Movie Chess Trivia: Identify Film, Actress
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone,
Do you love chess in the movies? Can you name the actress and film from the photos below? Hint: It's a French-German movie.
Labels: chess scene, movie chess trivia
Renova Chess Grand Prix 2013 Round 10: Topalov Beats Caruana, 1 Point Ahead of Nakamura before Last Round
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
In the tenth round of Grand Prix in Zug Veselin Topalov nearest player in points standings Fabiano Caruana and now is on a sole lead with 7 points, one point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura. The American player won against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to take the second place. Alexander Morozevich managed to outplay Teimour Radjabov, while Gata Kamsky won against Sergey Karjakin. Kasimzdhanov-Ponomariov, Giri-Leko were drawn. Ruslan Ponomariov and Fabiano Caruana share the third place while Kamsky, Morozevich, Karjakin share the fifth place.
Tie Break Criteria for trophies only: 1.direct encounter 2. number of wins 3. Sonnenborn-Berger System 4. Koya System.
Veselin Topalov won against Hikaru Nakamura at the fifth round and it means even in the worst scenario for him he will take the gold at Grand Prix in Zug.
Caruana-Topalov 0-1
Despite the victory in the game and, as a result, the victory in the tournament, Veselin Topalov looked very serious and tired at the press-conference. It’s obvious that the tournament is not over for the former world champion will fight for the sole victory in the tournament in the last round.
Fabiano Caruana got a pleasant position and managed to create threats on the King’s side. Players showed many possible variations on the laptop and agreed that White could have played more precisely but at the same time they didn’t find any direct attack. The things went wrong when White lost a few tempos after dubious Qf2-Qa7 but Caruana had time trouble and it was not easy for him to find the right plan.
After the first time control Italian player could have kept the queens on the board to have better chances for a draw because the knight and bishop endgame turned to be absolutely winning for Black.
Read more »Labels: Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru nakamura, renova chess grand prix 2013, veselin topalov
China Chess Championships 2013: Wang Yue, Ding Yixin win Men, Women Titles
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The Chinese Chess Championships for men and women took place from 16th to 27th April 2013 in Xinghua, Jiangsu, China. It was a round robin of 11 rounds with a time control of 90 minutes for the whole game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one, according to a Chessdom report.
The men’s tournament had a clear winner in what otherwise was a very hard fought and very balanced field. Wang Yue arrived as the rating favorite and demonstrated his strength by taking first place 1.5 points ahead of the field, despite the fact that he lost in the last round against Zhao Jun.
Even though Wang Yue was once known for his very drawish style, during this event he proved that he has a big fighting spirit. Out of the 11 games he played, only three were drawn. He won six games and lost both the first and last rounds encounters.
Ma Qun started the tournament strongly, beating the eventual winner, and finished in second place with 7/11 points. The same amount of points were obtained by Doeberl Cup champion Li Chao, who had to settle for third place due to the tiebreak scores. No less than six players got an even score in the event. The tiebreak criteria awarded the fourth place to ex-women’s world champion Hou Yifan, who decided not to play in the women’s championship. The women’s championship saw a much more unbalanced field. Ding Yixin took clear first place thanks to a 8/11 performance. She left her closest followers half a point behind. Guo Qi finished second on tiebreaks, while Shen Yang arrived third.
With this strong tournament, China has proven that chess is taken seriously in the country and that they will be looking to improve and challenge the European countries’ supremacy in the sport.
