Israel to host world chess championships

Israel is going to host world chess championship in its chess capital Be'er Sheva, local newspaper Haaretz reported Sunday.
The best chess teams in the world, including Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, the United States, Cuba, the Republic of Georgia, China (with men's and women's teams) and Israel will compete in the tournament, which starts on Tuesday.
Egypt, the African representative in the competition, cancelled its participation. The Israel Chess Federation called the cancellation political.
(...)

http://english.people.com.cn/

Gorbachev backs Chess for Peace initiative

ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press

LINDSBORG, Kan. - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev came to the Kansas prairie Saturday to promote Chess for Peace, an international initiative to use the ancient game to find common ground among people of different cultures.
Gorbachev, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his part in ending the Cold War, said change comes when people get together to express what they want in public policy.
"I think it is very realistic to speak of this possibility," Gorbachev said of the Chess for Peace initiative.
(...)

http://www.kansascity.com

Harikrishna wins Essent chess

World Junior champion P Harikrishna quickly drew his final round game with women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria to annex the title at the Crown group of Essent chess tournament in Hoogeveeen, The Netherlands.
With the victory, Harikrishna won the purse of 4000 Euros (approximately Rs 2 lakh) and added five important points to his present Elo rating of 2673.
(...)

http://www.rediff.com

Harry Camilleri is national champion for eighteenth time

National Chess Master Harry Camilleri of Fgura, has won his eighteenth National Chess Championship at the ripe age of 72, beating a field of young men in a gruelling ten match all-play-all competition.
The event was held at the Visitors Lounge of Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, sponsors of the Chess Championship cycle.
Undoubtedly this is an impressive result for Camilleri that cannot go unnoticed.
(...)

http://217.145.4.56

Chess Cup to Lie with Ancient Crown in Bulgarian Museum

Bulgarian chess king Veselin Topalov donated his world cup to the National History Museum in Sofia on Friday.
Prof. Bozhidar Dimitrov, chief of the museum accepted the trophy, claiming to be happy to have lived to see a Bulgarian who was a bigger patriot than himself.
This was the right place for the trophy, Topalov stated, because it would be a waste to keep it in his private show case, as he had won it for Bulgaria. However he did mention that he wanted it back for a day or two in December when he would come back to Bulgaria to visit his birth town of Ruse.
(...)

http://www.novinite.com

FIDE Boss Offers to Buy Lenin’s Body for $1 Million

Head of the FIDE World Chess Federation, and the president of the Russian internal republic of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, has said he is ready to allocate $1 million for the shipping of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin’s body to the Kalmyk capital of Elista.
“I have officially told Russian communist leader Gennady Zyuganov that if the question of burying Lenin’s body is raised, we are ready to allocate $1 million to bring both the mausoleum and body to Elista,” Iliumzhinov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
(...)

http://mosnews.com

Veselin Topalov Granted his World Chess Cup to the Museum of National History

Sofia. The World Champion of Chess Veselin Topalov granted his cup to the Bulgarian Museum of National History, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency said. The Bulgarian GM bestowed his trophy to the Museum Director Bozhidar Dimitrov.
(...)

http://www.focus-fen.net

Bulgaria Invites Kasparov for Champ Duel

Bulgaria's world chess champion Vesselin Topalov is hoping to play again Garry Kasparov. The Russian, who is one of the strongest players in history, has already retired but will be invited to a Bulgarian tournament.
Organizers of the MTel Masters challenge will invite Kasparov for the 2006 edition, they announced Thursday.
(...)

http://www.novinite.com

Harikrishna downs Sokolov, emerges sole leader

Hoogeveen (The Netherlands): World Junior champion P Harikrishna outwitted top seed Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands in the third round of the Crown Group of Essent International chess tournament in Hoogeveen.
(...)

http://sify.com

World chess champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria shows his trophy upon his arrival at Sofia Airport October 24, 2005. Topalov had been crowned FIDE 2005 champion after winning the World Chess Championship in Argentina. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

http://news.yahoo.com

Harikrishna beat Stefanova to jump into lead

World junior champion P Harikrishna exhibited his brilliant skills to defeat women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria and jump into the joint lead after the second round of the Crown group of Essent Chess tournament.
(...)

