Astana Chess: Ukraine, China, Russia - Top Three at Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013 Hi everyone,  Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich (Click on photo to access official tournament website of the Astana Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013) Congratulations to the Ukraine team (Kateryna Lahno, Anna Ushenina, Mariya Muzychuk, Natalia Zhukova and Inna Gaponenko) for winning the gold at the Astana Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013 with a very steady performance. The premier chess event for women concluded in Kazakhstan with the final round played today. China and Russia were right behind Ukraine and picked up the silver and bronze respectively. The final round witnessed Ukraine drawing their match with Russia and securing the silver. After six rounds, Ukraine had climbed to the top of the table and maintained that lead right till the end. China outplayed India with 2,5-1,5 score in the final round to secure the silver medal. Ju Wenjun defeated Eesha Karavade while other games finished in draws. Georgia won a tough match to beat Kazakhstan in the last round, but could only make it to the fourth place in the standings.  Here are the final team standings and board standings. Stay tuned for some great photos from the closing ceremony and a personal post by the 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk on her personal blog www.chessqueen.com. Chess Queen™ Kosteniuk did well to pick up the bronze medal (and precious rating points) on Board 2 with a rating performance of 2502. Also for Russia, IM Valentina Gunina won the bronze medal on Board 1 and WGM Olga Girya obtained the gold medal on Board 5. Also read a nice report on Russia's performance in Lenta.ru (Google translate link so don't worry if you don't know Russian.) Access the official website of the Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013 at this Fide link. Final Standings Team Match Pt Game Pt 1 UKRAINE 16 24½ 2 CHINA 15 25½ 3 RUSSIA 13 24 4 GEORGIA 12 21½ 5 INDIA 9 18 6 USA 8 15½ 7 KAZAKHSTAN 6 15½ 8 ROMANIA 6 14½ 9 FRANCE 4 12 10 TURKEY 1 9 Board standings Board 1 Name Rtg Team % Pts. G RatP 1 WGM Ju Wenjun 2505 CHN 77,8 7 9 2651 2 GM Lahno Kateryna 2547 UKR 68,8 5½ 8 2579 3 IM Gunina Valentina 2505 RUS 62,5 5 8 2547 4 WGM N Guliskhan 2344 KAZ 61,1 5½ 9 2537 5 GM Dzagnidze Nana 2554 GEO 56,3 4½ 8 2466 6 IM K Eesha Sanjay 2387 IND 43,8 3½ 8 2423 7 IM Millet Sophie 2401 FRA 35,7 2½ 7 2327 8 IM Zatonskih Anna 2474 USA 31,3 2½ 8 2300 9 IM Foisor C Adela 2401 ROM 28,6 2 7 2290 10 WGM Yildiz B Cemre 2341 TUR 18,8 1½ 8 2200 Board 2 Name Rtg Team % Pts. G RatP 1 IM Krush Irina 2448 USA 77,8 7 9 2607 2 GM Ushenina Anna 2477 UKR 75 6 8 2588 3 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2495 RUS 64,3 4½ 7 2502 4 WGM Bulmaga Irina 2354 ROM 62,5 5 8 2481 5 IM Khotenashvili Bela 2499 GEO 56,3 4½ 8 2429 6 WGM Ozturk Kubra 2252 TUR 55,6 5 9 2447 7 WGM Huang Qian 2476 CHN 50 3½ 7 2393 8 WIM Dauletova Gulmira 2265 KAZ 42,9 3 7 2355 9 WGM Maisuradze Nino 2330 FRA 18,8 1½ 8 2144 Board 3 Name Rtg Team % Pts. G RatP 1 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2471 CHN 77,8 7 9 2570 2 IM Muzychuk Mariya 2479 UKR 68,8 5½ 8 2503 3 IM JavaKhishvilli Lela 2464 GEO 64,3 4½ 7 2444 4 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2475 RUS 64,3 4½ 7 2444 5 WGM Padmini Rout 2316 IND 41,7 2½ 6 2328 6 WGM C Elena Luminita 2336 ROM 35,7 2½ 7 2286 7 WGM Saduakassova Dinara 2353 KAZ 35,7 2½ 7 2226 8 WGM Safranska Anda 2328 FRA 25 1½ 6 2221 9 WGM Abrahamyan Tatev 2300 USA 25 1½ 6 2141 10 WCM Cemhan Kardelen 2025 TUR 18,8 1½ 8 2124 Board 4 Name Rtg Team % Pts. G RatP 1 GM Zhukova Natalia 2471 UKR 75 6 8 2500 2 WGM Guo Qi 2435 CHN 75 6 8 2499 3 WGM Gomes Mary Ann 2387 IND 72,2 6½ 9 2508 4 IM Galliamova Alisa 2459 RUS 58,3 3½ 6 2414 5 IM Khurtsidze Nino 2437 GEO 57,1 4 7 2323 6 IM Collas Silvia 2282 FRA 50 3½ 7 2359 7 WGM Foisor Sabina 2323 USA 28,6 2 7 2219 8 WGM Lami Alina 2353 ROM 28,6 2 7 2182 9 WIM Davletbayeva Madina 2272 KAZ 21,4 1½ 7 2102 10 WFM Sop Selen 2028 TUR 8,3 ½ 6 1976 Board 5 Name Rtg Team % Pts. G RatP 1 WGM Girya Olga 2440 RUS 81,3 6½ 8 2522 2 IM Melia Salome 2419 GEO 66,7 4 6 2484 3 WGM Swaminathan S 2283 IND 62,5 5 8 2400 4 WIM Abdumalik Zansaya 2187 KAZ 50 3 6 2383 5 WGM Voicu-Jagodzinsky 2281 ROM 42,9 3 7 2238 6 WIM Ni Viktorija 2263 USA 41,7 2½ 6 2256 7 WIM Benmesbah Natacha 2266 FRA 37,5 3 8 2239 8 WCM Kaya Emel 1995 TUR 10 ½ 5 1973

