Chess

Silvio Danailov with strong reaction about the Candidates tournament 2012

In an interview for the Russian Sport Express, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced unofficially that the Candidates Tournament 2012, scheduled to take part later this year, will be held in London. Sponsor of the tournament in London will be Azerbaijan, which gives them also the right to include one invited player as organizers.

The mixture of Azerbaijan and London, in combination with the recently singed agreement with Agon, has sparked discussion in the chess world. FIDE has managed to secure good financial conditions during a period of financial crisis, but still some voices are being raised. One of the most active critics of the idea of Candidates tournament 2012 in London is the ECU President Silvio Danailov. In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio and local media, Danailov said:

“I will not allow such a mockery. Bulgaria and Azerbaijan have made their bid on time, while London does not have such. As a member of the FIDE Presidential board no one has informed me about any contracts. Ilyumzhinov can talk what he wants. When I see on paper the contract with Agon, with lawyers we will go to the CAS Sports Court in Lausanne. The Bulgarian Chess Federation worked long on this bid, we have talked to sponsors, ministers, and even the Prime Minister.”

Despite the clear division between sponsorship and media rights of Agon and CNC, Danailov also wonders, “In 2010 FIDE already signed such a contract with a Russian businessman and his company CNC. How come now we have yet another contract, if the one with the Russians is not terminated?”

Danailov later clarifies that he has seen the proposal for contract with Agon in December, but that the offshore company Agon was created in January. This in itself confirms that probably Agon was created especially for serving the chess related tasks.

FIDE plays correctly the moves

CAS/TAS in Lausanne has become a heated venue for chess disputes in the past years and threats by Danailov with court case have been central in the interview for the National Radio. However, FIDE seems to have correctly played the situation. First, the announcement about the Candidates tournament in London is still unofficial and not published as press release on the FIDE website. Second, the London and Azerbaijan bids are obviously the same application, as per explained by the FIDE President. And most important, according to Bidding Procedure for Candidates Tournament 2012 (published here) “FIDE also reserves the right not to award any bid at all, however favourable it might be”.

Azerbaijan and London

It is now confirmed that the money (or part of it) for the London Candidates tournament comes from Azerbaijan. The country, however, holds even higher ambition and soon they will submit a bid for the World Chess Championship 2013. It will be a match between the winner of the World Chess Championship 2012 and the winner of the Candidates tournament 2012 in London.

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Source: Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information

Can you name this female player?

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Source: Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information

3rd Pfalz Open in Germany

The 3rd Pfalz Open took place from 17th to 21st February 2012 at the Berufsbildende Schule, Robert-Stolz-Strasse 30 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany.

The Open consisted of two events: A-tournament for players rated over 1800 and B-tournament for players rated up to 1900.

Five players shared the first place in the Open A but GM Andrey Sumets from Ukraine took the trophy on superior tie-break.

The organizers have secured the prize fund in amount of 10.000 EUR
A-Tournament: 1.500,-; 1.000,-; 500,-; 400,-; 250,-
B-Tournament: 300,-; 200,-; 150,-; 100,-; 50,-

In addition, there were special prizes for Seniors and various elo groups: to 1450, to 1600 to 2000, to 2200 to 2400.

Open A final standings (154 players):

1-5. GM Sumets Andrey 2569 UKR, IM Gschnitzer Oswald 2466 GER, IM Heimann Andreas 2459 GER, GM Malakhatko Vadim 2524 BEL and GM Korneev Oleg 2584 RUS – 7.0

6-11. GM Dgebuadze Alexand 2551 BEL, GM Borovikov Vladisl 2586 UKR, IM Stark Lars 2426 GER, IM Zozulia Anna 2357 BEL, IM Solomunovic Igor 2421 GER and Svane Rasmus 2358 GER – 6.5 etc

Full list on the official website

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Source: Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information

