exd5!

20.04.2010
– Breaking news: after an arduous journey lasting over forty hours – details
on this adventure to follow – World Champion Vishy Anand arrived in Sofia
on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos has
been discussing the prospect of a possible match delay ("Now, it is clear that we are facing
a force majeure situation"). Decision to follow.

Advertisement

Nigel Short:
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Nigel David Short is generally regarded as the strongest British grandmaster of the 20th century. Born on June 1st 1965 he started out as a chess prodigy, first attracting media attention by beating Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian in simultaneous exhibitions at the age of ten and twelve years respectively. At the age of 14 he became the youngest IM in history, breaking Bobby Fischer’s previous record, and at 16 he came second (to Garry Kasparov) at the under 20 World Junior Championship in Dortmund.
More information...

FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos on a possible match delay

What happened is known to everybody. The volcano in Iceland erupted, a lot
of airports are having problems, a lot of flights are cancelled. Sofia is also
one of those airports that partly has problem. We have late arrivals not only
with Anand, but also of officials of FIDE for the Presidential board and for
the match – the second arbiter is not here, the members of the appeals
committee are not here as well, we do not know yet exactly when they are going
to arrive. We are giving instructions and helping everyone with how to move
and what transportation to take if airports are closed. For example, to fly
to either Thessaloniki or Istanbul and drive from there. We are not sure if
the FIDE President himself will arrive.

Two days ago we received a letter from Viswanathan Anand, asking a postponement
of three days because he cannot arrive on time. Now, it is clear that here we’re
facing a force majeure situation. Of course, based on the agreement
we have signed, all sides should do their best here to solve this problem, FIDE,
the organizers, Anand should also try to come up with other transportation.
He is actually on his way by car, as far as I know. From what I know they have
already left to Sofia, so we are expecting them probably Tuesday early in the
morning or in the afternoon.

He has the responsibility to be here. Of course, we understand that this creates
big problems for his preparation because in such matches you need to be there
several days before the start. You cannot just go the day before and start playing.
You come with your people, you start to adjust to the conditions, and you try
to be organized in order to play the match. I understand this very well, he
needs several days, therefore in the contract it says that he can come seven
days before (last Friday). And he was preparing to come last Friday via Madrid-Frankfurt-Sofia
flight. He could not get the connection from Frankfurt because it was cancelled.

I believe we have very good understanding, with all sides helping resolve the
situation. [Chief organiser] Sergiev is very cooperative, Danailov as well,
Aruna and Anand too. Everybody understands and cooperates. They see the problems
of the other side. The one of Anand is obvious, this is force majeure.
But on the other side, to postpone the match for three days will create very
big problems for the organizers because they already have their contracts with
TV, people that are involved with the organization, hotels, transportation agencies
and they have already published the brochures and posters, the original schedule
is everywhere. The politicians and everyone who want to attend the opening ceremony
or will come for the first move of the first round, knows the schedule, they
have arranged their time, so everybody will be forced to make radical changes
if we go for postponement. All of us understand very well what is going on and
we have good communication.

Source: Chessdom

Chessbase.com

Read Full Post »

19.04.2010
– With air traffic at a standstill, trains completely sold out and practically every rentable car taken, it was no easy task for Vishy Anand to make it from Frankfurt to Sofia. Now the World Champion is on his way by road to the Bulgarian capital, a team member has revealed. Meanwhile Anand's request for a three-day postponement is being rejected by the organisers. Statements and stories.

Advertisement

Nigel Short:
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Nigel David Short is generally regarded as the strongest British grandmaster of the 20th century. Born on June 1st 1965 he started out as a chess prodigy, first attracting media attention by beating Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian in simultaneous exhibitions at the age of ten and twelve years respectively. At the age of 14 he became the youngest IM in history, breaking Bobby Fischer’s previous record, and at 16 he came second (to Garry Kasparov) at the under 20 World Junior Championship in Dortmund.
More information...

The Chessdom web site
of the World Championship match in Sofia is fast filling with statements by
the organisers on the plight of title holder Viswanathan Anand, whose trip to
the Bulgarian capital was
interrupted by the cancellation of all flights to, from and over European
airspace (just after the Champion had landed in Frankfurt). Here are excerpts
from some of the stories published on the site.

• Anand expected to arrive in the end of this week for the WCC match
  with Topalov
  Viswanathan Anand is expected to arrive Friday evening and go directly to
  his hotel - Hilton. According to an interview with the World Chess Championship
  organizing committee for Sega, all conditions set by Aruna Anand during
  the inspection are met. The special curtain from Germany preventing visual
  contact is also on the way to Sofia. Full
  text...

• Sports minister Neikov praises the World Chess Championship 2010
  match
  Sports minister Svilen Neikov and the organizing committee of the Topalov
  - Anand 2010 held a press conference today at 11:00 local time. At the press
  conference the arrival of Anand in Sofia was confirmed. The manager of Topalov,
  Silvio Danailov, also stated that the challenger with his team has now returned
  from the training camp in Sandaski and is in Grand Hotel Sofia. Full
  text...

• Anand in Sofia or not for the match with Topalov? (with updates)
  On Sunday at 12:00 CET All India Chess Federation sent a statement [to which
  the organisers] commented, "We have information from Hilton Hotel that
  Hans-Walter Schmitt has the keys from all room and that all rooms are actually
  being used. AICF themselves do not play a role in this championship and
  we have to consult FIDE immediatelly". Update: Stefan Sergiev, President
  of the BCF, cited by BGNES, said for media in Sofia, "We believe Anand's
  team is here. If Anand had called or warned about the possibility, or at
  least for the time of his arrival, earlier, we would have made everything
  possible to arrange alternative transportation to Sofia. I have a feeling
  the Schmitt coming earlier and checking in all rooms could be a trick."
  Sergiev continued, "Topalov was also in SPain on an island, but managed
  to come on time, Anand is looking for excuses and reasons. No World Championship
  has ever been postponed." Full
  text...

• News from Anand regarding the World Chess Championship situation
  Anand is looking for a way to reach Sofia – The ash from
  the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erruption closed the airspace over large
  part of Europe and changed the plans of hundreds of thousands passangers.
  One of them was Viswanathan Anand, the defending World Champion who got
  stuck in Germany... “Yes, we are stranded. We should get there soon,”
  Anand’s wife and manager Aruna said. “We are working with the
  FIDE supervisor to see how we can travel at the earliest." Full
  text...

• World Championship match Anand - Topalov postponement possibilities
  To Georgios Makropoulos, Deputy President of FIDE: "The organizing
  committee of the world championship 2010 ... has been informed with the
  e-mail of Mr. Anand dated 17.04 and your verbal request from 18.04.2010
  to postpone the match with 3 days. We would like to inform you that this
  is not acceptable for us... We can postpone the press conference. Unfortunately
  we can not postpone the opening ceremony scheduled on April 21st at 6 pm.
  The possibility to postpone the first game of the match for one day to Saturday
  April 24 need to be discussed with the Chairman of Organizing Committee
  – Prime Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Boyko Borissov. Full
  text...

• Bulgarian Chess Federation statement
  In this latest fairly lengthy statement the Organizing Committee
  says that on April 15th they asked Mrs. Anand about the time and number
  of the flight, so that they could be greeted as it is accustomed. Up until
  that moment Mrs. Anand had, they said, always answered all letters sent
  to her correctly and in a timely manner. But this time there was no answer.
  A request was sent to the FIDE Central in Athens, and the answer received
  was that Mrs. Anand was probably in an airplane and has switched off her
  cell phone. ”The organizers and the journalists in Bulgaria were bitterly
  disappointed of the attitude of the world champion V.Anand," the statement
  says, "but we accepted it as a part of the 'playing on the nerves game'."

  The statement of the Bulgarian Chess Federation goes on to say that "for
  the fact that Mr. Anand could not arrive on time in Sofia, the organizers
  bear no fault. The fault is to be placed on him and his team... We understand
  the problem of Mr. Anand, but we are bitterly disappointed by his derogatory
  actions and attitude towards the organizers. All problems that emerge should
  be resolved in dialogue with shown understanding from all sides, and not
  in the form of pressure... If Mr. Anand had used the alternative means of
  transportation between Frankfurt and Sofia (train, bus, private car, etc.),
  he would have arrived to the latest 6 (six) days before the start of the
  first game, scheduled for April 23rd, which is enough time for getting accustomed
  and rest." Full
  text...

