Some nice games from Unive Chess Tournament
Chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Alexei Shirov
More great photos of top chess players at www.chesspics.com


Hello Everyone,

Here are some nice games from the Unive Chess Tournament. You can run them in the pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

PGN: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 d6 8. Be2 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 a5 11. Rd1 Be6 12. O-O a4 13. f4 Qa5 14. Bd4 Rfe8 15. Qd3 Rad8 16. Kh1 Bd7 17. Qe3 Rc8 18. h3 Bc6 19. e5 Nd7 20. exd6 exd6 21. Qf2 Nf6 22. f5 g5 23. h4 g4 24. h5 Ne4 25. Nxe4 Bxd4 26. Rxd4 Rxe4 27. Rxe4 Bxe4 28. Bxg4 Rxc4 29. Be2 Rc6 30. Qh4 Qe5 31. Qd8+ Kg7 32. f6+ Kh6 33. Qf8+ Kg5 34. Qg8+ Bg6 35. hxg6 hxg6 36. Qxf7 Qxe2 37. Qd5+ Kg4 38. Rf3 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 Qh4+ 40. Rh3 Qxf6 41. Qe4+ Qf4+ 42. Rg3+ 1-0



PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Bd7 11. h4 Na5 12. Bd3 e5 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. dxe5 Rfe8 15. f4 Bg4 16. Qe1 h6 17. Bf6 Bxf6 18. exf6 Rad8 19. Qg3 c4 20. Qxg4 cxd3 21. Ng3 Nc4 22. e5 Ne3 23. Qf3 Nxf1 24. Rxf1 d2 25. Rd1 Qc4 26. Nf5 Rd3 27. Ne7+ Kh7 28. Qxb7 Red8 29. Qxa7 Rxc3 0-1



PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. O-O Bb7 9. Ne5 Bd6 10. f4 c5 11. Bd2 Nc6 12. Ne2 Rc8 13. Bc3 Ne7 14. Ng3 Ne4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Qg4 f5 17. Qh3 c4 18. d5 Bc5 19. Rad1 Bxe3+ 20. Kh1 Nxd5 21. Nxf5 Bxf4 22. Nh6+ gxh6 23. Qe6+ Kg7 24. Nc6+ Nxc3 25. Rxd8 1-0



PGN: 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qd7 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Bxf3 O-O-O 8. d3 Nd4 9. O-O e6 10. Be3 Ne7 11. Bxd4 Qxd4 12. Ne4 Nc6 13. Qc1 Be7 14. Rd1 f5 15. c3 Qd7 16. Ng3 g6 17. d4 Bd6 18. b4 Bxg3 19. fxg3 Qd6 20. b5 Na5 21. c4 e5 22. c5 Qe7 23. Qc3 e4 24. Bxe4 fxe4 25. Qxa5 Kb8 26. Qc3 Rd5 27. Re1 Rhd8 28. Rad1 Qd7 29. c6 Qd6 30. Rxe4 Rxb5 31. cxb7 Rxb7 32. d5 Rb5 33. Kh2 Qb6 34. a4 Rb3 35. Qc4 Rb2 36. Re7 Rf8 37. Qe4 Rb4 38. Qe5 Rb2 39. Re8+ Rxe8 40. Qxe8+ Kb7 41. a5 Qc5 42. a6+ Kxa6 43. Qc8+ Kb5 44. Qb8+ Qb6 45. Qe8+ Ka6 46. Qc8+ Kb5 47. Rc1 Qe3 48. Qb8+ Qb6 49. Qe8+ Kb4 50. Qe4+ Ka3 51. Ra1+ Ra2 52. Qd3+ Qb3 53. Qa6+ Kb2 54. Qf6+ Ka3 55. Qe7+ Ka4 56. Rxa2+ Qxa2 57. Qxc7 Qxd5 58. Qxa7+ Kb5 59. Qxh7 Qe6 60. h4 Kc5 61. Qh6 Qe8 62. Qf4 Kd5 63. g4 Qe1 64. Qg5+ Kd4 65. Qf6+ Kd5 66. h5 gxh5 67. gxh5 Qe8 68. Qf5+ Kd4 69. h6 Qb8+ 70. Kh3 Qb3+ 71. g3 Qb7 72. h7 Qh1+ 73. Kg4 Qd1+ 74. Kg5 1-0


From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com



Magistral Casino de Barcelona 2010 Category 21 Chess Tournament from Nov 4
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Barcelona beckons

Hi Everyone,

Even if you’re suffering a little emptiness with the Nanjing Super Chess Tournament having ended and no high-powered chess games happening as of now, take heart.

The Magistral Casino de Barcelona 2010 will take place from November 4-12 at the Catalonian Chess Federation and sponsored by the Casino of Barcelona (Group Peralada), Barcelona City Hall, Catalonian Sports Council and Hotel Icaria of Barcelona.


The following ten internationally recognized Grandmasters will participate in this Round Robin Tournament:
1 GM ROMAIN EDOUARD (FRA) 2636
2 GM ROBERT L. HESS (EEUU) 2596
3 GM DANIEL ALSINA (ESP) 2523
4 GM JORDI MAGEM (ESP) 2589
5 GM IVÁN SALGADO (ESP) 2595
6 GM LÁZARO BRUZÓN (CUB) 2679
7 GM JAIME A. CUARTAS (COL) 2526
8 GM ARTUR YUSSUPOV (ALE) 2589
9 GM JOSEP OMS (ESP) 2517
10 GM ERNESTO INARKIEV (RUS) 2671
The Tournament is actually that of Category 14 which makes it the strongest tournament in Catalonia, and one of the strongest in Spain. Also it is included in the ACP Tour, as one of the most important events in the Chess World.
There will be more activities besides the Tournament, Grandmaster Josep Oms will give a lecture ‘How to Discover the Weaknesses of Your Play and Improve It’, and Cuba´s Grandmaster Lázaro Bruzón will offer a Simultaneous Exhibition.

