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hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Mitropa Chess Cup in Croatia from May 30
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Mitropa Chess Cup 2012 takes place at Solaris Hotels Resort Šibenik, Croatia, from May 30 to June 8, 2012. The following national Chess federations are entitled to take part in the Mitropa Cup 2012 competition:
Mitropa Cup 2012 is played according to FIDE Laws of Chess and the Team Round Robin system of play, with 9 rounds for men’s and 7 rounds for women’s selections.
Each federation is represented by a team of four players and one reserve for men’s section and two women players and one reserve for women’s section and one team captain. The overall team list consists of 5 players in men’s selection and 3 women players in women’s selection.
I'm proud to be a part of India's rediscovery of chess: Viswanathan Anand
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Newly-crowned World champion Viswanathan Anand has been the face of Indian chess for more than two decades and the five-time title holder said he was proud to be a part of India's rediscovery of chess. He was speaking at the press conference after the closing ceremony.
Asked about his role in giving a fillip to Indian chess, Anand said: "When I grew up there was not much chess scene in India but I was lucky that whatever chess scene was there, the centre was in Chennai. We benefited from the fact that the Soviet cultural centre was in Chennai.
"We had a bunch of enthusiasts who would come on Sunday and play blitz the whole day. They were also very committed, they would organise weekend tournaments and I used to play and with constant practice I started to become better.
"I am very proud that India rediscovered chess then. I am proud to have played a big role in that discovery. I could feel it because when I became world junior champion and then the Grand master, we could see that chess was certainly becoming popular in India.
"So, I am very happy that India was taking to chess again in a big way. Right now, we have a lot of depth both in men and women's game, a lot of people are taking part," he added.
Asked about his contribution to India's growth which coincided with his rising career, Anand said: "As for tying myself with India's growth that I am a little reluctant. You never know who is inspiring whom. But lets say, at least it happened almost at the same time.
"India had this big moment in 1991 after which economy started expanding vigorously, well lets just say that it all happened almost at the same time," he said.
Magistral Buenos Aires Chess from May 28 With Alexei Shirov as Top Seed
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
GM Alexei Shirov
The Magistral Ciudad de Buenos Aires chess tournament will take place from May 28 to June 3 and will feature Grandmaster Alexei Shirov and other talented chess players. With the best players of Argentine and Uruguayan champion Andres Rodriguez the tournament has average elo of 2558, reaching Category 13 according to FIDE.
Playing venue: Head of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Casa de la Cultura, Avenida de Mayo 575, City of Buenos Aires.
Players:1 GM Alexei Shirov LAT 2698 2 GM Diego Flores ARG 2604 4 GM Sandro Mareco ARG 2583 3 GM Ruben Felgaer ARG 2572 5 GM Damian Lemos ARG 2538 6 GM Andres Rodriguez Vila URU 2532 7 GM Diego Valerga ARG 2487 8 GM Sergio Slipak ARG 2453
You can follow all the chess news updates right here at Chess Blog.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Of course by now the Internet and international media is flooded with news reports of the 2012 Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship. There are so many lovely videos to watch and articles to read. We are trying to bring only the best to you. Here are two more videos for you to enjoy. Both are from the tiebreak day.
Stay tuned for all the latest chess news and chess updates with Chess Blog. We have the Tal Chess Memorial coming up and the Batumi Women's World Chess Rapid and Blitz beginning.
'Russian Chess Link' - Anand Tells Putin the Truth!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand from India, right, and Boris Gelfand of Israel in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Thursday, May 31, 2012. Putin has met with the new world chess champion Viswanathan Anad and runner-up Boris Gelfand over a cup of tea in his residence. Indias Anand beat Gelfand of Israel on Wednesday 2.5-1.5 in a rapid tiebreaker following a 6-6 draw. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Government Press Service)
According to Vosizneias report, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has met with world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and runner-up Boris Gelfand over a cup of tea in his residence. Putin lauded both players for “an outstanding game.”
India’s Anand beat Gelfand of Israel on Wednesday 2.5-1.5 in a rapid tiebreaker following a 6-6 draw played at the Tretyakov Gallery, one of Russia’s finest museums.
