 Topalov Still Tops - Now Ivanchuk Numero Uno!
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Final round: September 13, 2008 10:00am (16:00pm CET)
Info on ICC
ICC LIVE Webcam
Official Site bilbaofinalmasters.com
No one said being #1 was easy. And, after successive defeats, young teenage sensation Magnus Carlsen found out the the hard way by being replaced both as tournament leader in the $570,000 Bilbao Grand Slam Final and #1 on the virtual live rating list.
The young Norwegian's reign as leader in the richest tournament of the year and #1 lasted all but three glorious days - but time is truly on his side, and he's surely going to be very soon a permanent fixture as the world's top chessplayer.
Carlsen's demise have now left things incredibly tight at the top now between the top four players going into the final weekend of the Grand Slam Final - with all four in contention for the top prize of €150,000 with the wildcard scoring system of 3-points for a win in play.
After beating Carlsen for the second time in the tournament, Veselin Topalov regained the lead ahead of Levon Aronian, whose defeat of a slumping Vishy Anand pushed the world champion and former #1 to now #5 on the live list. But look out for strong finishes from both the new and "old" #1 on the virtual live list, Ukrainian veteran Vassily Ivanchuk, who joins Carlsen in equal third place.
Can Ivanchuk, who looks to be in-form after back-to-back wins over Carlsen and Teimour Radjabov, continue to hold on to the top spot on the live list to finally see his dream realized of being the official #1 come the publication of the October FIDE list?
You can find out with ICC Chess.FM's weekend finale coverage direct from Plaza Neuva in Bilbao, with the last round taking place on Saturday, September 13, with play starting at 10:00am ET (16:00pm local CET) with Mig Greengard being joined by GM Gregory Kaidanov - don't dare miss what could the most exciting round of chess this year!
CJA Chess Journalist of the Year, Macauley Peterson is in Bilbao giving us his unique spin on all the action on and off the board - and a special live video feed of the players in action during each round! Check out his videos below. Also in Bilbao is Chess.FM Producer John Henderson, who will be providing a daily picture gallery of what's likely to be a visual extravaganza for chess fans. Check out his picture gallery below.
Bilbao: Macauley Videos
Bilbao: John Henderson Picture Gallery
Bilbao: Game of the Day
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DATE |
GAME-OF-THE-DAY |
GM COMMENTATOR |
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1
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9/02
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Nick de Firmian
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2
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9/03
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Ronen Har-Zvi
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3
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9/04
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Ronen Har-Zvi
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4
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9/05
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Joel Benjamin
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5
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9/06
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Nick de Firmian
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6
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9/08
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Peter Svidler
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7
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9/09
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Larry Christiansen
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8
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9/10
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Joel Benjamin
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9
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9/12
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Larry Christiansen
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10
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9/13
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Gregory Kaidanov
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IM Alex Lenderman "Manest on The Slav"
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The solid Slav Defence with 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 is enjoying a renaissance these days thanks to its extreme solidity and abundant possibilities for dynamic counter-play. Many masters of Slavic descent helped develop its theory in the 1920s, but its popularity increased dramatically after two exhaustive trials during the Alekhine-Euwe World Championship encounters of 1935 and 1937.
It had a lengthy hiatus thereafter - but now, thanks to a modern-day re-evaluation of its theory, the Slav is back in vogue again both at grandmaster and club level.
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And in a new three-part opening video series for ICC Chess.FM, IM Alex Lenderman (manest) provides an ideal primer for anyone looking to learn the nuances of this perennial favorite.
Preview Part 1
Preview Part 2
Preview Part 3
To watch the rest sign up for membership!
Mondays: GM Ronen Har-Zvi "Unusual Queen Pawn Openings"
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In his “New Ideas in....” regular video series for ICC Chess.FM, GM Ronen Har-Zvi investigates the latest developments and trends in those downright annoying and unusual Queen Pawn openings that avoid the main battle-lines with 2 c4.
Are you searching for a quick-fix against the Colle-Zukertort, Torre Attack, London System, QB Attack with 2 Bg5, Stonewall Attack or perhaps the King's Fianchetto Attack with 1 d4 2 Nf3 3 g3 (without c4)? Then look no further as Ronen gives you an easy-to-play antidote to all those annoying 1 d4 openings.
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Preview Part 1
Preview Part 2
Preview Part 3
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 will feature an interview with leading chess personalities. All shows run on demand for members after airing.
This week (Tue., Sept., 9), joining IM John Watson on Chess Talk is German GM Karsten Mueller. He was runner-up in the German national championship of 1997, a regular in the Bundesliga and in international events.
Karsten, a co-author of entertaining opening books such as Danish Dynamite and 222 Opening Traps, is also a noted authority on both practical and theoretical endgames with instructive titles Fundamental Chess Endings and Secrets of Pawn Endings.
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! |
And this week for non-members, you can listen to the full show for free by clicking here. So, all the more reason to become a member now and get to listen each week to all the shows on ICC Chess.FM!
Thursdays: Boris Alterman's Gambit Guide
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In his weekly video lecture series
for ICC, Boris Alterman's Gambit Guide,
Boris investigates gambits old and new and show that,
while some may not be actively played on the grandmaster
circuit these days, they are all exciting to play
and at the same time instructive as they teach us
all about natural development of the pieces and tactics
in chess. GM Boris Alterman has just opened his
official blog where, among other things, he'll
be discussing some of his choices for his Gambit Guide.
