Popular Chess Video Passes Milestone

This hilarious chess video comes from the US Chess School in December 2010.  The precocious lad was, at that time, the youngest chess master in the country at 10 years old.  He destroys overconfident teacher IM Greg Shahade in both the blitz game and the kibitzing, all the while sipping 7-Up.  The video resurfaced in the summer of 2013 on the Top 50 rankings at Reddit.com.  Today, four years after upload, it surpassed one million views on YouTube!

Whether you have seen it before or not, this video is definitely worth another look.    

Starting tomorrow, Sam Sevian, now a full-fledged Grandmaster, participates in the prestigious Tata Steel Tournament at Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands).  Many can remember him from Bay Area events as an 8 or 9 year old, already a dangerous opponent.  He certainly has come a long way, and his future appears very bright!

Happy New Year 2015!!

Bright winter day in the Austrian Alps.

Wishing Everyone Many Brilliant Moves for 2015!

The first Bay Area chess event of 2015 is in the books.  The New Year Championship drew 180 players to the San Francisco Airport Hyatt for $13,000 in prizes.  Elite Chinese Grandmaster Xiangzhi Bu dominated the strong Open section, finishing a full point ahead of the other two GMs.  Yours truly finished with a respectable but unsatisfying performance.  Click here for USCF rated results.

The largest local adult tournament of the year is just 10 days away!  The Golden State Open, which attracted almost 300 participants a year ago, guarantees a $25,000 prize fund.  Note that this event moved 25 miles south from Concord to the Dublin-Pleasanton Holiday Inn, near BART.  Register soon and view the advance entries at ChessAction.com.      

If you enjoy following top level international chess festivals, then you're in luck!  The Tata Steel Tournament at Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands) begins this weekend.  The Masters section features World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway plus four more of the Top 10: Italian-American Fabiano Caruana, defending champion Levon Aronian of Armenia, Dutch-Russian Anish Giri, and the young American immigrant (from the Philippines) Wesley So.  The Challengers include the Czech David Navara, the young Chinese star Wei Yi, and a pair of American Grandmasters with strong ties to the Bay Area: Orinda native Sam Shankland and the now 14-year old prodigy Sam Sevian.  Each section is a 14-player round-robin, meaning 13 rounds, beginning on Saturday at 4:30am PST.  Make sure to check out the live internet coverage when you wake up (especially Twitter and Instagram).

Happy New Year to All!

Tata Kicks Off At Wijk aan Zee

Amateurs play in same big room as elite Grandmasters in Wijk aan Zee.

Dating back to the 1970s, the beginning of each new calendar year promised a pair of elite chess tournaments: one in the coastal Dutch town of Wijk aan Zee and the other in the Andalusian city of Linares.  Both attracted the strongest Grandmasters on the planet, e.g. Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand and Carlsen.  Unfortunately, the Spanish financial crisis claimed Linares as a casualty in 2011.  However, the steel conglomerate Tata maintained the tradition at Wijk, despite a shrinking budget that reduced the number of participants this year to 12 (from 14) and the number of Top 10 players to merely 5.

The small decrease in size does in no way signify a decrease in the relevance of Tata Steel Chess.  Ten players rated over 2700 will battle over the next fortnight (through January 26).  These Grandmasters will author many thrilling games for audiences around the world to enjoy.

Indeed, these games yield worthwhile study material for any serious chess master (or wannabe master).  Any young or aspiring player rated over 1800 should take the time each day to review the latest games (up to 13 per round, counting the Challengers section).  Check out your favorite players or openings.  Try to learn from the middlegame maneuvers and endgame technique.  Ask yourself if you could play like the Grandmasters.  At the Internet Chess Club, go to the Events list under the Window menu or in the Activities console to find the games and daily videos.  Or visit the official website, which features instant analysis by the Houdini 2 engine.     

Hikaru Nakamura

Tata Masters (A section)

• Titles: 12 Grandmasters, including 5 of the Top 10
• Average Rating = 2743 FIDE
• Favorites: Aronian, Nakamura, Caruana and Karjakin
• Americans: Nakamura, Caruana (Italy-USA) and Wesley So (Philippines-USA)
• Comment: Despite the conspicuous absence of World Champion Carlsen plus ex-Champs Kramnik and Anand, the competitive field still features #2 ranked Aronian and #3 Nakamura. 