http://www.ndtv.com

Sofia May Host Next World Chess Championship

Bulgaria may be the next host of the world chess championship, it appeared upon the arrival of the President of the International Chess Federation Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in Sofia.
I am glad to be in the smartest country in the world, Ilyumzhinov said in Sofia. In his words it is still not clear where the next championship will be, but Ilyumzhinov said that it is very possible that Bulgaria's capital may be the next host city.
(...)

http://www.novinite.com

Lucky Tie Helped Bulgaria's Topalov with Chess Title

Bulgaria's world chess king Veselin Topalov admitted in an interview Tuesday that he had a secret weapon during the tournament that crowned him - a lucky necktie.
Topalov received the tie as a present from his first ever chess trainer Dimitar Sinabov, before departing for the tournament, with the promise that it would bring him luck.
The new chess king shared with private btv channel that he wore the necktie at the opening of the tournament and it might have brought him an extra whiff of luck.
(...)

http://www.novinite.com/

A New World Chess Champion, With Modest Moves

By DYLAN LOEB McCLAIN


Vaselin Topalov, a Bulgarian chess grandmaster, is on top of the world.

Ten days ago, Mr. Topalov, 30, won the championship organized by the World Chess Federation by a margin of a point and a half over most of the world's best players. His performance was so dominant (he won six of his first seven games) that by the midpoint of the tournament the suspense was all but over.
(...)

http://www.nytimes.com

U.S. Army Maj. Keith Hayes of Columbia, South Carolina, of the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, plays a game of chess with a civilian contractor in a coffeeshop on a military base near Baqouba, Iraq, on Oct. 21, 2005.(...)

http://news.yahoo.com

Topalov, With a Potent Display, Proves Himself a Champion

By ROBERT BYRNE

In the FIDE world championship that concluded a week ago in San Luis, Argentina, the illustrious grandmasters included 30-year-old Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, a modest-mannered competitor who jumped on the accelerator in the very first round and left the field so far behind so quickly that he coasted home. His performance was almost flawless throughout.
(...)

http://www.nytimes.com

A grand rite of passage

By David R. Sands

There is no sweeter rite of passage in chess than beating your first grandmaster. Nothing can compare to the rush of elation, achievement and relief that comes from your very first victory over one of the game's titled elite.
At least so we're told.
Not having -- ahem -- managed to punch this particular ticket yet, we'll live vicariously through a couple of games from the fifth annual Arlington Open earlier this month. Master Alex Barnett, who shared first in the tournament with fellow master John Meyer at 41/2-1/2, defeated Estonian GM Jaan Ehlvest, once ranked among the top 10 players in the world, with the Black pieces in Round 4 on his way to the title.
(...)

http://www.washingtontimes.com

Cuba’s Chess Champion Second Victory at Samba Cup

Las Tunas, Cuba, Oct 21, (P26).- Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon achieved today his second victory at the Samba Cup tournament, taking place in Skanderborg, Denmark.
It was the seventh round when Bruzon faced the youngest player of the competition, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who choose a Sicilian defence. But Bruzon played almost perfect with the white pieces and sacrificed a horse in the move 18 to take advantage.
(...)

http://www.periodico26.cu/

Computer History Museum Debuts Computer Chess Exhibi

The Silicon Valley-based Computer History Museum, which has recently announced that it received a $15 million gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help preserve the history of computing, has debuted its latest physical and online exhibit, Mastering The Game: A History of Computer Chess. This marks the first new exhibit development since the institution relocated to its new home three years ago.
(...)

http://www.gamasutra.com/

Young men play chess as Hurricane Wilma approaches October 20, 2005 in Batabano, Cuba October 20, 2005. (...)
REUTERS/Daniel LeClair

http://news.yahoo.com

Topalov reigns

CHESS by QUAH SENG SUN

DO YOU believe in feng shui and the significance of the number eight? For years to come, feng shui masters are likely to cite the world chess championship in San Luis, Argentina, as a shining example of the number eight bringing luck to its bearer.
In San Luis, Veselin Topalov, 30-year-old grandmaster from Bulgaria, was allotted this number during the drawing of lots before the tournament started.
The number must have brought him good luck because not only did he finish the championship as the only undefeated player in the event, he also emerged as the new world chess champion.
(...)

http://thestar.com.my/

Bruzon Beats Ivanchuck at Samba Chess Cup

Skanderborg, Denmark, Oct 19 (Prensa Latina) Lazaro Bruzon became the first active Cuban chess player to beat world ace Vassily Ivanchuck, to pick his first win at the Samba Chess Cup taking place in Skanderborg, Denmark, after four draws.
Bruzon, who is 26th in the FIDE world ranking with a 2,677 ELO, defeated Ivanchuck, fifth with 2748 points, during the fifth round of the tight tournament gathering several world top-notch players.
(...)

