What If the World Championship Match Is Decided in Blitz Games?

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

What If the World Championship Match Is Decided in Blitz Games? The Blitz Whisperer Maxim Dlugy What if the World Championship match is decided in blitz games? Two years ago, in New York, Magnus Carlsen rating system, I learnt that the differ- ence in ratings is just an indication of defended his title by winning the rapid the expected score between players in the long run, and in no way an indica- tiebreaker. Traditionalists will shudder at the tion of a foregone conclusion. In fact, Prof. Elo was annoyed when FIDE thought of blitz games deciding the world decided to use his system to include and exclude players from certain championship match in London. MAXIM DLUGY events, merely on the basis of these looks at the players’ chances if that scenario numbers – he never meant it to be used that way. becomes reality and has suggestions for how Notwithstanding this, we live in a Fabiano Caruana, despite a whopping rating practical world, and it does seem to us that if a player is 170 points lower, he gap of 172(!) points, might beat the odds. is the underdog, even if we shouldn’t expect the top dog to automatically score 7½ points in a 10-game match, as predicted by the rating system. This doesn’t bode well for Caruana, who it s the World Champion- that Magnus has the pleasant option of seems has shown serious weakness in ship between Magnus just coasting to the tiebreaker, as he did playing blitz against the top players Carlsen and Fabiano against Karjakin once he had equal- in the world. His recent 20½-6½ loss A Caruana is around the ized the score with two games to go? Is to Levon Aronian in the Chess.com corner, and the bookmakers’ odds are the champ such a clear favourite in the championship created a sensation, only slightly in favour of the World faster time-controls that his challenger while his struggling in the blitz part of Champion, there seems to be every will have to steer clear of the tiebreak the Grand Chess Tour has become the reason to wonder what would happen at all cost and put all his efforts into the norm, rather than the exception. if, after 12 classical games, we’d see a first 12 games? Does that mean that Magnus only tiebreaker with a faster time-control. On the face of it – Yes! At the time of needs to tie the match, split the four Whether there would be rapid games, writing, the difference between the two rapid games and finish Fabiano off as we saw in New York two years ago, players in the classical time-control in the two-game blitz playoff? I don’t when Magnus faced Sergey Karjakin, is 12 rating points, while the differ- think it will be that simple. First of all, or whether we would even go to blitz ence in the rapid ratings is 91 points, as any odds player knows, the positive games if the rapid games yield no and the gap in the blitz ratings even a expectation of results plays out very decision either. whopping 172 points! well over the long haul, but in a short While Magnus Carlsen also excels From my discussions with former match, anything can happen. Even if in rapid and blitz chess, Fabiano Caru- World Champion Anatoly Karpov, Fabiano’s expectation in a two-game ana’s strength clearly lies in the clas- who had the privilege of talking to blitz match is half a point out of 2, sical time-control. Does this mean Arpad Elo, the inventor of the current it’s very easy to beat the odds, either 88 A THE BLITZ WHISPERER by catching your opponent with an opening novelty and winning one game or simply by managing to draw both games, which would take the match to a totally unpredictable Armageddon shoot-out. The nervous tension in those two blitz games What if the World Championship would be as high as with a throw-in in the final seconds of a basketball game with the shooter’s team down match is decided in blitz games? one point. Here, too, the ability to control your nerves will be the main factor. To showcase what can happen when time runs short, I would like to direct the reader to the following incredible LENNART OOTES game, which may hopefully demon- Paris, 2017. A nod, a quick handshake, another blitz game. Clearly, Magnus Carlsen strate the kind of situation that could and Fabiano Caruana have no idea of the blunderfest ahead of them. arise in the final countdown. This blitz game, played last year between Fabiano and Magnus in the Paris leg of the Grand Chess Tour, demon- A dubious decision, extending the 16.