Round 9
Express Report
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Polgar v
Aronian with Carlsen looking on |
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Magnus Carlsen has won the 4th London Chess Classic. This
victory was secured before his draw with Vishy Anand, as
Kramnik was unable to make anything of his position against
Mickey Adams. Round 9 saw surprisingly insipid play from the
former World Champion, who essayed a line of his favourite
Berlin Defence that left Black without any aggressive
options. A draw was agreed on move 38.
Carlsen might have been doing fairly poorly against Vishy
Anand out of the opening (Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik
had differing perspectives), but the Norwegian managed to
turn the tables on his opponent after 28…c5. Despite being a
pawn up for much of the middlegame he was unable to obtain a
serious advantage, and a draw was eventually agreed after a
perpetual. Nakamura – McShane capped off a frustrating
tournament for the UK number one.
Despite having some
problems in the opening, he came up with an interesting
exchange sacrifice that compelled the commentary room to
suggest that he could play for a win. Unfortunately he
simply blundered a piece on move 32, and had to resign.
Polgar – Aronian was an uninspiring draw; Aronian’s Marshall
led to mass exchanges and a theoretically drawn rook and
pawn ending soon followed.
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Round 8
Report
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Aronian and Adams waiting for the signal to
start |
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The excitement at the 4th London Chess
Classic reaches fever pitch, as Vladimir Kramnik defeated
Gawain Jones in Round 8 and thus maintains his chances of
pipping Carlsen to first place. Mickey Adams played
extremely accurately to develop winning chances as Black
against Levon Aronian; however he was unable to convert his
extra pawn in the endgame and consequently cannot challenge
for first.
Judit Polgar secured her first win of the
tournament with an assured performance against Luke McShane,
which will restore much of her confidence going into today’s
clash with Aronian. The most exciting game of the round was
Anand – Nakamura, where both sides missed winning ideas
during a complicated endgame. Eventually they had to settle
for a draw. [Games]
- Detailed pictorial report
here.
Round 7
Report
Even in a tournament as exciting as this, it
was bound to happen eventually. All four of Round 7’s games
were drawn, thus giving Vladimir Kramnik, who had the bye, a
chance to catch up with Magnus Carlsen’s astronomic +5
score. The latter was only able to draw against Hikaru
Nakamura, who played extremely accurately in an unpleasant
looking semi-ending to achieve winning chances against the
Norwegian wunderkind. Carlsen’s technique was however
impeccable, and the American GM was unable to break through
his defence.
Mickey Adams could have made a serious
challenge for first place with a win against Luke McShane,
but he was unable to convert an endgame where he missed a
number of winning variations. Jones – Aronian and Polgar –
Anand were both solid draws; the British Champion obtained a
small advantage against the World Number 2 but eventually
had to allow a perpetual, whilst Polgar was unable to
generate serious attacking chances against Anand’s Najdorf.
Full pictorial report.
Round 6
Report
Round 6 saw a far better day for the English
contingent, who scored a maximum 2/3. The all English clash
between Luke McShane and Gawain Jones promised bloodshed,
with both parties desperate to secure their first win. Luke,
who developed a reputation as a giant killer at the previous
two Classics, has thus far struggled against his higher
rated opponents.
Despite enjoying significant advantages
against Carlsen and Anand he only managed to secure one draw
from both games. His subsequent losses to Aronian and
Kramnik were, as far as I can see, emblematic of how these
frustrations greatly diminished his confidence.
Gawain had
been suffering similar fortunes: despite holding worse
positions against Polgar and Nakamura he was unable to dent
Magnus Carlsen’s winning record, despite an enterprising
queen sacrifice that looked to
trouble the Norwegian.
Round 5 saw yet another exciting day of
chess, with four decisive results. Unfortunately for the
home fans, the English players scored a depressing 0/3, with
Gawain Jones and Luke McShane suffering greatly at the hands
of Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. Having spoken gushingly
of McShane – Aronian’s artistic merits, I feel like I would
be trying my luck if I were to speak in similar terms of
Kramnik’s Round 5 win. Yet many have done so, and with just
cause. To see a positional genius show such a cavalier
attitude to material is a sight to
behold!
Round 4
Report
- Matthew Lunn
The life of a chess enthusiast can be rather
frustrating. We have all experienced, to a greater or lesser
degree, seventh hour blunders, opening mishaps, and
ungracious opponents. Yet there are moments that make this
all worthwhile: winning our first tournament, outplaying a
higher rated opponent, salvaging a result from a terrible
position.
Then there are those rare occasions when
Caissa smiles upon us, and we feel a deep, ineffable joy
... read more.
This year’s London Chess Classic opening
ceremony, at 13.45 GMT on Saturday 1 December, features a
mini-concert of music played by two professional musicians
who also happen to be chess enthusiasts.