Final Standings – Men’s championship:
1 GM Wang Yue 2706 7.5
2 GM Ma Qun 2559 6.0
3 GM Li Chao B 2686 6.0
4 GM Hou Yifan 2617 5.5
5 GM Xiu Deshun 2534 5.5
6 IM Wei Yi 2530 5.5
7 GM Bu Xiangzhi 2662 5.5
8 GM Zhao Jun 2589 5.5
9 GM Yu Yangyi 2675 5.5
10 GM Zhou Weiqi 2590 5.0
11 GM Zhou Jianchao 2607 5.0
12 GM Li Shilong 2558 3.5
Final Standings – Women’s championship:
1 WGM Ding Yixin 2427 8.0
2 WGM Guo Qi 2439 7.5
3 IM Shen Yang 2397 7.5
4 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2483 6.5
5 WGM Zhang Xiaowen 2367 6.5
6 WGM Wang Jue 2401 6.0
7 WIM Zhai Mo 2259 6.0
8 Lei Tingjie 2232 5.0
9 WIM Kuang Yinghui 2212 4.0
10 WIM Ni Shiqun 2213 3.5
11 Ren Xiaoyi 2212 3.0
12 Li Xueyi 2135 2.5
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Labels: china chess, ding yixin, wang yue
Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 7: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Boris Gelfand in Joint Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The 7th round of the Alekhine Memorial was played on April 29th. Before the start of the round it was announced that the charity funds Ladoga and Neva created four special prizes: the best game in Alekhine's style, the best combination, the best technique, and the best result in the St. Petersburg part. These prizes will be awarded at the closing ceremony on May 1st.
There were two decisive games in the 7th round. The World Champion Vishy Anand scored his second victory in the tournament, defeating the French Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet with White. This sharp game was not ideally played by both sides, but Anand made a better use of the opponent's mistakes, and is now just half a point behind the leaders.
His former opponent in the World Championship Match Boris Gelfand defeated young Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren with White. This victory allowed Gelfand to tie for the first place with two rounds to go.
Round 7 results: Anand – Fressinet 1-0, Gelfand – Ding Liren 1-0, Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Vitiugov – Aronian, and Svidler – Kramnik – draws.
The standings after seven rounds: 1-2. Gelfand and Vachier-Lagrave – both 4.5; 3-5. Adams, Anand, and Aronian – all 4; 6. Fressinet – 3.5; 7-8. Kramnik and Vitiugov – both 3; 9. Ding Liren – 2.5; 10. Svidler – 2.
The 8th round pairings: Kramnik – Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave – Vitiugov, Fressinet – Aronian, Ding Liren – Adams, Anand – Svidler.
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Labels: alekhine chess memorial, Boris gelfand, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
33-Board Chess Blindfold Simul by GM Timur Gareev in St Louis on April 30
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
This should be for the record books: On Tuesday, April 30, Grandmaster Timur Gareev will conduct a 33-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL). The event will help kick off the 2013 U.S. Championships, scheduled to be held in Saint Louis May 2 through May 13.
GM Gareev will meet and greet simul participants at 8 a.m. CT, and the simul will begin at 9 a.m. He is working toward setting a new blindfold simul world record of 64 boards before the end of 2013. The date for the record-breaking simul is tentatively set for December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich said the blindfold simul presents a perfect exhibition to demonstrate how chess can positively impact students.
“This remarkable demonstration of concentration and memory will help drive home the many and varied scholastic benefits chess has to offer,” Rich said.
After switching federations from Uzbekistan to the U.S., GM Gareev will be competing in his first-ever U.S. Championship. He enters the tournament as the No. 2-rated player in the field, second only to GM Gata Kamsky.
The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13. This marks the fifth consecutive year that each of these prestigious events will be held in Saint Louis. The opening ceremony takes place on May 2, and the first round for both events will kick off at 1 p.m. CT on May 3.
Also, fans of the U.S. Chess Championships can participate in Fantasy Chess for free by visiting: http://www.uschesschamps.com/2013-fantasy-chess. The grand prize is round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the continental U.S., two nights hotel, a private dinner with GM Yasser Seirawan and two private lessons with Seirawan as well. Select your favorite players, build your team and follow the live play-by-play coverage of each round on the event website: www.uschesschamps.com.
For the first time in the five years the CCSCSL has hosted the event, organizers are bringing in three commentators to provide even more extensive live coverage of the games and more in-depth player interviews and post-game analysis. GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade will provide live play-by-play coverage. For more information about the U.S. Championships or to watch live coverage of the event, visit www.uschesschamps.com.
