Chess Commander

Troitzky, 1925

White to move and win. Note: It's very tricky!

R4K1k/8/8/5B2/8/2r5/p7/8 b - - 0 3

Magnus Carlsen beat Russia's new number one player Dmitry Jakovenko today in a Berlin Ruy Lopez to take an early lead at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund. Both Leko-Kramnik and Naiditsch-Bacrot ended in a draw. The 37th Sparkassen Chess Meeting takes place July 2-12th, 2009 in Dortmund, Germany. Carlsen (2772), Jakovenko (2760), Kramnik (2759), Leko (2756), Bacrot (2721) and Naiditsch (2697) play a double round-robin. Round 1 Magnus Carlsen, big favourite in our poll [1] and the one [2] on the official website, started well by defeating the solid Jakovenko in the solid Berlin Wall. You don't often see a minor pieces ending at the highest level and one in which the knight is stronger than the bishop in an open position is even rarer. That ending was probably already lost for Black - amazing! It looks like Jakovenko shouldn't have allowed the exchange of rooks. The short annotations of the ending below include a possible transition into a pawn ending that seems to be winning for White. (Do correct us if you see any mistakes there.) An amazingly instructive endgame and a great start by Carlsen. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Mayor of Dortmund Birgit Jörder makes the first move in the game Leko-Kramnik. Also in the picture are (from left to right:) Dr. Matthias Fabra (Fabra-Preis), Dr. Hans-Jürgen Weyer (Vice President German Chess Federation), Uwe Samulewicz (Sparkasse Dortmund Board Member), Dr. Reinhard Rauball (President BVB Dortmund) and Stefan Koth (Tournament Director)."][/caption] What do you get when you pair two of the most solid players in the field, who are friends, and have worked together, against each other in the first round? Right, a quick draw. In a Catalan line that Kramnik had played with White against Topalov in their 2006 world championship match in Elista, the Russian, this time behind the black pieces, came up with a novelty on move 14. Just a few moves later several pieces and, more importantly, all pawns on the queenside had been swapped. Naiditsch-Bacrot wasn't very entertaining either. The German grandmaster, who won the tournament in 2005, went for a reasonable strategy against Bacrot's Marshall: pick the line which strong Marshall players like Leko and Bacrot play with White! Unfortunately this line results in an ending in which White has an extra pawn and Black the bishop pair, and so far the conclusion has almost always been the same: Black has enough compensation. Even with one pair of bishops exchanged, the verdict stayed the same in this game. Game viewer Click on the pairings at the top of the board to reveal a drop down list of all the games. Click on the arrow under the board just once, then the arrow keys of your keyboard also work. Silverlight works on all browsers and platforms except for Linux, but this should be fixed soon. Contact us [3] for questions, not in the comments section, please. [TABLE=764] Links Official website [4] Games in PGN [5] [1] http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/dortmund-starts-today/ [2] http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/index.php?option=com_poll&id=16:wer-gewinnt-das-sparkassen-chess-meeting-2009 [3] http://www.chessvibes.com/contact [4] http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/ [5] http://www.chessvibes.com/games/dortmund01.pgn

“So, who-ya-gonna-call? Opening busters? Not quite. For the reasonable price of 25 euros per year, once a week you can receive intelligent, interesting opening surveys and analysis presented by a team lead by Dutch IMs Merijn van Delft & Robert Ris”, wrote Eugene Manchester in his review for ChessCafe yesterday, about ChessVibes Openings. Which openings are hot in top level chess? Which are not? Receive the latest opening novelties right in your mailbox with ChessVibes Openings, a weekly PDF magazine (+ PGN!) covering the latest openings news, co-authored by International Masters Merijn van Delft and Robert Ris and published by ChessVibes. July 1, 2009: Eugene Manchester reviews ChessVibes Openings for ChessCafe In the July 1 issue of ChessCafe's Book Review [1] (mirror here [2]) ChessVibes Openings was reviewed by Eugene Manchester. Some quotes: "So, who-ya-gonna-call? Opening busters? Not quite. For the reasonable price of 25 euros per year, once a week you can receive intelligent, interesting opening surveys and analysis presented by a team lead by Dutch IMs Merijn van Delft & Robert Ris." "The format and presentation are consistently of high quality, with variety of coverage and opening analysis." "The cost per year is roughly equivalent to a good chess book. Each week you get a four- page issue packed with opening analysis, at least two thoroughly annotated games with one or more of that week’s featured openings, a glimpse into the world of the latest opening novelties, in short, a quality weekly opening report." What is ChessVibes Openings? Every issue consists of a ZIP archive file, including both the PDF Magazine and the accompanying PGN file. The PDF consists of three pages (A4 size) with the following contents: What's hot? A round-up of this week's important opening developments, with statistics about the frequence and score of the week's most important opening novelty (page 1) What's not? Which openings are not recommended at the moment, according to the top players? And why not? (page 1) Game of the week Each week you'll find the theoretically most important game analysed by our two IMs, with a detailed survey of the opening phase (page 2). This week's harvest Four more new important opening ideas from this week (page 3) revealed and described with explanation of the opening and early middlegame (page 3). Opening expert Every week an opening expert is covered, explaining the GM's expertise and showing a key game with annotations (page 4). Examples from the first two issues: Teimour Radjabov (King's Indian with Black), Alexey Dreev (White: Nimzo-Indian; Black: Caro-Kann and Slav). [3] Latest issue: #26, July 1, 2009 ChessVibes Openings #26 The latest opening developments of the last week of June 2009. All about the Taimanov Sicilian which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Ruy Lopez, 3...Nge7 Sicilian Najdorf, 6.Bg5 Nbd7 Sicilian Dragon, 9.0-0-0 Queen’s Indian, 4.g3 Bb4+ This week's opening is expert is French GM Christian Bauer. Previous issue: #25, June 24, 2009 ChessVibes Openings #25 The latest opening developments of the fourth week of June 2009. All about the Open Catalan which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Sicilian Four Knights Sicilian, Taimanov King’s Indian, Exchange Variation Grünfeld, Exchange Variation This week's opening is expert is Cuba's number one GM Leinier Dominguez Perez. Older issues: #19-24, May 13-June 17, 2009 ChessVibes Openings #19 The latest opening developments of the second week of May 2009. All about the Chebanenko Slav (5.e3 b5 6.c5) which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Accelerated Dragon French, Rubinstein Semi-Slav, Marshall Gambit Grünfeld, 3.f3 This week's opening is expert is GM Yuri Shulman. ChessVibes Openings #20 The latest opening developments of the third week of May 2009. All about the 6.Bg5 Najdorf which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Sicilian Najdorf, 6.Be3 Sicilian Dragon, 12.Kb1 b5 Slav, 6.Ne5 Grünfeld, 4.Bf4 This week's opening is expert is GM Hikaru Nakamura. ChessVibes Openings #21 The latest opening developments of the fourth week of May 2009. All about the Sveshnikov with 9.Bxf6 with which Alexei Shirov beat Magnus Carlsen, our Game of the Week, to win the M-Tel Masters 2009. Other lines that are covered: Petroff, 3.d4 Ruy Lopez, Zaitsev Semi-Slav, Botvinnik Catalan/Benoni This week's opening is expert is GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly. ChessVibes Openings #22 The latest opening developments of the end May and early June 2009. All about the Slav with 6.Ne5 which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Sicilian, Najdorf 6.Bg5 Semi-Slav, Meran Grünfeld, g3-system King’s Indian, 7.Be3 This week's opening is expert is GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev. ChessVibes Openings #23 The latest opening developments of the second week of June 2009. All about the move 6.Qf3!? against the Sicilian Najdorf which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Petroff, 8.Re1 Ruy Lopez, Zaitsev5 Sicilian Dragon 9.0-0-0 Grünfeld, 5.Qb3, 7...a6 This week's opening is expert is GM Alexander Motylev. ChessVibes Openings #24 The latest opening developments of the third week of June 2009. All about the Bayonet Attack of the King's Indian which is analysed in our Game of the Week. Other lines that are covered: Petroff, main line Ruy Lopez, Exchange Scandinavian, 3...Qd6 Nimzo-Indian, 4.Qc2 d5 This week's opening is expert is GM Vugar Gashimov. Ehm... can I have a look? Here's what ChessVibes Openings #16 (April 22, 2009) looks like: FREE SAMPLE ISSUE - ChessVibes Openings #16 - click to download! [4] What's hot? A round-up of the most important opening developments of mid-April, including statistics about the frequence and score of the Chebanenko position after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Nbd7 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 Nhf6 What's not? This week 1.e4 e5 was hot, as the top players categorically avoided the Semi-Open Games. Interestingly, the classical 1...d5 was also much more popular than the more modern answers to 1.d4, at the FIDE Grand Prix in Nalchik. Game of the week "“I didn’t spend much time on it before the game, but I prepared seriously for this tournament and we did investigate this line,” Peter Leko said at the press conference in Nalchik, after his game against Sergei Karjakin. Page two has a closer look at this highly interesting draw in the Chebanenko. This week's harvest For more opening ideas from the Ruy Lopez Marshall, Sicilian Taimanov, Queen's Indian and Ragozin Defence. Opening expert This week Rustam Kasimdzhanov is highlighted. The former FIDE World Champion and current second of Anand has a broad repertoire, switching from hypersharp openings like Dragon and Anti-Moscow to positional Queen’s Gambit lines. FREE SAMPLE ISSUE - ChessVibes Openings #16 - click to download! [4] What does it cost? As a subscriber you'll receive the PDF Magazine and accompanying PGN files in your mailbox every week. A one-year subscription is € 25 (that’s less than € 0.50 per issue!) - for price in US $ click here [6] [3] Please note that it's still possible to start your subscription as a first-week subscriber.Just let us know and we'll send you all previous issues! May 7, 2009: GM Hedinn Steingrimsson reviews ChessVibes Openings for Chess Today In issues 3103 (Thursday, May 7) of Chess Today [8], the daily chess newspaper which also comes into your inbox by email in PDF, ChessVibes Openings was reviewed by GM Hedinn Steingrimsson from Iceland. Some quotes: "What I like about ChessVibes Openings is their focus on the trend and discoveries that are revealed in super tournaments and by very strong players. It makes sense for all tournament chess players and opening theoreticians to follow these developments and getting an overview from ChessVibes Openings definitely saves time." "I find it positive that there is consistency in the openings covered so that the readers will with time have a certain repertoire available based on different theoretical articles from ChessVibes about e.g. the Anti-Moscow Variation." "For those that really want to find out how to get a better position out of the opening and are willing to enter complications and do some homework in order to succeed, ChessVibes Openings can be recommended." [1] http://www.chesscafe.com/Reviews/books.htm [2] http://www.chessvibes.com/chesscafe/chesscafe.html [3] http://www.chessvibes.com/shop [4] http://www.chessvibes.com/premium-downloads/CVO_16.zip [5] http://www.chessvibes.com/premium-downloads/CVO_16.zip [6] http://www.google.nl/search?q=how+much+is+25+euros+in+dollars&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:nl:official&client=firefox-a [7] http://www.chessvibes.com/shop [8] http://www.chesstoday.net

