It was a game which became an obsession so consuming that it wrecked the personal and political lives of two noblemen in Munshi Premchand’s short story set in the Indian kingdom of Awadh which Satyajit Ray brilliantly brought to life on celluloid in his film ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’. Chess, or chaturanga as it was known in the ancient times is more than just a mind game. On a metaphorical level chess can capture the power of the human mind and imagination like no other.

Ancient origins of chess remain obscure though there is fair consensus on the claim that it emerged from Persia. Around the 9th century it began its spread towards Europe and by the time the 15th century closed, chess as we know it today had pretty much emerged. In the five subsequent centuries, chess as a game became more and more organised culminating in the establishment of FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) in 1924 which helped it emerge as a professional sport. Initially the Soviet Union, for whom chess and politics would always be intricately strung, refused to join but after the incumbent world champion Alexander Alekhine died in 1946 and with FIDE organising the World Championship to find the replacement, it relented. The new champion was Mikhail Botvinnik who heralded an assembly line of Soviet champions in the sport including the most recognisable ones - Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov.

The Indian challenge in the world of chess has perennially been personified by one man-the unassuming and affable Vishwanathan Anand. Anand, the current World Champion and on top of the FIDE’s Elo ratings (a rating system for chess players), emerged meteorically winning the World Junior Chess championship in 1987 and becoming grandmaster at age 18. Today, inspired by his achievements many chess prodigies have emerged from India including Koneru Hampi who is currently number two in the Women’s Elo Ratings. K Visweswaran, a chess trainer who was India’s coach in the recently concluded World Youth Chess Championship believes ‘Anand’s exploits have inspired children to take up chess in India, even at very young ages and with good trainers around and rigorous tournaments, it has meant a boom in the emergence of chess talent on the world stage from India.’

Given its nature, chess requires consummate skill to master and is often seen as the sport of the ‘geeks’. Parimarajan Negi, the World’s Youngest Grandmaster at age 14 told TSI about the secret behind his success ‘I have coaches from Russia with whom I have intensive training sessions.’ In India, and in many other places in the world it remains a special interest sport, the proverbial poorer cousin of other glamourous and lucrative sports. Reefat Bin Sattar, the International Grandmaster from Bangladesh laments to TSI that in his country ‘With cricket catching the fancy it’s very difficult to get people interested in chess, since there is no patronage.’ But for those who have tasted the addiction of this heady mindsport, there cannot be anything better. Just ask Mirza Sajjad Ali and Mir Roshan Ali in ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’!

From and Article in The Sunday Indian

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VISWANATHAN ANAND'S way to the world crown began in l975. Much of the way he followed from the time he became the Asian Junior Champion in 1984 and the World Junior Champion in l987, is remembered. But few recall how Madras laid the foundations for Anand's march to the top but also for the city becoming the chess capital of India.

Solar K. S. Subramanya Iyer of the Ramani Press in Mylapore and the Chennapuri Andhra Maha Sabha, by the Town Hall (the Victoria Public Hall) in Park Town, may have been the chief centres of the game in the l930s and 40s, but while both tried to increase the numbers playing in their premises, there was little effort to develop it as a major competitive sport. That effectively began with the emergence of one Madras player who was to dominate the Indian chess scene in the Fifties and Sixties. Today, 65-year old Manuel Aaron, nine times National Champion and India's first International Master in l96l, is less known in the wider world than his son Arvind Aaron, who has covered extensively in print Anand's exploits during the last few years. It was the Burma- born, Indian Bank-employed Aaron Senior's achievements that particularly caught the attention of chess fans and his Inter- Zonal match against Purdy of Australia that inspired a generation of chess players in Madras.

The founding of the Madras District Chess Association in 1970 and the sponsorship by the Soviet Cultural Centre the same year of the Tal Club that gave this generation a chance to play more competitive chess, were the impetus the game needed. But it was to be eight more years before Madras produced the country's next two International Masters, V.Ravikumar and V.Ravisekhar. Chess played at a higher level, however, was now on its way.

Ever since the Tal Club was founded, every chess player from in and around the city has benefited as much from friendly matches and the lightning chess competitions played there as they have from its chess library, which, besides a wealth of chess books and magazines, offers publications from the numerous Tal Clubs round the world.