You can find more details here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


What’s the Halloween Chess Gambit?
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hello Everyone,

It’s that scary time of the year again. So, what’s Halloween Chess Gambit?

The Halloween Gambit, also known as the Müller-Schulze Gambit or Leipzig Gambit, is an aggressive gambit in chess, in which White sacrifices a knight for just one pawn. It is a branch of the normally staid Four Knights Game.

You’ve really have to have courage to play this one and scare the living daylights out of your opponent. Whoever gave a Knight for a pawn?

The theoretician Oskar Cordel reported in 1888 that Leipzig club players used it to dangerous effect but he did not believe it was sound. Their name for it, Gambit Müller und Schulze, was not after any players by those names; rather, it is a jocular German equivalent of “Smith and Jones” or “Tom, Dick and Harry”.

The opening is characterized by the moves
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Nc3 Nf6
4. Nxe5

Run the flashplayer to see below.




The goal of the gambit is to seize the center with pawns and drive back Black’s knights. After 4…Nxe5, White usually plays 5.d4, in preference to 5.f4, which does not facilitate his development. You’ve got to have the nerve to play this.

Here’s a spectacular game that White wins in an email thematic tournament. You can run the moves in the pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

PGN: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 Nxe5 5.d4 Ng6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Bc4 Bb4 8.Qf3 f6 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3 d5 11.exd6 cxd6 12.Ba3 N8e7 13.Rfe1 Qc7 14.Bb3 Kd8 15.c4 Bd7 16.Rad1 Qc6 17.Qc3 a5 18.d5 Qc7 19.c5 b5 20.Qd2 b4 21.cxd6 Qxd6 22.Bb2 a4 23.Bc4 Ke8 24.a3 Ne5 25.Ba2 b3 26.cxb3 axb3 27.Bxb3 Kf7 28.f4 N5g6 29.Re6 Qxf4 30.Qe2 Qb8 31.Ba2 Qa7+ 32.Kh1 Kf8 33.d6 Ng8 34.Qc4 Nh6 35.Bxf6! gxf6 36.Rxf6+ Ke8 (36…Kg7 37.Qc3) 37.Rxg6 hxg6 38.Qc3 Rh7 39.Qf6 Ba4 40.Qxg6+ Nf7 41.Rf1 Bc2 42.Qxc2 1-0


If you dare play this in a tournament, let us know. Meanwhile, here is also a cute Halloween Chess Video. Enjoy.


From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins Unive Chess Tournament in Hoogeveen
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Find more great photos of top players at www.chesspics.com


Hello Everyone,

Maxime Vachier Lagrave has won the Unive Chess Tournament (Crown Group) tournament was held in Hoogeveen, Netherlands from Octobver 22-30, 2010.

The Crown Group included GM Alexei Shirov of Spain (currently the 12th highest-rated player in the World with an elo of 2749), GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France (currently the 25th highest-rated player in the World with an elo of 2721) , GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands (currently the 61st-highest-rated player in the World with an elo of 2677) and GM Sergei Tiviakov of the Netherlands, (currently the 108th-highest-rated chess player in the World with an elo of 2673).

World Junior Champion 2009, Maxime won the tournament a full point ahead of the Alexei Shirov. He had beaten Shirov in the fourth round and that seemed to have contributed to the final results.

There were special prizes that included the Chess creativity ‘Beauty Contest’ prize going to Shirov in the Crown Group. The rating prize went to Evie Warmelink, in the Open Section, who scored 5 out of 9. You can check the official website here.

Final standings:

1. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
2. Shirov, Alexei
3. Giri, Anish 3
4. Tiviakov, Sergei 1

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
Also see her personal blog at







Chess in ‘From Paris With Love’
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010



From Paris, With Love movie poster

Hello Everyone,

There’s a generation that grew up with ‘From Russia, with love‘. Now, it’s going to be ‘From Paris, with love‘!

The nice thing is that the chess motif is there in this 2010 Hollywood release also. It’s an action film starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. It has and directed by Pierre Morel. The screenplay was co-written by Luc Besson.

After the opening scene the camera pans to the U.S. Embassy in France where you find the personal aide to the U.S. Ambassador in France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) keeping the Ambassador busy with a quick chess move! The movie ends with a chess scene too but we won’t spell the beans. Reese loves chess and so does his eventual partner Charlie Wax.

Here’s a dialogue from the movie:

James Reece: I’m not your driver. I’m your partner.
FBI agent Charlie Wax: Yeah, you’re the chess player. I read your file.
James Reece: You play?
FBI agent Charlie Wax: Do I look like I play board games?

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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Tseshkovsky leads World Senior Chess Championship 2010
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

GM Vitaly Tseshkovsky
Find some great photos of top chess players at www.chesspics.com

Hello Everyone,

Here is some news about the Senior World Chess Championship being held in Arco, Italy. After four rounds in the Open section, GM Tseshkovsky Vitaly, GM Rajkovic Dusan and IM Filipenko Alexander are leading with four points each.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s section, WGM Khmiadashvili Tamar and WIM Mira Helene are leading with 3 points each. Defending champion GM Gaprindashvili Nona is just half a point behind at 2.5.

Here is a nice Round 4 game from the Open section. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch in flash below. Enjoy.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Carlsen wins Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess, Anand second
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Even the last round was exciting enough at the Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament in China. Magnus Carlsen had already won the event yesterday with a round to spare but the second place was still to be decided. Viswanathan Anand took the second spot after a win over Etinne Bacrot.

Meanwhile, Veselin Topalov tricked Wang Yue and won a lost game to take the fifth slot. Carlsen earlier had a draw with Vugar Gashimov in the last round.

Final Standings
————————

# Name Pts S-B
1. Carlsen, Magnus 7 31.5
2. Anand, Viswanathan 6 27.75
3. Bacrot, Etienne 5 23
4. Gashimov, Vugar 4.5 23
5. Topalov, Veselin 4.5 19.5
6. Wang, Yue 3 15.75

And, here are the nice games from the last round. You can see the moves in our pgnplayer or simply enjoy the games in flash below.

Before that, enjoy this nice video stream from www.chessvibes.com.


PGN: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.O-O O-O 6.d3 Bxc3 7.bxc3 d6 8.Re1 Bd7 9.Rb1 a6 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 b6 13.Nd2 g5 14.Bg3 Ne8 15.d4 f6 16.c4 Ng7 17.c3 Qe8 18.f3 Qg6 19.Nf1 g4 20.fxg4 Bxe4 21.Rb2 Rae8 22.Rf2 exd4 23.cxd4 h5 24.gxh5 Nxh5 25.Re3 Bc6 26.Rc3 Re4 27.c5 bxc5 28.dxc5 d5 29.Bxc7 d4 30.Rd3 Rg4 31.Ng3 Re8 32.Rxd4 Rxd4 33.Qxd4 Nxg3 34.Bxg3 Re1+ 35.Rf1 Rxf1+ 36.Kxf1 Qb1+ 37.Be1 Bb5+ 38.Kf2 Qxa2+ 39.Kg3 Kf7 40.Bc3 Qe6 41.Qf4 Bc6 42.h4 a5 43.Qc7+ Bd7 44.Qf4 a4 45.h5 a3 46.Kh2 a2 47.Qh4 Qe7 48.Qf2 Qe6 49.Qc2 Qf5 50.Qxf5 Bxf5 51.c6 Be4 52.c7 Bf5 53.Kg3 Bc8 54.Kf4 Bb7 55.Ba1 Bc8 56.g3 Bb7 57.g4 Ba6 58.Kg3 Bc8 59.Kh4 Ba6 60.Bb2 Bb7 61.h6 Kg6 62.h7 Kxh7 63.Kh5 Bc8 64.Bxf6 Kg8 65.Ba1 Kf7 66.g5 Ke8 67.g6 Be6 68.g7 Kd7 69.Be5 a1B 70.Bxa1 Kxc7 71.g8Q Bxg8 1/2-1/2




PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Qc7 11. h3 e5 12. Ba2 e4 13. Nd2 b6 14. Bb2 Bf5 15. Qe2 Bg6 16. Rfc1 Rad8 17. a4 Bh5 18. Qb5 Rfe8 19. Ba3 g5 20. Nf1 Nd7 21. Ng3 Bg6 22. Rd1 Na5 23. Rd2 h5 24. Rad1 h4 25. dxc5 Nxc5 26. Bxc5 bxc5 27. Nf1 Rb8 28. Rd7 Rxb5 29. Rxc7 Rb2 30. Bd5 Reb8 31. Rxa7 Nb3 32. a5 Bh5 33. Re1 Be2 1-0



PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Qa4+ Qxa4 8. Nxa4 Bd7 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. Nxd5 Na6 11. f3 Nexc5 12. O-O-O Rc8 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bh4 Kf7 15. Ne2 e6 16. Ndc3 Bh6 17. Bf2 e5 18. Kb1 Rhd8 19. e4 f5 20. Ng3 b6 21. Be2 f4 22. Nf1 Bf8 23. a3 Ne6 24. Nd2 Nac5 25. Nd5 a5 26. b4 axb4 27. axb4 Ba4 28. Rc1 Rb8 29. Rc3 Nd4 30. Bxd4 exd4 31. Ra3 b5 32. bxc5 Bxc5 33. Ra2 d3 34. Bxd3 bxc4+ 35. Kc1 cxd3 36. Rxa4 Be3 37. Nxe3 fxe3 38. Nc4 Rdc8 39. Rd1 Rb3 40. Ra7+ Kg8 41. Ra4 Rc3+ 0-1




From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Chess endgame study: Can White win this?
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Get your coffee mug, turn up the music in the background, switch of your mobile phone and sit down to solve this endgame. You will need to focus undisturbed so as to be able to enjoy this endgame study! After all – undiluted chess pleasure without disturbance is what you owe to yourself.

You can run the solution in the flash player before after your thinking time. Enjoy.

H. Rinck
Basler Nachrichten, 1924
White to play and win


From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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Graphic novel ‘Chess Rumble’: Lessons for life and a sweet story
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Chess teaches you not to react immediately but to step back and evaluate the bigger picture. In life as in chess. So, here’s a post on this very interesting graphic novel ‘Chess Rumble’!

This book was published in 2007. The hero of the graphic novel is Marcus who is very angry after his sister’s death and his dad leaving the family.

He wants to fight with everyone from his little brothers to his classmates. Latrell used to be Marcus’s best friend, now they hate each other. Marcus is a big kid to get under his skin Latrell calls him names like Fat Albert. Marcus gets into a lot of trouble at school and his teacher, Ms. Tate is frustrated. Finally instead of the regular punishment, Ms Tate tries something new, introducing Marcus to CM.

CM teaches young men to play chess, so they can fight it out on the board. That’s where everything changes!

Check out these videos on this nice book for kids.



From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Carlsen wins Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament with one round to spare
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Magnus Carlsen
See more photos of the champion at www.chesspics.com


Hi Everybody,

Carlsen sealed his first place at the Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament on Friday with a win over Veselin Topalov in the ninth round. A knight fork did it all. Carlsen is now ahead of the rest of the field with 1.5 points and only one round is left.

Meanwhile, in the ninth round, the other two games – Anand-Gashimov and Bacrot-Yue – were drawn. The 2010 Nanjing International tournament is taking place from October 19 to 30 in Nanjing, China.

