India's first chess features print magazine published quarterly from Lucknow since 2004 by Aspire Welfare Society.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Meet World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in conversation with Peter Thiel

Open Forum: Meet the “Mozart of Chess”: World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, in conversation with Peter Thiel

Yes, it's going to be the World Chess Champion visiting Silicon Valley!
 

 


Event Date:
Thursday, January 16, 2014

Speakers:
Magnus Carlsen, World Chess Champion

Moderator:
Peter Thiel, Technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist; President, Clarium Capital

Magnus Carlsen took the world by storm as a child prodigy, becoming an international Grand Master at 13. At 19, he was the youngest chess player to be ranked number one in the world, and at 22, in November 2013, he defeated five-time former world champion Viswanathan Anand. Now, at age 23, Magnus holds a record rating of 2872.

Don’t miss this chance of a lifetime to meet and be inspired by Magnus. He will be interviewed by entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, former US-rated Chess Master with a lifelong passion for chess. Topics covered will include Magnus’ views on the game, his experience winning the championship, and the role he believes chess can play in advancing young people’s critical thinking, social skills, and ability to achieve academically.

Prior to the onstage program, Magnus will play—blindfolded—in a six-board simultaneous chess demonstration. Participate in a drawing benefiting First Move, a dynamic non-profit organization that brings chess to second and third graders across the country—and possibly become one of the six brave players if you dare!

ATTENTION CORPORATE MEMBERS!Corporate passes will be accepted for this event. We ask that if you register using corporate passes, please do so 72 business hours in advance. We thank you for your cooperation!

- Registration: 5:00 PM
- Buffet: 6:15 PM 
- Program: 7:15 PM

Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank (Gold Sponsor), Innovation Norway (Silver Sponsor)

Location:
Computer History Museum, Mountain View
1401 N. Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View, CA 94043
Number of Individual Tickets to Purchase
(On Site tickets are $60.00 / $75.00)
$40.00 / $55.00
*Membership price discounts will be applied based upon membership status of registrants.
For purchasing tickets and more details visit the website of Churchill Club.

* The Churchill Club
Igniting Conversations to Encourage Innovation and Economic GrowthThis is our focus: to cultivate a one-stop-shop of world-class people—people like yourself—that ignites the kinds of conversations that lead to new ideas, enlivened dreams and personal motivation. A tall order, for sure, but one we’ve been successful at for 25 years.

Over the past two-and-a-half decades, the Churchill Club has hosted industry and government leaders and luminaries such as Marc Andreessen, Steve Ballmer, Craig Barrett, Ursula Burns, John Chambers, Jim Clark, Bill Clinton, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Andy Grove, William Hewlett, Arianna Huffington, Bill Joy, Dean Kamen, John McCain, Scott McNealy, Lew Platt, Eric Schmidt, and many more.

It’s an impressive list, but it would be no more than a roster if we weren’t committed to the idea of an independent forum that facilitates the open and timely exchange of ideas, opinions and viewpoints among business leaders and innovators. At the Churchill Club, collaborators and competitors meet on stage to share and discuss their newest thinking. They commit to have unscripted conversations that go beyond the hype. Attendees have the opportunity to ask questions directly of speakers, uncensored by the moderator.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Abhijeet Gupta wins Al Ain Chess Classic, Juniors win 3 Golds for India

Al Ain, Dec 29: Grandmaster and former world junior chess champion Abhijeet Gupta benefitted from the late arrival of Gerogia's Baadur Jobava to win the Al-Ain Classic International Open Chess tournament that concluded here at the UAE university.
 

Best team for India prize as well!

In a bizarre turn of events, top seeded and rating favourite Jobava failed to turn up for the final game in time, giving the points as walkover and the title to Gupta who had kept himself in contention with two victories on the trot prior to the last round.

For the records, Gupta scored seven points out of a possible nine and tied for the top spot along with Vasif Dararbayli of Azerbaijan and Martin Kravitsiv of Georgia but won the title on tie-break with a total of six wins and two draws.

Earlier, after a sedate start, Gupta came back strongly in the event defeating GM Aloyzas Kveinys of Lithuania in the penultimate round.

Gupta's victory added to Indian celebration as a total of eight medals were won by the youngsters in the world youth chess championships that concluded at the same time.

R Praggnanandaah was the pick of the boys winning the gold in the under-8 championship with a tremendous 11 points out of 11 games. The Indian finished two points clear of nearest rivals here.

In the under-10 girls' section, Saina Salonika deservingly won the gold scoring nine points while C Lakshmi won the bronze in this section a half point behind.

The Indian duo of Murali Karthikeyan and Girish Kaushik dominated the under-16 championship scoring nine points in all. Karthikeyan, a former under-12 world champion, however had the better tie-break for the gold while Kaushik won the silver.