Today we received the following report by a German chess journalist in
Sofia:

Chess Genius Anand also a victim of the volcano

By Dagobert Kohlmeyer

In 1972 Iceland produced headlines for chess with the "Match of the Century"
between Fischer and Spassky. And this year's world chess championship is again
being influenced by the volcanic island in the Atlantic. World Champion Anand,
who was scheduled to fly to Sofia on Friday, became a victim of the ash cloud.
Arriving from Madrid to Frankfurt he was, like thousands of others, stopped
on his journey. The Champion spent the weekend in Bad Soden, where he has a
flat. The World Chess Federation FIDE has not decided on a request by Anand
and the Indian Chess Federation to postpone the start of the match by three
days, due to this situation. Topalov's manager Silvio Danailov, who is also
involved in the the organisation of the match, said: "We want to begin
on time. Why did Anand spend the weekend just sitting around doing nothing?"

Topalov manager and organiser Silvio Danailov

Currently Anand is, according to his advisor Hans-Walter Schmitt, on his way
to Sofia, where he is expected to arrive on Tuesday. According to the schedule
the World Championship Opening Ceremony should take place on Wednesday. The
first game is scheduled for Friday. Schmitt: "We are asking for a postponement
of the match by three days, because Anand would otherwise be at a clear disadvantage
due to the late arrival."

Anand's manager Hans-Walter Schmitt [Photo Christian Bossert]

The German national team is also in stuck in Hanoi, after their match against
Vietnam. National trainer Uwe Bönsch told us on Monday through Skype: "The
German embassy and the Vietnamese Sport Ministry are looking after us. As chess
players we have the necessary patience. We are simply waiting and drinking Vietnamese
tea, until the ash cloud over Europe has passed."

Iris Erlingsdottir – Iceland's Volcano

Volcanos created Iceland, and have, at times, done their best to destroy
its human interlopers.The 934 AD lava flow from the Eldgjá fissure
system unleashed the largest flood of basalt on the planet in historic times.
The Laki eruption in 1783 had the largest outflow of lava since then. It emitted
fluoride that poisoned half of Iceland's livestock, resulting in a famine
that killed approximately a quarter of Iceland's population, and thrust vast
quantities of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, directly causing many deaths
in Western Europe, and contributing to several years of extreme weather in
Europe. It is often credited as an indirect cause of the French Revolution.

Elingsdottir goes on to tell us about the volcano Katla, which is part of the
same volcanic system, but makes the current volcano look like a Christmas fire-cracker.
Ketla has historically erupted every 40-80 years, with the last major eruption
in 1918 (yes, it overdue), and there is speculation that the current volcanic
activity is a precursor of a new Katla explosion. Each of the previous three
Eyjafjallajökull eruptions since Iceland's settlement (920, 1612, and 1821-23)
has been followed by a major Katla eruption. "Today's flight delays are
just a whiff of the possible disruption Katla could cause," writes the
Icelandic journalist. "The costs of a major eruption today would be catastrophic.
Our man-made crises fill our everyday lives, but we ignore natural phenomena
at our peril. We lose sight of how detached from our environment we've become,
how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and how fragile our bodies and
our institutions really are."

Read this thought-provoking article in the Huffington
Post. You will need good nerves. The article also contains an amazing
volcano picture.

Commentary on Playchess.com

The start of the World Championship match between title holder Viswanathan
Anand and challenger Veselin Topalov is scheduled for Friday, April 23rd, 2010.
On the Playchess server we will be offering you commentary of the games, provided
by internationally famous grandmasters. The English language commentary will
be by GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Daniel King, GM Jan Gustaffson and IM Oliver Reeh;
the German commentary is by GM Klaus Bischoff.

You can listen to the grandmaster commentary on the the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member we adivse you to download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access to Playchess.

Read Full Post »

17.04.2010
– Just after landing on a stopover in Frankfurt, World Champion Vishy Anand was informed that all further flights were cancelled, owing to volcanic ash from Iceland. With 25,000 flights cancelled per day, hundreds of thousands of travellers, including Anand, are stranded, with alternative routes (rental cars, trains) almost impossible to arrange. The AICF is seeking a three-day postponement.

Advertisement

Nigel Short:
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Nigel David Short is generally regarded as the strongest British grandmaster of the 20th century. Born on June 1st 1965 he started out as a chess prodigy, first attracting media attention by beating Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian in simultaneous exhibitions at the age of ten and twelve years respectively. At the age of 14 he became the youngest IM in history, breaking Bobby Fischer’s previous record, and at 16 he came second (to Garry Kasparov) at the under 20 World Junior Championship in Dortmund.
More information...

Will the Icelandic volcano affect the World Championship?