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.

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/

Rinck, 1925

White to move and win.

8/8/8/K7/4p2p/k7/bp3NQ1/8 w - - 0 1

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

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!

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

At 15.00 CET today the first round of the Dortmund super-tournament takes off with Leko-Kramnik, Carlsen-Jakovenko and Naiditsch-Bacrot. It's yet another six-player, double round-robin and we'll be providing daily coverage. The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2009 [1], part of the Internationalen Dortmunder Schachtage, takes place from July 2nd to 12th, 2009. It will be played for the 37th time. Since 1992, the Sparkassen Chess Meeting has belonged to a very restricted group of annual top events in the chess world (which has become a little bit bigger now with Nanjing and Bazna). This year six players will participate in a double round robin tournament: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, born in 1990, number 3 on the world rating list, Elo 2772), Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia, 1983, 5, 2760) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 1975, 6, 2759) Peter Leko (Hungary, 1979, 7, 2756) Etienne Bacrot (France, 1983, 17, 2721) Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany, 1985, 36, 2697) [TABLE=764] Antti Parkkinen collected some statistics for us. Of this year's players, both Kramnik and Leko will participate for the 15th time. Naiditsch has previously played in Dortmund 6 times, Bacrot and Carlsen once each. Jakovenko is the only first-timer. Kramnik and Leko have been the players most often seen in Dortmund (14 times each before this year), followed by Michael Adams and Vishy Anand (10 times each). In 2000, the public could witness a silicone brain challenging the top humans. The computer JUNIOR 6 didn't do too bad: it scored 4.5 points out of 9. The experience has not been repeated since in Dortmund. The most successful player in the history of Dortmund tournaments has been Vladimir Kramnik. He took first or shared first no less than 8 times (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2007). Anand (1996, 2000 and 2004) and Leko (1999, 2002 and 2008) did the same 3 times. The complete list of winners (outright or shared): 1 1973 Ulf Andersson, Hans-Joachim Hecht and Boris Spassky 2 1974 Victor Ciocaltea and Laszlo Szabo 3 1975 Heikki Westerinen 4 1976 Oleg Romanishin 5 1977 Alexander Kochyev and Jan Smejkal 6 1978 Ulf Andersson 7 1979 Tamaz Giorgadze 8 1980 Raymond Keene 9 1981 Lubomir Ftacnik, Gennadi Kuzmin and Jonathan Speelman 10 1982 Vlastimil Hort 11 1983 Mihai Suba 12 1984 Yehuda Grünfeld 13 1985 Vlastimil Hort, Stefan Kindermann and Yuri Razuvaev 14 1986 Zoltan Ribli 15 1987 Yuri Balashov 16 1988 Smbat Lputian 17 1989 Efim Geller 18 1990 Alexander Chernin 19 1991 Alexander Chernin and Igor Stohl 20 1992 Vassily Ivanchuk and Garry Kasparov 21 1993 Anatoly Karpov 22 1994 Jeroen Piket 23 1995 Vladimir Kramnik 24 1996 Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik 25 1997 Vladimir Kramnik 26 1998 Michael Adams, Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler 27 1999 Peter Leko 28 2000 Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik 29 2001 Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov 30 2002 Peter Leko 31 2003 Viktor Bologan 32 2004 Viswananthan Anand 33 2005 Arkadij Naiditsch 34 2006 Michael Adams, Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler 35 2007 Vladimir Kramnik 36 2008 Peter Leko 37 2009 ? Poll Who will win Dortmund 2009? Magnus Carlsen Dmitry Jakovenko Vladimir Kramnik Peter Leko Etienne Bacrot Arkadij Naiditsch View Results [2]  Loading ... [1] http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/cms/ [2] http://www.chessvibes.com#ViewPollResults

Rinck, 1925

White to move and win.

7b/1b6/8/2p5/8/K1RN3k/8/8 w - - 0 1

The Sydney Academy of Chess's FM Brett Tindall was contacted by a TV production house recently apparently because they were looking for potential candidates for an upcoming local version of Beauty and the Geek. First launched in the US and co-produced by Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), the show, at its core, is basically your standard challenge and elimination reality TV.More about the US show

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

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.

Hungary certainly does not lack in chess tournaments. The year starts with the traditional early January tournament organised by the Hungarian Chess Federation, soon afterwards, in March, the spring season starts with the Spring Chess Festival. This year was the 25th edition. The events in Budapest are fraught with cultural activities. Illustrated report by Diana Mihajlova.

The bishop sac on h7 (h2) to rip open the enemy's king position is a classical motif in chess. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it isn't - but one always has to be aware of it. And what is the case after 13.Nxc4 here?
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.

The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, the most important traditional chess tournament in Germany, started with a fine victory by top seed Magnus Carlsen. The 18-year-old Norwegian GM out-maneuvered his opponent, Russia's top GM Dmitry Jakovenko, in a knight vs bishop ending and took the full point after 49 moves. The other games were drawn. Report with commentary.

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.

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

New chess world rankings released, but they may not matter as much as they once did.

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.

White to move and win.

