KrazyBread's 2010 FIDE Chess

[KrazyBread]

1003 Anand-Topalov Game 8
Draw (-163) 3 weight
The last two times Topalov had white, he led with 1. D4, and the games wound up being Semi-Slavs that were very drab draws with the queens being exchanged early and neither side taking any chances. Anand should be playing very conservatively now that he has the lead in the match, so it's doubtful he'll go back to the Gruenfeld. Should be a boring game.

[KrazyBread]

Brutal Loss for Anand with a double question mark on move 54 costing him an easy draw. We move on.
0-1 -4.89 units

[Craps Master]

LOL. Someone actually has the moxie to post a chess pick with analysis here at RTP... then loses. Alas.

[KrazyBread]

Anand-Topalov Game 9
1001 Anand to win +258 (2 units)
Every game so far where Anand has had white, it's been a Queen's Gambit Accepted where he had not trouble securing the initiative. He obviously did a great deal of pre-match preparation in the QGA, and Topalov has had trouble defending at times. Games 2 and 4 were very easy wins for Vishy.
Topalov held the draw the last two times, but Anand is still 2-0-2 with White in the match, so have to think there's value in the +258 after he blew an easy position in the last game.

[KrazyBread]

Anand had the initiative the whole way but couldn't close the deal; disappointing since it looked at move 55 like he had a clear win.
Results 0-2 -6.89 units

[Craps Master]

The saga continues.

[BennyProfane]

Before KrazyBread collapsed into an alcohol induced coma earlier, he asked me to post this.

Game 11
Anand +453 3 weight
It's his last game with white, so have a hunch that Anand is going to be unveiling whatever his best prepared opening variation created during the pre-match think tank. Anand is 2-0-3 with white so far, and was never in danger of losing any of the games; Topalov has been mostly lucky to hold three draws with black. Other than that, I believe that the reasons cited in the previous write-up were mostly correct, and now getting an almost outrageous price, it's simply too good to pass up.

[Samo]

I've never bet on chess.

I found KrazyBread's posts interesting.

[PerpetualCzech]

It's a level. There have been no Queen's Gambit games so far, never mind Accepted (which is very rare).

[PerpetualCzech]

Love the Hockeynutesque writeups though.

[Craps Master]

Isn't Queen's Gambit the strongest white opening?

[PerpetualCzech]

Well for it to happen Black needs to reply 1 ... d5, so White can't get into a Queen's Gambit opening without co-operation. And if it does happen then accepting the pawn is not common.

According to the chessgames.com (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/explorer?node=75972&move=2&moves=d4.d5&nodes=10703.75972) database if the game starts 1 d4 d5, 2 c4 (Queen's Gambit) then White actually loses more than he wins (39.1% to 39.8%). Plus it's only accepted 13% of the time (5071 out of 37696 games). Interestingly, Black even wins quite a bit more often when he accepts than the more normal decline.

Anyways, there were no Queen's Gambit games in the series so far. Love the writeups though, keep em coming.

[Craps Master]

According to the chessgames.com (http://www.chessgames.com/perl/explorer?node=75972&move=2&moves=d4.d5&nodes=10703.75972) database if the game starts 1 d4 d5, 2 c4 (Queen's Gambit) then White actually loses more than he wins (39.1% to 39.8%). Plus it's only accepted 13% of the time (5071 out of 37696 games). Interestingly, Black even wins quite a bit more often when he accepts than the more normal decline.

That 39.8% is for draws. White is 39.1% win, 39.8% draw, 21.1% lose. This source (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adam.bozon/stats.htm) has similar, albeit not identical, data for the Queen's Gambit (scroll down to the summary section). What's interesting in that link, too, is the high placement of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. I can confidently say I've never used or played against that opening.

[KrazyBread]

Results 0-3 -9.89 units
While not a comically bad pick, Anand was clearly a wrong sided loser. His big novelty was to try the English, but then after securing a small initiative, he exchanged queens, and tried to win an endgame. Topalov was a pawn ahead, but then didn't push in the rook and pawn endgame and settled for the draw.
Small sample size, but I think we've identified that I don't know how to handicap chess.

[KrazyBread]

It's a level. There have been no Queen's Gambit games so far, never mind Accepted (which is very rare).

Games 3, 5, 8 were Semi-Slav's, which is a variation of the QGD. Games 2, 4, and 6 all transposed into variations of the QGA.
I'm not trying to get into a war of words with you because I know I'll lose, and I'm certainly in no position to talk trash, but imo, you're incorrect.

[Craps Master]

Results 0-3 -9.89 units
While not a comically bad pick, Anand was clearly a wrong sided loser. His big novelty was to try the English, but then after securing a small initiative, he exchanged queens, and tried to win an endgame. Topalov was a pawn ahead, but then didn't push in the rook and pawn endgame and settled for the draw.
Small sample size, but I think we've identified that I don't know how to handicap chess.

Perhaps this is all an elaborate level. Perhaps not. I didn't like your reasoning in your second pick.

[PerpetualCzech]

Games 3, 5, 8 were Semi-Slav's, which is a variation of the QGD. Games 2, 4, and 6 all transposed into variations of the QGA.
I'm not trying to get into a war of words with you because I know I'll lose, and I'm certainly in no position to talk trash, but imo, you're incorrect.

I might have my foot in my mouth here. Despite the handle I am no authority, maybe a 1700-1800 player. The 39.8% draw versus Black was a pretty bad brain fart too, I should have instinctively known that was impossible.

[Craps Master]

I might have my foot in my mouth here. Despite the handle I am no authority, maybe a 1700-1800 player. The 39.8% draw versus Black was a pretty bad brain fart too, I should have instinctively known that was impossible.

Thoughts on Laszlo Polgar?

[GroovinMahoovinPartDeux]

How did we have a chess thread without a reference to Aron Nimzovich?