Ortisei chess tactic

White to move. How should white proceed?

Source: ChessToday.net

Rules & Conditions for the 10th Annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girls' Invitational ($200+ K in prizes and scholarships)

Rules and Conditions for the 10th Annual Susan Polgar Foundation Girls' Invitational (SPGI)
July 20 – 25, 2013 at Webster University (St. Louis, Missouri) 

THIS WILL BE THE STRONGEST AND BIGGEST SPGI EVER! More than 50 players have already registered with many more states to submit names shortly.

- Approximately $200,000 in chess scholarships, chess prizes, and iPad mini, etc. (Full tuition and fees scholarship to the top finisher! *)

- Webster University will provide complimentary room and meal accommodation on campus for qualifiers!

The annual Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational, the most prestigious all-girls event in the United States, will be held at Webster University (St. Louis, Missouri). 
 
• There will be an intense training session with Susan Polgar, followed by a 6 round (g/90+30) FIDE rated championship tournament.
• The traditional Blitz, Puzzle Solving, Bughouse events will stay the same as in previous years.
• There will be many chess prizes awarded, including iPad mini, and scholarships to Webster University.
 
Each state is allowed one representative to be nominated by June 1, 2013. Official representative alternates may be substituted no later than June 15. (Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may allow the host state to enter an additional qualified player.) Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may allow exceptions to the June 1 entry/alternate deadline. Should the state affiliate fail to respond to the notice for this tournament, Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee may determine the candidate from that state.
 
Players must have been enrolled in a school (up to 12th grade) located in the state they represent, also of the year in which the tournament is held. Home-schooled students who are under the age of 19 on July 25th of the year in which the event is held or students who have never attended college on a full time basis prior to June 1 of the year in which the tournament is held, are eligible to represent the state in which they reside.
 
Exception: If a player graduates from high school early and is already attending college, she may still represent her state if nominated. This is the decision of each state affiliate.
 
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The participants of the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational DO NOT have to be high school students. Any qualifier under the age of 19 (by July 25th of the year in which the tournament is held) is eligible!

Special invitation for this year only: All past participants of the SPNI and SPGI (Susan Polgar National Invitational/Susan Polgar Foundation Girls’ Invitational 2004-2012) are invited to participate in the 2013 SPGI. The idea is to have the past participants learn my method of training so they can go back home and share their knowledge with the younger players. However, registration MUST be made ASAP since space is limited. There will be mutual training sessions for all, however separate section & prizes for alumni participants over the age of 19.
 
Players are required to furnish the organizer an emergency phone number and the e-mail address of a parent/guardian.

There is no entry fee to participate in the 2013 SPGI; however, players are responsible for their own travel. For all state representatives, and qualifiers from the SPNO or SPWO, Webster University will provide complimentary room and meal accommodation on campus.

For alumni participants, wild card/special invites, coaches, parents, or other family members, inexpensive accommodations are available for housing and dining on Webster’s campus. Please note that all reservations and registrations MUST be made (and accommodation expenses prepaid) no later than June 25, 2013.
 
Prizes: Trophies / plaques will be awarded to the winners of the Susan Polgar Foundation Girl’s Invitational Puzzle Solving, Blitz, and the SPGI Championship. Co-champions are recognized in the case of a tie, with each champion receiving a Champion’s Plaque or Trophy. The Champion (or Co-Champions) will automatically be invited to defend her/their title (must meet age requirement). 

Champion: Webster University scholarship (approximately $23,000+ per year x 4 years *) + iPad mini + Champion's Plaque / Trophy  
2nd and 3rd place: Webster University scholarship (approximately $13,000+ per year x 4 years)  
Top under 13: iPad mini  
Top under 10: iPad mini
 
* The scholarship must be exercised no later than the Fall of 2016. 

