Month: January 2008
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Peace Flags… Kenya
Alex Makatia and Issac Babu Odiah (both of Kenya) at 2004 Chess Olympiad (Mallorca, Spain). Photo by Daaim Shabazz. As you all know, the country of Kenya is gripped in a tragic crisis. While not going into specific details, the nation is literally being torn asunder. Kenya, one of Africa’s…
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China Rising!
China (left) vs. regional rival India. Bu Xiangzhi battles Viswanathan Anand on Board One at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin, Italy. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. A contingent of Chinese are competing at the Gibtelecom Chess Festival and after eight rounds, they dominate the upper portion of the standings. It…
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2008 Botswana National Championship
Kenneth Boikhutswane, “Chess Season Kicks Off,” Mmegi/The Reporter, 25 January 2008 (Gaborone, Botswana). The 2008 chess season kicks-off tomorrow at Naledi Secondary School with the first round of the national championships. The event marks the first step in what is likely to be a rigorous battle to the national crown.…
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Interesting Ending at Corus
Michael Adams – Judit Polgar (after 27…Kxe8) The position occurred at 2008 Corus “A” between Michael Adams (England) and Judit Polgar (Hungary) after only 27 moves. White has just traded rooks on e8 with 27.Rxe8+ and black played 27…Kxe8. White to play here. What are the respective plans? Who’s better?
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2008 Corus ends… Aronian, Carlsen on top!
Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik in a stirring finale. Look for more of these battles in the World Championship match! Photo © Michiel Abeln. Lev Aronian and Magnus Carlsen both scored stirring performances to win 2008 Corus. Ironically, Aronian lost only to Vladimir Kramnik while Carlsen put a dent in…
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Fischer and Black Chess Players
In a recent ChessBase.com article, Bobby Fischer’s last movie was said to be “The American Gangster.” That is unfortunate because that is not a favorable last impression of Black people. However, he did have some interesting interaction with Black chess players. Archie Waters at a Fischer analysis session when the…
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Ugandan Chess in Crisis
Sande Bashaija & Lambert Rusoke, “Cash Crisis Hurts Chess ,” The Monitor, 3 January 2008 (Kampala, Uganda). There were some tremendous individual performances but financial hiccups continued to hinder the development of chess in 2007. The Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) was throughout the year rocked in a financial quagmire that…
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The Socio-Politics of the First Move in Chess
Dear Reader, I just penned an article that may pique your interest. It examines the “first mover advantage” in chess. I have had many online debates (mostly notably on The Daily Dirt) about this issue and most of the arguments point to white’s plus score in games played in the…
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Topalov uncorks brilliancy at Corus!
Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik prepare for battle! Photo by ChessBase.com. In the light of the Short-Cheparinov controversy, there was much speculation about the Topalov-Kramnik game at Corus today. Cheparinov lost the delayed game to Short who claimed “moral victory” and smuggly stated, “There is a God and he is…
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