ICC CHESS.FM

Listen in English

India Saturday Show

Catalan

Español

HOME

The ICC's professional staff provides live online help, adjudication of abandoned games, and an active computer-detection team to ensure you won't have to play against computer-cheaters.

Get a seven day FREE trial of ICC!

ICC Chess.FM

2008-07-25	15:00	GM Benjamin "Game of the Week" GOTW
2008-07-26	09:30	India with Arvind Aaron
2008-07-28	15:00	GM Ronen Har-Zvi
2008-07-29	15:00	Chess Talk with IM John Watson
2008-07-30	15:00	Attack with LarryC! video series
2008-07-31	15:00	GM Boris Alterman
2008-07-31	21:00	Ask the Reinassance Man NM Dan Heisman

World Open Video

Four players tied for First in the 36th Annual World Open in Philadelphia (July 6), but Evgeny Najer (Russia) from Moscow, earned the World Open title by winning an Armageddon-style blitz playoff over Parimarjan Negi (India). Both players had edged out Alexander Moiseenko (Ukraine) and Lubomir Ftacnik (Slovakia) on tie-breaks to reach the playoff. All four took home over $12,000 for their efforts! Macauley spoke to Najer, Negi, and Moiseenko after the critical last round, and filed this report:

Dortmund 2008

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

RD	DATE	FREE DORTMUND GAME-OF-THE-DAY	HOST
1	6/28	Naiditsch-Nepomniachtchi	GM Nick de Firmian
2	6/29	Kramnik-Van Wely	GM Joel Benjamin
3	7/1	Naiditsch-Kramnik	GM Ronen Har-Zvi
4	7/2	Nepomniachtchi-Van Wely	GM Joel Benjamin
5	7/4	Ivanchuk-Naiditsch	GM Larry Christiansen
6	7/5	Naiditsch-Van Wely	GM Larry Christiansen
7	7/6	Van Wely-Mamedyarov	GM Gregory Kaidanov

IX 'New In Chess' Trivia Contest winners

The IX 'New in Chess' TRIVIA Contest!

ICC Chess.FM

ICC and New in Chess present The XI 'New in Chess' Trivia Contest! Tune-in to Mig on ICC Chess.FM for our round-by-round coverage of Dortmund Chess Tournament 2008, and each round you could win a 1-year subscription to the world's best chess magazine. For more information and rules, visit our help page.

DORTMUND '08	ICC 3 months	ICC 6 months	NiC subscription
Round 1	LarkScout	Prognesubis	Blake
Round 2	siddhu	injoke	Lone-Tiger
Round 3	CysteicAcid	slipstream	idontthink
Round 4	numbercrunch	Bumbly	vcs
Round 5	Russianbear	Lone-Tiger	Lipsome123
Round 6	Schaakie	camembert	Zest
Round 7	zenpawn	Knallo	Tanstaafl

Aerosvit 2008

Is there no stopping Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen? The 17-year-old teenage ace is again in the spotlight by winning yet another big elite tournament, this time taking first place with ease at Aerosvit ahead of Vassily Ivanchuk to add to his extraordinary haul so far for the year.

Carlsen's winning surge now of all the big elite events of the first half of the year -- Corus, Morelia/Linares, the Fide Grand Prix in Baku, and now Aerosvit -- is simply remarkable. No teenager has ever performed at this high a level in the game. Not even former world champion legends such as Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer - Carlsen is way ahead of their teenage feats.

And the rating points Carlsen is quickly amassing makes him odds-on to topple Vishy Anand for the top spot in the world rankings before the end of the year -- and at the same time, he looks as if he's going to become only the fifth player in history (behind Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Topalov) to crack the 2800 barrier.

Fide only publish their rating list ever quarter and the cutoff dates for the July 1st list means Aerosvit - with Carlsen and Ivanchuk's big hike in their ratings that would have made them world # 2 & 3 - not being included. However, you can follow Carlsen's surge to the summit at Hans Arild Runde's Live Top List, which is updated minutes after tournaments are completed. The Live Top List cover all players with a current, live rating above 2700, who are now generally known as "Super-GMs".

