Nigel Short wins PokerStars Isle of Man Chess

Hello chess blog friends, GM Nigel Short has won the PokerStars Isle of Man Chess tournament with a clear first after beating GM David Howell. Short had slipped out of the top-100 for the first time in three decades in September and is now back in the list with the £6000 tournament victory. 

Laurent Fressinet and Sergey Tiviakov drew their round 9 game quickly and got 6.5 points each, as well as Gil Popilski and David Howell. The 6-points group consists of Michael Adams, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Gabriel Sargissian, Gawain Jones, IM Jonathan Hawkins and FM Alan Merry (the latter has outplayed Avital Boruchovsky in the long endgame). The best woman player was Harika Dronavalli with 5.5 points. (Inputs via www.chess-news.ru and official website)

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Gibraltar Chess: Paehtz, Short Hold First Master Class

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014

Hello everyone,

On Wednesday evening at the Caleta Hotel we were treated to the first of four Master Classes planned for this year's Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival. Two players shared duties at the commentary desk: Elisabeth Paehtz (Germany's top female player) and England's Nigel Short.

Both chose to show their games from that afternoon. Elisabeth very nearly beat elite grandmaster Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine); in the end the number 5 seed, here in Gibraltar for the first time, escaped with a draw.

Nigel's game also ended a draw, but he was understandably disappointed, since his position was clearly won at several points.

The audience were highly appreciative of the evening's entertainment. The Master Class, which was broadcast live on the internet, can be viewed on the festival website www.gibraltarchesscongress.com.

The next Master Class is scheduled for Thursday evening at 9pm with former Gibraltar Champion, third seeded player in this year’s tournament, Vassily Ivanchuk. Watch it on live streaming.

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Top Six English Players Register for 5th London Chess Classic

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone,

Six leading English players, Michael Adams, Luke McShane, Nigel Short, Matthew Sadler, David Howell and Gawain Jones have accepted their invitation to play in the 5th London Chess Classic to be staged at the Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington, running from Saturday 7th December to Sunday 15th December.

Life begins at 41 for the UK No.1, Michael Adams, who was one of the world’s best players in the 1990s. He was a four-time semifinalist (1993, 1997, 1999 and 2000) in World Championship events, and in 2004 he made itto the final. He was ranked No.4 in the world in 2001 and 2002, but by 2009 had dropped to No.50.

Since then, the popular Cornishman has seen a renaissance in his game with a return to elite status; and this summer, he scored the biggest tournament victory of his career by winning the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Germany, ahead of a field that included Vladimir Kramnik, the former world champion and world No. 3, and Fabiano Caruana of Italy, who is ranked fifth.

Luke McShane, 29, and Matthew Sadler, 39, both follow in that quaint English tradition -- much like C.H.O’D Alexander and Jonathan Penrose, who shocked top Soviet stars such as Botvinnik, Bronstein and Tal -- by being regarded as the world’s top two amateur players, as they hold down very demanding full-time professional jobs. McShane works in finance in the City, and Sadler in IT in The Netherlands - but while chess is now a “hobby” for both, the English No’s. 2 and 4 respectively still play to a very high standard.

Globe-trotting Nigel Short continues to add further successes to his long list of tournament victories, with this summer seeing the English No.3 share first prize in the Sigeman Invitational in Malmo, Sweden, and first on tiebreak in the Canadian Open Championship in Ottawa; and, on both occasions, ahead of talented younger rising stars.

Short, 48, consistently performs at or close to the elite GM 2700 rating level, as he fights off younger rivals by using his wealth of experience from a glittering career whose peaks include victory at the VAS Amsterdam tournament in 1991, ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, a Candidates match victory over Karpov in 1992 and a world title challenge in 1993 to Kasparov. Short is also in demand as an online commentator for some of the world’s top tournaments -- but we are always glad to see him play!

