Chess in Aruba

Aruba is an island country, situated almost 30 kilometres north of Venezuela, which can be spotted on a clear day. Together with Bonaire and Curaao it forms the so-called ABC islands and is part of the Dutch Caribbean islands, due to their constituency of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Dutch is also the common language used in Aruba, besides English, Spanish andPapiamento.

The most popular sports on this beautiful island with its white beaches are surfing, beach tennis, beach volleyball and baseball. However, the chess federation has no less than 30 active members who have a chess rating.

The country is the smallest of our "Best in" series so far, placed 197th in the world by population and 188th by size. That means, Aruba fits into The Bahamas 77 times and even 165 times into Armenia!

One of the biggest surprises might be though, that their best chess player has a FIDE rating of more than 2400! IM Jasel Lopez tells us how this happened.

Arne Kaehler:Hello Jasel, it is a pleasure having this interview with you. Since many years you have been Aruba's number one. How did you get such a high rating and do you remember when and how you learned to play chess?

Jasel Lopez:Thank you very much for having me. I learned playing chess when I was around 5 years old by my father. He taught me the basics of the game, that my fingers are my enemy, and that I have to think first before moving a piece. Afterwards, my brother and I attended chess lessons from a local chess player, John da Silva, who later on decided to train me privately for a brief period of time. He wanted to train me, because he saw potential in me.

When I started winning back-to-back youth tournaments in Aruba, I aspired to becoming much more than just a chess master. I wanted to be the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be in Aruban Chess. Through sheer dedication and constant support from my (non-)chess friends and family I can finally say that I am the best there is and the best there was in Aruba. After all, I am the first Aruban who achieved International Master.

Its also worth mentioning that I was fortunate enough to move to The Netherlands to continue my studies after high school. Aruba is an autonomous country within the Royal Kingdom of The Netherlands, which gives us this unique opportunity.

When I moved to Amsterdam, I was a Candidate Master with a mere FIDE rating of 2130. Almost seven years later, here I am as an International Master with a FIDE rating of 2416.

I couldnt have reached such a high rating if I was still in Aruba. We simply dont have enough FIDE-rated tournaments nor do we have master-level players to play against or trainers to help us reach master level.

Jasel Lopez (right) in action with the French Defense

AK: What fascinated you about the game?

JL: When I was younger, mostly the different shapes of the chess pieces and the distinct movement of the pieces. Now that Im older, the problem-solving element in chess and the complexity of the game.

AK: Did you live in a biggercity or in a small place?

JL: Back in Aruba, it doesnt really matter in which city you live in. Aruba is already an extremely small island, with around 100.000 inhabitants. Aruba is smaller than Amsterdam, in size and population! At the moment I reside in Amsterdam, even though very soon Ill move back to Aruba.

AK: How did you get better in chess? Did you read books, did you have a trainer, did you join a club?

JL: I got better by playing a lot of online and offline chess, reading books, going through annotations by strong players and hanging out with chess friends. Also, watching Banter Blitz of IM/GM level and live commentaries of chess tournaments helped me a lot. Its a nice enjoyable way to relax andlearn something from great players at the same time.

AK: Did you or do you have any idols or role models, players that impressed you a lot?

JL: My idols are Anatoly Karpov and Ulf Andersson.

I like their simplistic deep positional playing style and how they make the ordinary looking moves, look extraordinary!

Master Class Vol.6: Anatoly Karpov

On this DVD a team of experts looks closely at the secrets of Karpov's games. In more than 7 hours of video, the authors examine four essential aspects of Karpov's superb play.

AK: Do you have a favourite chess book?

JL: My two all time favourite chess books are Positional Chess Handbook by Israel Gelfer and 101 tips to improve your chess by Tony Kosten. Dont make me have to choose between one of the two. (haha)

AK:How active is the chess scene in Aruba?

JL: Its not active at all. We have only two chess clubs and a handful of chess tournaments on a yearly basis. Also, there arent many active chess players on the island. Not to mention that most of us have a narrow repertoire and we all share a similar playing style.

Flamingos playing the "Bird" opening

AK: What was your first big success? Do you remember how that felt?

JL: My first big success was definitely the Scholastic Chess Tournament in Aruba, which I won. I was around eightyears old. It was my first chess tournament I played in and all the best youth players of the age category (four to twelve) participated in said tournament.

I remember one or two school teachers of my primary school visited the tournament to support me, and a few days after the tournament I was asked to bring my trophy to school to do a "victory lap" to the other classes. In addition, I was also inducted into the Hall of Fame of the school.

The whole process of becoming champion, the support that I received from my family and teachers and the recognition of being a champion at my primary school really gave me a lot of motivation to continue playing chess.

AK:You are an International Master with a current Elo rating of 2416. Tell us a bit about your career: when and how did you achieve your first title and when and how did you become an IM? Are there any moments or games in your career that you remember particularly well?

JL: I obtained my first title back in 2010. At the Subzonal 2.3.5 in Bahamas I scored the required points to obtain the title of Candidate Master. Four years later I obtained the title of FIDE Master at the Subzonal 2.3.5 in Trinidad & Tobago, where once more I scored the required points. And finally in 2019 I obtained the title of International Master. I scored the necessary 3 IM-norms and reached the required FIDE rating of 2400.

