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News
How Many Chess Books Have You Read?
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 04 July 2011 |
Peter Zhdanov: Yet another shocking revelation on behalf of the Chess.com audience! I especially admire the guys who voted "1" since they reminded me of an old joke:
Friends of a Russian billionaire are debating what present to choose for him. It has to be something very special.
- Maybe a book? - asks one of them with hope in his voice
- No - frowns another- he has a book already!
Natalia Pogonina: Don't be too hard on them, maybe they prefer reading and practicing online.
Peter Zhdanov: Yes, sure. Btw, how many chess books have we got? A hundred? Two? I bet I have read more than you! 
Natalia Pogonina: I don't know for certain. Anyway, it's about quality, not quantity. 
Peter Zhdanov: Agree. Besides, a lot depends on what we call "read" - flip through the pages, study carefully, or rigorously work through it line by line...
Peter Zhdanov: 28% in the 1st poll, 27% in the 2nd... Maybe we should give people advice what books to try?
Natalia Pogonina: We've got a list I can recommend. Needs to be updated, but is good anyway!
 Comments (3)
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Last Updated ( Monday, 04 July 2011 )
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Caruana wins AAI Tournament
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 02 July 2011 |
Official press release:
New Delhi, July 2: Fabiano Caruana took no chances and played a solid 30-move draw against Wesley So of the Philippines to take the title at the inaugural AAI Grandmasters Chess tournament on Saturday. Indias Krishnan Sasikiran finished sole second, one point behind the winner.
The World Junior No. 1 Caruana of Italy (pictured) emerged winner with seven points in the double round-robin Category 17 tournament. His only loss in the 10-round event came in the ninth round against Viktor Laznicka.
Sasikiran finished sole second with six points as he drew his final round against Womens World champion Hou Yifan of China in Ruy Lopez Breyer where the Indian had black pieces.
In the third game of the day, Indian National champion Parimarjan Negi split the point with Viktor Laznicka of the Czech Republic from a 42-move Caro-Kann, which the Czech player admitted he knew nothing about.
So the tournament that began with three decisive results two weeks ago ended with three draws on the final day.
The winner Caruana received the trophy from Mr. V P Agrawal, Chairman of the Airport Authority of India, and also the first prize of $ 8,000. Sasikirans winnings were $ 6,000 for the tournament. The third to sixth finishers received $ 4,000, $ 3,000, $ 2,000 and $ 1,500.
Caruana played d4 on the opening move, making it clear that he was not going to take any risks. He duly got his draw from a Catalan. I thought I would play for a win if there was a way, but yes I was not going to take risks. I certainly did not want two losses. Except for that loss in ninth round (to Viktor Laznicka) it was a good tournament for me, he said with a smile. Overall it was a fine tournament and I enjoyed and it is always good to win a title.
Mr. V P Agrawal, said, It was great seeing six young Grandmasters battle it out for the last two weeks. I am sure many of these players will scale even greater heights in their career and this tournament will stand out in their memory. My congratulations to Fabiano Caruana, who lived up to his top seeding.
Sasikiran was quite content with the latter part of the tournament. After the two losses I had at the start of the tournament, I felt it was good recovery with four wins and four draws and no more losses, he said. In the final round I thought if I got a clear advantage I would try and go for a win. But it turned out to be a draw, which is fine.
On the tournament overall, Sasi added, I was playing a tournament at this level (Category 17) after a very long time. I enjoyed it but I would have liked to score a little more. I did have chances in some of the other games, but I suppose it is alright. Now I need to prepare and take some rest before the World Team Championships.
Laznicka re-iterated what he said earlier. I was quite happy with the first part of the event, but the second half saw some poor play and I was very disappointed. Maybe the win over Caruana was the only high point for me in the second half, said the Czech player.
Negi was somewhat disappointed with the tournament. An even score or a plus one was my target, but it did not happen like that for me. It was a combination of small factors but hopefully I will quickly make up for this. Overall it was great to have a Category 17 event like this as it is very good for us Indians to have such events at home, said Negi.
