Chessvine.com

ColonelCrockett On Goldtoken.com

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:59:00 -0400

If you have an account with Goldtoken.com (it's easy to register for a free account) feel free to look me up: http://goldtoken.com/games/player?p=49187

Interview With Kasparov Talking About Carlsen.

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:43:00 -0400

2010 European Champions

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:31:53 -0400

European Champion 2010 Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi

European Women's Champion 2010 GM Pia Cramling, Sweden

Source: Chessbase

Armed Forces Chess

nospam@example.com (jlemoine) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:35:14 -0400

A few days ago, I asked about this. USCF EB Member Mike Atkins responded:

The previous US Armed Forces Opens were held at:
2009- Gettysburg War Museum, Army, Chief TD/Organizer Mike Hoffpauir
2008- Bethesda Naval Hospital, Navy, Tom Belke Organzier, Ernie Schlich Chief TD
2007- Henderson Hall Marine Corps Base (On the grounds of Fort Myer, next to Arlington Cemetary), John Farrell/Organizer, Michael Atkins, Chief TD
2006 - Washington DC Old Soldier's Home, Org/Lt. Col Doug Taffinder, Chief TD/Michael Atkins
For the 2006 event we brought in as special speaker retired USAF Lt. General William Earn Brown, a chessplayer who was in one of the Tuskeegee Airman graduating classes in the late 1940's.

The US Armed Forces Open is open to solder who are active-duty, retirees (20+ year retirees) and students at the Academies.

This year's event is being organized by Lt Col Taffinder again and will be in the DC area. They do a wonderful job in securing donated prizes and have gotten financial support in the past in order to purchase great trophies. The Military Academies participate in the tournament with West Point typically bringing the most players. When it is being held on military bases, the rooms for the academy students are usually free and the EF is always free for everyone.

The Military Chair recently resigned and they are in the process of ironing out a strategy to always have a Chair. I am the EB Liaison to the Military Committe.

Mike

(Used with permission.) Here's a chess site devoted to this topic:
http://www.usmilitarychess.org/

World Records In Chess

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:32:02 -0400

Check out the World Records In Chess on Wikipedia!

Carlsen Beats Smeets - Joins Lead

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:49:20 -0400

After winning 2-0 one more time, today against Smeets, Carlsen joined Vasily Ivanchuk in the lead in Nice. The Ukrainian on his turn defeated Aronian 1.5-0.5, while Kramnik went down 2-0 against Gelfand.

Top Scorers In The Women's Section of Rijeka (After seven Rounds)

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:41:18 -0400

# Ti. Name FED RtgI Pts. TB1 TB2 TB3 Rp
1 GM Socko Monika POL 2465 6.0 22.0 30.5 5 2694
2 GM Stefanova Antoaneta BUL 2555 5.5 24.0 33.5 4 2614
3 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan SCO 2447 5.5 24.0 32.5 5 2663
4 IM Cmilyte Viktorija LTU 2485 5.5 21.5 30.0 4 2595
5 WGM Galojan Lilit ARM 2380 5.5 21.0 29.0 4 2589
6 GM Cramling Pia SWE 2523 5.5 21.0 28.5 5 2605
7 IM Dembo Yelena GRE 2457 5.5 17.5 25.0 4 2537
8 GM Kosintseva Tatiana RUS 2524 5.0 23.5 32.5 4 2570
9 IM Muzychuk Anna SLO 2533 5.0 22.0 31.5 3 2556
10 GM Sebag Marie FRA 2506 5.0 22.0 30.0 3 2507
11 IM Muzychuk Mariya UKR 2444 5.0 21.5 30.5 3 2561
12 WGM Zhukova Natalia UKR 2492 5.0 21.5 29.5 3 2500
13 IM Khurtsidze Nino GEO 2434 5.0 21.5 29.0 3 2523
14 IM Rajlich Iweta POL 2459 5.0 21.0 29.5 3 2484

Chessvine Isn't On The Kenilworthian Blog List

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:38:02 -0500

I was a bit offended that my buddies over at the Kenilworthian didn't list me on their chess blogs list. But with the chess blogging community growing it's becoming that much harder to keep us all together isn't it?

I remember when chess blogging had only a select few hardcore bloggers. We've lost a number of those old veterans but in their place we have dozens more now! It's a good time to be a chess blogger and we're gaining momentum.

