 A
great day on ICC, for a great cause
Vishy Anand Charity Simul on ICC
 Indian
chess superstar Vishy Anand again proved to be the star attraction on the
ICC, as he played in an online simul last week to raise much-needed funds
for his favorite charity, Vidya Sagar,
a non-profit organization that strives for inclusion of children with autism
and cerebral palsy.
In
a three-hour battle of wits with the ICC members, the new
world #1 managed to save a couple of difficult games towards
the end to win seventeen games, draw one and lose one. Afterwards in his
interview on ICC Chess.FM, Anand said: "Both `Bluesette' [real name Marc Lacrosse
of Belgium] and `Knight Gold' [Dr Alain Authier from Quebec, Canada] played
well, and I managed to recover against Shanbhag and win." The best
game prize of a one-year subscription to British Chess Magazine went to
Bluesette for his lone victory over Anand.
Anand again thanked the ICC community for responding in such a positive
way by organizing the fun-filled day that raised funds and awareness for
Vidya Sagar. ICC is pleased to announce that $10,000 was raised by the
day’s activities, and the funds are in the process of being transferred
to Vidya Sagar.
The ICC would like to thank all the Admins and staff who
contributed to making the day such a big success. We would also like
to thanks New in Chess and British
Chess Magazine for contributing prizes for the day. Last but not
least, both Vishy Anand and ICC would like to say a special Thank
You! to all our members – without YOU, we couldn’t have
done it!
15th
Sigeman & Co. Tournament - Gausdal Chess Classics
Two major Scandinavia tournaments recently ended in Norway
and Sweden that were a true battle of the generations.
At the 15th Sigeman & Co. Tournament in Malmo, Bulgaria's
Ivan Cheparinov, 20, the young player regarded by many
as Veselin Topalov's analytical brain, turned in a commanding
performance to take the title with a round to spare, ahead
of three-time former winner and Dutch veteran Jan Timman,
and local Swedes Tiger Hillarp Persson and Emmanuel Berg.
Meanwhile due west at the Norwegian
ski resort of Gausdal, age and guile proved no match for
the vigors of youth at the Gausdal Chess Classics, as 16-year-old
local superstar Magnus Carlsen – much to the delight
of his home fans – demolished veterans Michal Krasenkow
and Lajos Portisch to take the title a full 1.5-points
ahead of the field.
| Gausdal
Classics, Norway April 18th-26th. | GROUP-A
| Final STANDINGS |
| Nº |
FLAG |
NAME |
FIDE |
FED |
PTS |
| 1 |
 |
GM Magnus Carlsen |
2690 |
NOR |
7.0 |
| 2 |
 |
GM Krasenkow, Mikal |
2651 |
POL |
5.5 |
| 3 |
 |
GM Portisch, Lajos |
2512 |
HUN |
5.5 |
| 4 |
 |
GM Rozentalis, Eduardas |
2578 |
LIT |
5.5 |
| 5 |
 |
GM Kulaots, Kaido |
2526 |
EST |
5.0 |
| 6 |
 |
IM Krush, Irina |
2449 |
USA |
4.5 |
| 7 |
 |
GM Dreev, Alexei |
2658 |
RUS |
4.5 |
| 8 |
|
GM Lie, Kjetil A |
2529 |
NOR |
4.0 |
| 9 |
 |
IM Jones, Gawain |
2509 |
ENG |
2.5 |
| 10 |
|
Moskow, Eric |
2260 |
USA |
1.0 |
|
 
Carsten and Cheparinov, victorious
in Gausdal and Malmo.
