You too can play at the London Chess Classic 2010

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess News & Trivia (c) 2010

Hi Everybody,

You've heard about the London Chess Classic 2010.... Right? It's supposed to be the strongest-ever tournament to be held in Britain. Eight of the world's best players will be competing in the London Chess Classic from December 8-15 December 2010 at the Olympia Conference Centre. You can pick up tickets here!

And, that's the best part. You can get tickets not just to be a fan watching the greats but also play in a wide range of subsidiary events.

Of course, for the main event, Magnus Carlsen is going to be the defending champion. You can read our earlier blog entry here about the details of the London Chess Classic 2010.

The average rating of the 2010 London Chess Classic is 2729 – an unprecedented figure for a tournament held in Britain and also making it one of the strongest tournaments held anywhere in the world this year.

The 400-seater auditorium at the Olympia Conference Centre is very nice. As games end, spectators have the chance to hear the players’ immediate post-game comments as they are interviewed live in the commentary room.

There are all sorts of events and prizes for all chess standards and tastes, from the humblest beginner, and tournaments which last days at a time, or over the weekend – or for just part of a day (e.g. evening blitz events lasting no longer than 2½ hours).

Entry forms are available for download NOW from the tournament website at www.londonchessclassic.com. Apart from the eight-player elite tournament, there is a nine-round world-rated open which attracts professional grandmasters from around the world, chasing the £2,500 first prize. As in 2009, one of the legendary figures of the game, Viktor Korchnoi, will be playing simultaneous displays, where amateur players can experience what it is like to face the player who contested world championship matches with Anatoly Karpov in the 1970s and 1980s.

Tournament Line-Up

Name Title Country Rating (1/9/2010) World Ranking (1/5/2010) D.O.B. (dd/mm/yy)

Carlsen, Magnus grandmaster NOR 2826 1 30.11.1990

Anand, Viswanathan world champion IND 2800 3 11.12.1969

Kramnik, Vladimir ex-world champion RUS 2780 5 25.06.1975

Nakamura, Hikaru grandmaster USA 2733 15 09.12.1987

Adams, Michael grandmaster ENG 2728 18 17.11.1971

Short, Nigel grandmaster ENG 2690 48 01.06.1965

McShane, Luke grandmaster ENG 2657 85 07.01.1984

Howell, David grandmaster ENG 2616 167 14.11.1990

Last Year’s Tournament (n.b. win = 3pts, draw = 1pt)

Final Placings: 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 13/21, 2 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 12, 3 David Howell (ENG) 9, 4 Michael Adams (ENG) 9, 5 Luke McShane (ENG) 7, 6 Ni Hua (CHN) 6, 7 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 6, 8 Nigel Short (ENG) 5.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com