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Astana Chess: Photo Feature from Women's World Team Championship 2013

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

Astana in Kazakhstan is hosting the Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013. Friday was a rest day at the event with the Ukraine and Russia team being in lead at half-time after five rounds. Here is a photo feature from the rest day. All photos are by Anastasiya Karlovich for the official website.

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Don't-Deny-Us-Your-Stunning-Smile Chess Trivia: Name the Girls in Astana World Team Chess 2013

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone,

This is a truly easy chess trivia if you have been following the Astana Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013. In fact, Chess Blog has featured all the round reports and would continue to do so until the end of the tournament. This photo is by Anastasiya Karlovich for the official website of the chess championship. Can you name the strong chess players in this photo? Hint: One of them has also been... ;)

Okay, another hint: The photo is from Round 4 at the Astana Women's World Team Chess Championship 2013. Now, that's making it way too easy a chess trivia!

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Astana Chess R3: China, Russia Lead Women's World Team Event

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone,

GM Alisa Galliamova of Russia by Anastasiya Karlovich/official website 

The third round started with the symbolic move in the game Ju Wenjun-Anna Zatonskikh made by Chinese Ambassador Mr. Zhou Li. He came today to support his compatriots and it’s obviously helped the Chinese girls, who confidently won against the American team with 3,5-0,5 score.

“Turkish team came to learn and gain experience here,” the captain and coach of the team, Adrian Mikhalchishin, said in the interview. Everyone could notice that Turkey showed really stubborn defence in the previous rounds. Nevertheless luck was not on the side of Turkish girls today as they lost all the games in the match against Russia.

