(1537) MAGNUS CARLSEN WINS TATA STEEL CHESS TOURNAMENT 2018

   MAGNUS CARLSEN WINS TATA STEEL
           CHESS TOURNAMENT 2018

If GM Wesley So won the strongest tournament in the world, the 2017 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, this year, the current world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won this prestigious tourney after an exciting last round.

At the start of the matches, five Grand Masters still stood a chance of winning, with Anish Giri and Carlsen leading the pack.

Because both of their games ended in a draw, they had to play a tiebreak, consisting of 2 blitz game (5 minutes for each player with 3 extra seconds per move), which was won by Carlsen.

This is Carlsen's 6th trophy from Wijk-aan Zee.

3rd place went to Vladimir Kramnik, thanks to the better additional criteria since he tied with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who had the same score of 8.5 points out of 13 games.

THE RESULTS:
1. Giri, Anish (9 pts. --2752 Rating) 2. Carlsen, Magnus (9 pts. --2834) 3. Kramnik, Vladimir (8.5--2787) 4. Mamedyarov (8.5--2804) 5. Anand, Viswanathan (8.0--2767) 6. So, Wesley (8.0--2792) 7. Karjakin, Sergey (7.5--2753) 8. Svidler, Peter (6.0--2768) 9. Wei, Yi (5.5--2743) 10. Jones, Gawain C B (5.0--2640) 11. Caruana, Fabiano (5.0--2811) 12. Matlakov, Maxim (5.0--2718) 13. Adhiban, B (3.5--2655) 14. Hou, Yifan (2.5--2680)

Vidit Gujrathi (India) has won the Tata Steel Challengers, thus earning a promotion to the Tata Steel 2019. Vidit justified the starting position scoring 9 points out of 13 games, and finishing the event as sole first with a whole point ahead of the runner-ups.

Last year, Gawain Jones won the Tata Steel Challengers and finished a decent 10th place despite being the lowest rated.

Stefan Kuipers the Top Nine Round event, earning a spot to the Tata Steel Challengers next year.

This year, the Tata Steel Chess, often called as "Wimbledon of Chess", celebrated its 80th anniversary and took place in a coastal village of Wijk-aan Zee, north Holland, with locations of the playing venues: Beeld en Geluid, in Hilversum and the Academy building of the University of Groningen. 

Tata Steel Chess 2018 gathered thousands of chess lovers, top world Grandmasters, visitors, 1800 participants of the various tournaments of Tata Steel events with the unique opportunity for the amateurs and the youngest to play chess in the same venue as their chess idols. 

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2019 will take place from 11-27 January 2019.

Photo credits: Tata Steel Chess. For info about the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, go to www.tatasteelchess.com.

(964) BUY THE BOOK (Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games Vol. 1) TBN- June 22, 2015

: FORMER MEN WORLD CHAMPION AND CURRENT WOMEN WORLD CHAMPION

                  The greatest chess player of all time, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, standing, watching the game of current world women champion Hou Yifan of China during the 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway where Palau was able to send an Open and Women team for the first time. 

                                                           (Photo by Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps)

                        BUY THE BOOK

             (Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games)

                                  Volume 1

   

                (July 22, 2005) --SLOVAKIAN Grandmaster Igor Stohl, the runner-up in the 1982 world junior championship, is a noted opening theoretician whose annotations frequently appear in Ceskoslovensky Sach, Informator and Chess Base Magazine. He is also the author of “Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces” (Gambit, 2001), which won the U. S. Chess Federation Cramer Award for best book.

                Recently, Gambit Publications announced the availability of Stohl’s latest opus, “Garry Kasparov’s Greatest Chess Games Volume 1.” The 320-page book cost $35. You can place your order through http://www.badbishop.com/gambit/index.html. The shipping cost for Northern Marianas is $7.

                Here’s what Chess Base says about the book: “It is very well produced. It’s a sturdy hardback which, for the most part, lies flat for easy reading; the layout is clear and easy to read. It’s an entertaining book and provides excellent coverage of the games of a player who is arguably the greatest of all time. Kasparov’s career up to 1993 is covered in this volume; let’s hope we don’t have too long to wait for the second volume, which deals with the remaining years.”

                During the 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, Garry Kasparov is running for FIDE presidency against incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. One of his campaign strategies is giving away the 2^nd volume of this book together with “Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess/ Part One/ Revolution in the 70s” to the prospective voters like Palau.

                When Joselito Marcos, Papua New Guinea’s official Delegate, saw the Volume 2, he asked Roberto Hernandez if he can have it as he doesn’t have it yet. Roberto willingly gave it to him and Joselito has one more request—he wants Roberto to approach Kasparov during the Olympiad games and have him sign it.

                During the 2010 World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mantiysk, Russia, Joselito borrowed Roberto’s Chessmates Magazine given to him by USA and Philippine Chess Master Almario Marlon Bernardino in Sept. 2006, during the inaugural Palau Invitational Chess Championship. The cover of the magazine was Asia’s first GM “Eugene Torre: Athlete of the Millennium.” Joselito asked Eugene to sign it, which he did on Sept. 19, 2010. 

                When Roberto asked Garry Kasparov to sign that book in the middle round of the Olympiad, he gave Garry his card with his name also written in Russian. Garry have a good look at the card especially the “Palau Chess Federation – General Secretary and FIDE Instructor.” Roberto said to him, “We talked on the phone using Congressman Pichay’s cell phone in July 31, 2014 before our flight to Norway.”

                In their conversation on the phone, Garry said he will visit Palau with his family in December 2014. Roberto featured an article about his visit which didn’t happen.

