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2013 SPICE Cup Open Sponsored by Webster University and the Susan Polgar Foundation St. Louis, MissouriOctober 15-19, 2013 GM/IM norm opportunity - Minimum rating (FIDE) 2100 Limited to first 50 entries 4 IM/GM norms were earned last year: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com PRIZES: $11,000 guaranteed $4,000-$2,000-$1,500-$1,000-$500U/2400 FIDE $500-$250-$125U/2300 FIDE $500-$250-$125top female $250 October 2013 rating will be used Limited FREE hotel accommodation (double occupancy) at the Crown Plaza available to foreign GMs. ENTRY FEES: Free to all GMs, IMs, WGMs and all FIDE rated players over 2300 (must complete all 9 rounds), if registered by September 30, 2013. $50 later or on site. $100 to others if received by September 30, 2013. $150 later or on site. VENUE: Crown Plaza Clayton Hotel 7750 Carondelet Ave, St Louis, MO 63105 (FREE shuttle from the Lambert–St. Louis International Airport) $109/night, FREE Breakfast/Internet Send entries to Webster University - SPICE 470 E. Lockwood Ave St. Louis, MO 63119 Questions or registration for titled players: Email: spice@webster.edu or call 314-246-8075Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

http://2700chess.comChess Daily News from Susan Polgar

By Frank 'Boy' PestañoChessmosoThursday, May 16, 2013ALMOST every titled player (GMs, IMs etc.) can be considered chess fanatics as they play and study almost every day and a great number rely on the game as their major source of income.This article is not about them but about famous people who excel in their professions and are world-famous.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.According to hall of famer Bill Wall, William Shakespeare must have been a chess fanatic. There are some hints in Shakespeare’s works that he was a true chess fa--he made reference to the game almost 70 times in his various plays.Shakespeare was already known as an avid chess player during his time. There is a painting entitled the “The Chess players” by famous artist Karel Van Mander around 1600, which shows Ben Jonson and Shakespeare playing chess.Around two decades ago a survey was made by leading historians and scientists on the 100 most influential people. Shakespeare was the only writer honored.Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) is considered by many to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He was one of the founders of Dadaism, surrealism, and cubism.He was so obsessed with chess, he gave up art. His passion for chess was so overwhelming, that on his honeymoon he spent most of the time studying chess problems. After a week of arguments, his enraged bride went downstairs one night and glued all the pieces to the board. Surprisingly, the marriage lasted six months.In a letter, Marcel wrote “My attention is so completely absorbed by chess, I play day and night and nothing interest me more than finding the right move……I like painting less and less.” A friend said of him “, He needs a good game of chess like a baby needs a bottle.”Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution.In the Café de la Regence, for 100 years, there was a table with a plaque saying ‘’Napoleon Bonaparte used to play in this table.” What it did not say was that the greatest military tactician, despite being a chess addict, was a mediocre player. His contemporaries said he was too impatient and too given to impetuous attacks.When he became emperor his opponents became tactful as he was getting a reputation as a bad-tempered loser. He also insisted on the touch move rule but only for his opponents.After Waterloo, he continued to play almost every day in St Helena on his exile.Humphrey Bogart (1899 – 1957) was an American actor and is widely regarded as an icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema.He was also probably the strongest chess player of all movie stars . He was obsessed by the game while still very young and during the great depression, when money was hard to come by he made a nice income by hustling up and down Broadway playing chess. Decades later, when he was already a big star, he still hustled chess in Hollywood but for much larger sums. One of his biographers says he rated his friends on their ability to play chess and hold liquor. He was adept at both.Winston Churchill is one of the great-might-have-beens of chess. As a 12-year-old he wrote,” Dear mamma, Do not forget to get the chess for me. I like the board to be red and white….”By the time he was 21 he was beginning to show signs of addiction. But other important matters occupied the great man and he never fulfilled his early promise and only played chess during his spare time. Source: http://www.sunstar.com.phChess Daily News from Susan Polgar

By Cecil Rosner Posted: 05/18/2013 1:00 AMTHERE isn't much that happens in the arena of world championship chess that is devoid of controversy, so the battle over this year's title match was predictable.Viswanathan Anand, the reigning world champion and a popular figure in his native India, will meet challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway in November. At 43, Anand is nearly twice the age of his upstart opponent.Carlsen earned the right to challenge for the world championship by winning a nail-biting Candidates tournament in London. Though he is the top-rated player in the world, Carlsen had to rely on tie-breaks to squeak through the field.Still, the oddsmakers are giving the advantage to the youthful Norwegian, who developed extraordinary chess skills at an early age and has just been getting better and better. Even Anand calls him "the greatest talent I have seen."As the excitement was building for the upcoming match, FIDE (the world chess federation) unveiled a controversial decision. It awarded the tournament to Chennai in India, Anand's home turf.Ever since Iceland hosted the iconic Cold War match between Soviet Boris Spassky and American Bobby Fischer, it's been taken for granted that neutral ground is important in world championship encounters. But FIDE is a highly politicized organization where favours and patronage can often trump common sense.Carlsen wasn't happy with the decision, and he said so. "The lack of transparency, predictability and fairness is unfortunate for chess as a sport and for chess players," he said in a statement. Many feared the worst. After all, Carlsen had dropped out of the previous championship cycle over what he felt was unfairness in the rules.Soon after Carlsen's statement, the mayor of Paris submitted a bid to hold the tournament, offering 2.65 million euros and another 800,000 euros as a contribution to FIDE, a cheeky 10,000 more than the Chennai bid. "Paris is the city where FIDE was born and ever since, chess has been part of our cultural heritage," the mayor said.The Norwegian Chess Federation added its voice by protesting the process. But FIDE was not inclined to budge. Faced with the possibility of a world championship match without the world's top rated player, FIDE called Carlsen's bluff.And faced with the prospect of perpetual political in-fighting preventing him from ever winning the world championship, Carlsen gave in. He agreed to Chennai, and has set about preparing for the match.The tournament will be played Nov. 6-26, and is expected to draw the biggest online crowd in history. Though Anand has despatched Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand in the last five years, he realizes this will be his toughest challenge ever. It's going to be an entertaining match.More here. Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

