WC, Top seeds dropping like flies.
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Personally, I'm no chess expert here, but I would say something like it just goes to show how close the competition is between the top 15 or 20 players in the world today. It seems as though anybody can beat anybody on a good day. I am a Magnus Carlsen fan, but I also really enjoy Ivanchuk, as an emotional favorite.
I noticed that they give no respect to ratings, seedlings or popularity. They play the board!
isabela14 wrote:
Why are the top seeds losing to much lower rated players? Is it the format?
No, Kasimdzhanov, Khalifman, Tan Zhongyi and Ushenina were just the best players in the world, it's the other formats that gave the false impression that Kasparov and Polgar were better :-)
Sep 12, 2017
0
#5
Just because they aren't the favorite doesn't mean they can't win. A higher rating just says that they are more likely to win against a weaker player. Also the competition becomes stronger every year.
There are many new talents.
Of course the format puts a lot of pressure on you if you lose one game. Let's say the weaker player wins with black against a GM like Anand, Karjakin etc. That means the stronger player has to play with Black in a must win situation. For us mere mortals it doesn't matter whether we have black or white. But for them having black in a must win situation they have to risk a lot and with black that's more difficult than with white.
Even if he's 100 points stronger it will be really difficult even for a world class player to play for a win with black. And why? Because the opposition isn't bad.
GM Kovyalov left his long pants at home, but some of these guys aren't wearing any pants at all.
To the OP: You will find the answer whenever you learn to play the game properly, and understand that it's much, much more in it than statistical numbers.
Why are the top seeds losing to much lower rated players? Is it the format? Or lower rated GM are just going all out for the win and the higher rated are just too cautiuos?