23.06.2010 – The first Women's World Blitz Championship is in Moscow from September 15 to
18, with a total prize fund of 60,000. Two Online Qualifiers on the Playchess
server allow five players each to qualify for the finals. The first was
completed last Saturday, the second will be held on Thursday, June 24th at 19:00h
(CEST). You can still make it. Results and details.
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Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
The first Playchess qualification for the Women's World Blitz Championship
in Moscow took place on June 19th, 2010, and produced five tickets for the Semi-finals
in Moscow:
Kateryna Lahno
Maria Fominykh
Natalia Zhukova
Almira Skripchenko
Inna Gaponenko
A full table with all participants and all results is available .
The second Playchess qualifier will take place on Thursday, June 24th at 19:00h
(CEST). Full details on the Internet qualifiers are on this tournament
page. In addition you will find the official FIDE tournament regulations
for the Women's Blitz World Championship
(in PDF). Information is also available on Alexandra
Kosteniuk's Chess Blog.
23.06.2010 – You may have suspected it, but a study by two scientists has produced empirical proof: being physically fit is good for your chess. Their conclusions: organisers should provide facilities for active forms of recreation; parents and chess coaches, and the players themselves, should be aware of the significance of fitness preparation.
Study by Agnieszka Fornal-Urban and Anna Keska.
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Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
Physical fitness in relation to age and body build of young
chess players
By Agnieszka Fornal-Urban, Anna Kęska
The study is supported by the University of Physical Education in Warsaw,
the European Chess Union and the Polish Chess Federation.
The project was run within the statutory research of the Josef Pilsudski University
of Physical Education in Warsaw (Ds-90), financed by the Ministry of Education
and Higher Schools. The fragment of this study was presented during the 8th
scientific conference “ Progress in evaluation of the disorders of physical
development” in Warsaw, 2009. The complete version of this article was
published in Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, 2009, Vol. 15,
3, 177-182.
Introduction
Childhood and adolescence are the periods of life characterized by the dynamic
systemic changes. The outer manifestation of the proper development of the growing
and maturing processes of the organism is the appropriate physical fitness level.
This physical fitness is in turn one of the essential factors influencing the
human adaptation to the environment. The motor efficiency is connected both
with the physical fitness and health understood, in compliance with the WHO
definition, as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The available literature shows that there is a strict relationship between
the physical fitness development and anthropometrical parameters - body height
and body weight. The somatic structure's features and the age are considered
to be the main determiners of physical fitness. In spite of the fact that the
tests run so far did not allow to explicitly explain the relationships between
the body built and the organism's functions, they nevertheless showed the complex
character of those relations.
The regular physical exercises have significant influence on both the motor
abilities of the organism and its somatic structure. When the amount of exercises
is limited, the motor skills of the individual is lowered and the risk of overweight
and obesity is increased. It was moreover stated, that there is a connection
between the lowered physical fitness and the school failure. The literature
provides many studies, which prove that the insufficiency of physical activity
leads not only to the disorders in the development of physical fitness of a
man in the initial period of ontogenesis but also to the decrease of the physical
efficiency in older age. Furthermore the lack of movement decreases the adaptation
abilities of the people to the changing life conditions. The specificity of
chess as sport discipline and the character of the training process promote
sedentary lifestyle of the chess player and may limit his participation in other
kinds of physical activities. At the same time it seems, that within the group
of these sportsmen there will be more persons with lowered physical fitness
and improper weight-height parameters. Among the researches run so far there
are no data describing the influence of the age and body build on the results
of fitness tests of this group of competitors. The characteristics of the physical
fitness level and the description of other aspects of chess players lifestyle
are indispensable to form the recommendations for the people directly connected
with this sport discipline, including mainly parents, caretakers, coaches, and
tournament organizers. It is worth underlining that the studies concerning
the individuals playing chess are interesting also because of the fact, that
this sport discipline has been taken up recently by several thousands of people
in Poland and the number is still growing. What is more, the model of life of
these sportsmen is more and more copied by the group of children and teenagers
who do not play chess but spend their free time in front of the computer or
TV set.
The aim of the study
The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the physical
fitness, age and body build in young Polish chess players.
Material and methods
73 persons aged 8-19 took part in the study, including 35 girls (47.9%) and
38 boys (52.1%). The participants of the research were the members of the Polish
Chess Academy, medallists of the European and World Junior Championships, medallists
of Polish boys and girls championships and the representatives of the national
junior team.
The participants were divided into four groups, taking into consideration their
age. Group I included 20 persons aged 8-10, group II 31 persons aged 11-13,
group III 14 persons aged 14-16 and group IV 10 persons aged 17-19.
Body height and body weight of all the participants were measured. The European
Physical Fitness TestEUROFIT was used to evaluate the motor efficiency of all
the chess players. The results of anthropometrical measurements and fitness
tests were standardized on the average value and standard deviation in the functions
of age, calculated for the overall Polish population examined in 1999. In order
to evaluate the influence of age, body height and body weight on the results
of given fitness tests, the values of coefficients of multiple (R2) and partial
correlation were calculated. The statistical analysis was run with the use of
Statistica 7.0 program (StatSoft.USA).
Results
On the basis of the analysis of the results it was stated, that the chess players
participating in the study were characterized by the bigger body height and
body weight in comparison with the data for the overall Polish population (fig.1).
The fitness tests' results were presented as the fitness profiles drawn for
the whole group and for the girls and boys separately. In comparison to the
peers, with the exception of one test, the chess players got better results
in particular attempts of the EUROFIT test. Especially the results of female
chess players were significantly different from the population data (fig.1).
The chess players got the best results in the plate tapping test (1.209 SD),
sit-ups (0.842 SD) and shuttle run 10x5 m (0.577 SD). Whereas the worst results
were noted in bent arm hang (-0.19 SD).
