Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk tops 2013 with a Cool Interview
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Here is Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk's latest interview (click on graphic below) as we bid adieu to 2013. You can also read GM Kosteniuk's holiday and New Year message on Chessqueen.com. In this interview, Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk - the 12th Women's World Chess Champion - talks about the books she has written, how she 'became' the Chess Queen™, about her work with Peace and Sport and how she became so good at chess. This is a must-read interview of one of the coolest chess Grandmasters and chess ambassadors of our times!.
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Labels: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Chess Queen
South Asian Amateur Chess Championship in Nepal Feb 1-6
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The latest chess news via FIDE is that the South Asian Amateur Chess Championship 2014 will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from February 1-6.
(FIDE Rating under 2000)
2014 Feb. 1-6, Kathmandu.
Venue:Covered Hall, National Sports Council, Tripureshor, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Tournament Rules
* System of Play: As per FIDE Laws of chess & Swiss System 9 rounds game will be played. Swiss Manager Software will be use for pairings.
* Time Control: 90 min. + 30 sec. /per move from move 1.
* Tie- break: The latest FIDE Rules shall apply. The cash prizes won't be share.
* Special Rule: The tournament is only for players under FIDE rating 2000 or without rating. Feb. 2014 FRL will be used for the ranking list.
* Players with FIDE titles except CM are not allowed to participate in this event.
For more details download the brochure from the FIDE website.
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Labels: kathmandu chess, south asian amateur chess
GM Sasikiran is India National Chess Champion 2013
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013 Hello everyone,Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran is the Indian National Chess Champion 2013. GM Sasikiran won the 51st Indian National Premier Chess Championship 2013 on Monday.
Sasikiran played some very strong chess to beat extremely tough competition over the last two weeks. The last round had two vital games to be played that would effect the final outcome. GM Adhiban went into the last round trailing the leader by half point and convincingly beat MS Thejkumar. This was even as Sasi battled Shyam Nikhil. If Sasi were to draw, he would have to give the title to Adhiban on tiebreak. But, Sasi held on strong and beat Nikhil to win the tournament with 10.5/13. GM Sasikiran has won the title for the fourth time.
The third place went to Lalith Babu who played exciting chess to beat Debashis Das. Babu has won the most number of games in this tournament - nine! However, he lost three games thereby making it to the third place.
Thejkumar MS who finished fourth too had an excellent tournament scoring a GM norm and also increasing his rating by 22 points. He will surely be India's next GM in the days to come.
The other two players who finished in the top 6 Were Ashwin Jayaram who played a great game against Vishnu Prasanna and Deepan Chakravarthy who drew with Rathnakaran in just 10 moves.
G Akash won his first game of the tournament in the last round, however, Parimarjan did not turn up to play the last-round game and gave a walkaover to Akshat Khamparia. (Indian Chess News)
Labels: india chess, krishnan sasikiran
89th Hastings International Chess Congress 2013 Begins
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013 Hello everyone,
The 89th Hastings International Chess Congress has begun. The tournament was opened on Saturday at the town's Horntye Park sports complex by council leader Jeremy Birch. The Hastings International Chess Congress was first held in the East Sussex resort in 1895. Councillor Birch described it as the "longest running chess congress in the world, and one of the best known". The chess congress ends on 5 January.
Labels: 89th hastings chess congress 2013
World Youth Chess Championships 2013: Indian Juniors win Most Medals
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The World Youth Chess Championships always showcase the chess stars of the future. The 2013 World Youth Chess Championships were held on 17-29th December in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. The event was organized by the UAE Chess Federation and Al Ain Chess Club, under the auspices of FIDE. A total of 1,773 players from 121 countries competed.
India and China won three gold medals each, but the Indian players also bagged two silver and three bronze medals. Russia won 1 gold, one silver and 3 bronze medals, while Iran won one of each medals. United States claimed the gold and silver in the U10 boys section. Among the other countries, Canada, Armenia and Greece have one gold medal each. Spanish players won two silver medals, while Serbia, Mongolia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Belarus one silver each. Azerbaijan won two bronze medals home. Also with bronze medals, one for each country, are Poland, Bulgaria and Turkmenistan. (Report via FIDE) For a report on the Indian results, including the news on GM Abhijeet Gupta winning the Al Ain Open Chess Classic, read Chess Magazine Black and White website. All the results via the official website.