The outcome of the match Ukraine versus Kazakhstan was not easy to predict till the end. Katerina Lahno relatively quickly outplayed the leader of the team Guliskhan Nakhbayeva but on the last board Inna Gaponenko lost to Abdumalik Zansaya, the youngest participant in the tournament. In time trouble Inna lost good winning chances and made a few crucial mistakes. The world champion Anna Ushenina was also close to get into big troubles today but her opponent didn’t find very nice move 26…Kh8 and Anna Ushenina got a chance to force a draw. Once again Natalia Zhukova left alone in the playing hall and the outcome of the match depended on the result of her game. After a few hours of play Ukrainian IM got an advantage and played precisely till the end to save the match.

Georgian team has recovered after yesterday's defeat, and showed great result in the match against France. Silvia Collas was the only French player, who managed to grab half a point in the game against Nino Khurtsidze, while all the others were defeated.
The only match which finished in a draw was India versus Romania.

After the third round China and Russia continue to lead and play the fourth round against each other on Wednesday. Ukraine remains on the third place.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Astana Chess: Women's World Team Event Begins with Kazakhstan holding USA to Draw

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

The first round of WWTC in Astana got under way on the 3rd of March 2012. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov made a first symbolic move in the game Nakhbayeva-Zatonskih to start a tense struggle between young ambitious team from Kazakhstan and a rating favorite of the match the team from the USA. For a long time it seemed that the match would finish in favor of the Central Asian team but Dinara Saduakasova, who was so close to the victory, made a mistake and let her opponent to make a draw. Thus, the USA team equalised the score and managed to save face.

There were no surprises in other matches – all other rating favorites managed to win quite confidently. China and Russia lost only half a point each and was stronger in the matches against France and Romania respectively. It was not difficult for Ukrainian team to outplay Indian team, which came here without such top seeds as Humpy Koneru, Harika Dronavlli and Tania Sachdev. World Champion Anna Ushenina and Ukrainian champion Maria Muzychuk won against Nisha Mohota and Rout Padmini and, after two draws on other boards, the final score is 3-1 in favor of Ukraine. After the first round four teams are in the lead – China, Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. Pictures of the round 1.

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Astana Chess: Women's World Team Championship 2013 Begins

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

The Russians... 

... the Chinese.... and... 

... the Indians. 

Can you name all these chess girls?

The opening ceremony of the Women's World Team Chess Championship took place on Saturday at the Duman Hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan. FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov welcomed all participants and guests and gave diplomas to players from the team of Kazakhstan - Guliskhan Nakhbayeva and Dinara Saduakassova. The girls achieved the norms at the Istanbul Olympiad (September, 2012), but the award was decided to be given at another significant event - the Team World Championship.
After the national anthem of the Republic of Kazakhstan and FIDE anthem the Chief Arbiter of the tournament Takis Nikolopoulos conducted the ceremony of drawing of lots. Each team was invited to the stage and the top players were requested to choose a flower with the number.

Check all the pictures of the opening ceremony. Games will start at 3 p.m. local time. Online commentary will be by GM Sergey Shipov and WGM Anna Sharevich at the official website. 

The parings of the first round
Ukraine-India
Romania-Russia
Kazakhstan-USA
Turkey-Georgia
China-France

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Top Chess Stars in Women's World Team Event March 2 in Astana: Alexandra Kosteniuk to Lead Russian Challenge

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone,

The Women’s World Chess Team Championship will take place from 2nd-12th March at the Duma Hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan. The best teams of the world will participate in the Championship.

Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk - the 12th Women's World Chess Champion - will lead the Russian challenge. The Russian team also includes Valentina Gunina, Natalija Pogonina, Alisa Galliamova, Olga Girya with Sergey Rublevsky as the captain.

Astana can easily boast of gathering at least 50 of the best women chess players from 10 countries (China, Russia, Ukraine, USA, India, France, Turkey, Georgia, Romania and Kazakhstan): Among them are the three teams that were ranked as the best at the World Chess Olympiad, five continental champions, the country-organizer and one team elected by the FIDE President.

Every team consists of five players and the team-winner will be determined in a round-robin event after 9 games. Time control is 90 minutes per 40 moves and thirty minutes until the end of the game plus 30 seconds increment per move.