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Labels: blindfold chess simul, timur gareev
Alekhine Chess Memorial Round 6: All Games Drawn, Vachier-Lagrave in Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The second half of the Alekhine Memorial began in St. Petersburg on Sunday with the sixth round. The official opening of the Russian half of the competition took place on April 26th in the Mikhailovsky Castle of the Russian Museum. Participants and guests of the tournament were welcomed by Vladimir Gusev, director of the Russian museum, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian Chess Federation Chairman Ilya Levitov, and the sponsors of the event Gennady Timchenko and Andrey Filatov.
April 27th was the only day off at the tournament. The participants of the Alekhine Memorial, representing seven countries, enjoyed an excursion in the Russian Museum. Junior chess events and many excursions were organized in the Mikhailovsky Castle. On the next day the St. George Hall of the Mikhailovsky Castle hosted games of the Round 6.
Like in Paris, the hall was tightly packed with chess enthusiasts. The games were quite entertaining but all ended in draws, so the tournament situation remained the same – the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in the lead. He had White against Boris Gelfand, but their game was quite equal all the way.
Michael Adams, who had Black against Levon Aronian, missed a real chance to catch up with the leader. The Armenian Grandmaster fought very hard for a win, even sacrificed a piece, but the sacrifice turned unsound, and Aronian was on the verge of defeat. However, his English opponent returned the favour, missing a win in mutual time trouble, and allowed Aronian to save the game. Both players are just half a point behind the leader and have decent chances of winning the tournament.
With three more rounds to go, a good half of the participants have chances to succeed. The winner of the Alekhine Memorial 2013 will be determined on May 1st.
Round 6 results: Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Aronian – Adams, Fressinet – Vitiugov, Kramnik – Anand, Ding Liren – Svidler – all draws.
The standings after six rounds: 1. Vachier-Lagrave – 4; 2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, and Gelfand – all 3.5; 6. Anand – 3; 7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, and Ding Liren – all 2.5; 10. Svidler – 1.5.
The 7th round pairing: Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Anand – Fressinet, Gelfand – Ding Liren, Vitiugov – Aronian, Svidler – Kramnik.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: alekhine chess memorial 2013, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Foundation Neva Chess Grand Prix for Women in Geneva from May 2
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The Foundation Neva Chess Grand Prix for Women will be held in Geneva from May 2-16. Founded in Geneva in 2008 by the Timtchenko Family, Foundation Neva aims at reinforcing ties between Russia and Switzerland. It's great that they are sponsoring this chess event. With the Geneva Grand Prix, FIDE also launches the new series of Chess Grand Prix events for the world's leading women players. This new series sees 18 players battling it out over two years to provide a challenger for the World Championship. The lineup is very impressive and includes current Women World Champion Anna Ushenina from Ukraine and former World Champions Hou Yifan (China), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) and Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia). Not to mention of course other top players such as Humpy Koneru (India), Anna Muzychuk (Solvenia), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia) and Kateryna Lagno (Ukraine).
Read more »Labels: geneva chess grand prix
Cool Chess Interview: Magnus Carlsen on Charlie Rose Show
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
 Hi everyone,
Emmy award winning journalist Charlie Rose has been praised as “one of America's premier interviewers.” He is the host of Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program that engages the world's best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers. He's just interviewed World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Click on photo to watch the video at the Charlie Rose show website.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: charlie rose, chess interview, Magnus Carlsen
45th Italy Team Chess Championships Begin
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The 45th Italian Team Chess Championships for men and women are being held from April 26th until May 1st at the Hotel Milano Alpen Resort & SPA in Bratto (Fraz Castione Presolana – Bergamo). The event is a 7-round Swiss open with a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 15 minutes to finish the game, with 30 seconds increments from the first move.
The women’s event will be played during 6 rounds with a time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increments from move 1. The prize fund for the man event amounts to 5.000 Euros to be distributed as follows: 1st – 2.000 Euros; 2nd – 1.500 Euros; 3rd – 1.000 Euros; 4th – 500 Euros, according to a Chessdom news site post.
