GM Saleh wins Al Ain Chess Rapid
Hello chess blog friends, the Al Ain Chess is off to a great start with some rapid chess. GM Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE won the Al Ain Rapid Chess Championship yesterday at the Hili Rotana hotel in Al Ain, undefeated with 6 points out of 7 rounds. Seventy players from 17 countries including 25 Grandmasters took part in the one-day precursor to the Al Ain Classic Chess Championship.
Salem beat Vugar Asadli of Azerbaijan, Armenians FM Manuel Petrosyan, GM Arman Pashikian and GM Samuel Ter-Sahakyan, GM Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan and drew with GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko of Ukraine and GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia.
After his fourth round loss to Salem, GM Ter-Sahakyan caught up to tie with 6 points for second place as Salem emerged first in the tie break. GM Kryvoruchko finished in third place with 5.5 points ahead by tie break over Mchedlishvili and GM Levon Babujian of Armenia who both scored 5.5 points each.
Seven players followed with five points each. Finishing in tie break order were GM Miknailo Oleksienko of Ukraine in 6th place followed by Marin Kravtsiv, also of Ukraine, GM Viktor Moskalenko of Spain, GM Alexander Kovchan of Ukraine, GM Arman Pashikian of Armenia and IM Amierreza Pourrameezanali of Iran.
Mokal Amruta Sunil of India won the award for best woman player while IM Omar Noaman received the prize for Emirati player and FM Mayed Alrashedi won best Al Ain player award.
Visit chess-results.com for Al Ain Rapid Chess results and standings and to download games.
More players are expected to arrive on time for the Al Ain Chess Classic also at the Hili Rotana hotel. At stake are some $50,000 in cash prizes with a top prize of $11,000 and various category prizes. The standard time control event shall be conducted as a 9-round Swiss System. Two rounds are scheduled on Saturday at 10 am and 5 pm. From Sunday games start 4 pm daily except for the last round which starts 2 pm. All games shall be broadcast live at the alainchess.com web site with photo gallery.
Organizing Committee head Dr. Saif Al Nuaimi (left) awarding prizes to the winners of the Al Ain Rapid Championship, from left, runner-up Ter-Sahakyan Samuel, champion Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE, third placer Kryvoruchko Yuriy, Tournament Director International Organizer Tarek Al Taher, Chief Arbiter Ashot Vardapetian. In front row are, from left, best woman awardee Mokal Amruta Sunil, Mchedlishvili Mikheil, Oleksienko Mikhailo, Kravtsiv Martyn, Kovchan Alexander and Moskalenko Viktor.
Organizing Committee head Dr. Saif Al Nuaimi makes the ceremonial move assisted by Tournament Director International Organizer Tarek Al Taher on the top board game between top seed GM Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan (right) and CM Puranik Abhimanyu of India. (Report via FIDE)
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Labels: al ain chess, rapid chess, salem ar saleh
Rapid Chess not Harmful, but Spectator Friendly: Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand
Hello chessblog friends, former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand has said in the Indian city of Pune, while speaking to Times of India. He said, "In chess, rapid and blitz are default tiebreak options and you can never neglect them completely.
Anand said: "Though the slower format is played in competitions, almost all the players there come through playing a lot of blitz (5 minutes per player) and rapid (25/30 mins per player). It's good for training. It is good to play more games in a day than one game a day which requires high concentration. I don't think rapid is harmful. It's more spectator friendly."
Anand will play the World rapid and blitz championships in Dubai from June 15 to 21.
Anand also said the club/league/franchise culture needed to be given time to get established in India and that one can't compare club loyalties and more systematic approach with Europe.
The 44-year-old refused to talk much on his World title rematch against reigning champion Magnus Carlsen not receiving a bid.
On Carlsen's mind-boggling plus-23 score (difference between wins and defeats) in classical chess since January 2013, he said: "Very impressive ... nothing much to say about that. It was impressive last year and it keeps going up. I have to find some way to match when playing against him. Going by Khanty (Candidates success), I feel optimistic and positive."
On whether older players tend to focus on 'not losing' instead of winning, Anand said: "I have no idea. I just feel that I had a difficult phase. For no particular reason, I did well in Candidates ... and now I feel optimistic again."
Anand gave glimpses of his endearing personality when he obliged the kids with a Q&A session with all seriousness.
He also managed to squeeze in a tiny 'workshop' for chess parents. He told them to "relax a bit", saying five-six hours of practice in a day in most cases was not necessary.
"Results should not stop them (children) from enjoying," he said reminding a refined quote from his father, who had said "we backed Anand because he loved the sport."
On dealing with increasing coaching expenses for the sport, Anand said: "If parents feel that coaching is valuable, then it can kind of get into an arms' race. When parents feel it could be useful even without any evidence to base it on, then it's peer pressure.
