solder

Will Leko beat Kasparov in Linares?

Jon_Speelman

Well, Leko's got two chances but I should think it's fairly unlikely he will.

jt

I vote no - to Leko.

Jon_Speelman

GK only normally loses less than half a dozen games a year.

jt

I want to know if chess as we know it is over when the FIDE scam hits the fan this weekend.

Jon_Speelman

Well, that's a very good and serious question. It depends whether it gets passed by the General Assembly of FIDE and what people do about it if that does happen. I wrote about it in The Independent (in England) on Saturday but deliberately moderated my views.

jt

What was your take on it - you don't rave in your column?

Jon_Speelman

I wasn't very impressed with the Credit Card or the Tournament regulations, but I didn't rant. Some of the stuff about "a) The Organiser(s) or any of their partner(s) or associate(s) have a bad relationship with FIDE or have a bad reputation in the chess world, the world of sports or in the world in general. (or) b) That any commercial rights to exploit these tournaments will be taken out without the express approval of FIDE." is extraordinary.

MSO_Admin

Jon is just getting a copy of his article for further discussion...

Jon_Speelman

Okay I'll just paste what I wrote for Saturday... I wasn't very impressed with the Credit Card or the Tournament regulations. Actually, I think it's too hard to post it all - but I could FTP it in if you like?

MSO_Admin

Certainly! We'd be pleased to host it.

jt

Just give us the bottom line now!

Jon_Speelman

The bottom line was that in the case of a) you wonder according to whom; and in b) you wonder how organisers can approach sponsors at all while "When any event does not have the approval of FIDE and the organiser still intends to proceed ... (organisations) especially the concerned national federation, shall ...publicise their negative reaction ... and prevent their players from participating." is in place, which I wasn't very much in favour of.

jt

Is it a scam? What are they up to?

Jon_Speelman

"Pess Commissars" was a splendid false enemy of a mistranslation but it probably said what it was intended to. Now that FIDE's affiliated to the IOC, some fererations are taking it upon themselves to do drug testing, notably the Spaniards; I believe they tested Illescas's team.

solder

Did Speelman go over that Fedorov-Adams game, the king's gambit with the muzio-type sac from a couple years back? Was it sound?

Jon_Speelman

I don't remember the F v Ad game but I've seen a lot of his hacking and it looks quite frightening unless you're seriously well prepared!

jt

Have you played in an event with drug testing?

Jon_Speelman

I haven't - yet - played in an event with drug testing, I imagine that my caffeine intake may well fall foul of the righteous...

jt

Is there a list of substances that are banned?

Jon_Speelman

I've never encountered it personally; I assume that there's a general list for sport. Of course if you come from the country which Hercules is in then you may quite legally take things which will have the gentlemen of the IOC foaming at the mouth!

pastpawn

What do you all think of the theory that one's maximum rating (after years of play and study) is approximately equal to 10 x your IQ + 1000?

Jon_Speelman

I'd rather hear Darooha's theories on rating than mine.

Darooha

OK pastpawn, do you want to know my opinion or only Speelman's?

pastpawn

Yours and Speelman's.

Darooha

Ok, I'll tell you my opinion anyway. In my experience, there's no correlation between chess rating and any other relevant human skill.

Jon_Speelman

I think that Chess players are very good at playing chess. Some are intelligent in a more general sense too - but not all.

jt

Steroids don't help your chess, do they?

Jon_Speelman

Not as far as I know!

solder

They should hold a tournament in Amsterdam where the first prize is some really good pot.

Jon_Speelman

Solder's idea is interesting but I suspect that the tournament might fall foul of regulation b) if it gets passed, Heaven help us!

Darooha

Jon, do you play much on chessclub.com?

Jon_Speelman

Yes I do play at the ICC - as you know - though not under my own name normally. A lot of fun hacking around - though certianly different from "normal" chess.

Darooha

Were you in Las Vegas?

Jon_Speelman

Yes, I got knocked out by Gelfand.

solder

Could you tell this small audience whom to follow?

Jon_Speelman

In what sense whom to follow?

solder

On ICC - the handle to follow for "Speelmania".

