Plovdiv 2010

GM Alexei Shirov and Michael Adams – photo:ECC2010Chessdom

The European Club Cup 2010 is now on in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Some of my old favourite players are playing. Although time is little to follow the tournament, I will make an effort over the coming weekend to check out more of the games. Shirov is an old time favourite and Michael Adams – an English player I saw in action December, is also an upcoming favourite of mine.  Click HERE for the Official site and for results and live games.

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At the Classics

Results: Round 4 – Saturday 12th December

On the way to the Olympia Centre – where the London Chess Classic is being held

Black bird in a tree

Hammersmith-area – traffic and weather

The players…

Kramnik looked away shyly when I winked at him [hehe] and Nigel suddenly said to Michael Adams…you know what, she’s the only woman around here![NOT – there were many others]

aha! got him smiling!

The stage

And everyone wants the best shot

And I got mine too

Kramnik watching the electronic board

The electronic board, we were allowed to click-click only the first 5 min into the games

A Semi-giant set in the foyer – a lovely set

Art in the foyer, do I see a pawn’s head in this piece of art – or is it my chess-brain working overtime?[hehe]

bikes outside

Headless London pawns lined-up – standing vigilant – for McShane’s and Howell’s game?

Into the night

My impression/opinion of the London Chess Classic

It was great to see these GM’s in real life, they are all great people and great players. It was great to see them playing  live on the stage, to see how they respond and their reactions during a tournament. I was very excited to see them as Kramnik is one of my favourite players. Carlsen too, as he’s young and many students can associate with him and he can be of an inspiration to many young players wanting to reach their goal of becoming a GM too?

The venue was great, it wasn’t my first time at the Olympia. If I can have a moan about a few things and maybe, just maybe someone will pick it up and do something about it. Firstly, the Ladies’ toilet near the auditorium was changed into a Gents room. The nearest Ladies was in the East Hall in a maze of corridors with doors enough to take 6mil people to heaven at any one time. I waited for an old lady as I knew she wasn’t going to find her way back. She was already stressed out when she saw me, saying she found it hard to find it – despite the little arrows you could follow. Secondly, the T-shirts were all in sizes Large -and up and then in a small, but no medium-sized-shirts. I was told by Philippa – the wife of Malcolm Pein [organiser of the tournament] – she’s an ex Saffa and spoke to me in Afrikaans, how nice! – that these shirts were not available in a medium-size- as they reasoned that females were not really going to buy it – duh! Was I going to be the only female wanting a shirt? Then I must be of a very rare specie! I did buy a large though, a mug and a pen. I think I will sleep in this large, baggy shirt.[lol]

The games. The chess games were great – sort of. I was very annoyed with Howell and McShane’s game. They didn’t have a good game, it was a boring game, right from the start. Later on I didn’t even follow their game on the board. Magnus played a good game up to a point and I lost interest. Kramnik’s game wasn’t up to the standard I expected from him and I didn’t follow his game – they finished first and quite early too. I was still thinking how to go about to get some autographs when Kramnik disappeared from the stage. One guy was lucky, he was near the exit on Kramnik’s side. You would think they would go to the foyer to mingle with the common chess players and where you can grab them for an autograph. I lost interest in all the games that were left and we left about 6pm. Our parking ticket was £25, all worth it, but will I do it again to see my favourite players in action? I don’t know, maybe. Maybe if us women don’t have to walk two miles for a ladies room, the chess games worth it and t-shirts in medium size [lol] [I must add, the first time I did use the toilet for disabled people, but I was given the look when I wanted to use it again]

On this photo I’m sitting on the right at the far end – you can’t see me! but you can see hubby on the left. The photo is from the official site. We played three games. We arrived at about 12:15-ish and played till about 13:40.

