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Carlsen closer to the No. 1 spot

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:49:00 +0000

Carlsen is closing in on the No. 1 spot. First, he did it by playing at Nanjing. Now, he's doing it without playing. Topalov is doing all the work for him. If Topalov draws or loses another game, the race can change.

1 Topalov 2805
2 Carlsen 2801
3 Anand 2788
4 Aronian 2783
5 Kramnik 2772
6 Gashimov 2765
7 Gelfand 2758
8 Svidler 2754
9 Leko 2752
10 Morozevich 2744

Top ranked Chess Players as on Oct 15 2009

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:13:00 +0000

01 Topalov 2810
02 Carlsen 2801
03 Anand 2788
04 Aronian 2786
05 Kramnik 2772
06 Gelfand 2758
07 Gashimov 2758
08 Svidler 2754
09 Leko 2752
10 Morozevich 2750

More Power to Indian Chess

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:21:00 +0000

An unprecedented eight Indian Chess Players are at or higher than 2600 on the FIDE ELO ratings list accordingly to their live ratings. The latest gains or losses in ratings can be viewed on the FIDE official site.

The biggest gainers will be prodigy Negi, Chanda, and Gopal. While Negi and Chanda leap over 2600, Gopal is only a couple of points short of the magical 2600 figure. On the flip side, Humpy is the unfortunate loser and will fall back below 2600 after quite a few rating periods. Yifan is just a few points behind and may even overtake her if she puts up a strong show in the second half of the Youth vs Experience event that she is participating in. Even in India, Harika is gaining quite a bit, having beaten Humpy this year. The other top players Harikrishna and Sasikiran are losing a few points.

India is thus set to climb up the FIDE Country ratings ladder. It will not be long before India has all the top ten players as 2600+ since an even stronger generation is hot on the heels of the 2600+ ones.

Editor,
imchess.com

World Cup Chess Qualifiers Announced

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:19:00 +0000

QUALIFIERS for the WORLD CUP 2009

a) From World Championship Match 2008:
1. V. Anand (IND - World Champion)

b) From World Cup 2007:
2. G. Kamsky (USA)
3. A. Shirov (ESP)
4. M. Carlsen (NOR)
5. S. Karjakin (UKR)

c) Women's World Champion 2008:
6. A. Kosteniuk (RUS)

d) Junior World Champions 2007 & 2008:
7. A. Adly (EGY)
8. A. Gupta (IND)

d) From FIDE Rating List, 20 players, average 7/2008 & 1/2009:
9. V. Topalov (BUL) 2786,50
10. V. Ivanchuk (UKR) 2780,00
11. A. Morozevich (RUS) 2779,50
12. V. Kramnik (RUS) 2773,50
13. T. Radjabov (AZE) 2752,50
14. P. Leko (HUN) 2746,00
15. L. Aronian (ARM) 2743,50
16. D. Jakovenko (RUS) 2734,50
17. S. Mamedyarov (AZE) 2733,00
18. P. Svidler (RUS) 2730,50
19. A. Grischuk (RUS) 2730,50
20. B. Gelfand (ISR) 2726,50
21. M. Adams (ENG) 2723,50
22. R. Ponomariov (UKR) 2722,00
23. Wang Yue (CHN) 2721,50
24. V. Gashimov (AZE) 2720,00
25. E. Alekseev (RUS) 2713,00
26. L. Dominguez Perez (CUB) 2712,50
27. Ni Hua (CHN) 2707,00
28. E. Bacrot (FRA) 2706, 50