Anand told Putin over tea Thursday that he had learned to play chess in a Soviet cultural center in his hometown when he was a child. “So we brought this on ourselves!” Putin said.
Fantastic Chess Online Blitz - You Can Play for Prize money $38K!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
A very special online chess event will take place from June to August of this year - an open Online Blitz Grand Prix. This is surely the world's biggest online chess competition so far!
As the title suggests, this chess competition will be held on the Internet, and it will truly be a Grand Prix - the prize fund is more than 30,000 euro ($30,000 approx.)! This is pretty much the first time such a sum is at stake in this kind of competitions.
The Grand Prix is organized by the Russian Chess Federation. The competition is open to everyone and all players have equal opportunities! Even though many leading chess players will participate, no one will be able to play in the Finals without winning in the qualifying tournaments.
For those already interested, the competition will include 4 qualifying tournaments on the first and last Sundays of June and July, starting on June 3, 2012. The Final and Super Final tournaments will take place August 14-15, 2012. All tournaments start at 16-00 UTC.
The first qualifying tournament will be held on the 3rd of June, and all you need to participate is download the ChessOK Playing Zone client program for Windows OS or Android OS, register an account and buy membership at http://ctart.chessok.com. The membership also lets you play in individual and team tournaments for all levels held daily in the Playing Zone. International Masters and Grandmasters can become members for free by writing a request to chessok1@gmail.com.
The ChessOK Playing Zone is one of the world's most advanced chess playing zones. More than 116 000 registered and active players, 1 160 chess teams, daily individual and team tournaments, chess tutoring, an extensive online database and many other features will keep you entertained. The Playing Zone can be accesed using Windows-based personal computers or Android-based smartphones/tablet PC's.
Qualifying Tournaments Schedule:1st qualifying tournament – June 3, 2012. 16-00 UTC; 2nd qualifying tournament – June 24, 2012. 16-00 UTC; 3rd qualifying tournament – July 1, 2012. 16-00 UTC; 4th qualifying tournament – July 29, 2012. 16-00 UTC.
World Chess Champion - India Twitter Trend: Is Indian Model Going to Strip for Anand Victory?
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
I'm a good kid - I don't read tweets!
The Indian subcontinent takes cricket love to pretty manic heights and chess figures much less in the media unless, of course, if the news is about World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand.
Indian model Poonam Pandey was the talk of Indian media and twitter trends two days back for 'stripping' on twitter to celebrate the victory of Kolkata Knight Riders - a team owned by India movie superstar Shah Rukh Khan - in the Indian cricket league tournament just two days back.
The Indian twiterati is having fun this Wednesday after Vishy Anand won the 2012 world chess championship by beating Boris Gelfand.
Here are some popular tweets. With no ill-will intended, we celebrate the creativity of chess fans from India - particularly that Anand is seen with such good will that fans actually expect the model to 'cover up' for him!:
Angry Bombay Girl @shadymumbai Now that Poonam Pandey has removed all her clothes for Cricket ... For Vishwanathan Anand .. she might consider Wearing some for a Change
doctor at large @doctoratlarge Poonam Pandey puts on a saree to celebrate Anand's win
greatbong @greatbongPoonam Pandey will take off her clothes for Anand also? Toplessalov ?
rajneesh kapoor @MrMrRajneesh Now that Viswannathan Anand has won the World Championship, Poonam Pandey must show all the Mating Positions.
Faking News @fakingnews I just hope Poonam Pandey doesn't post a pic to 'celebrate' Viswanathan Anand winning World Chess Championship.
Anand-Gelfand Tiebreak, Press Conference Video Plus Chess King Analysis
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
World Chess Championship 2012: Here is a very nice video of the tiebreak played between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand in Moscow today. It includes the post-match press conference. You can also see the Houdini 2 Pro Analysis generated in Chess King here.
Anand wins World Chess Championship Title Fourth Time in a Row!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Unruffled, steady on the board, the cool World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand retains his crown with a steady win over Israel's challenger Boris Gelfand in Moscow today!
Congratulations to Vishy Anand for his grand success. This is his his fifth world chess title - fourth in a row. Anand kept his head and stayed focused even as his challenger ran into time trouble and blundered to lose the second game. The final score was 2.5-1.5 in favour of Anand apart from the 6-6 tied score in the classical time-control games.