David Howell, 22, and Gawain Jones, 25, are, respectively, the English No. 5 and 6, and also the last two winners of the British Championship titles - Howell storming to victory this summer in Torquay, for his second title (which he dedicated to his late father), and Jones, winning last year in North Shields. Both represented England at the very top at junior level, and have now become a regular fixture for their country at Olympiads and European Team Championships.

Adams, McShane, Short, Sadler, Howell and Jones will be cheered on by the patriotic home crowd expected to fill the Kensington Olympia, as they go into battle in the 5th London Chess Classic with the tough elite opposition of World Champion Vishy Anand, World Cup winner Kramnik, Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Boris Gelfand, Peter Svidler and Judit Polgar. The composition of the remainder of the 16-player field will be announced next week.

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Chess World Cup 2013 All-Russian Final: Vladimir Kramnik vs Dmitry Andreikin

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

 

Nigel Short with Vladimir Kramnik at the press conference.

After a month of very strong chess, the Chess World Cup has its finalists - both Russians at that: Vladimir Kramnik and Dmitry Andreikin.

In the tiebreaks on Wednesday, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lost the first game with White against Vladimir Kramnik and the former World Champion held his ground to draw the second game. Dmitry Andreikin and Evgeny Tomashevsky drew their first rapid game but the reigning Russian Chess Champion defeated his opponent in the second. 

According to the regulations Vladimir Kramnik qualifies for the 2014 Candidates Tournament as one of the finalists of the FIDE World Cup. His victory today helped his compatriot Sergey Karjakin, who had the highest average rating after Kramnik and Aronian, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament as well. “I’m waiting for a present from “Alpari” [the sponsors of Sergey Karjakin] - I think I deserve it,” said Vladimir Kramnik with a smile.

Speaking about his opponent in the final match the former World Champion siad: “I’ve played two games against Andreikin this year and lost both of them. One game I lost by an awful blunder. But that doesn’t make me afraid of him. I still believe I’m a slight favorite in this match. It would be an interesting point to try and take revenge.”

Evgeny Tomashevsky had to end his great run at the World Cup this year with a final fall in the semis. He was unable to exploit the advantage of the white pieces in the first game and it seemed as though the second game would also end in a draw. But, Dmitry Andreikin played precisely to win the match.

“I didn’t expect Evgeny and I would meet in a match. Even one round before when I played against Svidler and he played against Kamsky the chances of us meeting in the next stage seemed so small. I’m very glad to qualify for the Candidates Tournament even though I’m not really sure how I’m going to prepare for the event and how I'll play there…” said Dmitry Andreikin after the match.

Answering a question about his chances in the final Dmitry Andreikin pointed out: “Yes, it’s true that I have 2:0 against Kramnik but I must say I haven't played very well in classical chess in this event so far. At one moment I had to use the famous tactic where you're satisfied with two draws in classical and then try to win in rapid. That wasn't my goal from the beginning but it happened as I couldn't get anything with White. I decided to save my energy for rapid. I believe at this level it’s easier to make a draw with Black than to win with White. In any case, I’m sure Kramnik will try to press in classical chess. I’m very happy we have a free day tomorrow as I had only one free day before. It was a long time ago, after the second round when I accidentally won a classical game. The tournament hasn't finished yet - the final is ahead”.

After the rest day Vladimir Kramnik will play with the white pieces against Dmitry Andreikin on the 30th of August.

Time controls and rulesThe time control for each two-game match is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. If the score is equal there are two rapid chess tiebreak games, played at a rate of 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds per move. If the score is still equal then two accelerated games will be played, with a time control of 10 min + 10 sec. If the score is still equal two more games will be played at 5 min + 3 sec. If the winner is still not determined then a final Armageddon game with 5 minutes for White and 4 minutes for Black, with a 3 sec increment after move 60, will be played. In this game Black has draw odds (i.e. he wins if the game is drawn).

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Canada Chess Open 2013: Nigel Shot Wins Title on Tiebreak over Eric Hansen

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone,

The Canadian Chess Open 2013 took place 13-20th July at the National Hotel and Suites Ottawa in Ottawa, ON. The tournament saw a very intense fight for first place with strong players such as Nigel Short, Lazaro Bruzon and Ivan Sokolov aiming to get a big payout. These strong GMs were joined by young and ambitious Canadian players, such as GM Eric Hansen and IM Aman Hambleton.

