Joking with the Germans
I've had a reasonable start to my German chess league ("Schachbundesliga"), although not as impressive as my team as a whole. Werder Bremen (the mighty Green-and-White) currently sits equal first on the ladder with the behemoth Baden-Baden on 100%.
For some reason, perhaps because of the novelty of being Australian, I got a small write-up in the German chess press. (One astute reader has noted that the last three photos published in chess reports has featured the same dingy green hoodie, suggesting that it could be time to go shopping. To this, I say: Angus Young hasn't changed his outfit in 40 years, so I've got some way to go...) My German still isn't good enough to read articles without a handy online translator, but one thing that comes across clearly is a bizarre new nickname: Joker Smerdon. No explanation or context is given for the pristine nomenclature. Am I somehow considered mercurial in Germany? Is my joviality unusual for the Deutsche chess scene? Am I a wildcard for having played on the Sunday but not the Saturday? Am I to be compared to the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, "The Joker" from the batman movies (and, incidentally, a schoolboy chessplayer)? Does my chess style resemble amateur chess player Novak "The Djoker" Djokovic?
I honestly have no idea. In any case, the report features my comfortable win against German GM Alexander Naumann. Unfortunately, leaving out the background is a little unfair to my opponent. Poor Alexander had played a seven-hour game the day before, and had expected to play one of my teammates from Werder Bremen's Saturday match. On the other hand, I came to the game fresh and armed with tricky, targeted opening preparation. Here's the game:
The critical match for our club against Baden-Baden isn't until February. It's a shame it isn't now, seeing as their top two players - Anand and Aronian! - are currently unavailable. On the other hand, at full-strength their line-up also boasts Svidler, Bacrot, Adams, Shirov, Naiditsch and Kazimdzhanov - a team strong enough to beat any national team in the world. No joke.
