Chess

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  Topix: Chess News

• 5 Tips to Knights in Chess

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:21 am

  The Knight in chess represents an armoured cavalry unit and is usually a horse's head, causing many people to casually refer to it as the "horse." Each player has two Knights positioned at the beginning of the game between your rooks and bishops.

• 22 Armenian Chess Players To Participate In Aeroflot Open Tournament

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:08 am

  From : Sebouh Z Tashjian Date : Sat, 6 Feb 2010 12:56:42 +0400 22 ARMENIAN CHESS PLAYERS TO PARTICIPATE IN AEROFLOT OPEN TOURNAMENT PanARMENIAN.Net 05.02.2010 15:00 GMT+04:00 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ 22 Armenian chess players will participate in Aeroflot Open tournament due in Moscow from February 9 to 17.

• Chess teacher, abuser faces life in prison

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:04 am

  Call this Scott Rothstein's pineapple-juice scam. Coconut Grove businessman Todd Snyder was lured into it just days before the Fort Lauderdale lawyer's Ponzi scheme imploded in late October.

• Column: Chess is child's play at Stettin

  2 Feb 2010 | 5:52 am

  What comes to mind when you think about the game of chess? Academic rivals working through intricate strategies or, perhaps, a set of seniors meeting for their daily game? What about a group of second- and third-graders polishing moves in their queen game? This might not be the image that springs to mind, but it is what happens regularly at Stettin ...

• Jessie Gilbert's autographed Hastings Chess Congress programme

  1 Feb 2010 | 1:46 pm

  Ourmedia > Jessie Gilbert's autographed Hastings Chess Congress programme 74th International Hastings Chess Congress Jessie Gilbert's autographed Hastings Chess Congress programme Jessie's programme for Hastings, autographed by Stewart Reuben.

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  United States Chess Federation

• Adamson Secures 2nd IM Norm at the 24th North American Masters

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:59 am

  Robby Adamson of Arizona wrapped up his second IM norm last weekend at the 24th North American Masters.

• De Firmian Wins the Bermuda Open

  7 Feb 2010 | 11:35 pm

  GM Nick De Firmian won this year's Bermuda Open, in a tiebreak playoff over GM Alexander Ivanov, held just after the Super Bowl.

• A Glimpse into Nakamura's Preparation

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  A Tech Republic article by Debra Littejohn Shinder gives us a unique glimpse into the preparation of US Champion Hikaru Nakamura. The author's name sounds familiar because she is the mother of Nakamura's second, Kris Littlejohn.

• Shankland Searches Gibraltar for Final Norm

  6 Feb 2010 | 7:49 pm

  IM Sam Shankland writes about his first trip to Gibraltar for the 8th Gibtelecom Chess Congress, where he narrowly missed out on a GM norm.

• Bermuda Open Begins

  6 Feb 2010 | 2:53 am

  As a blizzard blitzes the Northeast, the Bermuda Open began calmly with sunny parties, a blitz tournament and no first round upsets.

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  ChessBase News

• Pocket Fritz 4: More formats, more chances

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Pocket Fritz 4 supports the file formats CBH (ChessBase game database), CBV (ChessBase zipped game database) and CTG (ChessBase opening book or tree), which are familiar to users of other ChessBase products. This is an important qualitative and quantitative step that gives you access to a wide range of chess data, with unquestionable advantages introduced in this article.

• Chernyshov wins Moscow Open 2010

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  This event took place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7, just before the 9th Aeroflot Open (Feb. 8–19) – which meant that many strong players were in the Russian capital to participate in both tournaments. Four players shared first in the Moscow Open, with 7.0/9 points. The winner was Konstantin Chernyshov on tie-break, with the decisive factor being that he had the most wins. Illustrated report.

• Bisik-Bisik with Garry Kasparov – Part 3

  6 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  In the first part Garry talked about his growing up years and his collaboration with Magnus Carlsen. In part 2 he touched on the preparations made for his very first match against Karpov and the recent K-K anniversary exhibition match. In this third part Kasparov answered questions about “making a comeback”, his family, politics and a new variant of Fischer Random chess. Interview.

• Sherlock Holmes chess

  5 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  A very original sequence happened in this Sicilian encounter from the recently finished festival in Wijk aan Zee. The black knight is attacked, but onto which square it should go now is only one question (A). The other interesting issue is: what was actually White's last (and best!) move (B), as a reaction in turn to which black move (C)? What do you think, Watson? The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

• Gibtel Masters – Adams wins in play-offs

  4 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm

  Nine players were tied for first after ten rounds, and four went into the tiebreaks. British GM Michael Adams eliminated first Jan Gustafsson of Germany in an Armageddon game, and then Francisco Vallejo (who had knocked out Indian GM Sandipan Chanda) to take overall victory at the Gibtelecom Masters in Gibraltar. There was a prominent visitor during the second half of the event. Final results.

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  World Chess Federation - FIDE

• 2012 Chess Olympiad Logo Competition

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:24 am

  A competition to select a logo has been announced by the Turkish Chess Federation. The Turkish Chess Federation has prepared 11 different logos for 2012 World Chess Olympiad. 7 of them were selected and a webpage prepared for a world voting contest. Which logo do you want in Istanbul Olympiad? Vote now and win a prize! Please write your name, surname and e-mail address to win prize. Prizes: 3 DGT 2010 Electronic Chess clock (All world is eligible) 3 Silverscach electronic chess clock (All world is eligible) 10 professional tournament chess set (All world is eligible) 20 chess books (Only for…

• World Juniors and Girls U20 Chess Championships 2010

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:16 am

  The 2010 World Juniors and Girls U-20 Chess Championships will be held from August 2 (arrival day) to 17 (departure day) at Chotowa, Municipality Czarna, close to the city of Tarnow in Poland.Visit the official web-site www.wjcc2010.pl.Please download the Regulations.

• FIDE World Club Cup

  8 Feb 2010 | 1:07 am

  FIDE announces that the first World Club Cup will be held from July 11th to 20th in Dubai, UAE. There are two competitions for Open and Women's teams. Please download the Regulations for Open / Women.

• Michael Adams Wins Gibtelecom Masters

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:35 pm

  The Gibtelecom Masters, a part of the 8th Gibraltar Chess Festival and one of the top open tournaments in the world, was held from 26th January until 4th February at the Caleta Hotel. After ten rounds of the regular competition according to the Swiss system, four players qualified for the knockout semifinal which had to produce the overall winner and award the first prize of £15,000.English Grandmaster Michael Adams has won the 8th Gibtelecom Masters after a four-player play-off. He did it the hard way, losing the first game of his semi-final against German GM Jan Gustafsson and having much…

• Final FIDE Grand-Prix Tournament

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:29 am

  The final FIDE Grand-Prix tournament is set to take place on 9-25th May in Astrakhan, Russia. The event is crucial to determine who will be the second qualifier for the Candidates Matches 2010-2011. Levon Aronian has already qualified and opted not to participate - current standings.As with the previous Grand Prix stages, the tournament format is round robin with 14 players.Participants:Vladimir Akopian (Armenia)Evgeny Alekseev (Russia)Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine)Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan)Boris Gelfand (Israel)Ernesto Inarkiev (Russia)Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia)Peter Leko…

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  About.com: Chess

• Kasparov Rules Out Comeback

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:49 am

  In a recent interview over at ChessBase, former World Champion Garry Kasparov ruled out the possibility of a serious comeback to chess, saying that his life is now on a different path. However, he does feel connected to the world of chess through Magnus Carlsen, and mentioned feeling the same sense of nervousness and tension again when following the games of his young protege. Kasparov also covered a wide range of other topics, including his past in chess, his role in Russian politics, and his feelings on Chess960. He had an interesting idea when it comes to Fischer Random Chess: pick a…

• Carlsen Hangs On For Corus Title

  31 Jan 2010 | 8:41 am

  It wasn't pretty, but Magnus Carlsen added another notch to his belt by hanging on to win the Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Carlsen found himself in a difficult (perhaps even losing) position against Fabiano Caruana in the final round, but Caruana couldn't find a way to win, allowing Carlsen to draw. Combined with draws by Vladimir Kramnik and Alexei Shirov, Carlsen's 8.5/13 score left him a half-point ahead of his nearest competitors. The only decisive game in the final round came from Hikaru Nakamura, who scored a victory over Sergey Tiviakov to claim a share of 4th place. Along…

• Kramnik Beats Carlsen, Joins Shirov in First

  26 Jan 2010 | 8:31 am

  After a slow start, Vladimir Kramnik has crawled back to join Alexei Shirov in first place at the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee with a 6.5/9 score. Kramnik culminated his comeback by repaying Carlsen -- who beat Kramnik with the black pieces in London last month -- with a thrilling win from the black side in round nine. Carlsen had joked on Facebook that he would "crush Kramnik like a bug,", which in most other sports would be considered "bulletin board material." Somehow, I doubt Kramnik gained extra motivation from a status update, but it did add a little buzz to the game. Carlsen's loss…

• New US Championship Format Promises Exciting Finish

  24 Jan 2010 | 11:40 am

  The 2010 US Chess Championship will debut a new format, but continue to use most of the structure from last year's event, as well as keeping the same venue: the beautiful Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The tournament is still a 24-player Swiss system event. The biggest change will be seen at the tail end of the tournament, where a unique idea will be tried for (I believe) the first time. The idea is similar to one I recall hearing Greg Shahade propose last year -- not surprising, since he is the rules adviser to the event -- in which the first seven rounds would be played as…

• Fire On Board: Shirov 4/4 at Corus

  20 Jan 2010 | 5:46 am

  Talk about a hot start: Alexei Shirov is a perfect 4/4 in Wijk aan Zee, giving him a full point edge over the field at the Corus tournament. Shirov got opponent Jan Smeets into a mess of time trouble that Smeets could not work himself out of, and after a blunder on move 33, the game was soon over. There's a three-man chase group lined up a point behind Shirov, waiting for the leader to falter. Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Vassily Ivanchuk all have three points, with Carlsen and Nakamura set to face off in round five. Shirov has Black against Loek Van Wely in the next round, which will…

• 
  Chess.com Blog

• terror

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:21 am

  So, the religious leader of Iran is saying he will "shock the western world" tommorow. I wonder what he will try to do?

