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Here's what was New at Chessville between
1 January 2008 and 31 March 2008
(3/30) Chess
Psychology - Confronting Change (Part 1):
Psychologist, Master Chess Player and author Amatzia Avni
returns to Chessville's pages, granting yet another look
Inside Avni's Mind. Today Avni
looks at coping with unexpected change during your games.
"Sticking to our normal routine, we
are usually capable of performing on a high level. But when
circumstances change and previous behavior is no longer
appropriate, only a few of us manage to adapt swiftly and
effectively, retaining the same level. In chess, as in other
pursuits, coping with change is crucial to success. I was
reminded of this fact..."
|
|
"As
the title implies, this book contains practical information, stuff you
can put to use immediately in your games. Tips you can read today and
use tomorrow to win more games, improve your rating, and most importantly,
to understand and enjoy your chess even more."
--
from
Chessville's review |
|
|
Amatzia
Avni is an Israeli psychologist. He is a
FIDE
Master in both
game and composition, a former editor of the Israeli magazine
Schahmat and a regular contributor to Chess Monthly.
His recent book "Devious Chess"
was released by Batsford
in 2006. Read
Chessville reviews of two of his earlier works also:
Practical Chess
Psychology: Understanding the Human Factor (2001);
and The
Grandmaster's Mind (2004). |
|
 (3/30)
The Whites of Their Eyes:
A fresh perspective on mastering tactics, by Andy Hortillosa.
Chessville is proud to welcome Andres Hortillosa to our community.
Andy is currently the Webmaster and Senior Writer of the
US Military
Chess website. Andy made the All-Army Chess Team ten times,
representing the US as a member of the Armed Forces Chess Team five times at
the NATO Chess Championships. Andy's debut column,
On Mastering Tactics,
offers the philosophy that Andy will use in laying out the essentials of
learning - and mastering - tactics in the coming series of articles that
Andy will be writing. "Only a handful of chess authors truly
understand the best method of mastering tactics. Most authors believe,
as evidenced by the books and software available in the market, that puzzle
exercises and solving them are the best approach to learning tactics.
They could never be so wrong..." |
(3/29)
Reviews - Showdown:
The Complete
Chess Workout - Train Your Brain with 1200 Puzzles! by Richard Palliser
(Everyman, 2007) versus
Chess Gems - 1000
Combinations You Should Know by Igor Sukhin (Mongoose Press, 2007),
both reviewed by Michael Jeffreys.
|
"The end of 2007 saw the debut of two
big combination books: The Complete Chess Workout by Richard
Palliser and Chess Gems by Igor Sukhin. While the
British IM Palliser is fairly well known due to having authored several
other chess books such as Starting out: Sicilian Najdorf and
Starting out: The Colle, I had never heard of Igor Sukhin.
However, a quick search of the ChessBase website unearthed some info on the
Russian..." |
 |
 |
"This is a tough pick. Both books
bring a lot to the table. Basically it comes down to which you prefer,
modern puzzles or “the classics.” Knowing the classics is an important
part of knowing your chess history; I mean, can you really trust a chess
player who has never seen the ending to the Morphy-Duke of Brunswick game!?
That said there is something, as I mentioned above, very cool about playing
through ultra-recent games..." |
(3/29)
Nuestro Círculo #295:
29 de marzo de 2008, dedicado al Maestro húngaro Jozsef Szen que vivió entre
los años 1805 y 1857. Publicamos, además de su biografía, El
aguafiestas 230 y partidas del Torneo Amber, Niza 2008 cuyo virtual ganador
es el maestro Levon Aronian.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
(3/29)
Piece Letter
Identifiers: we've added Arabic, Croatian and Serbian to our
list of alpha-characters used to identify the pieces in algebraic chess
notation, which now includes twenty (20) languages: Arabic, Croatian,
Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian,
Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian,
Spanish and Swedish. Many thanks to
ELMO for sending the Arabic identifiers, and to
Vladan Vidaković for the Serbian & Croation
identifiers. The Piece Letter
Identifiers page is part of the
Chessville Reference Center, which we've also recently revised.
The Chessville Reference Center contains resources for understanding the
chess world.
 (3/26)
Chess Art:
From the gallery of Roger J. Morin we bring you new images of his
work. Visit early and often, as we will be adding new images
periodically. There's also a link to the artist's cyber-gallery,
where you can check out other (non-chess themed) works, most of which
are oil paintings, and many of which are for sale. |
_small.jpg) |
|
(3/26)
Instruction & Study Materials:
Another portal page linking together a wide variety of chess instruction and
study materials that you can find here at Chessville to help improve your
game, everything from annotated games to study & playing advice, plus
everything else in-between. Check it out today, and start improving
your chess skills!
|
(3/23)
The Chess Reports: Bob Long's
latest creation, brought to you in PDF format each week,
contains a wealth of chess instruction, with a wide variety of subject
matter: "Topics of Coverage: Endgame; Odds and Ends; Openings; Planning;
Psychology; Strategy; Tactics; Traps." Check it out for yourself -
Issue #9 is available for you to download free! |
(3/23)
Kelly's Quotes - Chess Books:
Another fresh batch of quotes about the Royal Game by Kelly Atkins (Kelly's
Quotes.) Here are a couple examples - just to whet your appetite:
"A classic is a book, which people praise and don't read. – Mark Twain"; or
how about: "Whenever my wife complains about my chess book addiction, I
threaten to take up golf! – J. D. Marino"
|
(3/23) Review:
How to Play
Chess Like an Animal by NM Brian Wall,
reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "I can understand grown-ups
being excited about the benefits of children learning and playing
chess, but if we’re not careful we’re liable to turn the Royal Game
into a vegetable – “Push your pawns, Abby: chess helps build
strong brains eight ways!” Yuk.