http://www.plenglish.com

FIDE to hold next world chess championship in 2007

MOSCOW. Oct 18 (Interfax) - The World Chess Federation (FIDE) presidential board has decided to hold the men's chess world championships every two years, and the next world championship will be held in September-October 2007, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov told Interfax on Tuesday.
(...)

http://www.interfax.ru

Scanning for Chess Champs

By: Carlin Flora
Summary: Ognjen Amidzic developed a simple test that may reveal whether a child is destined for chess greatness or mediocrity.

As a young man, Ognjen Amidzic, now a neuroscientist who runs a private research lab in Switzerland, watched his life's ambition -- to become a professional chess player -- slip out of reach. So he developed a simple test (the patent on which is pending) that he's convinced will reveal whether a child is destined for chess glory or would be better off packing up his pawns. "Chess is a great hobby for children," he says. "I just don't want people to waste their lives training for something they won't be able to do."
(...)

http://cms.psychologytoday.com

The Grandmaster Experiment

By: Carlin Flora
Summary: The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. Yet in the ultra-elite ranks of chess, a woman who can hold her own is the rarest of creatures. How, then, did one family produce three of the most successful female chess champions ever?

The world's first female grandmaster was ready to deliver her regular Thursday-night lecture. Susan Polgar was perfumed, coiffed, made-up and dressed in a sleek black pantsuit, an elegant contrast to the boys and young men hunched over their boards in her Queens, New York, chess club. "I have a special treat," Susan, 36, announced in her gentle Hungarian accent. "Tonight, everyone will get to play me."(...)

http://cms.psychologytoday.com

Bulgaria's Chess Giant Drops World Cup in Russia

Bulgarian Veselin Topalov, the new king in world's chess, has announced he will not participate in the World Cup championship to be held at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
"I don't think I will join the World cup championship. In the near future I plan to take a rest and write a book, " Topalov told Russian daily Sport Express.
The World Cup chess will be held at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, from November 26 to December 18.

http://www.novinite.com

An elderly woman playing chess while feeding a bird in a park. Passing the age of 50 might make you feel stressed and overwhelmed by day-to-day problems but the good news from an Australian study is that life gets better after 75(AFP/File/Sergey Supinsky)

http://news.yahoo.com

Japanese chess masters ordered not to play computer opponents

Masters belonging to the Japan Shogi Federation have been ordered not to play unauthorized games against computer opponents in public, it has been learned.
It is believed the federation's directive came about because a computer made the quarterfinals of the shogi national amateur championship in June and went close to beating a go-dan master in a public match last month.
"If there is talk of a competition with a computer, the federation would like to move ahead with caution," Kazuyoshi Nishimura, managing director of the federation, said.
Federation officials fear that a professional shogi master losing to a computer would be beneath their dignity and have ordered male and female masters to seek permission before they play against a computer in public.
(...)

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp

Bulgaria's Topalov Leaves San Luis as Chess King, Unbeaten

Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov, who became the new World chess champion with a round to spare, ended his participation in the championship at San Luis unbeaten.
The brilliant Bulgarian drew his game against Hungary's Judit Polgar in the last fourteen round.
The 30-year old citizen of the Danube town of Russe wrapped up his games with six victories and 8 draws, making for a total of 10 points in his record.
(...)

http://www.novinite.com

PM Stanishev Sent Congratulations to World Chess Champion

Sofia. Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev has congratulated Bulgarian chess player Veselin Topalov on the occasion of Topalov's winning the world title at the chess championship in the Argentine town of San Luis, the Cabinet's press office announced.
"With your victory Bulgaria has turned into an absolute dominant in the world championship", the PM writes.
(...)

http://www.focus-fen.net

Anand finishes second at World chess championship

Bulgarian Grandmaster Veselin Topalov played a leisurely 14th round game against Hungarian Grandmaster Judit Polgar and was first to draw the game in just 25 minutes to become the World chess champion.
With this title win, Topalov has gained almost 20 Elo points and crossed the 2800 mark.
India's Viswanathan Anand played a good game with black against Peter Svidler of Russia.
(...)

http://www.rediff.com

Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria gives a press conference after his match against Rustam Kasimjanov of Uzbekistan in the thirteenth round of the World Chess Championship in Argentina's San Luis province October 13, 2005. Topalov won the competition.

http://news.yahoo.com

Li Shilong leads fifth Asian Chess Championship

Chinese grandmaster Li Shilong beat Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia in the seventh round of the 5th Asian Chess Championship being played at the Yousufguda Indoor Stadium here today.
Li moved to six points from seven games and took a slender half point over fellow Chinese Zhang Zhong who drew Pavel Kotsur of Kazakhstan after he was unable to increase his advantage in the middlegame.
(...)

http://news.webindia123.com

Bulgaria's Topalov World's New Chess Champion

Bulgaria's chess master Vesselin Topalov with his unsurpassable score of 9.5 points from 13 games has emerged the New World Chess Champion, 2005.
This is Topalov's biggest achievement after beating legendry Gary Kasparov at Linares this year and a group of top 6 chess players including Anand at Sofia to lift the Mtel Trophy.
(...)

http://www.novinite.com

GROSSMAISTERS FROM ARMENIA WON THE INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT IN STEPANAKERT

The Second International Chess Tournament titled “Karabakh – 2005” has been finished in the capital of Nagorno Karabakh Republic Stepanakert. The measure was organized by the NKR government and RA Chess Academy.
According to the De Facto correspondent in Stepanakert, 20 chess players from 11 countries of the world participated in the tournament. A famous Hungarian grossmaister Liosh Portish arrived in Stepanakert as the tournament’s honorable guest.
The winners are international grossmaisters from Armenia Levon Aroyan (A group) and Tigran Petrosyan (B group).
(...)

http://www.defacto.am

Topalov set to annex World Chess crown

It looks implausible but the fortunes in the World Chess Championship can still change in the remaining two rounds.
The Bulgarian Veselin Topalov is set to annex the crown with 9 points in his kitty and now needs just two draws against Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan and Hungarian Judit Polgar.
(...)

http://www.ndtv.com

The king and I

Nigel Short, The Guardian

The World Chess Championship, San Luis, Argentina: what an event! The daily hecatombs of pieces and pawns have produced the most thrilling chess spectacle of recent decades. It is a pity there are so few visitors to the hall to witness the bloodbath. Never mind: the servers that carry the moves live around the globe are breaking all audience records.
One man, Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov, has given an exhibition of such virtuosity that it looks doubtful, at the halfway stage, that he can be stopped. The comparisons are not with Garry Kasparov - merely the greatest chess player ever - but with Bobby Fischer, the only modern giant capable of such thorough annihilation. Of course the 30-year-old could still falter: when the crown is within touching distance, strange things happen to all but the most steely-nerved.
(...)

http://sport.guardian.co.uk

Anand in tied second place after 12th round

Viswanathan Anand scored a thumping victory against Peter Leko of Hungary and caught Peter Svidler of Russia on second spot after the 12th round in the World Chess Championship San Luis, Argentina.
The second victory on the trot also helped Anand move closer to championship leader Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria after the latter took a quick draw as white against Svidler.
The other two games of the day also ended in draws with Michael Adams of England signing peace with Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekisan and Russian Alexander Morozevich failing to breach the solid defenses of Hungarian Judit Polgar.
(...)

http://www.rediff.com

Russian Authorities Close Down Cafe to Disrupt Meeting With Liberal Kasparov

Fire safety inspectors in Russia’s Siberian region of Kemerovo have closed down the Davydov Tavern chosen as a venue for a news conference that was to be held Tuesday by prominent liberal politician and former chess champion Garry Kasparov.
Authorities said the tavern would be closed for five days pending a regular examination by the local fire inspectorate, the Gazeta.Ru news website reported.
(...)

http://mosnews.com

Peter Svidler of Russia ponders his next move against his compatriot Alexander Morozevich during the eleventh round of the World Chess Championship at the Potrero de los Funes Complex in the Province of San Luis, Argentina, October 10, 2005. Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria is currently leading the competition with 8.5 points ahead of Vishwanathan Anand of India with 6.5 points. EDITORIAL USE ONLY REUTERS/WCC/Handout

http://news.yahoo.com

Humpy wins four games in a row

Hyderabad, Oct 10 : Grandmaster Koneru Humpy won her fourth game in a row when she outplayed Sergey Kayumov of Uzbekistan in the fifth round of the Fifth Asian Chess Championship being played at KVBR Indoor Stadium here today.
Zhang Zhong and Li Shilong of China moved to a joint lead with 4.5 points with hard earned fifth round victories. Zhang had Wang Hao choked for space. Wang tried to extricate himself, but overlooked a knight fork by Zhang.
(...)

