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Tal Memorial starts tomorrow started – LIVE IM/GM COMMENTARY at ChessVibes

4 November 2009, 16.03 CET | Last modified: 13:50 | By Peter Doggers  | Filed under: Reports | Tags:

Tal Memorial: Live CommentaryWe received lots of positive feedback on our coverage of the Pearl Spring tournament (Nanjing), and this encouraged us to do even better during the Tal Memorial. With Anand, Aronian, Carlsen, Kramnik, Leko, Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Morozevich, Svidler and Ponomariov it’s the strongest tournament of 2009, and it starts tomorrow. For the first time we’ll be providing live IM/GM commentary throughout the tournament.
Update: pairings added

The Tal Memorial takes place November 4-18 in Moscow, Russia. The Memorial will consist of two events: a category 21 round-robin and the World Blitz Championship. In the round-robin Viswanathan Anand (India, 2788), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2786), Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2801), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2772), Peter Leko (Hungary, 2752), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2758), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2739) Alexander Morozevich (Russia, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2754) and Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2739) compete.

The World Blitz Championship will be held 16, 17 and 18 November. This event tournament will be attended by 22 GMs, including the round-robin participants and invited players A. Karpov, A. Kosteniuk, L. Dominguez, A. Grischuk, D. Jakovenko, J.Polgar and six winners of the qualifying blitz “Aeroflot Open” – S. Karjakin, V.Gashimov, S. Mamedyarov, E. Bareev, V. Tkachiev and Zhou Jianchao.

The first four rounds of the round-robin will take place in hotel “National” on November 5, 6, 7 and 8. Rounds 5-9 take place in the Main Department Store GUM on Red Square. The time control is the classic 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in 1 hour and then 15 minutes plus 30 seconds increment to finish the game. The rounds begin daily at 15:00 Moscow time which is 13:00 CET.

Live commentary

As one of the strongest tournaments ever held in chess history, the Tal Memorial is an excellent moment to introduce live commentary, we figured, and so this is what you can enjoy as of tomorrow. At our special live page www.chessvibes.com/live (how easy to remember is that?) the games and, more importantly, analysis by IMs and GMs will be provided. You will be able to follow the comments and analysis in the game viewer you’re used to, and besides, you’ll also find a chat window below the board. This way you can talk about the games with other visitors, and besides, this way the IM/GM will be able to answer questions from the audience every now and then.

Our team

Tal Memorial: Live Commentary

Our schedule for the Tal Memorial:

Thursday, November 5th, 2009 Round 1 IM Merijn van Delft
Friday, November 6th, 2009 Round 2 GM Sipke Ernst
Saturday, November 7th, 2009 Round 3 IM Robert Ris
Sunday, November 8th, 2009 Round 4 IM Robert Ris
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 Round 5 IM Merijn van Delft
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 Round 6 GM Dimitri Reinderman
Thursday, November 12th, 2009 Round 7 GM Wouter Spoelman
Friday, November 13th, 2009 Round 8 GM Dimitri Reinderman
Saturday, November 14th, 2009 Round 9 IM Merijn van Delft


As you know by now, at ChessVibes we like to experiment. Hopefully you will enjoy our live coverage – we’re pretty excited about it ourselves and we’ll do our very best to make the Tal Memorial a great experience for our visitors.

Update: full schedule (now confirmed):


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Comments

61 Responses to “Tal Memorial starts tomorrow started – LIVE IM/GM COMMENTARY at ChessVibes”

  1. aphasia on November 4th, 2009 16:15

    Great stuff. Thanks muchly. Chess lovers are now veritably spoiled for quality coverage of top events!

  2. Harish Srinivasan on November 4th, 2009 16:15

    Thats great news. Its tough to improve upon perfection. But chessvibes is at it. :)

    Will there be any video reports from the event? or from the blitz event?
    It will be great to have videos of the blitz games as the live transmission of the blitz games may not be possible due to DGT issues.

    Thanks

  3. Elz on November 4th, 2009 17:25

    Great stuff!
    Congratulations!

  4. nick burrows on November 4th, 2009 17:42

    Thankyou guys – this truly is wonderful!

