why does anyone need to give a guy that's been retired for almost a decade any ridiculous amount of respect? you'll get your quick mention but then you'll have to gtfo of the way just like everyone else. jesus christ kasparov.

Kasparov is to chess what Ali is to boxing and Tiger is to golf.

Carlsen may surpass him in time, but for now, he deserves the respect of the greatest player the game of chess has ever known.

and even after ali retired, if he went to a bout, he got a mention and an ovation and then the fight went on without having a permanent spotlight on his chair.

kasparov isn't jesus. he needs to bring his ego down about 7 notches.

The point here is that Kasparov didn't even get a chair, mention or an ovation - the organizers did their best to keep him the hell away from the matches.

even better. i wouldn't want an egotistical maniac whining about why he isn't getting enough attention at what's supposed to be the biggest chess match since yugoslavia either.

The world chess championship is run by FIDE.

Kasparov is running for president of FIDE.

Might have something to do with it.

Kasparov has a big ego and whether he is maniacal or not, his tweets definitely show he understands chess; he was also candid about his loss to Kramnik, the architect of the Berlin.

About game 5, Nakamura mentioned he found Anand's moves from about move 39 to 45 incomprehensible, and one has to add 13...Bc7(?) was peculiar. On the other hand, Black's play from 23...Rb5(!?) to 38...e5 seems logical and 39...a4 shouldn't be condemned as a mistake as it leads to an excellent idea which should result in a draw if played accurately: once again, Anand allowed the capture of a pawn with a rook with check ( as in game 4 ); in game 4, that sacrifice of the g-pawn gave him good drawing chances whereas in this game, the resulting position really was equal.

Anand simply was sloppy in playing 45...Rc1+? - not only is 45...Ra1! = ( as those engine lovers will tout ), but I'm pretty sure 45...Re1 also holds. Much credit to Carlsen for his overall match strategy and playing specifically 36. Bb1 and 48. Rh6+ in this game for a well deserved lead in the match. One can only hope that in the next two games, Anand will get his chances as White to make the match more interesting.

a 'Capablanca with the will of Alekhine' ?

The problem for vishy is that he likely has to come up with something substantial against the berlin or he has to compromise to another spanish or abandon e4.
I cannot imagine that magnus is not going to go for a position similar to game 3 if he can.

And the FIDE guys have been goons for more than a decade - the lack of respect to Kasparov is astonishing. He has been one of the most marketable icons for chess for 40 years now - and they still show no respect to him.
FIDE is no better than Putin in this regard.
Entrenched power afraid of a free-speaking man.

In fairness though, when we sweep away his entire career in favor of highlighting Fischer's '92 match as the biggest in the last few decades...it's understandable that Kasparov would be concerned about getting the proper attention.

(not that I'm opposed to labeling Fischer's '92 match as the biggest, as an American I readily acknowledge that he is our chess messiah.)

Another pretty harmless line by Anand as White - Magnus plays this type of position really well too

he's usually a d3 guy against the berlin, and there's always the option of the Re1 lines instead of d4

houdini showing the position at exactly 0. not 0.04, but 0.00.

shame bxnf6 and that sequence

Polgar's commentary is annoying - I know she is catering to noobs but when she goes on about if black had two moves in a row he would have mate its kinda embarrassing.


Gupta with the pommy guy is good.

Wish svidler was commentating. Honest - says he has no idea when he has no idea and doesnt just make **** up. And when you get his openings like grunfeld you get gold.

Polgar's monotone voice puts me to sleep, as if 20 mins per move can't get boring enough for the avg. watcher.

Do they really have a billion people watching the broadcast worldwide? I find that very hard to believe.

I think Polgar's been pretty good tbh. Better than those other two idiots who took over when I was watching G5.

Not watching this one as it's a horribly dull position.

What lol, where is this claim? Not the faintest chance this is true.

They are streaming the match into the northern fringe of the Indian Ocean, and billions of phytoplankton are eagerly watching. I'm sure that's what they meant.

I heard it over the coverage, might've been phrased differently (going out to over a billion people would make more sense since its being broadcast on the free to air govt. funded doordarshan here).

Also i barely follow chess since i suck, but the idea of a chess match ending in an ARMAGEDDON is hilarious, so i'm gonna be pulling for it.

Vishy totally decimated here.

looks like magnus has a winning position according to the engines

OMG Carlsen!

Carlsen is so ruthless in these endgames. He's like the Terminator. Just keeps coming, one mistake and he buries you.

The first half of the match can be considered a massive success for Carlsen; after this win, he'll have gained two rating points!