• Round 2: Summer Swiss.

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:49 am

  Hey guys,  This is my game from this week from my local chess tournament. I managed to win this. However, at move 14 i made an inaccurate move which should have led to equality, but my opponent blundered and ended up getting mated. :)  Please ...

• 2010-02-09 - Spangledstar - Muetdhiver - 0.5/0.5

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:43 am

  Hello everyone,I present my first game here. I took a lot of fun to play and I want to share the analysis of the game with my opponent.I know that I have a winning final position but I prefer offer a draw, ensuring a good start with Blacks on ches...

• A mysterious game

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:31 am

  Hello everybody, today I want to share another loss of mine. Let's start with the opening. My opponent was rated about 200 point lower than me. It was our 2nd encounter. He already won with black against me, because I didn't play too well in the ...

• My best game

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:30 am

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  ChessVibes

• Review: Marcel Duchamp – The Art of Chess

  Arne Moll

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:15 am

  What do a game of chess and a nude decending a staircase have in common? To answer such questions, you must be prepared to leave your conventional ways of thinking at home and then fall down Marcel Duchamp’s rabbit-hole of chess and art. A few weeks ago I visited an exhibition in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain. The exhibition featured some very explicit classic Japanese erotic paintings (there was actually a warning sign at the entrance of the exhibition, prohibiting visitors below 18 years of age) which served as a source of inspiration for Picasso and his contemporaries.

• A Course in Chess Tactics

  New in Chess (ADVERTORIALS)

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  Gambit has just published: A Course in Chess Tactics. The advice frequently given to chess-players eager to improve their results is straightforward: study tactics! This book presents a structured approach to tactics, and belongs in the library of every ambitious player. The authors discuss each major tactical theme in turn, explaining how it works, and providing inspiring examples. They then explain how you can spot the idea in your own games and use it to your advantage. You immediately get a chance to put your knowledge to the test, as there are challenging exercises throughout the whole…

• Chernyshov first on tiebreak in Moscow

  Peter Doggers

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:58 am

  42-year-old Konstantin Chernyshov won the strong Moscow Open with 7 out of 9. The Russian GM finished shared first with another 40+ grandmaster, Evgeny Bareev, and both Le Quang Liem and Ernesto Inarkiev also ended on 7 points. Chernishov had the best tiebreak: most wins. The 6th Moscow Open took place January 30-February 7 at the Russian State Social University in Moscow, Russia. The festival consisted of many different events, and attracted 1,500 participants from 30 countries worldwide. The main event, a very strong 9-round Swiss, consisted of 187 players, including 73 grandmasters and 49…

• Grand Slam dates announced; Masters Final in Shanghai and Bilbao

  Peter Doggers

  7 Feb 2010 | 5:45 am

  This year’s Grand Slam Masters Final will be split into two parts. One will be held in Shanghai, China (just before the Olympiad) and one in Bilbao, Spain (just after). This was announced last week in Wijk aan Zee, were the board of the Grand Slam had a meeting to discuss matters. All dates for the coming year were announced. Linares: Feb 12-25 In five days from now, the second Grand Slam tournament in 2010 will already start. Linares runs from the 12th till the 25th of February . Like last year it will be a six-player, double round-robin with rest days on February 17th and 22nd. The…

• Weekly Endgame Study (155)

  Yochanan Afek

  7 Feb 2010 | 4:28 am

  Every week we present you an endgame study selected by IM Yochanan Afek: player, trainer, endgame study composer and writer. A week later the solution is published. Good luck solving! V. Kalandadze 1962 White to play and win Next week the solution. Solution last week N.Kralin & A. Kuznetsov 1966 Game viewer by ChessTempo

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  Chessdom

• 3rd Magistral Ciudad de Asunción Copa Roggio - 19-29th May in in Asunción, Paraguay

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:21 am

  Vivid chess legend Argentinean Grand Master Oscar Panno will give a chess lecture on May 22nd at 3.00 p.m. Panno was Junior World Champion, former Candidate to the World Championship, and was part of the strongest tam of Argentina, when the South American country arrived second in 3 Chess Olympiads, in the fifties.

• Aeroflot chess 2010 pairings - round 1 for groups A1 and A2

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:25 pm

• World Junior Chess Championship 2010 - August 2-17 in Chotowa, Poland

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:16 pm

  The 2010 World Juniors and Girls U-20 Chess Championships will be held from August 2 (arrival day) to 17 (departure day) at Chotowa, Municipality Czarna, close to the city of Tarnow in Poland. Full information, schedule, and history of the championship.

• Veselin Topalov top rated at Linares 2010 - A lineup of winners awaits him at Torneo de Linares

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:09 am

  Difficult task for the Bulgarian GM, as he will have to face established tournament fighters as FIDE Grand Prix winner Levon Aronian (Armenia), 2009 World Cup winner Boris Gelfand (Israel), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan), Russian Champion and 2009 Linares winner Alexander Grischuk (Russia), and the local hero Francisco Vallejo. This lineup makes Linares a category 21 tournament.

• Constantin Lupulescu and Elena-Luminita Cosma are Romanian Chess Champions - 31st January until 7th February in Baile Olanesti

  7 Feb 2010 | 2:49 pm

  The men's section finished with a three-way tie on the top, after GM Constantin Lupulescu, GM Vladislav Nevednichy and, surprisingly, FM Robin-Alexandru Dragomirescu won their last round games. Lupulescu was declared the Champion thanks to his superb tiebreak score.

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  Susan Polgar Chess Daily News

• FIDE World Club Cup

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:28 am

  FIDE World Club CupMonday, 08 February 2010 09:07FIDE announces that the first World Club Cup will be held from July 11th to 20th in Dubai, UAE. There are two competitions for Open and Women's teams. Please download the Regulations for Open / Women.Chess news from Susan Polgar

• A secure future

  9 Feb 2010 | 6:03 am

  A secure futureGreat news from Gibraltar as the future of this fine event, the 2010 edition of which was recently completed, has been secured for another three years.By Malcolm PeinPublished: 11:30AM GMT 09 Feb 2010After eight years of fantastic support including the establishment of a state of the art live game commentary system, Gibtelecom will pass the mantle of primary sponsor to the insurance company Tradewise. In addition, Stewart Reuben, after seven successful years, will retire as tournament director and the British Champion Stuart Conquest will take over.The Gibraltar tournament has…

• The next Filipino Grandmaster

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:56 am

  Barcenilla to get GM title next monthabs-cbnNEWS.com 02/09/2010 7:58 PMMANILA, Philippines – Rogelio "Banjo" Barcenilla has something to cheer about next month.National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr. said the Arizona-based Barcenilla will finally get his "long overdue" grandmaster title next month."Maa-award na din ang GM (grandmaster) title ni Banjo next month," said Pichay, who has seen the 5 Filipinos securing GM title during the his past 3 years as NCFP president. The list includes Wesley So, Darwin Laylo, Jayson Gonzales, John Paul…

• 10 Azerbaijani compete in Aeroflot Open

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:33 am

  10 Azerbaijani chess players compete in Aeroflot Open festival in MoscowTue 09 February 2010 13:11 GMTThe biggest chess tournament Aeroflot Open starts in Moscow today.According to News.Az, it will involve 10 Azerbaijani representatives. The main contest A1 will involve Rauf Mammadov and Eltaj Safarli.Ulvi Bajarani and Vasif Durarbeyli will partake in contest A2, Ilgar Bajarani, Shahriyar Hasanov and Gulnar Mammadova in contest B, Fidan Aghasiyeva, Tamerlan Bunyadov and Nurlan Shabanov in contest C.The prize fund of the main contest equals EUR70,000 with the winner to get 21,000. The festival…

• Vote and you can win a prize

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am

  Dear Friends,Turkish Chess Federation has prepared 11 different logos for 2012 World Chess Olympiad. 7 of them selected and a webpage prepared for a world voting contest. Which logo do you want in Istanbul Olympiad? Vote now and win a prize!Please write your name, surname and e-mail address to win prize.Prizes:3 DGT 2010 Electronic Chess clock (All world is elligible)3 Silverscach electronic chess clock (All world is elligible)10 professional tournament chess set (All world is elligible)20 chess books (Only for Turkey)Voting PageVoting will end on the 31st March 2010Ali Nihat YAZICIPresident…

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  Chess news and events

• Preparing with chess computers

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:30 pm

  Debra Littlejohn Shinder, a technology consultant and writer, has posted an insider story on how her son Kris Littlejohn works many tournaments as "second" to U.S. Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura.Read it on the TechRepublic Blog

• Magnus Carlsen on Time.com

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:53 pm

  Magnus Carlsen won the 2010 Corus Chess tournament this Sunday. He is also the current number one on the FIDE list and is even adding more points according to the Live Rating List. About a month ago he was featured in a Time.com article:Q: Do you see chess as a game of combat or a game of art?Combat.A: I am trying to beat the guy sitting across from me and trying to choose the moves that are most

• Chess Players are Migrating to the Online Poker World

  2 Feb 2010 | 6:49 pm

  While it may seem strange for elite players of the highly cerebral game of chess to take up a seemingly low brow game like poker, the two games aren’t as dissimilar as one might think. While, at first glance poker is a seemingly simple game to learn and understand, the truth is that to become a successful player one must first learn more advanced theories and strategies to excel. Despite the

• Chess in "Bones"

  25 Jan 2010 | 4:24 pm

  The 9th episode in the 5th season of the popular TV series "Bones" opened with a discussion between the main characters Dr. Temperance 'Bones' Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth on what can be considered a sport. As usual, chess is pulled as one of the examples. Dr. Camille Saroyan also gets to state her opinion.Booth: Fishing is not a sport.Bones: But monuments to sporting events in ancient

• Lexy Ortega - Italian Champion

  6 Dec 2009 | 10:22 am

  GM Lexy Ortega, formerly Cuban junior champion, since 1991 resident of Rome and since 2007 Italian citizen, won the 2009 Italian Chess Championship after the dramatic tiebreak match against GM Michele Godena. Earlier, both collected 7.5 points from 11 rounds of the regular tournament.Godena was probably winning in both rapid games, but the persistent Ortega turned the tables and took his first

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  The Wholesale Chess Blog

• Today Only! Save $27 on Demo Board Combo

  Customer Service - Wholesale Chess

  4 Feb 2010 | 7:59 am

  Ready for these great Thursday Chess Deals? They’re only available on February 4, 2010: Save $28 on 5 Green 20″ Basic Vinyl Boards The perfect deal for a growing chess club! Now you can combine this great deal with $3.99 Shipping on Orders Over $25. Add some nice chess pieces and you’ll have a wonderful [...]