The New Polgar Committee’s goal is to have all 50 states (including two representatives for California, two for Texas, and two for Missouri) and the District of Columbia represented. We strongly encourage each state and the District of Columbia affiliate to hold a scholastic championship tournament to determine each state’s champion and representative. Failing this, rating criteria may be acceptable. A scholastic girls’ champion or the highest rated girls’ scholastic player in a state who has no state affiliate of the USCF should contact the Polgar Committee as soon as possible. 

Susan Polgar and/or the Polgar Committee and its members may elect to award wild cards each year for the Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational. 

Special qualifying events: The Polgar Committee will award automatic qualifying spots to the reigning winners in each section of the annual Susan Polgar NO for Girls (New Orleans) and the Susan Polgar World Open for Girls (Chicago).
 
The new SPGI Chairperson is Martha Underwood (AZ). 

NOTICE TO ALL STATE OFFICIALS: Please send the nomination from your state to the Polgar Committee (PolgarCommittee@gmail.com).

Contact info: Polgar Committee (PolgarCommittee@gmail.com)

The Susan Polgar Foundation can be contacted at 806-281-7424 or through info@PolgarFoundation.org.

Webster University is located at 470 E. Lockwood Avenue Webster Groves, MO 63119

BIG THANKS to President Dr. Beth Stroble and Webster University for hosting and sponsoring this very prestigious event for girls! 

* Scholarships may be upgraded but may not be stacked. For previous winners of partial scholarships, a maximum of $1,000 per year may be added to the previous scholarship.

Clock simul vs Shirov

Latvian Grandmaster Alexei Shirov held a clock simultaneous exhibition against 12 students of the Northwestern Federal District in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The time control was 90 minutes plus 10 seconds per player, but the famous Grandmaster managed his time wisely and succeeded in winning all 12 games.

After the session Shirov analysed all games with the players. The venue for the event was Hotel Ol’gino in St. Petersburg.

Russian Chess Federation

Sniper Sicilian Pterdactyl with GM Ron Henley ... and more

Sniper Sicilian Pterdactyl with GM Ron Henley

Sniper Sicilian Pterdactyl with GM Ron Henley
Posted on June 19,2013 By William in Strategy & Game Review, Chess Openings, All Articles w/ Videos. The Sniper Sicilian Pterdactyl is a very interesting and offbeat opening where black begins along normal ¨Sniper¨ opening lines with 1. ..g6, 2. ..Bg7 and 3. ..c5 - allowing white to build a big pawn center so that black will have some exposed targets to attack from the sides. The distinguishing character of the Pterdactyl Variation is that on move 4 black brings his queen out with 4. ..Qa5 - pinning white's knight on c3, placing indirect pressur[...]

FM Alisa Melekhina - Win with the c3 Sicilian in 21 Moves or Less
Posted on June 18,2013 By OnlineChessLessons.NET Contributor in All Articles w/ Videos. This game demonstrates the typical plans in the c3 Siclian for White, including how to execute a crushing piece attack against the Black king. Black chose a slightly inferior line, allowing White to make simple and natural developing moves. These moves led to a tactical miniature, typical of the Alapin and proving that it is not at all a "quiet opening." Even the strongest of players are not immune from having to play precisely against the c3 Sic[...]

Kasparov's Greatest Hits by GM Damian Lemos
Posted on June 17,2013 By William in Strategy & Game Review, Chess Openings, All Articles w/ Videos, Classic Games (Pre 2010). The King's Indian Defense is one of the most popular and dangerous chess openings of all time. Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov employed the King's Indian Defense at the highest levels of chess, achieving remarkable success with the black pieces by using this aggressive opening system against 1. d4. In this chess video excerpt from the 3+ hour chess DVD ¨Kasparov's Greatest Hits¨, Grandmaster Damian Lemos analyzes one of Kasparov's most[...]

