 Brunei Birthday Blitz Bash II
 Have you marked it in your diary yet? We're only days away from a special Blitz Bash being held here on ICC as part of the official 62nd Birthday celebrations for the Sultan of Brunei. The 1st Brunei Internet Chess Blitz, with a total prize fund of $6,500 USD, will take place on Tuesday, July 15th starting at 2:00AM ET (2:00PM Brunei Time) - so remember to get the coffee on!
Registration is free and open to players from all over the world. The 13 round, 3 0 minute blitz promises to attract many top grandmasters, all of whom will be battling it out for the five major cash prizes, including the first prize of $1,500 USD.
There will also be plenty of consolation prizes on offer for what promises to be a fun-filled, through-the-night tournament here at ICC, where our members in the likes of Australia and early-risers in Europe finally get the time zone advantage over North American members!
We'll also be linking-up directly with the Brunei Chess Centre, located at Hassanal Bokiah National Sports Complex and the Brunei Shell Recreation Club Chess Centre, where Brunei Darussalam locals there will take part in their own prize tournament.
Major sponsors for this gala birthday event include: Alif Technologies, DST Group, PT. Wai IIIa Sarana Utama & PT Talenta Pratama Madri, Pines Enterprises - Verde and Adison Marketing Services. The tournament is also sponsored by The Empire Hotel and Country Club, i-Centre, Everyman Chess UK, London Chess Centre UK, Mutiara Shakila Nabilah Transportation Services, Royal Brunei Technical Services Sdn Bhd, Zisen Enterprise, PT. Budi Gunawan and PT. El-Nusa.
Leko Wins Dortmund
 With
a late push at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Peter Leko took the
honors and clear first with his +2 winning score of 4.5/7.
Dortmund went Leko’s way after a penultimate round victory over the unlikely
German overnight leader Jan (GodGusti) Gustaffson. A last round draw with Arkadij
Naiditsch secured the Hungarian No.1 the title (his third at Dortmund), a half
point ahead of the chasing pack.
Dortmund has usually belonged to Vladimir Kramnik, who has won or shared first
there eight times, including the last two editions. But, worryingly in his penultimate
outing before taking on Vishy Anand in a title challenge in October, there was
a reversal of fortunes for the former world champion.
Kramnik’s normally dependable Petroff was again blown
away, this time in the final round by Vassily Ivanchuk, as he turned in a traumatic
-2 (where he’s normally ‘Mr. +2’) to finish second from last
- easily the Russian’s worst performance ever, as he lost in the process
15 Elo-points to slip to world No.6 on Hans Arild Runde’s Live Ratings
at www.chess.liverating.org.
And if you thought Kramnik’s performance was bad, then
spare a thought for his sometime second '(Un)Lucky' Loek Van Wely. The Dutch
No.1 imploded completely with four successive losses in the last four rounds
to finish on 1/7 and slam-bang in the cellar with a dismal tournament performance
rating of just 2388.
On ICC: finger Dortmund08
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DATE |
FREE DORTMUND GAME-OF-THE-DAY |
HOST |
1 |
6/28 |
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GM Nick de Firmian |
2 |
6/29 |
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GM Joel Benjamin |
3 |
7/1 |
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GM Ronen Har-Zvi |
4 |
7/2 |
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GM Joel Benjamin |
5 |
7/4 |
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GM Larry Christiansen |
6 |
7/5 |
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GM Larry Christiansen |
7 |
7/6 |
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GM Gregory Kaidanov |
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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 (Tue., 8 July), joining IM John Watson on Chess Talk is chess coach and author IM David Vigorito.
David is the 2007 Massachusetts Champion and he has also been the state champion of New Hampshire and Nevada. Winning the Massachusetts title last year though gave him a berth in the World Chess Live State Champion of Champions event, an online title he won to claim a qualifying spot for the recent US Championship
Last year his first book, Challenging the Nimzo-Indian was well received by critics and players alike, and his new book, Play the Semi-Slav, is beginning to receive similar accolades.
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) Championship Recap!
Congratulations to this year's
champions! Winning the 1 0 section was rigel,
while our 3 1 winner was CalPoly. The action
was intense, and all the best players were there.
Join us next June for the 2009 Losers Championships!
July
Marathon
It's time for the marathon again!
24 hours of consecutive tournaments in 5 bots! We
have 1 0 u1800 bullet in Olive and 1 0 1800+ bullet
in flash. We also have 5 0 blitz tourneys for u1600
in tomato and for 1600 + in cooly. And then there's
standard 15 0 in Slomato. It all begins at 12:00 on
Saturday, July 12 and continues until 12:00 on Sunday,
July 13!
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Bullet
Challenge !
Every Thursday at 15:00 server
time, Flash will run a 9 round swiss 1 0 tourney.
This tourney gets titled players at times, and so
many of the best bulleters on ICC show up for it!
Come on out and see how you stack up against the best!
 Tourney
Tip: What's with those Pear and Automato bots?
You may have noticed that these
guys don't run very many tourneys... especially
not when compared to Tomato or Flash, etc. Pear
and Automato are reserved only for special events
such as the ST-Tourney or huge events like Dos Hermanas.
This way we know those bots will always be available
for important events.
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The Easiest Sicilian -Atanas Kolev
and Trajko Nedev
 The book presents a Black
repertoire with 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6, based on the most aggressive
Sveshnikov lines. It also covers The Rossolimo (3 Bb5) and Alapin (3
c3).
The material is completely up-to-date with games that were only played
in April 2008! The authors propose major novelties in practically all
topical lines. The repertoire avoids solid, but passive variations.
Instead, they are left as backup lines with the authors' preferring to
recommend the more challenging options.
"Currently I do not see any serious theoretical problems for Black"
claims Kolev in the foreword.
240
Pages, soft cover
Price $29.95 -  Buy now!
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! |
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Pawn Sacrifice - Timothy Taylor
 This book is an in depth study of the common pawn sacrifice. Timothy Taylor takes us on journey of the most common piece on the chess board. Using a collection of instructive examples, he demonstrates the pros and cons of pawn sacrifice. Showing effective and ineffective ideas which in turn will widen your understanding and undoubted improve your game..
240 pages, soft cover.
Price $23.95 - Buy
now!
Forcing Chess Moves - Charles Hertan
 Subtitled: The Key to Better Calculation
Why is it that the human brain so often refuses to consider winning chess tactics?
Every chess fan marvels at the wonderful combinations with which famous masters win games. How do they find those fantastic moves? Do they have a special vision? And why do computers outwit us tactically?
This rich book on chess tactics proposes a revolutionary method for finding winning moves. Charles Hertan has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key moves is often due to human bias. Your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural.
We can no longer deny it, computers outdo us humans when it comes to tactical vision and brute force calculation. So why not learn from them? Charles Hertan’s radically different approach is: use COMPUTER EYES and always look for the most forcing move first!
382 pages.
Price $27.95 - Buy
now! |
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