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Here's what was New at Chessville between
1 July 2010 and 30 September 2010
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(9/8)
World University Chess Championships Round Four Update:
Tournament favourite Wang Yue (23, Elo 2732) first had a rough time in round
5 of the World University Chess Championship in Zurich. His opponent
Bayarsaikhan Gundavaa (21, Elo 2460) put him under strong pressure right
from the beginning. While so far the men’s tournament has developed as
expected, the women’s contest took a surprising turn on day 4. In the
fifth round the two top board pairings resulted in quick draws, while on
board three the home player Monika Seps only narrowly failed to crown a
great attacking game which would have put her in the joint lead... |
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(9/8) Chandler On
the Loose: You fell in with his sense of humor
when he was writing
Chandler Cornered, and then you followed him to Red Hot Pawn
where he blogs
The Planet Greenpawn. Now he's On the Loose!
We caught up to him the other day though, and found him On the Bar Stool,
where he was ranting about some guy (?) called JANAKA. Sit back, draft a pint, and get ready for the ride
of your life! |
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(9/7)
World University Chess Championships Round Three Update: Status Quo
maintained. Two long fights between the leaders, but no decision –
after round four nobody was left with a clean score in the World University
Chess Championships in Zurich. Ilya Khmelniker from Israel had been
the surprise of the first third of the men’s tournament. However,
before round 4 his chances to hold his own against the great tournament
favourite Wang Yue were not considered too high, given that the Chinese
boasted a 250 points advantage in Elo rating and had the White pieces... |
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(9/7)
Chess Cartoons:
Tony Lurie (A Lurie Sense of Humor) offers a pair of toons for your
entertainment - Surratt's Luck! and Game Over. Enjoy Tony's 'toons
along with plenty of others, and enjoy the game of chess from a
slightly different perspective! |
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(9/6)
11th World University Chess Championship, Round Two:
In the men’s tournament Wang Yue easily confirmed his position on
the top of the starting list. The former World number 8 from
China easily crushed the Swiss IM Oliver Kurmann in a Benoni Defence
with a temporary knight sacrifice. Most other
grandmasters also managed to impose themselves... |
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(9/5)
Brand Old Novelties - Part 2 by GM András Adorján (Black
Really Is OK!). In today's game the Hungarian GM annotates
Bobotsov - Adorjan, Vrnjacka Banja, 1972. "There is nothing new under
the Sun – says the ancient phrase (even this was not quite fresh I’m
afraid). It is not very seldom that we find during the preparation –
or even by the game! – discover something. We play it and the outcome
is good. We walk home then double our paces stimulated by curiosity.
At home one searches all the potential sources – database, Informant,
Encyclopaedia, whatever – to find out whether his idea was really a novelty.
The findings are mixed! But anyway our hero did create something by
his own..." |
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(9/4) Review:
Gambit Blackmar-Diemer, Modus Operandi by Eric Jégo (TheBookEdition,
2010) reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Serious chess players are always
looking for an edge. Bobby Fischer learned Russian to keep up with
magazines coming out of the U.S.S.R. Later, grandmasters grabbed each
issue of Chess Informant as it came out – as they do today with New In
Chess. The advent of computer chess game databases meant getting the
largest and the newest – and keeping it up-to-date with games from internet
sources such as The Week in Chess..." |
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(9/4) Review:
How to Win at Chess - Quickly! by GM Simon Williams
(Everyman Chess, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary. "When
was the last time you heard a player in a weekend event say that they were
looking forward to a good 5-hour seesaw affair which would end with one side
winning by one tempo? Probably never. That is because we all want to win
our games in a relatively short time span in order to discuss our comrades'
shortcomings and later reveal to those same comrades how they missed easy
win after easy win..." |
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(9/3)
DFW
FIDE Open VI by
Zebedee Fortman (Be Your Best -
Play Chess). "Last week, I played in my first chess
tournament in more than three years – the DFW FIDE Open VI (Texas) at the
Dallas Chess Club. Having just moved to Texas from Missouri and
starting a new job, I had no time to do any preparation. So as I
headed to the tournament, I grabbed a book of tactical exercises..." |
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(9/3)
Chess Cartoon:
Tony Lurie (A Lurie Sense of Humor) offers another 'toon for your
entertainment - Intelligent Life. Enjoy this, and more than 40 other
chess-themed cartoons on our
Cartoon
page! |
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(9/3) Free
eBook:
A Handbook of Chess by George Frederick Pardon. These
chess lessons originally appeared in the pages of the London Journal,
then gathered together in this book, which was originally published in
London, 1860. We offer it as a free 1.9 MB zipped PDF file, along with
more than five dozen other free chess ebooks. |
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(9/3)
Nuestro Círculo #422:
4 de septiembre de 2010, dedicado al Maestro Internacional
estadounidense William Grady Addison que vivió entre los años 1933 y
2008. Además de su biografía y partidas, puedes leer las notas
"Un gran maestro" , "Ataque de mate" y "Homenaje" que hace
referencia al brindado a los amigos José Taschetta y Omar peluffo
por los 10 esforzados años que han cumplido al frente del Círculo de
Ajedrez de Villa del Parque. Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
422.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(9/3)
Chess Cartoon:
mafalda, #8 for 4Sep2010, a Spanish-language chess-themed cartoon,
courtesy of Señor Pagura (Nuestro
Círculo). |
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(8/31)
Links Updates - Again!: This time Linkmeister Scott
Strattner has updates the following pages -
Training;
Miscellaneous; and
Tactics, Problems, and Compositions.
