4/9/2004
FIDE's new rating
list is out. Anand jumps into 2nd place, behind Kasparov
and ahead of Kramnik and Leko. I hope Anand is happy now. He seems to be
rating obsessed.
Anand
wanted to change the rating system to include both standard and
rapid results in the calculations. Anand skipped Linares this year. He
said he needed to rest and recharge after his earlier successes at
Corus(2004), Corsica, and Cap D'adge (rapid world championship). He
missed a great opportunity to build on his impressive run. Anand
missed his chance to prove he is the best player in the world, by skipping
Kasparov, Kramnik, and Leko at Linares this year.
Kasparov has
said the winner of Linares, the Wimbledon of chess, could be called the
champion of tournament chess. Anand should not miss major tournaments. Had
Anand won Linares, he could have made an impressive case for
his inclusion into the
current World Championship cycle as Ponomariov’s replacement.
With so much uncertainty in the world, the Mideast,
the chess world , FIDE, the knockout tournament in Libya, and
reunification, Anand should not pass up opportunities to take on the
three players in the World Championship cycle, namely Kasparov, Kramnik
and Leko. Linares was a draw fest, only 21% of the games were decisive.
Linares could have used a dose of a Hot Anand. Kramnik took first honors
at Linares with just two wins and no losses. Leko took 2nd on
tie breakers over a rusty Kasparov.
Linares was there for Anand’s
taking. Anand was the MVP of the chess world last year. Anand
needs to keep that momentum rolling. Kramnik lost his number two
ranking at Corus in 2004. Kramnik finished a disappointing
5th. However Kramnik was experimenting with new openings. I
wonder if Kramnik's first place honors at Linares and Amber were motivated
by his drop to third place in the world rankings.
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