Among other Indians in the fray, Raghunandan K Srihari won the silver in under-12 section while Bhagyashree Patil and Grandmaster Vaibhav Suri won bronze medals in under-8 girls and under-18 respectively.

The Indian team also won the best team prize as the maximum medal winning country in the mammoth event that saw participation of over 1700 children from various parts of the globe. -- PTI

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Begin 2014 with Two Fantastic Chess Tournaments in India: Gurgaon, Delhi Chess Opens this January!

2014 Big Chess Start in India: Now you can begin 2014 with great chess at the two back-to-back Grandmaster International Chess Open tournaments in India this January. 

The Gurgaon GM International Chess Open 2014 will be held from January 1 to 8 with a total prize money of Rs. 10,11,000. For more details check out this AICF chess tournament brochure.

Soon after, an hour away from Gurgaon, you can play the
12th Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament from January 9-16 with a prize money of Rs. 23, 00, 000/- + Laptops. Find all the details and even pay online the entry fee at the Delhi Chess Association website: http://delhichess.com/


This is it: The best chess New Year celebration you could gift yourself this 2014 in India!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

2013 and Indian Chess Memories

The Year 2013 for Indian Chess: New Delhi - It started with a great deal of chess excitement and anticipation but year 2013 turned out to be a disappointing one for Indian chess as the legendary Viswanathan Anand got outplayed in his own backyard to surrender the World Chess Championship crown.

It was a chess story of missed opportunities, expected draws and some unexpected losses for Anand as the veteran lost to Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship match held in his home town of Chennai.

There was a sense of enthusiasm in the beginning of the year as India begun its preparation to host the World Chess Championship in Chennai, where the Indian great was scheduled to defend his title, which he had won five times in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012.

Anand started the year with a joint third finish after suffering a shocking last-round defeat against Wang Hao of China at the 75th Tata Steel Chess tournament.

The Indian came back strongly, notching up his first title of the year when he scored an emphatic victory over German Arkadij Naiditsch to lift the Grenke Chess Classic trophy.

Anand then competed in a tough field at the Zurich Chess Challenge and finished second after beating Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the final round.
However, the year went from good to bad for Anand from here on as he finished third in the Alekhine memorial chess tournament after playing out a draw with Boris Gelfand of Israel in the ninth and final round at St. Petersburg, Russia in May.

In Norway Super tournament, Anand faced off with his world championship challenger Magnus Carlsen and the Indian held him to an easy draw.

He crushed Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria but suffered a shocking defeat to Hikaru Nakamura of US next. Despite a couple of draws, he stayed in contention for the title but a heart-breaking loss to Wang Hao of China meant he finished fourth.

Next month, Anand participated in Tal memorial and finished second in blitz tournament but in the main event, he lost to Fabiano Caruana of Italy, drew with Dmitry Andreikin of Russia, won against Russian Alexander Morozevich, and was held to a draw by Gelfand.

However, it was the shock defeat to Carlsen in the fifth round pushed him down the points table to seventh spot. He also lost to American Nakamura before drawing the next three games to finish ninth.

With four months to go for the much-awaited World Chess Championship, Anand started his preparation for the tournament with his seconds at an undisclosed location even as the hype surrounding the match touched a crescendo.

However, the 12-game tournament turned out to be a disappointing affair for Anand as the 22-year-old Carlsen broke the Indian brick by brick and dethroned him of his World Chess title with a draw in the 10th game.

The 44-year-old Indian, who was the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2007 to 2013, lost the title to the world number one with a scoreline of 6.5-3.5 after 10 of the 12 scheduled games.

Anand drew the first four games but then suffered two successive losses. The Indian drew the next two games but in the ninth round, Anand succumbed to another loss to push to the corner. Carlsen then drew the 10th game to complete his coronation as the new king of chess.

Anand took the heart-breaking defeat to Carlsen in his stride and participated in the London Chess Classic. He was in joint lead on seven points at the half-way stage of the preliminaries.

A victory over Luke McShane of England and an easy draw against tailender Andrei Istratescu of France helped him reached the quarters but a loss to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia saw him bows out of London Chess Classic.

While Anand tumbled, the young brigade, including Parimarjan Negi, notched up a few wins in the year to bring some smiles for the Indian fans. -- Amit Kumar Das/PTI

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Holiday chess Shopping: Ultimate Chess Trainer Chess King

Chess King 4 is in stock! With the newest and coolest engine Houdini 4 and Houdini 4 Pro. They have just updated the page http://chess-king.com/products/ . Huge power and very easy to use, just what's needed for 2014. Happy holidays to everyone!