e) 46 players from European Championships 2008 & 2009

29. S. Tiviakov (NED) 2008
30. S. Movsesian (SVK) 2008
31. S. Volkov (RUS) 2008
32. P. Tregubov (RUS) 2008
33. E. L’Ami (NED) 2008
34. M. Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2008
35. B. Grachev (RUS) 2008
36. V. Baklan (UKR) 2008
37. Y. Kryvoruchko (UKR) 2008
38. T. Nyback (FIN) 2008
39. E. Sutovsky (ISR) 2008
40. V. Laznicka (CZE) 2008
41. D. Pavasovic (SLO) 2008
42. Z. Efimenko (UKR) 2008
43. I. Papaioannou (GRE) 2008
44. A. Khalifman (RUS) 2008
45. E. Najer (RUS) 2008
46. D. Andreikin (RUS) 2008
47. G. Sargissian (ARM) 2008
48. J. Gustafsson (GER) 2008
49. L. Fressinet (FRA) 2008
50. I. Smirin (ISR) 2008
51. V. Bologan (MDA) 2008
52. E. Tomashevsky (RUS) 2009
53. V. Malakhov (RUS) 2009
54. B. Jobava (GEO) 2009
55. E. Inarkiev (RUS) 2009
56. I. Sokolov (NED) 2009
57. A. Naiditsch (GER) 2009
58. D. Navara (CZE) 2009
59. M. Kobalia (RUS) 2009
60. G. Guseinov (AZE) 2009
61. G. Meier (GER) 2009
62. F. Nijboer (NED) 2009
63. S. Fedorchuk (UKR) 2009
64. A. Timofeev (RUS) 2009
65. S. Sjugirov (RUS) 2009
66. M. Bartel (POL) 2009
67. R. Mamedov (AZE) 2009
68. B. Savchenko (RUS) 2009
69. K. Sakaev (RUS) 2009
70. N. Vitiugov (RUS) 2009
71. T. L. Petrosian (ARM) 2009
72. L. Nisipeanu (ROU) 2009
73. C. Lupulescu (ROU) 2009
74. A. Motylev (RUS) 2009

f) 19 players from Americas

75. I. Morovic Fernandez (CHI) Zonal 2.5
76. A. Rodriguez Vila (URU) Zonal 2.5
77. H. Nakamura (USA) Zonal 2.1
78. R. Hess (USA) Zonal 2.1
79. A. Onischuk (USA) Zonal 2.1
80. V. Akobian (USA) Zonal 2.1
81. Y. Shulman (USA) Zonal 2.1
82. A. Fier (BRA) Zonal 2.4
83. R. Leitao (BRA) Zonal 2.4
84. L. Bruzon (CUB) Zonal 2.3
85. E. Iturrizaga (VEN) Zonal 2.3
86. J. Hebert (CAN) Zonal 2.2
87. J. Ehlvest (USA) Continental 2008
88. A. Shabalov (USA) Continental 2009
89. F. Corrales Jimenez (CUB) Continental 2009
90. J. Granda Zuniga (PER) Continental 2009
91. G. Milos (BRA) Continental 2009
92. D. Flores (ARG) Continental 2009
93. A. Ivanov (USA) Continental 2009

g) 19 players from Asia/Oceania

94. S. Ganguly (IND) Continental
95. Zhou Weiqi (CHN) Continental
96. Yu Yangyi (CHN) Continental
97. Yu Shaoteng (CHN) Continental
98. Le Quang Liem (VIE) Continental
99. A. Rogelio Jr (PHI) Continental
100. Hou Yifan (CHN) Continental
101. C. Sandipan (IND) Continental
102. K. Sasikiran (IND) Continental
103. A. Kunte (IND) Continental
104. Wang Hao (CHN) Zonal 3.5
105. Zhou Jianchao (CHN) Zonal 3.5
106. D. Smerdon (AUS) Zonal 3.6
107. J. Sriram (IND) Zonal 3.2
108. D. Laylo (PHI) Zonal 3.3
109. Wesley So (PHI) Zonal 3.3
110. Al Sayed, Mohamed N. (QAT) Zonal 3.1
111. Amonatov, A. (TJK) Zonal 3.4
112. Filipov, A. (UZB) Zonal 3.4

g) 6 players from Africa

113. B. Amin (EGY)
114. K. Abdel Razik (EGY)
115. E. El Gindy (EGY)
116. W. Sarwat (EGY)
117. M. Ezat (EGY)
118. A. Rizouk (ALG)

h) 6 nominees of the FIDE President

119. To be announced…
120. To be announced…
121. To be announced…
122. To be announced…
123. To be announced…
124. To be announced…

i) 4 nominees of the local Organising Committee

125. To be announced…
126. To be announced…
127. To be announced…
128. To be announced…

Total = 128 players

Latest Live Chess Ratings

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:13:00 +0000

1 Topalov 2813
2 Anand 2788
3 Aronian 2773
4 Carlsen 2772
5 Kramnik 2772
6 Leko 2762
7 Radjabov 2757
8 Gelfand 2756
9 Ivanchuk 2756
10 Morozevich 2750

Mid August Live Chess Rankings

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Live Ratings of top 10 Chess Players

1 Topalov 2813
2 Anand 2788
3 Carlsen 2772
4 Kramnik 2772
5 Leko 2769
6 Aronian 2767
7 Radjabov 2757
8 Jakovenko 2755
9 Morozevich 2750
10 Gelfand 2750