The closing ceremony was held after the last round of World Youth Chess Championship 2013 with medal winners in classic and blitz sections in all 12 categories recieving their medals from Sheikh Nahyan and FIDE president Kirsan Illyumzhinov.
U18 boys:1 IM Idani Pouya IRI 2483 – 8.5
2 GM Anton Guijarro David ESP 2558 – 8.0
3 GM Vaibhav Suri IND 2544 – 8.0
U18 girls:
1 WFM Tomnikova Lidia RUS 2167 – 8.5
2 WGM Ziaziulkina Nastassia BLR 2354 – 8.5
3 WIM Ibrahimova Sabina AZE 2205 – 8.5
U16 boys:
1 IM Karthikeyan Murali IND 2431 – 9.0
2 FM Girish A. Koushik IND 2413 – 9.0
3 FM Alekseenko Kirill RUS 2445 – 8.0
U16 girls:
1 Gu Tianlu CHN 2128 – 9.0
2 WIM Nicolas Zapata Irene ESP 2237 – 8.5
3 WGM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat IRI 2298 – 8.5
U14 boys:
1 Li Di CHN 2091 – 9.5
2 Zajic Milan SRB 2340 – 9.0
3 Atabayev Saparmyrat TKM 2203 – 9.0
U14 girls:
1 Tsolakidou Stavroula GRE 2132 – 9.0
2 Abdusattorova Bakhora UZB 1933 – 9.0
3 WFM Vasenina Anna RUS 2053 – 8.5
U12 boys:
1 Hakobyan Aram ARM 2015 – 9.5
2 FM Raghunandan K. Srihari IND 2168 – 8.5
3 Lobanov Sergei RUS 2239 – 8.5
U12 girls:
1 Shengxin Zhao CHN 1753 – 9.5
2 Shuvalova Polina RUS 2052 – 9.0
3 WFM Antova Gabriela BUL 1815 – 8.5
U10 boys:
1 FM Liang Awonder USA 2246 – 10.0
2 CM Peng David T USA 2042 – 9.0
3 Teclaf Pawel POL 1893 – 9.0
U10 girls:
1 WCM Salonika Saina IND 1642 – 9.0
2 WFM Asadi Motahare IRI 1657 – 8.5
3 WFM Lakshmi C IND 1757 – 8.5
U8 boys:
1 FM Praggnanandhaa R IND 1852 – 11.0
2 Can Isik TUR 1751 – 9.0
3 Suleymanli Aydin Elshan AZE 0 – 9.0
U8 girls:
1 WCM Zhu Harmony CAN 0 – 9.0
2 Mungunzul Bat-Erdene MGL 0 9.0
3 Bhagyashree Patil IND 1423 – 8.5
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: al ain chess, world junior chess
Chess Trivia: Name Them... and What do you think are they Whispering to Each Other?
Paul Keres Chess Memorial Festival in Tallinn Jan 3-16
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
From January 3 to January 16, the Estonian Chess Federation will hold a Paul Keres Memorial Chess Festival in Tallinn. Paul Keres was elected the Estonian Sportsman of the 20th century. The international tournament of the Paul Keres Memorial Festival will take place from January 10 to January 16, 2014. It will be a 9-round Swiss system event with the prize fund of 10 000 euros. Regulations and a list of already registered participants can be found from the special webpage of the Festival - http://www.maleliit.ee/tabelid/2013/Keres/
Labels: estonia chess, paul keres memorial chess festival
Pavlodar Chess Open 2013: GM Rinat Jumabayev wins on Tiebreak
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The Pavlodar Chess Open 2013 took place from 10-19th December at the Estaya St. 83 in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan.
The chess tournament was devoted to the Republic of Kazakhstan Independence Day and organized by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, Management of tourism, physical training and sports of the Pavlodar area, and Pavlodar Chess Federation.