In the tournament in which I scored my first norm I needed to score 2/2 out of my last two games to get the norm. My opponents in these two games had an average of 2440 and I had White in both games. In both games I played the wonderful London system and I won them both.

AK: Are you a chess professional or do you have a steady job?

JL: Im still a student with chess as my "side gig", even though Im playing chess more as a hobby. I earned money by either giving chess lessons or by playing for my chess clubs in the Dutch and Belgian league.

Very soon Ill move back to Aruba to take over my fathers company.

AK:Does Aruba support chess players or are chess players independent of the state?

JL: In general chess players dont get much support from the government. The Aruban Chess Federation receives a sum each year to support chess in Aruba, however, its not much.

As I am currently residing in The Netherlands, Im receiving little to no support from the federation.

For instance the qualification system doesnt allow a player of my calibre to represent Aruba at the upcoming prestigious Chess Olympiad, although Im an Aruban and the strongest chess player by far.

Aruba vs France

AK: How do people play, train and compete in Aruba? Are there any strong juniors and is there a vibrant chess scene?

JL: In Aruba most of the players are competing to represent Aruba in regional tournaments and/or to qualify for the Olympiad, which takes place every two years.

A few years back, the Aruban Chess Federation introduced the FAA-points system. Its the same as the Grand Prix system of FIDE. I think we have at the moment around 20 tournaments every two years and in each tournament the top six players of the final standing win FAA-points. By the end of the season, the top five players with the most FAA-points earn the right to represent Aruba at the Olympiad.

As to representing Aruba in regional tournaments, the ones who have accumulated the most FAA-points before the regional tournament, earnthe right to represent Aruba.

As to youth players, we have a few very talented juniors. Their FIDE rating doesnt represent their strength. They achieved a low FIDE rating, because they started playing in regional junior events where their opponents also had a low FIDE rating. As they become older and stronger, their FIDE rating still stays approximately the same due to a lack of FIDE tournaments they are able to play.

AK: How would you like to promote and support chess in Aruba?

JL: To be honest, I havent put much thought into this. I could see myself training ambitious chess players and organizing or sponsoring chess events on the island.

With 365 days of summer, it is easy to enjoy the many beaches in Aruba (this picture shows Eagle Beach)

AK: Are you using ChessBase in Aruba?

JL: Of course! Its a must if one wants to improve his/her game or become a chess trainer.

AK: If you look back at your career: what was the most remarkable moment?

JL: I would say my most remarkable moment was my round 6 game at the Central American & Caribbean U20 in Venezuela. Back then I was a Candidate Master, and I was paired against another Candidate Master from Panama. Up to this point my opponent was leading the tournament with a perfect 5/5 socre, beating three of the top five seeds, while I had 3/5. Many believed that I would lose, however I proved them wrong and managed to beat him. I havent won the tournament, but I sure made my presence felt at the tournament.

AK: What is your favourite game?

JL: I would say my second round game at the Subzonal 2.3.5 in Trinidad & Tobago, where I obtained my FIDE Master title. I managed to first shut off all of my opponents counterplay on the queenside and afterwards won the game by launching a mating attack on the Kingside.

AK: Thank you very much for this insightful interview.

JL: It was very nice indeed, my pleasure.

Here are some games and annotations by Jasel Lopez.

Continue reading here:

The Best in... Aruba - Chessbase News

Anand, who is part of the Indian team for the FIDE (International Chess Federation) Online Olympiad 2020 from 21-23 August, has offered no reviews of his performance. The tournaments online-only format, necessitated by the covid-19 pandemic, meant there were no post-match media interactions either. But for all that he left unsaid, he has been open about his prospects for a while now. In his autobiography Mind Master, released last year, he wrote that hes in the sport for the joy of playing (rather) than the pursuit of ranking. For running into greying old buddies and players old enough to be our sons; for telling the world we still love a good fight; and for the odd title we might luck out on."

At 50, he is the oldest player in top-tier competitive chess from India. The latest FIDE ratings place him 15th in the world; P. Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi trail him at 20th and 24th, respectively. Anand has been Indias top-ranked player for most of the past three decades. His hard work, perseverance and ability to play across all formats led to a revolution in Indian chess. When he achieved the grandmaster (GM) title in 1988, it was a first for India. India now has 66 GMs, the fifth highest in the world.

Yet, even as Indias tally of chess GMs increases, most players cant seem to keep up the momentum to excel on the world stage. India only has four players in the world top 100. Among women, who are ranked separately, India has seven players in the top 100. After Magnus Carlsen beat Anand to win the world championship in 2013, no Indian has been able to make it beyond the qualifiers to challenge himexcept Anand himself. Koneru Humpy, ranked second in the world in womens rankings, came closest to the world title in 2011, finishing as a runner-up.

In China, they say Ding Liren can be the next world champion," says Praveen Thipsay, a chess GM from Mumbai and a trainer. In the US, Fabiano Caruana (world No.2) or Wesley So (world No.8) could be that. That way, we dont have too many players whom we can project to be world champions today."

