5 ms·
Another nail-biting draw!
by foobaw 8y ago
Another nail-biting draw!
- curiousgal 8y agoIt's the first time since 1978 (Karpov-Kortchnoi) that a world chess championship begins with 7 draws, the longest draw in a raw beggining in a world chess championship !
- nullbyte 8y agoWelcome to modern, boring chess. I wish we still had hyper-aggressive grandmasters like Mikhail Tal.
- deepnotderp 8y agoThe computer age has unfortunately sort of crushed that style of play :( It's hard to play sacrificially when the engine refutes your attacks
- ionforce 8y agoIf Leela and AlphaZero have anything to say, it's that there is such a thing as being overly materialistic.
- fabriceleal 8y agoSacrificing material for positional compensation is hardly a new concept
- pps43 8y agoWe do, they just don't qualify for the world championship. If Mikhail Tal was alive today, he would play boring chess, too. Otherwise modern GMs would just accept his sacrifices, not make any mistakes, and win.
- bonzini 8y agoThese games were all but boring. And nowadays there are great games being played, even if they end in a draw. Check out Carlsen-Svidler from earlier this year. Players like Tal had their share of boring games, it's just that we remember the crazy ones because they're fun.
- billforsternz 8y agoLate in his career Mikhail Tal put the fireworks away and transformed himself into a supreme technician. He set a record for the longest undefeated streak in chess history. Basically he'd fit right in today.
- MaysonL 8y agoInterestingly enough, that record was just broken by Chinese GM Ding Liren, who played 100 games before losing to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at the Shenzhen Masters tournament.
- beefman 8y agoCarlsen-Karjakin 2016 began with 7 draws.
- russellbeattie 8y agoIt's hard to change a game that's so old, but draws shouldn't be allowed, only stalemates. Imagine if the Lakers played the Warriors, and late in the 4th quarter, the game is tied, and LeBron and Curry decide they are tired, declare a draw and go to their locker rooms. Not particularly satisfying.
- Retra 8y agoYour analogy doesn't make sense. In basketball, if your opponent gets tired, that gives you a better opportunity to win. In chess, if the game nears the end and neither of you can see a way to win, then there's no good opportunity. Your analogy would make more sense to say the basketball game was tied and there are three seconds left on the clock and both players have broken wrists. Playing three seconds of game to risk injury is not worth it for either player. It also doesn't mean the game was unexciting.
- dwd 8y agoIn a championship match tiredness and losing focus is a big deal. A lot of draws are simply not wanting to risk burning out when there are more games to go. Saying that, Carlson once had a reputation for not agreeing on a draw and being able to maintain focus while his opponent faded and made a mistake.
- umanwizard 8y agoYou shouldn't comment so confidently about something you don't understand. The position is drawn. There was no way for either side to win.
- russellbeattie 8y agoYou shouldn't comment so snarkily to someone you don't know. I understand what a drawn position is, however players will regularly agree to a draw well before it actually happens. They choose to draw because of potential drawn positions. There's no reason for a game not to continue until there is an actual stalemate (or a set of similar circumstances, like a situation in which checkmate is impossible), or a blunder by one of the opponents.