CHESS World Champions and Challengers survivor - Kasparov champion !

[big bad fab]

With your green light, Edu, I start it ! If you have some regrets and want to manage it, feel free to tell me.

I've included all the world champions from 1886 to present, i.e. classical champions and also FIDE champions during the 1993-2006 split between FIDE and players' associations.

I've also added the acknowledged "best players of their time" from 1843 to 1886.
I've started with Howard Staunton, who organized the 1st international chess tournament and who promoted a "clear" chess set, with standardized shaped pieces, which is still used today.
And this has led me to add only 3 names, but 3 Titans: Staunton, Morphy and Anderssen (I had to put him in, he has played some of the most beautiful games!).

Then, I've also included all the challengers: otherwise, really big names like Tarrasch, Marshall, Zukertort, Keres, Bronstein, Korchnoi, Ivanchuk, Shirov wouldn't have been in. And it has the positive side effect of including (the only) one woman: Judit Polgar.
Of course, there are hence some "smaller" players of recent times, like Svidler, Grischuk, Morozevich or Akopian, but the rules will turn this little problem into a non-issue, I think. And they'll be easy and fine losers .

RULES

Stage one
There are 4 groups of 12 players: I've tried to balance the groups, in terms of chronology, of nationalities, of chess style, and to avoid to put in the same group 2 players who have fought in real life.
Like in a chess tournament, there will be 11 rounds in which each player will fight against every other player of his group. Then, we'll eliminate 6 players in each group, those with the smallest total of points.
Decided by your votes, each fight will result in 1 point (victory), 0.5 point (tie), 0 point (defeat), like in real life.

Stage two
The remaining 24 players will fight in play-off matches, depending on their ranking at the end of the tournament. 12 will then be eliminated and the remaining 12 will fight again in play-off matches. 6 will be eliminated.

Stage three
The remaining 6 will play in a mini-tournament of 5 rounds. We'll then eliminate 4 of them.

Stage four
The remaining 2 will play a final match and we'll then decide a winner.

Here are the groups:

Group A:
1. Howard STAUNTON (best player 1843-1851)
2. Wilhelm STEINITZ (champion 1886-1894)
3. Max EUWE (champion 1935-1937)
4. Mikhail TAL (champion 1960-1961)
5. Anatoly KARPOV (champion 1975-1985, FIDE champion 1993-1999)
6. Rustam KASIMDZHANOV (FIDE champion 2004-2005)
7. Frank MARSHALL (challenger 1907)
8. David JANOWSKI (challenger 1910)
9. Paul KERES (challenger 1948)
10. Nigel SHORT (challenger 1993)
11. Vasily IVANCHUK (challenger 2002)
12. Levon ARONIAN (challenger 2007)

Group B:
1. Paul MORPHY (best player 1858-1862)
2. Emanuel LASKER (champion 1894-1921)
3. Vasily SMYSLOV (champion 1957-1958)
4. Robert FISCHER (champion 1972-1975)
5. Vladimir KRAMNIK (champion 2000-2007)
6. Ruslan PONOMARIOV (FIDE champion 2002-2004)
7. Isidor GUNSBERG (challenger 1890-1891)
8. Efim BOGOLJUBOV (challenger 1929, 1934)
9. Viktor KORCHNOI (challenger 1978, 1981)
10. Michael ADAMS (challenger 2004)
11. Judit POLGAR (challenger 2005)
12. Boris GELFAND (challenger 2007)

Group C:
1. Adolf ANDERSSEN (best player 1851-1858, 1862-1866)
2. José Raul CAPABLANCA (champion 1921-1927)
3. Mikhail BOTVINNIK (champion 1948-1957, 1958-1960, 1961-1963)
4. Boris SPASSKY (champion 1969-1972)
5. Viswanathan ANAND (FIDE champion 2000-2002, champion 2007-...)
6. Johannes ZUKERTORT (challenger 1886)
7. Siegbert TARRASCH (challenger 1908)
8. Samuel RESHEVSKY (challenger 1948)
9. Jan TIMMAN (challenger 1993)
10. Vladimir AKOPIAN (challenger 1999)
11. Alexei SHIROV (challenger 2000)
12. Alexander GRISCHUK (challenger 2007)

