"Audio Abby!" -- Interview with WFM Abby Marshall

This week, newly-crowned 11th Grade National Co-Champion WFM Abby Marshall discussed her victory with Chess.FM in an audio interview. In it, she tells of her second-round loss against Steven McLaughlin, repeats words of wisdom she received from GM John Federowicz, analyzes her tournament routine, and elaborates upon the pros and cons of chess partying at the Nationals. Marshall, who is rapidly approaching the 2200 rating mark, also retells a piece of advice given her about making master. Enjoy!

College Chess in America

Back in August, World Chess Live acted as a major sponsor for the new "Tournament of College Champions", an event brought into being by the USCF's College Committee. WCL's sponsorship of the tournament meets our goal of promoting chess among all age groups. Now, we would like to call your attention to another important development in the college chess scene--the release of a new series on Chess Life Online, "College Chess in America". The article series is intended to serve as a means to spread the word--college chess is possible at any university, no matter how big, how small, or how skilled the players. In the first installment in this series, "Making a Team in Miami: Pan-Am Preview", undergraduate student Chris Dobbs tells of his epic quest to create his own college chess team and take them all the way to Dallas for the Pan-American Championship.

Website Update: Free Junior 10!

We've still been hacking away at our website, touching up places here and there. This week, I added a Grand Prix countdown timer and put some minor touches on our WCL Chess.FM page. But the most important thing that has occurred in recent days is an addition you'll find on our home page: "Free Junior 10!" No, we're not protesting for the release of a World Champion from captivity. Instead, we're simply offering you a free copy of the Junior 10 chess engine during the holiday season. Anyone who renews a regular WCL membership for one year by December 31 can get their own copy of this World Champion chess program on us!

KibBlitzing with Chris Dobbs

Chris Dobbs, the college student who wrote the first installment of the "College Chess in America" series, sat in with us this month for a KibBlitz. Here is a guy who started his own chess team and got funding from his university to take them to a chess championship--a championship where they'll be playing with some of the best college teams on the continent. Can you guess how high the rating of the highest-rated player he's ever faced in a tournament game was?

Chess.FM Update

This Week: GM Larry Christiansen's Spiking The Philidor

This week we have the answer to your problems after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6!? LarryC's "Spiking the Philidor" is good for both entertainment and instruction, as the three-time U.S. Champion's videos always are! The Philidor Defense is one of the oldest openings, having been championed by the great Andre Philidor, who claimed, "Pawns are the Soul of chess." But even the famous Frenchman could never have guessed the surprises attacker LarryC has in store in this week's video. Don't miss this chance to learn how you, too, can attack with LarryC--kick back, grab some popcorn, and listen now!