World Blitz Chess Champion 2012 is Alexander Grischuk of Russia

Russia continues to rule the chess world. Not only the World Rapid Chess Champion 2012 belongs to them, but now even the World Blitz Chess Champion 2012. Alexander Grischuk won the World Blitz Chess Champion 2012 title in Astana, Kazakhstan on Monday - half-a-point ahead of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. 

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Carlsen 'Chuks' It; Karjakin is World Rapid Chess Champion 2012

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen going into the third day at the Astana World Rapid Chess Championship 2012 'chuk'ed his title win with back-to-back losses to Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Grischuk in the 12th and 13th rounds. In fact, he came close to losing the last round as well against Veselin Topalov.

The three winners: Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria (third), Sergey Karjakin of Russia (World Champion) and Magnus Carlsen (second).

Russia's Sergey Karjakin - with only one loss to Magnus Carlsen - steady performance and quality chess is the new World Rapid Chess Champion. Karjakin quickly got over his Carlsen debacle to post four wins on the final day!  

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Magnus Carlsen Unstoppable at World Rapid Chess Championship in Astana

World No. 1 Norway's Magnus Carlsen is going to run away with the World Rapid Chess Championship currently on in Astana, Kazakhstan. Magnus Carlsen is leading with a massive 1.5-point lead with 8.5/10. Five games had been played on Day. Karjakin and Carlsen were in joint lead at the beginning of second day's play. By the end of the day, Karjakin had lost two games against Mamedyarov and Carlsen. Carlsen, earlier in the day, drew with Gelfand and Dreev, but beat Mamedyarov and Tkachiev as well.

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World Rapid Chess Championship Day 1 Today: Karjakin, Carlsen Lead After Five Rounds

The world's best players are in Astana for the first-ever World Rapid Chess Championship that began today in Kazakhstan. Five rounds were played on the first day of the tournament. Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen both notched up four wins and a draw each to lead the field with 4.5 points each.

Karjakin's wins came against Gelfand, Tkachiev, Ismgambetov and Grischuk plus a draw against Topalov in round 5. Carlsen picked up wins against Kazhgaleyev, Morozevich, Bologan, Kurnosov and a draw against Svidler in the third round.

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World Chess Championship Blitz & Rapid Inauguration Ceremony Today in Astana

The chess world is going to witness the first-ever World Chess Championship in Rapid and Blitz formats of the sport in Astana, Kazakhstan. The head of the country of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev will officially declare open the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Astana today - July 5.

The inauguration ceremony would be held in Astana at the Radisson hotel and would include the drawing of colours for the pairings. Not only is the format exciting, but so is the line-up of players: the strongest in the world.

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Igor Kurnosov, Alexey Dreev, Vladislav Tkachiev Qualify for World Rapid Chess 2012

GM Igor Kurnosov has won the qualifier of the World Rapid Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan. He was already leading on the first day and finished the qualifier with a point ahead of the rest of the field. Second place was shared by four players, but 2nd and 3rd on tiebreak were Alexey Dreev and Vladislav Tkachiev, who also qualified for the World Rapid Chess 2012 finals.

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Anand, Carlsen Sign Up for Most Exciting Chess Event of 2012 - London Chess Classic from Dec 1

Photo © Ray Morris-Hill

Is the London Chess Classic going to be the most exciting chess event of 2012? World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen have both confirmed their entry for the fantastic event already.

World Champion 1st to sign-up for London Chess Classic
Fresh from yet another successful title defence, World Champion Viswanathan Anand, of India, became the first player to sign-up to play in the 4th London Chess Classic, at Kensington Olympia, 1-10 December, 2012. It is no secret that London is one of Anand’s favourite cities, and this will be his third successive appearance in the tournament.

