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Sunday, October 13, 2013
Levon Aronian Wins Bilbao Chess Masters, Regains No. 2 Spot in Ratings
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Levon Aronian has won the 6th Bilbao Chess Master's Final and thereby regained his No. 2 spot on the ratings list which he lost just a few days back. In Round 5, Aronian beat Michael Adams to set himself up for the title. Adams was second, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov tie for third.
The event included Armenian Olympiad champion Levon Aronian, the Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the Azeri Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and the Englishman Michael Adams. The tournament was held from October 7-12 on a double round-robin format along with the Sophia Rules and Bilbao Rules which prevent a player from agreeing to a draw without an arbiter's and panel's approval. Also, the scoring is three points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss.
46th Biel International Chess Festival 2013 from June 20-August 2
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The 46th Biel International Chess Festival will be held from 20th June to 2nd August in Biel, Switzerland. The main Grandmaster Tournament will be dedicated to the memory of Olivier Breisacher. Six players will play in a category 19 double round robin event:
Etienne Bacrot, FRA, Elo 2725
Ian Nepomniachtchi, RUS, Elo 2717
Alexander Moiseenko, UKR, Elo 2711
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, FRA Elo 2706
Ding Liren, CHN, Elo 2702
Richard Rapport, HUN, Elo 2674 (Juniors U18 #1)
Player biographies are available on the official website. GM Wang Hao of China is the defending champion. Master Tournament July 22nd – August 2nd 2013; 2-8 p.m. (August 2nd: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.). Rest day on July 28th. 11 round Swiss system. Prizes: CHF 7’000, 5’000, 4’000, 3’000, 2’500, 2’000, 1’500, 1’200, 2×1’000, 3×700, 3×500, 4×300, 5×200, best ladies: CHF 600, 400, 300, best senior (1953-), best junior (1995+), best child (1997+), best player without title: each CHF 500, best players with Elo < 2200 Total prize fund: CHF 43'000. Admission: Players with FIDE-rating (list May, June or July 2013) or national rating (e.g. Swiss ELO list 2/2013 or 3/2013) ELO 2000 and more.
Main Tournament July 24th – August 2nd 2013; 2-8 p.m. (August 2nd: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.). Rest day on July 28th. 9 round Swiss system. Prizes: CHF 1’200, 1’000, 800, 600, 500, 2×400, 3×300, 5×200, 5×100, best ladies, best seniors (1953-), best juniors (1995+): each CHF 200, 100, best children (1997+): CHF 150, 50, best players with Elo <1800 nbsp=""> Total prize fund: CHF 10'600. Admission: players with FIDE rating ELO 2050 and below (list May, June or July 2013) or players with national rating ELO 2050 and below (e.g. Swiss ELO list 2/2012 or 3/2012), independent of their FIDE rating.
Swiss Rapid Chess Championship July 21st 2013, 9.30 a.m. 9 round Swiss system. Cadence: 7′ + 7” per move and per player. Prizes: CHF 1’200, 800, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 150, 2×100, natural prizes for players with 5½ points and more, best lady, best senior (1953-), best junior (1995+): each CHF 200, best child (1997+), best player without title: each CHF 100, best Swiss (with Swiss-passport): CHF 400, 300, 200, 2×100, best players with Elo <2000 nbsp=""> Total prize fund: CHF 7'650 + natural prizes.
Swiss Blitz Chess Championship July 28th 2013, 2 p.m. 13 round Swiss system. Cadence: 3′ + 2” per move and per player. Prizes: CHF 1’000, 750, 600, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, 2×50, best lady, best senior (1953-), best junior (1995+): each CHF 100, best child (1997+): CHF 50, best Swiss (with Swiss passport): CHF 300, 200, 150, 100, 50. Total prize fund: CHF 5’500 + natural prizes.
Swiss Chess960 Championship Mode of playing: Chess960, onJuly 20th 2013, 1.00 p.m. 7 round Swiss system. Time control: 15′ + 5″ per move and per player. Prizes: CHF 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, natural prizes for all players. Total prize fund: CHF 1’500 + natural prizes. Youth Tournament The Foundation Vinetum offers free entry fee, free lunch and prizes for all participants at the Youth tournament. Sunday, July 28th 2013, 10 a.m. 7 round Swiss System, 15 minutes per player. Three categories: U18 (born 1995-1999) U13 (born 2000-2002) U10 (born 2003 or later)
Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 7: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Boris Gelfand in Joint Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The 7th round of the Alekhine Memorial was played on April 29th. Before the start of the round it was announced that the charity funds Ladoga and Neva created four special prizes: the best game in Alekhine's style, the best combination, the best technique, and the best result in the St. Petersburg part. These prizes will be awarded at the closing ceremony on May 1st. There were two decisive games in the 7th round. The World Champion Vishy Anand scored his second victory in the tournament, defeating the French Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet with White. This sharp game was not ideally played by both sides, but Anand made a better use of the opponent's mistakes, and is now just half a point behind the leaders. His former opponent in the World Championship Match Boris Gelfand defeated young Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren with White. This victory allowed Gelfand to tie for the first place with two rounds to go. Round 7 results: Anand – Fressinet 1-0, Gelfand – Ding Liren 1-0, Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Vitiugov – Aronian, and Svidler – Kramnik – draws. The standings after seven rounds: 1-2. Gelfand and Vachier-Lagrave – both 4.5; 3-5. Adams, Anand, and Aronian – all 4; 6. Fressinet – 3.5; 7-8. Kramnik and Vitiugov – both 3; 9. Ding Liren – 2.5; 10. Svidler – 2. The 8th round pairings: Kramnik – Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave – Vitiugov, Fressinet – Aronian, Ding Liren – Adams, Anand – Svidler.
