The Closet Grandmaster

Vale, Arianne

2020-03-31T17:03:00.000+09:00

Like many of you I was shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Arianne Caoili. Her husband, Levon Aronian, announced the news on Twitter.

Most of us knew her as a chess player.

But she was also a dancer. A singer. Lately, an accomplished career woman and a philanthropist.

She was a friend to many of us.

In the weeks before her passing, Arianne, like many people, was clearly concerned about the ongoing global crisis. Her social media accounts highlighted and, indeed, implored her friends and colleagues to maintain what is now a familiar call, "social distancing". I think that she might appreciate that we all listen and do this one small act.

Vale, Arianne. We will miss you.

Arianne and Levon Finally Wed

2017-10-02T12:03:00.000+09:00

In case you've been somehow unconnected with today's social media sites or online forums related to chess, then you might have missed this.

Congrats to them both.

#ArianneAndLevon

A post shared by Arianne Caoili (@arianne_caoili) on Oct 1, 2017 at 2:57am PDT

RIP Malcolm Pyke

2017-01-23T11:57:00.000+09:00

I am so very upset this morning to have learnt of the untimely passing of my friend Malcolm Pyke. We happen to be friends on Facebook, too, and over the last few days I'd enjoyed his regular photo updates of his trip in Portugal. So this news has come at a complete shock.

I don't remember now exactly when I first met Malcolm, possibly in one of the many events I used to play in, but it was in the 2009 Queenstown tournament, in New Zealand, that we hit it off. After the rounds, we'd play blitz late into the evening before hitting the local nightclubs at close to midnight!

Malcolm absolutely loved to dance. He had this funny groove that made him the center of attention, with cameras snapping in his direction. The girls loved him!

And he loved to sing, too. One night, surrounded by Kiwis, he damn nearly got us ran out of town.

That is the Malcolm Pyke I know and will always remember. Full of life, with a big smile and boisterous laugh.

In 2008, Malcolm achieved what must be his greatest accomplishment in chess - winning the Melbourne Chess Club Championships, ahead of the likes of Guy West, Mirko Rujevic and Doug Hamilton. He annotated his game against Hamilton for this blog following the event.

Farewell Malcolm. Farewell my friend.

Spot The Chess Player

2015-09-13T12:54:00.001+09:00

I'm pretty sure that there's a chess connection in this video. But you'll need to look very closely.

So, So Bad To Lose on Forfeit

2015-04-11T21:36:00.001+09:00

After many weeks not paying much attention to any sort of chess-related news (I even missed Doeberl!), this morning I logged on to Chessbase.com only to be shocked by the first thing I read. ICYMI, Wesley So lost a game on forfeit in the ongoing US Championships! Even more shocking to me was the reason.

After having been warned on two prior occasions to desist, So was forfeited for taking notes! Incredible stuff, especially at this level, and particularly for a top-tenner whom many believe will one day vie for the world crown.

To be clear, the notes were self-motivational reminders, but FIDE's rules allow no doubt - these notes are a no-no.

Despite what his diehard fans might say, Wesley So is absolutely at fault. He broke the rules. The two prior warnings make his situation even less defensible. And, no, claiming he didn't know the rules won't cut it either.

GM Jan Gustafsson had it right:

Note to self: Don't write notes to self during a chess game.
— Jan Gustafsson (@GMJanGustafsson) April 11, 2015

As if all that wasn't bad enough, there are what seem to be some unsavoury details pertaining to Wesley's family. It's not looking good.

NZ's Natasha Fairley in The Bachelor

2015-03-05T22:55:00.001+09:00

This is a bit unexpected. New Zealand chess rep, Natasha Fairley, who I'm sure plenty of Australian chess players know very well, will appear on local television in NZ as one of the young women who will vie for the affections of "The Bachelor New Zealand". The show will begin screening on March 17. If you're outside of NZ, I guess there's always the recaps on YouTube.