The Tal Clubs, named after the l960 world champion Mikhail Tal, have done more to spread the Russocentric game around the world than any other institution. It was at the Tal Club in Madras that, encouraged by players and administrators like Manuel Aaron, Anand as a child honed his game by participating almost daily in speed chess. While lauding Anand's achievements, the Indian chess world and its fans might spare a thought or two for Manuel Aaron who put Indian chess on the modern world chess map and the Tal Club, Madras, that helps keep producing champions.

Anurag Mhamal is the latest chess sensation of Goa, having won the state championship in 2007. A young lad of barely 12 years, he had achieved much in chess at this young age

Having had an attacking approach to the game right from an early age, he has gained many admirers especially at the National level.

It all started when he was barely six-years-old. After watching a chess championship the young Anurag Mahamal found himself drawn towards the game. His father, a chess player himself, gave him all the encouragement and support needed to enhance his game. Anurag then went on to play in an under-7 tournament and won a medal at the first attempt. He has taken part in tournaments in almost all the age groups in Goa till date, invariably coming first or second. But it is at the nationals that he has made his mark. In the under-8 tournament held at Sangli he won the second place in 2003 and the first place in 2005. His best at the National level however remains the tenth position, which he achieved at Chennai last year.

His rise has been phenomenal this year as he has gained a number of ELO points – his points have touched 2035. He finished in a commendable 19th position at the Rochess Rating Championship at Mumbai having drawn with International Master (IM) A B Vaidya, ex-National ‘B’ Champion, and with WIM Anupama Gokhale, ex-National women’s champion. In the same tournament comprising of over 200 players he went on to beat the under-25 champion, Arjun Tiwari. The other rating tournaments in which he featured this year included the Suraj International Rating at Sangli where he defeated IM Ravi Hegde , the ex-National ‘B’ champion, and the Babukaka Rating tournament at Sangli where he came 17th in a highly competitive field.

When quizzed as to how much time he devotes to chess he replied that he spends no less than five to six hours a day practicing on the computer

Anurag’s initial coaching was done by V Sivaswamy but later he trained under the watchful eye of IM Ravi Shekhar from Bangalore. But it was only this year when he trained under Akash Thakur that he learnt in full earnest how to use and analyse the computer.

Yet for any guidance his father Arvind Mhamal is always there to lend a helping hand.

‘Anurag has all the potential for becoming a big player in India, but for that he has to be very consistent. At times he beats much fancied players only to loose against lower ranked players later on,’ says Anurag. But it is the drive and enthusiasm for the game that keeps him going and he has led his school, Peoples High School to a runner-up position in the inter-school championships.

Of late Anurag has been concentrating at all National and International Open tournaments, and hence is not much heard of at the State level tournaments.

Yet like any other young boy of his age, he loves playing table tennis and is a voracious reader.

From The Navhind Times

Game one

A very tense game. Topalov repeated the same variation as in the second classical game but Kramnik deviated with 14…Re8 (instead of 10…Bg6). Topalov sensed that he couldn’t play for a kingside attack anymore and play was transferred to the queenside. Veselin sacrificed the a4 pawn for a strong initiative but Kramnik was able to bail out with his excellent 36…Nc4! only move.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 Re8 15. Ne1 Rc8 16. f4 Bxe1 17. Rxe1 Bg6 18. Bf1 Rc2 19. b3 Qa5 20. Bb5 Rd8 21. Re2 Rcc8 22. Bd2 Qb6 23. Rf2 a6 24. Bf1 Rc6 25. b4 Rc2 26. b5 a5 27. Bc3 Rxf2 28. Qxf2 Qa7 29. Qd2 Ra8 30. Rc1 Nb6 31. Bb2 Nxa4 32. Ba3 h6 33. h3 Be4 34. Kh2 Nb6 35. Bc5 a4 36. Ra1

Position after 36. Ra1

36...Nc4 37. Bxc4 b6 38. Qe3 Rc8 39. Bf1 bxc5 40. dxc5 Qxc5 41. Qxc5 Rxc5 42. b6 Rc6 43. b7 Rb6 44. Ba6 d4 45. Rxa4 Bxb7 46. Bxb7 Rxb7 47. Rxd4 (1/2-1/2 )

It was double joy for newly-crowned World champion Viswanathan Anand this week, as the Indian ace - on the back of his superb performance in Mexico City - broke the 2800 barrier again to retain his No.1 spot with the publication last Monday of the October 1st world ranking list.

