The Queen of Katwe

Official Trailer

I enjoy true stories. I am not a really big fan of science fiction stories or movies. If you want to treat me, give me a good cowboy book or movie, a real life story or a true story. This movie is about a true story of a Chess Champion. African true stories, and from some other places in the world, are inspiring, as the struggle to reach for dreams is so much more intense due to so many problems and issues people from developing countries need to deal with on a daily basis -things people from developed countries take for granted. Today, some of those problems and issues are because of certain countries in the West who tried to gain, only for themselves and who put leaders in place just to shush their conscience. They think they get things right, but they are totally wrong. I’m glad that there is, once again, a movie about chess, to show the power of this game in real life and to highlight the struggles of some people in this world.

True Story of a Chess Champion
Walt Disney Pictures has revealed the colourful first Queen of Katwe poster. The true story of an inspiring chess champion stars Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo (Selma, Interstellar), Oscar winner and Tony Award nominee Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and newcomer Madina Nalwanga.

For 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga) and her family, life in the impoverished slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle. Her mother, Harriet (Nyong’o), is fiercely determined to take care of her family and works tirelessly selling vegetables in the market to make sure her children are fed and have a roof over their heads. When Phiona meets Robert Katende (Oyelowo), a soccer player turned missionary who teaches local children chess, she is captivated. Chess requires a good deal of concentration, strategic thinking and risk taking, all skills which are applicable in everyday life, and Katende hopes to empower youth with the game.
Phiona is impressed by the intelligence and wit the game requires and immediately shows potential. Recognizing Phiona’s natural aptitude for chess and the fighting spirit she’s inherited from her mother, Katende begins to mentor her, but Harriet is reluctant to provide any encouragement, not wanting to see her daughter disappointed. As Phiona begins to succeed in local chess competitions, Katende teaches her to read and write in order to pursue schooling. She quickly advances through the ranks in tournaments, but breaks away from her family to focus on her own life. Her mother eventually realizes that Phiona has a chance to excel and teams up with Katende to help her fulfill her extraordinary potential, escape a life of poverty and save her family.

Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) from a screenplay by William Wheeler (The Hoax) based on the book by Tim Crothers, Queen of Katwe is produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher (The Darjeeling Limited) and John Carls (Where the Wild Things Are) with Will Weiske and Troy Buder serving as executive producers. Disney’s Queen of Katwe opened in U.S. theaters on September 23, 2016. Resource: commingsoon.net 

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Four Corners

Fatherless and raised by his grandmother, thirteen year old Ricardo Galam lives in South Africa’s Cape Flats, a unique and volatile sub culture dominated by two Number gangs, the 26 and 28. Ricardo’s future as a chess prodigy is threatened by his growing interest in the 26 whose local leader is grooming him as a potential member. Unknown to Ricardo, the father he’s never known has been released from prison. Farakhan, a reformed general in the 28, is back in his old neighbourhood, an intruder in 26 territory. In a story that is at times raw and violent at other times touching and true. FOUR CORNERS is a gripping drama set against the backdrop of a gang war in Cape Town which has been raging for a 100 years; a little known fact. 

(Quote from youtube)

By watching this trailer, I don’t think I ever want to be in an area where any gangs are roaming and scavenging for anyone they can manipulate to their needs. It must be scary and you must feel intimidating to live in places like these, but the same time you feel sorry to know that there are people who only know one life and that’s this kind of life. Then the same time I wonder if you could change any adult who only knows this kind of life?

This movie has received 13 Golden Horn nominations at the SAFTAs – South African Film and Television Awards March 2015. 

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Anand vs Kramnik 2008

 

Anand is Officially the winner of the WCC 2008!

 

Images: Official site

Kramnik and Anand draw colours…

Annotated Videos of Anand and Kramnik ‘s games can be played through on this link, it is on my blog (the “movies” page) and the link will open in a new window. You can also click on that page (top of my blog)

Game 1…Kramnik and Anand…

Image: Official site…Anand vs Kramnik

The World Chess Championships 2008 has started! Anand vs Kramnik! The two Chess Engines of the World!

1. Please click HERE to play through their 2008 World Chess Championships games on chessgames. The link will open in a new window.
2. Please click HERE if you want to read more about the two players, play through more games or if you want some games in algebraic notation. The link will open in a new window.

3. Please click HERE if you want to play through previous games of Anand and Kramnik on the Official site. The link will open in a new window.

