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#Chess Position Worth Sharing 137

In round 4 of the 2003 Corus Chess Tournament, Michal Vladimirovich Krasenkow fought admirably for 79 moves before allowing Vladimir Kramnik to end the game with a cute one-two combination. Can you spot Kramnik’s mating maneuver?

Vladimir Kramnik’s Career in Chess

On the occasion of Vladimir Kramnik’s retirement from competitive chess, I present a retrospective review of past articles on Kramnik featured on this blog. Enjoy…   Tromso Chess Olympiad Round 5: Kramnik vs Topalov August 7, 2014: Thus far, the  41st Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway has lived up to all the hype surrounding the event. AlmostContinue reading “Vladimir Kramnik’s Career in Chess”

Mikhail Tal Memorial 2012: Round 1 Preview

Round 1 of the 2012 Mikhail Tal Memorial Chess Tournament is about to begin. After a hard fought 9 round blitz tournament, we now have a clearer picture of what to expect in the main event. First off, Alexander Morozevich surprised his Russian fans by winning the blitz tournament on his home turf in Moscow.Continue reading “Mikhail Tal Memorial 2012: Round 1 Preview”

Corus Chess 2010

Top rated Magnus Carlsen proved that his favorite status was justified at the 2010 edition of the Wijk ann Zee Chess Tournament.  He simply outplayed everyone else. Viswanathan Anand was clearly reserving his best chess for the upcoming World Championship match with Vladimir Topalov and ended tied for fourth with Hikaru Nakamura.  In fact, WorldContinue reading “Corus Chess 2010”

Corus Chess 2010: Americans Shine Brightly and Fade

For the first time in recent history, American chess players were commanding respect and attention in Wijk aan Zee.  Hats off to Hikaru Nakamura and Ray Robson for shining bright enough that the chess world took notice. Unfortunately for the American chess fans, it appears that our two rising stars have been swallowed by theContinue reading “Corus Chess 2010: Americans Shine Brightly and Fade”

Алексей Дмитриевич Широв at Corus 2010

Alexei Shirov is absolutely destroying GM after GM in the 2010 edition of the prestigious Corus Super Tournament. His  pace of 5 points in 5 rounds borders on ridiculous and has landed him an astronomical performance rating that can not be truly calcualted until he does not win a game. Once again I find myselfContinue reading “Алексей Дмитриевич Широв at Corus 2010”

Tal Memorial 2009: Round 7

In round 7 Vassily Ivanchuk punishes Boris Gelfand’s small inaccuracies with authority. Now Ivanchuk and Anand are just a half game behind Kramnik.  Below is Ivanchuk’s win followed by a game where the opening line was first played. [Event “Tal Memorial”] [Site “1:06:33-0:46:33”] [Date “2009.11.12”] [EventDate “?”] [Round “7”] [Result “1-0”] [White “Ivanchuk”] [Black “Gelfand”]Continue reading “Tal Memorial 2009: Round 7”

2009 Tal Memorial: Round 6

Today Kramnik  was able to win his game multiple times do to inaccurate play on both his and Ponomariov’s part.  I am in shock that the same Kramnik that missed 19.Qxh7+ played such a precise endgame.  Thanks to Ponomariov, Kramnik was able to pull ahead of Anand and is now in first place all byContinue reading “2009 Tal Memorial: Round 6”

Kramnik vs. Svidler: 2009 Tal Memorial

Below is Kramnik’s win over Svidler in a Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange Variation. A lot could be stated about the opening theory as Kramnik tried a new move successfully with 12. h4. However, I do not believe Kramnik’s courageous new move is to blame for Svidler’s failure. Instead, Svidler seemed to have forgotten that “Knight’s onContinue reading “Kramnik vs. Svidler: 2009 Tal Memorial”

FIDE Top 100

Below is the FIDE top 100 list for November(source http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/).  Vugar Gashimov broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career. Born in 1986,  Mr. Gashimov  hails from Azerbaijan and is known for his extreme skill in one minute chess. Below is a recent example of his Brilliant play against American grandmasterContinue reading “FIDE Top 100”

