The Chess Mind Bloghttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/en-US2010-03-12T19:57:05ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)This Week's ChessVideos Show: More Viewer Games & Questionshttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/12/this-weeks-chessvideos-show-more-viewer-games-questions.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-12T15:58:56ZBishop vs. Knight ChessVideos Presentations attacking chess rook endingsAnother week, another ChessVideos show. This time around I look at three viewer games and address a viewer question. Two of the games feature attacks (one is really spectacular) and two of the games (yes, I know there are three total games!) and the question involve endgames, so it's a well-balanced meal for the viewer.

The show is free (free registration required) and available on-demand for the next month, here.

]]>European Championship Update: Efimenko, Jobava Leadhttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/11/european-championship-update-efimenko-jobava-lead.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-12T03:05:51ZZahar Efimenko and Baadur Jobava share first with 5.5 after 6 of 11 rounds at the European Championships in Rijeka, Croatia. They drew each other in round 5, and have otherwise disposed of their very strong opposition so far. (Strong enough that both players enjoy 2990+ TPRs thus far.)

Half a point back are Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alexander Riazantsev, Rauf Mamedov, Zoltan Almasi and Bojan Vuckovic, and then another 28 players have 4.5 points. With five rounds to go it's far from over, but on the other hand this event is a World Cup qualifier (the top 22 here qualify for that event), so with two or three rounds to go the peleton is likely to coast in with a bunch of draws.

For now, though, there's lots of action, and I noticed a number of very nice games the last couple of days. They're presented here without annotations, but you'll likely enjoy them all the same. Have a look, here.

]]>This Week's ChessBase Show: Avant-Garde Chess, Part 1: Karpov-Miles, Bogojno 1978http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/10/this-weeks-chessbase-show-avant-garde-chess-part-1-karpov-mi.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-10T07:25:21ZChessBase ShowsThe late Tony Miles was not only a very strong player, but a very creative one too. Some of his opening ideas were really out there, and not just by the standards of the day but even by our own! This week and next, we'll take a look at how they fared against his greatest peer, the former world champion Anatoly Karpov.

Karpov, as you'd expect from a world champion, got the better of their battles overall, but Miles did get his shots in. Even when Karpov won, it wasn't necessarily because he refuted Miles' experiments, either. Their styles made for an interesting clash: Miles as fire, Karpov as ice. This week, we'll see the Englishman trot out one of his provocative openings, only to have Karpov's "water on board" approach slowly carry the day. In the next show, it will go the other way around: Miles engages in the ultimate provocation and takes down his illustrious opponent.

To watch, whether this week or next (or both, naturally), tune in tonight - Wednesday night at 9 p.m. (that's Thursday morning at 3 a.m. CET) on the Playchess server. Go to the Broadcast room and find Karpov-Miles under the Games tab, double-click and watch. Hope to see you there!

]]>Tactics Time: Be Clever - and then some... The Solutionhttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/9/tactics-time-be-clever-and-then-some-the-solution.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-09T21:35:27ZTacticsHere once again is the position to solve (originally posted here); it's White to move and win:

Here's a hint (avert your eyes if you don't want one!): seeing the right idea is only half, or even a third of the battle. The solution is here.

]]>Quotation Time: The Answer is...http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/9/quotation-time-the-answer-is.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-09T21:34:02ZJacob Aagaard, from part 2/book 2 of his Attacking Manual. (I'm referring to this post.)

]]>Zero Tolerance, Revisitedhttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/9/zero-tolerance-revisited.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-09T21:27:48ZIn part to save my readers' retinas from getting blinded by the Sokolov book cover, it's time for a new post. The topic is the utterly idiotic decision by FIDE last year to forfeit players who arrive at the board even one second after the round starts (unless the organizers explicitly address and refuse the rule in the tournament regulations). There's a petition going around the European Championships to amend the rule to give up to 30 minutes' leeway before a forfeit is declared. As of this writing, there were 110 signatories to the petition, but the organizers passed the buck to ECU President Boris Kutin. We'll see what happens.

More info here and here.

HT: supy

]]>What's Wrong With This Picture?http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/8/whats-wrong-with-this-picture.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-08T23:23:55ZThere are multiple right answers!

 

]]>Tactics Time: Be Clever - and then somehttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/8/tactics-time-be-clever-and-then-some.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-08T23:17:28ZTacticsHere it is:

White to move and win.

I'll present the solution tomorrow. (Please do not try to post your thoughts about the position.)

]]>A Look in at the European Championshipshttp://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/8/a-look-in-at-the-european-championships.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-08T23:09:53ZAfter 3 rounds in Rijeka, 12 players lead with perfect scores. (Full list here.) More interesting than table-watching is looking at the games, and I've singled out three for you.

One is a win for the attack: Nisipeanu's impressive win over Reinderman in a game that might have serious theoretical significance in the Alekhine. The second is a success for the defense: Navara seems to have the numbers in his favor, going after Pelletier's king, but the latter refuted the attack with computer-like accuracy. Finally, IM Ken Regan wrote me about a slightly quirky moment in the rook ending between Saric and Vallejo Pons.

To see and replay them, with Regan's comment to the third and my (heavy) comments to the first two, click here.

]]>Kasparov-Caruana?!http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/3/8/kasparov-caruana.htmlDennis Monokroussos2010-03-08T22:02:17ZCaruana KasparovIt might happen in October. More here; original (in Italian) here.

If this keeps up, Carlsen might return Kasparov's promise ring.

 

HT: Brian Karen

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