White	Black
1. e2 –e4	e7-e5
2. d2-d4	e5 X d4
3. Qd1 X d4…

White	Black
1. e2 –e4	e7-e5
2. d2-d4	e5 X d4
3. c2 – c3	d4 X c3
4. Bf1 – c4	c3 X b2
5. Bc1 X b2…

White	Black
1. e2 –e4	e7-e5
2. Bf1 – c4	Ng8 – f6
3. d2 – d3	c7 – c5!
4. f2 – f4	e5 X f4
5. Bc1 X f4	d7 – d5
6. e4 – d5	Nf6 X d5…

(Quiet Game) (Italian, Giuoco – game, piano – quiet.)

White	Black
1. e2 –e4	e7-e5
2. Ng1 – f3	Nb8 – c6
3. Bf1 – c4	Bf8 – c5
4. Nb1 – c3	Ng8 – f6
5. d2 – d3	d7 – d6…

For player who like open lines, bold attacks, and exciting piece play at the cost of a Pawn.

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	e7-e5
2. Ng1-f3	Nb8-f6
3. Bf1-c4	Bf8-c5
4. b2-b4....

Workhorse opening throughout 19th century and an excellent choice for players who like unbalanced, wide-open positions with dangerous attacking chances for both sides.

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	e7-e5
2. f2-f4	e5xf4
3. Ng1 – f3

A good choice if you want a closed game with slow steady pressure on Black’s position. It begins with both sides developing their Knights.

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	e7-e5
2. Ng1 – f3	Ng8 – c6
3. Nb1 – c3	Ng8 – f6
4. Bf1 – b5…

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	e7-e5
2. Nb1-c3...

Spanish Cleric considered the strongest player in the 16th century. Opening starts with these moves:

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	e7 – e5
2. Ng1 – f3	Nb8 – c6
3. Bf1 – b5!	a7 – a8…
4. Bb5 – a4	Ng8 – f6
5. 0-0	Bf8 – e7
6. Rf1 – e1	b7 – b5
7. Ba4 – b3	d7 – d6
8. c2 – c3…

(show chess board)(hide chess board)

This Pawn push (a7 – a8) is the most popular way of meeting the Ruy Lopez. It is known as the Morphy Defense after 19th century American genius Paul Morphy. RUY LOPEZ IS THE MOST POPULAR MODERN OPENING.

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White	Black
1. e2 – e4	d7 – d5
2. e4 X e5	Qd8 X d5
3. Nb1 – c3…

White	Black
3.	Qd5 – a5

(show chess board)(hide chess board)

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White	Black
1. e2 –e4	Ng8 – f6

White	Black
1. e2 –e4	Ng8 – f6
2. e4 – e5	Nf6 – d5
3. c2 – c4	Nd5 – b6
4. d2 – d4	d7 – d6
5. f2 – f4…

Grandmaster Secrets - The Caro-Kann

Chess Explained is a new series of books about chess openings. They are not theoretical works in the traditional sense, but more a series of lessons from a chess expert with extensive over-the-board experience with an opening. You will gain an understanding of the opening and the middlegames to which it leads, enabling you to find the right moves and plans in your own games. It is as if you were sitting at the board with a chess coach answering your questions about the plans for both sides, the ideas behind particular moves, and what specific knowledge you need to have.

GM Wells has written well regarded opening books before (Kasparov remarked positively on Wells' Semi-Slav book). In this work, he explains the current state of theory in every significant variation of the Caro-Kann.

Wells mentions that in his youth, he employed the Caro-Kann, and throughout the book enjoys pointing out lines where Black is doing well. But this book is certainly not a repertoire for the Black player, nor a one-sided treatise on winning with theCaro-Kann. It is an honest and mostly objective look at how GMs today view the main lines of the Caro.




Caro Kann Defence: Advance Variation and Gambit System (Batsford Chess Books)

I found the chapters on the Panov Attack and the Advance variation most interesting. Chapters on 4...Nd7, 4...Bf5 and 4...Nf6 as well as sections on the 2 Pawns Attack and various White tries like the KIA and 2 Knights variation all help anyone interested in the Caro-Kann from either side to gain insight. He gives explanations of the main ideas for BOTH sides of this classic defense. He does present the lastest theory but this is not a theoretical tome on the opening, but more like a textbook. If you play 1.e4, you need this book. If you play 1...c6, you probably already own it.

