2008 World Championship Chess Updates!

[Phil C]

It is going on right now between the 38 year old current champions Viswanathan Anand and the former world champion 33 year old Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.

The match is a 12 game match with the winner needing 6.5 points to win and there is a tie breaking set up that I won't go into here.

Right now Anand is ahead by 5 - 2 and only needs to score 1.5 points to win it. I think he will be able to win the match.

Excitement indeed!

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by Phil C
It is going on right now between the 38 year old current champions Viswanathan Anand and the former world champion 33 year old Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.

The match is a 12 game match with the winner needing 6.5 points to win and there is a tie breaking set up that I won't go into here.

Right now Anand is ahead by 5 - 2 and only needs to score 1.5 points to win it. I think he will be able to win the match.

Excitement indeed!

Do they make "Fatheads" for either of these guys, PHil?

[GUNHO]

How do they score the matches Phil?

[Phil C]

Originally posted by GUNHO
How do they score the matches Phil?

Each win counts 1 point for each win and for each loss they get 0 points. If the game is drawn each gets 1/2 point. That is why in a 12 game match like this one then the one who gets 6.5 points is the winner. If after 12 games they are tied they use rapid chess (where you only have a few seconds to move) format to decide the winner. This is unfortunate because the players are not at their best. It is like a shootout in hockey or penalty kicks in soccer.

[Phil C]

Remember that in chess it is best to play with players at your level or a little over. If you play too many below you won't get the competition you need. At the same time if you play too many too high above your level you will get discouraged.
When using a computer start at the lowest rating and when you can win consistently like maybe 3 out of 4 times or so then you advance to the next level.

[Phil C]

The game today is over and the game was a draw so now he leads 5.5 to 2.5. There are four games left in the match. I still think he will get the points to win it.

[Necks_Fan]

I like chess. When I used to play alot, I was pretty good. Still one of the better ones in my school, though some get the ebst of me every now and then.

[Phil C]

After ten games Anand is still ahead 6 to 4. There are still 2 games left and all he has to do is get a draw in one of them and he will win the match.

[Necks_Fan]

So, Phil, who won?

How long does an individual match typically take at this level?

[Phil C]

Probably about 5 hours per game. They schedule games a couple of days apart for rest time. The matches if they go to 12 games last about a month. Anand is probably going to win because all he needs is a draw in the last two games.

[Phil C]

The next game is tomorrow. Anand just needs to draw one of them and he wins the match.

[Phil C]

Game 11 ends in a draw and Anand gets the 1/2 point to give him the match at 6.5 to 4.5. He is officially now the world champion in chess.

Well done Mr. Anand!

[Phil C]

The next world championship will be in 2009 where Mr. Anand will have to defend his title. After about a dozen years of disunity it is good that FIDE has got its' acts together (and hopefully got politics at a minimum influence) that we will get an official world champion from now on. Challengers will meet and tournaments and one will emerge to play the champion for the world championship in chess as we all wish.
Prior to 1866 the World Champion was unofficial and generally considered the one who had the best tournament and match methods. After 1866 it became more official when Wilhelm Steinitz became champion but it was not satisfactory until 1948 when the FIDE started to control it.
Between 1866 and 1948 the champion had too much control of it. The champion would play who he wanted too and would make unreasonable financial and playing conditions. They would not even defend titles against the most worthy opponent of the time. Steinitz was guilty of this as was Emanual Lasker who won it from him in 1921. Lasker did defend it several times but not against the best opponents. When Jose Capablanca became the main challenger after his great win at the San Sebastian tournament Lasker wouldn't play him until 1921 when Capablanca was in his prime. Lasker should have challenged him right away in 1912 but refused to so so.
Capablanca was a great champion and dominated it but he should have defended his title more. He was upset by Alexander Alekhine in 1927 and then Alekhine refused the rematch and chose inferior opponents. Don't get me wrong. Lasker and Alekhine played great chess players but they were not the ones who should have been the challengers.
In 1948 the FIDE took over and Mikahai Botvinnik won a tournament and was declared world champion. After that challengers would meet in tournaments and matches and then play the current world champion for the crown. Even though politics sometimes had too much influence it was better than what we had and we basically had a real world champion in chess for the most part. Hopefully, we are starting back in that direction.