USA's Top Daily Chess News Blog, Informative, Fun, and Positive
hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Are Killer Chess Robots Kind to Pretty Russian Girls?
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Yes, pretty girls play very strong chess, but once in a while you cannot help suspect that a killer chess 'gentleman' would allow a pretty girl to 'escape' with a draw? Maybe! Maybe, not!
Kuka Monster spent a recent winter evening in a night club in Moscow - playing chess with Pavel Eljanov and Alina Kashlinskaya. The guests watching closely included Russian national chess team coach Yuri Dokhoyan.
The special chess event was titled 'Mind Games' and included three hours of chess in the blitz format between Alina, Eljanov and Kashlinskaya. The highlight of the event was world chess robot champion Kuka Monster taking on Eljanov and Kashlinskaya in separate games.
Eljamov sacrificed a pawn and lost the chess endgame to Kuka Monster. Kashlinskaya managed to bravely hold Kuka Monster to a draw in a perpetual check after a series of sacrifices. Yes, Alina Kashlinskaya is a strong chess player from Russia, but we couldn't help speculating: Did Kuka Monster flirt with her? Replay the game and decide for yourself. (It was a 5:0 Blitz)
Photo Chess Trivia: Name these Chess Girls from the Women's World Blitz Championship 2010
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Here's a nice group photo from the Women's World Blitz Chess Championship 2010. Can you name all these 'merciless' girls who will not think twice before breaking your heart across the chessboard? (The photo is from the database at www.chesspics.com)
The DVD from Women’s World Chess Champion and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk about Blitz Chess. Alexandra gives many tips on how to play better blitz chess and shows 8 of her sensational wins from the 2009 World Blitz Championship, where she beat World #1 Rated Magnus Carlsen, World Champion Vishy Anand, and super Grandmasters Gashimov, Aronian, Morozevich, Grischuk, Judith Polgar, and Naiditsch. All games are fully commented with simultaneous live screens and and 2D boards. Price: $19.99
World Chess Championship 2013 Parallel Events: Vishnu Prasanna wins Chennai Blitz
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The countdown to the World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen has begun. The organisers have a list of parallel chess activities lined up. The first one was a beach blitz chess event in Chennai.
Grandmaster elect V Vishnu Prasanna of Chennai won the event with a cool 8.5 points from nine rounds at the Multipurpose Indoor Stadium taking home about $1400. He beat three Grandmasters in the run - Deepan Chakkravarthy, B Adhiban and Shyam Sundar. His only draw was with former local state champion M Kunal.
Also, Woman Grandmaster and several-time Indian National Women's chess champion Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman was the highest-scoring woman player with 7 points.
Final Placings: 1. V Vishnu Prasanna 8.5, 2 N Sudhakar Babu 8, 3 P Shyam Nikil 7.5, 4-12 B Adhiban, J Deepan Chakkravarthy, R B Ramesh, M Shyam Sundar, S Arun Prasad, R Ramnath Bhuvanesh, Ram S Krishnan, Siva Mahadevan, Vijalakshmi Subbaraman 7 pts
The All-Indian Chess Federation video of the event
Blitz Chess Death Match: Alexandr Fier vs Leonid Kritz on Chess.com
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013 Hi everyone,
GM Alexandr Fier and GM Leonid Kritz will take the virtual stage in Chess.com's 13th Blitz Death Match, set to take place Sunday, April 21st, at 11AM Eastern, 8AM Pacific. As always, the two GMs will play 3 intense hours of blitz and bullet to determine the next Death Match Champion, as well as the winner of the majority of the $1000 cash prize! GM Alex Fier GM Alexandr Fier comes in with a FIDE rating of 2599, making him the 4th highest rated player in Brazil. Fier is fresh off a very recent victory at the 2013 Georgi Tringov Memorial (the Bulgarian Open Championship), dominating the GM-studded field with the incredible score of 8.5/9! GM Leonid Kritz GM Leonid Kritz has a FIDE rating of 2613, making him the 6th highest rated player in Germany, and the slight favorite on paper for the match. Kritz was the 1999 U16 Junior World Champion, and earned his GM title in 2003. He participated in the 2004 FIDE World Chess Championship, beating GM Krishnan Sasikiran in Round 1 before losing to GM Rafael Leitao in Round 2. With two players of such a high caliber, it is sure to be one of the most exciting Death Matches yet! Be sure to set your calendars for Sunday, April 21st, with pre-match interviews starting at 11AM Eastern, 8AM Pacific. IM Daniel Rensch and a special - to be announced - co-host will cover all the action live!
Super-Focus Chess Video with Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Here is a fantastic blitz chess video from our super YouTube chess channel: Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk finishes a blitz chess game at the Moscow Iakimanka Chess Club. The video was filmed on February 4, 2005. The game is without increment of time.
Online Chess $38,000 Blitz - You Can Qualify This Sunday
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Are you keeping track of the Online Chess Blitz Grand Prix Open with prize money of $38,000 organised by the Russian Chess Federation with the ChessOK Playing Zone?