• Free Shipping and 5% Off

  Customer Service - Wholesale Chess

  30 Jan 2010 | 12:00 am

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• 3 Great Ways to Save on Shipping

  Customer Service - Wholesale Chess

  29 Jan 2010 | 2:33 pm

  Enough with the high shipping rates! Now you can find 3 great ways to save on shipping at Wholesale Chess. FREE BASIC SHIPPING on orders over $100 No more paying for shipping! If you’re placing an order of $100 or more, we’ll pick up the tab. FREE MEDIA MAIL SHIPPING on orders over $25 You can ship as many [...]

• Chess Develops Teamwork

  Customer Service - Wholesale Chess

  20 Jan 2010 | 8:37 am

  Written by Laura Sherman of YourChessCoach.com Chess develops a sense of teamwork amongst children. After all they are a general in charge of 16 chess pieces, marshalling them all toward the enemy king’s defeat. Each piece has benefits and weaknesses. If you only play with a favorite chess piece, you will learn how limiting that piece is. [...]

• Still Time to Shop: 50% Off Expedited Shipping

  Customer Service - Wholesale Chess

  17 Dec 2009 | 8:15 am

  Don’t worry! If you’re like me, you’ve been avoiding doing your Christmas shopping and putting it off until the last minute. There’s always something else to work on . . . Wholesale Chess has you covered. You can still buy those awesome chess sets for your friends for Christmas, and we can still [...]

• 
  The Chessmill

• Chess and Life

  Arlen Walker

  6 Feb 2010 | 9:41 pm

  [I was reorganizing my shelves, thinning out my collection, and I ran across the following piece, from Badger Chess (Nov/Dec 1994). The words aren't mine, but I wish they were.] An angry mother asked the directors of the Wisconsin Junior Championship why lower rated players had to play higher rated players when they must surely lose. Couldn’t players of similar ratings play one another; why should anyone want to humiliate a child? Now, we could weasel around this, and say it’s not the humiliation, it’s playing the game; the result is, after all, merely one moment that caps…

• E=mc2

  Arlen Walker

  25 Jan 2010 | 7:19 am

  Sacrifices in chess are the “nuclear weapons” of the game. Think about it: When an atomic bomb is exploded, matter is converted to energy, according to the famous formula in the title above, and the newly-created energy is released on the real-world target. In chess, the sacrifice converts material (the “matter” of the chessboard) into energy, which is then released on your opponent’s position. But what’s the equation it follows? Vukovic suggests (and Purdy agrees) that the conversion formula between material and energy in chess is 3 moves per pawn. This…

• Spielmann’s Legacy

  Arlen Walker

  25 Jan 2010 | 6:55 am

  I gave a lecture at the club a while ago about Rudolf Spielmann, chessplayer from the early 20th century who, flawed as he was, has always been a role model for me. (In fact, when you consider that the two biggest influences on my chess style have been Spielmann and Bronstein, perhaps you will understand better why I play the moves I play.) But one thing I never got around to mentioning was an often overlooked portion of his legacy to modern-day players. I’m speaking of Vladimir Vukovic. Vukovic wrote two volumes that are priceless to developing players: The Chess Sacrifice and The Art…

• Question

  Arlen Walker

  25 Jan 2010 | 6:35 am

  I’m wondering how important it is to keep the old comments. The new setup I’m thinking of will be using a completely different commenting system, one which I don’t believe will accept the old comments. As I see it, I have two choices: I can include the old comments with the text of the article as I bring it over, or I can just drop them off completely. Drop me a line or write a comment: What do you think is best?

• The Future of The Chessmill

  Arlen Walker

  2 Sep 2009 | 11:39 am

  Thought it was about time again I talked about the future of this ragged collection of recycled electrons. There will be change coming, that I can guarantee. Just what it will be is why we’re sitting here, now. First, while I remain interested in, and committed to uncovering and writing about, local chess history, I’m going to be branching out. Partly since I’m semi-retired as an active chess coach, but still see a need for it, I’m going to concentrate more on “giving back” to a community that gave so much to me, and start writing more instructional pieces…

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  NYT: Gambit

• Carlsen Conquers Corus

  By DYLAN MCCLAIN

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:18 pm

  Magnus Carlsen, the world's No. 1 player, wins the first major tournament of the year.

• Washington Post Discontinues Chess Column

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  4 Jan 2010 | 5:44 pm

  The Washington Post's chess column is a victim of cost-savings measures.

• For Many People, Holidays Are a Time for Playing

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  2 Jan 2010 | 6:17 pm

  While most people spent the holidays with friends and family, a blizzard of tournaments attracted chess players around the world.

• Game of the Year

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  30 Dec 2009 | 2:16 pm

  A nominee for what was the most interesting/exciting/best-played game of the year.

• Another Dose of Nostalgia

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  20 Dec 2009 | 3:37 pm

  In a match in Russia between chess legends, Viktor Korchnoi leads Boris Spassky, 2 to 1.

• 
  The Daily Dirt Chess Blog

• Incredibly Shrinking Linares 2010

  Mig

  8 Feb 2010 | 8:57 pm

  The global economic downturn is hitting the chess world, at least in the Iberian peninsula. First the Bilbao Grand Slam was shrunk to four players. Now our traditional flagship super-event, Linares, though always on the precipice of municipal sponsorship in Andalusia, has been reduced to a six-player round-robin. It still packs a punch, and it's better than nothing at all, which is what we almost got according to Spanish news interviews with the organizers. Reports have been rife with comments about possibly canceling this year's event and how they're going to cover expenses. The co-hosting…

• Corus 2010 Wrap: Carlsen Comeback

  Mig

  29 Jan 2010 | 7:27 pm

  When Carlsen lost to Kramnik in round 9, I don't think anyone thought he would fold like a cheap Norwegian yurt, or whatever the Norwegian equivalent of a yurt is called, if Norwegians have indeed produced something akin to a yurt. He struck back immediately, playing the French, the French no less, for the first time in a professional game to beat Karjakin. Then he overpowered Dominguez, who defended well until a single slip put him into a lost endgame. That put Carlsen up to +4, good enough for a tie for first with Kramnik, who survived a fascinating endgame onslaught against Shirov in the…

• Corus 2010 R9-10: Ecclesiastes 9:11

  Mig

  28 Jan 2010 | 7:54 pm

  To segue smoothly from the Old Testament to the 80s comic Emo Phillips, some mornings it just doesn't pay to wake up and chew through the straps. (If you're too much a heathen to know it and too lazy to look it up, the titular verse is the one that starts "the race is not to the swift..." and ends "but time and chance happeneth to them all.") We don't much like to use the terms luck and chance in chess. You make your own success and benefit when your opponent falters. But I think we're on safe ground to say it when someone has enjoyed considerable good fortune at the board. With three rounds…

• Stupid Time Control Tricks

  Mig

  26 Jan 2010 | 6:43 pm

  Word on the street is that Corus is using a time control with increment from move one because their usual control, with increment only after move 60, isn't on the approved list of controls eligible for norm tournaments, important for the C Group. I probably didn't notice since I rarely cover events were norms are needed. According to the language in the handbook, apparently taken from the ACP, specific allowable controls are listed instead of simply indicated a range. The vastly superior control that reserves increment for the endgame only is obviously still classical chess. (40 in 2hr, 20 in…

• Kasparov on Man and Machine

  Mig

  25 Jan 2010 | 7:46 pm

  The New York Review of Books piece by Garry Kasparov is turning out to be quite popular. It was picked up by the Huffington Post, the Guardian, and now it's been cited in The Atlantic and the NY Times "Ideas" blog. I believe the NY Times Syndicate will also be offering it to subscribers abroad. At first it wasn't something we thought we had time for, but the more we talked about ideas for it, and how it worked in with some of the recent themes of Garry's business speeches, the more he wanted to do it. Now we're all glad it's out there. The main theme I'm referring to is that of "commercialism…

• 
  Zimbio: Chess Articles

• Aeroflat Open 2010

  8 Feb 2010 | 11:21 am

  Source: Chessdom The International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open 2010 will be held in Moscow from 8 February to 19 February 2010. This will be the 9th edition of the Aeroflot Open and for the fifth year in a roll the competition will take place in the major tourist complex "Izmailovo" - hotel "Gamma – Delta". The Festival consists of four Open Tournaments (A1, A2, B and C), which will be filled according to the participants' ratings. Additional to these events, the qualification for the World Blitz Chess Championship 2010 (the reigning champion is Magnus Carlsen) will be held within the…

• Not a line of blah in this Kasparov interview Must read

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:48 am

  TAGS: interview | line | chess | In a 2009 interview conducted by Malaysian Edwin Lam, Garry Kasparov spoke engagingly and candidly about Asia, his early career as a chess player, his protégé Magnus Carlsen and his Chess Foundation in America. Not a line of blah in this intervi

• Corus chess: Anand draws again, Abhijeet wins 11th round

  30 Jan 2010 | 4:35 am

  Viswanathan Anand, one of the only two players in the field not to have suffered a loss, played his tenth draw in 11 rounds at the Corus Grandmasters chess tournament. Anand, whose sole win came against Alexei Shirov, played a quick 15-move draw...