Group D:
1. Alexander ALEKHINE (champion 1927-1935, 1937-1946)
2. Tigran PETROSIAN (champion 1963-1969)
3. Garry KASPAROV (champion 1985-2000)
4. Alexander KHALIFMAN (FIDE champion 1999-2000)
5. Veselin TOPALOV (FIDE champion 2005-2006)
6. Mikhail CHIGORIN (challenger 1889, 1892)
7. Carl SCHLECHTER (challenger 1910)
8. David BRONSTEIN (challenger 1951)
9. Gata KAMSKY (challenger 1996)
10. Peter LEKO (challenger 2004)
11. Alexander MOROZEVICH (challenger 2007)
12. Peter SVIDLER (challenger 2007)

To anybody with even a slight interest in this survivor: feel free to vote on any criterion you want, even simply "nationality".
First, many championships had political aspects of great interest and so, it can be a fine way to vote.
Second, how can we decide who is the "best" player ? That's impossible. As for me, I'm playing chess as a complete amateur and I'm not very good... So, no shame...

The aim of all this is to have fun, to learn a bit about players and to vote with different rules than usual.
Enjoy !

[big bad fab]

Please pick one player in each of these matches:

Group A:
Staunton / Steinitz
Euwe / Aronian
Tal / Short
Karpov / Keres
Kasimdzhanov / Marshall
Janowski / Ivanchuk

Group B:
Morphy / Lasker
Smyslov / Gelfand
Fischer / Adams
Kramnik / Korchnoi
Ponomariov / Gunsberg
Bogoljubov / Polgar

Group C:
Anderssen / Capablanca
Botvinnik / Grischuk
Spassky / Akopian
Anand / Timman
Zukertort / Tarrasch
Reshevsky / Shirov

Group D:
Alekhine / Petrosian
Kasparov / Svidler
Khalifman / Leko
Topalov / Kamsky
Chigorin / Schlechter
Bronstein / Morozevich

I'll let this round open for some time, in order to let everybody become more familiar with all these names.
I'll vote soon .

[big bad fab]

My vote, with some commentaries, as it's the first round:

Group A:
Staunton / Steinitz (no surprise, as Staunton wasn't a real genius and was a bad character)
Euwe / Aronian (yes ! an interesting player, Aronian is able to be very, very good)
Tal / Short (what else ? Tal is the Magician !)
Karpov / Keres (Keres should have been world champion, he was a real genius but... he was Estonian in the Soviet Union)
Kasimdzhanov / Marshall (Kasimdzhanov was champion of a split and broken championship)
Janowski / Ivanchuk (Ivanchuk isn't very constant... but, sometimes, he is able to be one of the very best)

Group B:
Morphy / Lasker (wow, one of the most difficult to decide... well, Morphy was a genius after all... I'll vote for Lasker in the next rounds anyway )
Smyslov / Gelfand (for the fact that, still in 1984, he played the Candidates' final against Kasparov; and Smyslov was very kind)
Fischer / Adams
Kramnik / Korchnoi (Kramnik is very good but boring... Korchnoi is utterly unkind but what a history !)
Ponomariov / Gunsberg (just because he is Ukrainian )
Bogoljubov / Polgar (well, Judit will have other votes from me and Bogoljubov had a big history)

Group C:
Anderssen / Capablanca (uneasy, but some of Anderssen's games are just so beautful to look at...)
Botvinnik / Grischuk
Spassky / Akopian
Anand / Timman (I like Timman, but Anand is brighter)
Zukertort / Tarrasch (uneasy but I love Tarrasch's theories and combinations)
Reshevsky / Shirov (2 geniuses and we have to decide)

Group D:
Alekhine / Petrosian
Kasparov / Svidler
Khalifman / Leko
Topalov / Kamsky
Chigorin / Schlechter (he almost defeated Lasker, after all)
Bronstein / Morozevich

[Edu]

My only concern about this survivor is the turnout , other than that i must say you had a good idea with the rules

Group A:
Staunton / Steinitz (Yep, Staunton is overrated)
Euwe / Aronian (I don't really see Aronian doing that well in this group, so he gets my sympathy vote)
Tal / Short (Tal is one of my favorite players, a great attacking genius who probably plays the most entertaining matches)
Karpov / Keres (nothing against Keres, but Karpov is another one of my favorites)
Kasimdzhanov / Marshall (not really a fan of most of the guys who were FIDE champions when the championship was split)
Janowski / Ivanchuk (He is awesome )