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World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2012 Begin in Astana - Magnus Carlsen Top Seed; Gelfand is Playing

The qualifiers to the World Rapid Chess Championship 2012 and World Blitz Chess Championship have begun in Astana Kazakhstan. In fact, the championships of this format of chess tournament are being held for the first time in the history of chess. The championships will be held in Astana from July 1-11. The top ten players of the current FIDE rating list were invited to take part in the event. Kazakhstan had nominated Murtas Kazhgaleyev and Anuar Ismagambetov in rapid chess and Pavel Kotsur and Rinat Dzhumabayev in blitz. Three winners of the blitz and rapid qualifiers would receive an entry into the finals. World Chess Champion India's Viswanathan Anand qualifies according to rating, but is not playing. However, his challenger, Israel's Boris Gelfand is playing.

Qualifiers by rating for finals (6-10 July)

01. Magnus Carlsen 2835
02. Teimour Radjabov 2784
03. Sergey Karjakin 2779
04. Alexander Morozevich 2769
05. Vassily Ivanchuk 2764
06. Alexander Grischuk 2761
07. Veselin Topalov 2752
08. Peter Svidler 2741
09. Boris Gelfand 2727
10. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2726

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July Chess Ratings: Magnus Carlsen at Record 2837; Anand Slips to 5th Place for Winning World Chess Championship!

World's Highest Rated Chess Player
Norway's Magnus Carlsen

Fide has released the July chess ratings which have World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen on a runaway lead with a record rating of 2837. The highest ever rating record is held by legendary 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov of an 'Everest elo' worth 2851!

The list of top players is published at dedicated page of FIDE ratings website. All players can check new ratings at the main page of FIDE ratings website or download TXT version from downloads page.

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Magnus Carlsen in his Blog on Winning 7th Tal Chess Memorial in Moscow

World's strongest chess player Magnus Carlsen of Norway has just won the 7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial in Moscow with an exciting last-round win. Carlsen's blog is a sponsoring agreement between Arctic Securities and the Magnus Carlsen. Magnus became an International Grandmaster at the age of 13, the youngest at the time.

After Tal Memorial, Carlsen will get the super-strong rating of 2837! He is surpassed only by the legendary Garry Kasparov who reached a rating of 2851 in January, 2000.

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7th Tal Chess Memorial: Magnus Carlsen Comments, Tweet and Last-Round Game Against McShane

The one and only Magnus Carlsen

Magnus Carlsen, right after winning the 7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial, in Moscow, on Sunday had these comments to make:

"I think it has been a very interesting tournament. There have been twists and turns that noone could foresee. As for myself, I thing I played, well I stared slowly. My first three games were not impressive to say the least.
I think after that my play was good. I mean, the game with Grischuk, although I didn't win, it was an energizer to play such an interesting game. I thought after that I was in the driving seat in most of my games.
Obviously if it turns out that Aronian wins [looks to one of the screens], which in fact he did, I'm actually the winner of the tournament. That is nice but, I mean, like last year there were a lot of fortunate circumstances for me in the last round to be able to win it but that's the way it goes sometimes. Today I had to win myself and I did. That's all I can do."

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Magnus Carlsen Wins 7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial 2012

It seems chess goddess Caissa is particularly kind to world chess #1 Norway's Magnus Carlsen as not only did the talented genius pull off a crucial last-round victory, but the overnight leader Italy's Fabiano Caruana lost as well giving Magnus Carlsen the 7th Mikhail Tal Memorial Chess Tournament title late in Moscow on Monday. A fantastic victory for the Mozart of Chess - in all probability the would-be world chess champion one day - Magnus Carlsen!

7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial 2012 winners
(from left) Teimour Radjabov, third;
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, second.

Fabiano Caruana got taken in by Levon Aronian's home prep. Carlsen left nothing to chance by convincingly beating Luke McShane for a clear first. Teimour Radjabov drew against Hikaru Nakamura and had to settle for third behind Fabiano Caruana on tiebreak. Caruana actually needed only a draw to manage shared first at least.