4. On The Official site you can follow the games LIVE. The link will open in a new window. If you click on the top image/logo in this post, it will take you to the Official site’s homepage. The link will open in a new window.
5. If you click HERE you can view a list of games played by Anand/Kramik..it’s a Wiki-link and it will open in a new window. Find similar links in the second link of this post where you can also find some games in algebraic notation.

Games start 2pm for UK local time, 9 am Eastern USA time

Standings: After Game 9
Results of the games between Anand and Kramnik
Game 1 Kramnik vs Anand…1/2

Game 2 Anand vs Kramnik…1/2

Game 3 Kramnik vs Anand…0-1

Game 4 Anand vs Kramnik…1/2

Game 5 Kramnik vs Anand…0-1

Game 6 Anand vs Kramnik…1-0

Game 7 Anand vs Kramnik… 1/2

Game 8 Kramnik vs Anand … 1/2

Game 9 Anand vs Kramnik … 1/2

Game 10 Kramnik vs Anand..1-0

Game 11 Anand vs Kramnik.. 1/2

Kramnik vs Anand…game 1…opening

Kramnik vs Anand…game 1 move 11

Kramnik vs Anand…game 1 move 21

Kramnik vs Anand…game 1 end position

Game 1 move list

GAME/Round 2…Anand vs Kramnik….

Game 2 15th October 2008…move 11

Anand vs Kramnik ….Game 2 move 17

Anand vs Kramnik game 2 move 24

Anand vs Kramnik game 2 Final position…1/2

Kramnik vs Anand..Game 3 move 7

Kramnik vs Anand…Game 3 move 14

Kramnik vs Anand…Game 3 move 20

Kramnik vs Anand…Game 3 move 25

Kramnik vs Anand…Game 3 move 30

Kramnik vs Anand…Game 3 move 33

Kramnik vs Anand…Game 3 end position 0-1

Game 3 move list

Anand vs Kramnik…Game 4 move 7

Anand vs Kramnik…Game 4 move 12

Anand vs Kramnik… Game 4 move 19

Anand vs Kramnik…Game 4 move 24

Anand vs Kramnik…Game 4 endposition

Game 4 move list

Kramnik vs Anand…game 5 move 7

Kramnik vs Anand…game 5 move 14

Kramnik vs Anand…game 5 move 21

Kramnik vs Anand…game 5 end position

Game 5 move list

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 move 7

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 move 14

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 move 20

 

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 move 27

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 move 34

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 move 39

Anand vs Kramnik game 6 final position

Game 6 move list

Anand vs Kramnik Game 7 move 7

Anand vs Kramnik Game 7 move 13

Anand vs Kramnik Game 7 move 19

Anand vs Kramnik Game 7 move 25
 

Anand vs Kramnik Game 7 move 31

Anand vs Kramnik Game 7 end position

 
Game 7 move list

Kramnik vs Anand game 8 move 7

Kramnik vs Anand Game 8 move 14

Kramnik vs Anand Game 8 move 21

Kramnik vs Anand Game 8 move 28

Kramnik vs Anand Game 8 move 36

Kramnik vs Anand Game 8 final position

Game 8 move list

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 move 7

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 move 14

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 move 19

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 move 27

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 move 32

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 move 41

Anand vs Kramnik Game 9 end position

Game 9 move list

Kramnik vs Anand Game 10 move 7

Kramnik vs Anand Game 10 move 18

Kramnik vs Anand Game 10 move 23

Kramnik vs Anand Game 10 Final position

 
Game 10 move list

Anand vs Kramnik Game 11 move 7

Anand vs Kramnik Game 11 move 13

Anand vs Kramnik Game 11 end position

Anand vs Kramnik Game 11 move list

On this link of Chessgames you can play through Kramnik and Anand’s games where they played one another before. On link 1 in this post you can play through the current games of the championships in Bonn.  A new window will open when you click on the link!

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The Chess Mind – expert?