Denise Frick – South African-player taking part in the Women’s Invitational – image: Official site

Plippa – at the bookstall – image: Official site

The games

[Event “London Chess Classic”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2009.12.12”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus “]
[Black “Nakamura, Hikaru “]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ChessCat “CHESSCAT 1.0”]
[ECO “D17”]
[Opening “QGD Slav”]
[PlyCount “90”]
[Variation “Czech defence”]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bc8 7.e3 e5 8.Bxc4 exd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 Nd5 12.Nf3 Be6 13.Qb3 Na6 14.Bd2 Nab4 15.Ne4 Bf5 16.Ne5 a5 17.Nc5 Bxc5 18.dxc5 Qc7 19.Bxb4 Nxb4 20.Qf3 Be6 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Qb3 Qe7 23.Nf3 Nd5 24.Rac1 Rf4 25.Ne5 Raf8 26.Nd3 Rd4 27.Rc4 Rxc4 28.Qxc4 Qf6 29.g3 Rd8 30.Kg2 Qf5 31.Nc1 Rf8 32.Qe2 Nc7 33.Nd3 Rd8 34.Ne5 Rd5 35.Kg1 Rxc5 36.Nc4 Qf8 37.Rd1 Rd5 38.Rxd5 exd5 39.Qe5 dxc4 40.Qxc7 Qb4 41.Qc8+ Kf7 42.Qf5+ Ke7 43.Qe5+ Kf7 44.Qf5+ Ke7 45.Qe5+ Kf7
1/2-1/2

[Event “London Chess Classic”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2009.12.12”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Kramnik, Vladimir “]
[Black “Adams, Michael”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ChessCat “CHESSCAT 1.0”]
[ECO “D37”]
[Opening “QGD”]
[PlyCount “92”]
[Variation “classical variation (5.Bf4)”]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Be5 Bg4 12.Be2 Ne6 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 d4 15.Bxd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 Qxd4 17.exd4 Rac8 18.O-O Rc7 19.Rad1 Rd8 20.Rfe1 Kf8 21.Re2 g6 22.g3 Bf6 23.d5 Be7 24.Kg2 Bd6 25.Rde1 Rc5 26.Be4 Rdc8 27.f4 Rc1 28.Kf3 Rxe1 29.Rxe1 Rc5 30.g4 a5 31.a4 Rc4 32.b3 Rc3+ 33.Re3 Rxe3+ 34.Kxe3 h6 35.f5 gxf5 36.Bxf5 Ke7 37.h4 f6 38.Bc8 b6 39.Ke4 Bg3 40.h5 Bh4 41.Kf5 Bg5 42.Kg6 Kd6 43.Be6 Ke7 44.Bc8 Kd6 45.Be6 Ke7 46.Bc8 Kd6
1/2-1/2

[Event “London Chess Classic”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2009.12.12”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Short, Nigel”]
[Black “Ni Hua “]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ChessCat “CHESSCAT 1.0”]
[ECO “C11”]
[Opening “French”]
[PlyCount “127”]
[Variation “Burn variation”]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.c3 h6 8.Bh4 c5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Qf3 cxd4 11.Bb5+ Ke7 12.Ne2 Qd5 13.Qxd5 exd5 14.Nxd4 f5 15.O-O-O Kf6 16.Ne2 Be6 17.Nf4 Rd8 18.Bc4 d4 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Rxd4 Bc5 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Nh3 h5 23.Re1 e5 24.Re2 e4 25.Kc2 h4 26.f3 Re8 27.fxe4 fxe4 28.b4 Bd6 29.Rf2+ Ke5 30.Ng1 Rg8 31.g3 hxg3 32.hxg3 Rxg3 33.Ne2 Rf3 34.Rg2 Kd5 35.Nd4 Rh3 36.Nb5 Be5 37.Rd2+ Ke6 38.Nd4+ Bxd4 39.Rxd4 Rh2+ 40.Kb3 Re2 41.a4 e3 42.Kc4 Ra2 43.a5 e2 44.Re4+ Kd6 45.Kd3 b6 46.axb6 axb6 47.Rxe2 Rxe2 48.Kxe2 b5 49.Kd2 Ke6 50.Kd1 Kd5 51.Kc2 Kd6 52.Kd2 Ke6 53.Ke3 Ke5 54.Kd3 Kd5 55.c4+ bxc4+ 56.Kc3 Kc6 57.Kxc4 Kb6 58.b5 Kb7 59.Kc5 Kc7 60.b6+ Kb7 61.Kb5 Kb8 62.Kc6 Kc8 63.b7+ Kb8 64.Kb6
1/2-1/2

