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hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk
Saturday, June 30, 2012
GM Ivan Salgado Wins Forni di Sopra Chess on Tiebreak ahead of Pavel Tregubov
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
GM Ivan Salgado of Spain has won the Forni di Sopra Chess Tournament recently. Going into the last round, both GM Salgado and Russia's Pavel Tregubov beat their opponents to finish the tournament with a total of seven points each. GM Salgado won on tiebreak.
Ivan Salgado and Pavel Tregubov
The 2nd International Chess Tournament of Forni di Sopra was organised from June 16-23 in the Italian Alps in Forni di Sopra. The setting was part of the Friulian Dolomites Natural Park. The organisers of the event were Accademia Internazionale di Scacchi, Circolo Scacchistico Udinese, ScacchiRandagi, FSI and Comune Forni di Sopra.
The tournament had three sections: - The A section, available to players with an elo above 2000, 9 rounds Swiss system , time control 90′x 40 moves + 30′ + 30”. - The B section, 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, open to players with an elo under 1600, 8 rounds Swiss system, time control 90′x 40 moves + 30′ + 30”
Francesco Simoncini won the B section with 6.5 points in the competition of 54 players.C section had 15 participants. As many as eight players shared the first place with 5 points each.
The winner of the inaugural event in 2011 was GM Carlos Matamoros.
2nd Chess Tournament in Memory of Lev Polugaevsky from July 5 in Samara
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The second Lev Polugaevsky Chess Memorial will be organised in the quaint city of Samara, Russia, from July 5-13. The nine-round Swiss chess tournament offers a total prize fund of 11,000 euros and would serve as a qualifier for the 2012 Russian Chess Cup.
Denis Khismatullin (2664), Artyom Timofeev (2641), Dmitry Kokarev (2629), Pavel Smirnov (2610), Dmitry Bocharov (2600), Pavel Maletin (2596) and Anton Shomoev (2582) are the top players registered for the chess tournament as of now.
The 1st Polugaevsky Memorial was held in 2011 with 122 players. GM Semen Dvoirys from Chelyabinsk was the sole winner with 7.5 points.
Camera in Russian Chess Girls' 'Locker Room'! (More Photos' Link Updated)
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
That's the Russian team for the Russia vs China special chess match beginning on July 1 in St Petersburg. Can you name all of them - the chess girls and their head coach?
The Russian men's and women's chess teams are all set for the special Russia versus China chess match from July 1-9, 2012 in St Petersburg, Russia.
This is a traditional chess team match between the two countries that has been taking place from 2001 in every year of the Chess Olympiad. The 2012 team chess match will be a practice friendly between both the men's and women's chess teams of both the countries before the Istanbul Chess Olympiad.
Each team will consist of six people – 5 players and 1 captain.
The tournament format is each plays each (Scheveningen), total 5 rounds of classical chess from the 2nd to 6th of July, additional two rounds of rapid chess will be played on the 7th and 8th.
Men's chess teams
Russia Evgeny Tomashevsky (2738) Dmitry Jakovenko (2736) Ian Nepomniachtchi (2716) Nikita Vitiugov (2703) Maxim Matlakov (2668)
China Wang Hao (2738) Li Chao B (2703) Wang Yue (2690) Ding Liren (2679) Yu Yangui (2626)
Women's chess teams
Russia Valentina Gunina (2530) Alexandra Kosteniuk (2457) Natalia Pogonina (2447) Olga Girya (2414) Baira Kovanova (2391)
China Zhao Xue (2549) Ju Wenjun (2529) Shen Yang (2419) Huang Qian (2417) Ding Yixin (2353)
Lots of more photos of the Russian women's team having fun in the beautiful sunshine of Peterhof park now at www.chessqueen.com.
US Chess Scoop @ 5th NY Chess International - Cool Video
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 5th edition of the New York International Chess Open concluded recently. Did you read our Chess Blog post:
NY Chess Open - Gelashvili, Kacheishvili Joint Winners of 5th Edition The US Chess Scoop visited the 5th New York Chess International, held at Saint John's University and sponsored by the Marshall Chess Club. The event was also a success for norm-hunters: Darwin Yang and Victor Shen earned GM norms and Tom Bartell and Adarsh Jayakumar earned IM norms. Here's a cool video.
Why World Chess Champ Vishy Anand Forgot His Marriage Anniversary!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Viswanathan Anand during his Accenture lecture in Madrid.
