Looking quickly at the World Chess Championship games in Sofia, I noticed a change due to strong chess computers. Chess reporting has become more like sports reporting: commentators, who are unlikely to draw a game against the champion or the challenger in the best circumstances, are able to Monday-morning-quarterback with great precision using the computer. Sometimes they are at a loss: Topalov managed to win an endgame with bishops in opposite color squares. In such a position, which is usually drawn, long term planning is all that matters: the ability to compute moves long in advance is useless and the commentator loses the infallible friend.
Commentary is all about how the 2 sportsmen will perform, with instant recall of previous games cited like baseball statistics. The art and science of chess have taken secondary roles now that opening theory can be recalled instantly till the 20th move, and most mid-game positions are "solved" by computer faster than the players can think them out. The geopolitical battles have ended with the fall of the Soviet Union. It is just a mindsport now, would fit right into the olympics.
Bless their hearts, it's not my cup of tea. I miss the old times.
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