Chess Queen Alexandra

Click on the images for a larger view.

Please click HERE to play through chess games of Alexandra. The link will open in a new window.

10 January 2009: News article about Alexandra…the link will open in a new window.

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

On this link on my blog, http://chessaleeinlondon.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/alexandra-kosteniuk-winner-of-nalchik/ you can follow the games played in the  World Women’s Chess Championships in  between Kosteniuk and Yifan. There’s also more pictures of her to see.

Alexandra Kosteniuk is one of the beauties in the world of Chess! In this video you can see the game she played against GM Zoltan Almasi. It’s a blitz. Fast chess, also known as, blitz chess, lightning chess, bullet chess and rapid chess, is a type of chess game in which each side is given less time to make their moves than under the normal tournament time controls of 60-150 minutes (1-2½ hours) per player.
Read HERE more about blitz chess.

Please click HERE for the official site of Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Alexandra Kosteniuk comments in detail her blitz game played in Moscow at the World Blitz Championships Qualifiers against one of the world’s top experts on the Berlin Wall defence.
 

Image…NYtimes

The model Carmen Kass in a five-minute blitz match against Viswanathan Anand in 2004.

Image:chessbase


Read the review of this book here at the link at the bottom of this post….or click on the image to order the book.

Many of us, even those of us who don’t play either well or often, are familiar with chess. Some of us will be aware that some pieces are differently represented in different parts of the world, but I wonder how many of us are aware of the comparatively recent introduction of the queen?

Marilyn Yalom attempts three objectives in this interesting book. Firstly, and of most interest to me, she outlines a history of the game of chess and its likely spread across the world. Secondly, Dr Yalom explains the development of the piece currently known as the queen in most European chess play both in terms of its replacement of earlier pieces, and its emerging power. Finally, Dr Yalom makes a case for parallels between the emergence of the power of the chess queen and the rise of powerful female sovereigns in Europe.

While I am attracted to the notion of the role of the chess queen as a reflection of the rise of strong queens (such as Isabella of Castile), and a possible association with the cult of the Virgin Mary, this is of peripheral interest to me. What I did find fascinating was the history of the development of the game, especially the differences between cultures and countries. Dr Yalom advises that the chess queen did not appear on the board until about 1000: some 200 years after the game had been introduced to southern Europe. Yet, by 1497, the queen had developed from a weak piece (moving one square at a time on the diagonal) to the more formidable force that she is today.

Dr Yalom presents a wealth of information in this book. Whether you share her conclusions, her enthusiasm for the subject combined with her capacity to present a variety of interesting data in a readable and accessible way will make this an enjoyable read.

Those who are serious chess players may find some of the facts interesting. Those of us interested in the evolution of institutions of power and who choose to explore parallels between games of strategy and political realities should also enjoy this book.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060090650/ref=cm_rdp_product

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World Cup Chess 2007

More photos here…
 ROUND 4….Results

 Readers not knowing how this table works: Look at matches 1-8 and the player with the highest score in each match moves on to the next round. Read the press release of today:
The last eight finalists for the World Cup have now been determined after the tie-break matches were played today. Again we had plenty of surprises and more top seeds toppled. Two of the Mexican finalists in September will be leaving Khanty-Mansiysk. Previous World Cup winner Levon Aronian from Armenia lost his first tie-break game against 24-year-old Dmitry Jakovenko from Russia , and although pressing very hard in the second game, could not manage to recover. Jakovenko will be playing his next round against the most experienced (and eldest) player left in the World Cup, 35-year-old Alexei Shirov from Spain. Another top seed who played in Mexico, Peter Svidler, lost his second tie-break game to ex-World Championship runner-up Gata Kamsky from the USA . Kamsky will now be facing the former World champion Ruslan Ponomariov from Ukraine in his next match.

The interesting point to note is that from the remaining eight quarterfinalists the average age is 24! Two of the world’s youngest grandmasters have shown a deep sense of maturity and purpose in disposing of highly experienced rival grandmasters. 17-year-old Magnus Carlsen from Norway has steadily faced challenge after challenge and his next match will now be against another young player, 21-year-old Ivan Cheparinov from Bulgaria . 17-year-old Sergey Karjakin from Ukraine will face the challenge of the ‘much older’ 22-year-old Alekseev from Russia.

Some very interesting chess is promised in the quarterfinals as three of the final four players will all get an opportunity in the forthcoming Grand Prix whilst the winner will get to play a match next year to determine the challenger for the World Championship match in 2009.
For more results clickHERE.Chess Press release…

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