Round 3 Pairings:
Naiditsch - Kramnik
Ivanchuk - Nepomniachtchi
van Wely - Leko
Mamedyarov - Gustafsson
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Archive for June, 2008
Dortmund resumes
Posted in June 30th, 2008
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Another case of lost in translation
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Chess Olympiad teams will be topless
Vijay Tagore
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 03:26 IST
AICF ‘understands’ Viswanathan Anand’s position but unhappy with Koneru Humpy’s decision to skip the event in Germany in November
MUMBAI: The Indian team for the Chess Olympiad will be topless. Virtually. Both Viswanathan Anand and Koneru Humpy, the best man and woman players in India — and the world too — will not be taking part in the biannual tournament. The Olympiad is scheduled to be held in Dresden, Germany, from November 12 to 25.
Anand, the world champion and world No 1 at Elo 2798, and Humpy, the world No 1 woman player (after Judith Polgar who doesn’t play in the women’s category) at Elo 2622, have conveyed their unavailability to the All India Chess Federation although the AICF is hoping against hope that one of them will make it to the tournament.
Prior to the Olympiad, Anand will have just finished his high-voltage World Championship match against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn and is expected to miss the Olympiad, irrespective of the result of the contest. The Kramnik match is from October 14 to November 2 and the Indian maestro would be too tired to play another tournament which starts 10 days later.
The AICF confirmed to DNA that Anand has already informed the federation that he would not be playing in the tournament but the federation has given him an option to make a decision after the Bonn match. “We’ve given him the option but we really don’t expect him to turn up. He would be tired by then and he will lose more than gain,” AICF spokesman Arvind Aron said. In the absence of Anand, the team could consist of K Sasikiran (2668), P Harikrishna (2622), GN Gopal (2572), SS Ganguly (2631) and Sandipan Chanda (2588).
Meanwhile, the AICF is peeved with Humpy’s decision to skip the tournament. “It is disappointing she has chosen not to play the Olympiad. We had a certain medal chance in the women’s section. Her presence would have galvanized the tournament,” said Aron.
Added a senior official: “The AICF has always helped her. We can understand Anand’s position.” He also expressed disappointment that her father-cum-coach Koneru Ashok, who was bestowed with the Dronacharya Award last year, did not prevail upon her to play for the country rather than a club tournament in Europe.
Source: DNA India
The future of the chess world
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Here are the top juniors in the world:
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2775 16 1990
2 Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2727 27 1990
3 Wang, Hao g CHN 2691 28 1989
4 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2681 35 1990
5 Caruana, Fabiano g ITA 2630 27 1992
6 Mamedov, Rauf g AZE 2627 20 1988
7 Rodshtein, Maxim g ISR 2605 29 1989
8 Andreikin, Dmitry g RUS 2604 33 1990
9 Zhou, Jianchao g CHN 2604 19 1988
10 Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2602 18 1990
11 Laznicka, Viktor g CZE 2601 42 1988
Which one has the best chance to become world champion?
Here are the top girls in the world:
1 Hou, Yifan wg CHN 2557 35 1994
2 Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2507 20 1989
3 Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2504 30 1990
4 Harika, Dronavalli m IND 2461 22 1991
5 Shen, Yang wg CHN 2445 18 1989
6 Tairova, Elena m RUS 2417 18 1991
7 Muzychuk, Mariya wg UKR 2413 31 1992
Source: FIDE
Early problems for Pan-Am Youth
Posted in June 30th, 2008
The 2008 Pan-Am Youth Championship is held in Cordoba, Argentina from June 29 to July 6, 2008. A number of our players and their parents were not able to get to the playing site of the 2008 Pan-Am Youth timely due to the weather, especially in Buenos Aires. Some are just able to get on the plane to get to Cordoba now.
Fortunately, the organizer delayed the beginning of the championships to accommodate many players and their coaches who are stuck.
Good luck to everyone! I will also be heading to Argentina next week.
Russia has 2 new #1
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Morozevich became the #2 ranked player in the world and #1 in Russia in the July 2008 list with a rating of 2788, which is the same as Kramnik. However, he is listed higher because of the FIDE tie-break rule.
On the women side, Tatiana Kosintseva became the #1 ranked Russian female player with a rating of 2511.