As always, you'll find what's new gathered together on our
recent links
page. Enjoy! |
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(8/31)
11th World University Chess Championship: The 11th
World University Chess Championship in Zurich will not only see a
top level contest with many grandmasters, but will also present
chess as an art and culture. A first highlight will be the
opening ceremony on Sunday, 5 September (10 a.m.) in the Lichthof of
the University of Zurich. A musical chess-piece for Accordion
and Violoncello, especially composed for this event („Rules of the
Game“ by Clinton Haycraft), will be performed and additionally
illustrated by... |
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(8/31)
Presidents Who Play Chess: by Bill Wall (Bill
Wall's Wonderful World of Chess). This time Bill tells all
about those US Presidents - past & present - and those around them,
who play chess. "There
is the story of Washington crossing the Delaware in 1776 to attack
the British army. Earlier, a boy had given a spy report to the
British commander (Colonel Rahl) that Washington was about to
attack. The commander did not want to be interrupted while he
played chess, so put the unread note in his pocket. The note
was found in his pocket, unopened, when he died in battle..." |
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(8/30)
Links Updates: Linkmeister Scott Strattner is back from
vacation with a suitcase full of new links updates, including the
following pages:
General Sites,
Playing Sites, Online Leagues,
and
Federations. You can see
all of what's new on our
Recent Links page. |
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(8/29) Review:
The Final Theory of Chess by Gary
M. Danelishen, reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Some observers predict that the progress of
chess-playing computer software will ...cause the end of the Royal
Game, by finally answering the question, “Is chess a win or a draw with best
play – and for who?”. While initial silicon efforts at pawn-pushing
were amusing in their time, current titles can beat most people, and some
programs can beat all players. Against that background, consider Gary M.
Danelishen and his The Final Theory of Chess..." |
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(8/29)
The Chess
Comic: Lesson 13 - Her Highness, the Queen is
Scott Tingley's latest contribution. "Welcome to The Chess Comic:
Learning Chess Through Comics. My goal with the comic is to take the
information I have taught in the beginner and intermediate chess camps I
have taught in the past and pass that on to my readers using the comic
medium. In my experience, kids and adults new to chess often forget
the little things that make up the fundamentals of the game..." |
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(8/29) Free
eBook:
Chess Problems Made Easy: How to Solve - How to Compose by T.
Taverner, Chess Editor, “Daily News”. With 250 illustrations by
the author & famous composers. "Assuming that the reader is a lover of
Chess and that his inclination turns towards problems, of which he seeks to
acquire a working knowledge, our aim is the elementary one of setting him in
the way of constructing and solving them. The two processes are allied. In
learning how a problem is created the student is bound to perceive how he
may best approach the solution of others; in disentangling the complexities
produced by good composers he acquires a constructive knowledge and ability
of his own..." |
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(8/28)
Chess Cartoon:
Tony Lurie (A Lurie Sense of Humor) offers another 'toon for your
entertainment - Priorities. Find them on our
Cartoon
page, along with more than four dozen other chess-themed cartoons! |
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(8/28)
Chess Cartoon:
The Chess Player Chronicles: a pair of new cartoon from the wit & pen of
Gary Gifford, dated 10-202009 and 8-6-2010. Find them on our
Cartoon
page, along with more than four dozen other chess-themed cartoons! |
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(8/28)
Nuestro Círculo #421:
28 de agosto de 2010, dedicado al Maestro Fide argentino y docente del
ajedrez Marcelo Reides. Además del reportaje y partidas, contiene dos notas:
"Miniatura de Nakamura" y "Al G.M. Oscar R. Panno". Acompañamos, además, el
archivo NC 421.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(8/28)
Mafalda #7: Spanish-language chess cartoon, courtesy of Señor Pagura
(Nuestro
Círculo) we offer another chess cartoon with a
south-of-the-border flavor. |
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(8/28)
Chess Word Search Puzzle: Just for fun, we took the top 20
players from the July 2010 FIDE rating list, used their last names, and
created a fun word search puzzle for you to enjoy! To make it harder,
we hid the list of names... |
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(8/28)
Chess
Training - Chess Vision: A Chess-Vision Exercise For Chessville
Readers, created by Professor Chester Nuhmentz, aka Jim Mitch. 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. These same games
are used for Recon64, so
you can continue working on and mastering your all-important chess
visualization skills! |
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(8/28)
Chess
Training -
Recon64:
A Move Prediction Exercise For Chessville Readers, created by Professor
Chester Nuhmentz, aka Jim Mitch. Similar to Predict-A-Move
and Solitaire-type chess exercises, Recon64 challenges players to find
candidate moves from games played by masters. Eight different
exercises to challenge, educate and entertain you! |
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(8/22)
Murray
Marble by Stephen Dann. February 17th is the anniversary of the birth
and death
of Murray Marble (1885-1919) of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, the composer of chess problems
that were known worldwide for more than a decade before World War I.
In 1977 Dann wrote a column asking about information on Marble, and in April,
1979, wrote a more detailed column on his life from several sources. Today
we provide you with an expanded article, and begin a tribute to some
of Marble's most famous and award-winning compositions... |
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(8/21) Review:
Mastering the
Chess Openings Volume 4 by IM John Watson (Gambit, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.
"I
could easily say that the first four chapters of this book by themselves
would have made a fine piece of work. Doing that would however ignore the
real value of Mr. Watson’s labor on this volume... Of course it also works
as the final piece in the work on openings in general. What really comes
through is Mr. Watson’s approach to understanding openings..." |
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(8/21)
Good trade? Not
exactly! A rare tactical idea: A new
Chess Lesson of the Month
by IM Igor Khmelnitsky. "I'd like to show a very unusual
variation of the very important tactical theme - Intermediate Move (also
called In-between Move, Zwischenzug).