 

The Chinese team has won all the championships in the past. Reigning women's world chess champion Anna Ushenina will also be playing for play for Ukraine and it will be her first official event since she won the world title.

The top-seed of the tournament will be the Georgian team.

Teams:
1. Georgia FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 13601903 Dzagnidze, Nana 2555
2 13602640 Khotenashvili, Bela 2499
3 13601458 Javakhishvili, Lela 2461
4 13600320 Khurtsidze, Nino 2437 2488.0
5 13602446 Melia, Salome 2403
6 Captain Gurieli, Nino

2. Russia FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 4128125 Kosteniuk Alexandra 2495
2 4167570 Gunina Valentina 2490
3 4147855 Pogonina Natalija 2475
4 4129752 Galliamova Alisa 2459 2479.8
5 4195752 Girya Olga 2441
6 Captain Rublevsky Sergey

3. Ukraine FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 1411091 Ushenina, Anna 2477
2 14109336 Lahno, Kateryna 2547
3 14114550 Muzychuk, Mariya 2471
4 14101181 Yanovska (Gaponenko), Inna 2405 2475.0
5 14101513 Zhukova, Natalia 2471
6 Captain Brodsky, Michail

4. China FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 8603006 Ju Wenjun 2505
2 8602689 Huang Qian 2478
3 8603642 Tan Zhongyi 2466
4 8604002 Guo Qi 2431 2470.0
5 8603162 Shen Yang 2415
6 Captain Ye Jiangchuan

5. USA FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 14101572 Anna Zatonskykh 2491
2 2012782 Irina Krush 2460
3 13301918 Tatev Abrahamyan 2300
4 1212915 Sabina Foisor 2313 2391.0
5 11602252 Viktorija Ni 2263
6 Captain Michael Khodarkovsky

6. Romania FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 1200496 Foisor Cristina Adela 2389
2 1201590 Cosma Elena Luminita 2332
3 13903063 Bulmaga Irina 2355
4 1210246 Lami Alina 2362 2359.5
5 1206729 Voicu Jagodzinsky 2281
6 Captain Szabo Gergely Andras Gyula

7. India FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 5013623 Gomes Mary Ann 2394
2 5012600 Karavade Eesha Sanjay 2391
3 5004330 Mohota Nisha/H 2327
4 5029295 Rout Padmini/H 2307 2354.8
5 5016193 Swaminathan Soumya 2291
6 Captain Sahu Sekhar Chandra

8. France FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 623725 Sophie Milliet 2408
2 13601717 Nino Maisurasze 2331
3 2902265 Silvia Collas 2286
4 11600209 Anda Safranska 2322 2336.8
5 642002 Natacha Benmesbah 2266
6 Captain Pavel Tregubov

9. Kazakhstan FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 13704788 Nakhbayeva Guliskhan 2353
2 13700090 Saduakassova Dinara 2301
3 13703595 Davletbayeva Madina 2272
4 13702971 Dauletova Gulmira 2265 2297.8
5 13703544 Abdumalik Zhansaya 2184
6 Captain Kotsur Pavel

10. Turkey FIDE ID Full name Rating Avg
1 6302920 Yildiz, Betul Cemre 2368
2 6302599 Ozturk, Kubra 2281
3 6325670 Cemhan, Kardelen 2025
4 6300278 Sop, Selen 2028 2175.5
5 6306411 Kaya, Emel 1995
6 Captain Mihalcisin, Adrian

Official website

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Congratulations to Alexander Grischuk for Becoming World Blitz Chess Champion 2012

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

This is a great double for Russia as Alexander Grischuk becomes the World Blitz Chess Champion 2012 today in Astana, Kazakhstan. He played some solid chess by taking a one point lead on the first day of play and keeping the tempo by finally winning today - half a point ahead of World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen went in for an inspired performance by winning all his eight last games today, but it was still half-a-point shy of Grischuk's early lead. World Rapid Chess Champion Sergey Karjakin was right behind the duo at third place. Carlsen is runners-up in both the World Blitz and World Rapid now.

