Improve Your Chess!

Blunders: Where do they come from?

2007-04-26T08:33:00.000+10:00

Where do blunders come from? If only one could scan his brain and eliminate the "blunder gene" completely! My Anzac Day Weekender ended with a "tragedy". I blundered a piece in one move in a completely winning position.

Does it mean i should get disillusioned in chess? I do not think so. I guess I should be humble instead and simply accept that blunders are part of the game..same as brilliancies :).

Australian Day Weekender Day1: It is Clear that Nothing is Clear!

2007-04-21T23:31:00.000+10:00

The Aus Day Weekender attracted a small but compact field. Top 5 seeds are all rated above 2100. Lets see what is going to happen tomorrow.

City of Melbourne Open 2007: What a strong field!

2007-04-17T22:45:00.000+10:00

City of Melbourne Open started last Monday at MCC. The field is quite compact but very strong. It includes 2 IMs (Guy West and Mirko Rujevic) 1 FM (Doug Hamilton) and a number of other strong players (Malcolm Pyke, Jesse Jegger, Panno Skiotis). Lets see who wins! :)

Battle of the FMs: A Positional Sacrifice

2007-04-17T22:02:00.000+10:00

In the following game black made two concequtive pawn sacrifices..simply to gain some positional benefits.

[Event "GCS"][Site "GCS"][Date "2007.04.17"][White "SirPacMan"][Black "MichaelBaron"][Result "0-1"][WhiteElo "2216"][BlackElo "2305"][TimeControl "180+0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. f3 d6 6. Be3 Nc6 7. Qd2 e5 8. d5 Nd4 9. Nge2 Nxe2 10. Bxe2 Nh5 11. g4 Nf4 12. Bxf4 exf4 13. Qxf4 c5 14. h4 b5 15. cxb5 a6 16. bxa6 Bxa6 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. g5 Qb6 19. Qd2 Rb8 20. Rh2 Be5 21. Rg2 Qb4 22. a3 Qc4 23. Rc1 Rab6 24. Ne2 Qa6 25. b4 cxb4 26. axb4 Rxb4 27. Rf2 Rb2 28. Rc2 Qa1+ 29. Nc1 Bg3 30. Kd1 Bxf2 31. Qxf2 Rxc2 32. Qxc2 Qd4+ 33. Qd3 Qg1+ 34. Kc2 Rc8+ 35. Kb3 Qxc1 36. e5 Rb8+ 0-1.

Australian Day Weekender: April 21-22 at MCC

2007-04-14T17:06:00.000+10:00

An innagural Weekend tournament will be taking place at the MCC next weekend. I am not 100% sure that i will be free to play (due to the work committements) but hopefully, i will make it.

Please note that the tournament has been registered as a GP event this year!

Rogers Wins Doebrl Cup!

2007-04-10T15:55:00.000+10:00

Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers scored an outright victory at the innagural Doebrl Cup in Canberra. Ian finished on 6/7 half a point ahead of David Smerdon, Steven Solomon and Gary Lane. It was very pleasing to see the Australians finish the tournament ahead of visiting overseas stars!

Portish at his Best: Portish-Petrosian (1967)

2007-04-07T15:54:00.000+10:00

[Event "It"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "L Portisch"]
[Black "T Petrosian"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "48"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 e6 7. e3 Bd6
8. Bg3 O-O 9. Bd3 Re8 10. Ne5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 Nd7 12. f4 Qb6 13. O-O Qxe3+
14. Kh1 Qb6 15. Qh5 Nf8 16. Rf3 Ng6 17. Bf2 Qd8 18. Nb5 Nce7 19. Nd6 Bd7
20. Bh4 Qb6 21. Rh3 h6 22. Bf6 Qxb2 23. Rf1 Nf5 24. Bxf5 1-0.

Lajos Portish - 70!

2007-04-07T15:49:00.000+10:00

Lajos Portish, famouse Hungarian grandmaster selebrated his 70th birthday a couple of days ago. Lets wish him many happy returns ..and many happy chess games to come!