The latest list, produced by FIDE, the governing body of chess, not only includes Anand's results at Dortmund, but also his recent success in Mexico City. Anand, whose rating over the previous 3-months increased by 9 points to 2801, is one of a small select band of players - the others being Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov - who have broken the magical "2800 barrier".

But there's now also a new No.2 on the list behind Anand, with a dramatic increase in the rating of Vassily Ivanchuk who, at 38, is playing the best chess of his career. The in-form Ukrainian ace has had some phenomenal results of late, and this is now reflected in the latest list as his rating jumped a massive 25-points to 2787 as he nudged ahead of Kramnik - who also raised 16-points - and now within reach of being only the fifth player to break 2800. All the activity at the top has now pushed Veselin Topalov into fourth place behind the new top three.

The first chess book in English was also the first printed book of any type in English. William Caxton's Game and Playe of the Chesse was published in 1474, but it really wasn't about the game of chess; rather, it used chess as a metophor for how to live a good life.

The pawn is the lowest member of the army, but, if it can climb all the way to the far edge of the board, it may be promoted to any higher rank except the king. Anyone can work hard and get the highest rank, which is what we can learn from a pawn. French composer and chess player Philidor, in his book, 'Analyse du Jeu des Echecs (Analysis of Chess)', says: "Pawns are the soul of chess" and has an opening named after him called Philidor's Defence. In his humorous chess dictionary, American master Eliiot Hearst defined the term pawn-grabber: defensive genius.

Chess wasn't a standardised competition sport until the arrival of Howard Staunton. Howard, born in 1810, learned how to play chess at the late age of 26. He was a person of average intelligence and if he could learn the game that well, there is no reason why you can't. In Castiglione's 'Book of the Courtier', published in 1527, the game was described as addictively time-consuming. One of its passages says: "...anyone who wishes to become an outstanding player must give to it as much time and study as he would to learning some noble science or performing well something of importance.


Etymology or the study of word origins often helps to clarify certain misconceptions. For example,it is thought that chess or shatranj as a game originated in Persia. But on tracing the roots of the word shatranj it emerged that the game was born in India during Lord Budhha's time. At that time, it was played as chaturang, that is the four divisions of the army — infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants. When chess reached Iran, it came to be called chatrang and, later on, shatrang. On reaching Arabia, the word became shatranj.

Chess is a game for people of all ages. You can learn to play chess at any age and unlike in other sports you need never retire. The age is not a factor which prevents you from playing with any opponent. You can play players of any level - against those who are better or equal or weaker. Chess is for those people who have an interest in learning and tactics.

Chess Improves your Memory

The theory of the chess is complicated and many players memorize long variants of the openings of various games. Also you get to train your mind to visually recall the various positions in each game, developing your mind.

Chess increases your concentration

During the game you have to have a concrete objective in gaining valuable pieces of your rival, to give checkmate and to overcome your opponent and use all your mental potential in obtaining it.

Chess develops your logical thought

Chess requires some understanding that expresses ideas chained together to form a strategy. For example, you will have to know what is important to exchange which pieces first at the beginning of the game, that you must have the king out of danger throughout the game or knowledge to avoid weaknesses in your position or to anticipate to commit serious errors and with it, like in the real life, to consider that you must learn from your errors to get the best opportunity.

Chess develops your imagination and creativity
Chess creates novel and inventive positions which help to always improve your game to the next level: Thousands of combinations exist that have not yet been played.

Chess teaches to you to be independent

You are forced to make important decisions using your own judgment. You and you yourself is the only person that decides each move and that teaches to you to create your own criterion.

Chess develops the capacity in you to predict and to project the future consequences of your present actions

It teaches to you to explore all the possibilities to discover hidden it, which can have the best effect after plays and then you learn to project a plan with a future idea.

Chess inspires personal motivation

It impels you to look for the best possibility , the best plan, the most beautiful continuation between innumerable possibilities. It stokes the permanent objective of success to ignite the flame of the victory.

Chess shows you that success is a just reward for intense hard work

The more you practice and you study, the more improvements you yield. You would have to be prepared to lose and to learn of your errors.

One of the greatest teachers,and student of chess, GM Jose Capablanca, of Cuba, said: “It is necessary to lose hundreds of games, before becoming a great player. you learn more from the lost games than what you gain from the winning ones.”