This article comes from the Scientic American magazine- front cover scanned here too as you can see. It’s a very interesting article and you can easily copy the images to read it later. I want to quote from the first paragraph….”The year is 1909, the man is Jose Raul Capablanca of Cuba, and the result is a whitewash 28 wins….” and in the second paragraph..”I see only one move ahead,” Capablanca is said to have answered, “but it is always the correct move.” phew… I sometimes have only one move to make! and the move I know it’s the right move…but in most games you have to observe the board closely to see what your “enemy” is about to do and what evil plans he’s got up his sleeve! and that means you have to see about 2 or more moves ahead…as chess player myself, I can quote a lot from this article and comment on it…but I’m no master/grandmaster! I think every person has a different view/opinion….do spend some time to read it, it’s definitely worth spending the time on it! (I do apologise for the paint on the front cover! – zoom into the images once you’ve clicked on it to have a larger view)

On my blog I’ve done several posts about chess and research.
Please click on this link – links will open in a new window – to read about the Male/Female brain when it comes to chess and HERE about Chess and Altzheimers. On this link you can read how important chess is for your kids to work with money! and….on THIS SITE all the benefits why your child should play chess. Here’s a link on my blog about Maths and Chess .. Enjoy this movie about chess! and research.
People have different opinions about chess…is it a sport or not? I say it is…and if you disagree…well, that’s your opinion… and I’ve come across this very clever South African and he apparently organised the first multi-cultural chess game in SA…but sadly he’s been recruited to the USA…lucky Americans having him now! http://www.jurispro.com/VernonNeppeMDPhDFRSSAfFAPAFRCPC

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Aerosvit 2008 International Chess Tournament

Magnus Carlsen winner with a total of 8 and Ivanchuk in 2nd place with a total of 7 games.

 Image: http://ukrchess.org.ua/aerosvit2008/foto_e.htm

 

 

The final standings:
1	Carlsen	2765	*	1	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	8
2	Ivanchuk	2740	0	*	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	½	7
3	Karjakin	2732	½	½	*	½	0	1	½	½	½	1	½	½	6
4	Eljanov	2687	0	0	½	*	1	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	6
5	Volokitin	2684	½	½	1	0	*	0	½	1	½	½	0	1	5½
6	Jakovenko	2711	½	½	0	½	1	*	0	½	½	½	1	½	5½
7	Shirov	2740	0	0	½	0	½	1	*	½	1	0	1	1	5½
8	Alekseev	2711	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	*	1	1	0	½	5
9	Svidler	2746	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	0	*	½	½	1	5
10	Nisipeanu	2684	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	0	½	*	1	½	5
11	Van Wely	2677	0	0	½	½	1	0	0	1	½	0	*	½	4
12	Onischuk	2664	½	½	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	*	3½

Standings after round 7…source: Chessgames

Please click Chessgames here to follow the results of games and to play through games played on any particular day!

If you click on the link of CHESSCLUB you can watch the “game of the day” on a movie!

Round 11 : Final round…results

Svidler, Peter ½ – ½ Van Wely, Loek
Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0 Eljanov, Pavel
Karjakin, Sergey ½ – ½ Carlsen, Magnus
Volokitin, Andrei 1 – 0 Alekseev, Evgeny
Jakovenko, Dmitry ½ – ½ Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Onischuk, Alexander 0 – 1 Shirov, Alexei

Carlsen still leading!

Round 10 : Results

Van Wely, Loek 0 – 1 Ivanchuk, Vassily
Eljanov, Pavel ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey
Carlsen, Magnus ½ – ½  Volokitin, Andrei
Alekseev, Evgeny ½ – ½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ½ – ½ Onischuk, Alexander
Shirov, Alexei 1 – 0 Svidler, Peter

Round 9 results:

Karjakin, Sergey ½ – ½ Van Wely, Loek
Volokitin, Andrei 0 – 1 Eljanov, Pavel
Jakovenko, Dmitry ½ – ½ Carlsen, Magnus
Onischuk, Alexander ½ – ½ Alekseev, Evgeny
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter 1 – 0 Shirov, Alexei
Ivanchuk, Vassily ½ – ½ Svidler, Peter

Results: Round 8

Van Wely, Loek 1 – 0 Volokitin, Andrei
Eljanov, Pavel ½ – ½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Carlsen, Magnus ½ – ½ Onischuk, Alexander
Alekseev, Evgeny 1 – 0 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Svidler, Peter ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey
Shirov, Alexei 0 – 1 Ivanchuk, Vassily

Round 7  results:

Jakovenko, Dmitry 1 – 0 Van Wely, Loek
Onischuk, Alexander 0 – 1 Eljanov, Pavel
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter 0 – 1 Carlsen, Magnus
Alekseev, Evgeny ½ – ½ Shirov, Alexei
Volokitin, Andrei ½ – ½ Svidler, Peter
Karjakin, Sergey ½ – ½ Ivanchuk, Vassily

Please click HERE to play through games of round 7.