Former world chess championship challenger Nigel Short showed his class and finished the event with six wins and three draws, but he had to wait for the organizers to calculate the tiebreak scores to get the winner’s title, as GM Eric Hansen achieved the same score. Both players received the same money prize, $4.000.

Five players shared 3rd-7th place after getting 7 points: Lazaro Bruzon, Ivan Sokolov, Aman Hambleton, Edward Porper and Arthur Calugar. Full standings below.

Nigel Short – Eric Hansen

Chessdom talked with Eric Hansen, who expressed satisfaction with his performance at this event:

The tournament took place in our capital, a quiet city. Because there were not many distractions, I was pretty focused on my tournament games. I managed to play solid and take advantage of my opponents’ mistakes for most of my victories. This is my last tournament in Canada before moving to Spain so It’s nice to leave on a good performance. Now, I will focus all my attention to preparation for the World Cup.

Aman Hambleton, who is a member of the Master Team that plays regularly at Chessdom Arena, was part of the organizing team, but this did not prevent him from getting a really good score at the tournament:

I was a part of the organizing team for the tournament, my job being the Elite Player Coordinator in charge of the foreign invitations, VISA’s, conditions, etc.
I thought the tournament was a great international look for Canada, with some near-2700 level participants (Nigel Short, Lazaro Bruzon, Ivan Sokolov).
Also, most of Canada’s young players (FMs, IMs) played the tournament so it was a nice chance for them to play with some different competition for a change :)
I found the tournament to have a nice schedule, very relaxing one game/day for the most part and it allowed time for most players to visit the many tourist sites in Ottawa, especially Parliament Hill. For me, it’s not an issue since I am living in Ottawa!
GM norms were possible, but unfortunately the GM’s in the tournament were not doing so well so even though I had 5.5/7 I only played an FM in round 8. I was close to making a GM norm, with performance near 2600 and 7/9 but I had only played 2 GM’s.
For a big Open of 200 participants, I think the Organization did a good job keeping the spectators up to date with pairings, as well as a very detailed Multimedia page with postmortem videos and pictures from the rounds.

Bruzon, Sokolov and Hambleton are among the players that traveled straight to Quebec to participate in the Quebec Open Chess Championship 2013. (www.chessdom.com)

Official website

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GM Lazaro Bruzon wins Edmonton International Chess 2013

12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Chess Daily News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

 

Cuban Grandmaster Lázaro Bruzón finished with a draw at the Edmonton International Tournament, where he got clear first place with a socre of 23/27, adding six Elo points to his rating that now rises to 2698.

In a round where everything was already decided, after getting first place at the previous one, the five-times Cuban champion split the point with National Master Robert Gardner (2213), thus finishing with seven wins and two draws.

He dominated the event from start to finish, leaving English GM Nigel Short (2677) in clear second place with 17 points. Locals Richard Wang (2371) and Eric Hansen (2577) followed with 14 points each.

The peace treaty signed in the final game avoided Bruzon from passing the 2700-barrier again; after having gotten to 2701 points earlier. He will try to return to this elite group in the Canadian open that will begin on July 13th.

This tournament will have a very strong lineup, which includes Short, Dutch veteran Ivan Sokolov, Lithuanian Eduardas Rozentalis, local hero Eric Hansen, Iranian Elshan Moriadabadi, etc.



