Submitted by
SonofPearl on Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:12am.
The second half of 2009 in the elite chess world began at Dortmund in July where Vladimir Kramnik won the event for a staggering ninth time. A stunning tactical victory against Magnus Carlsen in round eight proved crucial.
Since losing his worl... Read more »
763 reads | 3 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sat Dec 19, 2009 8:05am.
The year, and indeed the decade, are almost over (Year In Review, Part 1), but chess players don't let the holidays stop them from enjoying their favourite game. Far from it.
Here are just some of the events from around the world taking place n... Read more »
1912 reads | 8 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:23am.
So 2009 is drawing to a close, and it has certainly been an eventful year in the chess world, with Veselin Topalov earning the right to challenge Vishy Anand for the world championship next year, but also losing his #1 ranking to Magnus Carlsen.
... Read more »
882 reads | 12 comments | 6 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:36pm.
There were two decisive games in the final round of the 2009 London Chess Classic, but neither came in the crucial games that decided the fate of the title.
Carlsen held an advantage for a long time against Short but almost blew it in a tricky qu... Read more »
7088 reads | 43 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:22pm.
Mickey Adams gave Magnus Carlsen a serious fright in the penultimate round of the London Chess Classic, but opposite coloured bishops were eventually enough to ensure a draw.
Adams played a fine game, bravely spurning the opportunity of repeating... Read more »
3316 reads | 25 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:16am.
After a rather lifeless four regular time-control games in the 2009 World Cup final between Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomariov, the rapid tie-breaks were as exciting as one would expect.
It certainly wasn't easy for Gelfand, who was initially de... Read more »
2220 reads | 25 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sun Dec 13, 2009 2:00pm.
In round five of the London Chess Classic, Magnus Carlsen showed his class with a majestic win over Ni Hua to extend his lead and put himself in a commanding position in the tournament with just two rounds to go.
Carlsen (pictured, from the offic... Read more »
3495 reads | 35 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:30am.
The final match of the 2009 World Cup will go to rapid tie-breaks after the players remained deadlocked after the last of the four long time-control games.
The tiebreaks and closing ceremony will take place tomorrow. The winner pockets $96,000 ... Read more »
1697 reads | 8 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:00pm.
It was another day of fierce competition at the London Chess Classic in front of a full house of spectators, but for the first time there were no decisive results.
Hikaru Nakamura put up a strong showing against leader Magnus Carlsen with the b... Read more »
2453 reads | 16 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:35am.
Game three of the 2009 World Cup Final between Ruslan Ponomariov and Boris Gelfand was also drawn, but was at least was more of a genuine contest than game two.
Ponomariov avoided another Petroff by trying 1. d4 instead, and the players left op... Read more »
1077 reads | 9 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:58am.
The second game of the 2009 World Cup Final in Khanty-Mansiysk ended in a draw, leaving the players deadlocked with two regular games remaining.
The hostilities came to an end after just 20 moves. The players will undoubtedly be tired and anxio... Read more »
2182 reads | 26 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:40pm.
Vladimir Kramnik (pictured) won his second consecutive game in the London Chess Classic to keep the pressure on leader Magnus Carlsen.
Kramnik beat Luke McShane, who has now lost twice - to Carlsen and Kramnik - after his marathon win against Sho... Read more »
3066 reads | 25 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:13pm.
The 2009 World Cup Final between Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomariov has started in Khanty-Mansiysk. The final is decided by a four-game match, with rapid tiebreaks if necessary - let's hope not.
Ponomariov had the white pieces in the first gam... Read more »
1081 reads | 8 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Wed Dec 9, 2009 2:13pm.
Magnus Carlsen took full advantage of his favourable draw in the London Chess Classic to take his second win with the white pieces to hold the sole lead.
In an entertaining game, Carlsen overcame Luke McShane, but not without a terrific fight. ... Read more »
4359 reads | 35 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Tue Dec 8, 2009 2:12pm.
So at last London gets a grandmaster chess tournament worthy of a great city. The London Chess Classic got underway today and the drawing of lots brought together the two tournament favourites, Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik in the first ro... Read more »
4906 reads | 42 comments | 6 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Tue Dec 8, 2009 11:29am.
And then there were two... Ruslan Ponomariov finally ended the dreams of Vladimir Malakhov to advance to the final of the 2009 World Cup.
It was a dramatic tie-break encounter that could so easily have gone the other way. Malakhov won the first... Read more »
1486 reads | 10 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Mon Dec 7, 2009 11:11am.
Top seed Boris Gelfand (pictured) made qualifying for the final of the 2009 World Cup look easy by beating Sergey Karjakin again to win their match 2-0.
Needing a win with the black pieces, Karjakin tried desperately to complicate matters, but in... Read more »
2612 reads | 24 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sun Dec 6, 2009 7:09am.
London is gearing-up for it's biggest chess tournament in 25 years, as the inaugural London Chess Classic gets underway on Tuesday 8 December at the Olympia Conference Centre.
Heading the impressive line-up is current world #2 Magnus Carlsen from... Read more »
3193 reads | 41 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sun Dec 6, 2009 6:05am.
Boris Gelfand took a crucial lead against Sergey Karjakin in the 2009 World Cup by winning the first of their semi-final games with the black pieces.
Karjakin played the Bishop's opening to avoid the Petroff, but Gelfand soon equalised with an un... Read more »
1210 reads | 9 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sat Dec 5, 2009 9:19am.
The quarter final tie-breaks of the 2009 World Cup are over, and Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomariov (pictured) are through to the semi-finals, joining Sergey Karjakin and Vladimir Malakhov.
Both Gelfand and Ponomariov both made the tiebreaks loo... Read more »
1808 reads | 12 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Sat Dec 5, 2009 12:21am.
The second games of the quarter-finals were all drawn, so Vladimir Malakhov and Sergey Karjakin (pictured) are safely through to the 2009 World Cup semi-finals at the expense of Peter Svidler and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov respectively.
Svidler tried ... Read more »
1251 reads | 6 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Fri Dec 4, 2009 12:41am.
At 29 years old and rated 2706 Elo (world rank #31) Vladimir Malakhov (pictured) is the nearest thing to an 'outsider' we have left in the 2009 World Cup. He belied that status in the first round of quarter-final games by surviving a Peter Svidler... Read more »
2254 reads | 14 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Wed Dec 2, 2009 11:56am.
In the 2009 World Cup, the fourth round tie-breaks sorted the men from the boys - in some cases quite literally. Both remaining juniors, Wesley So (16, pictured) and Fabiano Caurana (17) were eliminated by their more experienced opposition (Mala... Read more »
3162 reads | 36 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Tue Dec 1, 2009 10:57am.
The 2009 World Cup is getting to the business end of the competition, and the wins are much thinner on the ground. Only one of the eight games played today had a decisive result, although it was not through lack of effort on behalf of the player... Read more »
3094 reads | 24 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:07am.
The 2009 Chess World Cup reaches the fourth round today, with the 16 remaining players fighting for a place in the quarter-finals.
There have been some high-profile casualties along the way but many of the big-hitters still remain, including top ... Read more »
4009 reads | 23 comments | 3 votes: