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Subject: Re: The Psychology of Chess and Kramnick's Blunder

Author: Peter McKenzie

Date: 22:36:59 10/14/02

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Well said.

Remember how Fischer's opponents folded so terribly sometimes?  In particular
those amazing 6-0 victories in the candidates matches vs Larsen and Taimanov.
In my opinion this wasn't just because of Fischer's excellent moves, but also
the psychological strain of playing an opponent with machine like efficiency,
knowing they will punish your every blunder, can cause some players to 'crack'
under the pressure.

Another interesting example of someone cracking is Karpov in his first match vs
Kasparov.  Kasparov, by adopting a for him unnaturally dry style, demonstrated
that he was at least Karpov's equal in purely technical play.  This seemed to
throw Karpov completely, and he was only saved by Fide weirdly calling the match
off.

The question is whether Kramnik has cracked completely, or whether this was just
a temporary aboration and he can regain his composure.  I think he will be able
to recover, but it will be interesting!

Peter



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