World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand recently explained how decision-making and pattern recognition plays an important part in life and in chess. He was speaking at a conference organised by Accenture in Madrid. His lecture also include ideas of use of computers and the strategies he used for winning the world title.
But, Viswanathan Anand began his lecture with an anecdote about him and his wife Aruna. Anand explains how he could not recognize the pattern in their anniversary date while he was thinking of elo number patterns. You can hear the anecdote in the beginning of the video.
Accenture, the largest consulting firm in the world, organised the conference Return on Analytics in the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid. More than 200 invited guests filled in the auditorium to attend the meeting that launched "Accenture Analytics", a new unit of Accenture which is dedicated to the creation of value through analytical intelligence in business processes.
One of the speakers was Vishy Anand. His lecture "Analysis to anticipate the future and make the best decisions" touched upon topics like pattern recognition, decision making, the role of computers and the different strategies he used in his World Championship matches. Here's the lecture (44 minutes):
Association of Chess Professional Plans Return of Adjournments with Anna Muzychuk and 6 GMs
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) is going to try and interesting new idea at a chess tournament in Amsterdam next month. The games will be adjourned after move 40 and resumed the next day! The time control will also be like in the old days: 2.5 hours for the first 40 moves.
The chess tournament named "Golden Classic" will be held July 14-22 July in Amsterdam on the sidelines of the Dutch National Chess Championship and the SPA Chess Open.
The tournament will be a single round robin with seven players: Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR, 2764), Gata Kamsky (USA, 2741), Baadur Jobava (GEO, 2721), Krishnan Sasikiran (IND, 2720), Le Quang Liem (VIE, 2703), Emil Sutovsky (ISR, 2687) and Anna Muzychuk (SLO, 2598).
Tournament director will be Jeroen van den Berg who also runs the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee and the Univé Tournament in Hoogeveen each year. The tournament won't be rated. The players will be fighting for an overall prize-fund of US $35,000. The sponsor is private and doesn't want to be mentioned.
Do you know how adjournments work in chess?It's almost two decades since the adjournment rule went out of style and the rulebook. All games at top tournaments were adjourned after the after the time control (after either move 40 or 60). The player whose turn it was to move wrote the move on a piece of paper and the arbiter sealed it in an envelope. The players could then spend the day or a rest day as well analysing the position with their team. The game resumed with the arbiter opening the envelope and playing the move when the chess tournament resumed.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Here's a chess trivia question with a twist. Can you guess in which game between two great players did this position occur on the chess board? When was this game played? Can you dare to reconstruct the game backwards? Hint: White was Bobby Fischer.
New Chess Club in Khayelitsha, Cape Town - Cool Video
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Moves for Life
A new chess playing always excites us as we imagine how many more people are going to enjoy chess for the rest of their life and what fun they will have sharing and playing chess.
Cape Town just got a chess club! Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov had visited the Khayelitsha hall a few months back and such was the interest he sparked that a chess club has been inaugurated at the OR Tambo Sports Hall just outside Cape Town, South Africa.
Within two weeks of its launch the club had 30 members and is still going strong. This video was filmed on a cellphone by Lisa Chait who attended the launch and was so moved she felt she had to record it. For more information and to find out how you can support this great chess development initiative please contact Ronel or Hannes Pieterse from 'Moves for Life': ronelpieterse10@gmail.com. To find out more about Lisa's work please visit www.lifestories.co.za and www.iamwomanseries.com.
Announcing their sponsorship of the Khayelitsha Chess Club, Moiketsi Sebotsa, Head of Business Optimization at iWYZE says that during an earlier iWYZE-sponsored Kasparov event, they realized that chess has the power to change children's lives.
"We watched the kids playing chess at the OR Tambo community centre in Khayelitsha and the passion for the game was evident."
In March, iWYZE sponsored a visit to Khayelitsha by Garry Kasparov, organized by Moves for Life – an organization involved in the promotion of chess as education support intervention.
GM David Arutinian Wins Karen Asrian Chess Memorial 2012
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Grandmaster David Arutinian from Georgia has won the Karen Asrian Chess Memorial in Jermuk with 7.5 points - a full point ahead of the rest of the field. He earned $4,000 from a prize fund of $18,500.
The Armenian Chess Federation organises the Karen Asrian Memorial Chess Tournament every year. The fifth edition of the event was organised from June 16-25, 2012.
The nine-round chess tournament was in memory of GM Karen Asrian, who passed away in June 2008 at the age of 28. He was member of the Armenian national team which won the first gold medal at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin.
