30 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Hi everyone,
Do you love chess in the movies? Can you name the actress and film from the photos below? Hint: It’s a French-German movie.
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www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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30 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Hi everyone,
In the tenth round of Grand Prix in Zug Veselin Topalov nearest player in points standings Fabiano Caruana and now is on a sole lead with 7 points, one point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura. The American player won against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to take the second place. Alexander Morozevich managed to outplay Teimour Radjabov, while Gata Kamsky won against Sergey Karjakin. Kasimzdhanov-Ponomariov, Giri-Leko were drawn. Ruslan Ponomariov and Fabiano Caruana share the third place while Kamsky, Morozevich, Karjakin share the fifth place.
Tie Break Criteria for trophies only: 1.direct encounter 2. number of wins 3. Sonnenborn-Berger System 4. Koya System.
Veselin Topalov won against Hikaru Nakamura at the fifth round and it means even in the worst scenario for him he will take the gold at Grand Prix in Zug.
Caruana-Topalov 0-1
Despite the victory in the game and, as a result, the victory in the tournament, Veselin Topalov looked very serious and tired at the press-conference. It’s obvious that the tournament is not over for the former world champion will fight for the sole victory in the tournament in the last round.
Fabiano Caruana got a pleasant position and managed to create threats on the King’s side. Players showed many possible variations on the laptop and agreed that White could have played more precisely but at the same time they didn’t find any direct attack. The things went wrong when White lost a few tempos after dubious Qf2-Qa7 but Caruana had time trouble and it was not easy for him to find the right plan.
After the first time control Italian player could have kept the queens on the board to have better chances for a draw because the knight and bishop endgame turned to be absolutely winning for Black.
Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0-1
Slav Defence happened in the game and Shakhriyar got an unpleasant position out of the opening. White could not prove he has enough compensation for the pawn and after 21. ..f5 his position became really bad. It was still not necessary to resign after 22…Rc4, even the position was still much better for Black but Azeri player miscalculated the variation and thought he would end up in the position with rook against 3 pieces.
The game could have continued after 23. bc Bc4 24. Nb4 Be2 25. Nd5 ed 26. Be2 Nd2 27. Rc7…According to Hikaru Nakamura his position was still winning. However, White keeps some drawing chances in the endgame.
Morozevich-Radjabov 1-0
Teimour Rajabov chose to play Sveshnikov variation against Alexander Morozevich and Black was OK until the moment he has to find a very accurate move 21…Qb3! The difference with the move in the game was that Black had 22…Qd5 after 22.Rc8 and after 23. Qa3 there was an important resource 23…Ra2. After 21…Qa4 White won an exchange and was increasing his advantage. Alexander Morozevich could have won easier but Black never got a real chance to fight for a draw. On the 43 move Black could have proposed White to miss the idea with stalemate by playing 43…Kh6 44. Rg7?? Qg2!
Karjakin-Kamsky 0-1
Sergey Karjakin managed to get slightly better position after the opening. Nevertheless, Black were looking for counter play and the position became very sharp. Black could get a huge advantage after 27…Qd5 but both opponents missed this opportunity. After that the game was dynamically equal but with the 41st move Sergey Karjakin made a big mistake. After 41. Qf3 the game would most probably finish in a draw. Gata Kamsky found the force winning line and after 15 moves the game was over.
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Tie Break Criteria for trophies only: 1.direct encounter 2. number of wins 3. Sonnenborn-Berger System 4. Koya System.
Veselin Topalov won against Hikaru Nakamura at the fifth round and it means even in the worst scenario for him he will take the gold at Grand Prix in Zug.
Caruana-Topalov 0-1
Despite the victory in the game and, as a result, the victory in the tournament, Veselin Topalov looked very serious and tired at the press-conference. It’s obvious that the tournament is not over for the former world champion will fight for the sole victory in the tournament in the last round.
Fabiano Caruana got a pleasant position and managed to create threats on the King’s side. Players showed many possible variations on the laptop and agreed that White could have played more precisely but at the same time they didn’t find any direct attack. The things went wrong when White lost a few tempos after dubious Qf2-Qa7 but Caruana had time trouble and it was not easy for him to find the right plan.
After the first time control Italian player could have kept the queens on the board to have better chances for a draw because the knight and bishop endgame turned to be absolutely winning for Black.
Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0-1
Slav Defence happened in the game and Shakhriyar got an unpleasant position out of the opening. White could not prove he has enough compensation for the pawn and after 21. ..f5 his position became really bad. It was still not necessary to resign after 22…Rc4, even the position was still much better for Black but Azeri player miscalculated the variation and thought he would end up in the position with rook against 3 pieces.
The game could have continued after 23. bc Bc4 24. Nb4 Be2 25. Nd5 ed 26. Be2 Nd2 27. Rc7…According to Hikaru Nakamura his position was still winning. However, White keeps some drawing chances in the endgame.
Morozevich-Radjabov 1-0
Teimour Rajabov chose to play Sveshnikov variation against Alexander Morozevich and Black was OK until the moment he has to find a very accurate move 21…Qb3! The difference with the move in the game was that Black had 22…Qd5 after 22.Rc8 and after 23. Qa3 there was an important resource 23…Ra2. After 21…Qa4 White won an exchange and was increasing his advantage. Alexander Morozevich could have won easier but Black never got a real chance to fight for a draw. On the 43 move Black could have proposed White to miss the idea with stalemate by playing 43…Kh6 44. Rg7?? Qg2!
Karjakin-Kamsky 0-1
Sergey Karjakin managed to get slightly better position after the opening. Nevertheless, Black were looking for counter play and the position became very sharp. Black could get a huge advantage after 27…Qd5 but both opponents missed this opportunity. After that the game was dynamically equal but with the 41st move Sergey Karjakin made a big mistake. After 41. Qf3 the game would most probably finish in a draw. Gata Kamsky found the force winning line and after 15 moves the game was over.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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30 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The men’s tournament had a clear winner in what otherwise was a very hard fought and very balanced field. Wang Yue arrived as the rating favorite and demonstrated his strength by taking first place 1.5 points ahead of the field, despite the fact that he lost in the last round against Zhao Jun.
Even though Wang Yue was once known for his very drawish style, during this event he proved that he has a big fighting spirit. Out of the 11 games he played, only three were drawn. He won six games and lost both the first and last rounds encounters.
Ma Qun started the tournament strongly, beating the eventual winner, and finished in second place with 7/11 points. The same amount of points were obtained by Doeberl Cup champion Li Chao, who had to settle for third place due to the tiebreak scores. No less than six players got an even score in the event. The tiebreak criteria awarded the fourth place to ex-women’s world champion Hou Yifan, who decided not to play in the women’s championship. The women’s championship saw a much more unbalanced field. Ding Yixin took clear first place thanks to a 8/11 performance. She left her closest followers half a point behind. Guo Qi finished second on tiebreaks, while Shen Yang arrived third.