Fortunately, Anthea Carson and Brian Wall [Editor: insert
gratuitous link to Wall's column Going to
the Wall, right here at Chessville!] have made sure to put a
lot of Fun into their How
to Play Chess Like an Animal. That makes a whole lot of
sense, especially from a young kid’s point of view..." |
 |
|
|
(3/23) Photo Report - GM
Duncan Suttles Book Launch: "On March 15, 2007, a book launch
event was held in the Vancouver Bridge Centre, in Vancouver Canada.
Among other events there were a set of tandem (alternating move)
simultaneous displays by Grandmasters Duncan Suttles and Yasser Seirawan.
One such simul pitted the dynamic duo against juniors rated under-1800 (a
hot dog and pop/juice lunch was provided) and later against adults, selected
juniors and juniors who won or drew in the first simultaneous. Later
still a social gathering (business attire) was held, for both chess players
and non-chess players, complete with food..."
 |
(3/22)
Nuestro Círculo #294:
22 de marzo de 2008, al Maestro inglés Harry Golombek que vivió entre los
años 1911 y 1995. Publicamos, además de su biografía, la segunda parte de
una nota sobre Bobby Fischer, otra titulada "Deleites del Ajedrez" y "Partidas
del torneo Amber - Niza 2008".
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
(3/22) New Portal Pages:
You might not have noticed yet, but we're trying to get better organized,
and trying to make it easier to find what you need, while reducing some of
the clutter. Soon we'll have an entirely new look on our home page,
but first we have a series of new pages that draw together links to much of
the material we have here at Chessville. While we still have a couple
of pages to go, we wanted to share the following pages with you:
-
Opening Resources:
We have gathered together links to the various opening resources here at
Chessville, and placed them all on this one page. From here you can
branch off into basic opening theory, visit with IM Andrew Martin, or visit
the wild & wonderful world of Unorthodox Chess Openings. There are
lots of other pages here to visit too, so check it out - and enjoy!
-
UCO
Opening Resources: UCO stands for Unorthodox Chess Openings;
here at Chessville it stands for fun! As with our
Opening Resources
page we've gathered together links to the various UCO opening resources here
at Chessville, and placed them all on this one page. Check out Clyde
Nakamura's Search for Dragons and Mythical Chess Openings,
or travel with IM-CC Keith Hayward down The Road Not Taken.
There is something interesting behind every click!
-
Chess in Art,
Fiction & History:
Another new neighborhood-page here at Chessville, this one combining links
to all of our chess art, chess-themed fiction, and especially our collection
of chess history, including Robert Tuohey's highly respected Past Pawns
column.
-
Downloads, Links & Reference:
This time we've gathered links to our various pages
containing free downloads, links to other great chess sites, and a
collection of reference materials, which includes ECO codes,
Alternative Piece Letter Identifiers, Annotation Symbols, and much more.
-
Chess Book &Product Reviews:
Links to our review index, recent reviews, introduction to our review
philosophy, and reviews of chess products and web sites, all on one
convenient page.
-
News, Editorials
& Interviews: Just as
it sounds - from here you can find all of our pages devoted to news past &
present, interviews including our famous 20-Questions series, and a wide
variety of editorials, including another Chessville favorite - Alekhine's
Parrot.
|
 |
(3/16)
An Appreciation of Bobby Fischer:
GM Raymond Keene (Keene On Chess) looks at several of his favorite
Fischer games, including the so-called Game-of-the-Century against
Donald Byrne when Bobby was just 13 years old. Also included:
Lombardy-Fischer, Monte Carlo 1967; Fischer-Unzicker,
Siegen Olympiad 1970; Gligoric-Fischer, Siegen
Olympiad 1970; and Fischer-Najdorf, Siegen Olympiad 1970. |
|
|
(3/16) Review: Chess Rumble by
G. Neri, art by Jesse Joshua Watson,
reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Eleven year old Marcus is not mad all the time.
It’s not because his Daddy left, or because his younger brothers have
dedicated their lives to driving him crazy.
It’s not because of that fool Latrell hassling him at school.
And it’s certainly not because his sister died a year ago.
If that clueless Ms. Tate, the principal, would only stay out of his way and
let him deal with things. But no, now she’s got him going to the
library to meet with some big guy called CM. Marcus can sure
beat him, too..." |
 |
|
|
(3/16) Going to the Wall:
Chessville is extremely proud to debut a brand new columnist - NM
Brian Wall. In his initial
offering here at Chessville, Brian looks at the recently concluded
match between GM Roman Dzindzichashvili and the strongest chess engine
in the world, Rybka. |
|
|
Brian is also the author of How to Play Chess Like an
Animal, "a magical introduction to Chess with 30 Chess openings
named after animals..." |
|
|
 |
Life Master Brian Douglas Wall was born March 26,
1955, and learned to play chess from his father when he was six years
old. At age 17 he won the Colorado Junior Championship, becoming
a master at age 23. As an adult he scored at least as many
points as the winner in five Colorado State Championships, as well as
six Denver Opens. In 2002 he tied with four GMs for 2ndf place
in the Governor's Cup (South Dakota). |
|
 (3/16)
Chess Training: A new "Recon64" Move Prediction Exercise from Jim Mitch
(aka
Professor Chester Nuhmentz.)
This month the exercise is based on
Byrne-Fischer, New York, 1963 -- you may
think there's an error in the exercise or
that White somehow lost on time when you
reach the point where the game suddenly ends
with Black as the declared winner. The
un-played continuation that Bobby Fischer
had calculated began with...
UPDATE: Jim has reworked the
Recon64 exercise and added several new
features: Some of the new features
include having users choose whether they
want to study the moves of White, Black, or
both; a choice of a risk/benefit setting for
the game that affects the number of guesses
per turn and amounts than can be won or lost
per turn; and a re-working of how the page
is formatted and behaves to allow for easier
entry of
 predictions
& investments. Be sure to check it out
today!