It is a ten-round double round-robin event, in which each player faces every other player twice, once with the white pieces, and once with black. The time control is 40 moves in two hours then 20 moves in one hour followed by the rest of the game in 15 minutes with a 30 second increment as of move 61.

Carlsen now has 6.5 points while both Bacrot and Anand have 5 points with Bacrot a little better on tie-break. Gashimov has 4 points while Topalov has 3.5 points. Wang Yue has 3 points.

Here are the nice games from Round 9. Check them in flash below or run the moves through our pgnplayer.

PGN: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.Nc3 Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.Re1 c6 12.Ne3 Bc7 13.c4 Nf6 14.b3 d5 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Qf3 Be6 17.Ba3 Re8 18.Bb5 Bd7 19.Bxd7 Qxd7 20.Bb2 Be5 21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.Nc2 Rae8 23.Rxe5 Rxe5 24.Qc3 Re8 25.Qd4 b6 26.f3 Rd8 27.Ne3 Ne8 28.f4 Nc7 29.f5 Ne8 30.Re1 Nf6 31.Ng4 Nxg4 32.Qxg4 h6 33.Qf4 Re8 34.Rxe8+ Qxe8 35.Kf2 f6 36.g4 Qc6 37.Qe3 Kh7 38.a4 Qd6 39.Kg2 a5 40.Qe8 Qb4 41.Qg6+ Kg8 42.Qe8+ 1/2-1/2


PGN: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.O-O Be7 8.Nc3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bg4 10.Re1 O-O 11.Bf4 Bh5 12.Rb1 Rb8 13.Qe2 Bd6 14.Qe3 Qd7 15.Ng5 h6 16.Nh3 Bg4 17.Qg3 Bxh3 18.Bxd6 cxd6 19.Qxh3 Qxh3 20.gxh3 Rfd8 21.Rb5 Kf8 22.Reb1 b6 23.Rxd5 Rbc8 24.c4 Ke7 25.Re1+ Kf8 26.Rb1 Ke7 27.Re1+ Kf8 1/2-1/2


PGN: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Bg2 c6 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.O-O b6 9.Rc1 O-O 10.b4 Bb7 11.Qb2 Rb8 12.Nbd2 Qe7 13.e3 Rfc8 14.Rc2 c5 15.bxc5 bxc5 16.Qa3 Rc6 17.Rac1 Ra6 18.Qd3 h6 19.Qe2 dxc4 20.Qxc4 cxd4 21.Nxd4 Rb6 22.Bxb7 R8xb7 23.Kg2 Ne5 24.Qc5 Qxc5 25.Rxc5 Rb2 26.R1c2 Nd3 27.Rc8+ Kh7 28.N4f3 a5 29.h3 a4 30.a3 g5 31.Rxb2 Rxb2 32.Rc3 Nxf2 33.Rc7 N2e4 0-1



From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Chess at Mount Everest base camp!
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010



Hi Everyone,

Know who’s James Whittaker? Of course, the first American to climb Mount Everest as member of the American Mount Everest Expedition 1963 led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. He summited on May 1, 1963 with Sherpa Nawang Gombu (a nephew of Tenzing Norgay).

His son, Leif Whittaker also conquered the Everest this year on the 47th anniversary of his father’s feat. At a special talk Whittaker Junior told an audience that they played chess at the base camp.

Now, that really makes chess cool enough!

Leif said there was a lot of waiting, as the expedition went up the mountain a little more each day before returning to base camp. Everyone had their own three-man tent, where they could get away from all the other people “and have a little mental down time,” Whittaker said.

There were games such as chess, Scrabble and Horseshoes.

“I was always getting beaten at chess, and I hoped that a combination of the altitude and my improving skill would get me a win, but that took a long time,” he said.

“And with Scrabble, I learned every Q-without-a-U word in existence.”

You can read the full article here. You can also read Leif Whittaker’s blog here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Chess endgame study: Black King to Pawn – We’re in this love together
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hi Everyone,

Here is an interesting endgame study. The Black pawn is all set to queen the pawn on b1. White King has the support of a Knight and two Bishops. What are White’s chances here?


Is not the Black King telling the pawn ‘We’re in this love together…’
Or, maybe, it’s the White King telling his army. But White got to win this somehow. Can you help?

You can play the Al Jarreau video in the background while you solve this. Enjoy!


Here is the solution. Just run the flashplayer to check it out.


The other solution if Black changes his third move is as follows:


And, if Black opts for a different second move then the solution is as follows:




From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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Nanjing Chess Tournament: Three draws in Round 8, Carlsen holds on to lead
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010


Hello Everyone,

The Pearl Springs Nanjing Super Chess Tournament had more interesting games in Round 8 on Thursday even though all were draws. You’re following all the games at the official website? Here are the games.

You can run through the games in flash below or use our pgnplayer to check out the games against your own analysis. Enjoy.

Before the games, a video of a simul with kids.



PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 d5 6. Bg2 c6 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. O-O b6 9. Rc1 O-O 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Nc3 Ba6 12. a4 Rc8 13. Nb5 Ne4 14.Qf4 Qe7 15. Rc7 Bxb5 16. axb5 Nd6 17. Qc1 Rxc7 18. Qxc7 Rc8 19. Qxa7 Qd8 20. Qa4 h6 21. Qb4 Qf8 22. b3 Ne4 23. Qxf8+ Kxf8 24. Ne5 Nxe5 25. Bxe4 dxe4 26. dxe5 Rc5 27. Ra8+ Ke7 28. Ra7+ Kf8 1/2-1/2


PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8.
Qc2 b6 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. Bf4 Ba6 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Rc8 14.
Nc3 Ng4 15. h3 Nxf2 16. Kxf2 Bc5+ 17. Be3 Bxe3+ 18. Kxe3 b5 19. Qd3 Rc4 20.
Nxd5 exd5 21. Bxd5 Qg5+ 22. Kf2 Qxe5 23. Bxc4 bxc4 24. Qd6 Qf5+ 25. Ke1
Qxh3 26. Qxa6 Qxg3+ 27. Kd2 Qf4+ 28. Kc2 Qe4+ 29. Kc1 Qe3+ 30. Kb1 Qe4+ 31.
Kc1 1/2-1/2




PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5 8. e3 Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Nd7 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Qa4 Nc6 13. Qb3 Na5 14. Qa4 Nc6 1/2-1/2


From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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Special gift for South African children: President Zuma supports chess
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010


The President with members of Chessa and FIDE. Back row: Lynne van Rensburg (CHESSA Secretary), Lyndon Bouah (CHESSA Vice President), Lewis Ncube (FIDE Vice President); front row: Brian Aitchison (CHESSA Executive Director), Emelia Ellappen (CHESSA President), President Jacob Zuma (President of South Africa), Ali Nihat Yazici (FIDE Vice President, FIDE Chess in Schools Commission President and Turkish Chess Federation President).

Hi Everyone,

It’s always great to know when people in public life promote chess. It feels awesome to know when the President of a country steps up to promote chess among children. This is surely one of President Jacob Zuma’s most notable contributions to South Africa.

President Zuma announced his support and recognition of chess as a problem-solving training activity on October 26. He highlighted the cognitive development and advancement in ability as some of the gains that young learners will derive from chess and gave a most fantastic speech on chess.



He said, “It is an important game in many aspects, the main benefit being that it contributes to the development of strategic thinking as well as concentration, analytical skills and problem solving.”

He was speaking at a function for the Moves for Life programme, which he commended for being uniquely South African.

The Moves for Life chess programme was officially launched at a gala dinner with captains of industry, politicians, educationists and other eminent citizens pledging to bring chess to the children of South Africa.


President Zuma said:

In summary, the benefits that accumulate from the teaching and promotion of chess in schools include the following:

  • The game teaches patience. You have to give the opponent time and space to think and make his or her own move.
  • It teaches that a decision must be an outcome of a serious thought process.
  • Chess teaches discipline, for example as chess players would know, “touch is a move”. When you touch, you must move, you have to be disciplined.
  • Chess teaches fairness. You alert the opponent before you strike, and keep them informed of your moves and intentions.


You can read the full story at www.chessbase.com and at the Republic of South Africa Presidential Website.

This growing support for chess around the world is great. Remember our previous post about the President of Azerbaijan also supporting chess? How cool!

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
Also see her personal blog at


Chess aside, Real madrid and casual clothes are some of Carlsen’s favourite things
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Magnus Carlsen: Football, friends and fun
Find more great photos of the World No. 1 at www.chesspics.com

Hi Everybody,

Seen this cute interview of Chess World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen with Teen Vogue?

Carlsen says he loves casual clothing and G-Star has designed special items just for him so that he feels comfortable while playing chess.

Carlsen also says he loves Real Madrid, playing computer games and hanging around with friends. He says he loves chess because it’s the “ultimate intellectual sport, a fighting game from which you never get bored”.

Now, who wouldn’t support that statement!

As regards his fashion world experience, Carlsen says he never thought about it till he was approached by G-Star.

He also said that he loved the red carpet experience at the New York Fashion Week. How cool.

Just in case you missed our post on how Carlsen beat the world in the G-Star RAW chess challenge, here is the link.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Triple sundae of chess trivia – Halloween chess tourney, zombie playing chess and sideways chess
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hi Everybody,

We had three interesting bits of chess trivia news to share with you this morning. All from different places though but very interesting. Just to give you an idea – if you love chess once, you just love it all the time no matter what the theme of the season or the situation!

The first snippet we found was at the NY Times blog here.

A woman dressed as a zombie played chess in Union Square in Manhattan on Tuesday. She was there as part of a promotion for the new AMC network series ‘The Walking Dead’. Photo: Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

How cool is that? But hang on. We found this interesting chess tournament invitation also. After all, it’s Halloween time. The Dayton Chess Club has gone on to organise a chess tournament with a ‘nice’ theme.


The second annual Frankenstein-Dracula Halloween Thematic Quick Tournament with the Frankenstein-Dracula variation of the Vienna Game is being held on October 30 by the Club at 18 West 5th Street, Dayton, OH 45402.

What exactly is this ‘scary’ variation? It’s 1. e4 e5, 2. Nc3 Nf6, 3. Bc4 Nxe4, 4. Qh5 Nd6, 5. Bb3 Nc6, 6. Nb5 g6, 7. Qf3 f5, 8. Qd5 Qe7, 9. Nxc7+ Kd8, 10. Nxa8 b6 with White to move. You can find more details on the variation here.

Our third trivia item today is not scary yet about how resourceful love of chess can make you. It is about this father-son duo who had to play chess at the East River promenade but the attendant had painted the chessboard wrong!

Well! They simply played chess sideways! How cool. You can read the full story here.

Enjoy!

Jean Manas and his son, Mateos Haile-Manas, 6, playing chess on the East River promenade last week with the pieces set up sideways to adjust for the fact that the table was painted sideways by a parks worker. The problem has since been fixed. Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Cap d’Agde Chess Meeting down to knockout stage
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Speed of thought: Hikaru Nakamura
Find more great photos of top
chess players at www.chesspics.com

Hi Everyone,

Despite all the excitement in Nanjing we’re not really forgetting what’s up in Cap d’Agde at the two-stage tournament there with some of the best chess players of the world.

The tournament has reached its second – the knockout stage. The top four players have qualified from each group. You can pick up more details at the official website here. The knockouts will be played from Thursday, October 28, 2010.