  5. jaideepblue on November 4th, 2009 17:50

    Very nice, this is great news for chess fans everywhere. BTW, apart from being the strongest in 2009, isn’t Tal amongst the stronger tournaments in the last 5 years or so? Almost the entire Top 10 is present.

  6. jo on November 4th, 2009 17:58

    If you build it they will come:! all power to you.

  7. unknown on November 4th, 2009 18:41

    Thanks guys. Hope it will be English commentary.

  8. Rogelio on November 4th, 2009 18:47

    Congrats guys, this move may effectively take Chessvibes to the indisputable 1st. place among chess sites, if it’s not already there.

    When are going you to launch a chess server?

  9. Castro on November 4th, 2009 19:04

    Thanks, congratulations!
    No problems with copyrights, right? :-)

    Go Moro!
    And… Long live Mihail !!!

  10. Bootvis on November 4th, 2009 19:19

    Go ChessVibes!

  11. unknown on November 4th, 2009 19:34

    1st round pairings:

    Carlsen – Kramnik
    Morozevich – Leko
    Ivanchuk – Anand
    Gelfand – Ponomariov
    Aronian – Svidler .

  12. unknown on November 4th, 2009 19:42

    Round 1:

    Carlsen – Kramnik
    Morozevich – Leko
    Ivanchuk – Anand
    Aronian – Svidler
    Gelfand – Ponomariov.

  13. Felix Kling on November 4th, 2009 19:42

    damn, I have to stay at the laboratory for the whole day tomorrow and friday :(

    Looking forward to saturday :)

  14. Onischuk fan on November 4th, 2009 19:52

    I’ve dropped Chessbase for you.

  15. Onischuk fan on November 4th, 2009 19:57

    If there was a tourney between these 5, who would win: IM Merijn van Delft, GM Sipke Ernst, IM Robert Ris, GM Dimitri Reinderman, and GM Wouter Spoelman ;)

  16. Pam on November 4th, 2009 20:18

    Thank you Chessvibes!

    This tournament will be awesome!

  17. Thomas on November 4th, 2009 20:18

    @Castro: “No problems with copyright …”
    Don’t think so, to my knowledge this was only an issue in events organized by Danailov

  18. Alexander on November 4th, 2009 21:09

    Chessvibes simply rules.

  19. Jean-Michel on November 4th, 2009 21:34

    Very happy. :-)

  20. Merijn on November 4th, 2009 22:09

    Commentary will be in english of course :-)

    We’re looking forward to it as well, it will be a very exciting tournament! :-)

  21. jmd85146 on November 4th, 2009 22:15

    with all those great players this will become a tournament to remember…

  22. sporty on November 4th, 2009 22:56

    How do you think you will compare and contrast with GM Christian Bauer who will be at Chessdom? Where do yourecommend watching?

  23. Crouchyboy on November 4th, 2009 23:05

    Its impossible to predict who’ll win this Tal Memorial, but I’ll say Aronian anyway. Along with Carlsen, he’s arguably held the best form of 2009 amongst all the elite players.

    So far as I’m concerned, the inclusion of Leko, yet again, to such a top level tournament is the only negative. The man’s undoubtedly one of the world’s strongest, yes, but so often he shows no real fighting spirit. Of course I believe he deserves invitations once in a while, but surely not so many. Others like Jakovenko, Gashimov, Mamedyarov and Dominguez are more worthy in my opinion.

    Still, I agree that this should be a very exciting tournament! :D

  24. Vooruitgang on November 4th, 2009 23:43

    Excellent!!! Thank you all and can’t wait for the start.

  25. Georg on November 4th, 2009 23:56

    Here’s a little challenge for the IM’s and GM’s at Chessvibes. Whilst the Tal Memorial is being played. How about a small daily column on the great Michail Tal?

    After all he was one of the greatest players the game has ever seen – there are reasons why they name such a strong tournament after him.

    All that’s requested is either one of his great games or the Tal combination of the day. You would only need to find nine of them and as everyone knows there is plenty to choose from – I don’t think that’s too hard of an ask. This is the Tal Memorial, so give the readers of Chessvibes some idea what kind of a player Tal was!

