by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 03, 2009 01:32 AM
Chess Commander
July 03, 2009
July 02, 2009
ChessVibes
Carlsen beats Jakovenko in first round Dortmund
ChessCafe reviews ChessVibes Openings
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Carlsen 1-0 Jakovenko

GM Carlsen (2770) - GM Jakovenko (2753) [C67]
Dortmund 2009 (1), 02.07.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.Ne2 Be7 12.Bg5 Be6 13.Nf4 Bd5 14.Bxe7 Kxe7 15.Ng5 Nd4 16.Rad1 Ne6 17.Ngxe6 Bxe6 18.h4 a5 19.a3 a4 20.Rfe1 g6 21.f3 Ra5 22.c3 Rb5 23.Re2 Ra8 24.Rd4 Raa5 25.Kf2 Rxe5 26.Rxe5 Rxe5 27.Rxa4 Rb5 28.b4 c5 29.Ra7 cxb4 30.cxb4 Kd7 31.Ne2 Rb6 32.Ke3 Bc4 33.Nd4 Kd6 34.Ra5 Ra6 35.Rxa6+ bxa6 36.g4 hxg4 37.fxg4 Ke5 38.Nc6+ Kf6 39.Kf4 Ke6 40.h5 gxh5 41.gxh5 Bd3 42.Ke3 Bf1 43.h6 Kf6 44.Ne5 Bb5 45.Kd4 Ba4 46.h7 Kg7 47.Nxf7 Kxh7 48.Ng5+ Kg6 49.Ne6 White wins 1–0
Click here to replay the game.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 02, 2009 06:42 PM
Dortmund round 1 results

Round 1 results:
| Leko, Peter | 1/2 | Kramnik, Vladimir |
| Carlsen, Magnus | 1-0 | Jakovenko, Dmitry |
| Naiditsch, Arkadij | 1/2 | Bacrot, Etienne |
Official website: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 02, 2009 05:17 PM
Game analysis: B. Igla – T. Kosintseva
B. Igla (2291) – T. Kosintseva (2492)
European Team Chess Championship, Crete, Greece (1), 28.10.2007 [E39]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4
The Nimzo-Indian defense is one of the most complicated of all chess openings. The positions can be sharp, positional, closed or wide open.
4.Qc2
This is arguably White’s best response. The idea is to avoid doubled pawns after …Bxc3.
4...0–0 5.Bg5
The main line is 5.a3, forcing Black to give up the pin of the c3-knight.
5...c5 6.dxc5 Na6
General opening advice suggests not to bring your knight to the edge of the board, but in this case it is only a temporary stop-over on the way to the center.
7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Qxc3 Nxc5
Now the knight is back in business.
9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Qxf6 gxf6 11.b4 Na4
It seems that White was thinking “less pieces, less problems,” but it is a risky strategy that often backfires. Black has doubled f-pawns, but White is significantly behind in development.
12.e3
After 12.c5 b6, Black would be in good shape too.
12…b6 13.Nf3 Ba6 14.Kd2
In another recent game, White also suffered after 14.Nd2Rfc8 15.Ne4 Kf8 16.Be2 Ke7 17.Nd2 Rc7 18.e4 Rac8 19.Bd1 Nb2 20.b5 Bb7 21.Bb3Nd3+ 22.Ke2 Nf4+ 23.Kf3 e5 24.g3 Ne6 25.Ke3 Nd4 26. Bd1 f5 Mchedlishvili - Gelashvili, Tbilisi 2007.
14...Rfc8 15.Rc1 Nb2 16.c5
16.b5 Bb7 would gravely weaken the c5-square as well as White’s c4-pawn.
16...Bxf1 17.Rhxf1 bxc5 18.Kc3
After 18.bxc5 Na4, White cannot hang on to the c5-pawn.
18...Na4+ 19.Kb3
This is the critical moment of the game.
19...a5!!
A brilliant move! After 19...Nb6 20.bxc5 Nd5 21. e4, White regains the pawn and it would be Black who would have to fight for a draw.
20.Kxa4
Otherwise Black simply keeps the extra pawn.
20...axb4+ 21.Kb3
21.Kb5 is even worse, as after 21...bxa3, White loses if she captures on c5: 22.Rxc5 Rcb8+ 23.Kc4 a2 24.Ra1 Rb1.
21...Rxa3+ 22.Kb2
After 22.Kc4 d5+ 23.Kb5, Black could play 23...c4, because if 24.Kxb4, Black mates in two by 24...Rb3+ 25.Ka4 Ra8#.
22...c4
Black has three connected passed pawns for the knight and a clear advantage.
23.Ra1 c3+ 24.Kb1 Rxa1+ 25.Kxa1 b3
The pawns are unstoppable!
26.Nd4 Ra8+ 27.Kb1
Is Black’s attack over? If 27...b2 28.Kc2 Ra1 29. Rb1 or 27...c2+ 28.Kb2, and the tables have turned. However, as so often happens, tactics come to the rescue.
27...Ra2! 28.Rc1
Black indirectly protects the pawn: 28.Nxb3 Rb2+.
28...e5
This is objectively the best move, although the pawn endgame after the simpler 28...c2+ 29.Nxc2 Rxc2 30.Rxc2 bxc2+ 31.Kxc2 should also be winning.
29.Rxc3
White had no choice but to give up the knight.
29...exd4 30.exd4 Rxf2
Now Black is ahead two pawns and the rest is easy.
31.Rg3+ Kf8 32.h3 Ke7 33.Rg7 f5 34.Rxh7 Rxg2 35.Rh4 Kf6 36.Kc1 Kg5 37.Rh7 Kg6 38.Rh8 Rc2+ 39.Kb1 f4 0–1
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 02, 2009 11:22 AM
FIDE rated event over the internet!

ChessCube SA Open 2009
FIDE rated event over the internet!
Report by Chessdom.com
The ChessCube SA Open 2009 will take place 3-11 July, 2009. In a world first for chess, some of the matches will be played online. This is a format many internet chess players have been waiting for - an online event being played simultaneously over 2 continents, yet officially recognized and rated by FIDE!
From Melbourne, Australia, behind the computer screens will be GM Gawain Jones (GBR, ELO 2550), IM Puchen Wang (NZL, ELO 2453), IM Mirko Rujevic (AUS, ELO 2282), and IM Leonid Sandler (AUS, ELO 2332) on standby. On the other end of the computer terminal at Cape Town, South Africa, will sit their opponents (randomly paired each round).
"Having these players compete in the tournament from another location using the Internet is a world first. Each Australian player will use a computer to connect to ChessCube and play their game, and will be supervised by the arbiter on that side. Similarly the players paired against them in Cape Town will play their games online using a computer, and will be supervised by an arbiter on this side," commented Mr. Mark Levitt, founder of ChessCube.
The remote players are in contention for all prize money and titles - similar to local players. The best part of all, FIDE have agreed to officially rate the games played over the Internet.
ChessCube powering the community and the SA Open
ChessCube as a playing platform has been bringing innovative ideas into online chess playing for the last couple of months, turning into one of the busiest and most populated web chess servers with player peaks reaching over 3000 players online simultaneously, and a growing base that has eclipsed half a million users. The platform has turned into something that the chess world has been missing at previous online chess communities - it is a place where one can socialize and have fun at the same time.
Now ChessCube are taking a step further and create a tournament, part of which will take place online, and will be officially recognized by FIDE.
More about the SA Open
The SA Open will be an 11 round Swiss tournament using the FIDE approved Dutch pairings. The time control will be 90 minutes for the whole game plus an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The tiebreaks used to form the final rankings are (a) Median Bucholz, (b) Sonneborn-Berger, (c) Performance rating, (d) Cumulative score. The official site of the event is www.saopen2009.com
The official list of participants in Cape Town will be released soon.
Stay tuned for more information and see you online at ChessCube!
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 02, 2009 11:21 AM
Interview with Radjabov

