Who's on First?
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The recent Grand Slam Final in Bilbao proved to be one of the strongest tournaments ever, yet it threw into question just who REALLY is the best player right now.
Norwegian teen ace, Magnus Carlsen led after four rounds and also became #1 on the virtual live ratings for players 2700 and over, which are fast gaining more credibility in the chess world over the official FIDE quarterly lists.
But then Carlsen lost twice so the top spot went to Ukrainian Vasily Ivanchuk and then, in the final rounds to Veselin Topalov, with the Bulgarian now heading the FIDE October list published this week. And added into the mix as to who's on first Abbot & Costello-style, a few weeks before Bilbao, at the Tal Memorial in Moscow, Alexander Morozevich was king for a day before being ceremoniously dethroned after losing to Ivanchuk - and Moro again has the chance to become numero uno on the live list, as he plays in the Russian Championship Super Final in Moscow that's currently being relayed live each day here at ICC.
And what of the mediocre performances of late from former top dogs Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik? Both have fallen dramatically from grace at Bilbao and the Tal Memorial to be respectively #5 and #6 - all of which calls into question the credibility of their $2m world title match starting soon in Bonn.
FIDE Top 10: 1. V. Topalov, 2791 (+14); 2. A. Morozevich, 2787 (-1); 3. V. Ivanchuk, 2786 (+5); 4. M. Carlsen, 2786 (+11); 5. V. Anand, 2783 (-15); 6. V. Kramnik, 2772 (-16); 7. L. Aronian, 2757 (+20); 8. T. Radjabov, 2751 (+7); 9. P. Leko, 2747 (+6); 10. D. Jakovenko, 2737 (+26)
Battle of Bonn - it's the final countdown!
We're now in the final countdown to the biggest chess showdown of the year, as world champion Vishy Anand (India) defends his title against former champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia).
The 12-game, $2 million plus match will run October 14th to November 2nd in the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, Germany, under the patronage of German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrük, and sponsored by Evonik Industries AG.
Game 1: Tuesday, October 14
Game 2: Wednesday, October 15
Game 3: Friday, October 17
Game 4: Saturday, October 18
Game 5: Monday, October 20
Game 6: Tuesday, October 21
Game 7: Thursday, October 23
Game 8: Friday, October 24
Game 9: Sunday, October 26
Game 10: Monday, October 27
Game 11: Wednesday, October 29
Game 12: Friday, October 31
Tiebreak (if needed): Sunday, November
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Chess.FM will have unrivaled coverage
throughout in Bonn, with Mig Greengard hosting our live coverage each day,
supported by his regular GM sidekicks
of Joel Benjamin, Larry Christiansen,
Nick de Firmian, Ronen Har-Zvi, Gregory
Kaidanov, not to mention some
top-flight surprise guest commentators.
Also in Bonn reporting for Chess.FM
will be American Chess
Journalist of the Year, Macauley
Peterson, who will be giving us his
unique video spin
of all the action.
During our live broadcast, there will
be the ever-popular New In Chess Trivia
contest, where each day you could
win ICC membership extensions and the
top prize of a one year subscription to
the best chess magazine in the world,
New In Chess! ICC members will
also be able to take part in the shows
and win ICC membership extensions by
Skyping in questions each day that will
be broadcast on air.
You can view some of the highlights of
live Chess.FM with a special 5 min preview clip
from the recent Grand Slam Final in
Bilbao - click to discover just what
all our members are raving about and
what you are missing by not being a
member of ICC! So get ready for the
Battle of Bonn by following all the
action here at ICC Chess.FM - sign up for your free trial membership
today!
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National Master Dan
Heisman's "Improve Your Chess
II"
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National
Master Dan
Heisman is a name that
is synonymous with excellence in
chess coaching and teaching. Dan
authors the award-winning Novice
Nook column (winner of three
Chess Journalists of America
"Best Instruction" awards), aimed
at improving adults, for
chesscafe.com that are clearly
written and offer very practical
advice and tips on how to improve
your game.
He has also written eight (with
more in the pipeline) acclaimed
teaching books on the game,
including Back to Basics:
Tactics, Everyone's 2nd
Chess Book, and Looking for
Trouble.
Over the years, Dan has produced
many winning students and
scholastic teams - and now he can
help you, too! Earlier in the
year, Dan released Improve Your
Chess I, a series of five
highly-rated instructional videos
for ICC Chess.FM, bringing you
his innovative teaching methods
on how to play better chess. Now,
in a follow-up comes a new
five-part series Improve Your
Chess II, all packed with
more advice and helpful tips from
the maestro himself.
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The five videos
(with free 5 min previews for each)
are:
1. King, Pawn and ? vs
King
2. Learning Tabiyas The
Closed Ruy Lopez
3. Evaluation
Criteria
4. The Seeds of Tactical
Destruction
5. Theory of Chess
Improvement
To view all the videos in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today!
Mondays: GM Ronen Har-Zvi's
"Unusual Queen Pawn
Openings"
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In his
“New Ideas in....” regular
video series for ICC Chess.FM,
GM Ronen
Har-Zvi investigates
the latest developments and
trends in those downright
annoying and unusual Queen Pawn
openings that avoid the main
battle-lines with 2 c4.
