 Looking Tal in Moscow
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Books and songs were written about him; and the ongoing Tal Memorial in Moscow further reminds us of the legacy of the incomparable Soviet-Latvian attacking genius Mikhail Tal, who died in 1992, aged just 56.
They called him the "Magician from Riga," and even to this day, the compliment "You played like Tal" is regarded as the highest praise we can give to anyone who wins a dazzling attacking game. And in Moscow right now, the player today most likened to Tal, Russia's Alexander Morozevich, is leading the Tal Memorial at the midpoint.
With an uncompromising style of fighting chess that makes him a big crowd-pleaser, “Moro” stunned the former world champion, Vladimir Kramnik, in round three, with a 31 move victory to take the outright lead, and now enjoys a half point lead over the chasing pack on 3.5/5 going into Saturday's rest day.
Standings: 1. A. Morozevich (Russia), 3.5/5; 2-4. S. Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), R. Ponomariov (Ukraine), V. Ivanchuk (Ukraine), 3; 5-7. B. Gelfand (Israel), P. Leko (Hungary), V. Kramnik (Russia), 2.5; 8-9. E. Alekseev (Russia), G. Kamsky (Russia), 2; 10. A. Shirov (Spain), 1.
The Chess.FM team of Mig Greengard and GMs Joel Benjamin, Larry Christiansen, Nick de Firmian, Ronan Har--Zvi and Gregory Kaidanov have been busy doing live coverage throughout for ICC, and below you can catch-up with some of the action with their Tal Memorial "Game of the Day" selection.
Play will resume on Sunday, August 24 and will go through till Wednesday, August 27, starting daily at 7am ET here on ICC. Official website: http://www.russiachess.org/
GM Peter Svidler Special on Chess.FM
Four-time Russian champion Peter Svidler joined the Chess.FM team for their round five live coverage of the Tal Memorial. In this exclusive, 90 minute rebroadcast video, Svidler dissects the days play and discusses major chess issues of the day. Don't miss it!
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DATE |
TAL MEMORIAL GAME-OF-THE-DAY |
GM COMMENTATOR |
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1
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8/18
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Joel Benjamin
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2
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8/19
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Nick De Firmian
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3
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8/20
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Larry Christiansen
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4
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8/21
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Ronen Har-Zvi
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5
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8/22
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Joel Benjamin
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6
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8/24
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Ronen Har-Zvi
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7
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8/25
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Larry Christiansen
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8
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8/26
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Nick De Firmian
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9
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8/27
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Gregory Kaidanov
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Teenage Rampage
Age and guile is proving no match for youth and innocence right now at the NH Chess Tournament, as the 'Rising Stars' are running rampant over the 'Experience' team by the crushing score so far of 12-3. This unique event is organized in co-operation with the Monaco-based Association Max Euwe, running August 20-30, at the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in the centre of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The Experience team includes: Bareev (Russia, 2655), Kortchnoi (Switzerland, 2602), Jussupow (Germany, 2587), Agdestein (Norway, 2583) and Ljubojevic (Serbia, 2555).
The Rising Stars team includes Wang Yue (China, 2704), Cheparinov (Bulgaria, 2687), Caruana (Italy, 2630), Stellwagen (The Netherlands, 2616) and Erwin l'Ami (The Netherlands, 2610).
ICC Chess.FM's Macauley Peterson (voted Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America) brings us his inimitable spin on this intriguing match-up, with daily videos throughout, along with Peter Doggers of ChessVibes.com. Check out the videos.
August Membership Special!
 The dog days of summer are with us, but this time it comes with a special membership offer here at ICC that you just can't pass up. Now is your chance to SAVE $60 while at the same time turbo-charging ICC Dasher with the innovative World Champion "Junior" chess engine. Junior FAQ: http://www.chessclub.com/help/Junior
We are offering Junior for FREE all of this month with a purchase of a three-year ICC membership, new or renewal. At just $149.95 for three years, you already save $30 compared to the to the regular one-year price, while Junior would normally cost an additional $29.95 at our exclusive members-only price, saving you a total of about $60!
All you need to do is sign up or renew online at the three-year rate during the month of August and then download Junior 10.1 (the latest version of this engine) using Purchase Junior Engine from the Dasher Web menu. If you prefer, you also have the option of purchasing Deep Junior for just $20 (the normal difference for members).
Junior integrates with ICC Dasher, allowing you to analyze your games or "Play vs. Computer" offline. This is also the only UCI-COMPATIBLE version of Junior on the market, so you can run it in your other favorite chess programs in addition to Dasher.