• Kasparov on chess and computing power

  27 Jan 2010 | 8:33 am

  TAGS: kasparov | like | insider | One of the benefits of being married to a chess fanatic is that I can read articles like this one by Garry Kasparov and feel like an insider after all, only an insider would understand what a Sicilian Defence and could have told you that Magnus Carlsen i

• Kasparov on chess AI and innovation

  25 Jan 2010 | 3:52 pm

  TAGS: chess | kasparov | garry | Garry Kasparov has a really nice essay in the NY Review of Books about computer chess. Chess has of

• 
  Robert Pearson's Chess Blog

• Physiological and Psychological Studies Applied to Chess

  3 Feb 2010 | 9:09 pm

  Fit for Combat:  Maximum Strength AKA Old Man StrengthExcerpt:THE STRENGTH CURVEIn his book Extreme Fear, Jeff Wise discusses the effect of the brain’s reaction to stimuli on strength and athletic performance.Wise cites the research by Vladimir Zatsiorsky on three different types of strength--Absolute, Maximal and Competitive Maximum.Absolute Strength is the total mechanical strength of a person, the force a person should be able to apply.According to Zatsiorsky’s research humans can rarely apply all that force.  A novice weight lifter can apply 65%, an experience athlete can…

• Strip Chess

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:42 pm

  Based on Google results, rare but not extremely rare:(original image)(h/t Althouse)

• Chess Amateurs, Chess Pros, When and If the Twain Shall Meet

  1 Feb 2010 | 11:19 pm

  Mark Weeks of Chess for All Ages kindly posts a thoughtful and extended answer, Do You Care About Today's GMs? to my previous post on this question.  In the comments to Mark's post Michael Goeller, the most excellent Kenilworthian recalls his take on the question, Chess Amateurism, from a couple of years ago.Mark also makes a point in his post about the openings being "exhausted" at some point in the next 10-20 years. He is becoming more and more interested in chess960 as a result.  I figure that even when chess (not just the opening) is "solved" in the way checkers is now solved,…

• Bob Dobbs Teaches Chess: On the Vital and Universal Principle of Slack

  26 Jan 2010 | 11:41 pm

  You may have noticed my new profile pic.  This is of course not my public visage but my "true" face:If it strikes a chord of recognition, congratulations!If not, you need to read Le Wik's take on the Church of the SubGenius.  Whatever you do, do not click on this link direct to heaven on Earth, for you are not ready.  Believe me, don't click on this link.What does this have to do with chess, you ask?  Merely everything.  Wikipedia's tame description of slack does not do this important topic justice.  Think about it--the only reason you can get a glove on and off…

• Do You Care About Today's Grandmaster Games and Tournaments?

  18 Jan 2010 | 5:03 pm

  Over at IM Mark Ginsburg's blog I was moved to comment on his post The New Chess, "When young grandmasters whip out crazy theory backed by millions of pre-game CPU cycles."Just as a personal impression and certainly not from some scientific poll, I think this kind of chess has led to some loss of interest by today's amateurs in current grandmaster games.  I commented in part:My impression reading the chess proletariat’s blogs and talking to U-1800s at tournaments and clubs is that a lot of them just don’t care that much about GM chess these days. Sure, they look at the Corus results…

• 
  Chess improvement by effort (achoo!)

• Overprotection

  1 Feb 2010 | 11:11 am

  Nimzowitsch said:"Weak points, and even more so strong points, (in short every point which could be described as strategically important) must be overprotected! The pieces which fulfil this duty are rewarded for helping to overprotect the said strategically important points by the fact that they are wellplaced when it comes to undertaking other duties; so to express it somewhat dramatically, the importance of the strategic point envelops them in its halo."This is beautifully and poetically said, but it remains pretty vague. The book is full of this kind of poetic vagueness. The result is that…

• Making His System My System

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:35 am

  ...This week I finished My System for the second time. I have gotten a fairly good idea what Nimzowitsch is talking about. It is time now to really dig in and go into the details. The book in its current form is of course not usable for me. I must translate it into my own words before I can apply what he says. I must make His System My System. Otherwise it are only rules that can be applied dogmatically and everybody knows that that is bound to fail in chess. All in order to create the ultimate coathanger.This means that I will add a lot of my own findings, so if you want to learn what…

• conscious exposure on a coathanger

  30 Jan 2010 | 9:38 pm

  Tentative said:"Yet in two very recent games against 1950 players I won by the basic pattern "Attack the Guard". They move, I attack the Guard, and they resign. This is a very simple pattern, yet they missed it in 1 move deep."This indicates an ommission in their arsenal. There are a few tactics that are not well known by the old school while those who have done the stepsmethod are well familiar with it. This is expressed by the fact that the old school has to consciously think about these combinations - which is prone to error, time and energy consuming and can easy be overlooked - while the…

• The what and the how. (continued)

  25 Jan 2010 | 12:20 am

  ***I added new text below in green***.....***I added new text below in green***.My play at Corus shows two evident areas for improvement. The what and the how. What to do (positional play) and how to do it (tactical play).I'm working hard on the what-department by experimenting with the ideas of Nimzowitsch in my play. Of course that leads to the occassional disaster, but since I'm on a loosing streak anyway I don't bother. I'm learning and I feel happy with what I learn. Gaining the points back and more will be just a matter of time.But walking around at Corus and following interviews I…

• Why tell me why

  23 Jan 2010 | 2:18 am

  ...Every rule in chess has a why behind it. If you don't know the why behind a rule, the rule leads necessarily to a ridgid application. John Watson has written a whole book about falsifying the rules of Nimzowitch. Without offering a workable alternative.Obeying rules is the lazy man's way of development. In stead you must go after the reason behind the rule. There are a few cases where we only have a rule but the reason why remains in the dark. In such cases the rule is often used to describe something. Take for instance the description of the transition of advantages. It only describes…

• 
  The Kenilworthian

• Chess Playing New Jersey Devil

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:41 pm

  A chessplaying New Jersey Devil from Paranominal's Cryptozoology.  Why is it that the devil is always up for a game?

• Mangion - Carrelli, KCC Championship 2010

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:58 pm

  Mangion - CarrelliWhite to play.I have annotated the game Mangion - Carrelli, KCC Championship 2010, where Club President Don Carrelli took down Dr. Ian Mangion in a wild line of the Sveshnikov Sicilian that is supposed to be practically winning for White (see diagram above) but which Carrelli managed to survive and emerge from victorious.  If he wins in the final round of play Thursday, Carrelli would be the first club president to also be club champion.

• GM Joel Benjamin on the Philidor

  4 Feb 2010 | 5:10 am

  New Jersey GM Joel Benjamin bids farewell to his Ask GM Joel column at USCF Online with "GM Joel on the Question He Always Wanted," in which he answers the question that I would have most liked to ask him myself this past year: what is his improvement on Stopa - Benjamin, World Open 2009  A very satisfying answer for fans of the Antoshin Philidor.

• Magnus Carlsen Wins Corus 2010 at Wijk aan Zee

  31 Jan 2010 | 8:22 pm

  World number one Magnus Carlsen won the Corus 2010 chess tournament at Wijk aan Zee (pronounced "wake ahn zey" say ChessBase and ChessVibes), followed by Vladimir Kramnik and Alexey Shirov in second.  All three top finishers had held the first place spot at one point in the event, with Shirov starting the tournament extremely hot with five wins in a row, Kramnik catching up, then Carlsen grabbing the lead at the finish (despite losing to Kramnik).  World Champion Vishy Anand (with the tournament's only undefeated record) and U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura finished tied for…

• Chess Movie Preview

  31 Jan 2010 | 2:27 pm

  Rescued Media has posted a "teaser" for their documentary about Brooklyn's I.S. 318 chess team, coached by Elizabeth Vicary and led by Justus Williams.  It looks like it is going to be excellent, right up there with Mad Hot Ballroom. Hat tip: Jim West.CHESS MOVIE (working title) from Rescued Media on Vimeo.

• 
  Jim West On Chess

• Photos from ICA Winter 2010 Open

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:15 am

  The above photo appears at the International Chess Academy website. The rest were taken by me on Sunday at the ICA Winter 2010 Open.

• Pix from Super Saturday in NY

  8 Feb 2010 | 4:07 am

  On Saturday, I took these pictures during the game/30 Swiss tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.The first photo shows national masters Leif Pressman and Oliver Chernin. In the next one, TD Steve Immitt accepts an entry fee. The third is a shot of the upstairs room before round one. Then, there is the rear courtyard covered with snow. The final three pictures capture Katie Schulz of Rescued Media, filming scenes for an upcoming Chess Movie.

