Rest day at AAI

AAI Grandmaster Chess Tournament - Rest Day
Sasikiran hopes to build on his recovery as GMs interact with Delhi kids

New Delhi, June 27: After five grueling rounds, it was a case of well-earned rest for the six Grandmasters assembled for the inaugural AAI Grandmasters Chess Championships that is now halfway through.

The Grandmasters met up with a group of young chess players from the city and interacted with them, giving them useful tips and also encouraging them. “I am very happy to see so many youngsters keen on learning and improving in the game,” said the World Junior No. 1 Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

India’s senior player, Krishnan Sasikiran added, “Chess has become popular and the addition of tournament like the AAI Grandmasters event will mean more interest and better results for Indian chess.”

The Indians have had mixed luck so far with Sasikiran having rebounded after his first two losses with three wins in a row, but young National champion, Parimarjan Negi has managed only 1.5 points with one win and one draw and suffered three losses in five rounds.

Sasi said, “I am not fully satisfied with the quality of my game, but now with a plus one I hope to build on it and do better. I am playing Category 17 tournament after a long time and the more I play the better it is. Playing Closed events like this with highly rated players is always different from Open events where the initial opponents are weak. Here every player is very strong.”

The other Indian challenger, Negi, added, “I am beginning well but have not been able to keep up the tempo. I need to concentrate more. But I am not putting any extra pressure on myself.”

The tournament leader, Fabiano Caruana, who has won three games and drawn two and is the only unbeaten player in the tournament is confident of maintaining his form. “I will not say I have been playing brilliant chess, but I have been happy with some of my games. 

Hopefully I will do better with white pieces in the second half. But I must say I am enjoying the tournament and the interest it has created in Delhi,” said Caruana.

Women’s World champion Hou Yifan has been disappointing with four losses in five games. The teenager smiled and said, “I am hoping I can improve in second half after the rest.”

Caruana leads with four points while Laznicka is second with 3.5 points. Sunday’s win with black for Sasikiran from a Ruy Lopez in 56 moves brought him to three points and that must seem a big relief after two losses at the start. Wesley So has 2.5 points, Negi 1.5 and Hou Yifan has half a point.

After the rest day on Monday, the sixth round will be played at 2 pm on Tuesday.

Points after five rounds:

4 points - Caruana
3.5 - Laznicka
3 - Sasikiran
2.5 - Wesley So
1.5 - Negi
0.5 - Yifan

Draw for sixth round: F Caruana v Negi P; V Laznicka v H Yifan; K Sasikiran v W So

Official website

Interview with WGM Natalia Pogonina

Recently Russian Women's Grandmaster Natalia Pogonina agreed to give an interview to The Weak Square. So I took a few days off of work, learned the Russian language and flew to Russia to meet with her.

This interview may appear awkward at points because of the language barrier. I must openly admit I was not able to fully learn the Russian language in 4 days. Plus there are a few words in Russian that just do not quite translate to English perfectly. I hope you will excuse any imperfect translations.

Without further ado, yours truly is proud to present my interview with Natalia Pogonina.

(Translated from Russian)

WS: Natalia, hi. First of all, thank you so much for your time. We need to start with the obvious question. Just so we can go ahead and get it out of the way because the entire chess world wants to know this, are you attracted to 5'7" slightly overweight men?

NP: Height is by far not the most important dimension for a man (smiles)

WS: Right. Well let's move on then. What is your favorite "non chess" activity?

NP: Music and karaoke, dancing, reading books and writing poems, sports both practicing and watching, playing poker, spending time with my friends and answering 5’7” slightly overweight men’s questions.

WS: Well, I don't know all about that music, reading, poetry, friends rubbish-but I certainly respect your position on answering questions for 5'7" men. So moving on, what advice would you offer to an adult player who has hopes of reaching a master title one day?

NP: Practice consistently, every day. Find a balance between over-the-board play and studies.
People often make the mistake of preferring one to another. Environment matters – make sure you have chess friends who are of equal or slightly higher level than you, so that you could train, play, hang out together. Mind setting – make sure you can afford spending time, money and nerves on chess.

