I know this is old news, but if you haven't seen the video of Bacrot putting his queen en prise in Round 11 in Baku, you gotta see it. Inarkiev realizes what's happened immediately, but Bacrot takes a moment longer for it to register. If you look closely, you can see the very instant that Bacrot realizes what he's done. Also, the reaction of Wang Yue in the background is pretty entertaining. (What's so funny about Wang's reaction is how quickly he gets a confused look on his face after he just casually glances over at Bacrot's board.)
The Bacrot blunder is near the end of the video clip:
Originally posted by Mad Rook I know this is old news, but if you haven't seen the video of Bacrot putting his queen en prise in Round 11 in Baku, you gotta see it. Inarkiev realizes what's happened immediately, but Bacrot takes a moment longer for it to register. If you look closely, you can see the very instant that Bacrot realizes what he's done. Also, the reaction of Wang Yue in the ...[text shortened]... p://www.chessvibes.com/tournaments/baku-fide-grand-prix-r11-wang-yue-joins-grischuk-again/
It's a great moment isn't it? Gives hope to us all.
If it's reactions to blunders that you want I don't think you can do better than gazza here:-
I wish they had put a microphone on Bacrot. He appears to mumble something just before the handshake, but I can't tell what it is. (Yeah, I know, maybe what he said isn't suitable for print. 🙂) I wonder if he even bothered to say "I resign". In these cases where resignation is obviously in order, is there some informal GM code that says that a mere handshake is sufficient and that the player doesn't even have to say he's resigning or tip his king over?
Originally posted by Mad Rook I know this is old news, but if you haven't seen the video of Bacrot putting his queen en prise in Round 11 in Baku, you gotta see it. Inarkiev realizes what's happened immediately, but Bacrot takes a moment longer for it to register. If you look closely, you can see the very instant that Bacrot realizes what he's done. Also, the reaction of Wang Yue in the ...[text shortened]... p://www.chessvibes.com/tournaments/baku-fide-grand-prix-r11-wang-yue-joins-grischuk-again/
Oh man... he got so embarassed! But what a stupid move! It's really good to see that GMs also do this kind of thing
Originally posted by Mad Rook I know this is old news, but if you haven't seen the video of Bacrot putting his queen en prise in Round 11 in Baku, you gotta see it. Inarkiev realizes what's happened immediately, but Bacrot takes a moment longer for it to register. If you look closely, you can see the very instant that Bacrot realizes what he's done. Also, the reaction of Wang Yue in the ...[text shortened]... p://www.chessvibes.com/tournaments/baku-fide-grand-prix-r11-wang-yue-joins-grischuk-again/
This isn't as stupid as it seems. The knight is on g8- a strange position. Thus, his pattern recognition was not alert to it. Since he was in poor form and some time trouble, he didn't look farther. Had the knight been on c6, a normal position, he would never have erred like this.
Originally posted by exigentsky This isn't as stupid as it seems. The knight is on g8- a strange position. Thus, his pattern recognition was not alert to it. Since he was in poor form and some time trouble, he didn't look farther. Had the knight been on c6, a normal position, he would never have erred like this.
The knight on its original square is a strange position? Hmm, I would have to disagree with that statement. And I'm not even sure pattern recognition would be required for such a trivial en prise blunder, unless one forgets how the horsie moves.
No, I'd say this was just one of those classic blunders due to chess blindness. It happens to everyone: Kramnik, Nigel Short, etc. It just happens to GMs less than us common folk.
Yes, it is clearly a strange place for the knight when this far in the game. Moreover, how the pieces move, seeing their relations, etc. is all a part of pattern recognition. A beginner who knows the rules will often drop them because he has not developed even this rudimentary pattern recognition and the untrained mind cannot consistently cope. I'm not claiming this wasn't a case of chess blindness, only that it largely happened due to the position of the knight this far in the game.
Originally posted by exigentsky Yes, it is clearly a strange place for the knight when this far in the game. Moreover, how the pieces move, seeing their relations, etc. is all a part of pattern recognition. A beginner who knows the rules will often drop them because he has not developed even this rudimentary pattern recognition and the untrained mind cannot consistently cope. I'm not cl indness, only that it largely happened due to the position of the knight this far in the game.
I respect your opinion, but still I must disagree. If you want to argue that his pattern recognition of a simple knight move failed, then that is at least a plausible claim. But to say that the knight on g8 is an unusual position because of the late stage of the game doesn't fly in my book. I don't think patttern recognition is affected by how many moves have already been made in the game. Patterns are patterns, regardless of the temporal aspect.
Originally posted by Mad Rook I respect your opinion, but still I must disagree. If you want to argue that his pattern recognition of a simple knight move failed, then that is at least a plausible claim. But to say that the knight on g8 is an unusual position because of the late stage of the game doesn't fly in my book. I don't think patttern recognition is affected by how many moves have already been made in the game. Patterns are patterns, regardless of the temporal aspect.
Not just the knight's position is weird, the whole lining up of rooks plus the knight from f8 to h8 is strange. Add the king on g7 and it's very easy to make a visual mistake by imagining the knight is on f8 or g7 instead of the rook or king.
Ofcourse the chance of making such a mistake is extremely small, but Bacrot was tired if I recall correctly.
Originally posted by schakuhr [..] but Bacrot was tired if I recall correctly.
You were there?
Anyway, this, indeed, is a rare occasion when a GM blunders his queen away this easily. This may sound stupid, but in my opinion GMs don't play patterns all the time. After all, to become a GM, you've got to think out the box. And if you miss a piece being attacked, that's a huge mistake.
Originally posted by Mad Rook I respect your opinion, but still I must disagree. If you want to argue that his pattern recognition of a simple knight move failed, then that is at least a plausible claim. But to say that the knight on g8 is an unusual position because of the late stage of the game doesn't fly in my book. I don't think patttern recognition is affected by how many moves have already been made in the game. Patterns are patterns, regardless of the temporal aspect.
I disagree. Naturally, later in the game, your brain focuses on different aspects. This is why people often miss endgame tactics or very early in the opening - even if they know the patterns very well. However, I won't debate this further. I've already stated my opinion and have no absolute claim to the truth. 😉 I'm only speculating.
Bacrot - Oh, No!
07 May '08 23:172 edits
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