Magical Magnus conjures win over Shirov

Round 5 at Foros and yet another elite Grandmaster crumbles in the face of Magnus Carlsen’s relentless pressure.  Alexei Shirov is a formidable player and has himself come close to the World Championship crown, but today he became Carlsen’s latest victim.

Shirov answered 1.d4 with the Slav defence and Magnus chose the popular ‘Moscow’ variation in reply.  A balanced opening developed into an even middlegame, but as in previous games, Magnus kept creating tricky problems for his opponent to solve and soon Shirov fell into time trouble as he sought to find the best answers.

It was on the 61st move that Shirov finally cracked, allowing Magnus to catch his King in a mating net.

Elsewhere on another exciting day, the closest challenger to Magnus failed to keep up the pace as Sergey Karjakin lost with the Black pieces against Andrei Volokitin.   The other decisive games saw Nisipeanu put Van Wely to the sword in a Najdorf Sicilian and Svidler employed his favourite Grunfeld defence to good effect against Onischuk.

Vassily Ivanchuk fought hard against Dmitry Jakovenko, but an extra pawn in a Knight ending was not enough and the game ended all-square after 72 moves.

Magnus Carlsen now leads by a clear 1.5 points with a very impressive score of 4.5/5.  If the world rankings were published today then Carlsen would be ranked second in the world, with only World Champion Vishy Anand ahead of him.
Please click HERE to play through the games of round 5…played on the 12th June.

 Source of article….about round 5: http://www.chess.com

Round 6  results!

Van Wely, Loek ½ – ½ Onischuk, Alexander
Eljanov, Pavel ½ – ½ Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Carlsen, Magnus ½ – ½ Alekseev, Evgeny
Svidler, Peter ½ – ½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Ivanchuk, Vassily ½ – ½ Volokitin, Andrei
Shirov, Alexei ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey

Ukrainian Chess Federation
International Chess Tournament from 7-20 June 2008
Please click
HERE to play through the games of round 1 and on THIS LINK you can see the results of rounds 2 and 3.
On THIS LINK you can play through games played in round 2.

Results Round 3

Carlsen, Magnus 1 – 0 Van Wely, Loek
Eljanov, Pavel 1 – 0 Shirov, Alexei
Alekseev, Evgeny 1 – 0 Svidler, Peter
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ½ – ½ Ivanchuk, Vassily
Onischuk, Alexander ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey
Jakovenko, Dmitry 1 – 0 Volokitin, Andrei

Standings …Round 4

Van Wely, Loek vs Alekseev, Evgeny
Eljanov, Pavel vs Carlsen, Magnus
Svidler, Peter vs Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Ivanchuk, Vassily vs Onischuk, Alexander
Karjakin, Sergey vs Jakovenko, Dmitry
Shirov, Alexei vs Volokitin, Andrei

 

Day of Rest…Balaklava…

~Day of Rest…Balaklava…Images: Official site of Aerosvit

Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2765

Peter Svidler, Russia, 2746

Vasiliy Ivanchuk, Ukraine, 2740

Alexei Shirov, Spain, 2740

Sergey Karjakin, Ukraine, 2732

Dmitry Jakovenko, Russia, 2711

Evgeny Alekseev, Russia, 2711

Pavel Eljanov, Ukraine, 2687
See 4 more players’ photos HERE with more information on all players.The list of participants:

1. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2765

2. Svidler, Peter RUS 2746

3. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2740

4. Shirov, Alexei ESP 2740

5. Karjakin, Sergey UKR 2732

6. Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2711

7. Alekseev, Evgeny RUS 2711

8. Eljanov, Pavel UKR 2687

9. Volokitin, Andrei UKR 2684

10. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ROU 2684

11. Van Wely, Loek NED 2676

12. Onischuk, Alexander USA 2664

June 8th, 2008, Round 1, Time 15:00…ALL rounds start at 15:00 —every day!
June 9th, Round 2
June 10th, Round 3
June 11th, Round 4
June 12th, Round 5
June 13th, Round 6
June 14th, REST DAY
June 15th, Round 7
June 16th, Round 8
June 17th, Round 9
June 18th, Round 10
June 19th, Round 11

Round 2 Magnus Carlsen

 

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/55750874_ac414c2849.jpg

Church on the Rock…Foros…

Foros, Crimea is the settlement in the Ukraine where this tournament is taking place…

 

The region is also known as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and lies on the northern coast of the Black Sea. The population is two million inhabitants, the capital is the city of Simferopol.