Dynamic Chess Ratings, June 09

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:02:00 +0000

1 Topalov 2813
2 Anand 2788
3 Carlsen 2772
4 Aronian 2768
5 Gelfand 2765
6 Jakovenko 2760
7 Kramnik 2759
8 Radjabov 2758
9 Leko 2756
10 Morozevich 2751

Shirov wins MTel Chess 2009

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Alexei Shirov beat Magnus Carlsen to win the MTel 2009 Chess tournament. In a must win situation for a clear first, Shirov pushed Carlsen to the wall, winning pawn after pawn. Carlsen resigned in a hopeless position in just 30 moves.

Topalov drew his last game.

Topalov vs Ivanchuk

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Sat, 23 May 2009 07:30:00 +0000

MTel 2009 Chess. Chucky made some elementary errors in a long game and erred in playing 43 ... fxg2. Topalov found the winning move but not the best sequence to finish off Ivanchuk. But, the ending was very interesting. Take a look.

Christiansen (2631) vs Hughes (2293), US Chess Champs 2009

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:22:00 +0000

After a long game and fighting well, black has just played 47 ... Rcf8. Is it a blunder?

White to play and win

Solution: 48. Rh1 Rh7 49. Rxh7 Kxh7 50. Bd6 Rf7 51. Re2 Nf5 52. Rxe6 Nxd6 53. Rxd6 and White wins with the material advantage.

GM Christiansen chose another route to the inevitable win from that position.

Junior vs Hiarcs

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:45:00 +0000

World Computer Chess Championships.

Junior vs Hiarcs

Black has just played ... 29 .. Rg8. Can you find a win for White?

Shabalov vs Krush

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Black has just played 22 ... Rad8. Find the winning move.

White to play and win

Solution: 23. Rb3!

Naka Magic

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Sun, 17 May 2009 12:34:00 +0000

Nakamura reached into joint lead with this win over Brooks.

Note: 27 ... Rxf6 is a draw by perpetual check.

Computer Chess and Creativity

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:12:00 +0000

Is the era of Chess Engine creativity upon us? Or, just because computers can't protest we just pretend that computer Chess is a beast and there is no beauty to it? Fischer and even much before him, Capablanca, had said that Chess was more or less solved. But from recent Super GM and GM comments, it appears that we are seeing a paradigm shift. Computers are now influencing a new approach that is being adopted by an increasing number of players. Even more glaring is the fact that the play at the grassroots level is sharper than ever. Of course, the leader of the move towards this new style of play is none other than who it should be - The World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, who crushed Vladimir Kramnik with an amazing display of a combination of Computer preparation and also over the board precise play that even computers would find hard to match.

Read the following quotes.

"Something sinister is lurking behind some magnificent chess victories these days. It is getting harder to tell what is actually created by humans and what is spit out by chess computers during preparation" declares Lubomir Kavalek in a Washington post article
"In a sharp Nimzo-Indian variation, which I prepared for Nigel Short to combat Garry Kasparov in the 1993 world championship, black navigates the stormy lines with unusual ease." says Lubomir

Karpov recently made a controversial statement that Anand was playing like a computer and he was not as strong as he was a decade ago!

Add to this, the forfeit by Mamedyarov, who accused Igor Kursonov that he suspected foul play.

So what do you think? Can accuracy ever be beautiful? Or we do we just strive for beauty and abandon the accurate? Remember the violent, blood thirsty age of the romanticists and attacking Chess a couple of hundred years back? Well, it was eventually taken over by the pragmatics. So are we ready to move to the next stage where precise play overrides adventure?

Live Chess Ranking May 01 2009

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Fri, 01 May 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Live rating list

1 Topalov 2812
2 Anand 2788
3 Aronian 2768
4 Carlsen 2765
5 Kramnik 2759
6 Jakovenko 2757
7 Radjabov 2756
8 Leko 2756
9 Gelfand 2751
10 Morozevich 2751

Tactics anyone?

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Fri, 01 May 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Black was ahead in the game but has just played ...Ba6. Can you find the winning sequence?

White to move and win.

Kamsky beats Grischuk with Black at Nalchik

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Gritty Gata Kamsky beat Alexander Grischuk with the black pieces at the FIDE Grand Prix being held at Nalchick. Note how Kamsky grinds Grischuk down in an equal endgame.