Similar to Predict-A-Move and Solitaire-type
chess exercises, Recon64 challenges players to
find candidate moves from games played by
masters. Players are encouraged to search
for several strong candidate moves in each position, and are rewarded as
long as their list of moves includes the move selected by the master during
the game. As an extra twist, players
invest Recon64 dollars on candidate moves based
on how likely they think each move was used in
the original game... |
(3/15)
Nuestro Círculo:
Courtesy of Roberto Pagura, we bring you the entire collection of the first
290 issues of
Nuestro Círculo, including bonus files.
This is a HUGE downloadable zipped file, nearly 22.2 MBs in size.
Inside you'll find a total of 301 files in Word format (.doc).
|
(3/15)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world. This
week: |
 |
Dear Reader, who are you?
Recent analysis of our readership is very interesting.
There is a strong following of Chessville in the USA, and in
Canada, but also throughout...
|
.jpg) |
 |
Keres & Botvinnik Revisited...
Contemporary importance of chess history.
A public conversation with ex-Chess Life editor Larry Parr and The
Parrot |
 |
What to Play?
More eye-watering moves from English Players
in the English Defence. Featured Game is Garces-Keene, Lausanne 1977
|
|
(3/15)
Nuestro Círculo #293:
15 de marzo de 2008, dedicado a la ex Campeona Mundial de nacionalidad rusa,
Elisaveta Bykova (1913-1989). Publicamos, además, notas sobre el Torneo
Linares - Morelia 2008 y el Iberoamericano 2008, el Aguafiestas 229 y la
primera parte de una nota sobre Bobby Fischer.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
|
|
(3/14) Chess Art:
From the gallery of Roger J. Morin we bring you images of his
work. Visit early and often, as we will be adding new images
periodically. There's also a link to the artist's cyber-gallery,
where you can check out other (non-chess themed) works, most of which
are oil paintings, and many of which are for sale. |
 |
|
|
(3/9)
Chess Training:
A Sacrificial Lamb - the March Chess Lesson of the Month from
IM Igor Khmelnitsky. "Chess books and software tools
dedicated to the subject of Tactics always have a section devoted to the
advanced passed pawn. In my
Chess Exam Tactics, one of the six Motives I am rating the readers
on is the “Advanced Pass Pawn”.
However, the majority of the examples are usually on the themes (or methods)
that are aimed at getting the passed pawn through.
Eliminating and
deflecting the defender(s) are the most popular ideas.
|
For
example, in the diagram on the right: 1.Rxb6 (defense elimination) and
1.Rxd5 (deflection of the defender). Rarely, you will see
examples where the coveted passed pawn is actually given up for some
material or even positional gains: 1.Pc8Q Nxc8 2.Rxd5.
A recent
encounter at the very top level triggered my decision to discuss the
situation where the "golden pawn or pawns" that reached the 7th (2nd)
rank are sacrificed. The examples you will see in this article
are from my lessons. First, let’s take a look at the game that
prompted this article..." |
 |
|
 (3/9)
Review: Zugzwang by Ronan
Bennett (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Dr. Otto Spethmann, psychoanalyst, has a small practice in St. Petersburg.
On behalf of his patients, he searches for reason amongst their unreason.
Mourning his late wife, Elena, indulging his daughter Catherine, and chiding
his talented, rascally friend Kopelzon, Spethmann would seem to have enough
work as it is, without getting caught up in the dogged Inspector
Lychev’s investigation of two murders, avoiding the ever-present eyes and
ears that report to the secret police’s Colonel Gan, and invoking the
machinations of the rich and powerful man known as “The Mountain.” For
love the good doctor will cross personal and professional boundaries
and find himself in the arms of his intriguing, and married, patient, Anna
Ziatdinov..." |
|
(3/9)
Interview:
Chessville plays
20 Questions with
GM Michael Adams. Chessville interviews the famous
English GM,
including some surprise contributions from three Grandmasters, The
English Chess Federation, Chessville's own Forum Members, and a
Cornish Grandmother! See what 'Mickey' has to say about the
value of "wacko" openings, FIDE's handling of the World Championship
cycle, how he spends his preparation time, whom he'd most like to play
chess with from Caisa's storied past, and his advice for aspiring
junior players. All this and much more, as we play 20 Questions
with Michael Adams. |
 |
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|
 |
(3/9) JanXena on
Les Echecs des Femmes:
In her March column Jan reports on
the Asian Team Championships, the Moscow
Open, Aeroflot, and Capelle le Grande, along with upcoming events, Natasha
Galinka,
a scandal when it was learned that the reigning Women's
World Champion Xu Yuhua was accidentally left off the Ataturk Women Masters
invitation list,
and the featured Chess Femme of the month -
IM Dronavalli Harika (IND
2455), shown at left. |
|
|
(3/8)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world. This
week: |
 |
Chess Tributes:
And even though until the end, for
example in Buenos Aires, 1939, as I am about to demonstrate, he
could still evolve true pearls of the chess art, he had not
sufficient stamina for obtaining practical success in a big
tournament...
