Category: Famous Players

Updated November 26, 2014 @ 1920 CST

Some of us in the chess world were hoping for an upset, but Magnus Carlsen secured a victory against Vishy Anand today and retained his title as World Chess Champion at the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia. The event, which spanned from November 7 to today, consisted of ten games in which Magnus won with a 6.5-4.5 score.

2014 World Chess Championship Cross-Table

#	Name	Rtg	Perf	G01	G02	G03	G04	G05	G06	G07	G08	G09	G10	G11	G12	Pts
1	Carlsen	2863	2832	½	1	0	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1		6.5/11
2	Anand	2792	2798	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	0		4.5/11

Despite the loss, Anand put up a considerable struggle and certainly made Magnus work to retain his title. At times, Magnus has appeared unbeatable on the board, but his recent struggles have underlined his humanity and this is definitely a hard-fought championship title. For Anand, the most devastating part of this competition came in Game 6 when he he missed the now notorious 26…Nxe5! after Magnus’ blundering 26.Kd2. Both players missed their blunders and Anand especially missed an opportunity to turn the tables on the entire tournament.

Game 6 After 26.Kd2??

Safe to say that the Twitterverse lit up after this move with excitement over the Carlsen blunder, but was quickly enraged with Anand’s quick response that proved to be a fatal omen for the former champion.

A very relieved Magnus Carlsen.

Carlsen and Anand fought hard in the final game, playing a Ruy Lopez Berlin Defense variation that was very difficult for White to crack, initially. Most impressive was Anand’s 23…b5! pawn sacrifice to grab a significant amount of initiative halfway through the game. However, devastation followed on 27…Rb4??, which Stockfish and Deep Fritz 14 were screaming at during the match. Eventually, the sacrifice was not enough to hold off Carlsen and he secured his place as World Chess Champion for the next two years.

Game 11 after 23…b5!

For more in-depth coverage of the 2014 World Chess Championship and its aftermath, please visit Chessbase or Chess.com for news, views, and Grandmaster commentary on the games.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on-hand for the closing ceremony in which FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov presented the champion with the traditional wreath and trophy. The closing ceremony was a very formal and exciting event for everyone involved, but perhaps the most exciting part of the ceremony was Kirsan’s announcement that the 2016 FIDE World Chess Championship would be held in the United States of America! There are already speculations about where this event would take place, such as the Saint Louis Chess Club or a venue in New York City. Unfortunately, distrust of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov runs deep within the international chess world, so many chess players and fans (myself included) will not be holding our breath until the first move is made in 2016’s championship match.

All 2014 World Chess Championship Games

When Anand Strikes Back

By Commander Exorcist

On November 11, 2014

In Famous Players

Chess players can be a very strange group of people. We spend much of our time refining our ability to concentrate on a single chess game for hours on end while simultaenously calculating the multitude of variations that could occur. Meticulous calculation is often required to reach the pinnacle of chess mastery. In the case of the World Championship, which is currently being played in Sochi, Russia, chess commentators and kibitzers around the world were quick to jump on the apparent weaknesses of challenger Vishy Anand after he drew the first game against Magnus Carlsen and went on to lose the second game. That second loss only put him a mere 1 point behind the incumbent world champ, but it was enough to send Anand’s chances of winning the championship in a tailspin, according to the court of public chess opinion.

Vishy looks concerned, but not as defeated as commentary would have you believe.

Without a doubt, Magnus was solid in his first and second performances of the match. In my opinion, the fact that Vishy was able to get a draw out of the match was well played and he really stood no chance against the champ in the second round. However, chess is a science and art that stretches the boundaries of what we know and perceive about life. Understanding this, the chess world must not be so quick to count Vishy out just yet. He has a long way to go, but the road ahead is not an impossible one to travel.

Magnus Carlsen always looks confused…a psych tactic, maybe?

One thing I find curious about Magnus Carlsen is the expressions on his face. He often looks confused or disinterested in the match. He certainly has the skill to win, but sometimes it is painfully obvious that his heart is not into it. The photo above is a perfect example of how Magnus spends most of his games gazing at the board as if he is trying to figure out if he is playing chess or checkers.

In addition, check out this image:

An abandoned warehouse?