• ICA Winter 2010 Open

  7 Feb 2010 | 7:34 pm

  At today's ICA Winter 2010 Open in Hackensack, I won this game. Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit Joel Pruzansky (USCF 1823) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Hackensack NJ 2/7/2010 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng5 Nf6 6.Ne6 Bxe6 7.fxe6 d5 8.c4 Bb4+ 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.a3 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Qd6 12.Rb1 O-O 13.cxd5 Qxd5 14.Rb5 Qd6 15.Bc4 Kh8 16.O-O b6 17.Rg5 Ne7 18.a4 h6 19.Rg3 Ned5 20.Bxd5 Qxd5 21.Ba3 Rfe8 22.e7 Qa2 23.Qc1 Qc4 24.Qc2 c5 25.dxc5 bxc5 26.Bc1 Rxe7 27.Qd1 Rd7 28.Qe1 Rad8 29.Be3 Qxa4 30.Bxh6 Rd1 31.Bxg7+ Kh7 32.Bxf6 Rxe1 33.Rxe1 Rd1 34.Rge3 Qa1 35.Kf1 Rxe1+ 36.Rxe1 Qa6+ 37.Re2 Qxf6 38.Rc2 a5…

• Marshall Chess Club Swiss 2/6/2010

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:09 pm

  In today's game/30 Swiss at the Marshall Chess Club, I finished with a score of 3-1-1. Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit I stopped keeping score around move 40. So, I reconstructed the remaining moves afterwards. These may not be 100% accurate, but the final position is correct. At the end of the game, Rohde had 3 seconds left; I had 1 second. Michael Rohde (USCF 2471) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 2/6/2010 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Nfd2 Bxf5 6.Nc4 Nf6 7.d5 Be7 8.Be2 O-O 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.O-O a5 11.Ne3 Bg6 12.Nb5 Nc5 13.Nd4 Nfd7 14.b3 Bf6 15.Ng4 Qe7 16.a3 Nd3 17.Nxf6+…

• Photos from Westfield Quads 1/31/2010

  5 Feb 2010 | 3:46 am

  At the Westfield quads on Sunday, I snapped these photos before the start of round one.

• 
  The Closet Grandmaster

• Cherny... Who?

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:16 am

  I've never heard of this bloke, but GM Konstantin Chernyshov of Russia has just won the Moscow Open. The Asian region, though, can claim their hero in Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem, who finished 3rd on tiebreak. Here's one of Liem's wins, beating the Indian Sasikiran.Moscow Open 2010 - Section ALe Quang LiemSasikiran, K.D861. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Qc7 11. Rb1 Bd7 12. Bd3 Rfd8 13. h3 e6 14. Bg5 Re8 15. Qc1 cxd4 16. cxd4 Qd6 17. Rxb7 Rab8 18. Rxb8 Rxb8 19. Qc5 Qxc5 20. dxc5 h6 21. Be3 Rb2 22. Rd1 Nb4 23. Bc4…

• Musashino Chess Club

  7 Feb 2010 | 1:13 am

  Finally moved into an apartment this weekend. It's in the neighbourhood of Kichijoji. I'm already liking this place. It has the flavour of Paddington, in Sydney, or St Kilda, in Melbourne. Just like those suburbs Down Under, Kichijoji is hip and happening. My kinda town.But the best bit, I think, is that there's a local chess club! It's the Musashino Chess Club and I found it thanks to this website (ran by a Japanese bloke with an American accent).

• Computers and Chess Strategy

  4 Feb 2010 | 10:45 pm

  An interesting post in Tech Republic:Some chess players are deeply into technology; others, not so much. Many of today’s young champions are in their teens and twenties. They are “digital natives” — part of the generation that grew up with computers. They tend to be comfortable with using high-tech aids to help them prepare for games and hone their tactics and techniques. Many of the players at the top layers hire someone else to handle the data analysis and assist them in planning strategies — after all, two heads are always better than one, and it helps to have different…

• Chess Now Videos

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:24 pm

  This just cracked me up. The Chess Now series has been going on now for about 3 years and are already up to there 62nd episode. But it's the first one that's a true classic, I reckon.

• Russia Bound So

  4 Feb 2010 | 2:52 am

  Coming up next: Aeroflot 2010! Backing up just after his excellent fourth place finish last week in Corus 'B' is GM Wesley So who, I'm sure, will give his many fans yet more sleepless nights. I just hope that he actually scores a few more wins than draws. Joining the Pinoy number one is compatriot, GM Darwin Laylo.

• 
  Confessions of a chess novice

• Katar on the social dimension of chess improvement

  28 Jan 2010 | 9:55 am

  In response to my previous post, which has lots of good comments, the following from Katar triggered a bunch of thoughts:Environment is a big factor. If one has chess-playing friends it will speed up one's progress...Somehow internet friends do not seem to have this effect, as far as i can tell. But i'll tell you this: I met a few cool guys at the club, they happened to be mostly around 1600 or

• Innate, acquired, or both?

  25 Jan 2010 | 1:24 pm

  The comments at my previous post were again excellent. Pretty much you guys are now writing my blog for me.Anonymous said the following, which struck a nerve with me:Some of us need to face the fact that we have no natural chess ability. From his rapid rating increase from the beginning it is obvious to me that MDLM had natural ability. Book smarts does not equate to natural ability in chess or

• Thanks, Robinson

  21 Jan 2010 | 10:11 am

  Useful analysis of MDLM from previous post comment section:I think one thing that is often overlooked in Michael de la Maza's success is the high number of rated games he played over a relatively short period of time. I've read many, many of the past Knights Errant posts and I don't find a lot of comments about the number of rated, slow games being played as part of their improvement programs. (

• Reminds me of the good old days

  11 Jan 2010 | 10:29 am

  Remember when everyone was doing the Circles? Remember the sometimes crazy heated discussions of them? How many problems per circle? How many circles? What software to use? That was fun.Loomis provides a good reminder.I need to think more about the circles, where I stand on the de la Maza methods. I started the juices flowing in a comment at Loomis' blog. Chesstiger brought up one of the

• Where is the mad man?

  14 Dec 2009 | 9:10 pm

  From a commenter on my previous post:I liked your blog when you were a crazy obsessed mad man.Yes, I admit my best chess writing accompanied an almost neurotic obsession with the game. Sorry folks that person is taking a back seat for a little while. Luckily Blunderprone and Temposchlucker are blogging a lot right now, and a lot of other great stuff is out there. But I have to admit it breaks my

• 
  The Chess Coroner

• #627 KCC Ch. - Enhanced Crosstable

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:51 pm

  An enhanced crosstable for the Kenilworth Championship, with tiebreaks, performance ratings & projected post-tourney ratings, has been uploaded.

• #626 Kenilworth Ch. - Round 5 Pairings

  6 Feb 2010 | 10:21 pm

  Here are Win-TD's recommended (unofficial) pairings for the 2010 KCCC's final round: Carrelli - MacaspacMangion - PawlowskiKernighan - MoldovanSchwarcz - SturnioloLewis - MannRenna - HartWojcio- KomunickyShiffman - Cole

• #624 Kramniks-W. Orange Games

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:46 pm

  I have uploaded 2 games from the Kenilworth Kramniks' 3.5-0.5 loss at West Orange.For details & links please visit my Garden State Chess League blog.

• #625 Kenilworth Championship - Round 4

  6 Feb 2010 | 8:46 pm

  Don Carrelli & Arthur Macaspac won to set-up an all-Armed Forces battle for 1st place.The winner will become the KCC's 6th Champion & join Rene Ray, who won in 1996, as the only non-Master to be crowned.White took 6 of 8 games on Thursday & is now 24-9 (.727) in this event. There has yet to be draw!!Pairings & Results:1. Mangion 0-1 Carrelli2. Macaspac 1-0 Schwarcz3. Moldovan 1-0 Hart4. Pawlowski 1-0 Lewis5. Kernighan 1-0 Komunicky6. Sturniolo 1-0 Wojcio7. Mann 1-0 Shiffman8. Cole 0-1 RennaJava-replay for this round.PGN for this round.ChessBase archive with all the games &…

• #623 PGN Archive For 2009

  3 Feb 2010 | 11:14 am

  I have uploaded my 290-game PGN Archive for 2009 & a 901-game ChessBase archive covering 2006-2009.Please excuse the many typos.I will keep a running PGN file for 2010, to make things easier for you, although this will likely lead to fewer hits.

• 
  Journalspace.com Blogs

• Esther wrote on their own wire:

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:32 pm

  Esther wrote on their own wire: Bingocams : de leukste online bingo site van nederland. http://www.onlinebingowebcams.nl

• onlinegokkasten updated the "Base" information on their profile

  7 Feb 2010 | 10:28 pm

  onlinegokkasten updated the "Base" information on their profile

• Darkcloud wrote a new blog post: Part 8 anaylsis of "The Deliverance of God"

  7 Feb 2010 | 1:10 pm

  Darkcloud wrote a new blog post: Part 8 anaylsis of "The Deliverance of God" Okay everyone, this is the post you’ve finally been waiting on! We are finally into Part 4 of The Deliverance of God where Campbell begins to walk through his alternative reading of Paul. To begin, Campbell asks us to step back and consider the “frame” of Romans. Why was the book written? What prompted Paul to [...]

• journallidzze wrote on their own wire:

  6 Feb 2010 | 7:42 pm

  journallidzze wrote on their own wire: toe redness and pain math cognition test free muscle anatomy video pictures of colonial clothing for men an worksheets for third grade on main idea polygonsquiz o adjectives warlock haste rash on fingers pictures final [...]

• P. C. Ocampo wrote a new blog post: 1184: Everyone Has A Voice, But Who Listens?

  6 Feb 2010 | 6:10 pm

  P. C. Ocampo wrote a new blog post: 1184: Everyone Has A Voice, But Who Listens? Saturday post! It’s rare enough to want to brag about it! I just hope I will still be able to post next week from the off-campus workshop with the incoming president for next school year. @@ http://www.thoughts.com/typedoutloud/blog/978-know-when-your e-doing-something-others-dont-226967/ February 4, 2009 I know one sickness I have (which an exaggeration of saying it’s just a bad habit [...]

