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| Denker Qualifier FAQ |
 (Group photo of prize winners at 2009 Denker Invitational in Indianapolis. Local hero Evan Sandberg is in front row at the right.)The 35th CalChess Scholastics will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center (near Great America) on April 17-18. This year, there is a second worthy scholastic event for top players to consider: the Denker Qualifier at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara on March 19-21. The Denker Qualifier doubles as the K-12 section of the Bay Area Chess Regionals. Why are there two state championships? Last year, CalChess made the unfortunate decision to schedule the state scholastics on the same weekend at the National High School Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The High School Nationals have never drawn a large crowd from the Bay Area, although sometimes a few elite players attend with the goal of bringing home a national title (like Michael Zhong in 2007). My students at Saratoga High School also achieved some success, finishing as high as 3rd place team in the country. In order to allow top players a (theoretical) chance to attend the National High School Championship and still have a chance to represent CalChess at the Denker Invitational this summer, there will be two separate events, one in March and one in April. However, only the winner(s) of the April championship may call themselves state champs. What is the Denker Invitational?  The Denker is a prestigious invitational tournament open only to high school state champions each year. There are approximately 50 invitees, one for each state (two for California). Named after the late Grandmaster Arnold Denker (photo at right), the field includes many experts and usually tops out in the mid 2200s, with maybe one or two players above 2300. Only juniors currently in grades 9 through 12 are eligible; younger players cannot qualify. Recent Northern California representatives were: Evan Sandberg (2009), Steven Zierk (2008), Nicolas Yap (2007) and Daniel Schwarz (2006). The invitational takes place each August at the US Open, held in different places each year all around the country. This year is a bit special because the location will be in Irvine, Southern California. The dates are July 31 through August 3. After completing six rounds in the Denker, players may choose to also play in the 6-day schedule of the US Open. That's 15 games of chess (each up to 5-6 hours) in 9 days. Most likely, I will play in the more leisurely 9-day schedule of the US Open. Who should play in the Denker Qualifier? Technically speaking, any student in K-12 may enter the Denker Qualifier, although a minimum rating of 1200 is needed for those in elementary or middle school. Very few, however, have a realistic chance to qualify. Generally speaking, only high school students rated over 2000 have a decent chance to win. Seven high school players are rated over 2000: FM Steven Zierk, NM Gregory Young, NM Rohan Agarwal, Evan Sandberg, Hayk Manvelyan, Nicholas Karas and Arthur Liou. Players younger than 9th grade may play for practice, but cannot qualify for Denker even if they win. I suggest that you should play in the Denker Qualifier on March 19-21 if you fall into one of the following categories:
I expect most players to choose the 2-day schedule (three G/60 then three more G/120). Those who prefer slower time controls and are free on Friday night can play the 3-day schedule (three G/90 then three more G/120). The two schedules will merge in round 4. Note: based on early entries, the 3-day schedule is significantly stronger with nobody rated under 1800. Which tournament will be stronger? I predict that the March event may actually be tougher than the official state championship in April, for the following three reasons:
Click here for the advance entry list posted at the Bay Area Chess website. As of March 10, there are 28 entries in the Denker Qualifier. (2-day schedule: 10 players, median rating 1888. 3-day schedule: 18 players, median rating 1763.) Only three of the seven eligible high school students rated above 2000 have entered so far. However, there are seven elementary school kids rated above 1800 who have chosen to play up. Make sure to register for the Denker Qualifier before the entry deadline on Wednesday, March 17! (St. Patrick's Day) Follow this link to the Bay Area Chess online payment system.  |
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:47:00 +0000 |
| The chess queen’s tweets (and videos) |
For quite a while now Alexandra Kosteniuk has had her own website, www.kosteniuk.com, where lots of information can be found about the glamourous World Champion, or “chess queen”, as she likes to be called as well. This is also the name of her Twitter account, where she’s pretty active as well, as you can see. Yesterday she tweeted:
which referred to this video, edited by her sister Oxana, about her win against Magnus Carlsen at the World Blitz Championship in November last year. On YouTube, Kosteniuk’s account is also chess queen. More of such videos can be found there. Update: Perhaps we gave the wrong impression that Alexandra Kosteniuk is mainly concerned with her own popularity, but in fact she’s also known for popularizing chess, especially among kids. We haven’t come across many chess players active on Twitter yet. Some famous personalities in other sports have been using the new medium, such as Shaquille O’Neal, Lance Armstrong and Nelson Piquet. Except for Alexandra Kosteniuk, the chess world’s celebrities don’t seem ready for Twitter yet. Perhaps this will change in 2010. There’s already a good way to play chess through Twitter and Dutch GM and ChessVibes commentator Dimitri Reinderman is even using it for book reviews! This site, ChessVibes, automatically posts links to all articles, and I’m still trying to add more “real” tweets on a regular basis, but I must admit that I’m still not used to it yet. But perhaps I can do some more during the Corus Chess Tournament which starts next Saturday. For a list of chess fans using Twitter, look here. Update: as David Korn noted, Natalia Pogonina has even more activity and followers than Alexandra Kosteniuk. In fact, Pogonina immediately replied to us with a tweet:
Well, what can I say? Clearly I’m still a complete layman as far as Twitter is concerned. And so I’ll just ask another question, which can be replied to with Twitter or below: which other GMs are active Twitter users? |
Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:00:25 +0000 |
| LA DAMA SACRIFICADA |
| Esta es la mejor partida del torneo de Martorell de este año,me salio una partida de las que cuando terminas te sientes orgulloso de ti mismo. Play chess online 1059957570  |
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:02:00 +0000 |
| EL APRENDIZ DE BRUJO |
| ESTA PARTIDA LA JUGE AYER EN UN TORNEO POR INTERNET Y TENGO QUE RECONOCER QUE MI JUEGO A MEJORADO CON LAS CLASES QUE ESTOY RECIBIENDO DEL MI OCAMPO,GANE A RIVALES DE MUCHO MAS ELO HACIENDO UN BUEN PAPEL EN EL TORNEO. Play chess online 1059957570  |
Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:20:00 +0000 |
| Miniaturas actuales |
 En el ajedrez actual no tenemos ocasión de encontrar partidas muy cortas (conocidas como miniaturas) en el ajedrez magistral. Antiguamente era muy frecuente, pero el desarrollo de la teoría de aperturas y la cantidad de información de la que se dispone en la actualidad ha tenido como consecuencia que la mayoría de jugadores adquieran con un poco de trabajo una buena preparación en el terreno de las aperturas. Conforme disminuye el ritmo de juego en una competición los errores florecen con más facilidad. Veamos un par de miniaturas de los desempates jugados a ritmo de semirrápidas en la Copa del Mundo que se disputa en Rusia. La primera fue jugada entre Shirov (blancas) y Fedorchuk. La segunda pertenece a Navra (blancas) y Shabalov. Play online chess Play chess online  |
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:03:00 +0000 |
| El rey berlinés |
 En los últimos años la variante Berlinesa de la apertura Ruy Lopez goza de bastante fama, con la confianza que han depositado en ella jugadores muy fuertes, siguiendo la estela de Kramnik, que se la planteó exitosamente al mismísimo Kasparov. Claro que uno de los problemas para las negras es la pérdida de la posibilidad de enrocar, que hace que en algunas líneas el rey quede algo expuesto. En la Copa del Mundo, que se disputa en Rusia y que reúne a grandes jugadores, hemos podido ver hoy una partida en la que la situación delicada del rey negro en el centro ha resultado decisiva. Ha sido una Berlinesa planteada en la partida Inarkiev - Eljanov, que ha supuesto un brillante triunfo para el primero de ellos.  En la posición del diagrama podemos ver como el avance de los peones blancos resulta muy peligroso para las negras. Inarkiev ha proseguido con su avance para tratar de llegar hasta el rey negro. 23.f6 Ta7 24.g5 Th7  25.e6 Las blancas conseguirán ahora que las torres puedan llegar a crear amenazas contra el monarca enemigo. fxe6 26.g6 Th6 27.Txe6+ Rd7 28.fxg7 Axg7  29.Cg5! Nada podrán hacer ya las negras para frenar el ataque rival. 29...Th5 30.Tf7+ Rd8 31.Txa7 Txg5+ 32.Rf1 Ab5+ 33.Re1 1–0 Podéis ver la partida completa en el visor. Play chess online  |
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:03:00 +0000 |
| FIDE Master Tanuj Vasudeva, Youngest in USA! |
 Here is a kid who trots around the world with his father, having discovered the fountain of youth at the chessboard. He brought home medallions of gold and silver from his conquests in far away lands such as Argentina and Turkey. At home, he has become a veteran of adult tournaments, playing in them since his sixth birthday. While playing, he is a wizard who may checkmate before you know what hit you! His infectious smile brightens any room that he enters, earning attention from 500s and 2500s alike. He was ranked #1 in the nation for age 7 and currently checks in at #2 for age 8. Now he is #1 in the Americas and #2 in the World, both under age 8.To those of us who know him well, his name is simply Tanuj. To everyone else, his name now comes with a  set of initials: FM Tanuj Vasudeva. As in FIDE Master, a lifetime title in the World Chess Federation. By winning the Pan American Championship Under 8 in Argentina this summer, he automatically became the youngest FM in USCF history and currently the youngest in the world. Not skipping a beat, Tanuj followed up 9-0 at the Pan Am with an even more impressive silver medal at the World Yo uth Under 8 in Turkey. Thanks to his father Tarun for the photos from Turkey at left and right. Tanuj became the Bay Area's third medalist in as many years at World Youth, behind FM Danya Naroditsky (gold in Under 12 in 2007) and IM Sam Shankland (bronze in Under 18 in 2008).