| Sigeman & Co
Chess Tournament 2007. | Final STANDINGS |
| Nº |
FLAG |
NAME |
FIDE |
FED |
PTS |
| 1 |
 |
GM Ivan Cheparinov |
2690 |
BUL |
7.0 |
| 2 |
 |
GM Jan Timman |
2651 |
NED |
5.5 |
| 3 |
 |
GM Emanuel Berg |
2512 |
SWE |
5.5 |
| 4 |
|
GM Tiger Hillarp Persson |
2578 |
SWE |
5.5 |
| 5 |
|
IM Pontus Carlsson |
2526 |
SWE |
5.0 |
| 6 |
 |
IMVassilios Kotronias |
2449 |
GRE |
4.5 |
| 7 |
|
GM Erwin l'Ami |
2658 |
NED |
4.0 |
| 8 |
 |
GM Parimarjan Negi |
2529 |
IND |
4.0 |
| 9 |
|
IM Jonny Hector |
2509 |
SWE |
2.0 |
| 10 |
|
IM Emil Hermansson |
2260 |
SWE |
2.0 |
|
VIDEO:
Interview with Bessel Kok
  ChessVibes
had interviews
with Bessel Kok and with Geoffrey Borg, about the cooperation
with the Max Euwe Center and especially about the plans
of Global Chess BV.
ICC Webcasts: Please check the official
ICC Website for our special video content that includes
video lectures, chess.FM replays and more.
 ICC
Chess.FM official page
The
third M-Tel Masters, 9-20 May
Six of the strongest GM’s in
the world will compete for the M-Tel Masters 2007 title,
which starts on May 9 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Local hero Veselin
Topalov heads the list of this intriguing six-player event,
and he's joined by Shakriyar Mamedyarov, Michael Adams,
Gata Kamsky, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Krishnan Sasikiran.
What makes this event so unique, is
that the rules prohibits conventional draw offers in the
pursuit of fighting chess! ICC will be the official Internet
partners for the M-Tel Masters, and we'll be bringing you
extensive coverage that will include video and live commentary
on ICC Chess.FM.
Official
Website |
 |
Position after 10.Qd2 |
Anand (2788) - ThreeEagles (1545)
[B35]
ICC 90 5 u Internet Chess Club, 21.04.2007
The usual continuation here is 10...0-0 11.0-0-0
reaching a universal position in the Dragon where the opposite
castled kings contribute to make the game very exciting. Black's
next move though was a shocker for everyone 10...0-0-0?! The
king just never, ever goes here in the Dragon! 11.0-0!? Fortunately
we still get the opposite castled kings struggle. 11...Ne5
12.a4!? Anand could has also played 12.Nd5, but he prefers
to go after the black king 12...Kb8 13.Ndb5 The
white attack is coming up very quickly 13...Rc8? 13...b6
or 13...Nc6 had to be tried, now it's too easy 14.Bxa7+
Ka8 15...Nd5! Qxa7+
Nxa7 Black resigns 1-0
|
 |
Position after: 22...Qg4 |
Anand (2788) - VinodShanbhag (1331)
[A29]
ICC 90 5 u Internet Chess Club, 21.04.2007
This position comes from one of the few games
where Anand really faced problems to win the full point. 23.Ng1?!
f3 24.Qd1 Nf4! It's clear that Black is better, since white can
hardly do anything other than defend carefully. 25.Rc1
Ne2?!
This does not spoil anything yet, but the simple [25...Rf7 was
better, to bring the other rook to f8 increasing the pressure
on the kingside] 26.Rc2 Nxg3+?? A blackout. Black gives up his knight for nothing [26...Nxg1 27.Rxg1 Rf7
was still a little bit better for Black.] 27.fxg3 [of course
not 27.hxg3? Qh5+] 27...Bxg1 28.Kxg1 Rf7 29.Bc1 Rbf8
30.Be3+- The position
is absolutely free of danger for Anand, who won easily just a few
moves later. 1-0
|
 |
Position after: 35.Kd2 |
Anand (2788) - Bluesette (2155)
[B41]
ICC 90 5 u Internet Chess Club, 21.04.2007
Anand lost only one game in the simul - and
here it is, a difficult ending that his opponent handled with great
precision. 35...c4!
36.bxc4?! [36.Rb1] 36...dxc4 37.Kc1?! [37.Ke3] 37...Rf5!