Russian Prisoners Take On Cook County Inmates In Chess MatchMay 15, 2013 12:29 PMCHICAGO (CBS) — This was not Boris Spassky vs. Bobby Fischer.First, it was a match between prison inmates, not world-class chess masters. Second, the Russians won this time. On Wednesday, former Russian World Chess champion Anatoli Karpov organized a chess tournament–a first-of-its-kind event between inmates in Russia and the Cook County Jail.The inmates at five Russian prisons, including one in Siberia, trounced the Cook County prisoners, 14.5 to 5.5.But that wasn’t really the point.Karpov, who has speaking from one of the prisons, said he was hoping to solve social problems through chess. Karpov has a connection to the man who heads the Cook County Jail chess program, Dr. Mikhail Korenman, a chess teacher here in Chicago. That’s what made the unusual international match possible.Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said that for some inmates chess can be transformative.“The very process itself requires some to think, not in the immediate time, but down the road,” Dart said. “So it transforms the way people think.”Dart started the Cook County Jail chess program, with Korenman’s and Karpov’s help, last April. A Russian journalist asked Dart if there would be an incentive for winning, like getting out of jail early.“We are not that determined to win,” Dart said. Source: http://chicago.cbslocal.comChess Daily News from Susan Polgar

White to move. How should White proceed?Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar

Lê Quang Liêm luôn khát khao chinh ph?c Siêu ??i ki?n t??ng (?KT) Lê Quang Liêm quy?t tâm giành th? h?ng cao t?i Gi?i Vô ??ch C? vua châu Á 2013 ?? ?? ?i?u ki?n tham d? World Cup. Phóng viên: V?i thành ph?n hùng h?u, c? vua Vi?t Nam ??t m?c tiêu gì cho Gi?i Vô ??ch châu Á di?n ra t? ngày 18 ??n 27-5 ? Philippines? Liêm có ch? tiêu cho riêng mình? - Lê Quang Liêm: Chuy?n thi ??u này c?a c? vua Vi?t Nam không có quá nhi?u áp l?c, b?i ? m?c tiêu giành quy?n tham d? World Cup, 2 ??ng ??i Nguy?n Ng?c Tr??ng S?n và Nguy?n Th? Thanh An ?ã làm t?t ph?n vi?c c?a h? ? gi?i 3.2 h?i ??u n?m. Dù v?y, toàn ??i c?ng c? g?ng ?? có th? giành thêm quy?n tham d? ??u tr??ng th? gi?i, c?ng nh?m c?i thi?n th? h?ng ? c?p ?? châu l?c. Ngoài ch? tiêu giành quy?n ??n Na Uy d? World Cup c? vua vào tháng 8 t?i, b?n thân Liêm t? tr??c ??n nay c?ng ch?a có huy ch??ng t?i gi?i cá nhân châu Á (thành tích cao nh?t t?ng ??t là h?ng 5) nên s? ph?i c? g?ng nhi?u. V?i h? s? Elo hi?n t?i, nhi?u kh? n?ng Liêm s? có tên trong 3 h?t gi?ng cao nh?t c?a gi?i, vì th?, m?c ?? c?nh tranh s? càng t?ng cao khi các qu?c gia ??u c? ??n nh?ng k? th? hàng ??u. Liêm ?ang góp m?t ? nh?ng s? ki?n quan tr?ng c?a c? vua Vi?t Nam tr??c khi lên ???ng sang M? du h?c vào mùa thu t?i. Chuy?n h?c t?p v?n hóa c?a Liêm li?u có ?nh h??ng ??n vi?c t?p luy?n và thi ??u c? vua cho ??i tuy?n Vi?t Nam? - Khi thi ??u thành công ? 2 mùa gi?i Spice Cup, Liêm ???c ??i h?c Webster t?ng h?c b?ng du h?c t?i ?ây. Không th? tránh kh?i nh?ng ?nh h??ng nh?t ??nh n?u các gi?i ??u trùng v?i th?i gian h?c t?p nh?ng ch?c ch?n Liêm s? c? g?ng s?p x?p m?t cách hài hòa nh?t ?? v?a b?o ??m chuy?n h?c v?a làm tròn trách nhi?m c?a m?t thành viên ??i tuy?n Vi?t Nam. Liêm ???c bi?t là sinh viên c?a tr??ng không ???c phép v?ng quá nhi?u th?i gian h?c t?p nh?ng ??i v?i các gi?i ??u quy mô và t?m c? nh? World Cup, ASIAD hay Olympiad..., Liêm v?n có th? tr? v? tham d?. C?ng t?i Webster University có m?t ??i tuy?n c? vua sinh viên r?t m?nh do Susan Polgar (c?u vô ??ch n? c? vua th? gi?i) ph? trách nên s?n sàng t?o ?i?u ki?n cho các k? th? làm ngh?a v? qu?c gia. Ngoài ra, 3 tháng ngh? hè m?i n?m, Liêm ???c v? n??c nên s? ch? ??ng h?n trong vi?c s?p x?p tham d? các gi?i ??u. Liêm ?ã có d? ??nh gì sau khi hoàn thành ch??ng trình h?c ? Webster (University)? - Sau khi t?t nghi?p ??i h?c, Liêm d? ??nh s? quay v? Vi?t Nam làm vi?c theo chuyên ngành ???c ?ào t?o, ??ng th?i v?n ti?p t?c s? nghi?p thi ??u vì c? vua là ni?m ?am mê và b?n thân Liêm luôn khát khao chinh ph?c nh?ng ??nh cao m?i. Nh?ng n?m g?n ?ây, c? vua Vi?t Nam có nh?ng b??c ti?n r?t ?áng k?. Nhi?u l?a k? th? tr? có n?ng khi?u ???c ?ào t?o bài b?n, ??nh h??ng phát tri?n lâu dài, công tác t? ch?c thi ??u và chuyên môn c?ng ?ang trên ???ng chuyên nghi?p hóa... Liêm cho r?ng ?ây là nh?ng tín hi?u ?áng m?ng và cho th?y tri?n v?ng t??i sáng c?a c? vua Vi?t Nam n?u ???c ??u t? m?nh h?n n?a. V? ph?n mình, Liêm v?n luôn c? g?ng thi ??u t?t, tích l?y h? s? Elo ?? h??ng t?i m?c tiêu l?t vào nhóm 20 k? th? ??ng ??u th? gi?i.Source: http://us.24h.com.vnChess Daily News from Susan Polgar

