Current standings in my poll would suggest that this is the case, as the current position of the voting is:
Kramnik 52%
Anand 23%
Aronian 17%
Morozevich 5%
Does anyone else find it odd that Anand and Aronian are warming up for the World Championship tournament by playing 960 and Rapidplay at Mainz just 4 weeks before it starts?
Does it have any relevance at all?
Is this what seemingly separates someone like Kramnik from other contenders and that his focus for the past few months has been solely that of retaining the World Championship?
As professional chess players, I'm sure Anand and Aronian are doing plenty of preparation with their opening repertoires, studying thousands upon thousands of games, but will that extra focus be the enduring factor which retains the title for Kramnik?
Friday, 17 August 2007
Kramnik Overwhelming Favourite
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3 comments:
I guess it's a difficult question - whether you build up energy by not playing, or build up rust instead. Different for different players maybe?
Yeah, I wondered if their philosophy was along the lines of "a change is as good as a rest".
I think at this stage, if they play chess at all, that they do not reveal their opening preparation. So, with chess960, their secrets are still well preserved. But, how many opening secrets can they keep after playing years of chess and against each other? I am not too convinced that these players will become rusty by not competing openly. There is a very good chance that their seconds play against them regularly, testing their opening preparation all the time.
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