Last Thursday World Champion Vishy Anand took a flight from his home in Madrid,
Spain, to Sofia, Bulgaria. He and wife Aruna had a stopover in Frankfurt, Germany,
with an ongoing flight to Sofia the next day. No sooner had they landed in Frankfurt,
however, than word went out that all further flights in and out of that airport were
cancelled. This was due to an ash cloud which emanated from an Icelandic volcano
and had drifted into European airspace. Slowly one airport after another was
closed down, until on Friday all the major European airports (and all in Germany)
had come to a complete standstill.

The volcano causing all the trouble is located under Eyjafjallajökull,
one of the smaller glaciers of Iceland. The volcano itself is 1,666 metres (5,466
ft) in height and has erupted relatively frequently since the Ice Age. There
have been three previous major eruptions in olden times: in 920, 1612 and
from 1821 to 1823. Previous eruptions
of Eyjafjallajökull have been followed by eruptions at its larger neighbour
Katla.

For the bravest of our readers, here is how to pronounce the name of the glacier
and volcano:

The pronunciation was
explained to ABC New’s host George Stephanopoulos by Erla Skuladottir
of Iceland. You can hear how other Icelanders and international reporters pronounce
it here. There are
some really spectacular images of the volcano erupting on this
site.

Satellite photo of the volcano in Eyjafjallajökull erupting [courtesy
NASA]

NASA satellite image of the ash cloud drifting eastward towards Europe

The explosive eruptive phase of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano began on
April 14th, with a new set of craters opening up under the volcano’s ice
covered central summit caldera. The ash-loaded eruption plume rose to more than
eight km in height, and was deflected to the east by westerly winds. Since the
eruption occurred beneath glacial ice the volcanic lava was chilled quickly,
causing it to fragment into small glass particles which are carried into the
eruption plume. The glass-rich plume is now floating in the upper atmosphere
at up to 50,000 feet, exactly in the airspace used by commercial aircraft. It
is very hazardous for these planes, since the particles are melted in the jet
engines and tend to clog the blades. In the past a number of aircraft have lost
power when flying through such volcanic clouds. Most of the nearly 30,000 flights
which normally take place on a Friday or the weekend were cancelled, causing
absolute mayhem across the continent. All 16 German airports were closed.

the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic ash cloud on April 17, 2010

Naturally with hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded it is almost impossible
to make alternative travel arrangements. We tried calling Lufthansa, and just
the wait on the phone was over an hour. Even when you reach the carrier little
can be achieved. If you are lucky you are put on a later flight, but of course
that is usually cancelled. One of our family members is stuck in Ireland, and
it looks as if the delay will be from Friday until Wednesday at least; Garry
Kasparov and his wife are in New York, unable to return to Russia (the flight
route would take the plane through the cloud); the German national chess team
is stranded in Vietnam, and even Barack Obama is unable to attend the funeral
of the Polish President Lech Kaczynski and the 95 other victims of last weekend’s
plane crash in Russia.

Travelling from Frankfurt to Sofia by other means is hardly less daunting.
Car rentals are completely booked up, as are trains, which are totally packed.
A train journey from Frankfurt to Sofia would take 28 hours. Anand’s wife
Aruna has spent considerable time trying to find a reasonable way to reach
the Bulgarian capital. These efforts continue, as there seems to be no end to
the crisis in air traffic.

Latest situation (Sunday, 11:00 a.m. CEST)

The Eyjafjallajökull volcano is still erupting, and possibly intensifying,
with the ash plume rising to 30,000 feet. Evidence of ash dust over the UK is
being detected by Met
Office observations and there are reports of dust reaching the ground. The
Met Office commissioned NERC research flight flew over the North Sea on Friday
afternoon and detected three distinct layers of ash, from fine particles at
low levels to large particles around 8,000 feet.

Volcanic ash dispersion up to 20,000 feet, issued at 7 am on 18 April. Advisory
charts are issued
every six hours, for up to 18 hours ahead, by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre.
Source: Met
Office.

In the meantime the Indian Chess Federation has issued the following statement:

AICF Seeks Postponement Of Anand-Topalov Match

By Arvind Aaron

The All India Chess Federation has sent an urgent message to FIDE seeking postponement of the Anand versus Topalov World Chess Championship match, which is scheduled
to start from April 23, 2010 in Sofia.

The AICF Honorary Secretary D.V. Sundar has sent an urgent message requesting
the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov to intervene and postpone the World Title
match to allow time for the defending champion Viswanathan Anand to reach the
venue. Anand is unable to fly to Sofia as flights in Europe are cancelled. The
ash from the volcanic activity in Iceland has stranded passengers all across
Europe and Anand is stranded in Frankfurt.

