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Kasparov: 'Something is dead wrong in chess'

Kasparov: 'Something is dead wrong in chess'

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Kasparov: 'Something is dead wrong in chess' if when two old guys, one retired, the other no longer a real force in the game, still are the greatest show in the world of chess.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5798

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Originally posted by CCNoob
Kasparov: 'Something is dead wrong in chess' if when two old guys, one retired, the other no longer a real force in the game, still are the greatest show in the world of chess.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5798
Maybe the newer, younger players all look up to the old timers, Romanticism.

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Originally posted by CCNoob
Kasparov: 'Something is dead wrong in chess' if when two old guys, one retired, the other no longer a real force in the game, still are the greatest show in the world of chess.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5798
Same thing in boxing. People payed good money to watch old, overweight Ali get pummeled by Larry Holmes and to watch fat Roberto Duran go through the motions against some non-entity while ignoring good but unknown boxers trying to make a name for themselves.

Of course, once in a while the geezers come through. Old man Brett Farve beat my San Francisco 49ers with a last second miracle TD pass last Sunday.

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I think kasparov is giving a bit too much credit for their match. it was interesting and fun and all that of course, but the most exciting thing in chess? come on. he's still playing the same old broken record about his fide related grudge.

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I thought he was just referring to current the FIDE president and his policies.

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It was the same in the Fischer-Spassky II match.
That too over shadowed everything else.

I think if if Kasparov and Karpov did it again there would be
a lot less interest.

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I wonder if the Cold War fuelled international chess competition.

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
I wonder if the Cold War fuelled international chess competition.
in the u.s., during the fischer era, absolutely.

globally? not really. most people here have never even heard of bobby fischer, I mean outside of chess players. but everybody knows karpov and kasparov, maybe even spassky. the public eye was always much more focused on the soviet rivalvry, and hence not so much the cold war.

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
I wonder if the Cold War fuelled international chess competition.
It certainly fueled Soviet investment in chess. The Soviets invested heavily in clubs and instruction. Supremacy in chess demonstrated the superiority of the Soviet system until the Soviet Union collapsed.

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Originally posted by ParShooter
It certainly fueled Soviet investment in chess. The Soviets invested heavily in clubs and instruction. Supremacy in chess demonstrated the superiority of the Soviet system until the Soviet Union collapsed.
Given the austerity of life under communism in the Soviet Union I think having nothing else to do
might have been part of it.

There was a relative abundance of resources in terms of published games available, tournaments
to play in, clubs to belong to and good local instructors. The rise of the availability of computers
and databases has been something of a leveler in this area by providing more access to master
games and to some extent analysis and even coaching for anyone with a computer and the
internet. So many of the resources that were once the privilege of players in the Soviet chess
system are now pretty much universally available.

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I have to agree with Kasparov. The Kasparov vs Karpov rematch made news and appeared on the BBC, CNN etc. I hadn't been to the Chessbase site in a while and went to see details of the match.

I have not seen the regular players e.g. Anand, Kramnik, Leko, Topalov etc making the news the way KK do.

I doubt if you stopped people on the street they could tell you who the chess champ is. They will also probably not be able to tell you the boxing champ of the world too, boxing is in decline as well.

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If you wanted to see Chess in the headlines then you had to
be there in '72.

For weeks it was the top news item on TV.
The games were published on the front pages of most newspaper.
Chess was everywhere and Fischer's picture on the front of TIME magazine.

If we done a survey amongst non-players to name a Chess player.
I'd say it would be dead even between Fischer and Kasparov.

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Originally posted by greenpawn34
If you wanted to see Chess in the headlines then you had to
be there in '72.

For weeks it was the top news item on TV.
The games were published on the front pages of most newspaper.
Chess was everywhere and Fischer's picture on the front of TIME magazine.

If we done a survey amongst non-players to name a Chess player.
I'd say it would be dead even between Fischer and Kasparov.
Some dude in Finland said on another forum that most people never heard of Fischer over there. They said it was all about the rivalries between Soviets that the public knew and cared about. Kasparov, Karpov and Spassky were the three big names to him.

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The match was over rated. What is wrong here is that speed chess attracts so many. Speed chess hurts chess. Chess should be respected and appreciated at it's regular slower pace. The reason for this is that the game is so deep and complex.

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I'd love to do a public test in the UK.

I forgot about Spassky I bet he would get a few mentions.

OK on Monday I have a job interview (so I'll be looking cute).

Just for you (and The Corner) I will take a millboard to Princes St.
and ask passers-by for one hour to name 3 famous chess players.

I will also ask them if they can name the current British Champion.
(I bet that will score low - it's David Howell GM).

Anybody care to do the same test in their area/place of work?

It would be interesting just to find out what the non-coms think.

I'll post the results + pics on The Corner.

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