2015-01-28

Unlocking the Grandmaster's Mind by GM Maxim Dlugy and RCA Team




Remote Chess Academy



We would like to present the introduction video to the new course "Unlocking the Grandmaster's Mind" by the RCA Team together with GM Maxim Dlugy.

More information about the new course

Have you noticed, when a Grandmaster or a top player is commenting on their games during a press conference or in any video lesson, usually they show you tons of variations that could happen in various lines.

The variations they show you might not relate to the actual thinking process. Some of those variations are their own preparations, while some variations they will simply never show you - because it is their secret weapon which they hope to use in their next games.

The question remains open: how do GMs actually think?

Even if you have observed a couple of very interesting variations in the games of top players, still it doesn't exactly clarify how can you find such moves in your own game within a short amount of time.

Next, you may be wondering about this question. It’s hard to calculate long lines, but what about knowing the strategic and tactical motives but not knowing typical plans in different openings; what if you study them and apply them - shouldn't this clarify everything for you?

Find more information on Remote Chess Academy website.

The authors of this new course are GM Maxim Dlugy and the RCA team. The release date will be at the end of this month.

Check out the free lessons by RCA

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20th HIT Open Slovenia 2015



Watch the 20th HIT Open 2015 on ChessBomb

Organiser: Nova Gorica Chess Club, Slovenia

Official website





The 20th HIT Open 2015 takes place from 30th January until 5th February 2015 at the Hotel Casinò Perla in Nova Gorica, Slovenia.

Tournament information (pdf)


Participants: Open A



Name Birth yr. Cat ELO Fed. Club
1 Kožul Zdenko 1966 GM 2631 CRO ŽŠK Maribor
2 Beliavsky Alexander 1953 GM 2623 SLO ŠD Ptuj
3 Markuš Robert 1983 GM 2614 SRB ŠK Nova Gorica
4 Maiorov Nikita 1985 GM 2596 BLR
5 Indjic Aleksandar 1995 GM 2546 SRB
6 Pap Gyula 1991 GM 2543 HUN
7 Blagojevic Dragisa 1966 GM 2520 MNE
8 Tratar Marko 1974 GM 2474 SLO ŠK Branik Maribor
9 Drazic Sinisa 1967 GM 2437 SRB
10 Jelen Igor 1972 IM 2422 SLO ŠK Ig
11 Sriram Jha 1976 GM 2413 IND
12 Tomazini Žan 1994 FM 2372 SLO ŠK Impol Slov. Bistrica
13 Mazi Leon 1959 IM 2359 SLO ŠD Podpeč
14 Špalir Jernej 1992 FM 2359 SLO ŠK Slovenj Gradec
15 Kerigan Demre 1993 M 2311 TUR


Full list

Schedule

1. krog / round / turno / 30. 1. 2015 / 17:00
2. krog / round / turno / 31. 1. 2015 / 10:00
3. krog / round / turno / 31. 1. 2015 / 17:00
4. krog / round / turno / 01. 2. 2015 / 10:00
5. krog / round / turno / 01. 2. 2015 / 17:00
6. krog / round / turno / 02. 2. 2015 / 17:00
7. krog / round / turno / 03. 2. 2015 / 17:00
8. krog / round / turno / 04. 2. 2015 / 17:00
9. krog / round / turno / 05. 2. 2015 / 15:00

2015-01-27

Tata Steel 2015: winners



Review games from Tata Steel 2015 with computer analysis: MASTERS | CHALLENGERS

Official website



Photo by Alina L'Ami: Official website

The winner of the 77th edition of Tata Steel Chess Tournament was World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen with a half-point lead. Congratulations!

Carlsen: The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is an interesting tournament. You get to play lots of different players and it makes for lots of excitement. This year's edition is a bit of a flashback to 2010 for me, because I have won, but I'm not very happy with the way I have played.

Very strong performance among the Challengers as well. Wei Yi won the victory with 10.5/13 points. This means he has earned a spot in the Tata Steel Masters during the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2016.