For the most part, chess in India flourished not because of the state but in spite of it. Archaic rules and a chronic lack of funding often came in the wayand still do. Manuel Aaron, Indias first international master (IM), a title short of GM, recalled in an interview with The Times Of India in 2013 that he couldnt go to Delhi to receive the Arjuna Award in the 1960s because of financial constraints. The award came by post. Broken," he added. In 1987, a year before he turned GM, Anand had to wait eight months for permission to import a computer. R.B. Ramesh, a chess GM turned coach, tells Mint he had to pose as a school student at age 18 to secure an internet connection in the late 1990s.

Earlier, a boy taking up chess professionally was considered a gone case," recalls Varugeese Koshy, an IM from Bihar and president of the Chess Players Forum. But as Anand notched up wins and records, it prompted a shift in attitudes. In the past 20-25 years, chess has become an alternative career. Private sponsors started coming in, government companies (like banks, petroleum and railways) started giving players jobs."

Two factors worked in its favour: A chess board came cheap, and many middle-class parents wanted their children to pursue it seriously, even if only in the hope of them landing a government job. In Europe, you dont start getting professional coaching at 7-8. They want their kids to decide," says Thipsay. Here, the advantageor disadvantage, depending on how you see itis that parents dont give much of an option to children."

States like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, where Anand was born, led the way by making chess compulsory in schools. Today, 24 of the countrys 66 GMs come from Tamil Nadu, including two of the youngest GMs in history: R. Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh, both of whom qualified at age 12. In the last 20 years, India has had several successes at world youth chess championships. Since 2000, its men and women chess players have won the under-18 thrice, the under-16 four times, under-14 seven times, under-12 eight times and under-10 nine times. The latest triumph came last year, when 14-year-old Praggnanandhaa won the world under-18 chess championship.

Despite recording high levels of success in youth championships, not many seem to keep up the wins as they turn older. Says Thipsay, The entire system is geared towards making GMs. A sense of complacency seems to set in after."

At the elite stage, a players success can depend on the coaches they can afford. And good coaches come at a cost. According to an ESPN report last month, Vidit Gujrathi pays 400 ( around 35,000) for a 6-hour session. Baskaran Adhiban, ranked fourth in India, pays 60 an hour. Both are employed by public sector undertakings and can afford it, but those without jobs or sufficient sponsorship have to pass up opportunities for quality training.

At the highest level, the opponents look for all kinds of weaknesses of the opponents," says Thipsay. If you dont play well, if, say, you tend to not play well if your C6 square is not protected, they will prepare for that." So the chess body needs to organize tournaments to get the top players, or super GMs", to play against each other, he adds. But in India there are barely any such tournaments organized." An estimated 150-200 players fly to Europe every year for such events. But not everyone can afford it.

P. Harikrishna, the 1996 world under-10 champion, currently ranked second in India, believes the absence of such tournaments did have some impact on his growth curve. He cites the instance of his wins in under-10 and under-14 world chess championships. On both occasions, Teimour Radjabov from Azerbaijan was the runner-up. Today, Radjabov is the world No.9 and a three-time challenger for the World Chess Championship. Harikrishna is world No.20.

At a young age, Radjabov played in the Linares tournament in Spain," Harikrishna says. The tournament, held in Spain every year, is known as the Wimbledon of chess". When you play the best in the world, you learn a lot, no matter how you play.... Its a hypothetical thing to say but had I played such events at an early stage, things might have been much better for me."

Bharat Singh Chauhan, secretary of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), says they have tried to make the most of their resources. Today, he says, the AICF organizes a number of youth championships at the state and national levels. Top-ranked national players are sent abroad for exposure trips", their stay and travel expenses for world tournaments paid for. In recent years, the AICF has also started a sessions for young players parents in an attempt to prevent burn-out among youngsters.

AICFs annual budget is about 8 crore. It costs up to 5 crore to organize a tournament featuring elite players like Anand or Carlsen," says Chauhan. I would rather invest that amount in a chess school and have thousands more players coming up."

A possible solution could be to set up a chess league, on the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Although this is part of AICFs 2020 vision" document, as uploaded on its website, Singh says they ruled out its formation due to some issues". R.B. Ramesh, who quit as chief selector at the AICF last month citing interference", says the federation was unsure chess could be marketed as a spectator sport. However, as Harikrishna points out, several countries like China or Iran have a chess league. You wont believe it, but even Bangladesh does".

The erstwhile Soviet Union had a system backing its players; a similar model is now under way in China. In the US, an academy by billionaire Rex Sinquefield has been leading the chess renaissance in the hope of creating the next Bobby Fischer".

But for all the systemic issues, says R.B. Ramesh, one cant discount the fact that India is one of the fastest growing countries in chess. We started from a point when we didnt have books, internet, media attention or private sponsorships. Today, we are producing three-four GMs every year. That is huge," says Ramesh.

India are seeded seventh in the FIDE Online Olympiad. The average rating of the team (2419) does not reflect our true playing strength," team captain Gujrathi told The Hindu last month. Our juniors are most talented and grossly under-rated (as per rapid ratings)." Although India have only won a medal oncea bronze in 2014Gujrathi said the team this year was among the favourites".

World champions are not produced because we want it," says Ramesh. Anand is a one-time phenomenon. When Bobby Fischer became world champion, chess in the US was non-existent. Norway is the size of Chennai, yet it produced a Carlsen. Given where we started, and where we are, I feel we are just as capable as anyone else."