[Event “London Chess Classic”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2009.12.12”]
[Round “4”]
[White “McShane, Luke “]
[Black “Howell, David “]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ChessCat “CHESSCAT 1.0”]
[ECO “A15”]
[Opening “English opening”]
[PlyCount “79”]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.Ne5 Qd6 7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Qxc6+ bxc6 9.g3 Bg7 10.Bg2 Rb8 11.b3 O-O 12.Bb2 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 Bxc3 14.dxc3 c5 15.O-O-O Rb6 16.c4 Rd6 17.Rd5 Bb7 18.Rxd6 Bxg2 19.Rdd1 Bxh1 20.Rxh1 Rd8 21.Rd1 Rxd1+ 22.Kxd1 Kf8 23.Kd2 Ke8 24.Ke3 Kd7 25.g4 f6 26.Ke4 Ke6 27.h3 f5+ 28.Kf4 Kf6 29.g5+ Ke6 30.e4 fxe4 31.Kxe4 Kd6 32.f4 e6 33.h4 a6 34.a3 a5 35.Kf3 e5 36.Ke4 exf4 37.Kxf4 Ke6 38.Ke4 Kd6 39.Kf4 Ke6 40.Ke4
1/2-1/2

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London Chess Classic 2009

Please click on the image for a larger view

 

The Chess Player- 1954: Andy Warhol

This early drawing has a surreal quality created by the larger-than-life chess pieces and study of a face, surrounding the young man playing chess. In his later work Warhol would continue to play with scale, enlarging objects and people to increase their iconic status. The colour in this image was possibly completed at one of Warhol’s colouring parties, hosted at the fashionable Serendipity 3 café after it opened in 1954. He would encourage his friends – some of whom would have helped him create the original illustrations – to colour the works with an inventiveness that adds to their whimsical nature. This process looks forward to the production methods of Warhol’s legendary studio, the Factory, in the 1960s.

Art of Warhol here. The link will open in a new window.

David Howell

ENG

2613

The 8th Player in this tournament is David Howell

Cream of world chess to play in new London tournament.
London Chess Centre is proud to announce a world-class chess tournament to be held in London in December, 2009. The event will be an elite eight-player all-play-all in the most prestigious tournament in the capital since former world champion Anatoly Karpov won the Phillips and Drew Masters in 1984.

Since then, despite London hosting three world title contests, there has not been a tournament in which England’s leading players could lock horns with the world’s best on home soil. The December 09 tournament will be the first in a series of events designed to reinvigorate UK chess and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities.

The tournament will be FIDE Category 19 with an average FIDE rating of 2700 and a minimum prize fund of €100,000. The eight players will comprise of three English and five world-class Grandmasters from abroad. Included in the prize fund will be a €10,000 Brilliant Game award along with separate prizes for each victory with the White and Black pieces. Matches will be covered live online where fans will be able to vote for Game of the Day.

The tournament has applied for membership of the prestigious annual Grand Slam of Chess which culminates in Bilbao and boasts a €400,000 prize fund.

The games will be under Classical Chess time control; 40 moves in two hours, 20 in the subsequent hour then an additional 15 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds a move until the end of the game. The tournament will further benefit from the use of Sofia Rules which disallow early draws. Players will receive three points for a win and one for a draw.

Source:
http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html#london09

Click on the image for a larger view for the Olympia Conference Centre at spot marked as A.

Contact Malcolm Pein (IM) Director London Chess Centre:

Chess Centre: 020 7388 2404 (London)

New London tournament to be in the Olympia Conference Centre.
I am delighted to announce that the London Chess Classic 2009 will be staged at one of London’s most prestigious venues; the Olympia Conference Centre. Olympia will provide excellent facilities including a 400 seat soundproof auditorium, two commentary rooms and multimedia presentation. There will be ample space for Open, weekend and Speed Chess tournaments plus junior training which will run alongside the main event from December 8th-15th inclusive.

The London Chess Classic 2009 will be the highest level tournament in London for 25 years and will be the first in a series of events designed to increase enthusiasm for chess in the UK and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities. It is also our objective to bring the world championship to London in the Olympic year 2012.

England’s four leading Grandmasters; Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell will be pitched against a world class field that includes a former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and 18 year old Magnus Carlsen ranked world number three and widely seen a future holder of the world crown. One of China’s finest players; Ni Hua and the US Champion Hikaru Nakamura, complete the field.

Spectators will be treated to live commentary on the games from Grandmasters and will be able to play tournament or informal games all day. Ticket information will be available in September. For those who cannot attend there be will live coverage and commentary on the games on the internet.

Contact Malcolm Pein (IM) Director London Chess Centre:

Chess Centre: 020 7388 2404. E-Mail: info@chess.co.uk.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get a chance to meet some of the Grandmasters in London – if I’m lucky! Meanwhile, the Scots want their Chessmen back!
THE BRITISH Museum has put a set of elaborately carved chess figures at the heart of a new gallery despite demands that they be returned to Scotland.

The 82 Lewis Chessmen, which are between 800 and 900 years old and made from walrus and whale ivory, were seen in a Harry Potter film and inspired the children’s TV series Noggin The Nog.

Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland, wants them repatriated to Edinburgh to be reunited with the rest of the set discovered on the Outer Hebrides in the early 19th century.

Just as the Greek government wants the Elgin Marbles in London to be returned to Athens, Mr Salmond claims it is “unacceptable” for the British Museum to have 82 of the figures while the other 11 are in the National Museum of Scotland.

Read the entire article here.

…and from South Africa: -click on the image for a clear view

Cartoon: wonkie.com

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Chess, poetry art and music

Image: Chesscentral.com

I believe this is a good combination: chess, poetry, art and music! I’ve started recently reading Dean’s poetry blog and glad that I’ve discovered his blog. This poem in this post, is today’s entry on his blog and I’ve really enjoyed it and thought to share it with you. If you’re a lover of poetry, make sure to visit his blog, if you don’t, you will regret it! If you don’t like poetry, then you still should visit his blog and you will immediately fall in love with his poems! I have a present for you today too, let’s call it an early Christmas present if you like, a composition by Jim Brickman. Finally, for my chess-lovers (and those who think they might become chess-lovers!) I’ve got a few games here (do check back as I have about ten more to blog in this entry!) played a few days ago in the Dresden Olympiad. This post is almost as good as “wine women and song!”:) All links will open in a new window.

Remember me to the world
And all the beautiful girls
I never kissed; if there’s one regret
That is it: that I left any lovelies’
Lips unblessed, her heart repressed

Remember me to the wind, which
Blows wherever it goes; still, or not
Any feeling does not cost, but what you
Do with it: recall I am that
Innocent, awake to only wonder told

Remember me to the sun; the heat,
The blaze, worries public or hidden,
I have had them all, unbidden: most
Of all when you see that woman or girl,
Remember me, my dear, to the blessed world

©Dean J. Baker
To read more wonderful poetry, please click HERE to read on Dean Baker’s blog! Chess=love+poetry+music+art=chess!

Read more about Dean on his biography-link on his blog!

Over 500 poems and prose poems published since 1972 in over 130 literary publications in Canada, the USA, England, Australia, New Zealand, etc., such as Descant, Carleton Literary Review, Poetry WLU, The Prairie Journal, Freelance, Nexus, Bitterroot, Oxalis, Bogg, Aileron, RE:AL, Art Times, Pegasus, Impetus, On The Bus, and many others. More have been published in newspapers, magazines, online and in anthologies, recorded and paper.

Music: Jim Brickman: Dream comes true

Please click HERE to play through the game of Nyback from Finland vs Carlsen played in round 6, Dresden 2008.

Carlsen

Please click HERE to play through the game of Dominguez from Cuba vs Gata Kamsky in round 6, Dresden 2008.

This game of Etienne Bacrot was played in round 7 against Sasikiran from India.

Click HERE to play through the game of Boris Gelfand from Israel vs Elexei Shirov of Spain in round 7.

Please click HERE to play through the game of one of my favourite players, Ivanchuk vs Wang of China.

Ivanchuk

Click HERE to play through Kamsky’s game played in round 7 against Peter Leko.

Play through the game of Michael Adams against Radjabov played in round 7, Dresden.

Please click HERE to play through the game of Yelena Dembo, from Greece,  played in round 7 at the Olympiad.

Yelena Dembo

Please click HERE to play through the game of Cheparinov in round 8, Dresden.