Jon_Speelman

Oh I see. No, I generally stay somewhat anonymous at ICC - but I'm on as myself fairly often and perfectly happy to chat with anybody.

solder

I follow berta a lot. He is amazing. Hour after hour of great chess. I just like to watch and learn.

jt

Who's berta?

Jon_Speelman

Ulf Andersson, it seems from "fingering" him. I didn't even know that Ulfie had a computer let alone played chess on it!

jt

Ulf plays online - i played a two game match with him, and that was a couple of years ago.

Jon_Speelman

Ulf plays lots of correspondence chess too - very well - and plays 1e4 then also.

solder

He plays 1 e4 and turns every position into an endgame! He never plays for mate!

speelmankiller

Jon, do you have any planes for doing a chess video?

Jon_Speelman

I've never really thought of doing a chess video, though I suppose it might be fun.

djv

Jon, do you have any tips for a beginner/intermediate player? :)

Jon_Speelman

I'm not very good at tips, but I guess the old truisms still hold - you should play lots of games against opposition of your own strength, or slightly more, and I always prefer to study endgames / middlegames rather than openings.

djv

OK, here's an easier one :) What are some of your favourite books?

Jon_Speelman

Chess books or real books?

djv

Chess books! :)

Jon_Speelman

When I was little I had Tal's Best Games by Peter Clarke, the two volumes of Euwe and Kramer on the Middlegame and Larsen's Best Games.

WarHawk

Jon, do bullet (one-minute) games wreck my chess? A lot of people say they do and a lot of others say they don't.

Jon_Speelman

I think bullet chess is fun but very little to do with other types of chess.

Darooha

1 0 bullet chess is closer to a video game than to chess.

Jon_Speelman

Yes. Bullet is all about mouse-control.

Edwards34

Jon, how many years did it take for you to become a GM?

Jon_Speelman

It took me 3 years from when I became professional to become a GM, at the end of 1980. No, I played quite a bit, but not non-stop - it was my job though.

BlackNessio

Hey Jon...do you play in America a lot?

Jon_Speelman

I play in the US a certain amount but not very often; I was in Las Vegas of course.

* Zek

(Plays Sound: cuckoo.wav) cuckoo

* Hercules

(Plays Sound: evillaugh.wav) evillaugh

* Darooha

(Plays Sound: whistle.wav) Judit Polgar!

Jon_Speelman

Good sounds - though of course you can change the variable so you don't hear them...

WarHawk

Where?

Jon_Speelman

In options.

GoranS

Who is your favourite player in Linares this year?

Jon_Speelman

In Linares - well they're all so strong. I don't think I have a favourite amongst them really but the games are splendid to play through - there's a real qualitative difference between top games and average GM games.

Darooha

Speelman, are you going to play in the oz.com/chessclub.com qualifier? First prize: a trip to Iceland to play in a blitz tourney, etc.

jt

A trip to Iceland is a good prize!

Jon_Speelman

I may well play in it - I only heard about it today.

BlackNessio

Hey Jon... what do you think a talented junior as myself should do to get better. I am 18 yrs old about 2300 blitz and 2050 elo.

Jon_Speelman

Well you should play blitz for fun BlackNessio, but also try to play some slower chess too.

Petorian

Do you know GM Gennady Zaitchik?

Jon_Speelman

I must have met him but I don't know him very well.

Petorian

What about IM Roland Yakobashvile?

Jon_Speelman

Never heard of him.

WarHawk

Jon, is Correspondence chess a good thing? Does that help any?

Jon_Speelman

I don't like the idea of Correspondence chess at all - one adjournment was alays quite enough to disrupt my sleep. But some people do. Of course, computers have made a big problem for the rule makers.

solder

Does Gallagher still play the King's Gambit?

Jon_Speelman

Joe sometimes plays it, I think, but not always.

solder

I know he used to. He wrote a book but he seems to have dropped it. Grishuk played a fantastic King's Gambit in the Russian Championship this year. Did you see that?