http://www.newkerala.com

Anand avenges defeat, beats Kasimdzhanov

San Luis, Argentina: Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand played an excellent game displaying the quality of the best ranked player of the world to avenge his round 4 defeat at the hands of reigning World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan at the ongoing World Chess Championship being played here.
(...)

http://www.newkerala.com

Kidambi stuns Sasikiran

International Master S Kidambi stunned top seed Krishnan Sasikiran while Grandmaster Koneru Humpy and IM Master Neelotpal Das moved up to joint second position with wins in the fifth round of the fifth Asian Chess Championship in Hyderabad on Monday.
Kidambi outplayed Sasikiran in the Meran variation of Queen's Gambit where he made calculated moves combined with aggression and sacrificed his knight to get a positional advantage. He unleashed his pieces to rip open the defence of the GM, who struggled for space and movement.
(...)

http://www.rediff.com

Today

Ten years ago: World chess champion Garry Kasparov won a monthlong championship match against Viswanathan Anand.

Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria (L) makes his next move against Alexander Morozevich of Russia during the tenth round of the World Chess Championship at the Potrero de los Funes Complex in the Argentine province of San Luis

http://news.yahoo.com

Anand shares point with Adams

Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan played a mediocre game and split points with Michael Adams while championship leader Veselin Topalov drew with Alexander Morozevich virtually assuring the title after ten rounds in the World Chess Championship.
Anand is now tied for third with Morozevich with 5.5 points with Topalov maitaining his lead at the top of table (8 points) with six wins and four draws, followed by Peter Svidler (6 points) who drew his tenth round game with Peter Leko.
With four more rounds left in the championship, Topalov is almost certain to win the title.
(...)

http://www.deccanherald.com

Rook Work

By Ruth Bradley

Bobby Fischer was picky. His bid for the position of world champion of chess in 1972 almost did not take place because of his demands about location, setting and pay. The American ingenue was "difficult to like," said observer Haraldur Karlsson. Yet, when Fischer began to play chess, it didn't matter.
"When Fischer sat down, it was like Mozart sat down at the chess board," he said. "He was truly a genius."
(...)

http://www.dailytoreador.com

Chessboxing proves to be anything but rope-a-dope

By Dwight Perry

Ever go to a prizefight — and a chess match broke out?
It happened in Berlin on Oct. 1, when Tihomir "Tiger" Titschko of Bulgaria captured the first European heavyweight chessboxing championship in a hybrid sport that features up to six four-minute chess rounds alternating with five two-minute boxing rounds.
Titschko, 26, didn't win going away, but he did win sitting down, registering a ninth-round checkmate against German champ Andreas "Doomsday" Schneider to end the title bout.
(...)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com

Anand reels under Toppy wave

Vijay Tagore
DNA


Viswanathan Anand ponders his next move even as Veselin Topalov watches him during a World Chess Championship match in Luis, Argentina

MUMBAI: So what’s the Topalov effect on the ongoing World Chess Championship?

First and foremost, the interest and intrigue of the event has been effectively buried. Second, it has sent Viswanathan Anand into despair and consequently knocked him out of contention for the title. And finally, it has proved that the Olympic motto of citius, aultius and fortius can no longer be the monopoly of the brawn sport. Even the intellectual game can reach newer heights. Deeper preparations can be made, stronger games can be played, higher peaks can be scaled.
“It’s very hard to measure the reserves of human organism. Formerly, it was a common belief that jumpers would never surmount the 240-cm barrier, but it actually happened. It’s funny to recall the time when 10-sec mark was regarded unbreakable for 100-metre sprinters. As for chess, it’s very difficult to draw the line between possible and absolutely unreal. Great players keep raising the bar higher and higher. Topalov has all the rights to be included in this list, especially if he retains his leading position,” says GM Sergey Shipov.
(...)

http://dnaindia.com

Anand has daunting task ahead

San Luis (Argentina), Oct 8 (PTI) Viswanathan Anand will have his task cut out when he sits across Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in the 9th round of the World Chess Championship now in progress here.
After the first eight rounds of the 8-players double round robin championship, Topalov (7) is set to become the new World Champion as he enjoys a huge 2 points lead over his nearest rival Peter Svidler of Russia.
Anand, on 4.5 is a very distant third at this point and his game against Topalov in the next round would certainly determine whether the Indian ace still has a chance to catch up. Friday was the second rest day of the event and just 6 rounds remain in the million-dollar championship.
(...)

http://www.ptinews.com

Franklin Crowe, Street Vendor / Chess Player

In Times Square, beside a neglected vendor’s folding table displaying dozens of comic books (with hundreds more in browsable boxes), you’ll find passersby turning their heads toward some young men gathered around a high-speed chess game, each player swiftly smacking his timer button after every strategic move. Franklin Crowe is a sidewalk comic-book salesman, and he’ll play you a round of chess.

