2014-12-30

"Aeroflot" resumes chess "flights" in 2015



Previous editions of Aeroflot Chess festival: 2012 | 2011 | 2010

Official website


"Аэрофлот" возобновляет шахматные рейсы
Photo: Official website

The International Chess Festival "Aeroflot Open 2015" will be held from March 27 to April 7, 2015, at the Cosmos hotel. During the festival, as before, there will be a Classic chess tournament in three groups - A, B, C, depending on the rating of the participants.

On April 6 there will be a Blitz Cup tournament.

The total prize fund is 140 thousand euros.

The tournament organisers are JSC "Aeroflot Russian Airlines", the Russian Chess Federation and the Association of Chess Federations.

The official announcement will be published on the website no later than RCF January 5, 2015. Registration for the tournament will take place by e-mail after the announcement.

Contact Information
E-mail: aeroflotchess@gmail.com
Phone: + 7-985-763-36-16 Fax: + 7-495-635-56-84.

Source: official website of Russian Chess Federation

2014-12-23

After Qatar Masters 2014: interview with GM Mohamed Al-Medaihki



Review games from Qatar Maters Open tournament 2014: Qatar 2014

Official website




Award ceremony. Photo: Official website


After the prestigious tournament Qatar Masters 2014, the tournament director GM Mohamed Al-Modiahki gave an interview for ChessBomb.

Qatar Masters 2014 was one of the strongest tournaments of the year, with over 150 participants and average rating of 2515. We also heard wonderful things about the organisation, the venue, etc., and the players are very pleased. Are you pleased with the tournament yourself?
Yes, I am very pleased with the tournament, and we still receive many emails thanking the organisation team! And I am also very happy with the quality of the games and the performance of the players, we didn't face any problems during the tournament and everything went very smoothly, and as a director of the tournament I couldn't wish for more.
What are your most memorable moments from the tournament?
One of the most memorable moments for me was the success of the opening ceremony as it was very important to have a good start. And the second moment was the same day - when I saw Vladimir Kramnik attending the technical meeting, while half of the participants chose to leave to hotel after the ceremony. Vladimir not only showed his respect to the organisers but was also asking questions and taking part in discussing the tournament regulations.
The tournament had a surprise winner - after a very strong start by Giri, followed by Kramnik, we did not expect this course of events. What do you think about that?
Yu Yangi winning the tournament was a surprise for me, but he is young and talented and as all Chinese players he also works very hard. I had a feeling that Kramnik would win the tournament after he won his game against Giri, but the excitement was there and most important I hope that the fans enjoyed such moments in the tournament.
In the past year we saw many prestigious chess events held in Asia and in particular Arab countries - Qatar Masters, the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, Women Grand Prix in Sharjah, etc. Do these events help popularise chess in the Arab world, and Qatar in particular? How popular is chess in Qatar in general?
Yes, we are witnessing more tournaments in the Middle East, especially in Qatar and U.A.E, and I want Qatar Masters Open to be a tradition, we will try to organise it for many years to come.
Chess is not very popular in Qatar yet, but we are trying to involve the young generation in learning chess. We also need to have the attention of the parents, that's why we may think about having some activities during Qatar Masters Open next year. I believe that combining the tournament with different events and entertainment will help to improve chess culture in Qatar.
Best wishes to GM Mohamed Al-Medaihki, all the organisers and participants, and many more chess successes in 2015! We are looking forward to next year's Qatar Masters Open!

2014-12-17

4th International Chess Memorial of Krystyna Holuj-Radzikowska 2014



Watch LIVE the 4th International Chess Memorial of Krystyna Holuj-Radzikowska 2014 with computer analysis: Holuj-Radzikowska Memorial 2014

Official website


Holuj-Radzikowska Memorial

Watch LIVE 4th International Chess Memorial of Krystyna Holuj-Radzikowska 2014 with great LIVE commentary by GM Dimitrios Mastrovasilis!

