Archive for November 18th, 2009

The World Blitz Championship at the Tal Memorial in Moscow has just concluded, with Magnus Carlsen first, Viswanathan Anand second, and Sergey Karjakin third. Carlsen dominated the field today and the three have led since yesterday. See the final table at ChessBase for full results.

The Tal Memorial Blitz event is for many the highlight of this wonderful tournament, which this year is among the strongest in history. Blitz has a visceral appeal that anyone can relate to with only a basic understanding of the game. Such events should receive wider publicity. Video is available online from the official site and was available live during the event. Numbering the days after the tournament’s fortnight, you can see video of the blitz event on Day 16, Day 17, and Day 18. It is interesting to watch even when the board is not very visible (though I recommend playing over the games at the same time on Chessgames or with the PGN). ChessBase covered the action also in their reports: “World Blitz Championship Day One: Anand Leads,” “Impressions from Day One in Moscow” (by Misha Savinov), “World Blitz Championship Day Two: Carlsen Takes Over,” “Trials and Tribulations of a Blitz Player,” “Carlsen Wins with Three-Point Margin,” “World Blitz Championship: Pictorial Impressions,” “World Blitz Championship: Close-Up Video Footage.”

U.S. resident Alexandra Kosteniuk finished at the bottom of the field, but she had some very strong scalps along the way, including wins over the top finishers Anand and Carlsen. The reaction of the two greats to losing was a study in contrasts, with the World Champion resigning amicably and shaking hands (despite having a significant time advantage that might have caused Kosteniuk some trouble, though she was easily winning) and predicted future champ Carlsen simply jumping up from the table and stalking off to sip his orange juice. He knew he had let a strong attacking position slip in time pressure, but his behavior was hardly gallant.

You can see video of the Anand – Kosteniuk game online at YouTube. If I am able, I will try to post some games with analysis. I was especially interested in Kosteniuk’s win over Carlsen and in Aronian’s handling of the black side of the Spanish in several games.

Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian chess phenomenon, has won this event with 31.0 points from 42 games, three points ahead of World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who himself finished three points ahead of the next-closest rival (Sergey Karjakin). Carlsen’s overall performance was 2894, Anand’s 2835. In fourth place we find Vladimir Kramnik. Results, games and statistics.

Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian chess phenomenon, has won this event with 31.0 points from 42 games, three points ahead of World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who himself finshed three points ahead of the next-closest rival (Sergey Karjakin). Carlsen’s overall performance was 2894, Anand’s 2835. In fourth place we find Vladimir Kramnik. Results, games and statistics.

Three minutes for the entire game, two seconds’ increment per move – this
fast version of chess produces its own brand of drama, with wonderful chances
and bitter tragedies going hand in hand. There was plenty of that at the World
Blitz Championship in Moscow – you can watch it all unfold on the Playchess
server. Here
are some highlights from day two.

Our electronic bimonthly has come a long way. “These days one gets approximately
three Gigabytes of high-quality content, and the twenty-four page booklet has
a sophisticated design worthy of standing next to other chess books in my bookshelf,”
writes Louis Lima. You can Order
CBM #132 now or first read the Chess
Cafe review, which is permanently archived in this
PDF file.

He has never been the world chess champion or the #1 ranked player (though
he has come close on both counts). But Vassily Ivanchuk is one of the world’s
greatest and most original players for the past 20 years. The Ukrainian GM is
the subject of the Playchess lecture
at 9 p.m. ET by FM Dennis Monokroussos. Before that IM Merijn van Delft discusses
current games. Schedule.