 Anand on the Brink?
The first cycle of the $1.3 million World Championship Tournament in
Mexico City ended on a high for Indian ace Viswanathan "Vishy"
Anand, who again moves into the sole lead.
Anand, who would dearly love to win the title to reinforce his new-
found status as world no.1, again showed he is the player to beat in
Mexico City, as he superbly outplayed and outmaneuvered Russia’s
Alexander Grischuk in round seven to take a half point lead over the
field.
His nearest rivals, Russian world champion Vladmir Kramnik, and the
Israeli no.1, Boris Gelfand, also turned in one of the highlights of
round seven with a pulsating game that ended in a draw after both
players ran out of options.
It’s now all change for the decisive second cycle, as the eight-
players vying for the title get ready to do battle once again, only
this time with colors reversed, as Anand attempts to hold onto his
slender lead.
Look out for details of our extensive coverage at our WCC Mexico 2007 special section.
Also, visit the official WCC Mexico 2007 website.
Crosstable after Round 7
| N |
FLAG |
NAME |
FED |
FIDE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
PTS |
| 1 |
 |
Kramnik |
RUS |
2769 |
|
1 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
4.0 |
| 2 |
|
Morozevich |
RUS |
2758 |
0 |
|
½ |
0 |
½ |
0 |
½ |
1 |
2.5 |
| 3 |
 |
Anand |
IND |
2792 |
½ |
½ |
|
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
5.0 |
| 4 |
|
Grischuk |
RUS |
2726 |
½ |
1 |
0 |
|
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
3.5 |
| 5 |
 |
Leko |
HUN |
2751 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
|
½ |
0. |
½ |
3.0 |
| 6 |
 |
Gelfand |
ISR |
2733 |
½ |
1 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
|
1 |
½ |
4.5 |
| 7 |
 |
Aronian |
ARM |
2750 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
½ |
1 |
0 |
|
½ |
3.0 |
| 8 |
|
Svidler |
RUS |
2735 |
½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
|
2.5 |
|
|
Mexico ICC Video Vault
| Coverage of the World Chess Championship in Mexico 2007 continues
daily at ICC Chess.FM!. We have live commentary with US Chess
Journalist of the Year, Mig Greengard, who will be joined each day by
our crack grandmaster team of Joel Benjamin, Larry Christiansen, Jon
Speelman, John Fedorowicz, Gregory Kaidanov and Nick De Firmian.
 |
Watch for FREE the "Game of the Day" video!
Join the ICC Chess.FM World Championship team for a ringside seat of all the action from Mexico City! We will be providing some of the best coverage ever produced for a big event such as this. Leko-Grischuk R8 (GM De Firmian). |
Also coming direct from Mexico is Macauley Peterson, who each day
presents his video diary from the world championship that is FREE for
everyone to view - if you have not viewed yet, checkout all the
action below. We also have Mig's podcast on his spin of the day's
play, as well as the free 15-min Game of the Day video from one of
our top grandmaster team.
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GM Joel Benjamin "Game of the Week"
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Game of the Week
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Only for members. New on 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 are available. Enjoy!
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John Watson "Chess & Books" with GM Nigel Short |
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Only for members. Tune-in for The John Watson Chess & Book Show on ICC
Chess.FM.
John's 90+ minute show will review the latest titles, followed by a discussion of books and other chess topics with his guests. This week (Mon., 17th Sept.), John’s guest was former World Championship challenger, coach and columnist
GM Nigel Short MBE.
In 1979 at 19, Nigel was the world’s youngest grandmaster of the game. In 1993 in London, after defeating Boris Gelfand, Jon Speelman, Jan Timman and Anatoly Karpov in Candidates Matches, Short unsuccessfully challenged Garry Kasparov
for the World Championship title. Along with his playing activities, Short is regarded as a witty, yet often controversial columnist on the game, notably for two of the UK’s leading broadsheets, The Sunday Telegraph and The Guardian.
He has gone on to coach young prodigies like Pentala Harikrishna, Sergey Karjakin, David Howell and Parimarjan Negi. In 1999 the Queen of Gt. Britain awarded him the honor of Member of the British Empire (MBE), in recognition of his
chess accomplishments.
