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In chess. Viswanathan Anand, a player from India, has been named as the number one chess player in the world. To an avid chess player such as myself, who has played in tournaments in the past (poorly, I might add :lol
, this is earthshaking news.
In the Fischer-Spasky days, it was the Sicilian defense, with stunning moves which could turn a game around in only one move. Then for many years, the Russians dominated with the French and Caro-Kann (the French defense is still my favorite when I have the black pieces), which were painstakingly positional games. Now the Sicilian is back in vogue with new lines, making it the best defense for black, although the Queen's Indian defense has also made a big comeback. With the white pieces, the Ruy Lopez is the game of choice, as it avoids the pitfalls of the Sicilian and Queen's Indian, but in that case, black can still counter with the French or Caro-Kann.
I have gone over many of the games Anand has played, and this guy is a genius. When analysts see a losing or draw position, and computers see the same thing, Anand is able to to use his intuition to create a new line and win a game where there was no win. This is something that very few players, even masters and a few grandmasters are unable to do.
What makes this newsworthy is that the USA has not dominated chess for quite a while, and now the Russians, for whom chess is the national pastime, are beginning to go down to defeat. We now see the rise of India, the nation where chess originated thousands of years ago through a board game called chatturanga. Back to the beginning.
Article is here.
, this is earthshaking news. In the Fischer-Spasky days, it was the Sicilian defense, with stunning moves which could turn a game around in only one move. Then for many years, the Russians dominated with the French and Caro-Kann (the French defense is still my favorite when I have the black pieces), which were painstakingly positional games. Now the Sicilian is back in vogue with new lines, making it the best defense for black, although the Queen's Indian defense has also made a big comeback. With the white pieces, the Ruy Lopez is the game of choice, as it avoids the pitfalls of the Sicilian and Queen's Indian, but in that case, black can still counter with the French or Caro-Kann.
I have gone over many of the games Anand has played, and this guy is a genius. When analysts see a losing or draw position, and computers see the same thing, Anand is able to to use his intuition to create a new line and win a game where there was no win. This is something that very few players, even masters and a few grandmasters are unable to do.
What makes this newsworthy is that the USA has not dominated chess for quite a while, and now the Russians, for whom chess is the national pastime, are beginning to go down to defeat. We now see the rise of India, the nation where chess originated thousands of years ago through a board game called chatturanga. Back to the beginning.
Article is here.
