Friday, 11 May 2012

World Chess

http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/

This seems to be the place to go for coverage.
Nigel Short with his friend Dirk have been marvellous commentators today. I hope it will be like this for the next few weeks.

If these commentaries remain available on the website, Game 1 is worth some of your time. Not just for the game, in which Anand seems to make the early running, then Gelfand has definite chances but the draw was probably most likely all the time. The chess commentary and insight is wonderful, with Nigel in fine form with his wider wisdom, not having to pass comment in the aftermath of one of his own games.

But his memoir of Mikhail Tal, who he once played, on the subject of physical well-being with regard to intellectual games is a useful counterbalance to the argument that you need to swim five miles a day or you'll never finish the Times crossword. Tal was the least healthy person he ever met.

But, a little bit surprisingly, it's great to find these specialist chess gurus, with their unfathomable depths of understanding of the Grunfeld Defence able to talk appreciatively about art as well as chess. Duchamp, I think, is quoted as saying that not all artists are chess players but all chess players are artists, but, most gratifyingly for me, Dirk quotes Duchamp saying that 'to be a painter you do not necessarily have to paint.' I'm glad to hear that.

Top entertainment on the internet now that television has become almost redundant.