Here are the top women players over 2500:
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2711
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2622
3 Xie, Jun g CHN 2574
4 Hou, Yifan wg CHN 2557
5 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2550
6 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2544
7 Sebag, Marie m FRA 2529
8 Zhao, Xue m CHN 2522
9 Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2511
10 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2510
11 Cmilyte, Viktorija m LTU 2508
12 Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2507
13 Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2504
Source: FIDE
29 over 2700 in the July 2008 list
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Here are the players who are rated over 2700. There are 29 of them!!
Rank Name Country Rating
1 Anand, Viswanathan IND 2798
2 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2788
3 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2788
4 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2781
5 Topalov, Veselin BUL 2777
6 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2775
7 Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2744
8 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2742
9 Shirov, Alexei ESP 2741
10 Leko, Peter HUN 2741
11 Svidler, Peter RUS 2738
12 Aronian, Levon ARM 2737
13 Adams, Michael ENG 2735
14 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2728
15 Karjakin, Sergey UKR 2727
16 Movsesian, Sergei SVK 2723
17 Kamsky, Gata USA 2723
18 Gelfand, Boris ISR 2720
19 Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 2718
20 Gashimov, Vugar AZE 2717
21 Eljanov, Pavel UKR 2716
22 Polgar, Judit HUN 2711
23 Bu, Xiangzhi CHN 2710
24 Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2709
25 Dominguez Perez, Leinier CUB 2708
26 Alekseev, Evgeny RUS 2708
27 Ni, Hua CHN 2705
28 Milov, Vadim SUI 2705
29 Wang, Yue CHN 2704
Source: FIDE
Chess anyone?
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Boogie and Lucky getting to know each other in chess 
This was the first ever meeting between them.
And the players rest
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Standings after 2 rounds:
1-3. Kramnik, Leko, Gustafsson 1½
4-5. Mamedyarov, Nepomniachtchi 1
6-8. Ivanchuk, van Wely, Naiditsch ½
I am not sure why there is a need to have a rest day after 2 rounds for a 7 round tournament. But today is a rest day at the Dortmund tournament. Round 3 will resume on Tuesday.
Round 3 Pairings:
Naiditsch - Kramnik
Ivanchuk - Nepomniachtchi
van Wely - Leko
Mamedjarow - Gustafsson
Serbia announced Olympiad Team
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Serbian Olympiad Team Announced
GM Branko Damljanovic retires from the national team, Ivan Ivanisevic is the new leader
Captain of the Serbian men’s national team, FM Moma Vucicevic, has completed the list of players for the upcoming Dresden Chess Olympiad. Since 47-years-old GM Branko Damljanovic, regular at the Olympiads in period 1994-2004, has retired from the national team after the 2007 ETCC, the new leader is GM Ivan Ivanisevic (31).
Ivan Ivanisevic, Serbian champion for the year 2008, is achieving his all-time highest rating of 2664 at the July FIDE list. His Olympiad debut was in Elista 1998 when he was still a young International Master. Ivan is the last U2700 player who managed to defeat Magnus Carlsen (and with Black pieces) and it happened in the last round of the 2007 ETCC. Carlsen still took individual medal for the first board score.
Last year Serbian champion, 24-years-old GM Milos Perunovic (2589), is making second appearance at the Olympiads after his debut in Calvia 2004. GM Dragan Solak (28-years old, rated 2596), GM Aleksandar Kovacevic (34, 2585) and GM Bojan Vuckovic (28, 2563) are all back in the team to form a composition similar to the 2000 Istanbul Olympiad. GM Vuckovic is also member of the Serbian national team in chess problems solving that took gold medal at the 2008 European Championship, one point ahead of Russia.
Source: Chessdom
Troitsky brain teaser
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Troitsky 1911, presented by Andreas
White to move. How should White proceed?
8/2B5/p4q2/4N2p/4Pp1k/8/P5PK/8 w - - 0 1
Big turn out in South Carolina Open
Posted in June 30th, 2008
Ninety chess players appeared at the South Carolina Open (three sections) held in Greenville, S.C., over the weekend. The improved attendance (65 appeared in 2007) allowed the Greenville Chess Club to pay out 145% of the guaranteed minimum prizes.