  26. Thomas on November 5th, 2009 00:01

    @Crouchyboy: I remember reading that the Tal Memorial organizers were warning Leko that a series of (short) draws – as in Dortmund – would not be acceptable. To Leko’s credit, it is not always like that, for example not in the FIDE GP tournaments.

  27. Zee on November 5th, 2009 00:23

    “The rounds begin daily at 15:00 Moscow time which is 13:00 CET”

    Just to be sure, 13:00 CET is about 5AM Chicago time correct?

    Thanks – Z

  28. Jan on November 5th, 2009 00:24

    Kramnik has a nice start: Carlsen with black, and Anand with white. See where he stands.

  29. Mads on November 5th, 2009 00:51

    @Zee:
    See http://timeanddate.com/worldclock/ for info. on the time zones.

  30. bendrik on November 5th, 2009 01:29

    I keep surprising about the way chessvibes handles the whole approach of providing chesslovers information about their passion.

    1000 bravos for http://www.chessvibes.com.

    Is there anyway i can support this site? Possible to donate?? please let us know

    gr

  31. Alexander on November 5th, 2009 02:23

    Notice the luck Carlsen had in drawing of lots: he’ll play White against all three of his main rivals, Kramnik, Aronian and Anand.

  32. Jost on November 5th, 2009 03:11

    Carlsen starts with two whites, just like in Nanjing! (two impressive wins) I hope he can continue on the same way……But then…., I’m a fan of Moro too……aiaiaiaia!

  33. WGIFM on November 5th, 2009 03:15

    Thanks for the live commentaries! I am looking forward the event, and the comments. I think Kramnik will rock on home soil.

  34. Ianis on November 5th, 2009 04:25

    Thank you chessvibes , i will look forward to it

  35. Aingle Pack on November 5th, 2009 06:21

    Carlsen and Aronian have 5 Whites on 9 rounds whereas Anand and Kramnik have only 4 Whites.

  36. Mohd Hafez Hilmi on November 5th, 2009 07:08

    This tournament very intresting! More Intresting if Topalov is are invited!!!!

  37. Aditya on November 5th, 2009 07:09

    I’m missing VT in this event. Had he been a participant, it would have been the strongest tournament of all times!….Thanks Chessvibes for bringing live telecast…hope it shall withstand the no of hits and does not get clogged!

  38. Thomas on November 5th, 2009 09:34

    @Alexander: See Kasparov’s reaction (quoted/disclosed by Mig Greengard on Dailydirt). He was happy that Carlsen got five whites, but not that happy that three of them are against the strongest players who are difficult to beat. He would prefer Carlsen having black in those games “because then those favorites would have to press for a win”!?
    But in the comments section, others considered such statements psychological warfare.

  39. Ardjan on November 5th, 2009 10:08

    Another step to perfection! We are eagerly anticipating.
    Thanks Peter, though it will undoubtedly come at the expense of work, for many people…
    Expecting a close fight Kramnik – Carlsen for 1st place.

  40. michael on November 5th, 2009 10:48

    of course your report of nanjing was excellent and im looking forward to this real highlight and its reportation.
    thanks,
    michael, germany

    (german chess-sites are not good enough)

  41. Hortensius on November 5th, 2009 12:29

    This live coverage with commentary is exactly what will make chessvibes the best site for chess fans…

  42. Hortensius on November 5th, 2009 12:40

    Ps. next experiment: Live Rybka analysis???

  43. Sanne on November 5th, 2009 13:07

    Games started, Carlsen is playing a 4. Qc2 Nimzo. When does the commentary start?

  44. Interested on November 5th, 2009 13:54

    Can somebody put Rybka’s/Fritz’s evaluation of the current position from Carlsen – Kramnik here?

  45. Harish Srinivasan on November 5th, 2009 14:06

    Hortensius is suggesting live Rybka analysis. I strongly feel computer analysis is really boring and uninteresting. GM/IM analysis are great and so much more fun. For eg. look at the comment “Kramnik employing Anand’s novelty …Ne4″ I am enjoying the chessvibes commentary already.

    Thanks chessvibes

  46. steven on November 5th, 2009 14:24

    Thomas :
    where did you read that the organizers warned Leko that short draws were not acceptable ?
    Was it a warning in general or specifically for Leko ?

