Kramnik beats Wang Yue 2-0, takes over lead at Amber

18 Responses to “Kramnik beats Wang Yue 2-0, takes over lead at Amber”

1. bertje on March 17th, 2009 22:59
   

   haha. That music in the video. In dutch we say Who laughs last , laughs best.
   Go Kamsky
2. Jan on March 17th, 2009 23:46
   

   As always, the blindfold games of Kramnik are awesome.
3. Guillaume on March 18th, 2009 00:15
   

   Yes, awesome games by Kramnik. He makes it look so easy.

   On a sidenote, I hope he will shake hands with Topalov.
   “De l’eau a coul?© sous les ponts.”
4. Thomas on March 18th, 2009 00:40
   

   Concerning the Kramnik quotes in Peter Doggers’ report: If I remember correctly, at an earlier edition of the Amber tournament Kramnik said that he would like to play the second game also blindfold!? Guess he was joking, and apparently it would be against the rules.
   And I agree with Guillaume’s sidenote. If anywhere, the overall relaxed atmosphere of the Amber tournament would be the right time, place and moment. The question is who would be first stretching out his hand, and would the other one actually refuse it …. .
5. chessblog on March 18th, 2009 02:17
   

   Today’s Topalov-Morozevich mini-match was highly entertaining.

   In the first game, maybe Topalov rushed to exchange the queens by 16..Qa6, while playing 16..Nc6 was good enough and if 17 Rc1 d3! with the idea 18 Qd3 Nb4!; Fritz recommends 16..Rd8 instead.

   In the rematch Topalov-Moro, I am wondering if 23..a4 with idea Nb3 was the culprit as Moro could have tried perhaps 23..b4 ( with idea ..b3) 24 ab4 ab4 25 cb4 Ne6! and the pawn will be regained later on. It’s hard to fault Morozevich’s play in the first 20 moves.

   The Spanish opening is very popular in Nice…

   Thanks for explaining what Nunn was up to the previous day. World-class kibitzers on the french riviera !
6. Ok on March 18th, 2009 02:29
   

   again as usual fantastic job peter.
7. John A. on March 18th, 2009 06:12
   

   Hi, what is the name of the song from the video “You Never Know”? It is a nice tune
8. jussu on March 18th, 2009 12:30
   

   Kamsky was so talkative and in good mood! Must be really great atmosphere there.
9. ChessGirl on March 18th, 2009 15:55
   

   bertje we have the same saying in Spanish: “quien r??e ??ltimo, r??e mejor”. I suppose it¬¥s a big universal truth
10. vaughn on March 19th, 2009 19:04
    

    if kramnik and topalov doesn’t talk eachother than how they agree a drow,wich was today’s case?
11. Peter Doggers on March 19th, 2009 19:18
    

    At blindfold it was easy. Just repeat moves three times, stand up and walk away.
12. VB on March 19th, 2009 20:44
    

    Topalov – Kramnik both games drawn after three repetion.
13. Thomas on March 19th, 2009 21:50
    

    Topalov and Kramnik have drawn before without talking to each other … : From Arne Moll’s report on Corus 2007:
    “The draw between Topalov and Kramnik arose in a completely bizarre way. After move 44 it was clear the position was dead drawn. What would happen now? … A pair of knights was exchanged. Kramnik looked up for a second. Topalov nodded. Kramnik took his scoresheet and signed it. While the arbiter was putting the kings in the middle of the board, the scoresheets were exchanged. … A historical moment!”
    I just looked this up because I wasn’t sure if another option had happened: one player calling the arbiter to CLAIM a draw (the final position was knight vs. pawn).
14. ChessFan on March 20th, 2009 03:54
    

    Yes, this whole Topalov – Kramnik thing isn’t good. They are professionals, they should act like pros.
15. jussu on March 20th, 2009 12:37
    

    “Yes, this whole Topalov – Kramnik thing isn‚Äôt good. They are professionals, they should act like pros.”

    Well, not that I am happy about their behaviour, but if they truly loathe each other from the depth of their heart, then this is probably the best they can do. A chess professional is a human, too. At least they shake hands when resigning – how ugly would it be if they avoided even that.
16. Peter Doggers on March 20th, 2009 12:41
    

    True. They both are OK with the current status quo.
17. Arne Moll on March 20th, 2009 14:51
    

    @jussu, not that it matters much, but they do not shake hands when resigning. At least, during Corus last year, when Topalov beat Kramnik in the famous Nxf7 line, the latter simply signed the scoresheet, stopped the clock and walked away…
18. jussu on March 21st, 2009 11:18
    

    Ouch

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