Millionaire Chess Open launched by GM Maurice Ashley: Las Vegas Oct 2014

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - Dec. 19, 2013) - In 1972, Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in 'The Match of the Century,' a battle recounted on television sets and newspaper covers around the world. Next October, the Millionaire Chess Open hopes to garner similar attention by offering competitors the wealthiest prize in Open chess history.
 
The Millionaire Chess Open will be held over Columbus Day weekend October 9-13, 2014 at exciting Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, and boasts a total of a million dollars in prizes - a record payout for an open chess tournament. The tournament is the brainchild of International Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, a world-famous chess commentator often called on to be the voice of some of the biggest chess matches in the world. Mr. Ashley also served as the organizer for HB Global Chess Challenge in 2005, a $500,000 Open that - until now - claimed the record title.

Ashley is excited to finally announce the Millionaire Chess Open after months of preparation, and invites chess players of all levels to join him in Las Vegas for an event that will make chess history. "I am thrilled to be a part of this exhilarating tournament," states Ashley. "To offer players a chance of winning part of our million dollar prize pool in one the most exciting cities in the world has always been a dream of mine to organize."
Mr. Ashley will be assisted by Millionaire Chess Open co-partner Amy Lee, an entrepreneur helping to back the event, and the technological creativity of the MIT Media Lab, where Mr. Ashley serves as a Director's Fellow. The Media Lab will be represented at the tournament by MIT Assistant Professor Kevin Slavin and members of his Playful Systems research group.

"We are inviting up to 3,000 participants to a tournament that will electrify both fans and media around the world," stated Mr. Ashley. "The technological innovativeness that the MIT Media Lab brings will also allow us to present chess in ways never seen before. Hundreds of thousands of fans will be able to witness the top chess players from around the world in action live and online. We fully intend to make this an event like no other."

"The Millionaire Chess Open aims to place competitive chess beneath a global spotlight," stated Ms. Lee. "We want to bring a sense of luxury into the game, and we believe that nothing adds as much excitement as setting record stakes!"

Chess players from all over the world are welcome to register for the tournament on the tournament website MillionaireChess.com.

About Millionaire Chess Open
MCO will take place in Las Vegas Nevada at Planet Hollywood October 9-13, 2014 and boast the record for the highest stakes in chess. Entry is only $1000 with a chance to win up to $100,000 for a total of $1,000,000. Registration: www.millionairechess.com.

ACO World Amateur Chess Championship Rhodes Junes 6-15, 2014

Get, set, go to the ACO World Amateur Chess Championship 2014 on Rhodes (Greece) from June 6-15, 2014. More than 225 participants from over 30 countries: http://www.amateurchess.com/pages/participants-rhodes/
Many side program possibilites (Sight-seeing, aqua park, beach, wellness, sports, spa, blitz tournaments and much more).

New: GM Zigurds Lanka will be doing free training and master classes for all players. You can approach him whenever you want, he is available for free coaching during the whole tournament.
Information at the official website.

Also play online chess for free now on http://www.amateurchess.com

- Play online in your browser, no download

- Chat and interact (Forums, Blogs and much more) with players all over the world!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Norway Embassy Carlsen, Chess-Inspired Essay Contest for Indian Teens

New Delhi: Do you aspire to be the World Champion of Chess in your life? Have Carlsen’s moves and game talent at the recent World Chess Championship hooked you to this game like never before? Would you like to be in Carlsen’s shoes one day?

Send your thoughts in not more than 500 words on “How Magnus Carlsen has inspired you by winning the World Chess Champion title at the young age of 23” and “What lessons you have learnt from seeing his hard work and dedication to a game that originated in India thousands of years ago”.

Instructions/Rules:
- Entries should be only in English and typed (not handwritten)
- Entries should not be more than 500 words.
- Entries only from students between 13-15 years will be accepted. - An age certificate from your school is compulsory.
- Only one entry per student is allowed.
- Bulk entries from schools will not be accepted. Only individual entries should be sent.
- Competition is valid for Indian students only.
- Please provide your full name, name of your school, address, a passport size photograph and contact details along with your entry.

Deadline for submission: 30 January 2014
No phone calls/email enquiries please.
Results will be announced only to the winners directly, and via the Embassy’s website.

Entries to be sent via postal mail/courier (email entries will not be accepted) to:

Subject: ‘I want to be in Carlsen’s shoes one day’ Essay Competition

Attn: M. Arya, Royal Norwegian Embassy, 50-C, Shantipath, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi.

Nakamura wins London Chess Classic 2013 Super-16 Rapid

Twenty-six-year-old American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has won the 5th London Chess Classic 2013, staged this year as a rapid chess tournament and billed 'the Super-Sixteen Rapid'. Nakamura defeated former World Chess Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel 1½-½ in the final.