Fig.1. Standardized values of anthropometric parameters and physical fitness
tests of chess players; 1: body height, 2: body weight, 3: flamingo balance
test, 4: plate tapping, 5: sit-and-reach, 6: standing broad jump, 7: hand grip,
8: sit-ups, 9: bent arm hang, 10: shuttle run 10x5m, 11: endurance shuttle run
On the basis of the analysis of the correlation between the age, body build
and physical fitness of the research participants, it was confirmed, that there
are significant relations between the analyzed variables (table 1). From among
9 fitness tests, included in the EUROFIT test, only the sit-and-rich test and
the sit-ups test did not confirm the influence of age and anthropometrical
parameters on their results.
The factors such as age, body height and body weight analyzed together, had
the biggest influence on the results achieved in the hand grip, standing broad
jump and plate tapping tests. The same factors were less decisive in case of
the results achieved in both running tests and flamingo balance test. There
was no significant relationship between the sum of those factors and the results
achieved in the bent arm hang test (table 1).
Table 1. Coefficients of multiple and partial correlation between age and anthropometric
parameters and selected physical fitness tests (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***
p<0.001)
Test
R2
Age
Height
Weight
Flamingo balance test
0.118*
0.232
- 0.240
0.470
Plate tapping
0.503***
0.207
- 0.780***
0.132
Standing broad jump
0.521***
0.012
0.971***
- 0.290
Hand grip
0.660***
0.021
0.488***
0.347*
Bent arm hang
0.070
- 0.070
0.574*
- 0.546*
Shuttle run 10x5 m
0.230***
- 0.010
- 0.560*
0.108
Endurance shuttle run
0.220***
0.122
0.827***
- 0.460
The age factor itself did not have important influence on the results of any
fitness test used. The coefficients of partial correlation of body weight with
tests results turned out to be significant only in two cases. The significant
negative influence of this parameter on the results of bent arm hang (-0.546)
and a positive influence of the body weight on the results of the hand grip
test (0.347) were observed.
The analysis shows that the most important parameter, essentially decisive
as far as physical fitness of examined chess players is concerned, was body
height. In case of this variable there was the biggest number of significant
correlations with the results of fitness tests applied /table 1/. It was proved
that the body height positively influences the result of standing broad jump
(0.971), endurance shuttle run (0.827), bent arm hang (0.574) and hand grip
(0.488) tests. Whereas the significant negative influence of body height was
noted in plate tapping (-0.870) and shuttle run 10x5 m (-0.560) tests.
Taking into consideration the observed relations between anthropometrical parameters
and the fitness tests' results, it seems to be important to analyze the changes
of proportions of body weight and body height of chess players which occur with
age. The data presented in table 2 show, that the percentage of the individuals
with the improper weight to height proportions was increasing in older groups.
Table 2. Percentage of persons with weight-to-height proportions below 25 percentile,
between 25 and 75 percentiles and above 75 percentile
Group I (n=16)
Group II (n=32)
Group III (n=17)
Group IV (n=8)
<25 percentile
37.5%
25.0%
35.3%
0.0%
25-75 percentile
56.3%
53.1%
41.2%
75.0%
>75 percentile
6.3%
21.9%
23.6%
25.0%
Discussion
While making the analysis of the fitness tests, it was observed that the young
chess players taking part in the study, contrary to the earlier expectations,
showed higher level of physical fitness in comparison to their peers from population.
It seems, that in the context of the specificity of the chess training (static
training), the explanation of the results achieved by the examined sportsmen
will probably be specific features developed during the training process: readiness
to take risk, perfectionism, desire of success, effective performance while
being in stress and the ability to concentrate and function in the situation
of competition. Taking into consideration the current level of the chess tournaments,
the mastering of those features at the highest level is indispensable to achieve
significant success. It is beyond any doubt that the participants of the study,
who are the members of the Chess Academy, gathering young players of the highest
class, developed the above mentioned features to a very high degree.
The chess training is connected mainly with improving the functions of the
central nervous system. The best results of chess players in such tests as:
plates tapping, sit-ups and shuttle run 10x5 m prove this fact. Those tests
verify the speed of upper limb's movements, trunk's strength and the locomotive
speed respectively. The test, where the participants of the research achieved
the lowest results bent arm hang – serves the evaluation of the functional
strength. As other authors state, better results in this test are achieved by
the smaller individuals of lighter body weight. Whereas, as it was showed, the
examined chess players were characterized by the significantly higher values
of the anthropometrical parameters in comparison to those calculated for the
population, which undoubtedly decided about the quality of the performance and
final result of this test.
According to the works by other authors, it was proved, that the age and somatic
changeable factors have influence on various aspects of physical fitness measured
by the appropriate tests of EUROFIT.
The flamingo balance test allows for the evaluation of the important component
of movement coordination, which is the feeling of balance. This ability is the
outcome of proper functioning of the nervous and motor systems. Because of the
development of the nervous system, the final level of the motor coordination
is achieved after the age of 20. Therefore, the age is a very important factor
which decides about the results of this test. Contrary to the age the anthropometrical
parameters, as shown in literature, have little influence on the ability to
keep balance. One of the researchers, while examining the chosen coordinative
motor skills and their connection with the basic somatic parameters in 17 years
old boys, stated that both the body height and body weight negatively correlate
with the results of the test measuring the ability of static body balance. On
the basis of the results achieved in his work, it was showed that the changes
of body height and body weight occurring with age, in case of the chess players
have significant influence on the results of this test.
The important component of physical fitness is the strength of muscles. The
muscles' strength develops during the ontogenesis and its level depends on age,
sex and physical activity. Within the EUROFIT test, there are four tests which
allow to evaluate the muscles' strength of an individual: hand grip (static
strength), standing broad jump (explosive strength), sit-ups (trunk's strength)
and bent arm hang (functional strength).
In the case of the first test the results gained by the chess players allow
to state that there is a strong relationship with age, body height and body
weight of the examined persons. Among the above mentioned factors body height
was the one which had the biggest influence on the results. Other authors also
observed the positive influence of this parameter on the values of the developed
strength, although according to the majority of scientists there is a stronger
relation between the hand grip test result and age and body weight. The proved
positive correlation of the body height with the hand grip test's results may
be the effect of longer upper limb and its bigger musculature.
