Round eight of the 2012 World Chess Championship saw reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand return to form and deliver a stunning knock-out blow to his opponent Boris Gelfand. Anand's decisive plan began with the deceptively quiet move of "10 Qd2" and finished with Boris Gelfand's queen being trapped on move 17. After Boris resigned, chess enthusiasts realised that thisContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Game 8"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Game 7
Boris Gelfand wins! Want to know why Anand lost? Check out the best analysis of Anand-Gelfand game 7 below: (For ease of reading try pasting the text below into your favorite chess program.) [Event "Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship"] [Site "Moscow, Russia"] [Date "2012.05.20"] [Round "7"] [White "Boris Gelfand"] [Black "Viswanathan Anand"] [Result "1-0"] [ECOContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Game 7"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: The World Awaits Game 7
Chess fans the world over are eagerly awaiting the start of game 7 in the 2012 Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship. Many visitors to this site from India are becoming more concerned that their national hero's best years are behind him and he may not have enough desire to keep the world chess championship in an Indian's hands. Likewise,Continue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: The World Awaits Game 7"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 6
Game six of the 2012 World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand began in exactly the same manner as games two and four. By move six, Boris Gelfand decided to try a different line against Anand's Semi-Slav. The real fun began when Anand decided to gambit a pawn on move 14. Unfazed by his opponent's ingenuity, GelfandContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 6"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 5
Game 5 of the 2012 World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand began with 1 e4. Gelfand, as was expected, opted for a Sicilian Defence. This game, like its four predecessors, was incredibly well-played and ended in a draw. Anyone who was hoping this match would be a blood sport must be disappointed. Chess purists, onContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 5"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 4
The World Chess Championship of 2012 saw yet another draw in round 4. As in game two, Boris Gelfand played 1. d4 and Anand opted for another Slav style defense. The key point on this game came on move 16 for black. Viswanathan Anand played Re8 instead of Rc8 and thus avoided whatever diabolical plans his opponent had in store for him. AnotherContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 4"
Chess Players in Fremont, California are the Best in the United States
Two Schools in Fremont, California won National Championships at the recent United States Chess Federation's National Elementary (k-6) Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. Both Mission San Jose Elementary School and Weibel Elementary School have reputations of excellence in chess due to being the dominate teams at both state and national events. After their incredible results at the 2012 NationalContinue reading "Chess Players in Fremont, California are the Best in the United States"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 3
Game three of the 2012 World Chess Championship began with Anand playing 1. d4 and Gelfand playing a Grunfeld as in round 1. As we would expect, Anand's team has done some preparation with the current world champion on how to counter Boris Gelfand's new-found strategy. Their strategy of playing 3. f3 nearly produced the first decisive result of the match. Fortunately for Boris Gelfand,Continue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 3"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 2
Another Day and another draw. This time round it was Anand who showed no difficulty moving the black pieces in a precisely played Semi-Slav. This, of course was not do to Gelfand playing for a draw. The line he chose to use against Anand's defense he has used twice and won twice with. It isContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 2"
2012 USCF National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship : Day 1
Day one of the 2012 USCF National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship is in the books. Several of California’s top chess players still remain undefeated. In the K-1 Section Stephen He and Rishith Susarla scored 2/2. In the K-3 Section Mihir Bhuptani, Tommy Koh, and Ben Rood also have perfect scores. In the K-5 Section Amit SantContinue reading "2012 USCF National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship : Day 1"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 1
Round 1 of the 2012 World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand was a spectacular contest. My only disappointment with the game is that it did not last longer. Anand, as I had predicted, played 1. d4 to kick things off. It was Boris Gelfand's choice of the Grunfeld Defense which surprised chess enthusiasts the world over. Gelfand,Continue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Round 1"
2012 U.S.C.F. National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship
Beginning May 11, Nashville Tennessee will host the 2012 U.S.C.F National Elementary Chess Championship. This is the paramount annual chess event for children ages 4-12. Below is a highly biased preview for this year’s event. The competitors listed in this article are all kids I have the pleasure of playing chess with on a weeklyContinue reading "2012 U.S.C.F. National Elementary (K-6) Chess Championship"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Preview 2
The match between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand should be a real "nail biter." Anand's over all record against Gelfand is very convincing with 16 wins, only 6 losses and 44 draws. Based on these figures, a Vegas odds maker would probable make Anand a 3-1 favorite to retain the title. However, the Anand-Gelfand match of 2012 will be played at "classical" time controls whichContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Preview 2"
Anand-Gelfand 2012: Preview 1
As I stated in my last post, most chess players figure that Anand will easily defend his title in the upcoming World Chess Championship. I guarantee you that Viswanathan Anand knows that it will be no easy task to stop his challenger from taking the title from him. In fact, the last time Anand playedContinue reading "Anand-Gelfand 2012: Preview 1"
World Chess Championship 2012: Anand-Gelfand
In a few days, Boris Gelfand of Israel will attempt to strip the crown off of reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand in a highly publicized match to determine the new king of chess. The Israeli challenger's task of defeating Anand will be the most difficult of his long career and likely the last chanceContinue reading "World Chess Championship 2012: Anand-Gelfand"
An Absolute Pleasure
The 2012 USCF Absolute Chess Championship is in full swing. Founded in 1976, this annual tournament's stated purpose is to determine who is the "absolute" best correspondence chess player in the United States. The USCF Absolute Chess Championship is only open to the strongest thirteen correspondence chess masters who respond to USCF Correspondence Chess DirectorContinue reading "An Absolute Pleasure"
MSJE Chess Team Wins Big At State Championships (By Coach Joe)
MSJE Chess Team Wins Big At State Championships Over 1,000 Northern California students competed in the Scholastic Chess Championships at the Santa Clara Convention Center the weekend of April 22nd and 23rd. Mission San Jose Elementary School (MSJE) was the big winner in the Elementary School Section. MSJE teams won all of the elementary schoolContinue reading "MSJE Chess Team Wins Big At State Championships (By Coach Joe)"
Mission San Jose Elementary Dominates the Calchess Scholastic State Championship
The Mission San Jose Elementary School chess dynasty was extended another year at the 2012 Calchess State Scholastic Championship. MSJE, again, swept all the championship sections for elementary school aged children. Several of the Mission San Jose Elementary players also won individual State Championship titles or finished in the top ten of their section. TheContinue reading "Mission San Jose Elementary Dominates the Calchess Scholastic State Championship"
Eight Year Old Wins Grade 4-5 Chess Championship in California
Chess history was made on April 22, 2012. Ben Rood, while still only eight years old, won first place in the grade 4-5 section at the Calchess Scholastic State Chess Championship. California has been home to many youthful chess prodigies since I started attending the Calchess Scholastic State Chess Championship. A few that comeContinue reading "Eight Year Old Wins Grade 4-5 Chess Championship in California"
2006 Golden Knights Chess Championship: The Finals
Its been a while since I have posted about my correspondence chess exploits. So far, my most notable achievement is making the Finals for the 2006 Golden Knights Chess Tournament. The Golden Knights Chess Tournament is the USCF's open correspondence chess championship. During the preliminary round, contestants are broken into seven player sections. Those who score 4.5/6 orContinue reading "2006 Golden Knights Chess Championship: The Finals"