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A key encounter in the Slav Stonewall
07.06.2009
– One of the key encounters at the weekend was the 4th game between Carlsen and
Ivanchuk in the final of the
rapid chess event in Leon. The Ukrainian required only a draw to achieve
victory in the tournament, but nevertheless he turned to an opening which is
actually well suited to an aggressive repertoire for Black. He had obviously not
read the article by Alexey Kuzmin in
CBM 125, which we publish here in full. In the position in the diagram the Russian had recommended 8…dxc4 or 8…Na6. You can replay the game Carlsen -
Ivanchuk or read the article
Kuzmin: The Slav Stonewall
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Sigeman & Co: Nigel Short wins with a 2990 performance
07.06.2009
– We have known him for decades, and he never fails to surprise us. Just a week after his 44th birthday Nigel Short delivered a stunning performance at this six-player classical tournament in Malmo, Sweden. After conceding just one draw in the first four rounds he defeated second seed Ivan Sokolov, rated 2669, with the black pieces to take the event with a 1.5 point lead.
Pictorial report.
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XXII León Masters: Carlsen beats Ivanchuk in final
07.06.2009
– Once again it was a real cliff-hanger: the first two rapid chess games were drawn, then Vassily Ivanchuk won and took the lead, after which Magnus Carlsen equalised. A blitz decider was required. The first two games were drawn, in the final Armageddon game Carlsen won by trapping Ivanchuk's knight. So the 18-year-old Norwegian, number three in the world, once again
shows his class.
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Miskolc Day 3: Anand strikes again, leads 4:2
07.06.2009
– Vishy Anand took the full point with black in the first game of the day, a Gruenfeld Russian with the first eleven moves mirroring the previous game. In the second game Anand was pressing with white, but just when it looked over Peter managed to hold the draw. We bring you grandmaster commentary and historic photos of a world chess champion being
mobbed by adoring female fans.
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XXII Ciudad de León Masters: Carlsen knocks out Wang Yue
06.06.2009
– After a draw in the first of four rapid chess games Chinese GM Wang Yue dealt
Magnus Carlsen a blow by winning game two. But the young Norwegian came back
immediately with a 23-move win in game three. The fourth game was drawn, so
that a blitz tiebreak was necessary. It was won by Magnus in the final, sixth
game. Playchess is broadcasting all games
live.
Day two report.
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Miskolc free day: an encounter with the Miskolc youth
06.06.2009
– The free day between the two halves of the yearly Miskolc Rapid Chess Tournament is always dedicated to public relations, chess promotion and feel-good activities. It starts with a reception a and proceeds to a lecture and Q&A with the chess youth. The players participate with great enthusiasm, and the public enjoy every minute of it, as shown in this report with
photos and videos
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Sigeman & Co: Nigel Short on a rampage
06.06.2009
– He promised five rounds of fighting chess, and he is in the process of delivering. In the first three (of five) rounds of the six-player classical tournament in Malmo, Sweden, British GM Nigel Short has scored three victories. The top seed is a full point ahead of his nearest rival, Ivan Sokolov. Don't even bother to calculate the performance.
Pictorial report.
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XXII Ciudad de León Masters: Ivanchuk beats Morozevich
05.06.2009
– This four-player rapid chess knockout event is under way in the city of León, Spain. The tournament began with Vassily Ivanchuk playing Alexander Morozevich. The Ukrainian won the first game and drew the remaining three to advance to the final on Sunday. On Saturday Magnus Carlsen plays top Chinese GM Wang Yue. Playchess is broadcasting all games live.
Illustrated day one report.
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Your judgement, please
05.06.2009
– In our weekly column, Oliver Reeh presents a simple chess problem in our CBM Blog. In the diagram left – White to move after 24...Qd6 – which of the following evaluations of the position is correct?
A) Black wins, since he conquers the pinned knight;
B) White has a sacrificial continuation which, however, only secures him a draw;
C) White actually wins.
You will find the solution in this
annotated game Degraeve-Belezky. You can think about the problem by studying a
lager version of the diagram.
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Miskolc Day 2: both games drawn, Anand leads
04.06.2009
– Game three, in which Viswanathan Anand has the white pieces, was a somewhat timid draw in 28 moves. In game four he was under pressure from Peter Leko, and was forced to hoover the board of pawns, ending up with a bishop against two bishops. But Anand put his king into a corner square where he could draw with an unusual fortress. Full photo report
with GM commentary.
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The Cruellest Month – three respected players pass
04.06.2009
– T S Eliot tells us that "April is the cruellest month", but in the chess world of 2009, it is May that has been the bitterest. Three prominent and popular masters passed away within two weeks of one another, two from the former Soviet Union – IM Mikhail Podgaets, Ukraine, GM Alexander Panchenko, Russia – and one from the Netherlands, IM Rob Hartoch.
Obituaries by Steve Giddins.
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Master calculation
04.06.2009
– Even at the highest level you can sometimes watch games suddenly turn due to
miscalculation. That underlines the essential role of calculation skills in
chess. On this new Powerplay DVD you will find a great novelty: Daniel King not
only provides you with training tasks, but you can watch him solve these tasks in front of the camera. Buy
Powerplay 10 now or read this
review with sampler.
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