Wesley So hoped he would be able to make amends on his next trip to India. I enjoyed my visit, but I wish I could have played better. Maybe next time, but the tournament was very well conducted, he said.
Hou Yifan, the Women's World champion was happy with all the arrangements but was disappointed with her own results, which saw her finish last.
The ceremonial opening moves for the final round were made by Mr. V P Agrawal, Chairman of the Airport Authority of India.
| Final Ranking |
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| Rank |
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Name |
Rtg |
FED |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
Pts |
Res. |
SB |
| 1 |
GM |
Caruana Fabiano |
2714 |
ITA |
* * |
1 ½ |
½ 0 |
½ ½ |
1 1 |
1 1 |
7 |
0 |
29.75 |
| 2 |
GM |
Sasikiran Krishnan |
2676 |
IND |
0 ½ |
* * |
1 1 |
0 ½ |
1 ½ |
1 ½ |
6 |
0 |
26.75 |
| 3 |
GM |
Laznicka Viktor |
2681 |
CZE |
½ 1 |
0 0 |
* * |
1 0 |
1 ½ |
1 ½ |
5½ |
0 |
25.25 |
| 4 |
GM |
So Wesley |
2667 |
PHI |
½ ½ |
1 ½ |
0 1 |
* * |
½ 0 |
½ ½ |
5 |
0 |
26.25 |
| 5 |
GM |
Negi Parimarjan |
2622 |
IND |
0 0 |
0 ½ |
0 ½ |
½ 1 |
* * |
1 0 |
3½ |
0 |
16.25 |
| 6 |
GM |
Hou Yifan |
2612 |
CHN |
0 0 |
0 ½ |
0 ½ |
½ ½ |
0 1 |
* * |
3 |
0 |
14.25 |
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Official website
Be first to comment this article |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 02 July 2011 )
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Your questions answered by Natalia Pogonina-38
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 02 July 2011 |
The rules are simple - send us your questions and see them featured in Natalia's Q&As column!
Q1: Hello. I'm a new club player and learning through books, but I'm lazy to play.
So my question is: How many games (online) minimum per day should I play to put all that theory to good
use?
A1: If you don't like playing chess, then why study it at all?  Seriously speaking, playing online (that's usually correspondence or blitz) won't take you as far as competing in tournaments with a standard time control. My suggestion is that you should try to play chess live whenever possible since it's quite different from playing online. As to the ratio: the stronger the player, the more study is required. For beginners and "new club players" the ratio should be about 80% play, 20% study. For expert-NM level it's about 50%-50%, while top GMs may have to spend 80% of their time preparing and 20% - playing. Please keep it in mind and don't try to imitate the training routine of leading GMs.
Q2: What is your best advice to a beginner who is serious about improving he/r game?
A2: Enjoy chess & the environment, not the achievements. Remain faithful to chess by playing or studying every day, and you will become a perfect couple with the game.
Q3: Hi Natalia, I am a fan of you, so between Anand and Gelfand in your opinion will get the title?
A3: Thanks. Ratings, statistics and other factors tell us that Anand is the favorite. However, life is not as simple as some people want to make it look like. For example, while chess fans were busy arguing who would win the Candidates - Aronian, Kramnik or Topalov, Gelfand emerged on top. Boris is a top professional who can put up a great fight against anyone, so, although I also think that Anand's chances are higher, it's not like we know the outcome for certain.
Q4: How should a player think about the moves during a normal game, or analysis. Should
he "speak to himself" like "R from e1 to e5, pawn from d7 to d6, R from e5 to h5..."
etc or he should just visualize the moves in his mind? And how about in blitz or
time trouble?
A4: I am not a scientist, so it's hard for to give a qualified opinion about this. However, I believe that you should a) follow the rules - muttering something out loud is prohibited b) depending on your dominant type of perception (visual, audio, kinesthethic, etc.), you can choose the approach that suits you best. For example, if you grasp things easier then you hear them, you may want to speak in your head. If your main perception type is visual, you can probably rely on visualizing. However, I guess the more channels you can employ, the better. If you can smell the best move, and the opponent can't, then you have an advantage! 