Alekhine Chess Memorial Round 6: All Games Drawn, Vachier-Lagrave in Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The second half of the Alekhine Memorial began in St. Petersburg on Sunday with the sixth round. The official opening of the Russian half of the competition took place on April 26th in the Mikhailovsky Castle of the Russian Museum. Participants and guests of the tournament were welcomed by Vladimir Gusev, director of the Russian museum, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian Chess Federation Chairman Ilya Levitov, and the sponsors of the event Gennady Timchenko and Andrey Filatov.
April 27th was the only day off at the tournament. The participants of the Alekhine Memorial, representing seven countries, enjoyed an excursion in the Russian Museum. Junior chess events and many excursions were organized in the Mikhailovsky Castle. On the next day the St. George Hall of the Mikhailovsky Castle hosted games of the Round 6.
Like in Paris, the hall was tightly packed with chess enthusiasts. The games were quite entertaining but all ended in draws, so the tournament situation remained the same – the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in the lead. He had White against Boris Gelfand, but their game was quite equal all the way.
Michael Adams, who had Black against Levon Aronian, missed a real chance to catch up with the leader. The Armenian Grandmaster fought very hard for a win, even sacrificed a piece, but the sacrifice turned unsound, and Aronian was on the verge of defeat. However, his English opponent returned the favour, missing a win in mutual time trouble, and allowed Aronian to save the game. Both players are just half a point behind the leader and have decent chances of winning the tournament.
With three more rounds to go, a good half of the participants have chances to succeed. The winner of the Alekhine Memorial 2013 will be determined on May 1st.
The standings after six rounds: 1. Vachier-Lagrave – 4; 2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, and Gelfand – all 3.5; 6. Anand – 3; 7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, and Ding Liren – all 2.5; 10. Svidler – 1.5.
Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 5: Paris Section Concludes with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Round 5 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April 25. The French part of the tournament is thus over. Participants moved to Saint-Petersburg on April 26. Three games out of five were effective in Round 5. World Champion Viswanathan Anand scored his first point with white against Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren. This victory allowed Anand to finish this part of the tournament with 50% points.
A true sensation happened in a game between Kramnik and Fressinet. The French Grandmaster, who is a rating outsider of the tournament, totally defeated former World Chess Champion who was playing white. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the author of the third victory, who successfully outplayed Peter Svidler who had white pieces. This part of the tournament, which was played in France, brought a French leader to the joy of spectators who made the playing hall totally overcrowded every round.
The second part of the tournament will show whether Vachier-Lagrave is capable to remain on the top position up to the end. However, experts acknowledge a big amount of effective games (11 out of 25) and a huge interested for the tournament showed by chess fans. The official tournament site, where users can watch games that are commented in three languages, was visited by more than 200 000 users.
Paris part of Alekhine Memorial was a wonderful event and everyone is now looking forward to see Saint-Petersburg part. The winner of Alekhine Memorial will be announced on the 1st of May. Standings
French Chess Rapid Grand-Prix in Nancy: March 9-10
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The strongest rapid tournament of the year in France will take place this weekend, 9-10th March, at Conseil Général de Meurthe et Moselle in Nancy. A total of 232 players from 20 different countries are registered, among them being 23 Grandmasters and 33 Masters. The tournament is the first stage of the French Rapid Grand-Prix 2013. Last year overall winner of the Grand-Prix was GM Etienne Bacrot who defeated GM Laurent Fressinet in the final match in Corsica.
Four Super-GMs rated over 2700 elo will participate: German number 1 Arkadij Naiditsch (2716) and the three top French players Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2715, last year's winner), Laurent Fressinet (2706) and Etienne Bacrot (2704). The first part of the event will be held on Saturday as a 9-round Swiss with the time control 15 min + 3 sec per player. Top 16 finishers qualify for the finals which will be completed on Sunday. The 16-finals will be played according to knockout system. Each match will consist of two rapid games 15′+3”, and then if necessary two blitz games 3′+2”. The overall winner will earn 4000 EUR, while the second placed player will earn 2000 EUR. Total prize fund is 15,000 EUR. (--Chessdom)/Official website
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 16th Corsican Circuit, including the Corsica Masters, Orange Blitz and BNP Paribas Youth Trophy, was held on 27-31st October in Bastia and Ajaccio. This year the Corsican Circuit is part of the FFE Grand Prix Final. The Festival opened on October 27 with the 60-player simul by Grandmasters Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Artur Yusupov and Loek van Wely. Here is the full report by online chess news site Chessdom.
