Pardon our Blunders recap for 2/16!
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Welcome everyone to another recap of Chess.com/TV's Pardon our Blunders, which was open to Platinum/Diamond members and aired at 10 AM Pacific time.
There were a total of 12 topics today, including the Blunder of the Week, for which I will be inserting the two PGNs for. I will also be pasting any links that were used during the show, as there was a lot, plus there is a YouTube video to be watched as well, so all of that will be included this week.
So with that in mind, here are the topics with the necessary links next to them
Topic #1: Being a chess journalist, you would think that I'd be interested in the Aeroflot Open or keeping an eye on it...right? Wrong! I paid absolutely no attention to it this year, mainly because coverage wasn't relayed on Chess.com/TV like it was last year. Yes it was all over Twitter, other chess sites, and the great articles here written by Ryan (SonofPearl - Chess.com's News Editor). But for some reason, it didn't spark me this year and even the guys mentioned that they weren't too keen on it this year. Why? Was it the line-up involved this year that turned people off? I mean yes there were some great players and some awesome games played. There were also a lot of blunders in the opening rounds, but for some reason it seemed different this year. It was a close finish down to the wire and that's good that it creates excitement like that, it just did nothing for me and it sounded like it did nothing for Danny and David as well.
Topic #2 - So, is Topalov's career in the twilight now? His upcoming match vs. Fransisco Vallejo Pons at León means what to him, and the chess world in general? Last year, it was Anand and Shirov going at it, which received a pretty good amount of press if I remember, but is this going to mark the beginning of the end of his professional career? Will this have implications or dire consequences if he loses? According to the 2012 Rating List, Topalov was 2770 and Pons 2705. But Topalov has dropped a few points since to around 2750 or so. What does this all mean now for the Bulgarian GM, who began his downward spiral after losing to Anand in Sofia back in 2010?
Topic #3 - And to relate this topic to #2, will he (Topalov) ever reach the Top 10 again. The smart money would be on the answer of "No" here. Since losing to Anand, getting married and just not playing that much chess or even high quality chess, it's pretty safe to say that it's the 11th hour for Veselin Topalov.
Topic #4 - There were two comparison links in this topic, one of them included a video from YouTube, which is below. One of them, the first one, is from the weekly The Full English Breakfast (FEB) which showed an GM and IM playing on a giant floor chess set using G/3 time controls. Here's the vid:
And the other is a video showing Magnus Carlsen and Lars Monsen going at it in an odd time control format with 3 minutes for Monsen against Magnus who only had 30 seconds on his clock. Monsen, as David said, is a decent tournament level player, but no where near the caliber of Mag-Town. Now the video in the link up in the topic list had trouble loading, and if you can bear sitting through an add displaying a half-naked David Beckham, then watch the clip in its entirety. So what would be more interesting to watch? Masters battling it out on a giant floor chess set or watching two players of different levels using different time controls?
Danny also got it into his head to challenge the FEB guys to a giant chess board match to see who the best would be. This should come as to no surprise to anyone who knows Danny. He's always looking for new ways to do things and this challenge to FEB is a pretty neat idea and got most of the chat room agreeing with him on it. I guess I'll drop a line to Macauley Peterson later tonight.
Topic #5 - How does one prepare for a tourney after having layers of rust built up on them after a period of non-competitive play? Or maybe to those who have never participated in a weekly tournament before, what would be the way to get in the right mind-set you need to get in for tournament level play?
Danny: Look yourself in the mirror. Get yourself checked out, don't play chess ever again and run away screaming. You will open a door to a love/hate relationship that you can never escape from.
David: Play a game under tournament conditions with a friend of yours to get yourself used to the time controls. Record the moves, play touch-rule, hit the time clocks and play one game like that.
And for players that have "ring-rust," obviously listen to David here and not Danny, unless of course you've had enough of the masochistic emotional roller coaster ride that chess can give you.
Topic #6 - Scotch or King's Gambit? Well we all know David's answer here since he is a KG player. According to Danny, the Scotch was one of the favorite openings used by Kaspy in the 90s and favored by many champions over the years and it's completely under-rated. When it comes to KG, he went on to say it's like giving your opponent a stick to beat you with until you're ugly. And David wants to protect the members at this site from playing a Scotch Game. Naturally, two polar-opposite views here especially from Danny who at times last year challenged David on PoB predicting he can beat David's KG. Each time, Danny fell short and couldn't pull through. I thought we were going to see more of that in this show as things were getting a little heated and the chat was egging them on. I know I was. Get ready for it people, it's going to happen. Danny's Scotch Game vs David's KG.
