Chess World Champions (Classical)

1. Wilhelm Steinitz
2. Emanuel Lasker
3. José Raúl Capablanca
4. Alexander Alekhine
5. Max Euwe
6. Mikhail Botvinnik
7. Vasily Smyslov
8. Mikhail Tal
9. Tigran Petrosian
10. Boris Spassky
11. Bobby Fischer
12. Anatoly Karpov
13. Garry Kasparov
14. Vladimir Kramnik
15. Viswanathan Anand
16. Magnus Carlsen
17. Ding Liren
18. Gukesh Dommaraju

Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal

Article by Pranav Nagesh 

Mikhail Tal was a great chess player. 

He was born on November 9, 1936 in Riga, Latvia and was taught chess by his father. By the age of 6, he was a prodigy in Chess, defeating players much stronger than his age. 

He was a genius and was referred to by his peers as a magician in chess. He became the 8th World Champion defeating Mikhail Botvinnik in 1960. At the age of 23, he was the youngest person to hold the World Championship title.

Mikhail Tal was a fierce attacking player. There are many famous games of Mikhail Tal defeating many top grandmasters. Brilliant sacrifices, unforeseen combinations and unexpected attacking resources was the unique style of Mikhail Tal. 
He played openings like Sicilian Defense (with both colors), the King's Indian Defense, the Modern Benoni Defense and the Ruy Lopez. 
Unfortunately Tal died at a young age on 28 June 1992. He died in a Moscow hospital, after a prolonged illness, officially of a hemorrhage in the esophagus as he used to smoke a lot. 
The great Tal is still alive in his brilliant games. Below i present one of his miniature games.

White: Mikhail Tal
Black: Jan Timman
Skopje Olympiad Final, 1972
1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nbd2 Bg7 5.Bc4 O-O 6.Qe2 c6 7.Bb3 Bg4 8.e5 dxe5 9.dxe5 Nd5 10.O-O Nd7 11.h3 Bf5 12.Re1 Qc7 13.Nf1 Rad8 14.Ng3 Be6 15.Qe4 Rfe8 16.Qh4 f6 17.Bh6 Nxe5 18.Rxe5 fxe5 19.Ng5 Bf6 20.Nxe6 1-0

Anatoly Karpov

Article written by my student Jeremy Tomy

Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov is considered to be one of the greatest chess players of all time, and is the 12th World Champion in chess (1975-1985). He was born on May 23rd, 1951, in the city of Zlatoust, Russia. Karpov had started playing chess from the age of four. Due to his talent he had shown, his career started to grow immensely, and over time, he earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19. Some of Karpov’s most notable games are, Karpov vs Kasparov, 1984, Karpov vs Anand, 1998, Karpov vs Spassky, 1979, and so forth. In 1969, Karpov was the first Soviet player to win the World Junior Chess Championship title. Therefore, we can see that Anatoly Karpov was one of the greatest, most brilliant, and most dominant chess players of all time.

Karpov profile on Chess.com

Best games of Karpov on Chessgames.com 

Brilliant GM Game by Anatoly Karpov

Below is a brilliant GM Game by former World Champion Anatoly Karpov.

White: Joel Lautier

Black: Anatoly Karpov

Linares (Round 8), 1995

Result: 0-1

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. f3 Nbd7 10. Bd3 c5 11. Ne2 Rc8 12. Qb3 h6 13. Bh4 cxd4 14. exd4 d5 15. c5 Ba8 16. Ba6 Rc7 17. Bg3 bxc5 18. Bxc7 Qxc7 19. Qc3 e5 20. Bd3 exd4 21. Nxd4 Re8+ 22. Kf1 Qb6 23. Nf5 d4 24. Qd2 Ne5 25. Re1 Re6 26. Bb1

Bb7 27. Kf2 d3 28. Rhf1 c4+ 29. Kg3 Nh5+ 30. Kh3 Ng6 31. g3 Bc8 32. Re4 Qc5 33. g4 Ngf4+ 34. Rxf4 Re2 35. Qc1 Nxf4+ 36. Qxf4 Bxf5 37. gxf5 Rxb2 38. Re1 Qf2 39. Qg3 Qxg3+ 40. hxg3 Rxb1 White resigns 0-1

Click here to play through this game: my Lichess Study page, Chessgames

Read about the Linares Tournaments on Wiki

Recognize the Master

Can you recognize who this is?

Recognize the Master

Can you recognize this great Chess Grandmaster who is considered as the Father of Modern Chess

Grandmaster Game

White: Jose Raul Capablanca
Black: Edward Friederich Schrader
Casual game, 1909
Four Knights Game(C49)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Nd4 7. Nd4 ed4 8. Ne2 c6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bb3 Qb6 11. Bg5 Ne8 12. Ng3 h6 13. Bh4 g5 14. Nf5 gh4 15. Nh6 Kh7 16. Qh5 Ng7 17. Qh4 Qd8 18. Qh3 Qg5 19. Ng4 Kg8 20. f4 Qg6 21. f5 Qg5 22. e5 Nh5 23. Qh5 Qh5 24. Nf6 Kg7 25. Nh5 Kh6 26. Nf6 a5 27. Rf3 a4 28. Rh3 Kg5 29. Rf1 ab3 30. Rh5#

Play through this game here

Chess Couples

Here are some photos of various chess masters and their spouses
14 famous Chess Couples
Strongest Chess Couples

Bobby Fisher's Gem of a Chess Game

Studying each and every one of Bobby's victories yields a fascinating and wonderfully instructive peak into the inner workings of a chess legend. In this article, I would like to explore one game in particular that is representative of Bobby's genius: the sixth match-game. We will break the game down into its three phases, and try to come as close as possible to understanding what made Bobby Fischer tick.

WGM Padmini Rout

Compiled by my student Arushi A Singh

PADMINI ROUT (Women Grandmaster)

Born- January 5th, 1994
Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
Title(s) - International Master (2015), Women GrandMaster (2007)
FIDE rating- 2446
Number 40 ranked woman in April 2015.
Peak rating- 2454(march 2015)
She has won 5 Asian & 4 National Titles.

AWARDS AND HONOURS
She was honoured with EKALAVYA AWARD by Orissa government in 2009.

ACHIEVMENTS
1. She was Asian Youth Girls Chess Champion in 2005 & 2006.
2. National U13 Girls Chess Champion in 2006.
3. The World U14 Girls Champion in 2009.
4. Continental Asian Junior Girls Champion in 2009.
5. 3rd position in World Junior Championship(girls 2010)
6. In 2011 she finished 3rd in the Asian Individual Women Chess Championship.

EDUCATION
She studied at D.A.V public school
In Candrashekpur, Bhubaneshwar.

Recognize the Master

Can you recognize this German FM who set the latest World Record for largest number of Blindfold Simultaneous Chess Games. In 2011, he played 46 opponents at Sontheim an der Brenz, Germany.

Recognize the Master

Guess who is this Chess Player?

Clue: He was India's first International Master

Recognize the Master

Can you guess who is this child at age 13 who later on went on to become World Champion.

FIDE World Chess Championship Magnus Carlsen vs Viswanathan Anand, Sochi 2014

FIDE World Chess Championship Magnus Carlsen vs Viswanathan Anand, Sochi 2014
Official Website, Live Games, YouTube, Chessbase, TWIC, Chessdom, Chess.com, ChessinTweets, SusanPolgarBlog

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.

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

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

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)

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.

Recognize the Master

Can you guess who is this?

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