|
|
 |
The
youngest master record is considered one of the most hallowed marks of
the USCF. Future World Champion Bobby Fischer was considered a prodigy
when he became a master at the age of 13... |
 |
...should anyone with a current job wish to apply to USCF for
a position in chess, then that person should be aware of this circumstance,
since USCF are apparently not too careful about personnel material and the
law of the land... |
|
(3/9)
Nuestro Círculo #292:
8 de marzo de 2008, dedicado al Maestro holandés Theo Daniel van Scheltinga
(1914-1994). Publicamos su biografía y partidas de los torneos Linares -
Morelia 2008 e Iberoamericano 2008.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
 (3/2)
The Modern Defence:
Opening theory in the form of three annotated games, all quick kills with
this most modern of openings, and all with the wit and wisdom of
GM Nigel Davies. "Some
practitioners of the Modern (Colin McNab and David Norwood for example) like
to try and close the position up with ...c6 and possible ...d5. But I have
my own interpretation involving a fierce counterattack against the d4
square. Above all I want that bishop on g7 to breathe fire, to strike
terror along the h8-a1 diagonal. Sometimes I play ...c7-c5, sometimes
...e7-e5, but always something against the d4 square and with that long
diagonal in mind. There isn't enough time to show all the ins and outs
of this defence, but the following games show my interpretation in action
against a variety of White set-ups and how this opening has served me
faithfully in some critical games. Amongst my victims with this opening are
the likes of Bent Larsen and Viswanathan Anand, but on this occasion I'll
show you the real crushes..." |
|
(3/2)
Chess Composition - Zagoruiko: FIDE Master of Chess Composition
Peter Wong (Peter's Problem World) is
back with a new composition theme to educate and entertain us. "Zagoruiko
- Changed play represents one of the essential ideas in directmate
problems, especially two-movers where it is most commonly found. In
response to a certain black defence, White makes a mating move in the
actual play that is surprisingly different from that in another phase,
such as set play and try play, against the same defence. This concept
of changed play is intensified in the Zagoruiko theme, which specifies
a framework of changed variations. A two-mover demonstrates the
Zagoruiko scheme if the following occurs: at least two black defences
lead to changed white mates, with each defence provoking at least
three different white mates in separate phases. The theme is named
after a Russian composer who devised some notable examples in the
1950s." |
|
|
 (3/2)
Interview:
Chessville once again plays
20 Questions with USCF Executive
Board Member Paul Truong. Last year USCF's members
overwhelmingly elected Paul Truong, and several other new members, to their
Board, presumably in the hopes of reforming what was seen as a dysfunctional
organization. Since then there have been even more accusations and
lawsuits, and little seems to be happening in the way of actually promoting
chess in the US. Recently we invited Paul Truong, who seems to be at
the center of the storm, to talk about what is really going on, and his
views on chess promotion in the US. Phil Innes directs the questions,
with input from the Chessville Editorial team. |
|
 |
(3/2) Review:
Chess Opening Trap of the Day - Learn to Play and
Defend Against Tricky Opening Traps! by Bruce Albertson (Cardoza
Books,
2007), reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Chess Opening Trap of the
Day is an absolute hoot. If Zukertort is right, that
chess is the struggle against error, then Albertson systematically
chronicles episode after episode of slacker perfection. Every
beginner who has ever said “Struggle? Struggle? I don’t
need no stinking struggle!” should grab this book with two
hands, thumb through it, and try not to die of either fright or
laughter. Things can get pretty ugly when you’re starting out if
nobody struggles. And that’s the author’s point..." |
|
|
(3/2) Mini-Review & Excerpt:
Chess Tips for
the Improving Player by
Amatzia Avni, reviewed by David Surratt. Includes 13-pages
of extracts in PDF format. "Admittedly, I am a fan
of Avni's writing, and at first blush this title is of a similar vein
to his prior writings - with one notable enhancement. As the
title implies, this book contains practical information,
stuff you can put to use immediately in your games. Tips you can
read today and use tomorrow to win more games, improve your rating,
and most importantly, to understand and enjoy your chess even more." |
 |
|
|
 (3/2) Chess Training:
Jim Mitch's newest Chess Vision exercise, designed to sharpen your
vision of the board. In this exercise, players try to
imagine up to 10 moves being made from a
starting diagram, with the goal of finding all
the legal captures and checks that could be made
in the envisioned position. You decide
how far to look ahead (from one to ten
half-moves) and how much time to allow yourself
(from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.) You can
even choose the starting position from that
month's game... Unless you've already
studied this famous miniature game, you may
think there's an error in the exercise or that
White somehow lost on time when you reach the
point where the game suddenly ends with Black as
the declared winner. The un-played continuation
that Bobby Fischer had calculated began with
Qh3+ (or Bxd4+) then Re1. His strong opponent,
Robert Byrne, saw what was coming and threw in
the towel after only 21 moves...
|
(3/1)
Nuestro Círculo #291:
1 de marzo de 2008, dedicado al Maestro ruso Mikhail M. Yudovich
(1911-1987). Publicamos su biografía y partidas, partidas del "Torneo
Linares-Morelia 2008", "El Aguafiestas 228", "Da Vinci y el Ajedrez" y
"Quién es Leonttxo García".
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
|
(2/24)
In Memory of A Master:
Bobby Fischer´s
Memorial Ceremony,
16 February 2008 at Laugardaelakirkja
church. A photo report by
Einar S. Einarsson, including
Gudmundur G.
Thórarinsson´s speech. "His
life was one of extremes and
antithesis, and fate swept him up in
its dizzying tidal wave. Fate
gave, and fate took away. His
entire life was like a playground for
polarity. He was acclaimed and
ostracised, he was variously wealthy
and wanting, he was both famous and
despised, he was victorious at the
chess board but unsuccessful in the
search for happiness..." |
 |
|
(2/24)
Chess Fiction:
His Last Game - A Sherlock
Holmes Adventure, by Rick Kennedy. "“Have you ever noticed,
Watson,” mused Sherlock Holmes, barely shifting in his armchair, “that
when our friend, Inspector Lestrade, comes to speak well of himself he
marches up to the door forthrightly, with a slight bounce in his step?”
Holmes nodded toward the street, down below, even as a knocking began on
the front door. “When he must ask a favor, however, he arrives
quickly, only to hesitate at the last moment, crossing the last few feet
gingerly and with reticence...”
 (2/24)
Chess Training: A new "Recon64" Move Prediction Exercise from Jim Mitch
(aka
Professor Chester Nuhmentz.)
