Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 7: Russians on the Rampage; Indian Men Draw with Argentina; Women Beat Estonia

Parimarjan Negi

This is going to be surely the best India has ever done at the Chess Olympiads. In the seventh round, at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, India held Argentina to a creditable draw. There were fighting games on all boards despite what the scoresheet reads.

Round 7 Results

Argentina-India

1 GM Peralta, Fernando (2606) ½-½ GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707)

2 GM Flores, Diego (2589) ½-½ GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685)
3 GM Felgaer, Ruben (2570) 1-0 GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664)
4 GM Mareco, Sandro (2589) 0-1 GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637)

In the women's section, India had a fantastic result.

Round 7 Results

Estonia-India

1 WIM Tsiganova, Monika (2164) 0-1 GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)

2 WIM Fomina, Tatjana (2189) 0-1 IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)

3 WCM Narva, Triin (2028) 0-1 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396)

4 WFM Narva, Regina (2042) 1-0 WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271)

Meanwhile, the seventh round brought another win for Russia as they beat Azerbaijan with three draws and a win by Alexander Grischuk on the second board in the open section. Grischuk continued to fight and corner Eltaj Safarli eventually breaking the latter's defense.

 

Abhijeet Gupta

Top standings after Round 7

Russia has 13 match points. China and Ukraine have 12 points each. Armenia, USA, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Germany, Uzbekistan and Philippines have 11 points each.

Armenia had another tough match this time against China on table two. Sergei Movsesian, who yesterday saved his team in the clash with Russia, fell victim to Wang Yue's counterattack. With the other three games being drawn, China celebrated an important victory that leaves them on the shared second place, right behind Russia. (Photos: David Llada)

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 6: Indian Men Draw with Israel; Women Beat Germany

 Star of Round 6: Vladimir Kramnik of Russia who beat Levon Aronian of Armenia with a nice sac. Photo: David Llada

The Indians teams are playing tenacious chess at the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul without giving an inch. In the sixth round, after the rest day, India drew with Israel and the Indian women beat Germany convincingly!

Round 6 Results
India-Israel1 GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) ½-½ GM Gelfand, Boris (2738)
2 GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) ½-½ GM Sutovsky, Emil (2687)
3 GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) 1-0 GM Rodshtein, Maxim (2642)
4 GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637) 0-1 GM Avrukh, Boris (2605)

India-Germany
1 GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503) ½-½ WGM Paehtz, Elisabeth (2483)
2 IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371) ½-½ WGM Melamed, Tetyana (2356)
3 IM Sachdev, Tania (2379) 1-0 WGM Ohme, Melanie (2337)
4 WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271) 1-0 WGM Michna, Marta (2380)


India's pairing for Round 7 on Tuesday are as follows:
Argentina-India
1. GM Peralta, Fernando (2606)-GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707)
2. GM Flores, Diego (2589)-GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685)
3. GM Felgaer, Ruben (2570)-GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664)
4. GM Mareco, Sandro (2589)-GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637)
 
Estonia-India
1. WIM Tsiganova, Monika (2164)-GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)
2. WIM Fomina, Tatjana (2189)-IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)
3. WCM Narva, Triin (2028)-WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396)
4. WFM Narva, Regina (2042)-WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271)

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad Round 5: India Draw with England; Women Lose to China

Levon Aronian before the start of his game that would see Vassily Ivanchuk demolished in Round 5 at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad. Photo: Arman Karakhanyan

Round 5 at thee Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 saw India draw with England even as Parimarjan Negi let his former teacher, none other than GM Nigel Short, escape! All the other games were drawn as well. In the women's section, India lost to China with losses on all the lower three boards. However, Dronavalli Harika did a fantastic job in drawing with Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan of China. 

Round 5 Open Section
India-England
1 GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) ½-½ GM Adams, Michael (2722)
2 GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) ½-½ GM Jones, Gawain (2653)
3 GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) ½-½ GM Short, Nigel (2698)
4 GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637) ½-½ GM Pert, Nicholas (2555)

Round 5 Women's Section

China-India

1 GM Hou, Yifan (2599) ½-½ GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)

2 GM Zhao, Xue (2549) 1-0 IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371)

3 WGM Ju, Wenjun (2528) 1-0 IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)

4 WGM Huang, Qian (2449) 1-0 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann (2396)

Meanwhile, on the first match table, two-time Chess Olympiad Champion Armenia beat defending champions Ukraine. World #2 Levon Aronian beat Vassily Ivanchuk with a nice exchange-up and follow-up tactics which were enough to win the match for Armenia as the other games were drawn 2,5-1,5. 