With this strong tournament, China has proven that chess is taken seriously in the country and that they will be looking to improve and challenge the European countries’ supremacy in the sport.
Final Standings – Men’s championship:
1 GM Wang Yue 2706 7.5
2 GM Ma Qun 2559 6.0
3 GM Li Chao B 2686 6.0
4 GM Hou Yifan 2617 5.5
5 GM Xiu Deshun 2534 5.5
6 IM Wei Yi 2530 5.5
7 GM Bu Xiangzhi 2662 5.5
8 GM Zhao Jun 2589 5.5
9 GM Yu Yangyi 2675 5.5
10 GM Zhou Weiqi 2590 5.0
11 GM Zhou Jianchao 2607 5.0
12 GM Li Shilong 2558 3.5
Final Standings – Women’s championship:
1 WGM Ding Yixin 2427 8.0
2 WGM Guo Qi 2439 7.5
3 IM Shen Yang 2397 7.5
4 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2483 6.5
5 WGM Zhang Xiaowen 2367 6.5
6 WGM Wang Jue 2401 6.0
7 WIM Zhai Mo 2259 6.0
8 Lei Tingjie 2232 5.0
9 WIM Kuang Yinghui 2212 4.0
10 WIM Ni Shiqun 2213 3.5
11 Ren Xiaoyi 2212 3.0
12 Li Xueyi 2135 2.5
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30 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
There were two decisive games in the 7th round. The World Champion Vishy Anand scored his second victory in the tournament, defeating the French Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet with White. This sharp game was not ideally played by both sides, but Anand made a better use of the opponent’s mistakes, and is now just half a point behind the leaders.
His former opponent in the World Championship Match Boris Gelfand defeated young Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren with White. This victory allowed Gelfand to tie for the first place with two rounds to go.
Round 7 results: Anand – Fressinet 1-0, Gelfand – Ding Liren 1-0, Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Vitiugov – Aronian, and Svidler – Kramnik – draws.
The standings after seven rounds: 1-2. Gelfand and Vachier-Lagrave – both 4.5; 3-5. Adams, Anand, and Aronian – all 4; 6. Fressinet – 3.5; 7-8. Kramnik and Vitiugov – both 3; 9. Ding Liren – 2.5; 10. Svidler – 2.
The 8th round pairings: Kramnik – Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave – Vitiugov, Fressinet – Aronian, Ding Liren – Adams, Anand – Svidler.
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
This should be for the record books: On Tuesday, April 30, Grandmaster Timur Gareev will conduct a 33-board blindfolded simultaneous exhibition at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL). The event will help kick off the 2013 U.S. Championships, scheduled to be held in Saint Louis May 2 through May 13.
GM Gareev will meet and greet simul participants at 8 a.m. CT, and the simul will begin at 9 a.m. He is working toward setting a new blindfold simul world record of 64 boards before the end of 2013. The date for the record-breaking simul is tentatively set for December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich said the blindfold simul presents a perfect exhibition to demonstrate how chess can positively impact students.
“This remarkable demonstration of concentration and memory will help drive home the many and varied scholastic benefits chess has to offer,” Rich said.
After switching federations from Uzbekistan to the U.S., GM Gareev will be competing in his first-ever U.S. Championship. He enters the tournament as the No. 2-rated player in the field, second only to GM Gata Kamsky.
The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship will be held simultaneously May 2 through May 13. This marks the fifth consecutive year that each of these prestigious events will be held in Saint Louis. The opening ceremony takes place on May 2, and the first round for both events will kick off at 1 p.m. CT on May 3.
Also, fans of the U.S. Chess Championships can participate in Fantasy Chess for free by visiting: http://www.uschesschamps.com/2013-fantasy-chess. The grand prize is round-trip airfare for two from anywhere in the continental U.S., two nights hotel, a private dinner with GM Yasser Seirawan and two private lessons with Seirawan as well. Select your favorite players, build your team and follow the live play-by-play coverage of each round on the event website: www.uschesschamps.com.
For the first time in the five years the CCSCSL has hosted the event, organizers are bringing in three commentators to provide even more extensive live coverage of the games and more in-depth player interviews and post-game analysis. GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade will provide live play-by-play coverage. For more information about the U.S. Championships or to watch live coverage of the event, visit www.uschesschamps.com.
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The second half of the Alekhine Memorial began in St. Petersburg on Sunday with the sixth round. The official opening of the Russian half of the competition took place on April 26th in the Mikhailovsky Castle of the Russian Museum. Participants and guests of the tournament were welcomed by Vladimir Gusev, director of the Russian museum, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian Chess Federation Chairman Ilya Levitov, and the sponsors of the event Gennady Timchenko and Andrey Filatov.
April 27th was the only day off at the tournament. The participants of the Alekhine Memorial, representing seven countries, enjoyed an excursion in the Russian Museum. Junior chess events and many excursions were organized in the Mikhailovsky Castle. On the next day the St. George Hall of the Mikhailovsky Castle hosted games of the Round 6.
Like in Paris, the hall was tightly packed with chess enthusiasts. The games were quite entertaining but all ended in draws, so the tournament situation remained the same – the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in the lead. He had White against Boris Gelfand, but their game was quite equal all the way.
Michael Adams, who had Black against Levon Aronian, missed a real chance to catch up with the leader. The Armenian Grandmaster fought very hard for a win, even sacrificed a piece, but the sacrifice turned unsound, and Aronian was on the verge of defeat. However, his English opponent returned the favour, missing a win in mutual time trouble, and allowed Aronian to save the game. Both players are just half a point behind the leader and have decent chances of winning the tournament.
With three more rounds to go, a good half of the participants have chances to succeed. The winner of the Alekhine Memorial 2013 will be determined on May 1st.
Round 6 results: Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Aronian – Adams, Fressinet – Vitiugov, Kramnik – Anand, Ding Liren – Svidler – all draws.
The standings after six rounds: 1. Vachier-Lagrave – 4; 2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, and Gelfand – all 3.5; 6. Anand – 3; 7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, and Ding Liren – all 2.5; 10. Svidler – 1.5.
The 7th round pairing: Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Anand – Fressinet, Gelfand – Ding Liren, Vitiugov – Aronian, Svidler – Kramnik.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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Hi everyone,
The second half of the Alekhine Memorial began in St. Petersburg on Sunday with the sixth round. The official opening of the Russian half of the competition took place on April 26th in the Mikhailovsky Castle of the Russian Museum. Participants and guests of the tournament were welcomed by Vladimir Gusev, director of the Russian museum, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian Chess Federation Chairman Ilya Levitov, and the sponsors of the event Gennady Timchenko and Andrey Filatov.
April 27th was the only day off at the tournament. The participants of the Alekhine Memorial, representing seven countries, enjoyed an excursion in the Russian Museum. Junior chess events and many excursions were organized in the Mikhailovsky Castle. On the next day the St. George Hall of the Mikhailovsky Castle hosted games of the Round 6.