This month the exercise is based on Keres vs
Petrosian, Bled, 1959 -- featuring a
stunning shift in point-of-attack by
Petrosian that caught Keres with his defense
badly out of place.
UPDATE: Jim has reworked the
Recon64 exercise and added several new
features: Some of the new features
include having users choose whether they
want to study the moves of White, Black, or
both; a choice of a risk/benefit setting for
the game that affects the number of guesses
per turn and amounts than can be won or lost
per turn; and a re-working of how the page
is formatted and behaves to allow for easier
entry of
predictions
& investments. Be sure to check it out
today!
Similar to Predict-A-Move and Solitaire-type
chess exercises, Recon64 challenges players to
find candidate moves from games played by
masters. Players are encouraged to search
for several strong candidate moves in each position, and are rewarded as
long as their list of moves includes the move selected by the master during
the game. As an extra twist, players
invest Recon64 dollars on candidate moves based
on how likely they think each move was used in
the original game... |
|
(2/24)
Marshall
Chess Club - Calendar of Events for March 2008: One of
the oldest and strongest chess clubs in the United States, the
Marshall, located in New York City, was formed in 1915 by a group led
by Frank Marshall. Members of the club have included Reuben
Fine, Edmar Mednis, Larry Evans, Andy Soltis, Fred Reinfeld, Arthur
Dake, and more recently, Hikaru Nakamura. Events for March
include an after-school program, Friday Night Rapid tournaments, and a
monthly Grandmaster Lecture Series. |
 |
|
|
(2/23)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world. This
week: |
 |
Late Result:
The 4-Nations Tournament between Norway, Sweden, England and
Latvia. England came second behind Sweden...
|
|
 |
The leading player and writer at London [almost 200
years ago] was J. H. Sarratt, a schoolmaster who regularly
styled himself, ‘Professor of Chess.’ Sarratt was very much a man of
the new age |
 |
2700 CLUB:
Morelia Linares
Carlsen shocked Topalov with Alekhine’s Defense, and held the
initiative throughout the game... |
|
(2/23)
Nuestro Círculo #290:
23 de febrero de 2008, dedicado al Maestro Estoniano Lucius Endzelins
(1909-1981). Publicamos su biografía y partidas y las notas: "Aguafiestas
227", "Linares-Morelia 2008" y "Torneo Iberoamericano."
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
|
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(2/17) Review:
King’s
Gambit - A Son, a Father, and the World’s Most Dangerous Game by
Paul Hoffman, reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "King’s
Gambit tells of author Paul Hoffman’s return to, and subsequent
personal journey through, the always fascinating, often mind-bending,
frequently mesmerizing, and occasionally baffling world of chess.
Hoffman is well equipped to tell this story: he has written several
books, including Wings of Madness and the widely acclaimed
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers; he was editor at Scientific
American, editor in chief of Discovery magazine and
president of the Encyclopedia Britannica; and he has written
about chess for The New York Times, The New Yorker,
Smithsonian and The Wall Street Journal. He is also
an avid Class-A-near-Expert rated player..." |
|
(2/17)
Chess Quotes: Senior Editor
Kelly Atkins is back with another collection of
Kelly's Quotes from
the world of chess. His latest offering looks at humor in chess;
here's just a small taste of what Kelly's collected from the writings and
utterings of the famous, and not-so-famous, players in the world of chess:
"His draw ratio in classical games made Tigran Petrosian look like Attila
the Hun. – Mig Greengard (on Leko)"
|
(2/17) Review:
CENSORED!
Botvinnik's Secret Games, by Jan Timman, reviewed by NM
Bill McGeary. "Greek
mythology is full of powerful gods, their exploits and hidden
affairs. So it is also with world champions atop the chess Olympus.
Taking the crown of chess brings the focus of the chess public
directly on the champion. Botvinnik was no exception. Being
probably the first truly modern world champion, Botvinnik's method of
training and preparation were both mysterious and the matter of much
speculation. I grew up in the age of the Informants, and scurrying
around to find newspaper columns with games or any scrap of
international news was as much a part of chess as carrying a set. In
those days we all reveled at the work of the Soviets, with Botvinnik
being the greatest example of preparation of them all..." |
 |
|
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 (2/17)
Confessions of a Pawn Pusher: by
Rick Kennedy.
"It is a struggle to recall the first time someone discovered me staring
vacantly ahead, slumped over a table, apparently lost. Scattered in
front of me must have been the tools of my addiction. The chess
pieces. Seeing me, you might have slipped away, fearful of intruding.
A groundless worry, that!
 At
such times, all the world exists for me in 64 black and white squares.
No doubt, you’ve heard that “chess has the power to make men glad”? I
might add – And the enticements to drive one mad! Alas, it has assumed
the power of a mind-fogging obsession..." |
|
(2/16)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world. This
week: |
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The Bad Bishop’s Tale
"English attempts to ban chess were largely limited to the
clergy..." |
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A quarter of a million chess sets given away… hey Brits, get on it! |
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Four nations chess challenge, Oslo - Norway, 15 - 17 February 2008 |
|
(2/16)
Nuestro Círculo #289:
16 de febrero de 2008, dedicado al Maestro Ruso Vitold V. Iakimchik
(1909-1978). Publicamos su biografía y obras y las notas: "Españoles e
Indios" , "Curiosidades" "Reportaje a Judit Polgar y "Partidas inolvidables".
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
| (2/15)
Bobby Fischer Memorial:
Einar S. Einarsson, chairman the RJF Campaign and Support Group,
brings news of Bobby's Memorial Service, and an "In Memoriam" book.
Includes the last known photograph of Bobby. |
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|
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(2/10)
Chess Lesson
of the Month:
(Mis)Adventures of the Rook
by IM Igor Khmelnitsky
"You could study the following material either by
skipping the test and going directly to the lecture, or start by attempting
to figure out on your own what is going on in each of the positions I will
be talking about and then proceed to the lecture. If you chose the
latter, spend 5-15 minutes on each diagram and record your evaluation and
move / plan for the side whose turn it is and sample variations. Then
compare your ideas with mine. Let me know how you like the test and
the lecture...." |
1.
