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🏆 Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz) (2019)

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
The Côte d’Ivoire Rapid & Blitz was the first stage of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, with World Champion Magnus Carlsen heading a 10-player field that featured seven tour regulars and wild cards Wei Yi, Veselin Topalov and Bassem Amin. The event took place in the Pullman Abidjan Hotel in Abidjan, Ivory Coast from May 8-12 and had a $150,000 prize fund. The rapid section was a single round-robin with three rounds each day on the first three days (May 8-10). The time control was 25 minutes for all moves and a ... [more]

Player: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 27  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Nakamura vs Vachier-Lagrave 1-0522019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B23 Sicilian, Closed
2. Vachier-Lagrave vs Ding Liren  ½-½362019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A07 King's Indian Attack
3. Karjakin vs Vachier-Lagrave ½-½372019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
4. Vachier-Lagrave vs Wei Yi 1-0432019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)C42 Petrov Defense
5. Carlsen vs Vachier-Lagrave 1-0422019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
6. Vachier-Lagrave vs So  ½-½352019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense
7. Topalov vs Vachier-Lagrave 0-1292019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
8. Vachier-Lagrave vs Nepomniachtchi  1-0392019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)C55 Two Knights Defense
9. B Amin vs Vachier-Lagrave 0-1342019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B50 Sicilian
10. Vachier-Lagrave vs So 1-0572019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A49 King's Indian, Fianchetto without c4
11. Carlsen vs Vachier-Lagrave 0-1442019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B90 Sicilian, Najdorf
12. Vachier-Lagrave vs Nakamura 1-0982019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)C67 Ruy Lopez
13. B Amin vs Vachier-Lagrave 0-1362019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A07 King's Indian Attack
14. Vachier-Lagrave vs Wei Yi  1-0632019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A07 King's Indian Attack
15. Vachier-Lagrave vs Ding Liren  ½-½462019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A07 King's Indian Attack
16. Topalov vs Vachier-Lagrave  1-0362019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A36 English
17. Vachier-Lagrave vs Karjakin  ½-½742019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A29 English, Four Knights, Kingside Fianchetto
18. Nepomniachtchi vs Vachier-Lagrave  ½-½712019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation
19. So vs Vachier-Lagrave  1-0352019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A34 English, Symmetrical
20. Vachier-Lagrave vs Carlsen 1-0552019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A30 English, Symmetrical
21. Nakamura vs Vachier-Lagrave  1-0392019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)B23 Sicilian, Closed
22. Vachier-Lagrave vs B Amin  1-0372019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)E11 Bogo-Indian Defense
23. Wei Yi vs Vachier-Lagrave  0-1442019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)D80 Grunfeld
24. Ding Liren vs Vachier-Lagrave  ½-½282019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)E60 King's Indian Defense
25. Vachier-Lagrave vs Topalov  1-0372019Grand Chess Tour Cote d’Ivoire (Rapid & Blitz)A06 Reti Opening
 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 27  PGN Download
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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 11 OF 12 ·  Later Kibitzing>
May-14-19  beenthere240: A number of years ago some programmers did try to bust parimutuel horse racing. They tried to let algorithms evolve based on historical records. Sort of like alphazero. After a while they concluded it was hopeless. They erased all traces of their work and retired.
May-14-19  MrMelad: <AylerKupp: Finally, I'm sure that <MrMelad> would be interested in this one: https://www.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/lyu/_me...

Thanks for the reference, I suppose you think it interests me because it references tensorflow. Is that right?

Admittedly I haven't looked very deep into the paper and also I know absolutely nothing about horse racing to be able to properly evaluate the study.

I did look briefly into the mentioning of neural network and I think it's fair to say their use of NN architecture in this model is pretty basic, it seems like they took off the shelf networks and played a little bit with the parameters. I don't think it matters much if they used tensorflow or other frameworks for that matter. Also it seems the training wasn't that performance demanding.

Regarding the results, 21% accuracy doesn't strike me as something very special but maybe I don't understand the figures.

It is interesting how they incorporated Elo rating system into what they called the score function, but I haven't dug deep into the details or implications.

May-14-19  Pedro Fernandez: By the way, Alydar defeated Affirmed in the Champagne Stakes, one out of the most important Gr.1 race for yearlings.
May-14-19  NrthrnKnght: I'll take as a horse... my friend Flicka
May-14-19  nok: Alydar? Sounds like an Azeri dictator.
May-14-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: <<Sally Simpson> A 75% correct horse race prediction over a season will make us rich. A lot richer than if you devote all your energy trying to predict the result of a game of chess between two humans for no apparent reason, certainly not for any financial gain.>

I agree with you on the first one, although I'm not sure what you mean by "us". :-) As the joke goes, "What do you mean 'we' Kemo Sabay?"