Chess and Science

Chess develops scientific thought. In the game you generate numerous variants in your mind. You explore and you investigate new ideas, you try to anticipate what will happen and you gain surprising revelations. You decide on hypothesis and make your play, and then you prove its validity.

Chess and Mathematics

You do not need to be a genius to include/understand this. Chess has an infinite number of calculations in an attack or a defense in a simple interchange of plays. You calculate with your own head and without a machine . It makes your mind agile and helps you improve your math.

If you are a beginner or a good player who wants to further improve your game i would recommend you to have a look at this website. A Field Guide to Chess Tactics is a good web based chess learning site where you can review or practice some of the tactics most commonly used in chess.

You will get a good idea of the various tactics employed by chess players and the various hidden attacks such as discovered check, poisoned pawns , pinning and en passant to name only a few.

Goa’s chess sensation Ivana Maria Furtado added yet another feather to her cap as she clinched the team championship gold as well as under-8 (special prize) gold medal at world school chess championship in Greece.

Ivana, a world champion in her age-group, now has a tally of five gold, a silver and a bronze in her kitty at international level.

Ivana’s superb feats have now earned her a place in the much-acclaimed Limca Book of Records 2007 wherein she has been described as India’s youngest world gold medallist in any sport.

Prsently, Ivana is in Nagpur playing in a FIDE-rated event. The Vidharba Chess Association accorded a grand reception to Ivana as she arrived at Jalni station today, in recognition of her extraordinay talent and superb dedication for chess. By being the best in the world at 7 years and 226 days, Ivana broke the record held by Sahaj Grover of Delhi.

It may be recalled that at the Asian School Chess in Singapore, Ivana had clinched the gold in U-7 and also won the team gold.

It's been a long time since the last post. I will update the blog soon with latest happenings. I have been busy lately, settling down into life at Manipal.

Anand's play today was simply brilliant and deservedly is the sole leader of the tournament. A series of strong and obvious moves (24.Bg5!, 26.Rf1!, 27.Ne6!) exposed the weaknesses in Carlsen's defense. Carlsen put up quiet struggle to free the flanks but failed in his endeavor.

Ivanchuk drew against Svidler and is now placed second along with Carlsen. Topalov's bad performances in this tournament continued and he could manage only a draw against Peter Leko in a rook vs rook ending.

Thus at the end of Round 10 the Standings are as follows:

1 Viswanathan Anand 6,5
2 Vassily Ivanchuk 5,5
3 Magnus Carlsen 5,5
4 Peter Svidler 5,0
5 Levon Aronian 5,0
6 Veselin Topalov 4,5
7 Peter Leko 4,0
8 Alexander Morozevich 4,0

The first round of the second part Linares-Morelia International Chess Tournament concluded with draws in all games.

With draws in this round, Indian GrandMaster Viswanathan Anand and the Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen maintain their lead, with five points in the eight completed rounds.

The game between Anand and Topalov, was the most interesting game of the day with the number two and number one of the world facing each other. After nearly three hours and twenty five moves they agreed to a draw.

The Bulgarian tried to look for the victory, like his opponent, but the quality of play from both was of the highest possible level and the encounter ended with half a point for both players.

Peter Leko and Vassily Ivanchuk held on until the fourth hour, but neither could emerge a winner. In the French defense, neither Grand Master could gain the victory and, to after thirty five moves , they reached the agreement after which they left the room.

It was left to Alexander Morozevich and Magnus Carlsen to carry out the most interesting game of first round of Linares leg of the tournament, although , Carlsen , with the black pieces, could not add a victory that would have put him in the lead in this prestigious tournament.

Stadings After Round Eight:

1. - Viswanathan Anand (India) 5 points
2. - Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 5
3. - Vassily Ivanchuk (the Ukraine) 4,5
4. - Levón Aronian (Armenian) 4
5. - Peter Svidler (Russia) 4
6. - Peter Leko (Hungary) 3,5
7. - Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 3,5
8. - Alexander Morozevich (Russia) 2,5

Round 8 Reports:

1. Chessvault:Morelia/Linares 2007, Round 8: Morozevich holds Carlsen in a tense struggle. All games drawn.
2. ChessBase: Linares R8: all games drawn

After the first stage of the Morelia-Linares match, Anand and Carlsen are in the lead with 4.5 points each, from the seven rounds played until now in the city of Morelia, Mexico. The second stage will be played in Linares, Spain, from 3rd March.

