Russian Super Finals Rd 1
I was on a long vacation last week, enjoying not only playing with my brother’s daughter, but also preparing to watch Russian Super finals 
How can anyone miss this one (even if that means missing a 2 yrs cutie’s smile)!?
Russian heavy weights, Kasparov, Kramnik & Karpov usually do not play in their national championship, which, by the way, is one of the strongest events! In Russia, literally, you can find an IM-strength player in every house. It is a known thing that a Russian Candidate master is as strong as a FIDE IM. With its abundant Chess talent and more importantly, the excellent ambience which nurtures this Chess talent, it should not come as a surprise that Russia is the dominant Chess playing country. Russian Chess Federation head, Zhukov, announced last year that the winners of the 57th Russian championship @ St.Petersburg and Tomsk , along with top 7 Russian GMs (Kasparov, Kramnik, Svidler, Morozevich, Bareev, Karpov & Grischuk) would play in a super-final, finding a single Russian champion!
Kramnik & Karpov pulled out. The former producing a Doctor’s letter saying he needs 2-3 months rest before any serious play and why the latter pulled out is still a mystery. To make a guess, I’d say Karpov would be at the bottom of the points table in this strong tournament if he played and he knew that If you think Kramnik’s producing a doctor certificate reminds you of how we used to produce a proof for taking sick leave, back in the school, you are not alone! 
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