Like in Paris, the hall was tightly packed with chess enthusiasts. The games were quite entertaining but all ended in draws, so the tournament situation remained the same – the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in the lead. He had White against Boris Gelfand, but their game was quite equal all the way.
Michael Adams, who had Black against Levon Aronian, missed a real chance to catch up with the leader. The Armenian Grandmaster fought very hard for a win, even sacrificed a piece, but the sacrifice turned unsound, and Aronian was on the verge of defeat. However, his English opponent returned the favour, missing a win in mutual time trouble, and allowed Aronian to save the game. Both players are just half a point behind the leader and have decent chances of winning the tournament.
With three more rounds to go, a good half of the participants have chances to succeed. The winner of the Alekhine Memorial 2013 will be determined on May 1st.
Round 6 results: Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Aronian – Adams, Fressinet – Vitiugov, Kramnik – Anand, Ding Liren – Svidler – all draws.
The standings after six rounds: 1. Vachier-Lagrave – 4; 2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, and Gelfand – all 3.5; 6. Anand – 3; 7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, and Ding Liren – all 2.5; 10. Svidler – 1.5.
The 7th round pairing: Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Anand – Fressinet, Gelfand – Ding Liren, Vitiugov – Aronian, Svidler – Kramnik.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Hi everyone,
The Foundation Neva Chess Grand Prix for Women will be held in Geneva from May 2-16. Founded in Geneva in 2008 by the Timtchenko Family, Foundation Neva aims at reinforcing ties between Russia and Switzerland. It’s great that they are sponsoring this chess event. With the Geneva Grand Prix, FIDE also launches the new series of Chess Grand Prix events for the world’s leading women players. This new series sees 18 players battling it out over two years to provide a challenger for the World Championship. The lineup is very impressive and includes current Women World Champion Anna Ushenina from Ukraine and former World Champions Hou Yifan (China), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria) and Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia). Not to mention of course other top players such as Humpy Koneru (India), Anna Muzychuk (Solvenia), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia) and Kateryna Lagno (Ukraine).
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- Hou, Yifan g CHN 2617
- Koneru, Humpy g IND 2597
- Muzychuk, Anna g SLO 2585
- Zhao, Xue g CHN 2565
- Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2554
- Lagno, Kateryna g UKR 2547
- Kosintseva, Nadezhda g RUS 2531
- Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2530
- Cmilyte, Viktorija g LTU 2514
- Harika, Dronavalli g IND 2510
- Ju, Wenjun wg CHN 2505
- Khotenashvili, Bela m GEO 2499
- Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2495
- Ushenina, Anna g UKR 2477
- Danielian, Elina g ARM 2466
- Girya, Olga wg RUS 2440
- Muminova, Nafisa wg UZB 2312
- Batchimeg Tuvshintugs wg MGL 2295
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Emmy award winning journalist Charlie Rose has been praised as “one of America’s premier interviewers.” He is the host of Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program that engages the world’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers. He’s just interviewed World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Click on photo to watch the video at the Charlie Rose show website.
Hi everyone,Emmy award winning journalist Charlie Rose has been praised as “one of America’s premier interviewers.” He is the host of Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program that engages the world’s best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers. He’s just interviewed World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Click on photo to watch the video at the Charlie Rose show website.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The women’s event will be played during 6 rounds with a time control of 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increments from move 1. The prize fund for the man event amounts to 5.000 Euros to be distributed as follows: 1st – 2.000 Euros; 2nd – 1.500 Euros; 3rd – 1.000 Euros; 4th – 500 Euros, according to a Chessdom news site post.
The first seeded team is the Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova, which includes in his roster two players that are currently playing at the Zug Grand Prix, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. Even though these top GMs will not be participating, they count with other strong players, such are Ivan Cheparinov and Bulgarian champion Kiril Georgiev. The team Chieti has Gawain Jones on the first board, while the Soc. Scacch. Milanese 1881 has Italian champion Alberto David as the first seed. You can access the official website for live chess games.
OBIETTIVO RISARCIMENTO PADOVA
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Caruana Fabiano GM ITA 2772
2 Nakamura Hikaru GM USA 2767
3 Cheparinov Ivan GM BUL 2702
4 Georgiev Kiril GM BUL 2657
5 Godena Michele GM ITA 2511
6 Vocaturo Daniele GM ITA 2511
7 Dvirnyy Danyyil IM ITA 2538
8 Collutiis Duilio IM ITA 2473
9 Bellini Fabio IM ITA 2464
10 Valsecchi Alessio IM ITA 2429
CHIETI
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Jones Gawain C B GM ENG 2654
2 Stella Andrea IM ITA 2477
3 Garcia Palermo Carlos GM ITA 2460
4 D’Amore Carlo IM ITA 2488
5 Mogranzini Roberto IM ITA 2509
6 Borgo Giulio IM ITA 2378
7 Fierro Baquero Martha IM ECU 2362
8 Zimina Olga IM ITA 2334
SOC. SCACCH. MILANESE 1881
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 David Alberto GM ITA 2583
2 Brunello Sabino GM ITA 2582
3 Arlandi Ennio IM ITA 2440
4 Qendro Llambi IM ALB 2325
5 Sbarra Marco FM ITA 2263
6 Misiano Franco FM ITA 2251
7 Ricci Marco FM ITA 2089
8 Profumo Alberto M ITA 2256
9 Garano Nicola M ITA 2189
10 SERPI Andrea M MI 0
11 Capece Adolivio M ITA 2046
12 Gori Andrea CM ITA 2104
13 Bemporad Filippo CM ITA 2034
14 Brunello Roberta CM ITA 1973
LIBERTAS NERETO A
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Antoniewski Rafal GM POL 2557
2 Shytaj Luca IM ITA 2469
3 Bruno Fabio IM ITA 2428
4 Piscopo Pierluigi IM ITA 2393
5 Humeau Cyril FM FRA 2312
6 Sibilio Mario FM ITA 2306
PORTLAB CLUB 64
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Erdos Viktor GM HUN 2634
2 Ortega Lexy GM ITA 2491
3 Scalcione Michelangelo FM ITA 2339
4 Vezzosi Paolo IM ITA 2282
5 Iotti Pierluigi FM ITA 2303
6 Lapenna Antonio M ITA 2219
7 Franchini Gabriele FM ITA 2134
8 Frigieri Fabrizio CM ITA 2125
9 Vincenzi Marco CM ITA 2109
10 Farachi Francesco CM ITA 2118
ACCAD. SCACCH. ITALIANA ASD
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Rusev Krasimir GM BUL 2532
2 Ronchetti Niccolo’ IM ITA 2450
3 Codenotti Marco FM ITA 2385
4 De Filomeno Simone FM ITA 2336
5 Costantini Roberto FM ITA 2278
6 Tomba Ivan FM ITA 2254
LATINA
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Marin Mihail GM ROU 2552
