http://gameknot.com/ World chess news digest by GameKnot.com, where you can play chess online! en-us Svidler-Jobava, European team chess championship, 2009. Black, to move, is under attack. How does he save himself? Our theme over the next few columns is defence – hardly a glamorous subject, and little discussed, but of course vital in chess. White has just played his knight into the middle of the board, heading towards Black's king, and the rook and the queen are also in powerful attacking positions. What does Black have in his favour? Not much. But he does have a material advantage, rook for knight and an extra pawn. This gives him a little hope: if Black survives the attack, he could find himself with a winning position. So let's concentrate on survival. First we ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12747;ext=1 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:58:41 GMT Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik won the flu-stricken Tal Memorial on Saturday. Playing more deliberately and sharply, the Russian grandmaster reinvented himself. He did not mind dwelling in complications and kept his cool in difficult situations. He withstood the last-round charge of Ukraine's Vassily Ivanchuk, last year's winner of the same chess event. Magnus Carlsen sneaked in a tie for second place by winning the last two games. The Norwegian grandmaster gained enough rating points to move into the world's top spot. The world chess champion Vishy Anand of India had a chance to tie for first with Kramnik, but lost in the last round with the white pieces to ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12738;ext=1 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:32:11 GMT Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France edged Sergei Zhigalko of Belarus to win the World Junior Chess Championship in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Each scored an undefeated 10 1/2 -2 1/2 in the 82-player tournament, the most prestigious age-limited chess event. Only players born in 1989 or later were eligible. Vachier-Lagrave, 19, earned the chess grandmaster title in 2005 and won the French championship in 2007. He entered the tournament as the top seed with a rating of 2718 (23rd in the world), but his triumph was hardly guaranteed in an upset-filled melee that included 16 other grandmasters, including six rated above 2600. Zhigalko, 20, was seeded third ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12735;ext=1 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:33:11 GMT In a wild and exciting final round, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, the former world chess champion, drew his last game to claim the 2009 Tal Memorial tournament title. Kramnik led from Round 6 on and finished with three wins, six draws and no losses. Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, Kramnik’s last round opponent, missed several chances to win and settled for a tie for second with Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who beat Peter Leko of Hungary. With his victory, Carlsen overtook Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to become the world’s top-ranked chess player. At 18, Carlsen is the youngest chess player to be No. 1. Viswanathan Anand of India, the world chess champion, was in second place before ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12723;ext=1 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:30:01 GMT Ten of the world elite are competing at Moscow's Tal Memorial, which ends today and is one of the strongest tournaments in chess history. But the winner in the chess event's first half was a flu virus which affected several grandmasters and encouraged a minimalist, cautious approach. Ukraine's Vasily Ivanchuk wore a face mask, and a high 80 per cent of the first five round games were drawn. The sickest chess player was Magnus Carlsen, 19, who had trained beforehand with Garry Kasparov and was expected to unleash some opening bombs in his campaign to become world No 1. But Norway's golden teen was close to defeat against Vlad Kramnik in the opening round and then ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12726;ext=1 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:45:34 GMT The chess world has a new No. 1 player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and he is only 18 years old — the youngest chess player ever to hold the rank. On Saturday, Mr. Carlsen beat Peter Leko, a Hungarian player now ranked No. 11, in the final round of a chess tournament in Moscow. Though Mr. Carlsen only tied for second in the tournament, his performance was good enough for him to edge out Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria for the top world ranking. Mr. Topalov, 34, did not compete in the tournament. Mr. Carlsen, who turns 19 on Nov. 30, is only the seventh No. 1-ranked chess player since the ranking system began in 1970. Garry Kasparov, the Russian former world chess champion ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12718;ext=1 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:52:42 GMT With one round to go in the Tal Memorial chess tournament in Moscow, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia holds a half-point lead over Viswanathan Anand of India, the world chess champion, and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine. Magnus Carlsen of Norway is alone in fourth after beating Ruslan Ponomariov in Round 8. Kramnik has held the lead since Round 6, despite being held to draws in the last two games. In Round 8, he launched a sacrificial attack against Peter Leko of Hungary, but Leko was never in any real danger and simply returned the extra material to achieve a balanced position, after which Kramnik forced a draw by perpetual check. Carlsen, the top seed in the chess tournament ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12712;ext=1 Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:36:18 GMT “Nobody told me there would be days like these, strange days indeed.” (John Lennon) Hikaru Nakamura is the reigning United States chess champion and ranked No. 24 in