Doing the "Classical" Chess Limbo

The St. Louis Scholastic Chess Center is hosting a “Champions Showdown 2016” which includes, as one of the three different formats being utilized, what is being billed as a “Classical” time control of G/60 with a 5 second delay.
When I won the Atlanta Chess Championship in 1976 the time control was 40 moves in 2 1/2 hours, which was known as the “Classical” time control. Later is was shortened to only 40/2, where it stayed for decades. After Kirsan met with the ET’s he took it upon himself to change the “Classical” time control to G/90 plus 30 seconds added for the whole game. Now those in St. Louis have taken it upon themselves after the owner, Rex Sinquefield, made many comments concerning speeding up the game, to publicize a new “Classical” time control of only one hour for each opponent for the whole game. How much lower can a “Classical” time control go? How are these things decided, and how much input do those who actually play the game have in what time control will be considered “Classical?”
Has it reached a point in our society whereby those with money and influence call the shots? Is this good for the continuation of our Royal game?

“But if this ever changin’
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die
What does it matter to ya
When ya got a job to do
Ya got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell”

The answer to your questions are:

How much lower can a “Classical” time control go? - G/30

How are these things decided? By the golden rule - the guy with the gold makes the rule.

How much input do those who actually play the game have in what time control with be considered “Classical”? - none

Has it reached a point in our society whereby those with money and influence call the shots? - See answer to question #2.

Is this good for the continuation of our royal game? - No

While the boring WCC was transpiring this game was played in St. Louis at the “new” classical time control:

Nakamura, Hikaru (USA) - Topalov, Veselin (BUL)

Champions Showdown 2016 round 03-Classical-round-3

  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. e3 Bf5 11. Bxb8 Nxc3 12. Qxf5 Ne4+ 13. Ke2 Qxb8 14. Qxd5 1-0

So much for the “new” Rex Sinquefield inspired “classical” time control.

Meanwhile, in the TCEC tournament Super Final between Houdini and Stockfish, this exciting first round game was contested:

Stockfish 8 (3228)
Houdini 5 (3182)
TCEC Season 9 - Superfinal
1
2016.11.11
B96
Sicilian: Najdorf, 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qe2

  1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. f4 e6 8. Qe2 Be7 9. O-O-O Qc7 10. g4 b5 11. a3 h6 12. Bh4 Bb7 13. Bg2 Rc8 14. Rhe1 Nb6 15. Bf2 Nc4 16. Rd3 g5 17. b3 Nxa3 18. e5 dxe5 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. Qxe5 O-O 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. fxg5 hxg5 23. Bd4 Rf7 24. Qxg5+ Rg7 25. Qh6 Rh7 26. Qg6+ Rg7 27. Qh6 Qg2 28. Rd2 Qf3 29. Kb2 Rxg4 30. Rf2 Qxf2 31. Bxf2 b4 32. h3 Rg2 33. Qe3 bxc3+ 34. Ka2 Rf8 35. Qxe6+ Rf7 36. Re2 Bf8 37. Qc6 Ne4 38. Qxe4 Rgxf2 39. Qg4+ Rg7 40. Qe6+ Rff7 41. Rf2 Nb5 42. b4 Nd6 43. h4 Kh7 44. Rf6 Rxf6 45. Qxf6 Kg8 46. Qxc3 Rg4 47. Qf6 Rxb4 48. c3 Rb7 49. c4 Rb4 50. Qg6+ Kh8 51. Qf6+ Kg8 52. c5 Nb5 53. h5 a5 54. c6 Bg7 55. Qd8+ Kf7 56. Qd7+ Kg8 57. Qe6+ Kh7 58. Qf5+ Kg8 59. Qe6+ 1/2-1/2

This was followed by this win in the fifth game:

Stockfish 8 (3228)
Houdini 5 (3182)
TCEC Season 9 - Superfinal
5
2016.11.12

C92
Spanish: Closed, Zaitsev, 12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4

  1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a4 h6 13. Bc2 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15. Bb1 c5 16. d5 Nd7 17. Ra3 f5 18. Nh2 Kh8 19. g4 fxe4 20. Nxe4 Bxd5 21. g5 bxa4 22. Rg3 Bb3 23. Qh5 Re6 24. gxh6 g6 25. Qg4 Ne5 26. Qe2 Nbc6 27. Qf1 Qe7 28. Ng5 Bxh6 29. Re4 Bxg5 30. Bxg5 Qe8 31. Qg2 Nd4 32. f4 Nd7 33. Rxe6 Bxe6 34. Bxg6 Qxg6 35. Qxa8+ Kh7 36. Re3 Ne5 37. h4 Nf5 38. Rc3 Nxh4 39. Nf1 d5 40. Qa7+ Nf7 41. Qxc5 Nxg5 42. fxg5 Qxg5+ 43. Rg3 Qf6 44. Qa7+ Kh6 45. Nh2 Ng6 46. Nf3 Bg4 47. Qe3+ Kh5 48. Qe2 Qb6+ 49. Qf2 Qf6 50. Nh2 Qxf2+ 51. Kxf2 Bd7 52. Nf3 Bg4 53. Ke3 Ne7 54. Rg1 Nc6 55. Rc1 Nb4 56. Rh1+ Kg6 57. Ne5+ Kf5 58. Nxg4 a3 1-0

I know this because I had a window opened with all three events so as to not fall asleep while “watching” the WCC. I leave it for the reader to judge where the best Chess is being played…

One Night In Bangkok

Bangkok, Oriental setting
And the city don’t know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner

Time flies doesn’t seem a minute
Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boys in it
All change don’t you know that when you
Play at this level there’s no ordinary venue

It’s Iceland or the Philippines or Hastings or
or this place!

One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you’re lucky then the god’s a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me

metrolyrics.com/one-night-in … -head.html

Shouldn’t the title to these lyrics be “One Knight in, Bang Clock”?

Ok, and in the “old” classical time control one can find lemons such as chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1665644, looks like that time control’s out as well. Maybe we should look into removing time constraints altogether…

Brilliancy after brilliancy in TCEC…

chessdom.com/