ICC: Foros08
Aerosvit 2008 official site

Gata Kamsky Interview

- Macauley Peterson

GM Gata Kamsky was at the top of a six-way tie for first at the National Open (June 5-8), part of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival. In this 8 minute interview with Chess.FM, Kamsky discusses his time in Vegas and his thoughts on the upcoming World Championship candidates match with Veselin Topalov, scheduled for November in Lvov, Ukraine.

MTel 2008

Despite a late rally from three-time winner Veselin Topalov, that spectacularly backfired, as he somewhat surprisingly lost in the penultimate round to back-marker Bu Xiangzhi, Vassily Ivanchuk held on for a resounding victory at the category 20 Mtel Masters in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Ivanchuk, who got off to a perfect flying start of 5/5, won his last round game in convincing style against Topalov's second Ivan Cheparinov, who threw just about everything bar the kitchen sink at the Ukrainian ace in an unsound attack. Ivanchuk's remarkable winning score of 8.5/10 gave him the title a full 1.5-points ahead of local hero Topalov. His TPR for the Mtel Masters was a stunning 2977.

As winner of the Mtel Masters, Ivanchuk now goes forward to join Levon Aronian (winner, Corus), Vishy Anand (winner, Linares), the winner of the upcoming Mexico event and two wildcards (to be decided at a later date by the GS organizers), to take part in the Grand Slam final in Bilbao, Spain, running 1-13 September.

Macauley Peterson's Video Reports

"Game of the Day" Videos

JOHN HENDERSON'S PHOTO GALLERY
Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5
Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10

	NAME	ELO	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	PTS
1	Cheparinov, Ivan	2695	BUL		0 0	0 0	.5 .5	.5 .5	1 1	4.0
2	Ivanchuk, Vassily	2740	UKR	1 1		1 .5	1 .5	1 .5	1 .5	8.0
3	Topalov, Veselin	2767	BUL	1 1	0 .5		1 1	.5 .5	1 0	6.5
4	Aronian, Levon	2763	ARM	.5 .5	0 .5	0 0		.5 0	.5 .5	3.0
5	Radjabov, Teimour	2751	AZE	.5 .5	0 .5	.5 .5	.5 1		.5 1	5.5
6	Bu, Xiangzhi	2708	CHN	0 0	0 0.5	0 1	.5 .5	.5 0		3.0

Final Standings

8.0 points
GM Ivanchuk UKR (2740)
6.5 points
GM Topalov BUL (2780)
5.5 points
GM Radajabov AZE (2751)
4.0 points
GM Cheparinov BUL (2695)
3.0 points
GM BU Xiangzhi CHN (2708)
GM Aronian ARM (2763)

VII 'New In Chess' Trivia Contest winners

The 'New in Chess' TRIVIA Contest!

ICC and New in Chess present The New in Chess Trivia Contest! Tune-in to Mig on ICC Chess.FM for our round-by-round coverage of MTel 2008, and each round you could win a 1-year subscription to the world's best chess magazine. For more information and rules, visit our help page.

WINNERS

Round	ICC 3 months	ICC 6 months	NiC subscription
1	Ytilitalov	Default	Ytilitalov
2	Four-queens	slipstream	Toms
3	DeathRattle	PaulFranklin	DukeBishop
4	Lone-Tiger	Default	Zenpawn
5	BadHabitMarco	Bill-W	BadHabitMarco
6	Zenith	funnybird	govtissue
7	davidk90	kurochu	trandism
8	slipstream	idontthink	Bootylicious
9	todd	eternalwarrior	magd1618
10	todd	chinf	fremskak

FIDE Grand Prix


Cross Table

	Player	Rtg	Fed	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Total
1	Inarkiev Ernesto	2684	RUS	*	1	0	1/2	1/2	0	0	1	0	1/2	1	1/2	0	0	5
2	Mamedyarov Shakhriyar	2752	AZE	0	*	1	1/2	1/2	0	1	1	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	7.5
3	Carlsen Magnus	2765	NOR	1	0	*	1/2	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	8
4	Gashimov Vugar	2679	AZE	1/2	1/2	1/2	*	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	1	8
5	Radjabov Teimour	2751	AZE	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	*	0	1/2	0	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	1/2	1	6
6	Cheparinov Ivan	2695	BUL	1	1	1/2	1/2	1	*	1/2	0	0	0	0	0	1/2	1/2	5.5
7	Karjakin Sergey	2732	UKR	1	0	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	*	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	0	0	1/2	6
8	Navara David	2672	CZE	0	0	1/2	1/2	1	1	1/2	*	0	0	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	5.5
9	Grischuk Alexander	2716	RUS	1	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	1	1/2	1	*	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	7.5
10	Adams Michael	2729	ENG	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	1/2	1	0	1	1/2	*	1/2	1/2	1	0	6.5
11	Bacrot Etienne	2705	FRA	0	0	0	1/2	0	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	*	1/2	1/2	1/2	5
12	Wang Yue	2689	CHN	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	*	1	1/2	8
13	Svidler Peter	2746	RUS	1	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	0	*	1	6.5
14	Kamsky Gata	2726	USA	1	1/2	1/2	0	0	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	1/2	0	*	6

