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Will the Real Irina Krush Please Stand Up?

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On February 28, 2016

In Famous Players, News, US Chess

The February 24th edition of the Steve Harvey Show featured a fantastic game called Two Lies and a Truth in which Steve and his guest, career criminal Secretary Hillary Clinton asked questions of three young women to find out which one of them is the real US Women’s Chess Champion, GM Irina Krush.

krushoptions

Most of these women are liars. (Credit: YouTUBE/The Steve Harvey Show)

Each of the women in the game were obviously well-studied in Krush’s life and chess experiences as the not-Krushes gave excellent responses to Steve and Hillary’s questions in which they detailed Krush’s immigration from the USSR as a child to her upcoming shot at winning the US Women’s Chess Championship for the eighth time. The current record holder is Gisela Kahn Gresser who has held the title nine times in 1944, 1948, 1955, 1957, and 1965-1970.

realkrush

The Real GM Irina Krush. (Credit: YouTUBE/The Steve Harvey Show)

Of course, for chess aficionados, it was obvious from the beginning who the real Irina Krush was, but it was refreshing to see Steve and Hillary guess correctly and send the audience home with a nice gift. Congrats to Irina for continuing to be a trailblazer in the chess world and good luck to her in the upcoming championship. Here is the clip in its entirety:

Having problems? View the full clip on YouTUBE.

-w.s.

Sinquefield Cup Changes Tournament Dates

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On February 18, 2016

In FIDE, News, Saint Louis Chess Club

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) recently changed the dates of the 2016 Baku Chess Olympiad and Chess Congress, which created some conflict with the Sinquefield Cup. According to Chess24, the Sinquefield Cup has changed its tournament dates to August 4-16 to de-conflict.

This means that starting in the 3rd quarter of this year will begin a marathon of professional chess that will culminate with November’s 2016 World Chess Championship at a location to be announced in the United States. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the chess calendar looks from August to December of this year, barring any sudden changes by our robot overlords FIDE.

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

  • Women’s World Championship: October 11-31 (website)

November 2016

  • World Chess Championship: Dates TBD

I, For One, Am Still Skeptical of Our Robot Overlords

By

On February 16, 2016

In FIDE, News, Saint Louis Chess Club

In 1994 when Homer Simpson was launched into outer space and inadvertently released laboratory ants aboard the space shuttle and a closeup of the floating insects was interpreted by Kent Brockman, everyone’s favorite TV announcer, as an invasion of earth by insectoids. The quote, I for one welcome our new insect overlords, was taken from the film adaptation of H.G. Wells’ Empire of the Ants and has since been parodied countless times through various memes.

Kent Does Not Look Happy About This One… (Credit: FOX)

So, why the backstory on the title? No reason, just word count. :)

I felt that it was the proper way to address the World Chess Federation‘s (FIDE) recent release of date changes to the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku and the 2016 FIDE Congress, moving both tournaments up from the end of September to the first two weeks of the month. Why is this such a big deal, then? Well, it just so happens that the end of August and into the first week of September is traditionally the time of the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis, where the world’s strongest chess players including Magnus Carlsen play as part of the Grand Chess Tour.

With the overlords at FIDE now dictating that the Olympiad and the Congress will occur at the same time as the Sinquefield Cup, that creates a very difficult situation for players in both tournaments. The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has already mentioned via Twitter at 1450 CST that it is aware of the conflict and is working on a revised schedule.

I, for one, am not so welcoming of our robot overlords who can shift tournaments without so much as an explanation. I also suspect that I am not the only one out there that might be reading between the lines on this one. Even if FIDE is not engaged in a conspiracy against American players, the sudden change of tournament dates will definitely affect players, friends, and family members who have already made plans to attend one of the events or the Sinquefield Cup.

Can chess players make big deals out of nothing? Of course they can, but our FIDE overlords can also making nothing out of really big deals. Just ask the friends and family of Larissa Yudina.

Points of Interest

Texas Tech Dethrones Webster Dynasty

By

On January 6, 2016

In Scholastic Chess, Tournaments, US Chess

As a fan of Major League Baseball I share the frustrations of countless fans resigned to watching teams like the New York Yankees dominate the sports landscape and establish consecutive winning streaks called dynasties. In chess, Texas Tech University dominated for years when GM Susan Polgar became the school’s coach. In her time at Tech, GM Polgar led her team to victory in the Chess Final Four for the first time in Tech’s chess program history. That was 2007 and the chess program in Lubbock would grow much faster than the university was prepared to deal with. She left the program in 2012 to start a new program at Webster University and took most of Texas Tech’s chess talent with her. Texas Tech faded somewhat into chess obscurity as the SPICE program at Webster University dominated the college chess landscape and established a powerful dynasty that turned out to be more like the Death Star. Texas Tech made chess headlines by defeating Webster at the Pan Am Intercollege Chess Nationals in the home of my beloved Indians: Cleveland, Ohio!

This win was impressive not only for Tech’s redemption victory over Polgar’s Webster team, but also the level at which Webster’s teams suffered in the tournament. FM Mike Klein has an excellent tournament report over at Chess.com. Surely expectations will be high for both colleges in next year’s competition and Tech recently added the lovely and talented WCM Claudia Muñoz to their lineup. It will be exciting to see what happens in the weeks and months to come as both schools regroup and head into the new year.