Age, body height and body weight also played an important part in case of the
results achieved in the second test measuring strength standing broad jump.
According to what other authors state, body height has positive and body weight
negative influence on the length of the jump. In the presented research concerning
the chess players, the statistically significant relation between body height
and the result of this test was proved, whereas body weight turned out not to
have any essential influence in this case.
The third test sit-ups - allows for the verification of the trunk muscles
endurance. In the available literature on the subject, there are more studies
which do not observe the relation between the age, the anthropometrical parameters
and the results of this test. Although other researchers, while comparing the
results of sit-ups test in 6-7 years old children with proper body weight and
those overweight, revealed that overweight and obese persons achieved worse
results in this test. It would confirm that there is a negative influence of
body weight on this physical fitness element. While analyzing the above mentioned
results, the statistically significant relation between body weight, body height,
chess players' age and the way of performing the sit-ups was not observed. The
lack of relationship between those variables may be explained by the fact, that
in the tests where a given activity must be repeated several times, motivation
and readiness to fulfill the task have a big influence on results. This, in
turn, is indirectly connected, as showed by the data from literature, with the
intellectual potential of a person doing an exercise. The psychological tests,
conducted among the chess players participating in the described project, the
results of which were not included in this article, show that the persons playing
chess are characterized by the higher intellectual level than their peers who
do not play chess.
Other authors state, that body height and body weight have negative influence
on the results of the fourth test verifying the strength level of the person
doing an exercise bent arm hang. While analyzing the data concerning the chess
players, it was proved that only body weight has a negative influence on the
results of the test, because the value of coefficients of the partial correlation
of body height with the results of the bent arm hang test was positive.
The tests included in the EUROFIT allow for the evaluation of the speed of
the persons examined. This component of physical fitness is verified in plate
tapping and shuttle run 10x5 m tests. The available data show, that the result
of the plate tapping test depends on the age and body height of a person doing
it. What is more, there are studies available, which point out, that the ability
to perform quick movements, especially in the opposite directions, requires
good nervous-muscle coordination and is indirectly connected with the intellectual
level. Once again, much better results achieved in this test by the chess players
as compared to the population, confirm the advantageous influence of the chess
training process on the functions of the nervous system. On the basis of the
results gained in this project, one can state, that body height has significantly
negative influence on the speed of the upper limb's movements. Statistically
significant negative influence of body height was also observed in case of the
second test, which allowed for the evaluation of the speed of the examined sportsmen,
that is the shuttle run 10x5 m. It confirms the opinions of some authors, that
smaller and lighter persons achieve better results in this test.
The sit-and-rich test included in EUROFIT allows to evaluate the suppleness.
The flexibility, that is the mobility of body units in the individual joints,
is connected with age, sex and physical activity. The proper level of suppleness
protects the bones against fractures and allows to develop the appropriate strength
and speed. The existing studies concerning the relationship of age and anthropometrical
parameters with this element of physical fitness are contradictory. There are
data showing the negative influence of body height and on the other hand positive
influence of weight on the results of the sit-and-rich test. There are also
works which do not state any statistically significant relation between the
above mentioned variables. The analysis of the chess players' results gave the
basis for the statement that age, body height and body weight do not significantly
influence suppleness.
The last test endurance shuttle run - gives the opportunity to evaluate the
oxygen efficiency of the person doing this exercise. Similarly to the majority
of the former tests, it was proved that the most important factor influencing
the result of this test was the body height of the chess players.
Summing up the discussion of relations between the basic somatic measurements
and various representations of physical fitness, it must be stated that the
parameter significantly decisive about the majority of the results of the tests
which verify chess players strength, speed or endurance was the body weight.
The important observation made in this project was, that the older the chess
players were, the higher percentage of the persons with improper weight to height
proportions became. As it is known, the excess in body weight in childhood increases
the risk of obesity in adulthood. Furthermore, it was proved, that overweight
and obesity lead to disorders in cardiovascular and skeletal systems and cause
the significant decrease of physical fitness. In spite of the satisfying physical
fitness level of examined chess players, there is still a risk that it will
get worse because of changes in somatic parameters of the competitors.
Conclusions
It is worth obligating the organizers of the chess tournaments to make it
possible for the chess players to participate in attractive and active forms
of recreation in their free time.
It would be advisable to undertake the efforts aiming at making the parents
and coaches aware of the significance of the regular physical exercises for
the health and high sport achievements.
In the training process of the chess players, more attention should be paid
to their fitness preparation, particularly to the exercises developing their
strength.
The results of the conducted study are significant not only for the chess
players themselves, for their coaches and parents. The characteristics of
this population of sportsmen can be used in much broader perspective, because
of the sedentary lifestyle of children and teenagers who do not play chess.
Dr. Agnieszka Fornal-Urban adjunct
in Department of Health Promotion, the University of Physical Education
in Warsaw. She gives lectures on nutrition, dietetics and health promotion
for students in the fields of: physical education, tourism and recreation,
physiotherapy.
Organizer or co-organizer of many chess events, including them: the European
Women Chess Championship'2001, the European Chess Championship'2005, the
European Rapid Chess Championship'2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, match
Karpov – Macieja’2003, PWPW S.A. Chess Cup’2004, match
Buenos Aires-Calcutta-Warsaw’2007, tournaments for children.
She is Youth Director of the European Chess Union, Vice President of
the Polish Chess Federation and Director of Chess Academy.
Email: agnieszka.fornal@gmail.com
Dr. Anna Kęska adjunct in Department
of Biology, the University of Physical Education in Warsaw. She gives
lectures on biology, physiology and nutrition for students in the fields
of: physical education, tourism and recreation, physiotherapy.