Foros, where the AeroSvit tournament is held, is a small village situated about 40 km from Yalta, in the southern part of Crimea. The climate conditions are gorgeous. Foros is the place were the dacha (summer-house) of the President of Ukraine is situated. The Russian writer Maxim Gorkiy lived and worked for some time in Foros. Today Ukrainian politicians and businessmen own summer houses there. Students spend their summers in Foros. There is the orthodox Foros Church and a beautiful national park. What is also good in Foros – you spell the name of the village exactly the way you pronounce it – F-o-r-o-s.

Source: chessbase

Last 2 Images: chessbase

In Foros, you will get this monument about Yuri Gagarin, the first man in Space!
Click HERE to read more about him.

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Chess Grandmasters play football!

Chess players in Baku had a free day  yesterday! See how they spent their day…playing football…watch  the second movie to see the players in action!

 

Images: Fide.com

Sergey Karjakin, from Ukraine, (Ukrainian: Сергій Карякін; born January 12, 1990 in Simferopol) is a top chess player. At the age of twelve years and seven months he became the youngest grandmaster in history. On the FIDE ranking list of April 2008, he has a rating of 2732, making him number 14 in the world, number 2 in the category of boys up to 20 years old and number 2 in the  Ukraine. On this first movie you can see the interview held with him. Both movies can be watched on the Fide.com site too.

 

 

Round 6 will be played today. You can see the pairings on this image.

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Why do the movies love chess?

 I think chess is a game most people can play. If you can’t play it, it’s very easy to learn the basics. Well, the basics are the pieces, names and how they move. Also, make sure you know whenever you play chess, that there’s always a white square on your right hand side! Otherwise, your board is set up wrongly! And, the white pieces go on the rows marked 1 and 2, black on 7 and 8. In some movies, you will find the board set up wrongly and even the Queen not on the colour she should be! White Queen goes to the white square …. so the Queen goes to “her” colour. I’ve found an interesting article why they – directors – like chess in the movies! So, have you got any plans to be an actor? Then…learn to play chess…or at least know the basics…. lol!
Click HERE to play through the game from the movie: From Russia with love!

By Finlo Rohrer
BBC News Magazine

The late Ingmar Bergman’s film the Seventh Seal helped cement his reputation as a cerebral director, and might explain why chess is such an enduring theme for film makers.

In the Seventh Seal a Swedish knight returns from the crusades to find his home country ravaged by tragedy and is soon locked in a game of chess with death.

Without giving much away, it’s a fairly intense game.

Bergman’s arthouse favourite is perhaps the most notorious example of chess on celluloid, but there are hundreds and hundreds of others. From the brainiest to the schlockiest, one of the movie world’s favourite devices is chess.

And among the chess-playing fraternity there’s a whole subculture of “chess in the movies” discussion, with a number of dedicated websites, and Bob Basalla’s book Chess in the Movies, providing exhaustive lists stretching up to 2,000 titles.

Perhaps the second best known chess scene is in the Thomas Crown Affair, where Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway enjoy a romantically-charged game.

Satyajit Ray’s the Chess Players is another arthouse classic, while 2000’s Luzhin Defence had a grandmaster as its central character.

But for many chess aficionados, the best example of the game has to be in the second James Bond film, From Russia With Love, where the Spectre agent Kronsteen ruthlessly beats the Canadian master McAdams
Sometimes chess is in a movie because a star or director is a player. Humphrey Bogart was reputed to be at the top end of amateur players, and suggested a chess scene for Casablanca. And Stanley Kubrick was so taken with chess that it features in The Killing, Lolita and 2001 and alluded to the game in Paths of Glory.

“The best scenes are where there is some tension between the protagonists. Humphrey Bogart has a special place in my affections because he did love chess. The board was definitely the right way round in Casablanca,” Pein adds.

The chess authorities have tried to capitalise on the movies to recruit new players, such as when the game was heavily featured in a Harry Potter movie.

And the fans like most the movies – such as From Russia With Love – that at least attempt to use a real game. Blade Runner features a game based on Anderssen against Kieseritzky in London in 1851, known to some as the Immortal Game, and 1925’s Chess Fever which featured Cuban world champion Jose Raul Capablanca playing a champion.

Read more HERE about chess in movies.

Click HERE to see how the pieces move and if you don’t know these little funny men on the pic here, you can click
HERE to read about the Lewis Chessmen!

Another fantastic link HERE about Chess in movies.

If you click HERE you can see a list of more than 1700 movies where a chess scene can be found!

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Win a chess game in 2 moves!