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Edmonton Chess Festival: Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzón in Lead

12th Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Latest Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

With three wins in as many rounds, Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon is the sole leader at the Edmonton Chess Festival in Canada. He beat local talent Richard Wang in the third round to surge ahead. Bruzon, Wang and Cuban Rodney Perez were with perfect scores so far. The system at the event is the 3-1-0 system. Bruzon has 9 and Perez is in second place with 7 points. Perez drew with black pieces with local player Dale Haessel in the third round.
Also playing well at the event are Israeli Victor Mikhalevski and Canadians Eric Hansen and Edward Porper. Mikhalevski beat former world title challenger Nigel Short, while Hansen and Porper beat their compatriots Robert Gardner and Maxin Doroshenko respectively. The line-up for the fourth round is Bruzón-Perez, Short-Wang, Hansel-Haessel, Porper-Gardner and Mikhalevski-Doroshenko.

Standings after three rounds: Bruzón (9 points), Perez (7), Wang (6), Mikhalevski (5) Porper (4), Hansen (4) Short (3), Doroshenko (3), Haessel (1 ) and Gardner (0).

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Four-Nations Chess League: Guildford 1 Wins Title with Fressinet, Short, Edouard, Jones, Saddler, Kampen, Stefanova

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

Hi everyone, 

Guildford 1 won the Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) on Monday finishing on 13 points out of 7 matches. The team, which had e.g. Laurent Fressinet, Nigel Short, Romain Edouard, Gawain Jones, Matthew Sadler, Robin van Kampen and Antoaneta Stefanova playing this year, scored one match point more than Wood Green Hilsmark 1 (with e.g. Vassily Ivanchuk, Michael Adams, Alexei Shirov and Luke McShane), according to a ChessVibes report.

The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) is a team tournament (league) over three divisions in the UK. Over 850 players are taking part and there's over £10,000 in cash prizes on offer. It is held at different venues over various weekends. The first eight rounds were played over four weekends, and the final three rounds took place last Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Like the German Bundesliga, the 4NCL is a company and not connected to an official body. Different from the Bundesliga and other leagues is that each team must have at least one female player.

For the final, decisive weekend some teams flew in a few really strong players. Especially reigning champion Wood Green's line-up was impressive: in the last three rounds Vassily Ivanchuk, Michael Adams, Alexei Shirov, Luke McShane, David Howell, Jonathan Rowson, Pia Cramling, Alexander Baburin, John Emms, Andrew Greet and Nicholas Pert all played at least one game.

But it was not enough. Instead, Guildford 1 took the title, playing with Laurent Fressinet, Gawain Jones, Romain Edouard, Nigel Short, Matthew Sadler, Robin van Kampen, Antoaneta Stefanova, Mark Hebden and Stuart Conquest.

Guildford had won all of their matches and they went into the final weekend a point ahead of Wood Green, who dropped a match point on February 23rd in their match with Cheddleton 1. All games ended in draws there.

Last Saturday, both Guildford and Wood Green won their matches. Wood Green's Michael Adams, who played his last game in the Alekhine Memorial in St Petersburg only three days before, slowly outplayed Peter Wells in a double rook endgame.

However, everything came down to the final round, in which the big clash would decide everything. 4-4 was enough for Guildford, and that's what happened! At some point the score was 3.5-3.5 and David Howell needed to win against Nigel Short for the title. In the end the former World Championship Candidate held the draw, and thus secured the championship for his team. Read the complete report and games here.

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Talking Chess Match: Nigel Short beats Ehsan Ghaem Maghami

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

Hi everyone, 

An interesting chess match passed us by even as we were busy settling down for the long-haul of the Candidates Chess Matches in London. Former World Championship Challenger GM Nigel Short defeated Iran’s strongest player GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami in the first “Talking Chess” match that was held in Tehran on 8-12 March 2013. They played a total of 16 games in three different chess variants: four classical games, four rapid games and eight blitz games. Nigel Short achieved a better score overall and defeated the Iranian in all three individual categories.

The Englishman won his two classical games with white to get a 3-1 score in this part of the match. Then, there were four decisive rapid games, where Nigel took a full point in three occasions, achieving the same score as in the classical. The blitz section saw a more balanced struggle; when they got to the 7th game, the score was tied, but then Short demonstrated his class once again and defeated the Iranian in the very last battle.

Every five moves, the players went to a secluded room and recorded their thoughts on videocam. The recordings can be seen at the official website.