Anatoly Karpov vs Wolfgang Unzicker: The Ruy Lopez, Chigorin Defense, 1974 Nice
Posted on February 22, 2012 by William in All Articles w/ Videos, Classic Games (Pre 2010), Strategy & Game Review
Karpov puts on an absolute clinic in this game, demonstrating the power of prophylaxis and deep positional maneuvering in the Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Game). Unzicker opts for the Chigorin Defense, although with the awkward knight retreat 13. …Nd8?! black’s pieces become very difficult to coordinate. Karpov methodically fixes the queenside with 14. a4 and 16. b4! –

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Source: Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information

In an interview for the Russian Sport Express, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced unofficially that the Candidates Tournament 2012, scheduled to take part later this year, will be held in London. Sponsor of the tournament in London will be Azerbaijan, which gives them also the right to include one invited player as organizers.

The mixture of Azerbaijan and London, in combination with the recently singed agreement with Agon, has sparked discussion in the chess world. FIDE has managed to secure good financial conditions during a period of financial crisis, but still some voices are being raised. One of the most active critics of the idea of Candidates tournament 2012 in London is the ECU President Silvio Danailov. In an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio and local media, Danailov said:

“I will not allow such a mockery. Bulgaria and Azerbaijan have made their bid on time, while London does not have such. As a member of the FIDE Presidential board no one has informed me about any contracts. Ilyumzhinov can talk what he wants. When I see on paper the contract with Agon, with lawyers we will go to the CAS Sports Court in Lausanne. The Bulgarian Chess Federation worked long on this bid, we have talked to sponsors, ministers, and even the Prime Minister.”

Despite the clear division between sponsorship and media rights of Agon and CNC, Danailov also wonders, “In 2010 FIDE already signed such a contract with a Russian businessman and his company CNC. How come now we have yet another contract, if the one with the Russians is not terminated?”

Danailov later clarifies that he has seen the proposal for contract with Agon in December, but that the offshore company Agon was created in January. This in itself confirms that probably Agon was created especially for serving the chess related tasks.

FIDE plays correctly the moves
CAS/TAS in Lausanne has become a heated venue for chess disputes in the past years and threats by Danailov with court case have been central in the interview for the National Radio. However, FIDE seems to have correctly played the situation. First, the announcement about the Candidates tournament in London is still unofficial and not published as press release on the FIDE website. Second, the London and Azerbaijan bids are obviously the same application, as per explained by the FIDE President. And most important, according to Bidding Procedure for Candidates Tournament 2012 (published here) “FIDE also reserves the right not to award any bid at all, however favourable it might be”.

Azerbaijan and London
It is now confirmed that the money (or part of it) for the London Candidates tournament comes from Azerbaijan. The country, however, holds even higher ambition and soon they will submit a bid for the World Chess Championship 2013. It will be a match between the winner of the World Chess Championship 2012 and the winner of the Candidates tournament 2012 in London.

Chessdom

Last Thursday 16 February, FIDE completed the negotiations with CNC and AGON and proceeded to sign respective agreements with both companies. The agreement with Agon and CNC states that Agon will take care of the sponsorship and financial part of the tournaments, while CNC retains the media rights:

CNC keeps mainly the media, web and software rights of events included in the World Championship Cycle such as the FIDE Grand-Prix, the Candidates Tournament and the World Championship Match.
FIDE and CNC also agreed in co-operating to create chess projects based on the web and the organising of mass chess events.
AGON at the same time undertakes to organise the above events of the FIDE World Championship Cycle and secure the necessary sponsorship funds. The total obligations which AGON accepted are worth over 9 million euros and has provided FIDE with a series of financial guarantees.
In the following ten days FIDE and AGON will announce their proposal for a calendar which will include the schedule of the World Chess Championship events and the Chess Olympiad for the next 4 years.

In an interview for Sport Express the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov revealed more details about the agreement. He expects for the next cycle FIDE to receive 10-12 million eur, retaining the 20% share of the prize fund and a percentage of the profits Agon is going to make in the next months.
Ilyumzhinov announced that in the deal is also the return of the Grand Prix tournaments, with Chelyabinsk Grand Prix and Tashkent Grand Prix to be held in the second part of 2012.