GM Roman Dzindzichashvili and North Carolina State Champion Chris Mabe tied for first place with 4.5 points to win the Open Section, splitting $1305. Defending Open Champion GM Lubomir Ftacnik finished with 4.0 points and in third place.
Special thanks to Mr. David Grimaud for the report.
A new family member
Posted in June 30th, 2008
This is Lucky! My friend Dr. Rice found this stray a few hours ago. She somehow got inside one of the compartments underneath his truck. Luckily for Lucky, he heard her while driving and stopped to rescue her. He gave her to me and we decided to name her Lucky.
We believe she is a special breed of cat name Tortoiseshell or Calico and she is approximately 2-3 months old. Soon we can have a chess game between Lucky and Boogie
$2,110,100 lunch
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Would you pay $2,110,100 for luch? That is what Zhao Danyang of the Hong Kong-based Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund did. He won the eBay bid to have lunch with Mr. Warren Buffet. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Glide, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco.
$50,000 Queenstown Chess Classic
Posted in June 29th, 2008
13 Grandmasters already confirmed for $50,000 Queenstown Chess Classic
Several months before the event begins, the Queenstown Classic (main eventJanuary 15th-24th 2009) has had entries from an impressive tally ofoverseas Grandmasters and Women Grandmasters. Entrants include GM Eduardas Rozentalis (Lithuania), English GMs Gawain Jones and Peter Wells, and Australian GMs Zong-Yuan Zhao and Darryl Johansen.
The top-ranked entry to date is GM Victor Mikhalevski (Israel), rated 2597.
Also playing is the former German blitz champion, GM Klaus Bischoff, while creating added interest is the entry of several young WGMs (Women Grandmasters).
Queenstown incorporates the 116th New Zealand National Championship, and is an event open to all players, of any strength. The tournament winner (of any nationality) will be crowned the 2009 New Zealand Open Chess Champion. The top-placed New Zealand player will become the 2009 New Zealand Closed Chess Champion.
A ongoing list of entrants to date is now being posted to the Queenstown Classic website - http://www.queenstownchess.com/
PHOTO: German Grandmaster Klaus Bischoff, one of the confirmed Grandmaster entries for Queenstown 2009
Spain wins!
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Spain crowned champions
Germany 0-1 Spain: Torres ends Spain’s pain
June 30, 2008, 3:00 AM ET
Fernando Torres was the hero for Spain by firing them to Euro 2008 glory against Germany in Vienna - and ending 44 years of underachievement.
Torres struck in the 33rd minute at Ernst Happel Stadion and despite the efforts of Germany skipper Michael Ballack, they held on to their lead to spark wild celebrations in Austria’s capital.
Heavyweights in European football who produce a constant stream of individual talents, Spain had not won a major tournament since 1964 but finally shook off their tag of being chokers, not able to cope with the pressure of the highest stage.
They have also been perceived as a nation divided by their regions - the lyrics to their national anthem are not used - but full-back Sergio Ramos had kept mentioning the word “united” this week, and when Torres secured the Henri Delaunay for them they were just that.
Just shy of his 70th birthday, Luis Aragones will now leave his post as coach, probably for Fenerbahce, as a champion. Vicente del Bosque has been tipped to take over and he will inherit a young squad who have their sights on the World Cup.
Here is the full story.
Leko 1-0 Ivanchuk
Posted in June 29th, 2008
GM Leko (2741) - GM Ivanchuk (2740) [B46]
29.06.2008 / Dortmund - Round 2
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.0–0 Nf6 9.Qf3 Be7 10.Qg3 Nh5 11.Qf3 Nf6 12.e5 Nd7 13.Qg3 g6 14.Bh6 c5 15.Na4 c4 16.Be2 Bb7 17.b3 Bc6 18.Nb2 Rb8 19.Nd1 Nc5 20.Ne3 Ne4 21.Qh3 Ng5 22.Qg4 c3 23.a3 Bb5 24.Bxb5+ axb5 25.f3 Qb6 26.Rae1 d4 27.Nd1 d3+ 28.Kh1 dxc2 29.Nf2 Bc5 30.Nd3 Be3 31.Bxg5 Bd2 32.Re2 0–0 33.Nc1 b4 34.Bxd2 cxd2 35.Rxd2 bxa3 36.Rxc2 Rfc8 37.Qe4 Rxc2 38.Qxc2 Qd4 39.Na2 Qxe5 40.b4 Rd8 41.h3 h5 42.Rb1 Qe3 43.Rd1 Rd5 44.Qb1 Qe2 45.Re1 Qd2 46.Rc1 Rd8 47.b5 Rb8 48.Rc3 h4 49.b6 Qd6 50.Rb3 Rb7 51.Nc3 Qc6 52.Rxa3 Qxb6 53.Qxb6 Rxb6 54.Ra4 g5 55.f4 Rb3 56.Ne2 Re3 57.Ng1 White wins 1–0
Click here to replay the game.
