Capablanca's Best Chess Endings

All students of the Endgame should study Capablanca's endgames in detail. With clear planning and beautiful execution, each of these games is a lesson by itself. Click on the image above to view the list of Capablanca's best Chess Endgames.

WTPM1

Use the below excellent website to solve White to Play Mate in 1 Puzzles

http://mateinone.com/

Next Chess Move

Use this excellent site to analyze move by move (by GNU Chess engine).
http://www.nextchessmove.com/

Famous Chess Puzzles

Below are some beautiful Chess Tactics and Puzzles:

3 Famous Tactics

Taverner 1881 problem in Edward Laskers Chess Book

Excelsior by Sam Loyd

Video on Reti's Endgame Problem

John Nunn Puzzle

Another Video on Endgame Problem

Opening Traps and Miniature Chess Games

Click here to view an excellent compilation of Opening Traps and Miniature Chess Games

Anatoly Karpov

Article compiled by my student Shreyas N

Early Life

Karpov was born on May 23, 1951 at Zlatoust in the Urals region of the former Soviet Union, and learned to play chess at the age of four. His early rise in chess was swift, as he became a Candidate Master by age eleven. At twelve, he was accepted into Mikhail Botvinnik's prestigious chess school, though Botvinnik made the following remark about the young Karpov: "The boy does not have a clue about chess, and there's no future at all for him in this profession Karpov improved so quickly under Botvinnik's advise that he became the youngest Soviet National Master in history at fifteen in 1966

Candidate to FIDE Presidency

In March 2010 Karpov announced that he would be a candidate for the presidency of FIDE. The election took place in September 2010 at the 39^th Chess Olympiad In May a fund-raising event took place in New York with the participation of his former rival Garry Kasparov and of Magnus Carlsen, both of whom supported his bid and campaigned for him. Also Nigel Short has announced he supported Karpov's candidacy. However, on September 29, 2010, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was reelected as President of FIDE, winning the election by 95 votes to 55.

Hobbies

Karpov's extensive stamp collection of Belgium philately and Belgian Congo stamps and postal history covering mail from 1742 through 1980 is being disposed of by David Feldman's auction company in December 2011.He is also known to have a large chess stamp and chess book collections. His private chess library consists of over 9000 books & articles.

Honours and awards

·        Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (2001) - for outstanding contribution to the implementation of charitable programmes, the strengthening of peace and friendship between the peoples

·        Order of Friendship (2011) - for his great contribution to strengthening peace and friendship between peoples and productive social activities

·        Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1978)

·        Medal "For outstanding contribution to the Collector business in Russia"

·        Honorary member of the Soviet Philately Society (1979)

·        Order "For outstanding achievements in sport" (Republic of Cuba)

·        International Association of Chess Press, 9 times voted the best chess player of the year and awarded the "Chess Oscar"

·        Order of Saint Nestor the Chronicler, 1st class

Style of play

Karpov's "boa constrictor" playing style is solidly positional, taking no risks but reacting mercilessly to any tiny errors made by his opponents. As a result, he is often compared to his idol, the famous José Raúl Capablanca, the third World Champion.

One of his beautiful games,

With King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067810

Garry Kasparov Announces Candidacy for FIDE President

Garry Kasparov today announced his candidacy for the presidency of the International Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE. He plans to unseat 18-year incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, also of Russia, in the election that takes place in August 2014.

Click Here to visit the Official Website. Detailed Report on ChessBase.

Koneru Humpy wins FIDE Women Grand Prix

Koneru Humpy won the 3rd stage of Women Grand Prix Series 2013-14 at Tashkent with a comfortable margin of 1 point over the rest of the players. She dominated this event and stood out as a clearly better player compared to the others. She has now accumulated enough points to lead the Grand Prix series, at this stage.
Details on ChessBase, TWIC & Official Tournament Site. Download all Games.

Alexander Alekhine

Read this excellent series of articles by IM Jeremy Silman on one of my favorite masters, Alexander Alekhine.
Part 1: The Game of Death
Part 2: Success and Despair
Part 3: The New Plan

Another good article on Alekhine: The Young Alekhine

Hou Yifan wins the 2013 Womens World Championship

Hou Yifan defeated Anna Ushenina by 5.5-1.5 to win the FIDE Womens World Chess Championship, that concluded in Taizhou, China.  Official Tournament Page  All Reports: Chessbase, TWIC   Click here to Download PGN

Veselin Topalov

Compiled by my student, Shivsagar P

He was born on 15th March 1975 in Rousse, Bulgaria. Topalov became the FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. He lost his title in the World Chess Championship 2006 match against Vladimir Kramnik. He won the 2005 Chess Oscar.

He has been ranked number one a total of 27 months in his career, fifth all-time since the inception of the FIDE ranking lists in 1971. He was ranked No. 1 in the world from April 2006 to January 2007, during which his Elo rating was 2813, which had been surpassed only by Garry Kasparov, and subsequently by Magnus Carlsen, Anand and Levon Aronian. He regained the world No. 1 ranking again in October 2008, and officially remained No. 1 until January 2010, when he fell to No. 2 behind Carlsen. In December 2012 he was ranked number 8. In the World Chess Championship 2010, he was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand, losing the match 6½–5½.