Group B:
Morphy / Lasker (this one may seem difficult but it isn't, i never liked Lasker, He should have lost his title earlier to Capablanca and on the other hand Morphy is another favorite of mine)
Smyslov / Gelfand (Hugely underrated)
Fischer / Adams (Not only a great player but also hilarious, my dad met him in the 70's and told me he was quite the douchebag, but at least  a funny one )
Kramnik / Korchnoi (I like Kramnik despite his usually boring matches, but as Fab says Korchnoi has a great personal history)
Ponomariov / Gunsberg (Same reason as with Kasimdzhanov)
Bogoljubov / Polgar (we need the lady to reach the second round)

Group C:
Anderssen / Capablanca (Capablanca = One of my favorites. Nuff said)
Botvinnik / Grischuk (i don't think i need to say anything)
Spassky / Akopian (quite a character and great player)
Anand / Timman (for some reason i don't like Anand too much)
Zukertort / Tarrasch (agree with fab)
Reshevsky / Shirov (Yep, this one is hard, in the end i like Shirov more)

Group D:
Alekhine / Petrosian (the opposite of Tal, his games might not be the most exciting considering that overwhelming defence he puts up, but i find his games quite interesting. Alekhine should do well in the group, so I'm not really concerned about my vote here)
Kasparov / Svidler (easy decision)
Khalifman / Leko (Leko is another favorite of mine and Khalifman gets the same treatment Ponomariov and Kasimdzhanov suffered )
Topalov / Kamsky (yet another favorite for me and he even has a comeback to make his history a bit richer)
Chigorin / Schlechter (though decision, and Chigorin gets my vote because i have analysed more games from him)
Bronstein / Morozevich (though group for Morozevich, he gets another sympathy vote)

[big bad fab]

Mr. X will probably vote when he's back.

I hope some others will vote...
At least, with 3 voters, we can go on

[big bad fab]

OK, maybe I need to be more persuasive to boost the turnout....

Here's the president of Estonia's chess federation:



And here are a Moldovian turned French chess champion and once a member of top 10 (left) and a former World chess female champion (right), who is now a great (chess...) teacher:



Let's see if that works...

[Edu]

I'm still hoping Hans and Magic will vote here when they get back

[big bad fab]

I'm still hoping Hans and Magic will vote here when they get back

Hans, are you interested in this one ?

[Hans-im-Glück]

Yes, I find it very interesting , but I've got not so many time and here is my vote with not so many coments:

Group A:
Staunton / Steinitz
Euwe / Aronian
Tal / Short
Karpov / Keres (Maybe Karpov is a boring chessplayer, but he is one of the best player ever)
Kasimdzhanov / Marshall
Janowski / Ivanchuk

Group B:
Morphy / Lasker (I'm German and vote for Lasker, but Morphy is a good choice too)
Smyslov / Gelfand
Fischer / Adams
Kramnik / Korchnoi (Korchnoi is only a bad "Karpov" with an interesting history)
Ponomariov / Gunsberg
Bogoljubov / Polgar

Group C:
Anderssen / Capablanca (he was a real genius)
Botvinnik / Grischuk
Spassky / Akopian (we need more crazy players in  this game )
Anand / Timman
Zukertort / Tarrasch
Reshevsky / Shirov

Group D:
Alekhine / Petrosian (a coin-flip, both are worth for the next round)
Kasparov / Svidler
Khalifman / Leko
Topalov / Kamsky
Chigorin / Schlechter
Bronstein / Morozevich

[big bad fab]

Thank you, Hans, I'll wait a bit from now, so that you're back from holidays and have all the time you need .
Mr.X will come back too and Magic, hopefully.

[Magic 8-Ball]

I'm game, but give me a day or so to familiarize myself with the contenders.  My father and brother killed what love I would have had for Chess with the way they taught me to play.

[Magic 8-Ball]

Okay, here we go:

Group A:
Staunton/Steinitz
Euwe/Aronian
Tal/Short
Karpov/Keres
Kasimdzhanov/Marshall
Janowski/Ivanchuk

Group B:
Morphy/Lasker
Smyslov/Gelfand
Fischer/Adams
Kramnik/Korchnoi
Ponomariov/Gunsberg
Bogoljubov/Polgar

Group C:
Anderssen/Capablanca
Botvinnik/Grischuk
Spassky/Akopian
Anand/Timman
Zukertort/Tarrasch
Reshevsky/Shirov

Group D:
Alekhine/Petrosian
Kasparov/Svidler
Khalifman/Leko
Topalov/Kamsky
Chigorin/Schlechter
Bronstein/Morozevich

Questions?  Comments?  Death threats?

