Reloaded BCM!
New BCM – An exclusive chess magazine!
Have you seen the latest British Chess Magazine? It’s very special as it is dedicated exclusively to a celebration of the hugely successful London Chess Classic.
Moreover this edition marks an exciting step forward in the 135 year history of the magazine. Apart from being given a brand new look, the reloaded January BCM, now powered by Chess Informant, offers you more content, more pages and more writers, among them some of the top UK chess grandmasters.
Magnus Carlsen, winner of both the London Classic and million dollar Grand Tour, takes pride of place on the cover. Then we get straight down to business with a leading article by English grandmaster Luke McShane on How Magnus Won. Here, Lukeannotates the key moments in those games by the World Champion which proved decisive in this landmark Category 22 tournament.
Carlsen’s great rival, Anish Giri, has had a year crowned with success, culminating in his qualification for the forthcoming World Championship Candidates tournament. Yet at the end of the season he was finally stopped by French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – and the rules! – in his quest to win the Grand Tour. Another of our new writers, world no.14, GM Pentala Harikrishna, provides us with further explanation and enlightenment.
More games from the Classic are analyzed by England’s best known Match of the Day commentator, Andrew Martin, while a survey of the openings employed by the elite grandmasters is presented in a systematic format by young IM and outstanding Cambridge University student, Yang-Fan Zhou.
It’s incredible how the dour Berlin Defence has become so popular nowadays with the chess elite – and that’s why German GM Karsten Müller, renowned endgame specialist, takes us up close to the Berlin Wall with a forensic analysis of its highly individual structure, which demands precise planning and calculation. Legendary English GM Stuart Conquest then pursues this same Berlin theme with his own original perspective as well as his customary wit and humour!
BCM is proud of the fine contribution by the great hope of British chess, England No.2, GM David Howell who reports on his victory in another London Classic event – the British Knockout Championship. On the other hand, fellow finalist Nick Pert has chosen to annotate a game that was the talking point of the entire festival – his non-stop-action win against British Champion Jonathan Hawkins.
The surprise winner of the hotly contested FIDE Open was Dutch GM Benjamin Bok, so it is appropriate that Aussie grandmaster David Smerdon, currently also living in Holland, should deeply analyse the sharp last round encounter which clinched overall victory in the tournament for his colleague.
Luke McShane annotates one of the games in his amazing 9/9 winning streak, so reminiscent of Bobby Fischer, which resulted in an overwhelming victory for him in the Super-Rapidplay. Then the strongest UK female player, GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, follows up with commentary on her win from the same event against Jon Ludvig Hammer – Magnus Carlsen’s trainer!
Added to all this we have challenged readers to a quiz, inviting them to find the ways to win in selected positions taken from games in the FIDE Open.
Completing the issue are features on junior chess and a fun look at the Pro-Biz tournament, where world class grandmasters partnered international businessmen in a knockout tournament.
The magazine is enriched throughout by the expressive photographs of David Llada and other talented photographers.
What are you waiting for? The chess world deserves a magazine like the BCM is today! Great value with hours of reading enjoyment, it provides both entertainment and instruction for enthusiastic players eager to increase their standard of play and marks a significant moment in history for the world’s oldest chess journal.
Read more at www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