The match between Carlsen and Anand is for the title of World Champion of Chess, but the images of the playing venue eerily resemble an abandoned warehouse. The massive, open, and empty space is just…creepy. Plus, there are still fresh memories of the horror stories from journalists covering the Olympics in Sochi, so who knows what is going on behind the scenes in this match. Something tells me that Magnus and Co. are staying in Russia’s finest…which may be significantly less than he is used to. In any case, I wish both of them the best of luck in the coming matches.

NOTE: Due to time constraints and the prevalence of online coverage for this event, I will not provide regular updates unless something out of the ordinary occurs. A final coverage post will occur once the match has concluded and the World Champion is named.

GM Wesley So Joins FIDE Top 10

By Commander Exorcist

On November 5, 2014

In Famous Players

After his recent transition to the United States Chess Federation, Wesley So claimed the $100,000 prize victory at the Millionaire Chess Open in Las Vegas. Now he has added another notch to his belt of achievements by entering into the FIDE Top 10 players for the first time! Congratulations to GM So and best wishes as he continues up the ladder of chess excellence!

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2863	0	1990
2	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2839	11	1992
3	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2800	0	1975
4	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2797	6	1982
5	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2795	11	1983
6	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2792	6	1969
7	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2776	6	1994
8	Karjakin, Sergey	g	RUS	2770	11	1990
9	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2767	11	1987
10	So, Wesley	g	USA	2762	7	1993

This Guy Named Fabiano

By Commander Exorcist

On October 4, 2014

In Famous Players, News, Tournaments

The 2014 FIDE Grand Prix is well underway in Baku, Azerbaijan and one again, all eyes are on the incredible performances of Fabiano Caruana, who drew his match against Hikaru Nakamura earlier today (game post below). Fabiano (so hard not to write FABIO), is fresh off of one of the most stunning performances in chess history at the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis where he won seven consecutive games including a game against World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Recently, Magnus has not enjoyed the crushing victories that the chess world has come to expect from him and this has somewhat resulted in attention turning to Fabiano and his continued domination. As reported by Chessbase, Fabiano’s stunning victories in Saint Louis and continued success in other tournaments has resulted in him being listed as the world’s #2 chess player according to the October 2014 FIDE ratings list.

Man or Machine?

When Magnus Carlsen was on the rise to become the World Champion, many believed that he would break the coveted 3000 ELO mark and forever remain the strongest chess player in history. However, his recent struggles have given rise to discussions over who will eventually rise to succeed him as champion and to how long he can hold on to his crown. With the publication of the October FIDE ratings, Fabiano Caruana is only 19 ELO points under Carlsen and has been performing at an average ELO rating of 3000! I believe that this is representative of the greatness of our game. Magnus Carlsen is a chess playboy and is often spoken of in magazines like New In Chess as an invincible man whose destiny is to join the ranks of chess performance ability on par with the world’s strongest chess computers. However, Fabiano Caruana has proven that in chess, anything can happen. It is like that moment in Rocky IV when Rocky wounded Drago for the first time. When he returned to his corner, his assistant pumped him up for the rest of the fight by reminding him that Drago was not a machine, but was instead a man who could be hurt and ultimately defeated. Will Fabiano be the “Rocky” that brings down the Norway chess machine? Only time will tell.

Phiona Mutesi – The Queen of Katwe

By Commander Exorcist

On September 28, 2014

In Famous Players, Personal Reflection, Reviews

Chess is a universal passion. It unifies all people because the rules apply the same to every person regardless of their color, religion, national origin, etc. A Queen moves the same for an American player as it does for someone from the slums of Uganda, such as Phiona Mutesi, who rose to international prominence a few years ago as part of Uganda’s first national chess team. Before that, Uganda had been unable to field a team for a Chess Olympiad due to the country’s disastrous economy, ubiquitous civil war, and corrupt government. It was her ability to overcome the horrific conditions of her every day life in such a way that found her across-the-board from some of the world’s most amazing chess players.

Katwe in the city of Kampala, Uganda is one of those places where when you hear about it, it is almost impossible to erase from your memory. For the unfortunate people that call Katwe home, surviving from one day to the next is a remarkable achievement. The slums of Katwe is a tangled mesh of shacks housing multitudes of families. Many of the young ladies Born into this environment end up as sex slaves or become married at very early ages. In addition, as of 2011, approximately 50% of the teenage girls in that providence are mothers! I have to admit that until I read the book I was completely unaware of this place and the horrific conditions that its people endure every day. Phiona Mutesi comes from this region and not only has she managed to survive, but her discovery of the ancient game of kings has taken her out of its deadly clutches and into the plane halls of some of the worlds largest Chess Olympiads.