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Chess: Why hasnt India produced another Viswanathan Anand? - Livemint

The amber chess set made around 1690 has returned to the city after being bought by the Gdask Museum. chrisities.com

A magnificent amber chess set one of just four similar ones that have survived to this day has returned to Gdask after over 300 years.

Located on Polands Baltic coast, Gdask has long been associated with amber, fossilized tree resin valued for its golden colour and natural beauty.

The rare set came with a hefty price tag: the museum bought it for around 2.4 million zoty (over 0.5 million euros).chrisities.com

This peaked around the 1600s, when local craftsmen made sophisticated amber goods that were valued not only in Gdask, but around Europe.

These include an amber chess set made around 1690, which has returned to the city after being bought by the Gdask Museum.

Museum director Waldemar Ossowski said: Each (piece) was made at the master level with great attention to detail. Only a skilled master could have made them.chrisities.com

Museum director Waldemar Ossowski said: Amber items are delicate and sensitive, and the susceptibility to damage increases with the age of the item, which is why many amber masterpieces have survived in fragments and are missing many figurines.

This makes the chess set extremely rare: the only comparable ones are in the collection of the Danish royal family, the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and the Grnes Gewlbe museum in Dresden.

The amber chess set is already in the Gdask Museums collection and will be on display at the new Amber Museum located inside the citys historical Great Mill from June 2021.chrisities.com

The chess set that will go to Gdask is one of four that have been preserved. It has all the figurines. Each one was made at the master level with great attention to detail. Only a skilled master could have made them, Ossowski added.

The set may have been created in the workshop of Michael Redlin, one of the finest amber craftsmen of his time, who was active in Gdask in the second half of the 17th century. It made its way to Amsterdam and later to Blair Castle in Scotland.

The only comparable sets are in the collection of the Danish royal family, the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and the Grnes Gewlbe museum in Dresden.chrisities.com

The rare set came with a hefty price tag: the museum bought it for around 2.4 million zoty (over 0.5 million euros).

The money came from ticket sales and from EU funds; specifically, from the Poland-Russia Cross-border Cooperation Programme 20142020.

The set may have been created in the workshop of Michael Redlin, one of the finest amber craftsmen of his time, who was active in Gdask in the second half of the 17th century.Gdansk.pl

The amber chess set is already in the Gdask Museums collection and will be on display at the new Amber Museum located inside the citys historical Great Mill from June 2021.

The rest is here:

Gorgeous amber chess set returns to Gdask after 300 years - The First News

8/19/2020 There is probably no other opening as deeply studied as the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. It is crucial to know this opening well, if you want to improve your chess skills. But we are lucky because former World Champion Garry Kasparov took a very close look at the Najdorf: on three DVDs he offers more than 10 hours of entertaining and encouraging material to master this opening. This week, all three DVDs are available in a bundle for a reduced price. Moreover, one lucky buyer will win a DVD signed by Garry Kasparov in a raffle.

The Najdorf system in the Sicilian Defence has a legendary reputation as a defensive weapon for Black. It is an opening where people often strive for a full point, instead of simply defending the position with the black pieces. Many great players have contributed to the development of this complex opening. There were two world champions who formed much of their careers using the Najdorf system as their weapon of choice against 1.e4: Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov celebrated spectacular successes with it. Both players used the Najdorf (pronounced ny-dorff, rhyming with high-dwarf) during their child prodigy years and retained it as an important part of their repertoire during their entire careers.

For Garry Kasparov this added up to experience with the Najdorf at the very highest levels of chess. For chess amateurs and professionals alike it is a great moment when the worlds leading expert shares all the secrets in his favourite opening. In part one Garry Kasparov introduces the various sub-systems of the Najdorf, including the central Poisoned Pawn variation. The development of each line is placed in historical perspective and examined in great depth, with Kasparovs characteristic intensity. More than two 2.5 hours of first-class private tuition. The package includes the latest ChessBase 9.0 Reader, a big reference database featuring more than 16,000 Najdorf games, as well as a complete opening book that can be used to practice what you have learnt with Fritz.

System Requirements:

Minimum: Dual Core, 2 GB RAM, Windows 7 or 8.1, DirectX11, graphics card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9, ChessBase 14/Fritz 16 or included Reader and internet access for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel i5 (Quadcore), 4 GB RAM, Windows 10, DirectX11, graphics card with 512 MB RAM or more, 100% DirectX10-compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVD-ROM drive and internet access for program activation.

Last week we had the ChessBase Master Class Bundle 1-12on offer and raffled away three signed DVDs by Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. Here is the video of the raffle with the help of our cats. Well, at least it felt like they helped:

Congratulations to the three lucky cats! The DVDs are on their way and should arrive in one of the next two weeks.

Anyway, whoever buys the "How to play the Najdorf - 1-3 Bundle"this week (until Sunday, August 23, 2020 / 23:59 CEST) automatically gets the chance to winoneDVDof "Deep Fritz 13" signed by Garry Kasparov! A huge treat!

Good luck!

Read the original here:

Play the Najdorf with the help of Garry - Chessbase News

League of Legends streamer Albert Boxbox Zheng adored chess in elementary school, but stopped playing when he was around nine. One day, after hearing about some grandmaster chess guys stream popping off, he dropped into Nakamuras channel to watch him play blindfolded. I wrote in his chat afterwards, like, That was amazing. Then he saw my name in the chat, and was like, Is that the BoxBox? Nakamura fished Zheng out and asked him to come on stream and play against him.