A Chess Clinic with IM Andrew Martin
Posted on June 14,2013 By OnlineChessLessons.NET Contributor in Strategy & Game Review, All Articles w/ Videos, Beginner's Corner. IM Andrew Martin is a world-renown chess trainer that focuses on improvement for beginner and intermediate players. In the below chess video excerpt from the chess DVD A Chess Clinic IM Andrew Martin is analyzing an interesting encounter between one of his students (a club level player) and an opponent rated over 400 points higher. It is fascinating to hear IM Martin's advice on facing higher-rated players and how he advises his students to not o[...]


OnlineChessLessons.net is a producer of thousands of free chess articles and free chess videos by FIDE chess masters. They recently released the renowned Empire Chess series that has been taking the chess world by storm. Please consider checking out their chess blog and chess shop with tons of free updated previews.

Anand, Kramnik, and Morozevich share last place after 6 rounds

Standings after 6 rounds

1 Nakamura, Hikaru USA 2784 4½

2 Gelfand, Boris ISR 2755 4

3 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2753 3½
4 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2864 3½

5 Andreikin, Dmitry RUS 2713 3
6 Caruana, Fabiano ITA 2774 3

7 Karjakin, Sergey RUS 2782 2½

8 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2803 2
9 Anand, Viswanathan IND 2786 2
10 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2760 2

Logjam Atop Leaderboard at U.S. Junior Closed

Logjam Atop Leaderboard at U.S. Junior Closed
By Brian Jerauld

SAINT LOUIS (June 19, 2013) -- Still, no one can find distance in the standings at the 2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship.

Today marks the players’ rest day after Tuesday’s round 5 pushed the nine-game round-robin tournament past its halfway point. But despite a finish line that now looms, seven of ten players still sit within a point of each other, now with three tied atop the standings at 3.5/5 points.

California IM Daniel Naroditsky, the field’s highest-rated player, was the sole leader entering Tuesday and has yet to lose a game this week at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. But his fifth-round draw against FM Sam Sevian slowed the pace, and wins from both FM Luke Harmon-Vellotti and FM Robert Perez brought them both up to speed. Harmon-Vellotti’s come-from-behind shocker over IM Victor Shen made it two wins and a draw against the field’s three top-seeded IMs; and Perez has shrugged off a slow start to the tournament to notch three straight victories, including Tuesday’s turnaround matchup versus FM Yian Liou.

After an outstanding opening that found Shen up two pawns, including one passed on the sixth rank, he did everything he could to let his solid position slip away against Harmon-Vellotti – and he eventually got his wish. The game transposed to a Queen’s Indian, with Shen grabbing a solid foothold in the center and prepping his bishops for dominance. But Harmon-Vellotti’s 12. … Qf6 was very suspicious, begging for Shen’s 13. Bc3 response. The move showed Shen’s position clearly winning, with an advantage in development, a better dominance of space and several tactical opportunities brewing. He quickly converted it to a material advantage.

But after wrecking the black queenside, Shen found trouble re-coordinating his pieces and was never able to find traction behind his three passed pawns, including two connected. Meanwhile, Harmon-Vellotti slowly pieced together a harmonious defense and let Shen sink into time pressure.

“That was going into a winning endgame [for Shen], so I just tried to make it as complicated as possible,” Harmon-Vellotti said. “And then he blundered in time trouble.”

Indeed, with under five minutes on his clock and eight more moves until time control, Shen offered up 32. Rxb5 with tactical eyes. But Harmon-Vellotti defied the play with 32. … Rbxb6, ultimately releasing nearly all of white’s pressure and gathering the d6 passer. Even still with winning chances, Shen struggled to find any continuance, and Harmon-Vellotti wreaked havoc on the white king with his remaining knight and rook. The move 57. … h5 kicked off a race to queen – one that Shen actually won, but left him positionally inferior.

“[Shen] was winning all the way down to [53.]Kg1,” Harmon-Vellotti said. “I think if he had gone Ke1, he would have won.”