Play through all games from the tournament below:

Kirsan Illyumzhinov Sanctioned by the United States

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On November 26, 2015

In FIDE, US Chess

You might have already read this story making waves across the online chess community, but its potential effects on international chess warrant another mention. The United States Department of the Treasury has slapped sanctions on Kirsan Illyumzhinov because of his continued support of oppressive regimes like those in Syria and the former governments of Iraq and Libya. Kirsan’s eccentric political connections are well known and often despised within the chess community, but these sanctions come primarily because of his connections to the government of Syria. American intelligence has linked Syrian government assets to support of the terrorist group known as ISIS. These sanctions come at a difficult time for Illyumzhinov and the World Chess Federation as the organization is actively searching for a US-based venue for the 2016 World Chess Championship.

For an in-depth exposé into the developing story along with the official response from Kirsan himself, check out this article on Chessbase.

USCF Begins Transition to US Chess

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On September 18, 2015

In US Chess

Visitors to the United States Chess Federation‘s website recently may have noticed the radical redesign of the site’s front page, logo, and the way that the federation refers to itself. Throughout its history, the USCF has been referred to by its four-letter designation, United States Chess Federation, US Chess Federation, US Chess, and the United States of America Chess Federation. USCF has been the most recent way to identify the organization, but now the federation has started a two-year process of rebranding and revitalizing its image. USCF is now officially US Chess and has a new look, new logo, and a new mission: to empower people through chess one move at a time.

While the only part of the website that has really been updated is the homepage and the logo, I am very excited about this revitalized focus on branding and overall presentation of the organization. Having a modern logo, responsive website, and effective social media presence can do wonders for chess in the United States, especially at a time when Pawn Sacrifice is prepping to debut in theaters across the country, scholastic chess is as popular across the country as it has ever been, Saint Louis is growing as a megapower of chess influence, and worldwide chess is filled with some of the most powerful Grandmasters of all time.

Over time, the US Chess Federation plans to redesign every element of its website including the tragically outdated members only area and crosstable databases. Chess Life magazine has already undergone its modern makeover with a new logo and countless new advertisements and designs in the latest edition, which features Tobey Maguire on the cover as Bobby Fischer from Pawn Sacrifice.

It will be interesting to see what happens over time as the councils and staff at US Chess do to expand the brand and to build greater integration of chess operations across the country. To learn more about the federation’s longterm plans for the brand, check out this message.

Sinquefield Cup Round 3 Recap

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On August 25, 2015

In Famous Players, News, Saint Louis Chess Club, Tournaments

Round 3 of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup saw the tournament developing in a completely different style than last year’s Caruana blowout. After 3 rounds in Saint Louis, Veselin Topalov remains in the lead with 2.5/3 points, but Magnus Carlsen is on a close trail with 2/3 points going into round 4. Topalov played a Canal-Sokolsky attack, which is a Nimzovich-Rossolimo variation.

The variation worked out well for Topalov, who has proven a force to be reckoned with in this year’s tournament. 2nd place is a 3-way tie between Carlsen, Giri, and Aronian each with 2 points. Carlsen played the English against Vachier-Lagrave and managed to edge out the French Grandmaster to continue his exceptional performance rebounding from a tragic time control mixup earlier this year in Norway Chess 2015.

Standings After Round 4

Rank Name Score Rating
1 Topalov 3.0/4 2816
2 Aronian 3.0/4 2765
3 Giri 2.5/4 2793
4 Carlsen 2.5/4 2853
5 Vachier-Lagrave 2.0/4 2731
6 Nakamura 2.0/4 2814
7 So 1.5/4 2779
8 Grischuk 1.5/4 2771
9 Anand 1.0/4 2816
10 Caruana 1.0/4 2808


2015 Sinquefield Cup Round 3 Games Collection

Sinquefield Cup Round 2 Recap

By

On August 24, 2015

In Famous Players, News, Saint Louis Chess Club, Tournaments

The 2nd round of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup is complete and it is almost possible to feel the air being sucked out of the tournament room in Saint Louis from anywhere in the country. Veselin Topalov won a scorching victory against Hikaru Nakamura this evening to go 2-0 in the tournament. The two grandmasters battled it out over the board in a Ruy-Lopez Berlin Defence 3…Nf6 where Topalov held a slight advantage throughout the game before Nakamura succumbed to the pressure with 57…Rd4+.

Topalov’s win brings him to within 25 points of World Champion Magnus Carlsen for #1 on the FIDE leaderboard. Speaking of the champ, Carlsen edged out another victory against Fabiano Caruana to go 2-0 in the tournament. Caruana was unable to obtain compensation after Carlsen’s brilliant 39…Rb2! This time last year, Caruana was beginning his now-famous rampage through his opponents in the tournament, but the beauty of chess is showing us that nothing is a sure thing, even in the professional world.