He blew my mind with how deep chess goes, says Zheng.

Nakamura challenged Zheng to a game, but Nakamura would start without a queen. Zheng thought, Theres no way he can beat me without a queen. Of course, Nakamura crushed him. Nakamura began removing more pieces, starting the game with fewer and fewer, until, Zheng says, I finally won when he basically had nothing. I was hooked.

Nakamuras impressive, lightly trollish chess gimmicksblindfolded matches, matches without queens or rooks, solving as many puzzles as he can in five minuteshave spurred Twitchs top personalities to try the game for themselves. Instead of looking down his nose at these pro gamers who come to him for guidance, he exudes respect for Lengyel (legendary character), who has three million followers, or Saqib Lirik Zahid, who has 2.6 million followers (honored by his visit). Now, top Hearthstone, Fortnite, and Valorant streamers are sliding into Nakamuras DMs asking for coaching. Nakamura has in turn developed his own streaming persona, somewhere between a proud dad and a laughing supergenius.

On stream, Nakamura has described his new role as Twitchs chess ambassador as his calling. In retrospect, he says, it makes sense; after winning his first championship in 2005, Nakamura says he went over to the hotel lobby to play blitz, or speed, games against random audience members until two or three in the morning. (Nakamura is now the top blitz player in the world.) Ive always wanted to bring it to the masses, he says. In his chat, viewers tell Nakamura that they hadnt played or watched chess since they were kids, but were intrigued by their favorite streamers newfound interest.

When I work with streamers, Im trying to get them to have fun, but also these aha! moments, says Nakamura. Moments where they see little combinations or little tricks, thats really the goal. Theyre not going to be great, but if they can learn something from it and theyre having fun, for me, that means Im doing a good job.

Nakamuras mission to bring a populist movement to chess runs up against the games marked culture of elitism. Theres a tendency among some chess devotees to look down on streamers learning, and sometimes making mistakes, so publicly. Zheng has been shocked at how antagonistic his Twitch chat gets when he streams chess; sometimes, he cant even look at it. League is known for toxicity. Chess, surprisingly, is even worse, he says, describing the phenomenon as backseat gaming.

There are a lot of people who are miles better than meI dont deny thatwho get mad that me, a new player, cant pick up the game and instantly be an expert at it, says Zheng. People will shove and yell moves down my throat. Not only is it annoying, oftentimes its wrong and very aggressive.

"Ive always wanted to bring chess to the masses."

Hikaru Nakamura

Chess mastermind and Twitch streamer Alexandra Botez, a Woman FIDE Master, who has also seen huge growth in her channel, says that elitism extends to the broader chess community, too. Your worth is really determined by your ranking, especially in the tight-knit circles of people who dedicated their lives to chess. Shes watched on as a lot of other top chess players have tried streaming on Twitch without seeing anywhere near her or Nakamuras success. She attributes it to Nakamuras ability to engage with Twitch culture on its own terms, memeing with viewers and gamely replying to their questions. Other top players prefer to remain distant, viewing Twitch as a platform rather than a cultural organism.

See the rest here:

The Grandmaster Who Got Twitch Hooked on Chess - WIRED

This week we return to notation to allow readers a better understanding of how the pieces move and capture, how to react when the King is in check and how to bring a chess game to its conclusion. The best way to do this is by going through the motions of solving the puzzle.

The aim of chess is not to swap pieces. Rather, it is to checkmate the King. The King cannot be removed from the chess board during a practical game. Every other piece or pawn can be captured and removed. Checkmating the King means placing the King in a hopeless position. The word checkmate is also used in situations pertaining to life. In chess, checkmate is when the King is unable to escape, similarly in life.

When check is announced, you have to leave everything you are doing and attend to it. You can block a check, move your King out of check, or capture the piece that is announcing the check. The goal of all chess puzzles is to checkmate your opponents King no matter what moves he makes. You have to administer checkmate in the required number of moves.

Some chess puzzles are created from actual chess games and some are chess compositions. I prefer the ones from actual games. In some compositions, we can reach a position that cannot be reached in a chess game. Chess puzzles are automatically verified so that the solutions are correct and complete. Sometimes a shorter solution to a puzzle exists.

My chess colleague Loris Nathoo has the rare ability of finding a shorter solution to a puzzle. He works on the puzzle on Sundays and presents me with the solutions. The two puzzles in Diagram 1 and Diagram 2 are taken from actual grandmaster games.

In Diagram 1, it is Black, played by Vitaly Chekhover, to play and win. The game was played at Leningrad in 1934. Black plays Re1+ (+ is an abbreviation for check). The Rook goes down on the back rank and calls check. White has to attend to this check immediately. He cannot take the Rook with his Rook which is stationed at d1 because White will lose his Queen with check. So White is forced to play Kf2. Black plays Re2+. White cannot capture the black Rook since it is protected by the black Queen. White is forced to retreat to f1 or g1. When he does, the black Queen will take the g pawn and it is checkmate since the white King cannot evade the check.

In Diagram 2 Vishy Anand is playing the black pieces. The game was contested at Salonika in 1984. It is Black to play and win. Black plays Ra1 if Rxa1 (x means capture) Nf2+. To prevent checkmate, White has to capture the Knight with his Queen which gives black a decisive advantage.