    Thank you

  47. Harish Srinivasan on November 5th, 2009 14:55

    A suggestion: Is it possible on refresh page (on the live commentary), it loads the same game that I was looking at rather than load the first game?

  48. Misja on November 5th, 2009 15:07

    Thanks Chessvibes!!

    @ Hortensius: What you are asking for already exists at http://www.chessok.com

    But I agree with Harish Srinivasan “GM/IM analysis are great and so much more fun”. I learn much more from commented games then from “analyzing” games with a comp.

  49. Thomas on November 5th, 2009 17:20

    @steven: Found it back – it was a comment by mishanp on Dailydirt
    http://www.chessninja.com/dailydirt/2009/07/san-sebastian-09-r6-leaders-take-a-pass.htm#comment-202415
    “The Chesspro summary of Dortmund also had the organiser of the Tal Memorial saying that Leko “wouldn’t get away with that” (his quick draws) in Moscow.”
    Sounds like it was specifically aimed at Leko, but doesn’t indicate if he was told so directly. And unlike mishanp, I cannot read the original Russian language source.

  50. Sergio on November 5th, 2009 18:43

    Wow this is great of chessvibes. Unfortunatly i missed it today, but defintly hope to be there with some of the live commentary this week. I think we ( averege club players) can really learn from it. And it is a great tournament, great players.

  51. RazC on November 5th, 2009 18:48

    It would be nice to see how much time each player has left. Besides that really good transmission. Congratulations ChessVibes!!!!

  52. PP (nl) on November 5th, 2009 18:55

    Why is the English part of the website of the organizers not working?

    Even better that we have Chessvibes!

  53. Rob Brown on November 5th, 2009 19:22

    I logged on to the live site. The game between Carlsen and Kramnik was there (or part of it , at least) and there was no gameboard. Was there a technical problem?

  54. merlin on November 5th, 2009 19:33

    Tremendous job by chessvibes today. The analysis was really great.Excellent annotations by Merijn.Keep it this way..

  55. SanChess on November 5th, 2009 19:37

    Saw it coming -after Nanjing- and here it is: Live coverage… with expert analysis as a bonus! WOW. Thanks, CHESSVIBES. Go, go go. You’re beating Chessgames, Chessbase and ChessOk by a thousand miles.

  56. Jan on November 5th, 2009 20:01

    I am blocked by my employer from looking at the live site. Is there an update?

  57. chris on November 5th, 2009 20:16

    It is possible to make the position after a reload the current position of the game rather than the initial position (this has been done on other websites). I don’t want to replay a game each time I reload to get the latest couple of moves.

    Aside from that gripe, the coverage is terrific. Thanks & congratulations Peter.

    BTW Peter, is Hans Runde on holiday ? His website is missing updates for Maxim Vachier Lagrave (& needs reinitialising to November ELO before updating for for any & all the games played at Novi Sad & not included in November list).

  58. Julien Song on November 5th, 2009 20:24

    thank you for this excellent live coverage !

  59. ChessGirl on November 5th, 2009 23:15

    @ Thomas:

    Found it. http://www.chesspro.ru/_events/2009/dortmund5.html

    “… ?????? ????, ???????????? 17-??????? ????? ? 9-? ????, ? ??? ???????? ????????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????: “? ?????? ???? ????? ? ???? ?? ???????!”

    It says literally:
    “… sly Leko, who made a draw in 17 moves in the 9th round, about whom the director of the Tal Memorial, Mr. Bach, severely said: “In Moscow he will not get away with that!”

  60. ChessGirl on November 5th, 2009 23:16

    ok, cyrillic alphabet doesn´t show on this site :)

  61. steven on November 7th, 2009 22:50

    Maybe M. Bach meant Leko would be “punished” by losing his games if he’d play
    for draws or in a passive manner against such strong competitors.
    I don’t think it was a direct warning because it would be insulting; after all, Leko is a super GM and not a schoolboy.
    I think Leko should follow the example of Svidler and Morozevich : playing in open tournaments, team championships or other tournaments where there are also less strong players to play against. It would give his self-confidence a boost and enhance the joy of playing chess.
    Leko imo is a little bit a tragic figure ; he’s good but simply not good enough to play only in supertournaments.

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