23.06.2010 – IM Tamas Horvath is the organiser of this impeccably run event, which takes place in a pretty little spa town in the Balaton lake region of Hungary, an oasis of peace and tranquility. The 2000 Euro first prize drew a large number of titled players: nine GMs, 22 IMs and 19 FMs, WGMs and WIMs. Young talents abound. You will see many new faces and this big pictorial report.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
Zalakaros Chess Festival 2010
The 29th edition of the Zalakaros Chess Festival took place from 26 May to
1 June 2010. An Open tournament that for years has been quietly gathering a
few faithful followers, but has been little known to the larger chess audiences.
Unjustly so, because Zalakaros, a pretty little spa town in the Balaton lake
region of Hungary, is an oasis of peace and tranquillity, and the tournament
itself is impeccably organised.
A charming little video of Zalakaros, with Hungarian commentary. Part two
is .
In the last couple of years, more and more foreign players got a whiff of the
tournament, although it still remains mainly a Hungarian affair. However, the
crop of Hungarian top players usually participate. This year the tournament
offered them an additional incentive: the two highest placed, who would not
be otherwise eligible, would gain an all-expenses-paid participation at the
Hungarian Championship, which is taking place a month later, in Szeged, southern
Hungary.
The 2000 Euro first prize is quite attractive and has drawn a large number
of titled players. Of the 101 players in the A group there 50 were titled, with
nine GMs, 22 IMs and 19 FMs, WGMs and WIMs.
To read, replay and analyse the PGN games we adivse you to download the free PGN
reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access
to the chess server .
Pictorial report from Zalakaros
By Diana Mihajlova
South African WGM Melissa Greeff (2047), on the bus from Budapest heading for
Zalakaros to play at the traditional Chess Festival. It was a pleasant three-hour
drive through the green, lake district of the Hungarian western plane.
Melissa Greeff, a talented 16-year-old, left this summer her native Cape Town
in South Africa for a chess tour in Hungary. She is not new to Hungary, having
played at the famous First Saturday tournaments in Budapest on several occasions.
But this time she wanted to take on the Hungarian Open. She is determined to
cross swords with as many GMs and IMs as possible, to ‘try them on’
and measure and improve her own skills. Playing at the higher A group of the
Zalakaros Open tournament she could do exactly that. Obviously, it was not an
easy ride, but Melissa managed a hefty 4/9 and the third women’s prize.
After a week of training in Budapest with GM Jozsef Horvath, she will be off
to the Heviz Open, which will conclude her Hungarian tour to serve her as a
valuable preparation for the forthcoming Chess Olympiad, where she will be representing
her country on the first board (women). Good luck Melissa!
GM Berczes David (HUN, 2519) narrowly missed the first place. With a 7/9 and
2623 performance he was placed second and will be heading to the Hungarian Championship
as a beneficiary of the Hungarian Federation.
GM Viktor Erdos (HUN, 2589) was steadily keeping his position on the first
table until the last round when he lost the lead and, with 6.5/9, had to contend
with a third place.
With the 9th round draw GM Viktor Erdos (HUN) conceded the victory to FM Tamas
Fodor (HUN)
A young, emerging Hungarian player, FM Tamas Fodor (2420), claimed victory
in the tournament, with 7/9 and 2659 performance. He was a surprise winner,
having climbed to the top from the middle of the starting list. Tamas is enjoying
a fast advance in his career – in March of this year he won the Hungarian
Championship under 20.
GM Laszlo Gonda (HUN, 2512) trailed closely behind, on the fourth place,
with 6.5/9.
GM Levente Vajda (2519), hopped over from the neighbouring Romania and made
6.5/9.
IM Tamas Banusz (HUN, 2524), 6.5/9
GM Zoltan Medvegy (HUN, 2518), 6/9
GM Peter Prohaska (HUN, 2510), 6/9
GM Sergei Ovsejevitsch (UKR, 2600)
In a brief chat over breakfast in the hotel where we both stayed, Sergei told
me that he comes from a small town on the Hungarian/Ukrainian border. In his
youth he was a multiple winner of the Ukrainian National Youth Championships
– today he manages to maintain chess as his profession. He plays more
often at tournaments in Germany, and this was his first Zalakaros experience.
At 2600 he was the highest seed. The 6/9 placed him among several others sharing
the third place.
IM Gyozo Pataki (HUN, 2310), 5/9
IM Csaba Berczes (HUN, 2397) who is GM David Berczes’ brother, and Adam
Radnai (HUN, 2198) at the start of the tournament, still in their cycling gear.
By the end, they both emerged with 5/9, which for Adam means an increased Elo
after a 2343 performance.
WIM Veronika Schneider (HUN, 2339), 5/9 and the first women’s prize
The Juhasz brothers: the older brother, Kristof (2278), 5/9 in the A group,
at 16 years of age has made chess his active occupation and shows solid progress.
12-year-old Armin (1865) also made 5/9 albeit in the B group, but with a performance
of 1995 as well as about 30 Elo points increase from other tournaments he is
steadily catching up with his big brother.
WIM Melinda Goczo (HUN 2234), 4.5/9 and winner of the second women’s
prize. Melinda came to the Zalakaros Open straight from the Hungarian Women’s
Championship that finished just days before in the neighbouring town Nagykanizsa,
where she took the third place, behind Anna Rudolf (first) and Lili Toth (second).
Chess couple IM Andras Lazar (HUN, 2132) and WIM Szidonia Vajda (HUN, 2363).
Szidonia’s 4/9 result did not make Zalakros her best tournament, but she
is still among the highest rated women in Hungary and will be in this year’s
women’s Olympic team. Andras is the president of the Budapest Chess Federation
and a member of the Hungarian Federation’s Presidential Board.
IM Janos Rigo (HUN, 2340), 4/9. A highly regarded tournament organiser himself,
with long established, high level tournaments throughout Hungary under his able
direction, it was nice to see Janos giving his support as a player to a colleague’s
tournament. He is also an appointed Tournaments Director within the Hungarian
Chess Federation.