Teimour Radjabov Evaluating Bazna Kings
Interview for news portal Day.az
Posted by Chessdom.com
Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov recently competed at the Kings tournament in Bazna, Romania, where he finished on shared third place. Radjabov spoke to Day.az about this event and upcoming tournaments.
Day.az: You were the top-seeded player at the Bazna Kings, but in the end you shared third place. How do you evaluate this result?
Teimour Radjabov: Yes, I was the highest rated, but there was only a slight difference between me and the remaining participants, and let's not forget who were my opponents. Vassily Ivanchuk - winner of countless super-tournaments; Alexei Shirov - a convincing winner of the recent Grand Slam in Sofia; Boris Gelfand - winner of the World Rapid Cup 2009; American Grandmaster Gata Kamsky - winner of the last World Cup, who recently played a World Championship challenger match with Veselin Topalov; finally, the most experienced Romanian player Liviu-Dieter Nisipianu, who has the title of European chess champion in 2005. It is not by coincidence that the name of the tournament had "Kings" in it. I would say that my result was normal. There were many intense and exciting games. At least on two occasions I was very close to winning.
Day.az: In which games you missed to score wins?
Teimour Radjabov: Against Shirov and Gelfand I had positions that with precise play could have brought me full points.
Day.az: FIDE has recently announced the rules for selection of candidates in the world championship cycle. How difficult will it be to obtain a seat for the matches?
Teimour Radjabov: I don't know yet. I didn't think about the FIDE rules. There are rules and I play in accordance with them. What is the point of the endless discussion? Many of them, in my opinion, are far from perfect, but on the other hand FIDE is working on the process of selection, the cycle for the world championship is ongoing, and this is good for chess.
Day.az: Does that mean that your top priority will now become Grand Prix and World Cup?
Teimour Radjabov: It was supposed to be like that anyway. Frankly, there is again some confusion with the calendar. The two most difficult and most important tournaments are almost overlapping. Grand Prix will start only a couple of days after the World Cup and the playing venue for the last phase is yet to be determined.
Link courtesy of e3e5.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 02, 2009 11:20 AM
ChessVibes
Dortmund starts today
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
The Closet Grandmaster
Beauty & the Chess Geek
by noreply@blogger.com (The Closet Grandmaster) at July 02, 2009 05:42 AM
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
The new #1
| 1 | Jakovenko, Dmitry | g | RUS | 2760 | 15 | 1983 |
| 2 | Kramnik, Vladimir | g | RUS | 2759 | 0 | 1975 |
| 3 | Morozevich, Alexander | g | RUS | 2751 | 0 | 1977 |
| 4 | Svidler, Peter | g | RUS | 2739 | 36 | 1976 |
| 5 | Grischuk, Alexander | g | RUS | 2733 | 20 | 1983 |
| 6 | Alekseev, Evgeny | g | RUS | 2714 | 20 | 1985 |
| 7 | Motylev, Alexander | g | RUS | 2710 | 16 | 1979 |
| 8 | Malakhov, Vladimir | g | RUS | 2707 | 7 | 1980 |
| 9 | Rublevsky, Sergei | g | RUS | 2703 | 16 | 1974 |
| 10 | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | g | RUS | 2689 | 6 | 1987 |
| 11 | Timofeev, Artyom | g | RUS | 2681 | 7 | 1985 |
| 11 | Vitiugov, Nikita | g | RUS | 2681 | 6 | 1987 |
| 13 | Inarkiev, Ernesto | g | RUS | 2675 | 15 | 1985 |
| 14 | Grachev, Boris | g | RUS | 2669 | 19 | 1986 |
| 14 | Kurnosov, Igor | g | RUS | 2669 | 13 | 1985 |
Source: FIDE.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 02, 2009 05:16 AM
The Daily Dirt Chess News Blog
Dortmund 09 r1
It's go time in Dortmund. In memory of Michael Jackson they start out with a real Thriller in round one, Leko-Kramnik! Har har, I could go on all night. But I won't, because I am merciful. The other games are Carlsen-Jakovenko and Naiditsch-Bacrot. Games start at 9am EDT, 3pm local, but they are using a 15-minute broadcast delay as an anti-cheating measure, something I fully support. Although they haven't figured out a good way to deal with jumping to the end when the game is over. There will be a daily live link on the official site (above). There seem to be dueling official sites, btw. That one, plus this one and what appears to be a subsite of it. Weird.
I'm on ICC Chess.FM with the inimitable LarryC. Updates here after the round. Call the action. Or "action" since Leko hasn't beaten Kramnik in classical chess since their 2004 WCh match (shades of Kasparov's dominance over Anand post-1995 WCh match) and Kramnik hasn't won a classical game with black against anybody since 2006, one of the more remarkable stats in top chess. But hey, let's stay positive. A black win in his favorite event would be a heck of a way for Big Vlad to shake off seven months of rust.
ChessBase News
25th Spring Chess Festival in Budapest
Your judgement, please
A) Black wins easily, after all he's not got only one bishop, has he?
B) The sac is correct, however, victory requires yet a 'silent hammer blow'.
C) As good as it might look, the strike backfires; with cool defence White gets the advantage. The solution is for replay here or as video sample from Kings Powerplay 1 DVD. Hint: first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.
Dortmund 01: Carlsen beats Jakovenko
July 01, 2009
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Dortmund starts tomorrow

Round 1 (July 2, 2009)
| Leko, Peter | - | Kramnik, Vladimir |
| Carlsen, Magnus | - | Jakovenko, Dmitry |
| Naiditsch, Arkadij | - | Bacrot, Etienne |
Official website: http://www.chess-international.de/
Which one of these 6 players do you think will win Dortmund 2009? Click here to vote.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 11:49 PM
Endgame improvement

Troitzky, 1925
White to move and win. The problem with 1.g7 is 1...Ba4.
8/1n1b4/3B2P1/k1pK4/8/P7/8/8 w - - 0 1
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 08:16 PM
Gambit
Topalov Ranked No. 1 Again, but Does That Mean What It Once Did?
The Daily Dirt Chess News Blog
Chinese Disappearing Act
Hours after I posted the item on Nanjing Pearl Spring, Anand and Topalov disappeared from the event website and were replaced with "to be determined"! [The sharp-eyed Torrelio in the comments notes that if you click the first blank square you still get Topalov's picture. Hasty cover-up!] Maybe the organizers' announcements got a little ahead of their contracts? Inquiries as yet unanswered.
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
The Daily Dirt Chess News Blog
Topalov and Anand in Nanjing
The field for the 2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring Grand Slam tournament is now complete. Bu Xiangzhi has been replaced by Wang Yue despite his respectable even score in last year's edition. But barring shocking developments, nobody will be paying much attention to anyone other than world champ Anand, world #1 Topalov, and world #3 wunderkind Magnus Carlsen. The rest of the field will be battling to get a share of the spotlight: Radjabov, Jakovenko, and Wang Yue. Topalov dominated last year's event. Start date is September 27, hard on the heels of the Bilbao Grand Slam final. Official site here.
Update: Hours after I posted this, Anand and Topalov disappeared from the Pearl Spring website and were replaced with "to be determined"! Maybe the organizers' announcements got ahead of their contracts?
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Chess improvement week

Pastalka, 1999
I will post many more puzzles than usual this week to help you shape up your chess for the summer. A new puzzle will be posted every two hours today. Check back soon and see if you can solve them. Have fun.
White to move and win.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 02:16 PM
Men’s and Women’s Brains