Jon_Speelman

No I didn't see the Grischuk game but may look for it.

solder

It's worth seeing - a tremendous double edged game with a mating finish!

Petorian

Jon, I usually play King's Gambit. What's your opinion about this oppening?

Jon_Speelman

I think the KG is good to play some of the time; it's very intimidating for some players. However, it's a problem if you only play such potentially forcing lines because if you hit a problem then it's hard to avoid it.

BlackNessio

Hey Jon... did you ever reach a wall in how good you got... like were you ever stuck at a certain level and couldn't seem to get any better?

Jon_Speelman

I went through lots of plateaux.

chess4fun

What's your opinion of the Smith-Morra Gambit? Some people say it is just throwing away a pawn.

Jon_Speelman

I dunno about the Morra Gambit. The problem with all forcing lines is that if they don't work then it's very hard to adjust.

pastpawn

Jon, what do you think of the Blackmar-Deimer gambit?

Jon_Speelman

I'm very bad about specific forcing lines. The BD has always seemed better to me than its reputation; it's a shame though that the newsgroup alt.chess.bdg dosn't ever seem to have much about the BDG in it!

solder

If the BDG has a newsgroup, there must be one for the King's Gambit?

Jon_Speelman

Dunno - don't think so. It's not in the list of newsgroups I've got anyway!

jt

Is Kasparov going to win Linares?

Jon_Speelman

I suppose GK is a favourite but the other guys could win too.

solder

Hey Jon, is that swindle you had against Kasparov going in your next game collection?

Jon_Speelman

I've swindled GK several times - a lot of fun...

jt

If you were a betting man - pick the final results table!

Jon_Speelman

Good heavens - the final table!

jt

Only six places!

Zek

Will Khalifman recover from recent losses?

Jon_Speelman

I think Khalifman will probably be in the bottom half.

Hercules

1 Kasparov, 2 Anand, 3 Kramnik, 4 Shirov, 5 Leko, 6 Khalifman?

Jon_Speelman

No - I was just trying to see who I'd forgotten in the list - Shirov, actually, who I guess is the least predictable.

WarHawk

What can you learn faster from? Watching GM games or actually playing games?

Jon_Speelman

You should both watch and play - commentary, like on the ICC, is great too, because everybody - GMs included - needs help when observing somebody else's very complex game.

Hercules

Leko might be a surprise there, no?

Jon_Speelman

I don't know about Leko - he's very very strong but might be very slightly vulnerable against these top guys.

chess4fun

Do you think gambits are necessary to improve one's game?

Jon_Speelman

It's important to play gambits at some stage of your chess career, because not understanding open games is a serious hole - but you certainly don't have to play them your whole career.

Zek

And to learn how to play against gambits.

Jon_Speelman

Yes - and against them too.

solder

Have you ever tried berta's recipe in the Svesnikov sicilian - 6... h6 instead of 6... d6?

Jon_Speelman

I watched Ulf play it in Katrineholm last year.

solder

He does very well on ICC with that move.

Jon_Speelman

(Is there a final e in scandiwegians?) And he looked quite impressive... but I have a nagging feeling that somebody showed me something quite annoying against it?

solder

If it's only a nagging feeling, it wouldn't win you a game, would it?

Jon_Speelman

No - but since I don't normally play 1 e4 then it isn't essential that it be in the forefront of my brain between times...

solder

Jon, will you ever take up 1 e4? Aren't you missing out on a lot of fun?

Jon_Speelman

I play 1 e4 on the ICC sometimes - or rather often - and at other blitz events. But you get used to what you do at "classical" chess.

yoips

Go is very popular in Japan, China and Korea... they even have TV stations devoted to it. How can Chess have the same coverage in the West?

Jon_Speelman

As the number of different channels increases (of course there are a huge number in the US already and a burgeoning number in Europe) then I guess there'll be more room. However, western TV companies tend at a minimum to demand action - either visual/physical, like snooker, or emotional excitement - and it's quite hard, though far from impossible, to present chess in this way. I'm interested in any other ideas about this from the other people here?

MSO_Admin

Are you OK there, Jon?

