Fischer-Spassky 1972 World Chess Championship Chess Board, Table, Pieces to be Auctioned this Thursday in Copenhagen

The Drawing of Lots Ceremony in
Laugardalshöll Arena in 1972:
GM Harry Golombek (UK) to the left introducing the contestants. Fischer has arrived at long last, standing next to Golombek. In the middle stands Gudmundur G. Thorarinsson, chairman of the Organizing Committee, and Spassky can be seen beside him. On the stage behind the contestants are GM Efim Geller (USSR), GM Bill Lombardy (USA) and GM Nikolai Krogius (USSR). The two arbiters Lother Schmid (Germany) and G. Arnlaugsson (Iceland) were also present on the stage, but cannot be seen in the photo.

Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, would auction Bobby Fischer chess memorabilia on June 14, Thursday, in Copenhagen. The auction is being held on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the greatest chess match in history - the 1972 Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer World Championship. 

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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 3: Radjabov, Morozevich Lead; Aronian loses to Tomashevsky

The 7th Tal Chess memorial Round 3 saw World No. 2 use a dangerous line against last seed Evgeny Tomashevsky. But, as World Chess Championship challenger Boris Gelfand would say, ratings are nothing. Tomashevsky took the call and beat Levon Aronian. Meanwhile, Alexander Morozevich beat Alexander Grischuk to move up with Teimour Radjabov in joint lead. All games saw exciting play with none of the grandmasters hesitating to experiment or try a sacrifice!

Caruana-Carlsen

Hikaru Nakamura

Round 3 results:

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

Round 3 standings:
1-2. Morozevich, Radjabov – 2,5

3. Kramnik – 2

4-5. Aronian, Carlsen – 1,5

6-10. Grischuk, Caruanа, McShane, Nakamura, Tomashevsky – 1

Round 4 pairings (June 12th): Morozevich – Radjabov, Carlsen – Grischuk, Kramnik – Aronian, McShane – Nakamura and Caruana – Tomashevsky. Monday is the rest day.

You can watch the live broadcast of the 7th Tal Chess Memorial Live at the official website from India time 4.30 pm onwards.

(Photos by Eteri Kublashvili)

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Kazan Chess Grand Prix for Women Round 2: Betul Yildiz of Turkey beats Hou Yifan of China

Betul Yildiz of Turkey on her way to beating women's world chess champion Hou Yifan of China

The Kazan Chess Grand Prix Round 2 highlight was the victory of Turkish chess player Betul Yildiz over reigning women's world chess champion Hou Yifan. The Chinese champion went for a sacrifice in an extremely complicated middle game and then missed the winning combination in time trouble. Betul did not let the opportunity pass her and won the game. 

Anna Muzychuk vs
Antoaneta Stefanova

In another decisive game of Round 2, Anna Muzychuk sacrificed a pawn as White and beat former women's world chess champion Antoaneta Stefanova. The third decisive game after a long-drawn struggle was former women's world chess champion Alexandra Kosteniuk fighting all the way to a well-earned win over Viktorija Cmilyte. Another Russian player, Alisa Galliamova, could have gone for a clear lead by winning both the rounds but played a draw in time trouble against her country-mate Tatiana Kosintseva. Two other games also ended in draws: Katerina Lahno – Nadezhda Kosintseva and Elina Danielian – Humpy Koneru. 


Three players are in joint lead at the Kazan Chess Women's Grand Prix with 1.5 points each: Anna Muzychuk, Alisa Galliamova and Alexandra Kosteniuk. You can watch the tournament live from India time 4 pm at the offcial website of the tournament. 

(Photos by Rashit Shiriyazdanov and Anastasiya Karlovich
with kind permission of FIDE/official website of Kazan Chess Grand Prix)

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Kazan Women's Chess Grand Prix Begins with Top Women's Chess Players

The Women's Chess Grand Prix - fourth in the Series 2011-2012 - has begun in Kazan, Russia. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Draw offers are not allowed. Games start at 4.30 India time and can be watched at the official website. The prize fund is 40,000 euro.

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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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