8/8/8/Q5p1/N7/3K4/7q/3k4 w - - 0 1

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?

White to move and checkmate in 5.

B7/4K3/6r1/7k/7p/4B3/8/8 w - - 0 3

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

Everyman has just published an interesting and entertaining work, that could be a great help in destroying the Sicilian [1]. The open Sicilian is a very popular opening because it promotes bold and aggressive chess. But be aware my friends... If you want to crack this tough Sicilian nut you must know what you are doing! 7 Ways to Smash the Sicilian introduces, categorizes and studies some deadly sacrifices White has at his disposal. We are treated to Knight sacrifices on d5, e6, f5 and b5 as well as Bishops hitting on e6 and b5. You will learn from the active piece sacrifices of Tal, Bronstein, Spassky, Kasparov, Shirov, Ivanchuk, Polgar and other grandmasters whose games are analysed in this book. We advise you to have a good look at 7 Ways to Smash the Sicilian [2]. [1] http://www.newinchess.com/7_Ways_to_Smash_the_Sicilian-p-1801&utm_campaign=1801_7_Ways_to_Smash_the_Sicilian&utm_medium=chessvibes&utm_source=chessvibes.com&utm_content=text-link.html [2] http://www.newinchess.com/7_Ways_to_Smash_the_Sicilian-p-1801&utm_campaign=1801_7_Ways_to_Smash_the_Sicilian&utm_medium=chessvibes&utm_source=chessvibes.com&utm_content=text-link.html

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? Every four years the official Laws of Chess may be revised and improved by the General Assembly of FIDE after a proposal of the FIDE Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee. The current version took effect July 1st, 2005 and this means that as of today, July 1st, 2009 there's a new version (although at the moment of writing the old text is still on the FIDE website). Geurt Gijssen, chairman of the FIDE Rules and Tournament Regulations Committee, explained to us that the four-year process always starts with many suggestions from different directions: "I always receive many proposals for rule changes, from arbiters, organizers... this time I think 122 in total. Of all that I receive, I make one big document. Yes, quite often I also include suggestions from my column [1] at Chesscafe." "I ask which members of the Committee want to look at this preliminary document, and this time six members voted about all collected suggestions, by filling out a form. Please note that I don't vote myself; I only act as, let's say, a secretary. All suggestions for changes that are agreed upon 5-1 or 6-0 were included, and I threw away all suggestions that were rejected 0-6 or 1-5. All suggestions that were answered with different proportions were put together in a new document and taken to the Rules Committee which came together at the Olympiad in Dresden this time. There, many arbiters interested in the subject were present, and they were allowed to join the meeting - a total of about 85. I let everyone vote, and the results I treated as a first poll of opinions. In cases where some proposals were met with big majorities agreeing with the changes, I included them for the next draft; only in cases where there where big differences of opinion I let the Rules Committee vote and decide. Sometimes I started with the Rules Committee and then the whole meeting to vote. The results of such a meeting at an Olympiad, which often include new suggestions, is taken to Executive Board, who discuss everything but usually don't propose new changes. The final draft version is taken to the General Assembly, who give their final vote. This time it went a bit differently as the General Assembly couldn't come to an agreement about rule 6 [the "zero-tolerance" rule - PD] and let the Presidential Board decide during its meeting in Istanbul, March 2009.” 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. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="200" caption="Geurt Gijssen"][/caption] According to Gijssen, the rule in fact didn't change that much. "Tournament organizers are still allowed to change the rule. Whether the basic text says one hour or zero time, in both cases an organizer can decide to make it, let's say, fifteen minutes." The critical part of the "zero-tolerance" rule, "Any player who arrives at the chessboard after the start of the session shall lose the game", might still lead to debate since it's not clear whether a player should actually sit behind his board until the round has officially started. According to journalist IM Stefan Löffler, "for the German chess federation presence in the tournament area is enough, which includes toilets, catering or refreshment areas." Organizers are recommended to include some clarification about this in their tournament rules. Gijssen continues: "I'd like to point out that the most important change, in my opinion, is that in the new Laws of Chess the part is deleted where it says ...or the arbiter decides otherwise. This means that an arbiter cannot decide anymore that it was a case of force majeure, in an exceptional situation, which would allow someone to play even after arriving late for more than an hour." "By the way, the mentioned ‘or the arbiter decides otherwise’ is applicable in case both players arrive too late. Example: the rules of the tournament stipulate that a player shall lose his game if he arrives 15 minutes after the start of the round. Suppose both players arrive after 10 minutes. In this case the arbiter can deduct 5 minutes of both players’ time instead of only 10 minutes of White’s time." It may be expected that many organizers of tournaments or even competitions won't bother checking all details of the Laws of Chess, and will simply hold an event in which "FIDE Laws of Chess apply". In a worst-case scenario, a club player will travel for several hours to play a team match somewhere far away, arrives two minutes late, gets a zero and can take the next train back home. Gijssen: "True, but one shouldn't blame the Laws of Chess, one should blame the organizer for not thinking for himself and the arbiter of the event, who did not point out that there is from July 1 a new situation. In general I think organizers will have to think more about how to apply the rules from now on. Take rule 9, for instance, which means for the first time the Laws of Chess officially allow the so-called Sofia Rule. A tournament organizer has to decide for himself whether he wants to apply the Sofia Rule." 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. Gijssen: "Many found this rule too complicated and they might be right. Now in case of an incorrect claim, only the opponent receives three minutes extra. In my opinion someone who comes with an incorrect claim should be punished himself as well, like in the old rules, but OK, this is how it will be." Mobile phones The most famous story about a player losing his chess game because his phone rings is still that of Ruslan Ponomariov. His phone sounded during a match between Ukraine and Sweden at the European Team Championships, Plovdiv 2003. The article about mobile phones needed a change as well, since the 2005 version of the Laws of Chess did not sufficiently deal with fact that phones sometimes make a sound even if they're switched off, which happened to no-one less than Nigel Short at the 2008 European Union Championship. 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. Blitz and rapidplay The Laws of Chess also include Appendices, in which special subjects are treated, like rapidplay, blitz, algebraic notation, quickly finishes when no arbiter is present and rules for play with blind and visually handicapped players. In general one could say that rapid, but especially blitz competitions, need special rules because almost always there are not enough arbiters around. At blitz tournaments with many boards, many small incidents happend during every round which aren't even considered incidents, like an illegal move, or a flag that falls. In classical chess an arbiter should be called in such a situation, but this would be impossible in a blitz tournament, and that's why an illegal move instantly loses at blitz, for example, to prevent the need of many more arbiters. However, Gijssen and many others of the Rules Committee agreed that for example a (Blitz) World Championship shouldn't be decided by something trivial like an illegal move played by accident. In general, they asked themselves, why can't a (Blitz) World Championship be played according to the normal rules? What if we just assign one arbiter per board? Therefore, the following changes have been made. APPENDICES Rapidplay Old rule: B2. Play shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess, except where they are overridden by the following Laws of Rapidplay. New rule: A.3 Where there is adequate supervision of play, (for example one arbiter for at most three games) the Competition Rules shall apply. Blitz Old rule: C2. Play shall be governed by the Rapidplay Laws as in Appendix B except where they are overridden by the following Laws of Blitz. The Articles 10.2 and B6 do not apply. New rule: B.2 Where there is adequate supervision of play, (one arbiter for one game) the Competition Rules and Appendix A.2 shall apply. Another change is the section on Adjourned Games. These days there's probably not a single tournament left where games are adjourned, but an organizer might want to. Besides, there are situations in which a game simply cannot be continued, and has to be resumed at a later stage. For this, guidelines for adjourned games have been included in the Appendices. 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: 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. With this article we hope to have provided our readers a basic idea of the changes in the official Laws of Chess that come to effect as of today. In general we'd like to say that it's highly recommended to take some time and study the Laws thoroughly, at least once in your life! From experience we know that it can save you from losing half or even full points, and from many heated debates in the playing hall... [1] http://www.chesscafe.com/geurt/geurt.htm

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.