His father taught him to play chess at the age of eight. Topalov had a difficult childhood, but he quickly established himself as a chess prodigy. At age 12, Topalov began working with Silvio Danailov, in a training/mentoring relationship that continues today. Danailov himself was a master who nurtured ambitions as a player. Once he saw Topalov, however, he sacrificed his own career. Canadian Grandmaster Kevin Spraggett wrote: “Danailov took Topalov to his apartment and told him 'From now on, you live here and this will become your new home. I am not just your trainer, but I am also your mother and your father. I am your cook. I am the one who will wash your clothes. I am the one who will pay your bills and expenses to tournaments. All I want from you is to think only about chess!”

In 1989 he won the World Under-14 Championship in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and in 1990 won the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore. He became a Grandmaster in 1992. Topalov has been the leader of the Bulgarian national team since 1994. At the 1994 Chess Olympiad in Moscow he led the Bulgarians to a fourth-place finish.

Notable tournament victories

• Terrassa 1992
• Budapest zt-B 1993
• Polanica Zdroj 1995
• Elenite 1995
• Madrid 1996
• Dos Hermanas 1996 (joint first with Kramnik)
• Amsterdam 1996
• Vienna 1996 (joint first with Gelfand and Karpov)
• Novgorod 1996
• Leon 1996
• Antwerp 1997
• Madrid 1997
• Monaco 2001
• Dortmund 2001 (joint first with Kramnik)
• NAO Chess Masters Cannes 2002 (joint first with Gelfand)
• Benidorm 2003
• Linares 2005 (joint first with Kasparov)
• M-Tel Masters 2005 (a point ahead of Anand)
• Corus 2006 (joint first with Anand)
• M-Tel Masters 2006 (half a point ahead of Gata Kamsky)
• Corus 2007 (joint first with Aronian and Radjabov)
• M-Tel Masters 2007 (half a point ahead of Krishnan Sasikiran)
• Champions League Vitoria Gasteiz 2007 (a point and a half ahead of Ponomariov)
• Dos Hermanas 2008 (Rapid)
• Villarrobledo 2008 (Rapid)
• Bilbao 2008 (a point and a half ahead of Aronian, Ivanchuk, and Carlsen)
• Pearl Spring 2008 (a point and a half ahead of Aronian)
• Linares 2010 (a half point ahead of Grischuk)
• London FIDE Grand Prix 2012–2013 (joint first with Gelfand and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov)
• 6th Kings Tournament 2012, Bucharest (joint first with Ivanchuk)
• Zug FIDE Grand Prix 2012–2013 (one and a half points ahead of Nakamura)

Chess Tournament for Sri Lanka players

Itech Chess Academy had organized a Chess Tournament for Sri Lanka players visiting India at the Academy venue in Rajajinagar Bangalore. The tournament was on swiss league with 4 rounds. Below is the group photograph with all players and also the Results.

Place|Name               |Score|Progr.

  1  |Sai Darshan,       |4    |  10.0
 2-4 |Yashmith Perera,   |3    |   9.0
     |Hemanth,           |3    |   6.0
     |Srinivas,          |3    |   6.0
 5-7 |Pubuth Rishan,     |2    |   7.0
     |Pallavi,           |2    |   5.0
     |Kavishka Tharushi, |2    |   3.0
8-11 |Abhiram,           |1    |   4.0
     |Niharika,          |1    |   3.0
     |Ajey Prasand,      |1    |   2.0
     |Nipun Kaveesha,    |1    |   1.0
 12  |Samhitha,          |0    |   0.0
Click here to download more photographs

Prophylaxis

The method of playing chess wherein a player prevents the opponent from playing good moves is Prophylaxis. The opponent will not be able to play tactical moves, due to his position becoming worse. The advantage of such a style is to avoid risk; in case the opponent is an attacking player, he may get frustrated, lose patience and commit blunders.

Famous masters who popularized this style were Aron Nimzowitsch, Tigran Petrosian and Anatoly Karpov. Play through one such wonderful example on Chessgames --> Click Here

Play through a nice video of Petrosian's game below.

Rules of Tournament Chess

1. Basic Rules of Chess apply.

2. Touch and Move rule to be strictly followed.
3. For Swiss league, all players to play all the rounds, irrespective of win or loss. Final results are as per the total points gained at the end of the tournament.
For Knockout, players who win will progress to the next level.
4. In case of points tie, tiebreak will be applied as per the arbiter's decision (either Progressive or SB).
5. For any doubts, ask the Arbiter, do not discuss with other players.
6. Recording the moves may or may not be mandatory. Check the tournament rules.
7. Never interfere with another game in progress. Observe from far away, do not go near the players. Never comment anything near the players.
8. Turn off your mobile phone or keep it in silent mode.
9. Understand how to use a chess clock; as the Arbiter if you have doubts.
10. After your game is over, submit the proper results to the Arbiter.

