First of all: Really nice job, Peter!! Keep on the good work!!

I do agree with semipatz. and Ron. For Anand this tournament is like a warm up where you dont wanna lose all your power and show your home preparation. Dont take his result at this tournament too serious!
In fact he profits psychologically from it because one could think he is not in the best form and underestimate him.
I am pretty sure we will see the "old" Anand at the WC like we know him and the matches will be very exciting! But also the air for Kramnik and Anand is getting thinner to stay at the Olymp of chess because with Carlsen, Aronian, Topalov and maybe Ivanchuk they have strong successor who already are claiming their rights to sit on the throne.
Today chess is more interesting than in the past decades where one player dominated the chess world. I am very excited when Carlsen will become the world champion and askong myself who is able to stop him. After Carlsen I favour Aronian of the remaining group of the super GM.

But Kramnik ain't looking so great either. Better than Anand in this tourney, yes, but nowhere near his top form. What I'm afraid of is that a lot of pundits will start writing off this World Championship Match, saying it's between the wrong two players and therefore not meaningful. What this would overlook is the fact that, leaving aside a certain Kasparov fellow, Anand and Kramnik have been consistently the two best players of the last dozen years. They've both had ups and downs before and have occasionally been surpassed (e.g., by Topalov in 2005), but like good corks they keep bobbing back up to the top, and they're both under 40.

This is going to be one of the most important matches of our times. I just hope it's not overshadowed by all the hoopla that other players such as Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Morozevich, Topalov, and Aronian are (deservedly) attracting. And I also hope that Kramnik and Anand take the gloves off, whip out their home preparation secrets, and really rev it up over the board!

Come on guys, Anand and Kramnik are still far stronger than the rest of the field. They are a just a bit overfocused for the WC.

@Ud : I agree with you, that?Ǭ¥s why i think that Anand should also look for a second with a better score against him, not only Carlsen (wich of course would be a tremedous force to have on his side).
Someone like Vallejo was to Topas.

I wonder if these guys beating each other up will bring Moro to the #1 spot. That would be fun.

Three 1.e4's! Most unexpected.

Fant?ɬ°stico torneo. Desconocido Anand, grande Carlsen, s?ɬ? a pesar de sus 2 derrotas consecutivas, Topalov vuelve por sus fueros y remontada de Aronian.
?Ǭ°viva el ajedrez!

Thanks Peter and Crew,

A closer look at the standings, however, will show that there is a significant difference between the two systems. Aronian is now clear 2nd place and Carlsen is shared 3rd. In the "old" system, Ivanchuk was shared 2nd with Aronian and Carlsen was 4th.

So many people thanking to Peter - if i dont write it could mean i dont apreciate his great job- thx Peter , if i say nothing it doesnt mean i am not your fan:]

Anand and Kramnik are now befittingly no. 5 and no. 6, respectively!

Great players, great fighting chess, great tournament! Everybody could beat everybody.

We have a new record in chess history - no less than 4 players have been the unofficial World No.1 on the FIDE Rating List!

First Anand, then Morozevich for 24 hours, then Anand again, followed by Carlsen, then just 24 hours later Ivanchuk!

If Topalov beats Anand with black (by no means impossible) and Ivanchuk somehow manages to lose to Aronian with White (almost impossible), then Topalov would be the new World No.1 and no less than 5 players will have occupied the World No.1 rating spot unofficially in the singular rating period!

One would be very hard pressed to repeat such an achievement...not just in the next decade, but even in the next century.

If Topa drew Anand (with black) and beat Ivanchuk (with white) most probably he will overtake No 1 in the ranglist

In this kind of woeful form, Anand stands no chance against Kramnik. He might as well award the championship to Kramnik and walk away from disgrace.

Not only is he unable to get any winning positions, but he is also unable to stand and fight. Against Topalov, sure he was behind, but made a series of bad moves to lose quickly. Against Aronian, the moment Aronian found a good move, Anand collapsed - where is the spunk to stand, fight, and keep maximum pressure on a strong opponent till he wilts.

No wonder that except for Carlsen, Anand has a negative score against all the others - he does not have the will to stand and fight with precise and tough moves till he wins. For that reason, and that reason alone, I do not think he deserves to be the classical World Champion.

Thanks guys! I quite enjoy doing these reports, partly because they're followed by so many positive reactions all the time. It does keep me going!

(Besides, the number of visitors to the site has been doubled during this tournament, which is also great.)

@peter : Your reports are really transparent and well oriented, congratulations on the succes of this site.
On todays report: I really think that this score format had big influence on the player?Ǭ¥s style .Take Carlsen for example, i saw him playing with a lot of patience in other tournaments, waiting for oponents mistakes (with great succes i must say).And in this tournament he is going for the kill since move 1(also with great succes i mus say again).
The short time is another factor , i agree with you on that .It would be really interesting to see a tournament with this format but longer time for games.

Big success with the new scoring system in this tournament for top level chess, I would like to see more of it in the future!!!

It is much more exciting to watching the aggressors all have a chance to fight for the top position!!! I rather not see people with shared number of points and use tie-break to determine the winner.

@Peter: Thanks for the wonderful reports. I just started school so I don't have the time anymore to follow the games, but every night when I get home I read your reports which are always great! :-) Thanks again! :-)

So far the number of drawn games are 54% of total , still is one of the most exitings tournaments that i can remember.

congrats for ChessVibes, Peter. The quick report is great, but the killer is the analysis and the description of the players reactions, as I followed the live games myself. Live games again would be great, the chat was nice. And I guess I wouldn't be puzzled as when in Anand-Aronian black played 71...Qxa5+. Or at least I would be puzzled with company.

Wow.. what everybody predicted 20 years ago already, has finally happened.. Ivanchuk on top of the list! He must be pleased, and rightly so.

fast and efficient! I approve

Aronian beating Anand with black - the world is crazy.

@CAL|Daniel. I agree. Good work, Peter!

Not the first time though

Just your routine, everyday Q+R vs. 2R + 2P ending. Ho-hum. :0)

yes chessvibes, good job!

it is really such an exciting time for chess! amazing really how the top 10 are constantly at each other, trading top positions. soooo much good chess to come for the foreseeable future!!