Eszter Bali (HUN, 1970), and David Toronyi (HUN, 2064), are local chess players
and – sweethearts. They played in the B group scoring 4/9 and 5/9 respectively.
With their excellent English they were also the organiser’s assistants.
Over from Kiev, Gennardii Shikide was among a group of several Ukrainian players,
both titled and amateurs, that made it to Zalakaros for the first time. They
have , but pledge to return. He came as unrated but hit on the first place in
the B group with 7.5/9. His newly achieved 2256 Elo rating will serve as a good
encouragement for him to continue with active chess.
Barbara Juhasz (HUN, 1907) was among seven players sharing the third place
with 6/9 in the B group. She had a 2146 performance and she won a prize; not
a women’s prize, but for the overall 11th place.
The Germans: Leonard Brinckmann, Tobias Pfadenhauer, Stefan Huber, Johannes
Pfadenhauer and Korbinian Liebl are recipients of a sponsorship from the Bavarian
Youth Sport Organisation that have reserved funds to help young chess players
to train and participate at international tournaments.
GM Zoltan Almasi, the second strongest Hungarian player, after Peter Leko,
who is in the middle of rigorous training sessions with Judit Polgar before
the forthcoming Olympiad, visited the tournament as a guest, to relax for few
days and give his support.
IM Tamas Horvath, the organiser of the Zalakaros Festival, has full responsibilities
within the Hungarian Chess Federation. He is its Vice-President and an overall
Technical Director, overseeing many aspects on the Hungarian chess scene. Thanks
to the Federation’s enriched activity the Hungarian chess calendar year
is packed with tournaments that range from Youth, Men’s and Women’s
championships and various Open, Rapid and closed tournaments spread throughout
the country. Tamas is captain of the men’s Olympic team and has been arranging
residential training sessions for the team members; he is also captain of one
of the top Hungarian teams, Csutisk, many times a former champion. On the top
of it all, his pet project, the Zalakaros Chess Festival, leaves its participants
with beautiful impressions about a wonderfully well organised tournament.
The Hungarian chess kids have a special place at the Zalakaros tournament.
All 30 pupils of the Maroczy Chess School land to Zalakaros, accompanied by
their trainers and the school’s director, where they enjoy free participation,
training and subsidized accommodation by the Hungarian Chess Federation under
whose auspices the School operates.
IM Janos Szabolcsi, the Director of the Maroczy Chess School could be seen
treading the playing hall, stopping over the boards of his charges and kibitzing
anxiously their games. ‘I have been suggesting a chess school for youngsters
for 20 years, but due to lack of money nothing happened until five years ago,
when the Government created a funding scheme ‘Sport 21st century’
under which the Chess Federation was granted sufficient funds to mount and maintain
the School. We have now 30 students up to 16 years of age.’
The Maroczy School students with their trainers GM Jozsef Pinter (far left)
and GM Jozsef Horvat (reclining).
For a moment I despaired that they were too much spread out and I could not
fit them all in the frame and see clearly all their faces. No problem! Young,
agile bodies quickly climbed up the railings that were conveniently found in
the playing hall, which is otherwise the Primary School’s gymnasium. Some
of these today happy-go-luckies will be our future grandmasters. Among them,
there is already a world champion:
Benjamin Gledura, world champion under ten
Benjamin Gledura (2102) won Gold in Fermo, Italy in 2009, at the World Youth
Championship, in the under-10 section. According to a study curried out in the
USA, he is considered among the 50 most talented in the world. This sporty young
lad is also a champion in swimming. He comes from Eger, a small town in the
north of Hungary, which is famous for its swimming sports complex. All Benjamin’s
family are amateurs swimmers, but he is the only champion in 50 metres –
he won gold and twice bronze medals in his age group. In this tournament Benjamin
played among the masters in the A group. 4/9 has boosted his performance to
2207.
12-year-old Hungarian player Peter Zsirai shared second and third with 7/9
and 2254 performance. Peter also plays for the second division of the Hungarian
team champion Aquaprofit.
Boglarka Bea (2055), Margit Kabai and Zsuzsanna Kabai (2130)
Another promising student, Szuszana Kabai (on the right), was third in the
Hungarian women’s championship, and at the same time, with all her 15
years, the youngest. She was 9th in the World Youth Championship in Antalya,
Turkey, in 2009. Her mother Margit makes her own contribution to the Maroczy
School: she sits quietly in a corner during their training sessions and records
the pupils’ faces in pencil drawings. Boglarka Bea is holding a stunningly
faithful portrait of her, drawn by Margit Kabai.
The kids are indefatigable. Between training sessions, before and after the
official games, they are always at the chessboards for just one more blitz game.
Girl power: Blanka Borbala Valyi (seated), Kamilla Sara Haszon, Debora Laszlo,
Judit Egyed and Emese Szarasics
The pretty town of Zalakaros is about medicinal spa waters and quiet natural
beauty, and the Spa complex ‘Granit’, the pride of Zalakaros.
Balasz, Kristof, Armin, Jozsef, Benjamin and Zsuzsa soaking in the warm medicinal
spa, naturally, with the unavoidable chessboard.
‘Szekely Capu’ – the Gate of the Szekely people, the Hungarian
minority in Transylvania. At the entrance of the beautifully maintained park,
there is a wooden, handcrafted gate with typical Transylvanian woodcarved ornaments
and an epitaph: ‘Bekesseg a Bemenoknek’ (‘Peace and calm awaits
the one who passes this gate’).
The Zalakaros Chess Festival is an event that deserves to be pencilled in a
chess calendar. To the solid and dignified fight that is awaiting the players
at this strong tournament an added incentive are the very reasonable prices
in both private and hotel accommodation.
My delightful roommate, Suze, has a good reason to feel so proud and relaxed.
She has enjoyed a bed on her own and a VIP status in the Thermal Hotel Liget,
where bed, breakfast AND dinner cost 16 Euro per person!!
About the author
Diana
Mihajlova is a chess player and artist who has been exhibiting internationally
(under the name Yana Mitra) since 1988. She was born in Macedonia (former Yugoslavia).