2 Caprio Guido IM ITA 2413
3 Marinelli Tullio IM ITA 2373
4 Malloni Marcello FM ITA 2351
5 Lucaroni Massimiliano FM ITA 2277
6 Tassi Oliviero FM ITA 2299
7 Parpinel Marco ITA 2169
CENTRO STUDI TEST PALERMO
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Olszewski Michal GM POL 2533
2 Efimov Igor GM MNC 2426
3 Contin Daniel IM ITA 2366
4 Bentivegna Francesco FM ITA 2293
5 Bove Alessandro FM ITA 2358
6 Ganci Fabrizio M ITA 2073
7 Bifulco Michel CM ITA 2026
8 D Eredita Giuliano CM ITA 1974
PARTENOPEA MASTER
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Djuric Stefan GM SRB 2471
2 Laketic Gojko IM SRB 2420
3 Stromboli Carlo FM ITA 2325
4 Stromboli Ettore FM ITA 2344
5 Saccone Fabio FM ITA 2318
6 Esposito Luca FM ITA 2285
7 CERRATO Roberto 1N NA 0
SOC. SCACCH. TRIESTINA A
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Lenic Luka GM SLO 2617
2 Lostuzzi Manlio FM ITA 2416
3 De Eccher Stefano FM ITA 2241
4 Cherin Diego FM ITA 2250
5 Mocchi Tullio FM ITA 2248
6 Dilic Roberto CM ITA 2204
CPS BANCA NUOVA
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Palac Mladen GM CRO 2565
2 Mazzilli Piero FM ITA 2365
3 Amato Andrea M ITA 2264
4 Ramondino Renzo FM ITA 2209
5 Ferro Mario M ITA 2258
6 Ferrante Marco M ITA 2213
7 Inglese Guido 2N ITA 1666
ARROCCO A
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Horvath Csaba GM HUN 2515
2 Ladron De Guevara Pinto Paolo FM ESP 2334
3 Boscolo Federico FM ITA 2310
4 Corvi Marco FM ITA 2273
5 Della Corte Alessandro M ITA 2261
6 Testa Adriano M ITA 2260
7 Stella Luca CM ITA 2148
8 Lantini Marco M ITA 2120
9 Pienabarca Nicola CM ITA 2115
PIZZATO ELETTRICA SCACCHI
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
2 Manca Federico IM ITA 2398
3 Schacher Gerd FM ITA 2344
4 Rossi Carlo IM ITA 2284
5 Micheli Carlo FM ITA 2297
6 Sader Michael M AUT 2265
7 Bracaglia Carlo CM ITA 2125
8 Casciello Dimitri CM ITA 2040
9 UNGARO Olindo CM PD 0
10 BONOTTO Giorgio 1N VI 0
CENTURINI CRAL AMT
Bo. Player T Fed FRtg
1 Guido Flavio IM ITA 2421
2 Kreuzer Martin Prof. Dr. FM GER 2340
3 De Santis Alessio FM ITA 2292
4 Molina Fabrizio FM ITA 2263
5 Brun Dario M ITA 2239
6 Manfredi Vincenzo M ITA 2234
7 Pernigotti Carlo M ITA 2194
8 Mollero Michele CM ITA 2196
9 Cirabisi Federico FM ITA 2104
10 Abd El Gawad Shaban CM ITA 2066
11 Cantoro Daniele CM ITA 2105
12 Astengo Marcello CM ITA 2081
13 Rodriguez Alan CM ITA 2117
14 Boschi Massimiliano 1N ITA 1963
15 Carosso Andrea CM ITA 2018
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
There’s a special breed of chess players out there: The ones who show the world that beauty and brains can go together. Read one of Chess Blog’s much-commented post (Psychology: Are Beauty and IQ related?). The chess trivia question to start the week is: Identify some killer and beautiful chess women of the planet from the photos below. (We are sure you can name all (particularly if you have been reading Chess Blog regularly!)
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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Hi everyone,
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Fide Master Elijah Emojong has become the Uganda National Chess Champion 2013. He won the title on tiebreak criteria after scoring equal points as Uganda Chess Olympiad team member Patrick Kawuma. Both scored 9.5 points in 11 rounds at the tournament played at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel, according to a press release.
Emojong went into the last three rounds with a half-point lead over the rest of the field. Kawuma took the lead with a win over Aaron Kanaabi in the penultimate round even as Emojong lost to unrated Rajab Kamoga. However, Kawuma could only draw in the last round with national team member Harold Wanyama. Emojong beat Grace Nsubuga in the last round to draw level.
The Uganda national chess championship featured the country’s top-12 players. Third place went to youngster Haruna Nsubuga with 8.5 points. Unrated Raphael Buti was fourth followed by Harold Wanyama.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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Hi everyone,
Fide Master Elijah Emojong has become the Uganda National Chess Champion 2013. He won the title on tiebreak criteria after scoring equal points as Uganda Chess Olympiad team member Patrick Kawuma. Both scored 9.5 points in 11 rounds at the tournament played at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel, according to a press release.
Emojong went into the last three rounds with a half-point lead over the rest of the field. Kawuma took the lead with a win over Aaron Kanaabi in the penultimate round even as Emojong lost to unrated Rajab Kamoga. However, Kawuma could only draw in the last round with national team member Harold Wanyama. Emojong beat Grace Nsubuga in the last round to draw level.
The Uganda national chess championship featured the country’s top-12 players. Third place went to youngster Haruna Nsubuga with 8.5 points. Unrated Raphael Buti was fourth followed by Harold Wanyama.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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29 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
It was raining hard during the second free day and most of players preferred to stay in the hotel and relax before the final part of the tournament. Three decisive games were played in the ninth round. Two more could have finished in favour of Peter Leko and Rustam Kasimdzhanov as both players were close to winnin against Sergey Karjakin and Anish Giri respectively.
Veselin Topalov – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 1/2-1/2 Black was well prepared after the free day and Mamedyarov did not repeat his game against Karjakin earlier in the tournament. After 14.Nf5 the moves came fast this time and the first new move was by Black with 19…Qd7. The position was dynamically equal as the two knights in the center compensated for the space advantage that White had.
Hi everyone,
It was raining hard during the second free day and most of players preferred to stay in the hotel and relax before the final part of the tournament. Three decisive games were played in the ninth round. Two more could have finished in favour of Peter Leko and Rustam Kasimdzhanov as both players were close to winnin against Sergey Karjakin and Anish Giri respectively.
The leader of the tournament Veselin Topalov drew against Shakhriyar Mamdeyarov and keeps half a point distance from Fabiano Caruana, who won against Gata Kamsky and placed second. Ruslan Ponomariov moved from the second to the third place after his lose against Teimour Rajabov and shares the third place with Hikaru Nakamura and Sergey Karjakin. Alexander Morozevich lost the third game in a row despite he got a huge advantage against Hikaru Nakamura.
Anish Giri – Rustam Kasimdzhanov 1/2-1/2Another symmetrical English and once again Anish Giri’s enterprising play led to a dynamic position with lots of complex variations on the board. 11…Be6 was the new move on the board instead of 11..e6 and White decided to spice life up with 18.Ne5!? but Black missed 18…Qa6 and instead allowed the exchange sacrifice and subsequent attack by White.