10 Big Differences Between Men’s and Women’s Brains
Jun 16th, 2009
www.mastersofhealthcare.com
The differences between women and men are not only well-documented, but frequently at the heart of jokes, anecdotes, and good-natured (and not so good-natured) ribbing. Experts have discovered that there are actually differences in the way women’s and men’s brains are structured and in the way they react to events and stimuli. So the next time your wife, boyfriend, or parent starts telling you how you should have done something differently, then refer back to these big differences between men’s and women’s brains.
1. Human relationships. Women tend to communicate more effectively than men, focusing on how to create a solution that works for the group, talking through issues, and utilizes non-verbal cues such as tone, emotion, and empathy whereas men tend to be more task-oriented, less talkative, and more isolated. Men have a more difficult time understanding emotions that are not explicitly verbalized, while women tend to intuit emotions and emotional cues. These differences explain why men and women sometimes have difficulty communicating and why men-to-men friendships look different from friendships among women.
2. Left brain vs. both hemispheres. Men tend to process better in the left hemisphere of the brain while women tend to process equally well between the two hemispheres. This difference explains why men are generally stronger with left-brain activities and approach problem-solving from a task-oriented perspective while women typically solve problems more creatively and are more aware of feelings while communicating.
3. Mathematical abilities. An area of the brain called the inferior-parietal lobule (IPL) is typically significantly larger in men, especially on the left side, than in women. This section of the brain is thought to control mental mathematical ability, and probably explains why men frequently perform higher in mathematical tasks than do women. Interestingly, this is the same area of Einstein’s brain that was discovered to be abnormally large. The IPL also processes sensory information, and the larger right side in women allows them to focus on, "specific stimuli, such as a baby crying in the night."
4. Reaction to stress. Men tend to have a "fight or flight" response to stress situations while women seem to approach these situations with a "tend and befriend" strategy. Psychologist Shelley E. Taylor coined the phrase "tend and befriend" after recognizing that during times of stress women take care of themselves and their children (tending) and form strong group bonds (befriending). The reason for these different reactions to stress is rooted in hormones. The hormone oxytocin is released during stress in everyone. However, estrogen tends to enhance oxytocin resulting in calming and nurturing feelings whereas testosterone, which men produce in high levels during stress, reduces the effects of oxytocin.
5. Language. Two sections of the brain responsible for language were found to be larger in women than in men, indicating one reason that women typically excel in language-based subjects and in language-associated thinking. Additionally, men typically only process language in their dominant hemisphere, whereas women process language in both hemispheres. This difference offers a bit of protection in case of a stroke. Women may be able to recover more fully from a stroke affecting the language areas in the brain while men may not have this same advantage.
6. Emotions. Women typically have a larger deep limbic system than men, which allows them to be more in touch with their feelings and better able to express them, which promotes bonding with others. Because of this ability to connect, more women serve as caregivers for children. The down side to this larger deep limbic system is that it also opens women up to depression, especially during times of hormonal shifts such as after childbirth or during a woman’s menstrual cycle.
7. Brain size. Typically, men’s brains are 11-12% bigger than women’s brains. This size difference has absolutely nothing to do with intelligence, but is explained by the difference in physical size between men and women. Men need more neurons to control their greater muscle mass and larger body size, thus generally have a larger brain.
8. Pain. Men and women perceive pain differently. In studies, women require more morphine than men to reach the same level of pain reduction. Women are also more likely to vocalize their pain and to seek treatment for their pain than are men. The area of the brain that is activated during pain is the amygdala, and researchers have discovered that in men, the right amygdala is activated and in women, the left amygdala is activated. The right amygdala has more connections with areas of the brain that control external functions while the right amygdala has more connections with internal functions. This difference probably explains why women perceive pain more intensely than do men.
9. Spatial ability. Men typically have stronger spatial abilities, or being able to mentally represent a shape and its dynamics, whereas women typically struggle in this area. Medical experts have discovered that women have a thicker parietal region of the brain, which hinders the ability to mentally rotate objects–an aspect of spatial ability. Research has shown this ability in babies as young as 5 months old, negating any ideas that these abilities were strengthened by environmental influences.
10. Susceptibility to disorders. Because of the way men and women use the two hemispheres of the brain differently, there are some disorders that men and women are susceptible to in different ways. Men are more apt to have dyslexia or other language problems. If women have dyslexia, they are more likely to compensate for it. Women, on the other hand, are more susceptible to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. While handedness is not a disorder, these brain tendencies also explain why more men are left-handed than are women. Men are also more likely to be diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and Tourette’s Syndrome.
Do you agree with the 10 points above? Why or why not?
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 01:05 PM
Game analysis

Maia Chiburdanidze (2500) – Susan Polgar (2510)
Novi Sad Olympiad, 1990
Notes from my best-selling book Breaking Through
http://www.chesscafe.com/polgar/polgar.htm
1.e4
It used to be hard to prepare against Maia because she had a very wide opening repertoire.
1…c5
I knew that this game could impact the gold medal race. Therefore, I invited a sharp game by choosing the Sicilian Defense, as I was aiming for victory to help Hungary win the gold.
2.Nf3
The main move. White maintains the option to play the open variation (with d2-d4) or a side variation.
2…Nc6
I usually like this move. This gives me the option to decide between the Accelerated Dragon and the Sveshnikov variation.
3.Bb5
This is the Rossolimo variation of the Sicilian Defense. At one time, it was considered to be an unambitious side line. However, in the recent years it has become very popular. Unlike the more direct 3.d4, which leads to more aggressive play, in this variation White plays a more positional game.
3...g6
The next piece to develop will be my bishop on f8. 3...e6 is an equally good alternative.
4.0–0
In general, bringing the king to safety by castling is a priority. However, White could have delayed it by one move to trade on c6. After exchanging the bishop for the knight, Black will be forced to double pawns on the c-file. Black would have compensation for it by having the advantage of the bishop-pair. In this variation, it is a matter of taste as to whether to take on c6.
4...Bg7
After Black’s previous move, this continuation is a must.
5.Re1
5.c3, to prepare d2-d4, and 5.Nc3 are also common choices.
5...e5
This was a big decision. On one hand, it takes control of the e5- and d4-squares and stops White from playing e4-e5 (for example after 5...Nf6). On the other hand, it weakens the d5-square and blocks the influence of the black bishop on g7.
6.c3
This was White’s last opportunity to trade on c6, which actually is the most logical move. Otherwise why bring the bishop go to b5 in the first place.
6...Nge7
Now after 7.Bxc6 Nxc6 Black would gain the advantage of the bishop-pair without incurring doubled pawns.
7.b4
This came as a total surprise to me. It is very rarely played at a professional level. After the calmer 7.d3 0–0 8.Be3 d6, Black gets comfortable play by preparing f7-f5.
7...d6
At this juncture of the game, psychology played a big role. I was not willing to find out what Maia and her coaches prepared for me if I accept the pawn sacrifice. Although I have no doubt that Black could safely take the pawn, I think that White would get compensation in the form of activity. That is why I chose the more practical approach. I did not want her to have any psychological advantage.
8.bxc5
This was a strategic error. Opening the d-file only helps the black queen to gain power. Perhaps 8.a3 was better.
8...dxc5
At this point, I really liked my position. I thought the only chance for White to fight for an advantage was if the d-pawn can advance to d4 at the right moment.
9.d3
I expected 9.Ba3 b6 10.d4 exd4 and now either 11.cxd4 0–0 or 11.Nxd4 Bd7 (but not 11...cxd4 12.Bxe7). However, Black is fine in both of these variations. Therefore, objectively speaking, my opponent probably made the right choice.
9...a6
It is time to find out which way will the bishop go.
10.Ba4
After 10.Bc4, Black can play 10...Na5 and the bishop cannot escape from being exchanged.
10...0–0
Finally, the black king is safe and the knight on c6 is no longer pinned.
11.Be3
Developing the bishop and attacking the c5-pawn at the same time.
11...Qd6
Protecting the pawn and preparing space for the rook to come to d8. 11...b6 would be fine as well.
12.Bc2
Black has some difficulties after 12.Nbd2 Qxd3 (better is 12...b5) 13.Bxc5 b5 14.Bb3 Qxc3 (too greedy) 15.Rc1 Qd3 16.Bd5 because of the bishop pins.
12...h6
A preventive move. Without it Nf3-g5 could be an unpleasant response if Black decides to play Bc8-e6 or f7-f5.
13.Qc1
I believe my opponent anticipated my plan of playing f7-f5 in the near future. Therefore, she thought it was to White’s advantage to lure the black king to h7 on the same diagonal as White’s bishop on c2. In addition, the white queen is eyeing the a3-square to put pressure on the c5-pawn.
13...Kh7
13...g5 would not be a bad choice either. However, I did not want to give up my plan of playing f7-f5 with the ability of recapturing after e4xf5 with my g6-pawn.
14.Nbd2
Finally all the white pieces are developed. However, Black has a small space advantage.
14...b6
Securing the safety of the c5-pawn. White would gain some initiative after 14...b5 15.Nb3 c4 16.dxc4 bxc4 17.Nc5.
15.Nc4
Attacking the queen and the b6-pawn.
15...Qc7
The most obvious move. This move saves them both.
16.Rb1
Putting more pressure on the b6-pawn.
16...Rb8
Simply protecting the pawn. During the game, I did not like 16...b5 17.Ncd2 Qd6 18.Nb3. However, while writing these comments I found a nice improvement with 17...Nd4!.
17.Qa3
White seems to go in the wrong direction. Black is solid on the queenside and ready to launch an attack on the kingside. The white queen will soon be missed in the defense of the king.
17...f5
Finally! I wanted to play this move for a while, but it had to be well prepared.
18.exf5
If White does not capture the pawn, Black would play f5-f4 followed by g6-g5 and Ne7-g6 with a nice attack.
18...gxf5
All other recaptures would be a serious positional mistake, because it would leave the e5-pawn isolated. It is somewhat unusual to keep the bishop on c8 undeveloped for this long. However, the bishop is doing its job by protecting the a6-pawn. Note that the bishop could not develop to b7, because it would lock the rook into protecting the b6-pawn.
19.Bd2
Getting away from some future f5-f4 attack, as well as opening the e-file for the rook.
19...Ng6
This is an ideal square for the knight. It guards the black king and aims at the kingside for attack.
20.Ne3
The knight is heading toward the d5-square. White had a hard time coming up with a good plan. I think the knight should have stayed on c4 to attack the targets at e5 and b6. Perhaps it was time to get the queen back to the kingside.
20...Nce7
Preventing White from playing Ne3-d5.
21.Qb3
It would have been better for the knight to return to c4.
21...Bd7!
I want to get the bishop to the long diagonal a8-h1. I did not want to ease White’s problems by 21...Bb7 22.Qxb6 Qxb6 23.Rxb6 Bxf3 24.Rxb8 Rxb8 25.gxf3.
22.h3
This is a poor idea. As we will see, my opponent was trying to vacate the h2-square for the knight. But that does not look too promising.
22...Bc6
Threatening to capture on f3 and ruin White’s pawn structure.
23.Nh2
After 23.Bd1 Nf4 24.Qc2 Rbd8, the d3-pawn is in trouble.
23...Nf4
A dream place for the knight to attack the d3- and g2-pawns. The best part is that it can not be chased away with 24.g3 because the pawn on h3 would be unprotected.
24.Rbd1
Too slow. White cannot do much to address the future problems on the kingside.
24...Qd6
Swinging the queen over to the kingside to g6.
25.f3
Trying to reduce to power of the black bishop on c6.
25...Qg6
This creates a pin and threatens to win a pawn with 26...Nxh3+.
26.Kh1
Getting out of he pin to avoid losing the pawn.
26...Ned5
Trying to remove the guard of the g2 square. If 27.Nxd5 Qxg2 checkmate would follow.
27.Nhf1
After 27.Rg1, Black can increase the pressure with 27...Ne2 28.Rge1 Ndf4.
27...Nxe3
Now is the time to cash in! It is obvious that Black has an overwhelming attack. But eventually there will be a time when one needs to calculate variations that lead to material gains or checkmate.
28.Nxe3
The only sensible recapture to protect g2.
28...Qg3?!
We both had little time left to reach the fortieth move time control. Therefore, I was unable to find the quickest way to win with 28...Bxf3! 29.gxf3 Qg3 and White is helpless; for example, 30.Qc4 e4 31.d4 Qxh3+ 32.Kg1 Bxd4 33.cxd4 Rg8+ 34.Kf2 Qxf3 checkmate.
29.Rf1
Reinforcing the f3-pawn. The threat from Black is 29...Nxg2 30. Nxg2 Bxf3 31.Rg1 Qh3 checkmate.
29...Nxh3!
Time to act! Otherwise Bd2-e1 would chase the queen out.
30.d4
If 30.gxh3 Qxh3+ 31.Kg1 Bf6 32.Ng2 Rg8 33.Rf2 Bh4 wins or 30.Be1 Qg5 31.gxh3 Qxe3.
30...Nf4!
White would get some counter play after 30...Nf2+ 31.Rxf2 Qxf2 32.Nxf5.
31.Be1
White could not grab the pawn with 31.Bxf5+?, as after 31...Rxf5 the knight on e3 cannot take the rook because it is tied to defending the g2-pawn.
31...Qg5
Because of the miss on move twenty-eight, I now have to work a little harder.
32.d5
Eliminating the bishop’s attacking power toward g2 and f3.
32...Bd7
Bringing additional protection to the f5-pawn.
33.Bb1?!
33.Rf2 would be a better defense, preventing 33...Ne2.
33...Ne2
Black is threatening to checkmate along the h-file.
34.Ng4
This is possible because of the pin on the f5-pawn.
34...e4
Cutting off the bishop on b1, which was pinning the f5-pawn. After the direct 34...Qh5+, White was going to block with 35.Nh2.
35.Nh2
The knight was under attack and it simply had to move away.
35...Be5
Threatening a deadly pin with 36...Qh5.
36.Rf2
Trying to get some protection to the h2-square.
36...Qg3
This is more precise than 36...Qh5 37.g4.
37.f4
After 37.Nf1 Qh4+, White gets checkmated.
37...Bxf4
Renewing the same threats.
38.Rxf4
White has no choice.
38...Qxf4 0-1
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 01:03 PM
New Laws of Chess - what has changed?

