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Here's what was New at Chessville between
1 January 2007 and 31 March 2007
|
(3/31)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world.
Chessville welcomes your Feedback to TheParrot on
this week’s news where selected letters will be featured.
This week: Canadian ratings, Cincinnati, New York, Alpheta
challenges The Parrot.
TheParrot Squaawks about drawing, and he's not talking
about pens, pencils or crayons..
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(3/31)
Nuestro Círculo
#243:
31 de marzo de 2007, dedicado al Maestro Internacional húngaro radicado en
los EEUU, Herman Steiner (1905 - 1955), cuya biografía y partidas publicamos
junto a una muy interesante nota de Eduardo Stilman titulada "La Partida
Infinita."
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
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(3/31) Chess News:
An Open Letter to FIDE President
Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov from top Moroccan Chessplayers and Arbiters.
"Dear Mr. President, We are writing an open letter to you regarding our
previous complaint about the large scale falsifications of some
International Arbiter applications that were submitted to FIDE by the
Moroccan Chess Federation in the last few years. This scandal has
affected Morocco's image both at the Arab and international levels..." |
 (3/25)
Review:
Alexander Alekhine's Chess Games, 1902-1946 : 2543 Games of the Former
World Champion by Alexander Alekhine, Robert G. P. Verhoeven and
Leonard M. Skinner, reviewed by
Rick Kennedy. "This book is something special. Alexander
Alekhine’s Chess Games, 1902-1946 is subtitled: 2543 Games of the
Former World Champion, Many Annotated by Alekhine, with 1868 Diagrams, Fully
Indexed, adding With A Foreword by Alex A. Aljechin. That
alone should get your heart thumping. After all, that’s almost 1,000
games more than the earlier (unannotated) The Games of Alekhine
(1992) by Caparrós and Lahde, and over 1,200 more than what is contained in
the Alekhine file in Six World Champions (2006)..." |
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IM Igor Khmelnitsky
Igor is a winner of many national and
international tournaments in Europe and the United States.
At various points during his career, he has won individual
encounters with many of the game’s best players.
In total, Igor has beaten over 30 different Grandmasters. He
has been a participant in the Ukrainian National Championship as
well as a three times contestant in the US National Championship.
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(3/25) Chess Instruction:
Reviewing Games After A Tournament,
with IM Igor Khmelnitsky.
"Reviewing your own games is the most important part of the training
process. Why it is important and how to do it have been discussed in
numerous books and publications. I have written my share in my books –
Chess Exam and Training Guide
and Chess Exam and Training Guide:
Tactics.
In this article I want to show some highlights from the
recent review of the games played by my student - he is retired, enjoys
chess and is been making a steady progress (rated now about 1100). My
focus when reviewing the games is on identifying critical positions worth
discussing and then highlighting concepts and ideas in hope that they will
stick in the memory of my student.
I see a very little benefit to simply point their
errors and provide better moves. In fact, running the games through Fritz
can easily do this. However, I am skeptical that knowing the move that you
should have played will help you find it if similar situation occurs in
another game 2 days or 3 months later. Instead, I am attempting to
identify some general principles that, if understood, can help the student
to find the optimal plan and best move in a similar situation. Let’s
look at some of the examples..." |
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(3/25) Chess Fiction:
Horsing Around,
a Perry the
PawnPusher tale from Rick Kennedy. "It was in this
role that I found myself – not advisor to Madison Avenue mavens or
instructor to Hollywood hucksters, but providing sober after-game analysis
and guidance to Club members in the thralls of the Spring Open. I had
just finished working with a young lady on a
Rook-pawn-plus-Bishop-of-the-wrong-color endgame, and was clearing the board
when the chair across the table from me screeched rudely. It was
slowly filled by patched jeans and then a ratty sweater, topped by a mangy
beard that grinned below smeared wire rims. Perry the hopeless
PawnPusher, of course. I had caught sight of the sad sack’s game on my
last stroll through the playing area. Armed with some opening analysis
(a bag of tricks, mostly) that I had once provided him (a sad tale in
itself) Perry had won a piece in the first few moves. Following GM
Reuben Fine’s wisdom, he had then swapped just about everything off, winning
a pawn in the process. I set up the last position I remembered..." |
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(3/24)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world.
Chessville welcomes your Feedback to TheParrot on
this week’s news where selected letters will be featured.
This week: ratings, Frank Berry, and red ink; Amber, Karpov,
Ruy Lopez, Onischuk and Yifan.
TheParrot Squaawks about
a national federation on the brink of
bankruptcy.