She learned to play chess and began to teach it to the other children in her province. As Kirsan was looking to bolster support for his FIDE reelection, he agreed to allow the Organization to fund a Ugandan National team. This was her golden opportunity to escape the slums and to visit another world. Simple things that we take for granted, such as concerts and sporting events were completely alien to her. Hearing her story and exploring the world through the eyes of someone who has yet to experience less than a quarter of the joys that most of us experience was incredibly eye-opening.

In 2012, author Tim Crothers wrote an amazing book called The Queen of Katwe in which he chronicled the conditions of the Katwe slum and the eventual Discovery of chess by Phiona. This is a fascinating read which I highly recommend for both chess players and people interested in the trials and triumphs of other cultures. While I am certain that her triumphs on the board certainly can never erase the tragedies of everyday life in Kampala, those victories speak to the greater influence of chess over culture across the globe. These days, Phiona speaks at events and conferences around the world promoting chess and human and women’s rights. Her struggle and ability to rise above the horrific conditions of her childhood home are a testament to the strength of the human spirit in overcoming the worst of conditions in life to find the best of conditions within ourselves. Fortunately, for those around the world that do not enjoy the pleasure of reading books, Walt Disney has optioned the rights to the book and is working on a movie adaptation to be released sometime around 2015.

The Games of Phiona Mutesi

Phiona still holds onto her dream of becoming a grand master one day and who knows, if I can manage to maintain a moderately successful chess blog, and maybe anything is possible? I found her story to be very inspiring and it is my hope that you will check out her games posted here on the blog, check out her book, and take time to learn and support the people of the struggling Kampala province.

Making History in Saint Louis

By Commander Exorcist

On September 12, 2014

In Famous Players, News, Saint Louis Chess Club

Recently, I mentioned that I always seem to be on the road or in a place with limited internet access whenever a big chess event is going on. This year’s Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis was no exception. It was billed as the Strongest Chess Tournament in History and rightfully so. The list of participants was a veritable “who’s who” of the championship chess world.

2014 Sinquefield Cup Participants

World Rank	Name	Age	Country	Rating
1	Magnus Carlsen	23	Norway	2877
2	Levon Aronian	31	Armenia	2805
3	Fabio Caruana	22	Italy	2801
5	Hikaru Nakamura	26	U.S.A.	2787
8	Veselin Topalov	39	Bulgaria	2772
9	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	23	France	2768

It goes without saying that most people expected World Champion Magnus Carlsen to show up and dominate, but destiny favored #3 Fabio Caruana who made chess history with an impressive seven wins in a row! Caruana found a way to channel his inner Fischer and was nearly flawless through those first seven games, which included a win against Magnus and gave the World Champion his second loss in as many months.

Caruana appeared calm and cool throughout the tournament.

I was surprised by watching Magnus Carlsen in this tournament. He was certainly not playing to top form and seemed somewhat disinterested in the entire experience. I know that he was battling some contract drama with FIDE during the tournament and that might have had an effect on his ability to concentrate, which might prove problematic for the upcoming World Championship in Sochi. Although Magnus is virally famous for his unusual facial expressions, he has started to look run down both on the board and in his personal appearance recently.

A frustrated Magnus Carlsen.

I hope that he is able to get some rest and relaxation time before the championship match in November, or else the world might be ushering in the era of a new World Champion.

Fabio Caruana Sinquefield Games

The television production and broadcast on Chess24 and Chessbase was first rate for this event! It is always wonderful to see my favorite female chess player and commentator, Jennifer Shahade breaking down the moves! Just don’t get me started on Hikaru Nakamura in this tournament…

Complete Game Archive

More Games and Wallpaper

By Commander Exorcist

On August 1, 2014

In Famous Players, Personal Reflection

The Downloads section of the blog is something that I am very excited about. It started out as a simple way to consolidate the PGN and Chessbase database files I was creating for different chess books and publications, but it is slowly morphing into something different altogether. This week I am proud to announce that versions of the OMC wallpaper collection are now available for iPhone 5, iPad (retina), Macbook Air, and the 21″ iMac, with more wallpaper being prepped for launch in the near future.