Kramnik in good form
Posted in June 29th, 2008
GM Kramnik (2788) - GM Van Wely (2677) [D11]
29.06.2008 / Dortmund - Round 2
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.b3 Nbd7 6.Bb2 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.0–0 Bd6 9.Nbd2 0–0 10.Ne5 Qe7 11.Qf3 Rfd8 12.Qh3 h6 13.f4 Bb4 14.Ndf3 Ne4 15.Nxd7 Rxd7 16.Ne5 Rc7 17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.c5 bxc5 19.a3 Ba5 20.dxc5 Qxc5 21.b4 Qb5 22.Qg3 Bb6 23.Nd7 g6 24.Nf6+ Kf8 25.Be5 Rcc8 26.Qh4 h5 27.Nh7+ Ke8 28.Bd6 Rc7 29.Rfd1 White wins 1–0
Click here to replay the game.
Gustafsson leads Dortmund
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Yes, Gustafsson, the lowest rated player at the Dortmund super-tournament, is the current leader. He scored the first victory in the event in 23 moves!
GM Gustafsson (2603) - GM Naiditsch (2624) [D37]
29.06.2008 / Dortmund - Round 2
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Bxd7+ Nxd7 13.0–0 a6 14.Rb1 Qc7 15.Qh5 Ke7 16.f4 Qxc3 17.Rfd1 Rab8 18.e5 Qe3+ 19.Kh1 Rhd8 20.exf6+ Ke8 21.Nxe6 Nxf6 22.Nc7+ Ke7 23.Qh4 White wins 1–0
Click here to replay the game.
Unite or Divide?
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Photo and story from ChessBase
Extract from Herald Chess Column, Scotland, Saturday June 28.
Which country are you in? ‘Scotland’, I imagine, is the reflexive answer for most Herald readers; ‘Britain’ for a few others. Neither answer seems wrong. So are you in two countries at the same time? On such questions I see abundant shades of grey, but some see it, aptly, in Black and White.
As indicated in today’s news section, Chessbase.com ran a provocative article: “The United Kingdom of Many Sporting Entities?” which suggests that we might be guilty of having our cake and eating it too. Does it make sense to represent Scotland internationally while travelling on a British passport? Former world championship challenger Nigel Short thinks not, and describes the situation as “absurd, anachronistic, and profoundly discriminatory.”
For those who value geopolitical clarity (an oxymoron?) this predicament is problematic because Scotland competes with England and Wales, fellow citizens, in the same way we compete with independent countries like India and China, but not with semi-autonomous regions, arguably nations, like Quebec or Catalonia, who do not have separate representation.
I have played for Scotland most of my life, and was also proud to represent Britain in a one-off match against China last year. Personally I am at ease with this sense of nested nationality, and I don’t see why my passport has to subsume my patriotism.
Scotland is, I feel, a country, but you don’t have to travel far to find people who disagree, and who have stern binary views on such matters. Britain may pride itself on its pick ‘n’ mix constitution, but in the eyes of foreigners we are an anomaly, tolerated only because our geopolitical pragmatism far exceeds our sporting prowess.
The importance of this issue is brought home by imagining that F.I.D.E is F.I.F.A and the discussion applies to football, which, as anybody who has listened to Radio Scotland will know, is a national obsession. The argument remains just as strong: one nation, one passport, one team!
This discussion acutely brings out the tension in being both Scottish and British. How much of our national identity is based on the possibility of flying the flag for Scotland in sporting competitions? What happens if you take away that form of expression? Do we forget we are Scottish? Or do we rebel against the loss of identity by demanding our own sovereign state?