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World Chess Blitz: Grischuk in Sole Lead on Day 1 After 15 Rounds

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,


GM Alexander Grischuk is leading the FIDE World Blitz Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan after 15 rounds that were played on Day today. Fifteen more rounds would be played on Tuesday. Grischuk leads with 10.5/15 and has one point more than Dmitry Andreikin, Vassily Ivanchuk and Sergey Karjakin. Magnus Carlsen, who started with a loss, is in fifth place with 8.5/15. 

Leading after 15 rounds: Alexander Grischuk

The World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships are being held in Astana, Kazakhstan from July 1-11, 2012. Russia's Sergey Karjakin won the World Rapid Chess Championship yesterday. You can read the full report and links to various game links in this Chess Blog post.

The blitz is a 16-player double round robin format with Magnus Carlsen, Teimour Radjabov, Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Morozevich, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Grischuk, Veselin Topalov, Peter Svidler, Boris Gelfand, Viktor Bologan, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Alexey Dreev, Igor Kurnosov, Vladislav Tkachiev, Murtas Kazhgaleyev, Anuar Ismagambetov, Dmitry Andreikin, Le Quang Liem, Nikolai Chadaev, Pavel Kotsur and Rinat Jumabayev.

Rate of play: 3 minutes + 2 seconds increment per move, starting from move 1.
Special rule: The players are not allowed to offer draws directly to their opponents. Any draw claim will be permitted only through the Chief Arbiter and accepted in case of a triple-repetition of the position or the 50-move rule.

The prize fund is US $200,000 for each tournament with the first prize being US $40,000. You can follow the live video broadcast at the official website.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Also see her personal blog at
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Congrats to Sergey Karjakin for Becoming World Rapid Chess Champion 2012 in Astana

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

World Rapid Chess Champion 2012 
Sergey Karjakin of Russia

Congratulations to Russia's Sergey Karjakin for winning the World Rapid Chess Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan a few minutes back. In the end, it was the steady performance, the cool head, and the pure chess that counted. Karjakin put his overnight loss to Magnus Carlsen behind him and went on to win the World Championship a full point ahead of World No. 1 Carlsen!

It appeared that Magnus Carlsen would run away with the title particularly after he finished Day 2 1.5 points ahead of the field. But, as the stats pointed out, he had not yet played the stalwarts. The third day was a self-destruct for him. He began the third day with a win over Ismagambetov, but went in for two straight losses against Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Grischuk.

The next draw against Radjabov put him out of contention for the title. In the final round, he might have even lost the silver medal had Veselin Topalov not missed the endgame win. Eventually, the silver went to Carlsen and the bronze went to Topalov.

The World Blitz Chess Championship 2012 would be held on Monday and Tuesday in Astana with 15 chess games played each day.

Final standings
1 GM Karjakin, Sergey RUS 11.5
2 GM Carlsen, Magnus NOR 10.5
3 GM Topalov, Veselin BUL 9.5
4 GM Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 9.5
5 GM Grischuk, Alexander RUS 9
6 GM Gelfand, Boris ISR 8
7 GM Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 7.5
8 GM Svidler, Peter RUS 7.5
9 GM Radjabov, Teimour AZE 7.5
10 GM Dreev, Aleksey RUS 7
11 GM Morozevich, Alexander RUS 6.5
12 GM Bologan, Viktor MDA 6
13 GM Kurnosov, Igor RUS 6
14 GM Kazhgaleyev, Murtas KAZ 6
15 GM Tkachiev, Vladislav FRA 4.5
16 GM Ismagambetov, Anuar KAZ 3.5