WS: Hrm, that sounds like too much work. I was hoping for something a little easier but that's cool. Which chess book has been the most influential in your playing career?

NP: I can't name one. I have a link of my ten favorite chess books on my blog.
http://pogonina.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=1

WS: Wow that's impressive that you threw out that entire URL from memory. But I must admit I'm really disappointed that my favorite chess book didn't make your list, "How to Beat your Dad at Chess" which is clearly the finest treatise on chess ever written. Wouldn't you agree?

NP: 

WS: Ahem... who is your favorite chess player, past or present?

NP: Favorite- Bobby Fischer, greatest player ever- Garry Kasparov.

WS: Who? Nevermind. Let's move on. Don't you think "Chess: The Musical" was kind of lame?

NP: I haven’t seen it yet, but may as well trust your judgment.

WS: And, BCS or Playoff system?

NP: No system is perfect, both are reasonable. Usually the system that allows your favorite team to win is the best.

WS: What is your favorite movie?

NP: Lots of them; "Forrest Gump", "Amelie", "Talk to her". I also like movies such as "Ice Age", "Shrek" and "Wall-E".

WS: You obviously forgot about the greatest movie of all time, "Krull".

NP: What?

WS: You know, Krull. With the Glaive? Nevermind. Next question, did you ever feel like fighting an opponent because you got so angry with them over a game?

NP: No, I prefer to kiss them to death on the spot instead.

WS: I'll try that next over the board game I have, I'm sure my opponent will appreciate it. Finally, this is actually a serious question. Any time I talk to someone who has made a name for themselves in chess I try to ask them this question because I think it's a good one. Was there ever a time you got so upset after a chess game you considered giving up chess permanently?

NP: I’m an optimist, so I try not to take my losses too hard. I treat each defeat just like a chess lesson. Of course, when everybody (including myself) is bugging you about a won endgame that you’ve somehow lost, it’s terrible. And I’ve also seen lots of amusing situations, for example a GM losing a symmetrical queen plus f,g,h pawns endgame versus an amateur and mumbling resentfully to himself: “Ok, I’m quitting chess!”

WS: Well stated! Well thanks again for your time. I know I flew to Russia to meet you but I only have time for ten questions because I have to be at work in the morning.

Final Thoughts: I am sure Ms. Pogonina has never met such a remarkable barrage of eloquent questions presented by such a charming and humble interviewer. Despite the cerebral nature of my questioning I thought the young lady handled them quite well. In all sincerity I did appreciate her time and energy in helping us out.

Please visit her site at www.pogonina.com

You can also follow her on twitter.

McDonald's Hosts Chess Simul

McDonald's Hosts Chess Competition 
Exhibition features Russian chess master
June 26, 2011
2:06pm

McDonald's restaurant on Broad Street hosted a three-hour "Simultaneous Exhibition" Chess competition Saturday afternoon, featuring Russian chess master Lev D. Zilbertmints.

Zilbertmints challenged five players at the same time, according to store manager Jessica S. Quintana-Dicellis.

Charles Conley took first place in the compeititon. Quintana-Dicellis said Kareem, who also declined to give his last name, but goes by "Chess Master 2000," won second place. There was no third place. The winners received cash prizes of $100 and $50, respetively. The first five people who registered for the competition received $10 gift cards to McDonald's, according to Quintana-Dicellis.

Zilbertmints is a native of Moscow, who has lived in the U.S. since 1975. His late father, David Zilbermints, taught him how to play chess in 1974. Zilbermints has reigned as Essex County's Chess Champion since April 23, 1995, when he first won the championship.

— Staff reports

Source: http://westward.patch.com

World Team Championship 2011

World Chess Team Championship 2011
15-26th July at the New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo, China (update)

The Chinese Chess Association with the patronage and support of the Ningbo Municipal Government and Ningbo Sports Bureau has the honour to announce the 2011 World Team Chess Championship in Ningbo, China. The event will be held from July 15 2011 (arrival) to July 26 2011 (Departure) at the playing venue in New Century Grand Hotel Ningbo.