KRYSTYNA HOŁUJ-RADZIKOWSKA

Krytyna_Radzikowska Krytyna_RadzikowskaKrystyna Hołuj-Radzikowska (5 February 1931, Lwów – 29 November 2006) was a Polish chess Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She was nine times Polish Champion (1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1966, and 1969).

Krystyna tied for 15–16th at the Moscow 1955 Candidates Tournament which was won by Olga Rubtsova. She tied for 7–8th at the Ohrid 1971 Candidates Tournament won by Nana Alexandria.

She played for Poland five times in the Women’s Chess Olympiads:
  • in 1957, at 1st board in the 1st WChOlympiad in Emmen (+9 −2 =0);
  • in 1963, at 2nd board in the 2nd WChOlympiad in Split (+2 −4 =2);
  • in 1966, at 1st board in the 3rd WChOlympiad in Oberhausen (+3 −6 =2);
  • in 1969, at 1st board in the 4th WChOlympiad in Lublin (+3 −3 =4);
  • in 1972, at 1st board in the 5th WChOlympiad in Skopje (+5 −1 =3).
Krystyna won two individual medals: gold (Emmen 1957) and bronze (Skopje 1972). She was awarded the Woman International Master (WIM) title in 1955 and the WGM title in 1984.
Source: en.wikipedia.org


Players

S.No.Fed.TitleNameFIDE
1POLPOLWIMKULON, Klaudia2332
2ARMARMIMMKRTCHIAN, Lilit2450
3ESPESPIMVEGA GUTIERREZ, Sabrina2405
4POLPOLGMSOCKO, Monika2470
5ESPESPIMMATNADZE, Ana2411
6POLPOLWGMSZCZEPKOWSKA-HOROWSKA, Karina2398
7BLRBLRIMZIAZIULKINA, Nastassia2427
8POLPOLWGMBARTEL, Marta2366
9POLPOLWGMZAWADZKA, Jolanta2419
10BULBULWGMVIDENOVA, Iva2379

Schedule

Round 110.12.201416:00
Round 211.12.201416:00
Round 312.12.201416:00
Round 413.12.201416:00
Round 514.12.201416:00
Round 615.12.201416:00
Round 716.12.201416:00
Round 817.12.201416:00
Round 918.12.201410:00





2014-12-13

World Youth Chess Olympiad 2014



Watch LIVE the World Youth Chess Olympiad 2014: WYCO 2014

Official website




With a wonderful opening ceremony, the World Youth Chess Olympiad 2014 U16 started on Friday, 12th December 2014.

38 countries from 5 continents entered the Olympiad - this is a record in this event's history!


