 The Mainz Man
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| We want to introduce Especta, the Official Travel Agency of the World Chess Championship Mexico 2007. Especta is offering you various interesting
vacation packages for all of you who are planning to come to Mexico for this great
event. |
 In a tense struggle in the GrenkeLeasing Rapid World Championship match against Levon
Aronian, world no.1 Vishy Anand won the final game against the Armenian ace to claim a record tenth Mainz title. Honors were therefore even for the two top combatants at Mainz, with Anand taking the rapid title and Aronian, the Chess960 title.
Next year, the two defending champions will be joined in the main headline event with Viktor
Bologan of
Moldovia, who, after beating Vassily Ivanchuk in the final round, won the FiNet Chess960 Open on 9.5/11; and the young Czech David Navara, who won the Ordix Open title on tiebreak ahead
of Mchedlishvili and Sasikiran, when all three finished
on 9.5/11.
ICC Mainz qualifier, Tigran L. Petrosian also had a good time in Mainz - the young Armenian finished in fourth place on 9/11 in the Ordix Open, just a half point behind the top three, and thirteenth on 8/11 in the FiNet
Chess960 Open.
 You have more information in the ICC LIVE coverage page.
Also, visit the official website and the ChessVibes on tour videos from Mainz.
| GRENKELEASING Rapid final [August 17-19] |
| N |
FED |
ELO |
TIT |
NAME |
RES |
NAME |
TIT |
ELO |
FED |
| 1-2 |
IND |
2792 |
GM |
Anand |
2.5-1.5 |
Aronian |
GM |
2750 |
ARM |
| 3-4 |
FRA |
2695 |
GM |
Bacrot |
2.0-2.0 |
Kasimdzhanov |
GM |
2683 |
UZB |
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ChessVibes on tour - Mainz
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David Navara wins Ordix Open. Sunday 19 August 2007. David Navara has won the super strong rapid tournament Ordix Open in Mainz, after dominating
the event on the last day.
- Impressions of the FiNet Chess960 Tournament. Sunday 19 August 2007. So much is happening here in the Congress Center in Mainz that the journalists
can barely keep up with the pace of events. In the morning the games of the big open rapid tournaments start and quite quickly, thanks to the Gründlichkeit amongst the arbiters, the rounds are being played after each other.
- Anand back in comfort zone. Saturday, August 18th, 2007. Many are slightly relieved now that that funny shuffle chessy thing is finally over and
people started playing normal stuff in Mainz. As from today chess players like you and me can try their luck against many grandmasters; the four top players already started last night. The best rapid player in the world, Viswanathan
Anand, is clearly back in his comfort zone and scored 2,5 out of 3.
- Aronian world champion Chess960. Friday, August 17th, 2007. In a very exciting final Levon Aronian from Armenia last night became the rapid world
champion Chess960. He defeated Viswanathan Anand 3,5-2,5.
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   GM Joel Benjamin Game of the Week
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Fridays [15:00 EDT | 21:00 CET]
 New to ICC Chess.FM! Three-time
U.S. Champion GM Joel Benjamin starts his new weekly show every Friday at 15:00 Server Time. Joel is regarded by many as one of the best commentators and analysts' we have in the game today, and each Friday he will be giving
us his insight and spin with his selection of Game of the Week.
This is a not-to-be-missed 30-minute video is exclusively for ICC members only -- so if you want to get ahead of the game, get ready to tune-in!
By popular demand and requests from members, ALL of Joel Benjamin's GOTW videos will be available now 24/7 by clicking here for
his library site archiving all shows. Enjoy! |
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IM
Alex Lenderman
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Smith Morra Gambit series (part 1/3)
ICC Chess.FM presents part one of IM Alex Lenderman's three-part series on the Smith
Morra Gambit, free for everyone to view! Contrary to common belief, the Smith Morra Gambit is a sound and very dangerous weapon against the Sicilian - and fun to play! Alex Lenderman teaches you all the nuances, tricks and newly discovered secrets
of the Smith Morra Gambit. Be sure and watch this FREE video!
Parts 2 & 3 for ICC members only will be released shortly.
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 Take
the Ronen Challenge
 Friday & Saturday,
[20:00 EDT | 02:00 CET]
 Former world under-16 junior champion GM Ronen Har-Zvi has a reputation
of being one of the toughest simultaneous masters on ICC.
Each Friday and Saturday, at 20:00 EDT, Ronen will take on 30 all - comers (restricted to 2150 Elo or below) in a series of twice weekly simuls (time control 45 20), with the winners receiving a 3-month membership extension
and going forward to the third grand prize final on Saturday, 25 August at 20:00 EDT, with a prize of a 1-year membership extension going to anyone who can beat Ronen in the final. In Ronen's July final, he scored 10-0!
Only winners who beat Ronen on the board (not on time), will go forward to the final; and should anyone beat Ronen there, they will also receive an additional 12-month ICC membership extension! Anyone who draws in the final
will also receive a 4-month membership extension. And each month, Ronen will pick and annotate the best game from the final for the ICC Newsletter.
Do you have what it takes for the Ronen Challenge?
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John
Watson Chess & Book Show
 Tuesdays [21:00
EDT | 03:00 CET]
New on ICC Chess.FM! Tune-in
for The John Watson Chess & Book Show on ICC Chess.FM.