A typical Intermediate Move occurs when a Player A either captures a piece
or a pawn, or creates a threat, but the player B, rather then addressing the
issue, creates a counter-threat of at least an equal strength (often a
check). Only when the Player A addresses the threat, the player B
deals with the original issue (either recaptures or defends)..." |
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(8/20) Review:
Chess Praxis by Aron Nimzowitsch, new translation by
Ian Adams, Quality Chess (2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Aron Nimzowitsch (1886 -
1935) was arguably one of the top half-dozen chess players in the
world from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, taking 1st or 2nd place in a
string of tournaments... He was one of the
leading voices in the “hypermodern” school of chess, which challenged
various accepted strategic notions of chess play... He introduced a
bevy of strategic and positional concepts... It is hard to
find a modern grandmaster who has not been influenced by Nimzowitsch’s
works..." |
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(8/19)
Efimenko vs Naiditsch six
games match...
Chessville News Report by GM Mikhail Golubev
Zahar Efimenko (2689) vs Arkadij Naiditsch (2684) six game
match was played out in Mukachevo, Ukraine. Naiditsch wins 3½-2½ on
the strength of the only decisive game of the match - game two. The
entire report, including plenty of photos and all six games analyzed by GM
Golubev, has been moved from our News page to it's own page... |
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(8/19)
Chess Cartoon:
Tony Lurie (A Lurie Sense of Humor) offers a pair of new cartoons
for your enjoyment - "strike" and
"learning chess early".
Tony's latest contributions brings to an even four dozen chess-themed
cartoons for your entertainment, all on our
Cartoon
page. |
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Nuestro Círculo
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(8/19)
Nuestro Círculo #382-389:
This week we finish posting some of the back issues missing from late last
year and earlier this year. This week we've added: Maestro
polaco Franciszek Sulik, quien vivió entre los años 1908 y 2000 (?); Maestro
letón Alexander N. Koblencz (1916-1993); Maestro Internacional argentino de
Ajedrez Postal Manuel M.A. Pereyra Puebla (1916-1997); maestro argentino
Guillermo Puiggrós (1910-1978); maestro argentino Gregorio J. Lastra
(1910-1978); maestro argentino Carlos M. Portela (1885-1956); maestro
argentino César Corte (1914-1996); y maestro alemán radicado en Buenos
Aires, Guillermo Holtey (1910-unknown). |
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(8/19)
Early Chess
Clubs: Bill Wall (Bill Wall's
Wonderful World of Chess) is back with a look at chess clubs
back from the earliest days of organized chess. "Perhaps the first
chess club ever organized occurred in Italy in 1550. The early chess
clubs evolved from the early coffee houses, cafes and restaurants. In
1686, Francois Procope (Procopie Cotelli), a native of Sicily, opened the
Cafe de Procope in Paris. His cafe served lemonade, but was one of the
first to serve coffee. It soon became a gathering place of chess
players..." |
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(8/19)
Mafalda #6:
Spanish-language chess cartoon, courtesy of Señor
Pagura (Nuestro
Círculo) we offer another chess cartoon with a
south-of-the-border flavor. |
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(8/19)
Nuestro Círculo #420:
21 de agosto de 2010, dedicado al Maestro danés Erik Andersen que vivió
entre los años 1904 y 1938. Además de su biografía y partidas, puedes leer
las notas "Festival en Villa Martelli" y "Partidas del Campéon".
Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
420.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(8/18)
Chess Cartoon:
The Chess Player Chronicles by Gary Gifford. This one is
dated 8-7-2010(2), and is for adults only! Check it out on our cartoon
page, along with dozens of other chess-themed cartoons, by Gary & other
artists as well, on our
Chess Cartoon
page. |
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(8/17) Free
eBook:
A trifecta of the American Chess Bulletin. A chess periodical
published from 1904 to 1963, the American Chess Bulletin was edited by
Hermann Helms (1870-1963), who founded the magazine. As well as
reporting on chess events, it also included news of the regional chess
organizations that eventually become the United States Chess Federation.
We offer you three issues, Volume 7 (1910), Volume 12 (1915), and Volume 16
(1919). Find them all on our free
eBook page.
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(8/17) Free
eBook:
The Rice Gambit, a 17-page booklet excerpted from the American Chess
Bulletin, Volume 7. According to Wikipedia: "The Rice Gambit is a
chess opening that arises from the King's Gambit Accepted. An offshoot
of the Kieseritzky Gambit, it is characterized by the moves 1.e4 e5 2.f4
exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.Bc4 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 8.O-O (instead of the
normal 8.d4). White offers the sacrifice of the knight on e5 in order
to get his king to safety and prepare a rook to join the attack against
Black's underdeveloped position." |
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(8/16)
11th World
University Chess Championship: Less than a month before the
start of the 11th World University Chess Championship most of the
participants are known. 27 nations have entered and about 100 players
of both sexes will participate in the contest which will take place in
Zurich, Switzerland, from 5 to 11 September 2010... |
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(8/16)
Ponomariov
Photos from Mukachevo: On 15 August 2010 Ruslan Ponomariov gave a
simul in Mukachevo. He played against kids - guests of the
Transkarpathian Cup. The 2002-2004 FIDE World Champion won all games.
See the photos as part of Chessville's report on the Efimenko vs Naiditsch
match. |
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(8/15)
Zahar Efimenko (2689) vs Arkadij Naiditsch (2684) six
game match: Naiditsch leads 2-1 after three games. More photos have
been posted as well.
Follow the updates on our
News page. |
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(8/15)
Recent Links Updates: Though our linkmeister, Scott Strattner, is
currently on a well deserved vacation, before he slipped away he left a
number of updates, including our own Rick Kennedy's site,
Jerome Gambit, a blog
dedicated to the "platypus of chess openings". Check out all the
latest additions on our
Recent Additions page. The following individual pages were
updated:
Personal Sites & Blogs;
Ratings & Ratings Lists;
Training. |
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(8/14) Review:
Attacking the
Spanish by Sabino Brunello (Quality Chess, 2009), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.