I suppose I should say good luck to Natasha. I hope she gets her man. But honestly, I never thought she'd be the type to be needing to do this sort of thing. She ought to be "The Bachelorette"!

A Jule Surprise

2015-01-12T21:25:00.001+09:00

The past week has been a Chinese trifecta. Zhao Jun won the Hastings tournament, Ni Hua pulverized almost everyone at the Aussie Open and then there's also Zhao Xue who bagged the Kiwi Open. The two Zhaos winning were complete surprises. After all, they weren't exactly the favourites.

But here's another surprise. Out of the blue, I've just learnt that Australia's WIM Alexandra Jule is a New Zealand champion! Well, joint champion at least anyway. It turns out that she holds dual nationality, Kiwi and Australian. And by virtue of her 6 points, among a group of locals on a similar score, WIM Jule is officially a national champ. How about that?

Congrats WIM Jule.

Australian Chess Open 2015

2015-01-09T14:34:00.002+09:00

I meant to post something about the ongoing Aussie Chess Open much earlier, but with the rush to head back to Tokyo and immediately having to start work after a very non-Japanese 3-week vacation, this post is much delayed.

In fact, I actually turned up for the first round and live tweeted direct from the event. That was a first for me (live tweeting), and I think more events should probably do it. Tweeting, or live blogging as I once did many moons ago, always gives an extra dimension to a tournament. Despite recent advances in video coverage, there's something about the burst of text that is quite exciting. And after all, not every board can be viewed live and not every tournament can afford video coverage. Tweeting is cheap and easy. All you really need is a smartphone.

Anyway, if you're not already following yours truly, you can find me here.

My impression is that this Aussie Chess Open has been reasonably well-organised. I could certainly appreciate the organisers' enthusiasm. The venue itself, Castle Hill RSL Club, is very good. The only problem is that it is pretty damn far! Perhaps it's not such a problem if you have private transport, but for those many who must rely on what passes for public transport in Sydney, the trip to Castle Hill can be a real trek. Door-to-door from south west Sydney, it took me almost 2 hours to reach the venue. It was exhausting!

That wee complaint aside, I've really enjoyed following the tournament by remote. Lots of exciting games, especially by Australia's young guys. I particularly enjoyed the finish of Morris - Jones. Thankfully, we have a video of it courtesy of Gary Bekker. Although, it must be said, I'd have much preferred the, ahem, CM simply let the IM do most of the talking.

After 8 rounds, the Chinese super GM Ni Hua leads with 7.5 points followed by Khusnutdinov on six and a half. Not too far in the chase on 6 points apiece are Aussies Illingworth, Cheng and Schon. The latter is doing very well, indeed, for, as I understand it, he's bagged an IM norm. I'm no expert on the rules for norms, but here's hoping that a local or two will earn themselves the more coveted GM norm. That would be nice.

For pairings and results, click here; for photos courtesy of Cathy Rogers, click here.

Chess Christmas Cheer

2014-12-22T05:44:00.001+09:00

Look what I spotted in Sydney's Pitt St yesterday. When I saw the chess boards, my first thought was that Pablo Williams, The Jamaican Champion, must have expanded his operations! You can usually see him here this time of year. But, nope; no Pablo. This bloke who's hosting the simul is, in fact, none other than Sydney local Jason Chan.

Chess on The iPad

2014-11-24T11:59:00.000+09:00

I don't get much chess action myself these days, at least not over the board. But I still follow the top events closely. Thanks to Apple, I can do this, last night's World Championship game that ended it all for Vishy ("screwed"). That is my iPad tethered to my iPhone. And in case you're wondering, the red is a not too shabby Chilean merlot.

When I tweeted this last night, a couple of folks asked me what the app is. It is Playchess for the iOS, which is not too bad. I like the game board. But I think the Chess24 app is way better overall. Chess24's game board is not to my liking but you get access to their video coverage and the app is free!