Leaving our claims to nationhood to one side, getting separate representation in the first place was due to the fact that F.I.D.E, like F.I.F.A, is comprised of national federations rather than sovereign countries, but this looks more like an historical accident than a political principle. The question then becomes what you do with the mess you find yourself in, and whether trying to clean up the mess creates more problems than it solves.
Here is the full discussion on ChessBase.
Biggest gains
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Biggest rating gainers for the upcoming July 2008 FIDE list:
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime FRA +49
Khenkin, Igor GER +46
Najer, Evgeniy RUS +43
Naiditsch, Arkadij GER +41
Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR +41
Gashimov, Vugar AZE +38
Grachev, Boris RUS +30
Eljanov, Pavel UKR +29
Tregubov, Pavel V. RUS +29
Movsesian, Sergei SVK +28
(This list does not include Carlsen due to Foros)
Near championship level
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Magnus Carlsen, Aerosvit winner, nears championship level
By Jack Peters, International Master
June 29, 2008
Magnus Carlsen of Norway took first prize in the Aerosvit tournament in Foros, Ukraine, with a very impressive 8-3 score. Carlsen built a two-point lead midway through the 12-grandmaster round robin. His margin of victory over Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, who finished second at 7-4, is misleading, as Ivanchuk won his last two games while Carlsen was content to draw most of his games in the second half.
Carlsen and Ivanchuk have been the most successful players in the last few months and should move into second and third places on the July rating list. World champion Viswanathan Anand leads by less than the result of one game.
Carlsen, 17, does not play in the style of former champions Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. He takes occasional short draws but seems fearless, rarely misses hidden tactical opportunities, frequently cedes material to avoid passivity, and regularly wins from slightly inferior positions. Those qualities describe Veselin Topalov, but Carlsen seems sounder and less fanatical. And he’s improving rapidly.
Here is the full story.
Gens Una Sumus
Posted in June 29th, 2008
Chess by Larry Evans
June 29, 2008
Gens Una Sumus — we are all one — is the motto of FIDE, the world chess body. Yet the tradition that chess should be above politics eroded during the Cold War.
At the 1974 Chess Olympiad in France, each team signed a pledge to play against any other country. Then Rhodesia and South Africa were expelled for purely political reasons as FIDE started down a slippery slope. In 1986, Israel was banned from an Olympiad in the United Arab Emirates.
FIDE also voted not to accredit an international tournament if a master played against the wishes of his own chess federation. In effect, this destroyed a standard of excellence and reduced players to political pawns.
In an open letter, Czech grandmaster Ludek Pachman recalled his imprisonment “with a broken skull and backbone, hovering between life and death, after a six-week hunger strike.” His crime? Protesting Soviet occupation of his homeland.
His book, Checkmate in Prague: Memoirs of a Grandmaster (1975), is a vivid chronicle of his Kafkaesque battle with bureaucracy, arrest and “trial.”
Upon his release, Pachman settled in Solingen, West Germany, and organized an international tourney there in 1974. But at the last moment he was excluded when both Russia and East Germany threatened to withdraw. After that shameful incident, Pachman was admitted to the West German chess team and moved to Berlin, where he died at 78 in 2003.
Here is the full article.
World Champion’s Tactic
Posted in June 28th, 2008
Dortmund Round 2
Posted in June 28th, 2008
Round 2 pairings:
Leko-Ivanchuk
Kramnik-Van Wely
Nepomniachtchi- Mamedyarov
Gustafsson- Naiditsch
Standings after 1 round:
1-8 Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Leko, Mamedyarov, Naiditsch, Nepomniachtchi, Van Wely, Gustafsson 1/2
The defending champion announces line up
Posted in June 28th, 2008
Armenian Olympiad Teams
According to AZG Armenian Daily, the following players will represent the 2006 Olympiad winners, Armenia at the Chess Olympiad in Dresden: GM Aronian, GM Akopian, GM Sargissian, GM Art. Minasian and a new player GM T.L.Petrosian - he substituted GM Karen Asrian, who tragically died earlier this month.
For the Armenian women’s team will play IM E.Danielian, IM Mktrchian, WGM Aginian, WIM Galojan and WIM S.Andriasian.
Source: Chess Today