GM Tigran Kotanjian - the defending champion had won both the third and fourth editions of the event.
Top final standings:
1. GM Arutinian David GEO 2561 – 7.5 2. GM Grigoryan Avetik ARM 2581 – 6.5 3. GM Minasian Artashes ARM 2506 – 6.5 4. GM Babujian Levon ARM 2469 – 6.5 5. GM Shanava Konstantine GEO 2589 – 6 6. FM Aghasaryan Robert ARM 2339 – 6 7. IM Gabuzyan Hovhannes ARM 2457 – 6 8. IM Maghalashvili Davit GEO 2478 – 6 9. GM Andriasian Zaven ARM 2615 – 6 10. GM Melkumyan Hrant ARM 2642 – 5.5 11. IM Hayrapetian Arman ARM 2372 – 5.5 12. Harutyunian Tigran K ARM 2252 – 5.5 13. IM Guramishvili Sopiko GEO 2408 – 5.5 14. IM Kalashian David ARM 2408 – 5.5 15. GM Simonian Hrair ARM 2475 – 5.5 16. GM Harutjunyan Gevorg ARM 2460 – 5.5 17. Mikaelyan Arman ARM 2216 – 5.5 18. GM Kotanjian Tigran ARM 2522 – 5 19. GM Ter-Sahakyan Samvel ARM 2577 – 5 20. Poghosyan Suren ARM 2306 – 5 21. GM Petrosian Davit G ARM 2460 – 5 22. IM Mkrtchian Lilit ARM 2449 – 5 23. Torosyan Norayr ARM 2137 – 5 24. IM Hayrapetyan Hovik ARM 2449 – 5 25. IM Oparin Grigoriy RUS 2494 – 5
NY Chess Open - Gelashvili, Kacheishvili Joint Winners of 5th Edition
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Grandmasters Tamaz Gelashvili and Giorgi Kacheishvili of Georgia have won the 5th New York International Chess Open. The 5th edition of the New York International Chess Tournament, was organized by the historic Marshall Chess Club from June 2024 at the Manhattan Campus of St. John’s University. (A) FIDE Norm Tournament was open to all players rated 2200 or above (USCF or FIDE) and special invitees. 9 rounds, Swiss System, 40/90, SD/30, 30 second increment. 72 players competed. You can access the official website here.
Final standings: 1-2. GM TAMAZ GELASHVILI and GM GIORGI KACHEISHVILI 2598 - 7.0 (3750.00 USD each) 3-5. GM MIKHEIL KEKELIDZE 2494, IM DARWIN YANG 2476 (2nd GM Norm) and FM VICTOR C SHEN 2333 (Final IM Norm, 1st GM Norm) - 6.5 (1166.67 USD each) 6-10. GM IVAN IVANISEVIC 2655, IM MARC TYLER ARNOLD 2528, IM ZHE QUAN 2424, FM THOMAS BARTELL 2369 (750.00 USD, 1st IM Norm) and ADARSH JAYAKUMAR 2267 (750.00 USD, 2nd IM Norm) - 6.0 etc.
This is combining chess and cycling! Chess enthusiasts are invited to play a chess game which starts at the same time as the Tour de France against former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov. Karpov will visit the Tour de France on July 21 at the conclusion of the race at Champs-Elysées in Paris. But, before that, throughout the duration of the Tour de France, via the website Europe Echecs, he would play a chess match against the 'rest of the world' team.
Everyone who registers gets to play and vote for the best chess move for 24 hours via the Internet for the move to be played against Karpov."If I've never been to the Tour de France. Though, I have watched it on television. I see many similarities between chess and cycling. You need discipline and endurance. I can give one example of a chess match - the world chess championship against Viktor Korchnoi which lasted over two months and 32 games," said Karpov.
The Tour de France website is here. You can register for the chess game at this link.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The US Chess Federation hosts several national chess events each year. A list is provided below for those events which are organized by the National Events Director, Patricia K. Smith. If you are a USCF Certified Tournament Director, and are interested in working at one or more of our National Events organized by the USCF, please print and complete the following form and return to: patsmith@uschess.org.
4th London Chess Classic Invitations Sent to Top Players
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 4th London Chess Classic is scheduled to be played at the traditional venue of Olympia in Kensington, London from December 1-10, 2012.
Invitations have been sent to World Chess Champion Vishy Anand, World No.1 Magnus Carlsen, defending champion Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, Judit Polgar, Michael Adams, Luke McShane and Gawain Jones. Over the next week or so, the players are expected to accept or decline the invitation. The tournament will be a nine-player all-play-all event and carry forward the excitement and thrill of strong chess like last year!
