Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (67)

7/24/2011 – Few old game-scores of lightning chess (also known as rapid transit and blitz) have survived, but the Editor of Chess Notes presents a number of specimens, most of which were played at ten seconds per move and all of them before the 1930s. The masters featured include Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Capablanca, Janowsky, Kupchik, Marshall and Tartakower, and the play contains several brilliancies.

Dortmund Rd4 – Kramnik unstoppable at 3.5/4 and 3064 performance

7/24/2011 – At the breakneck pace at which he is speeding, Kramnik is not only on track to win Dortmund, but he could conceivably score the greatest tournament performance of his career. Playing Nakamura, Kramnik seemed headed for a draw after most of the pieces came off, but a series of imprecisions yielded a winning position and he converted. The other games were drawn. Round four report.

World Team Ch. Rd7 – Lightning strikes twice

7/24/2011 – They say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but not only did it in Ningbo, but it was a storm of unexpected results. Russia lost dramatically to China when Karjakin lost a won game against Wang Hao. However, the biggest surprise was USA's win over Azerbaijan with Kamsky beating Radjabov and Seirawan defeating Mamedyarov for a 2800+ performance. Round seven report.

Biel Rd.4: postgame analysis of the players

7/23/2011 – Once again we are able to present you a unique insight into the workings of the top chess minds. After the rounds the players – at least those who are not too upset – joined the official match commentator, GM Miso Cebalo, for live analysis for a world-wide audience on the Playchess server. These sessions, together with PGN files of the game analyses, are available on our special postgame reports.

World Team Ch. Rd6 – Seirawan clubs Polgar, Armenia still leads

7/23/2011 – There were no major changes in the team rankings in round six, with draws between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel against Azerbaijan. The most remarkable result was perhaps the drawn match between the USA and Hungary, thanks to Yasser Seirawan who saved the team by beating Judit Polgar in a gutsy game, his first win over a 2700 player in a long time. Round six report.

Dortmund Rd3 – Ponomariov overpowers Nakamura

7/23/2011 – In spite of an inauspicious loss to Kramnik in the first round, Ponomariov bounced back with a win in round two, and now with a second win in round three, outplaying Nakamura, he is clear second. Giri also won, but was dead drawn against Meier until the latter threw the game away with a blunder on move 70. Kramnik was unable to crack Le Quang Liem and conceded his first draw. Round three.

Biel Rd.5: Vachier-Lagrave stops Carlsen, Morozevich wins

7/23/2011 – Magnus Carlsen's stratospheric cruise over the tournament in Biel was brought to a crashing stop by French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who showed remarkable perspicacity and patience in grinding down the world's number one in 96 moves. Alexander Morozevich refuted the "rule of the fist" and beat Fabiano Caruana to close up to the tournament leader. Full report with postgame interviews.

Biel Rd.4: Carlsen wins again, 3015 performance

7/22/2011 – After four rounds of the International Chess Festival in Biel, the only question is who will be second. With 3.5/4 and a 3000+ performance, the first place is all but wrapped up. In a way, much like Kasparov in his heyday, Carlsen’s biggest challenge is himself, and one imagines that his next self-challenging goal would be Kasparov’s record 2851 Elo. Express report.

Dortmund Rd2 – Kramnik and Ponomariov win

7/22/2011 – It may not have been the cleanest win, but a point is a point. Kramnik spent much of his game against Meier either equal or a bit worse, but when the German's clock ran short, he managed to shake the tree with complications yielding him a 2.0/2 start. Ponomariov won a nice positional game against Giri, outplaying the young Dutchman to stay in contention. Round two report.

Popovic wins First Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament

7/21/2011 – Almost 300 chess players participated in the new summer chess tournament in Amsterdam, with a prize fund of more than 10,000 Euros. It was the first big open in the Dutch metropole since 2006. Five players tied for first, with 7.0 out of 9 points. GM Dusan Popovic claimed tournament victory on tie-break points. Big pictorial report by Lennart Ootes.

Kasimdzhanov: Open letter to FIDE – with a proposal

7/21/2011 – Uzbek-born grandmaster and former FIDE knockout world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, now a permanent second of World Champion Vishy Anand, is a profound thinker, and not just in chess openings. He has now written an open letter to FIDE, describing the current unsatisfactory situation in top professional chess and proposing a startling solution.

World Team Ch. Rd5 – Armenia leads, Russia and Hungary second

7/21/2011 – Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. While Armenia kept its slim lead, Russia and Hungary moved into clear second. Russia beat Egypt as expected, but Hungary's destructive win over Israel by 3.5-0.5 just confirmed no one was safe. Leko and Polgar have been the driving force behind their team, and Judit will be rejoining the 2700 ranks in the next list. Round five report.