Anand-Kramnik: Game 6 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

The championship chess board in Bonn has become a form of torture for Vladimir Kramnik. After loosing game 6, Kramnik has just six games left and is down three full points. A loosing streak against a world champion is very hard to fix. In Kramnik’s case, achieving a win against Anand must seem like aContinue reading “Anand-Kramnik: Game 6 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess”

Anand-Kramnik: Game 5 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

Kramnik must be feeling miserable. Anand has beaten him with the black pieces once again. Now down two full points with 7 games to go, Kramnik must take considerable risks if he is to have any chance at becoming world champion again. Taking these risks could easily backfire and have the effect of causing thisContinue reading “Anand-Kramnik: Game 5 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess”

Anand Kramnik 2008: A Special Report Looking Back at the World Chess Championship 1858

“Morphy…I think everyone agrees…was probably the greatest of them all.” (Bobby Fischer) This years chess match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik takes place 150 years after one of the greatest world championship matches in history. In 1858, the two best chess players in the world, Paul Morphy and Adolph Anderssen, battled in Paris toContinue reading “Anand Kramnik 2008: A Special Report Looking Back at the World Chess Championship 1858”

Anand-Kramnik: Game 4 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

It was back to the “drawing” board in game 4 from Bonn, Germany.  Defending champion Viswanathan Anand played the white side in the solid Queen’s Gambit Declined. Kramnik ended up with the ubiquitous isolated queen’s pawn and allowed Anand no opportunities for victory. 3. Nf3 Anand decides to avoid a repeat of game 2’s Nimzo-Indian.Continue reading “Anand-Kramnik: Game 4 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess”

Anand-Kramnik: Game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

 In game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championships, Viswanathan Anand put on a tactical display using his fiery attacking style to beat Vladimir Kramnik into submission. Below is the game that has put Anand ahead in the match:    2…c6 Anand chooses the Slav again. 4. Nc3 Kramnik chooses not to play the exchange Slav asContinue reading “Anand-Kramnik: Game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championship”

Anand-Kramnik: Game 2 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

The second game from the 2008 World Chess Championship ended in a draw. In an attempt to show off some of his preparation for playing white against the Slav(1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6), Anand decided to use 1.d4 instead of his favorite 1.e4. Kramnik avoided the technical Slav lines in game 1 and chose to use theContinue reading “Anand-Kramnik: Game 2 from the 2008 World Chess Championship”

Anand-Kramnik Game 1 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

Kramnik faced off against Anand in Game 1 of the World Chess Championship Match on October 14, 2008. The “Battle of Bonn” began with little surprise as Anand chose to play one of his main weapons referred to as the Slav Defense to the Queen’s Gambit Declined. The game concluded after move 32 when aContinue reading “Anand-Kramnik Game 1 from the 2008 World Chess Championship”

Team Kramnik

For the 2008 World Chess Championship match in Bonn, Germany, Vladimir Kramnik has selected these players as his “Seconds.” I hope my readers will visit again tomorrow to view my coverage for game 1 of the 2008 World Chess Championship Match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik.   Name: Peter Leko Date of birth: 09-08-1979 Country:Continue reading “Team Kramnik”

Team Anand

For the 2008 World Chess Championship match in Bonn, Germany, Viswanathan Anand has selected these players as his “Seconds.” I will review Vladimir Kramnik’s team in a later post. Name: Peter Heine Nielsen Date of birth: 05-24-1973 Country: Denmark Current Rating: 2652 Description: A grandmanster with a very aggressive style who has won the Denmark Chess  ChampionshipContinue reading “Team Anand”

My Friends are Better Than Yours… Anand and Kramnik Get Seconds

   The upcoming 12 game World Championship match between Anand and Kramnik is creating internet rumors faster than Alexandra Kosteniuk makes blitz moves in China. Most of these rumors seem to be speculation on opening choices and who is going to be the “Second” for Anand and Kramnik. A “Second” refers to a chess playersContinue reading “My Friends are Better Than Yours… Anand and Kramnik Get Seconds”