But you're wrong about the second one. Humans (but not computers, at least not yet) seem to like to bet on almost anything. So there is betting on chess, although typically about the results of a tournament and not on individual games. See, for example, the line on the 2019 Norway Open, which also already includes the odds on the upcoming 2020 WCC match between Carlsen and a bunch of possible opponents at https://sports.bwin.com/en/sports/6... and https://www.unibet.com/betting/spor.... Care to bet on Michael Adams' chances? And I suspect that you can find a lot of chess action in Las Vegas.

However, I'm not a betting man. Unlike some of my friends I don't particularly enjoy gambling unless, of course, the odds are greatly in my favor. In 1962 there was a landmark book, "Beat the Dealer" by Edward Thorp, which describes what I believe was a card-counting system for playing Blackjack based on, I believe, the first computer-generated calculations of Blackjack odds for every hand.

I got the book some time later and since even then I was interested ins computers, I learned and practiced how to count cards and what the odds were. My mother was a natural card player and, to test out my knowledge, I asked her to play a series of Blackjack hands with her as the dealer, using casino Blackjack rules. After we had played several hands (with a single deck) my card count indicated that I had a favorable situation, an above average number of face cards and 10s remaining. I bet the maximum per hand we had agreed to (play money, of course) and was dealt a pair of jacks.

Wow! I said to myself. This system really works! Then my mother proceeded to deal herself a 5-card 21. I concluded that there were no guarantees in Blackjack no matter how good the odds were in your favor and lost interest in the system.

As far as getting rich I'm already "rich" in the things that really matter. I'm in fairly good health and I have already exceeded my life expectancy. I have a lovely wife (47 years and counting), a nice home with a small mortgage in a nice neighborhood with nice neighbors. And several good friends, including the ones I've made here at <chessgames.com>. And financially I'm not bad off; several pensions, good investments, and some inherited money. And no really expensive vices or addictions. So I have both the time and the means to indulge myself in doing those things I like to do without worrying about financial gain.

Life is good.

May-14-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: <Sokrates> I apparently gave you the wrong impression. I can't speak for others but although I love horses I don't find horse racing particularly interesting or attractive, any more that I consider dog racing particularly interesting or attractive even though I also love dogs. It's just that once in a while a special horse or horses come around that capture my attention and, liking to read, I read about them. Just like I read about a lot of different subjects since I love to learn about things that are new to me. And as you can see in my post above financial gain is not that important to me, at least at the moment.
May-14-19  Sokrates: <AylerKupp: <Sokrates> I apparently gave you the wrong impression.> Yes. Not that I thought you were fixated on horse racing, I just got the impression that it was of special interest to you. But I get it.
May-14-19  nok: <I'm in fairly good health and I have already exceeded my life expectancy.>

Not to mention word expectancy

May-14-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: <I concluded that there were no guarantees in Blackjack no matter how good the odds were in your favor and lost interest in the system.>

It can take several hours at a blackjack table for the odds to kick in. You might be down thousands of dollars, waiting for the odds to go your way. It takes steady nerves. Even then, when the house realizes you're counting cards, how closely you're watching the cards on the table after every single hand, they'll simply tell you to leave.

The only game you can win money at in a gambling casino, win with skill is poker, because you're playing against other gamblers, not the House.

May-14-19  john barleycorn: <HeMateMe: ...

The only game you can win money at in a gambling casino, win with skill is poker, because you're playing against other gamblers, not the House.>

Utter crap.

May-14-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: "A sucker is born every minute..."

P.T. Barnum.

May-14-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Sally Simpson: ***

I have a wee flutter on the horses every now ans then but only if it has chess name. Don't think it's a fixation, more like something I'm expected to do.

It's the wife who is the horse lover. She currently has shares in a race horse (cannot recall it's name - nothing chessy.). We had our own horse for about 10 years. Expensive things to keep horses, she rode it, I paid for it, but do not regret it.

Never been in a casino though there are two very near me. Agree with HeMateMe (and P.T.Barnum on that one.)

***

May-15-19  Sokrates: <HeMateMe: "A sucker is born every minute..." P.T. Barnum.> - The similar saying in my country is: "The last idiot is yet to be born". :-)
May-15-19  john barleycorn: <Sokrates: ... The similar saying in my country is: "The last idiot is yet to be born". :-)>

Well, <HeMateMe> is the "last of the Moronicans". <Smørrebrød>, <Smørrebrød>, ram pam pam.