• 
  C's Chess

• Fischer's 60 Memorable Games

  23 Jan 2010 | 6:54 pm

  Today I finished Fischer's 60 Memorable Games, 2008 edition, redone by Batsford in algebraic with no editorial changes. Fabulous book...highly recommended.Here's one of my favourite games from it...there were a lot of fabulous games, Byrne-Fischer, etc. but here's one v. Smyslov that I quite liked as it gave me a new idea as White in the Lopez if, for instance, the guy plays a line i'm not too fond ofFischer - SmyslovCapablanca Memorial 1965C77 - Ruy Lopez1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 Be77. Nbd2 O-O 8. Nf1 b5 9. Bb3 d5 10. Qe2 dxe4 11. dxe4 Be612. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Ng3…

• pawn pushing

  13 Sep 2009 | 11:41 am

  i showed my brother a couple of games that i have recently won (blitz, correspondence etc) and he mentioned that a lot of my nice wins involved pawn breaks. i have never made a special effort to do that (except on the queenside when the situation presents itself) but it's interesting to have someone else look at your games now and then.

• How to play the English Opening (Karpov)

  9 Aug 2009 | 8:06 pm

  When we were in London a few months ago my lovely wife picked up this great book by Karpov for me. It is 30 games annotated by him, mostly on the King's English but also has a great section on the Hedgehog. The games are instructive, and many are quite spectacular. I have learned alot about the English and already some of the lessons learned in the games of the 12th World Champion (and others) have been used by me. Here is one of the most spectacularKarpov-Topalov 1994Karpov - Topalov, Linares 19941. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Bc57. Nb3 Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. O-O d6…

• Winning Pawn Structures - Alexander Baburin

  1 Mar 2009 | 6:01 am

  This is a good book on playing both sides of the IQP. There was some issues between Baburin and the publisher and for a while Baburin even advised people not to buy this book, but I believe it has been resolved. There are some interesting games. One idea that definitely stuck in my head was attacking the IQP by moving the knight from f3, then instead of pushing the f-pawn (after being brought up playing all kinds of 1.e4 e5 gambits and the KID) moving the bishop to f3 and attacking the long diagonal that way. it sounds silly, but i had never thought about playing like that before. funny what…

• Volume 2 finished (finally)

  17 Jan 2009 | 8:35 pm

  2 down one to go (but not immediately i need something different). i did enjoy this version quite a bit. going through his Averbakh games inspired me to try and save two tempi on the King's Indian by either playing the Leningrad Dutch or the Averbakh. I also learned about defending tough positions. If nothing else, Suttles was a fighter. The other nice thing is that, because this includes all his games, good, bad and ugly, it's okay to get run over playing these king fianchetto games. Case in pointGordon - Suttles1.d4 d6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 Nd7 5.Nf3 e5 6.Be2 Ne7 7.d5 O-O8.g4 h6 9.Rg1 Nf6…

• 
  dana blogs chess

• New for your chess bookshelf …

  admin

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:16 pm

  Coincidentally, two books that I contributed to (in a very very small way) have either just appeared or are about to appear. The first of them is Improve Your Chess at Any Age by Andy Hortillosa, published by Everyman Chess, which is an elaboration of the anti-blundering system that he wrote about in his column at www.chessville.com. As Andy reminded me in a comment here a few days ago, the title of the book was actually my suggestion! I want to congratulate him on seeing the book through to completion and getting it published. Lots of people say they want to write books (me included), but…

• No more excuses!

  admin

  31 Jan 2010 | 5:34 pm

  The Bay Area has been blessed with three large open tournaments in the first two months of the year. In January we had the New Year’s Open in Santa Clara, won by Sam Shankland, and the Golden State Open in Concord, won by Alex Lenderman. The latter tournament was especially exciting, because it was the first foray by mega-TD Bill Goichberg into northern California. So the prize fund was much larger than we usually see in these parts — $40,000 guaranteed, with $2867 for first. Not surprisingly, all that dough enticed some players we seldom see. Walter Browne, who mostly plays poker…

• Women who kick (pawn) butt

  admin

  28 Jan 2010 | 9:49 am

  Okay, it’s a little bit off topic, but I have to mention something I saw on TV this weekend. Last weekend, a bowler named Kelly Kulick won the Professional Bowlers’ Association Tournament of Champions, which made her the first woman ever to win a “men’s” professional bowling tournament. She didn’t just win, she dominated. Against a 12-time male champion, Chris Barnes, she won 265-195. (In bowling, 300 is a perfect score. A score of 265 is much closer to perfect than it looks — Kulick threw strikes on 10 out of 12 balls, missing only on the fifth one…

• A voice from the past

  admin

  21 Jan 2010 | 10:23 pm

  A few days ago I got a very interesting and pleasant surprise, a comment on my blog from a player I used to know back in North Carolina. His name is Rich Jackson, and he was responding to this post where I analyzed a game we played in the 1987 state championship. The game in question was a memorable one for both of us. We both had 3-1 scores, and the winner of the game would have an excellent shot at winning the title of North Carolina champion. As you can see from the post above, we got to an endgame that was just about as drawn as could possibly be, but he messed it up due to intense time…

• New class, Jeff Sarwer interview, etc.

  admin

  9 Jan 2010 | 11:47 am

  Happy new year! I can’t believe that a week has already gone by and I haven’t watered my blog yet this year. (You know, blogs need care and watering, just like plants …) As I result I have lots of little odds and ends to write about. My main news is that I am going to start a new chess class at a local elementary school, the Santa Cruz Gardens School. It will be a six-week class, starting January 22. This will be a new experiment for me. Although I have run the Aptos Library chess club for 13 years, with a similar age range of kids (from about 6 to 12), I have never done it…

• 
  Chess, Goddess and Everything

• Snow Day!

  9 Feb 2010 | 5:56 am

  The first large storm of 2010 is upon us.  It started snowing some time after I went to bed last night and there was probablyh 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground when I got up at 6 a.m.  The problem is that the storm is supposed to last until 3 a.m. Wednesday, dumping anywhere from 10 to 14 inches of snow.  Not a problem necessarily for the plows to keep the roads more or less clear but - the

• Special DVD of 2009 U.S. Chess Championship

  8 Feb 2010 | 6:47 pm

  I received word today from the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, host for the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship (also hosting the 2010 Championship and Women's Championship later this year) that a special DVD has been put together.  Here are the particulars from the CCSCSL website: Changing of the Guard: The 2009 U.S. Championship DVD $11.99SKU: 528 The 2009 U.S. Chess Championship was

• Moscow Open

  7 Feb 2010 | 6:25 pm

  YAAAAYYYHHH!  WGM/IM Salome Melia takes second place after tie-breaks in the "C" Tournament of the Moscow Open!  Quote from the news report (in English) on the final round: The victory in the women’s event shared the Georgian Salome Melia and Nazi Paikidze scoring 7,5 points each. In the last tour they beat their rivals: Melia beats Zhao Xue from China and Paikidze – the Russian Valentina Gunina

• Brooklyn Museum: To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt

  7 Feb 2010 | 5:26 pm

  Thanks, Isis, for the link to this new exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, which Don McLean and I had the pleasure of visiting during our visit to New York last May.  (Image - not part of the exhibit, this is a painting from the tomb of Sobekhotep - the bearer to the left is carrying a board game - looks like Senet -- and dangling a long gold linked chain from his elbow). February 12–May 2, 2010

• London Chess Center Closing!

  7 Feb 2010 | 3:55 pm

  OHMYGODDESS!  I nearly had a heart attack when I visited Mark Crowther's The Week in Chess just now and saw the news that the London Chess Center has lost their lease!  Here is the story: London Chess Centre closes after 18 years Mark Crowther - Friday 5th February 2010 The London Chess Centre will close its doors for the final time on the 12th of February 2010 after 18 years due to the

• 
  Google Blog Search: Chess

• Review: Marcel Duchamp – The Art of Chess : Chess news by ChessVibes

  Arne Moll

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:15 am

  The Art of Chess What do a game of chess and a nude decending a staircase have in common? To answer such questions, you must be prepared to leave your conventional ways of thinking at home and then fall down Marcel Duchamp's rabbit-hole ...

• A Course in Chess Tactics : Chess news by ChessVibes

  New in Chess (ADVERTORIALS)

  9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  The advice frequently given to chess-players eager to improve their results is straightforward: study tactics! This book presents a structured approach to tactics, and belongs in the library of every ambitious player. ...

• Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information: Chess trivia

  Blog Admin

  8 Feb 2010 | 10:44 pm

  The Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) is the model for the highest standard in chess education. The institute is poised to become the world's premier center for chess research, education, development and outreach. ...

• Chess Super Mario Brothers Chess | Reviews Of Games & Products

  socomplete

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:54 pm

  The classic game of chess takes a wacky turn with those video game characters, Super Mario Brothers. Features 32 highly-detailed authentic chess pieces and a themed chess board. Everything comes packed in a collector's tin. ...

• National Day chess tournament | Brunei NEWS, Brunei HEADLINES from ...

  Jason Thomas

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:04 pm

  BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN THE Brunei Chess Federation (BCF) will be organising the National Day Rapid Chess Tournament from Feb 26-27. Held every year to.