You can take part from anywhere in the world. More than $38,000 (1 USD = 32.45 RUB as of May 31, 2012) is the prize fund. Four qualifying tournaments on the last Sunday of each month, starting on June 3, 2012. Final and Super Final tournaments will take place August 14-15, 2012. All tournaments are at 16-00 UTC.
Qualifying Tournaments Schedule 1st qualifying tournament – June 3, 2012. 16-00 UTC; 2nd qualifying tournament – June 24, 2012. 16-00 UTC; 3rd qualifying tournament – July 1, 2012. 16-00 UTC; 4th qualifying tournament – July 29, 2012. 16-00 UTC.
We just checked the Live Chess Ratings Web Site today, and see that in top 3 positions are Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian, and Magnus Carlsen.
It's great to see that a lady, probably the only one in the world, has been able to beat all three of them in a direct encounter. And you will notice she wins with the black pieces all 3 games! We're talking about Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk.
We present below 3 YouTube videos of those games. On YouTube the videos can be seen up to full HD 1080p. Alexandra's has set the bar extremely high and the quality of her videos with full commentary is unsurpassed, which has led to over 500,000 upload views, thousands of genuine comments, and to YouTube asking Alexandra to be an official YouTube partner. We're grateful for your "thumbs up" rating on all videos as well as for subscribing to Alexandra's channels "ChessQueen", "ChessQueenTV" and "ChessKillertips".
Then reigning Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk beats reigning World Champion Vishy Anand
Alexandra Kosteniuk beats Levon Aronian
Alexandra Kosteniuk beats then #1 rated Magnus Carlsen
Mystery stranger walks away with Blitz Chess top prize!
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess News & Trivia (c) 2010
Hello Everyone,
Now this is a story to remember. It happened in Brooklyn just a few days back on September 17. We found the full story here along with these photographs.
And, the story has been put up as a 'guest post' by a Pioneer Square resident.
We don't know whether the winner has been eventually identified but nevertheless this makes a charming story. Read it all the way.
The Pioneer Square Blitz Chess 2010 Championship was held a few weeks ago to put some zip into the neighborhood. In blitz chess, each player has five minutes to make all the moves. A second more spells sudden death. Pieces fly across the board faster than ping pong balls.
The exciting event drew many local experts and budding Bobby Fischers but annoyed the marginalized under layers of blankets on park benches. Who were these uppity intruders to their domain?
Two indeterminate age men, unkempt hair spilling off knit caps and untied boots sticking from filthy jeans, shuffled over. “I play chess,” mumbled one, eyeing the rows of neatly laid out chessboards and digital clocks. “Fifteen bucks entry fee,” he was told. “Ain’t got money,” he growled. “I can beat your whole lot,” slurred his buddy. “Played 20 years at sea.” “Fifteen bucks,” the organizer repeated. They turned to leave. “Wait,” came a voice, his face hidden in a black hood, a bill held between two fingers. “Go sign up and no bullshit.”
Behind them stood a ruffled hair, unshaven drifter in windbreaker and backpack. The polite volunteer hesitated. “Fifteen dollars entry fee, please.” The newcomer nodded and counted out singles and quarters.
Working pro bono from a leading chess club, the tournament director glanced suspiciously at the entry form. “Your U.S.C.F. rating is 2,300?” he scoffed, a ranking of National Master in America. The stranger calmly smiled, yes. At that level, he was put on top of the leader board to begin the contest.
“You can put down any number you want,” someone smirked.
Four hours and eight rounds later, the scruffy walk-on checkmated all but a fifth grader from an upper class suburb. Several competitors rushed over to congratulate the youngster, “You beat him!” “No,” he replied sadly. “He is better by far. He gave me the game.”
Who was the mystery player? A Google search quickly turned up a NYT article followed by several screens of Wikipedia, news clips and photos on the quiet stranger.
A Brooklyn chess prodigy hustling on Washington Square before turning poker pro, he had placed fourth in the 2008 World Series of Poker and won over 3 million dollars, then toured with PokerStars.net for another million before vanishing off the radar.
“Where is the phenom today?” asks a fan online. “Rumor has it that he is traveling incognito,” comes an answer.
Indeed, someone in Seattle can add, he just won the Pioneer Square Blitz Chess 2010 Championship and walked away with $100 in cash.
Moscow Blitz Chess: Morozevich, Gunina win men's and women's section
GM Alexander Morozevich: Another conquest
Perfect smile/score: WGM Valentina Gunina
Hi Everyone,
Did you follow the exciting Moscow Blitz Chess Championship on the Internet? It was a lot of fun.
The 64th edition of the tournament took place on Sunday at the Russian State Social University. In two weeks the Women's World Blitz Championship will be held here.
The creative grandmaster Alexander Morozevich won the main tournament with a score of 14 out of a possible points 19! Mikhail Kobalia finished second with 13.5 and Vasily Papin was third with 13 points.
And, in the women's section, WGM Valentina Gunina, was the best performere by winning all her 17 games. Second was IM Irina Vasilevich.
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Best chess wishes to you! Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th Women's World Chess Champion
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