For a sample of Tanuj's playing style, check out this ruthless attacking game from the final round of the World Youth. His opponent is Hamzah Amier of Malaysia. Play chess online  |
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:02:00 +0000 |
| The Fabulous 00s: 2009 USCL Week 9 Opening of the Week |
USCL Week 9 Opening of the Week (OOTW)USCL Week 9 action sees a Caissic Horror Show brought out of the storage closet for Halloween! Charbonneau, Pascal (NY) -Enkbhat, Tegshsuren (BAL) Fugly Caro Advance 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. g4? LOL! This move is not good! White ‘forgets’ to play the mainline 4. Nc3 first covering e4. An ideal risky line in USCL fast time limit play unless black knows it (nightmare scenario).  LOL! 4…Bd7?! LOL again! Black submits to white’s bully-boy ploy and transposes inadvisedly into an old Bronstein-Petrosian 1959 USSR Ch. game. Note his game is not at all bad here, but students of the Nezhmet-Mackenzie Wars (striking similarities to TV’s Clone Wars) know that black should pop into the juicy square with 4… Be4! 5. f3 Bg6 and white is hurting in all variations. For example, 6. h4 h5 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 e6 and ewww. Or, 7. Ne2 hxg4 8. Nf4 Bh7 9. fxg4 e6 10. Nc3 c5! and black is faster. The nice thing is that black doesn’t have to do anything special, white’s problems are all self-inflicted with the 4. g4? lunge. Consult the above link for full gory details. 5. c4 Na6!? A nice inventive move. Black starts to redeem himself after the misstep last move. After the plausible but passive 5… e6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. c5 (White might be better off not doing this) 7…b6! 8. b4 a5 9. Na4 Nc8! 10. Rb1 axb4 11. Rxb4 bxc5 12. dxc5 here Petrosian played 12…Qc7? and missed a great shot, namely: 12… Na6! 13. Bxa6 Qa5!! exploiting white’s uncoordinated army. After 14. Bd2 Qxa6 black is just better. In the game Petrosian held on and drew, but Bronstein stood better with the space advantage (USSR Ch. Tbilisi 1959). 6. cxd5 After 6. Nc3 the move 6…Be6!? is very interesting. For example, 7. Nh3 dxc4 8. Nf4 Qd7 9. Nxe6 Qxe6 10. f4 g6 11. b3 h5 12. f5 gxf5 13. Bxc4 Qg6 14. gxf5 Qg2 15. Rf1 Nb4 and it’s anybody’s game. Not for the faint of heart. Even so, 6. Nc3 might be stronger; note black’s big improvement on move 6 in the game.  Knight Jump! Do it! 6… cxd5?! Boo! Black doesn’t follow through on his nice last move! Indicated was the logical and aesthetic knight jump 6…Nb4! exploiting the early g2-g4 opening of the c6-h1 diagonal. If 7. e6 (7. Qb3 Nxd5 8. Qxb7 Rb8 9. Qxa7 Nb4 10. Na3 Bxg4 11. Bd2 e6 and black is all right) 7…fxe6 8. Nf3 cxd5 and black is fine. Another humorous line: 7. Nc3 Qb6!? (7…Nxd5 is dead equal) and black can always take on d5 with the knight later. This game was just one big set of black missed opportunities. 7. Nc3 e6 8. h4 h5 9. gxh5 Nh6 Here, the immediate 9…Qc7 10. a3!? Nc7!? makes sense, rerouting right away the problem knight on a6. 10. Bd3 Qb6 11. Nge2 Nc7 12. a3 a5? Last chance to be competitive with 12…O-O-O! unclear. 13. Na4 Qa7 14. Rg1 Bb5 15. Bc2 We’re far afield of the opening now, but just notice that the simple 15. Bxb5+ Nxb5 16. Bxh6 Rxh6 17. Rc1 leaves black with a completely dreadful game. This is just to highlight that black drifted while white was purposefully developing. 15…Nf5 16. Bxf5 exf5 17. Ng3 Bd7 18. Be3 b5 19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. dxc5 Qa6 21. Rc1 O-O-O 22. c6 Be6 23. Qd4 g6 24. Bg5 Rde8 25. Well, I hope next time we see the juicy 4…Be4! on the board! In Other Week 9 NewsI see Jan van de Mortel won Game of the Week with an interesting Dragon vs Bartholomew. The variation as a whole does not have a good reputation. I am still a fan of 14. Rc1! and am a) surprised Bartholomew did not play it and b) wondering how Jan would improve if Bartholomew had played it. The full move order being 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Kb1 Qc7 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Rfc8 14.Rc1!. This inquiry, coupled with the Caro weirdness we looked at in this article and also in the “refutation post” referenced above, propels my “findings” onto center stage for future USCL duels. Or, does it? :O Concluding RemarksThank you Internet, for enabling the USCL and other chess online . The next image shows what the world would be like without the Internet.  What if the World Had No Internet?       |
Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:49:05 +0000 |
| RIP Jerry Hanken (1934-2009) |