There will be plenty of side chess events for amateurs, children, and others. Chess in Schools and Communities will organise free classes and tournaments for schools as well as courses for potential chess teachers. The opening ceremony will take place on November 30 and the traditional fund-raising dinner for CSC will be on December 10.
Remembering First Women's World Chess Champion Vera Menchik
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Vera Menchik (16 February 1906 – 27 June 1944) was a British-Czech chess player who was the first women's world chess champion. She also competed in chess tournaments with some of the world's leading male chess players of her time.
She won two matches against Sonja Graf for the Women’s World Champion title; (+3 −1 =0) at Rotterdam 1934, and (+9 −2 =5) at Semmering 1937. Sonja Graf was the second strongest women's player in the world at the time and coached by the legendary Siegbert Tarrasch. Enjoy this nice game between Vera Menchik and Sonja Graf.
Kazakhstan's Zhansaya Abdumalik becomes WGM at the age of 12
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Here is some exciting chess news via Chessdom. Kazakhstan's Zhansaya Abdumalik has completed her final norm for the Woman Grandmaster's title at the age of 12 years 5 months and 15 days. This makes her the second youngest WGM in history. The youngest WGM record is still in possession of the World Champion Yifan Hou, who achieved her title requirements at age 12 years and 3 months. However, the mark might not hold on for long as a few months ago Alexandra Goryachkina came close to breaking it, while now Zhansaya Abdumalik remained at just 2 months “distance”.
Zhansaya Abdumalik
Zhansaya Abdumalik was born January 2012. Her first big jump in chess came at the World Youth Chess 2008 where she convincingly won the gold medal in the U8 section 1,5 points ahead of competition. She became a titled player at the U10 World Chess Championship in Porto Carras where in the strongest ever U10 age category she shared 1st-2nd place and earned her WFM title.
Shortly after came the WIM title with a final norm at the 12th ASEAN+AGE Group Championships 2011. The same year as a WIM she conquered the World Chess Championship title U12 in Brazil.
At present day Zhansaya Abdumalik is the top women U12 in Asia, the top women U12 player in the World, and her rating as of May 2012 is 2141 ELO points.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Humpy - Nice Win in Kazan Grand Prix
India's Koneru Humpy - joint winner of the Kazan Chess Grand Prix along with Slovakia's Anna Muzychuk - says, "It was the the highest ELO-ranked tournament also featuring former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.” She was speaking to Indian sports magazine Sportstar while on her way home to Vijayawada via Hyderabad.
“The first-half was very demanding with little scope of taking any risk. That was the reason for too many drawn games,” she added.
“One of the high-points of this tournament was the victory over former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova,” said Humpy, who is also looking at the Grand Prix series as part of her preparations for the World Championship knock-outs this December.
“Having fared badly in the first Grand Prix, I feel that the performance in this second one is very satisfying. The Grand Prix series (2011-2012) features six events in all and I hope to keep improving in the next two scheduled to be held in Armenia and Turkey later this year,” the World No. 4 said.
“You need to have a lot of patience and play more steadily in the Grand Prix. You cannot take risks just like that. You have to be really good at the waiting game,” said the ONGC manager. “Never before in my career was I involved in so many drawn games in a tournament. That shows the intensity of the competition,” Humpy concluded.
Koneru Humpy, by virtue of the Kazan Grand Prix win, is expected to move up from 2589 to 2598 ELO points in the next FIDE ratings to be released soon.
US Junior Chess Championship 2012 - Field, Prizes Increased
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has increased both the size of the field and the prize fund for the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, scheduled from July 10 through July 15. Organizers increased the field from 10 players to 16 due to a misunderstanding on current regulations. The U.S. Chess Federation verified some invitations, but inadvertently overlooked one qualifying tournament and one invitation by rating. Thanks to additional sponsorship by the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, the USCF and software development company ConRadical, the prize fund for this prestigious event has been increased to a record-breaking $18,000.
To accommodate the larger field, the organizers modified the format of the Junior Championship. The group of 16 will be split into two fields of eight players each. The eight players will play one another in a round robin, and the winner of each field will play a head-to-head, two-game match for the title. If the score is tied after two games, there will be a playoff to determine the 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.