New at ICC Chess.FM

GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas in the Petroff Defence"

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.

Preview Watch (members only) Part 1
Preview Watch (members only) Part 2
Preview Watch (members only) Part 3
Preview Watch (members only) Part 4
Preview Watch (members only) Part 5
Preview Watch (members only) Part 6
Preview Watch (members only) Part 7
Preview Watch (members only) Part 8

NM Dan Heisman "Improve Your Chess"

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.

Watch the videos here.

IM Alex Lenderman "The Caro-Kann Defense, Advance Variation"

IM Alex Lenderman shows how to play the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann Defense.

Watch (members only) Free preview

To become a member subscribe today!

GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas in the Marshall Attack"

One of the world’s first Grandmasters of chess, America’s Frank J. Marshall (1877-1944), left behind a lasting legacy to the chess world with his revered gambit against the Ruy Lopez – the Marshall Attack with 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 0-0 8 c3 d5!

The Marshall Attack is one of the most important openings in the history of chess and is still deployed with regularity at super Grandmaster level. In current theory the ideas and strategies of both approaches are studied in-depth, and nowadays experts have come to the conclusion that White has no clear superiority in the main theoretical lines. And in the latest of his "New Ideas in..." series, GM Ronen Har-Zvi, takes a closer look under the microscope at Marshall's revolutionary idea.

GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas in the Slav and Semi-Slav Defences"

In a series of opening videos for ICC Chess.FM, GM Ronen Har-Zvi investigates the latest developments and trends that will keep you up-to-date in the rock-solid Slav and Semi-Slav Defences. Sneak FREE preview of the last video.

This content is for members only. Subscribe to ICC today!

Play Part 1
Play Part 2
Play Part 3

Play Part 4
Play Part 5
Play Part 6

Play Part 7
Play Part 8
Play Part 9

Play Part 10
Play Part 11
Play Part 12

Play Part 13
Play Part 14
Play Part 15

Pete Tamburro "The Sizzling Scandinavian"

The Scandinavian Defense (or Centre Counter) has risen in a relatively short time from being a theoretical backwater to a fully-blown main line opening. Its change in name to the Scandinavian came in the mid-1980s with its rehabilitation at top level by Denmark's Bent Larsen. And its rise since then has been nothing short of meteoric, even being used with great effect by Vishy Anand in his unsuccessful 1995 world title match against Garry Kasparov.

Against 1 e4, the Scandinavian is hugely popular at club level because Black gains a minor psychological victory by setting the agenda from the off with 1..d5! And in his new ICC Chess.FM series on the Scandinavian, Pete Tamburro explores the 2...Qxd5 lines in five videos (and with a two volume set to come later on 2 ..Nf6) that will take you through all the key themes and strategies required for Black to play this popular, and easy-to-play opening with confidence - and sizzling success!

Part 1 is free for everybody. To watch the rest sign up for membership!

Play Part 1 (FREE!)
Play Part 2 (Members only)
Play Part 3 (Members only)
Play Part 4 (Members only)
Play Part 5 (Members only)

IM Alex Lenderman "Endgame for Beginners"

IM Alex Lenderman provides a two-part, introductory lecture about chess endings. Follow along as he annotates moves upon the board for play-by-play action.

Part 1 Watch (members only) Free preview
Part 2 Watch (members only) Free preview

To become a member subscribe today!

GM Ronen Har-Zvi "Winter Blunderland"

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, We're happy tonight. Walking in a winter....blunderland?? The festive fun starts here on ICC with a special two part holiday show from GM Ronen Har-Zvi.