The 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament will take place from 15th till 31st January 2016 in Wijk aan Zee.

Results: Masters

#NamePtsSB
1Carlsen, Magnus953.5
2Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime8.554.25
Giri, Anish8.551
So, Wesley8.549
Ding, Liren8.546
6Ivanchuk, Vassily7.545
7Caruana, Fabiano740.25
8Radjabov, Teimour6.538.5
9Wojtaszek, Radoslaw5.539.75
Aronian, Levon5.531
11Hou, Yifan529.25
12Saric, Ivan4.523.5
13Van Wely, Loek421.5
14Jobava, Baadur2.515

Results: Challengers

#NamePtsSB
1Wei, Yi10.561.25
2Navara, David1058.25
3Shankland, Samuel L955
4Van Kampen, Robin8.545.25
5Salem, A.R. Saleh7.543
Sevian, Samuel7.541.75
7Potkin, Vladimir737
8L'Ami, Erwin6.537.75
9Gunina, Valentina530.5
10Michiels, Bart4.522.5
Klein, David4.522.25
12Haast, Anne419
13Dale, Ari3.523.75
14Timman, Jan H315.75

Commentary on selected games

Round 12: Giri - So
Commentary by GM Alexander Delchev
So is having an almost perfect tournament so far, and I hope for a big clash today. His first move 1. c4 is an invitation to English opening, which So refused with 1... e6. The same he did against Carlsen in round 1 when the game later transposed to Nimzo-Indian defence ... See more 

Round 8: Jobava - Carlsen
Commentary by IM Tihomir Yanev
Today I comment the game between Baadur Jobava and the World Champion Magnus Carlsen, two of the most entertaining players at Tata Steel (both have 3 draws combined). The Georgian grandmaster has been faithful to his aggressive and creative style thus far, so I expect plenty of action today. Probably you do remember this game back in 2010?... See more

Round 6: Caruana - Carlsen
Commentary by GM Alexander Delchev
Game of the tournament! The World Champion meets his most advanced rival and Top 2 in the rating list Caruana, who is most probably one of the next contenders for the chess crown. Both players are in the group with +1 and it depends on this game who will challenge the sole leader Ivanchuk on +3. Carlsen is in a series of two consecutive wins, while Caruana lost yesterday against Wojtasek... See more


Round 4: Ivanchuk - Vachier-Lagrave
Commentary by GM Alexander Delchev
Today in round 4 we have two games in which the tournament leaders with score +2 Ivanchuk and Caruana are meeting the challengers with +1 Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So. I chose to comment the game between Ivanchuk and Vachier, as I think Ivanchuk is showing interesting chess and this game will be the most exciting of today's games. In Ivanchuk's game yesterday against Van Wely, a white storm was trolling over the board. In Sicilian defence he as white chose the rare system with f4 and Qe2. Soon black lost control and Ivanchuk scored a nice victory with an amazing domination of white pieces over the whole board. Hope we enjoy another great performance of him today!?... See more


Round 3: Giri - Caruana
Commentary by GM Alexander Delchev
Giri had to play Carlsen, Aronian and Caruana in the first 3 rounds - quite a tough start. While against Carlsen he didn't get advantage and soon a draw was agreed, his game yesterday was quite hard - he managed to save the endgame with different colour bishop being two pawns down. I believe today his game against TOP 2 Caruana will be the most important and eventful game of the day... See more


Round 2: Carlsen - So
Commentary by GM Alexander Delchev
Today Carlsen will face another young star - the winner of the First Millionaire tournament who recently entered in TOP 10 - Wesley So, originally from Philipines. In his first round game of So against Wojtaczek, on the 57 move in a very sharp position both players blundered and So missed his chance to win. Actually, it is the first game between So and Carlsen, so lets see what approach Magnus will choose ... See more