To play through a game of Topalov played in round 8, click on the link!
Please click HERE to play through the game of David Howell from England played in round 9.

image: Greekchess.com..David Navara

Please click here to play through the game of David Navara played in round 9.

To play through the game of NIGEL SHORT, played in round 9, click on the link!

Image: chessbase..Nigel Short

Please click HERE to play through the game of Peter Svidler played in round 9 at the Dresden Olympiad in Germany.

Samuel Bak Chess Art. See my “chess humour”- page for more chess art from Samuel and his link.

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Chess Giants 2008 also now the Karen Asrian Memorial

Congratulations Levon Aronian, Winner of the Asrian Memorial, 2008.

1st place: Levon Aronian 8.5 points
2nd place: Peter Leko 8 points
3rd place: Alexander Morozevich 7.5 points
4th place: Boris Gelfand 7.5 points

Live games link HERE …
For the results on the tournament, follow the link to the official site or on the second link where you can play through their games too.

Chess Giants Yerevan 2008″ rapid chess tournament which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia from June 8-15, 2008. Eight giants of the chess world will pair off and play two games a day in what promises to be a week of fighting chess. You can follow the games every day at 18:00 PM local time (GMT+4) from Yerevan’s picturesque Opera House. Please click HERE for the Official site of Chess Giants.
On THIS LINK you can play through their games as the tournament goes…enjoy!

Standings after 10 rounds

1. Leko, Peter HUN 2741 6½
2. Aronian, Levon ARM 2763 6
3. Sargissian, Gabriel ARM 2643 5½
4-5. Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2708 5
4-5. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2723 5
6. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2774 4½
7. Adams, Michael ENG 2729 4
8. Akopian, Vladimir ARM 2673 3½

Aronian and Morozevich

 

Morozevich and Adams

Alexander Morozevich – RUS 2774

Levon Aronian – ARM 2763

Peter Leko – HUN 2741

 

Michael Adams – ENG 2729

 

Boris Gelfand – ISR 2723

 

Gabriel Sargissian – ARM 2643

Vladimir Akopian – ARM 2673

Bu Xiangzhi – CHN 2708

 Round 1
1 Sargissian 1/2 Adams
2 Morozevich 1-0 Gelfand
3 Bu 1/2 Leko
4 Aronian 1/2 Akopian

Round 2
1 Adams 1/2 Sargissian
2 Gelfand 1/2 Morozevich
3 Leko 1-0 Bu
4 Akopian 1/2 Aronian

Note that due to the tragic news of GM Karen Asrian’s passing, the games scheduled for June 10 and June 11 have been postponed. The Chess Giants tournament will resume on June 12. Click HERE  to read about his death.

According to the decision of the Armenian Chess Federation, the Chess Giants Yerevan 2008 tournament has been renamed the Karen Asrian Memorial and will be held traditionally in honor of our cherished champion.

In addition, the rapid open scheduled to have been played in parallel to the main tournament from June 12-15, has been cancelled.

 It is with great sadness and difficulty we report to you that today, June 9, Armenian Grandmaster Karen Asrian passed away. He was 28 years old. Details will be forthcoming. Round 1 games started late after a moment of silence in GM Asrian’s memory.

Yerevan, Armenia, the Opera House is the round building on the left…and this is where this tournament takes place. Image: Britanica

 

Image: http://www.ecml.at/html/armenian/images/yerevan

In the valley of Biblical Mount Ararat lies the beautiful ancient city of Yerevan, the 12th capital of Armenia. Yerevan was built around the city-fortress of Erebuni established by the King Argishti the First the king of Urartu in the year 782 BC.The ruins of Erebuni still stand in the southeastern part of the city.

A large part of the Erebuni fortification had been reconstructed by 1968 when the city celebrated the 2750th anniversary of its foundation. The well-preserved walls permitted the complete reproduction of the layout of Erebuni.

Yerevan is situated in the north-eastern part of the Ararat Valley. Mounts Aragats, Azhdaak, and Ararat can be seen from the city. With its rugged terrain, Yerevan displays a 400m disparity between its lowest and highest points. The city is divided by Hrazdan River that flows in a picturesque canyon.

The climate in Yerevan is dry and sharply varied with temperatures in summer peaking over 35 C and falling below -15 C in winter.

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