 The venerable chess master Jerry Hanken passed on to a higher chess board on October 1, succumbing to complications of diabetes. He was 74. Jerry was best known as a correspondent for Chess Life magazine and Chess Life Online, mixing in human interest stories with tournament results. He would interview not only with the Grandmasters, but also winners of the lower class sections. His byline included the title "Original Life Master," referring to the old days when masters earned a 2200 floor by playing 300 games. Everywhere he went, Jerry would spread his infectious enthusiasm for the royal game. For more information about the life of Jerry Hanken, check out the two obituaries written by former USCF President Bill Goichberg and close friend Randy Hough. Or read Jerry's final online article about the Pacific Coast Open in July. To close, I wish to share a funny--and true!--personal story about Jerry Hanken. As he grew older, his chess playing strength deteriorated sharply from a peak of about 2350. He would lose to 1800 and 2000 rated kids with alarming frequency, yet his rating remained stuck at 2200 because of the floor. (Aside: Jerry still showed flashes of his old brilliance. In fact, he defeated teenage FM Daniel Yeager, rated 2388, in his next to last tournament.) Back in 2005, the Saratoga High School chess team and I traveled to play at the Western Class Championships held at a hotel near LAX airport. After seeing my round 3 pairing, white against Hanken, I boldly informed my teenage charges that, should I lose this game, I would jump out of the hotel room window. There was absolutely no way I could afford to go down against the old man without losing face before my students! The game started out with a boring Bird's Opening (1.f4) setup. Perhaps I showed some of my overconfidence because the aggressive play on the kingside (9.h4) was not justified. The alert sacrifice 16... Nxg3 allows black to force a draw by repetition, but I had little interest in a peaceful result with an old man. Yet by move 26, I was practically mated and would have had to resign after 26... Rf2+ 27.Kg1 Ne2+. Very embarrassing indeed! My students followed the game in the hotel room using Fritz and knew the end was near. Even Caissa saw my desperate situation. At the last possible moment, I set a subtle trap--and Jerry unwittingly walked right into it. After the seemingly reasonable 26... Nf3+, I replied with a stunning queen sacrifice to turn the tables! The Fritz evaluation changed from -6 to +7 in a single move. And with this fateful move, Jerry Hanken snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Poor guy! Returning to the hotel room, my students immediately became quiet. One quickly moved in front of the window, just in case I was a man of my word. Expecting me to be depressed, another started to express his sympathies. The chessboard on the floor showed my hopeless position. Little did they know that, by the grace of Caissa, I had won! Always a fan of queen sacrifices (he called them "parting with the lady"), Jerry illustrated the final combination in his magazine article. More than once since then, he told people how he saved my life. Thank you Jerry, for your infectious love of chess, your tireless efforts on behalf of the USCF and, of course, for saving my life! RIP YHR. Play chess online  |
Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:50:00 +0000 |
| Danya Scalps GM in Holland |
 As a former World Champion, FM Danya Naroditsky struts his stuff at tournaments all around the planet. After a mixed performance in Philadelphia at the biggest Open in the World, the young star flew across the Pond to play in the Leiden Open in Holland, where he now has 4.0 out of 5. He struck gold in his round 5 game against Ukrainian Grandmaster Yuri Vovk (2567). After a lightning kingside combination that began with 50.Qg5 and ended with 54.Rc5, Danya finally could claim his first ever GM scalp. Congratulations!Play chess online  |
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:49:00 +0000 |
| FESTIVAL CON LA BIRD |
| Esta partida es de las mejores que he jugado en los dos ultimos años ,es de aquellas que salen cuando estas inspirado y te encuentras bien para jugar Play chess online! 1059957570  |
Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:49:00 +0000 |
| HEINOLA 2ªPARTE |
Play chess online! 1059957570  |
Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:26:00 +0000 |
| 10 straight for Murrow HS |
