Dortmund Chess Tournament

The tournament in Dortmund will start on 28th June until the 6th July. The player who will take part :


Vladimir Kramnik Russia 2788

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Azerbaijan 2752

Peter Leko Hungary 2741

Vassily Ivanchuk Ukraine 2740

Loek Van Wely Netherlands 2676

Ian Nepomniachtchi Russia 2634

Arkadij Naiditsch Germany 2623

Jan Gustafsson Germany 2603

Kramnik has been inactive lately and it will be interesting to see how he fares compared to

Ivanchuk who has been so active and successful that he is now rated higher that Kramnik on the

unoffical live ratings. However, Kramnik will be very much at home in Dortmund, being the

current champion and having won there an amazing 8 times over 15 years!

upcoming FIDE July Rating 2008

Live rating list - updated June 19, 2008

Rank Name Rating Change Games
01 Anand 2798,1 -4,9 2
02 Carlsen 2791,5 +26,5 27
03 Ivanchuk 2790,8 +50,8 36
04 Kramnik 2788,0 0 0
05 Morozevich 2787,9 +13,9 20
06 Topalov 2777,0 +10 10
07 Radjabov 2744,1 -6,9 31
08 Mamedyarov 2742,1 -9,9 23
09 Leko 2741,0 0 0
10 Aronian 2737,1 -25,9 11

List of youngest grandmasters

This is a list of the players to become Grandmasters before their fifteenth birthday:

Player Country Age
Sergey Karjakin Ukraine Ukraine 12 years, 7 months, 0 days
Parimarjan Negi India 13 years, 4 months, 22 days
Magnus Carlsen Norway 13 years, 4 months, 27 days
Bu Xiangzhi China 13 years, 10 months, 13 days
Teimour Radjabov Azerbaijan 14 years, 0 months, 14 days
Ruslan Ponomariov Ukraine 14 years, 0 months, 17 days
Wesley So Philippines 14 years, 1 month, 28 days [1]
Etienne Bacrot France 14 years, 2 months, 0 days
Maxime Vachier France 14 years, 4 months [2]
Péter Lékó Hungary 14 years, 4 months, 22 days
Yuriy Kuzubov Ukraine 14 years, 7 months, 12 days [3]
Mark Paragua Philippines 14 years, 8 months,[4]
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Vietnam 14 years, 10 months
Fabiano Caruana Italy 14 years, 11 months, 10 days [5]

The youngest ever female to become a grandmaster (not to be confused with the lesser Woman Grandmaster title) is Koneru Humpy, who achieved the title at 15 years, 1 month, 27 days.

Magnus Carlsen Profile

Magnus Øen Carlsen (born November 30, 1990 in Tønsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy.

On April 26, 2004 Carlsen became Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 4 months, and 27 days, the third youngest Grandmaster age in history.

Since then, he has established himself as an elite Grandmaster. In the April 2008 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2765, making him Norway's number 1, World Juniors' number 1 and World's number 5.

Biography

Carlsen lives in Lommedalen, Bærum, near Norway's capital, Oslo. He played his first tournament at the age of eight and was coached at the Norwegian high school for top athletes led by the country's top player, Grandmaster (GM) Simen Agdestein. Agdestein put his civil worker and master player Torbjørn Ringdahl-Hansen, currently a FIDE master with IM and GM norms, as his coach and they had one training session every week, together with one of Magnus' close friends. The young International Master was given a year off from elementary school to participate in international chess tournaments during the fall season of 2003. In that year, he finished third in the European Under-12 Boys Championship.Carlsen obtained his second GM norm in the Moscow Aeroflot Open in February 2004. In a blitz chess tournament (where players have much less time for their moves than in normal chess) in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 17 March 2004, Magnus Carlsen defeated former world champion Anatoly Karpov. The blitz tournament was a preliminary event leading up to a rapid chess knock out tournament beginning the next day, where Carlsen achieved one draw against Garry Kasparov, who was then the top-rated player in the world, before losing to Kasparov after 32 moves of the second game, thus being knocked out of the tournament.

