Wang Yue out; Smerdon prediction fails again

Wang Yue and his comrade Li Chao are out of the World Cup, because of a cigarette. Both players arrived late to the start of the second tie-break game, which, under FIDE’s new zero-time forfeit rule, resulted in both games being declared lost.

I was asked what I thought of this new FIDE rule, which is the standard default now for all FIDE-rated events. It actually cropped up recently in the Victorian Championships, I believe.  To be honest, I don’t see any reason at all for it to be imposed in Australia. Some of our finest chessplayers and most fanatical enthusiasts are notoriously unpunctual – as a kid, I used to love watching Nik Stawski rush into the playing hall with his (analog) flag literally hanging, and bash out a game at breakneck pace. Do we really want to drive these players out of the chess world with these ridiculous burdens?

I have another gripe with the zero-warning policy on phone forfeits in Aussie weekenders – surely one warning per year wouldn’t kill anyone? I was saddened to witness Mark Stokes, the Mister Jovial or Queensland chess, get forfeited when his phone (which was switched off) made a sound as it was pressed when he sat down. What’s to gain from dictatorially emposing FIDE’s regime at weekend beach tournaments where you can play in your beach towel?!

However, for the World Cup, there’s no excuse. The reason, I’m led to believe, for the zero-time rule is to ensure that players are seated for the photographers and journalists. Photos are only allowed to be taken before the game and during the first ten minutes, and some top players are notorious for hiding until the pic period is over before sitting down – either they’re camera shy or just plain rude, but either way, the press, spectators and sponsors lose out. In a world where chess has to compete with heavily sponsored and highly publicised sports, anything to help the press is a good thing. I’m also for the mandatory question-and-answer interviews after the game, too.

Anyway, back to the Cup, and the end result that Wang Yue (one of my predictions for the final) is out. My other predictions I thought worth keeping an eye on (Polgar, Morozevich, Nisipeanu, Dominguez, Radjabov…) are similarly out. So the only thing we can really deduce from this is, I’m no good at predictions. In fact, a tip from me is probably a red flag for failure in this tournament. Nevertheless, I’ll persevere a little longer.

It’s hard to ignore young Wesley So now; the giant-killer has disposed of Ivanchuk and Kamsky in consecutive rounds. Gelfand, the top seed, is looking rock-solid after a very composed and impressive performance against Polgar. But I’m going to leave these two out of the big money. I just can’t see So lasting all the way to the end, while Gelfand may struggle when the pressure of a long blitz tie-break sets in. Caruana is a dark horse worth watching, in this regard – he always seems composed and professional, but is young and energetic enough to really attack the blitz.

But I’m going for Gashimov at this stage. The understated Azeri boy has always impressed me in the Dragon, and so I’m going to let my bias rule me on this one.

So watch out for his exit next round…