Women's Chess Grand Prix Round 9: Hou Yifan in Sole Lead

China's Ju Wenjun, who had been leading since the beginning, gave way for the lead to Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan in the ninth round at the Women's Chess Grand Prix currently on in Jermuk. Wenjun has earned a men’s GM norm, while Ruan Lufei, with a nice tactical win, secured a men’s IM norm. Ruan beat Zhao Xue with a nice tactical win. The game between Kosintseva – Danielian was very tense, and though it went into a drawish position, Danielian ended up losing. Ekaterina Kovalevskaya lost to Hou Yifan. The clash between Lahno – Khurtsidze was a captivating game. After a balanced opening, the Ukrainian star sacrificed a pawn for the initiative, and looked to be in full control after some inaccurate responses from the Georgian. However, just when it appeared that the end would be near, it was white’s turn to stumble. The game ended in a draw. 

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Kosteniuk’s Chess Video vs Wang Hao Viral on YouTube

In less than 24 hours of being posted, a chess video of 12th World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk against China's No. 1 player Wang Hao has gone viral on the Internet. The video shows the confident looking Chinese #1 Super Grandmaster Wang Hao blundering against an opponent ranked close to 300 elo points below him, and the brutal shock he gets with the checkmating of his king. The moves are in extreme slow-motion, and you can imagine the thought process that went into the Chinese GM’s mind when he was holding on to his knight on f5. Don't forget to click “Thumbs Up” or “Like” if you appreciate the video and would like more chess videos by Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk. Some more “classic” chess videos you must watch: Anand, Aronian, Carlsen, Judit Polgar.

Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk has also just been featured in the special Vogue issue of the USA. 

The special feature in fashion magazine VOGUE, USA Edition, in the August 2012 issue, which hits newsstands on July 24, 2012. It is called the “Vogue Age Issue“, and it puts six very different women, ages 28 to 89, in the spotlight. One of them is Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk. She has been featured to show why chess is a cool game and how she promotes chess around the world!  From the chess champion to the recent widow to the last surviving child of Winston Churchill, each one of the featured women has a fascinating story to tell. For a complete profile of the beautiful and intelligent 12 world chess champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, check her personal blog site ChessQueen.com.

Kosteniuk is credited for being the most Internet-active and Internet-savvy chess Grandmaster who has singlehandedly done much to promote chess and give the sport a makeover with her twitter accounts, chess blogs and sites. She has brought a wave of glamour and style to women's chess unthought of before. Kosteniuk is also the most Facebook-active former world chess champion taking out several hours on a daily basis to reply to fans' letters, emails and messages. Her YouTube channels have thousands of videos on chess training, chess puzzles, chess events, etc. for chess lovers and learners to improve chess - all for free!

You might also like to read why Kosteniuk was once 'held' at a US airport security check!

Pretty Chess Queen 'Caught' in US Airport Security Check

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WFM Kholood Al Zarouni Wins UAE Ramadan Chess

Kholood Al Zarouni

ABU DHABI — UAE’s Kholood Al Zarouni won the women’s open chess championship title in the 16th Armed Forces Officers Club Ramadan Sports Festival at the club premises late on Tuesday night. Kholood won the title following a Fide tie-breaker after she and her sister had finished as joint leaders with 6.5 points each. The Ramadan Sports Festival is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs. Kholood defeated Clara Wajeeh of Egypt in the final round, while sister Ayesha defeated top seed Huda Al Najjar of Syria.

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University Chess Nepal: Madan Krishna Kayastha Wins Kathford Trophy

KATHMANDU: Madan Krishna Kayastha of Golden Gate International College edged Purushottam Chaulagain of Shanker Dev Campus under head-to-head superiority to clinch the Kathford First National University Chess Tournament. Both Madan Krishna and Purushottam finished the tournament tied on 8.5 points but the former won the tournament on the basis of winning the seventh round duel on Tuesday. Sushil Chaudhary of CBM College finished third with 7.5 points.

Madan started the final day with a victory over Prakash Nepal of Damak Campus in the eighth round and played a draw with College-mate Roshan Kumar Jaiswal in the ninth. Purushottam defeated Nikesh Duwal of Advance Engineering College and Sajin Maharjan of Patan Multiple Campus in the eighth and ninth round respectively.

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Judit Polgar signs up for the 4th London Chess Classic 2012

World No. 1 Judit Polgar

Judit Polgar celebrates her 36th birthday today with the news that she’s confirmed her participation for the 4th London Chess Classic, at Kensington Olympia, 1-10 December, 2012, according to the official press release. Polgar now joins World No 1 Magnus Carlsen, World Champion Vishy Anand, World No 2 Levon Aronian, the defending champion Vladimir Kramnik, and the UK No 1 Mickey Adams as those that have so far confirmed their invitations to play in the year-ending elite chess spectacular in the Capital City.

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Women's Chess Grand Prix Jermuk R6: Ju Wenjun in Sole Lead

Ju Wenjun in Lead

The Fide Women's Chess Grand Prix is currently on in Jermuk. After six rounds, China's Ju Wenjun continues to lead with a well-earned 4.5 points. In Round six, only two games were decisive. Koneru Humpy beat Ekaterina Kovalevskaya and Nino Khurtsidze lost to Ruan Lufei. The other games - Zhao Xue-Munguntuul Batkhuyag, Mkrtchian Lilit-Lahno Kateryna, Ju Wenjun-Kosintseva Nadezhda, Danielian Elina-Hou Yifan were draws.

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Surprise Chess Gift Goes Out to 86 City Mayors Worldwide from Moscow!

MOSCOW, July 22, 2012: Mayors of 86 global and regional cities around the world got a surprise gift for the International Chess Day on Friday, July 20 – a competition chess set, with a note from Vladimir Palikhata, President of the Moscow Chess Federation (MCF), extolling the virtues and benefits of chess – "a wise and ancient game," which, according to the release, can "help reduce stress associated with managing a city" and "bring pleasure."

Vladimir Palikhata decided to use this opportunity to reach out to the chief administrators of sister cities of Moscow, including London, Chicago, Vienna, Tokyo, and Santiago, to establish and reinforce relations with the chess-playing community in these cities.

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