So what are you all waiting for -- Save $60 and get Junior now!
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GM Ronen Har-Zvi's Blunderland Series
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With Chess Talk and John Watson on vacation until September, each Tuesday through August Chess.FM will have a "summer special" with some new videos for you all to enjoy. First up is part one of Ronen's Blunderland, as our own GM Ronen Har-Zvi follows up on the success of his Winter Blunderland special from last year. This time, with the Anand-Kramnik match looming on the horizon, Ronen takes a look at blunders of the world champions. Yes, it can even happen to the best of them!
Preview Part 1
Preview Part 2
To watch the rest sign up for membership!
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Mondays: GM Ronen Har-Zvi "New Ideas
in the Petroff's Defense"
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The Petroff Defence (sometimes
called the Russian Defence, and named after Russia's
Alexander Petrov, 1794-1867) is considered as one
of Black's most reliable and solid methods of meeting
the king's pawn opening. It is easy to play and an
excellent choice for someone looking for an alternative
to the Scotch Opening, the Italian Game and the ‘Spanish
torture’ of the Ruy Lopez.
Until a few years ago, the Petroff was an opening that was favored by only a few top Grandmasters, including Anatoly Karpov and Artur Yusupov. However, the last few years have seen a dramatic rise in its popularity, and it now provides battlefields for many top clashes of the modern elite players, including Anand, Kramnik, Leko, Topalov, and Shirov. And in the latest of his "New Ideas in..." series, GM Ronen Har-Zvi, takes a closer look under the microscope at the solid Petroff. |
Click here for a free 5 minute preview of Ronen's latest video. To
listen to the full videos, sign
up for membership!
Tuesdays: Chess Talk with IM John Watson
 Tune-in
for Chess Talk with IM John Watson on ICC Chess.FM. John's
weekly 60+ minute show (members only) will feature an interview
with leading chess personalities. All shows run on demand
for members after airing.
This week (Tue., 29 July), joining IM John Watson on Chess Talk is English IM John Cox (a.k.a. octavia on ICC). A former British junior champion, John has made a name for himself as an author of four clearly-written and praised opening books for publishers Everyman Chess: Starting Out: Sicilian Sveshnikov, Starting Out: Alekhine's Defence, Starting Out: 1 d4, and Dealing with d4 Deviations
Chess Talk will be on its summer break throughout August - but John Watson will be back in early September for a new season of his show with lots of new guests!
Find below a selection of free 5-minute
previews of the latest shows. To listen to the full shows, sign
up for membership! |
Wednesdays: Attack with LarryC!
 New
at ICC Chess.FM - Attack With LarryC! A
weekly 30 min+ show on Wednesdays at 15:00 EDT (and available on-demand thereafter for members), featuring
three-time U.S. Champion Larry Christiansen, one of the
most dangerous and respected attacking players of his generation.
Larry is a feared competitor and attacker
who authored two popular books that showcase his aggressive
style: Storming
the Barricades and Rocking
the Ramparts. And each week on his show, Larry
will feature various attacking motifs and themes and showing
you how best to play for mate.
Click "Play
Video" for a free 5 minute preview of Larry's latest
video. By popular demand from members, we are now archiving
previous Attack
with LarryC shows. This video is just one of the many
benefits of being a full member of ICC - so, sign
up for membership!
Thursdays: Ask the Renaissance Man
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Tune-in for "Ask the Renaissance Man" with National Master Dan Heisman every Thursday at 21:00 EDT. You send in the questions and Dan provides the answers every week on his Q&A show. Questions on tournament rules, opening play, chess books, chess politics, current events, and more!
Click
"Play Video" for a free 5 minute preview of Dan's
latest show. To listen to the full show, sign
up for membership! |
And this week for non-members, you can listen to the full show for free by clicking here. So, all the more reason to become a member now and get to listen each week to all the shows on ICC Chess.FM!
Thursdays: Boris Alterman's Gambit Guide
Israeli GM Boris Alterman is best known as a leading chess advisor for the multi-title
winning chess software program (Deep) Junior, where he specialized
in developing its opening book.
Fridays: GM Joel Benjamin "Game
of the Week"
 Three-time
U.S. Champion GM Joel Benjamin starts his
weekly show every Friday at 15:00 Server Time. Click "Play
Video" for a free 5 minute preview of Joel's latest
show. To listen to the full show, sign
up for membership!