World Rapid Results day 3
11
Bologan, Viktor - Svidler, Peter ½-½
Dreev, Aleksey - Kazhgaleyev, Murtas 0-1
Grischuk, Alexander - Tkachiev, Vladislav 1-0
Ismagambetov, Anuar - Carlsen, Magnus 0-1
Karjakin, Sergey - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½
Morozevich, Alexander - Kurnosov, Igor 1-0
Topalov, Veselin - Gelfand, Boris ½-½
12
Carlsen, Magnus - Ivanchuk, Vassily 0-1
Gelfand, Boris - Morozevich, Alexander 1-0
Ismagambetov, Anuar - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1
Kazhgaleyev, Murtas - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0-1
Kurnosov, Igor - Bologan, Viktor 0-1
Radjabov, Teimour - Karjakin, Sergey 0-1
Svidler, Peter - Dreev, Aleksey 1-0
Tkachiev, Vladislav - Topalov, Veselin 1-0
13
Bologan, Viktor - Gelfand, Boris 0-1
Dreev, Aleksey - Kurnosov, Igor ½-½
Grischuk, Alexander - Carlsen, Magnus 1-0
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Radjabov, Teimour 1-0
Karjakin, Sergey - Kazhgaleyev, Murtas 1-0
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Svidler, Peter 0-1
Morozevich, Alexander - Tkachiev, Vladislav ½-½
Topalov, Veselin - Ismagambetov, Anuar ½-½
14
Carlsen, Magnus - Radjabov, Teimour ½-½
Gelfand, Boris - Dreev, Aleksey 1-0
Grischuk, Alexander - Topalov, Veselin 0-1
Ismagambetov, Anuar - Morozevich, Alexander ½-½
Kazhgaleyev, Murtas - Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0
Kurnosov, Igor - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0-1
Svidler, Peter - Karjakin, Sergey 0-1
Tkachiev, Vladislav - Bologan, Viktor 0-1
15
Bologan, Viktor - Ismagambetov, Anuar ½-½
Dreev, Aleksey - Tkachiev, Vladislav 1-0
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Svidler, Peter 1-0
Karjakin, Sergey - Kurnosov, Igor ½-½
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Gelfand, Boris 1-0
Morozevich, Alexander - Grischuk, Alexander ½-½
Radjabov, Teimour - Kazhgaleyev, Murtas 1-0
Topalov, Veselin - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½




Chess King game links to check out
World Chess Rapid: Grischuk Hands Carlsen 2nd Loss of Event
World Chess Rapid: Grischuk Hands Carlsen 2nd Loss of Event
Sunday Chess Smash: Carlsen Loses to Ivanchuk at Astana World Rapid Chess
World Chess Rapid Day 2: Topalov Double Sac versus Radjabov
World Chess Rapid 2012 Round 10: Carlsen Grinds Down Karjakin in Close Endgame
World Rapid Chess Championship 2012: Karjakin Powerplay Against Gelfand
Chess Blog Day reports

World Chess (Rapid) Day 2: Magnus Carlsen Bulldozes Ahead for 1.5 Point Lead
World Chess Championship 2012 in Rapid Day 1: Karjakin, Carlsen Lead after 5 Rounds

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com

World Chess Championships (Rapid & Blitz) Inauguration in Astana Today

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

The blitz and rapid qualifiers have been selected for the World Chess Championships in Blitz and Rapid. The inauguration ceremony would take place today in Astana, Kazakhstan.

This is the first time that the World Chess Championships in Rapid and Blitz are to be held! The event will be held from 6 to 10 July.

The players are some of the best chess masters in the world including Magnus Carlsen, Boris Gelfand, Sergey Karjakin, Veselin Topalov, Vassily Ivanchuk, Teimour Radjabov, Alexander Grischuk and others. The qualifiers are (blitz) Dmitry Andreikin, Le Quang Liem, Nikolay Chadaev (rapid) Igor Kurnosov, Alexey Dreev and Vladislav Tkachiev.

Chief arbiter is Andrzej Filipowicz. He would be assisted by Sergey Yurovsky. The total prize fund is $400,000. You can watch all the games live from tomorrow at the official website: www.worldchess.kz.

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