 Dos Hermanas Special!
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Here's your last chance to pre-register for the opening qualifier of the online blitz extravaganza that we've come to love and know here at ICC as "Ciudad de Dos Hermanas".
Click here now for the registration pages to enter.
This is the biggest and best online blitz tournament there is bar none with many of the world's top grandmasters competing in - and the cash prize fund on offer for the 2009 edition is 7,600 euro (about $9,600), with 2,000 euro (roughly $2,500) first prize, plus additional prizes and ICC membership prizes for amateur players.
Qualifiers are held twice a day from March 13th to March 18th, with the finals on March 20th & 21st. The 12 qualifier winners plus the 20 best scores qualify to the 32-player KO finals. Click here for dates & times of all qualifiers.
Entry is completely FREE but you DO need to be a member of ICC to play! If you are not a member, we have a special Dos Hermanas membership rate of just $15 that will give you full ICC membership until June 1st! Just click on the button on the left to take advantage of this special Dos Hermanas membership offer.
Amber Alert
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It's that time of the year again when the cream of world chess collectively close their eyes and move quickly, as they meet at the grandiose Hotel Palais de la Mediterranée on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, for the 18th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament.
Twelve of the world's top elite grandmasters from ten different countries will take part in this hotly-contested annual contest. On offer is a 216,000 Euro ($279,000) total prize-fund. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe and generously sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Van Oosterom from Monaco.
This years' field is one of the strongest ever, and includes (in alphabetical order): World Champion Viswanathan Anand (India), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Gata Kamsky (United States), Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Peter Leko (Hungary), Alexander Morozevich (Russia), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Wang Yue (China).
And each day here at ICC, we will be relaying all the games live and including ICC Chess.FM commentary from the likes of GMs Larry Christiansen, Joel Benjamin, Nick De Firmian and Ronen Har-Zvi, who will also be providing our GOTD video service. Our roving reporter, Macauley Peterson, is now in Nice and each day at the new Chess.FM blog, he'll be taking you behind the scenes with his video reports and interviews from this unique chess experience.
This is one event you will not want to miss! Live coverage begins each day on ICC at 9:30 a.m. (EDT). Check out all the links below and book your ringside seat now for all the action on ICC!
ICC: finger Amber09
Official site: http://www.amberchess2009.com/
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Chess Explained: The Main-Line Slav - David Vigorito
The Main-Line Slav is one of the key battlegrounds of modern chess, with adherents among all levels of chess-players. It is notoriously difficult for White to prove any advantage against Black's solid set-up, while the lack of symmetry in the position provides scope for creative players to obtain winning chances with either colour. This book discusses all major lines following the moves 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4. There are many strategic directions the play can take: sometimes the center is blasted open and piece-play dominates, while in other cases the centre becomes fixed, or remains dynamic well into the middlegame. Vigorito dissects the most important themes and nuances, placing them firmly in the context of the practical struggle, making sure that readers will be familiar with the resources at their disposal, and understand when to employ them.
Paperback, 112 pages.
Price:
$22.95 -
 Buy
now!
John Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book (new enlarged edition)
Most chess puzzle books put you in an artificial situation: you are told a combination exists, what the theme is and what you are required to achieve. This one is different. In a real game, a player may sometimes need to find a combination. On the other hand he may have to reject a tactical idea and simply find a good positional move. His task is to find the right move, whatever it may be.
The 300 puzzles in this book put you precisely in that situation. Spectacular ideas abound in these positions, but it is for you to decide whether to go in for them, or whether you would be falling into a trap. If you need them, there are hints to help you on your way. The book ends with a series of tests to measure your skills against those of other players.
Published by Gambit, Soft cover, 335 pages.
Price:
$22.95 -
Buy
now!
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Chess Explained: The Grunfeld - Valentin Bogdanov
The Grünfeld Defence is one of the most aggressive openings at Black's disposal. He creates immediate imbalance and plans to strike at White's centre with all available resources. An insipid response from White may not even retain equality, so in the main lines he takes up the gauntlet: he creates a large pawn-centre and puts this to use to launch an attack. While the theory of these lines has been extensively developed, there is a coherent logical thread running through them: the Grünfeld is essentially an opening of grand ideas, which need to be understood well in order to get to grips with the theory and handle the resulting positions. This book provides a discussion of all major lines, and a special contribution from Viacheslav Eingorn on the key ideas of the Rb1 Exchange main line, which he was instrumental in developing in the 1970s and 1980s.
Paperback, 112 pages.
Price:
$22.95 -
Buy
now!
New In Chess Magazine 2009 #1
This issue features: An exclusive interview with Veselin Topalov, First Chinese Super-Tournament in Nanjing, Armenie reigns supreme in Dresden Olympiad, Kramnik: My side of the story - Vladimir Kramnik answers Kasparov, Endgame Anxiety - Jonathan Rowson wonders: 'What's the use of studying the endgame?'.
Soft cover, 106 pages.
Price:
$12.50 -
Buy
now!
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