According to FIDE Regulations D.07.11.6.2., the following Federations are entitled to send a team:
1. China (host country)
2. Russia (winner 2009)
3. Ukraine (Olympiad 2010)
4. Israel (Olympiad 2010)
5. Hungary (Olympiad 2010)
6. Azerbaijan (Europe qualifier)
7. India (Asia qualifier)
8. USA (America's qualifier)
9. Egypt (African qualifier)
10. Armenia (FIDE President's nomination)

The championships will be played using a 9 round, round-robin system. The time control: 90' for 40 moves + 30' to the end + 30'' increment per move, staring from move 1. Zero tolerance rule will apply and draw offers can not be made for the first 30 moves.

Each match will be scored by match points as used in the FIDE Olympiad. Winner will get 2 points, a draw will give each team 1 point, and a loss is scored as 0 points.

China completed the team just few days ago: Wang Yue, Wang Hao, Li Chao b, Yu Yangyi and new national champion Ding Liren will represent the country.

Russian captain GM Evgeny Bareev will announce his team soon. The candidates are Alexander Grischuk, Sergey Karjakin, 2010 European champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, Evgeny Tomashevsky, Nikita Vitiugov, Peter Svidler and 2011 European champion Vladimir Potkin. Vladimir Kramnik asked to be excused from the World Team Championship.

Update: Russian team selected

Update: Armenia captain Arshak Petrosian announced his team - Levon Aronian, Sergei Movsesian, Vladimir Akopian, Gabriel Sargissian and Armenia 2011 champion Robert Hovhannisyan.

Update: Indian team announced

Update: Azerbaijan team announced

Update: Israel team announced

Update: Ukraine team announced

Wojtaszek wins Marx György by 1.5

IX. György Marx Memorial men - Final standings

1. Wojtaszek, R 8 2. Berkes, F 6½ Smirin, I 6½ 4. Salgado Lopez, I 3½ Bologan, V 3½ 6. Ács, P 2

IX. György Marx Memorial women - Final standings

1. Kashlinskaya, A 6½ 2. Mádl, I 6 Mkrtchian, L 6 4. Rudolf, A 5 5. Dudás, E 3½ 6. Sharevich, A 3

Official website: http://marxgy.ase.hu/en/index.html

Anand: ‘Chess is very South-heavy, it doesn’t play nationally’

Viswanathan Anand: ‘Chess is very South-heavy, it doesn’t play nationally’
Ashish Magotra Jun 27, 2011

Viswanathan Anand has been playing chess at the highest level for 24 years.

That’s longer than the time Sachin Tendulkar has been around in international cricket, that’s around the same time when the Simpsons made their television debut and that’s before India launched its policy of liberalisation. To cut a long story short, he’s been around for a long time and he hasn’t scraped the bottom. He’s been around at the top, competing with the best the world has to offer.

Maybe, that’s also why he’s taken for granted, in a certain sense. He’s been around for so long that he seems like a fixture. He’s the top ranked player in the World at present, and one of the only six players in history to break the 2,800 mark on the FIDE rating list — the list of achievements can go on for a long time. But put him next to Tendulkar, and we all know who is going to garner the attention.

“In India, chess is very South-heavy. Maybe, you can add West Bengal and Maharashtra to that. But it’s a very southern sport and it doesn’t play nationally. What is beginning to change is that more people are starting to take it up from various parts of the country, which is heartening. And the second thing is that because we are using the schools network, a lot of kids are able to learn it along with their studies. In fact, we also think that there is a positive co-relation between the two,” said Anand from Chennai.

In the popularity sweepstakes, Anand and chess have carved out a niche for themselves. But that’s it – there’s nothing beyond that. Despite various initiatives to try and make chess more popular, there is a feeling that it’s never quite managed to shake off the tag of being a game for the intellectuals. And perhaps that’s hurting the ‘sport’ of Kings.

“See the thing with chess is that to truly appreciate what’s happening you need to know the rules. If you don’t know the rules, you can’t see what’s happening, you can’t see the battle unfolding,” said Anand. “Unlike any other physical sport where you can see things happening and learn from them without being an expert.”