"Defenses
in the Ruy fall into two categories: solid lines aiming at equality in the
middle game and active lines seeking counterplay with chances right from the
opening. This book covers three different lines, all of them from the
second category. Any player who defends the black side of the Ruy
Lopez (Spanish Game) will do themselves a big favor by reading this book..." |
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(8/14)
Chess Composition: We've been adding to this subject left and write
(pun intended!) so much lately, we decided it deserved it's own 'home' page.
We've gathered in one place links to all the chess composition related
material we could find at Chessville. |
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(8/13)
Chess Problem Journal - Vratnica-64:
A Chess Problem Journal edited by
Mr Boško Milošeski
- published in FAN with some English translations, issued
quarterly in PDF format. Coverage includes such items as,
e.g., Masterpieces of Chess Problems and the World Chess Solving Championship, solving
competitions, etc. Today we bring you issue #35-36. |
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(8/13)
Chess
Composition: White mates-in-three, or The Evolution of a Chess
Composition, by David Surratt. "Before proceeding, allow me to
disclaim any experience or expertise as a chess problem composer. Oh,
I've done a few during my lifetime, but nothing that ever went anywhere, and
nothing certainly to brag about. Still, the urge to compose a chess
problem always seemed to be lurking there, in the dark corners of my mind,
just waiting, and maybe hoping, for a chance to come out into the light..." |
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(8/13)
Nuestro Círculo #419:
7 de agosto de 2010, dedicado al Maestro holandés Rudof Johanes Loman cuya
vida transcurrió entre los años 1861 y 1932. Además de su biografía y
partidas, puedes leer las notas "Karpov quiere ser rey", "Torneo por equipos"
, "En Torre Blanca" y "77 años del C.A.V.P." Acompañamos, además, el archivo
NC
419.zip con las partidas de este número. |
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(8/13)
Spanish-language chess cartoon - Mafalda #5: Courtesy of Señor
Pagura (Nuestro
Círculo) we offer another chess cartoon with a
south-of-the-border flavor. |
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(8/12)
Chess Cartoon:
The Chess Player Chronicles by Gary Gifford. Gary's
latest offering takes chess to new lengths... Check it out
on our cartoon page, along with dozens of other chess-themed cartoons, by
Gary & other artists as well, on our
Chess Cartoon
page. |
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(8/12) Zahar Efimenko (2689) vs Arkadij Naiditsch (2684) six
game match:
Game 1 was drawn. All photos are by Petro
Parovinchak.
Follow the updates on our
News page. |
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(8/12) IM Ashot
Nadanian: Last month we presented a game annotated by this
"eccentric genius"; this month we provide you with a more complete
biography, along with examples of some of his best efforts at the board.
We also present a new piece by IM Nadanian,
Spoiled
Masterpieces. "In 1993-1999 I was the coach of young Varuzhan
Akobian. During our training sessions we often played training games
with different time control, mostly 15 and 30 minutes each. In one of
these games we played a very crazy game, where I was very close to wining a
really nice game but in time trouble could not find the decisive
continuation..." |
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Nuestro Círculo
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(8/12)
Nuestro Círculo #390-399:
We continue to play catch-up, posting some of the back issues missing from
late last year and earlier this year. This week we've added: el ajedrecista
español Manuel Golmayo (1883-1973), el ajedrecista francés Jules Arnous de
Rivière (1830-1905), el destacado ajedrecista inglés Marmaduke Wyvill
(1814-1896), el ajedrecista francés Kermur Sire de Legal (1702-1792), el Rey
Alfonso X, El Sabio, autor de uno de los primeros libros de ajedrez,
(1221-1284), el ajedrecista y teórico piamontes Horatio Gianutio della
Mantia, (1550-1620), la Maestra francesa Paulette Schwartzmann (1894-1953),
el Maestro italiano Federico Norcia (1904-1985), el Maestro ucraniano
Vsevolod Rauzer (1908-1941), y la Maestra alemana Sonja Graf (1908 y 1965). |
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(8/11) Review:
Two
Books by Richard Moody Jr. - Magic: Black to Move and Win! (self-published, 2007) and
Universal Chess: The Search For Truth And Beauty (self-published, 1999) both reviewed by Rick Kennedy.
"To fully appreciate Magic, it is helpful to read (or at least be
familiar with) Moody’s earlier book on similar themes, Universal Chess...
The Universal Attack serves both as an easy-to-learn opening repertoire
(with the provided analysis) and as an example of a “Universal Position”...
Moody expands upon his theory of Universal Positions, finding examples of
them in modern grandmaster chess..." |
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(8/10)
Chess Cartoon: Tony Lurie
(A Lurie Sense of Humor) offers another 'toon for your
entertainment - 'Castling In Check'. Enjoy it, along several dozen
other chess-themed cartoons on our
Chess Cartoon
page. |
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(8/10) Free
eBook:
Chess by Robert F Green, former editor of the British Chess
Magazine. Originally published in London, 1889. 133 pages in
zipped PDF format. "The Author's aim, in these pages, has been to
provide a thoroughly complete and practical series of lessons in
Chess. The reader is assumed at the outset to be without any knowledge
whatever of the game..." |
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(8/8)
Annotated
Game Beqo - Davies, March 2nd, 2002: NM Nick Beqo, an
experienced
and professional Chess Trainer, continues his opening survey with a look
at the Caro-Kann (Advanced Variation). Writes Nick, "After I checked Kotronias'
book and some games in my database with this variation I think I can prove
that White has compensation for the pawn...." |
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(8/8) Review:
The New Dragon
Sicilian by Simon Williams (Everyman Chess, 2009), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.
