Sweden is now a regulated market, which means that as a player you can only play at casinos with a license. See all regulated casinos in Sweden by Mr casinova.
The rules are simple - send us your questions and see them featured in the weekly Q&A column!
Q1: Hi greetings, I want to ask this, in a friendly (just for fun, no things at stake)
game against fellow gm friend, does a gm use his/her best opening idea weapons? More
power to you GM Natalia.
A1: As usual, it depends on the person. Some take blitz very seriously and play it only to practice openings and get into top shape. Others may log on ICC after drinking some wine, play crazy stuff, or even swap handles with friends. As for me, I am rather conservative & usually play my current, past or just-about-to-be-played-in-real-games openings.
Q2: I am wondering, does a GM still read books about strategy and endgames like Creative
Chess Strategy by GM Romero or Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy by GM Hansen. Or
does a GM no longer read Endgame and Strategy books? According to IM John Donaldson,
the material in Creative Chess Strategy is quite advanced and consequently players
of master level and above will receive the most benefit on the book, while Secrets
of Chess Endgame Strategy is a challenging book that cannot fail to improve the
understanding of any player below 2400 FIDE.
A2: It seems to me that most GMs rely too much on their laptops and don't read as much as they should. Some even boast about not having read a chess book for years. Also, let me stress two things: 1) if you are not a GM, you will definitely benefit from studying good chess books 2) if you are a GM, you will probably have your own opinion & know what others GMs think, so you won't have to ask me about it. As to these particular titles: unfortunately, I haven't read them, so I can't advise anything. One more thing: each player has his/her own weaknesses. Therefore, it is better not to rely on numbers ("this book is for 2100-2300"), but review the content and see if it is useful for you in particular. They say that Tal liked to watch a TV program for amateurs to refresh his knowledge. Don't try to get the book that top GMs carry around with them. Get the one that is good for you right now!
Q3: Hi greetings, chess is great, and I believe that if you teach a
kid well , on the many aspect of chess (not only the rules) like its history,
positional play, endgame, etc, chances are 90 percent
he/she will like it and play it for the rest of his/her life. Do you
agree with me? I think players who learned chess and stop playing it even for a
fun game, only knows the rule. I think one of the best ways to promote chess,
is to inform people that chess is not just a mere of pushing woods, but behind
those moves are strategy and tactics.
A3: I agree with you. It takes a passionate coach to spark the interest in a kid. One needs to be able to share his/her excitement for the game, and in most cases the student will like it. As to quitters, there are two main types: 1) those who never had an idea how great chess is 2) proficient players who decided that chess requires too much dedication from them, and has too small a ROI. Indeed, this game is so complicated that one may spend all his/her life studying and practicing, and still fail to become a GM, not to mention reaching the very top level.
Q4: For a grandmaster, I suppose, there's a vast range of chess classics to
know. Which classical players should a humble club player have studied
at least? Besides I'm curious to know your favourite classical
chessplayer (and, naturally, the reasons for your choice).
Thanks a lot for your time and for your great website.
A4: Thanks. Chess keeps evolving rapidly, so you had better study it step by step, starting from the good old masters of previous centuries. Of course, you shouldn't dwell too much on their games (otherwise you might get a perverted notion about modern chess), and concentrate your efforts on the masters of nowadays. You may even want to choose a "role model" (with a similar style) and try to imitate his/her openings choices and middlegame plans. However, this has to be done with caution. For example, Kasparov has been exceptionally knowledgeable in terms of theory. If you try to copy his openings, you will probably be suffering most of the time due to either lack of knowledge or class. Look up to a player who is some 200-400 points better than you and try to reach his/her level.
My favorite player is Bobby Fischer, who had an incredible talent and passion for chess; determination to make the game popular. His appearance on the world chess scene was one of the main reasons for chess becoming a professional sport.
Q5: Have you considered publishing a book featuring your best games?
A5: I hope to play many nice games in the future against even stronger opponents than I have faced up to this moment. I think it's too early to think about such a book.
Q6: Let me ask you one of the questions from your polls: do you have a chess mascot?
A6: No, although I pay a lot of attention to choosing the right clothes and accessories for a tournament. The better the choice of the apparel, the more confident and comfortable you feel.
Q7: How many tournament standard time control games have you played in your life?
A7: I don't know the exact number, but it should be over a thousand.
When asked about her attitude towards decreasing the number of participants of the Russian Superfinal from 12 to 8, Natalia says that she likes the traditional regulations more since Russia has very many deserving strong grandmasters.