Are you searching for a
quick-fix against the
Colle-Zukertort, Torre Attack,
London System, QB Attack with 2
Bg5, Stonewall Attack or
perhaps the King's Fianchetto
Attack with 1 d4 2 Nf3 3 g3
(without c4)? Then look no
further as Ronen gives you an
easy-to-play antidote to all
those annoying 1 d4
openings.
Part 1 |
Part 2 |
Part 3 |
Part 4 |
Part 5 |
Part 6
To view all the videos in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today!
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Tuesdays: Chess Talk with
IM John Watson
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Tune-in for
Chess Talk with IM John Watson on
ICC Chess.FM. John's weekly
60+ minute show will feature an
interview with leading chess
personalities. All shows run on
demand for members after
airing.
This week (Tue., Sept., 30), joining John on Chess Talk is award-winning author, columnist, coach and Chess.FM's "Ask the Renaissance Man" Q&A show host, Dan Heisman.
Dan's name has become synonymous with teaching in the game. He has written eight acclaimed teaching books, including Back to Basics: Tactics, Everyone's 2nd Chess Book, and Looking for Trouble. Earlier in the year, Dan released Improve Your Chess I, a series of five highly-rated instructional videos for ICC Chess.FM, bringing you his innovative teaching methods on how to play better chess. Now, in a follow-up, he's just released a new five-part series Improve Your Chess II.
Click here for free 5-minute
preview of the latest show with
Dan Heisman. To listen to all the shows in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today!
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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. To view all the videos in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today!
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!
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And this week for
non-members, you can listen to the full
show for free by clicking here. To listen to all the shows in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today!
Thursdays: Boris Alterman's
Gambit Guide
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In his
weekly video lecture series for
ICC, Boris Alterman's
Gambit Guide, Boris
investigates gambits old and
new and show that, while some
may not be actively played on
the grandmaster circuit these
days, they are all exciting to
play and at the same time
instructive as they teach us
all about natural development
of the pieces and tactics in
chess. GM Boris Alterman has
just opened his official
blog where, among other
things, he'll be discussing
some of his choices for his
Gambit Guide.
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Latest Show
Previews:
Two Knights Chigorin Gambit Part I
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
To view all the videos in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today!
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. To view all the videos in full, sign-up for your free trial membership today! By popular demand and
requests from members, ALL of Joel Benjamin's
GOTW videos are available.
Enjoy!
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Streetfighting
Chess - Andrew
Burnett
It is very important for the practical player to train his or her ability, understand when to rely on intuition, rules of thumb and more general positional considerations, when to try to solve the problems by calculating variations to the end, and how to manage time to avoid time pressure. With these goals in mind, Dvoretsky's Analytical Manual delivers a lot of excellent, high quality training material and many exercises. The author discusses every problem from the perspective of the practical player, gives many general guidelines and investigates psychological aspects in depth.
This book takes its place next to the author's classic work on endings, Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, as being one of the great chess books of the modern era, a book from which the serious student may take his or her knowledge and understanding of complex middlegame ideas to the next level.
420 pages, soft cover
Price:
$32.95 -
Buy
now!

My 60 Memorable
Games - Bobby
Fischer
A rare window into
the mind of a chess icon, My 60
Memorable Games is perhaps the
most inspirational and
influential chess book ever
written. First published in
1969, it contains Bobby
Fischer's objective, honest and
self-critical annotations to
games he had won, drawn and
even lost in the period from
1957 to 1967 but from which he
had also learned valuable
lessons. Reading Fischer's
intensely personal commentaries
is like going back in time and
watching live coverage of his
over-the-board battles with the
leading players of his day.
Soon he would become the
greatest of them all.
In contrast with the previous
edition of this book, no
alterations have been made to
the text other than the
conversion of moves into
algebraic notation, making this
an updated yet accurate
reflection of the original
book.
Price:
$27.95 -
Buy
now!
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Secrets of Opening
Surprises Volume 9 -
Bosch
Brings you a wide
variety of unusual opening
ideas. They may seem outrageous
at fi rst sight, but have
proven to be perfectly
playable.
An SOS deviates very early from
the regular lines in a
mainstream opening, usually
even before move six! That is
why it is so easy to actually
bring the variation on the
board. You will baffle your
opponent without having studied
large quantities of stuffy
theory.
144
pages, soft cover
Price:
$20.95 -
Buy
now!

Genius and the Misery of Chess, The - Zhivko Kaikamjozov
Zhivko Kaikamjozov is a Bulgarian chess master, organizer, trainer, referee, journalist and author. This is his 33rd title!
47 Chess Greats are briefly described in an unusual fashion. Focus is not only on their glorous feats but also on their misery, which unfortunately many of them suffered from. Kaikamjozov writes about As-Suli the Exile (880-946), Greco, Morphy, Walbrodt, Noteboom, Breyer, Junge & Stolberg (both perished in WW II), Petrov, Fischer, Kasparov, Koneru, Carlsen and many many other stars.
224 pages, Published by Mongoose Press
Price:
$18.95 -
Buy
now!
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