Teams

No.TeamTeamRtgAvgCaptain
1
INDIndia2451Ramesh Ramachandran
2
GERGermany2429Voekler Bernd
3
RUSRussia2425Kobalia Mikhail
4
UKRUkraine2402Grabinsky Vladimir
5
HUN1Hungary 12386Csorsz Ferenc
6
IRIIran2372Sheykh Harandi
7
CAN1Canada 12343Szabo Gergely Andras
8
ROURomania2320Pavlov Mircea
9
GREGreece2310Vragoteris Antoniois
10
HUN2Hungary 22307Varga Peter
11
TURTurkey2294Gurevich Mikhail
12
SRBSerbia2273Dekic Josip
13
POL1Poland 12249Tazbir Marcin
14
BLRBelarus2243Bougrim Georgij
15
SLOSlovenia2239Sebenik Matej
16
GEOGeorgia2238Khomeriki Giorgi
17
SVK1Slovakia 12227Rachela Jozef
18
CHNChina2213Zhang Mofen
19
CROCroatia2212Dizdar Goran
20
MDAMoldova2199Svetushkin Dmitry
21
UZBUzbekistan2196Khayalayev Mamatkul
22
ISRIsrael2194Bitensky Igor
23
HUN3Hungary 32186Varga Peter
24
CZECzech Republic2161Berezjuk Sergej
25
DENDenmark2157Tavs Bjerre
26
POL2Poland 22131Pedzich Dominik
27
AUSAustralia2112Ftacnik Lubomir
28
BULBulgaria2101Atanasov Radislav
29
AUTAustria2101Schnider Gert
30
CAN2Canada 22075Plotkin Victor
31
HUN7Transdanubium West 22071Kiss Attila
32
SVK4Slovakia West2060Rachela Jozef
33
CAN3Canada 32054Plotkin Victor
34
HUN6Transdanubium West2001Istvandi Lajos
35
MGLMongolia2000Sharavdorj Dashzegve
36
FINFinland1982Tiitta Sauli
37
ISR2Rehovot Chess School1977Mikhalevski Alexander
38
SVK3Slovakia Middle1974Palecek Peter
39
SVK2Slovakia East1923Zambor Norbert
40
HUN4Hungary (Girls)1914Csorsz Ferenc
41
SRISri Lanka1904Aviruppola Kumari
42
KGZKyrgyzstan1835Kurvanbekov Sherinbek
43
HUN5Györ (Hungary)1802Molnar Zsolt
44
IRQIraq1776Al-Sahlanee Hayder
45
IRLIreland1762Higgins Paul
46
RSA1South Africa 11758Essop Hishaam
47
SCOScotland1744Mac Quinn Calum
48
RSA2South Africa 21744Conradie André
49
JORJordan1713Ahmad Saadah
50
KOR1South Korea 11701Song Jinwoo
51
RSA3South Africa (Girls)1565Oltman Kayla
52
KOR2South Korea 21310Lee Sanghoon
53
HKGHong Kong1000Chau Sau Ming

Schedule

RoundDateTime
12014/12/1314:00
22014/12/1410:00
32014/12/1416:30
42014/12/1514:00
52014/12/1614:00
62014/12/1810:00
72014/12/1816:30
82014/12/1914:00
92014/12/2014:00
102014/12/2110:00


2014-12-11

World Mind Games 2014



Watch LIVE the World Mind Games 2014:
Rapid | Rapid Women | Blitz | Blitz Women | Basque | Basque Women

Official website | WMG 2014 at FIDE




banner accord2014 The prestigious SportAccord World Mind Games, starts on the 11th December 2014, a multi-sport event we all long waited for! In its 4th edition, taking place in the bustling capital of China, our Chess dedicated section is in for intense fights in the rapid, blitz and basque competitions.

In spite of the little time available on the clock and with the additional pressure of high prizes, top grandmasters like Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk or Humpy Koneru and Hou Yifan lined up to grab the coveted titles, while delivering a true feast for the local and worldwide public's eyes.

Players

MEN
NameTitleCountryRatingB-Year
Grischuk, AlexandergRUS28281983
Aronian, LevongARM28131982
Ivanchuk, VassilygUKR28111969
Nepomniachtchi, IangRUS28011990
Radjabov, TeimourgAZE27761987
Leko, PetergHUN27731979
Wang, YuegCHN27651987
Dominguez Perez, LeiniergCUB27631983
Mamedyarov, ShakhriyargAZE27391985
Ponomariov, RuslangUKR27381983
Bacrot, EtiennegFRA27311983
Vachier-Lagrave, MaximegFRA27281990
Gelfand, BorisgISR27191968
Wang, HaogCHN27191989
Harikrishna, P.gIND27011986
Wojtaszek, RadoslawgPOL26841987
WOMEN    
NameTitleCountryRatingB-Year
Koneru, HumpygIND26111987
Hou, YifangCHN26001994
Stefanova, AntoanetagBUL25781979
Kosteniuk, AlexandragRUS25771984
Ju, WenjungCHN25551991
Gunina, ValentinagRUS25521989
Dzagnidze, NanagGEO25471987
Muzychuk, AnnagUKR25461990
Kosintseva, TatianagRUS25051986
Ushenina, AnnagUKR24891985
Paehtz, ElisabethmGER24851985
Zhao, XuegCHN24851985
Muzychuk, MariyamUKR24451992
Cramling, PiagSWE24431963
Dronavalli, HarikagIND24211991
Khotenashvili, BellagGEO24071988
     