♖d1 ♕c7 17.♘xd5 ♘xd5 strates how a lack of time can make scope of Black’s light-squared bishop 18.a3 c4 19.♘d4 ♖fd8 the best players in the world come up on the b1-h7 diagonal. with seemingly random moves. 11...♘d7 12.g4 ♗g6 13.♘c4 T_.t._M_ ♘b4 14.♘e3 ♘b6 15.♕e2 Fabiano Caruana jJd.lJjJ Magnus Carlsen T_.d.tM_ ._._J_L_ Paris blitz 2017 _._Si._. 1.♘f3 d5 2.g3 ♘f6 3.♗g2 ♗g4 jJ_.lJjJ .s._J_L_ ._Jn._I_ 4.0-0 e6 5.d3 ♗e7 6.h3 ♗h5 i._._._I 7.♘bd2 c5 8.e4 ♘c6 9.♖e1 dxe4 _.j.i._. 10.dxe4 0-0 11.e5?! .s._._I_ .iI_QiB_ _._.nN_I r.bR_.k. T_.d.tM_ IiI_QiB_ jJ_.lJjJ 20.♔h1 r.b.r.k. It was better to simplify the position ._S_Js._ with 20.♘f5 exf5 21.♗xd5, since _.j.i._L 15...♘6d5 White’s d4-knight has a smaller radius ._._._._ With more time on the clock, Magnus of action than its colleague on d5. _._._NiI would probably have preferred a 20...c3 21.b4 ♕b6 22.♘b3 ♖d7 gradual improvement of his already 23.f4 ♖ad8 24.♖f1 IiIn.iB_ comfortable position with 15...♕c7, r.bQr.k. with ideas of ...♘c6 and ...c4, when ._.t._M_ Black is already significantly better. jJ_TlJjJ .d._J_L_ ‘The nervous tension would be as high as _._Si._. .i._.iI_ with a throw-in in the final seconds of a iNj._._I basketball game with the shooter’s team ._I_Q_B_ down one point.’ r.b._R_K A 89 THE BLITZ WHISPERER Black has somehow lost momentum, ♕xc5 32.♗xh6 ♗xc2, with an unclear 28.♘a5 a6 29.♘b3 ♘b6 30.♗f4 because the pawn on c3, although position. It’s not clear how exactly White wants strong in itself, is blocking Black’s 26...♕c7 27.♘c4 to break through on the kingside, since pieces from entering White’s position. A strange move, since the knight Black’s control of the d-file and of some Time for some fun! doesn’t really have anywhere to go to. key squares is extremely annoying. 24...h6 25.f5 ♗h7 Again, 27.f6 would have been better. 30...♘c4 31.♗g3 ._.t._M_ ._.t._M_ ._.t._M_ jJ_TlJjL jJdTlJjL _.dTlJjL .d._J_.j ._._J_.j J_._J_.j _._SiI_. _._SiI_. _J_.iI_. .i._._I_ .iN_._I_ .iS_._I_ iNj._._I i.j._._I iNj._.bI ._I_Q_B_ ._I_Q_B_ ._I_Q_B_ r.b._R_K r.b._R_K r._._R_K 26.♘a5 The direct approach 26.f6 ♗f8 27.fxg7 27...b5 31...♗g5?! Entering the dragon with ♗xg7 28.♘c5 ♖c7 29.♕f2 looked Even stronger was 27...♖c8!, forcing 31...♘d2! was crushing. White cannot more promising, even though Black White to withdraw the knight or to allow Black a passed pawn on d2, could arrange for counterplay by sacri- sacrifice a pawn by jumping to d6. and must start giving away a serious ficing the rook for the annoying knight Objectively, Black’s advantage would amount of material. with 29...♖dc8 30.♕h4 ♖xc5 31.bxc5 be nearly decisive in that case. 32.♖f3 ♖d2 A GrAndmAster AmonG universities. If you’re interested in playing chess at an American university, we want to hear from you. The University of Texas at Dallas offers highly competitive scholarships to master-level players. For more information, please contact Program Director Jim Stallings at [email protected] at least one year in advance of your intended fall enrollment date. chess.utdallas.edu 90 A THE BLITZ WHISPERER Nice, but not at all necessary. 32...♘d2 42...♗g6?? was still winning. ._._._M_ Black’s logical-looking reply is also 33.♘xd2 cxd2 34.h4 _.d._JjL a losing blunder, turning a win into a J_._J_.j loss. Instead, Black should have given ._.t._M_ _J_.iIi. his king breathing room with a tempo _.d._JjL .i._._S_ as follows: 42...♗e4 43.♕b3 ♗xg2+ 44.♔xg2 ♕c6+ 45.♕f3 ♕xe6, with a J_._J_.j i._._RbK totally winning position. _J_.iIl. ._I_Q_B_ .iS_._Ii _._T_._. ._D_._M_ i._._Rb. 38...♖d4? _._._Rj. ._IjQ_B_ This logical-looking move, guarding J_._I_Lj r._._._K the knight on g4, is a losing mistake. _J_.i.j. Black could have kept the balance .i.t._S_ Now begins a series of the most incred- with the incisive 38...♕d7!! 39.g6 fxg6. i._._QbK ible mistakes recorded in a game Now the position is completely crazy, between two world top chess players.
