Daily puzzle 052007

What do you play with White? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

22.d5! Bb4 23.Red1 Bxd5 24.Bxd5 Rxd5 25.Rxd5 exd5 26.Nd4! with great compensation, Karaklajic - Despotovic, Yugoslavia 1969

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Weekly Endgame Study (20)

Every Saturday an endgame study is published at Chessvibes, selected by Yochanan Afek: player, trainer, endgame study composer and writer. A week later the solution is published. Read more

Daily puzzle 051907

What do you play with White? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

17…Rad8! –+ 18.Rg1 [18.Bxf3 Qxf3+ 19.Kg1 Rxd2–+; 18.Bxg7 Rxd5!–+] 18…Nxg1 19.Bxg7 [19.Kxg1 Bxb2 20.Qxb2 e6 21.Bg2 Qe2–+] 19…Nh3! 20.f3 Qh5 21.Bxf8 Rxd5! 22.Qf1 Rxd2 23.g4 Qe5 0–1, Lombardy - Perez, Netanya 1969

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Press conferences 7th round

There happened a lot during the final phase of the game Mamedyarov-Sasikiran yesterday. Mamedyarov had been playing very well (Sasikiran said he had been ‘outplayed completely’ in the opening) but in a complicated timescramble he played a losing move, where he could have given perpetual check. Even in the press room the GM’s didn’t fully understand what was going on (41.Be4? for instance loses to 41…Bd4!). It was a bit of a tragedy for Mamedyarov and so he didn’t attend the press conference, officially because he wasn’t feeling well. Read more

19 May: Dutch Cup Final at NSI de Eenhoorn

Because of the 650th birthday of the city of Hoorn, chess club NSI de Eenhoorn from Hoorn will organize the Dutch Cup Final on Saturday, May 19th. The cup fight will be fought between Share Dimension (Groningen), Paul Keres (Utrecht), LSG (Leiden) and HMC Calder (Den Bosch). Most probably many masters and grandmasters will travel to Hoorn for this cup spectacle. Read more

Interview with Sasikiran

Who would have thought, Krishnan Sasikiran leading the field after seven rounds with a point difference at the Mtel Masters in Sofia. But it’s true. He was the only player who won yesterday, after a blunder by Mamedyarov, who was shared first with him. The round 7 material will follow later; first this interview Macaauley had with Sasikiran and his second Lev Psakhis for Chess.FM after the sixth round. Read more

Daily puzzle 051807

What do you play with Black? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

9…d5! 10.Nxd5 Nxd5 11.Bxg7 Ndb4! 12.Bxf8 Nd3+ was very good for Black in Barcza - Dely, Magyarorszag 1969

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All open again in Sofia

After victories by Sasikiran, Kamsky and Topalov the Mtel Masters everything is possible again in Sofia. After the sixth round Sasikiran and Mamedyarov are leading but Kamsky and Nisipeanu, all down in the standings, follow by only a point. Especially during Nisipeanu and Topalov’s press conference the players were analysing a lot while speaking to each other and therefore I decided to add some chess board animation to the video. Besides, the videos of today not only contain the press conferences but also images of the start of the round. Read more

Daily puzzle 051707

What do you play with Black? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

12…Bh3!!–+ 13.axb4 [13.Re1 Qc6 14.f3 Bc5 15.Qxc4 d3+ 16.Kh1 Rae8 17.e4 Nxe4 18.fxe4 Qf6 19.Qxd3 Qf2] 13…Qe4 14.Bb7 [14.f3 Qxe2] 14…Qxb7 15.f3 Bd7 0–1, Bobotsov-Larsen, Bussum 1969.

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Remember San Luis 2005?

Of course you remember San Luis 2005, the tournament in which Vesilin Topalov conquered the world title! Of course you have not forgotten his sensational start with 6,5 out of 7!

Now a big book has appeared about this tournament, written by GM Alik Gershon, together with Igor Nor. We have just stocked a good supply of this book, which has analyses of all the games, and full colour pictures throughout all 442(!) pages.

San Luis 2005 has forewords by Topalov, Short and Marin, as well as an interesting chapter on the rumors and accusations of computer cheating which later sprang up.

This looks like a book which belongs in every chess library.