The first seeded team is the Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova, which includes in his roster two players that are currently playing at the Zug Grand Prix, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. Even though these top GMs will not be participating, they count with other strong players, such are Ivan Cheparinov and Bulgarian champion Kiril Georgiev. The team Chieti has Gawain Jones on the first board, while the Soc. Scacch. Milanese 1881 has Italian champion Alberto David as the first seed. You can access the official website for live chess games.
Read more »Labels: italy chess championships
Killer Chess Beauties: Name Them
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
There's a special breed of chess players out there: The ones who show the world that beauty and brains can go together. Read one of Chess Blog's much-commented post (Psychology: Are Beauty and IQ related?). The chess trivia question to start the week is: Identify some killer and beautiful chess women of the planet from the photos below. (We are sure you can name all (particularly if you have been reading Chess Blog regularly!)
Labels: chess blog, chess photos, chesspics, sexy chess
Uganda Chess: Elijah Emojong is National Champion 2013 on Tiebreak with Patrick Kawuma
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Fide Master Elijah Emojong has become the Uganda National Chess Champion 2013. He won the title on tiebreak criteria after scoring equal points as Uganda Chess Olympiad team member Patrick Kawuma. Both scored 9.5 points in 11 rounds at the tournament played at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel, according to a press release.
Emojong went into the last three rounds with a half-point lead over the rest of the field. Kawuma took the lead with a win over Aaron Kanaabi in the penultimate round even as Emojong lost to unrated Rajab Kamoga. However, Kawuma could only draw in the last round with national team member Harold Wanyama. Emojong beat Grace Nsubuga in the last round to draw level.
The Uganda national chess championship featured the country's top-12 players. Third place went to youngster Haruna Nsubuga with 8.5 points. Unrated Raphael Buti was fourth followed by Harold Wanyama.
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Labels: elijah emojong, harold wanyama, haruna nsubuga, patrick kawuma, raphael buti, uganda chess
Renova Chess Grand Prix 2013 Round 9: Topalov Leads, Caruana 1/2-Point Behind
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
It was raining hard during the second free day and most of players preferred to stay in the hotel and relax before the final part of the tournament. Three decisive games were played in the ninth round. Two more could have finished in favour of Peter Leko and Rustam Kasimdzhanov as both players were close to winnin against Sergey Karjakin and Anish Giri respectively.
The leader of the tournament Veselin Topalov drew against Shakhriyar Mamdeyarov and keeps half a point distance from Fabiano Caruana, who won against Gata Kamsky and placed second. Ruslan Ponomariov moved from the second to the third place after his lose against Teimour Rajabov and shares the third place with Hikaru Nakamura and Sergey Karjakin. Alexander Morozevich lost the third game in a row despite he got a huge advantage against Hikaru Nakamura.
Anish Giri - Rustam Kasimdzhanov 1/2-1/2Another symmetrical English and once again Anish Giri’s enterprising play led to a dynamic position with lots of complex variations on the board. 11…Be6 was the new move on the board instead of 11..e6 and White decided to spice life up with 18.Ne5!? but Black missed 18…Qa6 and instead allowed the exchange sacrifice and subsequent attack by White.
However White then pursued this attack a bit too aggressively and after 25.Rc1 Black simply took the rook off the board and after a forced continuation Black could have played the strong 31…Rd8 or not human move 32...e6 leaving White with some activity but without material. Black decided to go for the endgame with an exchange up but 36...e5 instead of Ra8 would have put more problems for White to decide. After 59 move the peace was signed.
Read more »Labels: Fabiano Caruana, renova chess grand prix 2013, veselin topalov
Women's Chess Grand Prix 2013-14 Participants' List
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
FIDE has just published the list of participants for the Women's Grand Prix Seris 2013-2014. GMs Anna Ushenina and Zhao Xue have agreed to switch one of their respective legs with each other.