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Talking Chess - A New Way to Broadcast Chess

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

Hi everyone,

GM Nigel Short of England and local hero GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami make the ceremonial opening moves in the Talking Chess Match, a unique format where players record their comments while playing. Looking on are, from left, Asian Chess Federation Treasurer Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, Iran Chess Federation Secretary General Hadi Karimi and President Mohammed Kambouzia and Chief Arbiter Casto Abundo of the Philippines.

How to make chess a spectator sport? Talking chess is the new way to broadcast chess. Former World Championship Challenger GM Nigel Short will play a Talking Chess match against GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, Iran’s strongest player from 8-12 March 2013 in Tehran, Iran. The Talking Chess Match is organized by the Iran Chess Federation. There will be four standard chess games, two Rapid chess games and four Blitz chess games. In standard chess, ten minutes each will be added to the total time to give each player extra time to make their recordings.

Every six moves, players go to a secluded room and record their thoughts on videocam. The live broadcast of the moves will be highlighted by the recording of the players. It will be interesting to see how the players think. Both may think they are ahead in the position. Or both may think they are at a disadvantage. Usually players give press conferences after the game and explain their analysis. 

In Talking Chess, players share their analysis while the game is going on! Neither player will be able to hear the other’s recording although spectators in the hall will have headphones and the live analysis will be broadcast on the internet at www.talkingchess.com.

When he was told that chess was not a spectator sport, Bobby Fischer said that chess is the true spectator sport since viewers analyze and not only watch. In Talking chess, the players also share their analysis. This format may be what chess needs enter television. Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh, originator of the Talking Chess Match, said that television companies in Iran have shown great interest in the format and will make a TV show of the match. (Fide)

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Tradewise Chess Fest in Gibraltar: Top Seeds Stumble

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

Hi everyone,

 

The Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2013 has begun. Here is the official report by John Saunders about how some excellent chess has already been played in the first two rounds humbling some top seeds: Early rounds of big opens rarely produce major surprises, as the top half of the draw tends to murder the bottom half in cold blood. But this year’s Gibraltar Masters produced a couple of shocks in the first round as the two highest rated competitors, former Gibraltar winner Vassily Ivanchuk and world championship runner-up Gata Kamsky, were held to surprise draws by amateur players in the first round as the players got down to business at the Caleta Hotel.

In the second round there was a bigger shock as three times Gibraltar winner Nigel Short succumbed to 40-year-old Spanish IM Ismael Teran Alvarez (photo), who is ranked only 72nd in the Masters line-up. Five of the other top seeds, Michael Adams (England), Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Poland), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) and Le Quang Liem (Vietnam), are amongst the 45 players still on a 100% score.

Nigel Short holds the record for the most Gibraltar Masters titles (three) and he had only previously lost two games in the 53 games he has played in his six visits to the tournament, so his defeat came as a big surprise. Nigel refused to make any excuses and admitted he couldn’t explain his poor play in this game.

Vassily Ivanchuk, 43, is through to the last eight of the World Chess Championship qualifier to be held in London in March but in round one he couldn’t make any impression on Hristos Zygouris, an untitled 38-year-old amateur player ranked 90th in Greece. Ivanchuk allowed an early exchange of queens but found he could not make progress against solid play from his opponent, agreeing a draw on move 31. Chucky may have been fractionally worse when the point was split but the Caleta Hotel bar was echoing with the opinion that a certain young man currently playing in the Netherlands would not have agreed a draw before move 231.

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Edmonton Chess: Short Wins Title; Nice Irina Krush Game

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

Hi everyone,

GM Nigel Short delivering a lecture in Edmonton.

British Grandmaster Nigel Short has just added another chess trophy to his 'private collection'. Nigel Short won the 7th Edmonton International by 3 points (3 points for a win) from Viktor Mikhalevski (who beat Short in the first round).