Anand won with black against Leko in the seventh round while Carlsen could only manage a draw with black against Svidler. Nevertheless, the youthful Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, of 16 years, has been the great figure of the match,consolidating his position in the elite category of chess players.

The Position after 7 Rounds is as follows:
1. - Viswanathan Anand (India) 4.5 points
2. - Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 4.5
3. - Vassily Ivanchuk (the Ukraine) 4.0
4. - Levón Aronian (Armenian) 3.5
5. - Peter Svidler (Russia) 3.5
6. - Peter Leko (Hungary) 3.0
7. - Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 3.0
8. - Alexander Morozevich (Russia) 2.o

Let us examine the triumph of Carlsen on the World Number 1, Vesselin Topalov.

Carlsen (2690) - Topalov (2783) Slavic Defense, 22.02.2007

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2
[Evita the Merano variant 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5]

6… Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Be2 b6 9,0-0 Bb7 10.Bb2 Re8 11.Rad1 De7 12.Rfe1 Rac8
[This is a Novelty, the move played before was 12… Rad8 13.e4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Qxe4 Bb4 16.Rf1 Nf6 17.Qh4 with a small advantage for white]

13.e4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Qxe4 Bb4 16.Rf1 Ba3 17.Bxa3 Qxa3 18.Qc2 Nf6 19.c5 Ba6 20.Bxa6 Qxa6 21.Ne5 Nd5 22.Nc4 Red8 23.a3 Rc7 24.Qc1 Ne7 25.Rd2 Nf5 26.Rfd1 b5 27.Ne5 Qc8 28.Rd3 f6 29.Nf3 Rcd7 30.Qf4 Rd5 31.Qe4 Qd7 32.R3d2 h5 33.h4 a5 34.Kf1 Re8 35.Re1 Kf7 36.Red1 Nh6 37.Re1 Re7 38.Qf4 Rf5 39.Qd6 Qc8?
[Better would have been 39… Qxd6 40.cxd6 Rd7 41.Rc1 Rxd6 42.Rdc2 Rfd5 with a strong position for black]

40.Rde2 [ Carlsen missed the variant 40.d5 cxd5 41.Qd4 Re5 42.Rxe5 fxe5 43.Nc6 Rc7 44.Nxe5+ Kg8 45.b4 with clear advantage]

40… Rd5 41.Qf4 Nf5 42.Re4 Rd8 43.g4 hxg4 44.Qxg4 Qd7 45.h5 Kg8 46.Kg2 Qd5 47.Qg6 Rf8

Diagram:

48.h6 Qd8
[If 48… Nxh6 49.Rh4 Kh8 50.Reh1]

49.d5 Qxd5 50.Rg4 Qd7
[If 50… Qxb3 51.Rh1 Ref7 52.Rh5 gaining a piece]

51.Rh1 Qe8 52.hxg7 Rxg7 53.Qh7+ Kf7 54.Rxg7+ Nxg7 55.Rh6?
[The better move would have been 55.Nd2! Qd7 56.Ne4 Qd5 57.f3]

55… Qd8 56.Qg6+ Kg8 57.Qh7+ Kf7 58.Qg6+ Kg8 59.Rh7 Qd7 60.Nd2 f5 61.Nf3 Rf6 62.Qxf6 Kxh7 63.Ng5+ Kg8 64.Qg6

[Topalov resigned, but there was a defense: 64… Qd5+ 65.f3 e5] 1-0

For recording the games the FIDE rules recognise two systems of notation, namely, the Algebraic notation and the Descriptive notation.

THE ALGEBRAIC NOTATION

Here, the pieces, with the exception of the pawns are represented by their initial letters (the knight generally with 'N'). The pawns are not mentioned.

The eight files from the left to right of White are represented by the letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h. The eight ranks from White's side of the board are numbered: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. The combination of letters and figures can now designate every squ are on the board. For example, White's queen rook's square will be "a1" and Black's king rook's square "h8".

While writing the move, the initial letter of the piece (except the pawn) with the square of departure and the arrival will form the unit of notation. For example, e2-e4 will indicate the the pawn on e2 had moved to the square e4. Similarly, notation Nb8- c6 will mean that the knight from b8 had moved to c6. The en passant capture is indicated on the square of capture; thus is White plays his pawn from h2 to h4 and Black captures en passant by his pawn on h4, then the notations will read: h2-h4, g4xh3. In the shortened from of notation the square of departure is omitted.