Occupation, where are you from, where are you now?
I’m selling comics out on the street, and I work at the White Horse Tavern at night. I’m from the Bronx, Puerto Rican, and still in the Bronx.

So, what’s going on here? Comic books and chess?
I set up a table at 41st and 7th Avenue, right next to Red Lobster. Come by, shop some stuff, buy my books. It’s a big market, people are interested.

Why are you hidden on 41st, when all the traffic is up a block?
Most traffic is on 42nd, but cops don’t want anybody over there, even though you see a lot of vendors there. I’m thinking of going back.

Do you always have a chessboard set up beside the comics?
Entertainment, yes. It’s common ground--sometimes people buy a comic to play a game. Or play a game after buying a comic. It’s good for the mind, makes you think. Figure out little puzzles, tricks, tactics. You become friends with people you never would’ve become friends with. Every day, certain people stop by to play a match. Some people have invited me to their homes, parties. I would like to get more into chess, but it takes a lot of time.

Which is the bigger draw for passersby, the comics or the chess?
The chess. Unfortunately, the chess. They come to watch a good match. People stand and watch and wait to play. I used to charge a dollar, then went to a tip jar … but it’s better if I don’t charge. I’d rather people bought a comic. Sometimes you get a big crowd of people just watching a good chess match.

Girls are suckers for chess players, right?
Sure, if you want to believe that.
(...)

http://www.gothamist.com

Sasikiran upset in second round

Hyderabad, Oct 7: Top seed Grandmaster Krishnan Sasikaran was upset by Jun Zhao of China in the second round while GM Koneru Humpy bounced back by a thrilling win over her compatriot Roktim Bandyopadhyay in the fifth Asian Chess Championship at the KVBR indoor stadium here today.
Sasikiran could not sustain the pressure put in by the Chinese in the Queen's Gambit variation of Slav defence. The lower-ranked Chinese sealed the matter in 44 moves after he had a pawn-up in the end game where each had rook and pawn.
Sasi sacrificed his knight but was returned the tactic by the Chinese who kept a two pawn advantage leading to the win.
(...)

http://www.chennaionline.com

Chess Snitch

Talking with Jennifer Shahade, author and semi-retired female chess player

by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow


"From a very young age, I was playing internationally, I was going to discos, partying with people much older than I was. So I thought chess was super-cool."
photo: Silman James Press

Jennifer Shahade is the strongest American-born female chess player of all time. But at 24, already a two-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion, the Philly native and NYU alum is in semi-retirement from competitive chess. Her new book, Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport, charts the rise of women in the chess scene, from a new generation of Chinese chess goddesses to the well-circulated Internet photos of Alexandra Kosteniuk, the "Anna Kournikova of chess." Chess Bitch also debunks theories about menstruation-induced incompetence and the pseudo-Freudian male chess drive.
(...)

http://www.villagevoice.com

Anand beats Polgar

San Luis (Argentina), Oct 7 (PTI) After a debacle against Russian Alexander Morozevich, Viswanathan Anand came back strongly to beat Judit Polgar of Hungary in the 8th round of the World Chess Championship here.
The Indian ace, came back on a plus score after the victory and moved to sole third position on 4.5 points with six rounds still remaining in the million dollar championship.
However not much change at the top as Bulgarian Veselin Topalov maintained his two points lead over nearest rival Peter Svidler of Russia after taking an easy draw with fourth placed Peter Leko of Hungary.
As things stand, Topalov with 7 points in his kitty is still way ahead in the 8-players double round robin contest and Svidler is a distant second with 5 points.
(...)