A total of 104 players competed in the 10-rounds Swiss event. Among them were 15 Grandmasters and 10 International Masters.
Grandmasters Rinat Jumabayev, Semen Dvoirys and Andrey Zhigalko shared the first place with 7,5/9 points each, but the trophy goes to the local star Jumabayev who had the best tie-break. (FIDE)
Final standings:
1-3. GM Jumabayev Rinat KAZ 2561, GM Dvoirys Semen RUS 2562 and GM Zhigalko Andrey BLR 2628 – 7,5
4-13. GM Solak Dragan TUR 2618, GM Kostenko Petr KAZ 2497, GM Zubarev Alexander UKR 2546, GM Ovetchkin Roman RUS 2542, GM Vokarev Sergey RUS 2464, IM Amanov Zhanibek KAZ 2362, GM Zablotsky Sergei RUS 2522, GM Burmakin Vladimir RUS 2585, FM Khegay Dmitriy RUS 2348 and FM Kazakov Konstantin KAZ 2339 – 7,0 etc
Tournament website
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Labels: andrey zhigalko, pavlodar chess open, rinat jumabayev, semen dvoirys
37th San Sebastian City International Chess Open April 12-19
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The 37th San Sebastian City International Chess Open is set to take place on 12-19th April, 2014, at the Gros Xake Taldea, Anoetapasseig, 20 in Donostia-San Sebastián. The tournament will be played over nine rounds of Swiss system. The tournament is organized by Gipuzkoako Xake Federakuntza, more information on the official website www.fgajedrez.org. (FIDE)
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Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 with Anand, Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura, Caruana, Gelfand from Jan 29
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 will be the first encounter between the newly-crowned World Chess Champion, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, and the former title holder, India’s Viswanathan Anand after their recent match in Chennai.
Zurich Chess 2013 Opening Ceremony: Boris Gelfand, Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Fabiano Caruana (left to right)
From Wednesday, 29 January to Tuesday, 4 February 2014, they will compete in the 3rd Zurich Chess Challenge along with four other great chess stars Levon Aronian (Arm), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Fabiano Caruana (It) and Boris Gelfand (Isr). With an average of 2794 Elo points (according to the September 13 rating list) this is going to be the strongest tournament in chess history.
The main sponsor is Oleg Skvortsov of the International Gemological Laboratories, Moscow, with the Zurich Chess Club acting as organizer.
The owner of IGC International Gemological Laboratories, Mr. Oleg Skvortsov, is the creator of this chess event. He not only loves chess, but also plays chess and supports chess events. Furthermore, Mr. Skvortsov knows many of the greatest chess players in the world personally and has played a lot of games with them.
The first Zurich Chess Challenge in 2012 was a match between Kramnik and Aronian. The second event in 2013 was a double-round robin with Kramnik, Anand, Caruana and Gelfand.
For the 2014 edition, a blitz tournament will determine the color distribution. A round-robin tournament of five rounds with a classical time control is then followed by a rapid tournament with colors reversed on the last day of play. A won game in the classical tournament counts 2 points, a draw 1 point. Wins in the rapid tournament count 1 point and draws half a point.
All games will be commented by Yannick Pelletier and Werner Hug and broadcast live via Internet.
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Labels: Boris gelfand, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru nakamura, levon aronian, Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, vladimir kramnik, zurich chess challenge 2014
Chess in South East Asian Nations in Myanmar
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The 27th SEA Games are being held in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital of Myanmar. This is a biennial multisport games event hosted normally by rotation among the 11 nations of the ASEAN, Association of South East Asian Nations. A total of about 10,000 athletes and officials forms the participation list. Organising this edition for the first time since the last time in 1969, they scored excellently for the issuance of accreditation cards, visas and were efficient with airport transfers and accommodation.
The Games are held under the umbrella of the SEA Games Federation and the sport disciplines are decided by the SEAGF and the local organiser. Chess is being included for the fourth time; previously in 2003 Vietnam, 2005 Philippines, 2011 Indonesia.
