Here are excerpts of all the Gary Kasparov comments made during Game 6 with commentators GM Peter Svidler and New in Chess editor Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam.
Click to read Gary Kasparov Anand Gelfand 2012 Game 6 Comments compiled by B&W.
Boris Gelfand commented on Garry Kasparov’s statement that “the uniqueness of this match lies in the fact that, for the first time in the modern history of the game, the World Championship Match will not decide who the strongest player in the world is.”
Boris Gelfand - Clearly, Garry wants to remind those who have forgotten that he was once the strongest chess player in the world. I believe that, not only in chess, but in life in general, people place too much stock in ratings – they pay attention to which TV shows have the highest ratings, how many friends they have on Facebook, and it’s funny. The best shows often have low ratings and it is impossible to have thousands of real friends.
Click to read Gary Kasparov Anand Gelfand 2012 Game 6 Comments compiled by B&W.
(Kasparov arrives just as commentators speculate a draw!)
- It (the game) could end at any moment. You cannot transfer more Re1 Qc6. This position is so-so. Considering the game we are analyzing the game now. i was asked by one Indian journalist about pawn sacrifice and he expected me to be very excited about it, but I am not sure. Did they follow some kind of theory?
- I mean the position after Rac8? Is it brand new? Yeah, because this is the only critical moment in the game that deserves our attention. If White has nothing but to give up the pawn on e3 then... because Black is now easy. Queen goes somewhere and Rfd8... Vishy played very quickly so I assumed he analyzed the position. This is a position machines don't go wrong in. Giving up a pawn, a healthy central pawn in the opening means he was very confident that White had nothing significant. No way to consolidate the position.
- Vishy is known for his very deep preparation. Definitely it's not a line that happened unexpectedly.
- Everyone used to play Nb4. It is 10 years old.
- Even if he postpones h5 and Black goes h6 big deal. Time to go to Qc6 and start trading the rooks. The pawn structure with exchange on c6 is not much.
- Vishy is very good at neutralizing small initiatives.
- I don't see very much. One surprise is Gelfand is playing Gruenfeld and it seems he caught Anand by surprise. In Game 3 Anand was close. I haven't analyzed the game but somehow instincts told me that White had a winning move. But it requires a certain precision which Vishy definitely doesn't show in last few years. You had to be very, very precise by and he totally missed that Black could quickly create counterplay for draw which was sufficient.
- It was again an instinctively thing because the position was not like you could play by hand, like Spassky would say, the climax of the game and the form of a great great player can be defined by his ability to smell the moment. Clearly Vishy missed this moment. Probably he needed to spend 20 minutes because there was a unique chance.
- I wouldn't say that the protracted crisis benefits one player or another. They both are under huge pressure. Gelfand hasn't won a game against Vishy since 1993 so that definitely makes you psychologically defensive. As for Vishy, I think he's just sliding downhill. He wants to win, he knows he's the better player, but that's not enough. You know that, big deal. You have to win. I think there's huge pressure on both sides for different reasons. Safety is definitely the buzzword of the event.
- I compare this match to previous matches since I left chess - Kramnik-Topalov, Anand-Kramnik, Anand-Topalov. In all the three matches they were tense, there were lot of ideas, it was not just about decisive games, you could see there was so much fighting spirit from both sides. they were players of the highest caliber and no one was hesitant to take risks. Anand, against Kramnik, was phenomenal. His match against Topalov was a draw. Now it is defensive.
- Vishy has lost motivation. Indian journalist criticized me for being so critical about Anand losing motivation so I felt as Indian chess fan you should be more concerned about Anand losing motivation than what I say.
- Hopefully, we can still see some sign of the greatness of the past, but if you look at the record from 2008 to 2012, four years and it's not very inspiring.
- When you see his (Anand) play in Moscow, London... it's not about tournament play. It's about sparkle in the eye. He has won many tournaments. In a tournament you win by winning x number of games. But it's his strategy in a match you can still prevail. It would be different ballgame if he were playing Carlsen or Aronian.
- Gelfand, considering the score, and the pressure on him as it his only most likely chance to gain the crown. By being under such pressure I think he is doing fine. Again as a chess kibitzer I would like to see more aggressive chess by both players. I just want to have fun. But as someone who has played enough world chess championship matches, I know there are certain situations where you have to be more concerned about the result. So, I think Boris is probably trying to raise the stake. Because at the very end... they both can stumble, but I think, the chances of Vishy getting confused is higher because Vishy very often, stumbled in critical moments. Maybe that is Boris' calculation. If he braves the pressure, maybe if the match reaches last two games.
- If we go from chess and mathematics into casino lines then Gelfand's chances are improving. His overall chance to be victorious is better because psychological will play a more dominant role and Anand was not the most stable player psychologically. So if chess becomes subordinate to psychologically then it is Gelfand.
- Gelfand in Kazan managed to preserve the energy to the last moment also by playing matches and tiebreaks. His last game with Grischuk is an example. To conserve energy for the one blow. That should be a signal for Anand.
- If first eight games are drawn then...
- It is difficult to follow live if I am traveling. But if you compare to the match played in Zurich (Kramnik-Aronian) but there was not this much pressure. Maybe if they played a world championship match they would play differently. But their match was proof that classical chess can be attractive. Two players top-notch they were fighting to the last moment. In game 5, there was symmetry and in lot of games there is shaking of hands... and oh... but they created interest.
- But again if you have Kramnik and Aronian and they could create great interest it was great joy for me as an ex-professional.
- Looking forward to the candidates. Lot of excitement there. It is a long event but probably at the middle of the event some players lose their motivation which may effect the results. That's why I always thought the tournament system would require an extra match between players no. one and two so as to minimize the effect of the some of the lower players influencing the overall result.
- I am playing a simul I hope they are not too strong for me! I do play some exhibitions but not as aggressively as before.
- School chess - it's a full-time involvement.
- Talent in Russia, I don't know but looking at the recent results in the u-18 Russia is doing better than 5-10 years before but it is not as mighty as before. We miss a strong player in the Carlsen generation. Nepomniatchi is a good player but not the level that can compete with Carlsen and Aronian. So after Grischuk, Russia does not have a player of that caliber. Correct me if I am wrong. Karjakin is not Russian but let's say... but...
- Hopefully guys next few days will provide more fire on the board.
Boris Gelfand commented on Garry Kasparov’s statement that “the uniqueness of this match lies in the fact that, for the first time in the modern history of the game, the World Championship Match will not decide who the strongest player in the world is.”
Boris Gelfand - Clearly, Garry wants to remind those who have forgotten that he was once the strongest chess player in the world. I believe that, not only in chess, but in life in general, people place too much stock in ratings – they pay attention to which TV shows have the highest ratings, how many friends they have on Facebook, and it’s funny. The best shows often have low ratings and it is impossible to have thousands of real friends.
Viswanathan Anand - For his part, the World Champion said that he tries not to pay attention to such comments and only focuses his thoughts exclusively on what is going on in the match.
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