Pardon our Blunders Recap for Oct. 6th

   Welcome to the new and improved method of doing these recaps that takes up less time and less room in the forum. This is even more important now as each Blunders show grows to double-digits in the topic department.

   The new condensed recaps will still include links and PGNs if necessary and shouldn't be too hard to navigate through. Instead of 10 or 12 threads, there is now only one. This is the first show with the new format so any loose ends will be smoothed out once I get used to doing it this way. So let me know how you like it in the comments.

   So let's get on with the show by starting off with the topic list for October 6th:

1) Is Ivanchuk going to collapse in the second half of the Grand Slam? 

2) Is Carlsen going to make a comeback?

3) Who is going to take the event?

4) Can study guides really replace a coach all the way up to the 1800 level?

5) Did the USCL make the right call in letting the accidental resignation stand in Klein-Holt?

6) Is the East or West stronger this year?

7) Topalov v. Irish team: Great result for Ireland? Disappointment for Topalov?

8) Danny v. Chess.com: Great result for chess.com? Disappointment for Danny?

9) Do we want to see top-10 level players doing events like Topalov-Ireland, or should they focus on quality round-robins like Bilbao?

10) For today's top players, with computer analysis and opening prep, is a study of the chess greats necessary?

11) Can Kasparov take another chess prodigy to the World's #1?

12) Blunder of the Week

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   Topic 1:   After the robbery and the ensuing consequences and in traditional Ivanchuk fashion, are we going to see a collapse towards the end of a great tournament by one of chess' ambassadors? Although he defeated Nakamura today, many say it was due to the time controls that have been set for the tournament. "Chucky" has had very streaky results in his chess career and who knows which Ivanchuk is going to sit down at the board from one day to the next.

   Topic 2:   In the massive second place tie in the second leg in Bilbao, Magnus is all grouped up with Anand and Aronian. Will Carlsen make one of his strong comebacks and take the tournament out from under Ivanchuk.

   Topic 3:    Who will win the overall tournament? Will Magnus comeback or Ivanchuk hold out? Perhaps Anand or Aronian will win the next 3 out of 4 games and make a play for the win?

   Topic 4:   Will Chess.com's new batch of Study Plans replace the need for a chess coach, even to reach the elo of 1800? If you're not doing the work and the studying, even with 20 hours of week with a coach, you still need another 40-60 hours of study time, especially if you want to reach 2000+ in elo.

   Topic 5:   In a recent U.S.C.L. game, FM Mike Klein from the Carolina Cobras accidentally resigned his game in a normal position against IM Conrad Holt of the Dallas Destiny. The U.S.C.L. upheld the accidental resignation and that made Carolina lose the match. The article for the mishap is here. After reading the article, do you think that the ruling should have been upheld or the match restarted from the current position?

   Topic 6:   Who is stronger this year in the U.S.C.L.? The East or West? According to the current standings (below), I think the numbers speak for themselves:

2011 Regular Season Standings

   What team can take down Chicago? David goes by data and Danny disagrees and says the West. There are good teams in the East, but I don't think any team can knock out the Blaze.

   Topic 7:  Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov had a clock simul against the Ireland's top 4 players and do the results fair Topalov or the Irish team more? It's obvious that Topa's career is coming to an end as he has barely been in tournaments this year. The result for this 4-board simul was +2/-2 as Topalov lost on board 1 against GM Alexander Baburin. The results and video can be found in the article here.

   Topic 8:  Yesterday on Chess.com/TV, Danny held a 5-board Simul on LIVE-Chess with 15/10 time controls against players from the chat room. The final result of the day was 2.5-2.5, with Chess.com members scoring 2 wins and a draw. The two wins came from the final pair of games as Danny found himself in losing endgames. For my quick-recap of the show, just click here.   

   Topic 9:   Back to the Topalov simul, is it more interesting to see GM Simuls like the Topalov simuls or in the Super-GM tournaments like Bilbao or the London Chess Classic? Like I mentioned, we all know Topalov is going out to pasture with his career but should more GMs participate in the Super Tournaments or do more simuls?

   Topic 10:   With the technology so widely available and computer chess programs so strong, is there still a need to study the Masters of the past like Capablanca, Korchnoi, Alekhine and Kasparov?  Is computer analysis replacing the need for studying the games of the past?  This is for IM/GM levels mostly but for us commoners and chess programs and the internet slowly replacing traditional chess books, what is the answer to get better?  I use books, programs like CB 11 and Fritz 12 along with the Chess.com tools to aid me in my games and knowledge. I still think studying Master games can build a good foundation to build on as you incorporate all of the tools on chess programs like CB, Fritz and Rybka. David showed this game to the chat audience:

   Look at 6. .c4 and analyze what was wrong with that move. GM Rozentalis has been playing the c3 Sicilian for 20-30 years and he over-valued his 8. Nd5 and 9. Bb4 moves and turned aggressive and was surprised when David played 10...Bd7. This was a very passionate and heated debate between the guys and if you missed the show, watch it On-Demand by clicking the "Videos" Tab on the Chess.com/TV page. It's always good to know classical and strategic chess concepts no matter what level you're at.

   Topic #11:   My blog on this subject was confirmed by Elliott that Kasparov *is* coaching Hikaru Nakamura but can Naka make it to the World's #1 like he brought Magnus to #1. Both Naka and Kasparov are media hogs and need attention but Naka could be the first #1 World-ranked chess player since Bobby Fischer. Can Kaspy work his magic once again?

   Blunder of the Week:

   David's Pick

   Danny's Pick - The robbery of Ivanchuk

   So that's it for this week's PoB show. Leave some good comments on the new format and obviously comment on the show itself, especially on the Blunder picks for the week.

   Have a great night everyone!

   -Mark