Schedule

Rapid
Thur, 11 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 1-4
Fri, 12 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 5-7


Blitz
Sat, 13 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 1-10
Sun, 14 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 11-20
Mon, 15 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 21-30


Basque
Tue, 16 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 1-3
Wed, 17 Dec, 14:00 - Rounds 4-5










Happy birthday to Vishy Anand!


Happy birthday to the 5-times World Chess Champion

VISWANATHAN ANAND

who turns 45 today!


Photo by FIDE.


We wish him a long chess career and many more successes in the future!


Other World Chess Champions born in December


Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 - January 11, 1941)

Photo: Wikipedia

Emanuel Lasker, PhD, was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years (from 1894 to 1921). In his prime Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever.

His contemporaries used to say that Lasker used a "psychological" approach to the game, and even that he sometimes deliberately played inferior moves to confuse opponents. Recent analysis, however, indicates that he was ahead of his time and used a more flexible approach than his contemporaries, which mystified many of them. Lasker knew contemporary analyses of openings well but disagreed with many of them. He published chess magazines and five chess books, but later players and commentators found it difficult to draw lessons from his methods.

Rustam Kasimdzhanov (born December 5, 1979)

Photo: Wikipedia

Rustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. He is an ethnic Uzbek.

In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 in Tripoli, Libya, Kasimdzhanov unexpectedly made his way through to the final, winning mini-matches against Alejandro Ramírez, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, Vasily Ivanchuk, Zoltán Almási, Alexander Grischuk and Veselin Topalov to meet Michael Adams to play for the title and the right to face world number one Garry Kasparov in a match.

In the final six-game match of the Championship, both players won two games, making a tie-break of rapid games necessary. Kasimdzhanov won the first game with black, after having been in a difficult position. By drawing the second game he became the new FIDE champion.
Happy birthday and many more great chess achievements!

2014-12-06

6th London Chess Classic: 6-14 Dec 2014



Watch LIVE the 6th London Chess Classic 2014 with computer analysis:
Rapid | Elite Blitz | Elite Classic | Edouard vs. Jones

Official website


LCC

Play a Superstar! Super Rapidplay Open (6-7 December 2014)

This year’s London Chess Classic offers a unique opportunity for a few amateur players to experience what it’s like to face a legend of the game in a genuine one-to-one tournament game.

Before the superstars cross swords with each other (10-14 December), the ‘Super Six’ are going to take part in the ten-round Super Rapidplay Open, over the weekend of 6-7 December, which is open to all to enter. The time limit is 25 minutes for all the moves, with ten-second increments. The first prize is £8,000.

6th London Chess Classic (6-14 December 2014): The Super Six

The 'Super Six' players who will compete in both the ten-round Super Rapidplay Open (6-7 December) and the five-round ‘Super Six’ classical chess tournament (10-14 December; rounds 1-3 start at 16.00 GMT, rounds 4-5 at 14.00 GMT)

There are many other events alongside the main tournament - check them out on the official website.

Elite players


Fabiano Caruana

Vishy Anand

Anish Giri

Hikaru Nakamura

Vladimir Kramnik

Mickey Adams


Schedule

Super Rapidplay

Rounds 1-5: Saturday, 6th December, 12.00 - 19.50
Rounds 6-10: Sunday, 7th December, 12.00 - 19.50

Elite Blitz

Monday, 8th December, 19.00 - 22.30

Elite Classic

Wednesday, 10th December, 16.00
Thursday, 11th December, 16.00
Friday, 12th December, 16.00
Saturday, 13th December, 14.00
Sunday, 14th December, 14.00