Russia comfortably beat Hungary on the second board on the basis of Alexander Grischuk's attacking win over Zoltan Almasi with a score of 2,5-1,5. Meanwhile, the Azeri and Chinese teams beat Canada and Iran 3,5-0,5 even as France lost to Croatia 2,5-1,5. USA drew with the Czech Republic. Sunday was a rest day and all the live action resumed on Monday with live games via the official website at 5.30 pm India time. (Left Photo: David Llada)

Monday's match-up for India are as follows:

India-Israel

1. GM Sasikiran, Krishnan (2707) - GM Gelfand, Boris (2738)

2. GM Harikrishna, Pentala (2685) - GM Sutovsky, Emil (2687)

3. GM Negi, Parimarjan (2664) - GM Rodshtein, Maxim (2642)

4. GM Gupta, Abhijeet (2637) - GM Avrukh, Boris (2605)

India-Germany

1. GM Dronavalli, Harika (2503)-WGM Paehtz, Elisabeth (2483)

2. IM Karavade, Eesha Sanjay (2371)-WGM Melamed, Tetyana (2356)

3. IM Sachdev, Tania (2379)-WGM Ohme, Melanie (2337)

4. WGM Soumya, Swaminathan (2271)-WGM Michna, Marta (2380)

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R4: Indian men Draw with USA; Women Draw with Serbia

Yes, she's a chess player in Istanbul...
(Photo: Arman Karakhanyan)

The Indian team had an excellent draw on the top board against the USA in the fourth round of the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 considering that they were rated below the American team. It is another matter that Indian could have won on the first board as well and created an upset!

Round 4 on 2012/08/31
United States Of America - India 2 : 2
1.1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 2778 - GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2707 1 - 0
1.2 GM Kamsky, Gata 2746 - GM Harikrishna, Pentala 2685 0 - 1
1.3 GM Onishuk, Alexander 2666 - GM Negi, Parimarjan 2664 ½ - ½
1.4 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2617 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet 2637 ½ - ½

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World Chess Administration: Agon Limited Appoints GM Robert Fontaine!

GM Robert Fontaine

International chess Grandmaster Robert Fontaine has joined Agon Limited, the rights holder to the World Chess Championship cycle, as chief of staff to founder-and-chief executive Andrew Paulson.

GM Fontaine, the six-times under-20 youth champion for France, becomes a principal aide as Mr Paulson implements his strategy to organise and commercialise the ongoing World Chess Championship cycles, starting with the opening Grand Prix for the 2012/2013 cycle at Simpson’s-in-the-Strand in London in September.

GM Fontaine has won a number of international chess tournaments over his playing career, including Las Vegas in 2006, Stockholm in 2007 and Paleohora in 2009. He became a Grandmaster in 2002 and a member of the Olympiad chess team in 2004. He is also known as a presenter for Europe-Echecs, where he interviewed champion players and politicians for video reportage on the world’s leading chess events. 

Agon Founder Andrew Paulson

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R3 - Both Indian Teams Continue Winning Spree

GM P Harikrishana
flying the Indian flag high

Indian teams at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 continued with a steady performance winning the third round in both the open and women's section. GMs P Harikrihsna and Abhijeet Gupta beat former world chess championship candidate Alexander Beliavsky and Malej Sebenik for a 3-1 victory. The other two games were draw. Tania Sachdev scored an important win for India over Lilit Galojan even as other three boards were draw. Both the teams play the fourth round on the top board. Eight more rounds have to be played and the tough part begins now.