the world. He is one of the best chess players the United States has ever produced. As good as he is, it has probably been a very long time, if ever, since he played a game like the one he was involved in on Wednesday night. Nakamura was playing in the quarterfinals of the United States Chess League for the Seattle Sluggers and his team faced the Miami Sharks, who are led by Julio Becerra. Becerra is unquestionably a good chess player. He is a grandmaster and he is ranked No. 477 in the world among ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12702;ext=1 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:41:45 GMT The Tal Memorial, honoring the brilliant Latvian world chess champion, is underway in Moscow. Mikhail Tal (1936-1992) won the world chess title in 1960 and had great results throughout his playing career. But he is mostly remembered for the way he played. He enriched the chess world with incredible attacks and beautiful combinations, taking the element of risk to the edge. He was a wonderful storyteller who turned commenting on games into an art. It was a pleasure to work with him. The Tal Memorial, which ends Saturday, is called the "tournament of stars." By coincidence, the Soviets insisted on the same name 30 years ago for the tournament I organized in Montreal. It was ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12694;ext=1 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:57:00 GMT With convincing wins in Rounds 3 and 4, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, the former world chess champion, has taken the lead of the strong Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow. The current world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand of India, and Levon Aronian of Armenia are tied for second and third, a half point behind. Kramnik has always been known as a solid and very technical chess player who is loathe to take too many chances. But he has played enterprisingly in the memorial. In Round 3, he had Black against Alexander Morozevich of Russia, who is a creative and unpredictable chess player. The opening was a Nimzo-Indian Defense and Kramnik quickly equalized. But ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12688;ext=1 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:53:41 GMT More than 150 nations are affiliated to the global chess body Fide, yet team supremacy on the chess board is currently being fought out by two small Caucasian republics. In the process the pair have humilated their big neighbour Russia, for long the undisputed No1. When Armenia won the 2006 Chess Olympiad, the success was reckoned a surprise one-off. Then its squad retained the crown in 2008, sparking street celebrations in Erevan and the presidential plane home for the winning team. On both occasions the top-seeded Russians failed, as they had behind Ukraine in 2004. These results infuriated politicians and chess grandmasters in Azerbaijan, which has ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12677;ext=1 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:45:08 GMT In the 18th and 19th centuries, France was a center, if not the epicenter, of chess. Two of the greatest chess players of the era, Francois-Andre Danican Philidor and Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, were French, and the Café de la Régence in Paris was a gathering place for anyone who liked to play the game, including Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte. But as the game grew in popularity worldwide, France’s place in the chess hierarchy fell. Though the Russian-born Alexander Alekhine, who was the world chess champion from 1927 to 1946, became a French citizen in the 1920s and played for France in the first Chess Olympiads, he did not inspire ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12675;ext=1 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:09:16 GMT Day 2 of the Tal Memorial chess tournament in Moscow brought another round of draws as once again none of the competitors was able to score a win. As on Day 1, five draws did not mean that the games were boring. The competitors, who include 10 of the top 13 chess players in the world, played ambitiously, for the most part, but there were no major mistakes. Several of the games were quite interesting. Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, the former world chess champion, faced Viswanathan Anand of India, the current champion, in a reprise of their 2008 title match. Anand, who had Black for the second consecutive game, played the Grünfeld Defense and ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12666;ext=1 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:37:20 GMT The Tal Memorial tournament, a tribute to the eighth world chess champion, Mikhail Tal, began Thursday with five hard-fought draws. The 10-player field is stellar, featuring Viswanathan Anand of India, the world chess champion, who is ranked No. 3 in the world; Magnus Carlsen of Norway, No. 2; Levon Aronian of Armenia, No. 4; Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, No. 5; Boris Gelfand of Israel, No. 7; Peter Svidler of Russia, No. 8; Peter Leko of Hungary, No. 9; Alexander Morozevich of Russia, No. 10; Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, No. 12; and Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, No. 13. In other words, 10 of the top 13 chess players in the world are competing. It is always tough to ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12663;ext=1 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:48:35 GMT Ray Robson of Florida has just won the Pan American Junior with a 8-1 score and in the process has won his third Norm, qualifying for the title of Grandmaster. He becomes the youngest chess Grandmaster in US history, just a couple of weeks shy of age 15. Bobby Fischer was 15 years 4 months plus when he got the title. Robson is this year’s winner of the annual Samford award. He was born in Guam and moved to the United States at the age of 5. His achievement is further testimony of the value of the Samford fellowships, awarded through the US Chess Trust, a creation