"What
once was old is now new again. Chess openings adhere to this statement
at least as well as any other idiom. The great Danish GM Bent Larsen made
this clear in the mid 1960’s. With a seeming minimum of effort Larsen won
games against the best players in the world by playing openings that were at
least 30 years out of date. Well, it has - kind of - happened again..." |
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(8/8)
Links Update -Blogapalooza!
Linkmeister Scott Strattner has blogified the
Personal
Sites link page, completely revamping it, with a new focus on blogs.
Check out the many new additions, and then go blog your brains out! |
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(8/7)
Chess Cartoon: The Chess Player Chronicles by Gary Gifford
are back with a brand new cartoon! Check it out on our cartoon page,
along with dozens of other chess-themed cartoons, by Gary & other artists as
well. |
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(8/7) Chess Fiction:
Great Grandma’s Wooden Horses by Russ Mollot. "It was as a small child, perhaps 5 years old, that I first
saw the chess pieces. They were carved wood, and I was fascinated by the
interesting shapes – particularly the horses! My grandmother told me
that they had been given to her mother by some stranger when she was
traveling in some country that Grandma called Flanders. I often played
with those old wooden pieces, not realizing the amazing game that they were
created for..." |
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(8/6) Review:
Social Chess by Christopher Beverly, PhD
(iUniverse, 2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "I came across Dr.
Beverly’s
Social Chess, subtitled What Role Do You Occupy In Your
Relationships? Looks interesting, no? Chess as a metaphor
for social interactions. In fact, the author, with a PhD in
Organizational Development, looks at group interactions – as large as in a
business, as small as in a relationship – and visualizes the group as a
chessboard..." |
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(8/5) Review:
Chess Step by Step: From Beginner to Champion, Book One by Aleksandr
Kitsis (Lulu, 2009) reviewed by David Surratt. "Kitsis
does a good job of integrating each new concept into the knowledge base
established in prior chapters, and keeps the student involved in active
learning throughout the process. Occasional "Did You Know?" boxes
scattered around the book add to the student's interest..." |
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(8/5)
Nuestro Círculo #418:
7 de agosto de 2010, dedicado al Maestro alemán-palestino Víctor Winz, uno
de los ajedrecistas asilados en la Argentina en 1939, que nació en 1906 y
falleció en lugar y fecha desconocidos. Además de su biografía y partidas,
puedes leer las notas "Aguafiestas 250", "Lasker-Capablanca" , "La vida
oculta del ajedrez" y "El ajedrez y la salud". Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
418.zip con las partidas de este número. |
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(8/4) Free
eBook:
Chess Practice by H.E. Bird. 109 pages, in zipped PDF format.
originally publishes in London, 1882. Subtitle: "Being a condensed and
simplified record of the actual openings in the finest games played up to
the present time, including the whole of the beautiful specimens included in
Chess Masterpieces." Anderssen, Bird, Blackburne, Boden,
Buckle, Cochrane, Kolisch, Labourdonnais, Lowenthal, Macdonnell, Morphy,
Staunton, Steinitz, Zukertort, and 35 others, 250 games in all. |
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(8/4)
Spanish-language chess cartoon - Mafalda #4: Courtesy of Señor
Pagura (Nuestro
Círculo) we offer another chess cartoon with a
south-of-the-border flavor. Once you get past the language, you'll find
that chessplayers are chessplayers, all over the world, whether in America,
England, Russia, Iceland, Africa, Argentina, or even Arizona! |
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(8/4)
Chess Cartoon:
Tony Lurie is back with his unique sense of humor, this time with a 'toon
titled "When Chess Is Not a Game". Enjoy this and Tony's other
cartoons, among three dozen or so others, all on our chess themed cartoon
page! |
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(8/4)
Links Updates: Linkmeister Scott Strattner's has been
busy again - this time updating the
Tactics, Problems, and Compositions page, and the
Game Collections Page.
One again, check out what's new on our
Recent Additions page. |
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(8/3)
Chess Problem Journal - Vratnica-64: A
Chess Problem Journal edited by Mr
Boško Milošeski - published in FAN with
some English translations, issued quarterly in PDF format. Coverage
includes such items as, e.g., Masterpieces of Chess Problems and the
World Chess Solving Championship, solving competitions, etc.
We've uncovered a previously unshared issue, #25, and posted it for you -
free as always - on our
Downloads
page. |
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Nuestro Círculo
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(8/2)
Nuestro Círculo #400-409:
We've been playing catch-up, and posting some of the back issues missing from
late last year and earlier this year. This week we've added:
#409 (George
Howard Thornton 1851-1920); #408 (Hans
Müller 1896-1971); #407 (Hans
Kmoch 1894-1973);
#406 Hans
Johner 1889-1975; #405 Antonius Van der Linde 1833-1897; #404 Joham Allgaier
1763-1823; #403 Alfred M. Ehrhardt Post 1881-1947; #402 David Przepiorka
1880-1940; #401 Dr. Lajos Asztalos 1889-1956; #400 Juan Jacobo
Rousseau 1712-1778. |
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(8/1) Brand Old Novelties Part 1 by GM András Adorján (Black
Really Is OK!). GM Adorján looks at an 'old' novelty in the
venerable English opening, beginning with today's game, Adamski - Adorján,
from the Rubinstein Memorial, 1970. GM Adorján is dedicated to the proposition that, as he puts it:
"Black
does NOT have to equalize, as it is not Black who has to prove
anything in the first place!
I presume
- in the spirit of the presumption of innocence - that the position
is equal. It
is White who has to prove that he can get an advantage..." |
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(8/1) Review:
Dangerous
Weapons: The Pirc and Modern by Richard Palliser, Colin McNab and James
Vigus, reviewed by NM Bill McGeary. "My
past experiences with the “Dangerous Weapons” series had been that some fun
lines were brought to light, but not really heavy stuff...