Vishy Anand Is Screwed

2014-11-10T13:44:00.002+09:00

Boom! Just like that, Magnus Carlsen goes one up against Anand in their ongoing combat for the World Chess Championships. And it is only game two. Last year, it took until game five before we saw a decisive result. Honestly, why do we even bother?

Early this morning on Twitter I was amused to see a number of experts - GMs, journos and even an ex-World Champion herself - offer suggestions to the Anand camp. That perhaps Vishy should re-strategise and get a shrink. GM Jonathan Tisdall suggests that the Indian should play like, well, Vishy; that is, the younger, fearless Vishy. Play the Sicilian, tweets Tisdall. Mark Crowther, of TWIC, reckons it is time for plan B. But what that is supposed to be is unclear.

Without being disrespectful of the man, the fact is Anand is simply outclassed. This, my friends, is the bottom line. The Norwegian is too good. GM Nigel Short said it best: Anand is basically screwed.

So I say, save yourselves some late nights and get some sleep. Nothing to see here folks.

Guardiola on Chess

2014-10-16T16:48:00.000+09:00

Former Barcelona football club coach Pep Guardiola had this to say about chess:

The process of picking a line-up is a bit like sitting in front of your chess pieces. You’ve no idea how similar the two things are.

You can read more about his observations on chess here.

End of Chess in New York Times?

2014-10-14T16:00:00.000+09:00

Is it really the end of the chess column in the New York Times? Many people certainly thought so when this appeared at the foot of the 11 October edition.

A chess column has appeared in the NYT since... 1855. MT @kevingranville Spotted in today's NYT. Checkmate. pic.twitter.com/lh3vHaym2E
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) October 12, 2014

Then again, perhaps not.

As quoted by Poynter, a spokesperson for the NYT said, "We are considering eliminating the chess column in order to keep freelance costs in line. A final decision for the column (on all platforms) has not been made yet.”

However, just to be sure that chess doesn't get the cut from the NYT's pages, you could take the pro-active approach and write to the paper's exec editor. The email addy is executive-editor@nytimes.com.

Evelyn Koshnitsky, 1915-2014

2014-10-06T08:27:00.001+09:00

Such is the world today that the first thing I log on to is my social media feed. And one of the first tidbits I read this morning was a status update from a friend with the very sad news that Evelyn Koshnitsky has passed away, aged 99. Actually, it looks like the first news of this is via Kevin Bonham over on ChessChat.

I did not know Mrs Koshnitsky deeply, but I certainly knew of her reputation and the immense good she did for Australian chess over the decades.

Cathy Chua has a brief mention specifically of Evelyn Koshnitsky in an old post:

Evelyn Koshnitsky has made her life’s work the promotion of chess among the young and her special passion has been to get girls to play. First in Sydney and then in Adelaide from the early 1960s when the couple moved there she cajoled, begged and bullied support. Manpower, money, venues – she is an expert at getting what she wants from parents, schools, government, business – whoever might have something of use.

Illingworth GM Hunting in Hungary

2014-09-12T16:52:00.000+09:00

UPDATE (16 Sep): Max scored 3.5 from the last 4 rounds of his event. Thus, he not only won that tournament but also gained himself a GM norm!

(Original text below)

International master Max Illingworth, who starred for Australia at the Tromsø Olympiad last month, is extending his European stint in the hunt for another GM norm. And obviously in the process, hopefully, also raise his rating ever closer to that magic 2500.

Max is currently in the First Saturday GM event in Hungary. After 5 rounds there, the Sydneysider is undefeated on 3.5 points. With 4 rounds to go, he'll be desperately needing to double that tally for that prized grandmaster norm. Looking at his upcoming opponents, I must say that his chances are very good, indeed.

Good luck Max!

Carlsen Will Play in Sochi

2014-09-08T15:23:00.001+09:00

And it's on!

