Chess News

  • Kethikayan Murali – World U12 champion – In his own words
    It isn't every day that one receives a report by a young 12-year-old player, much less one who is already making waves as he is. Kethikayan recently compounded his youth tournament successes in India by winning the under-12 division at the World Youth Championships, and has just achieved a 2336 performance at the London FIDE Open.
    Posted: Tuesday 13 December 2011
  • London Classic Rd9: Kramnik wins! Nakamura is second, and Carlsen third
    Although it was almost certain that Kramnik would win the title by drawing with Aronian, which he did, pundits expected Carlsen to overcome Short and take second. Life had its own plans, as did Nakamura, since Carlsen could not break the Englishman, while the American shocked Adams with a King's Gambit, and won in a highly volatile position to take clear second.
    Posted: Monday 12 December 2011
  • SportAccord World Mind Games – Wang Hao and Kosteniuk and more
    The SportAccord World Mind Games is underway in Beijing, and is an agglomerate of popular intellectual games such as chess, go, bridge, draughts (10x10 checkers), and xiang-qi, that aims to popularize these activities, and of course teach them to all-comers, notably children. In the Rapid event, Wang Hao and Kosteniuk took the top honors.
    Posted: Sunday 11 December 2011
  • 5th Aquaprofit - Polgar Chess Day
    For the fifth straight year, Aquaprofit sponsored the Polgar Chess Day, a giant chess bonanza designed to promote chess through many activities, with a focus on children, celebrity presences and massive media coverage. The event is spearheaded by Judit Polgar herself, with the collaboration of her sisters Susan and Sofia.
    Posted: Monday 28 November 2011
  • Ashley in Guadeloupe – Caribbean Chess Tour of a GM
    GM Maurice Ashley, who in 1999 was the first African-American to attain the coveted title of International grandmaster of chess, has become an ambassador of the game. On his Caribbean Chess Tour, after visiting Martinique, he went on the incredible tropical island of Guadeloupe – and found a similar amount of enthusiasm for the game there.
    Posted: Monday 28 November 2011
  • A funny thing happened on the way to the tournament hall…
    Vassily Ivanchuk’s recent mugging in Sao Paulo shocked the chess world but it’s far from being the only mishap to befall a chessplayer on the way to or from work. It reminded Steve Giddins of some other off-board misfortunes in the past, from fire on the board (literally) to dog attacks and shootings. It's all in the latest issue of CHESS Magazine's Top Ten Greatest Chess Tournament Mishaps.
    Posted: Sunday 27 November 2011
  • Hou Yifan: The World Champion title did not change me
    At 14½ years she became the youngest female grandmaster in history; at seventeen she has already played in three world championships, losing one and winning two. She admits to a burning desire to become stronger in chess, but does not want the game to dominate her life. A day after her match in Tirana she the old and new world champion gave our colleagues this indepth interview.
    Posted: Saturday 26 November 2011
  • Perpetual?
    White has given two pieces to expose the enemy king and secure perpetual check. In the diagram position Black's 21...Kh5 wins against both 22.Bd1+ and 22.Qh3+. After 22.Qg7, however, ...
    A)... the tables are turned in White's favour;
    B)... Black wins anyway;
    C)... nothing has changed - drawn!
    Posted: Friday 25 November 2011
  • Tal Memorial R9 – Aronian, Carlsen tie for first; Carlsen wins on tiebreak
    Levon Aronian's dramatic win yesterday made serious ripples, as Vladimir Kramnik tried to cash in on what he expected to be a fragile Peter Svidler, but instead ended up losing. Magnus Carlsen once more showed his stuff when under last-minute pressure by beating Hikaru Nakamura in an opposite-colored bishops ending, snatching first on tiebreak.
    Posted: Friday 25 November 2011
  • Tal Memorial Rd6 – All drawn again, though not all dull
    One would be forgiven for bemoaning a third straight round with all draws, but those who were watching were anything but bored. Not all games were equally exciting, it is true, but the early queen sacrifice by Karjakin against Nepomniachtchi, or the nerve-wracking struggle between Svidler and Carlsen were alone worth the price of entry.
    Posted: Wednesday 23 November 2011
  • WWCC R06: Hou Yifan wins, takes two-point lead
    The sixth game of the Women's World Championship ended in time trouble. The Challenger Humpy Koneru was pressing in a basically equal position, but with time running out for both players is was the 17-year-old champion Hou Yifan who, in spite of a violent stomach-ache the night before, had the better nerves. With four games left she now has a commanding 4-2 lead.
    Posted: Monday 21 November 2011
  • Aeroflot Open – Invitations, regulations, events and prizes
    The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, one of the most popular tournaments in the world, will be held in from February 6 to 17, 2012 in a new venue: the Hotel Cosmos, one of the largest in Moscow, located in a beautiful park area 20 travelling minutes from Red Square. The total prize fund is 150,000 Euros, and it includes qualification places for the Dortmund Super Tournament.
    Posted: Monday 21 November 2011
  • Passed pawn duel
    Facing White's trump on d7, Black had just mobilized his own passed pawn with 26...e4-e3. After the reply 27.Rd1-f1 (diagram) he now can ...