Dangerous Weapons: the Pirc and Modern is a bit different than that,
likely because in these defenses the structure and direction of the game is
declared in the first three moves. Consequently, the material in this
volume comes closer to critical points... |
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(7/31)
Spanish-language chess themed cartoons - Mafalda: Courtesy of
Señor Pagura (Nuestro
Círculo) we offer a pair of chess cartoons with a
south-of-the-border twist to them. Once you get past the language,
you'll find that chessplayers are chessplayers, all over the world, whether
in the USA, England, Russia, Iceland, Argentina, or even Arizona! |
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(7/30)
Nuestro Círculo #417:
31 de julio de 2010, dedicado al Maestro austríaco Josef Lokvenc que
vivió entre los años 1899 y 1974. Además de su biografía y partidas, puedes
leer las notas "1944", "Gösta Stoltz" de Hebert Pérez García y "Un hombre
bueno", cuento de José M. Campillo Ortega. Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
417.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(7/30)
Parrot's Show Cage #8: Ty Kroll
writes about another mysterious set he knows very little about: "It's a
little horn set that came without any box. Pieces appear to be in the
Vienna Coffeehouse form, but again, that's all anyone can tell me..."
Check out all of the
Show Cages! |
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(7/30) Free
eBook:
The Chess Player's Chronicle, printed and published by W. Wray Morgan
Jr., at Bulwer Road, New Barnet. Includes
#361, May 1, 1889 through
#449, May 4, 1892. Not to be confused with "The Chess Player's
Chronicle, founded by Howard Staunton and extant from 1841–56 and 1859–62.
752 pages. While we were at it, we reorganized the page and
categorized all 56 free ebooks into six categories: Problems & Compositions;
Journals & Magazines; Instructional Manuals; Tournament, Match, Club and
Player Compendiums; Opening Theory and Analysis; and Miscellaneous and
Compendiums. |
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(7/30)
Be Your Best -
Play Chess: Zebedee Fortman II - USCF-Expert, scholastic coach
and chess promoter - on his return to active tournament chess. "Hopefully
my path to chess improvement, at the age of 61 years old, will give many
others encouragement that, even with a late start, they can always get
better. In sharing what works and doesn’t work, we can improve together and
you may even benefit from my success as well as my challenges. If I can
still improve I know you can too!" |
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(7/30) Review:
True Combat Chess
- Winning Battles Over the Board by IM Timothy Taylor (Everyman
Chess, 2009), reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "International Master Timothy
Taylor feels your pain. As the author of True Combat Chess,
he’d like to help you spread that pain around a bit amongst your opponents.
"The players who wrote me were not IMs or GMs, but their struggles were
essentially the same as my own. I have a hard time beating GMs – a B
player has a hard time beating A players... I get a won game – and
don’t win..." |
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(7/30) Links Updates:
Linkmeister Scott Strattner has updated another pair of links pages, this
time the
Tactics, Problems, and Compositions
page and the
Reference, Info, & History
page. Check out the
recent
link additions page to see what's new, or visit the individual pages to
see all of the great chess sites available to you on the web. |
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(7/25) Chess Training -
Recognizing Defensive Threats: A new Chess Lesson
of the Month by IM Igor Khmelnitsky. "As you gain
experience and rating, you realize the importance of paying attention to an
opponent's threats. Recognizing his plans helps you avoid a variety of
unpleasant surprises. Often, it might enable you to set a trap along
the way - when you allow opponent to execute his 'threat' only to show that
you have prepared something that benefits you, not him..." |
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(7/25) Chess History:
Peter Urban: The Karate Master on Chess by Robert T. Tuohey
(Past
Pawns). "It is now generally
acknowledged among martial arts aficionados that the first westerner to lay
rightful claim to the title of Grandmaster of the Martial Arts was the
American Peter Urban (1934 – 2004). Among Master Urban’s numerous
innovations to “Karate Technology” (this capitalized phrase is of his own
coinage) was the inclusion of chess in the training program (note 2).
For those unfamiliar with the martial arts, let me provide a very brief
intro to Peter Urban..." |
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(7/25) Review:
Adolf
Albin in America, A European Chess Master’s Sojourn, 1893-1895 by
Olimpiu G. Urcan, reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "We may have come
across Tomasz Lissowski’s article at the Chess Archeology website, “Adolf
Albin: The Teacher of Nimzovich?” but know not much else about this creative
and aggressive master. So what is the attraction of the recounting of
three years of Albin’s adventures in turn-of-another-century America?
Simply put: Chess. Lots of interesting chess, by lots of interesting
people..." |
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(7/24)
Annotated Game: International Master and FIDE Trainer Ashot
Nadanian annotates Bukhuti Gurgenidze - Ashot Nadanian, Tbilisi 1996.
"One of my most memorable games was played in Tbilisi in 1996, and my
opponent was the extremely creative grandmaster from Georgia, Bukhuti
Gurgenidze (1933 - 2008) Our game in Tbilisi went just crazy, and
until the very end..." |
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(7/23)
Review:
Starting Out: The
Reti by GM Neil McDonald (Everyman Chess, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.
"Starting Out: The
Reti is neither a compendium nor a repertoire book; it is, as the title
indicates, a book to introduce the reader to the opening. McDonald says
that part of the appeal to him of this opening is that the appeal of the
Reti is not in memorized lines, but instead in having a feel or
understanding of the positions..." |
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(7/23)
Chess Cartoon:
Tony Lurie offers an exclusive look for Chessville's readers at 'Priorities'.