Anish Giri – Rustam Kasimdzhanov 1/2-1/2Another symmetrical English and once again Anish Giri’s enterprising play led to a dynamic position with lots of complex variations on the board. 11…Be6 was the new move on the board instead of 11..e6 and White decided to spice life up with 18.Ne5!? but Black missed 18…Qa6 and instead allowed the exchange sacrifice and subsequent attack by White.
However White then pursued this attack a bit too aggressively and after 25.Rc1 Black simply took the rook off the board and after a forced continuation Black could have played the strong 31…Rd8 or not human move 32…e6 leaving White with some activity but without material. Black decided to go for the endgame with an exchange up but 36…e5 instead of Ra8 would have put more problems for White to decide. After 59 move the peace was signed.
Peter Leko – Sergey Karjakin 1/2-1/2The players transposed quite quickly to a main line of the Queen’s Indian defence. Leko was very well prepared and got a positional advantage shortly after the opening. His 13.Bf4 was the new move on the board but White is relatively safe and comfortable then. Sergey started to get into a bit of trouble in the early middle game and lost a few tempi with his minor pieces. 18…Ne4?! Allowed 19.cxd5! and White had a big advantage from that point on despite the initial complications.
Peter Leko – Sergey Karjakin 1/2-1/2The players transposed quite quickly to a main line of the Queen’s Indian defence. Leko was very well prepared and got a positional advantage shortly after the opening. His 13.Bf4 was the new move on the board but White is relatively safe and comfortable then. Sergey started to get into a bit of trouble in the early middle game and lost a few tempi with his minor pieces. 18…Ne4?! Allowed 19.cxd5! and White had a big advantage from that point on despite the initial complications.
But as is the norm with Karjakin you have to keep the pressure constantly and one slight slip with 29.Ra3 allowed Black to get some counter play. After 40 th move Ra7 Peter Leko pointed out it was hard to find any edge for White.
Gata Kamsky – Fabiano Caruana 0-1It’s always amazing how in such well played lines such as the Ruy Lopez, one can still get new moves early in the opening. Kamsky tried to catch Black out with the rare 9.Be3 instead of the main line 9.c3. This did not seem to pose too much problems for Fabiano and he equalised and kept the balance throughout the game.
Gata Kamsky – Fabiano Caruana 0-1It’s always amazing how in such well played lines such as the Ruy Lopez, one can still get new moves early in the opening. Kamsky tried to catch Black out with the rare 9.Be3 instead of the main line 9.c3. This did not seem to pose too much problems for Fabiano and he equalised and kept the balance throughout the game.
The players spent a great deal of time on the ensuing moves and after 25 moves white had 5 minutes left against Black’s 17 minutes. Black got a slight edge after 18. Ng4 but inaccurate 33. Qe3 allowed the Black’s queen to enter the first rank. The position of White’s king became dangerous. Fabiano Caruana played precisely and managed to win the game on the 40th move.
Veselin Topalov – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 1/2-1/2 Black was well prepared after the free day and Mamedyarov did not repeat his game against Karjakin earlier in the tournament. After 14.Nf5 the moves came fast this time and the first new move was by Black with 19…Qd7. The position was dynamically equal as the two knights in the center compensated for the space advantage that White had.
After the multiple exchange of rooks and minor pieces we had an endgame with Queen+Bishop versus Queen+Knight and White had to go for the perpetual due to the advancing h-pawn.
Hikaru Nakamura – Alexander Morozevich 1-0Both players wanted to win to move up in the tournament. A King’s Indian quickly transposed into a Benoni and 13.a4 did not seem to stop Morozevich’s exuberance as he went 13…b5 in gambit form anyway. Nakamura tried to refuse the pawn offer with 15.b4 but this allowed Black the immediate tactical initiative with 15…Ng4!
Hikaru Nakamura – Alexander Morozevich 1-0Both players wanted to win to move up in the tournament. A King’s Indian quickly transposed into a Benoni and 13.a4 did not seem to stop Morozevich’s exuberance as he went 13…b5 in gambit form anyway. Nakamura tried to refuse the pawn offer with 15.b4 but this allowed Black the immediate tactical initiative with 15…Ng4!
According to Nakamura, he didn’t like his position after 22…Na3. Black obtained a winning position and might have netted the full point if instead of 25…Ra6 he went 25…Bg7 immediately. The delay in this allowed Nakamura to consolidate and equalise. The game was unexpectedly decided after the blunder of Black 31… Re4.
Teimour Radjabov – Ruslan Ponomariov 1-0Teimour Radjabov managed to win his first game in the tournament. In an earlier round Leko remarked that one of Ponomariov’s favourite lines was the Queens Gambit Accepted and today he went for it. Radjabov seemed to get a very strong position and the position looked aesthetically very difficult for Black. 11..f5 was the new move on the board but after 12.a5!?
Teimour Radjabov – Ruslan Ponomariov 1-0Teimour Radjabov managed to win his first game in the tournament. In an earlier round Leko remarked that one of Ponomariov’s favourite lines was the Queens Gambit Accepted and today he went for it. Radjabov seemed to get a very strong position and the position looked aesthetically very difficult for Black. 11..f5 was the new move on the board but after 12.a5!?
White seemed to be doing fine. Till move 22 the players followed the computer suggested first or second moves and kept a very delicate equality but 22..c6 was the first weaker option by Black allowing White to increase his advantage. Both sides left themselves with very little time however by move 28 and started to play faster. As it happens in many games, Ponomariov made a mistake on the last 40th move of the first time control. This exchange was fatal for Black and after 10 moves he has to resign. 40…g5, 40…Ka2, 40…Kb3 would lead to a draw.
Monday, April 29th at 2 p.m. the tenth round will be played and the leader Veselin Topalov will play against Fabiano Caruana who is in the second place.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Monday, April 29th at 2 p.m. the tenth round will be played and the leader Veselin Topalov will play against Fabiano Caruana who is in the second place.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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28 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
FIDE has just published the list of participants for the Women’s Grand Prix Seris 2013-2014. GMs Anna Ushenina and Zhao Xue have agreed to switch one of their respective legs with each other.
A- Geneva 2013, B- Dilijan 2013, C- Tashkent 2013, D- Khanty Mansiysk 2013, E- Tbilisi 2013, F- Erdenet 2014
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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Hi everyone,
FIDE has just published the list of participants for the Women’s Grand Prix Seris 2013-2014. GMs Anna Ushenina and Zhao Xue have agreed to switch one of their respective legs with each other.