"No parent wants to handicap their kid. But I believe coaching is best in moderation. The best way of learning is still practising a lot. Without diminishing the coaches, coaching works when you have many examples to show.
"Youngsters are taking the game far too seriously and at far too early an age. They are getting too competitive ... that's the age to have fun. I would advice parents not to be too obsessive about coaching."
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Labels: blitz chess, rapid chess, Viswanathan Anand, world chess champion
FIDE Chess Ratings Blitz, Rapid: Spot Your Favourite GMs!
Hello chess friends, it is exciting to see chess ratings for blitz and rapid chess published by FIDE. The top players in the men's rapid ratings are Hikaru Nakamura 2841, Fabiano Caruana 2840, Alexander Grischuk 2828 and World No. 1 in standard, World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen is at No. 4 with 2827. Vassily Ivanchuk is ranked fifth with 2811 rating points.
Rapid World Top 10
Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2841 0 1987
2 Caruana, Fabiano g ITA 2840 0 1992
3 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2828 0 1983
4 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2827 0 1990
5 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2811 14 1969
6 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2799 0 1985
7 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2787 0 1976
8 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2785 0 1982
9 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2781 0 1990
10 Malakhov, Vladimir g RUS 2776 23 1980
There's a little shake-up in the blitz list, but Hikaru Nakamura continues to be No. 1.
Blitz World Top 10
Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2879 0 1987
2 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2866 0 1990
3 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2863 0 1982
4 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2837 0 1990
5 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2835 0 1990
6 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2827 0 1969
7 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2822 0 1985
8 Le, Quang Liem g VIE 2817 0 1991
9 Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2816 0 1990
10 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2801 0 1983
In the women's rapid and blitz list there are not many changes between the two lists or even as compared to the main world top list. Judit Polgar leads in all the lists.
Rapid Women Top 10
Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2656 0 1976
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2611 0 1987
3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2600 0 1994
4 Lagno, Kateryna g UKR 2599 15 1989
5 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2579 15 1984
6 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2578 15 1979
7 Ju, Wenjun wg CHN 2572 0 1991
8 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2547 15 1987
9 Muzychuk, Anna g UKR 2546 15 1990
10 Gunina, Valentina g RUS 2536 15 1989
Blitz Women Top 10
Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2673 0 1976
2 Muzychuk, Anna g UKR 2665 30 1990
3 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2662 0 1994
4 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2591 30 1987
5 Kosintseva, Tatiana g RUS 2578 30 1986
6 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2576 30 1985
7 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2569 30 1979
8 Gunina, Valentina g RUS 2560 39 1989
9 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2548 30 1984
10 Lagno, Kateryna g UKR 2540 30 1989
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Labels: blitz chess, fide chess ratings, rapid chess
Ivan Ivanisevic Wins Rapid Chess Tournament in Sabac
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Rapid and blitz chess fever is becoming popular catching on around the chess planet particularly after FIDE started registering blitz and rapid chess ratings. One nice chess tournament was held recently in Serbia: Sabacki Chess Club organized the “Cedomir Petrovic Memorial” rapid tournament on 7th December in Sabac, Serbia.
The tournament format was 9-round Swiss with the time control 15 minutes per player. 133 players, including 11 Grandmasters, took participation. Top Serbian player GM Ivan Ivanisevic emerged clear winner with 7,5/9 points. (www.chessdom.com)
GM Ivan Ivanisevic
Top Final standings:
1. GM Ivanisevic Ivan 2638 – 7.5
2. FM Pezelj Novak 2409 – 7
3. GM Pikula Dejan 2500 – 7
4. GM Lajthajm Borko 2550 – 7
5. GM Popovic Dusan 2554 – 7
6. GM Savic Miodrag R 2524 – 6.5
7. GM Stojanovic Dalibor 2551 – 6.5
8. GM Antic Dejan 2456 – 6.5
9. IM Arsovic Goran 2414 – 6.5
10. FM Pantelic Sasa 2342 – 6.5
11. IM Arsovic Zoran 2422 – 6.5
12. FM Kosanovic Dragan 2341 – 6.5
13. FM Stojanovic Marko 2294 – 6.5
14. FM Kolognat Petar 2294 – 6.5
15. FM Vujic Mihailo 2323 – 6.5
16. FM Stojanovic Dobrisav 2369 – 6.5
17. FM Sredojevic Ivan 2404 – 6.5
18. GM Cabrilo Goran 2442 – 6
19. IM Ilic Dragan M 2371 – 6
20. GM Abramovic Bosko 2427 – 6
21. FM Misojcic Miroslav 2259 – 6
22. Topalov Aleksandar 2245 – 6
23. Pantovic Dragan M 2159 – 6
24. Ignjatovic Predrag 2286 – 6
25. Micic Vlado 0 – 6
26. Novakovic Slobodan 2149 – 6
27. Savic Petar A 2127 – 6
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Labels: ivan ivanisevic, rapid chess, sabacki chess club
Chess players compete in Germany to help street children in Istanbul
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The intercultural Chess Club “Satranç Club 2000“organized the 7th Intercultural Rapid Chess Tournament in Cologne, Germany. Half of the proceeds have been donated to the Children of Hope Association, which helps impoverished children on the street in Istanbul, in cooperation with the Sister Cities Association of Cologne and Istanbul. Turkey’s Ambassador to Cologne Hüseyin Emre Engin attended the opening of the tournament, expressing his support for such events.
