Chess

Just saw this crazy video. I never knew that squids can be this powerful. Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

July 5-6-7, 2013. The Greater Midwest Classic and The Billy Colias Memorial Invitational. $21,000 Unconditionally Guaranteed! Prizes: Billy Colias Memorial Invitational Sections A, B, C (FIDE rated): $500-300-200 per section. Classic Sections: U2200 (FIDE rated): Overall - $1500-1200-1000-700; 1951-2100 - $400-200-100; 1800-1950 - $400-200-100; Biggest Upset - $200; U1800: Overall - $1500-1200-1000-700; Top 1551-1700 - $400-200-100; Top 1400-1550 - $400-200-100; Biggest Upset - $200; U1400: Overall - $1500-1200-1000-700; 1151-1300 - $400-200-100; 1150 and below - $400-200-100; Biggest Upset - $200; Billy Colias Memorial Invitational Sections: 5R-RR Game-90 + 30/sec: Fri 5:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am and 3:30pm. Classic Sections: 6R-SS Game-90 + 30/sec: Fri: 12pm and 5:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am & 3:30pm each day. On-site reg: 9:30-11:30am Fri or 8:30-9:30am Sat. Limit 2 byes. Last rd. bye must commit prior to start of Rd 3. Side Events: Grandmaster Simul (9am Fri), Blitz (8:30pm Sat). FREE raffle prizes before round 6 with free entry, free room and free airfare to 2014 tournament. Site: Hyatt Regency O’Hare 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave Rosemont, IL 60018. HR: $99/night – call 847-696-1234 and ask for CHESS rate. Reserve by June 1. Discounted parking – only $5. 10 minute walk from CTA Blue Line. FREE hotel shuttle from/to O’Hare airport. Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, less than one mile away. Entries: If postmarked or online by 06/01 $89; $109 online or postmarked by 06/15; $129 thereafter. Re-entry $50. $25 to play up 1 section only; Credit Cards onsite OK. No checks onsite. Mail entries to: North American Chess Association (payable to) 4957 Oakton Street Suite 113 Skokie, IL 60077. Register online at http://www.nachess.org/classic. Other info: Boards, sets, and clocks provided. None for skittles. Must use organizer provided equipment. Chess store onsite. July rating supplement used. Questions: sevan@nachess.org or 847-423-8626.Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Rules and Conditions for the 10th Annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girls' Invitational (SPGI) July 20 – 25, 2013 at Webster University (St. Louis, Missouri) THIS WILL BE THE STRONGEST AND BIGGEST SPGI EVER! More than 50 players have already registered with many more states to submit names shortly.- Approximately $200,000 in chess scholarships, chess prizes, and iPad mini, etc. (Full tuition and fees scholarship to the top finisher! *)- Webster University will provide complimentary room and meal accommodation on campus for qualifiers! The annual Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational, the most prestigious all-girls event in the United States, will be held at Webster University (St. Louis, Missouri). • There will be an intense training session with Susan Polgar, followed by a 6 round (g/90+30) FIDE rated championship tournament. • The traditional Blitz, Puzzle Solving, Bughouse events will stay the same as in previous years. • There will be many chess prizes awarded, including iPad mini, and scholarships to Webster University. Each state is allowed one representative to be nominated by June 1, 2013. Official representative alternates may be substituted no later than June 15. (Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may allow the host state to enter an additional qualified player.) Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may allow exceptions to the June 1 entry/alternate deadline. Should the state affiliate fail to respond to the notice for this tournament, Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may determine the candidate from that state. Players must have been enrolled in a school (up to 12th grade) located in the state they represent, also of the year in which the tournament is held. Home-schooled students who are under the age of 19 on July 25th of the year in which the event is held or students who have never attended college on a full time basis prior to June 1 of the year in which the tournament is held, are eligible to represent the state in which they reside. Exception: If a player graduates from high school early and is already attending college, she may still represent her state if nominated. This is the decision of each state affiliate. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The participants of the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational DO NOT have to be high school students. Any qualifier under the age of 19 (by July 25th of the year in which the tournament is held) is eligible!Special invitation for this year only: All past participants of the SPNI and SPGI (Susan Polgar National Invitational/Susan Polgar Foundation Girls’ Invitational 2004-2012) are invited to participate in the 2013 SPGI. The idea is to have the past participants learn my method of training so they can go back home and share their knowledge with the younger players. However, registration MUST be made ASAP since space is limited. There will be mutual training sessions for all, however separate section & prizes for alumni participants over the age of 19. Players are required to furnish the organizer an emergency phone number and the e-mail address of a parent/guardian. There is no entry fee to participate in the 2013 SPGI; however, players are responsible for their own travel. For all state representatives, and qualifiers from the SPNO or SPWO, Webster University will provide complimentary room and meal accommodation on campus. For alumni participants, wild card/special invites, coaches, parents, or other family members, inexpensive accommodations are available for housing and dining on Webster’s campus. Please note that all reservations and registrations MUST be made (and accommodation expenses prepaid) no later than June 25, 2013. Prizes: Trophies / plaques will be awarded to the winners of the Susan Polgar Foundation Girl’s Invitational Puzzle Solving, Blitz, and the SPGI Championship. Co-champions are

Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) believes the only way to build a successful chess nation is to focus on giving players at grassroots level more exposure and making substructures across the country operational.This is according to the newly elected BCF president Tshenolo Maruatona.In his acceptance speech over the weekend, Maruatona said the federation has done exceptionally well in the senior categories.“Clearly, there is a lot of groundwork that needs to be done at lower levels,” said the newly elected president.With the blessing of his new committee, Maruatona’s commitment is to introduce chess at primary school level across the country.He said his federation has to start on and implement the first phase of this grassroots project before the end of July. The federation needs to capacitate trainers, he said.“Greatest chess players started playing the game at an earlier age and they were put through coordinated programs that saw them to stardom,” he said.For grassroots development to be successful, Maruatona said it is based on the existence of functional structures that work towards a common goal.As provided in their new executive committee, he said they will without failure put in place all the substructures and monitor their performance through continuous engagement.He said the absence of substructures frustrate execution of programs on the ground as the current situation.“Currently our chess teams are disjointed and some of them are not registered.Our league committee is not in place hence the reason we do not have any local chess league,” said Maruatona.It is therefore the new executive committee’s commitment to functionalize structures and capacitate all the members in pursuit of a coherent operational chess body that serves all various functions in the game.Source: http://www.thevoicebw.com Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

Three rounds have been already played at the Sigeman Chess Tournament 2013. The field is very strong and evenly matched, so the score of the three players that are sharing the lead is only +1.Participants / Live games with analysisRichard Rapport is among the leaders thanks to his second round victory over experienced GM Nigel Short. The young Hungarian played with white and delivered mate after 52 moves. The Englishman used his usual creative play but was not able to get an advantage as he wished. The position seemed quite balanced when, right after the time control, Short started to blunder in a queens and rooks endgame. Rapport profited from these mistakes and got his first full point of the event.In the third round, Rapport faced another member of the leading pack, Ivan Sokolov. The game was a Benoni proposed by the Hungarian, which finished in a rather short 25 moves draw.Ivan Sokolov gained his edge in the tournament after beating Emanuel Berg with white in the first day of competition. Sokolov used a correct position style to outplay his opponent in a King’s Indian Defense. He gained an advantage very early in the game, but had to work hard to convert it into a win. Berg only signed his defeat after 62 moves.Sokolov already played against the other two leaders, drawing against both. He will have a chance to grab sole lead in the fourth round, as he will have the white pieces against Hans Tikkanen, who lost his last game with white.Dutch GM Loek Van Wely was the last one to join the leading pack. His victory with black over Hans Tikkanen in today’s third round puts him in the fight for first place. The players battled in a Reti Opening where Van Wely went for the initiative from the beginning, leaving his king uncastled. The tactical phase of the game was handled precisely by the Dutch who forced his opponent to resign right after the time control.Van Wely comes from playing successfully in Oceania where he grabbed clear first place in Sidney and shared second place in Canberra. His good performances might allow him to go back to the 2700+ Elo club. If he manages to do so, we will see him once again at the main world events.Standings after 3 rounds:1 Rapport, Richard HUN 2674 22 Sokolov, Ivan NED 2642 23 Van Wely, Loek NED 2689 24 Short, Nigel D ENG 2681 1½5 Berg, Emanuel SWE 2561 1½6 Grandelius, Nils SWE 2556 1½7 Tikkanen, Hans SWE 2537 18 Hector, Jonny SWE 2512 ½ Official websiteChess Daily News from Susan Polgar

