tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136047942009-12-20T22:26:58.414+01:00and a bit of tennis...Milan Leenoreply@blogger.comBlogger925125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-18664778287929756762009-12-06T19:22:00.003+01:002009-12-06T19:28:40.626+01:00

GM Lexy Ortega, formerly Cuban junior champion, since 1991 resident of Rome and since 2007 Italian citizen, won the 2009 Italian Chess Championship after the dramatic tiebreak match against GM Michele Godena. Earlier, both collected 7.5 points from 11 rounds of the regular tournament.Godena was probably winning in both rapid games, but the persistent Ortega turned the tables and took his first

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-64431430519461210392009-11-14T18:54:00.002+01:002009-11-14T19:10:04.998+01:00

The 2009 Tal Memorial concluded today with Vladimir Kramnik winning the first place and claiming his second major tournament this year. Earlier he also won Dortmund (his 9th trophy there), after taking a timeout in the first half of the season.But another, and for some probably even more important news, is that Magnus Carlsen beat Peter Leko in the final round and surpassed Veselin Topalov on the

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-74913376787904643542009-11-06T08:51:00.002+01:002009-11-06T08:55:10.153+01:00

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis agreed to sponsor the U.S. team in the 2010 World Team Chess Championship being held Jan. 4-13 in Bursa, Turkey."One of the primary purposes of the Chess Club is to promote top-level chess," said Tony Rich, Executive Director of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. " What better way to do that than by sponsoring the U.S. team in

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-70708296022075163122009-10-26T19:24:00.002+01:002009-10-26T19:32:19.763+01:00

1.3 A player qualifies to be registered under a Federation:(a) if he or she is qualified by citizenship or naturalization in the country of that Federation; or(b) if he or she has resided for a continuous period of two years in a country of which he or she is not a citizen and, after thorough examination and clearance by the FIDE General Secretary, is approved for registration under the new

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-71077672205628609342009-10-26T18:58:00.001+01:002009-10-26T19:00:54.122+01:00

Grandmaster Koneru Humpy seems to have declared war on All India Chess Federation secretary DV Sundar. The World No. 2 also released documents to support her allegations. Earlier, Humpy had withdrawn from the Asian indoor championship after Sundar allegedly refused permission for her to be accompanied by her father/coach.Sundar had termed Humpy's allegations "baseless" and a "combination of

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-17921321231521854582009-10-14T01:26:00.003+02:002009-10-14T01:37:07.966+02:00

The European Team Chess Championship is scheduled to take place from 21st until 31st October in Novi Sad. Russian teams are having problems at the Global Chess Olympiads, but in 2007 they convincingly won both Men and Women European Championship.In Novi Sad they will be defending titles as top seeded teams. Men roster: GM Morozevich Alexander 2750, GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2742, GM Svidler Peter 2741,

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-18099984211264718012009-10-07T09:58:00.002+02:002009-10-07T10:05:36.871+02:00

The long anticipated battle between the top US female players finally took place last night in the third round of the 2009 U.S. Women's Championship. The defending champion Anna Zatonskih beat IM Irina Krush with black pieces.Why is this so important - read here and follow their links.

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-55234455968978931652009-10-07T09:09:00.000+02:002009-10-07T10:11:55.153+02:00

On the surface, it appears there are very few similarities between chess and poker.However, international chess champion turned poker pro Almira Skripchenko says appearances can be deceiving.And after she made a final table appearance in the 2009 World Series of Poker's $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event this past summer, it's hard to disagree with her."I just think that chess players are naturally

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-48337103004457265482009-09-29T14:25:00.002+02:002009-09-29T14:29:36.892+02:00

Why are the Russians and their neighbors so good at chess?Because the Soviets subsidized the game. After the Bolsheviks took power in 1917, it became a national pastime. Soon after the revolution, Vladimir Lenin's supreme commander of the Soviet army, Nikolay Krylenko, laid the foundations for state-sponsored chess: He opened chess schools, hosted tournaments, and promoted the game as a vehicle

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-43021642679651764682009-09-29T13:21:00.002+02:002009-09-29T14:24:42.524+02:00

RB: Over the next six weeks Dan and I will be announcing our shortlist for the fourth Guardian Chess Book of the Year award. I start today with Chess Strategy For Club Players by Herman Grooten (New in Chess, €25.95).The focus is on strategy rather than tactics. It's about what happens when the opening is over. At certain points, depending on the type of position, concrete calculation will be

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-5182694906872136042009-09-25T03:05:00.001+02:002009-09-25T03:09:01.686+02:00

As a cultural phenomenon, chessmania in the West was doubtless a one-off. Between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ascendancy of the computer, chess lost its mystery. There is nothing romantic about algorithms. That is why the Kasparov-Karpov tour may attract crowds, but they will be watching these one-time kings out of nostalgia, not excitement.Pierre Garon: How the game of chess lost its

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-24508819788933162442009-09-22T19:48:00.001+02:002009-09-22T19:51:29.996+02:00

The legendary chess champions Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov have agreed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their World Championship matches with a series of exhibitions to be held in five countries that hosted their epic battles through 1980’s.The first exhibition is taking place in Valencia, the next is scheduled for Paris and then follows Moscow early next year. The events include

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-58409963517419908182009-09-14T19:06:00.003+02:002009-09-14T19:30:28.258+02:00