of the Samford family of Georgia, which provide subsidies for promising young American chess players to ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12641;ext=1 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:43:37 GMT The young and powerful team of Azerbaijan clinched the gold medal at the 17th European Team Chess Championship in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on Friday. They won seven matches, drew one and lost to Armenia, scoring 15 out of possible 18 match points. But their victory was a close call. It hung on one bad rook move, a losing blunder, played by the Dutchman Daniel Stellwagen against Vugar Gashimov in the last round. At the same time, Russia stumbled with a 2-2 tie against the Spanish team and finished with 14 points. Ukraine won the bronze on a tiebreak over Armenia, each ending with 13 points. Gashimov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov were the top performers on ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12647;ext=1 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:53:23 GMT A 19-year-old Norwegian turned in an impressive performance at the 17th European Team Chess Championships in Serbia, which ended on Saturday. A Norwegian teenager had been expected to do well at the chess tournament, but the surprise was that he turned out to be Jon Ludvig Hammer and not Magnus Carlsen, who does not turn 19 until the end of November. Carlsen, a chess prodigy who will be No. 2 in the world on the next list, was supposed to play for Norway, but he withdrew to spend more time preparing for the Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow, which begins on Nov. 5. Carlsen’s father, Henrik, explained that his son wanted to play in ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12639;ext=1 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:30:47 GMT The US Chess League offers ample opportunities to examine games between highly rated chess players. Here is one in which Patrick Wolff annotates for himself, played on first board for the San Francisco Mechanics v. the Miami Sharks. In this game Wolff crosses up Julio Becerra, the 2006 Most Valuable Player in the league, by choosing as White a Two Knights Opening instead of a Ruy Lopez. The result is a closed game in which Black loses considerable time reconnoitering his Knights. White’s 27th move breaks what looks like a granite center and Black’s Queen Bishop Pawn becomes a target. In the end, Black has to choose between loss of a Rook or a King and so ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12629;ext=1 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:36:30 GMT There is history between English and Bulgarian chess grandmasters. Four years ago when Nigel Short was a commentator at the world chess championship in San Luis, Argentina, some players told him of suspicions that Veselin Topalov, who won the title after a fast start, was receiving outside help. Short later called for an inquiry, though he did not join the cheating claim. Nothing was ever proved, but Topalov and his manager blamed Short for damaging the current world No1's reputation. So last year at Corus Wijk aan Zee Topalov's aide, Ivan Cheparinov, refused Short the traditional pre-game handshake, and was forfeited. After an appeal the game was rescheduled ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12631;ext=1 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:51:36 GMT The strongest chess tournament of the year, the Tal Memorial, begins Thursday in Moscow. World chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India, former champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen of Norway and seven other stars, all ranked among the world's top 13, will compete in a round robin. The only notable absentee is Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, ranked first in the world. Mikhail Tal was world chess champion in 1960 and a passionate devotee of speed chess until his death in 1992. As a tribute, the World Blitz Chess Championship will follow Nov. 16. The field will include all players in the Tal Memorial plus 10 more grandmasters. Last year, ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12626;ext=1 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:56:58 GMT Some chess openings are perennially popular. Others are rarely used, particularly among elite chess players, and often for good reason. The unpopular chess openings can be broken down into three categories. The Bad: the Grob (1 g4), the Latvian Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 f5) and the Sokolsky (1 b4) among them. They are risky and give opponents too many opportunities to seize the advantage. The Ugly: Some chess openings are neglected not from any intrinsic failing, but because they are simply not faddish. In 1995, when Viswanathan Anand of India, the current world chess champion, played a title match against Garry Kasparov of Russia, he surprised his opponent with ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12620;ext=1 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:52:05 GMT The US Chess Federation held the US Women’s Championship during October, courtesy of the St. Louis Chess Club and its founder, Rex Sinquefield. Oddly, none of the contestants was born in the United States, though most are permanent residents or citizens here. Jennifer Shahade, twice American Women’s Champion and chess author, served as commentator (along with GM Ben Finegold) for the tourney, but was not competing. Shahade has two of the necessary norms to become an IM. However, she has not been playing in chess tournaments recently, saying she is too busy with her other activities, poker, videos, and Chess Life Online. In the 2008 women’s chess ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12611;ext=1 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:37:02 GMT In the slow flow of the Argentine tango, the dancers suddenly stop and make a few violent moves before they slow down again and return to their unhurried glide. That's the essence of "zwischenzug" in chess. The German word describes an unexpected move, played instead of an obvious recapture or a retreat with an attacked piece. It could be a simple counterattack or the beginning of a spectacular combination. The American chess grandmaster Josh Friedel performed four zwischenzugs during his brilliant victory against the Dutch master Migchiel De Jong in the Open group of the 13th Unive chess tournament, played this month in the Dutch town ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12601;ext=1 Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:41:15 GMT The World Chess Federation (FIDE) announced that the 12-game world chess championship match between champion Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria would take place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tentative dates are April 5 through 24. The Bulgarian prime minister, Boiko Borisov, promised that the Bulgarian government would pay the prize fund of 2 million Euros (about $2.96 million) and organizational costs. He assured that "neutrality would be guaranteed." Singapore and Turkey also submitted bids to host the match. Surprisingly, FIDE received no bid from India, although Anand is a national hero credited with making the game of chess ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12593;ext=1 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:39:07 GMT There is increasing reflection among chess commentators that Norwegian youngster Magnus Carlsen, age 18, may be destined to be world chess champion, especially because of reports that Garry Kasparov is coaching Carlsen. Here is a game won by Carlsen against Teimour Radjabov from the Pearl Spring 2009 tourney, in Nanjing, China, a chess tournament with a towering average rating of 2,754. In this game, Carlsen as White eschews 3. d4 in favor of Bb5 against the Siclian defense, a line that eerily resembles a Ruy López. It is a tough struggle, in which Radjabov elects to develop his Knights in lieu of rapid castling. He gets those Knights posted on ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12591;ext=1 Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:51:43 GMT The campaign to improve England's standing is currently facing a tough test at the European team chess championship at Novi Sad, Serbia, and the junior (under-20) world chess championship at Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Both chess events began on Wednesday. With Nigel Short coaching the British chess champion, David Howell, in South America, England's Novi Sad quintet includes Luke McShane, 25, Simon Williams, 29, and Stephen Gordon, 23 in support of the experienced Michael Adams, 37, and Stuart Conquest, 42. All are grandmasters and their rating average is over 2,600, yet such is the competition that England's seeding is a modest 18 among ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12587;ext=1 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:42:42 GMT The leading items of the news last week involved the small nation of Norway. One was the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama for “Yes you can.’’ The other was plaudits to 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen for “Yes, you did!’’ For what Carlsen did was level his opponents in the second Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament in Nanjing, China and lift his FIDE chess rating beyond that of world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and behind top-rated Veselin Topalov. This year the contestants all had ratings above 2700 and Topalov’s rating was a towering 2813. Topalov was last year’s clear winner. Besides Topalov and Carlsen, the other contestants were Dmitry Jakovenko of ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12574;ext=1 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:53:22 GMT The U.S. Junior chess champion Ray Robson will turn 15 on Sunday. He got himself a nice birthday present: the grandmaster title. Competing at the Pan-American Junior Championship this month in Montevideo, Uruguay, he scored seven straight wins and drew in the last round, securing first place and the GM title. He is currently the youngest chess grandmaster in the world. Together with GM Alex Lenderman, Robson will represent the United States at the 48th Junior World Chess Championship, Oct. 21-Nov. 4, in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Zatonskih's Sweeping Victory. The defending chess champion, IM Anna Zatonskih, 31, did not leave anything to chance at ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12575;ext=1 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:45:56 GMT Magnus Carlsen had already won the Nanjing elite chess tournament with a round to spare at the start of this week's game, but the 18-year-old Norwegian spurned halving out and won impressively. The victory gave him a 3000 tournament performance and raised his world chess rating to over 2800, the youngest in chess history and only the fifth 2800 ever. His predecessors, with their peak ratings, were Garry Kasparov 2851, Veselin Topalov 2813, Vlad Kramnik 2811 and Vishy Anand 2803. Bobby Fischer at 2785 and Anatoly Karpov 2780 could be reckoned worth 50 points higher allowing for rating inflation. The betting now is that Carlsen will win the 2010 candidates and ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12573;ext=1 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:06:28 GMT The United States women’s chess champion, Anna Zatonskih, easily defended her title last week and dominated the championship tournament in St. Louis. Afterward, Zatonskih, who has a 2 ½-year-old daughter, joked, “I am trying to prove that motherhood did something good.” In the chess tournament, which ended on Tuesday, Zatonskih yielded only one draw and scored 8.5 out of a possible 9 points. The victory was a relief for Zatonskih, who had struggled recently, particularly at the Women’s World Team Championship last month in China, where she scored only 2 points in 7 games. In a telephone interview, Zatonskih said she wants to have another child, but ... http://gameknot.com/news.pl?id=12572;ext=1 Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:46:18 GMT