When two similar pieces can go to the same square, the shortened notation is completed in the following way: if for example, two knights are on g1 and d2, the move Ng1-f3 will be written in the shortened form Ng-f3. If the knights are on g1 and g5, the mo ve Ng1-f3 will be shortened as N1-f3.

THE DESCRIPTIVE NOTATION

In this, the pieces are represented by their initial letters, including the pawn which is indicated by the letter P. Here "N" is generally preferred for the knight. Distinction between the king side pieces and the queen side pieces is made, where necessar y, by adding the letter K or Q before the piece mentioned.

The eight files are given the names of the pieces which originally stand on them. That is, reading from left to right the files are (from the White's side) QR, QN, QB, Q, K, KB, KN, KR. For Black, the same will be from right to left.

The eight ranks are numbered from 1 to 8 from White's side on the board for White and from Black's side on the board for Black. (Note that there is no such distinction in the Algebraic notation.)

The initial letter of the piece moved and the square to which it is moved are indicated. Thus B-QB4 means the bishop is played to the queen bishop's file on the fourth square. Where two similar pieces can move to the same square, then the square of depart ure is also mentioned, usually within brackets: the, R(Q2)-K2 means that the rook on Q2 moves to K2. Or if any piece can move to similar files on either side of the board, distinction is made in the square of arrival by adding the appropriate letter, thus : R-QB2 means that the rook, which could have moved to either KB2 or QB2 did so to the latter. In other cases simple QB2 might suffice. Similarly if two pieces from different squares can move to the same square, then the square of the origin of the piece moved must be indicated as also the square of arrival. For example, rooks are on KR2 and QR2 and it is desired to show that the rook at KR2 went to QB2, then the move is written: R(KR2)-QB2.

ABBREVIATIONS USED IN NOTATION

O-O Castles with the rook h1 or a8 (king side). O-O-O Castles with the rook a1 or h8 (queen side). = Promotion. x or : takes (capture). + or ch. Check. ++ Mate. ! Well played. ? Bad move.

THE FORSYTHE NOTATION

This is used for copying our a position without having to use a diagram to indicate the placing of the various pieces and pawns. In writing our the notation the player always reads it from White's side of the board, beginning with the top left hand corner (a8) and reading left to right, coming down the board rank by rank and ending with h1.

The notation, rank by rank, indicates the pieces and the blank square by using the initial letter of the pieces, and figures for the blank squares. The White pieces are indicated by capital letters and the Black pieces by small letters.

For example, the following position occurred after the 23rd move in the 10th match game between Petrosian and Spassky in 1966:
r2q1rk1/7p/p2p4/nppP4/2P2nB1/1P2N3/PQ1N3P/5RK1

This would mean that on White's eighth rank there is a Black rook on the first square, the next two squares are blank, then Black queen, one blank square, Black rook, Black king and one blank square. In the same way the position on every rank is shown. Ca pital letters indicate White pieces.

It must be borne in mind that the Forsythe notation is always written while reading the board from White's side only. Player's will find this sytem useful for noting the adjournment positions on the sealing envelopes, quickly noting a position from a book , etc.

The 1st ACP (Association of Professional Chess Players), Rapid chess tournament took place at Odessa, one of the most important cities of Ukraine, from the 4th to 8th of this month. Although some of the sheen of this tournament was lost due to the absence of the 3 top most players, Topalov(former World Champion) , Anand (a specialist in rapid games) and Kramnik (the present World Champion) ; the quality of play from the rest of the participants was excellent.

Of the 16 participants, Grand Masters Ivanchuk, Morozevich, Gelfand, Leko stood out as the favourites to win, so also was the fiery Grand Master Shirov. The young brigade was led by Radjabov , Nakamura , and India’s own Pentala Harikrishna.

The tournament lived up to the expectations of the audiences world-wide and as anticipated, Leko and Ivanchuk , after the very arduous elimination rounds, entered into the finals.



With his habitual “not so furious” and solid style, the Hungarian Grand Master Peter Leko proceeded to neutralize the first game with black pieces and , later to took maximum advantage with white pieces to win the championship.

Let us see how he did it….