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Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone, The European Chess Club Cup 2013 will take place on 19-27 October, 2013, in the conference center of the 5-star Rodos Palace Convention Resort which is regarded as one of the finest deluxe hotels on the Island of Rhodes.Rodos Palace offers luxurious accommodation, exquisite dining facilities and numerous recreational amenities, on a superb location just 2.5 km from the Medieval City of Rhodes!From each National Club Championship in European countries, one (1) to four (4) clubs qualify to the European Club Cup, depending on the strength of each national event. The European Club Cup will be held in 7 rounds for both categories (open/men teams with 6 boards and women teams with 4 boards), played with the Swiss system.The time control will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move one. Players may only agree to a draw after the 40th move has been made by black.According to FIDE regulations, the European Club Cup offers the possibility for players to achieve GM, IM, WGM and WIM norms based on 7 games.Rodos PalaceThe winners of the European Club Cup (currently SOCAR Azerbaijan) and the European Women’s Club Cup (currently Cercle d’Echecs de Monte Carlo) qualify directly to next year’s European Club Cup.The total amount of 51,000 EUR, provided by travel agency AT Holidays, will be awarded to the winners of the European Club Cup, in both team and individual rewards! The prize distribution is described below in the official regulations of the event. Do not forget to consider the event’s sponsor AT Holidays when planning your next trip to Greece.Special prices @ official hotel, the 5-star Rodos Palace***** 53 euros per person per day in a double room, including breakfast, lunch and dinner (full board).***** 78 euros per person per day in a single room, including breakfast, lunch and dinner (full board).All registrations and bookings in Rodos Palace will be made through the Organising Committee and AT Holidays. The deadline for club registrations and bookings is 19 August 2013.How to reach the Island of RhodesThe international airport of Rhodes (IATA code: RHO) is connected daily with many European capitals. The major airlines serving Rhodes are Olympic Airways and Aegean Airways. The sea port of Rhodes is also connected via ferry boats with Athens (Piraeus) and the nearby Turkish sea ports of Marmaris, Bodrum and Fethiye.The Organising Committee will provide bus transfer from the airport and the port to Rodos Palace Hotel on the days of arrival and departure, in accordance with the official regulations.The official website of the European Club Cup 2013 is http://www.rhodes2013.orgTournament Director: IO Nikos Kalesis – Tel.: (+30) 6938326161Fax: (+30) 2641500112, Email: eccc2013rodos@gmail.comFrom Alexandra Kosteniuk'swww.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog atwww.chessqueen.comDon't miss Chess Queen™YouTube Channel