Daily puzzle 051607

What do you play with Black? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

17.e5! dxe5 18.fxe5 Pxe5 19.Pxe5 fxe5 20.Dh6! f5 21.Dxh7 Rf8 22.b3! was good for White in Geller-Larsen, Copenhagen 1966.

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Interview with Gata Kamsky

Yesterday afternoon Macauley had a live interview with Gata Kamsky for Chess.FM. Here’s the interview:

Click To Play

Press conferences round 5

Today is a restday in Sofia but before we will reveal more of the football match FC Levsky-Chess United that’s played today, first a report on the fifth round. Yesterday was a quiet day and all three games ended in a draw. In the press conferences the players not only mention the critical moments of the games, they also speak about their preparations for today’s football match! Read more

Daily puzzle 051507

What do you play with White? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

14.Nf5!! exf5 15.exf5+ Kf8 16.Ne4! Qc7 17.Kb1! Be8 [17...d5 18.Bxc4 dxc4 19.Nd6 Be8 20.Rxe8++-] 18.Bxc4 Qxc4 19.Nxd6 Qxc2+ 20.Ka1 Qc7 21.Nxc8 Qxc8 22.Qe2+- Matulovic-Bertok, Yugoslavia 1966.

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Morning at Mtel

When Peter arrived in Sofia yesterday morning, he probably wasn’t planning to serve as camera operator on a micro-short film. But I was itching to do an “intro” video a la Live in Linares, and it was nice to get my hands on the ChessVibes camera again. Naturally, there’s plenty of “raw” chess documentary footage for you already, so enjoy a small diversion. Read more

Journalist material

It’s never easy to comment on games played by other people. But this is exactly what many chess journalists have to do all the time. Therefore, anything the players say about the game afterwards is of great value. In Wijk aan Zee the press conferences are simply outstanding, with player using the demo board. In Sofia, the press conferences actually look more like press conferences as we know them from other sports. Right after the match the players take place before a wall with sponsor logos and journalists can fire questions to them. Today we present the three press conferences of round 4 to all chess journalists who couldn’t make it to Sofia and to all others interested! Read more

Daily puzzle 051407

What do you play with White? The solution will be published tomorrow.

Yesterday’s solution:

15.Nxe7!! Be6 [15...Nxe7 16.Rb3 Qxa2 17.Qc3+-] 16.Nd5 Na5 17.Bd4! Nxc4 18.Qg5 Ne5 19.Qxf6+ Kh6 20.f4 Rhe8 21.Qg5+ 1–0, Stein-Pelikan, Mar del Plata 1966.

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Dr John still going strong

Dr John Nunn has considerably enlarged his famous Secrets of Practical Chess in a new edition which came out this spring. The book is now even better than before.

The new bits are about how to use chess computers, and what to look for in a chess book.

The rest of this book (costing only € 22.50) deals with topics like: avoiding time trouble, defending difficult positions, how to study openings, when to calculate, and how to make decisions.

In one of most celebrated sections Nunn explains why oversights and blunders happen, and gives some very useful tips on how to avoid them.

Please, have a look at what the reviewers said about this instructional classic.

Volume 2 of John Watson’s opening classic

Last week we stocked Volume 2 of Mastering the Chess Openings, IM John Watson’s bestseller on vital opening concepts. In this volume Watson examines 1.d4 openings.

As he did in the extremely popular Volume 1, he concentrates on what he himself considers important and he ignores the latest fashions. Watson explains the ideas and themes that characterize the Queens Gambit Declined, Slav and Semi-Slav, Nimzo Indian, Queen’s Indian, King’s Indian, Grünfeld and Modern Benoni.

He does this in his very personal and lucid style, and the introductions to the chapters are on itself worth almost the entire price of this 320 page book.

I am quite certain that quite a few club players will wish to own a copy of this modern classic. Working with Watson means: you will learn how to find better opening moves.

Arrival at Sofia!

So here we are, at the press center of the Mtel Masters Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. After a smooth flight from Rome Ciampino I arrived this morning, and at the hotel I met with Macauley Peterson, who works in Sofia for ICC / Chess.FM. Together we will make some videos of this tournament. We hope to publish the first one later today. And of course I’ll make some daily reports for ChessVibes and probably do some live blogging as well, just like in Wijk aan Zee in January. Read more

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