Posted in Armenia, Europe, Tournaments on Jan 30th, 2012 6 Comments »
GM Levon Aronian (Armenia)2012 Tata Steel ChampionPhoto by Fred Lucas. Levon Aronian of Armenia continues his string of career successes by adding yet another accolade. The 2012 Tata Steel at Wijk aan Zee was a powerhouse tournament with the strongest assembly of players the tournament has seen to date. Certainly, the majority of chess fans [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 28th, 2012 3 Comments »
Ready for a quick game? No clock? Turn your Android touch-phone into a functional chess clock by downloading the new chess app called Social Chess Clock. Pablo Ovalle told The Chess Drum, I proudly present Social Chess Clock: a free app that allows you to use your Android device as a chess clock. With this [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Tournaments on Jan 28th, 2012 14 Comments »
Philadelphia is where chess happens! The “City of Brotherly Love” has become the hub for several major U.S. tournaments on the east coast. The Sheraton Hotel is also the home of the Philadelphia International, World Open, the National Congress and the Liberty was having its 44th edition during the King Holiday weekend. The tournament drew [...]
Posted in Tournaments on Jan 24th, 2012 1 Comment »
With five round left in the 2012 Tata Steel tournament, the world’s two highest-rated players hold the lead in a tight race. Both Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian hold a half-point lead over Teimour Radjabov and a mere one-point lead over Vassily Ivanchuk, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. There are some marquee matchups in the [...]
Posted in Africa, Botswana on Jan 20th, 2012 10 Comments »
Providence Oatlhotse The stage has been set for the first tournament in the Botswana Chess Calendar. The tournament dubbed Year Opener will take place from 20th-22 January. The tournament presents an opportunity for last year’s winner CM Providence Oatlhotse to defend his title. Oatlhotse had an impressive run in the past year as he won [...]
Posted in Netherlands, Tournaments on Jan 18th, 2012 No Comments »
If someone had predicted that Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian would be leading the Tata Steel Chess tournament (3/4), it would not be much of a surprise. The tournament has been rather competitive with Fabiano Caruana putting in a strong performance in joint second with Teimour Radjabov on 2.5/4. There is a quintet of players [...]
Posted in Africa, Europe, Italy, South Africa on Jan 18th, 2012 5 Comments »
Posted in Africa, Ghana on Jan 16th, 2012 6 Comments »
Kojo Hasford2012 Ghana Champion The Ghana National Individual Chess Championship 2012 was held at the Accra Sports Stadium-Accra from January 2 to January 7, 2012. The system and rate of play was a 7-round Swiss, 90 minutes per player per game for the first round to select the best six players from twelve. The qualified [...]
Posted in England, Europe, Tournaments, USA on Jan 12th, 2012 6 Comments »
WFM Sabrina Chevannes of Birmingham, England penned an article for ChessBase about her American chess experience. Late last year, Sabrina told me she was coming to the U.S. for a visit. I had been covering her chess activities since she was around 13. Unfortunately, she would be too far away for an overdue face-to-face meeting, [...]
Posted in Europe, Netherlands, Tournaments on Jan 12th, 2012 35 Comments »
In a couple of days, Wijk aan Zee will host the strongest field in its 74th edition. The average rating is 2754 with several of the top players on the card. Sponsored by Tata Steel conglomerate, the power-packed lineup includes reigning champion Hikaru Nakamura, the world highest-rated player Magnus Carlsen and world number two Levon [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 10th, 2012 7 Comments »
(Note: The latest New in Chess came out while I was still traveling abroad so I will give an overview of this issue.) A lot can happen in a couple of months. Magnus Carlsen won the Tal Memorial and ended the 2011 campaign in spectacular fashion. He will join a strong field (2754 average ELO) [...]
Posted in Hip-Hop on Jan 10th, 2012 No Comments »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Meko Gaborski (323) 335-4497 Rapper Asheru from Boondocks & MMA Fighter Ralek Gracie Team with Hip-Hop Chess Federation for Nonviolence HHCF Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary With Youth Tournament, Jiu Jitsu Exhibition and Live Performances January 4th 2012- San Jose, CA – The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is proud to announce it will [...]
Posted in Media Stories, USA on Jan 8th, 2012 1 Comment »
The chess scene at 16th Street Mall in Denver. Photo by Wally Gobetz. This story has been told many times from coast-to-coast. New stories covering chess playgrounds in major cities have occurred for decades… even in controversy. Recently another story about the adage, “chess is life” reports a story in Denver, Colorado where the homeless [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 5th, 2012 5 Comments »
FM Kassa Korley with hostess Kacie Marie. Photo by XChessChamps (Meirom). Chess has hit “Reality TV” as the Xtreme Chess Championships debuted with eight contestants in a bold experiment to promote an edgy side to chess. According to a press release, the idea was created by film-maker Daniel Meirom and U.S. Chess League founder Greg [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Cuba, Media Stories on Jan 3rd, 2012 16 Comments »
Cuba is the largest Caribbean island boasting a rich history and some of the most passionate people on the planet. It is part of this passion that has produced the creativity and ingenuity in a land of modesty. Cuba is a place full of many stories. There is the political story which many Cubans avoid [...]
Posted in Barbados, Caribbean on Jan 2nd, 2012 No Comments »
Barbados’ Dr. Philip Corbin released his life-long affair with chess by releasing his autobiographical “Calypso Chess” in July. Dr. Corbin was asked how the book can be purchased outside of Barbados and he stated that he was working to get the book distributed by Amazon.com, the world’s largest bookstore. That time has come and the [...]
Posted in FIDE on Jan 2nd, 2012 No Comments »
Magnus Carlsen (2835, +9) has now approached dangerously close to Garry Kasparov’s rating record of 2851. With the idea of slight rating inflation and the onset of computers, this record is bound to fall, but it may also show how far Kasparov was ahead of his contemporaries. GM Magnus Carlsen Photo by ChessBase.com. There have [...]
Posted in Media Stories on Jan 1st, 2012 No Comments »
We are into a new year today. This year we will see the Olympics in London and in chess we will have the Olympiad in Turkey. Last year was one full of excitement. There were breakthroughs for players and invigoration of top-level events. At The Chess Drum, there was a plethora of events covering international [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Cuba on Jan 1st, 2012 3 Comments »
There has been an U.S. economic embargo against Cuba since 1961. This means there are no formal trade relations between the two countries. However, Coca-Cola, M&Ms and TV programs such as “Friends” are seen there… perhaps through a maze of third-party relationships. Fortunately, art forms like chess are not bound by such restrictions. It is [...]
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