In the current series, the organisers introduced Myanmar Traditional Chess, Chess 960 and Transfer Chess. Together with regular Chess and ASEAN Chess, a total of 18 events will be contested. 8 of the 11 ASEAN countries registered for Chess and their chess athletes look forward to attractive cash bonuses if they win Gold medals. (FIDE)
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Labels: chess asia, chess myanmar, south east asian nations games
Merry Christmas Chess Comic!
Trosman Chess Memorial Simul Becomes an Annual Event
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
We have here a very nice chess article on the Trosman Memorial Simul Becomes an Annual Event. The article is by Elina Cotler via the USCF official website.
It’s rare to meet a person who is devoted to his profession as resolutely as Mikhail Trosman was dedicated to teaching chess. GM Irina Krush, who began taking lessons with Mikhail when she was nine years old and trained with him until she was nearly an IM, recalls that “Mikhail was not just looking at coaching as a job but as a vocation.”
Lily Faerman, Irina Krush and Elina Cotler at the Trosman Memorial
While Irina and some of Mikhail’s other students across the globe continue to play chess professionally, those who’ve pursued other fields also realize the tremendous positive impact that Mikhail had on their development. Mikhail was interested in his students’ progress and proud of their achievements beyond the chess arena, providing them with life lessons and showing through his own example, what it is to be a dedicated, professional, responsible and caring person.
The Trosman Memorial Simul was established as a way to celebrate this man and provide inspiration to children and teens to follow their interests in chess and beyond.
On Sunday, December 8th, the Marks JCH of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, New York hosted the 2nd Annual Trosman Memorial Chess Simultaneous Exhibition, paving the ground for the event to become an annual tradition. While the inaugural simul last year took place with 20 participants on the eve of Hurricane Sandy, this year’s event drew 30 players and coincided with the first snow day in New York City. Irina Krush was joined by the author to play against the participants and both managed to hold their own against the challengers, who included Mikhail’s grandson Mark Trosman. While playing, participants solved problems that arose on the board and listened to advice on their game and challenges in chess and other facets of life.
This year’s event marked Irina’s first appearance as a Grandmaster, and the” J” presented her with a hand-made artwork portraying the Brooklyn Bridge as a symbol of her Brooklyn origins. Irina was very touched and recalled her weekly childhood travels over the Brooklyn Bridge to the weekend chess tournaments at the Marshall Chess Club.
Irina provided the participants with context on what it meant for her to be a GM -the first US female player to earn the GM title and one of fewer than 50 women in the world who are GMs. After her first norm came at the Mayor’s Cup in NYC more than 10 years ago, she continued to persevere and work on her chess and this year she earned two more GM norms and the GM title. Irina’s goal is to continue to improve her chess and become a stronger GM while playing for more prestigious titles to add to her impressive and growing collection. Her advice to participants was to pursue their interest in chess by working hard and seeking the help of strong mentors as she had with Mikhail Trosman.
Many thanks to Alex Budnitsky, the Marks JCH Executive Director and Julia German, Marks JCH Program Coordinator, for hosting the event and to all the players and families who participated in the Trosman Memorial Chess Simultaneous Exhibition for making it happen.
Labels: elina cotler, irina krush, lily faerman, mikhail trosman, trosman chess memorial simul
Anand on World Chess Championship 2013: I should have pressed Carlsen a bit more
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Here is an interesting interview given by former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand to SportStar. “I never really adapted to Magnus Carlsen’s style well. Clearly, he has refined his style a lot recently. He has become stronger and more effective with it,” says the former World Chess champion. Excerpts from the interview:
Question: Anand, how have the days after the World title match been?
Answer: Actually, it was quite nice. I came back home (after the match), back to Akhil and had some wonderful experiences with him, playing, running around the house, Akhil calling me “Papa… Papa…” Then we went to a school dance of his. It has been wonderful in the sense that though it’s been only a few days, it feels like it’s months since the match passed. Then meeting up with friends, I also had dinner with some school friends. Generally, life goes on, what can you do? Honestly, in the last few days, I didn’t want to think about chess. I wanted to play with Akhil.