Be sure to check out his other contribution, along with all of our growing
collection of chess-themed cartoons! |
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(7/23)
Nuestro Círculo #416:
24 de julio de 2010, dedicado al Maestro estadounidense Adolf Jay Fink, que
vivió entre los años 1890 y 1956. Además de sus breves datos biográficos y
partidas, puedes ver las últimas partidas del "85º Torneo Argentino Absoluto"
y del "63º Torneo Argentino Femenino" más una nota sobre las próximas
Olimpíadas de Ajedrez. Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
416.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(7/23)
Links Updates:
Linkmeister Scott Strattner has recently updated several different
categories of our extensive links collections, including our pages for chess
sites dedicated to Training, News, Playing Sites, and Sites in Other
Languages. Send Scott your favorite site, and we'll add it to our
collection! |
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(7/18)
Chess Cartoons: Meet Tony Lurie, from Noosa, Australia,
Chessville's newest contributor. Check out his chess cartoons,
beginning with "Mind games" in A Lurie Sense of Humor. Tony
joins Gary Gifford, Jerry King, and Randall Munroe as chess cartoon artists
whose work is featured at Chessville. Enjoy nearly three dozen chess
cartoons! |
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(7/18) Review:
Alekhine Alert! A
Repertoire for Black Against 1.e4 by IM Timothy Taylor (Everyman Chess, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.
"All of the games and
notes do a fine job of getting the reader a base from which to work. I
found a lot of the material of great value and applaud the author for his
work here.
That
said, I had some problems with the book. The author’s goal is to offer a
repertoire book for Black and not another compendium such as the five books
listed by the author. However, Taylor failed to note..." |
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(7/18)
The Parrot's Show Cage #7: Ty Kroll writes about a chess set he has,
"...there is a little tagua / vegetable ivory set that came to me in a cigar
box...The form of the pieces appears to be French, close to the Regence
form, but that's all anyone has been able to tell me..." Check out all
of the
Show Cages! |
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(7/18) Review:
Play 1.b3! - The
Nimzo-Larsen Attack: A Friend for Life by IM Ilya Odessky,
reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Odessky [is] an accomplished chess player,
coach, and author...[n]or do I think that I disparage him by likening his
writing style to that of David Bronstein – after a couple of glasses of
Stolichnaya...Play 1.b3!, however, is equally as much about how a
modern master looks at an opening, how he evaluates a position, how he works
backward from it and how he works forward from others. It is a
powerful illustration of a chess mind at work..." |
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(7/17)
Parrot's Show Cage #4 Update: Ty Kroll writes in himself to update
the information about a fascinating set he purchased on eBay some time ago.
When we originally posted this Show Cage, Ty wrote "The design appears to be French Regence.
But the carving is very odd. The pieces don't appear to be turned on a
lathe, as their shape is asymmetrical...It's a mystery..." |
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(7/17)
Nuestro Círculo #415:
17 de julio de 2010, dedicado al Maestro Guillermo Vazquez Colman, el más
joven (13 años) Campeón Paraguayo de todos los tiempos. Además de un
reportaje y partidas de su último torneo, puedes ver partidas del "181º
Torneo Argentino Absoluto" y del "81º Torneo Argentino Femenino". Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
415.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(7/16) Free
eBook:
Chess Praxis: A Supplement to The Chess Player's Handbook
by Howard Staunton (also available on our eBook page),
containing "all the most important modern improvements in the openings,
illustrated by actual games; a revised code of chess laws; and a collection
of Mr. Morphy's matches, &c., in England and France." 651 pages in
total, originally published at London, 1860. This eBook is provided as
a 17.6 MB zipped PDF file, along with more than 50 other free eBooks. |
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(7/16)
Links Updates:
Linkmeister Scott Strattner has recently updated several different
categories of our extensive links collections with great new sites for you
to visit, including: chess variants, local clubs, sites in other languages,
chess news sites, online databases, scholastic chess sites, and personal
chess sites. Plenty of new sites, and previously linked sites you
probably didn't know about! |
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(7/15)
Casablanca: Cult Movie by Luiz Roberto Da Costa Junior, Master of
Political Science, University of Campinas, Brazil. This paper is the
English Version of Chapter 2 and the Conclusion from the book Casablanca:
Politics, History and Semiotics in the Cinema (in Portuguese Version –
cover in PDF) which will be released next month in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Summary: The diverse and unique interpretations of the author on this
classic in the history of cinema join the famous semiotic analysis of
Umberto Eco to show the complexity of this masterpiece that has become a
Cult Movie... Various meanings are revealed by an interpretive look that
seeks to understand the soul of the film and the reasons for their stay in
people's memory. |
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(7/11)
Annotated
Game: Chessville is proud to introduce Nick Beqo, an
experienced and professional Chess Trainer, now residing in British
Columbia, Canada. Meet nick, read about his coaching philosophy, and
check out the specially annotated games nick is sharing with Chessville
readers. Today's game looks at the Italian Opening... |
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(7/11)
The Chess
Comic:
Lesson 12
- Bishops and More, from Scott Tingley.
In this lesson Scott talks about touch-move, pieces vs 'men' and takes on
that long-range sniper, the bishop. He also offers a pair of 'Game
World Tour' strips, just for a change of pace. Also
visit Scott at
Learning Chess
Through Comics. |
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(7/11)
The Parrot's Show Cage #6:
Reader Jonathan Ruffel writes "...the attached I believe is one of
the original Knight's tour... It is an original, with the official seal of
the Sultan of Mysore and is drawn on silk..." See the latest
Parrot's Show Cage and maybe you can add to the knowledge
base of another chess artifact. Enjoy this latest addition to our
version of chess collectors and memorabilia heaven! |
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(7/11) Review:
Secrets of Opening
Surprises Volume 11, Edited by
Jeroen
Bosch, reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "When
I was a kid, DC Comics, in its House of Mystery series, ran maybe a
couple dozen issues with “Dial H for Hero” stories. In them, teenager
Robby Reed had a gadget that he could use to dial (like a phone in those
days) and become different kinds of superheroes. All sorts of
adventures, of course, followed..." |
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(7/11)
Chess Quotes - Inspiration Page 2: Ok, it's not exactly
about chess, but... many folks have found inspiration - in chess and in life
- in these quotations from famous (and occasionally not-so-famous) people.