The new Laws of Chess: what has changed?
1 July 2009 11:00 AM CET Last modified: 11:16 By Peter Doggers
As of today, July 1st, 2009 our beloved game of chess has a new edition of its official rules: the Laws of Chess. The best known, and most-feared change is the so-called “zero-tolerance” rule: a player who arrives just a few seconds late at his board, loses the game. We asked top arbiter and chairman of the FIDE Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee, Geurt Gijssen: what has changed, and why?
New Laws of Chess - what has changed?
We’ll start by discussing the infamous change of arriving late at the board, the so-called “zero-tolerance” rule: a player who arrives just a few seconds late at his board, loses the game.
Arriving (late) at the board
Old rule:
6.6 If neither player is present initially, the player who has the white pieces shall lose all the time that elapses until he arrives; unless the rules of the competition specify or the arbiter decides otherwise.
6.7 Any player who arrives at the chessboard more than one hour after the scheduled start of the session shall lose the game unless the rules of the competition specify or the arbiter decides otherwise.
New rule:
6.6 a. Any player who arrives at the chessboard after the start of the session shall lose the game. Thus the default time is 0 minutes. The rules of a competition may specify otherwise.
b. If the rules of a competition specify a different default time, the following shall apply. If neither player is present initially, the player who has the white pieces shall lose all the time that elapses until he arrives, unless the rules of the competition specify or the arbiter decides otherwise.
This rule was already tested at the Olympiad in Dresden, November 2008, where the one-hour margin was changed to zero, which was possible because the October 2005 Laws of Chess already state that it’s possible to arrive late one hour unless the rules of the competition specify or the arbiter decides otherwise.
The “zero-tolerance” rule was widely criticized after it became clear that the arbiters were applying it a bit over-enthousiastically. For example, a player who had already been at his board, but was away looking for a pen, was forfeited. Something similar happened at the recent Chinese Championship, where Hou Yifan was forfeited despite the fact that she was in the playing hall.
Optional: no short draws
In the July 1, 2009 version of the Laws of Chess, Article 9, which is about the drawn game, starts with a new, extra rule:
9.1 a. The rules of a competition may specify that players cannot agree to a draw, whether in less than a specified number of moves or at all, without the consent of the arbiter.
This means that the Sofia Rule hasn’t become part of the Laws of Chess (yet) but at least it has now been specified that organizers are allowed to include measures to prevent short draws.
Besides, the rule about incorrectly claiming a draw is now a bit simpler:
Old rule:
9.5 If a player claims a draw as in Article 9.2 or 9.3, he shall immediately stop both clocks. He is not allowed to withdraw his claim.
1. If the claim is found to be correct the game is immediately drawn.
2. If the claim is found to be incorrect, the arbiter shall add three minutes to the opponent`s remaining time. Additionally, if the claimant has more than two minutes on his clock the arbiter shall deduct half of the claimant`s remaining time up to a maximum of three minutes. If the claimant has more than one minute, but less than two minutes, his remaining time shall be one minute. If the claimant has less than one minute, the arbiter shall make no adjustment to the claimant`s clock. Then the game shall continue and the intended move must be made.
New rule:
9.5 b. If the claim is found to be incorrect, the arbiter shall add three minutes to the opponent’s remaining thinking time. Then the game shall continue. If the claim was based on an intended move, this move must be made as according to Article 4.
Old rule:
12.2 b. It is strictly forbidden to bring mobile phones or other electronic means of communication, not authorised by the arbiter, into the playing venue. If a player`s mobile phone rings in the playing venue during play, that player shall lose the game. The score of the opponent shall be determined by the arbiter.
New rule:
12.3 b. Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the playing venue, unless they are completely switched off. If any such device produces a sound, the player shall lose the game. The opponent shall win. However, if the opponent cannot win the game by any series of legal moves, his score shall be a draw.
Chess960
Introduced for the first time in the Laws of Chess are the rules for Chess960, also called Fischerrandom. We quote the articles in full:
To read a lot more about the rule changes, Chessvibes has posted about it here.F. Chess960 Rules
F.1 Before a Chess960 game a starting position is randomly set up, subject to certain rules. After this, the game is played in the same way as standard chess. In particular, pieces and pawns have their normal moves, and each player’s objective is to checkmate the opponent’s king.
F.2 Starting position requirements
The starting position for Chess960 must meet certain rules. White pawns are placed on the second rank as in regular chess. All remaining white pieces are placed randomly on the first rank, but with the following restrictions:
a. the king is placed somewhere between the two rooks, and
b. the bishops are placed on opposite-colored squares, and
c. the black pieces are placed equal-and-opposite to the white pieces.
The starting position can be generated before the game either by a computer program or using dice, coin, cards, etc.F.3 Chess960 Castling Rules
a. Chess960 allows each player to castle once per game, a move by potentially both the king and rook in a single move. However, a few interpretations of standard chess games rules are needed for castling, because the standard rules presume initial locations of the rook and king that are often not applicable in Chess960.b. How to castle
In Chess960, depending on the pre-castling position on the castling king and rook, the castling manoeuvre is performed by one of these four methods:
1. double-move castling: by on one turn making a move with the king and a move with the rook, or
2. transposition castling: by transposing the position of the king and the rook, or
3. king-move-only castling: by making only a move with the king, or
4. rook-move-only castling: by making only a move with the rook.Recommendation
1. When castling on a physical board with a human player, it is recommended that the king be moved outside the playing surface next to his final position, the rook then be moved from its starting to ending position, and then the king be placed on his final square.
2. After castling, the rook and king’s final positions are exactly the same positions as they would be in standard chess.Clarification
Thus, after c-side castling (notated as O-O-O and known as queen-side castling in orthodox chess), the King is on the c-square (c1 for White and c8 for Black) and the Rook is on the d-square (d1 for White and d8 for Black). After g-side castling (notated as O-O and known as king-side castling in orthodox chess), the King is on the g-square (g1 for White and g8 for Black) and the Rook is on the f-square (f1 for White and f8 for Black).Notes
1. To avoid any misunderstanding, it may be useful to state “I am about to castle” before castling.
2. In some starting positions, the king or rook (but not both) do not move during castling.
3. In some starting positions, castling can take place as early as the first move.
4. ll the squares between the king’s initial and final squares (including the final square), and all of the squares between the rook’s initial and final squares (including the final square), must be vacant except for the king and castling rook.
5. In some starting positions, some squares can stay filled during castling that would have to be vacant in standard chess. For example, after c-side castling (O-O-O), it’s possible for to have a, b, and/or e still filled, and after g-side castling (O-O), it’s possible to have e and/or h filled.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 12:21 PM
The young star So