 State's chess kings are from Brooklyn's Murrow High School for 10th year in a row BY Veronika Belenkaya DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Tuesday, March 10th 2009, 4:00 AM How do they do it? The legendary chess team at Edward R. Murrow High School is at it again, nabbing its 10th straight New York State championship last week. Coach Elliot Weiss said he doesn't stock his team with young Einsteins. The secret to the team's success is good, old-fashioned practice and the detailed analysis of the game. "There's a lot of instruction and practice, practice practice - three hours twice a week. We play one or two tournaments a month and the kids play chess online against other players," said Weiss, who's been coaching at Murrow since 1981. Many of the students on the team of 27 could barely play chess before joining the team. "Some knew how to move the pieces, but that takes no more than five minutes," he said. "If you really get into it, within two years, you could be a very strong chess player." One such player is Jian Ting Li, who signed on with the team as a freshman with no knowledge of the game. "I didn't know how to play when I joined," confessed Li, 18. Four years later, the senior is one of the team's top players. "I won my first competition, first place, in 11th grade," said Li, crediting his coach with the success. "He goes over our games, every single tournament. He finds mistakes, so we can improve on them. He plays games with us every week; sometimes, he plays eight games simultaneously." Weiss' detailed explanations are what sets the Murrow team apart from other schools. "You can find the best move and do it, but not always understand why. I explain what's the theory involved in what you're trying to do," Weiss said. "Most of the moves make sense and, if they don't, I explain why." Here is the full article.  |
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:31:00 +0000 |
| Aquarium not working on Windows 7 x64 build 7048 |
|
Isn't the priority wrong here. What you want the thing to do should have priority. For a chessplayer: 1. Browsing the Internet. Your browser need to handle java, javascript, silverlight (twic), and flash so you can play through games in the browser. For me Internet Explorer and Firefox seems to manage all tasks. 2. Handle e-mail. No special needs. 3. A chess databaseprogram. Chessbase and Chess Assistant are superior to others here so you need one of these. 4. A playingprogram. These made for Windows seems to have more feature than for other systems. 5. Playing chess online. ICC and Playchess seems like the best at the moment. Now you can start thinking of an OS, and the answer is obvious for a non pc-specialist. Then buy a PC/Laptop with the OS pre installed. Odd Gunnar |
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:25:24 GMT |
| ICC has more tools than the Sears hardware department |
when i play a game of chess online, i honestly appreciate the opponents time. especially when they are rated higher than me and i challenge them, i feel like they are taking their time to play me, even though its probably a waste, and i appreciate it. because of this, i have an automatic response which pops up as soon as my game has ended. something to the effect of “thanks for playing a game, i hope you had fun.” i also want to kind of remind people that this is a game, a fun way to pass the time, it signifies nothing. my (and your) ICC rating means nothing to anyone. its the superfluous nipple of numbers, there but no real purpose. it amazes me the weird replies i get after a game. after i lose, usually they write and say “yes, i had a great time!” of course you did, you won. its odd they say it though, it’s almost like “yeah, you suck, i loved it!” i have yet to have someone say they had a good time after they lost. i have had people who won and then told me how i suck and they are great, bullies and trash talkers. really? is your life so miserable beating someone online in a game is all you have? grow up, beat your wife and dog and children, and have a nice life. sorry about your penis. when they lose, i’ve gotten “fuck you,” i’ve been put on no play lists, accused of cheating, and had some other not too nice responses. my tag is chainsmoke, and i get a large number of people who send me the “smoking is bad for you, stop smoking” messages. really? you think i should? thanks doc, this is the first i’ve heard that smoking is bad, i guess i will quit now cause you said to. i just have to start first. i am always suspect of the guys who play a 5 minute or less blitz game, and take up to 10 seconds for each of the first 5 or 6 moves. i can only imagine some kid or guy sitting with his “beat the sicilian” book open, furiously flipping pages to see what the next move should be. really, i dont trust half of them and usually think they are cheating when that happens. one guy actually put me on his no play list because i open