The AICF letter requests the intervention of FIDE President and requests the
match be put off by at least three days. The match is a best of 12 and in case
of a tie it will be decided in a rapid playoff by May 12, 2010.

Anand was scheduled to reach on April 16 but has not been able to fly due to
closure of the airport in Germany. He needs time to make alternate booking and
the AICF has officially asked for a postponement of the match.

Below are the Anand statement, Legal Notice and AICF Letter to FIDE:

"In view of the extreme force majeure situation we are facing, it has
become difficult and near impossible to travel in Europe. We are working with
the FIDE supervisor to see how we can travel at the earliest. Given these
circumstances it has been agreed, keeping in mind Vishy's arrival in Sofia
the schedule could be moved accordingly. We wouldn't want to speculate on rumours
at this point and will try and arrive at the earliest." – Aruna
Anand, wife and manager of World Champion Viswanathan Anand.

AIFC letter to FIDE

His Highness Kirsan ILYUMZHINOV
FIDE President:

Sub : - Request for postponement of the first round World Championship match
between Grandmaster Vishy Anand and Grandmaster Topalov of Bulgaria

Greetings from the All India Chess Federation. We write to seek your kind
intervention in postponing the Match between Grandmaster Vishy Anand and Grandmaster
Topalov by at least three days. As you are aware, the Volcanic Ashes across
Europe has rendered many passengers sulking in various Airports across the
Globe, more particularly in and around Europe. Anand and his team could not
reach Sofia on 16th as planned and are in transit & held up at Frankfurt.
I understand that they are frantically trying to reach Sofia as early as possible
so that the schedule is not disturbed. However, this being an important match
it will only be fair to Anand that he is not made to play the first round
amidst such tension. He needs at least three to four days of acclimatization
before he starts his defence of his title. I understand that Anand has already
appealed to the authorities as per the Rules Governing this historic Match.

I am sure you will see reason and take a proper and just decision in the
matter and help to bring in equal playing conditions to the player. We await
your immediate action and response in the issue.

With kind regards

D.V.Sundar
Hon.Secretary
All India Chess Federation

See also: Anand's
legal notice

Schedule of the World Championship in Sofia

The time controls for the Anand-Topalov match are 120 minutes for the first
40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the rest of
the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.

Wednesday	April 21	17:00 CET	Official opening
Friday	April 23	14:00 CET	Game 1
Saturday	April 24	14:00 CET	Game 2
Sunday	April 25	Rest Day
Monday	April 26	14:00 CET	Game 3
Tuesday	April 27	14:00 CET	Game 4
Wednesday	April 28	Rest Day
Thursday	April 29	14:00 CET	Game 5
Friday	April 30	14:00 CET	Game 6
Saturday	May 1	Rest Day
Sunday	May 2	14:00 CET	Game 7
Monday	May 3	14:00 CET	Game 8
Tuesday	May 4	Rest Day
Wednesday	May 5	14:00 CET	Game 9
Thursday	May 6	14:00 CET	Game 10
Friday	May 7	Rest Day
Saturday	May 8	14:00 CET	Game 11
Sunday	May 9	Rest Day
Monday	May 10	14:00 CET	Game 12
Tuesday	May 11	Rest Day
Wednesday	May 12	Tie breaks

GMs Yasser Seirawan and Daniel King will be the ChessBase commentators covering the match. You can listen to their commentary on the the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member we adivse you to download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access to Playchess.

Read Full Post »

16.04.2010
– Problem solving is a parallel world next to the regular chess scene. Many OTB players will find the ideas and execution daunting, but the twomove, threemove, helpmate and other varieties of problems have their own addictive beauty. Last weekend the annual European Chess Solving Championship took place at Sunningdale, England. Guess who made a clean sweep of the prizes.

Advertisement

Nigel Short:
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Nigel David Short is generally regarded as the strongest British grandmaster of the 20th century. Born on June 1st 1965 he started out as a chess prodigy, first attracting media attention by beating Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian in simultaneous exhibitions at the age of ten and twelve years respectively. At the age of 14 he became the youngest IM in history, breaking Bobby Fischer’s previous record, and at 16 he came second (to Garry Kasparov) at the under 20 World Junior Championship in Dortmund.
More information...

