Archive for November, 2009

The big names – Gelfand, Gashimov, Svidler, Morozevich, Radjabov, Ivanchuk, Ponomariov, Grischuk, Jakovenko, Eljanov, Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Shirov – all are through after two rounds of play in Khanty-Mansiysk. Biggest upset so far: Chinese GM Yu Yangyi, 113th seed and rated 2527, knocked out 16th seed Sergei Movsesian, rated 2718. Day two report.

Paper Chess by Kell Black would make the perfect holiday gift for a crafty chess-playing friend or teen. There have been a couple interviews (see “APSU Artist Releases Book of Paper Chess Pieces” and “APSU Professor Engineers Paper Chess Set for Ivy Press in England“) with designer Black, an art professor at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, who talks about how he fell in love with paper foldouts when he built a paper medieval village with his father at the age of five. The difficulty with chess (as Stean and Emms will tell you) is keeping it simple:

“Any designer, any artist, any musician will tell you it’s always easy to add stuff,” [Black] said. “What’s really hard is to take away, to make it as simple as possible. That’s the challenge and that’s what made it so fun.”

For those looking for more of a challenge, there is a nice instruction set available online for making a “Birdbase Chess Set” (PDF) by Joseph Wu, who has also produced a YouTube video showing you how he can make it in 30 seconds (so long as you speed up the video tape!)

… versus an attack in the g- and f-file was featured in the following game, where after
30…f4 31.Qxg5 Rxg5 the queens were exchanged, but Black now was able to put the double threat 32…fxe3 and …f3 in the balance. What is your comment on this situation?
A) The passed pawns are not advanced far enough yet, so Black wins; 
B) with best play a positional draw is the logical consequence;
C) White remains victorious.
The solution is here,
but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

Ruslan Ponomariov, who picked up from his compatriot Ivanchuk and played in an anti-viral mask, was only able to draw against Essam El Gindy of Egypt, while Alexander Grischuk did the same against Indian IM Jha Sriram. Those were two of the handful of surprises on day one of the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. Illustrated report with games and results.

At the moment, ChessBase 10 is not generating the desired diagrams for my HTML pages. I suspect its “Green Marble” board is the problem. Never had any trouble with the “Cherry” board or my custom purple & gray job.

I’ll try to correct the situation early next week. Until then… sorry for the lack of visuals.

I have annotated Anand & Ivanchuk’s …Qd7 Winawer game from the recent World Blitz Championship. Hope you like it.

Java-replay
PGN

Notes to my 2nd round draw with Paul Corcoran have been posted on the Garden State Chess League blog.

“For the greatest part of my life I have been fighting the three K’s – Karpov, Kasparov and Kramnik,” says Vishy Anand on Moscow radio. “I have played no fewer than a hundred games with each of them.” The World Champion talks about the Russian school, chess as an Olympic sport, computer cheating and the world championship format. Interview with WGM Elmira Mirzoeva.

Suffering from withdrawal after Nanjing and the Tal Memorial? Do not worry, the next top tournament has just started. It is the FIDE World Cup in Central Russia, a seven-stage knockout with 128 players in the starting ranks and a total prize fund of US $1.6 million. The event is an integral part of the World Championship Cycle 2009-2011. Participants and schedule.

On Sunday, November 22nd, the Westfield Chess Club will be hosting a 4-round, G/30 tournament. It will be their 500th event at the Westfield YMCA!

The entry fee is $30 for members; $40 for non-members. There is a $615 guaranteed prize-fund. For more details, go to the club’s website.

Yaacov Norowitz & David Pawlowski were clear winners in the top 2 sections at the Kenilworth Quads, which concluded last night. Gordon Agress and Bert Shiffman shared 1st in the other group.

3rd round results & final standings :

Quad 1

Mangion 0-1 Norowitz
Ferrero 1-0 Carrelli

1. Norowitz 3.0
2. Ferrero 2.0
3. Carrelli 1.0
4. Mangion 0.0


Quad 2

Wojcio 0-1 Pawlowski
Tomkovich 0-1 Sturniolo

1. Pawlowski 2.5
2. Tomkovich 1.5
3. Wojcio 1.0
3. Sturniolo 1.0

Quad 3

Shiffman 1-0 Renna
Ali 1-0 Agress

1. Agress 2.0
1. Shiffman 2.0
3. Ali 1.5
4. Renna 0.5

As promised, here are some games (9), in java-replay & PGN, plus the crosstables.

There is no joy in Jersey as the NJ Knockouts fell Wednesday night to their perennial rivals, the New York Knights, who have now been responsible for ending all three Knockouts seasons in the US Chess League. But with Kenilworth Chess Club champion Yaacov Norowitz playing for New York, our club will definitely be cheering on the Knights into their final match against the Miami Sharks (date to be announced).