The first game of the tiebreaker ended in a draw in 33 moves before Anand beat Gelfand in the second game in 77 moves. The two of the remaining four-game rapid chess tiebreaker ended in a draw as Anand successfully defended his title.
This was 42-year-old Anand’s fifth World Championships title. He won his first world chess title in 2000 and then went on to win three in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He has been the world champion since 2007. He won the 2007 title in a tournament format among eight players. In 2008 and 2010, he beat Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria respectively after the format changed to championship match between the defending champion and a challenger.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
World chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India is leading Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand in a rapid tiebreaker to decide their title match in Moscow.
Tied at 6-6 after 12 games, they are now playing four rapid games with a shortened time limit of 25 minutes per player. The first game was a draw with Anand winning the second game. They drew the third game and Anand leads 2.0-1.0.
Hundreds of chess fans are watching Wednesday's tiebreak in a hall at the State Tretyakov Gallery, one of Russia's finest museums. The winner takes home $1.5 million, while the loser is awarded $1 million. Anand last successfully defended his title in 2010 against Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
After 48 hours in the House of Secrets, French chess champion Grandmaster Marie Sebag has quit the house. There are questions about whether she was in the observation phase? Marie abandoned the House of Secrets possibly because she did not feel at home. More details awaited.
Game 12 Video from Anand, Gelfand 2012 World Chess Match Plus Svidler Interview
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Here is a nice Game 12 video from the 2012 Anand, Gelfand World Chess Championship. It includes nice interview of Peter Svidler - the Russian Chess Champion. Enjoy.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The friendly chess match between Poland and Ukraine and The 4th International Grandmasters' Tournament - the Lublin Union Memorial - is taking place from May 23 to May 29 in Lublin, Poland. The tournament is played in double Scheveningen format, where each member of one federation plays twice against all members of the other team. One leg will be played with classical time control, the second leg will be in rapid.
Participants: 1 GM Efimenko Zahar UKR 2695 2 GM Korobov Anton UKR 2679 3 GM Kryvoruchko Yuriy UKR 2666 4 GM Bartel Mateusz POL 2665 5 GM Socko Bartosz POL 2647 6 GM Zherebukh Yaroslav UKR 2642 7 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2634 8 GM Miton Kamil POL 2623 9 GM Macieja Bartlomiej POL 2605 10 GM Swiercz Dariusz POL 2565
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
FIDE has decided to award the 23rd FIDE World Seniors Chess Championship in 2013 to Opatija, Croatia. The previous World Senior Chess Championships were played in Opatija, Croatia, from November 14, 2011. The Championships are organised by the Chess club “Rijeka” in agreement with Croatian Chess Federation.
The championship will be based on 11 rounds of Swiss system in accordance with the FIDE Tournament Rules and FIDE Rules of Chess. Male participants should be at least 60 years old and women participants should be at least 50 years old. The playing time will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one. The Article 6.6. of the Rules of Chess will be applied – each player being late at the beginning of his match will loose the game. The women play their own tournament to determine the Women World Senior Champion.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Debashis Das
Debashis Das has won the Indian National Challengers Chess Championship 2012. Third seed and World Under-18 Bronze medalist, IM Das won the 50th edition of the championship with a total of 10 points. Second place went to Bitan Banerjee who earned just a half point less. FM Diptayan Ghosh, G Akash of Tamil Nadu, and Sagar Shah, tied for the second place with 9.5 points each. Ghost and Akash were declared second and third on the basis of better tiebreak score. Sagar Shah was fourth.
Top 30 players from this event qualified for the forthcoming National Premier Chess Championship which is scheduled to be held in October.
Women's Chess World Rapid - Anna Muzychuk Top Seed in Batumi
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Women’s World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2012 is all set to be held from May 31 to June 6 at the Sheraton Hotel, Batumi, Georgia. It is an 11 rounds Swiss tournament with time control 25 mins + 10 sec per move.
