http://www.chesspower.co.nz en-nz Chess Power Ltd 30 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422638 In the fifth game Anand and Gelfand played 17 moves of theory, after which White deviated from the previous 2009 game and seemed to get a small advantage. However Anand allowed his Israeli challenger to trade down and after ten more moves there was nothing left to play for. Full report with pictures and videos, as well as double analysis by GM Romain Edouard and IM Malcolm Pein. 020, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422638 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422639 He is the hottest chess talent – still a junior but number eight in the world. Italian/American GM Fabiano Caruana won his last two games in the Hipp Theater in Malmo, Sweden. His 2852 performance should contribute seven points to his FIDE rating. Hungarian GM Peter Leko celebrated his "comeback" with the second place and a respectable 2792 performance. 020, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422639 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422641 One thing must be said about the US championship, on top of the great organization and live coverage open to all, and that is that it is anything but boring. In round five, Nakamura had taken the sole lead, but Kamsky was not about to give up his title that easily, and in round seven caught up as the two lead by a full point. GM Ramirez beat Kaidanov in one of the craziest games of his career. 020, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422641 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422640 Is the Championship in Moscow, without a Russian player, an audience success? Can chess ever be that? Yes it can, says chief organiser Ilya Levitov, who has a 21st Century formula to bring chess to a wide audience – and make events pay for themselves. Compelling. We also get a tour of chess sets and pictures in the Tretyakov Museum 020, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/422640 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421553 Fabiano Caruana is number eight in the world. With two wins and a draw, and a 2940 performance, he has taken the lead in the 20-year jubilee of the Sigeman Chess Tournament. In second place is Sweden's most interviewed chess player, dredlocked Nils Grandelius, who is known for Grandelius innovative playing style. The dredlocked GM is totally fearless, as his games in Malmö show. 020, 13 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421553 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421554 Although the second game failed to develop the tension that might have led to a decisive victory, it did answer an important question: what did Anand have planned as his main black weapon? Against Topalov it had been the Grünfeld, then the stultified Catalan. This time the Semi-Slav was chosen, though it developed into a calm position that ended in a draw. 019, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421554 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421555 After eight rounds WIM Meri Arabidze, rated 2337, was in the lead, a full point ahead of top seed Bela Khotenashvili, 2490. In round nine the two clashed and Bela beat Meri, who went on to draw and then lose a game. Bela on the other hand won and drew, so that on the final scoreboard she was the sole winner and 2012 Georgian Women's Champion. 019, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421555 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421410 It is perhaps symptomatic of chess players more reared on swiss opens than round robins, but whatever the reason, even the presence of world top players such as Nakamura and Kamsky have not changed the fact that nearly all players have at least one win. Nothing is decided yet in this event with live video GM commentary, and beautiful online coverage. 019, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421410 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421412 Today is the first game of the title match between Anand and Gelfand (13.00 live on Playchess.com), so the sophisticated kibitzer should exercise calculating long variations. In this position the liquidation sequence 14...Nxe5 15.dxe5 Bxe5 16.Nxd5 Bxa1 17.Qxa1 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Qxg7 leads to ... A)... advantage for White since the rook h8 drops; B)... advantage for Black after 19...Bh3; C)... an unclear position. 019, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421412 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421413 The World Chess Championship was opened in the Tretyakov Gallery on Thursday in spectacular style and with plenty of prominence. There was the playing of anthems, speeches by dignitaries, and the drawing of colours – Anand will play white in the first game. But the highlight is the musical part of the evening, which includes a pre-teen pianist whom we shall call the Magnus Carlsen of Music. 019, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421413 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421411 In the most anticipated match of the year, the World Championship got under way with Vishy Anand against challenger Boris Gelfand. It was neither the cataclysmic opener of his match against Topalov in 2010 nor a dull draw, though draw it was. The game was a fascinating Grünfeld, which has been summarised for us by IM Malcolm Pein. 019, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/421411 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420594 When Jacques-Marie Pineau, chess enthusiast and trainer in the emerging western-chess nation of Japan, invited grandmaster Alexander Chernin to take part in a good-will tour, which involved lectures and simultaneous exhibitions in a country mainly fascinated with Shogi. Jacques-Marie starts his final report with a description of how a young Shogi talent can take to chess 019, 7 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420594 