[Magic 8-Ball]

Oh, and you should open and close each round with that first woman. 

[big bad fab]

Not exactly the photo you wanted, Magic, but still...



Well, I don't know where is Mr.X, but I want this survivor to live a bit, so I close round 1. BTW, with 4 voters, it gives us some interesting draws ! (Anderssen-Capa, Karpov-Keres or Korchnoi-Kramnik !)
Hopefully, Mr.X will join us soon.
I'll again let this round open for a while, so that he can reappear and so that Hans has some time to vote.

RESULTS OF ROUND 1:

Group A:
Staunton / Steinitz 0/1
Euwe / Aronian 0/1
Tal / Short 1/0
Karpov / Keres =/=
Kasimdzhanov / Marshall 0/1
Janowski / Ivanchuk 0/1

Group B:
Morphy / Lasker 1/0
Smyslov / Gelfand 1/0
Fischer / Adams 1/0
Kramnik / Korchnoi =/=
Ponomariov / Gunsberg =/=
Bogoljubov / Polgar 0/1

Group C:
Anderssen / Capablanca =/=
Botvinnik / Grischuk 1/0
Spassky / Akopian 1/0
Anand / Timman 1/0
Zukertort / Tarrasch 0/1
Reshevsky / Shirov 0/1

Group D:
Alekhine / Petrosian 1/0
Kasparov / Svidler 1/0
Khalifman / Leko 0/1
Topalov / Kamsky =/=
Chigorin / Schlechter 0/1
Bronstein / Morozevich 1/0

PROVISIONAL RANKING AFTER ROUND 1:

Group A:
1. Steinitz, Marshall, Tal, Aronian, Ivanchuk 1
6. Karpov, Keres 0.5
8. Euwe, Janowski, Short, Staunton, Kasimdzhanov 0

Group B:
1.  Fischer, Smyslov, Morphy, Polgar 1
5. Kramnik, Korchnoi, Ponomariov, Gunsberg 0.5
9. Lasker, Bogoljubov, Gelfand, Adams 0

Group C:
1. Botvinnik, Spassky, Shirov, Anand, Tarrasch 1
6. Capablanca, Anderssen 0.5
8. Zukertort, Timman, Reshevsky, Akopian, Grischuk 0

Group D:
1. Kasparov, Leko, Alekhine, Schlechter, Bronstein 1
6. Topalov, Kamsky 0.5
8. Petrosian, Chigorin, Morozevich, Khalifman, Svidler 0


Round 2 is now open. Here are the matches:

Group A:
Staunton / Euwe
Steinitz / Aronian
Tal / Keres
Karpov / Janowski
Kasimdzhanov / Ivanchuk
Marshall / Short

Group B:
Morphy / Smyslov
Lasker / Gelfand
Fischer / Korchnoi
Kramnik / Bogoljubov
Ponomariov / Polgar
Gunsberg / Adams

Group C:
Anderssen / Botvinnik
Capablanca / Grischuk
Spassky / Timman
Anand / Reshevsky
Zukertort / Shirov
Tarrasch / Akopian

Group D:
Alekhine / Kasparov
Petrosian / Svidler
Khalifman / Kamsky
Topalov / Bronstein
Chigorin / Morozevich
Schlechter / Leko

Tal-Keres, Alekhine-Kasparov, Fischer-Korchnoi,... wow...

[big bad fab]

I have some regrets with my list: no Nimzowitsch, no Reti, no Tartakower, no Rubinstein !
And more recently (but that would have been less deserved): no Yusupov, no Beliavsky...