Group A

1. Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2733
2. Bu Xiangzhi g CHN 2695
3. Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son g VIE 2633 4
4. Polgar, Judit g HUN 2682
5. Edouard, Romain g FRA 2636 3
6. Karpov, Anatoly g RUS 2619
7. Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2565
8. Milliet, Sophie m FRA 2388 ½

Group B

1-2. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2754
1-2. Le Quang Liem g VIE 2694
3-4. Pelletier, Yannick g SUI 2592 4
3-4. Hammer, Jon Ludvig g NOR 2633 4
5-6. Gharamian, Tigran g FRA 2658 3
5-6. Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2539 3
7. Zhu Chen g QAT 2480 2
8. Kosintseva, Tatiana g RUS 2573 1

Here is another set of interesting games from the previous rounds. Enjoy! You can see the moves in our pgnplayer or simply watch in flash below.


PGN: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Qe2 d6 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Be3 O-O 9. O-O-O Be6 10. f3 Nd7 11. g4 Nde5 12. Rg1 Bc4 13. Qf2 Bxf1 14. Rgxf1 Nc4 15. Bxb6 axb6 16. Kb1 N4a5 17. f4 Nxb3 18. cxb3 f6 19. h4 Qe7 20. Qg2 Rae8 21. Nd5 Qxe4+ 22. Qxe4 Rxe4 23. Nxc7 Nd4 24. Nd5 Ne2 25. a3 b5 26. b4 h5 27. gxh5 Ng3 28. Rfe1 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 Nxh5 30. Re6 Rc8 31. Rxd6 Rc4 32. f5 Rxh4 33. Rb6 Ng3 34. Ne7+ Kh7 35. Rxb5 Rh1+ 36. Kc2 Rf1 37. Rxb7 Nxf5 38. Nxf5 Rxf5 39. b5 Kh6 40. a4 Rf2+ 41. Kb3 Rf3+ 42. Ka2 Rf4 43. Ka3 Rf1 44. b6 1-0


PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. O-O e5 8. Re1 Qe8 9. Bf1 Bg4 10. d5 Nb4 11. Be2 a5 12. Be3 Nh5 13. h3 Bd7 14. c5 Na6 15. cxd6 cxd6 16. Nd2 Nf4 17. Nc4 Qe7 18. Bf1 Nc5 19. Rc1 g5 20. Nb6 Rad8 21. Nxd7 Nxd7 22. g3 Ng6 23. Be2 Bf6 24. Bg4 Rc8 25. Qa4 Nc5 26. Qxa5 Nd3 27. Bxc8 Rxc8 28. Red1 Nxc1 29. Rxc1 Qd7 30. Kh2 Nf4 31. gxf4 exf4 32. Qb5 Qe7 33. Bd2 Be5 34. Kg2 Kg7 35. Qe2 Kg6 36. Qg4 Rc4 37. h4 Rd4 38. Be1 h6 39. Qf5+ Kg7 40. Nb5 Rd3 41. Rc7 f3+ 42. Kh3 Qf6 43. Qxf6+ Kxf6 44. Bc3 h5 45. hxg5+ Kxg5 46. Bxe5 dxe5 47. Rxf7 1-0




PGN: 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 e6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 d6 9. Rd1 a6 10. e4 Nbd7 11. b3 O-O 12. Ba3 Nc5 13. e5 dxe5 14. Qxd8 Rfxd8 15. Nxe5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Bf8 17. f4 Ncd7 18. Bxf8 Kxf8 19. Nd3 Rac8 20. Rac1 Ng4 21. Re1 Nc5 22. Nxc5 Rxc5 23. Ne4 Rcc8 24. Re2 Rd3 25. h3 Ne3+ 26. Kf2 Nf5 27. g4 Ne7 28. Rc3 Rd1 29. Rcc2 Rd3 30. Re3 Rd1 31. Rd2 Rxd2+ 32. Nxd2 Nc6 33. Rd3 Ke7 34. a3 Na5 35. Kf3 h6 36. h4 b5 37. c5 Nc6 38. Ke4 b4 39. axb4 Nxb4 40. Rd4 Nd5 41. Rc4 Rb8 42. f5 Rb5 43. fxe6 Kxe6 44. g5 hxg5 45. hxg5 f5+ 46. gxf6 gxf6 47. Nf3 f5+ 48. Kd4 Ne7 49. Kc3 Nc6 50. b4 a5 51. bxa5 Rxa5 52. Nd4+ Nxd4 53. Kxd4 Ra8 54. Rb4 Rd8+ 55. Kc4 Ke5 56. Rb7 f4 57. Rf7 Rd1 58. c6 Rc1+ 59. Kb5 Rb1+ 60. Ka6 Ra1+ 61. Kb7 Rb1+ 62. Kc8 Ke4 63. c7 f3 64. Kd8 Rc1 1/2-1/2



From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Nanjing Chess Tournament: Topalov wins, Carlsen leads after Round 7
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Veselin Topalov
Find more great photos of top chess players at www.chesspics.com

Hello Everyone,

The seventh round of the Pearl Spring Nanjing Super Chess Tournament was truly exciting with Magnus Carlsen allowing Viswanathan Anand to slip away, Veselin Topalov beating Etienne Bacrot while Yue Wang and Vugar Gashimov settled for a fighting draw.

This is the third edition of the tournament in China taking place from October 21-30. The players are going through a double round robin format. You can check the official website for more details both in Chinese and English.

For now, here are the nice games from Wednesday’s round. You can run the moves through the pgnplayer or watch in flash below.

As for the standings after Round 7, Magnus is still leading with 5 points, both Bacrot and Anand have 4 points but Bacrot is placed better on the tie-break points, Topalov and Gashimov both have 3 points while Wang Yue has 2 points.

PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. d5 exd5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. O-O Be7 10. Rd1 Nc6 11. Qf5 Nf6 12. e4 d6 13. e5 Qd7 14. Qf4 Nh5 15. Qc4 O-O 16. Nc3 Rae8 17. Be3 Nb4 18. Rd2 Ba6 19. Qb3 Nd3 20. Qa3 Qc8 21. exd6 Bxd6 22. Rad1 Be7 23. Nd5 Nb4 24. Ne5 Nxd5 25. Bxd5 Nf6 26. Bg2 c4 27. Qc3 Bb5 28. h3 Bc5 29. Bxc5 Qxc5 30. Rd5 Nxd5 31. Rxd5 Qc7 32. Rxb5 Rc8 33. Nc6 Rfe8 34. Rb4 Re2 35. Bf3 Re6 36. Rxc4 Rce8 37. Kg2 1-0



PGN: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 8. Nf3 O-O 9. d4 d5 10. c3 Bd6 11. Bd3 Nce7 12. Nbd2 c6 13. Nf1 Ng6 14. Qc2 Nfh4 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 16. g3 Qd8 17. Ne3 Re8 18. Bd2 Nf8 19. Nf5 Bc7 20. Rxe8 Qxe8 21. Re1 Be6 22. Qc1 f6 23. Qd1 Qd7 24. Qf3 Re8 25. h4 Bf7 26. Rf1 Bg6 27. h5 Bxf5 28. Bxf5 Qf7 29. Kg2 g6 30. Bd3 f5 31. Rh1 Ne6 32. hxg6 hxg6 33. g4 Bf4 34. Be3 fxg4 35. Qxg4 Kg7 36. Rh5 Bxe3 37. fxe3 Nf8 38. Rh3 Kg8 39. Rf3 Qe6 40. Qf4 Kg7 41. b3 Qe7 42. c4 Rd8 43. Rh3 Rd6 44. Qh6+ Kg8 45. cxd5 cxd5 46. e4 Qg7 47. Qe3 Qe7 48. e5 Rc6 49. Qh6 Qg7 50. Qh4 a6 51. Rf3 Qd7 52. b4 b5 53. a3 Qc7 54. Kg3 Kg7 55. Bb1 Nh7 56. Ba2 Qd7 57. Bb3 Rc1 58. Kh2 Rb1 59. Bc2 Rb2 60. Rc3 Qf7 61. Kg3 Nf8 62. Rf3 Qe6 63. Qd8 Nd7 64. Rf2 Ra2 65. Kh2 Qg4 66. Qe7+ Kh6 67. Qd8 Qh5+ 68. Kg2 Qg4+ 1/2-1/2



PGN: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. g3 Bf6 17. Nd2 Qd7 18. Nc4 Bh3 19. Qd3 g5 20. Be3 Qd5 21. Bf1 Bxf1 22. Qxf1 Ne7 23. Rab1 Nf5 24. a4 a6 25. Qd3 b5 26. Na3 c6 27. Nc2 Qf3 28. Qd1 Qxd1 29. Rexd1 Nd6 30. Bd2 Kg7 31. Nb4 bxa4 32. Nd3 a3 33. Rb4 Ne4 34. Ra4 c5 35. Nxc5 Nxc5 36. dxc5 Red8 37. Rxa3 Rc6 38. Ra2 Rxc5 39. Rxa6 Rcd5 40. Ra2 Kg6 41. c4 Rd4 42. Rc2 Be7 43. Kf1 Bc5 44. Ke2 Re8+ 45. Be3 Rxd1 46. Kxd1 Bxe3 47. fxe3 Rxe3 48. c5 Kf6 49. Kd2 Ra3 50. c6 Ra8 51. Ke3 Ke5 52. Kf3 h5 53. Rc5+ Kd6 54. Rxg5 h4 55. gxh4 Kxc6 56. Rf5 Kd6 57. Rxf7 Ke6 58. Rf4 Ke7 59. Kg4 Rf8 60. Ra4 Kf6 61. h5 Kg7 62. Kg5 Rf7 63. Rf4 Rxf4 64. Kxf4 Kh6 65. h4 Kxh5 66. Kf5 Kxh4 67. Ke4 1/2-1/2



From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com



Chess set exhibition opens in Bendigo, Australia
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010


A Marcel Duchamp chess set

Hi Everyone,

Just the other day we told you about this chess set exhibition opening in Bendigo, Australia. Well, here is a nice article we found on it.

“The game of chess is traditionally perceived as a subdued, cerebral and introspective activity,” curator Tansy Curtin writes in the catalogue for this exhibition.

The show is, in fact, two distinct exhibitions in separate gallery spaces at Bendigo. The first is a travelling exhibition from RS&A, a London-based art commissioning company that in 2003 invited artists to ponder the game. Artists included Tracey Emin, Yayoi Kusama, Damien Hirst and Maurizio Cattelan. Each reimagined the possibilities of the traditional chess board, with Jake and Dinos Chapman, for example, designing a set populated by “post-apocalyptic adolescents.”

To complement the London project, called The Art of Chess, Bendigo has commissioned 13 Australian artists. The result is Your Move: Australian Artists Play Chess, an exhibition that will tour other Australian cities next year.

It features works by Danie Mellor, Lionel Bawden, Sebastian Di Mauro, Emily Floyd, Sally Smart and others.

Among them is a joint work by Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, whose chess set is made up of beer bottles representing the main players in World War I. A hammer sits alongside the board, ready to destroy pieces as they are taken.

For artists in both exhibitions, proficiency in chess was not mandatory. Even some of the curators had only a cursory interest in the game. Julia Royse, one of the directors of RS&A, says her inspiration was “more art than chess”.

“None of us really play,” she says. “We all know how to play, but it’s not a big part of our lives.”

Meanwhile, we also found this very nice artwork at this link. However, we couldn’t locate any other details.



From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com


Nice chess games from Cap d’Agde Chess Tourney
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Here is another set of nice games from the ongoing Cap d’Agde Chess Tournament in scenic France. Enjoy. You can run the moves in our pgnplayer or watch in flash below.



