 Magnus Force
  Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen, 17, continues to wreck havoc at another elite event as he bulldozes his way through the opposition during the first half of the Aerosvit-2008 tournament in Foros, Ukraine.
Carlsen's unbeaten +4 score of 5/6 gives him a 1.5-point lead at the top over his nearest rivals, the two young Ukrainians Andrei Volokitin and Sergey Karjakin. It’s now a foregone conclusion that the Norwegian teenager is set for another big win and with it another big hike in his Elo rating.
And we could well be witnessing history in the making as Carlsen's hot streak edges him ever-closer to the world #1 spot. If the tournament were to stop now, and FIDE agreed - as they did for Vishy Anand after Linares 2007 - to extend their deadline to rate Aerosvit, Carlsen would be the new world #2 on 2792, just six points behind Anand! And at the rate he’s going, by the end of Aerosvit he could well be the de facto new world #1 - if not officially in the July list, then certainly by the October list.
Will he do it? You can find out here at ICC by following Carlsen's progress during the second half of Aerosvit, which after Saturday's rest day, gets underway again on Sunday. Live coverage of the games can be found here at ICC each day (from Sunday), starting at 08:00 EDT (15:00 Local). Chess.FM also has a Game of the Day (GOTD) service throughout from Aerosvit with top analysts GM Joel Benjamin, GM Larry Christiansen and GM Ronen Har-Zvi - view below all of their videos (free for all) from the first half of the tournament.
ICC: Foros08
Aerosvit 2008 official
site
The Mainz Attraction II
 Dare you miss it? ICC is again collaborating with Chess Tigers, organizers of the popular annual Mainz Chess Classic in Germany, for a 2nd Chess960 Internet Qualifier for the FiNet and Ordix opens. And we're building on the big success of last year's tourney by adding onto the human qualifier a new computer qualifier, running June 27-28 on ICC for the Livingston Chess960 Computer World Championship.
There will be four qualifiers to the
finals on ICC, running June 17th-22nd. No preregistration
is necessary. This event is only open to ICC members and
to those who sign up for a free trial 7-day membership of
the ICC - so don't delay, sign-up at www.chessclub.com today! You can play in as many qualifiers as you like, and
the dates will be: |
 - Qualifier 1: Tuesday, June 17, 6pm
EDT
- Qualifier 2: Wednesday, June 18, 3pm EDT
- Qualifier 3: Thursday, June 19, 2pm EDT
- Qualifier 4: Friday, June 20, 4pm EDT
- Finals: Sunday, June 22, 3pm EDT
And the main prizes we have on offer
to one of the world's biggest and best tournaments include:
HUMAN SECTION
- 1st prize: $1090 (700 Euro) + Free entry to FiNet and Ordix + Hotel and breakfast at Mainz
- 2nd prize: $545 (350 Euro) + Free entry to FiNet and Ordix + Hotel and breakfast at Mainz
- 3rd/4th prize: $195 (125 Euro) + Free entry to FiNet and Ordix
- 5th-8th prize: 1 year ICC membership extension - 9th-16th prize: 3 months ICC membership extension
COMPUTER SECTION
- 1st prize: $467 (300 Euro) + a place in the Livingston Chess960 Computer World Championship + Hotel and breakfast at Mainz
- 2nd prize: $311 (200 Euro) + a place the in Livingston Chess960 Computer World Championship + Hotel and breakfast at Mainz
Full details of all the rules and conditions
for this exclusive qualifier for ICC members can
be found here.
En Passant: GM Karen Asrian, 1980-2008
 One of Armenia’s leading grandmasters and reigning national champion, Karen Asrian, the linchpin of his country’s gold medal-winning Olympiad team at Turin in 2006, died suddenly of a suspected heart attack last week, aged 28.
Asrian, a three-time Armenian champion (1999, 2007 and 2008), and ranked number 92 in the world, took ill in his car while driving to the capital city Yerevan for the opening day’s play of the Yerevan Giants, a new elite rapid tournament featuring Alexander Morozevich, Levon Aronian, Peter Leko, Michael Adams, Boris Gelfand, Bu Xiangzhi, Vladimir Akopian and Gabriel Sargissian.
The tragic news of Asrian’s untimely death at such a young age overshadowed what was supposed to be a gala opening at the national Opera House for the Yerevan Giants. Play was suspended for two days with the tournament being renamed "The Karen Asrian Memorial" in his honor.
ICC has live coverage of this event and details and games can be found at finger AsrianMem08.
Official site: http://www.chessgiants.am/
Photo © Frits Agterdenbos http://www.chessvista.com/
Are
You A Member of the USCF?
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! For new
WCL members, simply check the USCF Member box and enter
your USCF membership number and PIN on the WCL
registration page. If you're already registered with
WCL, go to your
account page and use the USCF link 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!
So what are you waiting for? Come join
the growing USCF community at WCL and take part in all the
activities.
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NM Dan Heisman "Improve Your Chess"
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National Master Dan Heisman is a
name that is synonymous with excellence in chess coaching
and teaching.
Over the years, Dan has produced
many winning students and scholastic teams - and now
he can help you, too! In this series of five instructional
videos for ICC Chess.FM, Dan brings you his innovative
teaching methods on how to play better chess - and
all packed with sound advice from the maestro himself.
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1. Introduction to Safety and Counting
(below 1500) -- Watch
now
2. Introduction to Time Management (all players)
3. Introduction to Thought Process (800-1800)
4. Common Evaluation Misconceptions (1000-2200)
5. Is It Safe? (below 1900) - this video is a follow-up
to "Introduction to Safety and Counting"
These 5 videos are available exclusively
for ICC members - but as a special launch promotion, non-members
can view for free Dan's
first video in full. To view the other four video in
the series, sign
up for membership!