After days of uncertainty, the World Championship match between Carlsen and Anand is finally set to happen after the defending title holder signed the contract.

It has been a pleasure signing autographs for the fans in St. Louis. After the tournament I found the time for 1 more pic.twitter.com/wRELuTPko1
— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) September 7, 2014

No doubt many will be relieved, happy that a potential split in world chess has been averted. On the other hand, FIDE will be quite satisfied by the outcome; they can carry on business-as-usual. Others, particularly the average fan, will just be glad that there is yet another big event to look forward to.

I am, however, slightly disappointed. I was hoping that Carlsen would stick to his guns. I was very curious about what would happen next if he didn't sign. That surely would have made things a lot more interesting.

Japan's First International Master

2014-09-02T11:13:00.001+09:00

As far as chess news go this is hardly up there with Caruana's incredible 5/5 at the ongoing Sinquefield Cup, Carlsen possibly losing the world championship title by default or whatever else is happening in the world of chess. But since I am in the country, I might as well mention this little bit of news.

Japan is set to gain its first ever international master - Nanjo Ryosuke. News was broken by FM Shinya Kojima over on his blog. The irony, of course, is that FM Kojima himself was once touted as possibly Japan's first IM!

Obviously, Nanjo-san is not the first ethnic Japanese to achieve the international master title. There is, for example, Australia's Junta Ikeda as well as GM Nakamura who, I think, held the title once, too, before becoming a grandmaster in 2003 (at the time breaking Fischer's record as the youngest American to earn the title).

As they say here, "おめでとう"!

Another Split in World Chess?

2014-08-28T12:30:00.000+09:00

This is what I like to see, a World Champion who’s prepared to throw his weight around.

Magnus Carlsen is, for now, dragging his feet over the re-match against Anand that is slated for November. The Norwegian and his team have to date not signed the contract papers, queried the suitability of the venue, asked for more prize money and also raised questions about media coverage.

This is good. For if there’s anyone who really ought to do more to, at least, ruffle FIDE’s feathers – it’s the numero uno, the World Champ.

How is the world body supposed to react?

Already there is speculation that if he doesn't front up, Carlsen could be replaced by Karjakin. Of course, that would also mean stripping the Norwegian of his title!

Unlikely scenarios, I think, for what a disaster the situation would be for FIDE itself! First, there will once again be the problem of the FIDE champ's (il)legitimacy; and, second, lost revenues. Who would want to bankroll a match involving an alternate?

I am truly hoping that Carlsen will hold his ground on this one. A media star as big as him need not be FIDE's poodle.

How do you say "up yours" in Norwegian?

Levon Aronian's Preparation

2014-08-26T15:28:00.000+09:00

GM Levon Aronian just tweeted this.

Beach selfie from South Carolina. Sinquefield Cup starting tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/Ik9R2MunHW
— Levon Aronian (@LevAronian) August 25, 2014

The world number two spent the weekend in South Carolina. He and Arianne are on their way to St Louis where Levon will play in the Sinquefield Cup.

I imagine that the other participants are busy in front of their computers looking for that next big novelty. Between that and Aronian's prep method, I know exactly which one I prefer. After all, if you're world number 2 you can probably afford a bit of a frolick in the surf prior to the strongest tournament history!

How Norway Does Chess on TV

2014-08-22T11:05:00.001+09:00

We know that chess has been really big on Norwegian TV and that is thanks, of course, to their favourite son, Magnus Carlsen. The just completed Olympiad, for example, as well as the World Championships match in Chennai months before that were both heavily covered. Really impressive stuff.

But what does it take for a mainstream outfit to cover something like a chess event?

You would think that just a few cheap Handycams and maybe some GoPro's will do. Oh, no. The Norwegians went about their business like they were covering the summer Olympics! Sort of.

Here's Jon Stale Carlsen describing the lengths that NRK took to do their coverage of the Olympiad.

And just in case you're wondering how the official webcast did it, here's a wee look.