The most common question among chess players while starting out is, ‘How to Win At Chess?’

The answer is

Education – Read as many chess books as possible. I know most of the chess players are reluctant to agree that chess knowledge winds more games than talent alone, but this is a fact. A case in point being the recent emergence of the current world number one - GM Magnus Carlsen.

Everyone in the chess playing world agreed that Carlsen was a prodigy at chess. That he had it in him to be World champion. However after many years in the chess circuit he wasn’t able to defeat the top ranked chess players on a consistent basis. Only after he started to work on his repertoire with the Great Gary Kasparov have we seen him emerge as a consistent player at the highest level of chess.

Practice- Playing a lot of games gives you experience of being in the situation before. From here you can think of the variations played before and then experiment your way forwards towards the best possible outcome.

In the recently concluded world chess championship GM Boris Gelfand won the title against all odds. At the beginning of the tournament hardly a few chess aficionados would have given him a chance to win the title, let alone call him a favourite. After all this was a gruelling schedule for the 40 year old, a game every day for almost 45 days , with some days having as many as 4-5 blitz and rapid games in between. With the average age of the competing players being in the mid-20’s , to have won the championship shows the amount of practice and experience that makes a champion.

Attitude - Your goal in chess must be to always keep learning, playing interesting chess games and to understand chess rather than to humiliate your opponent. Express your personality through the game rather than through words. Two very good examples of this are the Current world champion GM Vishwanathan Anand and GM Vassily Ivanchuk. GM Anand always has a good word about his opponent, never indulging in controversial statements and plays only on the chess board. GM Ivanchuk on the other hand keeps an element of impish delight in his games, plays chess as though he were still in his teens and often is the sole entertainer in the tournaments.

Always keep at heart the foundations of theses great teachers.

How to Win Chess Games Quickly
Be a good sport - If you care only about winning, then you will just play mechanically and will not create interesting options. Also you will not be able to expand your repertoire. At the same time you should be uninhibited in your games, have a tactical drive. But most of all be a good sport. Winning and losing are part of the game. Do not unnecessarily spoil the atmosphere by charging your opponent or giving rash statements. This will make you an outcast and you might not be invited to many tournaments.

How to Win Chess Games Quickly

A solid and unpretentious defense. An excellent defense for players who want a game with a locked Pawn structure and a minimum of early tactics, combined with the possibility of strong counterattacking chances later in the game.

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	e7 – e6
2. d2 – d4	d7 – d5
3. Nb1 – c3	Ng8 – f6
4. Bc1 – g5	Bf8 – e7
5. e4 – e5	Nf6 – d7
6. Bg5 X e7	Qd8 X e7…

French Defence, Steinitz, Classical, and Other Systems - PSAKHIS



This book is one in a series of books by GM Lev Psakhis. His previous books for Batsford include The Complete French and The Complete Benoni, as well as other volumes.
The book presents a wealth of illustrative games by Viswanathan Anand, Alexei Shirov, Alexander Grischuk, Jan Timman, Viktor Korchnoi and other leaading players, critically annotated with the most up-to-date theoretical refinements. An enthusiastic devotee of the French Defence for over 20 years now, Psakhis remains strictly objective in his judgments, so whether you play the French for White or Black, this is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available today.

The most popular opening for the past fifty years.

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	c7 – c5
2. Ng1 – f3	Nb8 – c6
3. d2 – d4

(The Sicilian Defense Demo)(hide chess board)

Standard play in the Sicilian Defence, White advances his d-Pawn, opening more space for his Queen and Queen Bishop.
(The Sicilian Defense Demo)(hide chess board)

White	Black
3.	c5 X d4
4. Nf3 X d4	Ng8 – f6
5. Nb1 – c3	d7 – d6
6. Bc1 – g5	a7 – a6…

A great book for players new to the Sicilian is, the one Co-authored by David N. L. Levy and Kevin O'Connel, titled - How to Play the Sicilian Defense. Levy and O'Connell do an excellent job of outlining strategies for White and Black in this wide-ranging opening including almost all the variations in this line. For those rated 1400-1800, this is a good introduction to the opening. Some other books in this opening are highlighted below:

Najdorf Variation: A favourite of Both Bobby Fischer and Gary Kasparov and one of the most complicated variations in chess.