An Exiting Finish: Another Internet Blitz Game

2007-04-05T14:15:00.000+10:00

The following game was played with a 3/0 time control. It is obviously full of mistakes but White's sacrificial play is exiting to watch i guess .

[Event "GCS"][Site "GCS"][Date "2007.04.05"][White "MichaelBaron"][Black "eceprof"][Result "1-0"][WhiteElo "2377"][BlackElo "2065"][TimeControl "180+0"]
1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Qa5 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Ne4 11. Bh4 Qxc3 12. Rc1 Qa5 13. Qc2 Ndf6 14. Ne5 O-O 15. Bd3 Nd6 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Bxh7+ Kg7 18. f4 Rh8 19. Rf3 Rxh7 20. Rg3+ Kh8 21. Ng6+ fxg6 22. Qxg6 Qd8 23. e4 Bd7 24. Rc5 Qf8 25. Rh5 Qf7 26. Rxh7+ Qxh7 27. Qxf6+ 1-0.

MCC Championship 2007: Mirko Rujevic and Richard Voon Tie for First

2007-04-03T19:25:00.000+10:00

MCC (Melbourne Chess Club) Championship has ended in a tie for first between Mirko Rujevic and Richard Voon. Its worth noting that both players are over 60 years of age! It shows that age is clearly no obstacle for preserving one's chess strength.

MCC Committee promises to organize an exiting play-off for the title in the near future.

David Smerdon Scores his Second GM Norm in Thailand!

2007-04-03T18:59:00.000+10:00

Finally, this long awaited news has arrived! David Smerdon scored his Second GM norm at Thailand Open in Bangkok. Now, he is required to score his third and final Norm + get his Fide rating above 2500 to qualify for the GM title.

What Does it Take to Beat a World Champion: I. Ivanov - Karpov (1979)

2007-04-01T07:39:00.000+10:00

In the following game, an "ordinary" master crushes the World Champion with a powerful attack.

Ivanov, I. - Karpov

USSR, 1979

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a65.Nc3 b5 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.O-O Ne7 8.Kh1 Nbc69.Nxc6 Nxc6 10.Qg4 h5 11.Qe2 Ne5 12.f4 Ng413.Rf3 Qh4 14.h3 Bc5 15.Bd2 g6 16.Raf1 Qe717.a3 f5 18.Re1 Qf8 19.b4 Bd4 20.a4 Rc821.Nd1 Qf6 22.c3 Ba7 23.axb5 axb5 24.exf5 gxf525.Bxb5 Bxf3 26.Qxf3 Rc7 27.c4 Bd4 28.Qd5 Kd829.Qd6 Nf2+ 30.Nxf2 Bxf2 31.Be3 Bxe3 32.Rxe3 Qe733.Qd2 Ke8 34.Qd4 Rg8 35.Qb6 Qg7 36.Qxe6+ Kd837.Qd5 Ra7 38.Rd3 Ra1+ 39.Kh2 Ra2 40.Bc6 Ra741.Qc5 Rc7 42.Qb6 Kc8 1-0.

The April 2007 Fide List is Out!

2007-03-31T22:13:00.000+10:00

Well, no major changes to the rating list have take place. Rogers, Zhao, Johansen and Smerdon are still at the top of list!

Special Deal for Melbourne Chess Players!

2007-03-30T15:01:00.000+10:00

Online chess lessons are fun..but not quite as much fun as face-to-face ones!

Thus, I decided to introduce a special Deal for the Melburnians. You can get a 2 hr introductory lesson for the price of an 1 hour lesson!

Hurry Up! The offer expires on April, 30th.

Amber 2007: Kramnik Wins!

2007-03-30T14:57:00.000+10:00

Final Round 11 Standings:

Blindfold 1. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2766 9.0; 2. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 7.0; 3. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 7.0; 4. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2750 6.5; 5. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2728 6.5; 6. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2744 6.0; 7. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2729 5.0; 8. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2779 5.0; 9. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2690 4.0; 10. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 4.0; 11. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2683 3.5; 12. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2679 2.5.

