Chess in the Polar Circle – Kurnosov wins Arctic Challenge

Posted by ChessBase - August 17, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments For the third time the Tromsø Chess Club staged an International Open in the Arctic Circle. It ran from August 2nd to 10th 2008, with sky high prizes, by Norwegian standards (total prize fund 11,000 Euros). The venue is spectacular, the atmosphere warm and generous. And the place is full of Carlsens: Magnus, Henrik, Sigrun, Ellen, Ingrid and Signe. Part one of our big pictorial report.

 


Tal Memorial: Kramnik, Morozevich, Ivanchuk win

Posted by ChessBase - August 17, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments The annual Tal Memorial has started, in the heart of Moscow, a round robin with ten players averaging 2745 Elo points. In the first round there was plenty of fighting spirit and action. Vladimir Kramnik beat his old nemesis Alexei Shirov, Alexander Morozevich beat Evgeny Alekseev and Vassily Ivanchuk beat Gata Kamsky. Express report.

 


Chess in the Arctic Circle – GM Igor Kurnosov triumphs

Posted by ChessBase - August 17, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments For the third time the Tromsø Chess Club staged an International Open in the Arctic Circle. It ran from August 2nd to 10th 2008, with sky high prizes, by Norwegian standards (total prize fund 11,000 Euros). The venue is spectacular, the atmosphere warm and generous. And the place is full of Carlsens: Magnus, Henrik, Sigrun, Ellen, Ingrid and Signe. Part one of our big pictorial report.

 


Tal Memorial 01: Kramnik, Morozevich, Ivanchuk win

Posted by ChessBase - August 17, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments The annual Tal Memorial has started, in the heart of Moscow, a round robin with ten players averaging 2745 Elo points. In the first round there was plenty of fighting spirit and action. Vladimir Kramnik beat his old nemesis Alexei Shirov, Alexander Morozevich positionally outplayed Evgeny Alekseev and Vassily Ivanchuk played a crusher against Gata Kamsky. Round one report

 


Adams wins second successive Staunton Memorial

Posted by ChessBase - August 17, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Michael Adams justified his position as the top seed in the 2008 Staunton Memorial, by winning the tournament for the second successive year. He can be justifiably happy with his result, as can all six of the Dutch players, who dominated the team event once again. Bob Wade, who is in his late 80s, battled wonderfully, but ultimately came up empty-handed. Final report.

 


Women’s World Championship: Georgian players withdraw

Posted by ChessBase - August 16, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments "The Organizing Committee is deeply disappointed and bewildered by the attempts of some circles to break up the competition," writes Chairman Arsen Kanokov. "If the world championship is not shifted to another country, it will be impossible for the Georgian chess players to participate," writes the Georgian Chess Federation. Background information and a WSJ article by Garry Kasparov.

 


Staunton Memorial: Adams lead by a full point

Posted by ChessBase - August 16, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments We repeat the previous Staunton Memorial headline. Top British GM Michael Adams drew a highly complicated game against Peter Wells in round eight, and then beat Jonathan Speelman in round nine to score 7.0/9 point, one more than his nearest rival Loek van Wely. Jan Timman follows with 5.5, behind him Short and Smeets with 5.0 each. Rounds 8-9 reports.

 


Rising Stars: Carlsen, Karjakin, … who’s next?

Posted by ChessBase - August 16, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments On Wednesday the third NH Chess Tournament starts in Amsterdam. It pits five rising stars against five veteran grandmasters. For the highest scoring youngster there is a special pirze: he will be invited to the 2009 Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament in Nice, in the luxury of the Cote d’Azur. Both Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin started that way. Tournament details.

 


Staunton Memorial: Peace, self-pampering and back to battle

Posted by ChessBase - August 15, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Round six of the Staunton Memorial saw a major outbreak of peace, with five draws out of six games. But then came the free day, which in the case of our reporter was filled with mushrooms sauteed in pink champagne, some exquisite 1975 port in solid silver, monogrammed goblets, and Wagner's "Ring Cycle". Life does not get a great deal better, says Steve Giddins, in his round 6-7 reports.

 


Sochi R11+12: more fighting chess, Aronian leads

Posted by ChessBase - August 13, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Four games decided in round eleven, with the others well fought; then three unmemorable draws, two hard-fought ones and one beautifully instructive strategic win by Peter Svidler in round twelve. The Second FIDE Grand Prix in Sochi nears its end. Aronian is in the lead, but can still be caught or overtaken. Games on Playchess.com. Note: the final round starts an hour earlier.