Perez performed his own climb out of a dark position thanks to an outstanding endgame and some fantastic work with his king. The game progressed through an unusual line of the Sicilian, but one Liou was up to the task of pressing. For more than 20 moves, he kept Perez on the defensive and looked primed to push solid queenside space into an advantage.

But his 23. Ncd5 ignited a massive swap-out of material, ultimately leaving Perez with a bad bishop and Liou in control of the outpost – though limited in attacking ideas.

“He was still better, but compared to what the position was before, I was able to get rid of a lot of pieces and centralize my king,” Perez said. “Yeah, my d6 was weak, but bad bishops defend good pawns.”

That d6 pawn was more than “good” – it was the winner – as it was able to work its way over to the e-file and eventually down to its queening square. And it would not have been possible without the major play of Perez’s king, who helped open up some lanes against Liou’s kingside pawns and then escorted his passer to safety.

After 37. Rdxe5 dxe5 38. Bxf8 won white a pivotal pawn advantage, 42. c5 allowed entry to the black monarch, who became a monster on the d-file. And after pushing the white king backward, Perez was able to swing around to the other side of the advancing e-pawn, finding safety from Liou’s remaining rook behind white’s own pawn.


The secret of IM Kayden Troff’s fondness for the Grunfeld defense is out, as FM Atulya Shetty was the second player in a row to attack Troff with Anti-Grunfeld designs. But Troff showed little concern, looking solid through the opening including an excellent Nf6-Nd5-Nb4 transfer of his knight before castling his king. The series attacked the white queen and earned Troff the bishop pair, but it was not a reward held for long. Shetty was able to push back, eventually swapping out the light-squared bishop with 17. Nxe6, while taking control of the center and stacking pawns on Troff’s e-file in the process.

From there, however, the game became a complicated mess, beginning with Shetty offering his e-pawn as a sacrifice – with apparent intentions of opening the file – though he struggled to find much compensation. Trying to bail himself out of the position, Shetty offered up his other center pawn, setting up a confusing conglomerate that even Troff – eventually with a two-pawn advantage – found trouble navigating.

“After he played d4, trading the d-pawn for the e-pawn, I thought I was solid by being a pawn up,” Troff said. “But my pieces were really awkward, and the position was tough. It ended up becoming complicated.”

In the end, the frustration of opposite-colored bishops fizzled into the expected draw. Shetty was able to recollect a pawn with 43. Qxh7 and harass Troff’s king, which never did find time to castle.


Sevian came at Naroditsky with the Ruy Lopez and met the Breyer, in a game that moved quickly through theory for more than 15 moves. Sevian’s 16. d5 intended to close the center, while Naroditsky’s response of Rc8 showed intentions of opening it, and both sides battled over their central intentions. Sevian grabbed the first material advantage with 22. Qxd6, but at the cost of being pushed into some awkward defense with Naroditsky controlling several key lanes.

The position was headed swiftly toward an endgame featuring Sevian’s two knights versus Naroditsky’s two bishops, though white’s cavalry sat rather passive on the kingside wing. It prompted Naroditsky to push the envelope, acknowledging that he “didn’t want to let the knights get to good squares.” He traded off rooks with 29. … Rxc1, and then put Sevian on the spot with 32. … Qc3. Naroditsky offered a draw several minutes after the move, and Sevian accepted after ten minutes of thought.

“There were three concrete lines that I saw, but I could not get the advantage,” Sevian said. “One line where I was worse, another where I was equal, and another that forced a draw. I was up a pawn and consolidated, so I wanted to keep that extra pawn and play for the win, but his two bishops were going to be very strong at the end.”


FM Jeffrey Xiong is starting to roll after two losses to open the tournament. He drew both his third- and fourth-round matches to Shen and Sevian, and then notched his first full-point win over WFM Sarah Chiang in round 5 as black. The game began in a Rubinstein Nimzo-Indian line, but Chiang looked to fall out of prep early, first moving 6. Ng3 and then following it with the unnecessary a3. The folly converted directly to the loss of her c4 pawn, which Xiong collected on move 13.

