Congratulations, Vladik!

[Richard Cribb]

So finally, after 13 years, the chess world is back with having one champion, and a worthy and thoroughly deserving one as well; the Gentle Giant Vladimir Kramnik.
Vladik had to win this title twice in Elista. After having built up a dominating 3-1 lead, Topalov and his sidekick Danailov decided that the only thing that could save the day was psychological warfare and dirty tricks, and this nearly turned the tables, but fortunately only nearly so. I think Topalov has disgraced himself to such a degree that he will have to work very hard to regain his former status in the chess world.
Kramnik proved better than Topalov both in classical chess (the official score was 6-6, but that included a forfeited white game of Kramnik's and the psychological after-effects of all the commotion) and rapid chess. I am quite sure that if the match had proceeded in a normal manner he would have won by about 3 points.
Everybody interested in learning about the disputes as well as getting some good comments on the games are well advised to check out this site: www.chessbase.com

 

[Narz]

How's that guy Anand doing?

 

[Richard Cribb]

How's that guy Anand doing?

Still going strong.
He was runner-up to Topalov in last year's "World Championship" tournament in Argentina and is usually performing well. I would say that he is without doubt one of the 5 strongest players in the world.