Players of the main event: IM Leon Piasetski, GM Anton Kovalyov, FM Vladimir Pechenkin, GM Nigel Short, IM Irina Krush, GM Victor Mikhalevski, NM Robert Gardner, IM Edward Porper

The seventh edition of the Edmonton International Chess Festival is one of only two annual competitions in Western Canada that offers international norms opportunities. The competition took in the Edmonton Chess Club and consisted of round robin with ten players. You can check out the official website for lots of photos and details.

Meanwhile, here is a nice game from the event with Irina Krush going for the big battle in an endgame against a gritty defence!

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Chess in Japanese Night Club with Nigel Short

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

Hi everyone,

British Grandmaster Nigel Short was in Japan recently to take part in one of the biggest chess events in Japanese chess history - Check Mate Lounge! The event took place at a night club in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, according to a nice report in Chessdom.

Nigel played against the two top FMs in Japan. One was Yoshiharu Habu, professional shogi (Japanese chess) player, and the other was Shinya Kojima, former Japan champion.

While shogi and go are quite popular, chess has not yet attracted much attention in Japan. Therefore, Shinya Kojima as the organiser asked his elder brother, Joji Kojima, for help to make this event as charming as ever for the Japanese audience. Joji Kojima is a jewelry designer whose aesthetic creation has been highly admired. Velours, the venue of the event, was one of the few prestigious night clubs in Japan, where Michael Jackson had a party while he stayed here.

Nigel Short played against Habu and Kojima in the Clock Simul style with 60 minutes plus 30 seconds/move. After two and a half hours, Habu drew with Short, while Kojima lost. Short praised Habu for his high skills, this is a second successful result for Habu after he had drawn last autumn with French Champion Vachier-Lagrave.




Joji Kojima (left), producer of the event, is widely known as a jewelry designer for Lady Gaga and many others

One of the reasons for this event to be considered unprecedentedly unique is its collaboration with Nico Nico Douga (possibly translated in English as “smile videos”). Nico Nico Douga is the biggest video sharing website in Japan. It resembles Youtube, but differs in that the audience’s comments may instantaneously be overlaid onto the video. Check Mate Lounge was uploaded live for more than seven hours. It had some 100,000 viewers and received over 70,000 comments.

Another Check Mate Lounge is planned for autumn 2012. We are currently looking for overseas players who could come and participate in it. To enter the show, visit the official site.

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Nigel Short Wins 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open 2012

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

Hi everyone,

Down where the Emerald Buddha lives, in the city with the longest name in the world, British Grandmaster Nigel Short has shot down all competition to win the 12th Bangkok Chess Club Open, 2012. he drew with IM Nguyen Duc Hoa in the last round to win the chess event even as Hoa picked up his GM norm for an excellent performance.

Having won the Gibraltar Chess Open earlier in the year, Short was in good spirits and determined. This was his fourth consecutive BCC Open Chess tournament.

The final top standings after 9 rounds are as follows:GM Short Nigel (ENG) 7.5
GM Amonatov Farrukh (TJK) 7
IM Nguyen Duc Hoa (VIE) 7
GM Sriram Jha (IND) 7
IM Liu Qingnan (CHN) 6.5
IM Venkatesh M.R. (IND) 6.5
IM Saptarshi Roy (IND) 6.5
Wan Yunguo (CHN) 6.5
GM Gustafsson Jan (GER) 6.5
Liu Chang (CHN) 6.5
Nguyen Van Huy (VIE) 6.5
GM Schebler Gerhard (GER) 6.5
GM Neelotpal Das (IND) 6.5
GM Hou Yifan 6

In the Challenger category, Tint Swe Win (MYA) is the sole winner with 6.5 points after having defeated Filipino front-runner Arnulfo Gavilan Jr. in the final round. Tint Swe Win is followed by a six players from the Philippines!

The very competitive and well-attended blitz tournament was won by GM Farrukh Amonatov. IM Nguyen Van Huy was the runner-up, and Wan Yunguo finished third.