Chess Club Rap?!?

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:57:00 -0400

An Unimpressive Chess Magic Trick

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:54:52 -0500

The Queen's Gambit

nospam@example.com (jlemoine) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:22:45 -0500

Get ready to play in a chess tournament this weekend.

Here's a little video to help you get your engine started. (-or to just learn a little more about the game.)

Almost always, when the Queen Pawn meets the Queen Pawn in the center, White supports with the Queen Bishop Pawn. While this forumation is not as deadly as its brother formation on the Kingside, it is more strategic and hence more practical.

I usually play this. I note that the QB pawn usually moves up next to the Q pawn no matter what Black does.

This is an overview for beginners.

Chess events in your area . . . and visit The Chess Website who created these wonderful videos.

www.jacklemoine.com

Jrobichess Reminder

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:07:00 -0500

check out Jrobichess on youtube!!

Positively Sam Sloan

nospam@example.com (jlemoine) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:55:15 -0500

Is there a strategy for Sloan getting back to some status of respectability in the chess world? (I’m thinking of something like the post-Watergate Nixon did.)

First, let’s clear out some underbrush. About the election:

Sloan’s election chances are slim. The worst thing from his standpoint was that he’s in an effectively 2 man race. Had there been a third man for that last slot, then he might have had a shot at getting in by the majority of anti-Sloan voters splitting their vote. As it is, every one of them can concentrate their votes on Walters. The election is Walters’ to loose. He does not need to be qualified or even knowledgeable; he just needs to avoid anything stupid. Sloan’s only hope is to get people thinking the USCF is badly managed and then go negative on Walters. He’s not up to the job; he cannot fix things – that sort of spiel. This is a plausible strategy for him; he likes attacking people. Still, Sloan faces the problem that he has no base of support. Further, in his case, his experience on the Board actually works against him in this election.

I just do not see him winning this. Even if he does win, what does he get? - A seat at a Board where he will once again be isolated. Worse, Sloan being Sloan, he probably won’t be able to resist the opportunities to cause trouble. Having gone to the well once already, the USCF may do unto Sloan what it did to Polgar and Truong and expel him. Eviscerating the rules for removal from the Board will not be the novelty it was last year.

Sloan’s best bet would be to withdraw from the race so that he can get an early start on his rehabilitation but to analyze that move would be to withdraw from any plausible Sloan-like behavior into fantasy. So, I assume that he will run, adopt some strategy such as I imagine, and loose.

Then what? What is his best strategy from that point?

The Race for the USCF Executive Board

nospam@example.com (jlemoine) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:36:20 -0500

Since Susan Polgar and Paul Truong were forced off last year, their seats are vacant. This July the members will elect 2 people to replace them. 3 candidates have filed:

1) Mike Neitman, who has served for a very long time in Scholastic Chess Committees and has a long record in USCF affairs.

2) Gary Walters, who has no record at all but has played a few rated games in the past few years. He has also posted 300+ times on the USCF's forums, mostly attacking yours truly.

3) Sam Sloan, who has a very long record in USCF affairs but it is really bad. He served 1 year on the EB in 2006-2007.

Of the candidates, Neitman is a lock, so the real election is between Walters and Sloan for that last seat. Because Sloan is so unacceptable, people are trying to pump up Walters by exagerating his qualifications and downgrading the qualifications expected of an Executive Board Member.

I shall provide much more explanations of this short summary in the future.

Sick Day

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:31:36 -0500

I am still feeling under the weather (this is day four or five) and I'm taking this one totally off! I posted my illness on my facebook status and a friend sent me the following song:

Morozevich Out Of 2010 Melody Amber

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:15:04 -0500

Thanks to Chessvibes for being the first site to let me know that Morozevich will not participate in this years Melody Amber. KUDOS!

Newest Grandmaster: Richárd Rapport

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:27:00 -0500

Actually at thirteen years and eleven months, but still according to our calculations the fifth youngest player in history to gain the title. Richárd did it in spite of a last-round loss to chess legend Lajos Portisch, who is almost 60 years older than the lad. The tournament was held in Hungary and was won by Alexander Beliavsky. Congratulations to the new GM.