    A)... resign;
    B)... liquidate into a roughly balanced position;
    C)... win on the spot.
    Posted: Monday 21 November 2011
  • Tal Memorial R5 – All games drawn, with firework displays
    For some time it seemed that the black pieces would again dominate a round. Nepomniatchtchi, Aronian and Carlsen all had a significant edge. However they were all unable to best their opponents. The five draws again do not betray the fireworks that occurred during the round. And speaking of fireworks, the only "short" draw of the round, Karjakin-Svidler, had enough of those to light up a stadium.
    Posted: Sunday 20 November 2011
  • Kavalek in Huffington: Joys of Chess: From Krabbé to Hesse
    Two books, one new and one a classic, bring us a a compilation of chess stories, biographical sketches, games and fragments with references to art and science. One, The Joys of Chess, is by a professor of mathematics, the other, Chess Curiosities, by a writer and cyclist. In this week's Huffington Post column GM Lubomir Kavalek gives us samples from both.
    Posted: Saturday 19 November 2011
  • Tal Memorial Rd3 – A black day for white
    In a day and age when the advantage of White has been compared by Valery Salov as being greater than being on serve in tennis, it is remarkable that with the very best players in the world, three out of five games ended in a win for Black, and even Carlsen's draw as Black against Kramnik was probably won in the final position.
    Posted: Saturday 19 November 2011
  • WWCC R03: Hou Yifan draws first blood
    Playing with the white pieces, the challenger Koneru Humpy of India got a good position from the opening, but she was not, in her own words, making good moves. The reigning world champion Hou Yifan from China, took heart (and a pawn on a2) and overran her opponent with a precision that belies her age. Hou now leads 2-1 in this ten-game match.
    Posted: Saturday 19 November 2011
  • Tal Memorial Rd2 – Carlsen beats Gelfand
    It was a combative round, and once again, Carlsen and Ivanchuk were right there in the mix of it. Ivanchuk played a hard endgame against Nepomniachtchi, but was unable to exploit his extra pawn. Carlsen once more played the most complex game of the round, and eventually beat Gelfand after mindboggling complications.
    Posted: Friday 18 November 2011
  • Tal Memorial Rd1 – A feeling of déjà vu
    It is a historic first with four players rated 2800 participating: Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, and Kramnik, followed by Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Nakamura, Gelfand, Svidler, and Nepomniachtchi. In the first round Kramnik lost to Nepomniachtchi, and while the top seeds failed to impress, Ivanchuk was also first to score, against Svidler.
    Posted: Wednesday 16 November 2011
  • WWCC R02: Humpy on the attack, Hou Yifan holds
    After being surprised in the opening, Hou Yifan forced simplifications into a drawish endgame. However, Humpy would have none of that! She pressed hard trying to create something out of nothing, and almost achieved it. However in the end it was impossible to take advantage of her opponent's weak king, and the game ended in another hard fought draw.
    Posted: Tuesday 15 November 2011
  • Women's World Championship starts in Tirana – first game drawn
    The match started with Koneru Humpy exerting tremendous pressure on the Chinese prodigy Hou Yifan right from the opening. Hou showed great resilience and patience, as she decided to defend to the point of sacrificing a pawn to reach a defendable endgame. Despite Humpy's persistence, the game was eventually drawn, but not for lack of fighting spirit!
    Posted: Monday 14 November 2011

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