J-dog wrote on 10/04/06 at 04:31:05:


Okay, here's what I think of the Meran status at present (an opening which i played from 1500 to ~2200 now): Old Meran 6. Bd3: Kramnik only plays 8.... Bb7, and anyway 8... a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11. Nxb5  gives White a small annoying nibble according to my last theoretical information.
8... Bb7 9. a3: Black can draw, unlikely Topalov will repeat. Unless he gets pissed (sorry for the pun) by Kramnik's "i was interested in soccer" comment. 

Main line 8... Bb7 9. 0-0 a6 10. e4 c5 11. d5 will suit Kramnik well since he created some significant theory here himself, so he should play this line capably even without specific preparation. 6. Qc2 b6 suits Topalov fine: a tense complicated middlegame where White can dictate matters. So Kramnik should play 6... Bd6! when I think Topalov doesn't have a good sharp move, since 7. g4 is definitely a dubious choice against Kramnik!

My conclusion? i think 6. Ne5 Slav is more likely..

Don't forget both Kasparov and Leko desperately switched from 1. e4 to 1. d4 in the middle of their matches with Kramnik! Kramnik should be super-booked on the Petroff with Motylev and Rublevsky on his team. 

iirc Topalov started out in his career as a 1. d4 player. The first move is hard to change, inevitably one always goes back to the childhood love, especially in the most crucial events. Experience and understanding counts more than knowledge of theory i think, even at 2800. 

I predict a 6. Ne5 Slav for the next game, with possibly a new idea by either side.

Scholar,
I strongly feel that Topalov should test Kramnik's Semi-Slav again with the 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 move order.  This is his best chance to get a sharp, complicated game that would suit his talents.   

I think the Meran proper is a good battle ground for him, I'm just wondering if he is hitting any stumbling blocks in his preparation within that system finding new paths that hold some promise of a fight.  I would have thought this wouldn't be tough considering the nature of the Meran, but I don't know the latest of the latest on its theory.

The Anti-Meran 6.Qc2 is also a tempting choice, trying to initiate a slugfest in the 7.g4 labyrinth.  However, I am fairly certain that Kramnik would avoid this with either 6...b6 (likely) or 6...Be7 (unlikely but possible).  Even so, the 6...b6 lines might have enough juice in them that he could squeeze out a few drops of "play."  Kasparov even used it once to beat Vallejo; on the other hand, he later admitted to playing dull openings vs. the Spaniard in order to dampen his creativity.

All in all, I would pick the most complicated and protracted struggle if I were Topalov even if the position is only equal or unclear.  I like the Meran.

OK.  Enough.  Everyone has his opinion, and if it were likely to change, it would already have.  I know that today between the rest day and uneventful draw, there might not have been much to talk about, but as long as actual chess games are occuring, let us all just agree to focus on that.  (If the match gets cancelled, as it sadly still might, we can all go back to this endless debate.)

So let's just give me the last word, shall we?

I am more more interested in knowing what Topalov will try in the next game -- he seems to be getting less and less from the opening.  To be held to draws in three straight Whites cannot be good for his sanity.  Kramnik claimed that he was more worried about football in game 4, and in game 6 it seemed that he barely broke a sweat.  If game 7 goes the same way...

TopNotch wrote on 10/03/06 at 22:53:14:


No, on the contrary, I'm quite happy to rest on the points that I've already made -- particularly since some here have expressed distate for seeing the discussion continued.  My major points have, so far as I can tell, scarcely even been engaged by my rhetorical opponents here, let alone refuted.  Fortunately, the validity of my case doesn't depend on the degree of agreement it finds here.

TalJechin wrote on 10/03/06 at 15:31:50:


This particularly lopsided match was over quite awhile ago, the final score: Cox 12 Markovich zilch.

Not only was Markovich defeated in the match, but also in all subsequent post mortems. His only aim now seems to be in trying to get the last word in. 

We should at least let him win that.


Topster

Klick wrote on 10/03/06 at 13:49:32:


I also agree with Klick. The match is on again so let's use this thread for the match. Tales from the Toilet is evidently the right place for the legal discussion - aka Markovich vs ROW 

IMJohnCox wrote on 10/03/06 at 13:55:23:


What disadvantage?  If the ruling had placed Kramnik at a recognizable disadvantage in subsequent chess games, then I would say that he had no alternative but to cease play in protest.  It would not have been an appropriate remedy to the complaint, in any case, to place Kramnik at any sort of disadvantage.  I don't think many reasonable people will say that Kramnik was disadvantaged by having to use an alternative bathroom; particularly since his opponent had to use it also.

Oh well, we can always say, this being chess and the Test of Wills and so on, that any even mildly irritating ruling places a highly tempermental GM at a "disadvantage."  Well, I'm sorry, but if you're a sporting competitor, grow up and learn to live with some little irritations and some trivial decisions that don't go 100% your way.  If being told to put your clock on the other side of the board (which would have been a more significant impingement on Kramnik's game than the change of bathrooms!) is going to throw you off your game, retire and play correspondence chess. 

If we're going to say that this ruling placed Kramnik at a disadvantage, what possible ruling on any subject, if hotly disputed by a player, could not be said to place that player at a "disadvantage?"