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(3/24)
Nuestro Círculo
#242:
24 de marzo de 2007, dedicado al Gran Maestro estadounidense Isaac Kashdan
(1905 - 1985). Además de su biografía y partidas, aparecen en este número
notas del M.I. Jorge A. Rubinetti, Frank Mayer y Bill Wall.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
 (3/18)
Review:
Starting Out:
Chess Tactics and Checkmates by GM Chris Ward (Everyman Chess, 2006) reviewed by Michael Jeffreys.
"While opening theory is important, tactics and checkmates are
definitely the “money skills.” I mean, what’s more satisfying (not to
mention fun) than broad-siding your opponent with a tactical shot that
leaves them shaking their head in utter consternation!? Or blasting
open their monarch’s fortress and then systematically marching the enemy
king to his demise!? On the other hand, we’ve all been on the
receiving end of a tactical shot seemingly from out of nowhere. Things
seem to going along smoothly when suddenly BANG!, our opponent hits us with
a “shot from the dark” and instantly our mind is sent reeling. “Oh
@#$%!, what just happened!?” we think as the cruel truth on the board is
suddenly revealed to us—and with it the painful realization that we’re now
in a lost position. Obviously, it is far better to be the giver
of these tactical blows, than to be on the receiving end. And the best
way to make this happen is by staying sharp tactically. Fortunately,
GM Ward has put together a fun little book that can help you do just that..." |
(3/18) Review: The Elephant Gambit for Black – 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 d5!? and
Amar Opening: The Krazy Kat System – 1. Nh3 e5 2. f3 d5 3. Nf2!?
and assorted Opening Monographs,
by David Robert Lonsdale, all reviewed by
Rick Kennedy, who describes this as one of his "wander-off-the-paths
things." Kennedy writes, "The Internet can be a jungle.
Luckily, on my last visit I had a guide. I spotted an elephant, a
krazy kat, an orangutan, some birds, and, yes, even a monkey’s bum.
Ebay.com, in particular, is a lot like that eatery Arlo Guthrie sang about:
“You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant…” In my case, as
always, I was looking for chess books, preferably ones about the openings,
especially unusual ones. That is how I encountered David Robert
Lonsdale’s series of monographs – and, through an exchange of emails, the
author himself. Whose unorthodox-opening-seeking-eyes wouldn’t get
caught by the following list..." |
 (3/18)
Keene On Chess: Tigran's Army
is the latest contribution from GM Raymond Keene (Keene
On Chess). "Armenia
won the gold medals in the Turin Olympiad last year (2006). Their team
was led by world ranked number three Levon Aronian and composed of
 young
men who would have been nurtured on hero worship of the great Armenian world
champion Tigran Petrosian, who held the supreme title from 1963-1969.
In Armenia Petrosian is a national hero- imposing statues
are erected in his honour and public squares named after him. The
victorious Armenian team from Turin was captained by the Armenian defence
minister and when they returned to Erevan a crowd of thousands greeted the
newly crowned laureates in the streets..." |
 (3/18)
Training: A new "Recon64" Move Prediction Exercise from Jim Mitch (aka Prof. Chester Nuhmentz.)
Today's game is that featured in March's
Chess-Vision exercise, Morphy vs the Duke of
Brunswick &
Count Isouard, Paris, 1858. Many chess
players know this game -- the famous 'Night At
The Opera' miniature -- by heart, and will do
very well predicting moves this month! 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. |
|
(3/17)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world.
Chessville welcomes your Feedback to TheParrot on
this week’s news where selected letters will be featured.
This week: a deafening silence, trouble in The Windy City,
and MAMS.
TheParrot Squaawks about
"Sponsor an
Opening Inc Leaders Society [SOILS]"
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(3/17)
Nuestro Círculo
#241:
17 de marzo de 2007, dedicado al Maestro Alemán Ludwig Engels, cuya vida
transcurrió entre los años 1905 y 1967. Publicamos su biografía y partidas,
las dos últimas rondas del Torneo Morelia-Linares 2007 (que ganó Vishy Anand
seguido por Magnus Carlsen), y las notas "Amor y Ajedrez", "Difusión y
dinero" por R.P. y "Tablas muy luchadas" del MF Gustavo Aguila.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
 (3/11)
Review:
How to Calculate Chess Tactics by Valeri Beim (Gambit, 2006)
reviewed by Rick Kennedy. "Chips and dip make a wonderful, almost
irresistible snack – I am reminded of the old Lays potato chips challenge
“Bet you can’t eat just one!” Still, there are times when we must
attend to something a bit more substantial, i.e. pawnpushers do not live
by junk food alone… Luckily “Chef” Valeri Beim – otherwise known
as Grandmaster, professional trainer and author of four previously
well-received books (Understanding the Leningrad Dutch (2002),
Chess Recipes from the Grandmaster's Kitchen (2002), Lessons in Chess
Strategy (2003), and How to Play Dynamic Chess (2004)) – has
emerged from his Grandmaster Kitchen with a hearty platter of red meat (or a
savory lentil stew, for our vegetarian readers) for the aspiring chess
player with a lean and hungry look. The intention is to look at
how Grandmasters think..." |
 (3/11)
Special Report: The Queen Wins Oscar. "Special
Report by Correspondents Candi Kane and Bambi Darlin, those Fabulous
Las Vegas Showgirls, to TIC. Dateline: February 25, 2007,
Los Angeles, CA
Bambi: Oh Candi, I am
so excited about this special assignment. It has been a long time since we
were contacted by The International Chessoid to do a story.