Additionally, the complete games of Bobby Fischer (PGN | CBH), Emanuel Lasker (PGN | CBH), and Paul Morphy (PGN | CBH) are now available in the Games Collection section at the bottom of the downloads page. Each of these files are available in PGN or Chessbase format and are perfect for exploring the history of some of the game’s greatest players.

Chess Chronicles of the Strange and Unusual

By Commander Exorcist

On July 21, 2014

In Famous Players

In my opinion, the universality of chess is one of its most appealing characteristics. Yet, there is a strangeness to the world of chess that creates and attracts some of the strangest personalities out there and unites some of the most unlikely of foes across the board. In this post, I will examine five unlikely chess players who have at least one game that has survived through time.

1. Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley was once dubbed by a British news service as the Most Wicked Man in the World and often referred to himself as The Beast. Crowley was a master magician and student of the occult. His penultimate work, The Toth Tarot has become one of the best selling tarot decks in history and it combines elements of ancient Egyptian mythology with later esoteric revelations. He makes #1 on this list not because of his chess playing abilities or prevalence of recorded games, but for his general strangeness and the significant quality of the only real piece of his chess legacy that I could find, which is one game recorded that ended in a draw with British chess master Joseph Henry Blackburne.

2. Che Guevara

The mere mention of Che Guevara conjures images of his cigar and famous red-starred beret. Che Guevara has become a pop icon synonymous with revolution, yet few outside the world of chess know the significant influence that he wielded over the game in post-revolution Cuba. In many ways, he was obsessed with the game and spent much of his time in Cuba’s new government finding ways to facilitate tournaments and to spread the game’s influence throughout the new regime. He also played a large role in Bobby Fischer’s teletype participation in the 1965 Capablanca Memorial. The following game features Che playing against a man whose name is now immortalized in a Sicilian variation: Miguel Najdorf.

3. Paul Morphy

Perhaps the most important thing to know about Paul Morphy is: do not believe everything that you hear. Urban legend has it that chess drove Paul Morphy insane and that he was discovered dead in his bathtub surrounded by women’s shoes. The reality of Paul Morphy is that he was a young chess prodigy and until the arrival of Bobby Fischer, was considered the greatest American chess player in history. Morphy beat most of Europe’s greatest players and endured a lifelong feud with chess legend Howard Staunton. His attempts to withdraw from the world of competitive chess resulted in a psychosis that took his life at a very early age. The following game has become one of the most prominent instructional games in history and is used by many chess teachers and coaches to demonstrate the importance of piece development.

4. Howard Stern

Howard Stern makes this list because public perception of him seems to be that he is the last person you would expect to be a thriving chess player. Although still rated in the amateur range, Howard Stern began taking chess lessons several years ago and playing anonymously on the Internet Chess Club. He has even brought his chess teacher on his show to discuss the game and to play exhibitions. Chess Life ran a wonderful commentary on some of his games in a 2010 article, which is available on the USCF website. The following game is taken from the PGN file of one of those games.

5. Napoleon Bonapart

For the final entry, I was tempted to post a picture of Napoleon from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but I decided to post a legitimate photo instead. However, the tendency of the French to paint Napoleon as an epic hero on and off the battlefield should be taken with a grain of salt. Although he was an unstoppable military commander, Napoleon was a terrible chess player. Legend has it that he would go into fits of rage after losing and that some of his military commanders would purposely lose games to avoid losing their heads! The following game is perhaps one of Napoleon’s most famous losses and it comes against the greatest chess hoax of all time: The Turk!

Wesley So Coming to the USCF

By Commander Exorcist

On June 8, 2014

In Famous Players

Some people believe that he could be a future chess World Champion and now, he just might do it carrying the banner of the United States. Grandmaster Wesley So, who is ranked 15th in the world, recently announced through Susan Polgar’s chess blog that he will be switching from the National Chess Federation of the Philippines to the United States Chess Federation. Grandmaster So had previously requested a release from the NCFP following the upcoming Olympiad in Tromso but his request was ignored, which prompted his most recent announcement. Unfortunately, FIDE rules require that he suspend his participation in top-level chess events for two years prior to switching to the USCF or else he could pay a 50k euro fee to transfer immediately.

Here is a transcript of the letter sent by Grandmaster So to the president of NCFP, Propsero Pichay, requesting immediate release from the NCFP.

Dear Cong Pichay,

I would like to share my thoughts about changing federations. I hope you have the time to read my letter. I appreciate your understanding in advance.