Source: Chessbase

Kasparov and Carlsen Alter Strategy for 2010

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:20:00 -0500

The cooperation between Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest chess player in history, and Magnus Carlsen, one of its greatest talents, began early last year. The results came faster than anyone had expected: Magnus was number one in the last two world rankings. Now the work between the two takes a new direction, with Magnus making all career decisions on his own. Press release.

Garry Kasparov: “Magnus is one of the greatest natural talents I have encountered in chess, and his recent performance has exceeded even my very high expectations. Our time together – our training camp sessions – has been deeply invigorating for me as well. It was because of these sessions that I felt confident to play the anniversary match against Anatoly Karpov in Valencia last September – with good results, I might add. It was also very gratifying for me to see Magnus climb to the world’s number one position well ahead of our original schedule. Magnus has shown the deadly instincts of a great champion. During his tournaments, when we spoke about upcoming games, Magnus always wanted to play the sharpest and most dangerous continuations, an illustration of his increased confidence in his powers. Our work together during the past year in Croatia, Oslo and Marrakesh gave him a great deal of ‘ammunition’ which, even when it was not used, helped him go into battle with the indispensable belief that he should expect to win every time he comes to the board. I see a great future for this extraordinary player.”

Source: Chessbase

Dutch Defense, Stonewall

nospam@example.com (jlemoine) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:26:09 -0500

Get ready to play in a chess tournament this weekend.

Here's a little video to help you get your engine started. (-or to just learn a little more about the game.)

The Stonewall has pawns on KB4, K3, Q4, and QB3. Either Black or White can move into this formation. In my experience, it is really hard to bust this formation. I recall Max Euwe's book on the middlegame had an extensive chapter on how to bust this formation.

This is one formation I recommend for beginning players.

Chess events in your area . . . and visit jrobi who created these wonderful videos.

25 CCA Chess Tournament Myths

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:10:23 -0500

25 WIDELY BELIEVED MYTHS
about Continental Chess Association tournaments
Revised 2/22/10

MYTH 1: If I enter in advance and my entry is lost, I will be refused entry in the tournament and my travel to the site will have been wasted.
ACTUAL: No such thing has ever happened in our 45 years of running tournaments. If you enter in advance, the chances that your entry will somehow go astray are very small, not nearly sufficient to justify worrying about, and if this does happen we will get you into the tournament anyway. We always have sufficient space and no entries are ever rejected due to space considerations.

MYTH 2: If the advance entry list has not yet been posted at chesstour.com, I need to call or email the CCA to find out whether my entry was received.
ACTUAL: If you enter online and see "Thank You For Your Order," your entry is confirmed. We recommend that you either record your order number or print out the page on the screen, in the unlikely event there is a problem. If you want a further confirmation, please be patient and wait for the advance entry list to be posted (link is in middle of home page). We don't confirm advance entries individually which would be an enormous amount of extra work, as it is not possible to search the shopping cart by name for entries that are not yet processed, and often we fall behind processing a tournament because we are concentrating on another tournament that will be held earlier.

MYTH 3: It is important to confirm that my advance entry was received.
ACTUAL: No it isn't (see #1 and #2 above), and even though we do not confirm entries individually, the many confirmation requests we receive make it harder to prepare for running a tournament.

MYTH 4: If I enter in advance online, I will receive a confirming email.
ACTUAL: Our shopping cart is not set to send confirming emails. We disabled this feature as it kept malfunctioning, leading to many questions which we don't have time to answer.

MYTH 5: Advance entries must check in at the site.
ACTUAL: There is no check in, all who enter in advance are paired for round 1.

MYTH 6: You can't do a bye in round 1 entering after the round has started.
ACTUAL: No problem, just arrive before round 2 pairings and you can enter with a round 1 bye, we don't need to know in advance that you are coming. Or arrive before round 3 pairings and you can take two byes. Of course, this is a late entry so for most events the fee is slightly higher.

MYTH 7: We need to know about your byes before the tournament.
ACTUAL: We only want to know with an advance entry about byes that will occur before you begin play. Other byes should be requested at the tournament.

MYTH 8: My name is misspelled on the advance entries, I must notify CCA.
ACTUAL: Unless you are unrated, please don't, as the advance entry list isn't used for anything once the event begins, and the spelling will almost certainly be correct after we retrieve your info from the USCF database.