In the sixth Dubai Open Chess Championship, held 18 April to 28, 2004, Carlsen obtained his third Grandmaster norm (enough for getting the GM title), after getting four wins and four draws before the last game was to be played. Resulting from this he was at the time world's youngest GM and the second youngest person ever to hold GM status, after Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine who attained the feat at 12 years and 7 months of age in 2002.

World Chess Cup

At the end of 2005 he participated at the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the knock-out tournament, Carlsen upset the 44th-ranked Georgian Zurab Azmaiparashvili in round one, winning 2–0 at rapid chess after a 1–1 tie in the normal length games, and proceeded to beat Tajik Farrukh Amonatov and Bulgarian Ivan Cheparinov (also after rapid chess) to reach the round of 16. There he lost 1½-2½ to Evgeny Bareev, which prevented him from finishing in the top eight. He then won against Joel Lautier 1½-½ and Vladimir Malakhov 3½-2½ securing him at least a tenth place and therefore a spot in the Candidate Matches. Carlsen became the youngest player to be an official World Championship Candidate.

2008

* Playing for the second time in the top group A of the Corus chess tournament, Carlsen showed big improvement over his 2007 performance. His final score was 8 points in 13 rounds, an ELO performance of 2830. Carlsen scored five wins (including beating former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik with the black pieces), two losses and six draws. He shared first place with Levon Aronian, becoming the youngest person ever to win a category 20 tournament.
* At the 2008 Linares chess tournament, Carlsen had another 2800+ ELO performance, scoring 8 out of 14 (five wins, three losses and six draws). He finished in sole second place, ½ point behind the winner, world champion Viswanathan Anand.
* In March 2008, Carlsen played for the second time in the Melody Amber blind and rapid chess tournament, which was held in Nice for the first time. In the 11 rounds he achieved four wins, four draws and two losses in the blindfold, and three wins, six draws and two losses in the rapid part. This resulted in a shared fifth place in the blindfold, shared third place in the rapid and a shared second place in the overall tournament.
* Carlsen entered the first Grand Prix Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan as a top-seed. After yet another 2800 ELO performance (four wins, one loss and eight draws), he finished in a three-way tie for first place.
* Carlsen won a rapid match against Peter Leko held at Miskolc, Hungary, scoring 5:3 (two wins, six draws).[5]
* In June, Carlsen won an annual Aerosvit event.[6] In his strongest tournament performance to date, he finished undefeated with 8 out of 11 (five wins, six draws) in a category 19 field. His performance ELO was 2878.

Aerosvit 2008: Carlsen wins by a full point

I think he will become world no 1 less than 2 years. I will monitor his progress in this blog. i'm so admired with his game and excelent. Good luck Magnus Carlsen.

Read full article about the tournament( source from chessbase and chess.com)

19.06.2008 – Alexei Shirov and Andrei Volokitin scored final round victories, while Vassily Ivanchuk won another game, this time against Pavel Eljanov in a queen ending. Magnus Carlsen held Ukrainian co-prodigy Sergey Karjakin to a draw to take the category 19 tournament by a full point, with a 2877 performance. He will be number two in the next world rankings – if FIDE rates this event.


Other prodigies have flattered to deceive and fallen short of the ultimate prize. Still only 17, Magnus Carlsen looks set to rise to No.2 in the FIDE rankings when the next quarterly list is published on 1st July. Only the World Champion Vishy Anand stands between him and the No.1 spot. The stability of the World Chess Championship cycle is hard to predict, but surely a shot at the title will come Magnus' way in the near future. Kasparov who, anyone?

In the final round Carlsen drew with Karjakin to complete the tournament win and so end the tournament undefeated. However, despite the reputation of last rounds of chess events having wall-to-wall drawn results, there were 3 decisive games on the final day.

