[checkmate36]

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just an example, Kasparov has an insane record against Shirov, even though shirov is rated lower than kasparov he 'shouldn't' have done so poorly against him. Shirov, was/is one of the top players in the world, i think he got to as high as 3 or 4 in the world, but the fact of the matter than he just matched up poorly against kasparov.

furthermore, many would argue anand was better than kramnik 4 or 5 years ago but that kramnik was much better at playing at kasparov.



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Boy it has been a while since my chess playing days. It took me a min to get the cobwebs out.

When players are rated this high, they look to see what openings each other prefer to play. If player A knows that player B specializes in a certain opening, they can get a team of players together to come up with a deeply laid plan to get them off the beaten path that they are familiar with. Its hard to do, these guys have seen it all but it does happen. Kasparov had one of the best teams of specialists helping him last I remember. That explains why one player, even though highly rated, may struggle vs another.

May the best labratory win. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]