Round 1: Giri - Carlsen
Commentary by GM Alexander Delchev
After a monstrous performance in Qatar (7 wins, 6 of which in a row ) and a solid + 1 in London, Giri moved to #7 in Top January List. He is fighting for first place here and his age of 20 is giving him slight advantage in this 13 round event. In the first round he catches Carlsen with white and it can be the perfect start for Anish. As I remember, in 2013 Giri prevailed against Carlsen in the last round, so naturally Magnus will be eager to take revenge. Anyway, the score between them is about equal in Classic... See more









2015-01-24

Tata Steel 2015: Round 12 with commnetary by GM Delchev



Watch LIVE Tata Steel 2015 with computer analysis: MASTERS | CHALLENGERS

Official website



Photo by Alina L'Ami: Official website


Our distinguished commentator GM Alexander Delchev provides live commentary on selected games of TATA STEEL Master 2015.

Round 12: Giri - So
So is having an almost perfect tournament so far, and I hope for a big clash today. His first move 1. c4 is an invitation to English opening, which So refused with 1... e6. The same he did against Carlsen in round 1 when the game later transposed to Nimzo-Indian defence ... See more

Round 6: Caruana - Carlsen
Game of the tournament! The World Champion meets his most advanced rival and Top 2 in the rating list Caruana, who is most probably one of the next contenders for the chess crown. Both players are in the group with +1 and it depends on this game who will challenge the sole leader Ivanchuk on +3. Carlsen is in a series of two consecutive wins, while Caruana lost yesterday against Wojtasek... See more

Round 4: Ivanchuk - Vachier-Lagrave
Today in round 4 we have two games in which the tournament leaders with score +2 Ivanchuk and Caruana are meeting the challengers with +1 Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So. I chose to comment the game between Ivanchuk and Vachier, as I think Ivanchuk is showing interesting chess and this game will be the most exciting of today's games. In Ivanchuk's game yesterday against Van Wely, a white storm was trolling over the board. In Sicilian defence he as white chose the rare system with f4 and Qe2. Soon black lost control and Ivanchuk scored a nice victory with an amazing domination of white pieces over the whole board. Hope we enjoy another great performance of him today!?... See more

Round 3: Giri - Caruana
Giri had to play Carlsen, Aronian and Caruana in the first 3 rounds - quite a tough start. While against Carlsen he didn't get advantage and soon a draw was agreed, his game yesterday was quite hard - he managed to save the endgame with different colour bishop being two pawns down. I believe today his game against TOP 2 Caruana will be the most important and eventful game of the day... See more

Round 2: Carlsen - So
Today Carlsen will face another young star - the winner of the First Millionaire tournament who recently entered in TOP 10 - Wesley So, originally from Philipines. In his first round game of So against Wojtaczek, on the 57 move in a very sharp position both players blundered and So missed his chance to win. Actually, it is the first game between So and Carlsen, so lets see what approach Magnus will choose ... See more


Round 1: Giri - Carlsen
After a monstrous performance in Qatar (7 wins, 6 of which in a row ) and a solid + 1 in London, Giri moved to #7 in Top January List. He is fighting for first place here and his age of 20 is giving him slight advantage in this 13 round event. In the first round he catches Carlsen with white and it can be the perfect start for Anish. As I remember, in 2013 Giri prevailed against Carlsen in the last round, so naturally Magnus will be eager to take revenge. Anyway, the score between them is about equal in Classic... See more

2015-01-21

Australian Women Masters 2015: winners



Watch Australian Women Masters 2015 on ChessBomb

Organisers: Melbourne Chess Club, Australian Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation

Official website



Bulletins

Rounds 1-3
Round 4
Round 5
Rounds 6-8

Round 9

Round 9 finished with only a one win from WIM Narelle Szuveges. With all games coming to a close at 6pm, the closing ceremony began at 6.30pm. The prize winners were as follows: 1st WGM Julia Ryjanova Russia, 2nd WIM Heather Richards Australia and 3rd WFM Anita Stangl Germany.
The organisers wish to thank each and everyone for participating in the event and we do hope to see you again for the 2016 event.