Candi: Oh Bambi, I am excited,
too. Can you imagine - The Queen has won an Oscar - for Best Actress, no
less. By the way, did you check with our bank to see if those funds TIC
wired to us are good?
Bambi: Oh - we're on! Hello
World! Here we are, live from backstage at the Academy Awards where we're
on special assignment for that fabulous international chess news tabloid,
The International Chessoid!!! As everyone has no doubt heard by now,
The Queen has won an Oscar! Now how fabulous is that? We're here to
interview her - oh there she is now - Helen - Helen - " |
|
(3/10)
Alekhine's Parrot:
Welcome to the
weekly leader of chess events around the world.
Chessville welcomes your Feedback to TheParrot on
this week’s news where selected letters will be featured.
This week: Buy your way into the US Championship!
Also: candidates & kings, cheating & pawn-odds, Kasparov, Fisher,
Anand, Benjamin.
TheParrot Squaawks about
cheating with the
MonRoi system.
|
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(3/10) Chess Composition:
More-Movers, the latest from
Peter's
Problem World, with FIDE Master of Chess Composition Peter Wong.
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"Longer directmate problems, in which White forces mate in four or
more moves, are grouped under the term more-mover.
The length of play in such compositions allows themes of greater depth
to be realised, such as those involving elaborate manoeuvres.
Nevertheless, long directmates are not necessarily more difficult to
solve than two- and three-movers. Often White’s choices are limited
to making short mating threats, to keep the black force under control.
Also, lengthier problems tend to possess fewer variations – one
full-length variation is typical in very long more-movers – hence they
don’t become unduly complex..." |
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Read Peter's other columns as well:
What is a Chess Problem?,
Phases of Play, and
Three-Movers. Words,
phrases
and terms that have special meaning in chess
composition are in the Glossary.
|
 (3/10)
USCF
Election Interview Continues:
The Parrot interviews
four candidates for the USCF's Executive Board. The USCF Executive
Board (EB) manages the affairs of the Federation, including employment and
other contracts, between meetings of the Board of Delegates and performs
other duties as specified in the Bylaws. In last week's first installment
of this interview, we presented five questions asked of both GM Susan Polgar and Randy Bauer.
This week we add the responses from
two more candidates, Dr. Mikhail Korenman and Paul Truong.
|
 Dr.
Mikhail Korenman:
I still remember how chess programs were generated and supported in
former USSR and in Russia. I hope that some of those ideas might
help to generate some new life and enthusiasm in the US chess
community... |
 Paul
Truong:
We are
wasting so many opportunities to make chess and the USCF more viable
which in turn will bring more absolutely needed revenues. I plan
to propose to create a strong chess marketing and promotion committee
and I plan to work closely with this committee to give the USCF
something it never had before... |
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(3/10)
Nuestro Círculo
#240:
10 de marzo de 2007, dedicado a Sultan Khan, Maestro hindú que vivió entre
1905 y 1966. Aparte de su biografía y partidas, publicamos la nota "Lasker y
Capablanca" y las 20 partidas de las rondas 8ª a 12ª del Torneo
Morelia-Linares 2007 que lidera Vishy Anand (también hindú) seguido por
Magnus Carlsen, el joven G.M. noruego de 16 años.
Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje
español.
(3/4)
USCF
Election Interviews:
The Parrot interviews
four candidates for the USCF's Executive Board. The USCF Executive
Board (EB) manages the affairs of the Federation, including employment and
other contracts, between meetings of the Board of Delegates and performs
other duties as specified in the Bylaws. In today's first installment
of this interview, we present five questions, both asked of both GM Susan
Polgar and Randy Bauer.
|
 GM
Susan Polgar: The USCF should set
ethical standards for its many programs. I do think that we
should get feedback from our members to set better standards.
|
 Randy
Bauer:
The USCF
needs regular membership growth - without it, we will always be
careening from one financial crisis to the next. In many respects, we
are still a makeshift operation with a lot of questionable business
processes. |
Read the complete interview
here.
Next week we will bring you answers to these same five questions by two
other Executive Board candidates - Dr. Mikhail Korenman and Paul Truong.
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