Day one – Let the Games Begin

England was up a goal, then Brazil equalised and finally got the decider with a long-range shot by Rinaldo. Of course of this exciting game we saw nothing, no live transmission at 8:30 a.m. in any of the hotel TV channels. Vlady Kramnik wisely slept through the game, Vishy Anand caught the brief verbal descriptions on CNN Business News and BBC World.

Discussing the results of England-Brazil before the press conference: Vlady
Kramnik, Marcilino Sion, Vishy and Aruna Anand, Frederic Friedel.

The press conference started off with a discussion of the technicals, then came the drawing of lots (Kramnik got white in the first game).

In discussion with the press Vladimir Kramnik, playing the Advance Chess format for the first time ever, speculated that one had to be careful not to become too distracted by the computer. Veteran Anand said that it was clear that the combination human plus computer was much stronger than a human playing without electronic assistance.

There were a number of questions about the reunification agreement in Prague. Kramnik complained that he had been misrepresented a lot, or badly translated, on purpose by people with their own adgenda. He said that his mail goal had never been to unify the chess world but to give players a clear cycle with cloear-cut, binding rules that everybody could rely on.

Massive eight-page coverage in today's local newspaper

Game one

4:30 p.m.: Germany had somehow managed to dispose of the US in the world soccer championship, which was shown on the hotel TV channels. Miraculously the stage for the chess games had been completed and the first game started without a hitch.

Getting set for game one. You can also watch the start in video here.

This is beginning to look like work!

The first game was qutie exciting, although one commentator was a bit disappointed. "The two seem to have too much respect for each other," said Dr Ricardo Calvo, IM and moderator of the event. "In the end Anand had more time and should have perhaps played on." Kramnik told us after the game that he had become optimistic during the game and pinned too much hope on the c-pawn. "But when I got it to c7 I discovered that it was impossible to make anything out of it."

Game two was a "damp squib" according to Anand, who complained bitterly about the Fritz engine he was using as an assistant during the game. "Suddenly Fritz spoke up and said 'Oh, by the way, there is a hole in your prepration, this leads to nothing!' – 'But why didn't you tell me at home, before the game?' I said. 'Yeah, I was meaning to tell you,' it replied. 'It's too late now, huh?' Typical Fritzy."

Vlady Kramnik and Vishy Anand during the press conference with Dr Calvo

In the press conference Vlady said that he needed to study today's games in the night and draw certain conclusions, maybe modify his strategy (sounds ominous, doesn't it). One thing he already knows: "It's going to be very, very hard to beat a world-class player who is working with world-class chess software."

Eyeball to eyeball: Vishy horsing around with a very young fan named Jorge.

• Games one and two with commentary (in Spanish)

Frederic Friedel

Schedule

• Official web site
• Previous Advanced Chess event (2002)