The Corsica Masters rapid tournament was played on 27th afternoon and 28th in the morning. The qualifying event had 149 participants and was played over 9 Swiss-rounds. The time control for the Masters was 15 minutes + 3 seconds and the total prize fund was 60,000 EUR.
Cool Chess and Shogi Video: GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs FM Habu
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and FM Yoshiharu Habu in a chess and shogi match in Kobe, western Japan, Sept 2012.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (born 21 October 1990) is a French chess Grandmaster and the 2009 World Junior Chess Champion. He completed his final grandmaster norm at age 14 years, 4 months, in 2005. His rating on the November 2009 list was 2718 (23rd in the world and third in the top 20 juniors). Yoshiharu Habu, F.M. (羽生善治 Habu Yoshiharu, born September 27, 1970) is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master.
French Chess Champions 2012 Title Jointly to Vachier-Lagrave, Bauer, Bacrot, Edouard
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Christian Bauer, Etienne Bacrot, and Romain Edouard have been declared the joint winners of the French National Chess Championship 2012.
Vachier-Lagrave, Bacrot, and Edouard, as a mark of respect and show of humane spirit, decided to not play the tiebreak, but share the French national chess title with the fourth joint leader, Christian Bauer. GM Bauer tragically lost his four-month-old son and abandoned the tournament before the last round. The last round was cancelled and the three remaining joint leaders were to play the tiebreak. However, they all agreed to share the title in a show of humane spirit and sportsmanship.
The French Chess Federation had earlier announced the tiebreak for Saturday, but cancelled it after the players' statements.
French Chess Championships Begin; Fressinet, Skripchenko Top Seeds in Open and Women's Sections
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The Men in Black & White
The latest chess news from France is that the national chess championships 2012 have begun. The 87th French Chess Championships are taking place from August 13-25 at the Palais Beaumont in Pau, near the Pyrenees National Park. The Championships consist of eight sections: National Tournament, National Women’s Tournament, Accession tournament, Veterans tournament, Open A tournament, Open B tournament, Open C tournament and Open D tournament.
Nearly 800 players from all regions are taking part in the Championships. The main event is the National Tournament, an 11-rounds all-play-all competition featuring the strongest players of France (average elo 2617). Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is the defending champion.
National Women’s Tournament is a six-player double round robin. The average elo of the participants is 2324. Almira Skripchenko 2442, Sophie Milliet 2411, Anda Safranska 2298, Nino Maisuradze 2284, Silvia Collas 2261 and Andreea Bollengier 2253 compete.
Access the official website (French Chess Federation) for more details.
Congratulations to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for winning SportAccord World Mind Games Men's Blitz 2011
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Time for a little chess news update from Beijing. The SportAccord World Mind Games - for which Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk is the official ambassador - saw French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave pick up the gold in the men's blitz event. He scored 12 points in 16 games. Russian Grandmaster Alexander Grischuk picked up the silver with 10.5 points and Azerbaijan Grandmaster Shahriyar Mamedyarov got the bronze. The 4th place went to Russian Sergey Karjakin with 9.5 points. Azerbaijan Vugar Gashimov, Spanish Pons Vallejo and Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk share 5-7 places with 9 points.
Photo: Winners of the men and women's section of Blitz at SportAccord World Mind Games 2011. See our report on women's event here.
Full English Breakfast chess radio show anniversary edition
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Here's a nice podcast from the Full English Breakfast. In fact, it's their first anniversary edition produced in association with New In Chess. Introducing Pub Talk, 60 seconds with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, big news round-up including Nakamura and Kasparov, Bilbao's 'toiletgate', and an interview with Judit Polgar.
Podcast Powered By Podbean Hope you didn't miss the FEB edition that had an interview with Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk ~ Just in case you did, here's the link.
Cool chess video from Kasparov-Vachier-Lagrave exhibition match in Clichy today
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Chess great Gary Kasparov might have retired from mainstream chess but he continues to do fantastic stuff to promote the sport. His exhibition match with Maxim Vachier-Lagrave is one such event and was held today in the French city of Clichy. Here is the video with the key moments.
Kasparov beat Vachier-Lagrave 1.5-1.0. Earlier, Vachier-Lagrave beat Laurent Fressinet to earn the right to play Kasparov. Another interesting pairs' event saw Maxime and Laurent Baumel (Mayor of Ballan Mire) beat Gary Kasparov paired with Anthony Delon!
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12th Women's World Chess Champion
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