We have offered these to you for years now in , and now we've collected them
together. See also
Chess Quotes -
Inspiration Page 1. |
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(7/11)
Site Review: Chess Cube,
reviewed by NM Bill McGeary. "Chess
resources on the web have certainly increased over the past decade, possibly
not as fast as some other activities, but increased. I have never been one
fast enough truly “web surf”, but I do find some stuff. One of the places
that I found which I would like to share with the readers is..." |
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(7/9) Review:
Win with the Stonewall Dutch
by Sverre Johnsen, IM Ivar Bern & GM Simen Agdestein,
reviewed by NM Bill McGeary. "I
have only played the Stonewall Dutch once in a tournament. I won’t say that
I played it on a dare, but the best player I know was playing at the table
next to me and thought I was criminally insane. Success followed me that
day, but I couldn’t bring myself to repeat the Stonewall. Well, that might
have changed..." |
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(7/9) Free
eBook:
Brooklyn Chess Chronicle, Vol 5 (October 1886 - September 1887).
Includes games by Bird, Blackburne, Delmar, Tarrasch, Mackenzie, Burn,
Gunsberg, Kolisch, Paulsen, Morphy, Owen, Steinitz, Zukertort, etc.
Columns, International Chess Congress reports, Correspondence, Games,
Matches, Club News, Obituaries, Openings, Problems, Tournaments, etc.
Now in the Public Domain, we offer it as a 10.4 MB zipped PDF file.
One of more than 50 free eBooks we offer. |
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(7/8)
Nuestro Círculo #414:
10 de julio de 2010, dedicado al Maestro canadiense John Stuart Morrison
(1889-1975). Además de su biografía y partidas, puedes leer "Torneo
Internacional" con las últimas partidas del Torneo "Simón Bolívar Libertador"
y "Lev Polugaevsky" con dos de sus partidas comentadas por el G.M. Zenón
Franco.
Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
414.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(7/7)
The Parrot's Show Cage #5
Reader Response: Information has started coming in on Stephen
Brady's clock; check out a very solid response from Frank K. Berry, sponsor
of the US Chess Championship. |
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(7/4) Tactics Training:
Setting Up Conditions for Tactical
Combinations by Andres Hortillosa. "Navigating
to a position, which becomes the starting or staging point of a puzzle, is a
more important skill to labor on than the tactical skill to solve the
puzzles. The average player, when given enough time plus the customary
hint as to which side has the win and by how many moves, usually will be
able to solve even complex puzzles. But the skill to arrive to the
puzzle position on purpose or by design is a skill easily attributed to
masters..." |
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(7/4)
Chess
History For Sale - Fischer-Spassky 1972 Match Table:
One of the three (and only three!) original chess tables produced for the
famous 'Rumble in Reykjavík' between these two iconic chess giants, is for
sale. So reports our friend, Einar
S. Einarsson. |
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(7/4)
Review:
Fighting the Ruy Lopez by GM Milos Pavolvic, reviewed
by NM Bill McGeary. "Marshall’s
attack in the Ruy Lopez has an extremely unique identity. For decades
players trying to play the attack as Black had analysis in Marshall’s book
to work from, a few games from Geller and Spassky contributed in the 1960’s,
and then Harding’s book in the mid 1970’s.
It
was another dozen or so years until Harding’s collaboration with Nunn in
1989; then some small bits of work were published, and now - another 20
years later - there appears a new book concerning The Marshall..." |
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(7/4) A Kennedy
Kids Story:
Mzunga by Jon, as told by Rick
Kennedy. "“Mzunga! I did not know that you knew how to
play the piano!” My opponent’s laughter exploded out of the room and
echoed down the halls. He was intent on enjoying our off-hand game –
and so was I..." Read more
Kennedy Kids Stories. |
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(7/4)
Nuestro Círculo #413:
3 de julio de 2010, dedicado al M.I. suizo Henri Grob que vivió entre los
años 1904 y 1974. Además de su biografía y partidas, puedes leer "Torneo
Internacional" y "Prueba integradora", dedicadas ambas al Torneo
Internacional "Simón Bolívar Libertador" que se está jugando en el Club
Argentino de Ajedrez. Acompañamos, además, el archivo NC
413.zip con las partidas de este número.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez
editado en Argentina en lenguaje español. |
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(7/4) Review:
Chess in Action by Paul Mantell and Dean
Ippolito (Sterling Publishing
Co, Inc., 2010), reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "There
are many books written
to introduce children to chess. Most do their job well. Some do
it with style. To stand out in this crowd, a book has to have
“something” extra. For example..." |
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(7/3) Free
eBook:
The Chess Monthly, an American Chess Serial, Edited by Paul Morphy &
Daniel Fiske; Problem Department by Sam Loyd. Vol. 6, includes all 12
issues from 1860, this book was originally published in New York and is now
in the Public Domain. The index of authors reads like a Who's Who of
19th century chess: Anderssen, Bird, Harrwitz, Kolisch, La Bourdonnais,
Löwenthal, Paulsen, Philidor, and, of course, Paul Morphy and Sam Loyd. |
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(7/2)
Chess
Composition: Finales... y Temas #57 (March, 2010)
& #58 (June, 2010).
This Argentine publication, widely distributed in PDF format and through
many chess pages, offers us high quality articles and surprising studies we
are sure will entertain our readers, while teaching them valuable endgame
skills in the bargain. Don't read Spanish? ¡No problemo!
Finales... y Temas utilizes figurine algebraic notation (FAN). |
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