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Thank god Kasparov has retired, but he is tops in chess: Nigel Short

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


Hi everyone,


The ever-witty, maverick grandmaster Nigel Short was in Pakistan the other day as honourary guest at the Pakistan National Championships. (Read the report on www.chessblog.com.) We picked up some nice quotes given by the British chess player to Pakistan press. 

• I had a couple of celebratory drinks before reaching here
• I love to travel and the game has taken me to many countries. Pakistan is the 98th country that I have visited so far.
• Chess has a 1,500-year history in the subcontinent. India today is a big chess powerhouse with strong players and Viswanathan Anand as the world champion, but I was wondering about what was going on with chess in Pakistan.
• Players like Shahzad and Lodhi have given the game recognition here. Now Pakistan should look towards the younger generation to take this game to higher levels. All you need is a bit of money and a few willing people to see the talent flourish here
• (On if there was money in chess as compared to cricket or tennis) Well, I just won 25,000 pounds at the Gibraltar Masters. Chess won’t make you rich, but it’s not so bad either. Plus world championships are worth over a million dollars.
• (On most interesting opponent) Gary Kasparov - That man has tortured me more than anyone. Thank God he has retired now. But he is tops! You can’t go up and challenge a chess champion just like that. There is a meritocracy that has you going through a process in Britain. I kept playing and winning at the zonal level to come up and finally be able to face the champion.
• (On most difficult match) Against Anatoli Karpov in 1992 in Spain. “He was the champion for 10 long years from 1975 to 1985 and I defeated him.

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Wasim Akram leads Pakistan national chess event

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

Hi everyone,

More chess news from Pakistan. National chess master and Pakistan No 3 Wasim Akram caused a major upset in the 2nd Pakistan Chess Players Association (PCPA) Open Chess Championship Zahiruddin Farooqui Trophy underway at Beach Luxury Hotel when he beat defending champion Mahmood Lodhi in the the event’s fourth round.

Four times national champion and Pakistan No 2 Tanveer Gilani also fell into difficulties against national master Asad Rampuri. Asad was in a better position against his counterpart but failed in maneuvering his pieces correctly before losing the game. But Tanveer’s joy was short-lived as Lodhi beat him in 57 moves in the fifth round to bounce back in the event.

Wasim Akram leads with five points, Mahmood Lodhi and Pakistan No 34 Khurram Qureshi were tied for the second spot with four points, No 10 Riasat Ali Nazim, No 8 Syed Wahid Hussain and No 4 Anwar Qureshi, Tanveer Gilani, Jahangir Ahmed and Asif Abbasi are tied at third position with 3.5 points.

The third day’s matches were watched by visiting British Grandmaster Nigel Short who is a guest-of-honour at the event. “I wouldn’t object to coaching in Pakistan if given an offer if you can find sponsorship to arrange that. I wouldn’t have the slightest problem with that,” he said.

The grandmaster would be playing chess with 12 young players of the country. Read further here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Nigel Short wins the Gibraltar Chess Masters after a tense play-off with Hou Yifan

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

Hello everyone,

Congratulations to Nigel Short who has won the Gibraltar Masters following a tense but exhilarating play-off against Women's World Champion Hou Yifan. Nigel won the play-off 1½-½.

Congratulations to Hou Yifan for such an amazing performance... and the year has only begun!

The results of Nigel Short in Gibraltar
2003 =1st-2nd with Krotonias
2004 Clear first
2005 did not participate
2006 =2nd-3rd with Sutovsky (Winner) Kiril Georgiev
2007-2010 did not participate
2011 clear 2nd (Winner Ivanchuk)
2012 1st winner of tie-break with Hou Yifan 1½-½

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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Breaking chess news - Hou Yifan and Nigel Short in play-off at Gibraltar Chess Festival

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

Hello everyone,

This is already the most exciting chess news of the year 2012 so far. Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan and Grandmaster Nigel Short both scored 8/10 in the Gibraltar Masters so a play-off is now required. In the final round today Hou Yifan drew her game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on board 1 and Nigel Short defeated Krishnan Sasikiran on board 3.

The live webcam shot of this historic chess play-off! Surely!