Nigel Short, British GM won this game due to the Fide-rule that chess players should shake hands at the start of a game. He offered his hand twice to his opponent. Read the press report here on Corus and you can also listen to Nigel Short in the Youtube video.

January 20 2008 – Corus Chess Press

At the start of round 8 of the Corus Chess Tournament, Ivan Cheparinov, top seed in Grandmaster Group B, lost his game against Nigel Short for refusing to shake the Brit’s hand. According to an article on the FIDE website:

“Any player who does not shake hands with the opponent (or greets the opponent in a normal social manner in accordance with the conventional rules of their society) before the game starts in a FIDE tournament or during a FIDE match (and does not do it after being asked to do so by the arbiter) or deliberately insults his/her opponent or the officials of the event, will immediately and finally lose the relevant game.”

Chief Arbiter Thomas van Beekum was a witness when Cheparinov refused Short’s offer to shake hands twice and the Bulgarian’s game was declared a loss as a result.

The Tournament Organization has received an official protest by Mr. Ivan Cheparinov regarding his loss against Mr. Nigel Short. The matter will be put forward to the Appeals Committee

Click HERE to say hi to  Nigel Short on Face Book.

On this video you can see what happened.

 

Two moves checkmate is: 1.f4 e6 2.g4 Qh4#

Four move checkmate….1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nc6 4.Qxf7#

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Bobby Fischer… was and is!

Rest in Peace Bobby Fischer —b. 1943 – d. 2008
You can read my Bobby Fischer-poem
HERE…
On THIS LINK
you can read an article about him that was published in the UK Times.

I was age 11, when I got my first chess set and chess book. It was a book written by Cor Nortje in Afrikaans…”Skaak!” In the back of the book, there are the games of Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. I used to play through those games to “teach” myself a bit more of the game. Nobody else in the family played chess! I got to like Bobby F and he was always – and will always be! – my favourite chess player! It’s very sad to know that he’s passed away, and as somebody said on the chess site… at the age of 64! A “good” number, as there are 64 squares on the board!! Bobby had an IQ of 187! A very gifted and talented player, for sure… What happened to him was really sad and even more sad that the American government “chased” him because of violating sanctions… that means that you don’t have the freedom to do what you love and what you are brilliant at! Sad….that is what politicians are good at…ruining other people’s lives! ..and sometimes with their “fantastic” ideas… even divide nations all over the world!

Fisher died in a Reykjavik, Iceland, hospital on Thursday of kidney failure after a long illness.

Born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Fischer faced criminal charges in the United States for playing a 1992 rematch against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia in defiance of international sanctions.

This chess book is written in Afrikaans and was my first chess book at the age of 11. It has all the games of Spasski and Fischer.

Robert James “Bobby” Fischer (born March 9, 1943), won the World Chess Championship on September 1, 1972 and lost the title when he failed to defend it on April 3, 1975. He is considered to be one of the most gifted chess players of all time and, despite his prolonged absence from competitive play, is still among the best known of all chess players.
 
“Chess is war over the board.
The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.” – Bobby Fischer

“I am the best player in the world and I am here to prove it.” – Bobby Fischer.

He dropped out of competitive chess and largely out of view, emerging occasionally to make erratic and often anti-Semitic comments.Fischer, whose mother was Jewish, once accused “the Jew-controlled U.S. government” of ruining his life.

He fell into obscurity before resurfacing to win a 1992 exhibition rematch against Spassky on the Yugoslav resort island of Sveti Stefan in violation of sanctions imposed to punish then-President Slobodan Milosevic.

A fierce critic of his homeland, Fischer became wanted in the United States for violating the sanctions.

Read here…about Bobby’s death Read on THIS LINK about his first rated tournament.

NIGEL SHORT about Fischer:

“The United States is evil. There’s this axis of evil. What about the allies of evil — the United States, England, Japan, Australia? These are the evildoers,” Fischer said.

Source: Click here  for the news.
Fischer told reporters that year that he was finished with a chess world he regarded as corrupt, and sparred with U.S. journalists who asked about his anti-American tirades.

He renounced his American citizenship and moved to Iceland in 2005.
 Japanese Release Bobby Fischer
Ex-Chess Champ Heads to Iceland

By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, March 24, 2005; Page A14

NAGOYA, Japan, March 24 — Bobby Fischer, the chess legend who feared deportation to face charges in the United States, was freed Thursday by Japanese authorities after eight months in prison, the Justice Ministry said. He left immediately for the airport to fly to Iceland.