I have annotated the games and posted them in a java replay page. You can also download my PGN file to do your own analysis.

Norowitz’s win over Sean Finn on Board Four looked like a foregone conclusion early on, even before it ended in mate (see first diagram below for an easy puzzle). But the other games were sharply contested and, at least on Boards One and Two, could have gone either way. On Board One, GM Joel Benjamin struggled with time pressure in his game after GM Georgi Kacheishvili turned the tables on his “opening surprise” Fantasy Variation against the Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3!?) with the equally surprising 3…Qb6!? But Benjamin definitely had the advantage for most of the game and probably missed a winning blow at move thirty (see second diagram below for a challenge). On Board Two, IM Dean Ippolito also had the advantage out of the opening against GM Pascal Charbonneau in a wild line of the Rubinstein Variation against the Four Knights (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Nd4! 5.Bc4 Bc5!? 6.Nxe5 Qe7!) Ippolito sacrificed a piece for a dangerous attack, prompting Charbonneau to sacrifice his Queen for counterplay. Ippolito definitely missed at least one stronger continuation that would have gained a clear advantage for Black, but eventually Charbonneau used his initiative to gain a clear edge and even a material advantage. Though Ippolito missed a beautiful line that would have forced a draw by perpetual check (see last diagram below), he eventually got a draw anyway. Board Three saw Mackenzie Molner playing a wild line of the Najdorf that Matt Herman clearly knew better. Eventually, only Herman had any attacking chances, but with the win secure on Board Four he appears to have decided not to take any chances and to play for an easy draw, which Molner, short of time, eventually offered himself.

Norowitz – Finn
White to play and mate in two.

Benjamin – Kacheishvili
White to play and win.

Charbonneau – Ippolito
Black to play and force a draw.

So the Jersey boys only have themselves to blame for the loss, especially considering that they had draw odds. Better luck next year. And “Go Norowitz and the Knights!” Let’s hope they don’t have to play on the Sabbath!

Related Links

• Knights Move Past New Jersey to League Championship by Irina Krush
• Charbonneau – Ippolito wins Game of the Week
• NJ Knockouts Blog
• US Chess League News
• US Chess League

Viktor Korchnoi is an all time great of chess. He fought two world title matches against Anatoly Karpov and generously replayed a match he had won by default against Garry Kasparov. In December you can hear Korchnoi comments at the Chess Classic or play him in a simultaneous display. To get you in the mood tournament director Malcolm Pein has annotated a recent Korchnoi brilliancy.

Some watched it live in the GUM mall in Moscow. You probably followed the action
on Playchess, perhaps with webcam images
from the official site running as well (they had a strange two-minute lag to
the game moves). Now you have a chance to see highlights of the World Blitz
Championship close up in video with a JavaScript
replay board. A unique experience – you don’t want to miss it!

“I fell ill,” the winner of the super-strong 2009 Tal Memorial tournament reveals. “But for some reason I achieved my best results when I had to take tablets to control my temperature.” Vladimir Kramnik speaks about his chances in the Candidates tournament, the cooperation Carlsen-Kasparov, and Anand’s chances in Sofia. We have added a brief Aronian statement to this Sport Express interview.

“Until recently I was a schoolboy,” says a candid Magnus Carlsen, “I am not very accustomed to rigid, hard and painstaking work. Only by working with Garry Kasparov have I become aware of just how important it is.” The 18-year-old winner of the 2009 World Blitz Championship, and the inofficial world number one player, gives credit where it’s due in this Vremya (Time) interview.

It was a spectacular event, a three-day frenzy of blitz chess, with World Champion Anand finishing three full points ahead of the field – and one Magnus Carlsen, 18-year-old youth from Norway, three points ahead of him. Oh the excitement! We brought you the results and games of the third and final day. Here now is a photo report by Misha Savinov.

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.

Yesterday World Champion Vishy Anand was leading Magnus Carlsen by two points, today the Norwegian caught and overtook his Indian friend, finishing with 21.0 points from 28 games, with just two draws on his account. Both lost a game to Alexandra Kosteniuk. Anand is now second, one point behind, followed by Sergey Karjakin, 1.5 points below Anand. Results, games and statistics.

The Tal Memorial and the World Blitz are tremendously exciting events, followed with great enthusiasm by fans all over the world. But both have been characterised by an unusual dearth of pictures on our news pages. Put it down to the flu. But with our photographers recovered we can return to normal reporting and present you with a big photo report by Misha Savinov.