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Tal Chess Memorial Round 8: Fabiano Caruana Takes Lead

Italy's Fabiano Caruana shot into the lead with a nice win over Russia's Vladimir Kramnik in the eight round at the Tal Chess Memorial on Sunday. Kramnik not only lost a pawn, but in self-destruct mode, committed an endgame blunder as well. What has been amazing at the tournament is that leader from the beginning, Alexander Morozevich has suddenly lost three games in a row. Vladimir Kramnik, who joined Morozevich in the lead, has lost two games in a row.

This is how they cheer chess players in Moscow...

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Tal Chess Memorial Round 5: Morozevich in Sole Lead; Teimour Tries Scotch and Loses to Carlsen

World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen

Alexander Morozevich - In Sole Lead

The fifth day of game play at the 7th Tal Chess Memorial currently being played at the Pashkov House in Moscow saw two decisive games. Alexander Morozevich capitalised on Aronian's piece sacrifice for several pawns as the latter drifted into a loss. Magnus Carlsen continued with his out-for-a-win attack and won over overnight joint leader Teimour Radjabov. The other games were a draw, but not without efforts by all players. The 7th edition of the Tal Chess Memorial includes 10 players vying for the title over a round-robin format from June 8 to 18. Rest days are June 11 and 15. Time control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Games can be viewed live online at the official website. The prize fund is 100,000 Euros.

Round 5: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Alexander Grischuk-Fabiano Caruana 1/2-1/2
Teimour Radjabov-Magnus Carlsen 0-1
Levon Aronian-Alexander. Morozevich 0-1
Hikaru Nakamura-Vladimir Kramnik 1/2-1/2
Evgeny Tomashevsky-Luke McShane 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round 5
1. Morozevich - 4

2-4. Carlsen, Radjabov, Kramnik - 3

5. Caruana - 2,5

6-9. Grischuk, Aronian, Nakamura, McShane - 2

10. Tomashevsky - 1,5

You can view the Carlsen-Radjabov game in our Chess King applet by expanding this post. (Photos by Eteri Kublashvili/Official website.)

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Carlsen Crazy Chess Game Against Grischuk - Tal Chess Memorial Round 4

Magnus Carlsen - the world No. 1 - can be the talk of the chess world even when he plays a draw. That's the most fascinating aspect of this genius chess player. Playing at the Tal Chess Memorial in Round 4 in Moscow on Tuesday, Magnus Carlsen went all out to fetch a win against Alexander Grischuk. However, the Russian Grandmaster was up to the challenge. A great fireworks game that must be viewed. The game ended in a draw, but not without new chess ideas and lots of excitement. You must watch it in our Chess King game applet.

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Tal Chess Memorial Round 4: Radjabov, Morozevich Hold on to Lead

The draws in the fourth round of the 7th Tal Memorial don't tell the whole story. Magnus Carlsen  with three draws in the previous rounds - went all out to try crazy stuff against Alexander Grischuk. The game ended in a draw after some amazing ideas from the World No. 1. 

 

Morozevich and Radjabov - the overnight leaders - chose to play out a draw. Fabiano Caruana got a win over Evgeny Tomashevsky. 

The 7th Tal Chess Memorial is a 10-player round robin taking place in the beautiful Pashkov House in Moscow from June 8-18. The next rest day will be on June 15. Time control: 100 minutes to complete 40 moves and 50 minutes for 20 moves, followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the moves. There is a 30-second increment from the first move. You can watch the games live on the official website. Draw offers are not allowed before the first time control. The Tal Chess Memorial prize fund is 100,000 euros.

 

Round 4: Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Fabiano Caruana - Evgeny Tomashevsky 1-0
Luke McShane - Hikaru Nakamura 1/2-1/2
Vladimir Kramnik - Levon Aronian 1/2-1/2
Alexander Morozevich - Teimour Radjabov 1/2-1/2
Magnus Carlsen - Alexander Grischuk 1/2-1/2

Round four standings1-2. Morozevich, Radjabov – 3

3. Kramnik – 2.5

4-6. Aronian, Carlsen, Caruana – 2

7-9. Grischuk, McShane, Nakamura - 1.5

10. Tomashevsky – 1 

(Photos: Eteri Kublashvili/Russian Chess Federation.)