White	Black
1. e2 – e4	c7 – c5
2. Ng1 – f3	d7 –d5

(The Sicilian Defense Demo - Najdorf Variation)(hide chess board)

Black has played a slightly different variation of the Sicilian Defense and this is called the Najdorf Variation.

White	Black
3. d2 – d4	c5 X d4
4. Nf3 X d4	Ng8 – f6
5. Nb1 – c3	a6 – a7…

The first chess game of 2001 was actually played in 1968. . . Thanks to Stanley Kubrick's movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The famous game between astronaut Frank Poole and the HAL 9000 computer has found its way into a number of databases of real games ( like the Chess Master series of chess programs).

Kubrick was actually a near master strength chess player, who in his youth would take on all comers as he played chess for quarters in Washington Square Park. A stickler for details in his films, Kubrick's chess background influenced him to pick a beautiful mating attack from a past game that would seem so deep that only a computer with near-infinite calculating ability could find it. The game was by the German master Willi Schlage played in 1910. White: Roesch, Black: Schlage, Hamburg 1910.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. c3 0-0 8. 0-0 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nf4 11.Qe4 Nxe5 12. Qxa8? (looks good, but 12. d4 followed by 13. Qxf4 is better) 12... Qd3 (threatening 13....Ne2+ 14. Kh1 Ng3+ 15. hxg3 Qxf1+ 16. Kh2 Ng4+ 17. Kh3 Qh1 mate) 13. Bd1 (Re1! but White is still bad off) ... Bh3 14. Qxa6 (if Qb7 Bxg2 still wins easy) ... Bxg2 15. Re1 (see diagram)

What move forces mate?

Extra notes: As this stroke of tactical genius indicates, German master Willi Schlage was a chess player of some renown in his era. After the movie came out, the Republic of Mali issues a postage stamp in the honor of Schlage.

This article was written by Daren Dillinger published in The Florida Times – Union on 05/20/01.

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• Video interview: Stanley Kubrick (gointothestory.com)

Image via Wikipedia

The match between Azerbaijan and the World, which will take place between May 7-9 this year for the President's Cup will be one of the major events in chess, not only for Azerbaijan, but also the Chess fraternity of the world. The World team will be represented by current world champion Viswanathan Anand (India), former world champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Alexei Shirov (Spain) and Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine). The team from Azerbaijan includes, Chess Prodigy Teimur Radjabov, Vugar Hashimov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Gadir Guseinov and Rauf Mamedov as a possible stand by.

The Azerbaijan team leader Teimour Radjabov the only player from the team, who already has experience in this format. In 2002 in Moscow at the age of 15 Teimour Radjabov played for the World team in a match against Team Russia, led then by the giants of world chess, as Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Anatoly Karpov. The Azeri chess player had a decent score for his by age, showing a 50% result and almost forced Garry Kasparov to capitulate, who managed to escape via a repetition of moves in an almost hopeless position. Thus he played a good part in supporting the world team comprising of a no less powerful Vishy Anand and Alexei Shirov (both of whom will be on the opposite side this time).


In an interview with T.Tushiev for extratime.az, Teimur Radjabov has shared his thoughts about the upcoming game, and analyzed each of the team members of the world. Here is an excerpt from the Interview, translated via Google.

T. Tushiev: The entire chess fraternity will be watching the upcoming match between Azerbaijan and the World. What was your first reaction when you heard about the possibility of such a match?

Teimur Radjabov: If you look at the history of chess , matches between a national team and a team representing the world have been very few. If I recall correctly, there have been only four. Therefore, playing against a World team for your national team is a great honor.

T.Tushiev: You have been a party to one such match at the beginning of the 21st century when you played for the World team against team Russia. What can you remember about this game?

Teimur Radjabov: Yes, in 2002 I was lucky to take part in the match between the World team and the national team of Russia. I played for the world team with Anand and Shirov ,and, Vladimir Kramnik played for Russia. The match was widely reported in the world media and a conference was organized in Moscow at the Kremlin. Team Russia was very strong, as Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Vladimir Kramnik were a part of that team, yet we managed to win.