Leko, Peter (2749) - Ivanchuk, Vasily (2750)

Title Match : 1st ACP Rapid chess tournament , Odessa, 2007

1.e4 Nf6 [Although Ivanchuk is a player who prides himself of having a great diversity in his openings and defenses, the Alekhine’s defense is one which he uses very rarely. His favourites being 1… c5; and 1… e5]

2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 [This is not a well known move in theory. The move which enjoys a better reputation being 5… exd6]

6.Nc3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Rc1 0-0 9.b3 a5 [One of the main lines here is 9 … e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.c5 N6d7 13.Bc4 with a negligible advantage for black.]

10.Be2 Na6 11.Nf3 Bd7 12,0-0 Rc8 [This is a new move by Ivanchuk. The book move played on several occasions being 12 … e6 and after 13.Qd2 with idea of Bh6, white obtains an advantage.]

13.Qd2 a4 14.Rfe1 axb3 15.axb3 Re8 16.Bh6 Bh8 17.h4! [ With this move white tries to attack in the King side, where the Black’s defense is weak. In order to avoid this Ivanchuk will have to open up the center, which is indeed what Leko is hoping for.]

17… e5 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Bg5 f6 [ This is a Forced move and further weakens the defense on the King side for black. If Black were to play 19… Qc7 20.Nb5 Bxb5 (If 20… Qb8 21.Nd6 loses a rook for a knight) 21.cxb5 Nc5 22.b4 and white gains a piece. ; Or if 19… Bf6 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Ne4 Qe7 22.Nd6 again gaining a rook for the knight.]

20.Be3 [White is already in an overwhelmingly strong position.]

20… Nc5 21.Bxc5 Rxc5 22.b4! Rxc4 [With this sacrifice black tries to free himself of some of the pressure which he is being put under. Worse would have been 22… Rc8 23.c5 Na8 24.Ne4]

23.Bxc4+ Nxc4 24.Qd5+ Be6 25.Qxb7 [The game is already decided by now.]

25… Qb8 26.Qc6 Bf7 27.Nd5 Nd6 28.Nc7 Rd8 29.Red1! Qxb4 [If 29… Nf5 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.b5 and it will be difficult to stop the ‘b’ pawn]

30.Na6 Qa3 31.Qc7 Rc8 32.Qxd6 Rxc1 [ And Ivanchuk resigned at the same time in view of 33. Qxa3 ] 1-0.

Giant chess pieces carved from ice sit on a chessboard in Trafalgar Square in central London on Wednesday. A live chess game was held between London and Moscow to launch the London Russian Winter Festival which is on Saturday.

The first Grand Slam tournament in tennis, The Austalian Open begins on the 15th of this month. All Indians must be eagerly awaiting the moment when Sania Mirza blasts her way through the early rounds and hopefully go farther than any Indian women in tennis history. But most of us would not know that there is another sport in which an Indian would be participating this month with a very good chance of capturing the crown.

I am talking bout the Grand Slam tournament of Chess, the Corus Chess Championship 2007 which will begin in the quaint old town of Wijk aan Zee ( A poem on this town) in Holland, beginning on the 12th. The tournament is held every year in the second week of January and it is the custom that the best chess players of the world take part in this season opener.

This year the participants include last year's Champion and our very own Grand Master Vishwanathan Anand of India, runner up on tie-break and current world number 1, GM Veselin Topalov of bulgaria, and the current World Champion GM Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. They will be given company by the likes of GM Levon Aronian, GM Teymour Radjabov,GM Peter Svidler,GM Ruslan Ponomariov,GM David Navara,GM Alexey Shirov,GM Magnus Carlsen,GM Loek van Wely,GM Sergey Tiviakov,GM Sergey Karjakin and GM Alexander Motylev. This year it is a category 19 tournament with an Average Elo rating of 2719.

In last years edition Vishwanathan Anand secured an amazing win in the last round to claim the trophy on tie-breaks from the then world champion Veselin Topalov. The Indian grandmaster has an amazing record at this tournament having won it as many as 5 times beginning in 1989,1998,2003,2004 and last year. Anand is currently ranked number 2 in the world and has been quietly gearing up for this tournament. With much of the Media focus likely to be on Topalov and Kramnik, Anand may find it easier to concentrate on his chess and claim yet another victory at this tournament.

PS: Just a reminder that the Corus group, for which the Indian Steel Giant TATA and Brazilian giant CSN groups are bidding, are the title sponsors for this tournament.