Q5: Hi Natalia, could you tell us how you win a won game? Are there things you do and
things you tell yourself every time?
A5: That's a popular question indeed. I have written two articles about converting winning positions. Take a look:
Converting winning positions
The art of converting winning positions
Q6: c4 or KIA against much stronger opponent? Or any other?
A6: Playing for a draw or trying to trick a much stronger opponent in the opening is not a good idea. You had better play the openings you like and know well. This gives you more chances, and even if you lose, you still learn a valuable lesson. On the contrary, if you play some offbeat line for the first time in your life, you will still probably get outplayed (just due to the fact that the opponent is much stronger in general), but the learning experience won't be that useful.
Q7: Are there fundamental differences in the way women and men play chess? If yes, what do you think it is?
A7: Men are usually more hard-working and goal-oriented than women. For example, many leading female players quit chess after motherhood, while I have never heard of a top male chess player who finished his career for this reason. As to playing styles: womens chess is less predictable and more exciting no short draws, fighting till the very end, etc. Men are more predictable and stable.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 02 July 2011 )
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FIDE July 2011 rating list: Carlsen back on top
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 30 June 2011 |
Magnus Carlsen, second highest-rated player in the history of chess
The big news is that Carlsen is back on top, although his personal record (2826) hasn't been improved, not to mention Kasparov's 2851.
Congratulations to players in the 2700+ group who have achieved personal best results:
Karjakin - 2788 (#1 in Russia!)
Ponomariov - 2768
Almasi - 2726
Vallejo-Pons - 2724
Le, Moiseenko - 2715 (first appearance in the 2700+ club for both of them)
Dreev - 2711
Giri - 2701, welcome to the club!
Sutovsky - 2700, welcome to the club!
| Rank |
Old |
Name |
Title |
Country |
Rating |
Games |
| |
1 |
2 |
Carlsen, Magnus |
g |
NOR |
2821 (+6) |
10 (+10) |
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2 |
1 |
Anand, Viswanathan |
g |
IND |
2817 (0) |
0 (0) |
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3 |
3 |
Aronian, Levon |
g |
ARM |
2805 (-3) |
4 (+4) |
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4 |
6 |
Karjakin, Sergey |
g |
RUS |
2788 (+12) |
10 (+10) |
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5 |
4 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
g |
RUS |
2781 (-4) |
8 (+8) |
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6 |
5 |
Ivanchuk, Vassily |
g |
UKR |
2768 (-8) |
20 (+11) |
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7 |
11 |
Ponomariov, Ruslan |
g |
UKR |
2768 (+14) |
11 (+1) |
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8 |
7 |
Topalov, Veselin |
g |
BUL |
2768 (-7) |
4 (+4) |