with 1d4. we would start, i would play 1 d4, he would abort. twice this happened, then he sent me a message saying “you are on my noplay list, i dont waste time with boring 1d4 players.” i hope he doesnt play some of those boring grandmasters at some of those boring tournaments. then there is the guys rated higher than me who play me in a rated game, they win, then they keep on challenging me, over and over, i guess to show me how they can beat someone rated 300 points lower then they are. usually by the 4th game (yes, i keep on playing, i dont care) i make retarded moves on purpose, then resign, and they keep on challenging me to a rated game. i play, lose, wash, rinse, repeat, until they get bored or annoyed or realize i’m not even playing, then i end up on a no play list. i didnt challenge them, i wasnt wasting thier time, why put me on a no play list? saves me the time to put them on the list, i guess. there is a small town’s worth of people who put their queen en pris, i take it, they ask for a takeback, a draw, abort the game, get angry when i dont do anything, and then disconnect. it just strikes me as scary how many people on the other side of the screen appear to have their whole life wrapped up in it, how they seem to define themselves by their ICC rating or how well they play chess. there are some way cool folks, more than the pathetic mental cases, but the fagtards seem to be the ones who really stick out, come to the surface, have the presence. i gotta say, i think i like them for the same reason i have to watch “i love money 2″ or any of the vh1 reality shows. amazing how humans can act and be and still manage to live so many years. you would think they would have been weeded out by now, but oh no. they are out there. and playing chess on ICC.       |
Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:39:11 +0000 |
| The Fabulous 00s: North American Open 2008 |
Let’s see my 7th round game vs GM Slavko Cicak. Shortly after this interesting game concluded, we could both be found at the Bally’s poker table. GM Varuzh Akobian could be spotted at the next table over. GM Slavko Cicak - M. Ginsburg Round 7 NAO Las Vegas 12/28/08. Sicilian Defense, 3. c3 4. Bc4 irregular 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bc4!? A pet line of Cicak’s that he employed in a prior round (not known to me at the time of this game).
Position after 4. Bc4!? 4…e6 After lengthy reflection I could not work out the ramifications of 4… Nxe4!? 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qxe4. But more insight reveals the surprising 7…Qd7! overprotecting the light squares (less convincing is 7… h6 8. O-O e5 9. Na3 Qf6) and black is fully confident with the bishop pair. For example, 8. O-O Qf5 9. Qe3 e5 10. Re1 Be7 11.d4 exd4 12. cxd4 Be6 13. Nc3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Rhc8 and black is fine! I am not sure if this approach has been seen in prior play. Objectively 4. Bc4 cannot yield anything. 5. Qe2 Be7 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 d5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. e5 Ne4 10. O-O O-O 11. Bd3 Black faces no particular problems after 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bd7 13. Bd3 Na5. After the text, black must find a promising pawn sacrifice since 11….f5?! looks weakening.
Position after 10. Bd3. Time for black to fight back. 11… Nb4! 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Bd7 14. Qe2 During the game I was more concerned about 14. Nc3 Bc6 15. Qg4, but after the careful 15… Kh8! black is OK. For example, White can get tricky offering a piece: 16. Rd1 Rc8 17. Be3 Nd5 18. Ne4 h6 19. Bg5! Bxg5 (clearly 19…hxg5? is not possible due to the queen and knight mate) 20. Nfxg5 Qb6! 21. b3 Qb4! 22. h4 Rc7 and black has enough counterplay. 14… Bc6 15.Be3 After 15. Nc3 Rc8 16. Be3 h6 17. Rfd1 Nd5 18. Rac1 Qa5 19. Bd2 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Bd5! black has plenty of Gruenfeld-like compensation. 15… Bxf3! It’s a shame to get rid of black’s beautiful bishop, but the shattering of white’s pawns leads to full compensation in all lines. 16. gxf3 f5! 17. f4 What else? And with this move white offered a draw. It’s card-playing time! A sample continuation is 17… Rc8 18. Nc3 Qd7! (the most accurate; less good is 18…Qa5) 19. Rac1 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Nd5 21. Qf3 Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Rxc3 23. bxc3 b5! and black keeps full compensation with an iron light square blockade. It’s almost impossible for white to undertake anything.
Position after 17. f4 - Final Position 1/2-1/2
Mark Diesen Memorial Articles Available!