Wesley So reaches new heights in FIDE ratings
07/01/2009 06:31 PM
GMANews.TV
MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster Wesley So continued his meteoric rise in the chess world by achieving the highest-ever rating for a Filipino player in the latest FIDE quarterly ratings released on July 1.
The 15-year-old So gained five points from April to June to hike his ELO rating to 2646, topping his previous personal best of 2641.
So’s 2646 enabled him to maintain seventh place overall in the list of the world's top junior players.
Only GMs Magnus Carlsen (ELO 2772) of Norway; Sergey Karjakin (ELO 2717) of Ukraine; Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (ELO 2703) of France; Wang Hao (ELO 2690) of China; Fabiano Caruana (ELO 2670) of Italy; and Dmitry Andreikin (ELO 2648) of Russia are ahead of So in the elite list of top junior players.
Overall, the high school student of St. Francis (Bacoor) is ranked 92nd in the world in a tie with GM Yasser Seirawan of the United States.
The Filipino whiz kid is even two points ahead of former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia (ELO 2644).
In Asia, So is currently ranked No. 9 overall and he ranks first in the world among players under-16.
So's three-month campaign included his successful title-retention bid in the Phoenix Petroleum Battle of GMs in Dapitan City and a 16th-22nd place finish in the Asian Individual Chess Championships in Subic .
In the Philippines, So remains way, way ahead of GMs Eugene Torre and Rogelio Antonio Jr. in the roster of top players.
Torre, the “Ageless Warrior" of local chess, retained his No. 2 spot with ELO 2550.
Antonio, who rediscovered his old brilliance by becoming the lone Filipino qualifier to the World Chess Cup after a strong performance in the Asian Individual Championships in Subic, made the biggest jump from fifth (ELO 2518) to third (ELO 2559).
A mainstay of Philippine Army, the 47-year-old Antonio finished in a tie for third place in the Asian championship with 7.5 points on five wins, five draws and only one loss.
Another notable achiever is former Asian junior champion and GM-elect Rogelio Barcenilla Jr., who jumped to fourth place with 2518, dislodging GM John Paul Gomez (ELO 2515).
Barcenilla, who is now based in Arizona, Texas, boosted his stock by garnering an additional 15 points on the strength of his triumph in the Copper State international tournament in Arizona.
The victory also enabled Barcenilla to earn his third and final GM norm. The Filipino, however, will have to wait for the next FIDE Congress to officially earn his title.
Completing the Top 10 Filipino players are IM Richard Bitoon at sixth with ELO of 2495; GM Darwin Laylo; seventh with 2494; Italy-based GM Joseph Sanchez, eighth with 2491; GM Mark Paragua, ninth with 2487; and IM Julio Catalino Sadorra, 10th with 2468.
Also within striking distance are IM Rolando Nolte (ELO 2458); GM Jayson Gonzales (ELO 2456); IM Roland Salvador (ELO 2447); IM Oliver Dimakiling (ELO 2434); and IM Oliver Barbosa (ELO 2433). GM Bong Villamayor is ranked No. 16 with ELO 2426.
Singapore-based Filipino GM Nelson Mariano, however, is not listed although he has an active ELO of 2447.
The highest-ranked player among the RP ladies is Cheradee Chardine Camacho in 94th place with ELO 2196.
Sherily Cua is second with 2174, followed by Shercila Cua with 2167, Catherine Perena with 2092, Daisy Rivera with 2087 and Beverly Mendoza with 2060. - GMANews.TV
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 12:00 PM
ChessVibes
New: 7 ways to smash the Sicilian
The new Laws of Chess: what has changed?
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Play the game among friends

Stroudsburg Chess Club's strategy: Play the game among friends
By SHANNON HAGELAUER
For the Pocono Record
July 01, 2009
The antiquated, double-faced timer is set for 12 minutes. A faded checkerboard pattern is set up with ivory and black pieces atop a plywood board laminated in a pattern of pale green on top of kelly-green squares.
Six men hover over three boards, timers clacking softly, plastic pieces clicking as they are taken, earned, stolen or won — depending on how they've been lost.
David Paulus is executive secretary and treasurer of the Stroudsburg Chess Club. It almost seems like an undercover moniker because it takes away from the fact that Paulus is a good chess player "¦ a very good chess player.
Paulus again sets up the chess set and the metronomic timer, again for 12 minutes, at the Stroudsburg YMCA's back room against a chatty opponent, Fred Levy. Twelve minutes?
"Well, you could set it up for one minute, two minutes, five minutes or two hours. It depends on what the players decide." Paulus adds a typical gently applied insult to his opponent: "This match won't take all 12 minutes."
Unfortunately for Levy, Paulus is right. Not only does Paulus defeat Levy with a check, causing Levy to resign instead of forcing a humiliating checkmate, Paulus does so while chattering away as if he were sitting in a coffee shop with nothing else on his mind. They trash-talk amongst themselves as if it were an NBA playoff game, yet none is insulted.
The Stroudsburg Chess Club was started by WWII members from the Five Corners Foreign Legion Club who met, according to Paulus, over "beer and pretzels."
In the '70s, they became incorporated and affiliated with U.S. Chess Federation. Still, Paulus seems a little let down that there isn't a more fervent following in the United States for the game he learned as a child in Russia. He feels that this game is still only equated with nerds. A glance toward Eric Garcia, one of two young teens in the room, and Paulus smiles fondly.
"He is our youth star."
The two "youngsters," by comparison, are neither geeky nor nerdy, but their concentration on the green squares and clacking plastic pieces shows that they are determined to master one of the most complex games in the world.
The Stroudsburg Chess Club meets 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays at the YMCA in Stroudsburg. This meeting is the smaller one of two that take place each week, with usually only about 12 attending. The Tuesday meeting is at the Loder Building, 62 Analomink St., East Stroudsburg, and has matches running from 7 to 10 p.m. It is not only a larger space, but more dedicated to chess with a library, learning materials and more of a welcoming environment for beginners who want to learn this age-old game.
Here is the full article.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 08:47 AM
The Closet Grandmaster
War Down Under: Smerdon vs Wang
by noreply@blogger.com (The Closet Grandmaster) at July 01, 2009 08:13 AM
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Brilliant game saving tactic

Zimmer 1999
White to move. How can White hold this game?
1B6/8/2pp4/p1kp4/P2qr3/P4p1B/1nKR1p2/8 w - - 0 1by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 08:00 AM
Dutch newest GM

Only Spoelman still on 100% in Hilversum
30 June 2009 10:55 AM CET By Peter Doggers
Last week he was awarded the GM title by FIDE and after three rounds he’s the sole leader at the strong Intomart GfK Open in Hilversum, The Netherlands: Wouter Spoelman. A total of 5 IMs and 10 GMs play, including the youngest GM in the world, Anish Giri, who’s defending his title.
The first edition of the Hilversum Open (2006), played in the same big television studio where the Dutch Championship took place, was won by GM Karel van der Weide, with a perfect score of 9 out of 9. In 2007 it was India’s number one Humpy Koneru who won, finishing on 7.5 out of 9.
Last year the tournament was sensationally won by Anish Giri, who still had to turn 14. The Russian boy, who lives in The Netherlands, scored one of the three GM norms he would collect in 2008 to become the youngest grandmaster in the world. This year he defends his title which he won on tiebreak, together with Mchedlishvili and Van den Doel.
Here is the full article.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 05:02 AM
Palm Beach Gardens Chess Club