T.Tushiev: In recent days, there is talk that the World team will have an advantage, likely to be caused by psychological factors. Do you agree with that judgement?

Teimur Radjabov: A psychological factor? Maybe. Playing at home in front of our fans is always exciting, and, but as I mentioned, the average ratingof our rivals is higher than that of our team. But I do not think that all this is of much importance. I believe that the chances are equal. Everything will depend on the form of individual players during the match.

On the opponents:

Vishy Anand - The world champion in chess, a cult figure, but Viswanathan Anand is something more than that, I would say that he has a mysterious aura that makes him always a welcome guest in any competition around the world. A brilliant chess player, succesful in all formats of the game, won everthing that can be won in chess. Traditionally, a strong opponent. Besides Anand is the current world champion, not only in the classics , but also in rapid chess.

Vladimir Kramnik - outstanding Russian chess player. He has an excellent positional understanding, defeated Garry Kasparov in a match for the world chess crown in 2000 and after that time continued to occupy a leading position in world chess. Now the ex-world champion, is fourth in the world rankings. Very strong as in rapid chess. In addition Kramnik will certainly make every effort to ensure that he gets back the Chess Crown in the near future.

Alexei Shirov - Shirov has been a representative of the world chess elite for a number of years now. As a Chess players he is very creative and styles his games on the legendary Mikhail Tal. Based on recent tournaments, I believe, Alex is in good shape.

Sergey Karjakin - one of the best young chess players in the world. His play has not always been smooth, but that tends to occur at his age. The win at Wijk aan Zee will bring him additional confidence. In any case, the participation of Sergei in the World team looks quite natural to me, for he represents the youth.

The best actors and actresses of Hollywood receive an award each year, at the Oscars. The highest goal scorer at the football world cup, receives the Golden shoe. The best Cricket team receives the ICC Mace each year. In chess, the equivalent award is the Chess Oscar. This is an International award instituted in the year 1967 by Jorge Puig,and the winner was chosen by accredited journalists following the game from across the world. It is traditionally given to the Grandmaster , who, according to the chess aficionados, was the best and most entertaining player that year. The first winner was Bent Larsen in 1967 and the award ceremony was held in Madrid. In 1988 Puig died and the award was not given until 1995. They were reinstituted in the year 1995, by the popular Russian chess magazine - '64'.

The current World Champion, GM Vishwanathan Anand of India, has won the Chess Oscar, 6 times. He is the only non-Russian to have won the award more than 5 times. To put this achievement in perspective, the late Robert.J.Fischer, chess genius from U.S.A, won it three times. The maximum number of chess Oscars have been won by the Chess Master, Garry Kasparov - a record 11 times.

GM Vishwanathan Anand won the Chess Oscar for the year 2008 for his outstanding play while retaining his World Championship title in Bonn. Other contenders for the title included GM Veselin Topalov, who had a strong run last year in Bilbao and Nanjing and who is also the current World No.1. Since the Award couldn't be presented to Anand last year, he will be receiving the award on 7th May during the inaugural ceremony of the President's Cup match between Azerbaijan and the rest of the World.

P.S: The chess Oscar is represented by a statuette also called the Fascinated Wanderer !

Can you believe this guy? No wonder Topalov's reputation is going for a toss. With such a manager, you wouldn't expect to be liked in the real world!

Mr.Silvio Danailov, in an interview to Chessdom, had this to say...

The Chess Oscar award does not surprise me at all, after Elista 2006 is very difficult to imagine that Veselin will get any award from Russia. This is typical political decision, otherwise they will probably close the "64" magazine.

Look, for every person with common sense it is obvious that Topalov had by far the best results in 2008. He won the strongest tournaments in Bilbao and Nanjing and he is number one in the World ratings with big margin. The biggest result of Vishy was to beat the player number six in the world in the World Championship match. Great achievement, of course, but not enough to win the Oscar.

Common sense would tell Mr.Silvio Danailov, that the Chess oscars are voted for by journalists from all over the world, not just Russia. Also, its not how many tournaments you win, or, how strong you are that determines, the chess oscar winner - it is how much you entertain the paying public!

On that count, Anand is a thoroughbred winner.