http://www.ptinews.com

Karabakh Holds Another International Chess Tournament

By Emil Danielyan

The unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is hosting another international chess tournament which has brought together some of the world’s leading chess players and is touted by organizers as the first event of its kind in the South Caucasus.
The ten-day tournament, sponsored by the Karabakh government and the Chess Academy of Armenia, got underway at the weekend, with two dozen players from 11 countries, including the United States, Russia and China, vying for the top prizes in two separate competitions.
(...)

http://www.armenialiberty.org

Latvian GM for Chess Olympiad

The Bangladesh Chess Federation (BCF) has roped in Latvian coach Edviins Kengis to prepare the national team for next year's Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy.
The 45-year-old Grand Master, who is expected to arrive in Dhaka on October 15, will train the country's top male players for three months.
With the Olympiad scheduled to take place in May 2006, it would have been wiser to recruit a foreign coach closer to the biennial chess carnival. However, the BCF failed in its attempt due to packed schedules of international coaches.
"A coach has to contacted at least three months prior to the desired period you need him for. We tried two Russian coaches including Alexander Volzhin, our previous coach, but they were busy," a BCF official informed The Daily Star Sport on Thursday.
(...)

http://www.bangladesh-web.com

The troubled teenagers who've swapped gang culture for chess

Youngsters at the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation

Let's face it; a church hall is probably the last place you'd expect to find a group of teenagers who've been mixed up in gang culture. To find them sitting in a circle, indulging in a spot of basic yoga, is even more surprising.

But try telling that to the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation, an educational programme based in St George's Church in Peckham, one of the worst areas for gun and knife crime in London. It has been so successful in turning round the lives of violent teenagers excluded from local schools that it was commissioned to produce the materials at the heart of a big new anti-gun campaign to be launched in London schools in a few weeks' time. (...)

http://education.independent.co.uk

Anand loses to Morozevich

Viswanathan Anand's quest for the World Championship title received a near-decisive setback.

The Indian suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of tailender Alexander Morozevich of Russia in the 7th round of the World Chess Championship here.

With his second loss in four days after a fine 2.5/3 start, Anand was pushed to a 50 per cent score and now stands only joint third in the 8-players double round robin event.

Meanwhile Veselin Topalov's dominance, over an otherwise elite field, continued as he coasted to his sixth overall and fifth straight victory. (...)

http://www.ndtv.com

International Grandmaster Michael Adams of England thinks before moving against Peter Leko of Hungary during the seventh round of the World Chess Championship at the Potrero de los Funes Complex in the Argentine

http://news.yahoo.com

Classy fare expected at the Asian championship

MAKING THE RIGHT MOVE: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, formally inaugurating the 5th Asian chess individual championships. — Photo: P.V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: Krishnan Sasikiran put the fifth Asian individual chess championship, commencing here on Thursday at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Indoor Stadium, in the right perspective by pointing out that at this level just one bad day early on can upset the calculations of even the best players.

Coming from the Chennai player, who is the top-seed here after having won the last edition at Doha, one can imagine the guarded optimism of the other contenders.

Sasikiran also said that the field is much tougher this time. "This is a truly, top-level event and I hope my preparations will come good as everyday is a big challenge here," he said. (...)

http://www.hindu.com

Chess takes the Rocky road

Bulgaria's Tihomir Titschko (right) on the way to defeating Andreas Schneider, of Germany, to become the first European chess-boxing champion.
Photo: Reuters

BULGARIAN boxer Tihomir Titschko has a punishing right hook and some fancy footwork, but it was not enough.

Instead, the stocky fighter's mastery of knights and bishops did the trick, and in a dimly lit warehouse in Berlin he became the first European chess-boxing champion.

Chess-boxing is one of the newest and most unlikely hybrid sports, designed to test both brain and brawn. A typical match consists of up to 11 alternating rounds of boxing and "blitz" chess sessions. (...)

http://www.theage.com.au

Chess Boss Steps Down as Russian Regional Leader

Kirsan Ilyuzmzhinov, the president of Russia’s internal republic of Kalmykia of many years, and FIDE president, tendered his resignation this week, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported Wednesday.

Dmitry Kozak, Putin’s special envoy to the South Federal District, is set to hold in the coming days broad consolations in Elista on the candidacy of Kalmykia’s new president, a spokesman at his office told the agency on Wednesday.

President Ilyuzmzhinov tendered his resignation on Tuesday and simultaneously raised before Russian President Vladimir Putin the question of trust in him. The leaders of regional parties, public groups and Kalmykia’s parliament will take part in the consultations with Kozak. (...)

http://www.mosnews.com