“But with the advent of the internet, you can feel the tension of the players without being at the venue. It has happened to me recently while watching games on the internet and I believe it’s so much easier to actually understand and learn from the best players in the world. It’s like a whole new world out there, just waiting to be explored.”

In a detailed interview, Anand speaks about the journey of chess and his part in it, about his greatest battles across the 64 squares and how the internet and computers might help finally break down the barrier to popularity and make the battles come alive for all those watching.

Full interview here.

Brunello wins 1st Festival Internazionale di Torre delle Stelle

M. De Rosa

Official website: http://torredellestelle.cagliariscacchi.com

In the first round, Italian women champion wfm Maria De Rosa got a draw against GM Timman

De Rosa, Mariagrazia - Timman, Jan

[B83]

(annotator M. De Rosa)

90'+30"/40+30'

Torre delle Stelle (Cagliari),

22.06.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Cf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Cxd4 Cf6 5.Cc3 d6 6.Ae2 Ae7 7.0–0 0–0 8.f4 Cc6 The modern Sicilian Scheveningen.

9.Ae3 e5 10.Cb3 exf4 11.Axf4 Ae6 12.Rh1 d5 13.e5 Cd7 14.Cxd5 Cdxe5 15.Cxe7+ Dxe7 16.De1 

The idea i sto play Dg3.

16...Ad5 17.Ab5 

Too early for 17.Dg3 owing to 17...Cg6

To evaluate 17.Df2 and then Tae1.

17...a6 18.Axc6 Cxc6 19.Dg3 De4!? 20.Cc5! Dxc2 21.Cd7 Tad8

21...Tfd8, 22.Cb6 Ta7 23.Ac7±

22.Cxf8 Rxf8 23.Tf2 De4 24.Td2! Te8 25.h3 h6

25...Axa2 26.b3 Axb3 27.Ad6+ Rg8 28.Dxb3+-

26.b3 De6 27.Ad6+ Rg8 28.Tad1 Ae4 29.Aa3 Ag6 30.Ab2 Rh7 31.Td7 De2 32.Dc3 Te5 33.Dd2 Dxd2 34.T1xd2 Tb5 35.Tc7 Cb4 36.Ad4

White owing to Zeitnot do not see 36.a4 Th5 37.Txb7 Txh3+ 38.gxh3 Ae4+ 39.Rh2 Axb7 40.Td6+-

36...Cc6 37.Ab2 Cb4 38.Ad4 Cc6 39.Ab2 ½–½

(draw)

The tournament was won by Sabino Brunello (uaoh!!) with 6 out of 7, then GM Markos 5.5, then GM Kogan and GM Timman 5.

Maria (22 years old, university student) was 7th together GM Sergio Mariotti.

2011 US Junior Chess Championship Dominated by Young

By Chess Coach William Stewart

Original article on the 2011 US Junior Chess Championships available on William's website

Gregory Young Cleans Up!

Gregory Young dominated the 2011 US Junior Chess Championship with a score of 7.5/9, overcoming a field with an average USCF rating of 2408! Young kicked off the tournament with a fine attacking win against Raven Sturt, a solid defense and counterattacking win against John Bryant, and a positional grind against Jialin Ding to begin with a perfect score at 3/3. Immense pressure against Conrad Holt in round 4 led to a tactical blunder on move 24 to move Young’s score to 4/4. The path to perfection was brought to a screeching halt in round 5, as Alec Getz achieved significant pressure in the opening which led Young to blunder from an inferior position on move 24 and resign. In round 6, Young quickly created a strong attack against Kayden Troff and broke through his opponent’s position with a series of tactical blows to win material, which Young smoothly converted to an easily winning endgame.