A- Geneva 2013, B- Dilijan 2013, C- Tashkent 2013, D- Khanty Mansiysk 2013, E- Tbilisi 2013, F- Erdenet 2014
| Name |
|
Rtg |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
|
| Hou, Yifan |
CHN |
2617 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Koneru, Humpy |
IND |
2597 |
|
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Muzychuk, Anna |
SLO |
2585 |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
|
4 |
| Zhao, Xue |
CHN |
2565 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Dzagnidze, Nana |
GEO |
2554 |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
|
4 |
| Lagno, Kateryna |
UKR |
2547 |
1 |
|
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
4 |
| Kosintseva, Nadezhda |
RUS |
2531 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
3 |
| Stefanova, Antoaneta |
BUL |
2530 |
|
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Cmilyte, Viktorija |
LTU |
2514 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
4 |
| Harika, Dronavalli |
IND |
2510 |
|
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Ju, Wenjun |
CHN |
2505 |
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Khotenashvili, Bela |
GEO |
2499 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
|
4 |
| Kosteniuk, Alexandra |
RUS |
2495 |
1 |
|
2 |
3 |
|
4 |
4 |
| Ushenina, Anna |
UKR |
2477 |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
4 |
| Danielian, Elina |
ARM |
2466 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
3 |
| Girya, Olga |
RUS |
2440 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
4 |
| Muminova, Nafisa |
UZB |
2312 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
| Batchimeg Tuvshintugs |
MGL |
2295 |
1 |
2 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
4 |
| Kosintseva, Tatiana |
RUS |
2517 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
12 |
11 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
|
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
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Labels: women's chess grand prix 2013-14
Renova Chess Grand Prix 2013 Round 8: Veselin Topalov in Sole Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Whilst the weather in Switzerland is still relatively cold, things were heating up over the chess boards in Zug! After 8 rounds of play former world champion Veselin Topalov became the sole leader in the tournament. He defeated Russian player Alexander Morozevich, who lost the second game in a row after so good a start of the tournament. All other games finished in draws. Ruslan Ponomariov managed to defend the worse endgame against Hikaru Nakamura and is on the second place half a point behind of Topalov. Sunday is a free day and the ninth round is scheduled on 28th of April.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov - Teimour Radjabov ½ - ½ The two tail-enders seemed peacefully inclined before the next rest day and after Kasimdzhanov chose the Bf4 line against the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Radjabov did not wish to get involved in any of the long theoretical lines with and immediate c5 and opted instead for the Nbd7 line. White preferred the quieter 11.Be2 to the main line with 11.Be5 and the first “new” move cane with 20…Rac8 in a position which was already quite equal and the final result was never in doubt for either player. Clock Times 1:33 - 1:11
Ruslan Ponomariov - Hikaru Nakamura ½-½Nakamura returned to his favourite Najdorf variation in the Sicilian. Previously they had played a Najdorf but that time Ponomariov was Black ! Both players know the theory in this variation extremely well and Ruslan was the first to try and deviate from the main path with 12.Qd2 in lieu of the main lines 12.h3 or 12.Be2. First new move on the board came with 17.f4 but this seemed to allow black to take the initiative and after 20..a4! Black was controlling the game. During the press-conference American player pointed out that he could have tried to play 27...Qh5 instead of 27...d5 and this was a critical moment in the game. But even after the move in the game the position looked difficult for White but Ruslan defended very well.
Alexander Morozevich - Veselin Topalov 0-1
The most critical game today was obviously Morozevich – Topalov and it was clear that Morozevich had to make up for the lost ground of the previous day. The players went for a symmetrical English and White immediately sprung a novelty on the 9th move with c5 instead of the normal 9.Qe2. Topalov side stepped but Morozevich was determined to get a complicated position on the board and there were immeasurable of thrusts and parries in the game. Topalov never seemed in any great difficulties however and kept good control over the position. White was in time trouble when he could have tried to create more problems for Black by playing 41. Be5 or 52.c4.
