Nono, Loek is the King. There can only be one. Short is - I dunno - maybe Short is the court jester. ;)

Incidentally, King Loek managed to win his game against the Jester today. :)

Corus is a successful tournament, so why would they change a successful team???

I appreciate greatly your coverage--Bianca is a charming interviewer. Corus is a wonderful source of Chess fun for all of us world-wide, including even us on the western side of the Atlantic.

Short is the king! Love his comments...

She's back, Viva Bianca! :)

Rini,

don't forget your handkerchiefs....

The trouble with Corus is the shameless cronyism that dominates the allocation of jobs. Official photographer - Fred Lucas, just like every year. Videos - Peter Doggers, just like every year. Presenter - Bianca Muhren, just like every year. Press chief - Tom Bottema, just like every year. These people are all fine, but there are many other people who could do as good a job, or better. Why not give them a chance, once in a while? But no, this is Corus - jobs for the boys, the Corus Cronies. The only way anyone else will ever get a look in is the principle of Dead Men's Shoes.

Congrats, Peter - you have a job for life. It wouldn't matter if Martin Scorcese offered to direct the videos, free of charge - he would not get a look in, not all the while Peter Doggers lives and breathes. Exactly the sort of insular Dutch cronyism that Donner always deplored about his countrymen...

In any case, Peter Doggers (presumably, as I don't know anything about the other guy in that respect) has two advantages over Martin Scorsese:
- He knows a thing or two about chess
- He knows Dutch.

While I am at Dutchies doing a good job (no reason to replace them): I don't know who Robert Misset is [couldn't find his ELO, if any] but IMO he did a good interview with Carlsen in/for "de Volkskrant" yesterday - arguably better than the much discussed pieces in Time Magazine. It's in Dutch and apparently not available on the Internet. Some selected quotes (I won't translate the whole page):

"I received my first GM norm in Wijk aan Zee, it remains a special tournament for me."
"Kasparov says that now I always have to convey that I am the best." (Kasparov zegt dat ik nu altijd moet uitstralen dat ik de beste ben - what is the best translation of "uitstralen"?)
"In a way I try to combine Karpov and Kasparov in myself."
"I think the WCh cycle is now much more unfair than in Kasparov's time."

And ... "FC Twente and PSV are on top [in the Dutch football competition]. Is it correct that they haven't lost a match so far?"
Frequently the entire sports frontpage is about football, here it is only mentioned near the end of the interview :) .

Did anyone notice that Naiditsch failed to win - a very difficult - but seemingly won position against So? Is there any endgame-expert who can confirm this?
If I remember correctly the mirrored position *(with a black pawn on a3, Bishop b2, a white pawn on a2) occured in Timman's famous game against Velimirovic.
Of course here the pawns are one line up - but doesn't this make it an easier job for white?

I just keep on wondering...

@Frank van Tellingen: I was watching live and checked with online tablebases - not every single move, but whenever I did it was a theoretical draw.
But I am not an endgame expert, so I cannot comment which detail(s) make the difference between won or drawn. The more recent similar (but not identical!) endgame between Kramnik and Ponomariov @ Tal Memorial was won at the onset - it took Kramnik a bit longer than Shredder to prove it, but he succeeded before the 50 move rule would have interferred.

@ edwin ?? @ michael x tractor (what 's in a name):
I like the spontaneous style in the interviews by Bianca Mühren, look at the videos with Hans Böhm and Nigel Short.
What Kosteniuk? Come on, Bianca is my chess queen :)
This is what chess reports need! I can´t wait for her next interview with Loek van Wely, another warm hearted Brabant person (like Bianca and like me!), that must be fun.
The same praise for the always improving videos by Peter Doggers, never change a winning team!