Top Seed Anna Muzychuk
Every female player with the Elo of 2500+ in one of the official FIDE rating lists as well as all former World Champions and Olympic Champions have the personal right to participate in the Championship. Besides, every national federation can nominate one player for participation in the Championship. In addition, up to five more players can be nominated from the same federation, provided they have elo of 2300+ in one of the official FIDE rating lists in 2012. Anna Muzychuk, 2010 World Junior Champion and 2012 European medalist, is the top seed at the event. Participants also include European Women's Chess Champion Valentina Gunina, Women's World Chess Championship finalist Koneru Humpy, European women's chess silver medalist Tatiana Kosintseva, former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova, former world champion Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk US women's chess champion Irina Krush, and Armenia's No. 1 woman chess player Elina Danielian.
Israeli Chess Fans Include PM Benjamin Netanyahu - Anand, Gelfand World Chess Match 2012
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
A chess news report from Jerusalem states that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - an amateur chess player and an enthusiast of the game - actually followed Game 12 live of the Anand, Gelfand World Chess Championship 2012 on Monday!
Mr Netanyahu watched the game on a giant screen installed in a room in his office. He shared game 12 comments with Natan Sharansky, a former minister who used to be a promising chess player as a child.
The Israeli Premier had met Grandmaster Gelfand in March 2010 when he played a match against him and Natan Sharansky. A lot of amateur and professional Israeli chess players as well as enthusiasts also gathered at the centre of Israel to watch the match on a big screen. The two players are tied at 6-6 points after 12 games and the champion will now be decided in tie-breakers.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 12 games in the 2012 Anand Gelfand World Chess Championship have ended in Moscow on Monday. The match is tied at 6-6 and now heads for the tiebreaks to be played on Wednesday. You can watch the tiebreaks live on the official website from Moscow time 1200 hours.
Meanwhile, here is a quiz. Can you recognize these five positions from the 12 games played at the 2012 Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship in Moscow? Just guess the Game number and click on the photo to go to the Chess King detailed analysis of the moves and game. Happy Chess Guessing!
Can You Name the Game? (Click on Photo to see answer at Chess King.)
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk has followed a unique destiny. Her chess path is defined by one particular characteristic - absolute attacking play. No wonder she has been world champion several times over in different formats of the game and in different age-groups! Find some great videos at www.chessqueen.com including one from when the talented grandmaster was just 14.
Have a great chess week ahead. Don't forget to cheer the Chess Queen during her summer 2012 chess schedule.
Special Chess Match in Leon in June - Topalov versus Vallejo Pons
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Veselin Topalov and Francisco Vallejo Pons will play a friendly match as part of the tournament Leon 2012. It will be a six game encounter, with blitz games and Armageddon if needed. The time control is 45 mins + 15 sec per move semi rapid. The playing days are 8th, 9th, and 10th of June and games will be live with computer analysis at Chessdom.
Just recently we saw another classical mini-practice match between Aronian and Kramnik in Zurich. With the World Chess Championship cycle based on matches and mini matches, such practice games become more and more fashionable.
Topalov – Vallejo rules
1). The matches will take place in Leon from 08 to 10 June 2012 (both inclusive) with the following schedule:
Day 08 June 2012 Topalov – Vallejo 1st and 2nd Games. Day 09 June 2012 Topalov – Vallejo 3rd and 4th Games. Day 10 June 2012 Topalov – Vallejo 5th and 6th Games. Drawings lots will be place on 07 June at 20,00 hours.
2). Two games per day will be played with the following schedule: 1st at 16,30 hours. 2nd at 18,40 hours. There will be 10 minutes break among the games. Each player will have 45 minutes+15 secons/move for the whole game.
3). In a match of a draw it will be decided by a match. The match will consist of two games with a time-control 5 minutes per player + 3 seconds for every move played. In case of another tied result – there will be played a last “sudden-death” decisive game with a time-control 6 minutes for the whole game for the White-player and 5 minutes for the whole game for Black-player. The White-player will only need a victory in this game to win the tournament, whole the Black-player will win the tournament by just not losing that final decisive game. From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com Also see her personal blog at www.chessqueen.com
History at 2012 World Chess Championship - Speed Chess Tiebreak to Decide World Chess Champion
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The final game in the 2012 World Chess Championship has been played. The score is tied at 6-6. Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand head for the first-time-in-history speed chess tiebreak to decide the top title.