The list of invited players and current USCF ratings is as follows:
IM Marc Arnold (2612) IM Conrad Holt (2580) IM Darwin Yang (2562) IM Daniel Naroditsky (2552) FM Victor Shen (2532) NM Robert Perez (2519) NM Will Fisher (2436) NM Eric Rosen (2422) FM Alec Getz (2410) FM Jeffery Xiong (2394) NM Raven Sturt (2387) NM Atulya Shetty (2379) FM Kayden Troff (2368) NM Justus Williams (2318) NM Kevin Cao (2230) Matthew Michaelides (2164) The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Champion also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship, 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship and the 2012 World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held August 1 through August 16 in Athens, Greece.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
We feel very happy whenever we see a chess initiative in any part of the world. We just found this notice:
Calling all chess players: Join Colorado Chess Master Brad Lundstrom during the summer concert series at Boardwalk Park from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays for some chess. Lundstrom will challenge up to 10 players at a time and offer chess tips, or you can start your own Windsor chess challenge.
The chess players also are seeking donations from wood craftsmen or funds to create a large chess board to help Windsor become a hub for chess in Northern Colorado.
Anand Disappointed about Bazna Kings Chess Tournament Being Postponed
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has expressed disappointment at the postponing of the Kings Chess Tournament in Medias, Romania. He said he was looking forward to his first chess tournament after winning the World Chess Championship 2012 against Boris Gelfand last month. The tournament was to be held from June 23 to July 4, before being postponed by the organisers.
"Emotions are still fresh having won the World Championship, a tough one at that. It was most disappointing. I was geared up to playing in it and now I have to cool my heels for the next one. Always you want to get back and play again," said Anand.
The 2012 tournament in Medias was to be the sixth edition (being held in Bazna until last year) and was set to include a strong 6-player double round robin line-up headed by last year's winner and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway and world champion Anand.
The other players were Teimour Radjabov, Sergey Karjakin, Vassily Ivanchuk and top Romanian player Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu.
Anand was also on Tuesday made the brand ambassador of TVH, one of the major players in realty market in Southern parts of India.
Kasparov Takes on 1950 Alan Turing Paper Machine in Manchester
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov is not going to be counting this victory as one of his best. He took on Alan Turing's 1950 chess program at the Alan Turing Centenary Conference in Manchester on June 25. Garry Kasparov won in 16 moves against the 'Paper Machine' created in 1950. But, the game has lot of historical value. Kasparov was an invited guest speaker at the centenary celebrations of the Father of Computing in Manchester.
The historic chess-playing program played in public for the first time.
Manila Chess Open: GM Darwin Laylo Wins Clear First
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
GM Darwin Laylo has won the 2012 Manila Open Chess Championships for the Mayor’s Cup in Manila. Laylo scored 7.5 points - half a point clear of the field and 12-time National Open champion GM Rogelio Antonio Jr., and former Philippine Junior Champion and Nationa Master (NM) Rolando Andador. Antonio and Andador got the second and third places, respectively.
Darwin Laylo - Champion in Manila
Laylo beat GMs Antonio and Mark Paragua in the final two rounds to clinch the title in the eight-round event supported by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.
The chess tournament was also part of the Manila 441st founding anniversary celebrations. A veteran participant of the World Chess Olympiad and the World Chess Cup, Laylo is also a member of the Philippine Team that won the silver medal in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.
Ultimate Chess List of World's Top Business Honchos
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
We found this great article on chess players/lovers in business! Gus Lubin and Samantha Cortez compiled a list in Business Insider of 24 executives who are exceptional at chess. The article begins with a very nice quote by Bob Rice. In Three Moves Ahead: What Chess Can Teach You About Business, Rice wrote: "The more you look at the business world, the more you see that successful companies and the people who run them use chess strategies routinely (whether they know it or not)."
Some of the names that Lubin and Cortez have listed:
Jared Hecht, Co-founder of GroupMe Andrei Filatov, Co-owner, N-Trans Group Seth Bannon, Founder & CEO, Amicus Rex Sinquefield, Co-founder, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Author Victoria Livschitz, Founder, CEO, Grid Dynamics Joe Lonsdale, Co-founder, Palantir Technologies and Addepar Josh Weinstein, Founder of YouAre.TV Elina Groberman, Former Deutsche Bank trader Barney Pell, Co-Founder of Powerset; Founder of Moon Express Boaz Weinstein, Hedge fund manager Alan Trefler, CEO, Pegasystems Peter Thiel, Hedge Fund Manager, Venture Capitalist, Co-Founder of PayPal Vivek Rao, Former quantitative financial analyst Max Dlugy, Manager, Diversified Property Fund; Co-founder, International Chess Management Inc. Michael Wilder, Partner at McDermott Will & Emery Patrick Wolff, Director of Grandmaster Capital
Can you name her, tell us her chess rating and her claim to fame in the business world?