The Satranç Club was founded in the year 2000 by members of Turkish origin and now, many other nations are part of the club, thus realizing the World Chess Federation (FIDE) motto “Gens una Sumus” (We are one family). Istanbul and Cologne have been sister cities since 1997. (Hurriyet Daily News)
Labels: chess charity, children of hope association, cologne chess, huseyin emre engin, istanbul chess, rapid chess, satranc club 2000, sister cities association
Magnus Carlsen Edges Out Borki Predojevic in Rapid Chess Match
12th Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Latest Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
The world’s top rated player Magnus Carlsen faced Grandmaster Borki Predojevic from Bosnia & Herzegovina in a four games rapid match in Lillehammer this Friday and Saturday (28-29th June).
The match was played at the Radisson Blu Lillehammer Hotel, and with the rapid time control 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move.
In the first game Predojevic started cautiously with white and soon run into a passive position, but later he succeeded in trading all the pieces and holding a draw in the Rook endgame.
Magnus Carlsen
In the second game Carlsen was pressing with white, but his opponent obtained sufficient counterplay with the far-advanced d-pawn. Another Rook endgame and another draw.
In the third game Predojevic played Alapin Sicilian with white. The Queens quickly went off and Black even obtained a slight structural plus. After lots of maneuvering and probing, Black finally muscled his opponent into a lost ending.
In the final game another Queen-less opening and yet again the Norwegian was pushing for advantage. Predojevic, however, defended tenaciously and eventually salvaged a draw with moves repetition.
Magnus Carlsen won the match with the final score 2,5-1,5 (one win, three draws).
Borki Predojevic
The match has been initiated by Steinar Bryn, who is both a chess player and Senior adviser at The Nansen Center for Peace and Dialogue in Lillehammer, where he mainly works on peace projects in the Balkan region.
The rapid match in Lillehammer coincides with this year’s Norwegian chess championship starting on Saturday 29th. (www.chessdom.com)
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Labels: borki predojevic, Magnus Carlsen, rapid chess
Classical Chess Losing Popularity: GM Alexey Dreev
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
In an interesting observation, GM Alexey Dreev has said that classical chess is losing popularity because of computer use and rapid chess is the way to go in the future. He was speaking to Russian chess news site chess-news.ru. The European Rapid Chess Champion Alexey said, "In classical chess 20-30 moves made by the players aren't their own. Not in every game, but in most of them. The recent encounter Jakovenko - Gelfand is the best example of it. Dmitry decided to check his opponent, Boris forgot the theory on 41st move! Classical chess loses popularity under pressure of computers... This process has already started, but not everyone pays enough attention to it. Rapid is more entertaining. You should have preparation, but you don't have time to learn all that variations by heart! So, the one whose overall chess skills are stronger - wins. I consider this to be fairer. It's absolutely wrong to think that rapid chess is not objective! Only the strongest wins in it. You may play a classical game against the opponent whose rating is 2200, but who has memorized what Houdini has advised him, while rapid shows who is who immediately. What is more important, in rapid the role of computers goes down!"
Speaking about analysis and preparation, he said, "Depends with whom you are comparing. Let's say, Vishy Anand with his team, or Sergey Karjakin if talking about Russia. Sergey's preparation is focused on computer preparation. He has assistants who analyse with computers. Actually that's just a huge work, hard labor, hellish work. I've done that as long as I've been helping different players. The main problem is how to memorize all that. At least that's a problem for me. There are people with exceptional memory who have a huge advantage against others. As Garry Kasparov had once. Well, of course I write down some variants, but only to a definite point in analyses, not to absurdity!"
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Labels: alexey dreev, classical chess, rapid chess
NTG Chess Quick Grand Prix: Carlsen, Hammer Share First
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
There's plenty of blitz and rapid chess happening out there this December. The latest chess news comes from the NTG Quick Chess Grand Prix organised by the NTG Chess Club on 15th December. The 15-min rapid tournament was played in two groups and over seven rounds of Swiss system, according to a Chessdom report.
Top Norwegian Grandmasters Magnus Carlsen and Jon Ludvig Hammer shared the first place with 6,0/7 points each. Hammer defeated Carlsen but lost to the third-placed Aryan Tari. Carlsen took the first prize thanks to the slightly better tie-break.
