USA's Top Daily Chess News Blog, Informative, Fun, and Positive
hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk
Friday, May 30, 2014
Could a Worthy Challenger for World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen be a Chinese Youngster?
Hello chess blog friends, whenever a world champion is crowned, there is always talk of a successor. Leonard Barden writes in The Guardian an interesting piece on how the next World Chess Champion - to come after Magnus Carlsen - could well be Chinese! You can find a nice game and read the full article at The Guardian website, but here's the brief excerpt if you're running late... :
"The world’s youngest grandmaster turns 15 on Monday as he aims to become his country’s first player to contend seriously for the global crown. China’s Wei Yi qualified as a GM at 13 years eight months, putting him fourth youngest on the all-time list where the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, is third. Wei Yi also became the youngest ever to reach a 2600 rating and in the 2013 World Cup he knocked out the former finalist Alexei Shirov.
His subsequent progress has been slower, but his current 2634 rating is close to the world top 100 and makes him one of a handful of talents who can legitimately hope to become a future candidate for Carlsen’s throne.
A few weeks ago Wei Yi tied for third in the Chinese championship, half a point behind the winner, Yu Yangyi, who was the only player to beat the teenager. This week’s puzzle shows Yi’s best finish.
However, there are special problems for Wei Yi as he targets the world elite. China is unique among the leading chess nations in that it has several players in the top 100 despite little interest among its general population. The national game remains Chinese chess, which has different rules, and the country’s successes in international chess are due to well-directed government backing to identify young talent at an early age and provide intensive coaching and opportunities.
China will again be going for medals in the 150-nation world team Olympiad at Tromso, Norway in August. It will expect a top six finish among the men, and could take gold in the women’s event.
The frustrating development for Beijing is that, while its women players have won several world titles and the current champion, Hou Yifan, is the No2 female of all time behind only the legendary Judit Polgar, its male grandmasters seem to stall once they reach the world top 20-50. These have included Bu Xiangzhi, who was at one time the youngest ever GM, and Wang Hao and Wang Yue who have performed well in elite tournaments but have lacked consistency at the highest level.
China is still producing significant talents, among whom Li Chao, Ding Liren and Yu Yangyi are all in their early twenties and placing highly at international opens. But whereas a decade ago Chinese grandmasters often hunted in packs, the impression now is that, once established, they usually go their own way in gaining invitations. Arguably Chinese sports officials have been discouraged by the limited success of their previous efforts to develop a truly world class talent. Hence Wei Yi’s career has a wider significance in that, if his results take off, it will give chess a higher profile in the sports budget."
Women's World Chess match Game 1: Anna Ushenina loses to Hou Yifan after Time Struggle
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The first game of the Women's World Chess Championship between Anna Ushenina and Hou Yifan has been won by Black in China. Ushenina, playing White, managed to get a good position with white pieces in the first game, but her time management got her into serious trouble.
The position was about equal when the reigning Women’s World Chess Champion lost track and let her opponent get in with a dangerous attack on the Kingside. The first game of the Match has finished after 41 moves. You can replay the full game with Chess King. But, before that, can you try and checkmate in three with Black from this position?
Anna Ushenina has just played 40.BxRd3. How did Hou Yifan win? Replay the game with Chess King.
Russia Leads World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad in China
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
Here's a short news item from China. The World Youth (Under-16) chess olympiad is being held from July 21-30 in Chongqing, China. After 5 rounds, the top seed Russian team has emerged as the sole leader. In the key Round 4 matches, top seed Russia outplayed 4th seed China (1) 3-1; 2nd seed India won against 5th seed Australia (1) with the same score while 3rd seed Hungary was held to a draw by 6th seed USA (2). In Round 5, 7th seed Turkey held the Indians to a draw while the Russians edged the Americans 2.5-1.5.
9th Women's World Chess Champion Initiative: Zhu Chen Chess Academy Founation Laid in China
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
Fide President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov participated in a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the Zhu Chen Chess Academy in Lucheng of Wenzhou, China on July 17. This is the first chess academy set up by an individual in China. The 9th Women's World Chess Champion Zhu Chen - married to one of Qatar's strongest Grandmasters, Mohammad Al-Modiahki, has come up with this special project. The formal part of the ceremony was held in the premises of a primary school. Special guests also included Chinese Grandmasters Ye Jiangchuan and Xie Jun who also put up a simul show with 50 boards. (Fide report)
SportAccord World Mind Games 2013 in Beijing from Dec 10
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013 Hi everyone,
Fide has announced the players selected for the SportAccord World Mind Games 2013 to be played in Beijing, China from December 10. Players are invited to send in their contract. The selection of the players for this annual event has been based on the average of the player’s three ratings for classical, blitz and rapid. SportAccord World Mind Games are a multi-sport event centered on the gymnasium of the mind and highlighting the great value of the mind sports. The first and second editions in 2011 and 2012 included five mind sports of great popularity and influence worldwide - Bridge, Chess, Draughts, Go and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess).