The rest is here:

An Introduction to Chess: More notes on notation - Stabroek News

The Rwanda Chess Federation (Ferwade) general assembly on Sunday, June 14, elected a new executive committee to help steer the ship for an interim period of 12 months.

This came after the general assembly last week agreed to hold elections using any viable virtual platform due to limitations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Elections to usher in a new leadership team could not be held in April when the outgoing team's four-year term ended because of the Covid-19 lockdown.

The last poll was held in April 2016.

The totally new team has Ben Tom Zimurinda as president, Valentin Rukimbira, vice president, Elysee Tuyizere, secretary general, and Eddy Christian Nkuyubwatsi as treasurer.

The outgoing team was led by Kevin Ganza, deputised by Rugema Ngarambe. Niyibizi Alain Patience and Christella Rugabira were secretary general and treasurer, respectively.

During the meeting before Sunday's poll, it was agreed that an interim leadership team be set up. Its job is to urgently, among others, help ailing clubs get their houses in order before another poll can be called in a year's time.

Zimurinda's team is tasked with designing a roadmap that clearly defines desired outcomes and the major steps needed to succeed.

"I thank everyone who voted. But I also wish to make it clear that taking on such responsibilities is not about prestige. It's a struggle," Zimurinda told the general assembly.

Zimurinda knows that his team has a huge task. But he is undeterred.

For the federation to function as a legal entity, at least three member clubs must be fully registered. But only one, Vision Chess Club, currently fulfills requirements. There must be at least three registered clubs for a proper election to be held.

So much will, therefore, depend on how the new leadership team manages to rally people with divergent opinion and interest as well as bringing clubs back to life.

"We will need to come up with an action plan, and that's urgent. In not more than 30 days we must have a clear roadmap."

Besides contending with the problem of dormant clubs, Zimurinda must also mind major characteristics of good governance such as transparency and accountability if he is to succeed in steering the ship in the right direction.

jkaruhanga@newtimesrwanda.com

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Chess: Interim executive team elected to run federation for a year - The New Times

White, playing as usual up the board in the diagram, can force checkmate in two moves, however Black defends.

This weeks puzzle is the opening round of a national contest where Guardian readers traditionally perform strongly. You have to work out how White, playing, as usual, up the board in the diagram, can force checkmate in two moves, however Black defends.

The puzzle is the first stage of the annual Winton British Solving Championship, organised by the British Chess Problem Society. This competition is open only to British residents and entry is free. The prize fund is expected to be at least 1200, plus awards to juniors.

If you would like to take part, simply send Whites first move to Nigel Dennis, Boundary House, 230 Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, RG9 1QY. Or by email to winton@theproblemist.org.

Include your name, home address and postcode and mark your entry Guardian. If you were under 18 on 31 August 2019, please include your date of birth.

The closing date is 31 July. After that, all solvers will receive the answer and those who get it right will also be sent a postal round of eight problems, with plenty of time for solving.

The best 20-25 entries from the postal round, plus the best juniors, will be invited to the championship final in February (subject to Covid-19 restrictions). The winner there will qualify for the Great Britain team in the 2021 world solving championship, an event where GB is often a medal contender.

The starter problem, with most of the pieces in the lower half of the board, is tricky and with an unusual twist. Obvious checks and captures rarely work. It is easy to make an error, so review your answer before sending it. Good luck to all Guardian entrants.

Magnus Carlsen survived some anxious moments this week in his quarter-final match in the online Clutch International before the world champion overcame Americas top junior Jeffery Xiong. The 19-year-old Texan had a purple period in the middle of the 12-game series when he had a run of five games with two wins and three draws.

Carlsen was dominant at the start and the finish and his best two victories were imaginative attacks where the rare knight move Nh7! featured.

The event, financed by the St Louis billionaire Rex Sinquefield who has made his home city a global chess centre, has the highest prize fund yet, $265,000 (approx 207,000), for an internet tournament.

Carlsen controlled the first session of his semi-final on Thursday evening as he led Armenias Levon Aronian 6-2 without losing a game. Wesley So also led 6-2 in the all-American semi-final against the world No 2, Fabiano Caruana.

A Carlsen v So final would be far from a done deal for the world champion, as So is currently in excellent form. The semi-final is also not over yet due to the Clutch scoring system where the final two games (of six) count double on the first day and triple on the second. In his interview after the Thursday session, Aronian declared his intention to go into berserk mode for the last six games, taking extra risks to get back into the match.

Both semi-finals can be viewed live online for free with grandmaster commentary, starting at 7pm on Friday.

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Chess: national solving championship opens for entries from Britain this week - The Guardian

In one of my recent articles, I called Magnus Carlsen a "born entertainer" and asked, "Who could forget the barbs he exchanges with GM Anish Giri on Twitter?" Our world champion never fails us. The very day after my article was published, we could witness the following conversation on Twitter:

I hope that a book will be published one day where all the Twitter exchanges between these two great players will be collected together. Besides the obvious entertainment value, such a book could teach people something about chess. Let's see for example what Carlsen and Giri are talking about in this particular tweet. Here is the game that started this rumble:

For most people, this game will be remembered for the grotesque blunder at the very end. This is what Giri is referring to when saying, "no more horse blunders in the knockout." But to understand the true meaning of "those types of positions" or "Julio Granda style," you need to know a bit of chess history.

