What does #TeamGov do after two rallies, a couple dozen interviews, and 4 or 5 hours on the road? #Chess pic.twitter.com/SiykYlUUds— Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) August 27, 2016
Chess by candlelight? Horrible!— Clermont Chess Club (@ClermontChess) August 31, 2016
But at least it appears they set up the board correctly. https://t.co/PeIOVUJVAr
To mark [Keres's] centenary his compatriot Joosep Grents looks back on the life and career of the “Eternal Second”, starting with Keres’ early years until his explosion onto the international scene at the 1935 Olympiad.The author's introduction to the piece presents what he hopes to accomplish:
To mark the Year of Paul Keres, in the following months I’m aiming to publish a series of articles shedding light on the events of his life. A lot has been written about a player who was prevented from playing a World Championship match against Alexander Alekhine by World War II, and who Chessmetrics report was ranked world no. 2 for 52 different months between 1943 and 1960. The material available in English, however, is limited. Most extensive biographies – and literature going beyond mere game collections – has been published in Estonian, and mostly by Keres’ biographer Valter Heuer. This has not, to my knowledge, been translated into English. The motivation for these articles is therefore not only to celebrate the centenary of Keres’ birth, but also to open up literature that may not be available to non-Estonian speakers.I haven't read the first article yet, as it's long and I have a six year-old to chase, but it looks promising. And those with an interest in Keres's games should check the club library. Keres's wrote three collections of his games, and the single-volume English translation by Golumbek is up on the shelf. The books (or book in this case) are simply outstanding. There are two downsides to the volume, however. First, it is the size of a standard paperback novel, and thus doesn't lay flat when open. (The collection is quite large.) Second, it is in the old English Descriptive Notation. That's not a problem for me, but I know some of you break out into hives at the thought of it. So, fair warning!
Here the game was adjourned for the second time.Walter reportedly said that he did not know how Smejkal could advance his pawn. But what seemed hard for the American was easy for the Czech. I recommend that you be patient and watch Smejkal's winning technique. It looks rather convincing, even though according to some opinions Black could have had good drawing chances.So, some practical difficulties exist!
A week after this tournament was over the Yugoslav Grandmaster Ljubomir Ljubojevic gave a clock exhibition in a small Dutch town. After five hours one game had to be adjudicated. Each player had a queen on the board and Ljubo had one pawn: it was a KRP on the fifth rank. The result was a draw but somebody pointed out that the same position was won by Smejkal against Walter Browne. The master who called Ljubo's game a draw said, "But that's impossible! How did he win it?"
Checkmate! pic.twitter.com/AaC70MSNNs
— Only In Russia (@CrazyinRussia) August 28, 2016
The pawn looks unstoppable. Can you find the impossible defense? pic.twitter.com/RmcqY4IJpP
— Johan Salomon (@JohanSalomon) August 26, 2016
World Junior Championship, 1953. F Olafsson vs J Penrose. Photo: Arinbjörn Gudmundsson. Courtesy Gunnar Finnlaugsson pic.twitter.com/JLcw9XH5VU
— Lars Grahn (@larsgrahn) August 22, 2016
Many of you no doubt received the email, so this is for those that haven't. Please pass the information along to anyone that might be interested. In the future look to the Boca Raton Chess Club's website or Facebook page for more information. We will also post additional information here as it becomes availableMark your calendars for the 2017 U.S. Amateur Team Championship South that will be taking place in Kissimmee, Florida, February 17 to February 19. The Hotel is just minutes from Disney, Universal, etc. The average daytime high in February is in the mid-seventies.The special Hotel rate is $75 per night. The Hotel has waived its normal $15 resort fee, so guests will have free high speed Internet, unlimited use of the fitness facility, outdoor pool with fresh towels, free parking, and free daily newspaper. A full breakfast buffet will be available for only $6 per person.More details will follow soon.