Problems, problems, problems

By
Steve Giddins

What with a collapsing economy, Wayne Rooney's dodgy ankle, and the Hobson's
Choice that is an impending general election, a casual observer might think
that we Brits have more than enough problems as it is. But we are gluttons for
punishment. Here amongst the British chess community, we cannot get enough of
problems, especially of the twomove, threemove, helpmate and other varieties.

Over the weekend of 9-12 April, the British Chess Problem Society was proud
to host the latest annual European Chess Solving Championship, which took place
at Sunningdale, just a couple of miles from the world-famous golf course. Some
55 competitors, representing 13 countries, came together for a weekend devoted
to chess problems, and in particular, the solving thereof. It is the first time
in 20 years that such a major international problem solving event has been held
in Britain, and it was possible largely thanks to the sponsorship of Winton
Capital Management, who have supported British solving most generously over
the past few years.

The competition involves something akin to a set of exams. The competitors
sit in a room, armed only with a chess set and what Hercules Poirot called their
"little grey cells", and have to work out the solutions to a whole
series of chess problems, the difficulty of which varies from the hard to the
veritably fiendish. Six time-limited rounds test the solvers' ability to deal
with twomovers, three-movers, moremovers, endgame studies,  helpmates and
selfmates. Points are awarded for finding not only the key moves, but also all
of the relevant variations. 

The first round is twomovers, three of which have to be solved in 20 minutes.
If you think that should be easy, try them yourself (all solutions at the end
of this report):

E H Baird, Pictorial World, 1892

White to play – Mate in two

W Bruch, Stratagems , 2000

White to play – Mate in two

I Suvorov, 1st place, Russian Team Champs, 1992

White to play – Mate in two

After that gentle warm-up, round two required the solvers to crack three three-movers,
in one hour. My favourite amongst these was the following, which has more variations
than Kasparov's database:

C J R Sammelius - 1st Pr Memorial P Koetscheid, 1964

White to play – Mate in three

If you find the above problem a little tough to solve, let me offer you a hint:
the white knight on d6 really ought to have its picture in the dictionary, under
"workhorse"!

Round three is the longest round of all, 90 minutes in which to solve three
endgame studies. The following battle of the heavy pieces was the most difficult
of the selection:

M Gromov, 5th Pr Schakhmatnaya Nedelya, 2003

White to play and win

After that battering, the competitors were given the remainder of Saturday
off for good behaviour. At this halfway point in the event, Great Britain A
were sweeping all before them. Their team of Nunn, Mestel, McNab and Friedgood
led the overall standings, by a healthy 12.5 points from Poland, whilst John
Nunn led the individual race, three points clear of the reigning world champion,
Piotr Murdzia of Poland. By the time the contest reconvened on Sunday morning,
the spirits of many competitors had been dampened by the news of the Polish
air crash, and Sunday's solving began with a minute's silence in memory of those
killed.

Round four was helpmates, one of those genres which always seem to puzzle the
OTB player. In a helpmate, Black moves first, and cooperates in helping White
to mate him in the number of moves specified. Most modern helpmates have more
than one intended solution; the next example has no fewer than four, all of
which had to be found to secure full marks:

M & R Tomasevic, 7th pl. tt Liga Problemista, 1984

Black to play – Helpmate in two, four solutions

Round five is moremovers, i.e. direct mates in four or more moves. I was most
impressed by the following:

A Pankratiev – 1st pr L'Echiqier Belge, 1983

White to play – Mate in six

Once again, you may find this pretty difficult to solve, so here is a clue:
it is no coincidence that Black has four pieces that can go to e4!

The final round is selfmates, in which White must force a reluctant Black to
mate the white king. These are probably the type of problem that causes most
difficulty to solvers, especially those coming from an OTB background. The last
of the selfmates used at Sunningdale, a selfmate in six by Gamnitzer, defeated
all but two of the 55 solvers, so I will not ask you to solve it here. However,
it can be found below, with solution, as can all of the problems used at Sunningdale,
and I would urge all readers to take a look at it, as it is quite brilliant.
As an easier example of a selfmate, here is the first of those used at Sunningdale:

V Smirnov – 3rd HM, Stratagems, 1999

White to play – Selfmate in two

When all the papers had been marked, and the final scores totted up, it was
a double home triumph. Despite a spirited fightback by the Polish team, Great
Britain A had hung onto a narrow lead, and won with 204.5 points, to the Poles'
202, with Serbia a further ten points back in third place. In the individual
contest, ChessBase's favourite boffin, Dr John Nunn, won the gold medal with
80.5, ahead of Poland's Piotr Murdzia on 77 and Eddy van Beers of Belgium on
76.25. The junior championship went to Murdzia's Polish teammate Kacper Pioron,
who also occupied fourth place overall, and looks like a star of the future.