A- Geneva 2013, B- Dilijan 2013, C- Tashkent 2013, D- Khanty Mansiysk 2013, E- Tbilisi 2013, F- Erdenet 2014
| Name | Rtg | A | B | C | D | E | F | ||
| Hou, Yifan | CHN | 2617 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Koneru, Humpy | IND | 2597 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Muzychuk, Anna | SLO | 2585 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Zhao, Xue | CHN | 2565 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Dzagnidze, Nana | GEO | 2554 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Lagno, Kateryna | UKR | 2547 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Kosintseva, Nadezhda | RUS | 2531 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |||
| Stefanova, Antoaneta | BUL | 2530 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Cmilyte, Viktorija | LTU | 2514 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Harika, Dronavalli | IND | 2510 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Ju, Wenjun | CHN | 2505 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Khotenashvili, Bela | GEO | 2499 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Kosteniuk, Alexandra | RUS | 2495 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Ushenina, Anna | UKR | 2477 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Danielian, Elina | ARM | 2466 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ||
| Girya, Olga | RUS | 2440 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Muminova, Nafisa | UZB | 2312 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Batchimeg Tuvshintugs | MGL | 2295 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Kosintseva, Tatiana | RUS | 2517 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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28 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Hi everyone,
Whilst the weather in Switzerland is still relatively cold, things were heating up over the chess boards in Zug! After 8 rounds of play former world champion Veselin Topalov became the sole leader in the tournament. He defeated Russian player Alexander Morozevich, who lost the second game in a row after so good a start of the tournament. All other games finished in draws. Ruslan Ponomariov managed to defend the worse endgame against Hikaru Nakamura and is on the second place half a point behind of Topalov. Sunday is a free day and the ninth round is scheduled on 28th of April.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov – Teimour Radjabov ½ – ½ The two tail-enders seemed peacefully inclined before the next rest day and after Kasimdzhanov chose the Bf4 line against the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Radjabov did not wish to get involved in any of the long theoretical lines with and immediate c5 and opted instead for the Nbd7 line. White preferred the quieter 11.Be2 to the main line with 11.Be5 and the first “new” move cane with 20…Rac8 in a position which was already quite equal and the final result was never in doubt for either player. Clock Times 1:33 – 1:11
Ruslan Ponomariov – Hikaru Nakamura ½-½Nakamura returned to his favourite Najdorf variation in the Sicilian. Previously they had played a Najdorf but that time Ponomariov was Black ! Both players know the theory in this variation extremely well and Ruslan was the first to try and deviate from the main path with 12.Qd2 in lieu of the main lines 12.h3 or 12.Be2. First new move on the board came with 17.f4 but this seemed to allow black to take the initiative and after 20..a4! Black was controlling the game. During the press-conference American player pointed out that he could have tried to play 27…Qh5 instead of 27…d5 and this was a critical moment in the game. But even after the move in the game the position looked difficult for White but Ruslan defended very well.
Alexander Morozevich – Veselin Topalov 0-1
The most critical game today was obviously Morozevich – Topalov and it was clear that Morozevich had to make up for the lost ground of the previous day. The players went for a symmetrical English and White immediately sprung a novelty on the 9th move with c5 instead of the normal 9.Qe2. Topalov side stepped but Morozevich was determined to get a complicated position on the board and there were immeasurable of thrusts and parries in the game. Topalov never seemed in any great difficulties however and kept good control over the position. White was in time trouble when he could have tried to create more problems for Black by playing 41. Be5 or 52.c4.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Gata Kamsky ½ – ½ Kamsky got his favourite Chebanenko-Grunfeld setup with c6-a6-g6 and the players trotted out the theory relatively fast. Mamedyarov adopted a lesser played line with 10.b3 instead of the main line 10.c5 but Black was prepared and he chose 15…Qd5 instead of the previously played 15…Qd7 which also ended in a draw. During the press-conference it became obvious how good was the preparation of Azeri player. After the exchange of queens Shakhriyar got a slight edge but Gata seemed comfortable with the position and there was very little play and pieces were exchanged at a steady pace. The point was shared on move 42.
Fabiano Caruana – Peter Leko ½ – ½ Again we had another delayed Ruy Lopez in Zug. Maybe Peter wanted to go for the Marshall’s Gambit but hardly any players at this level allow it today since it offers too many drawing lines for Black. Fabiano continued his quiet approach in the opening with the rare 9.a3 whereas the main line is 9.c3. Black’s 12…Nd4 was the first new move on the board but according to Peter Leko he’s seen the similar idea before with h3 Be6 on the board. Fabiano could not prove he has any edge and It was enough to keep equality fro Black. White really had nothing much in the game with Houdini floating from a maximum of +0.22 to -0.23 throughout the game!
Sergey Karjakin – Anish Giri ½ – ½ Giri threw off the positional style with which he had been playing in the first part of the event and a wild position soon arose from a King’s Indian Saemisch variation. Anish preferred to play 12…Bd7 instead of the more commonly played 12..h5 and this surprised Sergey who replied with 13.h3?! rather than 13.Be2. The resulting fray saw a new idea with 16…Nh5 and it was already clear that bBlack was looking to sacrifice this knight as after 17.g4 he played the complicated 17…Qh4! However 17..Ng3 was also worth considering but Anish Giri had doubts during the press-conference. White seemed a bit unsettled by Black’s aggressive play and opted for 23.f5 when 23.e5 may have posed Giri some serious problems given the poor position of the black queen. After the game move, Black equalised immediately and the exposed position of the white king allowed Black to obtain a relatively straightforward perpetual check.
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Rustam Kasimdzhanov – Teimour Radjabov ½ – ½ The two tail-enders seemed peacefully inclined before the next rest day and after Kasimdzhanov chose the Bf4 line against the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Radjabov did not wish to get involved in any of the long theoretical lines with and immediate c5 and opted instead for the Nbd7 line. White preferred the quieter 11.Be2 to the main line with 11.Be5 and the first “new” move cane with 20…Rac8 in a position which was already quite equal and the final result was never in doubt for either player. Clock Times 1:33 – 1:11
Ruslan Ponomariov – Hikaru Nakamura ½-½Nakamura returned to his favourite Najdorf variation in the Sicilian. Previously they had played a Najdorf but that time Ponomariov was Black ! Both players know the theory in this variation extremely well and Ruslan was the first to try and deviate from the main path with 12.Qd2 in lieu of the main lines 12.h3 or 12.Be2. First new move on the board came with 17.f4 but this seemed to allow black to take the initiative and after 20..a4! Black was controlling the game. During the press-conference American player pointed out that he could have tried to play 27…Qh5 instead of 27…d5 and this was a critical moment in the game. But even after the move in the game the position looked difficult for White but Ruslan defended very well.