... and several others including Bill Gates, George Soros, Carl Icahn, Pierre Omidyar, Michael Birch, A.G. Lafley, Jim Slater, Douglas Hirsch and Auren Hoffman.
You could suggest someone if they have been missed in the full list of chess players in business.
Asian Youth Chess Championship Begins in Sri Lanka
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Latest chess news from Asia is that the Youth Chess Championship has begun in Sri Lanka. Young chess players from 19 countries are taking part in the Asian Youth Chess Championship being held in the beach resort of Hikkaduwa.
The chess tournament has entries from 308 boys and girls for categories of under-8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 for Open and girls. A kindergarten championship is being held for the under-6.
In photo above, Bandula Gunawardane, Minister of Education, makes the ceremonial move with Harshana Thilakaratne who tied for first place in the World Youth Championship 2011 in Brazil.
Looking on are Sri Lanka Chess Federation president Upali Gunasekera and Secretary Luxman Wijesuriya, Zone President and Organizing Committee chairman and Asian Chess Federation Deputy President Casto Abundo.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The second Chess Open at the Riga Technical University will be held from August 6 – 12 at the main building of the Riga Technical University in Latvia. The chess festival actually includes two classical time control tournaments and one blitz chess tournament.
Riga Technical University Chess Tournament in 2011
GM Alberto David won the first Riga Technical Chess Open in August 2011. A total of 138 chess players from 17 countries had taken part in the main tournament and includd eight Grandmasters and seven International Masters.
The guaranteed prize fund for the second edition of the chess festival is 5250 LVL (7500 EUR). First prize of the tournament A is guaranteed to be 1000 LVL (1410 EUR), special prizes for women, juniors, seniors and rating prizes.
Tournament A
Swiss System, 9 rounds, August 6-12, open for all players. The tournament will have GM, IM, WGM and WIM norms. Already, 106 participants from 28 countries have registered for the event including 24 GMs.
Tournament B
Swiss System, 7 rounds August 9-12, open for players with ELO below 2150.
Early entries for the ELO tournaments and accommodation requests should be sent before 15th of July. Special prices for hotels are available till this date, too. More detailed information about schedule, accommodation and registration can be found in regulations attached to this mail or in the official homepage of the tournament.
The festival can also be combined with annual Latvian chess festival “Liepajas Rokade 2012” that will take place in Liepaja (~200km from Riga) on August 2 – 5.
World Chess Championship 2012 Revisited Trivia Quiz
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Exactly a month ago we were all preparing to go into the tiebreak of the Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship 2012. There was excitement all around - not just in Moscow. How much do you remember of what transpired in Moscow this last month? Here's a quiz to find out. Enjoy remembering the world chess championship 2012.
2- Who said this is? (Hint: Not Boris Gelfand) "I went to school in Dnepropetrovsk, but there wasn’t a single university in the city that had a chess programme. So I had to choose between Moscow, Minsk and Lviv." The answer is at the official world chess championship website.
3- This position appeared on the chess board in which game? You can replay the game with Chess King.
4- Can you identify the event and the participants? The answer is here.
U20 Chess Champions of South America: IM Evandro Amorim Barbosa and Valentina Jorquera
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Saltos - Barbosa
IM Evandro Amorim Barbosa and Valentina Jorquera have won the 7th edition of the South American Junior Chess Championship in the open and girls' section respectively. The tournament was organised from June 15-22 in the beautiful city of Asuncion, Paraguay. The federations Players from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela took part in the event.
IM Evandro Amorim Barbosa won the open section with 7,0/9 securing a GM norm as the winner of the event. The last round draw against Adrián Saltos Vélez was enough for Barbosa to secure the first place. Second place went to FM Santiago Yago De Moura. As he had the same points as the winner, he was awarded the IM title. The top local finisher was FM Guillermo Vázquez, third with 6,0/7 and just a step away from an IM title.
Valentina Jorquera
The girls' section was won by Valentina Jorquera with 7,0/9. She was awarded the WIM title for the victory. WFM Adriana Pachon won the silver, while bronze went to Bolivian chess champion WIM Daniela Cordero.