The deal to free Fischer came after Iceland — a chess-loving nation that hosted his historic Cold War-era victory over the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky in 1972 — granted Fischer citizenship this week in a move to help him avoid trial in the United States. Fischer, 62, who grew up in New York, has dodged a U.S. arrest warrant since playing a chess match in Yugoslavia in 1992 in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Read the rest of the article HERE …

Bobby as a 15 year old teenager….and America’s champ!

Born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, Fischer was a U.S. chess champion at 14 and a grand master at 15. He beat Spassky in a series of games in Reykjavik to claim America’s first world chess championship in more than a century.But his reputation as a genius of chess soon was eclipsed by his idiosyncrasies.A few years after the Spassky match, he forfeited the title to another Soviet, Anatoly Karpov, when he refused to defend it.

Bobby Fischer, the reclusive American chess master who became a Cold War icon when he dethroned the Soviet Union’s Boris Spassky as world champion in 1972, has died. He was 64.
Fischer died Thursday in a Reykjavik hospital, his spokesman, Gardar Sverrisson, said. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

Fischer’s first Filipino friend: He was very special

By Artemio T. Engracia Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:10:00 01/20/2008

MANILA, Philippines–FLORENCIO CAMPOMANES, the country’s chess pioneer and former president of the International Chess Federation (Fide), was Bobby Fischer’s original Filipino friend.

They met in New York in the mid-1950s when Fischer was emerging as a chess phenom barely into his teens and Campomanes was shuttling between New York and Washington DC while working for the State Department
Read the complete article here.

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Teach your kids chess and they know how to work with money!

Source : http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/teaching-kids-about-money-51386.aspx

Please click HERE to read about the movie: Knights of the South Bronx. Links will open in a new window.

Teaching Kids About Money: 10 Tips
Ways for parents to teach their children about money

Published on: Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Written by: Trista Winnie

Parents have been giving financial advice to their children for ages. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” Polonius told his son Laertes in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As with good hygiene and good manners, most parents strive to teach their children lessons on how to be good at handling money.“If you can teach your child the difference between needs and wants, how to budget and how to save, your child will know more than many adults,” according to Scott Reeves of Forbes. “But if you get it wrong, your child is likely to join the millions of Americans who rack up huge credit card debt and get stung each month by stiff interest payments.”
In other words, no pressure.The lives of children who understand money, its value and how to handle it will be far easier than those of children who don’t.
Here are 10 tips for teaching your kids about money, focusing on saving and investing money, so they will grow up and use it responsibly.

– on the link  at the bottom of the page, where the article can be found…point 3 says…

3) Teach them critical thinking

While not directly a lesson in money, kids who learn how to think critically will make better decisions when it comes to money because they will be able to consider the short, medium and long term effects of their decisions, as well as plan for contingencies.

One great way to teach them how to plan, strategize and think critically is to teach them chess. Chess is a game in which cause and effect, concrete rules, analysis and planning for different scenarios are all crucial. Chess can also help kids hone their ability to recognize when to take risks and when to play it safe, which is a critical investment skill.

A real life example of this can be found in the story of David MacEnulty, an English teacher who taught a group of inner-city, low-income students in the South Bronx how to play chess. These students went on to compete and win in chess competitions and their critical thinking skills put them on the path to success. The story was documented in the 2005 movie, Knights of the South Bronx

Knights of the South Bronx

The most captivating, entertaining chess movie since Searching for Bobby Fischer! You’ll be thrilled. It’s inspirational.A business man decides that he wants to teach school in the inner city and chooses a tough school in the South Bronx. He teaches the children how to play the game of chess, and along the way they learn a lot about life.Richard’s entire class is lifted out of nothingness and boredom to fight for life, success, and the thrill of achievement! He helps his entire class discover chess one day, much to the dismay of school authorities. Richard’s mind is torn as even his wife disapproves when he turns down a lucrative job offer to stay with low-paying job… “his kids” and his class. But Richard cannot be swayed from helping the kids find new hope in life. When Richard’s class is reaching new levels of achievement in their studies the tide is turned, his wife comes to his side, and his Knights of the South Bronx battle their way to winning championships and battling all signs of defeat… often from within their own minds and ranks – their classmates. But they encourage one another and overcome, inspired by the game of chess.