My votes:

Group A:
Staunton / Euwe
Steinitz / Aronian
Tal / Keres (really, really hard... but I think Tal is safe, so I try to give Keres some points)
Karpov / Janowski
Kasimdzhanov / Ivanchuk
Marshall / Short

Group B:
Morphy / Smyslov
Lasker / Gelfand
Fischer / Korchnoi
Kramnik / Bogoljubov (not an easy one, but Kramnik is so disappointing in a way)
Ponomariov / Polgar (it seems as if she will benefit from the fact to be the only one woman and I'll vote for her soon too, but Ponomariov is a very good and interesting player)
Gunsberg / Adams

Group C:
Anderssen / Botvinnik
Capablanca / Grischuk
Spassky / Timman
Anand / Reshevsky (poor Sam, I need to vote for him soon)
Zukertort / Shirov (I really like Shirov, but, well, it's Zukertort)
Tarrasch / Akopian

Group D:
Alekhine / Kasparov
Petrosian / Svidler
Khalifman / Kamsky
Topalov / Bronstein
Chigorin / Morozevich
Schlechter / Leko

[Hans-im-Glück]

My votes:

Group A:
Staunton / Euwe
Steinitz / Aronian
Tal / Keres  (I'm not sure, but Tal would be destroy Keres
Karpov / Janowski
Kasimdzhanov / Ivanchuk
Marshall / Short

Group B:
Morphy / Smyslov
Lasker / Gelfand
Fischer / Korchnoi
Kramnik / Bogoljubov (I find Kramnik much better)
Ponomariov / Polgar (Polgar would be no chance)
Gunsberg  / Adams (for me a coin-flip)

Group C:
Anderssen  / Botvinnik
Capablanca / Grischuk
Spassky / Timman
Anand / Reshevsky
Zukertort / Shirov
Tarrasch / Akopian

Group D:
Alekhine / Kasparov (This would be a very interesting match)
Petrosian / Svidler
Khalifman / Kamsky
Topalov / Bronstein
Chigorin  / Morozevich
Schlechter  / Leko

And Mr. Spock have my vote too. He would win aganst all this players

[Magic 8-Ball]

Group A:
Staunton / Euwe
Steinitz / Aronian
Tal / Keres
Karpov / Janowski
Kasimdzhanov / Ivanchuk
Marshall / Short

Group B:
Morphy / Smyslov
Lasker / Gelfand
Fischer / Korchnoi
Kramnik / Bogoljubov
Ponomariov / Polgar
Gunsberg / Adams

Group C:
Anderssen / Botvinnik
Capablanca / Grischuk
Spassky / Timman
Anand / Reshevsky
Zukertort / Shirov
Tarrasch / Akopian

Group D:
Alekhine / Kasparov
Petrosian / Svidler
Khalifman / Kamsky
Topalov / Bronstein
Chigorin / Morozevich
Schlechter / Leko

[big bad fab]

Edu, are you here ?

Edu, es-tu là ? (it sound much funnier in French !)

[Edu]

Sorry for the delay.

Group A:
Staunton / Euwe
Steinitz / Aronian
Tal / Keres (Meh, i never cared about Keres, while Tal is arguably my favorite, this one is easy)
Karpov / Janowski
Kasimdzhanov / Ivanchuk
Marshall / Short

Group B:
Morphy / Smyslov (I would have voted for Morphy but i'd like to give Smyslov a sympathy vote)
Lasker / Gelfand
Fischer / Korchnoi
Kramnik / Bogoljubov
Ponomariov / Polgar (Vade retro Ponomariov!)
Gunsberg / Adams

Group C:
Anderssen / Botvinnik
Capablanca / Grischuk
Spassky / Timman
Anand / Reshevsky
Zukertort / Shirov
Tarrasch / Akopian

Group D:
Alekhine / Kasparov (planning on voting Kasparov, but i end up voting Alekhine to have a draw )
Petrosian / Svidler
Khalifman / Kamsky
Topalov / Bronstein
Chigorin / Morozevich
Schlechter / Leko

[big bad fab]

Sorry, Edu, I've urged you to vote, but I've forgotten the list of matches in my desk...
So we have to wait until Monday. Sorry again.

[big bad fab]

This is for you, Magic

RESULTS OF ROUND 2:

Group A:
Staunton / Euwe 0/1
Steinitz / Aronian 1/0
Tal / Keres 1/0
Karpov / Janowski 1/0
Kasimdzhanov / Ivanchuk 0/1
Marshall / Short 1/0

Group B:
Morphy / Smyslov 1/0
Lasker / Gelfand 1/0
Fischer / Korchnoi 1/0
Kramnik / Bogoljubov 1/0
Ponomariov / Polgar =/=
Gunsberg / Adams 1/0

Group C:
Anderssen / Botvinnik =/=
Capablanca / Grischuk 1/0
Spassky / Timman 1/0
Anand / Reshevsky 1/0
Zukertort / Shirov 1/0
Tarrasch / Akopian 1/0