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Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:45:53 +0000 |
| Saint Louis Swiss 8 Game |
| I played good against Daniel, was 2 pawns and then learnt some psychological aspects of the game in the process! how to never stop calculating the situations and fear not the tactical positions. Daniel saw great tactics at the end which I didnt in my clouded euphoric state and engraved my doom with a cute checkmate.. Heres the very interesting game. Play chess online! |
Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:48:00 +0000 |
| Annotated Standard Game |
Play chess online! Against Kevin (USCF 2000) I could have played a bit better. Hunger was gnawing at my core and it became hard to concentrate on the game at times. Excuses! Excuses! :) However, it was helpful to go over the game after the game and I learnt a few things from him. Getting busier at work. Attended Cardiovascular Dynamics Society conference on the weekend. I will be attending the Molecular Biophysics Retreat on Oct 12-13. I am working on a Circulation paper and have to work on proposal exam. Chess is sure to take a backseat for some time to come! However, I continue to solve tactics problems almost everyday from CTART3.0 I have solved the Level 1 problems and I am now working on Level 2 problems. I will repeat each Level problems until I achieve 90% pass rate at that level. I have passed Level 1 with about 93% and I have success rate of 83% in Level 2 problems. I have solved a total of 300 problems so far. |
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:47:00 +0000 |
| SCORM |
Here’s Wikipedia definition of SCORM:-
What has this got to do with chess? Nothing! I’m doing research on E-Learning system on a future project that involves SCORM compliancy. Just thinking how cool it is to have an online learning system involving chess that is SCORM compliant. It is the holy grail of all E-Learning system but many e-Learning platforms do not have SCORM compliancy because of the technical difficulty in building it. That’s what most my programmer friends tell me anyway. Almost all online chess learning system (that I’ve looked at) have no SCORM compliancy at all. That’s a pity as it means those systems are proprietary making the content limited to only that one site. Completing this project With SCORM compliancy I don’t have to worry about the content. I just concentrate on building the engine of the learning platform and leave it to other chess teachers/coaches to worry about coming out with good content. I think there is already quite a number of chess coaches qualified to teach but good online teaching tools that these teachers can use are quite rare and scarce. If you are a programmer who has some experience with SCORM, do tell me about it via email. Viewed 919 times by 186 viewers |
Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:36:23 +0000 |
| Primera victoria para Kramnik en el Mundial de Ajedrez |
Parecía que Kramnik ya no tenía ninguna oportunidad, pero hoy nos ha sorprendido con su maravillosa partida. Anand jugó una Defensa Nimzoindia, que anteriormente había jugado en otras ocasiones. Se complicó demasiado y empleo mucho tiempo en analizar las posiciones. Kramnik lanzó ataques constantementes, y tras un potentísimo ataque, Anand no tuvo mas remedio que rendirse en el movimiento veintinueve. El resultado actual es de 6-4 a favor de Anand. Si Anand gana medio punto más, se proclamará vencedor del Match de Ajedrez disputado en Bonn, pero hay opciones de un desempate el día 2 de noviembre. A continuación la partida entre Kramnik y Anand: 1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cc3 Ab4 4.Cf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Cxd4 0–0 7.Ag2 d5 8.cxd5 Cxd5 9.Db3 Da5 10.Ad2 Cc6 11.Cxc6 bxc6 12.0–0 Axc3 13.bxc3 Aa6 14.Tfd1 Dc5 15.e4 Ac4 16.Da4 Cb6 17.Db4 Dh5 18.Te1 c5 19.Da5 Tfc8 20.Ae3 Ae2 21.Af4 e5 22.Ae3 Ag4 23.Da6 f6 24.a4 Df7 25.Af1 Ae6 26.Tab1 c4 27.a5 Ca4 28.Tb7 De8 29.Dd6 1–0
Play chess online!