For starters, let's go 74 years back. The world was just recovering after the horrendous war and the match Moscow vs. Prague was one of the first international chess events. As you can easily guess, there was not much intrigue in that match since the team of Moscow grandmasters could probably win the olympiad, let alone beat a team of just one city. So the match would have been remembered only by chess historians if not for two games won by David Bronstein. This is where the King's Indian Defense was officially born. This dynamic opening had many names in the first years of its development: "an irregular opening," "the Indian Defense," "the Ukrainian variation," etc... The two games of GM Bronstein turned what considered a semi-correct opening into a formidable weapon! Let's look at the key points of this new opening strategy.

Here is the second Bronstein game from the same match:

If you compare the game Carlsen vs. Dubov with Bronstein's masterpieces, you can see many similarities: the same "hopeless d6-pawn" according to Alekhine turned out to be not so hopeless, the h-pawn push which made the position of White King vulnerable, the powerful Bg7, etc. Now you can see the type of positions Carlsen and Giri discussed in their Twitter exchange.

The last mystery we need to solve is the "Julio Granda style" reference. I played the talented Peruvian grandmaster only once, but I always respected his unique talent. While he was never a true professional chess player (He even retired from chess for a couple of years to take care of his farm.), he could beat almost any player on a good day. He always had his special vision of chess and produced many outstanding games. What did Carlsen mean by saying "Julio Granda style." Fortunately, the power of modern databases helps us to easily solve this mystery by providing the following game:

Yes, it turns out that GM Granda beat Anish Giri in exactly the same kind of position in which Carlsen lost to Dubov. The whole episode gives us another opportunity to admire Carlsen's chess knowledge. Remember Magnus Carlsen's biggest secret? Does he really remember all the games played by grandmasters, or does he just pay extra attention to the games played by his frenemy Giri? Also, it is a fine example of chess karma when GM Giri's joke returned back to him as a boomerang.

I cannot wait for the next round in the Carlsen vs. Giri Twitter match!

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Carlsen Vs. Giri: The Trash Talk Edition - Chess.com

Russian Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin played a game of chess against cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner on Tuesday 9th June to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1st ever Space-Earth game. The cosmonauts were 400 km above the Earth on the International Space Station, which recently welcomed NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley and their SpaceX spacecraft, while Sergey played from the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics, exactly 50 years after the first game was played in 1970.

The game was organised by the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics, the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the Russian Chess Federation and broadcast live from 11:00 CEST, in English.

And in Russian:

The game ended in a fast and sharp draw, where almost all of the moves were perfectly played:

1. e4 e5 2. f3 c6 3. b5 a6 4. xc6 dxc6 5. O-O e6 6. b3 c5 7. xe5 d4 8. c4 xc4 9. bxc4 xa1 10. c3 b5 11. h5 f6 12. f3 b4 13. e5 O-O-O 14. a3 xf1+ 15. xf1 bxc3 16. exf6 cxd2 17. a8+ d7 18. d5+ c8 19. a8+ d7 20. d5+ e8 21. e4+ d7

1/2-1/2

2016 World Championship Challenger Sergey Karjakin needs no introduction on a chess website. Cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner have been on the International Space Station since April 9th, when they arrived together with NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy.

They were recently joined by astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, whose SpaceX vehicle was the first to be launched from US soil since the last flight of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and the first ever crewed commercial orbiting spacecraft. NASA estimated 10 million people watched the launch, with their arrival on the ISS also streamed across the world:

There are few details about the game to be played against Sergey Karjakin, except that Space plays White, but its value is symbolic, marking 50 years since the first such game.

Cosmonauts Andrian Nikolayev (1929-2004) and Vitaly Sevastyanov (1935-2010) were the first humans to spend two weeks in space (Neil Armstrongs Apollo 11 flight to the moon and back a year earlier took just over 8 days), with their Soyuz 9 flight ultimately lasting almost 18 days, or exactly 424 hours of weightlessness, as recorded on commemorative stamps.

The mission was in preparation for the Soviet Unions early space station, with Vitaly Sevastyanov in 1986 telling the Russian chess journal 64:

When Nikolaev and I were preparing for our flight they told us: Youre going to be flying for a long time. You need to think of how to meaningfully spend your rest time during the hard work of the flight. What do you want to take onto the spaceship? Andrian and I were great chess enthusiasts and answered together: Chess! Unexpectedly the psychologists were wary. There are two of you on the flight. Itll turn out that one of you always beats the other and there can be unnecessary negative emotions for the loser. Thats no good. Come on, we objected with one voice. On earth we play at the same level. Why should one of us always win in Space?

The psychologists gave in and chess went into space, though it was a special chess set designed for zero gravity by a young engineer called Mikhail Klevtsov. Magnets werent allowed (and still arent today on the ISS) due to their potential to interfere with instruments, and the pieces were instead kept in place but movable by a series of grooves, so they didnt accidentally fly into the mouth of a sleeping cosmonaut (Sevastyanov).

