 Grand
Prix Special
  The
new Fide Grand Prix Series, the first of which is underway
at Baku, Azerbaijan, looks to be a great addition to the
international circuit.
The tournament is one of six involving 21 players that will
be held through the end of 2009, with the other venues being:
Sochi (Russia), Doha (Qatar), Montreux (Switzerland), Elista
(Russia) and Karlovy Vary (Czech Rep.). The winner, who
will be the player to accumulate the best score in three
events, will earn the right to face the winner of the 2009
World Cup in an eight-game world title final eliminator.
The series is organised and sponsored
by Global Chess BV, a company created by FIDE President
Kirsan Ilymzhinov and Bessel Kok, a past chief
executive of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication, an electronic clearinghouse for banks).
After four rounds, Russia's Alexander
Grishchuk holds a slender half point lead over a growing
six-player chasing pack that includes Karjakin, Radjabov,
Kamsky, Gashimov, Wang Yue and Adams.
The big shock so far was the round four defeat of top seed
Magnus Carlsen, who was crushed by local hero Shakhriyar
Mamedyarov, in a game that featured here at Chess.FM
as GM Larry Christiansen's easy choice for Game of
the Day.
ICC will be relaying the games live
each day and also providing a
daily GOTD video with GMs Larry Christiansen
and Ronen Har-Zvi giving their spin on the best game
of each round. The ICC calender can be found here.
Photo of the round four encounter between
Mamedyarov-Carlsen (above) comes from the official site.
Further information can be found at: http://baku2008.fide.com
2008
MTel Masters
 And
from Grand Prix we move to the Grand Slam, with the 2008
MTel Masters running May 7 through May 18, at the Central
Military Club in Sofia, Bulgaria. And the locals will have
more than usual to cheer about, with two Bulgarians playing
in a super-tournament for the first time. The six-player
field includes the Bulgarian duo of Veselin Topalov
and Ivan Cheparinov, Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan),
Levon Aronian (Armenia), Vassily Ivanchuk
(Ukraine) and Xiangzhi Bu (China).
ICC Chess.FM will bring you a ringside
seat throughout with live commentary, GOTD and Macauley
Peterson videos direct from the playing venue in Sofia.
And look out for special guest Boris Spassky, who
will be there also in Sofia, and has agreed to make an appearance
on one of Chess.FM's live shows!
We were also passed on by the organizers
of the Mtel Masters a new commercial that aired recently
on Bulgarian TV featuring Veselin Topalov -
click here to view.
Are
You A Member of the USCF?
Well, if so, now is the ideal time
to try out ICC's new fun and friendly sister-site World
Chess Live, where April has been declared "USCF Month"!
In a new sponsorship deal with the United
States Chess Federation, ALL current members of the USCF
will qualify for a free 6-month membership! Simply enter
your USCF membership number and PIN at the bottom of the
WCL
registration page in the Group ID and Group PIN boxes.
If you're already registered with WCL, go to your
account page and use the link in the Memberships/Affiliations
section at the bottom.
WCL is the new sponsor of the USCF's
2008 Grand Prix and 2008 Junior Grand Prix. We're providing
prize funds of $20,000 and $7,500, respectively, and will
also be running Online Grand Prix events all year, beginning
in April, open only to USCF members. So what are you waiting
for? Sign up now for your FREE 6 month membership to World
Chess Live and start winning those Grand Prix points!
The USCF and WCL are pleased to also
announce that, after
a close competition last weekend on WCL, IM David
Vigorito, representing Massachusetts, has won the fourth
U.S. State Champion of Champions event and will now go forward
to the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Chess Championship, 13-21
May, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas
in the Marshall Attack"
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One of the world’s first Grandmasters
of chess, America’s Frank J. Marshall (1877-1944),
left behind a lasting legacy to the chess world with
his revered gambit against the Ruy Lopez – the
Marshall Attack with 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4
Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 0-0 8 c3 d5!
The Marshall Attack is one of the
most important openings in the history of chess and
is still deployed with regularity at super Grandmaster
level. In current theory the ideas and strategies
of both approaches are studied in-depth, and nowadays
experts have come to the conclusion that White has
no clear superiority in the main theoretical lines.