Eight screens in Tromsø still wasn't quite enough. Next webcast we can do better... #chessolympiad pic.twitter.com/nSEsXr0RAf
— Macauley Peterson (@Macauley64) August 21, 2014

Rwandans Upset By Captain

2014-08-20T07:19:00.000+09:00

I wonder what some experts on the regulations think of this.

It seems that the unfortunate incident on the last day of the Olympiad has had the unintended side-effect of causing ructions within the Rwandan men's team.

From Rwanda's The New Times paper:

The controversy started on the final day of the tournament on Thursday last week, when in round 11, a Seychelles player against Rwanda’s Alain Patience Niyibizi on board 2, suddenly collapsed and was later pronounced dead.

Although Rwanda was leading on the score against Seychelles before the incident, team captain Maxence Murara chose to sacrifice two games as loses in a gesture of goodwill to Seychelles, a decision which did not go down well with his teammates.

Never mind that the captain apparently did not consult his players, for that was just poor decision-making and obviously bad leadership. I am just curious about this: if the position is not evident on the board during actual play, how can a game be declared lost? Obviously, there may be situations wherein a game can be lost regardless of the position, like player behaving badly if I remember the Laws right, but we are not talking about this. The only procedure I can think of is that the captain sort of "resigned" on behalf of his players, although I am not sure if he can do that either.

Honestly, it is easy to understand the motivations of the Rwandan captain. But I think offering a draw would have been quite adequate as a gesture of goodwill.

Zhukova Berates Lagno

2014-08-19T13:41:00.000+09:00

Fourth board for Ukraine's women, Natalia Zhukova, had some pretty nasty things to say about ex-compatriot Kateryna Lagno.

Zhukova: "Getting rid of the parasites is always painless. Well, love cannot be forced. If she doesn't want to play for Ukraine, why do we need such people? We didn't communicate at the Olympiad, she avoided it. Cleansing is always for the better."

Terrible thing to say even for my tastes.

Obviously we're relying on the translation to be accurate, but since it is a Russian site, I guess it is 100% reliable.

Anyway, GM Jonathan Tisdall thought he might have read something else, too, in Zhukova's remarks.

Is this a veiled doping accusation? http://t.co/wOapy4hvDf #chessolympiad
— Jonathan Tisdall (@GMjtis) August 18, 2014

He was talking about the Ukrainian's comment that the Chinese "have some kind of medications which helps them to feel refreshed as on the first day."

Well, what do we think?

UK Parliament To Promote Chess

2014-08-17T12:31:00.003+09:00

The UK has just announced an All Party Parliamentary Group on Chess with the aim of promoting the game. It is an exciting development and one that many other countries could look to emulate. But I doubt if anything like this could be done in Australia any time soon.

The BBC has an audio of the news that features Malcolm Pein.

Havoc in The Olympiad

2014-08-16T12:36:00.000+09:00

A bomb, a gun! Apparently, players and spectators alike either momentarily imagined things or they just made stuff up. What exactly happened in that last round of the Olympiad? Courtesy of Australian arbiter Kerry Stead, who officiated in the event, we have now this sensational account.

According to Ian Rogers, Meier's face went red & the arbiter noticed this & went to get some medical attention. Another player also noticed this & ran across the room towards the medical area screaming 'MEDIC! MEDIC!'. The medical staff were quickly on the scene, but the commotion created concern amongst the otherwise very quiet playing hall. Some players & spectators moved towards the commotion to see what was happening & according to Kevin Bonham, at some point someone yelled out 'BOMB!' & this created havoc in the playing hall, with players, spectators & officials running for an exit. Seeing the likes of GM Michael Adams & other top chess players running past me as fast as they could was quite a sight!

The Sex Lives of Chess Pieces

2014-08-15T16:14:00.000+09:00

Who knew that chess pieces had secret sex lives?

Adult Swim. Chess Mating from Rubber House on Vimeo.