Read more »Labels: renova chess grand prix 2013, veselin topalov
Serbia Chess 2013: Boban Bogosavljevic is National Champion
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Grandmaster Boban Bogosavljevic became the new Serbian Champion after the convincing victory at the event held in Vrnjacka Banja on 15-27th April. Bogosavljevic, who celebrated 25th birthday during the final rounds, conceded only four draws to complete the Championship with 10/12 points, leaving the second placed IM Aleksandar Indjic full two points behind. Bogosavljevic earned 38 elo points.
The 17-years old Aleksandar Indjic also has a reason to celebrate as he scored his third GM norm and completed all title requirements in only seven months. Indjic thus became the youngest Serbian Grandmaster ever, according to a Chessdom report.
Boban Bogosavljevic
Final standings:
1. GM Bogosavljevic Boban 2512 – 10
2. IM Indjic Aleksandar 2519 – 8
3. GM Damljanovic Branko 2536 – 7.5
4-5. GM Popovic Dusan 2558 and GM Kovacevic Aleksandar 2571 – 6.5
6-8. GM Brenjo Slavisa 2516, GM Sedlak Nikola 2577 and GM Miladinovic Igor 2569 – 6
9. GM Savic Miodrag R 2539 – 5
10. IM Perunovic Miodrag 2434 – 4.5
11-12. GM Tosic Miroslav 2412, IM Cvetkovic Srdjan 2389 and Ratkovic Milovan 2296 – 4
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: aleksandar indjic, boban bogosavljevic, serbia chess
Sharp Chess Battle of the World Champions Commented Video: Kosteniuk - Hou Yifan 1-0
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
12th Women's World Chess Champion and Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk comments her chess blitz game against 13th Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan at the 2012 Sport Accord World Mind Games in Beijing. The game is a sharp Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation. GM Kosteniuk is better prepared, attacks the black king, sacrifices two pieces and forces black to resign already on the 26th move. The game is presented with the chess software Chess King. Also check out Chess Queen Kosteniuk's blog.
Labels: Chess King, Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk, Hou Yifan, world chess champion
Photogenic Chess Girls: Name Them
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
A simple chess trivia question this weekend: Name these photogenic chess players.
Labels: chess photos, Chess trivia, women chess players
Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 5: Paris Section Concludes with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Round 5 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April 25. The French part of the tournament is thus over. Participants moved to Saint-Petersburg on April 26. Three games out of five were effective in Round 5. World Champion Viswanathan Anand scored his first point with white against Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren. This victory allowed Anand to finish this part of the tournament with 50% points.
A true sensation happened in a game between Kramnik and Fressinet. The French Grandmaster, who is a rating outsider of the tournament, totally defeated former World Chess Champion who was playing white.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the author of the third victory, who successfully outplayed Peter Svidler who had white pieces. This part of the tournament, which was played in France, brought a French leader to the joy of spectators who made the playing hall totally overcrowded every round.
The second part of the tournament will show whether Vachier-Lagrave is capable to remain on the top position up to the end. However, experts acknowledge a big amount of effective games (11 out of 25) and a huge interested for the tournament showed by chess fans. The official tournament site, where users can watch games that are commented in three languages, was visited by more than 200 000 users.
Paris part of Alekhine Memorial was a wonderful event and everyone is now looking forward to see Saint-Petersburg part. The winner of Alekhine Memorial will be announced on the 1st of May.
Standings
1. Vachier-Lagrave – 3,5 points;
2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, Gelfand – 3 points;
6. Anand – 2,5 points;
7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, Ding Liren – 2 points;
10. Svidler – 1 point.
Round 5 results: Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave 0-1, Kramnik – Fressinet 0-1, Anand – Ding Liren 1-0, Gelfand – Aronian, Adams – Vitiugov both drawn.
Round 6 pairings: Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Aronian – Adams, Fressinet – Vitiugov, Kramnik – Anand, Ding Liren – Svidler.