May-15-19  BOSTER: <AylerKupp>:<75%>. Kelly Criterion( a probability theory used by investors and gamblers) can give 94,8% Win Rate. It is human nature to want to be right. But in loss pos we have admit we were wrong with calculations.
May-15-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: <<MrMelad> Thanks for the reference, I suppose you think it interests me because it references tensorflow. Is that right?>

Yes, that's right. And, frankly, I didn't even look at the article. Not because I wasn't interested but because I'm currently very busy doing other things. But I did download it and when I get a breather I'll teak a look at it, for curiosity if nothing else, but also hoping that I will learn something. After all, stranger things have happened.

May-15-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  AylerKupp: <<Pedro Fernandez> By the way, Alydar defeated Affirmed in the Champagne Stakes, one out of the most important Gr.1 race for yearlings.>

Yes, Affirmed and Alydar competed against each other 10 times, and in each of those races one or the other horse finished first and the other one finished second. No doubt as to who were the two best horses in those races! That's one reason why the rivalry was so memorable, probably the best one in horse racing.

Of those 10 races Affirmed won 7 and Alydar won 3, with one of the Alydar victories due to a disqualification of Affirmed, who had finished first. But, to make it simpler and not to lose <Sokrates>, I decided to limit myself to the Triple Crown races.

Here is a nice article summarizing their 10 meetings: https://www.americasbestracing.net/.... And here is a quote from the article which summarizes the difference between the two horses, both winners:

"As inseparable as the two horses might have been, there was one quality that best explains why Affirmed was able to prevail in 70 percent of the clashes.

Alydar oozed class, a strapping homebred from one of the sport’s most famous farms who had a devastating knockout punch – when he could deliver it. Affirmed, on the other hand, was more of a street fighter <whose will to win was unrivaled>. [Something that I think Fischer, Kasparov, and Carlsen have in common, and a necessary quality of a champion, even though sometimes it is taken to extremes]

There were nine times in Affirmed’s 29 career starts where his margin of victory or defeat was less than a length. He won all of them.

Alydar, meanwhile, was involved in seven races where he won or lost by less than a length. He lost all seven of them.

“I think Affirmed had a little edge over everybody,” said Cauthen, a 1994 Hall of Fame inductee who turned 56 on May 1. “He was a winner. He loved to win, he loved to fight. He was like that guy in a bar looking for a fight. He loved racing and he loved to fight horses off.

“Yet I have to hand it to Alydar. He never quit. He kept coming back, even in the Belmont. You can understand a horse giving up when he couldn’t get past a horse like Affirmed, but he never quit. That’s why I admired both horses.”

Since this will probably be my last post on this subject, I wanted to take the opportunity to mention Alberto Juantorena, probably the best Cuban runner of all time (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alber...). He was best in the world at the middle distances for several years, and is the only runner to win both the 400m and the 800m races in the same Olympics, 1n 1976.

Why am I mentioning this? His nickname was "El Caballo". :-)

May-16-19  Sokrates: Please, dear Chessgames,

What kind of score table is this? According to the official counting of points (rapid x 2, blitz x 1), it looks like this:

Carlsen: 26.5
Nakamura + MVL: 23
So: 19.5

... and so forth. That's why Naka & MVL shared the 2nd price. No?

May-16-19  john barleycorn: <Sokrates: ... it looks like this:

Carlsen: 26.5
Nakamura + MVL: 23
So: 19.5 ...>

So, it is Wethley, the thirth and not the fourth.

May-16-19  Sokrates: Sorry for my lack of precision. Naka and MVL didn't share the price money - they both got $ 22,500 but in the official score they shared 2nd place, while So, of course, is no. 4 and certainly not 3.
May-16-19  john barleycorn: <Sokrates: Sorry for my lack of precision. Naka and MVL didn't share the price money - they both got $ 22,500 but in the official score they shared 2nd place, while So, of course, is no. 4 and certainly not 3.>

Well, I do not get this either.

May-16-19  Sokrates: Yes, you do and so do I. It's not a conundrum, unless you want to pretend it is. :-|
May-16-19  john barleycorn: <Sokrates> kindly, explain what you wrote :

<Naka and MVL didn't share the price money - they both got $ 22,500 but in the official score they shared 2nd place>

what language is this? Danglish?

May-16-19  Sokrates: No Mr. <john barleycorn>, insult me like this and you're ignored.
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