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Show Previews:
Danish Gambit Part 1 Part
2
Evans
Gambit Part 1 Part
2 Part
3 Part
4
Cochrane
Gambit Part 1 Part
2 Part
3
Budapest
Gambit Part 1 Part
2 Part
3
Hennig-Schara
Gambit Part 1 Part
2 Part
3
Falkbeer
Counter Gambit Part 1 Part
2 Part
3
Two
Knights Defence, Fried Liver Attack Part 1 Part
2
Two
Knights Defence, Traxler Counter-attack Part 1 Part
2 Part
3
Benko
Gambit Part 1 Part
2 Part
3 Part
4
Urusov
Gambit Part 1 Part 2
Max Lange Gambit Part 1
Part 2
Two Knights Morphy Attack Part 1
Part 2
Two Knights Chigorin Gambit Part I
To listen to the full show, sign
up for membership!
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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September Marathon!
It's Marathon time again! The September marathon will be held this weekend on Sept 13-14. That's right, 24 hours of consecutive tourneys beginning at 12:00 on Saturday, Sept 13! There will be 5 sections as always: U1600 5 0 Blitz in Tomato, 1600+ 5 0 Blitz in Cooly, U1800 1 0 Bullet in Olive, 1800+ 1 0 Bullet in Flash, and 15 0 Standard in Slomato. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers in the series as well as the top 3 most games played in the marathon series. Come on out and see how you do!
Friday Night Unrated Tourney!
Every Friday night at 20:00, Tomato hosts one of the most popular tourneys on ICC! 7 rounds of 5 0 blitz in an unrated tourney! We regularly see over 50 players for these tourneys, so come on out and see how you do. After all, there's nothing to lose!
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 Tourney Tip: How Do I Check the Standings in a Tournament?
Simply type “Tell <bot> standings”. For example, for the Friday Night Unrated Tourney mentioned above, you would “Tell tomato standings”, since tomato is the bot running the tourney. It will show the standings for the current round. The number on the left is the score with all players at that score following.
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Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 2: Kasparov vs Karpov 1975-1985
The history of sport has seen many great gladiatorial clashes: Ali vs Frazier in boxing, McEnroe vs Borg in tennis, Prost vs Senna in motor racing. None however can quite compare to the intensity of the rivalry between those two great world chess champions: Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Between 1984 and 1990 they contested an astonishing five World Championship matches consisting of 144 individual encounters.
This volume concentrates on the first two of those matches.The epic 1984/85 contest which lasted six months before being controversially halted "without result" by the President of FIDE Florencio Campomanes and the 1985 match when Kasparov brilliantly won the final game to take the title and become, at the age of 22, the youngest ever world champion.
In this volume Garry Kasparov (world champion between 1985 and 2000 and generally regarded as the greatest player ever) analyses in depth the clashes from 1984 and 1985, giving his opinions both on the political machinations surrounding the matches as well as the games themselves.
424 pages, hardcover.
Price $40.95 -  Buy now!
Chess Instructor 2009 - Jeroen Bosch & Steve Giddins
Training Methods, Chess in Schools, Exercises, Top Coaches Explain, the Benefits of Learning Chess, the Use of Computers & the Internet, Interviews, Tools, Reviews, etc.
In the last decade there has been a phenomenal growth of chess within the educational community.
The popularity of chess is no accident: in an era of compulsive zapping of TV channels, violent gaming and mobile chatter, learning chess means improving basic skills (like analysis, decision making, strategic thinking, stamina, and dealing with stress) while interacting meaningfully with other pupils. A great job for motivated teachers and coaches.
But how do you teach chess? What material do you use? Is there a particularly successful method? How do you sell a chess curriculum, how do motivate your pupils and monitor their progress?
The Chess Instructor 2009 aims to give answers to all these questions, and more. It provides tools and methodologies for beginners as well as for more advanced coaching. With ready-to-use teaching exercises for all levels.
Published by New in Chess, 230 pages, soft cover.
Price $26.95 - Buy
now! |
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Play 1.b3! The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: A Friend for Life - Ilya Odessky
The popularity of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack is largely based on its surprise value, but in fact 1.b3 is one of White’s more logical first moves. By immediately developing his queen’s bishop, White aims at undermining the black centre.
Ilya Odessky’s message in this unusual opening book is: opening with 1.b2-b3 is a lot of fun! Odessky will amuse and surprise you, but also teach you all the ins and outs of this offbeat system, which has been used by top players like Bobby Fischer and Bent Larsen.
White avoids the many theoretical landmines of mainline openings and steers towards an open battle, right from the start. This system’s basic ideas are strategically sound and easy to learn. But it can also offer wild complications for lovers of tactics.
Odessky does not fool you into believing that White is better in all 1.b3 lines. But you will get to know this opening deeply, and you will be better prepared for the struggle than your opponent will be. You will enjoy playing 1.b3!
Ilya Odessky is an International Master from Russia, a well-known chess coach and an outstanding chess writer.
Published by New in Chess, 258 pages.
Price $26.95 - Buy
now!
Fighting the Anti-King's Indians - Dembo
'I love playing the King's Indian, but no-one ever allows me to reach my favourite opening!'
Does this sound like an all too familiar complaint? The answer to this problem lies here.
The truth is you will reach your favourite opening in barely half the games you play against 1 d4, and that's why this book is a godsend to those players fed up with blindly searching for the right way to play against these annoying White systems designed to avoid the main lines: the Trompowsky; the London System; the Torre Attack; the Barry Attack; the Colle System; the Veresov; the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit - the list goes on and on!Yelena Dembo, who as a hardened King's Indian and Grunfeld player has considerable experience facing these irritating openings, deals with them in no uncertain terms, in each case offering Black a no-nonsense solution that enables you to face the future with confidence. This title covers all of White's possibilities after 1 d4 Nf6.
It also includes King's Indian solutions to 1 Nf3 and 1 c4. It is written by a renowned opening expert.
Published by Everyman.
Price $22.95 - Buy now!
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