Game 12 was much like the previous two games — the players got the Queens off early and let the game dribble down into a draw. There was excellent live broadcast of Game 12 at the official website. The 14th World Chess Champion, Vladimir Kramnik, was in the commentary box. Check out the complete analysis of the game with Chess King.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
We love to post advertisement videos from around the world with chess in them.
Here is another one from India. We couldn't translate the language but if chess is there what is left to understand! Have a chess-full Sunday. We guess it's supposed to be a romantic chess video.
India Chess National Challengers R11 - Four share lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Here is some chess news from the Indian National Challengers Chess Championship - 50th edition! The championship is headed for an exciting finish as youngster Abhilash Reddy beat overnight and sole leader G Akash. Two other results added to the list of leaders. After 11 rounds, four players including Akash and Reddy are now sharing the lead with 8.5 points each.
In other important results, Diptayan Ghosh defeated fourth seed International Master P Karthikeyan and Debashis Das drew with S Satyapragyan. There are 29 players in the second spot with 7.5 points each.
Important Results Round 11: G Akash of Tamilnadu (8.5) lost to Abhilash Reddy M L of Andhra Pradesh (8.5); IM Debashis Das of Odisha (8.5) drew with IM S Satyapragyan of Odisha (7.5); FM Diptayan Ghosh of West Bengal (8.5) beat IM Karthikeyan P of PSPB (7); Ram S Krishnan of Tamilnadu (7.5) drew with IM Saptarshi Roy of Railways (7.5); IM Suvrajit Saha of Railways (7.5) v IM Sudhakar Babu of Indian Bank (7.5); IM Singh D P of Railways (7.5) drew with FM Rajesh VAV of Tamilnadu (7.5); IM Dinesh Sharma of LIC (7) v S Ravi Teja of Andhra Pradesh (7); Arun Karthik R of Tamilnadu (7.5) drew with Sanjay N of Karnataka (7.5); IM Praveen Kumar C of Railways (7.5) drew with IM Ramnathan Balasubramaniam of Railways (7.5); Sohan Phadke of Maharahstra (7.5) drew with Bitan Banerjee of West Bengal (7.5); IM Murali Krishnan B T of Railways (7.5) drew with Aravind Shastry of Karnataka (7.5); K Praneeth Surya of Andhra Pradesh (7.5) drew with IM Atanu Lahiri of LIC (7.5); Sidhant Mohapatra of Odisha (7.5) drew with CRG Krishna of Andhra Pradesh (7.5); Shashikant Kutwal of Railways (7.5) drew with IM Rahul Shetty of Air India (7.5); IM Swayams Mishra of Odisha (7.5) beat Rajib Dhar of Assam (7); Narayanan S L of Kerala (7) drew with Prince Bajaj of Delhi (7); IM Girinath PDS of Railways (7) drew with IM Koshy Varugeese of PSPB (7); Pratik Patil of Maharashtra (7.5) beat IM Rahul Sangma of Railways (6.5); Sagar Shah of Maharashtra (7.5) beat Chandrashekhar Gokhale of Air India (6.5); Anurag Mhamal of Goa (7.5) beat Matta Vinay Kumar of Andhra Pradesh (6.5); Chakravarti YVK of Andhra Pradesh (6.5) lost to Syed Anwar Shazuli of Railways (7.5); Thanki Hemal Karsanji of Gujarat (6.5) lost to Arindam Mukherjee of Railways (7.5); IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni of Railwyas (6) lost to Utkal Ranjan Sahoo of Odisha (7); IM Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury of Railways (7) beat Niranjan Navalgund of Tamilnadu (6); FM Rengarajan Srinivasan of LIC (6.5) drew with IM P Konguvel of PSPB (6.5).
2nd International Chess Tournament of Forni di Sopra
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 2nd International Chess Tournament of Forni di Sopra will take place from June 16th to 23rd, 2012, in Forni di Sopra, part of the Friulian Dolomites Natural Park and one of the jewels of the Italian Alps. According to Chessdom, GM Ivan Salgado from Spain is the top seed and several talented women chess players are also taking part in the event.
Following the tremendous success of the inaugural event in 2011, which was won by GM Carlos Matamoros, Accademia Internazionale di Scacchi, Circolo Scacchistico Udinese, ScacchiRandagi, FSI and Comune Forni di Sopra have decided to continue the chess tradition in the heart of the Dolomites.