              GARRY KASPAROV ON MODERN CHESS--PART ONE--REVOLUTION IN THE 70s

This book—the first in a brand new series—follows on from My Great Predecessors and sees chess legend Garry Kasparov reflecting on a pivotal time in chess history. Bobby Fischer’s spurt towards the chess summit (1970-1972) marked the approach of a new era affecting all aspects of the game and opening theory in particular. Fischer demonstrated the need for deep preparation with both colors, expanded the range of openings knowledge and laid the foundations for present-day professional chess.

                The leader of the new generation, Anatoly Karpov, fully reaped the benefits of the Fischer revolution by mastering the lessons of his great predecessor. Of the players of the older generation, only Viktor Korchnoi was able to achieve such a high level of professionalism.

                Alas, Fischer then left the chess stage. However, the tectonic shifts he had brought about led to the beginning of a genuine revolution in opening theory—a revolution that overturned traditional impressions about many typical positions. Between 1972 and 1975 alone, progress in the field of opening theory was more significant than in the entire preceding decade! Under Fischer’s influence, chess was radically regenerated—a process which then continued to accelerate. As a result, from the 1972 Fischer-Spassky world championship match to 1984 and the Kasparov-Karpov matches, the overall picture of chess openings changed almost beyond recognition.

                This fascinating book tells the story of this opening revolution. This story is told not only with the insight of Garry Kasparov, but also as seen through the eyes of the leading players who were at the forefront of the development of chess theory during those key years. The reader will witness at first- hand how rapidly and inexorably chess development approached the coming computer era.

                Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 3749: 1. Qxh6+!! Kxh6 2. Rh3+ Bh4 3. Rxh4 mate.

                This week’s puzzle No. 3750: White to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)

Source: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez

             Tia Belau Newspaper

             Page 9

             Volume 24

             Issue 58

             June 22, 2015              

(914) 2006 NEW QUEEN OF CHESS (TBN-March 30, 2015)

: YIFAN HOU WITH 4 PALAU OPEN CHESS TEAM MEMBERS

                  After lunch and before the 1^st round of 2014 WCO in Tromso, Norway, (L-R) Roberto Hernandez, Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps, Jeff Balbalosa and Cyril Montel, Jr. had a photo session with current women’s world chess champion Yifan Hou at the Clarion Hotel (The Edge).

                                            (Photo by Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps)

    2006 NEW QUEEN OF CHESS

  

Xu Yuhua, 29, is the new women’s world champion. She won the title by defeating Russian International Master (IM) Alisa Galliamova—2 ½- ½ in the finals of the FIDE’s brutal knockout championship format which was first introduced in 2000.

Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Xu did not lose a single game in the 64-player event held in Ekaterinburg, Russia from March 10-27, 2006. She is the 3^rd Chinese woman (after Xie Jun and Zhu Chen) to win the world title and her coach is her nation’s top Grandmaster, Ye Jiangchuan. Her victory makes Xu the 11^th women champion since the mighty Vera Menchik first won the title in 1927.

Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, who won the championship in 2004, was eliminated in the early rounds of this “jueteng” of a tournament.

FIDE adapted the knockout format to make the world championship “attractive” like Wimbledon. Here’s what British GM Nigel Short has to say about this, well, “theory”: “It rather ignored the point that the championship final usually attracted colossal publicity: one had only to think of the Fischer-Spassky match: the epic Karpov-Korchnoi encounters: Kasparov versus Karpov: even, on a more modest scale, my one-sided match against Garry Kimovich. In fact, it was obvious to most observers that it was the regular tournaments, not the world championship, that were in need of change. Yet FIDE fixed virtually the only thing in chess that was not broken… the knockout format proved to be a lottery. Classical chess, rapid and blitz were jumbled together like the 10,000m, 800m and 100m (what’s wrong? It is all running, isn’t it?). The great line of champions that began with Steinitz and Lasker added Khalifman and Kasimjanov to their number. Eventually FIDE got the point. The format was changed for the better in San Luis, Argentina, last year. However, the knockout folly lives on in the current women’s championship which has proved a bloodbath for the top seeds—in this case, the defending champion.”

In the final best-of-four match, Galliamova drew the 2^nd game with black and started well in the 3^rd and appeared to be on the path to victory. However, according to ChessBase, with move 40 and the first time control looming, she started to slip, allowing Xu to take the initiative. “Instead of pragmatically playing for a draw, the Russian IM sought to retain her chances in a counter-attack, which failed.

Up to the 38^th move, Galliamova has been doing fine, but now, just 2 moves before the time control she starts slipping and played 39. f5 instead of 39. Rb7 followed by 40. Bb4. This is more convincing). After black’s 41^st move Rg8, the white advantage has almost completely evaporated. Black is on the attack. On the 48^th move, white abandons her king to launch her own attack. But this gets her into deep trouble. Galliamova made a desperate move on the 53th and resigned on the 59^th turn.

When FIDE C.E.O Geoffrey Borg visited Palau in January and April, he has all praises for the current women’s world champion Yifan Hou of China. He said if Palau will invite Ms. Yifan to come to Palau, she will not hesitate to do so.

In August 02, 2014, during the first round of the 2014 World Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, 4 Palau Chess Team members –Roberto Hernandez, Eric Ksau Surangel Whipps, Jeff Balbalosa and Cyril Montel, Jr., met Ms. Yifan at the Clarion Hotel (The Edge). They had a photo session. When Jeff asked for a selfie, Ms. Yifan refused citing her face will look chubby because it is a close-up shot.

Solution to last week’s puzzle No. 4383: 1. …Qxh2+!! 2. Kxh2 hxg3++ 3. Kg1 Rh1 mate.

This week’s puzzle No. 4384: Black to move and mates in 3 (Solution next issue)

Source: Chess Mate by Roberto Hernandez

             Tia Belau Newspaper

             Pages 9-10

             Volume 24

             Issue 26

             March 30, 2015