Jon_Speelman

Sorry - got lost copying the address for somebody.

MSO_Admin

Of the chess TV shows you've taken part in so far, Jon, which was your favourite? I recall you were on the (UK) Channel 4 coverage of Kasparov-Short in '93.

Jon_Speelman

My favourite chess TV show? Well of course the Channel 4 coverage of Short v Kasaprov was very interesting.

MSO_Admin

Who's the best TV chess commentator that you've ever seen or heard?

Jon_Speelman

That's very difficult because it depends in which way.

MSO_Admin

In terms of making world championship standard chess accessible to the general audience?

Jon_Speelman

Probably to get a mass audience you need to "dumb down" a bit - but I don't like excessive simplification. The main thing, I think, is to try to convey the intense emotional excitement of the proceedings. You also need some sort of meta-commentary about what's going on generally and a more specific commentary for stronger players. If they can do channels with different camera angles for football now then the same could be done for chess, I imagine.

Zek

What do you think of the webcam at Wijk aan Zee and the video at the Karpov - Bacrot match?

Jon_Speelman

I haven't seen the Bacrot v Karpov webcam - must be fun in the scrabbles in the quickplay in particular, I imagine.

MSO_Admin

If you were competing in a televised chess match, would you mind people following you behind the scenes?

Jon_Speelman

I don't think people want to be followed behind the scenes beyond a certain point - you need your own private space.

GlynO

John, are you thinking of hosting your own programme?

Jon_Speelman

It hadn't occurred to me at all, though of course it would be fun to do TV stuff again.

MSO_Admin

Jon, which young players are you particularly looking forward to following the progress of?

Jon_Speelman

I watch them come up and think generally how amazingly good they are compared to my lot at the same age... Obviously in England I'm waching Murugan and David Howell most of all at the moment. I also work with Luke McShane from time to time, but he's already a strong established player...

GlynO

Do you train, John? I may be interested!

Jon_Speelman

I only train very occasionally - the very best players. I worked a little with Michael Adams when he was young and thought he was already at least as good as me at everything but certain endings.

GlynO

John, where do you live?

Jon_Speelman

London.

MSO_Admin

Jon, which events are you particularly looking forward to playing in later on this year?

Jon_Speelman

Well I've got Southend / Red Bus, probably Lippstadt in Germany in July and the Olympiad if FIDE's still in one piece...

MSO_Admin

Do you enjoy playing as part of a team more, less or just the same as playing for yourself only?

Jon_Speelman

It's different - you have to be more careful to avoid risks but it's very nice to cooperate.

MSO_Admin

Let's take a different tack. Jon, do you play any other mind sports?

Jon_Speelman

I play scrabble - but only to good kitchen standard. Bridge ditto. I do lots of crosswords.

MSO_Admin

You, famously, once reached the final of The Times crossword competition, didn't you, Jon?

Jon_Speelman

But I don't play other games to a very high standard like, say, Julian Hodgson.

MSO_Admin

We're very grateful indeed to Jon Speelman for agreeing to be our star guest tonight...

Jon_Speelman

It's been a pleasure to chat here.

MSO_Admin

...but time is limited and Jon is a busy man so we shall probably start to draw this to a close. We'll make Glyn's question there the last one of the night, I think.

GlynO

Jon, are you going to do the simul at the UK Challenge this year?

Jon_Speelman

Regarding the Basman simul, I don't know yet.

MSO_Admin

Jon, many thanks for taking the time and trouble to be our star guest.

GlynO

THANK YOU JOHN!!!!!!!

MSO_Admin

We've enjoyed your thoughts and company very much indeed!

Jon_Speelman

As I said, it was a pleasure and very interesting.

MSO_Admin

We're glad that you enjoyed it. Elsewhere on the web site, our free online play facilities carry on strong; play one of eighty-five games or variants at no charge on the MSO web site. Please sign the "Millennium of the Mind" petition to celebrate this being the first year of the Millennium of the Mind and of the Century of the Brain. We hope you've enjoyed the chat session; I know I certainly have!

For MSO Worldwide, this is Chris Dickson signing off!