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420593 Lurking in the background, hiding their identity, they seem mysterious, magical, beautiful. At first they observed the game from a distance, but as centuries went by, women were drawn closer to the chessboard. Still, for ages they could not play chess in public and it took courage and determination to break into the male dominated game. GM Lubomir Kavalek takes a look at some who paved the way. 019, 7 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420593 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420596 Distant opposition; via the queenside to the kingside; the blockade; Caruana's king – these are the themes that crop up in the positions that our endgame specialist Dr Karsten Müller – of ChessBase Magazin fame – has extracted from the recent Italian Team Championships. His analysis and annotations will give your practical tournament rating a boost. Don't miss it. 019, 6 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420596 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420595 The second "Norsk Sjakkfestival" took place from 28th of April to 5th of May at Norway’s new “Chess Hotel” Quality Hotel & Resort Fagernes, with a central placement in Southern Norway, 2½ hours from Oslo airport. There were several events for players of different categories, from beginner to grandmaster. We received an informative report and some wonderful pictures by WFM Maria Bolshakova. 019, 6 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420595 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420161 This strong event is being staged in the beautiful Black Sea costal town of Anaklia – a name that translates to "Ana is crying" (explained in our report). The press officer of the championship, WIM Sopho Nikoladze, has sent us some lovely pictures and, thankfully, full captions that acquaint us to the players. We can only share half of them in our current report – the rest will follow soon. 018, 5 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420161 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/234127/420178 Easily the largest MC Cup to date, 65 avid and keen Chess players prepared to battle it out, challenge Masters, solve tough puzzles and enjoy a Sunday afternoon of Chess fun! 018, 5 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/234127/420178 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420127 It is astonishing that Japan, the third largest economy on the planet, with a population of 127 million, ranks at a paltry 92th on FIDE's chess world rankings, just behind Monaco. On the other hand the national version of chess, Shogi, is played by millions. Jacques-Marie Pineau has tried to rectify the situation by inviting a strong GM and trainer to motivated students – with resounding success. 018, 4 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420127 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420162 The 47th Capablanca Memorial started and as is customary includes both top Cuban players with elite foreign GMs. There are two tournaments, the Elite group as well as the Premier. The Elite brings top Latin American player Leinier Domínguez, his compatriot Quesada, followed by Ivanchuk, Nepomniachtchi, Laznicka, and Potkin. In the first round, Domínguez drew first blood. 018, 4 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420162 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420113 One of Africa’s major oil producers, Angola, is also becoming one of the world’s most interesting places to…play chess. There are enough beautiful and exotic locations to make it deserving of a detour to enjoy a once in a lifetime chess experience. With an absolutely 'insane' 8.0/9, Victor Bologan convincingly won the men's section. Illustrated report by WGM Alina L'Ami. 018, 3 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420113 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420114 This tourney attracted wide participation – 73 entries, from which the tourney judge GM John Nunn selected 22 prize winners and commendations. In a second instalment of new studies, selected by the tourney judge, Dr Nunn, in his wonderful explanatory style, presents some dramatic themes, and also looks at two predecessors to one of the prize winning entries. 018, 3 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420114 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420112 The Russian Youth Championships (under 10/12/14/16/18) were recently held in classical, rapid and blitz time controls. Aside from the obvious honor of being crowned national champion, at stake was also the right to represent Russian in the next World and European Youth Championships. Vladimir Barsky was on scene and took a number of lovely photographs. 018, 3 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420112 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420116 Prizes galore were given away at the multi-event chess festival in the quaint Malaysian city, a product of Islamic, Dutch, Portuguese and British influences through the ages. A look at the first emergence of international chess in a place that’s keen to put itself on the global chess map. Where it would be a colorful jewel of tropical beauty, as you can see in WGM Kruttika Nadig's big illustrated report. 018, 2 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420116 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420117 The student of Modern School in New Delhi won the 3rd Luc Open at salle Debeyre in Lille, France, on Sunday, defeating four GMs and drawing four. That brought Vaibhav Suri his third and final norm, making him India's 27th grandmaster, and at 15 years, 2 months and 21 days the 27th youngest in history. Vaibhav is being trained by Ukrainian GM Alexander Goloschapov. 018, 2 May 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/420117 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/419004 Special occasions in the chess world are often celebrated by chess problemists with a composition tourney. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of ChessBase we staged a commemorative tourney. A total of 73 eligible entries were received for this tourney, an excellent response. The tourney judge Dr John Nunn selected 22 prize winners and commendations. Today we bring you the top four. 018, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/419004 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/419005 Levon Aronian again opened with the unusual (for him) 1.e4 and Vladimir Kramnik played his pet Berlin Defence. The game remained fairly balanced, with Kramnik waiting for a chance to strike. And strike he did, with an exchange sacrifice on move 31 which almost won him the match. It was only time trouble that saved his Armenian opponent. 017, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/419005 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/419006 Coming into the penultimate game tied at 2.5-2.5 Vladimir Kramnik deviated from game one on move eight, but his opponent Levon Aronian was well prepared with a quiet line in the Moscow Variation. The Armenian was able to equalise and offered a draw. But his Russian opponent pressed on and introduced some lively complications. At move 43 they repeated moves for a draw. 017, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/419006 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418443 The sortie 17.Ne5 (diagram) attacks the black queen which is tied to the defence of the Ne4, but also opens the diagonal to g2. What is the bottom line? White ... A) ... wins material B) ... loses material C) ... gets checkmated 017, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418443 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418353 The fourth game of the Zurich Chess Challenge, another Berlin Defense, ended in a draw before the prescribed minimum of 30 moves or three hours. In such cases Swiss law – well, the match rules – prescribe that a rapid game be played, which is not rated or counted in the final score. This exciting game was won by Levon Aronian with the black pieces. 017, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418353 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418354 We know he is the strongest in the world, but did you know this was true about rock-paper-scissors? Magnus Carlsen was on the Colbert Report (pronounced Coll-bair Re-por) last night, and after obediently answering the chess questions was challenged by the host to a best-of-three in the well-known hand game. The chess prodigy won convincingly with a perfect 2-0 score. 017, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418354 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418149 Specifically: GMs Ni Hua, Baadur Jobava, Mikheil Mchedlishvili, Normunds Miezis and Sandipan Chanda, from four different countries (China, Georgia, Latvia and India). Their performances ranged from 2770 to 2709, with all standing to gain rating points in the next list. Our final report from this interesting tournament in the UAE provides results, games, pictures and video. 017, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418149 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418355 On move eleven Levon Aronian sacrificed his queen – and it didn't seem to be preparation, as the opening choice by Vladimir Kramnik was very offbeat – a Scotch Four Knights, something he had never played before. He refuted the very dangerous looking attack of Aronian with precise calculation and went on to win an unusually exciting game – for which we bring you extensive commentary. 017, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418355 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418150 For a European, few things could be more adventurous than a trip to Africa, yet nations such as Angola organize events including a women's tournament, with such generous conditions that any preconceived notions against it are soon forgotten. This is why it has grown to attract as many as nine grandmasters such as Viktor Bologan and Sergey Tiviakov. A pictorial report by WGM Alina L'Ami. 017, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418150 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418151 The build-up to the Anand-Gelfand world championship is in full swing. There is now an official website, and a couple of press releases have been issued. The CHESS editor John Saunders takes stock of the two players, their careers, rating development, scores against each other, their repertoires, and their chances of winning. John even predicts the openings and the character of the winner. 017, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418151 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418152 White is clearly on the ropes, however, if Black tries to solve the position by tactical means, the queen on h6 could prove the saving factor. In concrete terms - the immediate strike 39...Rxf3+ after 40.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 41.Kg2 leads to what? A) victory for Black B) equality/perpetual check C) advantage for White 016, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/418152 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416284 The final rounds of the Bundesliga were no less dramatic than the Russian Team Championship whose final rounds played the same weekend. The leader was top-rated Baden Baden, but they suffered an unexpected setback when their top board, Viswanathan Anand, lost to an inspired Sergey Tiviakov. Nevertheless, the team held strong in the last round and took the title. 016, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416284 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416291 The Russian Team Championship lived up to its promise of returning stars, top competition, and possibly some brilliancies. While the top teams brought in big guns to spearhead their ambitions, Tomsk-400 struck gold with a brilliant Sergey Karjakin on board one and 2896 performance. In second was St. Petersburg, with Sergei Movsesian constantly making the difference. 016, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416291 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416292 The Japanese chess variant Shogi is the most popular board game in the country. In recent years some of its greatest contemporary champions have started taking up chess, and two intersting experiments were recently conducted: a top GM played a chess simul against two Shogi masters, and the top Shogi champion a three-board Shogi handicap against chess masters. 016, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416292 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416294 Garry Kasparov is on the roll. Apart from his political activities in Russia he is travelling around the world to actively promote chess in schools. He is also completing a book with a very startling thesis (in our times technical innovation has ground to a halt). And he has spoken about historical chess rating records in a lengthy telephone interview with an Estonian newspaper. 015, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416294 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416293 With so much to see and do in her stay in Tunisia, Alina L'Ami found herself taking a philosophical look on issues such as time and learning to seek the brighter side of life. This was made easy by an extremely generous people and country that has so much to offer. In part two of her report, she shares the rewards of learning to adapt in her unusual trip. 015, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416293 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416295 The white pawn e4 is hanging, yet its colleague on g6 radiates danger. Which continuation is recommendable for Black? A) 37...Bxe4 (38.Qc7) B) 37...Qxe4 C) neither nor, the pawn is poisoned 015, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/416295 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414790 The next World Championship match is just a month away, and the players, World Champion Vishy Anand and Challenger Boris Gelfand are winding down their preparations. The latter, who lives in Israel, took time to speak to the press and assess his chances in the match. Gelfand also gives players some general advice on the use of computers. Video interview. 015, 9 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414790 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414789 The sixth edition of Agzamov Memorial, aka Tashkent Open, recently took place and attracted players from fourteen countries and sixteen grandmasters, including one over 2700. Dedicated to the first Uzbeki grandmaster, Georgy Agzamov, also known as the nightmare of top GMs who even beat Anand in an all-day blitz match, here is a large illustrated report by Jamshid Begmatov. 015, 9 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414789 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414791 Like everyone else in the chess world you probably know the terrors of the clock. But why do people spend too much time searching for a specific move? Are they striving for perfection or is it just indecision? Swedish scientist Patrik Gränsmark, who recently studied the effect of facing an attractive opponent, turns his attention to time trouble. Help him with his research and win $500. 015, 8 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414791 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414792 It's a rapid chess knockout event with absolute world-class players. In a blitz Armageddon tiebreak game player A chooses the Petroff with the black pieces, and on move four he falls into a deep think – for almost two minutes! Can you guess who the player was – hint: one of the fastest in the world – and how the game ended? Watch this exciting Easter video with wonderful commentary. 015, 8 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414792 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414793 With three rounds to spare, Ding Liren was in the lead, and his only real rival was 17-year-old Yu Yangyi, whom he faced and held in round nine. 19-year-old Liren won with 8.0/11, making him the youngest player to achieve a hat trick. Yu Yangyi came in second and Ni Hua came third. In the Women's championship WGM Huang Qian won the title on tiebreak. Report with GM commentary. 014, 7 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414793 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414794 Following a double exchange sacrifice, White had just blocked her opponent's threats in the d-file with 22.Bb3-d5 (diagram) and now was ready to play 23.Qh6. What is the best defence for Black against this? A) 22...Kf8 B) 22...Qd6 C) 22...?? 014, 7 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414794 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414418 Hawaii is generally off of the chess radar. It’s not home to any GMs or IMs, although there is one FIDE Master and a few National Masters. Rated events are few and far between. In truth, many of Hawaii's players get in more rated chess on the U.S. Mainland (mostly at the big opens in Las Vegas or national scholastic events) than at home in Hawaii. Pictorial report by Beau Mueller. 014, 4 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414418 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414417 It is a sign of the times that a national championship as strong as that of China has four teenagers out of eleven players, two of whom are in the clear lead. 19-year-old Ding Liren is close to winning his third title, followed closely by 17-year-old Yu Yangyi, whom he faces in the next round. During the rest day, Hou Yifan gave a simul, interview, and even had a statue inaugurated in her honor. 