B Group had 22 players, Henrik Storesund and Andreas G Tryggestad are tied on first place with 5,5/7 each.
Final standings A Group:
1-2. GM Magnus Carlsen 2849 and GM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2643 – 6,0
3. Aryan Tari 2295 – 5,5
4. Johan Salomon 2100 – 5,0
5. IM Frode Elsness 2468 – 4,5
6-9. Lars Oskar Hauge 2176, FM Kristian Stuvik Holm 2291, Anders Hobber 2244 and Johan-Sebastian Christiansen 2126 – 4,0
10-14. GM Simen Agdestein 2535, FM Andreas G.R. Moen 2386, Svetoslav Mihajlov 2056, FM Brede Alex. Kvisvik 2315 and Sebastian Mihajlov 2090 – 3,5
15-16. Francisco Silva Gonzàlez 1743 and Jens Hjorth Kjølberg 1897 – 3,0
17-20. Henrik Sjøl 1800, Arnt-Ole Johansen 1845, Sondre Merkesvik 1920 and Christian Harstad 1949 – 2,0
21. Johannes Haug 1942 – 1,5
22. Øystein Brekke 1923 – 1,0
Replay the Magnus Carlsen – Jon Ludvig Hammer, round 4 game with Chess King.
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Labels: blitz chess, jon ludvig hammer, Magnus Carlsen, NTG quick chess grand prix, rapid chess
More Blitz, Rapid Chess Tournaments: FIDE Tells Federations
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
FIDE is focused on promoting rapid and blitz chess. In a recent official announcement, FIDE says that they encourage more federations to further popularise and organize more Rapid and Blitz tournaments. A step in this direction is that the QC, after consultation with the Treasurer, has agreed to defer payments for rating reports and rating fees for Rapid and Blitz tournaments until at least 1 January 2014. Also, the QC will present its draft regulations for title awards for Rapid and Blitz at the 2013 Congress. Ideas can be submitted to ignatius.leong@fide.com before 31 January 2013.
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Labels: blitz chess, FIDE, rapid chess
Ail Ain Autumn Chess Fest (Blitz+Rapid) from Nov 23
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The latest chess tournament announcement via Fide is about the Al Ain Chess Club that will be holding its Autumn Chess Festival Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2012 on November 23 and 24 in UAE. The tournament will be submitted for FIDE rating.
Blitz Tournament Start at 03:00 P.M., Friday, 23 November 2012
System: 9 Rounds Swiss Time Control: 5 Minutes with 3 Seconds delay per move Rapid Tournament Start at: 02:00 P.M., Saturday 24 November 2012 System: 6 Rounds Swiss Time Control: 20 Minutes with 10 Seconds increment per move
Prizes:
Blitz Tournament (Total Prizes 3000 AED):
Winner 1000 AED + Cup
2nd 700 AED
3rd 500 AED
4th 250 AED
Best Woman 200 AED
Best UAE Man 100 AED
Best UAE Woman 100 AED
Best Alain Youth 100 AED
Rapid Tournament (Total Prizes 3000 AED):
Winner 1000 AED + Cup
2nd 700 AED
3rd 500 AED
4th 250 AED
Best Woman 200 AED
Best UAE Man 100 AED
Best UAE Woman 100 AED
Best Alain Youth 100 AED
Prizes will not be shared among tied players but determined by tie break. Closing Ceremony of both tournaments will be at 10:00 P.M. of 24 November 2012.
Tie Break System: 1- Direct Encounter; 2 - Buchholz Cut 1; 3- Buchholz Cut 2; 3- Sum of Buchholz 4- Sonneborn-Berger 5- Progressive Score.
Registration: Players who wish to participate should send the following information by Fax to 03-7633362; E-mail to Chessalain@yahoo.com; or by SMS to 050-4374421 till 20:00 of Thursday 22 November 2012.
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Labels: al ain chess, blitz chess, rapid chess
Vietnam Chess Blitz, Rapid Nationals 2012 Begin
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,More than 140 chess players, including 65 women from 14 cities, are competing in the 2012 Vietnam National Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships from July 5-10.
Among them are leading grandmasters Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, Nguyen Duc Hoa, Pham Le Thao Nguyen and Hoang Thi Bao Tram, as well as others who performed well at the recent Asian Junior Chess Championships, namely Nguyen Thi Mai Hung, Nguyen Anh Khoi and Vu Thi Dieu Ai.
Vietnam’s top player Le Quang Liem could not join the tournament as he is currently playing the 2012 World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, from July 1-10.
Eleven rapid and 13 blitz chess games will be played in the first round to select four best players in each category for the semi-finals.
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Labels: blitz chess, rapid chess, vietnam chess
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