Wednesday potpourri and other nonsense!
PUTIN ATTENDS CLOSING CEREMONY!
World Championship closing ceremony in Sochi saw Russian president Vladimir Putin make an appearance. There had been considerable speculation about whether he would attend or not…
Putin’s mere presence elevated the status of the match before the world media. He was his usual charming self, calling Carlsen a ‘genius’ (which he is!)
OFCOURSE, not everyone was happy that Putin attended (for some, Putin just breathing is sufficient to get them going…!)
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MEANWHILE, WHAT WAS GARRY UP TO?
Though I doubt Kasparov would have attended the Sochi closing ceremony even had he been invited (Putin is on record as saying the Garry is ALWAYS welcome in Russia), the former world champion was in Tokyo attending/inaugurating a prestigious SHOGI match!
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But Garry did not let the opportunity pass to make some interesting comments via the social media on the Carlsen vs Anand match. It also appears that Kasparov had some involvement in Carlsen’s opening preparation, though how much (if any) of it was useful in this match remains to be clarified.
”The quality of the games was not so high, due to nerves, though for some fans this uncertainty and the potential for mistakes creates drama. Anand missed quite a few chances, and had he found them all, Carlsen would have been pushed to the limit. As it was, Magnus did not have to play his best chess to win the match.” Kasparov today on ChessBase.
Regardless of the match success, an increasing number of top chess grandmasters and chess fans are beginning to suspect that Sochi might NOT have seen the two best players in the world today taking part. Kirsan has promised that the next world championship match will be held in 2016 in the USA. With a bit of luck, Caruana will qualify!
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AND WHERE WAS KRAMNIK ?
The 39-year old former world champion (who wrestled the title away from Kasparov back in 2000) was in Qatar playing in an OPEN tournament! (Qatar Masters) Canadian grandmaster Eric Hansen is also participating…
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THE HUMAN BRAIN IS INCREDIBLE!
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LOOKING FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT?
Back in February I published a blog article about Sid and Alicia Belzberg’s latest venture into collectibles LINK. That is right, the Belzbergs have restored the original BATMOBILE! Now they are about to auction it, but it will cost you a pretty penny!
Somethings are PRICELESS!
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MEANWHILE, BACK IN SIBERIA !
LINK TO STORY
”Siberia air passengers have had to get out and push their plane in temperatures of minus 52 degrees after its chassis froze, Russian prosecutors say.
The extraordinary story emerged on Wednesday after a passenger posted a video on YouTube showing a group of cheery travellers pushing the Tupolev plane on the snow-covered runway in Igarka, which is beyond the Arctic Circle.
“Let’s go,” passengers in thick winter coats shout and whoop as they put their hands on the wings of the plane and shove it several metres along the runway.
“Everyone wants to go home,” one man says.”
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