John's special guest next week (25 Sept) will be author and historian IM John Donaldson
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 September Marathon
 It was another great marathon competition, with many players entering and many winning prizes. For each section in the marathon, the winner receives 2 months of ICC membership extension, while 2nd and 3rd place each receive 1 month. Needless to say, many prizes were awarded!
Winners:
1800 bullet section:
- first place Maect
- second place krokous
- third place plotkin
the under 1800 bullet section:
- first place cheesebrainII
- second place metaxaskin
- third place No1
the over 1600 bullet section:
- first place BodySlaM
- second place CerneAbbas
- third place RMartin
the under 1600 bullet section:
- first place RexB
- second place Joecreek
- third place Outbacker5
the standard section:
- first place akibael
- second place TerryMalloy
- third place A-Ru
Congratulations to all our Marathon prize winners!
Early Morning Blitz! We've got something worth waking up early for! Every morning at 07:00 a 7 round 3 1 blitz tourney is held in tomato! This is quickly becoming one of the more popular scheduled tourneys on ICC, so make sure to set your alarm and join us tomorrow morning for the Early Morning Blitz!
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 Tourney Tip of the Week:
What to do if you get disconnected!
Many players ask questions about this topic, so let me take a moment to answer your questions. If you get disconnected after joining a tourney, but before the tourney has started, here's what will happen:
- The bot will automatically remove you from the tourney.
- If the tourney is still open, rejoin the tourney by doing "tell ‹bot› join".
- If the tourney has started without you, rejoin by doing "tell ‹bot› latejoin".
.
If you get disconnected after the tourney has already started, your opponent and the manager will be waiting for you.
If you're gone for too long, the following actions may be taken against you:
- Your current game may be set against you, awarding the point to your opponent.
- If you remain away even longer, you may be completely forfeited from the tourney.
- However, should you return, the manager can always put you back in the tourney, if you wish to continue.
So if you get disconnected, communicate with the manager! Managers are here to keep tournaments moving smoothly, but they'll do whatever they can to assist you also when you return!
 15 0 Standard Championship!
Standard players, it's time for you to shine! Who will be this year's standard champion? We're about to find out!
Qualifiers will be held every day from October 13-18. Each qualifier will be a 6 round swiss tourney, with the top 5 finishers advancing to the final on October 20.
In addition, the three finishers with the most points in all qualifiers, who didn't otherwise qualify, will also advance to the finals.
There will be an open section and an u2000 section.
So come on out and take your best shot! Become an ICC Champion! Look-up qualifier times. |
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Topalov-Kramnik 2006 World Chess Championship -
Topalov & Ginchev
With the help of co-author Zhivko Ginchev, and complemented nicely by almost 50 photographs, Topalov shares his thoughts, hopes and fears as he fought for the most prestigious title in the chess world. Read
more
Price $28.95 - Buy
now!
New In Chess Yearbook 83 - Soft Cover Edition
Readers from all over the world join in discussions of previous surveys. Titled players, correspondence players and club players shed their light on opening developments and search together for the truth. With contributions by Erling Mortensen, Bogdan Lalic and many others.
Read
more
Price $27.95 - Buy
now!
Chess Gems: 1,000 Combinations You Should Know - Igor Sukhin
Combinations have long been considered the most creative aspect of chess. From the vast sea of chess games a thousand combinations have been chosen: the most artistic, elegant, and famous. Yet chess tactics are not only for aesthetic enjoyment : they help win games.
Read
more
Price $23.95 - Buy
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How Well Do I Play Chess: Semi-Open Games - Vsevolod Kostrov
Chess Stars Publishing presents the famous series of test games How Well Do I Play Chess. The books Open Games, Semi-Open Games, and Gambits, have been printed in more than 50,000 copies in Russia. The author, Vsevolod Kostrov from St. Petersburg, has been coaching young talents for 20 years. Whole generations of Russian players have grown up on his books.
Read more
Price $15.99 - Buy
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How Well Do I Play Chess: Open Games - Vsevolod Kostrov
 Test your understanding of the following openings: King's Gambit, Ruy Lopez, Vienna Game, Italian Game, Scotch Game, Petroff, Philidor, Two Knights...
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Price $15.99
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