If I remember correctly they had 2,5h for 40 moves before computer era and time control 2h for 40 moves is relatively recent. Until today 90/40 time control has been used in 3 or 4 top tournaments and usually in every 2nd or 3rd game one or both players have 1 or 2 minutes for last 10 or 15 moves. Sometimes with 90/40 heavy time trouble is unavoidable and percentage of games decided in blitz is too high.

Ask yourself one question: What do you want from a game?

A) I want to see an interesting and decisive game eventhough players made a mistake somewhere.

B) I want to see a "scientific game" likely ending in a draw (players always look for the truth of the position, make practically no mistake and the game is likekly to end as a draw).

If you prefer B then you have no right to complain about players like Leko or Kramnik. They are always playing what they think is objectivly best. Other more dynamic players from time to time like to throw in a move that objectivly shouldn't work, but often does work in practice.

Aronian is on fire!!
4 wins in a row.....you don´t get to see that every day on Top Chess Tournaments

Bilbao point system and Sofia Rule give more exciting Chess! Congratulation!

Awesome scary play by Aronian. He is the future king. Should get a nickname like GK is 'beast from Baku' and Anand 'tiger from Madras'. How about 'max from Armenia'?

I have never complained about Kramnik and Leko. I think classical chess and rapid chess has right to exist. If you want to see plenty of mistakes watch rapid chess. I expect higher game standard from classical chess. I don't think there is something wrong with draw in a fighting game without mistakes.

The problem is 15 move draw with almost all pieces on the board (watch some disgusting games during this year's Bosna tournament). Sofia rule avoids it. I don't any reason to shorten classical time control if Sofia rule works.

Sorry A Crazy Between Thinkers

Levon or Lev means lion.
Why not the Armenian lion?
:)

Max From Armania? A Nick Name For Aronian?
Maybe This Is Better : A CRAZY THINKERS

By the way it goes nicely with the armenian tiger, it's perfect!

@PP
I'd agree if the time controls had been thoughtfully modernized, but they haven't. Simply reducing the time limits on the basis that "the first new move usually is played around move 25", fails to adapt to cases where there's a surprising novelty (or unknown move) much sooner. This is exactly the situation in the Aronian-Grischuk Bxb5 case.

The question isn't whether the time control is fair - which it clearly is -, but whether it gives players a reasonable amount of time to make their moves at a classical pace. Perhaps the Bilbao control makes sense for 25-moves-at-blitz-pace games, but if so, it's hard to see how it can make sense for interesting-novelties-at-move-10 games too. For that you'd actually have to think things through, rather than just arbitrarily slash the times.

For example, consider the following time scheme (intentionally relatively fast):
1) 60 minutes on the clock to start with.
2) 90 second increment per move.
3) Never allow more than 60 minutes on the clock.
4) No changes at move 40, 60 or similar.

This gives a maximum of 2 hours for moves 1 to 40 - but only if the player starts to think from the first move. If a player blitzes out 20 moves, he still has at most 60 minutes + the increments at any time, so he'd have 90 minutes to get to move 40. There'd be no daft, arbitrary blitz-to-move-40/60, then stop to think for ten minutes nonsense; all players would have at least 90 seconds to consider every move.
A similar system with a maximum of, say, 90 minutes, and/or 2 minute increments could work if a slower time-control were desired.

That might be "classical chess in a modern way". Sticking with the same arbitrary nonsense that's been around for decades, but reducing the numbers, is classical chess in a thoughtless way. Faster controls are fine, but they should be thought through.

With this shortened time control the quality of games are lower than in usual top tournaments. I am not sure that Aronian would have beaten Griscuk with white after Bxb5 in Linares.
I don't see any reason to shorten the time control. It is not classical chess anymore, it is rapid chess.

@Guncha: all players know the time limits. And probably make use if it if possible. I do not see any reason why this shortened time changes anything; this classical chess in a modern way.

I also do not see the problem. This is the era of the variantions where the first new move usually is played around move 25 or so. Sounds like more time per move than in the old days when players had to start thinking way sooner.

What about the "daily" rating update!?
Aronian must be close to Anand now!