Recommended publications
  • NEWSLETTER 159 (June 05, 2014)
    NEWSLETTER 159 (June 05, 2014) SILVIO DANAILOV, GARRY KASPAROV AND JORAN AULIN JANSSON – JJ TAKE PART IN THE OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY OF NO LOGO NORWAY CHESS TOURNAMENT The ECU President Silvio Danailov, the chess legend Garry Kasparov and the President of the Norwegian Chess Federation Joran Aulin Jansson - JJ took part in the official opening ceremony of No Logo Norway Chess Tournament which started on 2nd June in Stavanger and will end on 13th June, 2014. No Logo Norway Chess is the strongest chess tournament this year worldwide. On 3rd June the ECU President Silvio Danailov gave an interview for the Norwegian TV channel NRK TV. On 4th June Mr. Danailov officially opened the second round of the competition by making the first symbolic move in the game between Veselin Topalov and Alexander Grischuk. © Ecuonline.net Page 1 ECU President also took part in the live commentary together with GM Nigel Short and Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam. This year participants in the second edition of the tournament are: Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Fabiano Caruana, Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Anish Giri and Simen Agdestein. © Ecuonline.net Page 2 © Ecuonline.net Page 3 Standings after round 2 Rk. Name Pts. Berger Wins Black wins i-Ratingprest 1 GM Fabiano Caruana 2,0 1,50 2 1 3472 (+9,50) 2 GM Levon Aronian 1,5 1,00 1 0 2892 (+2,00) 3 GM Simen Agdestein 1,0 1,25 0 0 2783 (+4,10) 4 GM Magnus Carlsen 1,0 1,00 0 0 2767 (-3,00) 5 GM Anish Giri 1,0 1,00 0 0 2754 (-0,00) 6 GM Vladimir Kramnik 1,0 0,75 0 0 2817 (+0,90) 7 GM Alexander Grischuk 1,0 0,50 1 1 2781 (-0,30) 8 GM Peter Svidler 0,5 0,50 0 0 2594 (-4,10) 9 GM Sergey Karjakin 0,5 0,25 0 0 2600 (-4,40) 10 GM Veselin Topalov 0,5 0,25 0 0 2588 (-4,70) Official website: http://norwaychess.com CC ASHDOD ILIT WINS THE ISRAELI NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 2014 CC Ashdod Ilit won the Israeli National Team Championship 2014 with 45 game points.
    [Show full text]
  • World's Top-10 Chess Players Battle It out in 4-Day
    WORLD’S TOP-10 CHESS PLAYERS BATTLE IT OUT IN 4-DAY TOURNAMENT IN LEUVEN (BELGIUM) Leuven, Belgium – Wednesday, 11 May 2016 – The greatest chess tournament ever staged in Belgium, Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour, will take place in the historic Town Hall of Leuven from Friday 17 June until Monday 20 June. The best chess players in the world at the moment will take part in the tournament: World Champion Magnus Carlsen, former World Champions Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, as well as Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Maxime Vachier- Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura, Aronian Levon and Wesley So. The players will compete in a Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess tournament during the 4 days. The prize money for the tournament is $ 150.000 (€ 134.100). Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour is part of the the Grand Chess Tour 2016, a series of 4 chess events organized worldwide (Paris - France, Leuven - Belgium, Saint Louis – USA and London - UK). This tournament being held in Belgium is truly uniqe and is ‘the greatest chess event ever staged in Belgium’. Never before have the 10 smartest, fastest and strongest chess players of the moment – coming from Norway, Russia, USA, France, Netherland, Bulgaria, Armenia and India – competed against each-other in Belgium. Chess fans will be able to enjoy the experience of seeing the greatest players compete live in Leuven or watch the streaming broadcast, complete with grandmaster commentary. Your Next Move, a non-profit organization and the organizer of the event in Leuven, promotes chess as an educational tool for children and youngsters in Belgium.