Gallery

You can find all photos of the event at the following page on facebook.

Final Standings

#NamePtsSB
1Ryjanova, Julia831.5
2Richards, Heather S6.525.25
3Stangl, Anita, Dr.621.5
4Brokko, Margit4.519
Vahtra, Tuuli4.516.75
6Guo, Zhi Lin416.25
Anton, Sarah411.75
8Stones, Rebecca3.513
9Szuveges, Narelle38.75
10Quek, Shi Ning Kristine14.25


2015-01-19

Australian Women Masters 2015: rounds 6-8



Watch Australian Women Masters 2015 on ChessBomb

Organisers: Melbourne Chess Club, Australian Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation

Official website



Bulletin

Rounds 1-3
Round 4
Round 5

Round 6

Round 6 saw 3 wins and 2 draws but not easy draws but fighting draws which is good for chess. With top seed and visiting WGM from Russia, Julia Ryjanova leading the tournament on 5.5/6, and Heather Richards in clear second on 4 points. The race is now on for second spot. Will Heather take clear second or will she be stopped? Could we see a slip up from Julia at the top in the next 3 rounds.

Round 7

Round 7 saw 5 victories which was the first for the tournament. Victories went to Stangl, Richards, Vahtra, Ryjanova and Brokko. The game of the round I think was the Stones v Ryjanova as Stones had a good chance to upset the top seed by almost providing checkmate.

Round 8

Round 8 has seen a tournament victory already with top seed and visiting WGM Julia Ryjanova winning the event with a round to spare. Congratulations on winning the event with a round to spare. The race is now on for second and third places. Round 9 looks to be exciting and let the battles begin for the final places.

Gallery

You can find all photos of the event at the following page on facebook.

Standings after round 8

#NamePtsSB
1Ryjanova, Julia7.525.5
2Richards, Heather S619.25
3Stones, Rebecca517
4Stangl, Anita, Dr.4.511.5
5Vahtra, Tuuli413.5
Brokko, Margit411.75
7Guo, Zhi Lin3.511.25
8Anton, Sarah2.54.75
9Szuveges, Narelle28.75
10Quek, Shi Ning Kristine13.75


2015-01-18

Tata Steel Chess 2015: Live commentary by IM Tihomir Yanev



Watch LIVE Tata Steel 2015 with computer analysis: MASTERS | CHALLENGERS

Official website



Photo by Alina L'Ami: Official website


Our distinguished commentator IM Tihomir Yanev provides live commentary on selected games of TATA STEEL Master 2015.

Round 8: Jobava - Carlsen
Today I comment the game between Baadur Jobava and the World Champion Magnus Carlsen, two of the most entertaining players at Tata Steel (both have 3 draws combined). The Georgian grandmaster has been faithful to his aggressive and creative style thus far, so I expect plenty of action today. Probably you do remember this game back in 2010?... See more

Commentary on rounds 1-6


2015-01-16

Tata Steel 2015: live commentary by GM Delchev on round 6



Watch LIVE Tata Steel 2015 with computer analysis: MASTERS | CHALLENGERS

Official website



Photo by Alina L'Ami: Official website


Our distinguished commentator GM Alexander Delchev provides live commentary on selected games of TATA STEEL Master 2015.