Rapid 1. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2779 8.5; 2. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2766 6.5; 3. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2690 6.5; 4. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 6.5; 5. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2750 6.5; 6. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2744 6.0; 7. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2728 5.5; 8. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 4.5; 9. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 4.5; 10. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2729 4.0; 11. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2679 4.0; 12. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2683 3.0.

Combined 1. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2766 15.5; 2. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2779 13.5; 3. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2750 13.0; 4. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2728 12.0; 5. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2744 12.0; 6. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 11.5; 7. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 11.5; 8. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2690 10.5; 9. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 10.5; 10. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2729 9.0; 11. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2679 6.5; 12. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2683 6.5.

Melbourne Chess Club Championship 2007: An exiting last round to look forward to

2007-03-28T16:47:00.000+10:00

The MCC championship has come to an exiting finish (possibly the most exiting finish in years). 4 (or possibly 5 depending on the outcome of the postponed game) players are going into the last round on 6/8. Thus, the tournament's outcome is anybody's guess.

Jagger, Hamilton, Rujevic and Skyotis are on 6/8. Richard Voon is on 5/7 and has a postponed game against someone rated below him. Some of the pre-tournament favorites like Guy West and Malcolm Pyke appear to be out of contention for the top spot.

Sydney International: 140 Entries Recieved!

2007-03-28T16:43:00.000+10:00

The field for the Sydney International Chess Tourament (www.chessaustralia.com.au/open) has been been growing like mushrooms after a rain. There are now 140 entries (including 9 GMs) in the field.

Luckily for the male participants, the field includes a number of extremely attractive female players.

Hope against Hope: A Miraculous Escape!

2007-03-26T23:50:00.000+10:00

In the following chess problem, white finds a miraculous escape out of a seemingly hopless position.

G.Zakhodiakin

1930

W. Ka2, Bf8, Ne5, pp. g5, g6.

B. Kh8, Nf5, pp. h7, f2.

White to move and draw.

When your position appears to be in such a miserable state, do not you feel like resigning? Hang on! You can actually draw it, believe it or not :).

1. g7! Nxg7 2. Nf7+ Kg8 3. Bc5! f1Q 4. Nh6+ Kh8 5. Bd6! with a draw!

Amber 2007: Kramnik is still in the lead

2007-03-25T21:39:00.000+10:00

Vladimir Kramnik maintans his lead at the Amber 2007. However, the struggle for first is still very close!

Round 7 Standings:

Blindfold 1. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2766 6.5; 2. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 5.0; 3. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2750 4.5; 4. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2728 4.5; 5. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 3.5; 6. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2729 3.5; 7. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2779 3.0; 8. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2744 3.0; 9. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 3.0; 10. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2690 2.5; 11. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2683 1.5; 12. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2679 1.5.

Rapid 1. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2779 5.5; 2. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2744 5.0; 3. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2750 5.0; 4. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2766 4.0; 5. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 3.5; 6. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2690 3.5; 7. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 3.5; 8. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2728 3.0; 9. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2729 2.5; 10. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 2.5; 11. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2679 2.5; 12. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2683 1.5.

Combined 1. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2766 10.5; 2. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2750 9.5; 3. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2779 8.5; 4. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2744 8.0; 5. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2728 7.5; 6. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 7.5; 7. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 7.0; 8. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 6.5; 9. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2690 6.0; 10. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2729 6.0; 11. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2679 4.0; 12. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2683 3.0.

8th Poikovsky Karpov tournament: The Siberian Chess Party is over!

2007-03-25T21:19:00.000+10:00

The 8th Karpov tournament ended in a convincing victory for Dmitry Jakovenko.

Final Round 9 Standings:

1. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2691 6.0; 2. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2663 5.0; 3. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2661 5.0; 4. Bologan, Viktor g MDA 2658 5.0; 5. Istratescu, Andrei g ROM 2619 4.5; 6. Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2677 4.5; 7. Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2658 4.0; 8. Sutovsky, Emil g ISR 2629 4.0; 9. Tkachiev, Vladislav g FRA 2649 3.5; 10. Zhang Pengxiang g CHN 2643 3.5.