    [Show full text]
  • Bulletin Round 6 -08.08.14
    Bulletin Round 6 -08.08.14 That Carlsen black magic Blitz and “Media chess attention playing is a tool to seals get people to chess” Photos: Daniel Skog, COT 2014 (Carlsen and Seals) / David Martinez, chess24 (Gelfand) Chess Olympiad Tromsø 2014 – Bulletin Round 6– 08.08.14 Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen before the start of round 6 Photo: David Llada / COT2014 That Carlsen black magic Norway 1 entertained the home fans with a clean 3-1 over Italy, and with Magnus Carlsen performing some of his patented minimalist magic to defeat a major rival. GM Kjetil Lie put the Norwegians ahead with the kind of robust aggression typical of his best form on board four, and the teams traded wins on boards two and three. All eyes were fixed on the Caruana-Carlsen clash, where Magnus presumably pulled off an opening surprise by adopting the offbeat variation that he himself had faced as White against Nikola Djukic of Montenegro in round three. By GM Jonathan Tisdall Caruana appeared to gain a small but comfortable Caruana is number 3 in the world and someone advantage in a queenless middlegame, but as I've lost against a few times, so it feels incredibly Carlsen has shown so many times before, the good to beat him. quieter the position, the deadlier he is. In typically hypnotic fashion, the position steadily swung On top board Azerbaijan continues to set the Carlsen's way, and suddenly all of White's pawns pace, clinching another match victory thanks to were falling like overripe fruit. Carlsen's pleasure two wins with the white pieces, Mamedyarov with today's work was obvious, as he stopped to beating Jobava in a bare-knuckle brawl, and with high-five colleague Jon Ludvig Hammer on his GM Rauf Mamedov nailing GM Gaioz Nigalidze way into the NRK TV studio.
    [Show full text]
  • Super GM Lecture and Blitz Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019
    Pacific Northwest Chess Center 12020 113th Ave NE #C-200, Kirkland, WA 98034 Super GM Lecture and Blitz Wednesday, Jan 16, 2019 Featured Super GM - GM Bu, Xiangzhi • World’s currently 27th ranked chess player with FIDE Elo 2725 (“Super GM”) • 2018 43rd Chess Olympia Champion (Team China, Batumi, Georgia) • 2017 Chess World Cup Round 4 (Eliminated World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen in Round 3. Watch video here) • 2015 World Team Chess Champion (Team China, Tsaghkadzor, Armenia) • 6th Youngest Chess Grand Master in human history (13 years, 10 months, 13 days) GM Bu, Xiangzhi Bio – Bu was born in Qingdao, a famous seaside city of China in 1985 and started chess training since age 6, inspired by his compatriot GM Xie Jun’s Women’s World Champion victory over GM Maya Chiburdanidze in 1991. A few years later Bu easily won in the Chinese junior championship and went on to achieve success in the international arena: he won 3rd place in the U12 World Youth Championship in 1997 and 1st place in the U14 World Youth Championship in 1998. In 1999 he achieved three GM norms within only two months, which made him the youngest grandmaster at the time, at the age of 13 years 10 months and 13 days, a record that was only broken two years later by GM Sergey Karjakin . In 2000, Bu defeated the Azerbaijani chess talent Teimour Radjabov by 6½-1½ in an eight-game Future World Champions Match organized by Garry Kasparov and was considered a super talent for future world champion contender. In 2004, Bu became the chess champion of China.