Black to Move. What would you play?
What do you think about 1...Re2? |
|
(2/10)
Annotated Game:
Polugaevsky -
Planinc, Skopje 1971 with notes by NM Bill McGeary.
"I first went over this game in
1972 or '73 when I was still a young, ambitious player. In those days there
weren't million game databases to do research, instead we waited for the
twice-yearly arrival of the Informant to get our opening updates. I found
this game in one of those Informants and immediately it had an effect. I
changed from looking for the crucial updates in the Najdorf to the most
current available Polugaevsky games..."
|
(2/10) Review:
Secrets of Opening Surprises Vol 7 Edited by Jeroen Bosch (New in
Chess, 2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Jeroen Bosch
and his creative band of authors is back with another back of tricks
in the seventh volume of the popular Secrets of Opening Surprises
series. The promise, as before, is simple:
No time to study main lines? Shock your opponent with an SOS!...
Secrets of Opening Surprises brings you a wide variety of
unusual opening ideas. They may seem outrageous at first sight,
but have proven to be perfectly playable.
Outrageous? You decide.
There’s a lot to decide about..." |
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|
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(2/10) Jude Acers On Tour:
Pictures from Jude's recent lecture and simul at Metairie Park Country Day
School, in Metairie, Louisiana. This little one seems a bit nervous as
Jude ponders his next move. Also: Jude's 2008 schedule, and how to
schedule Jude to visit your organization!
|
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(2/10)
Parrot's Show Cage #1 Update: New and definitive
information about this set comes to The Parrot from
Gert Jan Slottboom of the The Netherlands. Gert writes, "Hello
Parrot, I have a similar chess set made in Zakopane. It is
the same area as Krynica. That is the south of Poland
(Carpathian Tatra mountains)..." Gert answers all The Parrot's
questions... |
|
|
 (2/9)
UCO: Mutkin Counter Gambit from
Clyde Nakamura. Clyde's latest discoveries in his never-ending
Search for Dragons and Mythical Chess
Openings. "There have been a
number of early g4 pawn gambits such as the Gibbins-Weidenhagen Gambit (1.d4
Nf6 2.g4), the Devin Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g4),
and the
Tuebingen Gambit (1.Nc3 Nf6 2.g4).
|
(2/9)
Chess
Composition: Vratnica-64
- A Chess Problem Journal edited by
Mr Boško Milošeski
- published in FAN with some English translations, issued quarterly in
PDF format. Today we bring you Vol.7 July-December 2007; previous
issues are available on out Tactics
page.
(2/9)
Nuestro Círculo #288:
9 de febrero de 2008, dedicado al Maestro Húngaro Erno Gereben
(1907-1988). Publicamos su biografía y partidas, además de la nota
de recordación de "Roberto Aquiles Ney" , "Elogio del Tamaño", "Sobre
Robert Fischer" y "La Siempre Viva".
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
|
(2/3)
Chess Instruction: The When of
Attack with GM Nigel Davies. "There are many
players who know only too well how to attack once they get the
opportunity. Knowing when to attack is much more difficult,
especially for players at club level. Amongst the most common faults I
have seen in my students' games are an apparent allergy to the exchange of
queens and a will to attack from almost every position. This often
means violating chess logic which might well demand that queens are
exchanged, that you go for quiet positional pressure or try to neutralise
your opponent's initiative. Learning this kind of discipline is very
difficult, especially if you play for fun. But I should point out that
if you want to make better results then you've got to do what the position
requires..." See more great content from
GM Davies. |
|
(2/3) The Perry PawnPusher Awards, by Rick Kennedy.
What do the titles below all have in common? They are all winners of
The Perry PawnPusher Awards, written by the old pawnpusher himself,
Rick Kennedy.
With categories like
“Saved from the Dustbin of Time Award”, “Was There Chess Before Fischer?”
and “Waiting for a Second Edition”, you're sure to be surprised,
entertained, and informed! Enjoy Rick's picks from among his first 100
reviews for Chessville.
|
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(2/3) Chess Composition - Bristol:
by FIDE Master of Chess Composition Peter Wong (Peter's
Problem World).
"Many problem themes focus on the power of
long-range pieces that act on lines, such as the battery (lines are
opened by discovery), and the Grimshaw (lines are closed due to
self-interferences). Another strategic idea based on line play is
line clearance. Take two similar line-pieces of the same color –
e.g. two rooks, or a queen and a bishop – and move one of them along a
line so that the other can follow along the same line. The first
piece ‘clears’ the line for the second and, in particular, crosses
over a critical square which becomes accessible to the
following piece. This manoeuvre is known as a Bristol clearance..." |
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(2/3) Review:
Chess Review & Chess Life Complete Collection 1933-1975
(4-DVD set) reviewed by Rick
Kennedy. Chessville is proud to congratulate Rick Kennedy
on this, his 100th review for us! Regarding this 4-DVD set, Rick
writes, "The fine folks at Toby Chess, Toby and Traci, (check out their Ebay website
at
http://stores.ebay.com/Toby-Chess), have an offer that will bug the eyes
our of anyone who is interested in reading about, writing about, or
researching American chess history – the players, the games, the
tournaments, the triumphs & failures, the in-fighting, the rumors, the
theories, the analysis…" |
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(2/3) JanXena on
Les Echecs des Femmes:
In her February column Jan reports on
The 15th Salona Tournament was held in
Solin, Croatia, Corus 2008 at Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, the
Gibtelecom Chess Festival at Gibraltar, along with upcoming
events, news of yet another cheating accusation, a new blog by WFM
Elizabeth (Liz) Vicary, and the featured Chess Femme of the month -
GM Antoaneta Stefanova (BUL 2463), shown at left. |
|
 (2/3) Interview: Chessville plays
20 Questions with Rick Kennedy.
Author. Reviewer. Jerome Gambit true believer. Chessville
plays 20 Questions
with Mr. Kennedy on the occasion of the publication of his 100th review for
us here at Chessville. Rick has also written a number of pieces of
chess-themed fiction which we have featured here, including hiw best known
series -
The Kennedy
Kids: Mary Elizabeth, Jon & Matt.