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Labels: aalekhine chess memorial 2013, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Chess included in Bangladesh Games 2013 for the First Time
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Chess has been included this year in the VIII Bangladesh Games that run from April 20-28. The Bangladesh Games - usually held every four years - include 31 disciplines. This time the Games are being held after a gap of 11 years with support from the Bangladesh Olympic Association. Chess has been included for the first time.
There are three chess events in the Games: Classical Chess Mixed Team, Men Individual Rapid and Women Individual Rapid.
Men Individual Rapid and Women Individual Rapid were held on 21st and 22nd April. Both events were held in nine round Swiss-League system. A totoal of 94 players including five Grandmasters and two International Masters from around 60 divisions, districts, forces, universities and other government organisations of the country participated in the Men's Rapid Individual Rapid Chess.
GM Enamul Hossain of Bangladesh won the event with GM Ziaur Rahman and FM Kh. Aminul Islam being second and third. In the Women's Rapid Individual 50 players including two WIMs took part. WIM Shamima Akter Liza won the event followed by WIM Rani Hamid of Titas Gas T. & D. Co Ltd. and Shamiha Sharmin Shimmi. More details about upcoming chess events at the Bangladesh Games are available at the Fide website.
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Labels: aminul islam, bangla chess, bangladesh games 2013, emnamul hossain, rani hamid, shamiha sharmin shimmi, shamima akter liza, ziaur rahman
Renova Chess Grand Prix 2013 R7: Ponomariov, Topalov in Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone,
At the seventh round of the third stage Grand Prix in Zug only one game was decisive while all others finished in draws. Gata Kamsky defeated one of the leaders Alexander Morozevich. The central game of the round between two other leaders Veselin Topalov (White) and Ruslan Ponomariov (Black) finished peacefully after long and precise defence of White in a worse endgame. After 7 rounds Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov share the first place with 4, 5 points. Two Russian players Alexander Morozevich, Sergey Karjakin and Italian Fabiano Caruana are half a point behind.
Kamsky – Morozevich 1-0 Gata Kamsky got the position with a small space advantage out of the opening but was not sure how to fight for more, as he estimated the position as equal. The help suddenly came from his opponent, who chose the wrong plan with 19…Nf6 – 20…Nh5. During the press-conference Alexander Morozevich pointed out that the game was completely lost for Black after Nf6. American player could have got advantage after an accurate 22.Bh4 but played Rae1 instead, allowing Black to protect h4 square by playing Qd8. However, Black continued making mistakes and Gata Kamsky, despite the fact he was in time trouble, found the exact way to win.
Leko-Mamedyarov 1/2-1/2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov chose to play quite rare line in Ruy Lopez with 4...Nge7. Peter Leko was expecting Caro-Kann. He mentioned during the press-conference that his preparation started relatively late because he could not miss the football match Real-Borussia. Hungarian player tried to find the way to get an edge with White but it seems Shakhriyar had better preparation and was following his analyzes at least till the 15th move. Azeri player managed to equalize and after the nice blow Rf2 it was White who had to find the exact moves to make a draw.
Read more »Labels: renova chess grand prix 2013, Ruslan Ponomariov, veselin topalov
It's Chess on the Run: Chesspas Way to Take Your Game with You (Video)
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Wear your pieces on a necklace. Store them in a pocket canister. Play on a Bandanaboard chess bandana. Win Kings in conquest!
What you need is an easy way to take a game with you, to have a sense of flair and personality when you get breaks in your day to play the great game of chess. What you need is Chesspas.
Here is this very interesting chess project - they've even got a Kickstarter project for Bandanaboards and the packaging that goes with it all. Kevn Lambson says, "We've done some informal market testing with prototypes of our Tribal motif and have been blown away by the response. People are thrilled with the styling, portability, fashion aspects, and the favorable comparison to other portable sets that have been simply miniaturized."
It's time to meet the manufacturer's minimum production requirements. Make a statement by getting a set of Chesspas pieces for yourself and your chess-playing chums. Keep the sun off your noggin with a chessboard printed on a bandana (in Chesspas.com lingo it's a Bandanaboard). Whatever you do with Chesspas, it's chess, it's right, and it's now.