MYTH 9: Advance entries are posted so you can see who is in your section.
ACTUAL: They are posted only to inform you that your entry was received and allow you to check that your section and schedule were recorded correctly. You can't tell well from advance entries who will be in your section, because many players enter on the last day or at the door.

MYTH 10: It takes 26 games to get a USCF rating.
ACTUAL: It takes 4 games to get a USCF rating. After 26 games the rating is called "established," which means it will change more slowly.

MYTH 11: Provisionally rated players are unrated.
ACTUAL: Provisionally rated players are rated, and in most tournaments are treated the same as established players. At a few of our very biggest tournaments only (World Open, Chicago Open, North American Open, one or two others) there are prize limits for provisional players, but their ratings are still valid for entry.

MYTH 12: You lose your rating if you are inactive for many years.
ACTUAL: Wrong. Once rated, always rated.

MYTH 13: You can play below your rating if inactive for many years.
ACTUAL: You can never play in a section limited to those below your rating.

MYTH 14: Players with foreign or FIDE ratings but no USCF ratings are unrated.
ACTUAL: Players with ratings or categories from any country, or FIDE, are rated.

MYTH 15: Players with unofficial ratings are unrated.
ACTUAL: If you have an unofficial rating at uschess.org and are otherwise unrated, we will generally use that rating. On rare occasions we may not, for example we might not see that rating because it appears online after we have finished looking up that player's rating.

MYTH 16: Players formerly in a higher class must enter that class.
ACTUAL: You can always use your official USCF rating to decide your section, unless we have assigned you a CCA minimum rating. At a few of our largest tournaments only, there is a prize limit for those who were 30 or more points above the class in the past year, but those players can still enter that class.

MYTH 17: Tiebreaks are used for cash prizes.
ACTUAL: Cash prizes are split evenly, except that for some events, there is a bonus, in the top section only, for clear first place or tiebreak winner.

MYTH 18: If 5 players tie for first with 4 and I have 3.5, I place second.
ACTUAL: If 5 players tie for first with 4 and you have 3.5, you place (or tie for) 6th. (As in sports in which if two teams are tied for first, no one ever says that the team following them is second.)

MYTH 19: If I can't play the next round, my opponent will be happy to take the win and I don't need to tell anyone.
ACTUAL: It's important that you notify the Tournament Director in advance if you are skipping a round or withdrawing from the tournament. Many players find it highly annoying to be deprived of a game, even though they win by forfeit.

MYTH 20: If I forfeit without notice, I can just show up for the next round.
ACTUAL: Players who forfeit without notice are removed from the tournament. To get back in you must tell the Director that you are back, and you may be asked to pay a fine or put up a deposit to assure that you don't forfeit again.

MYTH 21: If my opponent doesn't show up, I post a win for me, 1 vs. 0.
ACTUAL: You must post 1F vs. 0F, the F standing for forfeit. If you post 1-0, we won't know that your opponent failed to show and will pair him or her again, probably causing another forfeit.

MYTH 22: You can't get black twice in a row.
ACTUAL: This is common, and you can even sometimes get the same color three times in a row! Score has priority over color, so colors will alternate perfectly for everyone only if white and black win the same number of games each round.

MYTH 23: If both players had black last round, and the same number of each color in the tournament, the higher rated player (or player with more points) gets white.
ACTUAL: This happens only if both players have identical color histories in every round. Otherwise, the most recent round in which the players' colors were different decides. For example, in round 7, WBWBWB gets white against BWWBWB.

MYTH 24: The hotel says there are no rooms left at the chess rate, so I can't stay there.
ACTUAL: Though this could be true, hotels often misinform players, saying there is no availability or quoting a higher rate when actually the chess rate is still available. Before giving up, call the hotel Sales Office during normal business hours (Monday-Friday 9-5) and if that doesn't work, send us an email.

MYTH 25: I called on the last day listed for reservations and the hotel says no rooms are available, but it was guaranteed that they would still be available on this date.
ACTUAL: How can we guarantee such a thing? Rooms can always sell out. After the date listed, the hotel has the right to raise the rate or give our rooms to another group, but even if you are "in time," if other chessplayers got the rooms first, you are out of luck! Best is to not wait until the last few days, and reserve as early as possible, at least a week before the date advertised.