A linguist by profession, she has started her working career as a university
lecturer, which took her to extensive studying and working sojourns in various
countries around the world.
In 1989 after finishing a three-year lecturing contract in Perth, Australia,
Diana decided to abandon her academic career and to dedicate herself to a full-time
painting while still free-lancing in the languages field. She first started
exhibiting while still in Australia where after winning some important national
art prizes her work received a quick recognition and was included in important
exhibitions and collections. After her return to Europe she continued her painting
career by exhibiting in galleries in Paris, where she lived the following two
years. Since 1993 she settled in London where she currently lives and works.
Over the last couple of years she has temporarily relocated to Budapest, hence
the frequent reports about chess in Hungary on our pages. You can see her paintings
at the Yana Mitra
web site.
21.06.2010 – Two weeks ago we brought you an
interview with the Rybka4 autor Vasik Rajlich. Today his openings specialist
Jiri Dufek, who was a member of the Veselin Topalov World Championship team,
tells us about the Rybka4 Book, which was generated with a 100-core machine
and which not only makes the program even stronger it also contains
important novelties for tournament players. Part one.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
The
Rybka 4 Book by Jiri Dufek
The Rybka4 opening book is a high-class compilation of opening theory. It was
developed for the world‘s strongest chess entity – a 100-core cluster
running the program Rybka4, used to maximize the program‘s playing strength.
The choice of variations in the openings book is well suited to the style of
the program, and the book has been fine-tuned and checked in thousands of games.
The Rybka4 Book includes 17 million positions and over 700,000 games, which
were selected from following sources: top human events, correspondence chess
games and computer chess games (up to April 2010). And this is only the starting
point: the value of the book lies in over 700 original analyses and move choices,
which lead to a re-evaluation in many critical points of modern theory. This
makes it useful for tournament and correspondence players alike.
The book contains a lot of computer checked analysis never published anywhere
before. The author of the Rybka4 book is Jiri Dufek (national master, FIDE 2276,
ICCF IM 2579), one of the world‘s leading experts in chess opening theory.
Jiri Dufek has been on the Rybka team since summer 2009, and after this date
his preparation was used in all official events which Rykba won. During World
Championship match between Vishy Anand and Veselin Topalov Jiri worked as second
of Veselin Topalov. In his long chess career he won twice Czech Correspondence
Team Chess Championship and wrote together with Roman Chytilek book Beating
the French Defence (in Czech only).
Interview with Jiri Dufek
Iweta Rajlich: How did your story with chess begin?
Yiri Dufek: When I was six my grandfather taught me how to
move the pieces. He was a relatively strong player, I think about 2000 in his
old age. However, he never reached the national candidate master title. A year
after learning the game I started to play in a local children’s club,
and my first trainer was Rudolf Soukal. However he was very busy at the time,
and I interrupted my training session for two years. At ten I joined the best
local club, Spartak Usti n.L., for a couple of years. At the age of 18 I was
rated only 2024, however two years later I made a jump to 2266 and stayed there
for a long time. At the same time (in 1992) I started to play correspondence
chess, as a member of the "B" team of my city. My first experience
was bad, but during the next season I played much better and then got an offer
to play in the "A" team. With this team I won the national team championship
twice and made one third place.
During this period I met IM Roman Chytilek and we started a long-term cooperation.
Together we wrote a two-part book called Bijte francouzskou! (Beating
the French), which is now available for download on my webpage, however only
in Czech. Our latest success was to win
the 4th PAL/CSS Freestyle tournament on Playchess. Lately I stopped play
OTB chess and started spend time into analyzing openings and interesting ideas
in general. In summer 2009 I got an offer from Vasik Rajlich to prepare a book
for the Rybka cluster, and later to prepare the book for the new Rybka. This
offer started our cooperation, which led to one peak of winning the MundialChess
Freestyle tournament, using his 108 cores cluster during this tournament. At
the moment the latest milestone in my chess career was to be the second of Veselin
Topalov in his World Championship match against Vishy Anand.
How long have you been making opening books? Can it be a profession?
What is so cool in openings anyway?
I took my first steps while testing on Playchess a few years ago, but I could
hardly call this making a book. I started to prepare a real book for the Rybka
cluster during the summer 2009. It is really interesting to analyze unknown
positions and ideas from chess books, chess practice or computer games, and
to find your own solution. However it is not possible to do this every day for
eight hours. Today's chess preparation of players is very deep – it is
not surprising that in some games players lose in the middlegame because the
opponents simply know the lines for dozens of moves, from the opening to the
endgame. This is even worse in computer games: long lines, very often 50 moves
long, lead to draws that are similar to prearranged human draws.
Is it fun for you when you are making opening preparation for the Rybka
engine?
Yes, in some ways, but it is hard work too. The first important thing is a
good choice of games, because is not possible to make wide books purely by hand.
The second thing is to choose the "right" openings – a narrow
book can perhaps score pretty well for a short period, but I wanted to add much
more information value. This is why I added human openings for the non-tournament
book. The third thing is the testing phase, which works in cycles – testing,
finding weak points, analyzing and improving bad lines, updating the book, new
testing... During this period I used Aquarium 2004 and Chessbase 10 for making
the book.
How much time does one take to make a decent opening book?
A lot of time. Finding the right games and generating the book is the work
of a few hours. Toying with priorities is a very time consuming task –
it took a number of weeks. Testing games is an independent process, but only
checking of results, finding lines which need corrections, that is the work
for a few days. Last but not least is the phase of finding new ideas and understanding
why the engine plays badly in very good positions, from my human point of view.
This phase is not only very time consuming, but needs a lot of invention and
ideas.
Do you have a very special, private book for tournaments?
Yes, but for Rybka 4 I moved my priorities away from the tournament book which
I used with the Rybka cluster. Generally I can say that the Rybka4 Book includes
maybe 95% from the book which I used during tournaments, plus a lot of new material
– analysis, up-to-date games, etc.