And in the latest of his "New Ideas in..."
series, GM Ronen Har-Zvi, takes a closer look under
the microscope at Marshall's revolutionary idea.
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Click here for a free
5 minute preview of Ronen's latest video. To listen to the
full videoss, sign
up for membership!
"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. All shows
run on demand for members after airing.
This week (Tue., 22 April), joining
IM John Watson on Chess Talk is Silver Spring master and
Olympiad legend Bill "Captain" Hook. He
has played in a record 16 Chess Olympiads for the British
Virgin Islands, winning the gold medal in 1980 at Malta
for the best individual performance.
But Captain Hook likes to recall other
memorable Olympiad moments, such as playing the formidable
Bobby Fischer in 1970 at Siegen, West Germany. Drawing from
a sheer bottomless well of memories from art, chess and
gambling, he recently authored the highly-entertaining and
eminently readable new book
Hooked on Chess: A Memoir.
Find below a selection of free 5-minute
previews of the 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 EDT
(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. By popular demand from members, we are now archiving
previous Attack
with LarryC shows. 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 EDT. 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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Boris Alterman's Gambit Guide
Israeli GM Boris Alterman
is best known as a leading chess advisor for the multi-title
winning chess software program (Deep) Junior, where he specialized
in developing its opening book.
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. And for
the month of April only, each week viewers to Joel's show
will get the opportunity to win a personally autographed
copy of his hit new book, American Grandmaster. You
need to be a full member of ICC to enter competition.
This not-to-be-missed weekly video
series is exclusive 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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Nick's Best - Lawrence Day
Selected Games of IM Bryon Nickoloff
 Canada's
eccentric International Master Bryon Nickoloff was
a genius at opening preparation and endgame strategy.
The main reason he never became a Grandmaster was
habitual time trouble with the clock. He was simply
addicted to the adrenaline of time scrambles. So this
book will be very educational for students of openings
and endgames, but a dramatic 'cautionary tale' regarding
the time-consuming search for perfection in the middlegame.
295 pages, soft cover.
Price $28.99
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Buy
now!
Roman's Lab 56: Reverse Openings: Advantages and
Disadvantages of Playing...
 In
Volume 56
Reverse Openings: Advantages and Disadvantages of
Playing the Sicilian, King's Indian, French, Alekhine,
Philidor, Benko, Grunfeld Panov Attack as White
On this highly instructional DVD,
Roman clearly demonstrates through novelties created
in his own games how to recognize an opportunity for
white to transpose into openings that are played for
black with the advantage of having an extra tempo.
Roman will also cover the disadvantages of trying
to play certain black openings as white. Roman answers
the rarely covered question: "Why can't I play
my favorite black opening for white."
Over one hour of instructional
video
Price $19.95
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Buy
now!
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Jon Speelman's Chess Puzzle Book - Jon Speelman
 Jon
Speelman is one of the most successful British chess-players
of all time, and is renowned for the creativity of
his play and his remarkable calculating ability. He
is also an extremely experienced writer and chess
coach. His personal selection of chess puzzles will
infuriate, entertain, test and instruct chess-players
of all levels.
Themed sections include: Finger
Exercises, Stalemate, The Skewer, The Pin, Pawn Promotion,
Line Opening and Closing, Loose Pieces, Mating Attacks,
The Back Rank, Knight Forks.
Price $19.95
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Buy
now!
Reykjavik 1972: Fischer v Spassky - 'The World Chess
Championship'
 The
world chess championship between Boris Spassky and
Bobby Fischer at Reykjavik in 1972 was the most widely
publicised and eagerly analysed beforehand of any
chess match to date. It seized the attention of the
world's press and media in general in unprecedented
fashion and inspired more books and column inches
than any chess contest before or since. Hardinge Simpole
now commemorate this stellar chess clash by reprinting
the eye witness accounts by Grandmaster Emeritus Harry
Golombek OBE and Professor George Steiner. Grandmaster
Golombek analyses the moves while Professor Steiner
searches for the meaning behind the circus. To top
it all, Arthur Koestler, one of the keenest intellects
of the 20th century, adds an introduction to complete
a remarkable tour de force of intellectual exegesis
of a great turning point in world chess.
208 pages.
Price $34.95
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Buy
now!
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