Jason Kouchak is a widely-acclaimed concert
pianist who plays popular music and jazz as well as
classical music. Jason was born in France and studied piano
at the Royal College of Music in London, and at Edinburgh
University. He has performed in major concert halls in
London, Paris, St Petersburg and other venues in Europe and
Asia. He has recorded five albums, including his own
compositions, and appeared on BBC TV and the Japanese NHK
channel. He has made regular guest appearances with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra, and recorded and performed with Julian
Lloyd-Webber.
Read more ...
08.11.12 - The pairings for the 2012 London
Chess Classic are now available. This year, instead of
involving the players themselves in the draw at the opening
ceremony, the honour of conducting the draw was bestowed
upon Liverpool’s Sacred Heart Primary School as a reward for
the boom in chess which the school has experienced since
chess tutor John Gorman working for the Chess in Schools and
Communities charity introduced the game there a year ago.
This innovation highlights the status of the
London Classic as the flagship of the charity, and helps to
emphasise the link between the two. With it come two
significant fringe benefits: spectators can now buy tickets
with specific pairings in mind, well ahead of the
tournament; and, of course, the players themselves will know
for certain which colour they will have against each
opponent and when, so that they have an extra three weeks to
plan their preparation more specifically. And perhaps plan
their evening entertainment! Last year Magnus Carlsen
managed to fit in a Premiership football match during the
tournament – let’s hope the draw will allow the elite
players to book tickets for whatever takes their fancy. [Read
more].
• Classic Pairings
• Player Profiles
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Judit Polgár. Photograph: Phil Fisk |
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Judit Polgár's father had a theory. An
educationalist in Soviet-occupied Hungary, László Polgár
was convinced that genius was made, not born. So he
decided to demonstrate it, taking his three daughters
out of school and concentrating them, from a young age,
on a particular specialist subject. The subject was
chess: and Judit became his proof. The 36-year-old is
now the greatest female chess player of all time and the
only woman ever to reach the top 10 in the world
rankings.
As Judit points out, László himself was no
chess prodigy. "As a teacher, he was good for only a very
short time!" she laughs. "But they are genius pedagogues, my
mother and father. They know very well how to convince, to
lead the child in a way so that we were happy playing. And
little by little we got more serious." Judit and her older
sisters began by playing just 10 minutes of chess a day; by
the time she was 12, it was 10 hours. Then in 1991 she broke
the then record to become the world's youngest grandmaster,
at just 15.
Read more ...
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Richard Garner | 10 Nov 2012 |
Chess is making a dramatic comeback in
primary schools – thirty years after it all but
disappeared completely from the state school scene.
In the past two years, a total of 175
schools – including those serving some of the most deprived
areas of the country – have reintroduced the game to the
curriculum.
Now the charity behind its revival, Chess in
Schools and Communities (CSC), is optimistic the take-up
will spread to 1,000 state schools within the next three
years.
Academics are agreed the game is a major
stimulant for improving pupils’ concentration and believe it
can also be used in other subject areas – such as maths – to
improve skills. [Read
more].
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By
Laura Clark | 12 Nov 2012 |
Schools are reintroducing chess
lessons in an attempt to boost children’s brainpower.
Three decades after it was virtually wiped out in state
schools, the game is making a dramatic comeback.
In just two years, 175 primary
schools across England and Wales have introduced formal
teaching in chess. It follows research suggesting the
‘game of kings’ brings a range of educational benefits
including improved concentration and memory. The charity
spearheading the revival, Chess in Schools and
Communities CSC, said its aim was to expose as many
children as possible to the benefits of the game. [Read
more].
You should always play by the rules! So
watch it; at the FIDE congress in Istanbul, some of the
rules have been changed.
These new Laws of Chess will take effect on
the 1st of July 2013.
Many of the changes in the text are just
clarifications, but some go beyond cosmetics. I will work
through some part of the text, picking
ten changes that
might directly influence your game.
Yochanan has once again paid us the
honour of dedicating an original study to the London Chess
Classic.
Yochanan, originally from Israel and now resident
in Amsterdam, is one of the world's best known and most
prolific composers. Uniquely, he holds four 'international'
titles - IM for over the board play and for composition, and
international arbiter for both - and he has a fifth title,
FM for problem solving. He is also a regular contributor to
magazines, including CHESS Magazine, and an award-winning
author.
In his teens Yochanan was fortunate enough
to come under the wing of not one, but two, legends of
Israeli chess - Moshe Czerniak and Yair Kraidman. Inspired
by them he started composing early in life, and was also
organising chess tournaments at 16. He recently celebrated
his 60th birthday and can look back on no fewer than 45
years as a dedicated chess professional.
British players will be familiar with
Yochanan's amiable presence over the years at Isle of Man,
Hastings, Lloyds Bank Masters and Oakham tournaments. He has
played in the last two London Opens at Olympia, making
impressive scores and only making one draw in eighteen games
- so he's not so amiable at the board!
Click for
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