Archive for January, 1970

As I mentioned some time ago, PowerBlogs is shutting down, permanently, on November 30, so I’ve had to pack my bags and find new lodgings. The new location is here,…

While today’s games weren’t as impressive as yesterday’s, they had their moments. Even so, the players ended the round where they started the tournament: in a ten-way tie for last place….

But very good draws! Carlsen-Kramnik in particular was a thriller, but Morozevich-Leko had its high points, and none of the other games could be described as dull. If the play continues…

Every so often ChessVideos viewers will submit games or questions for discussion, and the resulting shows are often especially valuable. It’s important to see master and grandmaster play – to see…

Thanks to the many readers, who have already provided them in the notes to this post. For those who aren’t comment-browsers or are brand new to this site, here’s what…

Sergei Zhigalko led or co-led from round 4 all the way to the finish, but despite this it was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who won the World Junior Championship title on tiebreaks. From…

The participant list looks like this:…

Tomorrow, Magnus Carlsen makes his debut as a 2800 in the Tal Memorial, and it’s not much of an exaggeration to say he has taken the chess world by storm. Although…

The only drama there would be in the Anand-Karpov match was whether Anand would exceed Kasparov’s 3-1 ratio against Karpov, and the answer is that yes, he did. Anand won 2-0…

Yesterday I offered this position, from a 1944 battle between future world champion Mikhail Botvinnik and one Abram Khavin:…

And yes, it’s the usual suspects. Once again, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Sergei Zhigalko are tied for first, both with 9/11. Zhigalko only drew with Andreikin, but Vachier-Lagrave beat Alex Lenderman (darn…

Those are two different ratings: the “real” ones are the ones that count, those of the international chess federation (FIDE). The live ones are those generated by 2700s and up on…

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Here’s the position after White’s 23rd move in the game Botvinnik-Khavin, USSR Championship 1944:…

And it wasn’t even that close!…

The first two games of the Anand-Karpov rapid match are now history, and they’ve gone about as one would expect: Anand won with White, then drew with Black. Games 3 &…

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Yes indeed: this is shilling, but for a reason: I’m now one of ChessLecture.com’s video presenters. It is a site requiring subscription, but with it you have full access to…

For almost the entire tournament, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Sergei Zhigalko have been tied for first, and it’s still true after round 9. The former defeated David Howell and the latter Li…

And this is largely thanks to Daniel Stellwagen, who shockingly lost a drawn rook ending to Gashimov in the sole decisive game of the Azerbaijan-Netherlands match. As Russia could only draw…

On Saturday, world champ Viswanathan Anand begins a rapid match with Anatoly Karpov, but I don’t understand all the details. The time control is 15′ + 3″, and they will first…

In the European Team Championship, Russia defeated Armenia (2.5-1.5) and Azerbaijan beat Poland (3-1), and so they are tied going into the last round. Russia leads on tiebreak (the total…

There is a thread where viewers can post games on the ChessVideos.tv website, and from time to time I present a show looking at the best games and most…

In the battle between first-place Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Armenians came out on top, 2.5-1.5. That, together with Russia’s win over Georgia, created a three-way tie for first place: Russian, Armenia,…

There were a lot of draws on the top boards, including a perfect(ly dull) four for four in the Russia-Azerbaijan match. As a result, Azerbaijan remains in clear first with 11…