Of himself, Rick writes, "I’m a 56 year old social worker, counseling
families at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. My wife
of 31 years, Libby, is a school psychologist with the city schools. We
have three children: Matt, Mary and Jon..." Of course, The Kids.
Read the entire interview, and learn more about this great friend of
Chessville's, and my favorite author - Mr. Rick Kennedy. |
|
 (2/3) Chess Training:
Jim Mitch's newest Chess Vision exercise, designed to sharpen your
vision of the board. In this exercise, players try to
imagine up to 10 moves being made from a
starting diagram, with the goal of finding all
the legal captures and checks that could be made
in the envisioned position. You decide
how far to look ahead (from one to ten
half-moves) and how much time to allow yourself
(from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.) You can
even choose the starting position from that
month's game... Exceptionally well crafted
thrillers can become scarier to re-watch after
you've seen the unexpected twists. In this
game, Petrosian's final attack is well-disguised
and brutal. Viewers who have seen the ending
may find themselves wanting to warn Keres about
the misdirection going on and the undefended
threat -- no, no, Paul, that's NOT where
he'll be coming after you!
|
(2/2)
Nuestro Círculo #287:
2 de febrero de 2008, dedicado al Maestro Letón Movsa Feigin (1908-1950).
Publicamos su biografía y partidas, además de las notas "El Aguafiestas" ,
"El Rey Bobby" y las últimas partidas del "Torneo Corus 2008".
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
 (1/27)
Review:
Chess Visualization Course, Book 1: General Tactics
by Ian Anderson, reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "In those
years, BB (before Bobby), as a player I could get better by studying the
games of the masters or by just plain playing (and playing and playing).
Sure, Fred Reinfeld had introduced his two evergreens,
1001 Brilliant Chess Sacrifices and Combinations
and 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate to help me strengthen my
tactical “muscles,” but I had to do most of the “heavy lifting” myself.
Again, today there are many more specialized books – plus chess-playing
software and databases, not to mention various CDs videos and DVDs.
Into this arena steps Ian Anderson, armed with Book 1 of his Chess
Visualization Course. The idea for this book came to him in a
painful way..." |
 (1/27)
Robbie the Robot versus Dr. Smith: by Robert Tuohey.
In this latest article from our Ace Investigative Reporter Bob Tuohey (see )
Bob tears the cover off the urban legend known as Deep Blue. The
facts, as reported by Mr. Tuohey: "By this late date the
powers that be have so successfully foisted so many shams upon the credulous
public that it has become axiomatic among both the serious and delirious
that no one any longer knows truth from trash. Still, certain revisionist
rhetoric rankles… To wit: “common knowledge” balderdash would have it
that the first computer program to play proper chess was the 1996 IBM
brainchild Deep Blue. Not only is this a non-fact, it’s simply
hogwash..." |
 (1/27)
Nuestro Círculo,
un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.
Thanks to the author of these excellent publications, we have caught up on
all of the back issues missing since early December. Chessville
congratulates Señor Roberto Pagura on beginning his 7th year of
publication. ¡¡feliz cumpleaños (Happy Birthday) Nuestro
Círculo!!
-
Nuestro Círculo #286:
26 de enero de 2008, dedicado al Gran Maestro Robert "Bobby" Fischer
recientemente desaparecido.
-
Nuestro Círculo #285:
19 de enero de 2008, dedicado a Gerald Abrahams, ajedrecista inglés
que vivió entre los años 1907 y 1980. Además de su biografía y partidas,
podrás leer las notas "El Aguafiestas 225", "Nuestros Libros", "Ajedrez y
Alzheimer", "Finales de Foguelman" y "Partidas del Torneo Corus 2008".
-
Nuestro Círculo #284:
12 de enero de 2008, que dedicamos a la Mta.Rusa Ludmila V. Rudenko,
ex campeona mundial femenina que vivió entre los años 1904 y 1986.
Además de su biografía y partidas, podrás leer las notas "El Aguafiestas
224", "La Ley de Newton" "Mitos y Creencias" y "Abierto en Sevilla 2008".
-
Nuestro Círculo #283:
5 de enero de 2008, dedicado al Maestro Maurice Raizman (1905-1974)
nacido en Rusia y radicado en Francia. Además de su biografía y partidas,
podrás leer las notas "El Aguafiestas 223", "Poema Cubano" "Adelantar la
hora" y "Campeonato de Rusia 2007".
-
Nuestro Círculo #282:
29 de deciembre de 2007, dedicado al Maestro Argentino Alejandro Nogués
Acuña (1907-1989). Además de su biografía y partidas, publicamos "Sobre
Nogués Acuña", "El Aguafiestas 222", "Violencia=Videojuegos" y "Alimentar a
un G.M.". Con este número finalizamos el sexto año de Nuestro Círculo
y con el del 5 de enero próximo iniciaremos su 7º año de vida.
La ocasión es propicia para agradecer a todos los lectores que nos enviaron
conceptuosos saludos de fin de año y desear que el 2008 sea un año mejor y
más justo para todos.
|
 |
(1/26) Polgar & the USCF: A Parrot Special Report
combines the text of GM Susan Polgar's remarks, published in last
week's Squaawk, and the USCF's carefully worded response. Also,
a further response from Ms. Polgar. |
 |
|
 (1/26) Review:
Chess Exam and
Training Guide: Tactics by IM Igor Khmelnitsky (IamCoach Press,
2007) 8/2007, reviewed by Michael Jeffreys. "In 2004 I attended the National Open in Las Vegas which is always a good
time. At the USCF Book store that year I made only one purchase...an autographed copy of Chess Exam and Training Guide
by Igor Khmelnitsky.