Alexander Morozevich – Veselin Topalov 0-1
The most critical game today was obviously Morozevich – Topalov and it was clear that Morozevich had to make up for the lost ground of the previous day. The players went for a symmetrical English and White immediately sprung a novelty on the 9th move with c5 instead of the normal 9.Qe2. Topalov side stepped but Morozevich was determined to get a complicated position on the board and there were immeasurable of thrusts and parries in the game. Topalov never seemed in any great difficulties however and kept good control over the position. White was in time trouble when he could have tried to create more problems for Black by playing 41. Be5 or 52.c4.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Gata Kamsky ½ – ½ Kamsky got his favourite Chebanenko-Grunfeld setup with c6-a6-g6 and the players trotted out the theory relatively fast. Mamedyarov adopted a lesser played line with 10.b3 instead of the main line 10.c5 but Black was prepared and he chose 15…Qd5 instead of the previously played 15…Qd7 which also ended in a draw. During the press-conference it became obvious how good was the preparation of Azeri player. After the exchange of queens Shakhriyar got a slight edge but Gata seemed comfortable with the position and there was very little play and pieces were exchanged at a steady pace. The point was shared on move 42.
Fabiano Caruana – Peter Leko ½ – ½ Again we had another delayed Ruy Lopez in Zug. Maybe Peter wanted to go for the Marshall’s Gambit but hardly any players at this level allow it today since it offers too many drawing lines for Black. Fabiano continued his quiet approach in the opening with the rare 9.a3 whereas the main line is 9.c3. Black’s 12…Nd4 was the first new move on the board but according to Peter Leko he’s seen the similar idea before with h3 Be6 on the board. Fabiano could not prove he has any edge and It was enough to keep equality fro Black. White really had nothing much in the game with Houdini floating from a maximum of +0.22 to -0.23 throughout the game!
Sergey Karjakin – Anish Giri ½ – ½ Giri threw off the positional style with which he had been playing in the first part of the event and a wild position soon arose from a King’s Indian Saemisch variation. Anish preferred to play 12…Bd7 instead of the more commonly played 12..h5 and this surprised Sergey who replied with 13.h3?! rather than 13.Be2. The resulting fray saw a new idea with 16…Nh5 and it was already clear that bBlack was looking to sacrifice this knight as after 17.g4 he played the complicated 17…Qh4! However 17..Ng3 was also worth considering but Anish Giri had doubts during the press-conference. White seemed a bit unsettled by Black’s aggressive play and opted for 23.f5 when 23.e5 may have posed Giri some serious problems given the poor position of the black queen. After the game move, Black equalised immediately and the exposed position of the white king allowed Black to obtain a relatively straightforward perpetual check.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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28 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Grandmaster Boban Bogosavljevic became the new Serbian Champion after the convincing victory at the event held in Vrnjacka Banja on 15-27th April. Bogosavljevic, who celebrated 25th birthday during the final rounds, conceded only four draws to complete the Championship with 10/12 points, leaving the second placed IM Aleksandar Indjic full two points behind. Bogosavljevic earned 38 elo points.
The 17-years old Aleksandar Indjic also has a reason to celebrate as he scored his third GM norm and completed all title requirements in only seven months. Indjic thus became the youngest Serbian Grandmaster ever, according to a Chessdom report.
Boban Bogosavljevic
Final standings:
1. GM Bogosavljevic Boban 2512 – 10
2. IM Indjic Aleksandar 2519 – 8
3. GM Damljanovic Branko 2536 – 7.5
4-5. GM Popovic Dusan 2558 and GM Kovacevic Aleksandar 2571 – 6.5
6-8. GM Brenjo Slavisa 2516, GM Sedlak Nikola 2577 and GM Miladinovic Igor 2569 – 6
9. GM Savic Miodrag R 2539 – 5
10. IM Perunovic Miodrag 2434 – 4.5
11-12. GM Tosic Miroslav 2412, IM Cvetkovic Srdjan 2389 and Ratkovic Milovan 2296 – 4
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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28 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
12th Women’s World Chess Champion and Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk comments her chess blitz game against 13th Women’s World Chess Champion Hou Yifan at the 2012 Sport Accord World Mind Games in Beijing. The game is a sharp Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation. GM Kosteniuk is better prepared, attacks the black king, sacrifices two pieces and forces black to resign already on the 26th move. The game is presented with the chess software Chess King. Also check out Chess Queen Kosteniuk’s blog.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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Hi everyone,
12th Women’s World Chess Champion and Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk comments her chess blitz game against 13th Women’s World Chess Champion Hou Yifan at the 2012 Sport Accord World Mind Games in Beijing. The game is a sharp Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation. GM Kosteniuk is better prepared, attacks the black king, sacrifices two pieces and forces black to resign already on the 26th move. The game is presented with the chess software Chess King. Also check out Chess Queen Kosteniuk’s blog.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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27 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Hi everyone,
A simple chess trivia question this weekend: Name these photogenic chess players.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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Also see her personal blog at
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27 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Round 5 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April 25. The French part of the tournament is thus over. Participants moved to Saint-Petersburg on April 26. Three games out of five were effective in Round 5. World Champion Viswanathan Anand scored his first point with white against Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren. This victory allowed Anand to finish this part of the tournament with 50% points.
A true sensation happened in a game between Kramnik and Fressinet. The French Grandmaster, who is a rating outsider of the tournament, totally defeated former World Chess Champion who was playing white.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the author of the third victory, who successfully outplayed Peter Svidler who had white pieces. This part of the tournament, which was played in France, brought a French leader to the joy of spectators who made the playing hall totally overcrowded every round.
The second part of the tournament will show whether Vachier-Lagrave is capable to remain on the top position up to the end. However, experts acknowledge a big amount of effective games (11 out of 25) and a huge interested for the tournament showed by chess fans. The official tournament site, where users can watch games that are commented in three languages, was visited by more than 200 000 users.
Paris part of Alekhine Memorial was a wonderful event and everyone is now looking forward to see Saint-Petersburg part. The winner of Alekhine Memorial will be announced on the 1st of May.
Standings
Paris part of Alekhine Memorial was a wonderful event and everyone is now looking forward to see Saint-Petersburg part. The winner of Alekhine Memorial will be announced on the 1st of May.
Standings
1. Vachier-Lagrave – 3,5 points;
2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, Gelfand – 3 points;
6. Anand – 2,5 points;
7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, Ding Liren – 2 points;
10. Svidler – 1 point.
Round 5 results: Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave 0-1, Kramnik – Fressinet 0-1, Anand – Ding Liren 1-0, Gelfand – Aronian, Adams – Vitiugov both drawn.
Round 6 pairings: Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Aronian – Adams, Fressinet – Vitiugov, Kramnik – Anand, Ding Liren – Svidler.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
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27 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Hi everyone,
Chess has been included this year in the VIII Bangladesh Games that run from April 20-28. The Bangladesh Games – usually held every four years – include 31 disciplines. This time the Games are being held after a gap of 11 years with support from the Bangladesh Olympic Association. Chess has been included for the first time.
There are three chess events in the Games: Classical Chess Mixed Team, Men Individual Rapid and Women Individual Rapid.
Men Individual Rapid and Women Individual Rapid were held on 21st and 22nd April. Both events were held in nine round Swiss-League system. A totoal of 94 players including five Grandmasters and two International Masters from around 60 divisions, districts, forces, universities and other government organisations of the country participated in the Men’s Rapid Individual Rapid Chess.
