"Hands Up" for World Chess Live!

Well-known chess photographer Betsy Dynako has for years had a rather peculiar habit: taking pictures of famous chessplayers' hands. Over time, she's come to have quite an impressive collection of hand pictures. What good could come of all these photographs? Well, I couldn't think of any good uses myself until World Chess Live teamed up with Chess Life Online to create a competition that promises to prove both entertaining and challenging!

In a "Guess That Famous Chessplayer"-styled trivia challenge, readers are given six faces and six hands to choose from. The first six to correctly match the hands with the faces and send their results to Chess Life Online editor Jennifer Shahade will receive one free year of World Chess Live membership! Look for this competition on the Chess Life Online homepage today.

Web "CAM" Tournaments

Did you know you can compete for "Crowns" on World Chess Live? At 6:30 P.M. each Sunday, registration starts for a "CAM" tournament--short for "Crown Awards and More". The tournament begins at 7:00 P.M. and is a G/5 minute, 7-round Luton Swiss. The entry fee is just three crowns, most of which is awarded back to the players in the form of prizes. In addition to first, second, and third place crown prizes, there are also class prizes and four door prizes of 6 free months WCL membership each. This is a tournament that anyone can win, so come join us this Sunday! For more information, please do the WCL command "finger CAM" in Dasher or Sonia.

The 2008 "KibBlitzer of the Year" is Announced!

Well, if you recall, in last week's Newsletter we promised to collect votes for the "Best of WCL, 2008" competition. Unfortunately, by late Thursday night, no votes had been cast for any of the KibBlitzes. Your Kindly Editor (YKE) had just decided to do a little editor-styled unilateral decision-making and was about to cast his own vote when he received the following email:

Dear Mr. Hilton:

I hereby vote for Mr. Jack L. Edelson, of the state of New York, for KibBlitz of the Year. While many chessplayers made fine contributions, Mr. Edelson rises far above them. His extraordinary eloquence, thoughtfulness and wit set him apart from all the rest.

Sincerely,

Jack L. Edelson
Assistant Tournament Director and Webmaster, Freeport Chess Club

And with that, the laugh-out-loud, hilarious KibBlitz of Jack "The Jester of Chess" Edelson won for the same the "KibBlitzer of the Year" Award for 2008. In any case, next week we'll be back from our KibBlitz holiday break recap and KibBlitzing with WIM Luciana Morales, the current keeper of the University of Texas at Brownsville chess blog.

Chess.FM Update

Breaking News: Calvin Olson on "Chess Talk" Freely Available

Chess author, historian, and Correspondence master Calvin Olson passed away Wednesday, January 14, 2009. Calvin studied the history of chess and is perhaps best known for his book The Chess Kings. Chess.FM is re-releasing his appearance on "Chess Talk" with John Watson to the public. Olson will be missed.

This Week: Ronen's Yugoslav Attack: Part 2

In the latest of his "New Ideas in...." series for ICC Chess.FM, GM Ronen Har-Zvi investigates the latest developments and trends in the ultimate test of the Sicilian Dragon, the Yugoslav Attack with 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4.

The Sicilian Dragon is back in vogue once again thanks to its recent addition to Magnus Carlsen's ever-growing arsenal. Years ago, Bobby Fischer gave his seal of approval to the Yugoslav attack, stating it was simply a case of preying open the h-file and "sac, sac...mate!" But this caveman approach in the Yugoslav Attack is well-worked out, as GM Ronen Har-Zvi shows that the Dragon still breathes fire for Black with plenty of counter-play.