38.Rf1 Re5 39.Rf2 Re3 40.f4 [40.Kd2 Rd3+ 41.Kc1 Bf5] 40...gxf4
41.Rxf4 [41.gxf4 Kg6 42.Nc5 Bg4] 41...Re1+ 42.Kb2?! [42.Kd2
Ra1 43.Nc5 Rxa2+ 44.Ke3] 42...Re2+ 43.Ka3 Rxh2 44.Nc5 Bg4
45.Ne4 f5 46.Rf2 Rxf2 47.Nxf2 Kf6 48.Ka4 Kg5 49.Kxa5 f4 50.gxf4+
Kxf4 White resigns because after
51.Kb5 Ke3 52.Nh1 (52.Nxg4 hxg4 and black promotes his pawn quicker)
52...h4 53.a4 Bf3 there is nothing to be done. This was judge by
Anand to be the best game of the day. 1-0
|
|
  3 0 Blitz Championship Recap!
  In
a dominating performance, RLH2 (FM) (2608 Blitz)
swept through the field, winning the triple elimination championship
tourney with a score of 10/10!
He received two byes during
the course of the tournament, but won all eight of his matches. GrandGator finished
second, while SSM took third place. Congratulations
also to JammyDodger for winning the u2000 championship,
also without losing a match!
3
0 Daily Standard Tournament
Every weekday
at 14:15 server time (type “date”) ICC is proud to
present the Daily Standard Tourney! Each tourney is 4 rounds
long with a swiss format. However, every day of the week
features a different time control:
Monday 20 5
Tuesday 20 20
Wednesday 20 0
Thursday 17 5
Friday 30 0
Prizes are awarded to the the top 3 finishers every month, and also
to the top 3 players who played the most games in that month. Daily
Standard opens every day at 13:55, so log on today and “Tell
Slomato join”! |
|
|
|
Wild
25 Championships
Three
checks and you win! That’s the name of the game in
the always exciting wild 25 Championships. Qualifiers have
been happening in the Wildone bot on ICC all week long. The
finals are slated for this Saturday, April 28th at 5 pm (1 0) and
6 pm (3 0). Wild experts such as Whitekiller, Peter-Patzer, and ChampBlair will
do their best to dethrone the reigning 1 0 and 3 0 champion, Ratty. Make
sure to stop by on Saturday and take in all the great action!
 Tourney Tip of the Week
We often get questions about how positions are decided in “tied” tourneys. When
two players finish with the same score, the following tiebreaks
are used:
1.- Sum of score of opponents (tiebreak points) (Can be seen
with “tell <bot> grid”
2.- Average Rating of opponents
3.- Random number given at start of the tourney.
Most of the time, the first tiebreak is able
to settle the issue. Sometimes,
it comes down to the second tiebreak. Very rarely does the
third tiebreak come into play.
So remember to keep an eye
on your tiebreak points as the tourney progresses!
|
|
 Kramnik-Leko
match. Now underway!
  April
25th - 29th at the National Theatre Miskolc, Hungary
ICC is providing LIVE
COVERAGE of this event.
Official
website of the match.
Visit the Official
website of World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. |
|
|
Kramnik-Aronian
match. Coming up soon!
  May
4th - 6th, organized by the Armenian Chess Federation in the city
of Erevan
More info will soon be provided in the
ICC LIVE coverage page.
The match will consist of 6 games.
Visit the official
website of the match. |
|
Game annotated by GM Amador Rodriguez
  Amador
Rodríguez is a Spanish Grand Master originally from Cuba. A former trainer of Peter Leko, Amador is now a director of leading Spanish chess magazine Peón de Rey.
Anand (2788) - CurdRice
(1950) [D37]
ICC 90 5 u Internet Chess Club, 21.04.2007
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3
Be7 5.Bf4
A flexible line to avoid the solid setup arising from
the Queen's Gambit. Many top grandmasters have played this
move here and there along their carreer 5...0-0
6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 Nc6
White can now play 9.Qc2 followed by castling queenside
for a sharp middle game. Anand adopts a more positional approach, to rely on
his excellent technique. 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.0-0
In the resulting position, Black has the famous isolated
pawn on d5, so it's understandable that he wants to get rid of it as soon
as possible. 12...d4 13.e4 Bg4 14.h3 Bh5 15.g4 Bg6 16.Re1 Re8 17.Rc1
Rc8 18.Kg2 Bc7
|
|
|
|
19.Bxc7 A new move,
instead 19.Qd2 had been played in a couple of games between
strong opponents 19...Bxf4 20.Qxf4 Qe7 21.Bc4 (21.b4 f6 22.Bc4+ Kh8
23.Bd5 Ne5 Piket
- Kramnik, Monte Carlo 1998) 21...Kh8 22.Bd5 Karpov-San Segundo,
Benidorm 2002 19...Rxc7 20.Nd2 f6 21.f4 Kh8 22.Qf3 a6 23.h4!