Group D:
Alekhine / Kasparov =/=
Petrosian / Svidler 1/0
Khalifman / Kamsky 0/1
Topalov / Bronstein 0/1
Chigorin / Morozevich 1/0
Schlechter / Leko =/=


PROVISIONAL RANKING AFTER ROUND 2:

Group A:
1. Steinitz, Marshall, Tal, Ivanchuk 2
5. Karpov 1.5
6. Aronian, Euwe, 1
8. Keres 0.5
9. Janowski, Short, Staunton, Kasimdzhanov 0

Group B:
1. Fischer, Morphy 2
3. Polgar, Kramnik, Gunsberg 1.5
6. Smyslov, Ponomariov, Lasker 1
9. Korchnoi 0.5
10. Bogoljubov, Gelfand, Adams 0

Group C:
1. Spassky, Anand, Tarrasch 2
4. Botvinnik, Capablanca 1.5
6. Anderssen, Shirov, Zukertort 1
9. Timman, Reshevsky, Akopian, Grischuk 0

Group D:
1. Bronstein 2
2. Kasparov, Leko, Alekhine, Schlechter, Kamsky 1.5
7. Petrosian, Chigorin 1
9. Topalov 0.5
10. Morozevich, Khalifman, Svidler 0


Round 3 is now open. Here are the matches:

Group A:
Staunton / Tal
Steinitz / Janowski
Euwe / Short
Karpov / Marshall
Kasimdzhanov / Keres
Ivanchuk / Aronian

Group B:
Morphy / Fischer
Lasker / Bogoljubov
Smyslov / Adams
Kramnik / Gunsberg
Ponomariov / Korchnoi
Polgar / Gelfand

Group C:
Anderssen / Spassky
Capablanca / Reshevsky
Botvinnik / Akopian
Anand / Tarrasch
Zukertort / Timman
Shirov / Grischuk

Group D:
Alekhine / Khalifman
Petrosian / Bronstein
Kasparov / Leko
Topalov / Schlechter
Chigorin / Kamsky
Morozevich / Svidler

Morphy/Fischer, Karpov/Marshall, Anand/Tarrasch, Petrosian/Bronstein, Capa/Reshevsky... some fine ones, here too !

[big bad fab]

Group A:
Staunton / Tal
Steinitz / Janowski
Euwe / Short (poor Nigel...)
Karpov / Marshall (well...)
Kasimdzhanov / Keres
Ivanchuk / Aronian

Group B:
Morphy / Fischer (human aspects have prevailed in my vote)
Lasker / Bogoljubov
Smyslov / Adams
Kramnik / Gunsberg ()
Ponomariov / Korchnoi
Polgar / Gelfand (Gelfand is a good player, but, of course, Judit must go beyond the first stage)

Group C:
Anderssen / Spassky
Capablanca / Reshevsky
Botvinnik / Akopian
Anand / Tarrasch
Zukertort / Timman
Shirov / Grischuk

Group D:
Alekhine / Khalifman
Petrosian / Bronstein
Kasparov / Leko
Topalov / Schlechter
Chigorin / Kamsky (I've hesitated a lot; I'm a bit harsh with Kamsky: he may well deserve to win here)
Morozevich / Svidler

[Magic 8-Ball]

Group A:
Staunton / Tal
Steinitz / Janowski
Euwe / Short
Karpov / Marshall
Kasimdzhanov / Keres
Ivanchuk / Aronian

Group B:
Morphy / Fischer
Lasker / Bogoljubov
Smyslov / Adams
Kramnik / Gunsberg
Ponomariov / Korchnoi
Polgar / Gelfand

Group C:
Anderssen / Spassky
Capablanca / Reshevsky
Botvinnik / Akopian
Anand / Tarrasch
Zukertort / Timman
Shirov / Grischuk

Group D:
Alekhine / Khalifman
Petrosian / Bronstein
Kasparov / Leko
Topalov / Schlechter
Chigorin / Kamsky
Morozevich / Svidler

[Magic 8-Ball]

This is for you, Magic

You find the most delightful pictures...

[big bad fab]

This is for you, Magic

You find the most delightful pictures...

I don't really understand why the rooks are like that...
But bishops and knights are fine (pawns too !)

I guess after this survivor my social conservative Catholic image will be a bit tarnished in this forum. Or not !