As the world number four on the FIDE Rating List for classical chess, and number three at rapid chess, Nakamura's result was far from being a surprise but it was a significant achievement in the career of a remarkable player who must be a leading contender to threaten Magnus Carlsen’s world crown in the next few years.

Hikaru’s progression through the competition was impressive. He scored +2, =4, -0 in the preliminary phase, and then improved that to +3, =3, -0 against sterner opposition in the knock-out phase. To go through without a loss was a clear sign of strength. His toughest moment was when he came close to elimination in his second semi-final game with Vladimir Kramnik but he showed an amazing resilience in first holding the former world champion at bay and then taking advantage of Kramnik’s evident state of confusion to finish the match off with a win.

In the final match against Boris Gelfand, Hikaru showed the courage of his convictions by going straight for an ultra-sharp tactic in the opening against a player who had hitherto proved himself the best defender in the event, and also at this time control in world championship qualifiers. They say ‘fortune favours the brave’ and Hikaru’s conquest of this elite rapid chess event backs that up.

THE FINAL
Nakamura 1½-½ Gelfand


Game 1 - win for NakamuraHikaru received the white pieces in the draw for colours conducted by chief arbiter Albert Vasse, and they launched into a Grünfeld Defence, one of the most fashionable of all current super-GM openings.

Hikaru's 10.Ng5 is quite a double-edged move but Boris avoided the standard continuation 10...Nb6 by playing instead 10...Nc6. Hikaru's response was brave and speculative – 11.Nxf7!? – a move we all like to play against a castled king, whatever level we play at.


On the face of it, the line looks very dodgy for Black as he has to give up the exchange, but it is almost inconceivable that Boris wouldn’t have something prepared for this. By way of compensation he demolished the white centre and got his minor pieces to strong outposts. Was it enough? The unofficial grandmaster jury in the VIP Room was undecided: the Hiarcs engine thought White was better around move 15 but Matthew Sadler and others preferred Black.

Hikaru may not have been entirely confident of his chances as he thought for nine minutes about his 16th move: quite a big chunk of his allotted 25 minutes. However, within a few moves, the initiative seemed to have shifted back to the American after Boris played the dubious 17...Ne4. "He's blown it," exclaimed GM Julian Hodgson, perhaps a little melodramatically. Then, calming down slightly, "I think Hikaru's over the worst now – he'll survive."

Julian might have been right the first time. The next few moves saw Hikaru consolidate his material advantage, in machine-like fashion, and Boris never really looked like getting back into the game. At move 25 he used around half of his remaining six minutes, suggesting he was running out of ideas.

More solid moves followed from Hikaru and Boris had to resign.

Game 2 - draw

Boris, with White, played the Averbakh variation of the King's Indian Defence. It followed theory for about 15 moves and Boris acquired a space advantage. However, Black’s position remained playable and White couldn’t bring any real pressure to bear on it. Hikaru used his tactical prowess to exchange queens and then give up the exchange for two pawns. It might sound risky but Black’s pieces remained well-coordinated and Boris’s pair of rooks had no useful inroads. Boris pressed too hard and made a slip. Eventually only Hikaru could win the position but, since he didn’t need to, he was happy to acquiesce to a draw.

What a gripping competition! Thanks to Malcolm Pein and his team for their hard work, the players for their wonderful chess, and to everyone at home and at the venue for being a great audience. See you all again this time next year! -- Report by John Saunders/www.londonchessclassic.com


The first game of the final that Nakamura won over Gelfand:

Nakamura, H (2786) - Gelfand, B (2777)

Result: 1-0
Site: London ENG
Date: 2013.12.15

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 3.♘c3 d5 4.♘f3 ♗g7 5.♕b3 dxc4 6.♕xc4 O-O 7.e4 a6 8.e5 b5 9.♕b3 ♘fd7 10.♘g5 ♘c6 11.♘xf7 ♖xf7 12.e6 ♘xd4 13.exf7+ ♔f8 14.♕d1 ♘c5 15.♗e3 ♗f5 16.♖c1 ♕d6 17.b4 ♘e4 18.♘xe4 ♗xe4 19.f3 ♗f5 20.♕d2 ♖d8 21.♔f2 ♔xf7 22.♗e2 ♕f6 23.♖xc7 ♘e6 24.♖d7 ♖c8 25.♗d3 ♖c3 26.♗xf5 gxf5 27.f4 ♖c4 28.♖c1 ♖e4 29.g3 h5 30.h4 ♕g6 31.♗c5 ♗f6 32.♖e1 ♕g4 33.♖xe4 fxe4 34.♕d1 ♕f5 35.♖d5 ♕h3 36.♕f1



Russian Chess Fed Supports Kirsan FIDE Presidency Candidature

On December the 17th 2013 an absentee vote of the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation on the nomination to the post of FIDE President took place. By a majority vote it was decided to support the candidacy of the incumbent FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. -- FIDE

Related Chess Posts

Monday, December 16, 2013

London Chess Classic 2013: Jon Ludvig Hammer wins Open Section

London, Dec 15: Grandmaster and former world junior chess champion Abhijeet Gupta went down fighting against Jon Ludvig Hammer of Norway and had to settle for a tied seventh place finish in the open section of London Classic here today. 