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  WordPress Tag: Chess

• Transform Your Reality

  successdiva

  8 Feb 2010 | 9:44 pm

  Although people oftentimes do not realize it, each day we are in the process of creating ideas that will or will not affect the rest of our lives. Ideas are different from choices, but they can and do lead to choices. We form ideas about the world and about other people who shape our viewpoint of life. But we also form ideas about ourselves. These ideas usually fit into one of two categories: they will either help us reach our goals and dreams, or they will take us further away from them. To put it more simply—and to borrow a motto from a friend of mine—ideas take us either…

• The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

  supernaut342

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:47 pm

  I was playing chess with my 8-year-old son yesterday.  He’s at the age where I don’t just let him win games.   He started to cry when I beat him, and then I said “I will continue to beat you at chess until you learn not to cry…so let’s play again.”  I wasn’t harsh with him, I told him I loved him, and said he HAD to learn how to lose without crying.  He ended up learning some things about chess, particularly how to understand that moving one piece changes the entire board, and that you can’t just think about YOUR pieces. He didn’t…

• Chess paves for development of scientific approach towards thinking

  maxazi

  8 Feb 2010 | 7:39 pm

  Chess is called as the King of sports. Chess is basically a sport involving Kings. After all, it is just a game or a sport played to challenge the capabilities of your brain and the mind. What is the big deal in this simple concept? Why should we give more importance to this game or sport that is played across the world? When man first discovered fire by rubbing two stones or rocks with pressure, he saw some flame coming from those rocks. He touched it and got his fingers burnt and immediately he took his hands away and since then he never touched fire. Instead he started using fire…

• I love chess!

  saiyas

  8 Feb 2010 | 5:17 pm

  Hi, everybody! Today, I want to share with you my love for chess. It is the game of minds, fun and competitive. I first learned to play chess when I was six and had played it all day long with my grandpa. Even though I am in college now, I still play chess online. I discovered a secret weapon here. This website is really amazing!. It has a lot of helpful articles, tactic training practices and tutorial videos. Although you need to pay monthly to access to full sources, the price is quite affordable. If you do not want to pay, simply go to You Tube and search for “chess.com”. I…

• What's UP!!

  Alex

  8 Feb 2010 | 3:50 pm

  The Saints won! Not that I’m football-crazy, I actually watched the first hour or so of it then got bored and changed the channel to like, What Not to Wear or something like that. But the Students’ Council was talking about it at lunch today in our Monday meeting. (We have meetings at lunch on Monday and after school on Friday.) I got my hair done like a more-modern-less-mullet-like-and-neater version of Joan Jett’s in this video here ^ yesterday. Also, my bangs are lovelier and my layers less-mullet-like. I really cannot stress “less-mullet-like” enough.

• 
  Boylston Chess Club Weblog

• Amateur Team East

  Robert Oresick

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:38 am

  Please Comment if you are trying to hook up for playing, traveling, or rooming.Thank YouMike Griffin 02/05/2010.

• The Future of Chess

  Robert Oresick

  4 Feb 2010 | 6:42 am

  High Park Toboggan Runs, 1914. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 441A." As a kid I remember a similar photo of Franklin Park Golf Course with a man-made wooden ramp.I think it's time to discuss the future of chess, given all this conversation about chess players migrating to poker and children being attracted to internet games. Forty plus years ago those who wanted to play a serious thought game for recreation had to physically relocate themselves to a chess or bridge club. Before the 60's television was in its infancy and again people had to go to theaters and symphonies for…

• Esserman-Simpson earns Game of the Year 3rd place

  Rihel

  2 Feb 2010 | 9:22 am

  In the US Chessleague award season, Boston Blitz and Boylston Chess Club regular/board member IM Marc Esserman was recently awarded 3rd place Game of the Year for his miniature masterpiece against Ron Simpson. Ignored in the regular season voting, the strong 3rd place finish in the year-end vote is sweet vindication for Marc, and affirmation of Blitz fan sentiment after watching this gem.The dismantling of Simpson's position out of the opening is frightening-- a casual examination by this 2000 rated commentator can't even pinpoint Black's fatal error. Click here for the game and here for the…

• Chess Players are Migrating to the Online Poker World

  Robert Oresick

  1 Feb 2010 | 7:08 am

  Gary Kasparov recently stated that he believes that since computers have become more adept at beating human chess players many have since turned to poker as it still remains unbeaten by computers.Online PR News – 31-January-2010 – While it may seem strange for elite players of the highly cerebral game of chess to take up a seemingly low brow game like poker, the two games aren’t as dissimilar as one might think. While, at first glance poker is a seemingly simple game to learn and understand, the truth is that to become a successful player one must first learn more advanced theories and…

• Chess: the Ultimate Brain Game

  Robert Oresick

  26 Jan 2010 | 2:11 pm

  While reading and watching Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman I realized it was that years of being a salesman had wired Willy Loman's mind to view things a certain way. In life imitates art once again, my life experiences have been bolstered by modern psychology, psychiatry, medicine, and biology that indicates the same thing: you are what you do. People who invest significant time being involved with chess are improving their thinking and analytical powers just like a body builder strengthens their muscles by lifting weights. Reinforcing this idea is David Shenk's book The Immortal Game -…

• 
  Streatham & Brixton Chess Club

• Chiv Chat

  8 Feb 2010 | 2:01 am

  Carpets, pregnancy, a cartoon, the collected works of Ray Keene, the TV hit Lost, literature - all that and a tiny bit more features in today's Chiv Chat.First, Dilbert. Ah, Dilbert. How you perk up the lives of daily office dwellers like myself with your droll, cynical humour. What possible excuse though could I find to share you with readers of our chess blog?Just one brief mention of chess in passing. That'll do it.Readers may recall that a while back my fellow blogger ejh queried just how many books Ray Keene has written. Soon after Ray Keene emailed me a bibliography based on his own…

• Chess in Art Postscript: Mirror Looking

  6 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am

  The Chess in Art Postscript: Mirror Writing looked at Massimo Bontempelli's "The Chess Set in the Mirror" (first published in 1922 in Italian, but only translated into English in 2007) and Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" (1872[1871]) which both have a mirror/chess theme, and which both are graced by bespoke illustrations.Last time we focussed on the text, so now let's look at the two artists and their images: John Tenniel (1820-1914), Victorian gent. for TLG; and Sergio Tofano (1883-1973)(aka STO), Italian modiste for CSM. Their art was as different as their times, but with some…

• My favourite moves X

  4 Feb 2010 | 11:55 pm

  1.Nf3!The exclamation mark is for affection, but that is the nature of this series. Of all the possible ways of opening a chess game, it's the one I like the most.Thinking chronologically, it was my fifth choice rather than my first: like, I should think, almost all beginners I opened with the e-pawn for the first few years of my chessplaying life. At some point I had a season or so with the d-pawn, and in my mid-teens, having read a short pamphlet by David Levy on the Sokolosky, I started playing 1.b4 for school and club. With, I should say, a great deal of success: nobody had seen it before…

• Duffers' Delight II

  2 Feb 2010 | 11:56 pm

  I originally intended to write something about mobile phones today but after spending some of Monday evening with Simon Williams' new DVD I'm going to hold that post over for another day. Instead I'd like to offer you a double dose of Dutch Duffers' Delight.I've been playing the Dutch for a couple of years now and up until this point whenever I've been reading books on the opening I've always skipped over the chapters devoted to 1. d4 f5, 2. anything other than c4 or g3. "I don't need to worry about that", I (smugly) thought, "I'm going to play ... e6 on move one and avoid this murky stuff".

• Whatever Happened to Eric Holt?

  1 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am

  White to playHolt - Pritchard,British Championship (11), 1971It wasn't supposed to be like this. A single post on a Ray Keene curiosity before swiftly moving on to subjects new was my intention. There's far too much going on in the world of chess to stay overly long with Keene-Holt from Blackpool 1971. Or so I thought.I got sucked in. It started with the idea that it might be worth taking a quick look at Eric Holt, just to see if he was in the habit of doing funny things like playing on two queens down against a man in the process of winning the British Championship. Half an hour's work at…

• 
  CENTRAL OREGON CHESS JOURNAL

• JERGER CHESS CLOCKS... a fine instrument with which to keep track of time during a competition.

  25 Jan 2010 | 8:05 pm

  Ever since the various postings on Jerger clocks went up I have had numerous emails about What either happened to the company or people requesting clock repair advice - or even soliciting that I repair their clocks for them! I am glad to see that the JERGER CHESS CLOCK is still this popular! As it should be as these were the best EVER analog clocks ever produced.The unfortunate reason for the end of Jerger Clock production can be found here:http://www.chess-museum.com/chess-clocks.htmlOne of the most recent emails that I have received on this topic came from reader Darrell:"In answer to your…

• TUCSON PHOTO ALBUM : Round 4 Sunday 1/24/2010

  25 Jan 2010 | 7:24 pm

  These were the photos from the start of round four from Sunday the 24th. These pictures were taken from 9AM till about 9:30AM. Then I had to leave the tournament site to meet my teaching commitments as a chess coach back in Phoenix Arizona - private and group lessons. Quite the event – next year I shall play! – Coach Sean Tobin.

• Jason Evers versus Darth Mal & the Dark Side!

  24 Jan 2010 | 9:24 pm

  The strain of being one of the last Jedi Knights of the OLCC...When facing lawless Siths in Bend or abroad...at the chess board or away from it!Jason doubts the force...Turning to a weapon far mightier than any sword!- Mr_Theory.

• Need an idea for a chess themed Birthday Cake?

  24 Jan 2010 | 6:18 am

  Here it is!Now that is what I call a cake! “THE” CAKE! I went to the Birthday party for my student Mitchell today – and THIS was his Birthday cake! WOW! Now that is a Birthday cake for a serious chess player! If you need/want to know who the artist is that produced this Birthday Cake then here you go: SUGAR SUGAR CAKE STUDIO Ted Scutti – President and Sugar Artist Business office:387 N 2nd Avenue, Unit 1GPhoenix, AZ 85003Phone: 602.300.2625 http://www.sugarsugarcakestudio.com And don’t forget to save me a slice of cake! : P – Coach Sean.