Before we give you the list of participants for this year, here's a special chess video from the SportAccord World Mind Games 2012! (Click on the screen grab below) for a special commented video. This video features 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk explaining her win over 13th Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan in Beijing last year at the SportAccord Mind Games.
The special Houdini-powered chess training programme used in this commented video is Chess King™. Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk trains with Chess King ™ regularly. This chess training programme includes the super-strong analysis engine Houdini, but also GigaKing - a database of all chess games played from "the beginning of time". Know all about Chess King at the official website.
For all of GM Kosteniuk's posts and victories at the SportAccord Mind Games, click this link of a list of write-ups on www.chessqueen.com. For all posts about the SportAccord World Mind Games on Chess Blog, click here. There are lots of photos and videos in there including an interview with GM Kosteniuk as the official ambassador of the SportAccord World Mind Games 2011 and GM Kosteniuk's gold medal wins. Back to the list of participants announced by Fide for the Mind Games Chess Section 2013.
1. The list for men is as follows :
No more than two players from each country with exceptions made only for World Champions 2012 and 2013 for Blitz and Rapid. 2. The women’s list is as follows :
3. The events will be the following : · Rapid Events · 16 male players – 16 female players (separate event for male/female) · two days with seven rounds Swiss events; · time control 20 mins each side plus 10 secs increment · Blitz Events · 16 male players – 16 female players (separate event for male/female) · Three days with double round robin events (10 games per day); · time control 3 mins each side plus 2 secs increment · Basque Events · 16 male players – 16 female players (separate event for male/female) · two days with five rounds Swiss events; · each player plays two games simultaneously per round with white and black pieces · time control 20 mins each side plus 10 secs increment per game 4. Schedule: 10th December 2013 Arrival of players and officials 12th December 2013 Rapid event (rounds 1-4) 13th December 2013 Rapid event (rounds 5-7) 14th December 2013 Blitz event (rounds 1-10) 15th December 2013 Blitz event (rounds 11-20) 16th December 2013 Blitz event (rounds 21-30) 17th December 2013 Basque event (rounds 1-3 Women), (rounds 1-3 Men) 18th December 2013 Basque event (rounds 4-5 Women), (rounds 4-5 Men) 19th December 2013 Departure 5. Prizes For each event the following prizes will be awarded. Place Men Place Women 1 $18.000 1 $10.000 2 $15.000 2 $9.000 3 $12.000 3 $8.000 4 $9.000 4 $7.000 5 $7.000 5 $6.000 6 $6.000 6 $5.000 7 $5.000 7 $4.000 8 $4.000 8 $3.000 9 $3.000 9 $2.000 10 $2.000 10 $1.000 11 $1.000 11 $500 12 $1.000 12 $500 13 $1.000 13 $500 14 $1.000 14 $500 15 $1.000 15 $500 16 $1.000 16 $500 Total $87.000 Total $58.000 Tie break will be used only for final medal positions but money prizes will be split equally. Air fares will be organised by BODA (Beijing Olympic Development Agency) and accommodation will also be covered on a full board basis by the organisers. From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com Also see her personal chess blog at www.chessqueen.com Don't miss Chess Queen™ YouTube Channel
Women's World Chess Championship 2013 Anna Ushenina vs Hou Yifan: FIDE General Secretary Ignatius Leong to Inspect Venue Options
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
FIDE General Secretary Ignatius Leong was appointed by the World Championship & Olympiad Commission to inspect the venue and facilities for the Women’s World Championship between World Champion Anna Ushenina and Grand Prix Winner Hou Yifan. The only bid came from Taizhou City, Jiangsu Province, China.
On 26 & 27 April, Mr Leong visited three 4 & 5 hotels as the potential venues for the Match. All 3 choices offer excellent living conditions, variety of cuisine and high level tournament venue facilities. He held two long meetings with the highest ranking officials of the Taizhou Municipal Bureau of Sports, the Chinese Chess Association and the Jiangsu Chess Association. After lengthy discussions, a general consensus was reached to have the Match held at the 5-star Taizhou Hotel where the players will also stay. The event is being sponsored by the China Medical City.
