 Grischuk
in Pole Position
  The
players are entering the final rounds of the first Fide
Grand Prix in Baku, and it looks like it will be a close
race to the finish to see who takes the flag. In pole position
going into the home stretch is Russian grandmaster Alexander
Grischuk.
The 25-year-old Muscovite admitted in an interview recently
that his motivation is “five to 10 times lower”
than Garry Kasparov’s or Bobby Fischer’s. But
this could be because Grischuk -- whose rating has slipped
to world number 18 -- is the leader of a new breed who combine
elite chess with professional poker.
Grischuk has won top internationals at both, yet it is arguable
he would have done better to concentrate on a serious bid
for the world title. Back in 2000 he reached the semi-finals
of the Fide championship while still a teenager, but in
2007 at Mexico City he finished last. It now seems he’s
working hard at chess again and forgoing the pleasures of
poker.
The result has been a dramatic transformation
in his play at the Fide Grand Prix in Baku. Showing a much-welcomed
return to form, Grischuk has been a front-runner throughout
and leads by half a point from the chasing pack with just
three rounds to go.
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.
Grischuk photo (above) comes from the
official site. Further information and videos can be found
at: http://baku2008.fide.com
2008
MTel Masters
 ICC
Chess.FM will bring you a ringside seat throughout with
live commentary with Mig and his GM team of Joel Benjamin,
Larry Christiansen, Ronen Har-Zvi and Nick
de Firmian, the NIC Trivia Contest (where each
day ICC members can win a 12 month subscription to New
In Chess magazine), 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! Checkout the GOTD
calendar and ICC finger notes finger
Mtel08 for the full schedule and videos.
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 family sister-site
World Chess Live!
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!
On Thursday, April 24, Alex Lenderman
won the first
World Chess Live/United States Chess Federation Online Grand
Prix. The young New York IM scored 7.5/8 in the 45-player
blitz (3 minute+ 2 second increment) Swiss. Alex defeated
early Grand Prix leader GM Sergey Kudrin in round
six of the prestigious blitz series premiere - a result
that put him in 11th place in the main GP and 2nd behind
GM Alejandro Ramirez in the Junior GP (players born
1988-1990 category).
If
you are a USCF member, be sure to register for your free
six month account with WCL and play in the monthly Online
Grand Prix Satellite events - where like Alex Lenderman,
you could also boost your over-the-board Grand Prix standings
as the online finals each month will award a maximum of
20 Grand Prix points (12 points for first, 8 for second.).
Click
here for the latest standings provided by the USCF for
all the Grand Prix categories.
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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., 29 April), joining
IM John Watson on Chess Talk will be Canadian jack-of-all-trades,
Jonathan Berry. Apart from being an FM over-the-board,
Jonathan holds the distinction of two further titles by
being a Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess and International
Arbiter, officiating at Candidates' matches and Olympiads.
Since 1981, Jonathan has written the
popular weekly chess column for Canada's national newspaper,
The Globe and Mail. He's been the Executive Director of
the Canadian Chess Federation and served for 15-years as
Technical Editor for US magazine Inside Chess. Jonathan's
most recent project has been as technical and layout editor
for the new three-volume series on the life and times of
Duncan Suttles, Chess
on the Edge.
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.
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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Wild
25 Championship Recap!
Congratulations to our Three
Checks (wild 25 chess) champions! In the 1 0 Final,
a Quad Elim event, Peter-patzer won the championship
while losing only twice in the event. Raisingthebar
finished second, while serey took the third
place. In the 3 0 Final, a Triple Elim format, our
champion was MoltenThinker, who used only one
of his losses. Second place went to Ipod, while
Raisingthebar finished in third place. Look
for the next wild championship event, the losers (w17)
championships in June!
May
Marathon!
Coming at you May 10-11! The marathon
is 24 hours of consecutive tourneys beginning at 12:00
on May 10 and lasting until 12:00 on May 11. Prizes
are awarded for the top 3 overall best scores and
most games played in each of the following categories:
U1800 Bullet in Olive, 1800+ Bullet in Flash, U1600
Blitz in Tomato, 1600+ Blitz in Cooly, and Standard
in Slomato. "Help Marathon" for full details!
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Weekday
Daily Blitz
Every Monday through Friday at
11:30 and 1:00, two 5 round 5 0 Blitz tourneys are
held in Tomato! Many high rated players join this
tourney and you may even see a Titled player or two!
Monthly prizes are awarded for the top 3 series best
and series most finishers. "Finger weekday"
for more info!
 Tourney
Tip: How do I find the series standings for a scheduled
tourney?
Every series has what's called
a "tag" where all the information about
that monthly series is stored. To find all the current
series tags, type "tell tomato series list".
Most of the tags are fairly "self-explanatory",
so you should be able to find the series you're looking
for. For example, if you're looking for the current
standings of this month's weekday blitz tourney, you'd
see a tag that says "apr08weekday". "Tell
tomato series best apr08weekday" would give you
the standings for most games won. "Tell tomato
series most apr08weekday" would tell you who's
played in the most games. "Tell tomato series
info apr08weekday" would give you the grids for
each tourney played that month in the weekday series.
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From London to Elista - Bareev & Levitov
 The
Inside Story of the World Chess Championship Matches
that Vladimir Kramnik Won Against Garry Kasparov,
Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov.
Part 1: Overthrow of a Colossus,
London 2000
Part 2: Photo Finish in Brissago 2004
Part 3: Big Brother in Chess City, Elista 2006
A remarkable story of Kramnik's
battles by his second, Evgeny Bareev. From London
to Elista, it gives a fascinating look behind the
scenes of top-level chess. It provides superb analysis
of all the games by Bareev, and it does much more.
400 pages
Price $34.95
- 
Buy
now!
Opening Repertoire for White According to Kramnik,
An - Volume 2 (2nd edition) - Alexander Khalifman
 Originally
published in 2001 - but with a massive amount of new
analysis to take into account changes in theory over
the last 7 years. Approximately - 120 pages of new
content.
This volume covers the Black Knights’ Tango
and Romanishin Variation, Queen’s Indian English,
Hedgehog Defence English, Double Fianchetto Defence,
English without Nc6 and Semi-Tarrasch Defence. New
systems covered in this book include the Romanishin
Variation and the Semi-Tarrasch.
352 pages
Price $29.95
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Buy
now!
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School of Future Champions 3: Secrets of Endgame
Technique - Dvoretsky and Yusupov
 Successful
endgame play is all about technique. In this third
volume of the School of Future Champions series
the authors explain how to study the endgame and to
analyze endgame positions, and illustrate the highly
important technique of converting an advantage.
Part 1: Endgame Theory
Part 2: Endgame Analysis
Part 3: Technique
227 pages, soft cover, published
by Edition Olms
Price $38.95
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Buy
now!
Roman's Lab 55: A Tribute to Bobby Fischer
 On
this DVD Roman pays tribute to the greatest pure chess
genius of all time, Bobby Fischer.
Included on this DVD:
* Never published and never revealed
commentary and facts about Fischer’s life
* Evolution of Fischer from age 12
* How Russia ordered all their greatest GMs to prepare
Spassky to beat Fischer in their 1972 WC match
* Fischer requested to meet and play Roman in the
eighties
* Roman will show you his favorite Fischer games -
these games are fantastic and rarely analyzed
* Roman comments on Fischer vs Karpov and who was
better Fischer or Kasparov?
* Bonus included interview from Karpov on Fischer
and he annotates Game 3 of 1972 WC
* Extremely Rare footage from the Fischer Spassky
1992 rematch
Price $19.95
-
Buy
now!
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