[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Quotation Time - imported edition: The answer is...

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Quotation Time - imported edition: The answer is...
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1212076013.shtml


   ...to be given after re-presenting the quotation:

     Anand, by the way, did not have a strong tournament, and it is
     quite well known that he is not a very patient person. In his youth
     he played very quickly, living only on his enormous talent. He
     never became the great player he could have been, and I predict he
     will not be.

   The author of this quotation turns out to be Jacob Aagaard, writing in
   Excelling in Chess. I still think the comment was and is more or less
   insane, but Jonathan B of the [1]Streatham & Brixton Chess Club blog,
   from which [2]the quotation and [3]its solution were taken, seems more
   sympathetic. The reasons I find the quotation absurd are that Anand is
   in fact one of the most deeply prepared players on the planet (thus
   not just living off his enormous talent), probably the best defender
   alive (and how does one defend without patience?), and in the top
   three for well over a decade. If Anand were a bit tougher
   psychologically and a little less risk-averse, especially with the
   black pieces, it's possible that his results could have been even
   better, but there isn't any player without some relative weaknesses in
   his or her game.

References

   1. http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/
   2. http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/2008/05/andy-thakes-chess-books.html
   3. http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-might-have-been.html