At the bottom of this report, you will find a file containing all of the problems
used in the event, with full solutions. Even (in fact, especially) if you are
not a chess problem fan, I would urge you to take a look through the problems.
Some of them are quite beautiful, and, I can assure you, they are a lot more
interesting than looking for a TN on move 37 of the Marshall or Petroff!

The winning Great Britain A team: David Friedgood, Jonathan Mestel, John Nunn
and Colin McNab. Between them, the four are holders of three OTB grandmaster
titles, three doctorates in mathematics, two solving GM titles, three world
solving championships, four OTB British championships, three OTB Scottish championships,
three OTB South African Championships, and well in excess of 20 British solving
championships – don't you just hate some people?

Only second, for once, but still smiling. With five world titles (inter
alia) to his name, Piotr Murdzia of Poland is just about the most successful
solver since the invention of... solving!

Double Grandmaster (OTB and Solving) Jonathan Mestel, casting a sceptical-looking
eye over the solution of the second endgame study.

Three of the winning Great Britain team (Jonathan Mestel had to leave early)
receive their trophy and medals. Joining them, second from left, is Uri Avner,
President of the Permanent Commission for Chess Composition, which regulates
the problem and study world, organises world championships, awards titles for
composing and solving, etc.

Despite Saturday's distressing plane crash news, the youthful Polish team fought
back hard on the second day, and almost stole the gold medals. (l to r): Kacper
Piorun, Piotr Murdzia and Piotr Gorski (not pictured: Bogusz Piliczewski).

The bronze medals went to the powerful Serbian team: (l to r):  Milan
Velimirovic, Vladimir Pidinic, Marjan Kovacevic and Bojan Vukcovic.

"My cups runneth over". John Nunn, with the individual trophy and
gold medal.

Dr Pavel Kamenik, of the Czech Republic, was the Tournament Director. As well
as selecting the problems for the event, invigilating the solving, recording
the results, etc. he had the unenviable task of marking each of the 55 handwritten
sets of solutions from each round – a total of 330 sheets over two days!

Pavel was assisted as second marker by Brian Stephenson of England, seen here
fortifying himself with some essential vitamin B intake.

Christopher Jones is one of the world's most prolific composers of helpmates.
As well as assisting with the controlling of the event, he also composed the
second problem used in the helpmate round. Can you solve it?

John Rice is one of the doyens of the problem world, a prolific and highly-acclaimed
composer. He also edits The Problemist, the official magazine of the
BCPS.

Paul Valois of England was the principal organiser of the whole event. In his
spare time, he is an indefatigable researcher in the nation's newspaper archives,
from which he has unearthed literally thousands of forgotten chess problems.

And finally, your correspondent, who really enjoys problems and problem solving
competitions.

Links Official tournament website The BCPS website Problems and solutions: replayable and as PGN 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 Playchess.com.

Chessbase.com

Read Full Post »

16.04.2010
– Like most of Europe, Budapest had a very persistent winter, and blocks of ice could still be seen floating down the Danube. However, Spring is well and truly there, and is celebrated in Budapest with its traditional Spring Festival of Arts with outstanding theatre, music, dance, and art exhibitions. And the Spring Chess Festival marked by a large number of boys and girls. Pictorial report.

Advertisement

Nigel Short:
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Nigel David Short is generally regarded as the strongest British grandmaster of the 20th century. Born on June 1st 1965 he started out as a chess prodigy, first attracting media attention by beating Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian in simultaneous exhibitions at the age of ten and twelve years respectively. At the age of 14 he became the youngest IM in history, breaking Bobby Fischer’s previous record, and at 16 he came second (to Garry Kasparov) at the under 20 World Junior Championship in Dortmund.
More information...

Budapest Spring Festival

By Diana Mihajlova

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Well into April, and the bare branches in front of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences seem unaware. However, despite appearances to the contrary, Spring
is well and truly upon us, celebrated in Budapest with its traditional Spring
Festival of Arts with outstanding theatre, music, dance, and art exhibitions.

Chess in Budapest has its own Spring Festival, organised by Laszlo Nagy, the
famed organiser of the First Saturday tournaments. It is a yearly event and
this year it ran from March 19 to 28. That the youngsters are filling the chess
playing halls is no longer a surprise, but this year’s Budapest Spring Festival
was especially marked by a large number of boys and girls. Could it they have
been inspired by their compatriot, 14-year-old Richard Rapport – the newest
and youngest Hungarian GM?

