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hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Nakamura-Carlsen secret blitz chess match in the middle of the night
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everybody,
After the closing ceremony of the World Blitz Championship, in Moscow, Magnus Carlsen played a couple of tandem rapid games alongside Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov. They faced Vladimir Kramnik and Arkady Dvorkovich. Carlsen (and Kramnik) had already played several hours of 3-minute (+2 second increment) blitz during the final ten rounds - Day 3 - of the Blitz Championship.
After that Nakamura and Carlsen played 40 blitz games straight - way into the night/morning.The complete background to the 'event' is here - the Chess Life Online, December 8, 2010.
The following video was taken at around 4:00 AM by Macaulay Peterson, the early morning of November 19th. It was Game 38, of 40. Enjoy.
Campomanes Memorial Chess Tournament in Yangon, Myanmnar from July 5-12
Chess blog for latest chess news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
This is like quaint. When did you last hear of an open chess tournament in Burma - ah! Myanmar now?
The Myanmar Chess Federation shall organise the Campomanes Memorial (Yangon International Open) 5-12 July 2011 in Yangon with $10,000 in cash prizes.
The tournament will be Swiss System; FIDE-rated and titled; Rate of play will be 90 minutes for the whole game with 30 seconds increment for every move starting from the first move.
Best Myanmar Players: 1st US$ 500; 2nd US$ 300; 3rd US$ 200.
Best Women Players and Best Junior Players (U-18, U-14, U-10) prizes are also awarded.
Myanmar Chess Federation Members - US$ 60; Others - US$ 120
Entry fee is non-refundable. Entry Fees are waived for GMs, WGMs, IMs and WIMs. There will be a discount of 25% of entry fees for those who register on or before 31st May, 2011.
The venue is the Central Hotel, Bogyoke Aung San Road, Yangon.
The hotel is located in the center of Yangon. There are many places of interest such as the landmark of Myanmar Shwedagon Pagoda, Sule Pagoda, Bogyoke Aung San Market, Yangon Port, National Museum within the walking distance. More information can be found at www.myanmar.com.
Myanmar Chess Federation
Aung San Stadium, Yangon, MYANMAR.
or by Fax to: (95) 1546001 or 1546009
or by E-mail to: mgmglwin25@gmail.com, chess1991@gmail.com
Anand, Judit rule top of Fide chess ratings lists for May 2011
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everybody,
Judit Polgar 2699
It's great that Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk has gained 19 ELO points in the Fide rating list for May 1, 2011 taking her up to the 10th spot among women at 2522. The highest gain of ELO points has been made by the just-crowned US Women's Chess Champion Anna Zatonskih. Judit Polgar continues to be at the first spot followed by Koneru Humpy and Hou Yifan.
Among the men, since there were no super tournaments held in March-April, Viswanathan Anand remains at No. 1 with Magnus Carlsen right behind at No. 2.
Here are the top-30 overall: (No we don't have a woman there yet though Judit Polgar is just shy of the 2700 mark at 2699! We wish her quick 'recovery' of that one point.)
For the love of chess... - Interview with Vassily Ivanchuk
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everybody,
We found this nice two-part interview with the talented and one of the strongest Grandmasters in the world - Vassily Ivanchuk at Chess In Translation. He talks about all the beautiful aspects of a chess life and life otherwise. Here are some excerpts:
------------------------------
In one interview you compared chess to love. Doesn’t your wife get offended by such comparisons, and by the fact that almost all your thoughts are about chess? (Translator’s note: in a recent interview GM Mikhail Golubev asked, “I’ve got a question from a fan. How can you find and not lose a taste for playing chess?” Ivanchuk replied: “You know, a taste for chess is a kind of love… and who can answer the question of how to find, or not lose, that love? I don’t know.”