After a disappointing exit by former world champion Viswanathan Anand from the quarterfinal of the premier event, Gupta, too, could not make it to the podium as he lost his way against Hammer. 
 
Hammer won the open section scoring 7.5 points and Abhijeet ended on 6.5. Among other Indians in the fray in the last round, Tania Sachdev and Eesha Karavade also ended on the losing side against Peter Sowray of England and Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova, respectively. Eesha finished the tournament on six points, while Tania scored five points out of a possible nine. Grandmasters D Harika and M Shyam Sundar finished on a positive note by winning the last round games with both scoring six points in all. 

It was an anti-Grunfeld defense by Hammer that allowed Gupta to equalise early but the Norwegian kept pressing on the queen side. Gupta sacrificed two pawns to lure the white queen out but missed out on a forced draw vide a piece sacrifice in the middle game. 
Once on top Hammer gave no chances. 

Meanwhile, Hikaru Nakamura of United States deservedly won the premier event and took home a first prize of 50000 Euros defeating Boris Gelfand of Israel in the final. 

Nakamura was at his creative best in the first game with white pieces where he outplayed Gelfand from a Grunfeld defense and then drew the second game easily to win the two games mini-match by 1.5-0.5. 

Earlier in the semifinal, Nakamura put it across Vladimir Kramnik of Russia after surviving some scare in the first game. The American had things under control in the second game that he won to reach the final. 

In the other semifinal, Gelfand accounted for English Michael Adams in a tense affair winning the first game and drawing the second to set up the clash with Nakamura. 

The Indian challenge here had ended with the ouster of Anand who lost to Kramnik in the quarterfinal after a fine performance that saw him finish tied first in the preliminaries. -- PTI

Sunday, December 15, 2013

London Chess Classic 2013 Quarters: Kramnik Knocks out Anand

London: Former World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand bowed out of the London Chess Classic 2013 after losing the quarter-finals to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia 0.5-1.5 here at the Olympia.

Anand, who had shown fine form coming in to the quarters, ran out of steam in the second game with white pieces and found himself in a lost position in almost no time in the 1,50,000 Euro prize money tournament.

Watch Live at the London Chess Classic 2013 official website.

Michael Adams of England kept the local hopes alive by defeating Russian Peter Svidler in the tiebreaker while Boris Gelfand of Israel stole the limelight ousting Fabiano Caruana of Italy. In the other quarter-final, Hikaru Nakamura of United States defeated Nigel Short to cement his place in the semis.
 

It turned out to be a disappointing second game for Anand from the white side of a queen pawn opening. Kramnik opted for the age-old Tarrasch defense and Anand avoided routine theory that allowed the Russian to equalise without batting an eye.

Anand made a positional error on the 15th turn that gave Kramnik the initiative to look for more and the latter came up with some sterling manoeuvres to seize the advantage. Anand was already fighting a lost position after 20 moves and a final blunder cost him a piece and the game soon after.

While the second game was almost a no-show by Anand, the first game was a clear indication of his good form displayed thus far. Playing black Anand went for the Semi-Slav defense and looked a little worse out of the opening when Kramnik moved his queen over to the sixth rank.

However, Anand's response - a brilliant retreat ? left the spectators in no doubt that they were in for a spectacular treat in the mental boxing between two modern greats. The game ended in a draw in the ensuing endgame and it was a rather abrupt end to the contest when Anand failed to find his rhythm in the return game.

Nakamura, like Kramnik, cruised in to the semifinal defeating Short 1.5-0.5. The American won the first game with black and then drew with white making things look easy.

Michael Adams' early lead against Peter Svidler was squared off by the Russian in the return game but in the tiebreaker the English was spot on and won both his games in the ten-minute chess.

Boris Gelfand had a similar tale to tell in the tiebreaker against fancied Fabiano Caruana after both games under rapid time control ended in draws. In the open section, former world junior champion and Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta put it across Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan to emerge in a three-way lead.