• Mr_Theory Gives a Simultaneous 1/19/2010

  19 Jan 2010 | 3:46 pm

  As a Scholastic Chess Coach I have to travel from school to school giving chess simultaneous displays - and with the following constraints: 1.) It has to be exciting! This one is one that I am always trying to work on - the next one always has to top the previous simul given. 2.) I have to checkmate the scholastic players and those youngsters who are interested in chess as quickly as possible. Each youngster may only have anywhere from five to fifteen minutes worth of time with which to play his or her game against me. 3.) If I lose a game I lose a set. So if I want to keep my chess boards…

• 
  Chess News Blog

• GM Chernyshov of Russia wins Moscow Open

  7 Feb 2010 | 8:52 am

    The 6th international chess festival Moscow Open is helding from January 30th to 7th Febary 2010 in RSSU main building ballroom . Official site: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru/eng/ download pgn: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru/upload/files/a.pgn Live games: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/online/   Final rank after 9 rounds top 28 1 46 GM Chernyshov Konstantin 2556 RUS 4117328 7 6 46Ѕ 33Ѕ 2506 19,0 1,90 2506 2726 2 17 GM Bareev Evgeny 2643 RUS 4100140 7 5 52 37 2573 17,0 1,70 2573 2793 3 16 GM Le Quang Liem 2647 VIE 12401137 7 5 50Ѕ 37 2572 16,2 1,62…

• Rd8 3-way tie for first at Moscow Open

  6 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm

    The 6th international chess festival Moscow Open is helding from January 30th to 7th Febary 2010 in RSSU main building ballroom . Official site: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru/eng/ download pgn: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru/upload/files/a.pgn Live games: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/online/   Round VIII top parings and results Bo. SNo.   Name Pts Res. Pts   Name SNo. 1 16 GM Le Quang Liem 5Ѕ 1  -  0 6 GM Sasikiran Krishnan 13 2 17 GM Bareev Evgeny 5Ѕ 1  -  0 5Ѕ GM Bologan Viktor 3 3 21 GM Amonatov Farrukh…

• GM Hou Yifan lost four games continuously

  5 Feb 2010 | 11:03 am

    The 6th international chess festival Moscow Open is helding from January 30th to 7th Febary 2010 in RSSU main building ballroom . Official site: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru/eng/ download pgn: http://www.moscowchessopen.ru/upload/files/a.pgn Live games: http://www.aeroflotchess.com/online/     Round VII top parings and results Bo. SNo.   Name Pts Res. Pts   Name SNo. 1 13 GM Sasikiran Krishnan 5 1  -  0 5 GM Andreikin Dmitry 20 2 17 GM Bareev Evgeny 5 Ѕ  -  Ѕ 5 GM Le Quang Liem 16 3 15 GM Inarkiev…

• The final FIDE Grand-Prix tournament

  5 Feb 2010 | 6:23 am

  The final FIDE Grand-Prix tournament is set to take place on 9-25th May 2010 in Astrakhan, Russia. The event is crucial to determine who will be the second qualifier for the Candidates Matches 2010-2011. Levon Aronian has already qualified and opted not to participate - current standings. As with the previous Grand Prix stages, the tournament format is round robin with 14 players. Participants: Vladimir Akopian (Armenia) Evgeny Alekseev (Russia) Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine) Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan) Boris Gelfand (Israel) Ernesto Inarkiev (Russia) Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) Dmitry Jakovenko…

• Adams Wins Final in Play-Off at Gibraltar

  4 Feb 2010 | 5:40 pm

    Play-Off : Adams Wins The Final John Saunders reports: English grandmaster Mickey Adams has won the 8th Gibtelecom Masters after a four-player play-off. He did it the hard way, losing the first game of his semi-final against German GM Jan Gustafsson and having much the worst of the second game before Gustafsson blundered a piece. There followed an Armageddon game, with Adams obliged to win, which he did in some style. In the other semi-final Paco Vallejo Pons of Spain won his first game quite comfortably against Chand Sandipan of India. He was comfortable in the second game but…

• 
  Chesscube

• President Jacob Zuma supports South African chess

  seanw

  22 Jan 2010 | 6:31 am

  The Nkandla community in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, had a great day when SA President Jacob Zuma arrived to take part in a chess tournament between surrounding schools. Nonkulueko Sithole was thrilled to play President Zuma, even though the President checkmated her in fewer than 10 moves. “This is the best day of my life. I never thought I would ever sit this close to the President and play a game of chess with him,” said the 14 year old. Zuma brings his Bishop into the game against Sithole In an interview after the game with City Press, Zuma said, “Chess is very important as it makes…

• Sick Set Thursday – A Set dedicated to Manchester United Football Club!

  seanw

  14 Jan 2010 | 5:07 am

  Are you a Manchester United fan? Well, here’s a chess set that allows you to take your favorite team to yet another victory .  The set consists of the 1999 Treble winning team against the 1968 UEFA Championship winning team. King Vs King – its Stiles Vs Keane on this match-day More pics: Via – FootyStore

• Chesscube. Good for your Brain.

  JohnJurgens

  8 Jan 2010 | 12:40 am

  “Don’t forget this fact, you can’t get it back, cocaine” (JJ Cale ~ Cocaine) Unlike Chesscube. If the appended article is correct it would seem that Chesscube is GOOD for your brain from both a cognitive exercise and social interaction point of view -in moderation of course. Online life should nor entirely replace real-life interactions. http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2891&iArticleId=5300658 How the web alters brains Anastasia Stephens 04 January 2010 at 06h00 Most of us in the developed world now have relationships with computers that…

• Sick Set Thursday – The King Kong Chess Set

  seanw

  7 Jan 2010 | 2:53 am

  King Kong Chess Set The primal savagery of Skull Island clashes against the urban sophistication of 1933 New York as man and monster battle for supremacy on the chessboard. Kong, ruler of the dark and terrifying Skull Island, a world of tangled jungle, superstitious sacrifice and nightmarish monsters, beats his chest in defiance against the might of the industrial age. New York, urban pinnacle of the western world and symbolic of the artificial power of man, is his adversary, having taken from Kong, that which he most loves, the beautiful Ann Darrow. Scuplted by Weta Workshop’s Mary…

• The Decade in Chess: 1999 -2009

  JohnJurgens

  30 Dec 2009 | 11:21 pm

  Bookends of the decade are Kasparov and Carlsen. In between them the probably most prominent have been Anand, Kramnik and Topalov. At the end of this, the decade in which Bobby Fischer died, an prodigous new talent has emerged: Magnus Carlsen. Dubbed by GM Lubomir Kavalek as The Mozart of Chess, few doubt that the new decade will soon become his exclusive feifdom. Carlsen won The 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring Tournament with a score of 8/10 becoming, at the age of 18 years, the youngest player ever to cross the 2800 Elo barrier. He went on to place second at the Tal Memorial Tournament (won by…

• 
  Begin Chess

• Analyzing Your Games

  beginchess

  21 Jan 2010 | 6:03 pm

  According to Mark Dvoretsky the analysis of one’s own games is the main means of self-improvement.  In Secrets of Chess Training Dvoretsky offers the following guidelines: Find the turning points – Decide where mistakes were made, where the evaluation of the position changed or an opportunity was missed. Seek the reasons for your own mistakes – The objective realization of your own weaknesses is a necessary first step in the work of correcting them. Seek new possibilities, which you did not notice during the game. Ponder over the opening stage – Approach the problems…

• Chess Training Notebook Week of 12/28/09

  beginchess

  3 Jan 2010 | 3:13 pm

  First entry of the new year, and it is time to review my Chess goals and resolutions. So far, I’m happy with my progress, and the new training program I am following is finally giving me guidance and improvement. This week was the 2nd and final week of the first cycle of Phase I of the Extreme Chess Training Program which I began on 12/21/09.  Next week I start on Phase II, which focuses on the endgame. I am going to use the end of 1 full cycle of ECT, which is 45 days to play a tournament and do a progress report. I will also post more information on the program upon my completion of…

• Dumbing Down Fritz

  beginchess

  1 Jan 2010 | 5:12 pm

  I’m having issues with my Internet connectivity, so I’ve decided to play my standard game against a chess engine instead of playing my regularly scheduled standard game on ICC. While I have tried playing in sparring or friend mode, this type of play for me is not realistic enough. What I have done is to use an older Fritz engine, in this case Fritz 5.32, and I have reduced the number of ply depth and the use of an opening book. For my first game, I used the following settings: 1 ply depth, no book and engine Fritz 5.32. The engine did not blunder until move 27, and the blunder…

• Chess Training Notebook 12.21.09

  beginchess

  29 Dec 2009 | 4:22 pm

  This is the first week where I trained using the Extreme Chess Training (ECT) program. I am still beta testing it and I should have more information available the first week of January. Monday – Performed 45 minutes of standard tactics at chesstempo.com Tuesday – Played an ICC standard game and reviewed it afterwards. Wednesday – Did 1hr of speed tactics, using Bain’s Chess Tactics for Students. Thursday – Played standard game on FICS. Friday – Performed core tactics for 1 hour. Focused on key positions from Chess Training Pocketbook Saturday –…

• Extreme Chess Training – Updated

  beginchess

  25 Dec 2009 | 9:20 am

  Update 12.25.09 Here’s an update post on a quick overview of what I’m thinking and doing so far: The program is going to consist of 3 phases, each phase lasting 60 days. The first phase will focus on tactics and the following phases will be on endgame and strategy. At the end of each phase, I will participate in a tournament to help gauge my progress. I am compiling positions and content to go along with the program, but I have just recently started doing this and it will take a while. Right now I am on week 1 of the tactics phase, and things are going well. A draft of the…

• 
  Gambit

• Carlsen Conquers Corus

  By DYLAN MCCLAIN

  1 Feb 2010 | 3:18 pm

  Magnus Carlsen, the world's No. 1 player, wins the first major tournament of the year.

• Washington Post Discontinues Chess Column

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  4 Jan 2010 | 5:44 pm

  The Washington Post's chess column is a victim of cost-savings measures.

• For Many People, Holidays Are a Time for Playing

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  2 Jan 2010 | 6:17 pm

  While most people spent the holidays with friends and family, a blizzard of tournaments attracted chess players around the world.

• Game of the Year

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  30 Dec 2009 | 2:16 pm

  A nominee for what was the most interesting/exciting/best-played game of the year.

• Another Dose of Nostalgia

  By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN

  20 Dec 2009 | 3:37 pm

  In a match in Russia between chess legends, Viktor Korchnoi leads Boris Spassky, 2 to 1.