North Palm Beach County events calendar
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Palm Beach Gardens Chess Club: 9 a.m.-4 p.m., North Palm Beach Parks and Recreation Center, 603 Anchorage Drive, art building. $2 per player per Saturday. USCF membership required. Call John Dockery, president/tournament director, at (561) 762-3377.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 04:30 AM
Very Best Wishes to KF Tang

Our Very Best Wishes to KF Tang…
May Your New Life Be The Success You Richly Deserve!
I just found out that Tang Kum Foo (KF), the low profile co-founder of Intchess Asia Pte Ltd and the ASEAN Chess Academy and also a former Singapore Chess Federation (SCF) President who until yesterday (30 June 2009) served as the FIDE Singapore Branch Office manager and edited Intchess Magazine, has decided to move on.
When I briefly spoke to him, Tang – who is also now also diabetic and also needs dialysis - indicated he would still need to make a living and so will likely be going into some form of business (and sadly for Singapore chess it will be in a completely different field altogether).
Being very well educated, holding a Masters Degree in Business Administration, and in his vast work experience (amongst many other things an Editor of the Straits Times Newspaper), he has all the skills and qualities needed to be successful and I am sure all who know him wish him the very best.
Tang has been for very long also the trusted confidant-advisor of his Intchess Asia co-founder Ignatius Leong, FIDE General Secretary and also ASEAN, Commonwealth & SCF President, especially in matters of strategy and dealing with procedural and legal matters and I think will be greatly missed.
By Peter Long
http://thefidetrainer.blogspot.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at July 01, 2009 04:16 AM
The Daily Dirt Chess News Blog
July Heat
Revving up for dueling supertournaments in the coming days, one old and one new. Dortmund kicks off on July 2nd with Kramnik, Leko, Carlsen, Jakovenko, Bacrot, and Naiditsch. Three former winners there -- don't forget Naiditsch's clear first in 2005. He'll need seven more Dortmund titles to catch up with Vladimir Kramnik's collections. Last year, however, Leko took clear first in the second 'sprint' edition of Dortmund, just seven rounds, with +2. Kramnik, meanwhile, lost twice with his Petroff and finished -1.
This year the format is the overused six-player double all-play-all, which limits the influx of new blood but cuts down on hotel and travel costs. The purity of eliminating color imbalance is a nice feature, but I'd be happy to leave this stodgy format to Linares. Instead it's spreading like H1N1. At least we get ten rounds of action instead of the mere seven rounds as in the last few years.
Nice to see Jakovenko here, befitting his new status as world #5 on the new July rating list. The Grand Prix has been keeping him busy enough, but he hasn't had much in the way of invites to traditional events. I guess he's lucky that Kramnik doesn't really count as another Russian in Dortmund since he basically owns the joint. It'll be interesting to see Big Vlad in action since he hasn't played a classical game since his mediocre Olympiad performance last November. He was in devastating form in rapid chess in Baku last month.
Rounds begin at 9am EDT and I'll be kicking things off live on ICC Chess.FM with Larry Christiansen for rounds one and two.
Then on the 7th the inaugural Donostia-San Sebastian chess festival begins in Spain with no fewer than four round-robin events at the same time. Loek van Wely is in the B group! The official site just popped up here. Players in the top group, aka the "Donostia 2016 European Cultural City" tournament are: Karpov, Svidler, Nakamura, Movsesian, Kasimjanov, Ponomariov, Vachier-Lagrave, Vallejo Pons, Granda Zuñiga, San Segundo. (San Sebastian is a candidate city to be the 2016 European capital of culture, one of the reasons they are hosting this chess festival.) Pictures will be at this Flickr account, currently stocked with pics of the locale and older photos of the players. There's even a Twitter account, so add @donostiachess to your Tweetdeck for regular updates if you're into that sort of thing.
ChessVibes
Topalov still 25 points ahead of Anand on July rating list
ChessBase News
Lviv – the chess capital of Ukraine
July 2009 FIDE ratings: Topalov leads, Anand second
Monokroussos on not winning a model game
June 30, 2009
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Confessions of a chess novice: A chess blog
Tournament Math: Antianxiety Medication?
by noreply@blogger.com (Blue Devil Knight) at June 30, 2009 06:02 PM
ChessVibes
Review: Two Classics
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Top US players
| # | Name | Title | Fed | Rating | G | B-Year |
| 1 | Kamsky, Gata | g | USA | 2717 | 22 | 1974 |
| 2 | Nakamura, Hikaru | g | USA | 2710 | 35 | 1987 |
| 3 | Onischuk, Alexander | g | USA | 2699 | 34 | 1975 |
| 4 | Shulman, Yuri | g | USA | 2648 | 34 | 1975 |
| 5 | Seirawan, Yasser | g | USA | 2646 | 4 | 1960 |
| 6 | Akobian, Varuzhan | g | USA | 2626 | 27 | 1983 |
| 7 | Ehlvest, Jaan | g | USA | 2614 | 27 | 1962 |
| 8 | Ibragimov, Ildar | g | USA | 2583 | 9 | 1967 |
| 8 | Kaidanov, Gregory S | g | USA | 2583 | 8 | 1959 |
| 10 | Shabalov, Alexander | g | USA | 2580 | 33 | 1967 |
Top 10 women
| # | Name | Title | Fed | Rating | G | B-Year |
| 1 | Zatonskih, Anna | m | USA | 2466 | 16 | 1978 |
| 2 | Krush, Irina | m | USA | 2458 | 13 | 1983 |
| 3 | Goletiani, Rusudan | wg | USA | 2391 | 0 | 1980 |
| 4 | Rohonyan, Katerina | wg | USA | 2329 | 0 | 1984 |
| 5 | Baginskaite, Camilla | wg | USA | 2317 | 0 | 1967 |
| 6 | Zenyuk, Iryna | c | USA | 2312 | 17 | 1986 |
| 7 | Foisor, Sabina-Francesca | wg | USA | 2304 | 3 | 1989 |
| 8 | Abrahamyan, Tatev | wf | USA | 2273 | 0 | 1988 |
| 9 | Melekhina, Alisa | wm | USA | 2270 | 19 | 1991 |
| 10 | Grinfeld, Alla B | wg | USA | 2259 | 0 | 1953 |
www.FIDE.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 12:43 PM
New FIDE rating lists

