 Corus Countdown ...
 Tick tick tick... Not long now to the biggest and best major of the year,
as Corus Wijk aan Zee gets underway today, Saturday 12 January and will run through until Sunday, 27 January.
The jubilee 70th-year edition of this annual Dutch treat sees an elite field of 14, including eight of the world's top ten, doing
battle in the top-rated Grandmaster "A" group - the strength of which makes it one of the five strongest tournaments of all-time.
The Grandmaster "A" lineup (in rating order from the October list) includes: 1. Vishy
Anand (India), 2. Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), 3. Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), 4. Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), 5. Peter Leko (Hungary), 6. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan),
7. Teimour
Radjabov (Azerbaijan), 8. Levon Aronian (Armenia), 9.
Boris Gelfand (Israel), 10. Michael Adams (England), 11. Magnus Carlsen (Norway), 12. Judit Polgar (Hungary), 13. Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine), and 14. Loek
van Wely (Holland).
 And if that's not enough to whet your appetite, there's also an amazing
sideshow of Grandmaster "B" and "C" groups, and the new edition this year of a 'veterans tournament' of previous "A" group winners,
featuring Viktor Korchnoi, Jan Timman, Ljubomir Ljubojevic and Lajos Portisch.
ICC will have live coverage throughout, with the Chess.FM team back in action to cover the first major of the year. Mig Greengard will
hosting our daily coverage, and he'll be joined by top GMs like Larry Christiansen, Joel Benjamin, Gregory Kaidanov, John Fedorowicz, Nick De Firmian, Ronen
Har-Zvi & Jon Speelman, who will be providing all the expert analysis and commentary along with a daily
Game of the Day. Macauley Peterson will also be reporting live directly from the press room at Wijk aan Zee, and he'll again be sending us his video coverage throughout.
Also look out for a special Corus Chess Talk with IM John Watson next
Tuesday, with special guest Jeroen van den Berg, Tournament Director of Corus, who will be telling all the history and tradition to this long-standing international tournament. And this show will be made free to non-members next Tuesday
as part of our special Corus countdown!
So log-in and tune-in for all the action at Corus with your winning team at ICC Chess.FM - right here, right now!
CORUS 2008 Group-A | Round-1 | Saturday, January 12 | 07:30 EST
| NAT |
FED |
ELO |
WHITE |
RES |
BLACK |
ELO |
FED |
NAT |
 |
RUS |
2799 |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Loek van Wely |
2681 |
NED |
|
 |
AZE |
2735 |
Teymour Radjabov |
- |
Viswanathan Anand |
2799 |
IND |
 |
|
AZE |
2760 |
Shakhryar Mamedyarov |
- |
Magnus Carlsen |
2733 |
NOR |
 |
 |
UKR |
2692 |
Pavel Eljanov |
- |
Peter Leko |
2753 |
HUN |
 |
 |
ENG |
2726 |
Michael Adams |
- |
Boris Gelfand |
2737 |
ISR |
 |
 |
ARM |
2739 |
Levon Aronian |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
2780 |
BUL |
 |
|
UKR |
2751 |
Vassily Ivanchuk |
- |
Judit Polgar |
2707 |
HUN |
|
|
ICC Chess.FM timeline
| ROUND & DATE |
HOST |
GUEST |
| R-1 Sat., Jan 12 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Larry Christiansen |
| R-2 Sun., Jan 13 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Joel Benjamin |
| R-3 Mon., Jan 14 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Larry Christiansen |
| R-4 Tue., Jan 15 |
Mig Greengard |
GM John Fedorowicz |
| REST DAY |
| R-5 Thur., Jan 17 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Ronen Har-Zvi |
| R-6 Fri., Jan 18 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Jon Speelman |
| R-7 Sat., Jan 19 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Jon Speelman |
| R-8 Sun., Jan 20 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Gregory Kaidanov |
| REST DAY |
| R-9 Tue., Jan 22 |
Mig Greengard |
GM John Fedorowicz |
| R-10 Wed., Jan 23 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Gregory Kaidanov |
| REST DAY |
| R-11 Fri., Jan 25 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Nick De Firmian |
| R-12 Sat., Jan 26 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Ronen Har-Zvi |
| R-13 Sun., Jan 27 |
Mig Greengard |
GM Joel Benjamin |
|
More information
|
GM Ronen Har-Zvi: "New Ideas in the Slav and Semi-Slav Defences" part V
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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!
Sneak preview of part 5. |
"Chess Talk" with IM John Watson
 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.
John's special guest this week (Tue., 8 Jan.) was English grandmaster Peter Wells. Peter was runner-up in the British Championship in 1991, 1999 and 2001 and a multi-time winner of the British Rapidplay
Championship.
Peter is a respected author and has written extensively on both opening play and middlegame strategy, and has a wealth of experience as a trainer and current manager of the England squad. He has acted as a trainer for Luke
McShane and assisted Michael Adams at the San Luis World Championship in 2005. Click "Play Video" for a free
5 minute preview.
John's special guest next week (Tue., 15 Jan) will be Corus Wijk aan Zee Tournament Director, Jeroen van den Berg.
Find below a selection of free 5 minute preview of John's latest shows. To listen to the full shows, sign up for membership!
