 World Chess Cup 2007
 The script for the dream final was ripped up, as the semifinal battle of the generations saw two of the world's strongest teenagers losing out to two very experienced stars of the game. Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin, both 17, and two of the youngest competitors in the original starting field of 128, were easily beaten by Comeback kid Gata Kamsky, 33, and Alexei "Fire On Board" Shirov, 35.
Both semifinal winners were twice the age of their rising star opponents. Both also in the past have had the misfortune of being tagged "bridesmaids" by losing out in world title bids. Now, late in life, they are enjoying an Indian summer by once again being in the spotlight.
Most Fide KO events in the past have tended to be something of a lottery with the good players exiting after some misfortune or other. This hasn't been the case with Shirov and Kamsky - both are in devastating form, undefeated and with 2800+ results so far and the two most consistent players in Khanty-Mansisyk.
Kamsky and Shirov are now already guaranteed a minimum purse of $80,000. But neither will be interested in that, because at stake for the winner in the final is $120,000 and a return to the world elite stage with a lucrative title eliminator match against Veselin Topalov for the right to play a match for the world championship against the winner of next year's Anand-Kramnik championship match.
After a hard-fought struggle in game one that ended in a draw, it was Kamsky who took first-blood in the match with a sparkling win with white in game two to take what could well be a decisive lead.
ICC will have live, daily coverage of the semifinals and finals starting at 5am ICC time - 11am CET - 3pm local time. Visit ICC or the official web site. All pictures from Khanty by Eugene Atarov for the official World Cup web site.
GM Larry Christiansen presents the World Cup 07 Game of the Day:
Final | Friday, Dec. 14th | 05:00 ICC
| NAME |
FED |
FIDE |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
G4 |
R1 |
R2 |
B1 |
B2 |
SD |
TOT |
| 1 |
Kamsky |
USA |
2714 |
½ |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
1.5 |
| Shirov |
ESP |
2739 |
½ |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
0.5 |
|
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Pete Tamburro "The Sizzling Scandinavian: Part 1"
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The Scandinavian Defense (or Centre Counter) has risen in a relatively short time from being a theoretical backwater to a fully-blown main line opening. Its change in name to the Scandinavian came in the mid-1980s with its rehabilitation at top level by Denmark's Bent Larsen. And its rise since then has been nothing short of meteoric, even being used with great effect by Vishy Anand in his unsuccessful 1995 world title match against Garry Kasparov.
Against 1 e4, the Scandinavian is hugely popular at club level because Black gains a minor psychological victory by setting the agenda from the off with 1..d5! And in his new ICC Chess.FM series on the Scandinavian, Pete Tamburro explores the 2...Qxd5 lines in 5 videos (and with a two volume set to come later on 2 ..Nf6) that will take you through all the key themes and strategies required for Black to play this popular, and easy-to-play opening with confidence - and sizzling success!
The season of goodwill starts here on ICC as non-members get to view for free part one of this five set video series on 2...Qxd5. This video is just one of the many benefits of being a full member of ICC - to view the other four in this series, sign up for membership!
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GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas in the Slav and Semi-Slav Defences: Part 3"
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In a series of new opening videos for ICC Chess.FM, GM Ronen Har-Zvi investigates the latest developments and trends that will keep you up-to-date in the rock-solid Slav and Semi-Slav Defences. "Click "Play Video" for a free 5 minute preview of both of Ronen's latest videos. To listen to the full videos, sign up for membership!
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Attack with LarryC!
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New at ICC Chess.FM -Attack With LarryC! A weekly 30 min+ show on Wednesdays at 15:00 EST (and available on-demand thereafter for members), featuring three-time U.S. Champion Larry Christiansen, one of the most dangerous and respected attacking players of his generation.
Larry is a feared competitor and attacker who authored two popular books that showcase his aggressive style: Storming the Barricades and Rocking the Ramparts. And each week on his show, Larry will feature various attacking motifs and themes and showing you how best to play for mate.
Click "Play
Video" for
a free 5 minute preview of Larry's latest video. This video is just one of the many benefits of being a full member of ICC - so, sign
up for membership!
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GM Joel Benjamin "Game of the Week"
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Game of the Week
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New on ICC Chess.FM! Three-time U.S. Champion GM Joel Benjamin starts
his weekly show every Friday at 15:00 Server Time. Click "Play Video"
for a free 5 minute preview of Joel's latest show. To listen to the
full show, sign up for membership!
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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"Chess Talk" with IM John Watson
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Tune-in for Chess Talk with IM John Watson on ICC Chess.FM. John's weekly 60+ minute show (members only) will feature an interview with leading chess personalities. Click "Play Video" for a free 5 minute preview of John's latest show. To listen to the full show, sign up for membership!
John's special guest this week (Tue., 11 Dec.) will be IM James Rizzitano, author of three popular Gambit books: Understanding Your Chess, How to Beat 1. d4 and Chess Explained: The Taimanov Sicilian. Now his fourth book for Gambit has just been released, The Queen's Gambit Declined.
James Rizzitano dominated the chess scene in the New England region during a 14-year period from 1976 to 1989, where he won 157 out of 336 events. His career highlights include victories over Alburt, Benjamin, Benko, Christiansen, Dlugy, I. Gurevich and Wolff, and exciting draws with de Firmian, Larsen, Speelman, and the legendary former world champion, Mikhail Tal.