White to move. What is the best continuation for White?3R4/1r3pk1/b3q2p/4P1p1/2p1N3/pr4N1/5QPP/6K1 w - - 0 1 Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

Cuban Grandmaster Leinier Dominguez improved his ranking after defeating Vassily Ivanchuk in the third round of the Thessaloniki Grand Prix.Ivanchuk lost on time failing to execute the last 40th move. Dominguez was ready to repeat the moves but there was no time to claim a draw. Read more below.The remaining games were drawn and five players continue to share the lead.Results, pairings, standings and photo gallery are updated.Svidler Peter - Caruana Fabiano 1/2-1/2Gruenfeld Indian defence is the favourite opening of both players and it was very interesting to follow how the theoretical battle will develop.Svidler used the early 3.f3, which is nowadays a popular option for the players who also did some research on the Saemish King's Indian. The Russian himself faced this system with black on several occasions and this morning he was going through the notes trying to find some way to surprise Caruana.Caruana also has vast experience as he already played Anand, Aronian, Gelfand and Jobava.The curious fact is that the same actors already contested this line in the Tashkent Grand Prix, only with reversed colors. Svidler played a slightly different move order, forcing white's advance d4-d5, and the game was eventually drawn.White employed the new direct approach that was introduced by Grandmasters Jones and Sanikidze, but black improved on the move order and maintained the balance.Svidler pushed the passed pawn all the way to e7, but there was no way to promote the Queen as Caruana forced repetition of moves.Kasimdzhanov Rustam - Morozevich Alexander 1/2-1/2Morozevich's games are always enterprising and this was no exception. It started as a King's Indian defence and after white's early h3 black decided to stir the play into Maroczy structure.Morozevich didn't wait long to become original as his Nbd7 and b6 allowed Kasimdzhanov to shuffle the Knight to the dominant d5-square.After white's 18.b4 black decided to "sacrifice" the dark-squared Bishop for the Rook on a1. He proceeded to kick the Knight from d5, albeit at the cost of weakening the d6-pawn, and pushed a5 in order to open some files for the Rooks.Despite the material advantage, Morozevich said later that he was not happy with his position and that he is worse. White had active pieces and a potentially strong pair of Bishops.Black returned the exchange in order to activate the pieces. White was still slightly better but he missed the right moment to push f2-f4 and black managed to liquidate to an equal Rook endgame.Kamsky Gata - Grischuk Alexander 1/2-1/2Kamsky was not in the mood to contest the theoretical lines of the King's Indian or Gruenfeld defence and instead opened with his pet London System.This is a quiet opening but it can turn to be very dangerous for black if he is not careful. This is exactly what happened in the game after Grischuk's 10...b6. Later in the press conference Sasha expressed dissatisfaction and said "I played the opening like a complete beginner."The annoying 11. e5 forced black to lose some time to regroup the pieces, while Kamsky amassed his forces on the kingside.The American champion obtained solid advantage and continued to impose threats around the black King. Grischuk urgently sought counterplay on the other side of the board. At one point, instead of delivering a deadly sacrifice on f7, Kamsky played the slower 27. f4, allowing black to complicate the matters with a nice tactical sequence. White was still somewhat better, but his King was also pushed for a walk to the center. In addition, Kamsky had around one hour on the clock, while Grischuk had to make the remaining eight moves in 36 seconds. A small reminder that there is no increment before move 60.Kamsky felt that the opportunity was gone and didn't want to take risks anymore. After the perpetual check the game was drawn on move 37. Ivanchuk Vassily - Dominguez Perez Leinier 0-1As expected, Dominguez defended with the Gruenfeld Indian defence. He admitted that sticking to the same op