Do you ever remember spending time away from chess?Yes. That’s actually something I do reasonably often, especially if you come home for a short break sometime and so on. You don’t really try to combine it with chess. That’s the experience I’ve had.
Have you been able to experience the power of the young one at home, as a lovable stress-buster?The defeat hurts… Viswanathan Anand with his wife after receiving the runner-up trophy at the Hyatt Regency.
Really a lot. I mean, kids have a way of making you feel special. Well, you really can’t explain that; one has to experience it. You feel very, very special playing with them. When he gets up and laughs, then you feel wonderful. It cures you of every worry. It takes away your thoughts so fast because you are forced to focus on them. I think, that probably is the reason why it helps (to have a kid at home).
Coming to the match, even after months of preparations from both players, how much of opening preparations were actually seen in the match? No serious debates over the existing opening theories?
I would agree. I would just say with those early games with black (pieces), they had some theoretical value, but only to specialists and not obvious to every one. Specialists in those openings would notice some enthusiasm here and there. But I agree, for the broader public, they have gone unnoticed. It is a general fact of life these days that the role of the openings is diminishing in chess. And my opponent (Carlsen) simply exemplifies that trend.
Talking of the match, in the first four drawn games, you had plenty of positives to look at. After the third game, you said, your upside was not adequate enough to force a win. After detailed analysis do you still have the same view?I definitely feel it was a mistake that I underestimated my possibilities in that game. It was a mistake. He (Carlsen) mentioned it as well that he thought I had let him off the hook so easily. Well, that I more or less concede. I agree. I should have pressed him a bit more. Thereafter, I atoned by escaping, in Game Four, the way I did. It was a nice defence. The problem was that after Game Four I thought we were really into the match. We were warmed up and it was going to get exciting. But we know what happened next.
Where did you lose the thread in Game Five?Actually, it was throughout the game, I mean, there were small mistakes, here and there. I didn’t lose the game in one move. I lost it over several and it’s exactly what I had hoped not to do but it was exactly what I did. So, Game Five was one of those losses which hurt because you do it bit by bit. Not one blunder, but you do it bit by bit and it slips away from you.
Going by your body language during this game, is it a fair conclusion to draw that you were getting increasingly annoyed with yourself due to the choices you were making? You appeared to make some random moves, as well…Yes. It is quite perceptive. I think it is clear that I could feel that I was making small mistakes and that was getting annoying. But you have to still get a grip on yourself because there is no use crying over split milk and all that. You have to get your thoughts back to the game but there was residue to annoyance. At every moment, I knew that had I been more precise earlier, it could have gone better or have been easier.
During the fifth and sixth games, did you regret not doing something right even as you entered the rook-and-pawn endgames, considered your forte?As I said, in Game Five, there were mistakes leading up to it. But in rook-and-pawn ending, my principal mistake came after the time control (when a player is expected to complete 40 moves in the stipulated two hours of thinking time, followed by 20 moves in the next hour). In Game Six, I would say, again, the game had been slipping away for awhile. But I lost it in the rook-ending. In both games, I could have saved it in the rook-ending… To be honest, the last thing I want to do now is to keep looking back at the games. So I can’t tell you very much.
Would you say your vast experience failed you when it mattered in Games Five and Six?
Yes. I think so. Your strength comes into play when you are able to stop your opponent playing to his strengths. But I never really succeeded in doing that or only did that briefly. In the end, he was just stronger and he was able to impose his style of play.
In the interview with Magnus, he said he had planned to make you play slow, long games and force the errors. Was his energy level in the fifth- and sixth-hour of play crucial because he still managed to find moves of optimum strength?Yes. I mean, clearly, I never really adapted to his style well. Clearly, he has refined his style a lot recently. He has become stronger and more effective with it. So, I also had this feeling that if I had managed to pull it off, it would have been a different story. But I didn’t manage to get a grip on his style.
After two losses, breaking his winning momentum in the seventh game was essential. But were you in a hurry to pull one back?I felt, it was okay to take these two games (five and six) off in seven and eight. If you are going to succeed in your comeback, it doesn’t matter how late you start. If you are not going to succeed in your comeback, it doesn’t matter how early you start. I understood that I was giving up two games. I said, “Two draws and now we’ll make a big effort. Time is running out.” But it did not work out.
