Karpov recently made a controversial statement that Anand was playing like a computer and he was not as strong as he was a decade ago! (Source: imchess.com)
Do you agree with Karpov?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Karpov’s take
A decade ago some player defended his FIDE title against Anand (1998). I wonder who that was?
my thoughts exactly
Sounds like Karpov is a Kramnik fan. It’s interesting because if memory serves me correctly at one time that was the knock against Karpov’s style. I don’t even know exactly what he meant by the remark. Anand is fundamentally a tactician who won the match through dynamic play in unbalanced positions, hardly a robot.
An interesting comment by Karpov.
Charles Sullivan (http://truechess.com/index.html) gives us the best evidence on which to assess this statement.
His study looked at World Chess Champion playing accuracy using Rybka [version 2.3.2a], and a modified version of Bob Hyatt’s open-source Crafty program [version 20.14].
According to this analysis the ranking of Champions Based on Best Year and Best 2 Years [Excluding Draws] places Fischer (1st) and Anand (2nd).
It is very interesting that this analysis should show Fischer as the most accurate player (at his peak) of all time, particularly as this was before the era of computer training or analysis,
Over the same Best Year and Best 2 year periods, Karpov’s accuracy was ranked 11th and tied-9th respectively.
I hope people stops talking about grandmasters playing like a computer, as if they had help under the games.
Of course grandmasters are playing like computers. A computer plays mostly logical moves. So does a strong grandmaster. Nothing weird with that…is it?
Everyone is playing like a computer these days except morozevich, shirov and few other players.
It seems like a cranky comment – like many he was probably surprised at how well Anand played and how badly Kramnik played. Anand’s preparation was very strong – and given the wide use of computers to help prepare, it is not surprising that more and more, players who originated or spanned from the pre-computer era, have a hard time appreciating the moves of a modern era. It maybe like the era of Hypermodernism when those odd non-center centric moves struck the classically trained players as odd and backward.
What Karpov is missing is that the best computers start to imitate the best grandmasters but not the vise versa.
That stupid russian.
We can also take it as a compliment to Anand.
What Karpov said seems to imply Anand is playing more accurately than a decade ago but of course less creatively.
Is it possible for everyone to play like Fritz 11?
Anonymous 10:02 AM mirrors my thoughts exactly. Some of these comments made by (former or current) top chess players are not necessarily malicious. Most of them are taken out of context but then we all come out here, unfavorably analyzing the person who made the comment.
Karpov probably simply meant that Anand’s style has changed from more original, creative and perhaps occasionally speculative to more rigid, precise and computer-like; the compromise on creativity being a surge in playing strength.
whatever!! Anand is the champ and best active player now!!
i agree with the 10:02 and 10:18 anons.
Karpov now is talking like an idiot. If Anand is playing weaker than he did a decade ago…then Kasparov was playing super-human then and Kramnik must be playing really bad now! How ridiculous! First Kasparov talking trash, now Karpov!…And we thought that Fischer was the only one to lose it!
I have the right to play like Rybka! (At least if I can) 🙂
Funny that I always thought that Karpov’s style was ‘dry’, but, it did the job! Now we have Russians are saying stuff about the Indian Champ Anand such as ‘He kicked sand in Kramnik’s face, he won’t win’ & Karpov’s statement: ‘He’s not as strong as a decade ago & less creative’. Stop the (old Soviet-style) B.S!
Kramnik was defeated by Anand fair and square! I thought Anand played some great chess!
Well, Well, Well.. Is it a eurocentric or russian centric, i presume that Karpov couldn’t digest the great Indian conquest. It was crystal clear,Anand outsmarted Kramnik in his preparations and tactically he was superior. One thing for sure, you can wake up people who are sleeping but it is tough to wake up people (like Karpov)if they pretend to be asleep.
i agree with anonymous 10:02 and 10:18.
i read karpov’s comments, and i dont remember him saying anything about anand strenght, i believe that is a misquote. he just said that anand had lost some creativity in his game, which makes sense in this computer days.
An aside –
Maybe he just meant its OK to lose while playing creatively so that everyone can take digs at Anand. The familiar ones – No Killer Instinct, No Champion Qualities, Not Dominant, Not a good Match Player. Lucky Anand! Saved himself.
Judging creativity is hard to do without being subjective. The closest I see how to do objectively is to measure setting problems for one’s opponent.
Sullivan’s study (comment #4 by alchessimist) includes a measure of “complexity”, and scales the raw deviations from Rybka+Crafty’s best move down in complex positions. I have been developing a more-detailed model that (when finally tuned) will compute expected deviations for both the featured players and their opponents. The higher the latter, the more problems set for the opponent. My model requires taking data for (at least) the top ten moves in every position, so my engine—a special private version of Toga II which I know has not been regressed against GM games—needs to run far longer per move to reach depth 18 as in Sullivan’s study.
Thus a “dynamic” player with a higher error rate may benefit if he/she also created a higher expected rate for the opponent. It will be interesting to see whether this work restores the likes of Tal and Alekhine (at their peaks) to the parity their over-the-board reputations would suggest. Alternatively, it may reveal that “positional” players are also the cagiest.
Two words:sour grapes
Perhaps Anand playing 1.d4 instead of 1.e4 as much=less creativity according to Karpov?!
Karpov is a walking joke.
yes, by all means karpov is living joker now. by critising anand this way, he has dug his grave. these russians can not digest as they see it splipping from their hands one after the other..whatever this funny karpov and other russians say, india and china will rule the game in the coming years…i watched all the 11 games of the WCC match, and i was surprised to see anand’s accuracy in making computer recommended moves in complex positions..one thing that I have to appreciate…that is appreciation of Susan ! she has made it totally impartial and that is why we all like her like anything and she is awesome in many ways.
He said less error, more precise (thus stronger)and computer-like but also less creative. So I think he could be quite right.