The Man in the Arena

Two items of note this day:

1) Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Theodore Roosevelt, one of our great presidents.

2) Today Kramnik won the 10th game of the World Championship match with Anand. He is now two points behind with only two games to play. Not good odds, but better than three points behind with three games to play!

In honor of Roosevelt, Kramnik, Anand, and chessplayers everywhere, we recall this passage from Roosevelt's classic speech, "The Man in the Arena."

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

 Indeed!

A Future Champ Declines

The Swiss player Ralph Buss is now an FM. Back in 1999 he gave a future world champion a chance to refute the Blackmar-Diemer. Would the gambit be accepted? Buss,R (2194) - Kramnik,V (2755) Simultaneous, Zürich, 05.09.1999 BDG Declined, Langeheinecke Defense [Notes by Buss] 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.f3 e3

Mit diesem Zug hatte ich am wenigsten gerechnet. Er ist jedoch bei Weitem nicht so schlecht wie sein Ruf. (I had least expected this move. However, it is not nearly as bad as its reputation.) 5.Bxe3 e6 6.Bd3 [6.f4!?] 6...Nbd7 7.Nge2 c5 8.0-0 Be7 9.Bf2 0-0 10.Ne4 b6 11.c3 Bb7 12.N2g3 Qc7 13.Qc2 c4 14.Be2 b5 15.Rfe1 a6 16.Nf1 Rfe8 17.Nfd2 Rac8 18.Bd1 Bd5 19.Bg3 Qc6 20.f4 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 f5 22.Ng5 Nf6 23.Bf3 Bf8 24.Bxd5 Nxd5 25.Re2 h6 26.Nf3 Bd6 27.Ne5 Qb7 28.a3 Nf6 29.Bf2 Ne4 30.Ree1 a5 31.Qe2 Qd5 32.Qh5 Bxe5 33.fxe5 Ra8 34.Be3 Qd7 35.g4 Qf7 36.Qxf7+ Kxf7 37.Rf1 g6 38.gxf5 gxf5 39.d5 Rg8+ 40.Kh1 exd5 41.Rxf5+ Ke6 42.Raf1 Rg6 43.Rh5 b4 44.axb4 axb4 45.cxb4 Rb8 46.Bd4 Rxb4 47.Rg1 (=)

Eine mögliche Folge wäre (A possible continuation would be): 47...Rxg1+ 48.Kxg1 Rb3 49.Rxh6+ Ke7 50.Rh7+ Ke6 51.Rh6+ 1/2-1/2