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Tal Chess Memorial Round 2 - Radjabov Leads; Caruana, Nakamura play 107-move Draw in Seven Hours!

Beautiful Pashkov House in Moscow

The Tal Chess Memorial second round saw fighting games all around even though there were three draws and only two decisive games. Teimour Radjabov pulled off his second victory in as many rounds by beating Luke McShane with the Black pieces. Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik also beat Alexander Grischuk. World Chess No. 1 Magnus Carlsen survived against Alexander Morozevich and managed to draw. Two other games that ended in tough draws included Evgeny Tomashevsky-Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana-Hikaru Nakamura. In fact, Caruana and Nakamura played for a full seven hours flat for a 107 moves squeezing out the last bit of chess to a fulfilling draw.

Results of Round 2

Kramnik – Grischuk 1-0
McShane – Radjabov 0-1
Caruana – Nakamura draw
Morozevich – Carlsen draw
Tomashevsky – Aronian draw

Standings after Round 2

1. Radjabov 2; 

2-4. Morozevich, Kramnik, Aronian 1,5; 

5-6. Carlsen, Grischuk 1; 

7-9. Nakamura, Tomashevsky, Caruana 0,5; 

10. McShane 0.

Round 3 pairings: 

Carlsen – Caruana, 

Grischuk – Morozevich, 

Radjabov – Kramnik, 

Aronian – McShane 

Nakamura – Tomashevsky.

The 7th Tal Chess Memorial is a 10-player round robin chess tournament that is taking place at the beautiful Pashkov House in Moscow from June 8 to 18. The prize fund is 100,000 euros. There will be two rest days on June 11 and 15. The time control offers 100 minutes for 40 moves, 50 minutes for extra 20 moves, and 15 minutes for finishing the game. There is a 30-second increment for every move from the starting of the game. Games start at India time 4.30 pm and you can watch them on the official website. Photos/text by Eteri Kublashvili (Tal Chess Memorial Official Website)

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Book Chess Evening with World #1 Magnus Carlsen in NY on Aug 23

Click on photo to register

The world's top-rated chess player Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen will hold a premier Chess Fantasy Camp with the help of 1000passions.com and Chess NYC in New York City on August 23. The evening will include analysis of historic chess games, a lecture, and game play. Carlsen will also speak on chess, share thoughts and strategies. He would also play a simul chess exhibition with 10 members selected randomly. A cocktail hour would be held at the end of the programme where the audience would be able to speak to Magnus Carlsen and other world-class Grandmasters in an informal atmosphere.

1000passions.com is a site for buying special experiences! Chess NYC based in Greenwich Village is a 24x7 Village Chess Shop and Club. 

The camp is a unique insight into the genius of Magnus Carlsen and learning from him. Space is limited to 200, so book your seat now for this remarkable chess evening.

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World Chess Rapid & Blitz Qualifier: You Can Play if Rating 2300+

The World Chess Championship for Rapid and Blitz qualifiers will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 1-5. The qualifiers are open to all players who have a rating of at least 2300. Applications have to be sent by the national federations only.
Participation fees
2300 - 2399 –100 USD
2400 – 2499 – 60 USD
2500 – 2600 - 35 USD
Above 2600 – no fee
Applications for participation are accepted before June 20, 2012.

The Rapid Chess Qualifier would be held as a nine-round Swiss chess tournament with the following time control: 15 minutes + 10 seconds. The top three winners will get free hotel accommodation costs and plane tickets to the world chess championship. Hotel costs and plane tickets for the world chess championship in the blitz section are free for the first three winners of the qualifier. 

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Tal Chess Video - Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi Ignoring Pretty Girls?

Here is a video from the 7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial that began in Moscow on June 7. The event had a unique method of drawing lots for deciding pairings for the first round. A special blitz chess event was held to decide the first-round pairings. Alexander Morozevich won the blitz event on tiebreak ahead of Magnus Carlsen. Here is a video of the first day by Eugene Potemkin.





Do you think chess stars Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi ignored the pretty girls?

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