| Rank | Name | Title | Country | Rating | Games | B-Year |
| 1 | Topalov, Veselin | g | BUL | 2813 | 10 | 1975 |
| 2 | Anand, Viswanathan | g | IND | 2788 | 2 | 1969 |
| 3 | Carlsen, Magnus | g | NOR | 2772 | 12 | 1990 |
| 4 | Aronian, Levon | g | ARM | 2768 | 13 | 1982 |
| 5 | Jakovenko, Dmitry | g | RUS | 2760 | 15 | 1983 |
| 6 | Kramnik, Vladimir | g | RUS | 2759 | 0 | 1975 |
| 7 | Leko, Peter | g | HUN | 2756 | 13 | 1979 |
| 8 | Radjabov, Teimour | g | AZE | 2756 | 0 | 1987 |
| 9 | Gelfand, Boris | g | ISR | 2755 | 27 | 1968 |
| 10 | Morozevich, Alexander | g | RUS | 2751 | 0 | 1977 |
| 11 | Gashimov, Vugar | g | AZE | 2740 | 9 | 1986 |
| 12 | Svidler, Peter | g | RUS | 2739 | 36 | 1976 |
| 13 | Wang, Yue | g | CHN | 2736 | 10 | 1987 |
| 14 | Grischuk, Alexander | g | RUS | 2733 | 20 | 1983 |
| 15 | Shirov, Alexei | g | ESP | 2732 | 38 | 1972 |
| 16 | Ponomariov, Ruslan | g | UKR | 2727 | 3 | 1983 |
| 17 | Bacrot, Etienne | g | FRA | 2721 | 32 | 1983 |
| 18 | Kamsky, Gata | g | USA | 2717 | 22 | 1974 |
| 19 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | g | AZE | 2717 | 17 | 1985 |
| 20 | Karjakin, Sergey | g | UKR | 2717 | 13 | 1990 |
| 21 | Eljanov, Pavel | g | UKR | 2716 | 44 | 1983 |
| 22 | Movsesian, Sergei | g | SVK | 2716 | 31 | 1978 |
| 23 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | g | CUB | 2716 | 10 | 1983 |
| 24 | Alekseev, Evgeny | g | RUS | 2714 | 20 | 1985 |
| 25 | Akopian, Vladimir | g | ARM | 2712 | 13 | 1971 |
| 26 | Nakamura, Hikaru | g | USA | 2710 | 35 | 1987 |
| 27 | Motylev, Alexander | g | RUS | 2710 | 16 | 1979 |
| 28 | Malakhov, Vladimir | g | RUS | 2707 | 7 | 1980 |
| 29 | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | g | FRA | 2703 | 31 | 1990 |
| 30 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | g | UKR | 2703 | 30 | 1969 |
| 31 | Rublevsky, Sergei | g | RUS | 2703 | 16 | 1974 |
| 32 | Bu, Xiangzhi | g | CHN | 2702 | 11 | 1985 |
| 33 | Ni, Hua | g | CHN | 2701 | 17 | 1983 |
| 34 | Onischuk, Alexander | g | USA | 2699 | 34 | 1975 |
| 35 | Adams, Michael | g | ENG | 2699 | 7 | 1971 |
| 36 | Naiditsch, Arkadij | g | GER | 2697 | 41 | 1985 |
| 37 | Miroshnichenko, Evgenij | g | UKR | 2696 | 29 | 1978 |
| 38 | Vallejo Pons, Francisco | g | ESP | 2693 | 7 | 1982 |
| 39 | Wang, Hao | g | CHN | 2690 | 38 | 1989 |
| 40 | Bologan, Viktor | g | MDA | 2689 | 12 | 1971 |
| 41 | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | g | RUS | 2689 | 6 | 1987 |
| 42 | Navara, David | g | CZE | 2687 | 19 | 1985 |
| 43 | Polgar, Judit | g | HUN | 2687 | 1 | 1976 |
| 44 | Short, Nigel D | g | ENG | 2684 | 14 | 1965 |
| 45 | Jobava, Baadur | g | GEO | 2684 | 2 | 1983 |
| 46 | Almasi, Zoltan | g | HUN | 2684 | 1 | 1976 |
| 47 | Moiseenko, Alexander | g | UKR | 2682 | 9 | 1980 |
| 48 | Timofeev, Artyom | g | RUS | 2681 | 7 | 1985 |
| 49 | Vitiugov, Nikita | g | RUS | 2681 | 6 | 1987 |
| 50 | Nielsen, Peter Heine | g | DEN | 2680 | 17 | 1973 |
Top 10 women
| Rank | Name | Title | Country | Rating | Games | B-Year |
| 1 | Polgar, Judit | g | HUN | 2687 | 1 | 1976 |
| 2 | Koneru, Humpy | g | IND | 2623 | 11 | 1987 |
| 3 | Hou, Yifan | g | CHN | 2584 | 21 | 1994 |
| 4 | Zhao, Xue | g | CHN | 2544 | 18 | 1985 |
| 5 | Muzychuk, Anna | m | SLO | 2542 | 14 | 1990 |
| 6 | Kosintseva, Tatiana | m | RUS | 2539 | 7 | 1986 |
| 7 | Dzagnidze, Nana | g | GEO | 2536 | 9 | 1987 |
| 8 | Stefanova, Antoaneta | g | BUL | 2535 | 8 | 1979 |
| 9 | Sebag, Marie | g | FRA | 2531 | 14 | 1986 |
| 10 | Cramling, Pia | g | SWE | 2525 | 5 | 1963 |
Top 10 Junior
| Rank | Name | Title | Country | Rating | Games | B-Year |
| 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | g | NOR | 2772 | 12 | 1990 |
| 2 | Karjakin, Sergey | g | UKR | 2717 | 13 | 1990 |
| 3 | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | g | FRA | 2703 | 31 | 1990 |
| 4 | Wang, Hao | g | CHN | 2690 | 38 | 1989 |
| 5 | Caruana, Fabiano | g | ITA | 2670 | 25 | 1992 |
| 6 | Andreikin, Dmitry | g | RUS | 2648 | 20 | 1990 |
| 7 | So, Wesley | g | PHI | 2646 | 22 | 1993 |
| 8 | Kuzubov, Yuriy | g | UKR | 2635 | 19 | 1990 |
| 9 | Li, Chao b | g | CHN | 2634 | 22 | 1989 |
| 10 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | g | RUS | 2632 | 15 | 1990 |
Top 10 Girls
| Rank | Name | Title | Country | Rating | Games | B-Year |
| 1 | Hou, Yifan | g | CHN | 2584 | 21 | 1994 |
| 2 | Muzychuk, Anna | m | SLO | 2542 | 14 | 1990 |
| 3 | Lahno, Kateryna | g | UKR | 2481 | 7 | 1989 |
| 4 | Shen, Yang | wg | CHN | 2453 | 22 | 1989 |
| 5 | Tairova, Elena | m | RUS | 2450 | 19 | 1991 |
| 6 | Harika, Dronavalli | m | IND | 2445 | 31 | 1991 |
| 7 | Ju, Wenjun | | CHN | 2443 | 33 | 1991 |
| 8 | Muzychuk, Mariya | m | UKR | 2441 | 18 | 1992 |
| 9 | Gunina, Valentina | wf | RUS | 2437 | 34 | 1989 |
| 10 | Tan, Zhongyi | | CHN | 2435 | 22 | 1991 |
www.FIDE.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 12:36 PM
Italian Youth Chess Championship

Italian Youth Chess Championship
Report by Adolivio Capece and Gustavo Kuzel
Chessdom.com
The U16 Italian Youth Chess Championship for girls and boys started on Monday June 29th, in Courmayeur, a beautiful mountain town in Aosta Valley. There are almost 900 participants, from 5 to 15-years old, divided in five age groups. The playing room is inside the Forum Sport Center, a grand construction suitable for all kinds of sports. The official opening of the Championship was made on the ice-skating platform, by the lord mayor of the town Mrs Fabrizia Derriard and by the regional assessor Aurelio Marguerettaz.
The official website BODY,.aolmailheader {font-size:10pt; color:black; font-family:Arial;} a.aolmailheader:link {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; font-weight:normal;} a.aolmailheader:visited {color:magenta; text-decoration:underline; font-weight:normal;} a.aolmailheader:active {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; font-weight:normal;} a.aolmailheader:hover {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; font-weight:normal;} http://www.scacchivda.com/ has the pairings, results and daily live broadcast of 10 selected games.
On Sunday evening there was a spectacular event with a giant simultaneous exhibition on 100 chess boards, hosted by four famous players: WGM Martha Fierro from Ecuador, GM Lexy Ortega now Italian but born in Cuba and siblings IM Sabino Brunello and WFM Marina Brunello (soon WIM). Each of them took on 25 juniors. After three hours only one boy succeed to win - Stefano Sicilia from Viterbo against GM Lexy Ortega.
More info and pics available on chessdom.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 12:28 PM
Quebec Invitational

Quebec Invitational
Montreal, Canada
Final Standings
1. GM Kovalyov (ARG) - 7½/9
2. GM Bluvshtein (CAN) - 7
3. GM Bhat (USA)- 6½
4. IM Roussel Roozmon (CAN) - 5½
5. GM Sambuev (RUS)- 4½
6. FM Barbeau (CAN) - 3½
7-8. IM Castellanos (ESP) and FM Leveille (CAN) - 3
9. FM Hua (CAN) - 2½
10. Ling Feng Ye (CAN) - 2
Official website: http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 12:24 PM
The Closet Grandmaster
Mating in City of Churches
by noreply@blogger.com (The Closet Grandmaster) at June 30, 2009 12:06 PM
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
Former chess world champ to play convicts

