George Duke wrote on Sat, Oct 11, 2008 04:11 PM UTC:
Topic here is Anand_Kramnik October 2008. Excitement and expectation. Will
there be another ''Toiletgate,'' as in that recent unmentionable
Vladimir Kramnik match? Now do we not expect half Draws next week? Is not that unacceptable on its face? In addition, Death of Little 8x8 OrthoChess is appropriate, manageable sub-topic beyond the one tournament. I repeatedly say OrthoChess dead, whether posthumous already from 1996 upon Computer defeat of Kasparov or 2010 or 2020 -- whenever majority finally recognize the fact. It is not so big deal: things change. The late Robert Fischer declared one-lineup Chess death in 1996 with announcement of FRC. Look at the trends since. When Mad Queen replaced Shatranj, H.J.R. Murray cites individuals still composing in the old style of Shatranj in the mid-16th Century. So, there will be overlap as F.I.D.E.'s standard form(s) gets replaced (by Speed for just one alternative), and the passage will not be easy or recognized everywhere at once. Like in the mid-1500's, there are sure to be holdouts and diehards mid-21st Century mired in the old paradigm of small 8x8. As more and more separately-developed Programs become superior, not just the 2 or 10 today, the disenchantment grows in 2009, 2010, 2011. We are on the cusp. CVPage people consider anywhere from 1-10% of their games better, and all they need is organization. At North America in 19th Century, everyone of status played Chess. There were percentagewise several times more books, pamphlets, Chess columns then. Cultured society was Chess-savvy. Demise of small 8x8 began 100 years ago -- contributed to by modern distractions of autos, radio, television, not only shortcomings of Chess not innovating. Russia has seen similar decline with withdrawal of much state sponsorship over twenty years. In rapidly developing situation, remarkably there is no need to master OrthoChess anymore for someone seeking to begin learning to play better forms at higher level. Old Standard 8x8 becomes not the most efficient way to learn true Chess. Mad Queen is not even particularly good starting point to play fully-realized Chesses. It may set you back in tomorrow's world of piece interactions. CVPage periodically has half its ethos for OrthoChess replacement. For example, Ralph Betza expected changing of the guard ultimately leading up to Chess Different Armies.