Chiang all-but abandoned her queenside, instead loading her pieces around Xiong’s temporarily exposed king for an assault. But Xiong foresaw too strong of an advantage with his pawn majority, opting to give back his pawn advantage with 27. … e5, which traded the queens off the board and ultimately left Chiang far removed from Xiong’s connected passers on the queen wing.

It was not an easy close for Xiong, as Chiang kept the black pieces occupied with her own passed pawn on the f-file and not able to help usher the a and b pawns in for promotion. Black eventually found its way through.

“I thought I was okay, but she found some really nice resources in the endgame that made the win really tough,” Xiong said. “After [43. …] Rf5, she played [44.] Nb3, but if she had played Nd3, I think she would still have been in it. It would have been a long fight.”


Play resumes tomorrow, Thursday, June 19, at 1 p.m. local time. Follow live commentary with Grandmasters Yasser Seirawan and Ben Finegold at www.uschesschamps.com/live.

Learning all the right moves

Chess playing kids learn all the right moves
By Georgia Sparling | Jun 19, 2013 

Mattapoisett — Leaning in, brows furrowed in concentration, mental wheels spinning, the kids of the Mattapoisett chess club are a strategic bunch.

Composed primarily of third and fourth graders, the group started a few months ago at the Mattapoisett library.

Lee Estes, 17 and his brother Adam, 15, help facilitate the group.

“You don’t have to be a certain personality type to be good at chess,” said Lee, a junior at Bishop Stang High School. “You do have to be relatively disciplined, but you also just need to know the game.”

Every Wednesday night, one of the Estes brothers sets up a row of chessboards and waits for the kids to filter in.
On this particular evening, kids fill up every space at the table. Without much preamble (but with a little bit of trash talk), the kids begin carefully moving pieces around the board.

Carissa Bailey, a third grader at Center School, is new to the game, and said a friend originally invited her to the group.

“I like how there are a lot of different techniques you can use to win the game,” she said.

Strategy is something that Lee focuses on when helping the kids learn the game, which he and his brother started playing as children.

“I just sit in and make sure people know the basic rudiments of the game, and help them understand the strategies they can do,” said Lee. “I really do let them play their own games.”

The group is a safe place for kids to learn the art of chess, and new players are always welcome.

To help the kids develop more nuanced strategies, they switch partners after every game. Each pairing gives the opponents something new to learn.

“It’s interesting because it’s not just a game of strategy,” said Lee. “It’s a game of people.”

Nine-year-old Michaen Scully, of Fairhaven, has been playing the game for more than two years.

“I just think it’s fun,” said Michaen.

The chess players meet in the children’s wing of the Mattapoisett Library every Wednesday, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Call the library at 508-758-4171 for more information.

Source: http://sippican.villagesoup.com

3 tie for the lead at Women's GP after 4 rounds

Official website: http://dilijan2013.fide.com

Nakamura extends lead at Tal Memorial

Round 6 results

Anand, Viswanathan - Nakamura, Hikaru 0-1
Gelfand, Boris - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½
Andreikin, Dmitry - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½
Caruana, Fabiano - Kramnik, Vladimir ½-½
Morozevich, Alexander - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½

http://russiachess.org

Muzychuk, Koneru, and Girya score in round 4 at Dilijan

http://dilijan2013.fide.com

Uíge City Cup

Gwaze for Angola tourney
June 19, 2013 in Other Sport, Sport

ZIMBABWE chess star Robert Gwaze is among the five foreign international masters who have confirmed their presence at the International Chess Tournament dubbed “Uíge City Cup”, set for Angola.

Sports Reporter

According to a source in Luanda, the international masters Luis Galego (Portugal), Cicero Braga (Brazil), Gwaze (Zimbabwe), Jere Daniel (Zambia) and Daniel Caludery (South Africa) have confirmed their presence in the event.

