http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/ en-us 2008-12-29T19:12+00:00 http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1226641354.shtml See for yourself here, at least if "Russianbear" has translated the original right on Mig's Chess Ninja message board. At the press conference at the end of the match, following... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-14T05:11+00:00 here, at least if "Russianbear" has translated the original right on Mig's Chess Ninja message board. At the press conference at the end of the match, following game 11, Kramnik seemed to say that not only was his preparation inadequate, but that he'd need to change his chess as well. According to the present interview, however, Kramnik thinks his chess is fine; what he really needs is a permanent team a la Anand and Topalov (and of course before them, Kasparov).

That's undoubtedly a very good idea, but is that all that really needs to change? My initial inclination is to say "no", but the more I think about it, the less sure I am. Topalov, for example, made a huge jump after doing some very heavy work with Ponomariov and then taking Cheparinov on board as a semi-permanent second. Kasparov and Anand benefited from such relationships as well, so I'm not in a rush to discount the idea. We'll see!

HT: Brian Karen]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1226012018.shtml ... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-06T22:11+00:00 Here it is, once again c/o Jaideepblue (who should use an email address I can successfully reply to when he writes me).]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1225860488.shtml The match is over, and Viswanathan Anand has retained his championship title, defeating Vladimir Kramnik 6.5-4.5. In the first half of the match, he dominated in every respect: his preparation was... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-05T04:11+00:00
As the match wore on and neared its end, though, Kramnik started to turn the tables. Now it was his preparation that was better, and he started pressing in every game. It wasn't enough to save the match, but it did turn a rout into a genuine contest with a little drama.

So this week, in our final show on the match, we'll take a look at the last act. Game 9 was a great chance for Kramnik, who was just about winning near the end. In game 10, Kramnik even managed to win with his best novelty in the match. And then there was game 11 - a very interesting contest, but one in which Anand reasserted himself and drew confidently, putting an end to the match. Good and interesting games one and all, and we'll examine them tonight, Wednesday night, at 9 p.m. ET. Log on to the Playchess.com server, go to the Broadcast room, and find Anand-Kramnik in the games list. Hope to see you there!]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1225770697.shtml ... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-04T03:11+00:00 here (HT: Jaideepblue), while (HT: Brian Karen) a Jan Timman interview can be read here in its original Dutch or in some form of English on this translation page. Timman comes across as a pretty crotchety fellow in this interview, even citing as his own some ugly comments made by Mssrs. Kasparov and Topalov.]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1225680318.shtml This interview with Surya Shekhar Ganguly isn't all that informative, but it isn't content-free either. It's a reasonable way for Anand fans and others to spend a minute of their... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-03T02:11+00:00 This interview with Surya Shekhar Ganguly isn't all that informative, but it isn't content-free either. It's a reasonable way for Anand fans and others to spend a minute of their time.

HT: "Titu"]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1225655951.shtml ... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-02T19:11+00:00 This one from the Telegraph of India addresses the "killer instinct" issue, while this page on the ChessBase site includes two interviews while linking to many more (both print and video).]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1225553593.shtml It's a puff piece, as it should be, but it's still a nice, quick read.... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-11-01T15:11+00:00 It's a puff piece, as it should be, but it's still a nice, quick read.

HT: Jaideepblue]]> http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1225463310.shtml So said Anand in a post-match interview with The Hindu. I hope that's another lesson Kramnik (and everyone else) learned: if one won't be a good sportsman out of respect... Dennis Monokroussos 2008-10-31T14:10+00:00 The Hindu. I hope that's another lesson Kramnik (and everyone else) learned: if one won't be a good sportsman out of respect for one's opponent or a golden rule ethic, he should at least avoid taunting out of self-interest. (I can certainly confirm this from the point of view of the tauntee: few things have motivated me more strongly than a trash-talking opponent: I train harder, I'm more concentrated, etc.) Learn from Kramnik, by not doing what he did.

HT: Brian Karen]]>