Indian pairings for Round 4 are as follows:

United States Of America - India 
1.1 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 2778 - GM Sasikiran, Krishnan 2707
1.2 GM Kamsky, Gata 2746 - GM Harikrishna, Pentala 2685
1.3 GM Onishuk, Alexander 2666 - GM Negi, Parimarjan 2664
1.4 GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2617 - GM Gupta, Abhijeet 2637

India - Serbia 
1.1 GM Dronavalli, Harika 2503 - IM Bojkovic, Natasa 2392
1.2 IM Karavade, Eesha S 2371 - WGM Manakova, Maria 2304
1.3 IM Sachdev, Tania 2379 - WIM Rakic, Marija 2300
1.4 WGM Gomes, Mary Ann 2396 - WGM Benderac, Ana 2266

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R2: India Men Beat Turkey 3-1; Indian Women Beat Australia 3.5-0.5

Indian star leader
GM Krishnan Sasikiran

Indian chess teams chalked up their second straight wins in the second round at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad on Wednesday in both the open and women's sections. 

On Board 13, India beat Turkey 3-1. GM Krishnan Sasikiran beat IM Burak Firat and GM Abhijeet Gupta beat CM Vahap Sanal. GM Parimarjan Negi picked up a draw against FM Ali Marandi and GM Gopal, Geetha Narayanan drew with CM Dastan Muhammed Batuhan. 

None other than one of
Asia's greatest women
chess players -
WIM Rani Hamid
playing for Bangladesh

On Board 6, in the women's section, India beat Australia 3.5 to 0.5. IM Eesha Sanjay Karawade, IM Tania Sachdev and WGM Mary Ann Gomes picked up wins over WIM Arianne Caoili, Sally Yu and Giang Nguyen. WGM Soumya Swaminathan drew with WIM Bijana Novakovic-Dekic. 

Meanwhile, on the top boards, Ukraine, the defending champion defeated Qatar with a 3-1 score despite the loss by first board GM Vassily Ivanchuk to GM Mohamad Al-Modiahki. Ivanchuk was slightly better with black but he carelessly allowed the enemy queen to sneak into the back rank. Ivanchuk immediately resigned, declining attempts to seek compensation for the piece. The United States beat Lithuania 3.5-0.5 after Hikaru Nakamura finally broke down the stubborn resistance of Grecian GM Vidmantas Malisauskas in a marathon 107-moves long game. Azerbaijan had no difficulty dispatching their Irish opponents, however the young talent FM Ryan Rhys Griffiths managed to steal the only draw for his team in the game against the seasoned Azeri GM Rauf Mamedov.

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad R1: Indian Teams Begins with 4-0 Wins in Both Open, Women's Sections

 Opening ceremony dance at Istanbul Chess Olympiad

 

Indian men and women chess teams have begun the Istanbul Olympiad Chess Olympiad with 4-0 victory over Wales and FYROM, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. P Harikrishna, Parimarjan Negi, Abhijeet Gupta and G N Gopal beat Wales' Richard Joneslost, Tim Kett, Richard Dineley and Lolo Jones respectively. 

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Give Garry Kasparov Your Best Answer for His Lecture in S. Africa @ The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit

Legendary world chess champion Garry Kasparov will be speaking at The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit event on August 30. The Discovery Invest Leadership Summit showcases brilliant minds, giving the South African business community access to leading-edge leadership thinking."

Venue: Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng, South Africa
Bookings: Telephone +27 (0)86 100-0749

Your comment could be part of Garry Kasparov's speech at the event! On his Facebook page, Kasparov has sought comments: "Speaking here on the 30th. Glad I am able to travel! A question for you: Would you rather work at an established company whose business will be obsolete in 20 years, or in a startup whose business might change the world 20 years (but that might fail)? Be honest! I'll share the best answers with my audience in South Africa." 

Go on, post your answers there.

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Istanbul Chess Olympiad: First Round Today Watch Live from 5.30 PM

A record-breaking 158 countries will start off with the first round at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad in Turkey today at 15:00 local time (India time 5.30 pm). You can watch live at the official website. The live video feed is at this link. The drawing of colours took place during the opening ceremony at the WOW Convention center in Istanbul. The ceremony began with the national anthem of Turkey, followed by a tribute to chess players in history, traditional dances and programmes. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the Minister of Youth and Sports Suat Kilic, and the Turkish Chess Federation President Ali Nihat Yazici greeted the participants. 