Chessdom

What Does It Feel Like To Play Grandmaster Level Chess?
2/22/2012 @ 9:54AM
John Fernandez, 2156 FIDE

It’s really hard. Grandmasters are very good. I’m only going to speak to my “classical” tournament games (6 hour time control) games versus Grandmasters. I’ve been fortunate enough to have many of these games, including 3 draws with Grandmasters in classical tournament games (GM Roland Schmaltz, US Open Framingham 2001; GM Yona Kosashvili, Curacao 2002; GM Ildar Ibragimov, Parsippany 2004).

• Remember that GMs are (almost) impossible to prepare for. They’ve all played hundreds of openings. Just find what they are most likely to play and make sure you have something in mind for each. Remember that GMs don’t generally like to play their “best stuff” versus lower-rated players. You’ll get something a little weird in all probability.
• Know your openings cold. I cannot stress this enough.The three games I drew were in lines I knew very very well (Sicilian Boleslavskij, Closed Ruy Lopez and Leningrad Dutch). This meant that I was in a situation where I understood the plans, didn’t take up oodles of time in the opening, and gave myself the best position possible. Games I lost (most especially GM Gildardo Garcia, New York Open 2000; GM Alonso Zapata, Curacao 2002; GM Giorgi Kacheishvili, Foxwoods 2004), were games I didn’t know the openings as well. The last thing you want to do is find yourself where you are in a) a worse position b) with less time c) against a better player. You’re toast in those situations.
• Trust yourself. If you can’t figure out the flaw in a line, go for it. Don’t ever start second-guessing yourself or seeing ghosts. Remember, you have to play chess the best way you know how. The last thing you want to do is change your openings/thought process/habits for a game against a strong player.
• Relax. They’re a GM, they’re supposed to beat you! Feel free to fire uppercuts and play the most important openings to your repertoire. If you have an opportunity to put pressure on your opponent, do it! This is a great learning opportunity for you, don’t waste it.
• Don’t get freaked out by the spectators. This is one thing that happens in games you play versus GMs that doesn’t happen in your “normal” games. Everyone in the tournament is going to glance, or even worse, spend time looking at your game. When I played Kosashvili in the first round of Curacao 2002, at one point, I had GMs Kortchnoi, Timman, Zapata, Macieja, Benko and Averbakh staring at my game all talking to each other (this was after we repeated moves once). That can really mess with your head. (Fun aside, after drawing Kosashvili, who was one of the favorites and eventually tied for first, tons of people came up to congratulate me. Kortchnoi came over, said “You made a draw?”, and at my head nod, he thought, and said “But you are White, what is achievement?” Life is tough at those levels.)
• Be professional. No clock banging, no over-adjusting of pieces, no draw offers, etc. Learn something. Sit at the board the entire time. Focus. You can talk to friends later. Remember Ivanchuk’s famous quote “How does it feel to play?”, just enjoy it.

As far as the rest of your questions, sometimes I’d calculate some lines very deeply. Other times, I generally went on intuition. I usually felt “more” focused during GM games, but not significantly more. I honestly didn’t do anything different. It was just chess, versus someone who is VERY good at it.

By the way, I approach simul games the same way, and have been very successful in Simuls (draws vs. Anand and Bareev most notably). Just use it as an opportunity to play your best chess and see how you match up. If you’re any good, you might nick a half point (or even more!) and be a hero. If not, you had a fun battle.

Source: http://www.forbes.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Source: Susan Polgar Chess Daily News and Information

St. Louis, February 22, 2012 – The fields are set for both the 2012 U.S. Championship and 2012 U.S. Women’s Championship, scheduled to be held simultaneously May 7 through May 20 in St. Louis.

Grandmaster Gata Kamsky and International Master Anna Zatonskih each look to defend their respective titles against strong and determined fields.

For the fourth consecutive year, these prestigious events will be held at Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

The 2012 U.S. Championship will feature an elite field of 12 grandmasters and a guaranteed prize fund of more than $160,000. With an average USCF rating of 2714 according to the USCF’s January rating supplement, this marks the strongest field in the history of the event.