Talking about your focus on starting with the king-pawn, did you work a lot on the Berlin Defence employed by Carlsen against Ruy Lopez.Clearly not enough. We had ideas but somehow at the last minute, something or the other would go wrong. And the other problem was that we had to cover other ground in e4 (pushing the king-pawn to the fourth rank) as well so we could not dedicate all our lives to this one.
Having brought Carlsen under pressure from the beginning of Game Nine, mainly due to your decision to start the game with d4 (pushing the queen-pawn to the fourth rank), do you regret not doing so in the earlier games with white pieces?Yes. But I made a big strategic decision to focus on e4. With hindsight, that was the worst move of the match. Again (smiles) with hindsight, many things are clear. For this match, for some reason, I just felt it was simpler to play e4 and there were grounds for it. Based on my tournament results and all, I felt it was better to concentrate on e4. And it turned out to be a bad mistake.
In Game Nine, when you took 45 minutes after move No. 22, the impression all around was that you had calculated it all till a forced mate. When did you realise you had reached a point of no return?I understood the position had become critical — either I give him mate or he queens his pawn. I kept thinking I could not see anything more than a draw. At the end, I had spent so much of energy, with 11 minutes (on the clock), I should have been able to calm down and say that I’ll just take this draw because that’s best there is. At the last minute, I suddenly saw this line (involving a knight-move) and had some hope. But I forgot to check what happens after the knight-move. That’s when I lost. To be honest, I wouldn’t say that leaves me with a lot of regrets. Even if I had drawn this game, the match-situation would not have improved for me. In the big picture, this was not the blunder that decided anything. It finished the match a game early.
Garry Kasparov said the other day that after losing to Vladimir Kramnik in 2000, his unused preparations helped him do well in the events that followed. Similarly, Boris Gelfand has shown improved results after 2012. Do you agree with this observation?I would definitely hope so. It’ll be nice if I could use some of those preparations. But times have changed and they’ve changed quite a lot. I think the percentage of your World Championship preparations you still get to use is much, much lower. And, not to keep rehashing the points, the difference is the development of computers. Other people are able to catch up much faster. But hopefully, I’ll still get some benefits.
You will be playing the strong event in Zurich (in January-February)?Zurich is one of the best events. It is superbly organised. I enjoyed it immensely last year. So that’s a positive. I hope to do well there. I will have time before that to rest and recoup.
When will you take a call on playing the Candidates in March?Hopefully, after London, I’ll have some time to think about it.
Labels: Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, world chess championship 2013
Texas Tech to host World Series of Chess Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Event
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
For the first time ever, Texas Tech will host the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, Dec. 28-30 at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center.
The championship, sometimes called the “World Series of Chess” is open to all post-secondary schools in North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The event is open to spectators.
Round one will take place at 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 27, on the second floor of the tournament hall. Play will continue until the awards ceremony at 3 p.m., Monday, Dec. 30.
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Labels: pan american chess, us chess
Efforts on to include chess in the Olympics: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who was in Chennai recently for the closing ceremony of the World Chess Championship, spoke to P. K. Ajith Kumar of SportsStar and said FIDE was making all effort to have chess in the Olympics. Here are excerpts from the interview:
Question: Are you happy with the way the World Championship was organised in Chennai?
Answer: I am very happy. It was conducted extremely well. FIDE would like to thank the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for sponsoring the World Championship. But for her enthusiasm and total support, this World Championship would not have come to India.
Can India hope for more major events?Yes, definitely. Chennai itself could have some big events in the near future. I have talked to the Chief Minister about the possibilities of conducting some important women’s events, such as the Grand Prix and the World Championship. She is keen about FIDE’s proposals. I am also impressed by her scheme to introduce chess to schools. That is the way forward for Indian chess.
Don’t you think it is time India hosted the Chess Olympiad too?Yes, very much so, as India is one of the strongest nations in world chess. We have already started talking about having the Chess Olympiad in India. We are considering Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai as possible venues.