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Pak Chess Kid Heads to Istanbul Chess Olympiad at Age 11

It's always a pleasure to have chess news come in from Pakistan that is only beginning to witness chess at the national level. We thank our readers who have pointed out the following videos of 11-year-old Mehak Gul Zahid. It is her father who has inspired her to take chess and she is now going to be one of the youngest participants at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012. Gul has been playing chess since she was six and recently qualified for the national team. A student of the Lahore Garrison School in Township, Gul won school chess championship back in 2010 after which she participated in the Punjab Chess Championship in June this year. She came third in the competition. Enjoy the videos.

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Smartphone Chess Updates App for Android/iPhone - Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012

There is lot of excitement in the chess world as soon it is going to be showtime at the Istanbul Chess Olympiad 2012 (Aug 27-Sept 10). You can access the official website of the event at this link. Keep track of all the updates, wins, pairings, photos and more with these fantastic smartphone apps. Here are the iPhone and Android apps. The Android application: “World Chess Olympiad 2012” developed for 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, is available in Google Play Store. Use search or the following link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kocakcan.chessOlympiad

For the iPhone application, go to the Appstore and search or use the following link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chess-2012/id553296652?ls=1&mt=8

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Livigno Chess Open a Big Draw for Indians!

The 3rd International Livigno Chess Open is going to take place in the beautiful Italian Alps from September 10-17. The host city is the beautiful village of Livigno. In total no less than 17 nations are represented in probably one of the highest located chess competitions in the world.  Livigno is also known as the Little Tibet of Italy and is an enchanting ski resort.  Sergey Volkov (Russia – 2011 winner) has confirmed his participation, as well as 2009 Senior World Champion Miso Cebalo (Croatia) and quite a few players from India. Overall there are 26 players with Elo above 2400; 16 above 2500 and one above 2600, the Luxembourgian-Italian Alberto David.

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Indian Chess Teams Set for FIDE Chess Olympiad 2012 in Istanbul Aug 27-Sept 10

The 40th FIDE World Chess Olympiad will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, 27 August - 10 September. A record-breaking 162 nations have registered for the competition with more than 1700 players and captains. The arrival of delegations is underway and the opening ceremony will take place August 27th at 21:30 local time (20:30 CET) in the WOW Convention Center. The ceremony will be broadcasted live in 4 languages simultaneously. The first round begins August 28th at 15:00.

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Best Chess Radio Show on the Planet- F.E.B. No. 24

Alibanban, the ACP's adjournment experience, Gordon oh-so close in Brit Champs, true Brit humour, chess and more... Have you tuned in to the best chess radio show on the planet yet? Listen to the NEXT SHOW for details of summer raffle extravapalooza! All donations will be counted!

Yuri Garrett, Gata Kamsky. Credit: Macauley Peterson

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Kasparov Released, But...

FB Update: Garry Kasparov has been released, but the police are seriously pursuing this ridiculous charge that he bit a police officer. So he has more protocol to go through tonight with his attorney and must return to the police next week.

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Breaking: GARRY KASPAROV ARRESTED IN MOSCOW FOR NOTHING

 

From the official Garry Kasparov Facebook Page : Garry Kasparov has just been arrested outside the Moscow courthouse where the Pussy Riot trial is taking place. He was not there to protest, simply to attend, and the police cornered him and dragged him into the police van. This photo shows the police assaulting him inside the van. We hope he is all right and we will provide updates when we have them. (Photo by Olaf Koens).

FB Update (An hour ago): We just spoke to Garry on the phone. He is at the police station. He was beaten but says he is okay. He isn't sure what will happen next. It seems the police are waiting for orders from above. He says he was standing calmly speaking with journalists when police pushed through and grabbed him. Also Read: Kasparov.ru

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TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind Begins in Chennai

The TATA 14th IBCA Chess Olympiad for the Blind organised by the All India Chess Federation for the blind has begun at the Hotel Le Royal Meridien, Chennai. The 23-country team chess event had a colourful opening ceremony. The tournament arrives in Asia for the first time thanks to the efforts of the All-India Chess Federation. Shri D V Sundar, Vice President, FIDE inaugurated the tournament making the symbolic first move. He extolled the untiring efforts of Charudatta Jadhav in bringing the Olympiad to India. He added, "The sheer grit and determination of Charudatta in ensuring the developement of blind chess is unparalled. He has behind him three decades of selfless service for blind chess and deserves the recommendation to the civilian award of Padma Shree."