She also refutes the argument that "the fewer the players, the less short draws" since, in her opinion, when there are few rounds, people tend to play extremely cautiously since it's hard to catch up with the leaders after losing a game. On the contrary, a large number of rounds allows players go for more risky variations.
Sjugirov (2626) - Vachier-Lagrave (2715), 2011
White to move
As it happens, Black blundered in White's time trouble and offered a draw. With just a few minutes on the clock, White has played the correct line. Can you find it?
Aeroflot is the strongest open chess tournament in the world. This years edition is the 10th. The four main features of the festival are:
A group (players over 2550 with a few exceptions female stars, prodigies, etc.)
B group strong players rated between 2300 and 2550
C group amateurs below 2300
World Blitz Championship Qualification a nine double-round event featuring some of the worlds finest blitz players wishing to qualify for the Final and win prizes (10,000 for 1st)
The winner of the main event gets 20,000 and the coveted invitation to the Dortmund super-tournament. As it is quite hard to obtain the lucky ticket to such an elite event, many top pros are willing to take a chance. Among the 86 players of the A group, there are two ex-FIDE World Champions (Kasimzhanov and Khalifman), an ex-Womens FIDE World Champion (Kosteniuk), five 2700+ grandmasters (Kamsky, Movsesian, Jakovenko, Vachier-Lagrave, Vitiugov) and over 40 (!) 2600+ players. The defending champion, Le Quang Liem (2664), is also taking part and leading the tournament so far.
Playing hall (photo by Anna Burtasova)
GM Ivan Salgado (Spain) preparing hard to play against Alexandra Kosteniuk (photo by Anna Burtasova)
A focused Ivan Cheparinov (2665), both a strong GM and Topalov's second (photo by Sergey Sorokhtin)
Alexander Khalifman believes chess is a draw, and is the only player who drew all his six games so far (photo by Sergey Sorokhtin)
The fragile Nazi Paikidze (2455) may not be a rating favorite, but male spectators still approach her board quite often (photo by Sergey Sorokhtin)
For a number of reasons, so far I havent been doing well at the tournament. However, even playing at the low, relatively unprestigious boards, I had good company around me: GM Daniele Vocaturo (who has just won Tata Steel C, and is in clear last at Aeroflot so far); ex-Womens World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, Norwegian prodigy and Chess.coms member GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (2647) and other well-known and strong grandmasters.
Mikhail Kobalia (2666) analyzing his game vs Evgeny Tomashevsky (2695). Yan Nepomniatchi (2733) and IM Mikhail Nedochetov as kibitzers (photo by Sergey Sorokhtin)
Rating favorite Gata Kamsky (2730) got himself a special "Soviet army" haircut (photo by Anna Burtasova)
Daniel Vocaturo (2570) with 0.5/6 is hiding his sorrows under the cap (photo by Anna Burtasova)
The atmosphere at the event is warm and friendly. Most participants stay at the hotel in the same building as the playing venue and get to socialize with each other. Unfortunately, there is no commentary or press room, and relatively few spectators. Just the playing hall, analysis room, and a few stands with chess goods. Nonetheless, one can often meet interesting visitors whose names should be recognized by all chess fans Mark Dvoretsky, Artur Jussupow, Igor Glek, Ruslan Ponomariov, Sergei Karjakin, Yan Nepomniatchi, etc. Even at one of the local supermarkets you can still see familiar faces. When trying to buy a few special lime drinks there today, I met a cheerful Wesley So, who decided to quit the tournament after drawing five games and losing one against lower-rated opponents.
Now lets take a funny and extremely instructive challenge. Imagine yourself in the crowded hall of Aeroflot, while all the exciting matches are happening before your eyes. You have the chance to come up with the correct solutions faster than the grandmasters themselves. Here are a few interesting picks:
There are also more important things than chess. Enjoy the St.Valentine's Day & spend it with your loved ones!
P.S. Other puzzles can be found at the original article at Chess.com
As to these particular titles: unfortunately, I haven't read them, so I can't advise anything. One more thing: each player has his/her own weaknesses. Therefore, it is better not to rely on numbers ("this book is for 2100-2300"), but review the content and see if it is useful for you in particular. They say that Tal liked to watch a TV program for amateurs to refresh his knowledge. Don't try to get the book that top GMs carry around with them. Get the one that is good for you right now!