With one round still to come, the Indian shares the top honours on 6.5 points out of a possible eight along with Jon Ludvig Hammer of England and Vladislav Nevednichy of Romania. -- PTI

Saturday, December 14, 2013

London Chess Classic 2013: Anand tops Group, Enters Quarter Finals

London: Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand found his way to the knockout stage in the London Chess Classic with an easy draw against tailender Andrei Istratescu of France in the fifth round of the preliminaries that concluded here at the Olympia on Friday.
After scoring three wins in the first four games itself, Anand was destined to move to the quarter-final stage in this 16-players event split into four groups. With one round still to come in the prelims, Anand is likely to head his 'A' group with 11 points in his kitty under the Soccer scoring system in place here. (Photo: Ray Morris-Hill Read a fascinating interview with Ray Morris-Hill at our world chess championship 2013 website)

Michael Adams of England trounced compatriot Luke McShane and joined Anand on 11 points and the two meet in the next round to determine the group winner.


Traditionally a super tournament, the London Classic this time became a Rapid tournament as the world championship was held just two weeks before its commencement.

Anand will play as black against Adams in the decider for the first place in the last round having promoted himself to the knockout quarterfinals in the 16-players event split in to four groups.

Among other groups, Russians Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler looked poised to qualify from the 'B' group while in the 'C' group Boris Gelfand of Israel and Hikaru Nakamura of United States already made the cut like Anand and Adams.

The situation in the 'D' group is also clear with Nigel short of England hitting form and the two qualifiers from here are Fabiano Caruana of Italy along with the English Grandmaster who holds a high repute.


Group A: Michael Adams 12, Vishy Anand 12, Luke McShane 4, Andrei Istratescu 4
Group B: Peter Svidler 11, Vladimir Kramnik 9, Matthew Sadler 7, Jonathan Rowson 4
Group C: Hikaru Nakamura 10, Boris Gelfand 9, Gawain Jones 7, Judit Polgar 5
Group D: Fabiano Caruana 16, Nigel Short 10, David Howell 5, Emil Sutovsky 0

Friday, December 13, 2013

London Chess Classic 2013: Anand Extends Lead in Prelims

London: Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand continued with his winning ways and scored a second victory against Luke McShane of England to secure a commanding lead in the preliminary round of the London Chess Classic 2013, on Thursday, at the Olympia Centre.

On what turned out to be another fine day, Anand came up with some brilliant planning to score two back-to-back victories after earlier crushing Andrei Istratescu of France in the third round game and sealed his place in the knockout stage of the Classic this year reserved for the top two finishers.

With two games still to come in the preliminaries, the Indian ace is sitting pretty on ten points in the 'A' group, two ahead of Michael Adams under the Soccer-like scoring system in place here. McShane on four points is a distant third while Istratescu is yet to open his account.
 

Anand showed his class to beat McShane out of an Irregular Queen pawn opening. The middle game appeared even till Anand launched a king side attack and followed it up with a knight sacrifice that left McShane gasping. A few moves later, McShane had to part with his queen and it was all over in 38 moves. (Photo by Ray Morris-Hill)

Earlier in the third round, Anand crushed Istratescu from the black side of a Sicilian Alapin. Anand controlled the centre and came up with a well judged exchange sacrifice to march his way to victory after 50 moves.

Meanwhile in the 'B' group, Russian Vladimir Kramnik was joined by compatriot Peter Svidler on seven points after a tough day for the former.

Drawing with Sadler in round three, Kramnik lost to Svidler who is scripting a fine comeback after getting just one point from the first two games. The group is closely matched with Matthew Sadler in third place on five points and Jonathan Rowson not too far behind on four.

Boris Gelfand of Israel was joined by Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the lead in 'C' group on eight points and these two seem poised to make it to the knockout stage from here.

World's strongest woman player ever, Judit Polgar of Hungary, won her first game in the event defeating Gawain Jones of England but that took her to only four points for a joint third spot.

What Anand is doing in the 'A' group, Fabiano Caruana seems to be replicating in the 'D' group. The Italian made sure of his qualification in the next stage taking his tally to 10 points and he is now followed by highly regarded and former world championship challenger Nigel Short of England who is on seven points.

English David Howell still has some catching up to do here on five points while Emil Sutovsky is at the bottom having lost all four games so far. --PTI

Complete results round 3:
Group A: Andrei Istratescu (Fra) lost to V Anand (Ind); Michael Adams (Eng) drew with Luke McShane (Eng).

Group B: Jonathan Rowson (Eng) lost to Peter Svidler (Rus); Matthew Sadler (Eng) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus).

Group C: Gawain Jones (Eng) lost to Judit Polgar (Hun); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa) drew with Boris Gelfand (Isr)

Group D: Fabiano Caruana (Ita) drew with David Howell (Eng); Emil Sutovsky (Isr) lost to Nigel Short (Eng).

Round 4:
Group A: Anand beat McShane; Adams beat Istratescu.