Final standings open 1 IM Barbosa Evandro Amorim BRA 2401 7 2 FM Santiago Yago De Moura BRA 2347 7 3 FM Vazquez Guillermo PAR 2293 6 4 FM Cuellar Diego PER 2269 6 5 Olivares Olivares Claudio CHI 2251 6 6 FM Hernandez Sanchez Jairo Andres COL 2279 5.5 7 Saltos Velez Adrian ECU 2147 5.5 8 FM Gemy Jose Daniel BOL 2345 5 9 Latorre Matias PAR 2235 5 10 Palma Moscoso Alvaro Dario ECU 2175 5 11 Torres Juan Camilo COL 2337 5 12 Sanchez Sandoval Gonzalo CHI 2042 5 13 Gaitan Juan Manuel ARG 2271 4.5 14 FM Martinez Alcantara Jose Eduard PER 2135 4.5 15 Mamani Joan Franco PER 2157 4.5 16 FM Espinoza Palomino Willyam PER 2327 4.5 17 Leon Calderon Jonathan ECU 2102 4 18 Caetano Hugo Zanotti Mendonca BRA 2047 4 19 FM Ruiz C Joshua D COL 2306 4 20 Zarate Fernandoh PAR 1720 4 21 Uribe Gabriel PAR 1872 3.5 22 Torres Mauricio PAR 1789 3.5 23 Roman Rodrigo PAR 2053 3.5 24 Heinechen John PAR 1846 3 25 Avalos Matias PAR 1535 1.5 26 Fretes Romero Matias PAR 0 0
Final standings women 1 Jorquera Cabello Valentina CHI 1937 7 2 WFM Pachon Adriana COL 1994 6.5 3 WIM Cordero Daniela BOL 2090 6.5 4 Medeiros Thauane Ferreira BRA 1805 5 5 Martinez Ayelen ARG 2107 5 6 Pinargote Carreno Kassandra ECU 1931 4 7 Aponte Oriana Isabel VEN 1948 4 8 WCM Avalos Leticia PAR 1693 3.5 9 WFM Chumpitaz Ann PER 2220 2.5 10 Avalos Rosana PAR 1452 1
Čez Chess Trophy: Svidler Wins Against Navara 2.5-0.5
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
David Navara and Peter Svidler in Prague
Russian Grandmaster Peter Svidler has won the traditional Čez Chess Trophy against Czech GM David Navara in Prague. Svidler won the second game in a row to win the trophy though one game is still to be played. Svidler declined a draw offer to continue his attack. The score stands Peter Svidler-David Navara 2.5-0.5.
The traditional Čez Chess Trophy offers top-rated Czech GM David Navara an opportunity to play a strong grandmaster from around the world once a year. He has already played Vassily Ivanchuk, Vladimir Kramnik and Judit Polgar. Rapid chess games have been played in the previous years.
However, in 2012, Navara and Svidler play a match of four classical games with the FIDE time control 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for finishing the game. There is a 30 second increment for ever move as well. The sponsor is Čez Group, a conglomerate of companies involved in the electricity generation, distribution, and trade.
Venue is the Malostranská beseda in central Prague, close to the famous Charles Bridge. The match is part of a bigger festival which includes lectures given by Slovakian GM Ján Markoš, Israeli IM Yochanan Afek and Einar S. Einarsson. There's also a philatelist exposition, and on Friday both Navara and Svidler gave simuls. You can replay the third game with Chess King.
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The latest chess news update from tournaments via Chessdom is that GM Alexandr Fier has won the Teplice Chess Open 2012 hosted by SK Teplice from June 16-24 at the House of Culture in Teplice, Czech Republic.
GM Alexandr Fier defeated GM Denes Boros in the last round to win the tournament with a clear first by notching up 8/9 points, leaving the nearest followers a full point behind. Standings bellow.
The 9-round Swiss tournament saw 134 players from 14 countries and among them 10 Grandmasters. The total prize fund was 4200 EUR with 1200 EUR going to the winner.