White starts to develop his initiative on the kingside
where his pawns have enough room to advance. 23...Bf7 24.Rcd1 Qd7
25.g5 Rg8 26.Kh2 Qe8 27.Qg3 Re7 28.Rc1! A deep concept indeed!.
The rook was co- operating very little on d1 and now it's heading to c5,
a very clever square from where it will put a lot of pressure on black's
position.
28...Bg6 29.b4 Qd7 30.Rc5 Rge8?! 31.h5 Bf7 [31...Bxh5?
32.gxf6 gxf6 33.Rxh5] 32.h6 Qd6?? [32...Rg8] 33.hxg7+
Kg8 34.Nc4 Qe6 35.f5
Black resigns 1-0
|
|
ICC
Quiz #2068
submitted by Haddock
White mates in 3
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 2068
Then type: play trainingbot
|
|
|
| ICC
Quiz #2166
submitted by bilirubin
White mates in 3
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 2166
Then type: play trainingbot
|
New
In Chess Yearbook 82
 New
In Chess contains the latest news in chess openings. Each issue brings
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you, too. It refreshes your opening repertoire, four times a year!
Published by New in Chess
 Price $27.95 - Buy
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Challenging the Nimzo-Indian - David Vigorito
 Every
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is immensely popular at all levels, from club championship to world
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some players prefer simply to avoid it. American International master
David Vigorito shows that this negative approach is unnecessary.
Challenging the Nimzo-Indian provides White with a complete repertoire
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can easily grasp the concepts • less-experienced players can
play through the high-quality example games that are comprehensively
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Internet Chess Club - ICC T-shirts
 The
ICC store now has limited quantities of ICC T-shirts.
Visit the ICC store for more information about the ICC T-shirts, sizes and
availability.
 Price $15.00 - Buy
now!
|
|
|
|
Dangerous Weapons: The French - John Watson
 Do
you need a well-deserved break from your normal chess openings? Are
you tired of constantly having to keep up with modern chess theory?
Or perhaps you simply wish to try out something new and exciting,
but cannot decide amongst the embarrassment of choices available?
Look no further for the answer!
In "Dangerous Weapons: The French",
International Master John Watson takes a revolutionary look at one
of the most famous and widely-played chess openings: the French Defence.
Instead of travelling down well-trodden and analyzed paths, Watson
concentrates on fresh or little-explored variations of the French,
selecting a wealth of 'dangerous' options for both colours. Whether
playing White or Black, a study of this book will leave you confident
and fully-armed, and your opponents running for cover! "
Dangerous
Weapons" is a brand-new series of opening books which supply the
reader with an abundance of hard-hitting ideas to revitalize his
or her opening repertoire. Many of the carefully chosen weapons are
innovative, visually shocking, incredibly tricky, or have been unfairly
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Published by Everyman
Price $23.95 - Buy
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Kings of New York - Michael Weinreb
 The
Edward R Murrow School is located in Brooklyn, New York. An unconventional
group of kids at an unconventional school located in the heart of
the most unconventional city in America is making headlines, with
a chess club.
Murrow has one of the most successful youth chess
teams in history. But what transforms a bunch of underprivileged
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Weinreb was determined to find out. So he spent a year with the team,
following them from cash games in Washington Square Park to state
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Price $24.00 - Buy
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|
Solution
to ICC Quiz #2068
submitted by Haddock
1.Qa5+!!
Kxa5 2.Ra4+ bxa4 3.b4#
|
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Solution
to ICC Quiz #2166
submitted by bilirubin
1.Rb1!
a6 2.Ra1!! Kb5 3.a4#
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