Group B: Svidler beat Kramnik; Sadler beat Rowson

Group C: Polgar drew with Gelfand; Nakamura beat Jones

Group D: Howell lost to Short; Sutovsky lost to Caruana

Standings after four rounds:

Group A: 1. Anand (10); 2. Adams (8); 3. McShane (4); 4. Istratescu (0).

Group B: 1-2. Kramnik, Svidler (7 each); 3. Sadler (5); 4. Rowson (4).

Group C: 1-2. Gelfand, Nakamura (8 each); 3. Polgar (4); 4. Jones (1).

Group D: 1. Caruana (10); 2. Short (7); 3. Howell (5); 4. Sutovsky (0).

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Viswanathan Anand starts off in style at London Chess Classic 2013

London: Indian ace Viswanathan Anand put the disappointing loss in the World Championship behind him and started his campaign in style by beating local Luke McShane in the first 'A' group game of the London Chess Classic that got underway here.

Anand's victory came after some precise calculation and deft manoeuvres on his 44th birthday, leaving McShane gasping from a point where he thought he had a chance.

The five-time world champion Indian thus started with three points under the Soccer scoring system in place here that gives a three points for a win and one for a draw.





Viswanathan Anand put the disappointing loss in the World Championship behind him and started his campaign in style by beating Luke McShane.

Anand was not the only one to start with full points as Michael Adams of England matched him on points at the expense of Andrei Istratescu of France in the same group.

With 16 players taking part this year, the Classic is divided in to four groups and the top two from each group will reach the knockout stage after a double round robin.

Anand heads the 'A' group on three points after the first round sharing the lead with Adams while McShane and Istratescu are yet to open their account.

Russian Vladimir Kramnik was lucky to score over compatriot Peter Svidler from a seemingly drawn endgame while wild card entrant Jonathan Rowson of England scored over country-mate Matthew Sadler from a similar situation in the 'B' group.

The 'C' group saw local hopeful Gawain Jones holding Hikaru Nakamura of United States to a draw while former world championship challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel got the better of highest rated woman Judit Polgar of Hungary.

In the 'D' group, English duo of Nigel Short and his former protege David Howell played out a draw while rating favourite Fabiano Caruana of Italy shot in to lead defeating Emil Sutovsky of Israel.

Anand played Michael Adams of England in the second round of his group and drew. -- PTI


McShane, L. (2684) - Anand, V. (2773)

Result: 0-1
Site: London ENG
Date: 2013.12.11

[...] 1.e4 c6 2.♘f3 d5 3.♘c3 ♗g4 4.h3 ♗xf3 5.♕xf3 e6 6.♗e2 ♘f6 7.O-O ♗b4 8.e5 ♘fd7 9.♕g4 ♗f8 10.d4 c5 11.♗g5 ♕b6 12.dxc5 ♕xc5 13.♗e3 h5 14.♕g3 d4 15.♘e4 h4 16.♕f3 ♕d5 17.c4 ♕xe5 18.♗f4 ♕f5 19.♗d3 ♕h5 20.♘f6+ gxf6 21.♕xb7 ♘e5 22.♕xa8 ♗d6 23.c5 ♘f3+ 24.♕xf3 ♕xf3 25.gxf3 ♗xf4 26.b4 ♘c6 27.♗b5 ♔d7 28.♖fd1 e5 29.a3 f5 30.♔f1 ♔c7 31.♔e2 e4 32.fxe4 fxe4 33.♗xc6 d3+ 34.♔f1 ♔xc6 35.♔g2 ♔d5 36.♖g1 ♗e5 37.♖ad1 ♖g8+ 38.♔f1 ♖xg1+ 39.♔xg1 f5 40.♔g2 ♔d4 41.c6 f4 42.b5 ♗c7 43.♖b1 d2 44.♔f1 ♔d3 45.a4 e3 46.fxe3 fxe3

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Pro-Celeb Chess Event at London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic Pro-Celebrity Challenge will feature Grandmasters Viswanathan Anand, Peter Svidler and Michael Adams, teamed up with three celebrities: 

The Pro-Celebrity Challenge

The Pro-Celebrity Challenge will see stars of TV, music and sport team up with the Grandmasters and face off against another pro-celebrity team.

Games will be played with 10 minutes and 10 seconds on the clock and broadcast live. Lawrence Trent and Malcolm Pein will officiate. Each winning team receive £5000 for their favourite charity.

- Alex Zane has opted for Community Links
- Shingai Shoniwa has asked for her prize to go to the Philippines appeal
- Edgar Davids has his own foundation @Fountain

Edgar Davids: Dutch footballing legend whose club career took him to Ajax, Juventus and Spurs, and included 74 international caps for Holland. His dreadlocked hair and protective goggles made Davids one of the most recognisable players of his generation.

