Round 8 matchups at Foros:
Carlsen, Magnus – Onischuk, Alexander
Shirov, Alexei – Ivanchuk, Vassily
Svidler, Peter – Karjakin, Sergey
Eljanov, Pavel – Jakovenko, Dmitry
Van Wely, Loek – Volokitin, Andrei
Alekseev, Evgeny – Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Your prediction? How many points will Carlsen end up with?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Onischuk will hold him easily. Go Alexander!
I think Magnus will get two wins and two draws in the remaining 4 games. He will then have a result of 9/11 in AeroSvit – 2008, and become no 1 on the Fide ranking, with ELO above 2800
Magnus is Bobby. Bobby is Magnus.
All hail the King!
It seems Anand can stop him
“Can Magnus be stopped?”
YES!!!!!!!!
I will stop him.
Vyshi.
Kamsky can stop him- he has won 2 mini matches against him- the second more convincing than the first- who is to say he wouldn’t still beat him in a match?
Remember matches are different to tournaments. Don’t just go by rating.
Just because Kamsky accidentaly won with Carlsen some time ago it doesn’t mean he can stop him. Besides, Carlsen is still progressing and Kamsky isn’t.
The first mini-match Kamsky won over Carlsen was back in 2005, when he of course was much weaker, although it is said he at that point suddenly started to play at 2700 level, but it doesn’t really count.
As far as the second victory goes, Magnus had played an extreme amount of games up until that point, while Kamsky was much more fresh. It really showed in the games, because Magnus played quite energy less chess. Anyhow the element of luck is quite big in these mini-matches and you can’t tell too much based on them. Many overestimate how good Kamsky is as well, thinking he is like a 2800 player in matches. Some people still believe he is World #3, even though it’s ages since.
“As far as the second victory goes, Magnus had played an extreme amount of games up until that point, while Kamsky was much more fresh. It really showed in the games, because Magnus played quite energy less chess.”
People tend to forget that in their last ‘mini match’ Magnus had played several long and exhausting games beforehand. So when he faced Kamsky he was already really tired (he’d also played several tournaments with almost no breaks). Did you guys see the photo of him during that match? He looked ill.
Besides, Kamsky’s victory wasn’t that convincing: Magnus simply gave up in a position that he would normally continue to play (he’s a fighter who rarely gives up unless it’s a clear loss). If the last game had ended in a draw, the ‘mini match’ would have ended in a 1-1 tie.
But more importantly: I think Magnus would beat Kamsky if they played today. Magnus has made significant progress in 2008, and so assuming that Kamsky would beat Magnus now simply based on the fact that Kamsky has beaten Magnus before, isn’t a very good idea.
It is not a good idea to assume Magnus would beat Kamsky in a match either based on tournament success. All I am saying is Carlsen is yet to prove himself in matchplay which is different to tournaments so wait until he gets a decisive victory there before you jump to any conclusions. I still believe Kamsky would beat Carlsen in a match which atleast has some real match evidence for, as opposed to just looking at form. By the way I thought Kamsky would win the world cup in 2007 long before he did- it was no surprise to me despite his relatively low rating – Kamsky knowswhat is required in face-offs check his 1990s success. Carlsen is still lacking in such experience.
Do you guys know how good Kamsky was in match play? Don’t under-estimate him in a match. He has beaten Anand and Kramnik in match play. (Kramnik by 5-1 or something!) That level doesn’t just go away, especially as he is not old.
Magnus has proven himself in match play. He has reached very far in all World Cups. He recently won his rapid match against Leko, a player he has had problems with. And Magnus was impressive in his match against Aronian, although he didn’t go through, but his ability to fight himself into the match again was staggering.
I think it’s likely Magnus will be even better in match play than tournament play. He is a fighter, playing out all games. In a tournament you end up playing more chess than your opponents, and you might become somewhat tired compared to them. If he plays in a match, his opponent will always play as much as him, and play more than he is used to, and get more tired than he is used to, and not be less tired than Magnus because he has palyed less.
all this talk about Match play. I see no reason why magnus wouldnt be the favourite against kamsky if they played, say a 14 game classical match. Carlsens energy and relentless pressure would be to much for kamsky. Anand havent proven himself either in recent match play, doesnt mean he should not be considered no1 until someone overtakes him.
Only Rybka or Kasparov will be able stop Carlsen in the future.
Anand and Kramnik won’t have a hope.
Kamsky? Doesn’t even come into consideration.
Come back to chess, Gary. You will finally have some real opposition – and someone who won’t dodge you!
Let us wait and see. We can say what we think all we like. Let Carlsen actually win a match against one of the big 4 Kramnik, Anand, Kamsky, or Topalov, then it will be irrefutable.
The Kamsky point was not saying that Carlsen would not be so good in a match- more that Kamsky is much better in a match than a tournament and so tends to get under-estimated by his low rating these days- but might still win matches against Anand/Karmnik/Carlsen for all we know. It is yet to be tested. There is no rush- all I am saying is don’t be too quick to assume Carlsen will already be the best match-player.
Well, that’s what they said about Fischer before he won his matches in 1971-2 – that he had only played in tournaments, that he only won these by scoring massively against the ‘weakies’, etc.
Let’s be real. Unless there is a massive upset in Carlsen’s life, or he loses interest, he is the next Fischer, the next Kasparov.
Kamsky is not nearly the player he was in the mid-90’s (a long time ago) – he has not recovered that sort of form. He is also not physically fit, having grown fat on American junk food.
In any case, Kamsky’s match record then was not that overwhelming.
He did beat Kramnik by 4.5 – 1.5, but to be fair, Kramnik was only 18 [though it certainly refutes the claims of those who say Kramnik is a great match player].
He drew one match with Anand, then won the rapid playoff to get the right to play a match with Karpov for the FIDE title. Anand won the second of their matches – the one that really mattered, the right to play Kasparov for the real Title in 1995 – by 2 points.
Kramnik is the best chess player this world has ever had. He is the only World Champion to have claimed not to have thrown or caught any game in his life.
Kramnik has a not so nice distinction as a world champion who has NEVER been the higher rated than all other players throughout his career (he was tied for 1st twice.) To be even in consideration for the best ever, you have to have been the best at some point- when he tied for 1st, he was lower ranked on the list before and after- so has little claim to having been the outright best at any point in his career. Even when he beat Kasparov, he did not do well enough against others.