Plaudits go to Vassily Ivanchuk who defeated Pavel Eljanov to take second place outright. Ivanchuk has been overshadowed by Carlsen here, but has also had a great tournament, with his only loss being at Carlsen's hands in the very first round. Vassily's reward looks set to be a No.3 ranking on the new rating list, pushing Vladimir Kramnik down to No.4.

Another winner in the last round was the ever-popular Alexei Shirov who beat the American Alexander Onischuk with the Black pieces in just 29 moves. Shirov had an inconsistent tournament, but ends it on a high.

The third winner was Andrei Volokitin who overcame Evgeny Alekseev to finish in 5th place. Despite this, he was the lowest placed finisher of the four Ukranians in the event!

Aerosvit provided some great chess and a result which should live long in the memory of chess fans.

Aerosvit 2008: Carlsen wins with a round to spare

(article from chessbase)
18.06.2008 – Vassily Ivanchuk defeated Loek van Wely with the black pieces to join Pavel Eljanov (who drew against Karjakin) in second place. Alexei Shirov defeated Peter Svidler in a Slav, and Magnus Carlsen drew a marathon 79-move game against birthday boy Andrei Volokitin. With a round to go Carlsen is a point and a half ahead and therefore already the winner of Aerosvit 2008. Round ten report.

Aerosvit-2008 Tournament in Foros, Ukraine
The "Aerosvit-2008" tournament is taking place in a sanatorium complex in the settlement Foros of AR Crimea, Ukraine, from June 7th (day of arrival), to June 20th, 2008 (day of departure). The event is a 12-player round robin with invited participants. The average rating of the players is 2711.7, time controls are 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes to the end of the game, with an addition of 30 sec. after every move. In case of equal points at the end of the tournament the tiebreak is based on the (1) the result of the direct encounter; (2) the Sonneborn-Berger system; (3) the number of won games. The rounds are from Sunday, June 8th until Thursday, June 19th, always starting at 15:00h local time, which is currently CEST +1 (14:00h Berlin/Paris, 13:00h London, 08:00 a.m. New York).

Round ten report
White Res. Black Moves
Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ Volokitin, Andrei 79
Eljanov, Pavel ½-½ Karjakin, Sergey 32
Alekseev, Evgeny ½-½ Jakovenko, Dmitry 45
Shirov, Alexei 1-0 Svidler, Peter 43
N. Liviu-Dieter ½-½ Onischuk, Alexander 19
Van Wely, Loek 0-1 Ivanchuk, Vassily 21

Magnus Carlsen extends lead in Aerosvit

After a rest day on Saturday at the Aerosvit tournament in the resort of Foros in the Crimea, Magnus Carlsen (pictured) started the second half of the tournament with no let up in his form.

Playing Black against the Romanian GM Nisipeanu, he unleashed the Dragon again and won in style after 37 moves to move 2 points clear of the field on a commanding 6/7.

The two back markers in the event, Alexander Onischuk of the USA and Loek Van Wely of the Netherlands also suffered losses to Pavel Eljanov and Dmitry Jakovenko respectively. (article from chess.com)

Why Play Chess?

"Chess is a game of imagination and strategy, one that provides rules, order and opportunities for intellectual growth. Chess teaches a skill that can be applied to other aspects of life. For example, it teaches one to plan carefully in advance, to visualize various situations before making a move, and the importance of patience. How many of us have acted without thinking and then wished we could take back our actions? Well, the game of chess will quickly teach a child to analyze before acting. There have even been studies which support the claim that chess improves a person's organizational and analytical skills."
- Gadfly (The advantages of learning the art of chess)

Children Improve Academically
Chess improves schoolwork and grades. Numerous studies have proven that kids obtain a higher reading level, math level and a greater learning ability overall as a result of playing chess. For all these reasons, chess playing kids do better at school and therefore have a better chance to succeed in life.