This Chesspas project is about making chess more convenient and stylish to play, with a garnish of geethatscool on the side.
Labels: Chess video, chesspas, kevn lambson
Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 4: Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand, Aronian in Joint Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Round 4 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April, 24. Like in Round 3 four games out of five ended in a draw. The key game of the round was played between Levon Aronian and Peter Svidler. It was hard to predict however that this would be the only effective game of the round. Yet, Aronian’s fighting mood was clearly seen. It seems that he tries to catch up what he missed when he played in Candidates Tournament in London.
Aronian performed a deep home preparation against Svidler’s hallmark in Grunfeld defense. Russian grandmaster, World Cup winner, couldn’t solve his opening problems and got a bad endgame, where Aronian gained a strategic advantage. Before the first time control was reached the game was consistently won for white. As all other games ended in a draw Levon Aronian joined the tournament leaders – Gelfand, Adams and Vachier-Lagrave.
Boris Gelfand, who was playing black, met some minor opening problems that were created by Nikita Vitiugov, but managed to avoid all the threats and drew the game. French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played white against World champion Viswanathan Anand. He got a slight advantage, but before the first time control Maxime made a mistake and his opponent capitalized on opponent’s error and drew the game as well. At the press conference after the game Vachier-Lagrave mentioned that the position on the board still remained equal.
The game between Chinese prodigy Ding Liren and former World champion Vladimir Kramnik ended earlier than others. Kramnik showed a precise way to equality. The game between Laurent Fressinet and Michael Adams looked much more dramatic. French grandmaster tried to change the tournament leader, however Adams performed an obstinate defense and saved himself half a point that still keeps him in the leading group of the tournament.
Places after four rounds: 1-4. Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand, Aronian – 2.5 points; 5-7. Kramnik, Ding Liren, Fressinet – 2 points; 8-9, Vitiugov, Anand – 1.5 points, 10. Svidler – 1 point.
Round 5 pairings: Gelfand – Aronian, Adams – Vitiugov, Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave, Kramnik – Fressinet, Anand – Ding Liren.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
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www.chessqueen.com
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Labels: adams, alekhine chess memorial 2013, Aronian, Gelfand, vachier-lagrave
Combining Chess with Jiu Jitsu: Cool Video
Junior Chess Champions Russia 2013: Vladislav Artemiev and Alina Kashlinskaya
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Vladislav Artemiev and Alina Kashlinskaya have become the Russian Junior boys and girls chess champions 2013. The event was held from April 15-24 immediately after the Russian Team Chess Championship in Loo. Vladislav Artemiev took clear first place in the boys' section.
Alina Kashlinskaya went into the final round with a half-point lead over Valery Rjanova but won the title as the latter lost to Dina Belenkaya. A detailed report is up (in Russian) at www.russiachess.org.
Final Standings
1 IM Artemiev Vladislav 2499 6.0
2 IM Stukopin Andrey 2500 5.5
3 GM Bukavshin Ivan 2522 5.5
4 IM Belous Vladimir 2560 5.5
5 Predke Alexandr 2481 4.0
6 FM Gordievsky Dmitry 2443 4.0
7 IM Eliseev Urii 2541 4.0
8 IM Chigaev Maksim 2454 4.0
9 IM Oparin Grigoriy 2496 3.5
10 IM Pakhomov Egor 2454 3.0
Final Standings
1 WGM Kashlinskaya Alina 2305 5.0
2 FM Pustovoitova Daria 2269 4.5
3 WFM Belenkaya Dina 2180 4.5
4 WFM Gvanceladze Anna 2183 4.5
5 WFM Rjanova Valery 2170 4.5
6 Petrova Olga 2238 3.5
7 WFM Suslova Alena 2194 3.5
8 WIM Bivol Alina 2223 3.0
9 WFM Petrukhina Irina 2222 3.0
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: alina kashlinskaya, russia junior chess championships 2013, vladislav artemiev
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