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In the 1980s, when rapid and active controls were officially recognised, Fide allowed ratings established in rapid play to be applicable at classical controls. This was never satisfactory. Rapids and blitz tend to be heavily dominated by tactics. That is something young players who calculate well can excel at, without having to learn too many nuances about structure or endgames, etc. A certain tightly controlled technical style, as favoured by Anatoly Karpov, Magnus Carlsen and Michael Adams, is most difficult to play at fast controls. It requires calculating tiny details and noting minute changes.
It made sense to separate ratings. The top 100 rankings in blitz and rapid present a different picture from the classical. The World Blitz and Rapid Championships are scheduled to start on June 15, in Dubai and this looks wide-open. The 2013 edition saw Shakhriyar Mamedyarov winning the Rapid with 11.5 points from a 15-round Swiss, ahead of Ian Nepomniachtchi (11) and Alexander Grischuk (10.5).
The current No 1 rapid player is Hikaru Nakamura, at 2841. The next few are Fabiano Caruana (2840), Grischuk (2828), Carlsen (2827) and Vassily Ivanchuk (2811) - a total of five players with 2800-plus ratings. Viswanathan Anand is at No 15, a far cry from the days when he was indisputably the best rapid player. Nakamura (2879) tops in blitz as well, with Sergey Karjakin (2866), Levon Aronian, Carlsen, Vachier Lagrave and Anand next in line. There are 10 players with 2800-plus blitz ratings.
The original rationale for rapid time controls was that it could attract more sponsors. Maybe there's some truth to that. Dubai is having no trouble hosting the World Blitz and Rapids. There are no takers yet for the title match and the Olympiad also has financial issues.
Meanwhile the Karpov-Poikovsky invitational saw Alexander Morozevich and Ivan Saric sharing the lead with 3.5 from 4 games. It's a nine-round robin with classical controls and a decent field. The top six of Nepomniachtchi, Pavel Eljanov, Dmitry Jakovenko, Étienne Bacrot, Morozevich, Alexei Shirov are all 2700-plus while Emil Sutovsky is the lowest rated at 2642. This is not just a strong field, it is composed of highly aggressive players who take chances. The US Championships are being held in St Louis, as usual at the high-class chess centre there. Varuzhan Akobian leads the Open section with 5 from 7 while Anna Zatonskih leads the Women's section with 5 from 6.
The diagram ( Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Vs Peter Svidler Candidates 2014) , WHITE TO PLAY, features a spectacular finish from the reigning world rapid champion in a classical time scramble. "Shakh" played 28.Bf7+! Qxf7 29.Rxf7 Rxe3 30.Rxg7+ Kf8 31.Rg5!! (1-0). Now 31.-- hg5 32. Bxe3 leaves white with distant passers and an easy win. The normal 31. Bxe3 Kg7 gives drawing chances.