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL)

After sitting out of the 2011 U.S Championship, GM Hikaru Nakamura, ranked No. 6 in the world, has accepted an invitation to participate this year. Nakamura, 24, is seeking his third U.S. Championship title.

GM Yasser Seirawan, who came out of retirement to play in last year’s U.S. Championship, has accepted the final invitation for the U.S. Championship. Seirawan had a stellar performance at the 2011 World Team Championship in Ningbo, China, where he defeated three top-30 players on his way to a silver medal performance.

The field for the 2012 U.S. Championship is as follows:

* GM Hikaru Namamura (2848)
* GM Gata Kamsky (2804)
* GM Alexander Onischuk (2736)
* GM Yasser Seirawan (2723)
* GM Robert Hess (2717)
* GM Varuzhan Akobian (2709)
* GM Alexander Stripunsky (2700)
* GM Ray Robson (2674)
* GM Alejandro Ramirez (2668)
* GM Yury Shulman (2666)
* GM Aleksandr Lenderman (2665)
* GM Gregory Kaidanov (2658)

Gata Kamsky

The CCSCSL also will sponsor the “$64K Fischer Bonus,” to be awarded to anyone that scores a perfect 11-0 in the U.S. Championship, in honor of Bobby Fischer’s 11-0 result at the 1963-64 U.S. Championship.

Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Camilla Baginskaite, the 2000 U.S. Women’s Champion, and 17-year-old Alena Kats, who was the youngest female to become a master in 2010 at age 15, have accepted the final two invitations for the Women’s event. The 2012 U.S. Women’s Championship will feature a guaranteed prize fund of $64,000 and 10 players, including:

* IM Anna Zatonskih (2563)
* IM Irina Krush (2500)
* WGM Camilla Baginskaite (2419)
* WGM Sabina Foisor (2413)
* WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (2350)
* WIM Viktorija Ni (2349)
* IM Rusudan Goletiani (2337)
* FM Alisa Melekhina (2321)
* WIM Iryna Zenyuk (2298)
* NM Alena Kats (2233)

Anna Zatonskih

Irina Krush

Tickets for the opening ceremony, which will take place on May 7, and the closing ceremony, scheduled for May 20, will be available soon. Round one for each event begins on May 8.

The U.S. Championship and the U.S. Women’s Championship will both be classic round-robin tournaments, in which each participant will play every other participant exactly once.

For more information, visit www.uschesschamps.com

Chessdom

PRESS RELEASE: Fields set for 2012 U.S. Championship and U.S. Women’s Championship

ST. LOUIS, February 22, 2012 — The fields are set for both the 2012 U.S. Championship and 2012 U.S. Women’s Championship, scheduled to be held simultaneou…

Source: Chess.com – Play. Learn. Share.

The 3rd Pfalz Open took place from 17th to 21st February 2012 at the Berufsbildende Schule, Robert-Stolz-Strasse 30 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany.

The Open consisted of two events: A-tournament for players rated over 1800 and B-tournament for players rated up to 1900.

Five players shared the first place in the Open A but GM Andrey Sumets from Ukraine took the trophy on superior tie-break.

The organizers have secured the prize fund in amount of 10.000 EUR
A-Tournament: 1.500,-; 1.000,-; 500,-; 400,-; 250,-
B-Tournament: 300,-; 200,-; 150,-; 100,-; 50,-

In addition, there were special prizes for Seniors and various elo groups: to 1450, to 1600 to 2000, to 2200 to 2400.

Open A final standings (154 players):
1-5. GM Sumets Andrey 2569 UKR, IM Gschnitzer Oswald 2466 GER, IM Heimann Andreas 2459 GER, GM Malakhatko Vadim 2524 BEL and GM Korneev Oleg 2584 RUS – 7.0
6-11. GM Dgebuadze Alexand 2551 BEL, GM Borovikov Vladisl 2586 UKR, IM Stark Lars 2426 GER, IM Zozulia Anna 2357 BEL, IM Solomunovic Igor 2421 GER and Svane Rasmus 2358 GER – 6.5 etc

Full list on the official website

Chessdom