White Result Black
1 GM Topalov V. (1) 2816 1-0 GM Nakamura H. (1) 2814
2 GM Vachier-Lagr. (1) 2731 ½-½ GM Aronian L. (1) 2765
3 GM Giri Anish (1) 2793 ½-½ GM So Wesley (0) 2779
4 GM Caruana F. (0) 2808 0-1 GM Carlsen M. (0) 2853
5 GM Grischuk A. (0) 2771 1-0 GM Anand V. (0) 2816

After two rounds, Veselin Topalov has sole lead in the tournament with Vachier-Lagrave, Aronian, and Giri coming in close second.

Rank Name Score Rating
1 Topalov 2/2 2816
2 Vachier-Lagrave 1.5/2 2731
3 Aronian 1.5/2 2765
4 Giri 1.5/2 2793
5 Carlsen 1/2 2853
6 Nakamura 1/2 2814
7 Grischuk 1/2 2771
8 So 1.5/1.5 2779
9 Anand 0/2 2816
10 Caruana 0/2 2808

The pairings for tomorrow’s round are as follows:

White Result Black
1 GM So Wesley (0) 2779 – – GM Grischuk A. (0) 2771
2 GM Aronian L. (0) 2765 – – GM Giri Anish (0) 2793
3 GM Carlsen M. (0) 2853 – – GM Vachier-Lagr (0) 2731
4 GM Nakamura H. (0) 2814 – – GM Caruana F. (0) 2808
5 GM Anand V. (0) 2816 – – GM Topalov V. (0) 2816

All Sinquefield Cup Round 2 Games

Sinquefield Cup Round 1 Recap

By

On August 23, 2015

In Famous Players, News, Saint Louis Chess Club, Tournaments

The first round of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup is finished with each game concluding decisively. Magnus Carlsen and Veselin Topalov played a rather snoozy game that the World Champion later referred to as chicken chess. It seemed at times like Carlsen was playing as though he was not familiar with the opening. In the end Carlsen was unable to obtain sufficient compensation for his play and fell in the first round to Topalov.

Fabiano Caruana, who was last year’s tournament champion, was among the first players to fall in the first round. Caruana was unable to solve an exciting game against Levon Aronian. This was the game that I spent most of the day watching because I was curious to see how Caruana was going to approach this year’s tournament play. When it became apparent that he would be unable to convert a win against Aronian, WGM Jennifer Shahade remarked that Caruana, although lost, was poised to go out in a blaze of glory.


Fighting Spirit Throughout

While the Carlsen-Topalov game was a nice sleeper, it was clear that the participants came to Saint Louis this year with a strong will to fight in their hearts. Round 02 starts tomorrow at 1300 EST at the Saint Louis Chess Club and will be broadcast on multiple mediums across the web.

White Result Black
1 GM Carlsen M. (0) 2853 0-1 GM Topalov V. (0) 2816
2 GM Nakamura H. (0) 2814 1-0 GM Anand V. (0) 2816
3 GM Aronian L. (0) 2765 1-0 GM Caruana F. (0) 2808
4 GM Giri Anish (0) 2793 1-0 GM Grischuk A. (0) 2771
5 GM So Wesley (0) 2779 0-1 GM Vachier-Lagr (0) 2731


2015 Sinquefield Cup – Round 02 Pairings

White Result Black
1 GM Grischuk A. (0) 2771 — — GM Anand V. (0) 2816
2 GM Topalov V. (1) 2816 — — GM Nakamura H. (1) 2814
3 GM Caruana F. (0) 2808 — — GM Carlsen M. (0) 2853
4 GM Vachier-Lagr. (1) 2731 — — GM Aronian L. (1) 2765
5 GM Giri A. (1) 2793 — — GM So Wesley (0) 2779


2015 Sinquefield Cup – Round 01 Games Collection

2015 Sinquefield Cup Starts Today

By

On August 22, 2015

In Famous Players, News, Saint Louis Chess Club, Tournaments

Updated 1945 EST w/Round 1 Pairings – Click here to view.

The players have arrived in Saint Louis for the start of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup! Although it looks like rain has put a damper on some of the outside activities, the autograph session at 1200L was scheduled to proceed regardless of the weather. Round 1 will start tomorrow at 1300L with the following players participating:

Rank Title Name Country Rating
1 GM Carlsen Magnus NOR 2853
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND 2816
4 GM Topalov Veselin BUL 2816
3 GM Nakamura Hikaru USA 2814
2 GM Caruana Fabiano USA 2808
7 GM Giri Anish NED 2793
10 GM So Wesley USA 2779
5 GM Grischuk Alexander RUS 2771
9 GM Aronian Levon ARM 2765
8 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime FRA 2731

There are several ways to tune in to the action including following the games on PlayChess.com, Chess24, and Chessbomb.

Round 1 Pairings

Pair Title White ELO Title Black ELO
1 GM Giri, Anish 2793 GM Grischuk, Alexander 2771
2 GM So, Wesley 2779 GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2731
3 GM Aronian, Levon 2765 GM Caruana, Fabiano 2808
4 GM Carlsen, Magnus 2853 GM Topalov, Veselin 2816
5 GM Nakamura, Hikaru 2814 GM Anand, Viswanathan 2816

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