On Sep 25, 10:18 pm, Zero wrote:

I don't understand how he is able to outplay a bunch of other 2700s
and be ahead by a nice margin i nthe tournament. What qualities does
he posses which maks him such a good chess player?


I don't know all that much about GM Anand, but the last
time I checked, every one of the world's top players was
rated under 2800, a few in a tight pack. This contrasts
sharply with the era during which Gary Kasparov held a
wide lead over every one of his rivals except for GM
Karpov, if they had recently played a close match.

If any of these "equals" pulls ahead in a single event, it
simply shows that they were lucky and/or in great form.
A famous quote observes that chess games are lost, not
won; and so all that is required is to remain tough until
the other guy does his thing: makes a tactical error or a
strategical blunder.

One game I replayed recently had GM Anand as White
in a Ruy Lopez whipping off a nice combination, beginning
with the move Rxh4. Yet even after he gained what looked
to be a decisive edge many moves later, he had made
little forward progress until his opponent (GM Ivanchuk?)
decided he had to "play actively", and self-destructed.

The same characteristic was apparent in a match victory
by world champion Kramnik over GM Leko; many times
there was no real headway being made by the ultimate
winner, until the loser boldly -- and stupidly -- self
destructed.

But that aside, the superior tactician will often prevail.
(This is why I am ...so far... undefeated at ChessWorld.)
At the top levels, openings preparation is huge -- maybe
GM Anand is doing a better job in that area?


-- help bot