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone, SAINT LOUIS -- On May 25 at 6 p.m. CT, FOX Sports Midwest will air a one-hour recap special covering the 2013 U.S. and U.S. Women’s Chess Championships, which recently concluded at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.The 2013 U.S. Championship and 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship were held concurrently May 2 through May 13 at the CCSCSL. This marked the fifth consecutive year these events, the two most prestigious chess tournaments in the nation, were held in Saint Louis.Grandmasters Gata Kamsky and Alejandro Ramirez squared off in an intense, head-to-head, rapid playoff to determine the 2013 U.S. Champion while the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship boiled down to a three-way race between Tatev Abrahamyan, Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush. The one-hour special premiering on FOX Sports Midwest on May 25 will introduce viewers to some of the unique personalities in the U.S. chess scene and recap all the exciting action, including the thrilling climax, of the most important chess tournaments in the country.In addition to the premiere, the special will also air on the following dates and times:Thursday, May 30 at 5 p.m.Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m.Wednesday, June 5 at 5 p.m.Saturday, June 8 at 7 p.m.Thursday, June 13 at 11 p.m.Live play-by-play of each round of the event also was streamed online to tens of thousands of viewers across the world through the websites of FOX Sports Midwest and USChessChamps.com, the U.S. Championships event website.CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich said the live streaming show and televised recap special through FOX Sports Midwest both mark an important turning point for U.S. chess.“This partnership with FOX Sports Midwest allows us to bring chess to a broader audience and to introduce the excitement and intensity of tournament chess to a whole new demographic,” Rich said. “Our goal is to showcase the talents of the top chess players in the nation and to create more fans and students of the sport of chess.”The 2013 U.S. Championship featured a field of 24 players and a total prize fund of $180,000, and the 2013 U.S. Women’s Championship featured a 10-player field and a prize fund of $65,000.“These players are the superstars of the U.S. chess scene,” Rich said. "We hope their play will inspire young chess players all across the country to achieve great things."The CCSCSL has been home to the championships for each of the past five years, helping contribute to Saint Louis’ reputation as the hub of the U.S. chess scene. From Alexandra Kosteniuk'swww.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog atwww.chessqueen.comDon't miss Chess Queen™YouTube Channel

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone, We just found these two very interesting articles which are not directly related to chess, but have a chess motif and worth reading. The first one is controversial and disturbing, but has a "chess man" link. The second article reminds us about a debate we've conducted here on Chess Blog before!1. Bring up the bodies: a controversial anatomy exhibit comes to Moscowby Joy NeumeyerA man sits playing chess. Hunched over in concentration, he reaches to move one of his pieces. He could be any lover of the game - only his brain is exposed, as are all of his muscles. The chess man is one of dozens of bodies on display in "Mysteries of the Body: The Universe Within," now at Moscow's Vetoshny Art Center. The macabre traveling exhibit displays human specimens preserved by "plastination," a process that replaces body fluids with liquid plastic. It's spurred human rights protests, bitter rivalries between scientists - and in Moscow, as in most previous locations, it's a packed house.Before coming to Moscow, "Our Body: The Universe Within" (the show's international title) had successful runs in the U.S., Europe and South America; other parts of the collection are now on display in Florida and Nicaragua. (You can read the full article here.)2. Not Just a Pretty Faceby Hannah DawsonIn chess, there is a tactic called 'The Cleavage Attack'. This is where a woman leans in, her breasts pressing towards the table behind her opponent's troops, so disconcerting him that she wins the game. Is this the kind of game we want to play? Is this the kind of recipe for success that we want to write? That is one of the subjects for debate at 'How The Light Gets In', the festival of philosophy and music which runs down by the river at Hay, in parallel with the literary festival. The premise is that we openly discriminate in favour of intelligence. The question is whether this is a mistake: ought we to prize beauty as much as brains? Or, to put it in the terms of Catherine Hakim, one of the panellists, ought we to maximise and reward erotic capital? (You can read the full article here.) But, that reminds us about a Chess Blog debate!Psychology: Are Beauty and IQ related?Check it out. If you have still not commented, maybe you would like to! Have fun playing chess and reading Chess Blog.From Alexandra Kosteniuk'swww.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog atwww.chessqueen.comDon't miss Chess Queen™YouTube Channel