The playing hall is the Palasport of Forni di Sopra. The complex includes swimming pool / gym with large and bright conference rooms no more than 5 minutes walking distance from the center.
The A section is available to players with an elo above 2000, 9 rounds Swiss system , time control 90′x 40 moves + 30′ + 30” The B section is open to players with an elo above 1600 ELO (and lower than 2000 ELO), 8 rounds Swiss system, time control 90′x 40 moves + 30′ + 30 ” The C section is open to players with an elo under 1600, 8 rounds Swiss system, time control 90′x 40 moves + 30′ + 30 ”
The total prize money amounts to 10,000 Euro. Top three prizes in the Open A are 1400, 900 and 700 EUR respectively.
The arbiters of the tournament will be: IA Antonio Sanchirico, IA Gerhard Bertagnolli and NA Filippo Capizzi.
The Ovens Valley is surrounded by the Alps on the north and on the south by the Carnian of the Dolomites Mountains of Friuli, which was recently declared World Heritage location. As an important and popular tourist resort, Forni di Sopra offers a pure environment with many opportunities to practice different sports.
Forni di Sopra is also part of Authentic villages: the houses still retain the typical architecture carnica, evoking the atmosphere of a storybook. Evidence of past history are also present, findings have allowed the participation of UNESCO. red players:
Top seeds 1 GM Salgado Lopez Ivan ESP 2623 2 Tregubov Pavel V GM RUS 2596 3 GM Korneev Oleg ESP 2586 4 GM Leon Hoyos Manuel MEX 2579 5 GM Matamoros Franco Carlos ECU 2548 6 Narciso Dublan Marc GM ESP 2541 7 Alsina Leal Daniel GM ESP 2540 8 GM Mirzoev Azer AZE 2538 9 Dvirnyy Daniyyl IM ITA 2515 10 Rotstein Arkadij GM GER 2512
Asia Chess Cup: China, India, Vietnam Win Top Honors
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Already champion after round 8, China-1 continued its dominance, beating Mongolia 3½:½ to finish with 17 match points. India blanked Iraq 4:0 to cement their silver finish with 15 points. Vietnam shut out Hong Kong 4:0 to win the bronze Nations Cup. It was decided at the Technical Meeting that three teams from different countries shall win Asian Nations trophies.
China-2 kept pace, beating Chinese Taipei by 4:0 to actually finish higher with 13 points. Iran worked hard to earn its 3½:½ victory over Kazakhstan. Singapore whitewashed Yemen by the same 3½:½ score. And Indonesia beat Korea 3:1
In the women’s division, China-1, also champion after round 8, copied their male compatriots, beating Mongolia 3½:½. India beat China-3 by the narrow margin of 2½:1½ on the win by GM Harika as the other three boards were drawn. China-2 blanked Singapore 4:0 to tie India at 14 points. Iran tried to land in the medal standings as they beat Kazakhstan 3:1. Iran tied Vietnam at 8 match points each but in game points tie break had 16½ game points. Vietnam won the tie with 18 game points. China-3 had higher final score of 11 match points but as decided at the Technical Meeting that three teams from different countries shall win Asian Nations trophies, the bronze Nations Cup was won by Vietnam.
Get Ready for Exciting Chess - Women’s World Rapid and Blitz Chess from May 30
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
A month ago the phrase 'exciting chess' would not have meant much. However, right now it seems to be that elusive drop of water in a desert. Like European Women's Chess Champion Valentina Gunina said lately, "It's much more exciting to watch women's chess!" here is the update on the Women’s World Rapid and Blitz Championship 2012.
The championsip will be held from 30th May to 6th June at the Sheraton Hotel, Batumi, Georgia. The event is organized and conducted by the ACP and the Georgian Chess Federation and approved by FIDE.
Format Rapid Swiss, 11 rounds Blitz Swiss, 15 rounds
Time control Rapid 25 min + 10 seconds Blitz 4 min + 2 seconds
FIDE Rules for Rapid Chess and FIDE Rules for blitz are applied. Zero tolerance rule will not be applied. The game is lost by the player who arrives at the chessboard after her flag has fallen.