Young Exchanges Blows w/ Naroditsky After 29. ...Nxe1

With 5 out of 6 points, Young was leading the field however he needed to finish strong to ensure top honors. In round 7, he faced the original tournament favorite - Daniel Naroditsky - in a tactical slugfest. The game began calmly as white opened with the Maroczy Bind, however Young’s active response created wild complications. Shot after counter-shot ensued, and the position resulted in a drawish rook + opposite-colored bishop endgame with Young maintaining an extra pawn. At the time, I thought Naroditsky would hold the draw without too much difficulty - however his defense was simply not active enough and Young was able to force through towards the white king. This was Young’s best effort of the tournament, as Naroditsky forced him to accurately attack until the very end.

Young Sacs a Piece Against Harper w/ 16.fxe6!?

Young uses Fischer-Sozin variation 3 times against the Sicilian

Young was able to ensure his 1st place victory with an excellent sacrificial win over Warren Harper in round 8. For the third time in the tournament, Young successfully employed the Fischer-Sozin Variation against the Sicilian. I was surprised at his opponents’ inability to cope with this aggressive opening and prepare a legitimate response. After sacrificing a piece with 16. fxe6!? Young achieved an extremely imbalanced position with good attacking chances against the black king. Harper was unable to stand the pressure and resigned on move 36, moving Young to an unbeatable 7 out of 8 points. In the last round, Young forced a drawn position against Victor Shen in 55 moves to finish with an impressive 7.5/9 points - winning the 2011 US Junior Closed Championship in dominating fashion. Congratulations to Gregory Young on a fantastic tournament - and taking down the first place prize of $3,000 dollars!

Game .pgns are available at http://saintlouischessclub.org/2011-junior-closed-championship

By Chess Coach Will Stewart (USCF 2256, FIDE 2234)

Triumph return for Morozevich as he wins the Russian HL Championship

Final top 10 standings

1. GM Morozevich (2694) 8 points (11 games)

2-3. GMs Timofeev (2665), Galkin (2598) 7½ points

4-12. GMs Tomashevsky (2707), Sjugirov (2629), Matlakov (2632), Inarkiev (2679), Volkov (2615), Zvjaginsev (2659), Grachev (2669), Rublevsky (2682), Fedoseev (2506) 7 points

Official website: http://russiachess.org

Fier wins zonal 2.4 by a landslide

Final top 5 standings

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	GM	Fier Alexandr	BRA	2560	8.0	0.0	40.5	51.0
2	FM	Barbosa Evandro Amorim	BRA	2343	6.5	0.0	41.0	54.0
3	IM	Di Berardino Diego Rafael	BRA	2480	6.5	0.0	40.5	52.5
4	GM	Cordova Emilio	PER	2561	6.0	0.0	41.5	53.5
5	IM	Molina Roberto Junio Brito	BRA	2406	6.0	0.0	40.0	52.0
6	GM	Matsuura Everaldo	BRA	2480	6.0	0.0	39.5	49.5
7	GM	El Debs Felipe De Cresce	BRA	2497	6.0	0.0	39.0	49.5
8	IM	Toth Christian Endre	BRA	2366	6.0	0.0	37.0	48.5
9		Dias Simao Poscidonio	BRA	2029	6.0	0.0	31.0	40.0

Full results here: http://chess-results.com/tnr51710.aspx

Attacking chess tactic

White to move. How should white proceed?

1r3k2/4nrb1/1qNpQ3/3P1p2/p3b3/P1p4R/1P3P2/K6R w - - 0 1

Wojtaszek wins Marx György Memorial with 1 round to go

Round 9 results

Smirin, Ilia	- Salgado Lopez, Ivan	1/2
Bologan, Viktor	- Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	0-1
Ács, Péter	- Berkes, Ferenc	1/2

Standings after 9 rounds

1.	Wojtaszek, R	7½
2.	Berkes, F	6
	Smirin, I	6
4.	Bologan, V	3
5.	Salgado Lopez, I	2½
6.	Ács, P	2

Official website: http://marxgy.ase.hu/en/index.html

Women's standings

IX. György Marx Memorial women

1.	Mádl, I	5½
	Kashlinskaya, A	5½
3.	Mkrtchian, L	5
4.	Rudolf, A	4½
5.	Dudás, E	3½
6.	Sharevich, A	3