Left to right: Taizhou Municipal Bureau of Sports Deputy Director Mr Wang Jian, Chief Director Mr Ge Zhihui, Deputy Director Mdm Fan Rong with Mr Leong.
Not in the picture were Chinese Chess Association General Secretary GM Ye Jiangchuan, CCA Vice General Secretary Ms Abigail Tian, Jiangsu Province Chess Association Director IA Tang Jianming and the Chief Financial Director from Taizhou City.
China Chess Championships 2013: Wang Yue, Ding Yixin win Men, Women Titles
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The Chinese Chess Championships for men and women took place from 16th to 27th April 2013 in Xinghua, Jiangsu, China. It was a round robin of 11 rounds with a time control of 90 minutes for the whole game with an addition of 30 seconds per move starting from move one, according to a Chessdom report.
The men’s tournament had a clear winner in what otherwise was a very hard fought and very balanced field. Wang Yue arrived as the rating favorite and demonstrated his strength by taking first place 1.5 points ahead of the field, despite the fact that he lost in the last round against Zhao Jun.
Even though Wang Yue was once known for his very drawish style, during this event he proved that he has a big fighting spirit. Out of the 11 games he played, only three were drawn. He won six games and lost both the first and last rounds encounters.
Ma Qun started the tournament strongly, beating the eventual winner, and finished in second place with 7/11 points. The same amount of points were obtained by Doeberl Cup champion Li Chao, who had to settle for third place due to the tiebreak scores. No less than six players got an even score in the event. The tiebreak criteria awarded the fourth place to ex-women’s world champion Hou Yifan, who decided not to play in the women’s championship. The women’s championship saw a much more unbalanced field. Ding Yixin took clear first place thanks to a 8/11 performance. She left her closest followers half a point behind. Guo Qi finished second on tiebreaks, while Shen Yang arrived third.
With this strong tournament, China has proven that chess is taken seriously in the country and that they will be looking to improve and challenge the European countries’ supremacy in the sport.
Final Standings – Men’s championship: 1 GM Wang Yue 2706 7.5 2 GM Ma Qun 2559 6.0 3 GM Li Chao B 2686 6.0 4 GM Hou Yifan 2617 5.5 5 GM Xiu Deshun 2534 5.5 6 IM Wei Yi 2530 5.5 7 GM Bu Xiangzhi 2662 5.5 8 GM Zhao Jun 2589 5.5 9 GM Yu Yangyi 2675 5.5 10 GM Zhou Weiqi 2590 5.0 11 GM Zhou Jianchao 2607 5.0 12 GM Li Shilong 2558 3.5
Final Standings – Women’s championship: 1 WGM Ding Yixin 2427 8.0 2 WGM Guo Qi 2439 7.5 3 IM Shen Yang 2397 7.5 4 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2483 6.5 5 WGM Zhang Xiaowen 2367 6.5 6 WGM Wang Jue 2401 6.0 7 WIM Zhai Mo 2259 6.0 8 Lei Tingjie 2232 5.0 9 WIM Kuang Yinghui 2212 4.0 10 WIM Ni Shiqun 2213 3.5 11 Ren Xiaoyi 2212 3.0 12 Li Xueyi 2135 2.5
FIDE has announced that SportAccord Mind Games 2012 will be held in Beijing, China between December 12-20.
PARTICIPANTS: Hou Yifan, Anna Muzychuk, Koneru Humpy, Zhao Xue, Kateryna Lahno, Viktorija Cmilyte, Anna Zatonskih, Antoaneta Stefanova, Bela Khotenashvili, Harika Dronavalli, Elizabeth Paehtz, Zhu Chen, Pia Cramling, Monika Socko, Elina Danielian and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk.
Among the men, the participants are: Levon Aronian, Teimour Radjabov, Sergey Karjakin, Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Morozevich, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Grischuk, Vesselin Topalov, Gata Kamsky, Peter Leko, Viktor Bologan, Baadur Jobava, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Wang Hao, Anish Giri and Ding Liren.
An exciting chess video with comments by 12th World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. The game: against Antoaneta Stefanova that fetched the gold for Chess Queen™ in 2010.
Don't be shy about contacting me
to share women's chess news
or to propose collaboration
Best chess wishes to you! Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th Women's World Chess Champion
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube
"The world’s youngest grandmaster turns 15 on Monday as he aims to become his country’s first player to contend seriously for the global crown.