Last week's penultimate round skirmish in the Zonal tournament between Australia's two young talents, Zong Yuan Zhao and eventual winner David Smerdon had us all on the edge of our seats. Well now there is even more reason to be excited. In just over a month, Aussie GM-elect David Smerdon will be taking on New Zealand's hottest talent, IM Puchen Wang! A chess retailer across the Tasman, Chess

Zimmer 1999

White to move. How can White hold this game?

1B6/8/2pp4/p1kp4/P2qr3/P4p1B/1nKR1p2/8 w - - 0 1

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.

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.

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

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.

Veselin Topalov tops the July FIDE rating list with a rating of 2813. The Bulgarian is 25 points ahead of World Champion Viswanathan Anand. After dropping 33 rating points on the previous list, Vassily Ivanchuk lost 43 more points, to dive to 30th place. Yesterday FIDE published its new rating list, which this time is not identical to the "live list" by Hans Arild Runde which you can also find in the far right column on this website. The difference is the Kings Tournament in Bazna, Romania, won by Vassily Ivanchuk last week: this tournament wasn't rated yet. Therefore we find Boris Gelfand climbing from 15th to 9th, though virtually the 40-year-old Israeli grandmaster is the world's number 5. The top 5 (Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian and Dmitry Jakovenko) all won points and because he didn't play rated games, Kramnik allowed Aronian and Jakovenko to pass him on the list. Teimour Radjabov and Alexander Morozevich also dropped a bit by not playing. Vugar Gashimov keeps on doing well and is about to enter the top 10 now. Despite losing three points on this list, Gata Kamsky climbed from 24th to 18th, but he lost many points in Bazna. Sergei Movsesian lost 31 points and dropped from 11th to 22nd but the biggest loser in the top was of course Vassily Ivanchuk, who left the top 10 15 (now 30th) for the first time in a very, very long time. Poikovsky winner Alexander Motylev is now the world's number 27 while France's new hope Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is only two spots below. On the last two lists there were 31 players with a FIDE rating above 2700 but this time there are 33. In the women's list the top 10 is still the same, but with minor some changes: Zhao Xue is now best of the rest, climbing from 7th to 4th, behind the super-trio Judit Polgar, Humpy Koneru and Hou Yifan. In the Juniors list Dmitry Andreikin climbed to 6th place, surpassing amongst others Wesley So. On the Girls list Shen Yang and Elena Tairov are the biggest climbers. Below you'll find the new top 100, the top 100 women, the top 20 juniors and the top 20 girls. We give the first two lists including the changes with the previous lists. All data courtesy of FIDE. FIDE JULY 2009 RATING LIST: TOP 100 PLAYERS Legend: black color - player remained on the same position green color - player moved up in the list red color - player moved down in the list blue color - player is new to the current Top list Old represents player's position in the previous period list Rank  Old   NameTitleCountryRatingGames 1  1 Topalov, Veselin [1] g BUL 2813 (+1) 10 (-7) 2  2 Anand, Viswanathan [2] g IND 2788 (+5) 2 (-12) 3  3 Carlsen, Magnus [3] g NOR 2772 (+2) 12 (-15) 4  6 Aronian, Levon [4] g ARM 2768 (+14) 13 (-24) 5  7 Jakovenko, Dmitry [5] g RUS 2760 (+7) 15 (+10) 6  4 Kramnik, Vladimir [6] g RUS 2759 (0) 0 (0) 7  9 Leko, Peter [7] g HUN 2756 (+5) 13 (+13) 8  5 Radjabov, Teimour [8] g AZE 2756 (0) 0 (-27) 9  15 Gelfand, Boris [9] g ISR 2755 (+22) 27 (+27) 10  8 Morozevich, Alexander [10] g RUS 2751 (0) 0 (-13) 11  16 Gashimov, Vugar [11] g AZE 2740 (+10) 9 (-1) 12  18 Svidler, Peter [12] g RUS 2739 (+13) 36 (+11) 13  14 Wang, Yue [13] g CHN 2736 (-2) 10 (-28) 14  10 Grischuk, Alexander [14] g RUS 2733 (-15) 20 (+6) 15  13 Shirov, Alexei [15] g ESP 2732 (-13) 38 (+38) 16  19 Ponomariov, Ruslan [16] g UKR 2727 (+1) 3 (+3) 17  17 Bacrot, Etienne [17] g FRA 2721 (-7) 32 (+23) 18  24 Kamsky, Gata [18] g USA 2717 (-3) 22 (+2) 19  20 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar [19] g AZE 2717 (-8) 17 (+11) 20  23 Karjakin, Sergey [20] g UKR 2717 (-4) 13 (-6) 21  36 Eljanov, Pavel [21] g UKR 2716 (+23) 44 (+44) 22  11 Movsesian, Sergei [22] g SVK 2716 (-31) 31 (+8) 23  22 Dominguez Perez, Leinier [23] g CUB 2716 (-5) 10 (-17) 24  25 Alekseev, Evgeny [24] g RUS 2714 (-2) 20 (+15) 25  34 Akopian, Vladimir [25] g ARM 2712 (+16) 13 (+2) 26  30 Nakamura, Hikaru [26] g USA 2710 (+9) 35 (+25) 27  52 Motylev, Alexander [27] g RUS 2710 (+33) 16 (-13) 28  26 Malakhov, Vladimir [28] g RUS 2707 (-2) 7 (-19) 29  47 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime [29] g FRA 2703 (+19) 31 (+21) 30  12 Ivanchuk, Vassily [30] g UKR 2703 (-43) 30 (-7) 31  29 Rublevsky, Sergei [31] g RUS 2703 (+1) 16 (+16) 32  27 Bu, Xiangzhi [32] g CHN 2702 (-2) 11 (-7) 33  21 Ni, Hua [33] g CHN 2701 (-23) 17 (+1) 34  45 Onischuk, Alexander [34] g USA 2699 (+15) 34 (+6) 35  28 Adams, Michael [35] g ENG 2699 (-4) 7 (-6) 36  31 Naiditsch, Arkadij [36] g GER 2697 (-3) 41 (+20) 37  50 Miroshnichenko, Evgenij [37] g UKR 2696 (+16) 29 (+12) 38  40 Vallejo Pons, Francisco [38] g ESP 2693 (+5) 7 (-24) 39  33 Wang, Hao [39] g CHN 2690 (-6) 38 (+9) 40  39 Bologan, Viktor [40] g MDA 2689 (-1) 12 (+1) 41  46 Tomashevsky, Evgeny [41] g RUS 2689 (+5) 6 (-18) 42  74 Navara, David [42] g CZE 2687 (+33) 19 (-5) 43  37 Polgar, Judit [43] g HUN 2687 (-6) 1 (+1) 44  56 Short, Nigel D [44] g ENG 2684 (+10) 14 (+1) 45  42 Jobava, Baadur [45] g GEO 2684 (-3) 2 (-14) 46  44 Almasi, Zoltan [46] g HUN 2684 (-1) 1 (-8) 47  38 Moiseenko, Alexander [47] g UKR 2682 (-8) 9 (-6) 48  53 Timofeev, Artyom [48] g RUS 2681 (+4) 7 (-13) 49  41 Vitiugov, Nikita [49] g RUS 2681 (-7) 6 (-14) 50  61 Nielsen, Peter Heine [50] g DEN 2680 (+12) 17 (+14) 51  43 Harikrishna, P. [51] g IND 2679 (-7) 24 (-6) 52  57 Volokitin, Andrei [52] g UKR 2678 (+7) 14 (-9) 53  51 Cheparinov, Ivan [53] g BUL 2678 (0) 0 (-11) 54  64 Sutovsky, Emil [54] g ISR 2675 (+15) 27 (+27) 55  54 Inarkiev, Ernesto [55] g RUS 2675 (-1) 15 (-12) 56  55 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter [56] g ROU 2675 (0) 10 (-1) 57  32 Tiviakov, Sergei [57] g NED 2674 (-23) 34 (-4) 58  35 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam [58] g UZB 2672 (-23) 29 (+15) 59  78 Caruana, Fabiano [59] g ITA 2670 (+21) 25 (-6) 60  75 Grachev, Boris [60] g RUS 2669 (+17) 19 (-10) 61  48 Sasikiran, Krishnan [61] g IND 2669 (-13) 18 (-2) 62  67 Kurnosov, Igor [62] g RUS 2669 (+11) 13 (-25) 63  62 Fressinet, Laurent [63] g FRA 2667 (+3) 28 (+17) 64  63 Sargissian, Gabriel [64] g ARM 2667 (+7) 18 (-5) 65  83 Fridman, Daniel [65] g GER 2665 (+19) 23 (+14) 66  65 Guseinov, Gadir [66] g AZE 2664 (+5) 9 (-11) 67  59 Najer, Evgeniy [67] g RUS 2663 (-6) 26 (+26) 68  91 Beliavsky, Alexander G [68] g SLO 2662 (+22) 23 (+2) 69  60 Dreev, Alexey [69] g RUS 2660 (-8) 15 (-23) 70  66 Milov, Vadim [70] g SUI 2659 (0) 2 (-16) 71  100 Roiz, Michael [71] g ISR 2658 (+23) 31 (+14) 72  88 Meier, Georg [72] g GER 2658 (+17) 21 (-16) 73  95 Socko, Bartosz [73] g POL 2656 (+19) 30 (+20) 74  70 Fedorchuk, Sergey A. [74] g UKR 2655 (-1) 41 (+16) 75  - Landa, Konstantin [75] g RUS 2655 (+) 33 (+) 76  - Van Wely, Loek [76] g NED 2655 (+) 33 (+) 77  58 Sokolov, Ivan [77] g BIH 2655 (-14) 32 (+9) 78  49 Efimenko, Zahar [78] g UKR 2654 (-28) 30 (+11) 79  - Tregubov, Pavel V. [79] g RUS 2652 (+) 30 (+) 80  68 Areshchenko, Alexander [80] g UKR 2651 (-6) 40 (+1) 81  69 Tkachiev, Vladislav [81] g FRA 2650 (-7) 17 (+17) 82  90 Smirin, Ilia [82] g ISR 2650 (+9) 15 (+6) 83  72 Savchenko, Boris [83] g RUS 2650 (-5) 12 (-17) 84  71 Pashikian, Arman [84] g ARM 2650 (-5) 2 (-41) 85  - Shulman, Yuri [85] g USA 2648 (+) 34 (+) 86  - Andreikin, Dmitry [86] g RUS 2648 (+) 20 (+) 87  77 Lastin, Alexander [87] g RUS 2648 (-2) 16 (+7) 88  80 Postny, Evgeny [88] g ISR 2647 (-1) 33 (+22) 89  - Granda Zuniga, Julio E [89] g PER 2647 (+) 26 (+) 90  92 Berkes, Ferenc [90] g HUN 2647 (+9) 20 (-1) 91  98 Riazantsev, Alexander [91] g RUS 2647 (+12) 16 (-12) 92  89 So, Wesley [92] g PHI 2646 (+5) 22 (-7) 93  - Seirawan, Yasser [93] g USA 2646 (+) 4 (+) 94  94 Georgiev, Kiril [94] g BUL 2645 (+8) 18 (+7) 95  84 Kobalia, Mikhail [95] g RUS 2645 (0) 0 (-26) 96  85 Mamedov, Rauf [96] g AZE 2645 (0) 0 (-20) 97  76 Predojevic, Borki [97] g BIH 2644 (-8) 30 (+10) 98  86 Karpov, Anatoly [98] g RUS 2644 (0) 0 (0) 99  79 Amonatov, Farrukh [99] g TJK 2641 (-7) 24 (+6) 100  82 Avrukh, Boris [100] g ISR 2641 (-6) 13 (+3) FIDE JULY 2009 RATING LIST: TOP 100 WOMEN Rank  Old   NameTitleCountryRatingGames 1 1 Polgar, Judit [43] g HUN 2687 (-6) 1 (+1) 2 2 Koneru, Humpy [102] g IND 2623 (+11) 11 (-6) 3 3 Hou, Yifan [103] g CHN 2584 (-6) 21 (-8) 4 7 Zhao, Xue [104] g CHN 2544 (+13) 18 (-4) 5 6 Muzychuk, Anna [105] m SLO 2542 (+9) 14 (-14) 6 10 Kosintseva, Tatiana [106] m RUS 2539 (+17) 7 (-18) 7 5 Dzagnidze, Nana [107] g GEO 2536 (-5) 9 (-15) 8 4 Stefanova, Antoaneta [108] g BUL 2535 (-14) 8 (-13) 9 9 Sebag, Marie [109] g FRA 2531 (+4) 14 (+3) 10 8 Cramling, Pia [110] g SWE 2525 (-3) 5 (-32) 11 11 Kosteniuk, Alexandra [111] g RUS 2516 (0) 0 (0) 12 16 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan [112] g SCO 2506 (+14) 12 (-11) 13 12 Chiburdanidze, Maia [113] g GEO 2506 (0) 0 (-11) 14 13 Danielian, Elina [114] m ARM 2502 (-1) 2 (-32) 15 14 Pogonina, Natalija [115] wg RUS 2501 (0) 6 (-19) 16 19 Hoang Thanh Trang [116] g HUN 2501 (+11) 5 (-6) 17 20 Ruan, Lufei [117] wg CHN 2486 (0) 11 (+4) 18 21 Xu, Yuhua [118] g CHN 2485 (+6) 7 (-5) 19 17 Kosintseva, Nadezhda [119] m RUS 2482 (-9) 6 (-8) 20 24 Lahno, Kateryna [120] g UKR 2481 (+3) 7 (-4) 21 23 Ushenina, Anna [121] m UKR 2477 (-1) 7 (-13) 22 33 Paehtz, Elisabeth [122] m GER 2474 (+15) 20 (-9) 23 18 Zhu, Chen [123] g QAT 2473 (-18) 11 (+9) 24 15 Cmilyte, Viktorija [124] m LTU 2470 (-28) 39 (+26) 25 29 Javakhishvili, Lela [125] m GEO 2470 (+7) 9 (+9) 26 22 Mkrtchian, Lilit [126] m ARM 2467 (-12) 9 (-2) 27 31 Zatonskih, Anna [127] m USA 2466 (+5) 16 (+2) 28 27 Dembo, Yelena [128] m GRE 2466 (0) 0 (-11) 29 28 Qin, Kanying [129] wg CHN 2466 (0) 0 (-6) 30 30 Zhukova, Natalia [130] wg UKR 2465 (+4) 7 (-13) 31 36 Krush, Irina [131] m USA 2458 (+6) 13 (-16) 32 60 Shen, Yang [132] wg CHN 2453 (+33) 22 (-33) 33 32 Hunt, Harriet V [133] m ENG 2452 (-9) 2 (0) 34 59 Tairova, Elena [134] m RUS 2450 (+28) 19 (+19) 35 38 Skripchenko, Almira [135] m FRA 2450 (+1) 14 (+10) 36 34 Socko, Monika [136] g POL 2449 (-7) 9 (-12) 37 