Round 6: Caruana - Carlsen
Game of the tournament! The World Champion meets his most advanced rival and Top 2 in the rating list Caruana, who is most probably one of the next contenders for the chess crown. Both players are in the group with +1 and it depends on this game who will challenge the sole leader Ivanchuk on +3. Carlsen is in a series of two consecutive wins, while Caruana lost yesterday against Wojtasek... See more

Round 4: Ivanchuk - Vachier-Lagrave
Today in round 4 we have two games in which the tournament leaders with score +2 Ivanchuk and Caruana are meeting the challengers with +1 Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So. I chose to comment the game between Ivanchuk and Vachier, as I think Ivanchuk is showing interesting chess and this game will be the most exciting of today's games. In Ivanchuk's game yesterday against Van Wely, a white storm was trolling over the board. In Sicilian defence he as white chose the rare system with f4 and Qe2. Soon black lost control and Ivanchuk scored a nice victory with an amazing domination of white pieces over the whole board. Hope we enjoy another great performance of him today!?... See more

Round 3: Giri - Caruana
Giri had to play Carlsen, Aronian and Caruana in the first 3 rounds - quite a tough start. While against Carlsen he didn't get advantage and soon a draw was agreed, his game yesterday was quite hard - he managed to save the endgame with different colour bishop being two pawns down. I believe today his game against TOP 2 Caruana will be the most important and eventful game of the day... See more

Round 2: Carlsen - So
Today Carlsen will face another young star - the winner of the First Millionaire tournament who recently entered in TOP 10 - Wesley So, originally from Philipines. In his first round game of So against Wojtaczek, on the 57 move in a very sharp position both players blundered and So missed his chance to win. Actually, it is the first game between So and Carlsen, so lets see what approach Magnus will choose ... See more


Round 1: Giri - Carlsen
After a monstrous performance in Qatar (7 wins, 6 of which in a row ) and a solid + 1 in London, Giri moved to #7 in Top January List. He is fighting for first place here and his age of 20 is giving him slight advantage in this 13 round event. In the first round he catches Carlsen with white and it can be the perfect start for Anish. As I remember, in 2013 Giri prevailed against Carlsen in the last round, so naturally Magnus will be eager to take revenge. Anyway, the score between them is about equal in Classic... See more

Australian Women Masters 2015: round 5



Watch Australian Women Masters 2015 on ChessBomb

Organisers: Melbourne Chess Club, Australian Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation

Official website



Bulletin

Rounds 1-3
Round 4

Round 5

Round 5 saw some more long games but all hard fought. We saw the top seed, WGM Julia Ryjanova have a half point taken off her from second seed by rating, WIM Heather Richards. Sarah Anton had a win against Rebecca Stones and Zhi Lin Guo had a win against visiting German WFM, Anita Stangl. Also on a pleasing note for Kristine Quek, she is off the board with a draw against visiting WFM from Estonia, Margit Brokko. Here is the round 5 games for the event.

Gallery

You can find all photo’s of the event at the following page on facebook.

Standings after round 5

#NamePtsSB
1Ryjanova, Julia4.59.25
2Richards, Heather S3.58.5
Stones, Rebecca3.56.25
4Brokko, Margit35.75
5Guo, Zhi Lin2.55.25
Anton, Sarah2.53.25
7Vahtra, Tuuli24.25
8Szuveges, Narelle1.54.5
Stangl, Anita, Dr.1.51.5
10Quek, Shi Ning Kristine0.51.

2015-01-15

Australian Women Masters 2015: round 4



Watch Australian Women Masters 2015 on ChessBomb

Organisers: Melbourne Chess Club, Australian Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation

Official website



Bulletin

Rounds 1-3

Round 4

Round 4 got underway and 4 games finished with 2.5 hours of starting which meant another quick round. The last game to finish was Anita Stangl v Rebecca Stones. As soon as the game finished the Melbourne Chess Club had a special guest, Hua Ni who has recently crossed the 2700 rating mark. Back to the tournament though, 3 wins this round were recorded with the white pieces.

Gallery

You can find all photo’s of the event at the following page on facebook.