You were very keen about chess being in the Olympics and had even got it as an exhibition sport at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, with Viswanathan Anand and Alexei Shirov playing a two-game match. My efforts are still on to include chess in the Olympics. FIDE is already in discussions with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include chess in the Winter Olympics. We will have an official meeting with the IOC in February 2014. We would like to make it to the Summer Olympics eventually, but we thought we could get an entry into the Winter Games first.
What are your thoughts on Magnus Carlsen becoming the new World champion? I think it’s good that we have someone like Carlsen as the World champion. He is young, dynamic. He belongs to today’s generation and could attract even more young people towards chess.
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Labels: chess olympics, fide chess, kirsan ilyumzhinov
GM Norm Chess Tournaments held in Canterbury, Australia
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The Box Hill Chess Club in Canterbury, Victoria, Australia hosted two round robin tournaments on 14-22nd December. Both Grandmaster Norm tournament and International Norm tournament were round robins with ten players.
In the GM event Grandmasters Vasily Papin and Normunds Miezis shared the first place with 6 points each.
Karl Zelesco entered the IM event as the lowest rated player but eventually he shared the first place with FM Christopher Wallis to claim IM norm.
GM Group:
1-2. GM Papin Vasily RUS 2514 and GM Miezis Normunds LAT 2554 - 6
3. GM Tu Hoang Thong VIE 2414 - 5.5
4-5. IM Illingworth Max AUS 2430 and IM Cheng Bobby AUS 2440 - 5
6. FM Smirnov Anton AUS 2318 - 4.5
7. GM Johansen Darryl AUS 2409 - 4
8. IM Morris James AUS 2398 - 3.5
9. FM Li Zuhao (Luke) NZL 2349 - 3
10. IM Solomon Stephen AUS 2386 - 2.5
IM Group:
1-2. Zelesco Karl AUS 2145 and FM Wallis Christopher AUS 2320 - 7
3. FM Smith Robert NZL 2238 - 6
4-5. IM Brown Andrew AUS 2245 and IM Smirnov Vladimir RUS 2379 - 5.5
6. FM Stojic Dusan AUS 2246 - 4
7. Lee Wang-Sheng SIN 2254 - 3
8-9. IM Rujevic Mirko AUS 2220 and FM Levi Eddy AUS 2146 - 2.5
10. Ootes Lennart NED 2147 - 2
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: australia chess
World School Chess Championship 2014 in Brazil Nov 26 - Dec 4, 2014
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Here is an important press release from FIDE regarding the World School Chess Championship 2014:
Dear Chess Friends,
It was decided to hold the World School Chess Championship 2014 in the Americas. The championship was scheduled to start on 10th April 2014 in Peru. Five months before the official invitation should have been distributed with all details for the National Federations .
The American Continental Board has informed us that various internal matters in Peru Chess Federation didn’t allow the preparation of the Championship.
Upon the proposal of the Continental President of the Americas Jorge Vega, FIDE decided to respect the right of America Continent and reschedules the World School Chess Championship to Brazil from 26 November to 4 December 2014 under conditions that will be approved by the FIDE Presidential Board. All the tournament details will be published with the official invitation.
Labels: world school chess championship 2014
Khanty Mansiysk Chess Candidates 2014: FIDE seeks Players' Confirmation by Jan 20
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
FIDE has announced that the deadline for players to confirm their participation in the Candidates Chess Tournament is 20 January 2014. The event will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from 11 March (arrivals) to 1 April 2014 (departures) and the qualifiers are:
1. Vishy Anand (IND, former world champion)
2. Vladimir Kramnik (RUS, world cup 2013 winner)
3. Dmitry Andreikin (RUS, world cup 2013 finalist)
4. Veselin Topalov (BUL, grand-prix 2012-13 winner)
5. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, grand-prix 2012-13 runner-up)
6. Levon Aronian (ARM, rating list 2012-13)
7. Sergey Karjakin (RUS, rating list 2012-13)
8. Peter Svidler (RUS, host nominee)
First reserve from the FIDE Grand-Prix standings is Fabiano Caruana (ITA).