Dortmund Rd1 – Kramnik strikes in first round

7/21/2011 – With so much elite chess taking place at once, spectators might get whiplash as they glance from one board to the next, but one thing is clear: Dortmund is never to be missed. The lineup is mouthwatering with legends, fighters, and talents-on-the-rise, and the games were to their credit. Kramnik locked horns with Ponomariov and emerged the sole victor in round one. Round one report.

Biel Rd.3: postgame analysis of the players

7/21/2011 – Our live broadcast of Biel 2011 is attracting press attention. Not just the live GM commentary during the games, but especially the post-game sessions by the players themselves, who analyse for a world-wide audience while the moves are still fresh in their minds. You can follow these sessions live on Playchess or your browser. Here are video captures with the analysis files in PGN.

World Team Ch. Rd4 – Azerbaijan crushes Russia 3-1

7/21/2011 – The only clear thing about the rankings after the fourth round is that Armenia leads...barely. After that it is a giant jumble with no fewer than four teams tied for second after non-stop strike and counterstrike by the teams as they battle for the gold. The biggest news was Azerbaijan's crushing win over Russia, but China nearly whitewashed the US after a 3.5-0.5 win. Round four report.

Short question

7/21/2011 – The knight invasion 30.Nxd6 in the diagram leads after 30...Rf6 to which assessment of the position?

A) good for White
B) balanced
C) good for Black

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Rogoff: Technology and Inequality – parallels in chess

7/21/2011 – When a leading economic thinker happens to also be a strong chess grandmaster, his explanations of financial matters tend to draw allegories from the game he loves. Prof. Kenneth Rogoff periodically sets out his views in TV interviews and newspaper columns. Here is one from Project Syndicate that has appeared in many news sites. A while ago Ken sent warm birthday greetings to ChessBase.

Mating Attack out of the Blue

7/20/2011 – "The best chess training you can receive on the Internet," wrote one appreciative reader; "I can hear the Elo points plonking in" another. The regular CBM chess blog columns written by our endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller is greatly appreciated by our readers. This time GM Müller shows us an attacking king and an exciting pawn race. Enjoy and learn.

Biel Rd.2: postgame analysis of the players

7/20/2011 – It is sometimes referred to as a "post mortem" session: in Biel the winning player, or the more satisfied one, sometimes both, will appear on the stage to analyse with the resident GM. This analysis goes to the local audience, but also via Playchess to chess fans all over the world. You can follow these sessions live or in our special postgame report, which includes video captures.

Swedish Championships 2011: Hector takes an early lead

7/20/2011 – GM Jonny Hector is in the lead in the national championsh, which is taking place in Västerås, Sweden, from July 16–24. There are seven grandmasters in the ten-player round robin. In round two the 47-year-old Hector played a killer novelty on move 13 of a Sicilian Najdorf, and started thinking for the first time on move 25. That's called good home prep – you should definitely study this game.

Biel Rd3: Shirov beats Caruana, Carlsen leads

7/20/2011 – Another fighting day in Biel. Yannick Pelletier, with a rook for a bunch of pawns, came very close to his first win, against Vachier-Lagrave. But the game was a draw, as was the exciting battle between Alexander Morozevich and Magnus Carlsen. Alexei Shirov had a roller-coaster game against Fabiano Caruana, with the Spanish GM (Shirov) winning in the end. Express report.

Biel International: the great chess analysis festival

7/19/2011 – The 2011 Biel Chess Festival, a double round robin with six top GMs, offers chess fans something very special: breathless live analysis by the players immediately after the game is over. You can watch these sessions on Playchess, or even in your plain vanilla Internet browser. We also capture the analysis and can present it to you here to explore. A wonderful lesson on how grandmasters think.

Biel Rd.2: Carlsen wins again, Vachier self-destructs

7/19/2011 – If a title had to be given to the day’s round, it would be Beauty and the Beast. For ‘Beauty’, Magnus Carlsen confirmed his return to form as he outplayed Shirov in a Meran, taking his score to 2.0/2 (6/2 in the Biel scoring system). The ‘Beast’ would be Vachier-Lagrave’s reversal of fortune against Morozevich as he went from winning to dead lost after a tragic hallucination. Express report.

World Team Ch. Rd3 – Day of Opposites

7/19/2011 – It was a day of opposites in the third round, and the villains of round two, were the heroes in round three and vice-versa. Aronian came back with a big win over Karjakin to help Armenia hold the Russians 2-2, while Israel pulled off a win over home team, China. Nevertheless, Judit Polgar was the hero(ine) of the round beating Mamedov and securing Hungary's victory over Azerbaijan. Round three report.