The Chess Queen Becomes Champion for Peace

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:33:35 -0500

PRESS RELEASE RELEASED MARCH 3, 2010
by PEACE AND SPORT & CHESSQUEEN:

The Chess Queen Becomes Champion for Peace

MONACO, MARCH 3, 2010 – WOMEN’S WORLD CHESS CHAMPION ALEXANDRA KOSTENIUK TODAY JOINED "CHAMPIONS FOR PEACE”, A CLUB OF TOP INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES COMMITTED TO SERVING PEACE IN THE WORLD THROUGH SPORT.

Champions for Peace, an initiative from “Peace and Sport, l’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” is now delighted to count 39 heroes from the winner’s podium who actively or symbolically help to create a genuine culture of peace throughout the world using sport. They represent 24 nationalities, 25 Olympic and non-Olympic sports disciplines, 49 World Champions, 20 Olympic Champions and more than a hundred national and regional titles.

At 25, reigning women’s world chess champion Alexandra Kosteniuk brings her international reputation and her numerous victories to promote this noble cause. Initiated to the game of chess at 5 years old, she started collecting international awards from the age of 10, became world champion Girls U-12 in 1996, Women’s European Champion in 2004, Russian Champion in 2005, before winning the supreme women’s world title in 2008. The same year she won the first-ever gold medal in ‘Mind Sports Games’. Alexandra holds the highest title available to men and women chess players – Grandmaster.

Beyond her talent and performance, through her leadership in chess education excellence, Alexandra brings unprecedented experience and motivation to the Champions for Peace initiative. For over 10 years, her high moral standards, ethics and charisma have made her an inspiration and role model for her generation and for millions of fans all over the world. A true ambassador for chess worldwide and on the web, Alexandra has always worked to ensure that her favourite sport serves peace, human development and social progress.

In her role of "Champion for Peace", she will travel to Colombia in the near future to launch a program for peace and social cohesion, initiated by Peace and Sport in partnership with the NGO Colombianitos and the International Chess Federation (FIDE). This program will over time enable 4,000 children living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in cities in Colombia to learn chess.

"I am very pleased to be part of the Peace and Sport movement,” declared Alexandra Kosteniuk. “I want to give back to the world the love and happiness that I have received through the wonderful game of chess. I firmly believe that chess serves the cause of peace by improving the lives of young people. I have seen firsthand how chess helps students to develop the skills they need to be successful in life."

Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, himself a World Champion and Olympic Medallist, added: "We are deeply honoured that the Chess Queen has joined the Champions for Peace family. Alexandra has proved to the world that "Chess is Cool". It’s a real pleasure to be able to count on her enthusiasm, determination and intelligence to inform new audiences and convince policy-makers that sport can and must contribute to sustainable peace."

Other Champions of Peace include such sporting legends as SERGEY BUBKA (Olympic Champion and six-times World Champion, Pole Vault, Ukraine); FRANKIE FREDERICKS (double World Champion, 100 and 200 metres, Namibia); CATHY FREEMAN (Olympic Champion and double World Champion, 400m, Australia); YELENA ISINBAYEVA (double Olympic Champion and double World Champion, Pole Vault, Russia), CHRISTIAN KAREMBEU (World Champion, Football, France) BRADLEY MCGEE ( Double Olympic Champion, World Champion, cycling, Australia), PAULA RADCLIFFE (World Champion, Marathon, United Kingdom) as well as many more.

For more info see Alexandra's Post

Chess Humor My Bundesliga

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:59:19 -0500

I must have a well refined sense of humor because I derived a twisted kind of pleasure from the following headline:

"Werder Bremen catches Baden-Baden in the Bundesliga"

Chess Haiku Week: Dennis Fritzinger

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:14:00 -0500

Sitting down to chess, the traditional handshake— then the knives come out.

Source: Mechanics' Chess Club

Karpov Announces FIDE President Candidacy

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:59:59 -0500

“It is necessary to restore order,” Karpov was quoted. “The problems with the World Championship, the calendar, changes of decisions, changes during a cycle, this didn’t happen before. Besides, the prestige of the World Champion should return to its old level.”

Source: Chessvibes

The New Chessboxing Season Starts in London (March 13)

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:09:28 -0500

Source: Chessbase

Alekhine's Defense

nospam@example.com (jlemoine) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:09:40 -0500

Get ready to play in a chess tournament this weekend.

Here's a little video to help you get your engine started. (-or to just learn a little more about the game.)