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Sponsorship Potential of Chess Untapped: Agon Gets YouGov Survey

Press Release: Chess has been under the radar for the last 40 years since Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky fought the Cold War for us in Reykjavik. But outside the glare of the media spotlight chess players now make up one of the largest communities in the world: 605 million adults play chess regularly – a number comparable to regular users of Facebook.

According to authoritative polling organization YouGov, across varied national demographic profiles (US, UK, Germany, Russia, India), a surprisingly stable 70% of the adult population has played chess at some point during their lives. Even if they played as children but left it behind as they grew up, they still retain a deep admiration for the game.

Across the board, chess players and non-players alike rank chess significantly higher than any other game or sport for attributes such as intelligence, sophistication, strategy, perfection and complexity confirming top branding agency Pentagram’s view: “Chess is about Thinking and Winning.”

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Play Chess With World Champion Vishy Anand in Simul via Chess.com

World Champion Viswanathan Anand will play a match against the World via Chess.com's "Vote Chess" platform on August 13, 2012 at 10:30 AM PST. Chess.com LLC and Metropolitan Chess, Inc have partnered up to make this amazing event possible, according to a press release.

Anand will be the head instructor at the Metro Chess Invitational Chess Camp from August 9th through 13th in Los Angeles. He will conclude his activities by playing a Simultaneous Exhibition the morning of August 13th against a small group of lucky individuals. One of the boards in the Simul will belong to the Chess.com Community as they vote in their suggested move for a relayer to play on the actual board for Anand as he moves from board to board during the Simul.

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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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Exhibition Chess Live from India Time 5.30 PM to Mark Biel Chess Fest 45th Anniversary

At the Opening Ceremony

The Grandmasters played a garden chess game against Hans Altherr (president of the council of states) and Erich Fehr (mayor of biel). The game ended in a draw.

In a few hours from now, the superstar-studded Biel Chess Festival is going to be open in Switzerland. First up is the Exhibition Blitz Tournament. You can watch it live at the official website from India time 5.30 pm. The festival includes a GM tournament, a masters tournament, several chess exhibitions, blitz, rapid, etc. in the coming days. Stay tuned at Chess Magazine Black & White blog site for regular updates. 

Invitation Blitz Tournament to celebrate the 45 years of the Biel Chess Festival
KO System, with 8 players
Magnus Carlsen NOR (Seeded Nr 1)
Hikaru Nakamaura USA (Seeded Nr 2)
Alexander Morozevich RUS (Seeded Nr 3)
Wang Hao CHN (Seeded Nr 4)
Etienne Bacrot FRA (Nr 5)
Pentala Harikrishna IND (Nr 6)
Yannick Pelletier SUI (Nr 7)
Alexandra Kosteniuk RUS (Nr 8)
System: Two games with 5‘+ 2‘‘/move. If 1-1, one Armageddon game with 5’ for white (has to win) and 4’ for black. The draw will made according the FIDE Elo rankings of 1st July 2012.

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Commonwealth Chess in Chennai from Nov 22

The Commonwealth Chess Championship is going to be held in Chennai, India from November 22-December 1, 2012. The tournament will be conducted as per FIDE Laws of Chess and FIDE Swiss System with 11 rounds. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded in Open, Women, Under-20 (Boys and Girls), Under-18 (Boys and Girls), Under-16 (Boys and Girls), Under-14 (Boys and Girls), Under-12 (Boys and Girls), Under-10 (Boys and Girls), Under-8 (Boys and Girls) categories. The medal winners will be referred to as Commonwealth Medalists. The defending champion is GM Gawain Jones of England.

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Jermuk Chess Grand Prix Round 2: Humpy, Wenjun in Joint Lead

Humpy

Women's chess is always quite exciting with the players not willing for draws easily. The Jermuk Women's Chess Grand Prix - fifth edition of the series 2011/12 - has begun. India's Koneru Humpy has won both the rounds to lead with China's Ju Wenjun. The latter has won both the rounds as well.