VI: Oksana’s got used to it, no doubt. It’s not our first year together, after all. Initially, of course, it was hit and miss, but such is the life of a chess player. At least between tournaments we try to lead a rich and varied life. Grandmaster Vladimir Malakhov once responded to a similar question by saying, “Yes, I often travel to tournaments, but when I get back home I’m completely at my wife’s disposal”. I don’t know about being completely at her disposal, but I try. I devote a lot of time between tournaments to domestic matters. I don’t have to be begged to do something. I try to assist my wife at home, offering to help. You’d better ask Oksana whether that works out or not. My wife doesn’t see me as a grandmaster, but as a normal man. Does she understand chess? She has some idea: she knows how the pieces move, the surnames of famous chess players and she reads the chess magazines I subscribe to. So she knows about everything that’s going on. Of course, my wife supports me and follows my performances. She’s very glad when I win, but at the same time she understands that it’s impossible to win all the time. Therefore she’s philosophical about my defeats.
FLAWED GAMES ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
You’ve had so many victories. Is there one among them which you recall more often than the others?
VI: In general, I’ve always believed that my greatest, and therefore also my most memorable victories, still lie ahead. But it’s true that I really do have a lot of favourite games. But you know how it is? After any game you play people start analysing it “to shreds”. Immediately after a won game it can strike you as truly beautiful and almost perfect. But then it turns out that at certain points there were mistakes, minor inaccuracies.
Have I played flawless games? Of course. But flawed games are usually the most beautiful and are dearer to me. If an opponent doesn’t put up much resistance then it’s much easier to play a flawless game. You remember games where, despite being positionally lost, you nevertheless managed to escape with a draw. One such example is the game against Gata Kamsky at the tournament in Armenia in 2009. I was saved from a loss by the 50-move rule, which states that if not a single piece has been taken over the course of those moves then the game is declared a draw. Kamsky almost gained the chance to take my piece, but only on the 51st move. So I put up as much resistance as I could: I calculated whether he’d be able to carry out the capture, and how long I could avoid it.(smiles) As for losses… They’re painful for me. Fortunately time heals wounds, and your memory washes away the feeling of losing.
Balcony chess replaced by balcony kiss: Prince William, Kate British royal wedding today
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everybody,
Congratulations to Prince William of England and Kate Middleton for getting married today. Sources, however, told us that they had planned a balcony chess session before a large crowd!
But they had to manage with a balcony kiss (two actually) after the wedding - as part of a tradition started by their parents Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana!
The reasons a kiss replaced chess:
The shaky weather - as it is always in London - meant that rain might just spoil the royal chess set
The Royal wedding live telecast cameras had not been hooked up in the balcony and we wouldn't have a clear view of the chessboard
The Queen would get tired after already having sat through a beautiful though long wedding ceremony. Of course she is a great chess fan too.
(Ok we're just kidding but some genuine chess connections with the British royalty)
Here is our favourite note about Queen Victoria -
The following quote from a contemporary publication was given on page 14 of the January 1889 International Chess Magazine:
‘…the greatest solace the Empress Victoria has in her widowhood is chess – a game she frequently played with the Crown Prince when they found themselves with a leisure hour. The Empress generally travels with a chess board and men.’
Also just the time to remind you of our previous www.chessblog.com posts:
Chinese city Shi Jiazhuang chess team wins Asian Cities Chess 2011
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
The team from the Chinese city of Shi Jiazhuang won all their matches to win the Asian Cities Team Championship for the Dubai Cup held 21-28 April 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The team included GM Yu Yangyi, GM Li Chao, Wan Yunguo, GM Wang Rui and GM Zhang Pengxiang. They scored a perfect 18 match points on the basis of 2-1-0 points per match.
Asian Chess Federation president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan (left) awards the Dubai Cup to the Chinese city of Shi Jiazhuang with the check for $10,000. At right is Senator GM Utut Adianto, Chairman of the Jakarta Asian Cities Organizing Committee.
The Astana team with their runner-up check of $6,000
Sheikh Sultan presents the third place check of $4,000 to the Tehran team.
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Best chess wishes to you! Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th Women's World Chess Champion
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