Vassily Ivanchuk

PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Qc2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 d6 9. O-O Nd7 10. a4 a5 11. Rd1 Qc8 12. d5 e5 13. Bh3 Qd8 14. e4 Bc8 15. Be3 Nf6 16. Bxc8 Qxc8 17. Bg5 Nh5 18. Bxe7 Kxe7 19. Qe2 g6 20. c5 bxc5 21. Nd2 Nf6 22. Nc4 Qa6 23. Qd3 Nd7 24. Rab1 Rhb8 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Nxe5 Qxd3 27. Nc6 Ke8 28. Rxd3 Rb1 29. Kg2 Ra1 30. Nxa5 Rxa4 31. Nc6 Rxe4 32. Kf3 Nf6 33. h3 h5 34. h4 Kd7 35. Nb8 Kc8 36. Nc6 Ra4 37. Kg2 Kd7 38. Nb8 Ke8 39. Nc6 Ra2 40. c4 Ng4 41. Rf3 f5 42. Kg1 Rc2 43. Rf4 Ne5 44. Na5 Rc1 45. Kh2 Kd7 46. g4 hxg4 47. h5 Nf3 48. Rxf3 gxf3 49. hxg6 Ke7 50. Kg3 Kf6 0-1



Hikaru Nakamura

PGN: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 a5 10. d4 a4 11. Bc2 Bd7 12. Nbd2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 h6 15. Bd2 Qc8 16. Bd3 Qb7 17. Qc2 g6 18. b4 Bg7 19. a3 Rac8 20. Rac1 Kh7 21. Be3 Ng8 22. Qe2 Rb8 23. h4 Kh8 24. dxe5 Bg4 25. exd6 cxd6 26. Qd1 Qe7 27. h5 gxh5 28. Nf5 Qf6 29. Nxg7 Qxg7 30. Be2 Ne5 31. Nxe5 dxe5 32. Bxg4 hxg4 33. c4 bxc4 34. Rxc4 g3 35. Qh5 gxf2+ 36. Bxf2 Nf6 37. Qf3 Re6 38. Rec1 Qg6 39. Qf5 Kg7 40. Rd1 Ng4 41. Rd7 Nxf2 42. Qxg6+ Rxg6 43. Kxf2 Rbb6 44. Rc3 Rbd6 45. Rxd6 Rxd6 46. b5 Rd2+ 47. Kg1 Rb2 48. Rc4 Rxb5 49. Rxa4 Rb2 50. Kf1 Kg6 51. Rb4 Ra2 52. Rb3 Kg5 53. Rf3 f6 54. Rf5+ Kg6 55. Rf3 h5 56. Rg3+ Kh6 57. Rf3 Kg5 58. Rf5+ Kg6 59. Rf3 Rc2 60. Rg3+ Kf7 61. Rh3 Kg6 62. Rg3+ Kh6 63. Rf3 Kg5 64. Rg3+ Kh6 65. Rf3 Kg7 66. Rg3+ Kf7 67. Rh3 Rc4 68. Re3 h4 69. Kf2 Kg6 70. Kf3 Kg5 71. Rb3 Rc1 72. Rb8 Rc3+ 73. Kf2 Rxa3 74. Rh8 Kg4 75. Rh6 Ra2+ 76. Kg1 Kg5 77. Rh8 Ra4 78. Rg8+ Kf4 79. Rh8 Rxe4 80. Rxh4+ Kf5 81. Rh8 Rf4 82. Ra8 Rb4 83. Ra6 Rb2 84. Kh2 Kg5 85. Re6 Rb5 86. Kg3 f5 87. Re8 Rb3+ 88. Kf2 Kf4 89. Ra8 Rb4 90. Ra2 e4 91. Ra3 Rb2+ 92. Kf1 e3 93. Ra8 Rf2+ 94. Kg1 Rd2 95. Kf1 Ke4 96. Ra4+ Rd4 97. Ra2 f4 98. Ke2 Rb4 99. Rc2 Rb1 100. Rc4+ Kf5 101. Rc8 Rb2+ 102. Kf1 Rf2+ 103. Kg1 Ke4 104. Ra8 Rb2 105. Kf1 Kd3 106. Rd8+ Kc3 107. Rd7 Rf2+ 108. Kg1 Rd2 109. Re7 Rd1+ 110. Kh2 Kd2 111. Rd7+ Ke1 112. Rf7 e2 113. Rxf4 Kd2 0-1





Anatoly Karpov

PGN: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a3 h6 13. d5 Nb8 14. Nf1 c6 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Ng3 Nbd7 17. Bc2 d5 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Nf5 Qc7 20. Nh2 Qc6 21. Ne3 Be6 22. Nhg4 Rad8 23. Nf5 Bd5 24. Qd3 Kh8 25. Qg3 Nxg4 26. hxg4 Nc5 27. Bg5 Rc8 28. Be3 Na4 29. Rab1 Ba2 30. Ra1 Bd5 31. Bxa4 bxa4 32. Rad1 Bb3 33. Rd2 f6 34. Qh4 Kg8 35. f3 Red8 36. Ree2 Bc4 37. Rf2 Qb7 38. Bxh6 gxh6 39. Qxf6 Qf7 40. Nxh6+ Bxh6 41. Rxd8+ Rxd8 42. Qxd8+ Kh7 43. g5 Bg7 44. g3 Qe6 45. Rh2+ Kg6 46. Rd2 Qh3 47. Qd6+ Be6 48. Rg2 Kxg5 49. f4+ Kg6 50. Rf2 Bf6 51. fxe5 Bg5 52. Qd3+ Kg7 53. Qf3 Be7 54. Qb7 Bd7 55. Qd5 Be6 56. Qb7 Bd7 57. Qa7 Bg5 58. Qd4 Be6 59. Rh2 Qxg3+ 60. Rg2 Qe1+ 61. Kh2 Kh6 62. c4 Qf1 63. Kg3 Qe1+ 64. Kh2 Be3 0-1




From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com