In what was one of the biggest stories in chess for the year 2006,Grand Master Gata Kamsky returned to the chess fold after a prolonged hibernation in the field of Medicine.

The Russian-American GM, Kamsky, returned to professional chess after almost ten years of absence. Born on the 2 of June,1974,at the cold Siberian town of Novokusnetsk, he grew up with his father Rustam, an ex-boxer who could not support himself on his sport, but now saw the possibility of becoming rich at the cost of the talent of his son. His Violent methods forced his wife to run away, making Kamsky a child without a mother. He was a young prodigy, who by the age of just 2 years knew to read and to write, and later would show to the world his great talent for music and chess, his greatest passion. At the age of 14 he moved with his father to the United States of America and became a US citizen. He rapidly progressed in the field of chess and at the tender age of 15 became a Grand Master.


Making rapid strides he became the best player of the United States and even occupied a place in the select group of the Top Ten Grand Masters of the world. At the age of 20 he already began to play the Candidates tournament to challenge for the world-wide title, and in 1996 he made it to the last round where he lost to the Russian GM and former world championAnatoly Karpov. Then he took the drastic decision to retire from chess to pursue a career in Medicine, when he was just 22. His father obviously wasn't happy with this decision and led to an estrangement between them.

So after 10 years he returned to his passion, Chess. His first comeback tournament was the Wijk aan Zee (corus) tournament where he created quite a few scares, particularly giving a very hard time to Vishy Anand, his old sparring partner. He played a few extra ordinary games showing why he was rated as one of the most promising and frightening players of the 1990's, before finishing the tournament in 13th place.

His most notable performance since his return has been to finish 2nd behind Veselin topalove at the M-Tel Masters event. Soon after, Kamsky led the US team to the bronze medal at the International Chess Olympiad at Turin. On July 4, 2006, he tied for first place with nine others at the World Open, winning about $7000.



Kramnik-Kamsky, World Championship Quarter-Finals Match, New York 1994 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qe7 9.Nc2 (White allows Black to ruin his pawn structure, and soon sacrifices one of his weak c-pawns. He hopes that his two bishops will give him sufficient compensation, but will find that he is unable to use them effectively.) Bxc3 10.bxc3 Rd8 11.Ba3 d6 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Nd4 Nxd4 14.cxd4 Qxc4 15.Qd2 Qa6 16.Rb3 Rb8 17.e4 Bd7 18.Rf3 (trying to get play on the king-side, but Kamsky's pieces now overrun the queen-side) Ba4! (disdaining 18...Nxe4 19.Qf4 f5 20.g4 opening lines for White's pieces) 19.Re1 Rbc8 20.Bf1 Bb5 21.Bh3 Qa4 22.d5 Rc2 23.Qe3? exd5 (White is in deep trouble. If now 24.exd5? Re8 wins) 24.e5 d4! 25.Qg5 Re2! (Exploiting White's weak back rank. Now White sacrifices material for a fearsome-looking attack against g7, but Kamsky has calculated exactly.) 26.exf6 Rxe1+ 27.Bf1 (27.Kg2? Bf1+ 28.Kg1 Bxh3#) Rxf1+ 28.Kg2 Rg1+! 29.Kh3 (29.Kxg1? Qd1+ 30.Kg2 Qf1#) Bd7+ 30.Kh4 g6 31.Qh6 d3+ 32.Rf4 (32.Kg5? Qg4#) Qxf4+! 33.Qxf4 (33.gxf4 Rg4+ 34.Kh3 Rg5+! 35.Kh4 Rh5+ wins the queen) Rh1! 34.g4 h6! (Now White's attack is over and Black's pawns join in attacking White's king, threatening ...g5+.) 35.Kh3 (35.Qxh6? Rxh2+) g5! 36.Qd4 Rg1 37.f3 d2! 38.Qxd2 (38.Qxg1 Ba4 and Black queens) Bb5! 0-1 (39...Bf1+ will win White's queen)

In tribute to the recently deceased David Bronstein, I publish a game that marks the chess style of this great one.

The game was played in Interzonal de Petrópolis (Brazil) in 1973.

This is the voice of one of the greatest players of chess, published by BBC of London and that I found it in the
xeque.net site. Those who are interested, might take some time to listen to the voice of one of the greatest players of history.

You only have to click Here