Memory
Chess is one of the few activities that can assist in memory improvement. A chess player always tries to remember patterns and positions. He makes his moves based on what he learns from his own games and also games of other players from various tournaments collected from tournament books and databases. Chess students perform well in math and spelling because both these fields demand memorization of themes and ideas.

Concentration
Chess makes your child concentrate at the board for hours. Chess player forgets about the world outside the tournament hall. Even in Under 7 nationals, children play 2 rounds of 4 hours each per day. Parents of chess playing kids often tell me how chess has developed a habit in their children to seat and concentrate at one place.

Chess Teaches Life Skills
Chess can teach children to make careful, disciplined decisions, understanding that the first option available is not always the best option.

Logic
The action-reaction mechanism is prevalent in chess, like other logical activities. This teaches your child to look objectively at a position. Beginners are often surprised at the complexity of play at the top levels in chess. However, a Grandmaster must still follow the same logical theories and themes as the most basic chess beginner. This is because chess is a logical game.

Awareness and Analysis
A chess player learns to be aware of the key aspects in a position, analyses them, and react. Chess students often claim they have a better feel for this awareness and analysis in school. In this way more time is spent studying what will be on the exam instead of what won't be.

Decision Making
During a game, a chess player has to take decisions based on different features of the position on the board and calculation of variations for both the sides. He has to choose the best move from complicated position and that also in limited time. This develops ability to take prompt decision.

Chess and Science
Chess develops the scientific way of thinking. While playing, you generate numerous variations in your mind, explore new ideas, try to predict their outcomes and interpret surprising revelations. You decide on a hypothesis, and then you make your move and test it.

Chess and Mathematics
Chess involves an infinite number of calculations, anything from counting the number of attackers and defenders in the event of a simple exchange to calculating lengthy continuations. And you use your head to calculate, not some little machine.

Chess and Art
If you thought you could never be an artist, chess proves you wrong. Chess enables the artist hiding within you to come out. Your imagination will run wild with endless possibilities on the 64 squares. You will paint pictures in your mind of ideal positions and perfect outposts for your soldiers. As a chess artist you will have an original style and personality.
Chess and Psychology
Chess is a test of patience, nerves, will power and concentration. It enhances your ability to interact with other people. It tests your sportsmanship in a competitive environment.

In a nutshell, we can say:
Chess is a not a game of chance, but rather one in which imagination, hard work, and deep thinking are rewarded.

Chess is challenging, since there is always more to learn and enjoy. In addition to the satisfaction of mastering the ancient game, players often make life-long friends.

Royal Selangor Blitz 2008

Ian Udani sekali lagi menunjukkan kehebatannya dengan menjuarai Royal Selangor Blitz 2008. Pemenang lain seperti Fariz Shafruddin (2nd place), Kamaluddin Yusof (3rd) Dr.Wahid and Jax Tham. Memang tidak dapat di sangkal lagi, memang beliau merupakan seorang pemain yang hebat.

SLC Open Chess Championship 2008

Date: 28 June 2008 (Saturday)
Venue: SLC Auto Academy, No.472, Sungai Rambai, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang.
Category: Open, Lady, and Veteran
Organizer: Penang Chess Association
Prize:
Champion: RM200, 2nd RM150, 3rd RM100, 4th-6th RM50, 7th-10th RM25, Best Veteran, Best Lady


Format:
7 rounds will be played based on the Swiss System with time control of 25-minute each.
Tie Break: Solkoff, Cummulative
Entries are on First come first serve basis. Maximum number of entries is 100.

Schedule:
9.45:10.00 Arrivals
10.00:10.50 Round 1
11.00:11.50 Round 2
12.00:12.50 Round 3
12.50:14:00 Lunch
14.00:14.50 Round 4
15.00:15.50 Round 5
16.00:16.50 Round 6
17.00:17.50 Round 7
17.50:18.20 Processing Results & Cert.
18.20:18.40 Prize Giving