Lasker's Most Spectacular Win: Lasker-Bauer (1889)

2007-03-24T17:03:00.000+11:00

Emmanuel Lasker is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest chess-players of all times. After all, he was the World Champion for 27 years! So far, noone else managed to surpass this outstanding achievement of his. However, his most famous game was played when he was 21 years of age and his great victories were still to come.

Lasker - Bauer

Amsterdam, 1889

1.f4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.b3 e6 4.Bb2 Be75.Bd3 b6 6.Nc3 Bb7 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.O-O O-O9.Ne2 c5 10.Ng3 Qc7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Qc613.Qe2 a6 14.Nh5 Nxh5 15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Qxh5+ Kg817.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qg4+ Kh7 19.Rf3 e5 20.Rh3+ Qh621.Rxh6+ Kxh6 22.Qd7 Bf6 23.Qxb7 Kg7 24.Rf1 Rab825.Qd7 Rfd8 26.Qg4+ Kf8 27.fxe5 Bg7 28.e6 Rb729.Qg6 f6 30.Rxf6+ Bxf6 31.Qxf6+ Ke8 32.Qh8+ Ke733.Qg7+ Kxe6 34. Qxb7 Rd6 35. Qxa6 d4 36. exd4 cxd4 37. h4 d3 38. Qxd3 1-0.

Chess Logo Competition

2007-03-24T10:31:00.000+11:00

GM Baggeri has recently announced start of his "Chess Logo" competition. The winner's logo will serve as the official logo of the Chess Website and Playing Zone that are currently under development! The first prize is a beautifully crafted chess set. Interesed? Please drop me a line for more info.

An opening for all seasons: 1.e4 e5 2.d4!?

2007-03-22T23:31:00.000+11:00

I have spent today's afternoon on a long chess lesson with a student of mine. During the lesson, we were examining sharp and original positions arising out of the extremely sharp but yet rare Central Opening (1.e4 e5 2.d4!?). The student was facinated...and so was I :).

Shortly after the lesson, I tried the Central Opening in an internet allegro game.

[Event "GCS"][Site "GCS"][Date "2007.03.22"][White "MichaelBaron"][Black "Petrosk"][Result "1-0"][WhiteElo "2399"][BlackElo "2067"][TimeControl "900+0"]

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qe3 b6 5. Nc3 Bb7 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. e5 Bc5 8. Qf4 Qe7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. O-O Nh5 11. Qe4 Na5 12. Bd5 c6 13. Bb3 Nxb3 14. axb3 f5 15. Qc4+ Qe6 16. Rd1 Rfd8 17. Bg5 d5 18. Qh4 Qe8 19. Bxd8 Rxd8 20. Rxa7 Rb8 21. Qg5 b5 22. Raa1 g6 23. Qd2 Ng7 24. h4 Ne6 25. Re1 Kg7 26. Ne2 Qe7 27. Nf4 h6 28. b4 Bxb4 29. Nxe6+ Kh7 30. c3 Bxc3 31. Neg5+ hxg5 32. Nxg5+ Kg8 33. Qxc3 c5 34. Ra7 d4 35. Qb3+ c4 36. Qxb5 Qc7 37. e6 Qc6 38. Rxb7 Qxb7 39. Qxb7 Rxb7 40. e7 1-0.

want to know more about resuts of the great tournaments from the past? then visit www.chessmetrics.com

2007-03-21T20:40:00.000+11:00

I have recently stumbled across www.chessmetrics.com and it turned out to be a great website! It contains all the tournament results since 1850's or so as well as "historical ratings" that enable chess fans worldwide to compare chess players from different genrations. This is truly an amazing website!

Who is Australia's Greatest Chess-Player ever?

2007-03-21T20:27:00.000+11:00

There is a big debate going on at http://chesschat.org. The debate is about determining Australia's strongest chess player of all times and it has sparcled a lot of controversy. There are about as many different oppinions as there are participants to the debate.

In my opinion, the title of the "strongest Australian chess-player ever" should be awarded to Lajos Steiner. Back in 1927-1930, he was rightfully considered as a "World's top 10" player. It is thrilling to think that an Australian chessplayer was taking part (and fairly successfully) in the very same events as Alekhine, Capablanca, Rubinstein and other great champions.