FIDE HandBook  
Wiki Links: Basic Rules Chess    Tournament Rules

Carlsen's visit to Chennai

The countdown to the World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen will start when the challenger arrives in the city next week. 

Carlsen, a 23-year-old Norwegian prodigy with the highest Elo rating in the history of the game, will be here on August 19 to see the arrangements in keeping with FIDE protocol.

The city’s chess community is looking forward to the upcoming challenge.

Click here to view the article source

AICCF Bulletins for download

All India Correspondence Chess Federation has recently updated its website with downloadable copies of its Bulletins from year 1993 till 2013.

Click here to view the inaugral issue of the Bulletin whose editor was Mr V. D. Pandit.

Official Website of AICCF

Theory of success in life applied to chess

What are the factors that define success? How does one become successful in life in general and in chess in particular? Peter Zhdanov explains KPIs (key performance indicators) used to measure success and seeks to apply them to the game we all love. By objectively evaluating all the components described in his article, you can create your own plan of becoming a successful person.
Read the full article here

Recognize the Master

Can you guess who is this?

Clue: He later became one of the greatest players in the world.

Itech Chess Academy Tournament

Itech Chess Academy organized a Chess Tournament on 4th August 2013 at Rajajinagar, Bangalore. 
Saidarshan won the tournament with a clean sweep of 4 out of 4.

Final Standings
  1  |Saidarshan, |4    |  10.0
 2-4 |Srinivas,   |3    |   9.0
     |Vrushank,   |3    |   8.0
     |Shivsagar,  |3    |   7.0
 5-6 |Niharika,   |2    |   5.0
     |Ajeya,      |2    |   4.0
 7-9 |Rohit,      |1    |   4.0
     |Hemanth,    |1    |   2.0
     |Pallavi,    |1    |   1.0
 10  |Abhiram,    |0    |   0.0

The great London 1851 Chess Tournament

Howard Staunton, the great British player first thought of an international

tournament wherein all the best players of the world could be invited to participate. Adolf Anderssen of Germany won the 16 player event and came to be recognized as the first unofficial World Champion.

The preparation of the tournament was under the leadership of Staunton who

was the secretary of the management committee. About 500 pounds was raised as the prize money, which at that time was a very good amount. The tournament was planned as a knock-out contest among 16 of europe's best players. The first round was best of 3 games and the losers were eliminated. Subsequent rounds were best of 7 games with the losers playing consolation matches. Since there was no ELO rating or seeding, the pairings were made by chance.

Kieseritsky, Bird and Lowenthal all lost in the 1st round. The important match

was when Anderssen beat Staunton convincingly 4-1 in the third round (semi-final). In the 4th round final Anderssen beat Wyvill to win the tournament. This was a good result was he was by far the best player those times.

Staunton wrote the tournament book called "The Chess Tournament" in which he blamed his own poor results to the strain of organizing the tournament.

The famous "Immortal Game" (Anderssen-Kieseritsky) was an offhand game which was played during a break in this tournament.

As per the rules of the tournament, Staunton challenged the winner Anderssen

to a 21 game match. Anderssen agreed, but this match never happened as he had to return to Germany to attend to his job as school teacher and later on, ill health of Staunton did not permit him to play competive chess.

Also, after a month of this tournament, the London Chess Club organized another international tournament in rivalry of the fallout with Staunton. It was

interesting that Anderssen won this event as well.

Below i present 2 games, one which was won by Anderssen in the Final, and the other over Staunton in the Semi Final.

Game 1: Anderssen wins with beautiful positional chess ending with a smashing combination.

Marmaduke Wyvill - Adolf Anderssen, Round 4, London 1851

1. c4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Be2 Bb4 5. Bh5+ g6 6. Be2 O-O 7. f4 c5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 b6 11. a4 Bb7 12. Qc2 Qc7 13. Ng5 h6 14. Nh3 Rae8 15. Bf3 Re7 16. d4 Rg7 17. Ba3 Na5 18. Bxb7 Nxb7 19. Rad1 g5 20. g3 Nd6 21. fxg5 hxg5 22. Qd3 Nde4 23. d5 Qe5 24. Kg2 Rh7 25. Ng1 Rxh2+ 26. Kxh2 Qxg3+ 27. Kh1 Kg7 0-1

Game 2: Anderssen wins with a focused King side attack.

Adolf Anderssen - Howard Staunton, Round 3, London 1851

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 e6 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ba7 7. Bd3 Ne7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qh5 Ng6 10. e5 Qc7 11. Rae1 b5 12. f4 Bb7 13. Ne4 Bxe4 14. Bxe4 Nc6 15. Nxc6 dxc6 16. g4 Rad8 17. Kh1 c5 18. Rf3 Qa5 19. Ref1 Qa4 20. Bd3 Qxa2 21. Rh3 h6 22. g5 Rxd3 23. cxd3 Qd5+ 24. Rff3 Ne7 25. gxh6 g6 26. h7+ Kh8 27. Qg5 Nf5 28. Qf6+ Ng7 29. f5 Qb3 30. Bh6 Qd1+ 31. Kg2 Qe2+

32. Rf2 1-0

Useful links to read more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_1851_chess_tournament

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=79453