The play-offs have begun and you can follow live at the GibraltarChessFestival website. We are already delighted to congratulate the young teenager GM Hou Yifan for the fantastic performance at this strong open and GM Nigel Short for his flowing natural style to get to the top. Of course, historic event for talented youngster. 

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Pakistan national chess championship begins Feb 2; GM Nigel Short to hold simuls at event

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

Hello everyone,

Here is update about some chess news from Pakistan. Pakistan’s top player for the last many years and the reigning national champion Mahmood Lodhi will defend his title in the second edition of PCPA Chess Championship for the Zahiruddin Farooqui Trophy due to staged at a local hotel from February 2 to 5.

The four-day event, being organised by the Pakistan Chess Players Association (PCPA) with the collaboration of the Mind Sports Association of Pakistan (MSAP), was launched with a media briefing at the Karachi Club on Thursday.

The details of the championship, dedicated to the late Zahiruddin Farooqui, who excelled in chess as well as bridge, were unveiled by Hanif Qureshi, Chairman PCPA, and Tariq Rasheed Khan, Director MSAP, who is tipped to be elected as the Vice Chairman of the chess body in its elections on February 4.

International Master Shahzad Mirza also spoke on the occasion.He said British Grandmaster Nigel Short will be attending the event to hold simultaneous display against the top performers of the International Students Olympiads.

The championship will be carrying a prize money of Rs 1,25,000 (about $2500) with the winner to take home a purse of Rs 25,000 (about $500).

There will be special prizes for top two unrated, women and student players. The cash prizes will be disbursed among the top 16 players of the event to be contested on Swiss League eight-round system. Each player will be allocated 55 minutes in every round. The last date for entry is January 30.

The championship will get underway at 4 pm on February 2 with the opening round and will conclude with the eighth round on February 5. Speaking on the occasion, defending champion Lodhi expressed his keen desire to become the country’s first Grand Master.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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Top chess quote: I understood for the first time in my life that Kasparov was very vulnerable, says Nigel Short

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hi everyone,


Everyone's going to love this interview. An insight into the great chess mind by one of those most talented and maverick chess grandmasters out there. Nigel Short says, for the first time in his life - probably - he figured that Gary Kasparov was vulnerable. 

Grandmaster Nigel Short, who played in October a nostalgic blitz match in Leuven, Belgium against Garry Kasparov, and lost this competition by a narrow margin, 3.5-4.5, answered a couple of Mikhail Golubev’s questions for www.chess-news.ru.

M.GOLUBEV: How would you evaluate the match and your result?
N.SHORT: It was better than I expected prior to the match. However I understood - probably for the first time in my life - as soon as we started playing that he was very vulnerable.

M.GOLUBEV: Maybe it was better to play 9.h4 in the decisive game? Recently Vallejo won a decent game against Sanikidze in this variation.
N.SHORT: Possibly. Anyway, I made a poor psychological choice in the last game because he is very good at attacking.

M.GOLUBEV: Is not Kasparov just a lucky guy, generally?
N.SHORT: Not really.

M.GOLUBEV: I know that you headed the Playchess.com blitz rating list for a while. Are you still spending time for playing blitz on the Internet?
N.SHORT: I play way too much blitz chess. It rots the brain just as surely as alcohol.

M.GOLUBEV: Have you ever played the unofficial internet blitz games against Kasparov?
N.SHORT: I don't recall. However I do remember playing him a series of friendly blitz games in Megeve, France, many years ago. The first six games were won by black! If I am not mistaken, we final score was around 6-6 which was, of course, an exceptionally good result for me.

M.GOLUBEV: Is it possible that the blitz competitions would be considered at one day as a fully legitimate form of the professional chess, with its own rating list an so on?
N.SHORT: I think that blitz chess is seriously underdeveloped as a tool for promoting chess. There ought to be separate blitz ratings. Unfortunately though now we have a world championship where the three disciplines (classic, rapid and blitz) are mixed together and this is just wrong.

You can read the Russian version here.

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