Right of participation Every female player with the Elo of 2500+ in one of the official FIDE rating lists as well as all former World Champions and Olympic Champions have the personal right to participate in the Championship.
Besides, every national federation can nominate one player for participation in the Championship. In addition, up to five more players can be nominated from the same federation, provided they have Elo of 2300+ in one of the official FIDE rating lists in 2012.
Georgian Chess Federation will get three additional wild cards as a host of the event.
Schedule
30 May – Arrival, Opening Ceremony, Technical meeting. 31 May – Rapid (rounds 1-3) 15:00, 17:00, 19:00 1 June – Rapid (rounds 4-6) 15:00, 17:00, 19:00 2 June – Rapid (rounds 7-9) 15:00, 17:00, 19:00 3 June – Rapid (rounds 10-11) 15:00, 17:00 4 June – Blitz (rounds 1-8) 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, etc… 5 June – Blitz (rounds 9-15), 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, etc… Closing Ceremony 6 June – Departure Prizes The total prize fund of the two events of 100.000 (one hundred thousand) USD is distributed as follows:
Rapid:1st place 12000 USD 2nd place 9000 USD 3rd place 7000 USD 4th place 6000 USD 5th place 5000 USD 6th place 4000 USD 7th – 8th place 3000 USD each 9th – 10th place 2000 USD each 11th – 12th place 1500 USD each 13th – 15th place 1000 USD each
Blitz:1st place 10000 USD 2nd place 7000 USD 3rd place 5000 USD 4th place 4000 USD 5th place 3000 USD 6th place 2000 USD 7th – 10th place 1500 USD each 11th – 13th place 1000 USD each
14th – 15th place 500 USD each
In case of a tie, all prizes will be split equally, except for the first prize. In case of a tie for the first place, the tie-break will be played among the two players with the highest Median Buchholz.
The winners of the Championships will be declared Women’s World Rapid Champion-2012 and Women’s World Blitz Champion-2012 respectively.
Keep track of the event right here on Chess Blog and at the official website: www.e2e4.ge
Game 11 is a Draw Too - Are We Headed to Tiebreaks?
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Today’s penultimate game of the 2012 World Chess Championship between challenger Boris Gelfand and champion Viswanathan Anand ended in yet another draw. Materially at the end Black was a pawn up, which was offset by White’s Bishop pair with pawns on both sides of the board. Even the world’s strongest commercial chess program Houdini 2 Pro finds no way for either player to make headway. The match score now stands at 5.5. all, with one game left to play. See the analysis with Chess King and Houdini.
Marie Sebag Takes 'Chess Secret' to French Reality TV Show Secret Story' 6
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Guess who is on French television reality show - Secret Story? It is Grandmaster Marie Sebag!
A lot of people in the English-speaking world know a similar show called 'Big Brother'. The 'Secret Story' principle is similar. The contestants are kept locked away for 10 weeks in a house, called "La Maison des Secrets" (the House of Secrets). All of the rooms are installed with cameras, except the toilet.
Each contestant has to conceal a secret. Everyone else has to try and discover it. If a contestant does, that contestant wins the jackpot of the contestant whose secret they have guessed. Each secret is worth €10,000. Each Tuesday, two contestants are nominated and put up against the public vote to be evicted on the Friday. The girls and boys nominate the opposite sex, alternating weekly.
So, what is Marie Sebag's secret? But, of course that she is a chess grandmaster and has won the French Women's Chess Championship! You can read about all the contestants and Marie's progress at the show website.
GM Leinier Dominguez Perez Wins Cuban National Chess Championship for Fourth TIme
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
GM Leinier Dominguez Perez as won the 2012 edition of the Cuban Chess Championship. Dominguez won against Lazaro Bruzon in the final match with the score 1,5-0,5, taking the full point with white in a 38 mover Ruy Lopez game. This is the fourth title for Dominguez after his wins in 2002, 2003, and 2006. It also interrupts the series of GM Bruzon who won the event in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Third place in the competition was for GM Yuniesky Quesada who finished 1-1 with GM Isam Ortiz, but won the 15 minutes tiebreak rapid game. The next big competition for Dominguez is Biel Chess 2012. You can read further in the Spanish version of Chessdom.
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Best chess wishes to you! Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th Women's World Chess Champion
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