Attack with LarryC!
 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!
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! |
GM Joel Benjamin "Game of the Week"
 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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January Marathon starts this Saturday!
 It’s Marathon time! Mark your calendars
for the weekend of January 12-13. Beginning at 12:00 noon on Saturday, and ending at 12:00 noon on Sunday, ICC is proud to host 24 consecutive hours of non-stop tournament action!
There will be several categories being contested. In
5 0 Blitz, there will be an u1600 section along with an over 1600 section. In 1 0 Bullet, there will be an u1800 section to go with the 1800+ section. Finally, there will be a 15 0 Standard section for all ratings. Prizes will
be awarded for best and most in all categories. See “help marathon” for full details!
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 Tourney Tip of the Week: Tournaments
TAB from Dasher
To access the Tournaments tab in Dasher, go to your Activities window and select Tournaments. You will now see a window that you can interact with:
From this window you will read more info, follow the games or join to an open tourney.
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ICC Quiz #5967
submitted by CaptainMorgan
White mates in 3
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 5967
Then type: play trainingbot
ICC Quiz #108
submitted by flanker
White mates in 4
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 108
Then type: play trainingbot |
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ICC Quiz #93
submitted by thepeopleschump
White mates in 4
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 93
Then type: play trainingbot
ICC Quiz #15
submitted by Ringwraith7
White mates in 4
To play this puzzle on the ICC type:
tell trainingbot number 15
Then type: play trainingbot
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Tactics In The Chess Opening 6 - Ernst & van der Stricht
For casual players and club players.
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.
This book covers all the tactical themes and typical traps
in the main lines of the English, the Dutch and the Reti, as well as a couple of interesting gambits. They are explained in more than 200 carefully selected and annotated short games. Read
more
Price $18.95 -  Buy
now!
Roman's Lab - Vol 50: Unsound Openings and How to Exploit Them
On this DVD GrandMaster Roman Dzindzichashvili will show you how to play against Bad Openings and how to exploit them. Roman will take you through several very instructional bad openings for black and by taking a
logical and simple approach you can achieve an advantage.
This DVD not only provides excellent lines against the Elephant Gambit, Budapest, Baker Defense, French, Sicilian, Englund and Marshall Gambits but will show you basic ideas behind getting an
edge against inferior opening play this will help you to never get caught off guard again .
Read
more
Price $19.95 - Buy
now!
Grandmaster Secrets: Winning Quickly at Chess - John Nunn
John Nunn selects 125 of the finest short decisive grandmaster games of the modern era.
For a grandmaster to lose a game in 25 moves or fewer takes something special, and club players can learn a great deal from studying these miniatures. Each of these games is a true battle, with the result often in doubt until
near the very end of the struggle. Read more
Price $27.95 - Buy
now! |
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Common Sense in Chess 21st Century edition - Lasker
In the spring of 1895, reigning world champion Emanuel Lasker gave a series of lectures in London aimed at club players. Later that year Lasker gathered his lecture material together and wrote it up in manuscript form to be published,
retaining the informal, conversational tone of the lectures.
The result was Common Sense in Chess, long regarded as a classic both during Lasker’s lifetime and for generations afterwards. It is a masterpiece of compression and exposition, and
in the whole of chess literature, there is nothing that quite compares with it. Read more
Price $20.95 - Buy
now!
Starting Out: Classical Sicilian - Raetsky and Chetverik
The Classical Sicilian is one of Black's most popular and highly regarded opening choices against 1 e4, and it's been a favourite of such greats as Vladimir Kramnik, Alexei
Shirov and Vishy Anand.
White has a number of aggressive
ways to battle against the Classical: the fashionable Richter-Rauzer Attack; Bobby Fischer's favourite, the Sozin Attack; and finally the wild Velimirovic Attack. In this book, Alexander
Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik revisit the basics of the Classical
Sicilian, elaborating on the crucial early moves and plans for both sides in a way that is often neglected in other texts. Read
more
Price $22.95 - Buy
now!
Grandmaster Secrets: The Caro-Kann - Peter Wells
The Caro-Kann is one of the most popular responses to 1 e4. Black stakes a claim to the central squares and seeks free development for all his pieces.
While solid, it is by no means a drawing weapon - the resulting positions generally contain at least a degree of imbalance and the critical lines lead to sharp positions with chances for both sides. Many new approaches for both
sides have been developed in recent years, and a good understanding of these ideas is vital for anyone looking to handle either side of the Caro with success. Read
more
Price $27.95 - Buy
now!
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Solution to ICC Quiz #5967
submitted by CaptainMorgan
1.Qxg7+!! Kxg7 2.Rf7+ Kh8 3.Rxh7#
Solution to ICC Quiz #108
submitted by flanker
1.Qg6!! fxg6 2.Nxg6+! hxg6 3.Rh3+
Qh4 4.Rxh4# |
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Solution to ICC Quiz #93
submitted by thepeopleschump
1.Qxh7+!! Kxh7 2.Rh4+ Kg7 3.Bh6+! Kh7
(or Kh8) 4.Bf8#
Solution to ICC Quiz #15
submitted by Ringwraith7
1.Nd7+! Rxd7 2.Re8# |
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