While I confess to having bought chess books in the past and then not really
going through them, Chess Exam and Training Guide was not one of
them. I have used it many times for teaching because of its
fresh examples and Igor’s detailed solutions.
And while Chess Exam and Training Guide: TACTICS is 110 pages shorter
than Khmelnitsky’s first book, it is easily just as good (not to mention 5
bucks cheaper!). The thing that makes his books so good, as I
mentioned above, is his eye for great material..." |
 (1/26)
Update - Corus Diaries: Dr. Albert Alberts updates his Corus
diaries, including analysis of Topalov's fantastic Round 9 sacrifice
(12.Ne7) against Kramnik and the titanic Round 11 battle between wunderkind
Carlsen and Anand; also coverage of some great games from the other
Corus sections. Don't miss it! |
|
(1/26)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world. This
week: |
|
CHESS SPAM as received at Chessville
this week. Should one buy them a big set?
|
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GM notes
from Susan Polgar:
Topalov - KramnikAlso heavily analyzed (not once, but
twice!) by Dr. Albert Alberts in his
Corus Diaries |
 |
Who is clean, and who is not, and who will ever know? USCF were given
7 days to make their own reply...
|
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(1/20) The King Is Dead:
Robert James Fischer is dead at 64.
The chess world mourns the passing of
one of it's greatest champions this
week, as Bobby Fischer dies of kidney
failure in an Icelandic hospital.
Read
GM Raymond Keene's obituary.
Meanwhile, reaction, commentary, and
recollections of America's "flawed
genius" continue to roll in from
throughout the chess community,
including GMs, IMs, and many other
chess personalities.
Read it
all here. |
 |
|
(1/20) Chess News -
JanXena on Les Echecs des Femmes:
"Greetings, chess fans. I’ve been invited to do a column on
women’s chess every month – a grand experiment! This is the inaugural
issue. I’m experimenting with formatting and content,
please feel free to let Chessville know what you think, pro and con."
Recent & upcoming events, In the News, and the Featured Chess Femme.
Enjoy! |
(Photo: Tatiana
Kosintseva [left] and Nadezhda Kosintseva,
2007 European Individual
Chess Championships.
Courtesy of
Monroi.com) |
|
|
(1/20)
Chess Training: A new "Recon64" Move Prediction Exercise from Jim Mitch (aka Prof. Chester Nuhmentz.)
Today's game: In one of several events
from the 1900s that became known as "The
Game Of The Century", a 13 year old Bobby
Fischer provided the world with an early
peek of his future brilliance in this game
in which he used a queen sacrifice and
tremendous coordination of pieces to
overwhelm a far more experienced player... Similar to Predict-A-Move and Solitaire-type
chess exercises, Recon64 challenges players to
find candidate moves from games played by
masters. Players are encouraged to search
for several strong candidate moves in each position, and are rewarded as
long as their list of moves includes the move selected by the master during
the game. As an extra twist, players
invest Recon64 dollars on candidate moves based
on how likely they think each move was used in
the original game... |
(1/20)
Nuestro Círculo
un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
-
Nuestro Círculo #281:
22 de deciembre de 2007, dedicado a la Maestra norteamericana de
origen húngaro, Mary Bain (1904-1972). Además de su biografía y partidas,
publicamos las notas: "Dos infinitos", "El Aguafiestas 221", las últimas
partidas del "Mundial 2007", "Joya de Franz Benko" y "Otras joyas".
-
Nuestro Círculo #280:
15 de deciembre de 2007, dedicado al Maestro alemán Paul Michel
(1905-1977) radicado en Argentina desde 1939.. Además de la biografía y
partidas de Michel, publicamos las notas: "Instructivo Final" de Hebert
Pérez, "Partida de un lector","El Aguafiestas 220", "Copa del Mundo 2007",
"¿Jugará ajedrez?" y una "Anécdota de Capablanca".
-
Nuestro Círculo #279:
8 de deciembre de 2007, dedicado
al Maestro alemán radicado en Argentina desde 1939 Heinrich Reinhardt
(1903-1990). Publicamos su biografía y partidas y las notas: "No callar",
"El Aguafiestas 219", "Explotan la violencia", "Copa del Mundo 2007", "El
festival de Caballito de Palermo" y una "Declaración del Xº Encuentro
Nacional de Profesorres de Ajedrez"
-
Nuestro Círculo #278:
1 de deciembre de 2007, dedicado al Maestro húngaro Sandor
Takacs (1893-1932). Publicamos su biografía y partidas y las notas: "El
Aguafiestas 218", "Mate en tres" y "Copa del Mundo 2007".
|
(1/19)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world. This
week: |
|
Players Corner:
This week: A
retrospective on Kotov, and a conversation with another chess
columnist on his title: The Soviet School of Chess:
|
|
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Robert James Fischer
1943-2008The King Is Dead,
Long Live the King! |
|
Guest Squaaawk!
by GM Susan Polgar
Liars Rule?
|
|
 (1/18)
Corus Diaries: Chessville is pleased to present notes
and games from Corus 2008 by the noted author
Dr. Albert Alberts. "Funny how the
so-called secondary group brings mucho more adventure then the grandmaster
class. Yesterday we saw Nigel Short going under in quite a frivolous
miniature in the Berlin Wall Ruy Lopez against 13-year old China Girl Hou.
And now this one! How come the elite is not all that daring?"
Updated frequently, so check back often, and hit that refresh button! |
Chessville
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