The competition also counts on the participation of five Angolan players, namely Adérito Pedro,

MI Erikson Soares, Amorim Agnêlo and the specialists Luciano Oliveira and Sérgio Rodrigues.

The competition, organised by the government of the northern Uíge Province, aims at encouraging the playing of chess in this region, as well as celebrating the anniversary of the city, to be marked on July 7. 

Source: http://www.newsday.co.zw

Women's GP LIVE!

Live chess broadcast powered by ChessBomb and Chessdom

Tal Memorial LIVE!

Live chess broadcast powered by ChessBomb and Chessdom

Mitropa Tactic

White to move. How should white proceed?

Source: ChessToday.net

Devastating defeat

Magnus Carlsen crushes Viswanathan Anand
Express news service : Moscow, Wed Jun 19 2013, 09:05 hrs

With a win that is sure to confirm his status as the favourite for the World title, contender Magnus Carlsen crushed the incumbent Viswanathan Anand in less than 30 moves in the fifth round of the Tal Memorial on Tuesday. In what was their final game before they face off in the World Chess Championship final in November this year, Anand's passive play was clinically exploited by Carlsen in the confidence-boosting win.

Anand and Carlsen may have begun this round far from the leaderspot in the table, but much of the focus was on their game, considering the impact a decisive result could have in the destination of the World title. Playing white, Carlsen opted for the Reshevsky variation of the Nimzo-Indian, a line that is not played too frequently at the top level. "I chose a line he hadn't faced for a long time. I hopefully he wouldn't be too prepared for that," said Carlsen in the post-match press conference.

Tentative game

The strategy worked as Anand (black) played a tentative game throughout, despite the Nimzo-Indian being one of the key components of his reportoire. After the opening, Carlsen had a central pawn majority as opposed to Anand's sentinels enjoying a numerical superiority on the queen side. Anand's passive play, especially a re-routing of the bishop to its starting place, allowed Carlsen the luxury of playing for two results, a win for white or a draw.

"Now he's trying to transfer the bishop to f5 after which his problems would be much less at least. I think it's a decent enough positional move it just doesn't work. At least as far as I could see," said Carlsen.

White exchanged his weak bishop and his position by around move 19 was so pleasant that whichever avenue of attack he chose, Anand would have had a terrible time trying to defend it. Anand's repeated attempts to have a quiet game only worsened his position and eventually, Carlsen's central pawn push, combined with his rook in the seventh rank meant black's position became untenable. When Anand resigned in the 29th move, he was even on material, but the writing was on the wall. He would soon be two pawns down and unable to prevent a pawn roll either along the middle of the board or on the queen's side.

Carlsen later tried to downplay the significance of the win, but said it was good to show Anand that their frequent draws of late may not be the only outcomes possible. "It's good before the World Championship match to remind him that I can outplay him once in a while since obviously between us there have been a lot of draws, recently at least. But I'm not going to go around and think that's he's going to have such a bad day every day at the World Championship, I'll have to prepare for the worst, definitely," he said.

In other results, Boris Gelfand beat an adventurous Alexander Morozevich who opted to go for an exchange down without an obvious recompense to join Hikaru Nakamura in the lead. Anand is placed joint eighth and will take on Nakamura, who beat him the last time the pair met, in round six.

Results, round five: Magnus Carlsen bt Viswanathan Anand, Boris Gelfand bt Alexander Morozevich, Hikaru Nakamura drew with Dmitry Andreikin, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew with Fabiano Caruana, Vladimir Kramnik drew with Sergey Karjakin.

Rankings, after round five: 1-2. Nakamura, Gelfand (3.5 pts); 2-4. Mamedyarov, Carlsen (3); 5-6. Andreikin, Caruana (2.5); 7-8. Karjakin, Anand (2); 9-10. Morozevich, Kramnik (1.5).

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com