Joel is regarded by many as one of
the best commentators and analysts' we have in the game
today, and each Friday he will be giving us his insight
and spin with his selection of Game of the Week.
This not-to-be-missed weekly video
series is exclusive for ICC members only -- so if you want
to get ahead of the game, get ready to tune-in! By popular
demand and requests from members, ALL
of Joel Benjamin's GOTW videos are available. Enjoy! |
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5 0 Blitz Championship Results!
Congratulations to our new champion, akibael who won the Triple Elim final with a score of 9.0/11. He defeated runner-up wesley in the final match. AlonzoMosely finished in third place. Congrats also to Reneh, our u2000 champion! Join us next year for the 2009 5 0 Blitz Championships!
Z-House League!
Like Crazyhouse (wild 23) ? Then the z-house league is for you! Every Friday and Sunday, 3 z-house tourneys are held in Ketchup. The first tourney is a 6 round 1 0 swiss and the second two are each 6 rounds of 3 0 swiss. Friday's festivities kick off at 17:00, while Sundays tournaments begin at 12:45.
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September Marathon!
It's Marathon time again! The September marathon will be held on Sept 13-14. That's right, 24 hours of consecutive tourneys beginning at 12:00 on Saturday, Sept 13! There will be 5 sections as always: U1600 5 0 Blitz in Tomato, 1600+ 5 0 Blitz in Cooly, U1800 1 0 Bullet in Olive, 1800+ 1 0 Bullet in Flash, and 15 0 Standard in Slomato. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers in the series as well as the top 3 most games played in the marathon series. Come on out and see how you do!
 Tourney Tip: How Do I Win a Prize?
Many of the scheduled tournaments have monthly prizes that they award. If you finish high enough for the series (usually top 3), then you win a prize. “Help tomatowinners” for more details on the scheduled prizes. In addition, you can win prizes through the bi-monthly Marathon. “Help marathon” for details. And finally, when a manager runs a Celebration tourney, there will occasionally be prizes awarded for these as well. “Finger celebration” to see upcoming Celebration Tourneys!
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Chess Results, 1947-1950 - Gino Di Felice
This comprehensive chronological reference work lists the results of men’s chess competitions all over the world—tournaments and matches, 1947 through 1950.
Entries note the location and, when available, the sponsor. First and last names of players are included whenever possible and are standardized for easy reference. Published sources are cited.
Compiled from contemporary newspapers, periodicals, tournament records and match books, this work contains 980 tournament crosstables and 155 match scores. It is indexed by events and by players.
Published by McFarland, 485 pages.
Price: $48.95 -  Buy now!
Flexible French, The - Moskalenko
The famous French Defence is one of the most widely-played chess openings. It is a fighting opening, which perfectly suits many club players as well as a growing number of top players.
The Flexible French is a revolutionary repertoire book for both Black and White.
The Ukrainian grandmaster’s analysis is high-level, yet his touch is light and fresh, and the book sparkles with original ideas. In his own inimitable style, Moskalenko gives the reader new gusto for the French.
This extremely accessible book rounds off with seven relatively unknown weapons, early deviations with which you may surprise your opponent – as Black or as White!
280 pages, soft cover.
Price: $24.95 - Buy
now! |
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Roman's Lab 61: Art of Instant Attacks
In Volume 61: Art of Instant Attacks - Lesson by Grandmaster Larry Christiansen, Intro by Roman.
On this DVD Larry Christiansen will demonstrate through a series of examples how to create instant violent attacks in your games.
Larry will examine all movements that have effects on the enemy King's position such as:
- The power of Queen centralizing
- Power of a Knight on e7 and f5
- Rook Lifting and Traffic Jams
- Knight forks and attacks on Superior pieces
- All Checks and Captures
- Interference
- Counter attacks and more
Over one hour of instructional video
Price: $19.95 - Buy
now!
Test Your Chess IQ Grandmaster Challenge - Livshitz
Recently re-issued by Everyman - this is a reprint of the classic title that first appeared in 1993.
There is no better way to improve your tactical ability than by working out winning combinations in positions taken from Grandmaster games.
In this final - and most challenging! - part of his best-selling three-volume course in chess tactics, Russian chess teacher Livshitz provides a wealth of test-yourself positions identified under recurring combinational themes such as diversion, interference, X-ray attack and many more!
Solving these positions will stretch your imagination to the full and enable you to test and assess your Chess IQ.
134 pages.
Price: $19.95 - Buy
now! |
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