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9 |
8 |
Nakamura, Hikaru |
g |
USA |
2766 (-8) |
10 (+10) |
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10 |
9 |
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar |
g |
AZE |
2765 (-7) |
4 (+4) |
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11 |
10 |
Gashimov, Vugar |
g |
AZE |
2760 (0) |
0 (-6) |
|
12 |
16 |
Gelfand, Boris |
g |
ISR |
2746 (+13) |
14 (+10) |
|
13 |
12 |
Grischuk, Alexander |
g |
RUS |
2746 (-1) |
14 (+14) |
|
14 |
13 |
Radjabov, Teimour |
g |
AZE |
2744 (0) |
14 (+14) |
|
15 |
18 |
Kamsky, Gata |
g |
USA |
2741 (+9) |
12 (+5) |
|
16 |
14 |
Svidler, Peter |
g |
RUS |
2739 (0) |
0 (-28) |
| |
17 |
17 |
Jakovenko, Dmitry |
g |
RUS |
2736 (+4) |
6 (-14) |
|
18 |
15 |
Vitiugov, Nikita |
g |
RUS |
2733 (0) |
0 (-31) |
|
19 |
25 |
Almasi, Zoltan |
g |
HUN |
2726 (+7) |
8 (+8) |
|
20 |
23 |
Vallejo Pons, Francisco |
g |
ESP |
2724 (+2) |
18 (-12) |
|
21 |
39 |
Navara, David |
g |
CZE |
2722 (+20) |
30 (+6) |
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22 |
20 |
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime |
g |
FRA |
2722 (-9) |
13 (+8) |
|
23 |
21 |
Dominguez Perez, Leinier |
g |
CUB |
2719 (-7) |
10 (-2) |
|
24 |
19 |
Wang, Hao |
g |
CHN |
2718 (-14) |
15 (+9) |
| |
25 |
26 |
Leko, Peter |
g |
HUN |
2717 (0) |
0 (0) |
|
26 |
57 |
Moiseenko, Alexander |
g |
UKR |
2715 (+36) |
24 (-6) |
|
27 |
49 |
Le, Quang Liem |
g |
VIE |
2715 (+28) |
22 (+21) |
|
28 |
22 |
Adams, Michael |
g |
ENG |
2715 (-11) |
14 (+5) |
|
29 |
32 |
Shirov, Alexei |
g |
ESP |
2714 (+5) |
12 (+6) |
|
30 |
36 |
Jobava, Baadur |
g |
GEO |
2713 (+9) |
13 (+2) |
|
31 |
38 |
Dreev, Aleksey |
g |
RUS |
2711 (+8) |
12 (-7) |
|
32 |
28 |
Caruana, Fabiano |
g |
ITA |
2711 (-3) |
9 (-12) |
|
33 |
31 |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
g |
RUS |
2711 (0) |
0 (-20) |
| |
34 |
34 |
Bacrot, Etienne |
g |
FRA |
2710 (+5) |
11 (-10) |
|
35 |
29 |
Wang, Yue |
g |
CHN |
2709 (-5) |
24 (+13) |
|
36 |
33 |
Tomashevsky, Evgeny |
g |
RUS |
2707 (0) |
0 (-10) |
|
37 |
27 |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
g |
GER |
2706 (-10) |
24 (-11) |
|
38 |
40 |
Efimenko, Zahar |
g |
UKR |
2706 (+5) |
12 (-8) |
|
39 |
37 |
Malakhov, Vladimir |
g |
RUS |
2706 (+2) |
3 (-7) |
|
40 |
47 |
Giri, Anish |
g |
NED |
2701 (+14) |
12 (-10) |
|
41 |
50 |
Sutovsky, Emil |
g |
ISR |
2700 (+14) |
15 (+4) |
|
42 |
35 |
Movsesian, Sergei |
g |
ARM |
2700 (-5) |
6 (-14) |
Judit Polgar, the permanent leader among women
In the women's 2500+ group only Elina Danielian managed to break her personal record, now it's 2521.
| Rank |
Old |
Name |
Title |
Country |
Rating |
Games |
| |
1 |
1 |
Polgar, Judit |
g |
HUN |
2699 (0) |
0 (-11) |
| |
2 |
2 |
Koneru, Humpy |
g |
IND |
2614 (0) |
0 (-11) |
| |
3 |
3 |
Hou, Yifan |
g |
CHN |
2575 (-37) |
24 (+4) |
| |
4 |
4 |
Kosintseva, Nadezhda |
g |
RUS |
2560 (-7) |
11 (+11) |
| |
5 |
5 |
Kosintseva, Tatiana |
g |
RUS |
2557 (-2) |
11 (+11) |
|
6 |
8 |
Muzychuk, Anna |
m |
SLO |
2538 (+1) |
12 (-8) |
|
7 |
6 |
Dzagnidze, Nana |
g |
GEO |
2537 (-20) |
