Marie Sebag just a further half a point behind), and so they needed a playoff to eliminate one of the three. Ivanchuk and Muzychuk each won once against the other while shutting out Pelletier. That answered the question of who would be in the semis, but Ivanchuk and Muzychuk needed two more games to see which would be the third seed and which the fourth. Their first game was drawn and then Ivanchuk won the second, which meant that the semi-final pairings would be Karpov-Muzychuk and Bacrot-Ivanchuk.
That's where we are today, and as of this writing we're at the halfway point in the semi-finals. Muzychuk had White in the first game against Karpov, and it was a draw, while Bacrot won with White against Ivanchuk in their first game. And now you're caught up.
My second post on the ChessUSA blog is up, wrapping up the game and puzzle addressed in the initial post. Have a look, and in the meantime here's something you can do to help. The series needs a good name, and we don't yet have one. What would you propose? (The format is to have one post a week offering a tip or instruction, and the other weekly post to present a new puzzle while answering the previous week's poser.) Your help will be most appreciated.
Anatoly Karpov's crazy streak continues, and he's up to six straight wins. In round 8, opening the second cycle of the preliminary round of the Cap d'Agde rapid tournament, Karpov defeated Vassily Ivanchuk when the latter blundered in a better position, and then in round 9 the ex-champ beat Mariya Muzychuk as well. Is this tournament being sponsored by the Make-a-Wish Foundation?
One fears it's too good to last, but in the meantime enjoy the fact that Anatoly Karpov, 62 years of age and retired from serious play for going on 15 years, is leading after the first cycle of Cap d'Agde with a magisterial score of 6/7. He has won four games in a row, including wins over Yannick Pelletier and second-seed Etienne Bacrot (who is in second with 4.5 points).
Starting tomorrow they'll begin the second cycle of this rapid tournament, and once that's over the top four will play elimination matches for the championship. Karpov is in great shape to qualify: Marie Sebag and Maria Muzychuk are tied for third-fourth with 4 points apiece, and I would be surprised if they maintained their placement. Half a point behind them are top seed Vassily Ivanchuk (seven draws!) and Pelletier.
Starting this past Thursday and continuing indefinitely, depending on reader interest, of course, I will write twice a week for the ChessUSA website, on their blog. Those posts will not duplicate my work on here, and will be aimed at a more introductory audience - from relatively serious casual players to low-to-mid-range tournament players. One post a week will offer some sort of advice or illustrate some useful theme, while the other will present a puzzle and explain the solution to the previous week's position.
I hope that many of you will help me get that other blog up and running, and even if the content turns out to be a little too simple for you, please get the word out to those who might benefit from and enjoy it. Of course it's also a commercial site, so if you're looking for chess equipment I hope you'll check out their products. (I don't get paid by commission, but if people aren't buying anything my column there probably won't survive.)
My first post is here; more to come!