Alex Zane: Alex is an English television personality and DJ best known for presenting Rube Tube on Channel 4. Alex was a guest at the 2010 London Chess Classic.

Shingai Shoniwa: Singer and bassist for the Noisettes, an English indie rock band from London who are best known for the single “Don't Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)”.

Pairings
Shingai Shoniwa & Peter Svidler | Edgar Davids & Michael Adams | Alex Zane & Vishy Anand | TBC & Hikaru Nakamura

Lots of chess events happening at the London Chess Classic 2013: Check out their website.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Chess can take Kids off Social Media Madness: Boris Gelfand

Chess could help Indian parents heave a sigh of relief about their children being hooked to social media. Grandmaster Boris Gelfand, World Chess Championship Challenger 2012, has said he believes chess is the solution to many of the technology fixated modern generation.
“The ability to concentrate, focus, think ahead, respect rules and devote yourself to one thing and think deeply — these are all things which are missing in society but which chess has in abundance,” says Boris Gelfand. He was speaking to The JC.com.

According to the 2012 World Chess Championship Challenger, Jews have historically excelled at the game because it was firmly embedded in the life and traditions of the communities of Eastern Europe. He himself is from Belarus. Jewish children played the game as part of an essential element of their intellectual development.

Far from being elitist, he argues chess is the people’s game. “It is low cost. Even if you are poor, you can play without expensive equipment. Gelfand is visiting the UK this weekend to take part in the London Chess Classic tournament. He is also here to promote the Charity Chess in Schools and Communities, which aims to get more primary school pupils playing the game.

He said: “I have met many successful people from different professions — scientists, lawyers, business people. They all say that the values that they learned playing chess as children helped them to achieve in later life.”

Thursday, December 5, 2013

World Chess Champion Carlsen Simul in LA: You Can be Lucky to Play

The chance of a lifetime: World Chess Champion and World`s Number 1 chess player, Magnus Carlsen, will hold a simultaneous exhibition hosted by Nordic Semiconductor during the CES 2014, where Carlsen plays multiple games at a time with 20 other players.





A Nordic Semiconductor press release states, "We invite you to participate in this competition where you have the chance in your lifetime to be one of the lucky twenty that will play one of the most brilliant brains living today. Along with the honor of playing the number 1 chess player in the world, you will be rewarded with a signed chess board among other prizes."

The skills required are not higher than just another hobby player. To participate answer a few simple questions and solve an easy chess puzzle. The lucky winners will be noticed well in advance. Closing date for entry is December 19, 2013, 12:00:00 PST.

The Chess Tournament will take place:Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall Connector, Room S228Thursday January 9, 3-6PM

Enter the chess simul entry contest at the Nordic Semi website.

* Carlsen's sponsors Nordic Semiconductor (Link from our Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013 coverage website) 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Real Madrid Wows World Chess Champion with Birthday Gift

Magnus Carlsen took ​​the honorary kick off for the Real Madrid-Valladolid match (The Norwegian, who became world chess champion on 22nd November, turns 23 on Saturday, December 30, and received a shirt and watch as a gift from President Florentino Pérez). The World Chess Champion was personally invited by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.




Magnus Carlsen is known as a Whites fan, took the honorary kick-off in the La Liga match between Real Madrid and Valladolid. The Norwegian, who is the second youngest champion in the chess history after Kasparov, received an ovation from the Bernabéu after winning the title by beating Viswanathan Anand, also a Real Madrid supporter, in Chennai (India). 



Prior to the match, Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez gave him a shirt with his name on and an inscribed watch for his 23rd birthday. -- Courtesy Real Madrid official website (Lots of other photos by Ángel Martínez on this link)

The World Chess Champion wore a Real Madrid shirt with 'Magnus' printed on the back. The home team won the match 4-0 with three goals by Gareth Bale.
"It was super cool, it was great for a football fan," said Carlsen to the Norwegian newspaper VG in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, late Saturday night. "I had planned to stay home and relax, but this was something I could not say no to."

3-Second Chess Knights Tour Challenge: Beat Kosteniuk, Win Prizes

Try this chess challenge from the 12th Women's World Chess Champion, Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk herself. 




Writing on her blog www.chessqueen.com, GM Kosteniuk says, "I was teaching my daughter how to train moving the chess knight across the board as fast as possible, and she asked me to show how to do it fast. I recorded a short video about how I can do it in about 3 seconds (with slow motion). If there is anybody out there who can do it faster, I’m glad to announce that Chess King has offered several prizes to anybody who can do it faster than me. So practice your knight’s moves and speed, and send me by email the result (video or link to video), and you may win a prize! Good luck!"

Come on India, we are sure some talented Indian chess players can crack the 3-second limit for the chess knight's tour of the chess board! 

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