Various: Errata, Omissions, and More
(Originally published here, several days ago. Please subscribe to the Substack blog - thanks!)
Since many of you are subscribers, you’ll receive my original post by email, and if I correct an error you’re unlikely to notice. Hopefully the vast majority of my errors will be typos and not substantive, but errare humanum est and all that. So here’s a post in which I correct an error, include a link I neglected to add, and throw in a bunch of other links just for fun.
First, the error: In my annotations to Nepomniachtchi-Rapport in round 13 I stated that Nepo joined Smyslov and Spassky as the only two players in chess history to win back-to-back Candidates events. No one wrote in to correct me - thank you all for being too polite and/or too young to remember - but I forgot the great Viktor Korchnoi. “Viktor the Terrible” did it in 1977 and 1980, both times earning the right to face Anatoly Karpov for the title. Unlike Vassily Smyslov and Boris Spassky, who managed to defeat Mikhail Botvinnik and Tigran Petrosian, respectively, in their second attempts at the title, Korchnoi went 0 for 2 in title matches against Karpov. (Or 0 for 3, if one counts their Candidates final in 1974 as a de facto title match.)
Second, an omitted link: In my round 14 post I linked to a couple of sources that discuss Magnus Carlsen’s proposed alternative(s) to the standard classical format for the next World Championship. Here’s a source I didn’t link to (though it was linked within one of the articles I cited).
Third: Within that last link is a further link to a 19-move blitz win by Judit Polgar against Magnus Carlsen a couple of days ago. It’s really just her capitalizing on a one-move blunder, but still: when you beat the World Champion, it’s worth a little brag. Lest one get too excited about this, here’s a blitz game between them when something was actually at stake. (Complete with commentary from the legendary GM Dmitry Komarov. Who needs Andres Cantor?)
Finally, I thought of including this short clip from Carlsen in either yesterday’s or today’s recap, but didn’t. Still, it’s good for an odds-and-ends piece, so here you go.