11 (0) |
| |
8 |
9 |
Lahno, Kateryna |
g |
UKR |
2536 (+6) |
11 (+1) |
|
9 |
15 |
Cmilyte, Viktorija |
g |
LTU |
2528 (+24) |
11 (-10) |
|
10 |
13 |
Stefanova, Antoaneta |
g |
BUL |
2524 (+18) |
11 (-5) |
|
11 |
7 |
Zatonskih, Anna |
m |
USA |
2522 (-15) |
11 (-16) |
|
12 |
14 |
Danielian, Elina |
g |
ARM |
2521 (+15) |
14 (+3) |
|
13 |
12 |
Ju, Wenjun |
wg |
CHN |
2515 (+4) |
6 (-23) |
|
14 |
11 |
Harika, Dronavalli |
m |
IND |
2513 (-7) |
12 (-6) |
| |
15 |
16 |
Sebag, Marie |
g |
FRA |
2510 (+6) |
11 (0) |
| |
16 |
17 |
Chiburdanidze, Maia |
g |
GEO |
2500 (0) |
0 (-11) |
|
17 |
10 |
Kosteniuk, Alexandra |
g |
RUS |
2497 (-25) |
11 (+4) |
| |
18 |
18 |
Galliamova, Alisa |
m |
RUS |
2492 (0) |
0 (-7) |
| |
19 |
19 |
Socko, Monika |
g |
POL |
2490 (+3) |
3 (-17) |
|
20 |
28 |
Krush, Irina |
m |
USA |
2487 (+18) |
26 (+22) |
|
21 |
27 |
Khotenashvili, Bela |
m |
GEO |
2487 (+17) |
11 (-6) |
|
22 |
20 |
Gunina, Valentina |
wg |
RUS |
2487 (0) |
0 (-15) |
|
23 |
21 |
Zhu, Chen |
g |
QAT |
2485 (0) |
0 (-11) |
|
24 |
23 |
Ruan, Lufei |
wg |
CHN |
2479 (0) |
0 (-3) |
|
25 |
22 |
Xu, Yuhua |
g |
CHN |
2477 (-3) |
2 (-9) |
|
26 |
29 |
Cramling, Pia |
g |
SWE |
2472 (+4) |
14 (-4) |
|
27 |
26 |
Dembo, Yelena |
m |
GRE |
2471 (0) |
0 (-10) |
|
28 |
34 |
Skripchenko, Almira |
m |
FRA |
2470 (+8) |
11 (+9) |
|
29 |
24 |
Zhao, Xue |
g |
CHN |
2470 (-5) |
5 (-15) |
|
30 |
38 |
Javakhishvili, Lela |
m |
GEO |
2469 (+15) |
11 (+1) |
|
31 |
25 |
Muzychuk, Mariya |
m |
UKR |
2469 (-4) |
11 (-3) |
| |
32 |
33 |
Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan |
g |
SCO |
2464 (+2) |
21 (+15) |
|
33 |
31 |
Mkrtchian, Lilit |
m |
ARM |
2463 (-5) |
11 (0) |
| |
34 |
35 |
Paehtz, Elisabeth |
m |
GER |
2463 (+3) |
3 (-12) |
| |
35 |
36 |
Hoang, Thanh Trang |
g |
HUN |
2459 (+3) |
20 (+20) |
|
36 |
30 |
Ushenina, Anna |
m |
UKR |
2459 (-9) |
11 (-5) |
|
37 |
42 |
Shen, Yang |
wg |
CHN |
2459 (+12) |
6 (-23) |
|
38 |
32 |
Munguntuul, Batkhuyag |
m |
MGL |
2457 (-6) |
8 (-10) |
|
39 |
37 |
Gaponenko, Inna |
m |
UKR |
2442 (-13) |
18 (-11) |
| |
40 |
41 |
Pogonina, Natalija |
wg |
RUS |
2442 (-6) |
11 (+4) |
|
41 |
48 |
Khurtsidze, Nino |
m |
GEO |
2440 (+4) |
11 (+11) |
|
42 |
45 |
Melia, Salome |
m |
GEO |
2437 (-7) |
11 (-5) |
List of men's all times best by rating
List of women's all times best by rating
Comments (1) |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 June 2011 )
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US Junior Championship Dominated by Young
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 30 June 2011 |
By Chess Coach William Stewart
For more on the 2011 US Junior Championships check out 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 Youngs 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 opponents 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 Youngs 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 Youngs 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
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 June 2011 )
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