    [Show full text]
  • A Feast of Chess in Time of Plague – Candidates Tournament 2020
    A FEAST OF CHESS IN TIME OF PLAGUE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020 Part 1 — Yekaterinburg by Vladimir Tukmakov www.thinkerspublishing.com Managing Editor Romain Edouard Assistant Editor Daniël Vanheirzeele Translator Izyaslav Koza Proofreader Bob Holliman Graphic Artist Philippe Tonnard Cover design Mieke Mertens Typesetting i-Press ‹www.i-press.pl› First edition 2020 by Th inkers Publishing A Feast of Chess in Time of Plague. Candidates Tournament 2020. Part 1 — Yekaterinburg Copyright © 2020 Vladimir Tukmakov All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher. ISBN 978-94-9251-092-1 D/2020/13730/26 All sales or enquiries should be directed to Th inkers Publishing, 9850 Landegem, Belgium. e-mail: [email protected] website: www.thinkerspublishing.com TABLE OF CONTENTS KEY TO SYMBOLS 5 INTRODUCTION 7 PRELUDE 11 THE PLAY Round 1 21 Round 2 44 Round 3 61 Round 4 80 Round 5 94 Round 6 110 Round 7 127 Final — Round 8 141 UNEXPECTED CONCLUSION 143 INTERIM RESULTS 147 KEY TO SYMBOLS ! a good move ?a weak move !! an excellent move ?? a blunder !? an interesting move ?! a dubious move only move =equality unclear position with compensation for the sacrifi ced material White stands slightly better Black stands slightly better White has a serious advantage Black has a serious advantage +– White has a decisive advantage –+ Black has a decisive advantage with an attack with initiative with counterplay with the idea of better is worse is Nnovelty +check #mate INTRODUCTION In the middle of the last century tournament compilations were ex- tremely popular.
    [Show full text]
  • PNWCC FIDE Open – Olympiad Gold
    https://www.pnwchesscenter.org [email protected] Pacific Northwest Chess Center 12020 113th Ave NE #C-200, Kirkland, WA 98034 PNWCC FIDE Open – Olympiad Gold Jan 18-21, 2019 Description A 3-section, USCF and FIDE rated 7-round Swiss tournament with time control of 40/90, SD 30 with 30-second increment from move one, featuring two Chess Olympiad Champion team players from two generations and countries. Featured Players GM Bu, Xiangzhi • World’s currently 27th ranked chess player with FIDE Elo 2726 (“Super GM”) • 2018 43rd Chess Olympia Champion (Team China, Batumi, Georgia) • 2017 Chess World Cup Round 4 (Eliminated World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen in Round 3. Watch video here) • 2015 World Team Chess Champion (Team China, Tsaghkadzor, Armenia) • 6th Youngest Chess Grand Master in human history (13 years, 10 months, 13 days) GM Tarjan, James • 2017 Beat former World Champion GM Vladimir Kramnik in Isle of Man Chess Tournament Round 3. Watch video here • Played for the Team USA at five straight Chess Olympiads from 1974-1982 • 1976 22nd Chess Olympiad Champion (Team USA, Haifa, Israel) • Competed in several US Championships during the 1970s and 1980s with the best results of clear second in 1978 GM Bu, Xiangzhi Bio – Bu was born in Qingdao, a famous seaside city of China in 1985 and started chess training since age 6, inspired by his compatriot GM Xie Jun’s Women’s World Champion victory over GM Maya Chiburdanidze in 1991. A few years later Bu easily won in the Chinese junior championship and went on to achieve success in the international arena: he won 3rd place in the U12 World Youth Championship in 1997 and 1st place in the U14 World Youth Championship in 1998.
    [Show full text]
  • The World Fischer Random Chess Championship Is Now Officially Recognized by FIDE
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oslo, April 20, 2019. The World Fischer Random Chess Championship is now officially recognized by FIDE This historic event will feature an online qualifying phase on Chess.com, beginning April 28, and is open to all players. The finals will be held in Norway this fall, with a prize fund of $375,000 USD. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has granted the rights to host the inaugural FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship cycle to Dund AS, in partnership with Chess.com. And, for the first time in history, a chess world championship cycle will combine an online, open qualifier and worldwide participation with physical finals. “With FIDE’s support for Fischer Random Chess, we are happy to invite you to join the quest to become the first-ever FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Champion” said Arne Horvei, founding partner in Dund AS. “Anyone can participate online, and we are excited to see if there are any diamonds in the rough out there that could excel in this format of chess,” he said. "It is an unprecedented move that the International Chess Federation recognizes a new variety of chess, so this was a decision that required to be carefully thought out,” said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich, who recently visited Oslo to discuss this agreement. “But we believe that Fischer Random is a positive innovation: It injects new energies an enthusiasm into our game, but at the same time it doesn't mean a rupture with our classical chess and its tradition. It is probably for this reason that Fischer Random chess has won the favor of the chess community, including the top players and the world champion himself.