Mondays: GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas
in the Petroff's Defense"
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The Petroff Defence (sometimes called the Russian Defence, and named after Russia's Alexander Petrov, 1794-1867) is considered as one of Black’s most reliable and solid methods of meeting the king’s pawn opening. It is easy to play and an excellent choice for someone looking for an alternative to the Scotch Opening, the Italian Game and the ‘Spanish torture’ of the Ruy Lopez.
Until a few years ago, the Petroff was an opening that was favored by only a few top Grandmasters, including Anatoly Karpov and Artur Yusupov. However, the last few years have seen a dramatic rise in its popularity, and it now provides battlefields for many top clashes of the modern elite players, including Anand, Kramnik, Leko, Topalov, and Shirov. And in the latest of his "New Ideas in..." series, GM Ronen Har-Zvi, takes a closer look under the microscope at the solid Petroff.
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Click here
for a free 5 minute preview of Ronen's latest video. To
listen to the full videos, sign
up for membership!
Tuesdays: 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 John Watson is on a break so we are repeating
his recent interview with GM Simen Agdestein. John will be back
with a new guest next week.
Find below a selection of free 5-minute
previews of the latest shows. To listen to the full shows, sign
up for membership! |
Wednesdays: 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!
Thursdays: 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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Thursdays: 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.
Fridays: 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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Losers (Wild 17) Championships!
Qualifiers are June 20-25! There will a 1 0 section and a 3 1 section. The bullet section will always be 12 round swiss qualifiers, while the blitz section will be 7 rounds of swiss. The top 3 finishers in each qualifier will advance to the finals, along with the next best 4 finishers in the total series of qualifiers. Check out http://www.littleper.com/public/champs/start.html for full details.
3 3 Blitz Championships!
Qualifiers are coming at you on June 14-19! Each qualifier will be 9 rounds of swiss, and the top 5 finishers in each qualifier will advance to the final. In addition, the top 3 finishers in the series of qualifiers who didn't otherwise qualify will also advance to the final. Will anyone be able to dethrone defending champion ItSoMR? Stay tuned to find out!
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Scheduled Fischer Random (wild 22) tourney!
On Tuesdays at 18:00, Wildone hosts a 5 round swiss wild 22 tourney with a 4 2 time control! Also known as Chess 960, Fischer Random is played like regular chess with the normal amount of pieces, but the back row is set up at random. Give it a try on Tuesday
 Tourney
Tip: What channels correspond to each bot?
When you enter a tourney, each bot has a specific channel where all tourney conversation and announcements are held. Those channels are:
Tomato = 46
Flash = 49
Tourney Request Channel = 221
Slomato = 222
Wildone = 223
Cooly = 224
Littleper = 225
Automato = 226
Pear = 227
Ketchup = 228
Olive = 230
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NOW $10 - Boris Spassky Master of Initiative - Raetsky / Chetverik
Boris Spassky is a true chess legend, a World Champion
who, thanks to his monumental battles with Bobby Fischer,
raised the popularity of the game to a level that
had never been seen before. Although at the height
of his powers many saw Spassky as a complete and universal
player, adept at outplaying his opponents in any type
of position, it is no secret that from an early age
he thrived on sharp, attacking play. He was a superb
practical player, and with the initiative at his hands
he could conjure up wonderful combinations and deadly
attacks.
In Boris Spassky Master of Initiative, Alexander
Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik look back over Spassky’s
long and distinguished career to examine how he defeated
his long-time adversaries, carefully highlighting
his most colourful and celebrated encounters over
the chessboard. A deep study of his style and games
will entertain and inspire any true chess fan.
Published by Everyman
Price $19.95 $10.00
- 
Buy
now!
NOW $10 - Russians versus Fischer
 Boris
Spassky, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosyan, Vasily Smyslov,
Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres, Mark Taimanov, Yuri
Averbakh, Igor Bondarevsky, Lev Polugayevsky, Alexander
Kotov and other noted Soviet Grandmasters were involved
in a game which could be named RUSSIANS versus FISCHER.
148 commented games played by
Fischer against Russian grandmasters.
Compiled by D. Plisetsky and
S. Voronkov. English language. 395 pages. Colored
hard cover. Moscow 1994.
Price $30.00 $10.00 -
Buy
now! |
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NOW $10 - Khalifman: Life and Games - Nesis
 The 1999 World Championship in Las Vegas produced a surprise winner - after a month-long battle, the Russian grandmaster Alexander Khalifman emerged from this grueling knock-out event to become the 14th FIDE World Champion. Alexander Khalifman has been competing in the higher echelons of world chess for many years. He is a player with a broad opening repertoire and a distinctive style, one of his favorite stratagems being the sacrifice of material for long-term positional compensation. A former European Junior Champion and a winner of numerous Russian and international tournaments, he has recently founded a grandmaster chess school in his native St. Petersburg.
6 3/4 x 9 3/4, 208 pages, diagrams.
Price $10.00
-
Buy
now!
NOW $10 - Mikhail Tal: Tactical Genius - Alexander
Raetsky & Maxim Chetverik
 In
this book Alexander Raetsky and Maxim Chetverik revisit
Tal's brilliant victories. The authors have carefully
picked his most famous and instructive games and combinations,
ones which set the chess world alight with admiration.
A study of this tactical genius is sure to entertain
and benefit the aspiring chess student.
Price $21.95 $10.00 -
Buy
now!
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