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Ask the Renaissance Man |
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Tune-in for "Ask the Renaissance Man" with National Master Dan Heisman every Thursday at 21:00 EST. You send in the questions and Dan provides the answers every week on his Q&A show. Questions on tournament rules, opening play, chess books, chess politics, current events, and more!
Click "Play Video" for a free 5 minute preview of Dan's latest show. To listen to the full show, sign up for membership!
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 Want to be a Tomato Manager?
 Periodically, tomato accepts new managers from a group of applicants. You must be over 17 years of age to apply. To be considered, please read "Help Manager-New" and follow the instructions. Tomato managers are the life-blood of ICC, running all the tournaments that the members enjoy on a daily basis. If you enjoy working with a team and providing a service for others, you may be just the person we're looking for! Hope to see you in tomato soon!
 Wild Championships - Starting This Week!!! From Dec 14th-19th, ICC will host Qualifiers for both the wild 16 ("help kriegspiel") and the wild 22 ("help chess960") championships!
The wild 16 will be 1 0 time control with each qualifier a 12 round swiss tourn. The wild 22 will be 4 2 time control and 7 rounds of swiss action. In each case, the top 3 finishers from each qualifier will advance to the finals, plus the next 4 best finishers in the series of qualifiers who didn't otherwise advance. It's going to be a great time, so check out the schedule.
and plan on being there!
In each case, the top 3 finishers from each qualifier will advance to the finals, plus the next 4 best finishers in the series of qualifiers who didn't otherwise advance. It's going to be a great time, so check out the schedule.
and plan on being there!
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 Tourney Tip of the Week:
Tourney Status!:
When you type "Tell 220 tourney" to see which tournaments are going on, you'll see one of four terms next to each bot.
- None means that there is no tourney going on in that particular bot.
- Open means the tourney has not yet begun and you can join by typing "tell <bot> join".
- Late means the tourney has already started, but you can still get in by typing "tell <bot> latejoin".
- Closed means that the tournament is too far along to be joined at this point.
Join or latejoin a tourney today! Good luck!
Z-House League
Every Friday evening at 17:00 in Ketchup, the best crazyhouse (w23) players come together for a z-house extravaganza! A 6 round 1 0 swiss tourney is followed up by two consecutive 6 round 3 0 swiss tourneys. It's more craziness than you can shake a stick at! The same sequence of tourneys is held again on Sundays at 12:45. Best of all, there are prizes for the top finishers of the month! See "finger zhouse-league" for full details! Also see "help crazyhouse" for more information on how to play w23. Come out and give it a shot!
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Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess: Revolution in the 70's - Garry Kasparov
Great Titles @ Great Prices! This book is the first in a brand new series that follows on from My Great Predecessors and sees chess legend Garry Kasparov reflecting on a pivotal time in chess history. Bobby Fischer's spurt towards the chess summit (1970-1972) marked the approach of a new era affecting all aspects of the game and opening theory in particular. Fischer demonstrated the need for deep preparation with both colours, expanded the range of openings knowledge, and laid the foundations for present-day professional chess.
Read
more
List $45.00
Price $32.00 - Buy
now!
Chess Highlights of the 20th Century - Graham Burgess
Great Titles @ Great Prices! Like the rest of the world, the game of chess has changed enormously during the 20th century. This book surveys the developments by focusing on the top events, greatest achievements and most brilliant games, year-by-year.
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more
Was $27.95
Price $15.00 - Buy
now!
50 Ways to Wins at Chess - Steve Giddins
In a sequel to the hugely successful 50 Essential Chess Lessons, Steve Giddins now presents 50 games that each illustrate an important winning method. This engaging and highly readable book is a painless way to build your personal arsenal of techniques and ideas. The games are mostly from the modern era, but with a few classic examples chosen to show key themes in as clear a way as possible.
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more
Price $24.95 - Buy
now!
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Perfect Your Chess - Volokitin/Grabinsky
Great Titles @ Great Prices! Andrei Volokitin is one of a rare breed of players: he achieved a ranking in the world's top 20 while still a teenager, playing dynamic and often brilliant chess. Although we cannot all aspire to emulate his achievements, there is much that we can learn from his training methods, his games and his general approach to chess. These topics are the subject of this book, written in collaboration with his trainer.
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List $28.95
Price $22.00 - Buy
now!
Kasparov Grandmaster Chess Set
The
Grandmaster Chess Set is a unique, special edition chess set which has been developed under Garry Kasparov's close watch. The design is unlike anything available today, with folding wooden chess board and sprucetek triple weighted pieces. It is
great for beginners, collectors and experts alike. Set measures 26 cm x 26cm – height of king 9.5cm.
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more
Price $149.95
- Buy
now!
Grass Arena, The - John Healy
John Healy is an extraordinary, exceptionally gifted and truly inspirational human being and one of the most subversive, unique and compelling writers of the last twenty years. Despite the brutality of John's life (which is well documented in The Grass Arena) he overcame heroically all obstacles and achieved remarkable, indeed phenomenal expertise in both writing and Chess
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more
Price $19.95 - Buy
now!
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