 


Ilyumzhinov: Do not mix politics and sport

Posted by ChessBase - August 13, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments In reply to a recent appeal by a number of participants to move the forthcoming World Chess Championship from Nalchik to a safer location, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov writes: "In the current situation I appeal to all not to mix politics and sport, and not to involve FIDE and the world chess community into political, territorial and other disputes." Statement by Ilyumzhinov.

 


Arik Braun, Harika lead in Junior World Championship

Posted by ChessBase - August 13, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments This event in Gaziantep, Turkey, has become very exciting, with two clear leaders two rounds before the end. German IM Arik Braun is being chased by GMs Howell, Safarli, Rodshtein, Negi and others. In the girls' section India's Harika Dronavalli is half a point ahead of Ukrainian Mariya Muzychuk. Anything can happen in the final rounds. Giant pictorial report by Özgür Akman.

 


Sochi R13: Aronian wins Second FIDE Grand Prix

Posted by ChessBase - August 13, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Breaking news: Armenian GM Levon Aronian defeated Alexander Grischuk to take clear first in the Grand Prix tournament, finishing with 8.5/13 points and a performance of 2816. Second is Teimour Radjabov, who beat his main rival Sergey Karjakin with the black pieces. Kamsky beat Navara, two games are still under way. Express report.

 


Rybka vs Meyer – pawn and two move handicap match

Posted by ChessBase - August 13, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Before the rating system players were generally classified by the handicap a stronger player could give them. The chess program Rybka has a higher rating than any human, and recently it beat GM Roman Dzindzichashvili in a pawn and move handicap game. Would it be able to acquit itself similarly against an IM who got a pawn and two moves handicap? It would and it did.

 


Veteran Smyslov overwhelms the rising star of chess

Posted by ChessBase - August 12, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments 1971. Anatoly Karpov, 20, is on his way to the world championship – which he wins four years later. But on his way he encounters a future predecessor. Vassily Smyslov, 50, was the seventh world champion. The key encounter results in an overwhelming victory for the older man. In his Wednesday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us what is to be learnt form this game. Enjoy.

 


Sochi R10: fighting chess, five decisive games after rest day

Posted by ChessBase - August 11, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments It obviously did them good: the players at the Second FIDE Grand Prix Tournament in Sochi came back in a fighting mood. Two fighting draws and five decided games provided great entertainment for the spectators. After the dust had settled four GMs were in the lead, with three lurking half a point behind. We bring you results, videos and highlights from the games.

 


Appeal to FIDE: move the Women’s World Championship

Posted by ChessBase - August 11, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments "We express our worry about the current dangerous situation near Cabardino-Balkaria," writes a group of participants in the Women's World Championship scheduled to take placed from August 28th to September 18th 2008 in Nalchik, a city in the Caucasus region of southern Russia. The proximity to the Russian-Georgian armed conflict region is the reason. Open letter.

 


Staunton Memorial: Adams lead by a full point

Posted by ChessBase - August 11, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments This is Michael Adams' third appearance in the Staunton Memorial, and his cumulative score with the white pieces are 11.5/13! In this year's edition Adams is leading with 4.5/5 points and has displayed a stunning performance of 2886. Second is Dutch GM Loek van Wely with 3.5/5, followed by Smeets, Timman and Short with 3.0/5 each. 87-year-old Bob Wade still has to score. Rounds 3-5 reports.

 


Anand on how it feels to be an Indian sportsman

Posted by ChessBase - August 10, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments "In Mexico City, when I stood on the podium (after winning the World Chess Championship last year) and they played the national anthem, I did feel a lump in my throat," says Vishy Anand. "As the Olympics begin, I am keenly waiting to see my fellow colleagues stand on that podium with the Indian tri-colour." His wish was granted. Interview, with statistics and video impressions from Mainz.

 


Sochi R09: Wang Yue wins two, joins Cheparinov in the lead

Posted by ChessBase - August 9, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments After drawing all his games in the first seven rounds Chinese GM Wang Yue suddenly galvanised into action, beating Boris Gelfand (with the black pieces) in round eight and then the tournament leader Teimour Radjabov, who fell into 3-7th place. Wang joins Ivan Cheparinov in the plus two lead, with four rounds to go in this event. Sunday is a free day. Report after round nine.