Watch live India time Round 3 today from 4.30 pm at the official website. Round 3 will see following pairings: Khurtsidze-Zhao, Danielian-Humpy, Yifan-Wenjun, Lufei-Mkrtchian, Kovalevskaya-Munguntuul and Kosintseva-Lahno. 

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Women's Chess Grand Prix Begins in Jermuk; Watch Live India Time 4.30 pm

The fifth leg of the Women's Chess Grand Prix begins in Jermuk, Armenia begins today with the first games being played on July 17. The list of participants includes:

1 Hou Yifan GM CHN 2617
2 Humpy Koneru GM IND 2598
3 Zhao Xue GM CHN 2556
4 Kateryna Lahno GM UKR 2537
5 Ju Wenjun WGM CHN 2518
6 Nadezhda Kosintseva GM RUS 2516
7 Ruan Lufei WGM CHN 2483
8 Elina Danielian GM ARM 2480
9 Nino Khurtsidze WGM GEO 2456
10 Lilit Mkrtchian WGM ARM 2450
11 Munguntuul Batkhuyag WGM MGL 2447
12 Ekaterina Kovalevskaya WGM RUS 2417

The word Jermuk comes from the Armenian word for warmth, a reference to its plentiful hot natural springs and mineral waters. A resort town located about 170 km south-east from Armenia's capital Yerevan, this picturesque and pristine resort is nestled in mountains rising over 2two kms in altitude. Today Jermuk is a revitalized growth of tourism as health spas, medical treatment and tourism, and more traditional touristic destinations offer their services to both local and international guests. 

Watch the Women's Chess Grand Prix - Jermuk live at this link from India time 4.30 pm

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Leiden Chess: Negi Wins Second Place With Cool Games

The reigning Asian chess champion and former national chess champion, India's Parimarjan Negi, has come second at the Leiden Open Chess in The Netherlands. Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi beat Benjamin Bok of the Netherlands in the ninth round to finish sole second. Negi had lost to British GM David Howell in the previous round, but he bounced back to get back into the top slots. Negi finished the event with seven points. Negi's last-round game is a must-watch for all fans of the young Grandmaster for it's neat Queen manoeuvre at our Chess King page.
 
Howell (7.5) won the title with a last-round draw with Predrag Nikolic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Indian Grandmasters S Arun Prasad and M R Lalith Babu finished in a six-way tie for the third place. Bartosz Socko of Poland, Evgeny Vorobiov of Russia, Csaba Horvath of Hungary and Nikolic were the other four players who scored 6.5 points. In the tiebreaker, Arun Prasad finished sixth while Babu was declared eighth. The other Indian GM S Kidambi finished 17th with 5.5 points.

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Chess is Too Hard as Profession: GM Akopian

Armenian Chess Grandmaster Vladimir Akopian says chess is way too hard to be taken up as a profession. He says, "I don't want my boys to be professional chess players, because it's too hard." He was speaking after a win in the Chinese Chess League Division A. When he was 14 in 1986, Akopian was crowned the World Under-16 champion. Three years ago, he was named "Honoured Master of Sport of the Republic of Armenia".

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Weekend Chess Tactic Test: Three Chess Puzzles!

Chess tactics help you capitalize on all the effort you put into improving your position. Here are three positions from real games. Can you figure out the best way to win? Test your chess tactics this weekend with Chess King!

Position 1: White to play and win. Mendoza-Diaz, Colombia, 1996. Should White retreat the Bishop from h6 as the mate threat on g7 is thwarted by the Black Queen on f6? Check your answer with Chess King.

Position 2: White to play and win. Balinov-Cebalo, Graz, 1996. This position has an unusual tactical idea that is normally difficult to spot. Can you find the trick move for a win? Check your answer with Chess King.

Position 3: White to play and win. Alekhine-Reshevsky, Kemeri, 1937. Black is not only a pawn up but is training forces on the g2 pawn. However, Rd2 by Black was actually a blunder. Do you know how Alekhine goes on to win? Check the answer with Chess King.