Live Chess Rankings Week 3 - April 2009

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:34:00 +0000

The Live Chess Ratings as on the 3rd week of April 2009. Jakovenko still remains the surprise, or is he really now in the top league with his solid play? Nice to see some older generation names!

1 Topalov 2812
2 Anand 2788
3 Carlsen 2765
4 Kramnik 2759
5 Aronian 2757
5 Jakovenko 2757
7 Radjabov 2756
8 Leko 2754
9 Morozevich 2751
10 Gelfand 2748

Live Chess Ranking List, April 1st Week

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:14:00 +0000

For a long time, the live Chess rating list has been pretty wild. For the first time in many months, the list appears sane. Ivanchuk and Morozevich are in the trough of their "peak and trough" cycle, Grichuk is probably where he belongs. Kramnik probably deserves something better though.

01 Topalov 2812
02 Anand 2789
03 Carlsen 2765
04 Kramnik 2759
05 Radjabov 2756
06 Jakovenko 2756
07 Aronian 2754
08 Leko 2751
09 Morozevich 2751
10 Grischuk 2748

Anand's spectacular win over Stellwagen at Bundesliga

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:02:00 +0000

Anand won an amazing game against Stellwagen in the German league. Watch it to believe it!

Aronian, Tomashevsky, Humpy, Kosintseva Stars of the month

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Aronian won the Melody Amber tournament(rapid and blindfold), Tomashevsky the European Individual, Humpy the Women's Grand Prix and Kosintseva the European Women's titles.

European Individual Chess

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Leaderboard at the European Individual Chess Championships Budva, Montenegro

1 20 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2656 RUS 5½
2 14 GM Volokitin Andrei 2671 UKR 5
3 53 GM Meier Georg 2608 GER 5
4 33 GM Navara David 2638 CZE 5
5 38 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A 2633 UKR 4½
6 98 GM Sjugirov Sanan 2562 RUS 4½
7 3 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2693 GER 4½
8 75 GM Banikas Hristos 2582 GRE 4½
9 64 GM Bartel Mateusz 2594 POL 4½
10 91 GM Shomoev Anton 2567 RUS 4½

European Individual Women's Chess Championships

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:45:00 +0000

Standings at the end of the 4th round of the European Individual European Individual Women's Chess Championships at St Petersburg

1 GM Hoang Thanh Trang 4.0 HUN F 2483 3051 +1.13 1 1 1 1
2 GM Socko, Monika 4.0 POL F 2449 3067 +1.39 1 1 1 1
3 GM Dzagnidze, Nana 3.5 GEO F 2518 2682 +0.61 1 1 1 ½
4 GM Lahno, Kateryna 3.5 UKR F 2488 2669 +0.69 1 1 ½ 1
5 IM Mkrtchian, Lilit 3.5 ARM F 2460 2643 +0.70 1 ½ 1 1
6 IM Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 3.5 RUS F 2442 2640 +0.77 1 1 ½ 1
7 IM Melia, Salome 3.5 GEO F 2422 2609 +0.71 1 1 ½ 1
8 IM Khurtsidze, Nino 3.5 GEO F 2421 2608 +0.72 ½ 1 1 1
9 WGM Shadrina, Tatiana 3.5 RUS F 2416 2633 +0.90 ½ 1 1 1
10 IM Foisor, Cristina-Adela 3.5 ROU F 2412 2611 +0.83 1 1 1 ½

Fifth round of the Women's Grand Prix at Istanbul

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:39:00 +0000

The fifth round of the Women's Grand Prix tournament is on at Istanbul. Here's Hou Yifan's mature win over the experienced legend Pia Cramling.

Yifan is now in the lead along with the other surprise leader, Martha Fierro Baquero.

Live Chess Ratings March Week 2

mjagadishster@gmail.com (Chess Journalist) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:32:00 +0000

Live Chess Rankings after Linares.

Note that the following players are out of the top 20 - Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Kamsky, and Dominguez among others.

1 Topalov 2812
2 Anand 2783
3 Carlsen 2764,6
4 Kramnik 2759
5 Radjabov 2756
6 Aronian 2754
7 Jakovenko 2753
8 Leko 2751
9 Morozevich 2751
10 Grischuk 2748
11 Ivanchuk 2746
12 Shirov 2741
13 Gelfand 2739
14 Wang Yue 2738
15 Movsesian 2734
16 Svidler 2731
17 Gashimov 2730
18 Bacrot 2729
19 Ponomariov 2726
20 Ni 2724