 


Adams and Timman lead in Staunton memorial

Posted by ChessBase - August 9, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments The drawing of lots was conducted in the usual manner – by racing mechanical cars through an image of Garry Kasparov. In round one Adams demolished Smeets with the black pieces, in round two Nigel Short missed a win in one against Jan Timman, for which he would have won the Best Game prize, a chess set crafted from US Air Force weapons-grade aluminium. Round 1-2 reports.

 


Edward Winter’s Chess Explorations (7)

Posted by ChessBase - August 9, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Mr Jones, a bookshop owner, wants to stock only the very best chess volumes which are in print, and he has a headache. Not surprisingly, he feels overwhelmed by the flood of books on the market, so which are the very best in the various categories? The Editor of Chess Notes makes a few suggestions and invites further proposals from readers.

 


The Dzindzi – Rybka 3 Handicap Match

Posted by ChessBase - August 8, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Chess with material handicaps was played by Philidor, Staunton, Morphy and Steinitz. Particularly popular was “pawn and move”, with Black missing his f7 pawn. Naturally you find the grandmaster playing the handicapped side. But can a strong GM beat a computer when playing with the handicap pawn and move? Roman Dzindzichashvili tried it against Rybka 3.0. IM Larry Kaufman reports.

 


The Great ChessBase Simul Hunt (1)

Posted by ChessBase - August 7, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Last month we launched the Great ChessBase Simul Hunt, and many games have already been received from readers. A guest contributor, the German grandmaster and author Karsten Müller, has selected and annotated three of the most interesting games submitted so far, including a victory by Bobby Fischer in a 1962 simultaneous display in Denmark. Replay and enjoy the games.

 


Curacao 2008 – above and below the water

Posted by ChessBase - August 6, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Until the last round Spanish IM Luis Javier Bernal Moro led by a full point, with a GM norm in his pocket. Then came disaster in the final game and the first place was taken on tiebreak by GM Larry Christiansen. But not all the action was above the water. In Curacao people are preparing for underwater chess. During the test the players found the kibitzing stingrays quite disconcerting.

 


Sochi R06: Radjabov and Cheparinov lead in Sochi

Posted by ChessBase - August 6, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments For a while Ivan Cheparinov, the Bulgarian GM who assists Veselin Topalov, was in the clear lead. In round five he lost a wild and chaotic game to Teimour Radjabov, who also got a slightly lucky win against Boris Gelfand in round six. But Cheparinov bounced back with his own victory against Alexander Grischuk. Now Radjabov and Cheparinov lead in the FIDE Grand Prix. Round six report.

 


Sochi R07: Karjakin beatd Al-Modiahki, as bomb blast rocks Sochi

Posted by ChessBase - August 6, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments After slightly more than half the event 34 of a total of 49 games have ended in draws. That is a high 70 percent. White won 12 games (=24%) and Black three games (=6%). With his win Sergey Karjakin advanced into the group of seven players with 50% scores. Cheparinov and Radjabov lead. On Thursday a bomb blast rocked the city of Sochi, killing two and injuring 13. Round seven report.

 


Sochi R07: Karjakin beats Al-Modiahki, as bomb blast rocks Sochi

Posted by ChessBase - August 6, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments After slightly more than half the event 34 of a total of 49 games have ended in draws. That is a high 70 percent. White won 12 games (=24%) and Black three games (=6%). With his win Sergey Karjakin advanced into the group of seven players with 50% scores. Cheparinov and Radjabov lead. On Thursday a bomb blast rocked the city of Sochi, killing two and injuring 13. Round seven report.

 


History in the making at historical Simpson’s

Posted by ChessBase - August 5, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments "In the summer, an Englishman's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of chess", as Alfred Lord Tennyson almost said. For the past few years, August in London has meant international chess of a calibre rarely seen in England, and this year is no different. Next to Adams, Sokolov, Short and van Wely we see 87-year-old IM Bob Wade participating. Everyone's rooting for the octogenarian.

 


Vallejo vs Nepomniachtchi – two young lions in a display of ferocity

Posted by ChessBase - August 5, 2008 on 7:00 pm | In Chessbase News | No Comments Two of the strongest young players in the world today are Ian Nepomniachtchi and Francisco Vallejo Pons. Ian is 18, born in the same year as Carlsen and Karjakin; Paco Vallejo is a veteran at 25, and has scored wins over Anand, Kramnik and Topalov. In his Wednesday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at a dramatic encounter between the two. Do not miss.

 


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