GM Enamul Hossain of Bangladesh won the event with GM Ziaur Rahman and FM Kh. Aminul Islam being second and third. In the Women’s Rapid Individual 50 players including two WIMs took part. WIM Shamima Akter Liza won the event followed by WIM Rani Hamid of Titas Gas T. & D. Co Ltd. and Shamiha Sharmin Shimmi. More details about upcoming chess events at the Bangladesh Games are available at the Fide website.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
There are three chess events in the Games: Classical Chess Mixed Team, Men Individual Rapid and Women Individual Rapid.
Men Individual Rapid and Women Individual Rapid were held on 21st and 22nd April. Both events were held in nine round Swiss-League system. A totoal of 94 players including five Grandmasters and two International Masters from around 60 divisions, districts, forces, universities and other government organisations of the country participated in the Men’s Rapid Individual Rapid Chess.
GM Enamul Hossain of Bangladesh won the event with GM Ziaur Rahman and FM Kh. Aminul Islam being second and third. In the Women’s Rapid Individual 50 players including two WIMs took part. WIM Shamima Akter Liza won the event followed by WIM Rani Hamid of Titas Gas T. & D. Co Ltd. and Shamiha Sharmin Shimmi. More details about upcoming chess events at the Bangladesh Games are available at the Fide website.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
27 April 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone, 
Kamsky – Morozevich 1-0 Gata Kamsky got the position with a small space advantage out of the opening but was not sure how to fight for more, as he estimated the position as equal. The help suddenly came from his opponent, who chose the wrong plan with 19…Nf6 – 20…Nh5. During the press-conference Alexander Morozevich pointed out that the game was completely lost for Black after Nf6. American player could have got advantage after an accurate 22.Bh4 but played Rae1 instead, allowing Black to protect h4 square by playing Qd8. However, Black continued making mistakes and Gata Kamsky, despite the fact he was in time trouble, found the exact way to win.
Leko-Mamedyarov 1/2-1/2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov chose to play quite rare line in Ruy Lopez with 4…Nge7. Peter Leko was expecting Caro-Kann. He mentioned during the press-conference that his preparation started relatively late because he could not miss the football match Real-Borussia. Hungarian player tried to find the way to get an edge with White but it seems Shakhriyar had better preparation and was following his analyzes at least till the 15th move. Azeri player managed to equalize and after the nice blow Rf2 it was White who had to find the exact moves to make a draw.
Hi everyone,
At the seventh round of the third stage Grand Prix in Zug only one game was decisive while all others finished in draws. Gata Kamsky defeated one of the leaders Alexander Morozevich. The central game of the round between two other leaders Veselin Topalov (White) and Ruslan Ponomariov (Black) finished peacefully after long and precise defence of White in a worse endgame. After 7 rounds Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov share the first place with 4, 5 points. Two Russian players Alexander Morozevich, Sergey Karjakin and Italian Fabiano Caruana are half a point behind.
Kamsky – Morozevich 1-0 Gata Kamsky got the position with a small space advantage out of the opening but was not sure how to fight for more, as he estimated the position as equal. The help suddenly came from his opponent, who chose the wrong plan with 19…Nf6 – 20…Nh5. During the press-conference Alexander Morozevich pointed out that the game was completely lost for Black after Nf6. American player could have got advantage after an accurate 22.Bh4 but played Rae1 instead, allowing Black to protect h4 square by playing Qd8. However, Black continued making mistakes and Gata Kamsky, despite the fact he was in time trouble, found the exact way to win.
Leko-Mamedyarov 1/2-1/2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov chose to play quite rare line in Ruy Lopez with 4…Nge7. Peter Leko was expecting Caro-Kann. He mentioned during the press-conference that his preparation started relatively late because he could not miss the football match Real-Borussia. Hungarian player tried to find the way to get an edge with White but it seems Shakhriyar had better preparation and was following his analyzes at least till the 15th move. Azeri player managed to equalize and after the nice blow Rf2 it was White who had to find the exact moves to make a draw.
Giri – Caruana 1/2-1/2 Gruenfeld appeared in the game Giri-Caruana and Dutch player spent only 5 minutes for 30 moves! The players ended up in the sharp endgame and suddenly Anish Giri spent next 70 minutes on his 31st move. According to Giri, he was trying to find the disadvantages of the opponent’s move h6 and thought he had winning chances at the beginning, Afterwards he realized that there is no victory and it’s time to look for the exact way to make a draw. Black sacrificed a rook for two pass pawns and after 42 moves the opponents signed a peace.
Topalov – Ponomariov 1/2-1/2 The longest game of the round was finished in a draw, so both players lost the chance to become the sole leader. In Nimzo-Indian Ruslan Ponomariov got better pawn structure after c4. Black increased his edge by choosing the correct plan with Nc7, a6, Nb5. Veselin Topalov decided to change the queens to fight for a draw in a worse endgame. Ponomariov managed to grab a pawn in the knights’ endgame but it was not enough to win a full point.
Karjakin – Kasimdzhanov 1/2-1/2 Rustam Kasimdzhanov was ready for the Scotch as Karjakin had already played this opening few rounds earlier. Sergey chose to play quiet opening after yesterday’s game against Caruana. Former World Champion repeated the line from his game against Wang Hao (which he won in Tashkent) and was ready for the endgame which happened today. 28…Bc8 was a strong move which doesn’t leave illusions for White and few moves later the game finished in a draw.
Nakamura – Radjabov 1/2-1/2 Teimur Radjabov got a comfortable position against Hikaru Nakamura in Chelyabinsk Variation. American player was hoping to get some play on the King’s side but didn’t manage to do it during the game. Both players played very solidly and after 54 moves only opposite color bishops were left on the board and the game was drawn.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
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Topalov – Ponomariov 1/2-1/2 The longest game of the round was finished in a draw, so both players lost the chance to become the sole leader. In Nimzo-Indian Ruslan Ponomariov got better pawn structure after c4. Black increased his edge by choosing the correct plan with Nc7, a6, Nb5. Veselin Topalov decided to change the queens to fight for a draw in a worse endgame. Ponomariov managed to grab a pawn in the knights’ endgame but it was not enough to win a full point.
Karjakin – Kasimdzhanov 1/2-1/2 Rustam Kasimdzhanov was ready for the Scotch as Karjakin had already played this opening few rounds earlier. Sergey chose to play quiet opening after yesterday’s game against Caruana. Former World Champion repeated the line from his game against Wang Hao (which he won in Tashkent) and was ready for the endgame which happened today. 28…Bc8 was a strong move which doesn’t leave illusions for White and few moves later the game finished in a draw.
Nakamura – Radjabov 1/2-1/2 Teimur Radjabov got a comfortable position against Hikaru Nakamura in Chelyabinsk Variation. American player was hoping to get some play on the King’s side but didn’t manage to do it during the game. Both players played very solidly and after 54 moves only opposite color bishops were left on the board and the game was drawn.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don’t miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel
