 "Chess (#1066)")
Garry Kasparov is long retired. But his larger-than-life personality still dominates discourse. GK is self-exiled from Russia - he is among Vladimir Putin's most vociferous political opponents. He has also announced his candidacy (sponsored by Croatia) for the Fide presidency in 2014 when he will be running against the incumbent, Kirsan Illyumzhinov.
In 2012, Anatoly Karpov ran against Kirsan with Kasparov's support, and of course, Karpov lost. The strongman of Kalmykia has solid support from the Kremlin and from emerging countries. So, GK is realistically, unlikely to unseat him. But he could force some reform in Fide's structure.
Kasparov will also be helping Magnus Carlsen in the title match next month in Chennai. GK has worked with Carlsen extensively before and of course, knows Viswanathan Anand very well. In fact, Kasparov is the only top player with a major plus score against Anand. He could plug possible gaps in Carlsen's repertoire and guide him into systems and situations where Anand feels uncomfortable.
The semi-mythical factor is the notebooks. GK retired in possession of vast stores of unused analysis. Some of this would have been independently discovered. But there could still be a few unexploded bombshells. The psychological guidance may be worth more than the analysis however.
Meanwhile, the Paris Grand Prix ended with a low-key final round. Fabiano Caruana had to beat Dominguez Perez to win clear first and book a place in the Candidates. He never looked like doing so, and drew in 19 moves by allowing a 3-repeat. That left Caruana tied with Boris Gelfand for 1-2 with both scoring 7 from 11. Hikaru Nakamura and Etienne Bacrot tied for 3-4 with 6.5 each.
Bilbao has gone into round 4 since then and the Russian Superfinal is into round 5. Bilbao is a double round-robin featuring Levon Aronian, Michael Adams, Shakriyar Mamedaryov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Aronian and Adams have each won one game and so has VL. Under Bilbao scoring, Adams and Aronian lead with 6 points while VL has 4 and Mamedaryov is on 3. In the Russian Superfinal, a 10-player round robin, Peter Svidler leads with 4 from 5 while Vladimir Kramnik and Nikita Vituigov are just behind on 3.5.
The diagram, BLACK TO PLAY (Vachier-Lagrave Vs Aronian Bilbao 2013) is from a wild game. Black played 33...Qa2? The engines say 33.--b2 wins - the key defence is b1=Q+ if white tries Rxg6. 34.Rxg6+! fxg6 35.Qxg6+ Kh8 36.Bd5! Rg7 37.Qxh6+ Rh7 38.Qe6? The alternative 38.Qg6 controls b1 and probably wins
Black defended with 38...Qb1+ 39.Kg2 Rg7 40.Rc8 If 40.Rc4 Qh7! 41.Rh4?? Qxh4 40...Rxc8 41.Qxc8 Rg8!. Time trouble over - black should win since 42.Bxg8 Qe4+! 43.Kh2 Kxg8 44.Qe6+ Kh8 45.Qxb3 Qxe5 is technically won - the a-pawn is deadly. Indeed it was 0-1 in 56 moves.
In 2012, Anatoly Karpov ran against Kirsan with Kasparov's support, and of course, Karpov lost. The strongman of Kalmykia has solid support from the Kremlin and from emerging countries. So, GK is realistically, unlikely to unseat him. But he could force some reform in Fide's structure.
Kasparov will also be helping Magnus Carlsen in the title match next month in Chennai. GK has worked with Carlsen extensively before and of course, knows Viswanathan Anand very well. In fact, Kasparov is the only top player with a major plus score against Anand. He could plug possible gaps in Carlsen's repertoire and guide him into systems and situations where Anand feels uncomfortable.
The semi-mythical factor is the notebooks. GK retired in possession of vast stores of unused analysis. Some of this would have been independently discovered. But there could still be a few unexploded bombshells. The psychological guidance may be worth more than the analysis however.
Meanwhile, the Paris Grand Prix ended with a low-key final round. Fabiano Caruana had to beat Dominguez Perez to win clear first and book a place in the Candidates. He never looked like doing so, and drew in 19 moves by allowing a 3-repeat. That left Caruana tied with Boris Gelfand for 1-2 with both scoring 7 from 11. Hikaru Nakamura and Etienne Bacrot tied for 3-4 with 6.5 each.
Bilbao has gone into round 4 since then and the Russian Superfinal is into round 5. Bilbao is a double round-robin featuring Levon Aronian, Michael Adams, Shakriyar Mamedaryov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Aronian and Adams have each won one game and so has VL. Under Bilbao scoring, Adams and Aronian lead with 6 points while VL has 4 and Mamedaryov is on 3. In the Russian Superfinal, a 10-player round robin, Peter Svidler leads with 4 from 5 while Vladimir Kramnik and Nikita Vituigov are just behind on 3.5.
The diagram, BLACK TO PLAY (Vachier-Lagrave Vs Aronian Bilbao 2013) is from a wild game. Black played 33...Qa2? The engines say 33.--b2 wins - the key defence is b1=Q+ if white tries Rxg6. 34.Rxg6+! fxg6 35.Qxg6+ Kh8 36.Bd5! Rg7 37.Qxh6+ Rh7 38.Qe6? The alternative 38.Qg6 controls b1 and probably wins
Black defended with 38...Qb1+ 39.Kg2 Rg7 40.Rc8 If 40.Rc4 Qh7! 41.Rh4?? Qxh4 40...Rxc8 41.Qxc8 Rg8!. Time trouble over - black should win since 42.Bxg8 Qe4+! 43.Kh2 Kxg8 44.Qe6+ Kh8 45.Qxb3 Qxe5 is technically won - the a-pawn is deadly. Indeed it was 0-1 in 56 moves.
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player