Youngsters rule the chess world. A few of the junior players with organiser
Laszlo Nagy seen behind. Almost one third of the participants were under 14.

Warming up before a round – Csaba Tesik (2159), Melinda Varga (1840), Boglarka
Bea (2012) and Zsuzsana Kabai (2086). And on the opposite end of the spectrum,
let’s not forget the tireless seniors such as:

Lajos Borda (2076), a very active player in the Hungarian chess circuit

Dr Lajos Kelemen, 84, sets the example for his younger counterparts,
while regularly playing in national tournaments as well as the First Saturdays.

WIM Lili Toth (HUN 2198) found some time to fit a chess tournament in her busy schedule while she studies and trains to become a lawyer. Her result of 5.0/9 was not bad, considering the little time she has to dedicate to chess training.

Although the Spring Festival is mainly a ‘local affair’, it also attracts quite a number of players from abroad.

An Irishman and an Englishman in Budapest: Antony Breen (IRL, 1719) and
Tristan Cox (ENG, 2106).

Glen Charleshouse (ENG, 2203), with his 6.0/9 should take back fond memories
of the Spring Festival.

Janjaadorj Munkhbayar, international arbiter from Mongolia

Janjaadorj Munkhbayar is an international arbiter from Mongolia, but had somehow
eluded a FIDE rating. He arrived at the tournament as an unrated player, but
his 4.5/9 means he will return home with a handsome 2252 rating points.

Michael Yip (CAN, 2017) temporarily residing in Budapest; scored 5.0/9 and
a 2240 performance, which is good for a further +30 rating points. His smile
says it all.

Halis Altin, Cem Altin and Halit Dogan, in the photo with organizer, Laszlo
Nagy, came from Istanbul, Turkey. They sampled Budapest for the first time on
the occasion of the Spring Festival and hope to return for some of the First
Saturday tournaments as well.

FM Louis Sanchez (FRA, 2234) and IM Ismael Karim (MOR, 2368) are friends travel
to many tournaments as well as share a flat in Malaga, Spain. Louis won third
place with 7.0/9 and Ismael trailed just a few places behind with 6.0/9. Ismael
is currently involved in the final stages of the organisation of a big international
tournament in Marrakech, Morocco – 26 June – 1 July 2010. In one of the most
picturesque locations, with a 4000 Euro first prize and a number of invited
titled players, it promises to be a tournament worth considering in your chess
calendar.

IM Nhat Minh To (2422) is Vietnamese but plays under Hungarian flag. With 2422
he was the highest seed, but this time had to be content with fifth place.

The winners: 1st place IM Emil Szalanczy (HUN 2280) (on the right), 7.5/9 and
2nd place IM Dr Evarth Kahn (HUN 2231), 7.0/9.

WFM Thi Mai Hung Nguyen (VIE, 2224), came in seventh and won the women’s prize with 6/9. She plays regularly in the First Saturday tournaments where she is making great progress. Last month she made her first WIM norm.

Balasz Csonka (HUN, 2163) with his prize money for sixth place; 6.0/9 and
a 2290 performance.

The Spring Festival ended just a couple of days before the start of the regular First Saturday tournament of April. Among the new chess arrivals in Budapest were IM Iweta Rajlich and her husband IM Vasik Rajlich, the creator of Rybka. They are expecting their first baby and Iweta thought that the First Saturday would be a good chance for a last tournament before a chess break. They marked their visit to Budapest, where they lived for several years before returning to Iweta’s native Poland, by throwing a generous party for participants and friends.

From left, sitting: Nick Adams (USA), FM Takashi Iwamoto (USA), FM Erik Kislik
(USA), FM Mark Lyell (ENG); standing: Thomas Heyl (GER), IM Endre Vegh (HUN),
Agnes Hollo (HUN), IO Laszlo Nagy (HUN), FM Juergen Brustkern (GER), IM Iweta
Rajlich (POL) and IM Vasik Rajlich (USA).

The hosts, and future parents, IMs Iweta and Vasik Rajlich

To the obvious question by guests: ‘When is Rybka 4 arriving?’, Vasik would
only give a mysterious: ‘Soon’. Hoping to get more, I asked: ‘Before or after
the baby?’. ‘Oh, much before the baby.’

Well then, since the baby is due in July...

Chessbase.com

Read Full Post »