Month: November 2011

  • Shabazz visits Chess Hall of Fame

    Back in December 2001, I drove eight hours from Tallahassee, Florida to the grand opening of the Chess Hall of Fame in Miami. It was a wonderful day of activities and the castle-themed building adorned with a rook tower was a perfect backdrop. It was a wonderful day. This is…

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  • Carlsen sprints to victory at Tal Memorial

    Magnus Carlsen has made his late spurts legendary as he won yet another tournament in the late stages. In one of the strongest tournaments ever (four 2800s), he was near the top the entire tournament, but a last-round win over Hikaru Nakamura helped him to claim the crown on tiebreaks…

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  • WWC2011-8: Hou defends crown!

    GM Hou Yifan, Women’s World Champion Photo by Anastasiya Karlovich for FIDE. Hou Yifan successful defended her title against Koneru Humpy by drawing the eight game in the Women’s World Chess Championship in Tirana, Albania. This was her first title defense and she won in convincing manner by 5½-2½. Perhaps…

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  • 5-way tie at Tal 2011 with 2 to go

    With the current five-way tie, the 2011 Tal Memorial will come to an exciting end. Photo by russiachess.org. 2011 Tal Memorial is one of the strongest tournaments in history and is going down to the wire. There is a five-way tie for first with only two rounds remaining. Levon Aronian,…

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  • WWC2011-7: Humpy falls again… down 3

    International Arbiter Carol Jarecki starts the clock for Hou Yifan in Game #7 against Koneru Humpy. In a must-win situation, Koneru Humpy of India was certainly looking to steal a game with a surprise in the opening. Eschewing the Sicilian once again, Humpy tried a peculiar line (9…Qd7) against the…

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  • Quinton Smith dies at K-12 Nationals

    Quinton SmithPhoto by Lubbock ISD. The U.S. Chess Federation has released a press release of the death of scholastic player Quinton Smith of Estacado High School. The 17-year old Lubbock, Texas resident was competing on the K-12 Nationals at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas which drew 1200 students. Smith…

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  • GM Pontus Carlsson offering lessons!

    GM Pontus Carlsson After just coming off of a strong result in the European Team Championship (5.5/8) GM Pontus Carlsson is back in Sweden charting the course for his next event. In the meantime, he told Daaim Shabazz of The Chess Drum that he is open for business. Having given…

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  • WWC2011-6: Hou wins to widen gap

    Hou Yifan was somber in victory. Her health scare was soothed by a nice win. Last night things were not looking well for Hou Yifan. According to ChessBase, she fell ill and was rushed to emergency for severe stomach pains. After tests were conducted, doctors attributed her condition to stress…

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  • WWC2011-5: Another draw in Game Five

    Panoramic view of the playing hall. In today’s game, Hou Yifan and Koneru Humpy fought to another draw repeating the same opening from Game #4. Yifan tried 12.cxd4 attempting to improve on yesterday’s game where she got a slight advantage but was unable to make anything of it. This game…

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  • Olebile wins Botswana Junior!

    In a tussle that saw the country’s best 20 juniors lock horns, Thato “Kotov” Olebile proved too hot to handle as he dominated the tournament with overwhelming command. The star studded tournament consisted among others CM Thabo Gumpo (former Under 21 champion and National team player), CM Kagiso Morwamang and…

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