The players on the ground were General Nikolai Kamanin (1908-1982), the head of the cosmonaut training program, and cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko (1934-2017), with another cosmonaut, Valery Bykovsky (1934-2019) hosting the broadcast:

The game lasted 6 hours, or 4 orbits of the Earth, with the players only able to transmit their moves while the spaceship was above the Soviet Union. You can catch some glimpses of the game in this video focussed on Vitaly Sevastyanov:

The game ended in a draw, which you can replay below:

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 e5 4. xc4 exd4 5. exd4 c6 6. e3 d6 7. c3 f6 8. f3 O-O 9. O-O g4 10. h3 f5 11. h4 d7 12. f3 e7 13. g4 g6 14. ae1 h8 15. g5 eg8 16. g2 ae8 17. e3 b4 18. a3 xc3 19. bxc3 e4 20. g3 c6 21. f3 d5 22. d3 b5 23. h4 g6 24. f4 c4 25. xc4 bxc4 26. d2 xe1 27. xe1 d5 28. g5 d6 29. xd5 cxd5 30. f4 d8 31. e5+ f6 32. gxf6 xf6 33. xf6+ xf6 34. e8+ xe8 35. xf6+ g8 1/2-1/2

Space missed the best chance to conquer the Earth on move 23:

23.g5! wins a piece, since the only move for the knight is 23Nh5, but then 24.Qg4! forces 24Qxg4 25.hxg4 and after the again forced 25Ng3 26.Rf2 there are various ways for White to pick up the trapped knight.

One of the most interesting things about the game is that it was commentated on widely by the best Soviet chess players. David Bronstein wrote in the Izvestia newspaper:

That game will undoubtedly go down in the annals of the 1000 year long history of chess as the game that spread the sphere of influence of this wise game beyond our planet. Everyone can understand the emotion with which I look over the moves sent from space. The first Space Earth game is very interesting to play over on a board. From the moves its easy to see that both sides love sharp, puzzling situations and show no lack of courage and invention in creating them. And the fact that neither side managed to win bears witness to the skill of the players not only in attack but also in defence.

Later that year on the 24th November 1970 the cosmonauts visited Moscows Central Chess Club for an evening featuring World Champion Boris Spassky, former World Champions Mikhail Botvinnik and Tigran Petrosian as well as other top players.

It was right in the middle of the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal that would mark a sea change in chess, with Bobby Fischer going on to win by a huge 3.5 point margin. Of the six players who qualified for World Championship Candidates Matches only Efim Geller and Mark Taimanov represented the USSR, with Fischer, Bent Larsen, Robert Huebner and Wolfgang Uhlmann taking the remaining places. Alexander Kotov, best known now for his Think Like a Grandmaster book, referred to that as he tried to look 40 years ahead, i.e. to 2010, that evening:

Im sure that then well have not an Interzonal but an Interplanetary Tournament. And the grey-haired, now ex-World Champion, Boris Spassky, will come out with a big article where as a journalist hell criticise the organisers that for some reason they allocated two places to weak players from Jupiter, reducing by two the representation of the lunar base And chess fans, gathering in an even more luxurious club to assess the outcome of the Interplanetary Tournament will of course recall the first game played in space that opened a new era for the ancient game.

Back then it was hard to imagine that the last men to travel to the Moon would have done so just two years later in 1972, with no Soviet cosmonaut ever standing on the Moon.

3-time World Chess Champion Mikhail Botvinnik also referred to the Interzonal Tournament while talking about the head of the cosmonaut training program:

36 years ago I saw Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin for the first time, if Im not mistaken, in the Grand Peterhof Palace not far from Leningrad, when the Chelyuskin Heroes were being honoured there. Back then we were both very young and both could have become cosmonauts. Now, of course, Im no longer fit for that.

I look on General Kamanin with great envy. Although were the same age hes taken great care of himself and is in charge of our cosmonauts. Besides that, Ive already stopped playing chess myself, while Kamanin, as we just got to see, still continues to perform well in events.

From the stories of Andrian Nikolaev and Vitaly Sevastyanov it became clear to us what difficulties a man faces in space. The first is physical weightlessness, which can be compared to what the participants in the Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca feel, when theres only a rest day once in every 9 days. The second difficulty is, if we can put it like this, intellectual weightlessness.

When a man finds himself on the Earth in everyday life hes constantly confronted by the solution of complex problems or, to put it another way, inexact problems. Its not so simple to cross a street, to decide how to spend an evening to go to the cinema, theatre or find a more frivolous activity. But on a spaceship a man has none of that and he can forget how to solve complex, inexact problems. And here chess comes to the rescue because chess is a typical complex, inexact problem. After all, its long been known that people playing chess drift and find the correct decisions with difficulty.

I by no means want to suggest that cosmonauts should be picked from among chess players. On the contrary, I think that if our grandmasters will play the way theyve played at the start of the Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca (not counting, of course, Geller), then well need to find chess reserves from among the cosmonauts

Of course since 1970 chess has been played in space, with some astronauts having had plenty of time as they spent hundreds of days on Mir and now the International Space Station. The US Chess Federation in particular organised anEarth vs. Space matchgiving the chance for kids to take on astronauts. Chess always makes for good photo opportunities!

Tuesday's game will be a memorable celebration of some of the early pioneers of space flight.

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Karjakin vs. Cosmonauts | Earth vs. Space 50th anniversary chess game - chess24