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Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:03:57 +0000 |
| 2nd Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament |
 Dear College Chess Players of the Americas, It is time for the Second Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament. Based on your feedback, we have streamlined the registration process this year. Since you are playing on ICC and using your ICC handles, we will use only your ICC ratings for pairings. That eliminates you having to make an additional USCF rating entry. The tournament is free with no entry fee. To register, go to www.chessclub.com/activities/CCLinfo.html. You will find: Individual Online Championship is to be held in October. Games are played online on Sunday afternoons at 3 PM EST. The dates for 2008 are: Round 1 -- October 19 Round 2 -- October 26 Round 3 -- November 2 Round 4 -- November 9 Round 5 -- November 16 Time Control is 90 minutes per side with 30-second increment. To sign up, please fill out the form below: First name: Last name: College name: As you can see, it is very simple and quick with only three lines to fill in. If you are not an ICC member, then you can join ICC at the above link. Then, you can return and register. You need to do that fairly soon. The College Chess Committee believes that playing chess online will keep you sharp for when you do play at USCF OTB tournaments. We are fortunate to have Jon Haskel (jon@bocachess.com) back as our TD for the third consecutive year. He has directed me to tell you that: 1. Registration cut-off is midnight PST on Friday, October 17. 2. Maximum of two 1/2 point byes allowed. Last round byes must be requested prior to the start of the round 4 games. 3. The pairings will be available sometime late on Saturday, October 18 at the College Chess League website www.collegechess.org. 4. Go to the College Chess League website each week to see results posted and the new pairings. Please forward this email on to others that you know in the college chess community. It is very difficult for us to maintain a comprehensive database. The number one complaint that we receive about participation in college chess tournaments is “I didn’t know anything about the tournament.” The annual online college team tournament will begin in at the end of January. We look forward to seeing you online and having fun this year! Best regards, Jim Stallings Chair, College Chess Committee Susanpolgar.blogspot.com  |
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:46:00 +0000 |
| 2nd Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament |
 Dear College Chess Players of the Americas, It is time for the Second Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament. Based on your feedback, we have streamlined the registration process this year. Since you are playing on ICC and using your ICC handles, we will use only your ICC ratings for pairings. That eliminates you having to make an additional USCF rating entry. The tournament is free with no entry fee. To register, go to www.chessclub.com/activities/CCLinfo.html. You will find: Individual Online Championship is to be held in October. Games are played online on Sunday afternoons at 3 PM EST. The dates for 2008 are: Round 1 -- October 19 Round 2 -- October 26 Round 3 -- November 2 Round 4 -- November 9 Round 5 -- November 16 Time Control is 90 minutes per side with 30-second increment. To sign up, please fill out the form below: First name: Last name: College name: As you can see, it is very simple and quick with only three lines to fill in. If you are not an ICC member, then you can join ICC at the above link. Then, you can return and register. You need to do that fairly soon. The College Chess Committee believes that playing chess online will keep you sharp for when you do play at USCF OTB tournaments. We are fortunate to have Jon Haskel (jon@bocachess.com) back as our TD for the third consecutive year. He has directed me to tell you that: 1. Registration cut-off is midnight PST on Friday, October 17. 2. Maximum of two 1/2 point byes allowed. Last round byes must be requested prior to the start of the round 4 games. 3. The pairings will be available sometime late on Saturday, October 18 at the College Chess League website www.collegechess.org. 4. Go to the College Chess League website each week to see results posted and the new pairings. Please forward this email on to others that you know in the college chess community. It is very difficult for us to maintain a comprehensive database. The number one complaint that we receive about participation in college chess tournaments is “I didn’t know anything about the tournament.” The annual online college team tournament will begin in at the end of January. We look forward to seeing you online and having fun this year! Best regards, Jim Stallings Chair, College Chess Committee |
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:26:00 +0000 |
| Efforts to Encourage Chess Teaching |
 With Susan's new blog template in full operation and her career still going strong with chess promotion I'm glad to see that she still remembers where the uninformed minds still remain. I don't mean to get down on the education system in the U.S. but it is all too often that teacher, principals, administrators, and school board members have no clue that chess is so valuable in education. Anyway, I'm debating on getting Susan to Kentucky. Her presence has done wonders for chess in Texas and I think a few events here in KY (tournaments or seminars) would be a big kick in the pants to local efforts. HMMM ... the Chessvine.com and Susan Polgar Foundation team up to increase chess online and off ... it has a nice ring to it. mwahahaha :}~ |
| A couple of new websites |
| Over the last 6 months I've registered on so many chess related websites that I've begun to lose track of which ones they are. Some are sites I intend to use frequently (eg chessworld.net), some infrequently (www.fics.org) and some hardly at all (www.chesscube.com). Here are 2 more websites, which you can check out at your leisure. The first is www.chess.com For a long time this site barely did justice to its prime net position, but over the last year it underwent a revamp. It is a hybrid game/information site, and at this stage I tend to use the latter service. You search on chess services (clubs, coaches, tournaments) that are near you, and it also has a calendar of events, which I've used to publicise Street Chess. It supports both turn based chess (think CC) as well as 'live' chess (think FICS), although the latter is buggy and comes with a health warning. Click on the button to visit.  Play Chess Online! The second site that I've just discovered is www.yourchess.net It advertises itself as the first web 2.0 chess portal. At this stage I've checked out the front page, which looks nice, but have yet to register. When I do I'll bring you more news. |
2008-08-29T23:15:00.002+10:00 |
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Alexandra Kosteniuk keeps on looking for ways to popularize chess online, while simultaneously working on the “brand Kosteniuk”. The reigning Women World Champion (probably helped by her husband here and there) has her own website and YouTube channel and seems to be the 
Well almost nothing..