    [Show full text]
  • YEARBOOK the Information in This Yearbook Is Substantially Correct and Current As of December 31, 2020
    OUR HERITAGE 2020 US CHESS YEARBOOK The information in this yearbook is substantially correct and current as of December 31, 2020. For further information check the US Chess website www.uschess.org. To notify US Chess of corrections or updates, please e-mail [email protected]. U.S. CHAMPIONS 2002 Larry Christiansen • 2003 Alexander Shabalov • 2005 Hakaru WESTERN OPEN BECAME THE U.S. OPEN Nakamura • 2006 Alexander Onischuk • 2007 Alexander Shabalov • 1845-57 Charles Stanley • 1857-71 Paul Morphy • 1871-90 George H. 1939 Reuben Fine • 1940 Reuben Fine • 1941 Reuben Fine • 1942 2008 Yury Shulman • 2009 Hikaru Nakamura • 2010 Gata Kamsky • Mackenzie • 1890-91 Jackson Showalter • 1891-94 Samuel Lipchutz • Herman Steiner, Dan Yanofsky • 1943 I.A. Horowitz • 1944 Samuel 2011 Gata Kamsky • 2012 Hikaru Nakamura • 2013 Gata Kamsky • 2014 1894 Jackson Showalter • 1894-95 Albert Hodges • 1895-97 Jackson Reshevsky • 1945 Anthony Santasiere • 1946 Herman Steiner • 1947 Gata Kamsky • 2015 Hikaru Nakamura • 2016 Fabiano Caruana • 2017 Showalter • 1897-06 Harry Nelson Pillsbury • 1906-09 Jackson Isaac Kashdan • 1948 Weaver W. Adams • 1949 Albert Sandrin Jr. • 1950 Wesley So • 2018 Samuel Shankland • 2019 Hikaru Nakamura Showalter • 1909-36 Frank J. Marshall • 1936 Samuel Reshevsky • Arthur Bisguier • 1951 Larry Evans • 1952 Larry Evans • 1953 Donald 1938 Samuel Reshevsky • 1940 Samuel Reshevsky • 1942 Samuel 2020 Wesley So Byrne • 1954 Larry Evans, Arturo Pomar • 1955 Nicolas Rossolimo • Reshevsky • 1944 Arnold Denker • 1946 Samuel Reshevsky • 1948 ONLINE: COVID-19 • OCTOBER 2020 1956 Arthur Bisguier, James Sherwin • 1957 • Robert Fischer, Arthur Herman Steiner • 1951 Larry Evans • 1952 Larry Evans • 1954 Arthur Bisguier • 1958 E.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Your Ringside London Chess Classic Tickets Now!
    sponsors: LOHIA foundation Book your ringside London Chess Classic tickets now! Just days after the end of his World Championship match in London against Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana will be pitting his wits against Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Chess Tour Finals at the London Chess Classic, which this year will be a four-player knockout supported by our new sponsor the Lohia Foundation. The big question is: After going 12 rounds with Magnus, just how will Fabi fare against some of the most dangerous hitmen in world chess? Will he be buoyed by victory or desperate to take out the pain of defeat on his rivals? To watch the action live, simply apply here for FREE tickets to the Semi-Finals, to be hosted by pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind at Google on December 11-13. Those chosen by ballot will be notified on November 27. You can also book your tickets now (daily £25, season £60) for entrance to the London Chess Classic Final (December 15-17) at Olympia London. Semi-Final pairings (current GCT rankings in brackets) Fabiano Caruana (4) Hikaru Nakamura (1) Levon Aronian (2) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (3) After two Classical games on December 11-12, play switches to Rapid & Blitz on Dec. 13. The winners then go through to the 3-day Final, held at the traditional Olympia London venue on December 15-16 (Classical) & 17 (Rapid & Blitz). There will also be a third place play-off. The 2018 GCT champion will take home a 1st prize of $120,000 (there’s $80,000 for 2nd, $60,000 for 3rd and $40,000 for 4th).