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Alexandra Kosteniuk – Chess Grandmaster

Alexandra

News Article about Alexandra: 11th January 2009…the link will open in a new window.

http://www.miamiherald.com/277/story/847451.html

Winner of the World Women Chess Championship 2008

On this link- on my blog – you can follow her games of round 5 and round 6…against Yifan of China and see more pics of her too. https://chessaleeinlondon.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/alexandra-kosteniuk-winner-of-nalchik/
To be honest, I haven’t known of the existence of Alexandra before, I think there are so many Chess Grandmasters that we don’t know of, but I want to blog her, as she is a female player! and I think more should be done to attract girls to play chess. Too many girls are still thinking chess is a boy’s game. Why do you think that is? If you go to my chess links, you will find a link saying… “Tube Chess”…follow that link for some good movies about her playing chess, but also about other chess players!

Alexandra Kosteniuk is the 10th woman in the world to have ever achieved the Grandmaster (men) title. She’s rated  sixth woman in the world, and #1 woman in Russia. She has a FIDE  ELO of 2515.
Alexandra had a great success at the annual New Year Blitz tournament organized by the Deputy Economy Minister Arkady Dvorkovich in Moscow. After qualifying in the semifinals, she won convincingly the final with 8 points out of 9 ahead of GM Najer –2635–7, GM Dlugy –2518– 6.5, GM Alekseev –2716– 6, GM Bareev –2653– 4.5, GM Vasiukov –2492– 4, etc.

Click on the images for a larger view.

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World Youth Chess Championship 2007—Turkey

17 November 2007!

Official website ….

Click HERE for the Fide-website….where you can read more about….

“Chess is most likely to be introduced into Russian schools curriculum
The Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov thinks that chess is most likely to be introduced into Russian schools curriculum. `In Kalmykia, schools have chess in their programmes for more than 10 years and the results in other school subjects have improved. Kalmyk pupils win not only Russian championships but also world ones in other sports,` Mr. Gryzlov said at the opening ceremony of the Russian Sport Forum. In Mr. Gryzlov`s opinion chess develops not only pupils` logical thinking but their striving for victory which is very important for the Russian people.”

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Today, I said the following to Basil…(he’s on the course with me)..that chess should be a game in all schools, because of the following…

1. In Chess, you have to think at least about 3-4 moves ahead….in real life….you have to think ahead! plan for the future…etc.

2. In Chess, you have to be focused on your moves, you can’t let your mind drifting….then you lose! (if you snooze…you lose!)….in real life, if you are not focused…you lose!

3. In Chess, you have to prioritise…you may have about 3-4 very good moves to make….so, you have to decide which one is the best move for that particular moment…cause and effect…..in real life, you have to prioritise your life too! You have to decide what is important for that particular moment…cause and effect…again…

4. In Chess, you have patterns, particular moves occur and you know what to do if it occurs….in real life, something happens and you had experienced it before, so you know how to handle it, you act like you used to do in that particular situation……and….maths is about patterns! so, solve a pattern in chess, considered it solved in maths! ….patterns are easily identified in other situations in real life….or in other subjects! ….or solve a problem in chess…you can solve it in maths! ….so what do I actually try to tell you….? Chess is a fantastic sport to achieve higher levels in Maths…if you are a student! …..but don’t think just a couple of games will do the “job”…you have to commit yourself!

5. In Chess, you move different directions, that helps in real life (for children) to sort out directions…i.e. left/right….so if they have difficulties with reversing letters, it may help them to solve the problem! Children with spatial problems? Let them play chess! …visual orientation-problems…? Chess is the answer…just think about that tricky move of the knight!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~So….people still thinking “Chess….agh! what a boring game…” think twice! and if you want to challenge me and want me to tell you more….about what FUN chess is…post me a message and I will keep you busy for about an hour or more!! I had Basil’s jaws dropped today…so I might get yours dropped too! LOL!

Have you seen THIS movie?

Knights of the South Bronx

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http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

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Flying Pickets – Only You

Boer-in-Ballingskap het my op die skaakwebsite….gese van die liedjie….en hy is een van my gunstelinge…ek moes hom net gou blog! ………..ja ons twee speel nou deesdae gereeld skaak…en hy het my vandag gewen! -ek het hom die ander gewen…maar ek dink hy steek bietjie weg…hy gaan seker nou sy ware kleure begin toon!!! Hy het selfs iemand van Finland gewen…dit wys jou nou….hy het net gemaak of hy lanklaas gespeel het!!

And this one!?

And…what about this video!

Kalidasa:
Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the
Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes
Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

I’d read a speech of a Director General of the Department of Internal Affairs in SA one day…and this was part of his speech!

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

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