Each Tuesday at 21:00 Server Time, John's 90+ minute show will review the latest titles, followed by a discussion of books and other chess topics with his guests.
John Watson is on a well-deserved vacation just now, so this week (28 August) it’s “The Best of John Watson” with a re-run of one of his popular early shows that many of you may have missed.
His guest will be
two-time U.S. Women's champion, WGM Jennifer Shahade, author of the eye-opening and enlightening tome Chess Bitch, and Web Editor for www.uschess.org. Jennifer has also showed her poker prowess earlier this year by finishing 17th in a World
Series of Poker women-only event.
Chess FM page on our website. |
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 5 0 Blitz Championship
Recap!
  With a triple elimination format, it’s always a grueling task to win a championship on ICC. This
year, DreadHead prevailed with a score of 8.0/10. Runner-up cKnight made a valiant charge but lost the final match
to DreadHead. The favorite, akibael, finished third. In the u2000 championship, spacecadet won with an impressive score of 9.0/10, leaving a loss to spare! Frank001 finished 2nd, while Heian took third. Congratulations
to the 2007 champions and we look forward to next year!
Nightly Blitz! Every single night of the week, two scheduled blitz tourneys begin at 23:00 server time (type “date” to see server time). For under 1500 rated, Tomato
is open for a 5 round Swiss 2 6 tourney. For over 1500 rated, Cooly provides a 7 round 3 0 tourney. Monthly prizes are awarded for most games won for the month and most games played in the month. These tournaments attract many
players and the competition is very good. So join us tonight and take your first step toward winning a free month of ICC membership! Type “Finger NightlyEvent” for more info and “Finger TomatoWinners” to
see who won the Nightlies last month.
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 Tourney
Tip of the Week:
The command “tell <bot> games” allows you to see all the games being played in the current round of the tournament. You can click on a game to observe that game. You can also get a good idea of how close
the round is to being completed.
Example: Tell tomato games.
Atomic Championship Final! The finals will be held this Saturday with the 1 0 final taking place at 5:00 pm server time, and the 3 0 final at 6:00 pm. Atomic greats Peter-Patzer, MoltenThinker, Tornon, Tipau, and
many more will duke it out for this year’s title! Read “Help atomic” to learn about this explosive version of chess! And come on out on Saturday to watch a really fun and exciting final! |
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ICC
Quiz #4035
submitted by StesurBarsa
White mates in 2
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 4035
Then type: play trainingbot
ICC Quiz #4087
submitted by Ernie1
White mates in 3
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 4087
Then type: play trainingbot |
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| ICC
Quiz #4053
submitted by DoctorD
White mates in 2
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 4053
Then type: play trainingbot
ICC Quiz #4218
submitted by autobot
White mates in 2
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 4218
Then type: play trainingbot |
French Defence - Advance Variation - Volumes 1+2 Evgeny Sveshnikov - SAVE $4
 Volume
1: Basic Course
"I consider this book to be a real manual, original in its conception and excellent in its execution. It not only teaches you how to play a specific variation of the French Defence, but it also helps you understand many strategic
ideas and their practical application in the middlegame, which for the majority of players is even more important."
Anatoly Karpov, 12th world chess champion.
Volume 2: Advanced Course
This two-volume work is intended for a broad range of chess enthusiasts. The author guarantees that anyone making a thorough study of the available material can expect an improvement in his playing strength in this system of approximate
200 Elo points. 152 pages.
Price 1+2 $60.00 - Buy
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My Best Games - Anatoly Karpov
 At
last the unique career of this former World Champion can be appreciated through a games collection annotated by the man himself. Includes one hundred of Karpov’s best games covering his career up to 2004. 295 pages. Read
more
Price $42.00 - Buy
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How to Play the English Opening - Karpov
 The
English Opening, from the Flank Games group, was developed by Howard Staunton. In this opening, white avoids or delays the occupation of the centre with Pawns. Once considered a minor diversion, the English is now one of the main openings and all modern
world champions have played it.
One of the most famous world champions, Anatoly Karpov, brings his sharp eye and extensive experience to bear in this concise introduction to the opening. Like the previous volumes from Karpov on the Caro-Kann, it is
a rich book with terrific insight that is ideal for all players, particularly club players. Read
more
Price $20.95 - Buy
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Tactics in the Chess Opening 5: Indian Defences - Geert Van Der Stricht & Spike Ernst
 Every chess player loves to win early in the game with a deadly combination
or a cunning trap. On the other hand, nobody wants to be tricked by his opponent before the game has really started.
The popular series Tactics in the Chess Opening teaches how to recognize opportunities to attack early in the game. You will also learn how to avoid standard pitfalls in the opening. This book explains, in around 230 carefully
selected and annotated games, all the tactical themes and typical traps of the main lines in the Indian Openings and related systems like the Catalan Opening and the Benoni Defence. Read
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Price $20.95
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Solution
to ICC Quiz #4035
submitted by StesurBarsa
1.Qxh5+! Nxh5 2.Rh7#
Solution to ICC Quiz #4087
submitted by Ernie1
1.Nh6+ Kh8 2.Nf7+! Kg8 3.Rh8!# |
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Solution to ICC Quiz #4053
submitted by DoctorD
1.Rh4+! Kxh4 2.Qh6#
Solution to ICC Quiz #4218
submitted by autobot
1.Qxc6+! bxc6 2.Ba6# |
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