Topic #7 - Will one of the most prestigious Super-GM tournaments, Linares, after being cancelled last year, be active this year? The two links above, one of them to my blog a little ways back shows that there will be a Linares tourney this year, but will it be the "Open" version or the "elite GM" version that we've all come to know and love. Naturally Ryan or myself will keep tabs on this and report whatever we see and hear about, but on the show there were conflicting views of Danny's "Yes" and David's "No." Hopefully there will be but only time will tell. It's bad enough that we lost the Amber blitz tournament, but losing Linares permanently is another shot in the arm.
Topic #8 - Yes it's fun to beat someone in chess. A friend. A loved one. A relative. Anyone! Right? But does it feel better beating a person you just don't like and do you just want to smear his chess brains all over the board? Sorry for being so graphic there but is it true? Is there someone you don't like, in general or in tournament play, who really gets your short hairs in a knot and rubs you the wrong way that you just want to "ground and pound?" Beating someone in a game of wits like chess I think means more than beating them up physically, although I guess depending on the person that would feel good to *WARNING* - I or Chess.com and Chess.com/TV do not condone violence of any sort unless it's for self-defense only. Mr. Miyagi would be proud.
Topic #9 - If you were the tournament organizer at this year's U.S. Championships, who would be the two players you would want to invite as "Wild-Card" participants?
Danny: Nakamura (highly doubtful to accept invite). Sam Shankland. He then went on to say either himself or David should be invited since they bring a large crowd and following from Chess.com. There was really no one else Danny could think of here.
David: They should go clearly to Nakamura and Shankland
Sub-topic debate "poll" Should Danny or David get an invite to the US Chess Championships?
Topic #10 - When you're watching top-level players, what do you think is the perfect time controls for the game so you can sit back, have a cup of tea, and watch the game, picking up analysis and bits of information from the commentators, if there are any? Can you relax for 5 hours watching US Championship games or the World Championship games? Me personally, since I LIVE-Blog events, I've gotten used to watching longer games because it's more enjoyable and I'm able to follow it closer without having to worry about "rush analyzing" a position before a move. Or do you prefer faster paced lightning quick action because your brain can follow it better? What are the best time controls for you to watch/observe Masters? 25|5? 30|10? Higher? Lower? Myself personally, l like the longer games. When I LIVE-Blog the Kramnik/Aronian April match and the May World Championship match, I'm going to be enjoying every slow paced second of it.
Topic #11 - Sadly, U.S.C.L. games are not broadcasted on Chess.com and our USCL group here has reached a level of inactivity that's pretty sad. But I myself am looking into a way to jump-starting it. Not like I need any more things to do but I'll think of something. But about 10 days from now, Chess.com's 2nd Deathmatch between the "Clash of the USCL Commisioners" will be taking place and Chess.com is already getting inquiries from top players to participate in this. So what's better? Is the USCL more exciting than a death-match? David, until he witnesses a death-match, is going to stay with the USCL but Danny, of course, is going to choose the death-matches because of the commentary and the interaction between the commentators and the members watching the show.
Topic #12 - Blunder of the Week - There are two submissions this week, one from each of our Hosts.
David: Aeroflot Open - Round 7 - Bartel/Caruana:
Start at move 14.O-O in one of the most crucial games of the tournament. 14...Kf8 is played in response to the short-side castle. After 17.Nxe4, Black's h8 Rook and f8 King are both misplaced and White has the Bishop pair, then everything is downhill from there.
Danny: Aeroflot Open - Round 8- Tomashevsky/Melkumyan:
Start at 51...b3 in the rook endgame where White is clearly ahead. And in turn 52. g4 Kg6 was played. White committed to a sharp line and be aggressive with the King coming forward and pushing the pawns let black go with some "weird active counter-play" as Danny put it. Play through the game if you can see what White missed?
OK that's it everyone. Sorry for the amount of time it took to get these up but it was a day full of group forum glitches. Watch the show if you want and have the time and have a good night.
-Mark