    [Show full text]
  • FIDE GRAND PRIX (2008/9) REPORT for DRESDEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY - November 2008
    FIDE GRAND PRIX (2008/9) REPORT FOR DRESDEN GENERAL ASSEMBLY - November 2008 1.0 INTRODUCTION The introduction of the FIDE Grand Prix for the top players in the world has proven to be a success. It has not only complemented nicely the chess calendar filling in certain holes we had but secondly, it has given a number of younger “unknown” players the opportunity to play super tournaments and prove their capacity to advance in the world rankings. The overall ranking on the next page shows the very positive performance of two of these new chess forces GM Wang Yue from China and GM Vugar Gashimov from Azerbaijan. All players taking part have commented favourably on the experience and opportunity to play in the Grand Prix series. The launch of this series has now led to the development of a similar series for Women who will be given the same opportunity to play in four tournaments over two years (out of six total tournaments). The challenge in the near future is to now attract overall sponsorship for the series and this can be satisfactorily achieved once the cycle is over and sponsors / organizers can review the media and exposure that was achieved with the current series. 2.0 EVENTS AND RESULTS Two events have so far been held for the FIDE Grand Prix series 2008/9 which sees 21 of the world’s top players taking part in a cycle of six tournaments over two years. The first event was held successfully in Baku, Azerbaijan between the 20th April 2008 and 5th May 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Zangalis [email protected]
    Date: 7 August 2019 To FIDE ETHICS COMMISSION Moscow From: Kirill Zangalis [email protected]. Tel.: +79687320080 14 Bld. 1 Gogolevsky Bulvar, Moscow, 119019, Russia APPLICATION On 2 August 2019, Yevgeny Surov, a well-known chess journalist, published a post (tweet) on the Twitter social network, speaking outrageously about Sergey Karjakin and me as his long-term chess manager, calling me a pimp, and Sergey’s chess career a prostitution. This tweet has also been reposted on Yevgeny Surov’s website chess-news.ru. I believe that such insulting comparisons published by Yevgeny Surov in the media and on social networks cause irreparable damage to our business reputation and deliberately, in an indecent form, humiliate the honour and dignity of Sergey Karjakin as one of the strongest chess players in the world, thereby undermining the prestige of chess globally. I believe that such publications, which cause irreversible damage to the entire chess community, require an immediate and tough response, so I request that you: 1. Require Yevgeny Surov to remove the insulting tweet and make a public apology to me and Sergey Karjakin in the media. 2. Ban Yevgeny Surov from attending any chess events held under FIDE auspices. I also request that the Commission apply any other possible sanctions it deems necessary to Yevgeny Surov on consideration of this case. Enclosure: 1. Scanned copy of Yevgeny Surov’s publication on Twitter and on chess-news.ru – on 1 page. Best regards, Kirill Zangalis [Signature] Attachment to Kirill Zangalis’ application dated 7 August 2019 Scanned copy of Yevgeny Surov’s publication on Twitter and on chess-news.ru Telekom.de 14:33 battery level: 28% Unsafe – chess-news.ru Chess-News.ru Chess has retweeted without censorship Yevgeny Surov @surovlive That’s interesting: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Contents Chess Mag - 21 6 10 21/06/2020 13:57 Page 3
    01-01 Cover - July 2020_Layout 1 21/06/2020 14:21 Page 1 02-02 New in Chess advert_Layout 1 21/06/2020 14:03 Page 1 03-03 Contents_Chess mag - 21_6_10 21/06/2020 13:57 Page 3 Chess Contents Founding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc † Executive Editor: Malcolm Pein Editorial....................................................................................................................4 Editors: Richard Palliser, Matt Read Malcolm Pein on the latest developments in the game Associate Editor: John Saunders Subscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington 60 Seconds with...Maria Emelianova..........................................................7 Twitter: @CHESS_Magazine We catch up with the leading chess photographer and streamer Twitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm Pein Enter the Dragon .................................................................................................8 Website: www.chess.co.uk Top seeds China proved too strong in FIDE’s Nations Cup Subscription Rates: How Good is Your Chess?..............................................................................12 United Kingdom Daniel King examines Yu Yangyi’s key win for China 1 year (12 issues) £49.95 2 year (24 issues) £89.95 Dubov Delivers...................................................................................................16 3 year (36 issues) £125 Lindores went online, with rapid experts Carlsen, Nakamura & Dubov Europe 1 year (12 issues) £60 It’s All in the Timing.........................................................................................22 2 year
    [Show full text]