For whom is this new book made?
I want to say for everyone, however I am not sure that this is really true.
There are three groups. First the chess engine fans. They will find up-to-date
information about their openings. The second group would be everyone who wants
something new, new ideas or new setups. And last but not least the book is for
chess players, as a highly topical chess guide.
Didn't you forget GMs?
No, I didn't. From my experience, GMs are not so interested in this computer
engine stuff, but if there is any feedback I will be happy, and it could be
useful for future work.
As far as I know, you were the only new member of the Topalov team in
his match against Anand. How did that happen?
During my visit in Linares I met Veselin's seconds – Jan Smeets and
Erwin l'Ami. After my game with Veselin we spoke generally about chess, openings
engines and differences between human chess and the chess engine world. When
I returned home I got an offer from Silvio Danailov to join the team of Veselin
for his match against Vishy Anand.
I'm sure that Topalov's decision to add you to his team can in a large
part be attributed to your expert opening knowledge. Do you feel that you
are contributing to the team in other ways, for instance through your knowledge
of computers, advanced analysis methods, etc?
I think this question is more complicated than it looks at first sight. Firstly
Veselin (and GMs in general) have their own ideas on how to play openings. It
is totally different from engines matches. Nobody is interested in long lines
which can draw at end, because memorizing these lines is very difficult and
time-consuming, without any big chance for success. Secondly I very often checked
existing analysis and was looking for improvements or analysed lines which were
assessed as important for a match. We ended every time with the same conclusion
in our analysis. Thirdly I provided quite a successful IT support for the team.
Did you use ChessBase products while developing the book?
Yes, of course. I have used ChessBase products for years. I use ChessBase 10
as the main program for storing my analysis and for my work with databases.
I found very useful online access to database. The Fritz GUI I use for automatic
“Deep position analysis” – for analyzing positions and for
testing purposes.
How would you describe your opening book? For example, is it a narrow
book, covering selected opening deeply, or is it a "wide" book containing
most openings that arise in practice?
Generally the book is relatively wide. I wanted to prepare two ways to play
every opening, but sometimes I used only one, because I thought that was best.
But the main repertoire is based with white on the Najdorf with 6.Be2/h3/Be3/Bg5,
Caro Kann with 3.e5, Ruy Lopez, French with 3.Nc3 and 3.e5, the Catalan, the
classical KID with 9.Ne1 and 10.Be3, the Exchange Grunfeld, Nimzo Indian with
4.f4, etc. For Black there is the Sicilian Kan (e6+a6), which the cluster proved
was very good in tournaments, the Sicilian Najdorf and Rauzer with Bd7, the
Caro Kann and Ruy Lopez (Berlin Wall and Jaenisch). After 1.d4 there is the
Grunfeld and a lot of Slav (Chebanenko 4...a6) and Semi-Slav stuff, same as
the Nimzo Indian, where I used my openings from the cluster book.
Which opening line did you spend most time on?
It's very hard to answer. Probably the most time consuming was the Najdorf,
but I am still not 100% sure about the truth in this opening. The most fun I
had was analysing the Jaenisch in the Ruy Lopez, because very often not every
best move of the engine is really the best. But that is not all. I added about
700 analyses of different openings into the book. They are not often set for
the tournament book, but mainly for wider use by the players. In other words
there are continuations of sidelines which have improved existing theory, or
recent games – look and you will see for yourself.
Can you show us a few interesting novelties from the book?
Sure…
The second part of this interview with novelties and
new ideas from the Rybka4 book will appear in the next fews days.
21.06.2010 – Two games in round six of this Category 20 Super-GM ended in draws, but the ever astonishing Magnus Carlsen struck out again, for the third time in succession and with the black pieces, this time goading Ruslan Ponomariov into complication which the young Norwegian understood better. His performance so far is 2919, his "live rating" 2821. Commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
ROMGAZ
and the Chess Club Society "Elisabeta Polihroniade” of Bucharest
are staging a double round robin tournament with six top GMs: the world's highest
ranked player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who at the age of 19 has an Elo rating
of 2813. Ukrainian GM Ruslan Ponomariov is a former FIDE knockout world champion;
Boris Gelfand of Israel, winner of the FIDE World Cup in 2009; the top Chinese
player Wang Yue; Teimour Radjabov, the second highest ranked player of Azerbaijan,
and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, the best Romanian player. The competition is taking
place from June 14th to 25th 2010 in Medias, Romania.
Round six summary
By GM Dorian Rogozenco
In the sixth round Carlsen extended his lead by winning with the black pieces
against Ponomariov. Magnus played the sharp King’s Indian Defence and
faced some problems in the middlegame. In order to get activity Black decided
to sac a pawn, which objectively speaking was a doubtful decision. Ponomariov
had many ways to secure clear advantage, but he allowed Carlsen to complicate
matters by a further exchange sac. After that in order to keep the advantage
White had to play very precisely. However, Ponomariov miscalculated something
and missed a double attack, suddenly finding himself in a worse position. The
Ukrainian wasn’t able to put up much resistance and Carlsen’s initiative
soon became decisive.
The two other games ended in draws, which was the logical outcome of a balanced
battle. Gelfand had no problems to equalize with the Vienna Variation against
Wang Yue, while Radjabov-Nisipeanu was an entertaining battle in the Queen’s
Gambit Accepted, in which Radjabov’s aggressive intentions were accurately
neutralized by the Romanian Grandmaster.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3. Ruslan had no reasons to avoid
the Samisch Variation. 5...0-0 6.Nge2 Nbd7. In the third round against
Ponomariov Radjabov played 6...e5 but failed to equalize. 7.Be3 c5 8.d5 Ne5
9.Ng3 h5 10.Be2 h4 11.Nf1 e6 12.Nd2 exd5 13.cxd5 Bd7 14.0-0
14...b5. Otherwise it is not easy for Black to get counterplay. However,
after this pawn sac Black does not get sufficient compensation. 15.Nxb5 Bxb5
16.Bxb5 Rb8 17.a4 Nh5. After 17...a6 18.Bxa6 Rxb2 19.Rb1 White exchanges
Black's most active piece and remains with a a healthy extra pawn. 18.f4!