GM Alexandr Fier
Top final standings: 1. GM Fier Alexandr BRA 2596 – 8 2. GM Shishkin Vadim UKR 2492 – 7 3. IM Cernousek Lukas CZE 2440 – 7 4. GM Sergeev Vladimir UKR 2486 – 6.5 5. GM Chatalbashev Boris BUL 2575 – 6.5 6. GM Mekhitarian Krikor Sevag BRA 2531 – 6.5 7. GM Vorobiov Evgeny E RUS 2581 – 6.5 8. GM Boros Denes HUN 2475 – 6.5 9. FM Kriebel Tadeas CZE 2390 – 6.5 10. Mukashev Assan KAZ 2172 – 6.5 11. GM Womacka Mathias GER 2427 – 6.5 12. IM Kanovsky David CZE 2445 – 6.5 13. IM Hausner Ivan CZE 2412 – 6 14. IM Dolezal jr. Radoslav CZE 2370 – 6 15. FM Adamek Jiri CZE 2320 – 6 16. FM Bartos Jan CZE 2235 – 6 17. FM Kratochvil Josef CZE 2231 – 6 18. FM Carstensen Jacob DEN 2305 – 6 19. GM Lechtynsky Jiri CZE 2382 – 6 20. FM Ponizil Cyril CZE 2404 – 6 21. FM Vlasak Lukas CZE 2247 – 6 22. WGM Nemcova Katerina CZE 2261 – 5.5 23. IM Kantorik Marian SVK 2305 – 5.5 24. FM Tuma Jakub CZE 2281 – 5.5 25. Vales Vaclav CZE 2179 – 5.5
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The sixth edition of the Leiden Chess Tournament is being organised by Stichting Denksportpromotie Nederland, a foundation for mindsports, at the Leiden Denksportcentrum, from July 6 – 15, 2012. The tournament format is Swiss nine rounds according to FIDE rules with two byes possible in the first six rounds. For both groups A and B KNSB rating points and obtained FIDE ratings will be forwarded to the FIDE organization.
The total amount (prizes) will be > € 5500 euro (at minimum of 120 players), first prize will be: A-group € 1750 euro and B-groep € 500 euro.Entry fee:Group A (> 1900 ELO) and group B (< 1950 ELO): payment before July 1st € 50,00 and after July 1st € 55 at the playinghall FIDE titled player with a rating over 2350 pay no entree fee More information and tournament site: www.leidenchess.nl
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Can you name three chess beauties who have between them
- at least one Russian chess championship title - three Grandmaster titles - at least one women's world chess title - at least one Olympiad team title - three European team titles - who have been together for at least eight years in friendship and competition
We have a unique photo of the three taken eight years apart in the same city!
Here is another one in the same series from the US Chess Federation. Enjoy.
The Scoop on the World Chess Hall of Fame: Inspiring Women Through Art. The US Chess Scoop spoke with Laura Reeves (COO) about how work and programs at the World Chess Hall of Fame can inspire more women to play chess. She also discusses works by artists Yoko Ono, Diana Thater and Barbara Kruger.
Join Chess Fans to Play Against Russian National Chess Team - 17th Anniversary of 1st Correspondence Chess Match
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Top Russian Grandmasters and members of the Russian national chess team, Peter Svidler, Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk and Evgeny Tomashevsky will play a team chess match against chess fans via a special website set up for the event.
This special chess event is being held to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the first-ever correspondence chess match played between Russian Grandmaster Alexander Petrov against three chess players from St. Petersburg. The correspondence game was played from April 27 to October 2, 1837. Petrov is known for the Petrov Defense or the Russian Defence - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6. Petrov is also known as the great Russian theorist, chess master and writer. He was one of the strongest chess player in the first half of the 19th century.
The Russian Chess Federation is organising the chess match with general sponsorship by Gazprom via a specially created online site. Fans who register as members of the team will be able to send their movies. The move receiving the most votes would be played. You can register and take part.
Start Time - June 25, 2012 at 15:00 Moscow time.
There will be lot of prizes for those who send the most correct answers, best answers, etc.
Congratulations to Humpy, Muzychuk for Winning Kazan Chess Grand Prix
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
One of the strongest women’s chess tournaments ever, the 2012 Kazan Chess Grand Prix just ended! Congratulations to Humpy Koneru and Anna Muzychuk for their 7.5 points win. Cmilyte and the current world champion Hou Yifan ended up with 7 points, and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk finished 5th with Danielian 6th. Tatiana Kosintseva 7th, Lahno 8th, Stefanova 9th, Nadezhda Kosintseva 10th, Galliamova 11th and Yildiz 12th.
Shall we tell you the names of these super-strong chess girls - Two world champions and a world No. 3 among women!
Chess Queen gains 15 elo points from the nice performance. Find more great photos and a blog post at Alexandra Kosteniuk's personal blog www.chessqueen.com.
Don't be shy about contacting me
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or to propose collaboration
Best chess wishes to you! Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th Women's World Chess Champion
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, Rice wrote: "The more you look at the business world, the more you see that successful companies and the people who run them use chess strategies routinely (whether they know it or not)."
