14.12.2009– Round four of the London Chess Classic saw two decisive games today: Luke McShane defeated Hikaru Nakamura, and Magnus Carlsen stretched his lead to three points after beating Ni Hua with black. In the post-game press conference Magnus charmed everyone to the degree that John Saunders wishes that Britains over-zealous passport authorities will not let him out of the country.Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
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13.12.2009– The fourth and final long game of the FIDE World Cup final ended, like the first three, in a (35-move) draw. That left the players, Boris Gelfand of Israel and Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, tied 2:2 and going into the tiebreaks. The winner earns a place in the FIDE world championship match and pockets $96,000. The runner up gets $64,000. Musically illustrated report.Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
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13.12.2009– Draws like those in round four of the London Chess Classic are exciting and
instructive. We know this from following the games live with GM commentary at
the venue and on the Playchess server.
And after the games chess fans all over the world could listen to all eight
players annotating their games. At least two had people holding their breath.
Full illustrated report with analysis.Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
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12.12.2009– Tournaments like the current one in London give us great chess and allow us to see some of the world's finest players up close. But they are also social occasions that bring together a multitude of interesting personalities. Too many to present all in one report. So here is a selection, ranging from players to authors, editors and successful traders. Photo impressions by Frederic Friedel.Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
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12.12.2009– Yesterday the second game of the FIDE World Cup final ended in a 20-move Catalan draw nothing to write home about. So we decided to skip a report of our daily coverage. The third game was more interesting, a Grünfeld by Boris Gelfand which ended after 37 moves in another draw. Sunday is the last regular game, after that it is rapid, blitz and armageddon tiebreaks. Illustrated report.Adrian Mikhalchishin:
Winning Structures Great players always had and still have more than just broad theoretical knowledge. Every of them has some favourite methods, which simply help to score more points. The greatest even have favourite pawn structures! And they immediately exploited the knowledge of others - Alekhine invented some interesting structures, which were copied by his opponent in that game (Rubinstein), and later exploited by Botvinnik and then by Kramnik!
More information... Читать дальше »