54 Rajlich, Iweta [137] m POL 2448 (+24) 8 (-5) 38 39 Korbut, Ekaterina [138] m RUS 2448 (0) 0 (-5) 39 26 Romanko, Marina [139] m RUS 2447 (-19) 19 (-10) 40 44 Ovod, Evgenija [140] m RUS 2447 (+7) 6 (-5) 41 25 Harika, Dronavalli [141] m IND 2445 (-29) 31 (+13) 42 35 Ju, Wenjun [142]  CHN 2443 (-11) 33 (+3) 43 41 Muzychuk, Mariya [143] m UKR 2441 (0) 18 (-11) 44 42 Melia, Salome [144] m GEO 2441 (+1) 9 (-22) 45 65 Gunina, Valentina [145] wf RUS 2437 (+26) 34 (+16) 46 37 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina [146] m RUS 2437 (-13) 18 (-10) 47 47 Tan, Zhongyi [147]  CHN 2435 (-1) 22 (0) 48 48 Atalik, Ekaterina [148] m TUR 2434 (0) 0 (0) 49 61 Moser, Eva [149] m AUT 2431 (+13) 26 (+19) 50 52 Khukhashvili, Sopiko [150] m GEO 2430 (+6) 9 (-17) 51 51 Bojkovic, Natasa [151] m SRB 2429 (+3) 6 (+6) 52 50 Gaponenko, Inna [152] m UKR 2428 (0) 18 (-11) 53 55 Repkova, Eva [153] m SVK 2428 (+4) 5 (-7) 54 40 Lomineishvili, Maia [154] m GEO 2427 (-20) 9 (-13) 55 66 Huang, Qian [155] wg CHN 2424 (+14) 22 (-4) 56 56 Foisor, Cristina-Adela [156] m ROU 2424 (+1) 15 (-23) 57 58 Li, Ruofan [157] wg SIN 2423 (0) 0 (-6) 58 71 Vasilevich, Tatjana [158] m UKR 2420 (+21) 24 (+17) 59 53 Khurtsidze, Nino [159] m GEO 2418 (-6) 8 (-14) 60 45 Peng, Zhaoqin [160] g NED 2418 (-21) 7 (-15) 61 63 Matnadze, Ana [161] m GEO 2413 (-1) 27 (+7) 62 62 Stockova, Zuzana [162] m SVK 2413 (-4) 9 (+4) 63 43 Munguntuul, Batkhuyag [163] wg MGL 2412 (-28) 36 (+17) 64 46 Zdebskaja, Natalia [164] wg UKR 2412 (-26) 32 (+14) 65 57 Tania, Sachdev [165] m IND 2410 (-13) 31 (+1) 66 68 Maric, Alisa [166] m SRB 2407 (0) 0 (0) 67 72 Kovanova, Baira [167] wg RUS 2406 (+8) 15 (-5) 68 95 Khotenashvili, Bela [168] wg GEO 2402 (+38) 9 (-9) 69 79 Jackova, Jana [169] m CZE 2396 (+11) 16 (+16) 70 64 Fierro Baquero, Martha L. [170] m ECU 2394 (-17) 14 (-5) 71 70 Houska, Jovanka [171] m ENG 2392 (-10) 5 (-18) 72 74 Peptan, Corina-Isabela [172] m ROU 2392 (0) 0 (-20) 73 - Zhang, Xiaowen [173] wm CHN 2391 (+) 33 (+) 74 67 Matveeva, Svetlana [174] m RUS 2391 (-19) 16 (-4) 75 75 Goletiani, Rusudan [175] wg USA 2391 (0) 0 (0) 76 - Cori T., Deysi [176] wm PER 2390 (+) 50 (+) 77 99 Zaiatz, Elena [177] m RUS 2390 (+28) 15 (+4) 78 84 Milliet, Sophie [178] m FRA 2388 (+9) 11 (-7) 79 81 Alexandrova, Olga [179] m ESP 2388 (+5) 9 (+9) 80 87 Bodnaruk, Anastasia [180] wg RUS 2388 (+15) 6 (-23) 81 73 Turova, Irina [181] m RUS 2387 (-9) 24 (+4) 82 76 Zawadzka, Jolanta [182] wg POL 2387 (-3) 9 (-11) 83 - Karavade, Eesha [183] wg IND 2386 (+) 28 (+) 84 80 Madl, Ildiko [184] m HUN 2386 (+1) 27 (+27) 85 78 Borsuk, Angela [185] m ISR 2385 (0) 0 (-8) 86 49 Shadrina, Tatiana [186] wg RUS 2384 (-47) 14 (-6) 87 - Savina, Anastasia [187]  RUS 2382 (+) 42 (+) 88 82 Majdan, Joanna [188] wg POL 2382 (0) 0 (-20) 89 89 Pokorna, Regina [189] wg SVK 2381 (+13) 27 (-4) 90 93 Wang, Yu A. [190] m CHN 2380 (+16) 22 (-1) 91 77 Michna, Marta [191] wg GER 2379 (-9) 18 (+18) 92 86 Demina, Julia [192] wg RUS 2378 (+3) 12 (-8) 93 85 Sergeyeva, Mariya [193] wg KAZ 2377 (0) 0 (0) 94 83 Vajda, Szidonia [194] m HUN 2375 (-6) 13 (+13) 95 91 Stepovaia, Tatiana [195] wg RUS 2370 (+5) 9 (-2) 96 - Iljushina, Olga [196] wm RUS 2366 (+) 16 (+) 97 92 Tsereteli, Tamar [197] wg GEO 2365 (0) 0 (-9) 98 - Purtseladze, Maka [198] m GEO 2362 (+) 8 (+) 99 - Lanchava, Tea [199] m NED 2360 (+) 4 (+) 100 - Djingarova, Emilia [200] wg BUL 2359 (+) 25 (+) FIDE JULY 2009 RATING LIST: TOP 20 JUNIORS RankNameTitleCountryRatingGamesB-Year 1 Carlsen, Magnus [201] g NOR 2772 12 1990 2 Karjakin, Sergey [202] g UKR 2717 13 1990 3 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime [203] g FRA 2703 31 1990 4 Wang, Hao [204] g CHN 2690 38 1989 5 Caruana, Fabiano [205] g ITA 2670 25 1992 6 Andreikin, Dmitry [206] g RUS 2648 20 1990 7 So, Wesley [207] g PHI 2646 22 1993 8 Kuzubov, Yuriy [208] g UKR 2635 19 1990 9 Li, Chao b [209] g CHN 2634 22 1989 10 Nepomniachtchi, Ian [210] g RUS 2632 15 1990 11 Rodshtein, Maxim [211] g ISR 2623 11 1989 12 Zhigalko, Sergei [212] g BLR 2621 9 1989 13 Howell, David W L [213] g ENG 2614 5 1990 14 Khairullin, Ildar [214] g RUS 2602 17 1990 15 Le, Quang Liem [215] g VIE 2602 11 1991 16 Edouard, Romain [216] g FRA 2597 26 1990 17 Safarli, Eltaj [217] g AZE 2597 9 1992 18 Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son [218] g VIE 2592 20 1990 19 Negi, Parimarjan [219] g IND 2590 31 1993 20 Sjugirov, Sanan [220] g RUS 2590 19 1993 FIDE JULY 2009 RATING LIST: TOP 20 GIRLS [1] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=2900084 [2] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=5000017 [3] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=1503014 [4] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=13300474 [5] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=4122356 [6] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=4101588 [7] http://ratings.fide.com/top_files.phtml?id=703303 [8] 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Chess was popular in the Ukrainian city of Lviv (or Lvov) before World War II, but it reached its golden age in the 1960s, when Leonid Stein gave inspiration to young young boys and girls. But it was the work of legendary trainer Viktor Kart that brought the country to the forefront of chess, producing some of the best players in the world. Illustrated report by Vladimir Grabinsky.

Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov has gained one point from ten games to retain his top ranking in the FIDE list, 25 point ahead of reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand. In third place we find Magnus Carlsen, the 18-year-old GM from Norway. The biggest fall – once again – was by Vassily Ivanchuk, who shed 43 points. Top rankings and statistics.

Few things in chess are more satisfying than winning a model game. The opening prep goes smoothly, one gains an advantage of some sort of another, and a series of fine moves leads to the inexorable conclusion: we win! And then there's the other 90% of the time. Lecture this Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on Playchess.

White to move. How should White proceed?

Source: ChessToday.net

IntroductionFor those of you going to the World Open this week, let me try to ease your anxiety so you can relax and have some fun.Objectively speaking, there is a range of possible tournament results from zero to nine (there are nine total games at the World Open), and a distribution of probabilities that you will get one of those results.People tend to get anxious when they start to focus on

Peter told me last week he had been to a concert called The Beatles vs. The Stones. Tastes differ, but still ... as a Beatles fan I can't help feeling tempted to start a discussion with Stones fans sometimes, just for fun. Do they really think Sticky Fingers is better than Sgt. Pepper? I guess making comparisons like these is only human. In this review, I want to make another unfair comparison: one between two classic chessbooks, both of which have recently appeared in a reprint: one written by Bobby Fischer, the other by David Bronstein. Memorable oneliners Bobby Fischer's My Sixty Memorable Games (first published in 1969) has been reprinted many times, but the latest reprint [1] by Batsford is a special case, not because it's an algebraic edition, but because, according to the back cover of the book, in contrast with previous editions of recent years, "no alterations have been made to the text other than the conversion of moves into algebraic notation, making this an updated yet accurate reflection of the original book". And this is actually true: my own (non-algebraic) edition of Fischer's book is from 1988, and apart from the notation, the new reprtint an exact copy - even the page numbers are identical. This is precisely as Fischer would have wanted it. In the years before his death, he has complained numerous times about unauthorized changes in his masterpiece - most notoriously an annotated edition by John Nunn, which (to add insult to injury), also contained a few painful mistakes. Publisher Batsford has now made up for this with a clean reprint of the original. It's silly attempting to describe the most famous chess book of all time from an objective point of view, so allow me to just share a few personal observations in an attempt to grasp the meaning and importance of this ultimate chess classic. I bought the book just after I'd joined a chess club, in 1988. During that time, I used to write down my own analysis of the games I played at the club in a little notebook (which I still have). I had lost my first couple of games, and my notes were full of frustration at my opponents. I wrote how they made noise during the game, how they had been lucky to find the winning combination and how, despite my loss, my opening knowledge was superior to theirs. Then I started reading Fischer's book. His first comment in the first game (Fischer-Sherwin, 1957) reads as follows: "This used to be my favorite. I thought it led to a favorable variation of the King's Indian reversed." [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Robert James Fischer"][/caption] I realized that Fischer now thought quite differently about it! He was clearly criticizing his youthful self. In the next game (Fischer-Larsen, 1958) Fischer also condemns a move of his own, calling it 'a mistake!' even though his opponent resigned at that very moment. This was all new to me. I recalled that both Karpov and Kasparov were always very proud and self-confident in their analysis. And besides, weren't chess grandmasters always right, anyway? Fischer's comments didn't fit at all with the picture of chess analysis I had in my youthful mind, and it definitely didn't fit with my I-was-am-and-always-will-be-right image of world champions. But apart from Fischer's refreshing objectivity (which I experience even now, when browsing through the book again), another thing struck me: his amazing humor. Here was an author who could not only criticize himself, but also make lighthearted and funny remarks in between. What a difference it made with my own sour notebook full of irritation and self-vindicative writings. Here are a few more famous examples of his self-criticism: "Here I offered a draw, not realizing it was bad etiquette." "Nowadays I would know better than to try to squeeze a win out of such a simplified ending." "As Olafsson showed me, White can win with 53.Rc7+! It's hard to believe. I stayed up all night analyzing, finally convincing myself and, incidentally, learning a lot about Rook and Pawn endings in the process." Fischer's comments were objective, yet also full of witty quips and vernacular American-English which seemed quotable right away. (In this respect, he is a bit like Oscar Wilde.) Most of all, Fischer displayed a fantastic feel for compact, funny yet extremely subtle use of his language: "Throwing a monkey wrench into Black's carefully contrived setup!" "He won't get a second chance to snap off the Bishop! Now I felt the game was in the bag if I didn't botch it. I'd won dozens of skittles games in analogous positions and had it down to a science: pry open the h-file, sac, sac ... mate!" "I could see from the expression on Smyslov's face that he already thought he was busted." Then there are the many lively - sometimes even emotional - yet always concise and colorful remarks such as: "Blow for blow!", "Agressive defence!", "Should be the losing move!", "My first threat in the entire game!", "Infiltration!", "A shot!" etc. Oh, by the way, all the above-mentioned quotes are from the first 17 games only... It's obvious that Fischer's book doesn't only contain memorable games (most memorably of all, perhaps, Fischer's dramatic encounter with Botvinnik at the 1962 Varna Olympiad) - it contains even more memorable one-liners. The same can be said of the game introductions by Larry Evans, which have become famous in their own right. They're short, often just two or three paragraphs, but always interesting, and they, too, are full of memorable use of language: 'Finally, he has not escaped me!' exulted Fischer. 'It is difficult to play against Einstein's theory,' sighed Tal, who went on to capture first prize. Maybe My 60 Memorable Games [2] is the best chess book ever written - but I think it's definitely the best-written chess book ever. The sorcerer and his apprentices A completely different classic which has recently been reprinted (by New in Chess) is The Sorcerer's Apprentice [3] by David Bronstein and Tom Furstenberg (it was originally published in 1995 by Everyman). Well, two chess books can't possibly be more different than Fischer's and Bronstein's - and it's hard to come down to earth after reading Fischer's book again. You see, Fischer's comments are often minimalistic, full of sharp humor, concise variations. His games and analysis are of a deceptive simplicity, which does in my view raise the question how much an ordinary mortal can actually learn (in a chess sense) from Fischer's notes - apart from the obvious fact that chess can look so simple when played well. On the other hand, Bronstein's analysis seem always aimed at potential students. Bronstein is not half as funny or straight to the point as Fischer, but his writing is often a lot more detailed and elaborate: Bronstein-Furman Moscow 1948 11...exd5? This is a serious positional mistake after which Black finds himself in a difficult situation. With hanging c- and d-pawns the black Knight at c6 turns out to be very badly placed. It blocks the defence of the c5 pawn by the Rook and the defence of the d5 pawn by the Bishop, and if the Knight moves away, say to a5, the important square e5 remains in White's hands. The normal position for Black's Knight, when he has hanging pawns, is on d7, where it defends the c5 pawn and controls the square e5. Black should of course have captured with his Knight, and after 11...Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Qc2 Qh5 he stands no worse. 12.Ne2! This subtle move reinforces the d4 pawn and threatens the unpleasant transfer of the white Knight to f5. It is very difficult for him to obtain any play. Probably best was 12...a5 followed by the sacrifice of the pawn at a4; in this case the c-pawn would have become a passed pawn and Black could have hoped for counterplay. These explanations are the best parts of the book by far. Bronstein was not only a fantastic chess player, but also a great chess explicator. The book is full of very useful and instructive explications. However, contrary to Fischer's book, which is just perfect (which is why absolutely nothing should be changed in it), I think The Sorcerer's Apprentice [3] also has its downsides. In fact, I've always thought the book was slightly overrated. This, by the way, is hardly Bronstein's own fault. The first thing that annoys me about the book is the various prefaces and introductions it contains. These are mostly personal recollections by Tom Fürstenberg and others. What strikes me (and, I must confess, irritates me) in these introductions is the emphasis the authors lie on Bronstein's 'greatness', his love for the game and his 'kind heart'. (The book also contains a telegram from the President of the Russian Chess Federation Bronstein received for his 75th birthday, thanking him for his 'services to the world of chess'.) [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="David Bronstein, Paul Keres and Mikhail Botvinnik"][/caption] In general, think there is a bit too much of the 'apprentices' in this sorcerer's book. It's all nice and well-meant, but ... I mean, we all love chess, right? There's really nothing special about that, so why mention it time again in Bronstein's case? And who really cares about Bronstein's character in a book subtitled 'Improve your chess with David Bronstein' - except of course the people who knew him personally (like Fürstenberg)? I guess it's all just a little too sentimental to my taste. Well, at least now you know why I like Fischer's style so much. There's another minor point of criticsm I must make. I've already given an example of Bronstein's splendid way of explaining chess positions. But he also likes to tell anecdotes in great detail and this gives me mixed feelings. Bronstein's personal experiences of his matches with Botvinnik are very interesting and historically important, but personally I wasn't too interested in stuff such as what kind of wine Bronstein drank with which friends at which occasion all the time. Here the book is at its most unbalanced: sometimes we get very interesting memoirs about historical matches or the Second World War, then we are suddenly treated to a rather pointless story about good whisky and a toast to someone's health. Even more confusingly, sometimes we get other chess player's (e.g. Timman's) opinion on matters, too. Of course, this doesn't mean you shouldn't buy this book! In fact, the new edition also contains many beautiful photographs (by the way, the photo of Fischer on my edition of My Sixty Memorable Games has disappeared in the current edition!), and there's lots of cool new stuff compared to the first edition of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. For instance there's a very interesting lecture Bronstein gave on his experience with computers. This is a fantastic piece of chess writing that I found very inspiring. Bronstein explains in great detail how he tried to battle computers on various occasions, especially during the Aegon Human vs. Computer tournaments in 1990 and 1991 in The Hague. I myself was a live witness to the following game: Bronstein - Fidelity Elite 10 The Hague 1991 1.e4 e5 2.f4 (After assuring the reader that he was 'very honoured' when asked to operate the computer on this occasion, Fürstenberg explains how Bronstein came to choose the King's Gambit for this game - it was a suggestion by Fürstenberg himself.) 2...exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nxe4 6.Ne5 Ng5 7.d4 d6 8.Nd3 f3 9.Be3 Bg4 Here David Bronstein asked me: 'What kind of a game would you like to see?'. I still do not regret my reply: 'Make it as spectacular as you can.' 10.Kd2!! What a fantastic move, especially to play against a computer! And of course, after this Bronstein went on to win the game in very spectacular style, meanwhile commenting on the game while it was still in progress! At moments like these, it's easy to forgive Fürstenberg his enthousiasm and reverence for David Bronstein. Fischer vs. Bronstein Fischer and Bronstein have played each other twice in serious games (and twice in blitz games). Both tournament games were fighting draws, and Bronstein has included one of them in his main section '50 Games with Comments': Bronstein-Fischer, Marl del Plata 1960: When we arrived in Buenos Aires, we discovered Bobby Fischer's name on the list of participants. The next morning, when we went to the station to go to Mar del Plata, Bobby was waving to me from the train and I had the pleasure of introducing Boris Spassky to the great American player. They became friends instantly and have remained so until this day. The game is very high level and Fischer gets lots of compliments from Bronstein in his analysis. (Interestingly, in an article in the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad from January 2007, Hans Ree states that Bronstein didn't have a lot of respect for Fischer, mentioning Bronstein's book Chess in the Eighties in which Bronstein argues that Fischer was a 'pragmatic, unartistic fighting machine'. It's perhaps revealing that Bronstein only mentions Spassky's friendship with Fischer - not his own.) The game is not in My Sixty Memorable, which says something about the strict criteria Fischer used for his game selection. (His game with Spassky from that tournament, however, is included. Fischer lost that game.) What I find striking is that when I think about My Sixty Memorable Games [5], I don't actually think about chess or games - I mostly think about Fischer's language. But when I think of The Sorcerer's Apprentice [3], I cannot recall a single anecdote or memoir from the book - all I remember are great chess moves. Of course, Fischer's book contains 60 fantastic and memorable games, and Bronstein's book contains many interesting anecdotes, but there you are. I'm sure many readers disagree with me and will say they have actually learned a lot from Fischer's games and have intensely enjoyed Bronstein's stories. Well, that just proves my point. Great books can be interpreted in many different ways. Read both these classics and you will know what I mean. Links Get yourself a copy of My 60 Memorable Games [7] Get yourself a copy of The Sorcerer's Apprentice [8] Read more ChessVibes book reviews [9] [1] http://www.newinchess.com/My_60_Memorable_Games-p-1729&utm_campaign=1729_My_60_Memorable_Games&utm_medium=ShopList&utm_source=newinchess.com&utm_content=text-link.html [2] http://www.newinchess.com/My_60_Memorable_Games-p-1729.html [3] http://www.newinchess.com/The_Sorcerer_s_Apprentice__Revised___Expanded_Edition_-p-928.html [4] http://www.newinchess.com/The_Sorcerer_s_Apprentice__Revised___Expanded_Edition_-p-928.html [5] http://www.newinchess.com/My_60_Memorable_Games-p-1729.html [6] http://www.newinchess.com/The_Sorcerer_s_Apprentice__Revised___Expanded_Edition_-p-928.html [7] http://www.newinchess.com/My_60_Memorable_Games-p-1729.html [8] http://www.newinchess.com/The_Sorcerer_s_Apprentice__Revised___Expanded_Edition_-p-928.html [9] http://www.chessvibes.com/category/reviews/