Check out Chuky's 'stache! Gives me an idea for what we could do for the next USATS. Clearly Paul would have to play the part of Sir Stewart Wallace....Olympiad 1988. USSR Gold. Makarychev(?), Yusupov, Beliavsky, Karpov, Ivanchuk, and Kasparov. Photo: Lars Grahn pic.twitter.com/9rQTarBct2— Lars Grahn (@larsgrahn) August 18, 2016
How To Tell If Your Head's About To Blow Up
From the WEEKLY WORLD NEWS, May 24, 1994
MOSCOW -- Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the middle of a championship game!Unfortunately, I can't find the story on the WWN website (the tabloid ceased paper publication many years ago before returning in digital format), so you'll have to read the rest at this archive on an MIT (!!) website. The article is well worth reading, as it does include a list of questions to help you identify if you have HCE. I highly recommend reading the whole article - it can save your life! It has certainly saved mine, as it helped me identify as a young man that I too suffered from HCE, and my head hasn't (literally) exploded in the 22 years since I was diagnosed. People, modern medicine WORKS.
No one else was hurt in the fatal explosion but four players and three officials at the Moscow Candidate Masters' Chess Championships were sprayed with blood and brain matter when Nikolai Titov's head suddenly blew apart. Experts say he suffered from a condition called Hyper-Cerebral Electrosis or HCE.
"He was deep in concentration with his eyes focused on the board," says Titov's opponent, Vladimir Dobrynin. "All of a sudden his hands flew to his temples and he screamed in pain. Everyone looked up from their games, startled by the noise. Then, as if someone had put a bomb in his cranium, his head popped like a firecracker."
He's not wrong!Thessaloniki Olympiad 1988. England Silver. Speelman, Nunn, Chandler, Mestel, Watson, and Short. Photo: Lars Grahn pic.twitter.com/NGdjuC2WRy— Lars Grahn (@larsgrahn) August 17, 2016
4. If your adversary is long in playing, you ought not to hurry him, or express any uneasiness at his delay. You should not sing, nor whistle, nor look at your watch, nor take up a book to read, nor make a tapping with your feet on the floor, or with your fingers on the table, nor do anything that may disturb his attention. For all these things displease. And they do not show your skill in playing, but your craftiness or your rudeness.We are fortunate to live in a time when this piece of advice is largely irrelevant. I'm thinking Franklin would have been much pleased with the advent of chess clocks, though I have no idea what he'd think of speed chess.
As was agreed beforehand, I brought the data about the reasons of Fischer's and Spassky's losses and about peculiarities of their playing in important games I studied in Saratov. Interestingly enough, several years later I read an interesting book by grandmaster E. Mednis, How to Beat Bobby Fischer, published in the United States in 1974. Fischer's lost games were analyzed in the book. When reading Mednis' work, I would often encounter evaluations and reasonings similar to my own. So, in essence, Mednis and I did the same work independently. Sadly, my work didn't attract Spassky's attention and is now gathering dust in archives.It would be interesting to compare Krogius's work to that of Mednis - and then to re-evaluate all of it with appropriate programs!
Caruana: "I’m getting bad positions in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, so how much worse can the Benoni be?!" #SinquefieldCup #c24live
— chess24.com (@chess24com) August 8, 2016
These 1970-72 modifications to the FIDE laws plus USCF changes through early 1973 were distributed in a pamphlet edited by Martin Morrison, chair of the USCF Rules Committee, and published privately by Paul Masson Vineyards.That's got to be the weirdest publisher for a volume I can recall seeing. Can anyone add any other examples?
Really, that ought to be on a poster hung in every chess club everywhere.Topalov: "I have lost many games with stupid mistakes, so it's nice to receive sometimes" #SinquefieldCup— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) August 5, 2016
When I became a tournament director at age 18, the old gentlemen who showed me the ropes informed me that half of the job of a TD was public relations. You had to know your clientele and how to bring them back for future tournaments and maybe as members of the club. You never knew who might walk in to play. [emphasis added]I will try to keep that in mind!
White has played with great skill, but here he by no means makes the most of his advantage.White took a draw here. Can you see what he missed? Answer below the fold, in white font.