We're all prone to blunders - even the greats such as Capablanca, Alekhine, Fischer, Kasparov, Karpov and Kramnik. But with a dash of seasonal spirit, Ronen explores famous blunders from some of the top players in the game, explaining why we make them and what we can do to prevent them.

Non-preview content is for members only. If you're not a member, you can sign up for membership here.

Preview Watch (members only) Part 1
Preview Watch (members only) Part 2

John Watson "Chess Talk"

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., 22 July), joining IM John Watson on Chess Talk is author, columnist, coach and professional player, IM Gary Lane.

A former two-time Commonwealth Chess Champion, English-born Gary Lane married and moved "Down Under" to Australia in 2000. He has since won the 2004 Australian Chess Championship, and represented Australia in the 2002 and 2004 Chess Olympiad, the latter of which he helped his new team to a stunning 2-2 draw against former team England, after he sensationally beat Nigel Short.

He's also considered one of the leading chess authors in the world. He has written over 20 books - many of which have been critically acclaimed, such as Improve Your Chess in 7 Days, The Bishop's Opening and The Scotch Game Explained. He also writes the popular Opening Lanes monthly column on ChessCafe.com.

Previews are free for all to watch. To listen to the full shows, sign up for membership!

Preview Watch (members-only) GM Alexei Shirov 07.24.07
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Nigel Short 09.18.07
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Jan Timman 10.09.07
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Hikaru Nakamura 12.04.07
Preview Watch (members-only) Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam 12.25.07
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Graham Burgess 01.01.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Peter Wells 01.08.08
Watch (FREE for non-members) Jeroen van den Berg 01.15.08
Watch (FREE for non-members) GM Andy Soltis 01.20.08 (Fischer Tribute)
Preview Watch (members-only) Hanon Russell 02.05.08
Preview Watch (members-only) IM David Levy 02.12.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM John Emms 02.19.08
Preview Watch (members-only) Ron Gross 02.26.08
Preview Watch (members-only) IM Jeremy Silman 03.04.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Joel Benjamin 03.11.08
Preview Watch (members-only) IM Jeroen Bosch 03.18.08
Preview Watch (members-only) Calvin Olson 04.01.08
Preview Watch (members-only) FM Bill Goichberg 04.08.08
Watch (FREE for non-members) Jorge Sammour-Hasbun 04.15.08
Preview Watch (members-only) Bill Hook 04.22.08
Preview Watch (members-only) FM Jonathan Berry 04.29.08
Watch (FREE for non-members) Macauley Peterson 05.06.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Simen Agdestein 05.13.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Fabiano Caruana 05.20.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Lev Alburt 05.27.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Gregory Kaidanov 06.03.08
Preview Watch (members-only) Pete Tamburro 06.17.08
Preview Watch (members-only) GM Genna Sosonko 06.24.08
Preview Watch (members-only) Frank Brady 07.01.08
Preview Watch (members-only) IM David Vigorito 07.08.08
Preview Watch (members-only) IM Mark Ginsburg 07.15.08
Preview Watch (members-only) IM Gary Lane 07.22.08

Attack with LarryC

Attack With LarryC! A weekly 30 min+ show on Wednesdays at 3:00pm EST (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.

Latest Video Preview Latest Video for Members Library Archive for Members

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.

Boris Alterman's Gambit Guide on ICC 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.

In a new multi-part video series, GM Boris Alterman explores the Benko Gambit (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5). Black's counterplay is very durable compared to many other gambits, in that the queenside pressure can last well into the endgame.

The idea to sacrifice a pawn with ...b5 and ...a6 was an old favorite of Czech master Karel Opocensky in the mid-1930s. Then, the original name of the opening was the Volga Gambit - named after the Volga River - after an article about 3...b5!? by B. Argunow that appeared in the magazine Schachmaty in USSR of 1946.

But it soon shot to fame and near universal club-level adoption at the end of the 1960s after its eponym, Pal Benko, honed and developed the gambit into a potent attacking weapon for black on the back of many big U.S. Swiss victories during this period.

Special Linares Show

GM Ronen Har-Zvi presents a special show on the Linares tournament, its history and its most exciting games.

Free Video Preview
Full Video for Members

Weekly Shows

Tuesdays "Chess Talk" 21:0