9/19/2011 – In his continued promotion for chess instruction in schools, and the Kasparov Chess Foundation, this weekend Garry Kasparov gave an exhibition blitz match in Clichy against the 2011 French champion, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The match, covered by the French mass media, was won by Kasparov with a flourish. Here is the report with videos and annotations by GM Karsten Müller.
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In his continued promotion for chess instruction in schools, and the Kasparov Chess Foundation, Garry Kasparov was in Clichy this weekend where he gave an exhibition blitz match against the 2011 French champion, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Garry Kasparov with Dan-Antoine Shapiro, the organizer of the 1990 World Championship
Vachier-Lagrave had to earn his right to play the champion, and a match was played against the 2010 French champion, Laurent Fressinet. The two played a match in identical conditions to the one to be played against Kasparov, in two games of five minutes plus a three-second increment, followed by an Armageddon game in the event of a tie. Both their games ended in draws, and Vachier-Lagrave won the tiebreaker.
The exhibition was completely sold out at the auditorium of the Lycée Auffray
Both French champions fought for the right to play Garry
Having warmed up, and being an ultra-active player with a 2700+ rating, one might think that Garry would be at a disadvantage, however the ex-champion shrugged off the years of retirement and won their first game in a flourish sure to make fans wish for a bit more than these bits and flashes we get from him nowadays.
If Vachier-Lagrave had aspirations of adding Kasparov's scalp to his laurels, he was
brutally shown otherwise.
Although analyzing blitz games is generally not done, but as Karsten Müller explains, "...when the great Garry Kasparov plays, matters are different." As such, here is the game with notes by GM Karsten Müller.
After winning the match, both players were teamed up with celebrities, in which Vachier-Lagrave was paired with Laurent Baumel, the mayor of Ballan-Miré, facing Kasparov with Anthony Delon, the son of the legendary Alain Delon. In this light-hearted encounter, the French champion and the mayor took the laurels.
Here is a video by the French Chess Federation highlighting moments of the event
The presence of the great player also ensured maximum press coverage from the French mass media such as Le Figaro, Le Monde, and even BFM TV.
This TV report by BFM TV emphasized the angle of chess instruction in schools
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
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