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Anand's Huge Support to Blind Chess

Chennai: World chess champion Viswanathan Anand has asked the All India Chess Federation to extend the official status for `Blind Chess` at district, state and national levels. The five-time world champion said: "The fact is that the normal as well as the blind players faced the same kind of situations while playing and trying to improve. It was good to see that chess for the blind was being encouraged but it was high time it is included as one of the categories of regular competitions."

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Chess legend Kasparov to play Croatian President in Split

Russian chess grandmaster and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov will challenge Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, the Mayor of Split Zeljko Kerum and Croatian popstar Severina, in an exhibition game of chess in the city of Split on July 21, reports daly newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija. The project titled 'Chess together with School' is aimed at getting kids into the game of chess. One of the organisers of the social - sport event is photographer Fedja Klaric, and he says that the game of chess is great for the brain and helps with kids development.

"The manifesto 'Chess together with School' is aimed at motivating kids to play the game of chess. According to the latest research, playing chess actively uses both sides of the brain, unlike most other activities, contributing to a child's maximum development. Kasparov is a great promoter of the idea," said Klaric.

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5th Mora Kings International Chess in Sri Lanka from Aug 3

The 5th 'Mora Kings' International Rating Chess Championships 2012 organised by the University of Moratuwa will be held at the University of Moratuwa from August 3-9, 2012, with a total cash prize of nearly Rs.2,50,000. 

Eligibility: Open to all
Prizes:
Champion - Trophy, Gold Medal & Rs. 50,000/=
1st Runner up - Silver Medal & Rs. 25,000/=
2nd Runner up - Bronze Medal & Rs. 15,000/=
4th -5th - Rs. 10,000/= each
6th to 12th - Rs. 5,000/= each

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Turkish Chess League Game of the Day: Judit Polgar-Rauf Mamedov 1-0

The Turkish Isbank Chess League has begun in Konya Rixos Hotel (Turkey) with defending champions Aquamatch losing to Besiktas Jimnastik Club with a 7-3 score. The only player from Aquamatch club who won was the world's strongest woman chess player Judit Polgar. She beat Rauf Mamedov and later, wrote on her FB page, "For a start, it is always great to have a win!...Black made his final mistake with 34...Bc6 in his time trouble, and I grabbed my chance and did not let it go!”

Want to replay the Judit Polgar-Rauf Mamedov game? Check out the Chess King Game Page.

 

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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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Download your Free GigaKing Database Update with 115K new Chess Games for Chess King Software

Good news! All users of the GigaKing Chess Games Database, which is included for free in Chess King and Chess King Pro Software, can download for free, in either CA or PGN format, an update that includes the world’s main tournaments from October 2011 to the end of June 2012. That’s over 115,000 fresh new chess games that you need to have to be at he cutting edge of chess analysis.

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World Chess Blitz - Grischuk Leads after Day 1 in Astana

Blitz chess is always crazy thanks to the time control. There are always blunders or wins that would have technically gone the other way with such strong grandmasters. The first day of the World Blitz Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan witnessed several such mad games. After 15 rounds that were played on Day one, it was Alexander Grischuk who pulled away for a one-point lead from the rest of the pack. Grischuk leads with 10.5/15 and has one point more than Dmitry Andreikin, Vassily Ivanchuk and Sergey Karjakin. Magnus Carlsen, who started with a loss, is in fifth place with 8.5/15. 

The World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships are being held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 1-11, 2012. Russia's Sergey Karjakin won the World Rapid Chess Championship yesterday. 

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New Chess Fiction Review: Queen Sacrifice by Tony Riches

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Chess Fiction Review by Zainab Raza Undulusi

Fierce loyalty, treachery, love and palace intrigue woven into 10th Century Welsh history with a chess thread make 'Queen Sacrifice' the hot new chess fiction of the season. 

Tony Riches is a full-time author and chess player from Pembrokeshire, one of the most unspoilt areas of the United Kingdom. Best known for his non-fiction books, Tony told Chess Magazine B&W that he was exploring the early history of Wales. Suddenly he realised how the battles between rival kings reminded him of chess. There were bishops and early knights supporting both sides with ‘bondsmen’ as the pawns in their civil wars.

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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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