Former chess world champ to play convicts
30 June, 2009, 12:31
Chess grandmaster and former undisputed champion of the world, Anatoly Karpov, will play an online chess tournament with a Krasnoyarsk prisoner Sergey Bryukhov and his fellow inmates.
Bryukhov’s participation in the tournament is no surprise, as he is the Krasnoyarsk regional champion, a source in the region’s prison administration reports.
During the online game, Karpov will be in Moscow at the Russian prison administration headquarters. The tournament, during which several Russian prisoners – including the Krasnoyarsk champ Bryukhov – will challenge Karpov, will be held via the Internet through webcams and a special program called ‘Chessboard’. This will be the first time this kind of event has been held in Russia.
However, this is not the first time Bryukhov will meet Karpov on a chessboard. Two years ago, Karpov visited Sergey’s prison for a simultaneous chess display. Sergey’s team lost back then and now Bryukhov has a chance to get his own back.
Anatoly Karpov was undisputed World Champion from 1975 to 1985, and repeatedly challenged Garry Kasparov to regain the title from 1986 to 1990. Then he was FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999. For his decades-long standing among the world's elite chess players, Karpov is reckoned as one of the greatest players of all time.
Source: http://www.russiatoday.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 11:32 AM
The Dirty Hidden Truth
The Dirty Hidden Truth
By Susan Polgar
June 2009
www.ChessCafe.com
How could a national organization, an organization which claims that it has no money to do many things for the benefit of chess and it members, afford to spend $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 or perhaps even more than $1,000,000 in legal fees for political purposes? How could a national organization, an organization which at one time had annual revenues over $6 million, sink this low? Finally, how can we fix the problems, to make things better, when the problems are being hidden and kept secret from the membership at large?
One of the key problems is the structure of the organization itself. It is very difficult to implement sound changes when the leadership is so far behind understanding the rapidly changing business world. If we do not understand our customers and do not offer what they want, we are doomed to fail. So many chess politicians have hung around for decades doing everything imaginable to grab and hold on to their power. Some have done this for three, four or even five decades.
Why? For some, it is very lucrative. For others, they are addicted to power. Many care more about their personal, financial and political agenda than the welfare of chess, the USCF and its members.
Many of my friends, including 3-time U.S. Champion Grandmaster Lev Alburt, have warned me about the dirty and vicious chess politics. I know that it is not easy to make positive changes. However, if no one is willing to step up to the plate and go to bat for the members, how can things get better?
... My experience on the USCF Executive Board in the past two years is like a mirror image of what GM Alburt said, except a lot worse. I am not a chess politician and I have no desire to get involve in the filthy disgusting world of chess politics. I did not want the failed status quo to continue. My sole intention was and is to help chess and the USCF.
In the past two years, instead of working with me and helping me promote chess to benefit our entire sport, some of these chess politicians have spread the most outrageous and vicious rumors and lies, trying to destroy my reputation, my employment at Texas Tech University, and my family. They even stooped so low as to use my children (who are only 8 and 10) as one of their targets.
Knowing that I am a one of the biggest advocates for scholastic chess in this country, especially for girls, some of these people spewed out the disgustingly offensive rumor that my husband and I were child abusers. They claimed that we abused my children and we even forced them to consume hot sauce. This sort of despicable thing made its way to the internet and even made its way to my employer Texas Tech University as well as to sponsors and potential sponsors. This outrageous lie was even tossed around within the USCF leadership as a way to pressure my husband and me to resign from the board even though they knew that it was false.
There were countless remarks and postings telling my husband and me to go “back to where we came from.” Some said this is the United States Chess Federation and not the United Nations Chess Federation, and a foreigner had no business running the USCF, while others were openly discussed ways to deport me back to my native Hungary although I have been an American citizen for a number of years and both my children were born in the U.S.
Ironically, the USCF and some board members have continued to deny that they have had anything to do with this despicable conduct, but their own attorney made sure to demand that I show proof that I am in the U.S. legally and if I “hot-sauced” my children in the past!? Outrageous, but true! Coincidence? You decide.
Some called me a “whore,” “bitch” and worse, with words that are not appropriate to print. They even created a public website about this. I informed the USCF and its board members, but they chose to ignore this and do nothing. Instead of investigating such vile and despicable conduct, the USCF and the board majority spent hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating us!
To support their agenda, misleading and one-sided information was published in Chess Life, the USCF website, in mailings and to the email list so I would have no opportunity to respond or correct the record.
Here is the full 8-page article. You can also read more about what these people have done here.
It is a tough battle fighting "the system". But it is a fight that all USCF members must take on to save what's left of this federation. Some of the same people have chased away so many good sponsors, volunteers and even members for years by attacking and destroying them so they can keep control of this federation.
If they can do this to me and my family, they will not spare anyone standing in their way. The USCF will not survive financially much longer if this trend of destruction continues. They have damaged the USCF enough. It is time to bring in professionals to fix and rebuild this federation. Please help me get the word out. Thank you!
Here is another website giving excellent details: http://uscf.fiorechess.org/
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 11:31 AM
Young wiz battling it out
Press Release
30 June 2009
Young masters battle it out
South Africa hosts the inaugural African Youth Chess Championship
The African Youth Chess Championship takes place at the Rochester House in Salt River, Cape Town, from Wednesday to 09 July, Chess South Africa announced today.
In a first of its kind, all African chess federations affiliated to the World Chess Federation (FIDE) are invited to send one player in the age groups of U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 to compete in the tournament. South Africa as the host country is allowed to have two players per age group.
“We are honoured to partner with South Africa to host the first African Youth Chess Championship and welcome all participants”, says Dabilani Buthali, President of African Chess Union, “We chose South Africa to host because of their well established chess development policies, structures and their proven ability to stage world class sporting events.”
Winners for each age group will get the opportunity to participate at the World Youth Chess Championship in Turkey this year from the 11th – 23rd November, and also earn FIDE accredited titles such as Woman Fide Master or Woman Candidate Master for the girls and Fide Master or Candidate Master titles for the boys.
Emelia Ellappen, President of Chess South Africa adds “This championship indicates our success in advocating for more international competitions in Africa.”
“As the host nation we are pleased with the exposure our young players are getting, as they showcase potential to represent our country internationally.”
“We anticipate very strong competition from our Northern African neighbours, players from Egypt and Algeria are exposed to many international tournaments and have much higher chess ratings. However in recent years, due to the growth and strength level of chess in SA we are confident some of our players will cause upsets.”
Nine countries will be participating in this prestigious tournament: Madagascar, Sao Toama, Mozambique, Kenya, Algeria, Egypt, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The championship will be played in accordance with FIDE regulations of a Round Robin System.
The event is sponsored by FIDE, City of Cape Town, Mazars Moores Rowland (Cape Town) the National Lotto and Chess South Africa (CHESSA).
ISSUED BY: FD Beachhead
Senzi Dlamini 011 214 2420 / 073 494 0030
Pearl Mogadima 011 214 2412 / 083 458 0319
ON BEHALF OF: CHESSA (CHESS SOUTH AFRICA)
For more Information contact:
President: Emelia Ellappen
021 696 1076/082 713 6162 /ellappen@telkomsa.net
Vice President: Brian Atchison
082 552 9324/ brian@chessa.co.za
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 11:30 AM
35th Mercantile Bank National Chess Championship

Final round of National Chess Championship begins
Internet Edition. June 30, 2009,
Updated: Bangladesh Time 12:00 AM
UNB, DhakaThe final round of the 35th Mercantile Bank National Chess Championship, organized by Bangladesh Chess Federation and sponsored by Mercantile Bank Limited, began Monday at the National Sports Council (NSC) conference room.
Abdul Jalil MP, chairman of Mercantile Bank Limited, inaugurated the final round as chief guest.
Fourteen players, including four grandmasters, are taking part in the final phase.
Participating players: Mahtabuddin Ahmed Robin, Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan, Jamal Uddin, GM Niaz Murshed, GM Reefat Bin Sattar, reigning champion GM Ziaur Rahman, FM Abu Sufian Shakil, GM Enamul Hossain Razib, Aminul Islam Polash, Debaraj Chatterjee, FM Mohammad Javed, FM Taibur Rahman, Mohammad Hasan Emam and Mohammad Ali.
Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 11:26 AM
Helping children

Trusting children
By Jennifer Rodrigo
Mature minds are a product of age, some think. With tears-filled eyes and an aching heart, Karoshee Nathasha Vijayasekere, as a young child, sat before the TV in France watching the hopelessness of children in Ethiopia, Sudan and many other places of the world. Their suffering from malnutrition and sickness, owing to lack of proper food, shelter or medical care, pinched the tenderness within her and she refused to eat her own dinner for the images of emaciated children played in her mind.
The expenses of Karoshee’s concerts in Sri Lanka are borne by her parents but their total revenue is banked in the account of ‘Trust Children’. So far, 13 Student Scholarships are awarded monthly, to bright but needy children of Sri Lanka. The first scholarship-holder is Lasanthika – a regional chess champion.
Source: http://www.dailymirror.lk
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 11:25 AM
ChessVibes
Only Spoelman still on 100% in Hilversum
Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information
White to move and checkmate in 4

White to move and checkmate in 4. For those of you who are frustated with the checkmate in 17, here is one which is more reasonable :)
3r4/r4pk1/1pb1pNp1/2p1P1P1/2n2Q2/2P5/qP4P1/2K4R w - - 0 1
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 05:21 AM
Your votes

65% of you picked Nakamura to finish 2009 with the #1 ranking in the U.S. while only 18% picked Kamsky. Onischuk is 3rd with 13%. You can vote by clicking here.

42% of you believe that Topalov will end 2009 as the #1 player in the world while 29% believe that Anand will. Carlsen is 3rd with 18%. You can vote by clicking here.
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 05:18 AM
Checkmate in 17!

Razumenko, 1999
White to move and checkmate in 17!! This is one of the most difficult puzzles I have posted. Enjoy!
k1K5/6r1/5QP1/4p1pp/4P2p/1r1p4/8/8 w - - 0 1
by SusanPolgar@aol.com (Susan Polgar) at June 30, 2009 02:30 AM