The winner of the Candidates Tournament will challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world championship title in the last quarter of 2014. The Players' contract is available at this FIDE Link.
Meanwhile, we also found interesting reports in the Indian media about World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand having not yet decided whether he would play in the Candidates. Anand has said he would take the decision later about Khanty-Mansiysk.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
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Labels: khanty mansiysk chess candidates 2014
Are Killer Chess Robots Kind to Pretty Russian Girls?
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Yes, pretty girls play very strong chess, but once in a while you cannot help suspect that a killer chess 'gentleman' would allow a pretty girl to 'escape' with a draw? Maybe! Maybe, not!
Kuka Monster spent a recent winter evening in a night club in Moscow - playing chess with Pavel Eljanov and Alina Kashlinskaya. The guests watching closely included Russian national chess team coach Yuri Dokhoyan.
The special chess event was titled 'Mind Games' and included three hours of chess in the blitz format between Alina, Eljanov and Kashlinskaya. The highlight of the event was world chess robot champion Kuka Monster taking on Eljanov and Kashlinskaya in separate games.
Eljamov sacrificed a pawn and lost the chess endgame to Kuka Monster. Kashlinskaya managed to bravely hold Kuka Monster to a draw in a perpetual check after a series of sacrifices. Yes, Alina Kashlinskaya is a strong chess player from Russia, but we couldn't help speculating: Did Kuka Monster flirt with her? Replay the game and decide for yourself. (It was a 5:0 Blitz)
Also read:
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: alina kashlinskaya, chess blitz, chess robot, konstantin kosteniuk, kuka monster, pavel eljanov, yuri dokhoyan
Cuban Bruzon Wins Mexican Chess Tournament
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Cuban Grandmaster Lazaro Bruzon has won the 25th edition of the Chess tournament Carlos Torre in Memoriam. Bruzon remained undefeated with seven points. Peruvian Emilio Cordova also scored seven points, but lost out on tiebreak. The third place went to another Cuban, Juan Carlos Obregón, with the same store but also below in tiebreaks. Seven points were also scored by Caribbean Elier Miranda and local Luis Carlos Torre, who finished fourth and fifth.
Labels: cuba chess, Lazaro Bruzon
Super Chess Talent: Name the Two Grandmasters!
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
How well do you know your chess stars - Can you name these two chess prodigies and where was this photo taken? Find the answers and rest of the album at the #1 chess photo website www.chesspics.com.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
Labels: chess photo, Chess trivia
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen's Heart Rate to be Monitored during CES 2014 Las Vegas 20-Player Simul
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Is World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen really calm when playing chess? We will find out when the Norwegian Grandmaster plays a 20-player chess simul at America’s biggest tradeshow CES 2014.
The World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen will hold a simultaneous exhibition hosted by his main sponsor Nordic Semiconductor. During the match, Carlsen will use a wrist-worn heart rate monitor provided by Mio. Carlsen’s heart rate, and that of the twenty people he will be playing, will be wirelessly transmitted to North Pole Engineering’s WASP ANT/Wi-Fi bridge and from there to a large screen.
In fact, you can try for a chance to play in the Nordic Semiconductor-sponsored chess simul if you happen to be one of the lucky 20 that get selected from the winners of the quiz on the site. Players will also be given a signed chess board among other prizes. The skills required are not higher than just another hobby player. To participate answer a few simple questions and solve an easy chess puzzle. The lucky winners will be noticed well in advance. Closing date for entry is December 19, 2013, 12:00:00 PST.
The Chess Tournament will take place:Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall Connector, Room S228
Thursday January 9, 3-6PM
Bring your chess board and get it signed by the new World Chess Champion, Wednesday January 8th 3-4 PM at booth #MP25277 in South Hall 2, CES Meeting Place.
The International CES is the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology and America’s largest annual tradeshow of any kind. With more than four decades of success, the International CES reaches across global markets, connects the “who’s who” of the industry and enables consumer electronics (CE) innovations to grow and thrive.
Labels: ces 2014, chess science, las vegas chess, Magnus Carlsen, world chess champion
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