Standings after round 4

#NamePtsSB
1Ryjanova, Julia45.5
2Richards, Heather S35
3Brokko, Margit2.54
Stones, Rebecca2.53
Anton, Sarah2.51.75
6Guo, Zhi Lin1.53.25
Vahtra, Tuuli1.52.75
Stangl, Anita, Dr.1.50.75
9Szuveges, Narelle12.5
10Quek, Shi Ning Kristine00

Australian Women Masters 2015: Bulletin



Watch Australian Women Masters 2015 on ChessBomb

Organisers: Melbourne Chess Club, Australian Chess Federation, Asian Chess Federation

Official website



Bulletin

Round 1

The 2015 event of this tournament has kicked off again. Featuring newly crowned Australian Women’s Champion, WIM Heather Richards, National coach of Qatar, WGM Julia Ryjanova, Estonians WFM’s Tuuli Vahtra and Margit Brokko, Germany’s WFM Dr. Anita Stangl and fellow Australian’s, WIM Narelle Szuveges, WCM Sarah Anton, Zhi Lin Guo, Kristine Quek and Rebecca Stones.

Before the games are shown, we have to thank the Asian Chess Federation for the generous sponsorship in making this tournament happening, the Melbourne Chess Club for providing the venue and finally the players. Without the players, the Melbourne Chess Club and finally the Asian Chess Federation, this event would not have happened.

All games are starting at 3pm local time and here are the round 1 games.

Round 2

Round 2 got underway and may very well be the longest round in the tournament. Also we have seen in the 3 year history of the event our first game over 100 moves, actually reaching a record 122 moves. Also forgetting to mention another sponsor of the tournament, the Australian Chess Federation for their small but generous offer of sponsorship is much appreciated. Wins were recorded by Stangl, Anton and Ryjanova with draws in the Stones-Richards and Brokko-Guo games.

Round 3

Going from the longest round to possibly the quickest round, with 3 games finishing in less than 30 moves and the 2 remaining games finishing in 50 moves but still in good time of 3.5 hours. Only 1 draw was recorded in the round and 4 wins, with Heather Richards being the only player having a win with the white pieces.

Gallery



Results of rounds 1-3

Round 1 - Monday 12th January 3:00pm 
1 Ryjanova, Julia   2413  1:0  Stangl, Anita     2078
2 Vahtra, Tuuli     2043  ½:½  Brokko, Margit    2003
3 Guo, Zhi Lin      1746  ½:½  Anton, Sarah      1752
4 Szuveges, Narelle 1780  1:0  Stones, Rebecca   1911
5 Richards, Heather 2165  1:0  Quek, Kristine    1851

Round 2 - Tuesday 13th January 3:00pm 
1 Stangl, Anita     2078  1:0  Quek, Kristine    1851
2 Stones, Rebecca   1911  ½:½  Richards, Heather 2165
3 Anton, Sarah      1752  1:0  Szuveges, Narelle 1780
4 Brokko, Margit    2003  ½:½  Guo, Zhi Lin      1746
5 Ryjanova, Julia   2413  1:0  Vahtra, Tuuli     2043

Round 3 - Wednesday 14th January 3:00pm 
1 Vahtra, Tuuli     2043  ½:½  Stangl, Anita     2078
2 Guo, Zhi Lin      1746  0:1  Ryjanova, Julia   2413
3 Szuveges, Narelle 1780  0:1  Brokko, Margit    2003
4 Richards, Heather 2165  1:0  Anton, Sarah      1752
5 Quek, Kristine    1851  0:1  Stones, Rebecca   1911

Standings after round 3

 Name  Country  Rating  Total
 WGM Julia Ryjanova  RUSSSIA 2413 3
 WIM Heather Richards  ENGLAND 2150 2.5
 WFM Margit Brokko  ESTONIA 2044 2
 Rebecca Stones  AUSTRALIA 1911 1.5
 WCM Sarah Anton  AUSTRALIA 1734 1.5
 WFM Anita Stangl  GERMANY 2138 1.5
 WIM Narelle Szuveges  AUSTRALIA 1780 1
 WFM Tuuli Vahtra  ESTONIA 2038 1
 Zhi Lin Guo  AUSTRALIA 1802 1
 Kristine Quek  AUSTRALIA 1851 0