White to move and win.

Missiaen, 2000

#	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

#	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

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

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

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/

If you haven't had enough chess after the Gold Coast or just want to get in some weekend action, then a couple of days in the city of churches could be just the thing. On 4 and 5 July will be the Freytag Checkmate Open, dubbed as "South Australia's #1 Weekend Chess Event". Already registered to participate are two GMs - David Smerdon and Daryl Johansen.Sadly, I won't be there. I've just checked

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

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/

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

Senzi.dlamini@fd.com

Pearl Mogadima 011 214 2412 / 083 458 0319

Pearl.mogadima@fd.com

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

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

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

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. The 4th Hilversum Open, sponsored by Intomart Gfk, takes place June 27th - July 5th in Hotel Lapershoek, Hilversum, the Netherlands. I visited the tournament on the morning before the first round, to help setting up the electronical boards. I must say that the playing hall, a congress hall reached by stairs at the end of the hotel going down one floor, is pretty chique, with air-conditioning and excellent lighting. The tournament has a total number of 130 participants with 46 playing in the top group. Amateur players have excellent chances to play several games against really strong players, as there are 10 GMs, 5 IMs, 5 FMs and a WGM. The majority in the >2100 group (actually 7 players below 2100 have been allowed to enter) is rated over 2300! After three rounds only GM Wouter Spoelman still has a 100% score, and this might be a small surprise to some of those who have been following the tournament, since Spoelman was on 1.5 points after two rounds! As it turned out, perhaps blinded by the beauty of his opponent he had mistakenly written down '1/2' on his notation form of his game in round 2, while in fact he had beaten WGM Alina Motoc. The arbiters had entered a draw as the result, and the pairings of the third round were based on this result and standings. Later it was discovered that Spoelman had won and so he 'won' 1.5 points by beating IM Pruijssers yesterday. Can a result on a notation form that's written down by the player himself, with a signature, be corrected afterwards? Yes, according to the arbiters: "It's more in the spirit of the tournament. And besides, Motoc had written down 0-1 and didn't protest when she lost her half point." The live game transmission experienced some problems during the first two rounds, but all games of at least the top 6 boards have been recovered and can be replayed below. Especially Reinderman-Strating is highly recommended! When his opponent offered his hand shortly before he got mated, the grandmaster asked him if he could please play on. Later Reinderman uploaded an image of the final position to Facebook. :-) [TABLE=763] Game viewer Click on the pairings at the top of the board to reveal a drop down list of all the games. Click on the arrow under the board just once, then the arrow keys of your keyboard also work. Silverlight works on all browsers and platforms except for Linux, but this should be fixed soon. Contact us [1] for questions, not in the comments section, please. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The venue: Hotel Lapershoek in Hilversum"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Sponsors like to be mentioned, so here we go - we need them, don't we?"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="Tournament director Henk Cornelisse speeches, and opens the tournament on Saturday..."][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="...with all participants, full of new ambition, listening..."][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="...well, all, some rising stars can't wait to move some pieces already: Pruijssers, Spoelman, Giri, Bitalzadeh and Miedema"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="The first six boards are transmitted live"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Round 1, board 1: Daniel Fridman - Wim Heemskerk"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Daniel Fridman (2646)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Michal Krasenkow (2622)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Predrag Nikolic (2618)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Erwin l'Ami (2598)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Friso Nijboer (2562)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="GM Dimitri Reinderman (2560)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Stewart Haslinger (2544)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Anish Giri (2517), not only the youngest, but together with Vladimir Kramnik also the only GM in the world how never held the IM title!"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM (yes!) Wouter Spoelman (2512)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="GM Milos Pavlovic (2511)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="IM Anna Zatonskih (2461)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="347" caption="IM Willy Hendriks (2447)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="IM Roeland Pruijssers (2442)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="IM Ali Bitalzadeh (2417)"][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="326" caption="IM Fred Slingerland (2389)"][/caption] Links Official website [2] Games in PGN [3] [1] http://www.chessvibes.com/contact [2] http://www.hsgopen.nl/ [3] http://www.chessvibes.com/games/intomart09.pgn

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

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.

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