014, 4 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414417 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414419 All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots below are from recent events. Show you can find these shots that shocked. 014, 3 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/414419 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412756 White has just thrown his strongest piece into the attack with 18.Qh5 (diagram), whereupon 18...hxg5? now would obviously be suicidal. Instead, what is the best defence for Black? A) 18...Bf6 B) 18...dxe3 C) 18...Bxg5 19.hxg5 dxe3 013, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412756 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412757 The second seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who lost a game owing to the "zero tolerance" rule yesterday, today defaulted by breaking the "Sofia Rule", which does not allow draw offers to be made before move 40, and always through the arbiter. A second game, Baron-Safarli, was similarly defaulted. Mamedyarov quit the tournament and will not be playing in the remaining rounds. What a mess. 013, 30 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412757 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412758 Chess tournaments are not just about moves and norms, trophies and prize sums. When a very dedicated sponsor and organiser like Kamel Meddeb takes it into his mind to stage a big event in Tunisia, and concentrates on making all participants feel good about it, you get something culturally enjoyable as well, as our roving reporter Alina L'Ami shows us in this big pictorial report. 013, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412758 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412457 After numerous protests about the scheduling of the next Candidates Tournament – in October, in the middle of the high season of chess – FIDE and its new organiser Andrew Paulson have relented and moved the Candidates to March 2013, where it will clash with nothing. For a second time Magnus Carlsen, who is intimately affected by the decision, was surprised – this time pleasantly so. 013, 28 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412457 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/234127/412259 In our largest MC Cup by far, old hands dominated the leader board with a few new-comers joining the ranks of the Elite. 013, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/234127/412259 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412460 Mashhad is known as the city of Ferdowsi (940–1020), the Iranian poet and author of Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”), which is considered to be the most important work in Persian literature. Ferdowsi also loved chess, and wrote poetry about its emergence. In his honor, the 2nd Ferdowsi International Chess Open was recently held. 16-year-old FM Nima Javanbakht has the report. 013, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412460 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412459 In one month and 13 days the opening ceremony of the World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and his challenger Boris Gelfand will be opened, in the world famous Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The event now has its official web site, where you can find out all about the players, the venue, sponsors, rules and the schedule. Take a look. 013, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412459 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412458 The Icelandic-Norwegian battle over the origin of the famous (infamous?) Lewis Chessmen – a collection of chess pieces, handcrafted in the 12th century – has been waging for almost two years now. The Norwegian critic of the Icelandic theory, Morten Lillören, has sent us final remarks. With it we close our discussion of the subject, which may be continued in archeological and historical journals. 013, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/412458 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411717 Born on October 10th 1945 Yuri Razuayev was one of the internationally renown players of the 1970s and 80s, a force to be reckoned with at any tournament – but also an enormously respected figure as a coach and an author. After a protracted illness Razuvaev died yesterday at 18:00h Moscow time. We bring you a short review of his career and a eulogy by Boris Gulko. 012, 22 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411717 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411718 This event, with 300 players, 15 of whom are rated above 2700, is taking place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from March 20th to 31st, 2012. The zero tolerance rule is in force and draw offers are forbidden before move 40. In round one our attention was focussed on two young stars, top seed Fabiano Caruana, 19, and fourth seed Anish Giri, two years his junior. Annotations by GM Alejandro Ramirez. 012, 21 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411718 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411721 The University of Texas at Dallas is known for many reasons. It has a fabulous engineering department, backed by Texas Instruments, and its Arts & Technology department works with companies that range from Blizzard to Zynga and Dreamworks, but its pride and joy is its chess team. Their GM Invitational made Conrad Holt America's newest GM. Report by GM Alejandro Ramirez. 012, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411721 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411719 The Reykjavik Open 2012 took place from March 6–13, and our playing correspondent WGM Alina L'Ami sent us a number of beautiful reports from the Icelandic capital. She was obvious so enthralled by the Nordic country, its people and landscape, that she has written one more massively illustrated report. It is filled with a yearning to go back to Reykjavik next year. 012, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411719 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411398 She already won the title in the classical time controls, now Russian IM Valentina Gunina added the Blitz title to it. In the final round she was able to defeat former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanov 2-0 and overtake the leading Elisabeth Pähtz. The German IM will remain in Turkey, since she has signed a contract to train young talents. Big pictorial report. 012, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411398 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411396 A fortnight ago we brought you a report on Harold van der Heijden, who had collected 76,132 studies in an electronic database. At the end of the story there was a study by the Dutch endgame expert himself – for you to solve. Simple and elegant it is not quite easy to calculate. Harold explains the solution and tells us about a GM who took just seconds to give the main line. 012, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411396 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411397 The Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand is almost totally occupied these days with his preparations for the match of his life against World Champion Vishy Anand in May. Nevertheless even in such a busy and tense period he still finds some time to support the intensive chess life of his hometown of Rishon-Lezion. Report by IM Yochanan Afek with a inspiring video chess in the kindergarten. 012, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411397 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411399 In the semifinals of the The Extreme Chess Championships, a made for TV competition, Justus Williams broke Kassa’s own record for the youngest African-American master in history faces Duke University student Kassa Korley in the semi-finals. The second semifinals match featured poker player Alex Barnett and Stanford student, Elliott Liu, in a spectacular attack. 012, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/411399 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410906 The two-day European Women's Rapid Chess Championship saw two Russians on the winners' rostrum: GM Tatiana Kosintseva won with 9.0/11 points, followed by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and German IM Elisabeth Pähtz, both with 8.5/11 points, but Kosteniuk taking Silver on tiebreak points. We bring you pictures and highlights. 011, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410906 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410812 In this position White played 35.Bh5, planning after 35...Rxh6 36.Bxf7 to activate her bishop and open lines against the enemy king. How should Black continue now? A) 36...Rxh1 B) 36...g4 C) 36...Rf6 Two losers, one winning move! 011, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410812 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410815 Angie's Diary is an online writing magazine and resource to allow published authors and aspiring writers to be read, published and sell more books. The site is interesting because there are a number of original articles on chess. Yesterday there was one on Judit Polgar, written by the English Professor Andrew J. Sacks. 011, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410815 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410814 All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots are from Cappelle-La-Grande. Will you be crowned in this contest? 011, 15 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410814 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410425 It was a thrilling final round. The Slovenian GM Anna Muzychuk was in the lead by a full point, but suffered a defeat at the hands of the Russian IM Valentina Gunina. At the same time a super-aggressive game by Tatiana Kosentseva allowed her to join the top group with 8.5/11 points each. Gunina won the title on tiebreak. 011, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410425 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410426 Nairobi Chess Club continues to make waves in African chess. In 2009 it organized the first Internet match against the famous Wageningen Chess Club, which had Jan Timman on board one. This year the long awaited match against the Uganda National the match affectionately called “The Battle for Migingo”. Big and sometimes startling report by Kim Bhari. 011, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410426 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410432 The Dutch channel Geschiedenis 24 specializes in historic archive footage, which is provided on cable and satellite – but also on the Internet. G24 has happily dug into its chess holdings and put some remarkable material online. We start with a portrait of the former World Champion Max Euwe, which includes a segment with José Raúl Capablanca talking. A treasure trove. 011, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410432 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410428 We came this close to a major sensation. 18-year-old Hou Yifan, the reigning women's world champion, had a winning position against the tournament leader Fabiano Caruana, and would have finished the tournament in first place if she had steered the game to victory. But Fabiano has some special guardian angels and escaped with a draw and finished in sole first place himself. 011, 13 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410428 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410430 FIDE recently transferred the rights to its World Championship cycle to a company called Agon, an action that sent shock waves through the chess world. The man behind Agon is Andrew Paulson, and American born media entrepreneur working in Russia, who is not well known in the chess world. That changes radically now, since GM Raymond Keene sent us this very outspoken interview. 011, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410430 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410431 Just like the adult 4NCL, the junior edition brought teams of all ages competing over three weekends in two separate divisions. The J4NCL differentiates itself by offering free structured coaching between rounds for all the children, going through games on a one-to-one basis. This season’s coaches were GM Nick Pert, IM Andrew Martin and WFM Sabrina Chevannes. 011, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/410431 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409073 It was like Melody Amber, only a lot crazier! The first rapid and blindfold tournament in the country modelled on the famous Monte Carlo event successfully concluded in Pune, India last month, with the home team emerging exhausted winners. This historic women’s tournament held to raise awareness against the horrific social crime of female foeticide. 010, 9 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409073 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409074 After the invasion of his one knight on d7 White here had also sent out its colleague with 22.Ng5 (diagram), planning after 22...Nxg5 23.Qxg5 to take the diagonal b2-g7 under fire. This leads to what? A) victory for White B) equality C) advantage for Black 010, 9 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409074 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409075 As we know all too well: most of the strongest players in the world are male. In the past we have speculated on the reasons for this gender discrepancy, with vigorous reader participation. On International Women's Day Peter Zhdanov, who is married to a very strong female player, provides us with some valuable statistics, comparing men and women on a country-by-country basis. Eye-opening. 010, 8 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409075 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409076 This popular tournament, which has drawn 200 players (including 25 GMs and 20 IMs), is taking place from March 6 to 13 in the capital of Iceland. The venue is the spectacular, newly-finished Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, and the players have a direct view of the harbour and ocean. WGM Alina L'Ami, who is playing in the tournament, has send us this report after round three. 010, 8 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409076 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409078 The leader after four rounds, GM Marie Sebag, drew her next two games, while GM Thanh Trang Hoang won both of hers to tally up 5.5/6 points with a 2727 performance. Sebag, Gunina, Foisor and Cmilyte are half a point behind the Hungarian player (Hoang), and five more players with 4½ points behind them before the free day on Thursday. Round six report. 010, 8 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409078 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409077 Two simultaneous exhibitions on 39 boards – that is nothing unusual for a top grandmaster. But Alexei Shirov is willing (a) to take the black side of as many boards as the participants want; and (b) to do a four-hour lecture with his opponents on their games after the event is over. "That’s why we keep inviting him," writes John Upper in this must-read report filled with games and analysis. 010, 7 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/409077 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408336 For the first time in history a women's event will have a higher prize fund than the corresponding men's event. The European Women's Championships boast a total prize fund of 150,000 Euros, with a 20,500 Euro first prize in the classical section – that's 500 Euros more than the top male will receive in Plovdiv later this month. Round one in Gaziantep brought a number of surprises. 009, 3 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408336 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408214 If you looked at a study for five minutes, eight hours a day, it would take you over three years to go through all the endgame studies that Harold van der Heijden has collected in his database: 85% of all studies ever composed. He worked for fifteen years on the project, but also managed to have a family, do a doctorate, and work as a research scientist. Steve Giddins tells us his remarkable story. 009, 2 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408214 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408215 Black threatens 48...Qf3 followed by mate on g2. Which defence is the right one for White and gives him a clear advantage? A) 48.Kxh3 B) 48.Qa8 (Rd5) C) 48.Rxe4 009, 2 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408215 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408216 For GM Mateusz Bartel it was a hat-trick: the third title in a row, won in a very close contest in play-off games, and IM Iweta Rajlich won her title after drawing both play-off games on a better tiebreak score. So there was plenty of action and excitement right to the end. We bring you a big report with annotations by Iweta Rajlich and a beautiful pictorial by Sylwia Rudolf. 009, 2 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408216 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408217 In 1981 the Film Board of Canada approached Bobby Fischer, hoping for his participation in a feature-length documentary on the game of chess. Last week we published part one of research writer Camille Coudari's harrowing encounter with the reclusive former world champion. In part two Camille describes the religious background that caused Fischer to think and behave the way he did. 009, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/408217 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407553 In this position Black invited the white queen into his camp with 45...Rxd7 46.Dxd7. After that, he ... A)... stands with his back to the wall in view of the threats 47.Be5/Re7; B)... is better since a clever trick allows the exchange of queens; C)... wins on the spot. 009, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407553 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407552 For six months now the Kasparov Chess Foundation has been lobbying to get chess introduced into the curriculum of schools in Europe. With the help of the British charity Chess in Schools Garry Kasparov worked the members of the European Parliament, so far garnering 377 of the 380 signatures required. 009, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407552 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407554 The championships were won by WGM Cristina Foisor and GM Vladislav Nevednichy. The big final report of WGM Alina L'Ami is again under the shock of the most severe winter since 1954. The players got to the playing hall much the same way Robert Scott reached the South Pole – on sleds pulled by horses. But for some all that snow was pure delight. 009, 26 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407554 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407555 In this week's alliterative column our ChessBase Magazin expert Dr Karsten Müller explains four final instructive endgames from the recently ended Aeroflot Open. You will want to especially study the second example, which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about opposition but were afraid to ask. Take a break, learn and enjoy. It's free! 008, 25 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407555 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407040 It was an exciting finish: Swedish GM Pia Cramling was in the lead before the final round, in which she drew her game. Nana Dzagnidze won her final game to force a tiebreak. Both blitz games were drawn, and in the Armageddon the Georgian GM was able to win and take the title – together with the cool US $10,000 first prize. We bring you the big final report by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich. 008, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407040 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407039 In 1981 the National Film Board of Canada agreed to finance a feature-length documentary on the game of chess – one of the most ambitious projects of its kind ever undertaken. For the "Great Chess Movie" the producers decided to approach the reclusive world champion Bobby Fischer. Camille Coudari describes the harrowing encounter in this remarkable historical document. 008, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/407039 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406497 It is one of the building blocks of the chess problem: Black (the defending side) is forced to block flight squares in the king's field and thus enable mate. Our problem expert David Friedgood demonstrates this with a remarkable problem with a record of eight self-blocks – arguably the most perfect two-mover ever composed. There are also two self-block problems for you to solve. 008, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406497 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406498 When has chess last received this kind of world-wide exposure? CBS's famous 60 Minutes program last night aired some extraordinary HD footage, shot during the London Chess Festival, on the world's strongest grandmaster. Magnus comes across as likeable, focused and disarmingly honest. Watch the full 13-minute segment and some interesting bonus material CBS has placed at our disposal. 008, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406498 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406499 After the prestigious open, there was a first rate blitz tournament, a nine-round swiss with eighteen games of three minutes plus two seconds increment. The tournament attracted a number of top players such as Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich with its 25 thousand Euro prize fund. Game videos by Sergey Solokhin. 008, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406499 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406500 It is a typically fighting event, with only one of the first twelve games ending in a (hard-fought, 103-move) draw. This very strong rapid, which lasts from February 17th to 21st February, 2012, has a prize fund of US $40,000 and is organised by the Association of Chess Professionals and the Georgian Chess Federation. After two rounds four players lead with perfect scores. 008, 19 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406500 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406502 This Sunday the very influential CBS TV news magazine 60 Minutes will be turning its eyes – or rather: lenses – on chess, with a segment concentrating on the exploits and personality of Magnus Carlsen. To get people in the mood they are streaming a "60 Minutes Rewind" of a report produced in 1972 on the upcoming match between Boris Spassky and challenger Bobby Fischer. Don't miss it! 007, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406502 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406501 White is threatening a little something on h7. Now the sequence 23...Ne2++ 24.Kh2 Bg1+ 25.Kh1 Ng3+ ultimately yields Black ... A)... a material advantage; B)... a material disadvantage; C)... neither nor (equality). Extra question: Why does 23...Nf5+ 24.Kh2 Kg7 or 23...Nf3+ 24.Kh1 Kg7 fail? 007, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/406501 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/404852 Anton Korobov is in the lead, with 5.0/6 points. The Ukrainian GM stopped Fabiano Caruana in round four, but the young US/Italian star has since fought his way back into equal second place and will now be eying the top spot. Fabiano's performance is 2831 and in the current rating period he has already gained 33 points to reach seventh place in the world. 007, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.chesspower.co.nz/webapps/i/88770/216681/404852