World Chess Championship 2014: Anand Snowed in Hard Work, Praises Russian Chess Fed organisers, Carlsen

Hello chess blog friends, former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand is very, very busy these days! He spoke to the Economic Times in India and said, "Lots of work, coffee and Coldplay." Indeed, he is set for his next crack at the World Chess Championship this November.

He is gearing up for the summit clash against incumbent Magnus Carlsen, which begins in Sochi on November 7. He is confident the location will work for him, "I think it will be a very good venue, having played a lot of events and a world championship match in Russia. I can say that the event will be very well organised."

"The Russian chess federation is always led by a very capable team and I am sure they will put together a very good event both for the spectators as well as for the players," he adds.

Anand has returned after a bronze medal finish at the World Rapid Championship held in Dubai in June. He spoke to ET just after the last round of the World Rapid and later continued the conversation from his Chennai residence. 

Despite defeating Carlsen in their individual game, he could not prevent the Norwegian from annexing the world rapid and blitz crowns. Anand was all praise for his rival's ability, "full credit to him, he responded very well, his defeat was very unpleasant but he won two games (after the loss) as if nothing had happened."

You can read the full article at the Economic Times website.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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at www.chessqueen.com
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Felicitations! Chess Queen Kosteniuk, Valentina Gunina Congratulated at Special Function in Moscow (Updated)

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


Hi everyone,

Fide president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov congratulating Valentina Gunina and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk.

We have exciting news to share. Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina were honoured in Moscow at a special felicitation ceremony attended by officials, players, journalists, and distinguished guests. As you know, recently, GM Kosteniuk had picked up a Silver Medal at the World Women's Rapid Chess Championshipand (a very close to medals' list) fourth place at the World Women's Blitz Chess Championship. IM Valentina Gunina had won the Gold Medal by an exciting performance at the Women's Blitz Chess Championship. Updates to follow at Chess Queen and Chess Blog. 


You can also read the complete reports about the Women's World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championships here on Chess Blog. There are great photos on Chess Queen website as well.


Read on Fide website. You can read the official website of the Russian Chess Federation here. 


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

Fantastic Chess Online Blitz - You Can Play for Prize money $38K!

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

Hi everyone,

A very special online chess event will take place from June to August of this year - an open Online Blitz Grand Prix. This is surely the world's biggest online chess competition so far!

As the title suggests, this chess competition will be held on the Internet, and it will truly be a Grand Prix - the prize fund is more than 30,000 euro ($30,000 approx.)! This is pretty much the first time such a sum is at stake in this kind of competitions.

The Grand Prix is organized by the Russian Chess Federation. The competition is open to everyone and all players have equal opportunities! Even though many leading chess players will participate, no one will be able to play in the Finals without winning in the qualifying tournaments.

For those already interested, the competition will include 4 qualifying tournaments on the first and last Sundays of June and July, starting on June 3, 2012. The Final and Super Final tournaments will take place August 14-15, 2012. All tournaments start at 16-00 UTC.

The first qualifying tournament will be held on the 3rd of June, and all you need to participate is download the ChessOK Playing Zone client program for Windows OS or Android OS, register an account and buy membership at http://ctart.chessok.com. The membership also lets you play in individual and team tournaments for all levels held daily in the Playing Zone. International Masters and Grandmasters can become members for free by writing a request to chessok1@gmail.com.

The ChessOK Playing Zone is one of the world's most advanced chess playing zones. More than 116 000 registered and active players, 1 160 chess teams, daily individual and team tournaments, chess tutoring, an extensive online database and many other features will keep you entertained. The Playing Zone can be accesed using Windows-based personal computers or Android-based smartphones/tablet PC's.

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.

For more details, read the official regulations for the Grand Prix.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com