I've found this to be easy to play from Black, especially against weaker players. As White, I used to be tempted to advance all 4 pawns but I usually did badly. This is, of course, the whole point of the Alekhine Defense: to tempt W to advance his pawns so that you can break up his center.

Book lines lead to obscure positions. While the obvious move 1. ... Nf6 was played for a century before, it is named "Alekhine" because of his great success with this move Budapest in 1921.

Play that Game!

Chess events in your area . . . and visit jrobi who created these wonderful videos.

www.jacklemoine.com

Chess Haiku Week: Martin Kelly

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:29:00 -0500

a knight moves to check
revealing bishop takes queen
indefensibly

Source: Laura Sherman

Chess Haiku Week: Captain Hops

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:20:00 -0500

Lightning and thunder
Strong ale, hard rain, and high wind
Dramatize each move

Source: Beer Haiku Daily

Chess Haiku Week: Juliet Wilson #2

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:09:00 -0500

the grand master
holds the queen in his hand -
a black cat stretches

Source: Juliet Wilson

Chess Haiku Week: Juliet Wilson

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:05:00 -0500

chess players sit
silently at the table -
mist on distant hills

Source: Juliet Wilson

Chess Haiku Week: Raul Groom

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:04:00 -0500

One man controls space
His opponent, the tension.
A knight, intrigued, leaps.

Source: Raul Groom

Why Is Chessvine.com Not Covering Linares?!?

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:54:24 -0500

Because our friends over at < a href="http://www.chessdom.com/">Chessdom.com already are more than adequately ... live coverage, round recaps, etc.

Chess Recession by Jose Diaz

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 07:46:00 -0500

Nabakov Chess Sonnet #3

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 06:44:00 -0500

A full-fledged sonnet, though, I failed to write
However sweetly rang the night-bird's sighs
But fondling pawn-tops and twin castles' thighs
I worried the enigma till the light.
I made it, haunt and hecatomb despite
With you by night lit up by joyous cries
Unstable stars swimming in streaming skies
And darkling leaves stirred by the poet's right.
My Spaniard and my gnome, my Philidor
You see it here spread out your eyes before
Pieces, though few, with harmony imbued
By lunar glow enhancing pale and jet
While I performed enraptured, you subdued
Perfected on your chessboard my sonnet.

Nabakov Chess Sonnet #2

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:38:00 -0500

Unison and flight lie hidden in problem chess
Beat and dance both. So plant the chequered field
And marvel at the chiaroscuro yield
With seven men white, three black, not more, not less.
The ebon queen by cavalry beset
And interlocking pawns in amber taut
Await the outcome floating in time caught
By clashing weapons, lord and slave, in debt.
Watch how the starburst queen with power ablaze
Buzzes the solver's mind into a daze
To tease, to lure him away into dark.
But then this flitting nymph flies to the rescue
Clad in the lacquered garb of magic clerk
And barely hovers, pointing with her fescue.

Nakamura To Be In Saint Louis

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:21:46 -0500

The headline on Chessdom says it all: "U.S. Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura to play in Saint Louis Open 10-11th April, at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis"

Chess Sonnet By Nabakov

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:00:16 -0500

Sources: Chessvibes, ChessCafe

The masterly rook strides to iambic theme
While lady bishop's way is anapaest.
Ballet and brain - that's chess! Hear drunken feast
From coffee-house with fog-occluding steam
Where Philidor from Légal won his spurs.
But now a Spaniard deep in brow and scheme
Confronts a gnome, thick-lensed, an eerie dream
Of blue-veined arms and eyes Chimera's curse.
Aha! That rook steps out in menace mien
As thought descends. "Caramba! Look, your queen!
You must resign!" But shakes the gnomic neck
And gripping a purple piece with nail and claw
A bishop sacrifice, a wizard check
And there it is, it is, it's mate in four.

Shameless Self Promotion

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:35:37 -0500

Check me out in all these cool places:

Facebook

Myspace

Twitter

Peter Lalic Youtube Chess

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:56:08 -0500

From: Peter Lalic

"Hi!
I like your blog, and noticed that it has the intention to teach improving players.
Therefore, I am just wondering if you would be so kind to post a link to these chess videos:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4CF48F864CFA7853
Hopefully they are instructive. The latest games are presented with notation as well. Please take this as an example for consideration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIRBdyk3Obc
Thank you very much.
Peter"

I love to get these kind of e-mails. From my inbox directly to my friends that read the blog: PRESTO!