Nd7 19.Qg4 a6
The first critical moment of the game. 20.Bxa6. The simplest practical
solution was 20.Bxd7 Nf6 21.Qxh4 Qxd7 22.f5 Rxb2 23.Bg5 with large advantage
for White. Also good is 20.Bc6. 20...Rxb2 21.Rab1
21...Rxd2! Magnus felt that this exchange sac is Black's only chance
to complicate matters. 22.Bxd2 Bd4+
The second critical position. 23.Rf2? This is actually just a blunder.
After 23.Kh1 Black has many tricks, but White is able to defend and
keep the advantage. Few variations are: 23...Ndf6 24.Qf3 It is also possible
to take the pawn. (24.Qxh4 Nxe4 25.Be1! and White is better. If 25...Kg7 then 26.g4) 24...Ng3+ (doesn't work: 24...Nxe4 25.Qxe4
Ng3+ 26.hxg3 hxg3 27.f5+-) 25.hxg3 hxg3 26.Be1 Nxe4 27.Bxg3 Nxg3+ 28.Qxg3
Kg7 29.Rf2! and although Black still keeps the initiative, it is hardly sufficient
to compensate for the missing material. 23...Bxf2+ 24.Kxf2 Ndf6 25.Qf3 Qe8!
As Ponomariov admitted after the game, he missed this double attack. Black
wins back the pawn and remains with a better position. 26.e5 Qxa4 27.exf6
Qxa6 28.Bc3 Qc8. Black had a tactical solution to win White's weak pawns:
28...Qc4 29.f5 Nxf6! 30.Kg1 (30.Bxf6 runs into 30...Qc2+) 30...Ne4
and White is in troubles.
29.Kg1. The last chance for White was 29.f5! Qxf5 30.Qxf5 gxf5 31.Rb6
Rd8 32.Kf3 Rd7 33.Rb8+ Kh7 34.g4 hxg3 35.hxg3 and the activity of white pieces
would have secured good chances to escape with a draw. 29...Qf5 30.Rf1 Re8
31.Ba1 Ra8 32.Qe3 Kh7 33.Bb2 Rb8 34.Bc1 Rb1
After Black activated the rook he is winning. 35.Qe8 Qxd5 36.f5 gxf5 37.Qe3
Qd4 38.Qxd4 cxd4 39.Bg5 Rxf1+ 40.Kxf1 h3! 41.gxh3. 41.g3 Kg6 changes nothing,
of course. 41...Kg6 42.Bh4 Nf4 43.Bg3 Kg5 44.Bf2 Ne6 45.Ke2 f4 46.Kf3 d3
47.h4+ Kf5 48.Bb6 Nc5 49.h5 d2 50.Ke2 Ne4 0-1. [Click
to replay]
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.Re1
b5 9.a4 bxa4 10.Rxa4. A new move [Previously White fought for advantage
with 10.e4. 10...cxd4 11.Rxd4!? 11.exd4 Bb7 is equal. 11...Bb7 12.Nc3
Bc5
13.Rh4. A double-edged plan. The rook is certainly active if Black
castles short, but Nisipeanu showed that White might end up with the rook out
of the play. 13...Be7 14.Qe2 Nd5 15.Rh3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Qc7 17.e4 Nc5.
Certainly not 17...Qxc3? 18.Bb2 Qc7 19.Bxg7. 18.Bc2 e5 19.Rh5 Bf6 20.Ng5. After 20.Bg5 Bxg5 21.Nxg5 h6 22.Nf3 f6 23.Nh4 0-0 Black's position is at
least not worse. 20...h6 21.Nf3 Bc8 22.h3 Be6 23.g4
23...g5! Now the rook on h5 is in real danger. Black has several ways
to attack it, for instance Bg7, Nd7-f6, or the plan from the game. White needs
to be very creative to keep the balance and Radjabov manages to do so. 24.Rd1
Bd7 25.Rd5! Ne6. The threat is 26...Ng7. 26.Qd1. 26.h4 Qxc3 27.hxg5
hxg5 28.Rxh8+ Bxh8 29.Bxg5=. 26...Bb5. 26...Ng7?? runs into 27.Rxd7
Qxd7 28.Ba4. 27.h4 Qxc3. After 27...Ng7 28.hxg5 Nxh5 29.gxf6 Nxf6 30.Rxe5+
Kf8 31.g5 White has a strong initiative. 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.Rxh8+ Bxh8 30.Bxg5
Being in mutual time-trouble both players agreed to a draw. The position is
of course complicated and a lot of play is still possible, but objectively the
position is indeed about equal. Perhaps it was slightly easier to play
with Black after 30.Bxg5 Nxg5 31.Nxg5 Bf6 32.Nf3 Rd8. 1/2-1/2. [Click
to replay]
8...Qa5. Gelfand chooses a variation, which he himself faced with the
White pieces before. The main line goes 8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5. 9.Bd2
Qc5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Nb3 Qe7. As Wang Yue recognized after the game, he didn't
know much theory here. Actually it is very difficult for White to get an advantage
in this line. 12.Bd3 Nc6 13.a3 Bd6 14.0-0. Gelfand played 14.Be3 a6
15.0-0 0-0 16.f4 e5 17.f5 Nd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Bxd4 Bc5 20.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 21.Kh1
Bc6 22.Qf3 Rfe8 23.Qg3 Rad8 1/2-1/2 Gelfand,B (2695)-Tkachiev,V (2615)/Groningen
1997. 14...0-0
The position is equal. White's main problem is the misplaced knight on b3. 15.f4. 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bh4 Bf4=. 15...e5 16.f5. 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5
Nd4 18.Nxd4 exd4=. 16...Nd4 17.Bg5 Bc6 18.Bc4
Diana
The