First of all, I would like to thank you for your past support. I am proud to be Filipino, and I will always be a Filipino at heart. I will never forget where I came from.

However, circumstances have changed. My family has permanently moved to Canada. I now live and attend school full time in the United States (at Webster University). I plan to reside permanently here. This is where I will have the opportunity to improve my chess, and make a decent living as a professional player. I want to be able to play in top level tournaments … to get to the next level.

I have filed the paperwork to switch federation to the US last year. I respectfully ask that you grant me this opportunity and consent my transfer.

If you choose not to approve my transfer request, I have no way of paying the 50,000 euros fees to the NCFP. Therefore, I will have no choice but to sit out another year to fulfill my full two year waiting period so no transfer fees are needed. This will not benefit the NCFP at all. However, it will severely slow down my progress by not being able to play in official FIDE events such as the World Cup, World Blitz and Rapid Championships, etc. I will be forced to miss the next World Championship cycle.

Because of the 2-year waiting period rule of FIDE, I am not able to compete in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Dubai next week. I will also not be able to compete in the upcoming Olympiad in Norway.

This is not an easy decision. But it is the best decision for me to have a chance to be a top 10 player in the world, and perhaps one day fight for the World Championship crown. I hope you will support my decision and allow me to make this change immediately so I can have a chance to chase my dream without losing more valuable time at this very important age.

Thank you!

Respectfully yours, Wesley So

Bobby Fischer the Maniac?

By Commander Exorcist

On May 27, 2014

In Famous Players, History

It is a common misconception that Bobby Fischer, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time, was a maniac. Unfortunately, the man once known as a hero of America for ending Soviet domination of the World Chess Championship descended into hate-filled rants and reclusiveness immediately after his victory over Boris Spassky in 1972. When Bobby completed his destruction of the Soviet chess machine, he promised that his next goal was to relax and play a lot more chess. However, as most people know, he famously disappeared and was not publicly seen or heard from until roughly 1992 when he emerged to challenge Spassky to a rematch in Yugoslavia. The United States embargo against Milosevic in Yugoslavia resulted in Bobby Fischer becoming an international fugitive once he received a $5 million payoff for beating Spassky again.

Most contemporary images of Bobby Fischer involve his intense anti-semantic rants and hatred of the United States. According to his claims, he believed that the United States was a puppet nation and that it was out to destroy the world, just like the former Soviet Union. Immediately following September 11, 2001, Bobby phoned in to a radio talk show from isolation in Japan and declared his joy over the destruction of the World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon. These painful images of a hateful Bobby Fischer have caused many inside and outside of the chess world to label him as psychotic. Is it possible that Bobby Fischer was acting irrationally in his tirades against the Soviet Union and the United States?

Ultimately, there appears to be little evidence to support any assertions that Bobby Fischer was psychotic. There is a common misconception in contemporary society that a person could only make intense negative or hateful comments if their judgment has been compromised and that there is some underlying psychosis causing them to act irrationally. We see this a lot in the media whenever a mass killing or other unfortunate crime strikes in the United States. Often psychologists and other experts are brought in to help find an answer to the tragedy. However, in the case of Bobby Fischer, none of his statements were incredibly irrational per se. Instead, his comments belittled and marginalized a group of people (the Jews) and were wholly incompatible with such a diverse and multicultural society, but they were not irrational in the sense that Bobby Fischer could find a legitimate basis for his beliefs. If Bobby was suffering from some form of psychosis, it is quite possible that it would have manifested in his chess games. However, his chess games still provide scholars, enthusiasts, and players of all ages with a treasure trove of material to review. In fact, one of the most popular collections of chess games is called Bobby Fischer: My 60 Memorable Games.

Fischer is often compared with another reclusive chess player, Paul Morphy, who experienced a significant mental breakdown following years of intense international gameplay. While Fischer’s experiences do mirror Morphy’s in some respects, there is still much to his life that does not. Fischer continued his intense analysis of games throughout the 1980s as he traveled to various international locations and spent time with famous chess players like the Polgar sisters. If Bobby Fischer was a madman, it was chess that kept his mind together. When he set down at the board, there was a grace and beauty to the way he moved the pieces that is unparalleled even to this day. Chess was a protective element of his life that defended his identity, and calmed his soul. Unfortunately, the humanity and final memories of Bobby Fischer were banished to the frozen ground of a small Lutheran church not far from where he took down the Soviet chess machine.