Happy Valentine's Day 2010!!!

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 07:44:00 -0500

Michael Buble - Haven't met You Yet

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:40:00 -0500

General Shogi Terms

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:27:41 -0500

Source: http://www.shogi.net/shogivocab/general.html

Chess Attack Press Release

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:39:04 -0500

"I am proud to be a part owner of Yes Games AS and an ambassador to Chess Attack. I was excited to find out about the new game "Chess Attack", which in my opinion is perfect for both grown ups and kids and greatly adapted to modern times. Chess Attack offers portability, innovation and shorter playing times, while retaining all the values of chess, such as the same pieces being used, and same playing rules. Chess Attack stimulates thought, is easy to learn, so even kids can start playing it minutes after they take it out of the box". - Alexandra Kosteniuk

See the Full Press Release Here.

Betsy Dynako Blogs on Nakamura

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:42:02 -0500

For those of you who still don't know Betsy Dynako is a brilliant photographer. She has covered chess events for several years and in a recent blog entry she explains her Chess Life cover photo of U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura.

"I felt like I might as well have said, “Pick your nose, it will look great. Trust Me.” Luckily Nakamura indeed trusted me and settled into the shot. I like this shot more than any of the others I posed of him that night. I feel like I bonded with my subject in that moment, and I was able to capture a winner’s smile that conveyed the relief of knowing the relentless hard work was over and well worth it."

FIDE World Club Cup

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:46:59 -0500

FIDE announces that the first World Club Cup will be held from July 11th to 20th in Dubai, UAE. There are two competitions for Open and Women's teams. Please download the Regulations for Open / Women.

Aeroflat Open 2010

nospam@example.com (ColonelCrockett) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:21:14 -0500

Source: Chessdom

The International Chess Festival Aeroflot Open 2010 will be held in Moscow from 8 February to 19 February 2010. This will be the 9th edition of the Aeroflot Open and for the fifth year in a roll the competition will take place in the major tourist complex "Izmailovo" - hotel "Gamma – Delta".

The Festival consists of four Open Tournaments (A1, A2, B and C), which will be filled according to the participants' ratings. Additional to these events, the qualification for the World Blitz Chess Championship 2010 (the reigning champion is Magnus Carlsen) will be held within the festival.

Naturally, the most interest is aroused by A1 tournament, requiring from a player a rating above 2550. The winner of this group earns invitation for the 2010 Dortmund round-robin tournament. The last-year champion Etienne Bacrot is still not on the provisional list of players (Update: Bacrot is now confirmed participant), but the field will be incredibly strong with the World Junior Chess Champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Bu Xiangzhi, Alexander Motylev, Vladimir Volokitin, Ivan Cheparinov, Gabriel Sargassian and Evgeny Najer among the top-seeded.

Former Aeroflot winners, from 2002 onwards, are Gregory Kaidanov (USA), Viktor Bologan (Moldova), Sergei Rublevsky (Russia), Emil Sutovsky (Israel), Baadur Jobava (Georgia), Evgeny Alekseev (Russia), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) and in 2009 Etienne Bacrot (France).

The total prize fund of the four tournaments is EUR 140 000

Tournament A1: for chessplayers with a FIDE rating higher than 2549, 1st Prize - 21 000 EUR
Tournament A2: for chessplayers with a FIDE rating less than 2550, but higher than 2399, 1st Prize - 9 000 EUR
Tournament B: for chessplayers with a FIDE rating less than 2400, but higher than 2199, 1st Prize - 3 500 EUR
Tournament C: for chessplayers with a FIDE rating lower than 2200 or without rating, 1st Prize - 2 000 eur

The qualifier for the World Blitz Championship 2010 (Final) will take place on 18th February 2010, in the same venue (complex "Izmailovo"), as a double nine-round Swiss Blitz Tournament will be held. The final tournament will take place in Moscow in November 2010. It will consist of 20 players (10 participants of Mikhail Tal Memorial 2010, 6 winners of the Qualification Tournament of Feb.18, 2010 and four to six wild cards named by the Organizers). The prize fund of the Qualification Tournament is EUR 40 000.