Mainz 2008: photographic impressions by Fred Lucas

Fred Lucas – impressions of Mainz

Vishy Anand, classical and rapid chess world champion

Magnus Carlsen, at one stage just 1.5 points behind Anand on the Elo scale

Judit Polgar, an imaginative and very dangerous rapid player

Alexander Morozevich, whose style nobody understands but everybody fears

Anand plays a simultaneous exhibition in Mainz, which turned into a record hunt

Anand conceded just two draws on 40 boards – breaking his previous 38-2 record in Mainz

One of the world's most dangerous rapid players: Hikaru Nakamura from USA

The Ordix Open winner Ian Nepomniachtchi, Russia, with Pavel Eljanov, Ukraine

Just a really nice person: WGM and IM Viktorija Cmilyte of Lithuania

The center of attention in the current world of chess: 17-year-old Magnus Carlsen

Summit meeting – many believe this will be the setup in a world championship match

Just a few more points and a few more years – then I will be king

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk with her daughter Francesca Maria (one year three months)

How does she do it? Anand consistently failed to beat Judit in winning positions

The joy of chess – Viktorija Čmilytė, two-time national champion of Lithuania

"My relation with chess is simple," says Fred Lucas. "I'm a photographer who is very fond of the game, loves the atmosphere at tournaments – it's if you can really feel all the ideas coming up on all those boards – and I love to make pictures, especially with available light. What I like most when photographing chess players is to get their emotions that are otherwise hard to see, because life immediately proceeds to the next moment. Before the start of a game most players are busy with themselves, concentrating and some give you the impression that they really don't want to pay attention to anything else than the game to come."

Links

• Fred Lucas' 2008 Wijk aan Zee gallery
• From Momentoo: Faces of Corus
• Wijk aan Zee official photo gallery
• ChessBase Wijk aan Zee illustrated reports
• Momentoo – chess in available light
• Tea Lanchava: My life is a mix of beautiful dreams!
• From Momentoo: Faces of Calvià
• Studio Fred Lucas

Links Official web site: in German and in English All games from the Grenkeleasing Rapid in PGN All games from the Ordix Open in PGN ChessBase reports Chess Classic 2002, 2003 Chess Classic 2004 + the Carmen Kass story Chess Classic 2005 Chess Classic 2006 Chess Classic 2007 Chess Classic 2008