Portugal chess championship was held in the city of Amadora, on 5-13 September. Top rated player IM Ruben Miguel Nunes Pereira beat FM Joao Maria Da Camara Cordovil in the last round and preserved the first place, half point ahead of the second placed GM Antonio Fernandes.Final Ranking crosstable after 9 Rounds:1. IM Pereira Ruben Miguel Nunes (2447) 6.52. GM Fernandes Antonio Manuel De A (2409

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-15011713006000008812009-09-09T04:59:00.003+02:002009-09-09T05:24:17.573+02:00

Agenda and Annexes for the 80th FIDE Congress are published on the FIDE website. The Congress takes place from 11th to 18th October in Khalkidiki, Greece.Among many interesting proposals (annexes), we will note one that calls for regulation and certificates for players' managers:Today there are many people around the world they say that they are manager of professional players. But unfortunately

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-5917607245434879952009-09-07T11:31:00.003+02:002009-09-07T11:37:54.969+02:00

Alcohol, cigarettes, beauty contests, lightning speed and other interesting facts about Vlad Tkachiev, the FIDE President's nominee for the World Cup, - read in Hindustan Times.

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-6280621452591206152009-09-03T22:42:00.004+02:002009-09-03T22:51:59.040+02:00

Breaking news: Minutes after the end of the meeting between Boiko Borisov and the team of Veselin Topalov, Silvio Danailov confirmed in a phone call to Chessdom.com that Bulgaria will for sure bid for the organization of the World Chess Championship match between Veselin Topalov and Vishwanathan Anand.Topalov - Anand Sofia bid to be 3 million euroBulgaria’s pride, World No. 1 Topalov and his

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-63543980240383344932009-08-30T01:41:00.003+02:002009-08-30T02:02:22.020+02:00

Even without the backdrop of political schisms and the spectre of mutually assured destruction, chess is a transfixing game in its own right – especially for writers. It has been the inspiration for countless novels, plays and pieces of short fiction, many of which are collected in a wonderful anthology called The 64-Square Looking Glass. What is it that makes chess such a consistently

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-68390566969037115682009-08-26T22:43:00.003+02:002009-08-26T22:48:17.637+02:00

RA President, President of RA Chess Federation Serzh Sargsyan awarded Armenian Grandmaster Levon Aronian with a certificate for apartment in Yerevan new building.Levon Aronian, 27, won FIDE Grand Prix session preterm. However, a day before Aronian failed to win FIDE Grand Prix tournament in Jermuk, Armenia. At that, he was leading the overall standings compared to his rival Azeri Teimur Radjabov.

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-14493106704745973012009-08-26T22:37:00.000+02:002009-08-26T22:40:19.511+02:00

People have found a means to occupy their minds as well as their time by commencing in playing board games, such as chess, checkers or even bingo game, for literally hundreds of years. There are actually written documents that were recorded that mention games that we all still avidly play today.Games such as chess, go, and mahjong are three of the board games that have gone down in the history

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-34242330689437395982009-08-25T06:00:00.002+02:002009-08-25T06:33:02.191+02:00

It looks like USCF is short of money to cover for the litigation.The regular adult USCF membership rate will increase from $29 to $34 effective December 1, 2009. See all your current membership options and renew or join at the USCF webstore.

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-43100517215407905792009-08-24T04:35:00.003+02:002009-08-24T04:42:53.966+02:00

The Schachgesellschaft Zürich celebrated its 200th anniversary with a series of attractive chess events. An Open tournament, Champions Simultaneous Play and the Champions Rapid took place between 9th and 23rd August.Viswanathan Anand, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Viktor Korchnoi, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky and Veselin Topalov played against 200 chess lovers in a simul that took place at

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-27807340380434628802009-08-16T06:13:00.001+02:002009-08-16T06:16:41.123+02:00

Friendly match Russia-China is currently ongoing in Sochi. Live games and results on http://russiachess.orgRussia team: IM Tatiana Kosintseva 2539, IM Nadezhda Kosintseva 2482, IM Elena Tairova 2450, IM Marina Romanko 2447, WFM Valentina Gunina 2437, GM Vladimir Malakhov 2707, GM Evgeny Tomashevsky 2689, GM Artyom Timofeev 2681, GM Nikita Vitiugov 2681 and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi 2632. China team:

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-40620529374319275282009-08-09T09:20:00.001+02:002009-08-09T09:23:36.036+02:00

The II Grand Slam Final Chess Masters 2009 will be held in Bilbao from September 6th to September 12th on the same stage that hosted the 2008 Bilbao Masters Final. Therefore, the Bilbao Plaza Nueva (central square), in the heart of the city, will again host the great glass cube that made it possible last year for a tournament of such prestige to be played outdoors for the first time in the public

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-26156767062462427472009-08-09T08:55:00.002+02:002009-08-09T09:06:02.657+02:00

Chessvine and Jack Le Moine's Blog reported that "Susan Polgar and her husband Paul Truong have just been expelled from the US Chess Federation".At the moment, there is no confirmation on the USCF website or Susan Polgar's blog.

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13604794.post-82128334492588710662009-08-09T07:44:00.002+02:002009-08-09T08:02:42.766+02:00

The 5th FIDE Grand Prix is taking place on 9th-24th August 2009 in Jermuk, Armenia. The limping cycle is somehow moving to its final phase, but the host of the 6th tournament is still unknown. Levon Aronian has best chances to win the whole thing.The first round is starting in few hours but the pairings are not posted.Players: Levon Aronian ARM 2768, Dmitry Jakovenko RUS 2760, Peter Leko HUN 2756

Milan Leenoreply@blogger.com0