Tata Challengers (B section)

• Titles: 10 Grandmasters plus 4 International Masters (norms are possible)
• Average Rating = 2579 FIDE
• Favorites: Wojtaszek, Jobava, Yangyi Yu and Saric
• American: Kayden Troff (Utah)
• Comment: There is no clear favorite as several young (and underrated) wolves try to make their name.  Indeed, 2 of top 3 seeds lost in the very first round!

Confident Magnus Takes Charge!

Update: Magnus clinched clear 1st by defeating Nakamura in the penultimate round.

World #1 ranked Magnus Carlsen has taken command at the Tata tournament at Wijk aan Zee in Holland.  He leads by an impressive 1.5 points over reigning world champion Vishy Anand with three rounds to play.  Only a trio of participants has avoided defeat in the first ten games: Carlsen, Anand and US champion Hikaru Nakamura

Round 10 Standings

• 8.0 Carlsen
• 6.5 Anand, Aronian, Nakamura
• 5.5 Karjakin, Leko
• 5.0 Harikrishna, vanWely
• 4.5 Caruana
• 4.0 Giri, WangHao
• 3.5 HouYifan
• 3.0 L'Ami
• 2.5 Sokolov

In round 9, Magnus beat the lowest seed, former women's world champion Hou Yifan of China, in a complex queen endgame arising from the offbeat Ponziani opening.  Watch the candid interview above for his analysis of the key moments of the game, pointing out some of his own inaccuracies.  When asked whether his resolution for 2013 was to break 2900 or to claim the world championship, his unequivocal reply was "both."

Fpawn Favorite Games from Tata A 
(rounds 1-7 click here)

• Rd 8: Carlsen 1-0 Karjakin == Reti == lengthy endgame win from drawish position
• Rd 9: HouYifan 0-1 Carlsen == Ponziani == Carlsen wins complex Q ending up a pawn  
• Rd 10: Sokolov 0-1 Leko == 4.e3 Nimzo == black wins a stunning tactical miniature 
• Rd 11: Karjakin 1-0 Sokolov ==  Ruy Archangelsk == white takes g-file, traps black Q
• Rd 12: Carlsen 1-0 Nakamura == Kalashnikov Sicilian == utter domination by #1
• Rd 13: Karjakin 1-0 vanWely == Dragon Sicilian == a tactical miniature in the Dragon

Anand Smacks Aronian in the Meran

If you haven't seen today's game from Wijk aan Zee, then stop everything and take a look.  You don't just see 2800 players getting checkmated in under 25 moves with either color, even less with the White pieces!  Absolutely stunning!

Indeed, after the stunning one-two punch 15... Bc5 and 16... Nde5, Levon Aronian found himself in deep trouble.  Kudos to Vishy Anand for executing an incredible piece of opening preparation (originally intended for Boris Gelfand in last year's title defense).  This was not the first time that Anand refuted a topical opening variation with an explosive double piece sacrifice.  Young Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin learned a painful lesson in the Najdorf in 2006, ironically also at Wijk aan Zee.

Make sure to check out the dozens of poignant short videos at the Tata 2013 website, featuring the participants in the elite section.  Some videos appear humorous, others emotional, still others downright instructional, and all worth watching.  Highly recommended!

Tata Chess Tournament

The large De Moriaan playing hall.  Credit: www.chessbase.com

Happy New Year!  The beginning of the year brings perhaps the most prestigious tournament on the chess calendar.  This year, the 75th Tata Steel Chess festival features 6 of the Top 10 players in the world, including the highest rated Magnus Carlsen and the reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand.  Indeed, the Norwegian wonderboy comes in as the clear favorite, and he hopes to build on his all-time record high rating of 2861.  The US champion Hikaru Nakamura may be defending champion, but he faces an uphill climb against a wide open field of super-Grandmasters.

Invitees to 2013 Tata A

•  #1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2861 
•  #3 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2802 
•  #5 Fabiano Caruana (ITA) 2781 
•  #6 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2780 
•  #7 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2772 
•  #9 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2769
• #14 Wang Hao (CHN) 2752
• #19 Peter Leko (HUN) 2735
• #29 Anish Giri (NED) 2720
• and five more

Please check back on my blog for my daily favorite game.  I strongly urge all chess students rated 1800 or higher to diligently play through every round over the next fortnight.  Try to learn something too!  Although the elite A group attracts the most attention, the powerful B and C sections often generate more fireworks.  The live audio broadcasts at the Internet Chess Club begin at 4:30am PST each morning (except for three rest days), but completed rounds and Game of the Day videos are available at your convenience. Make sure to also visit the Chessbase news website for daily reports, vibrant photos and thoughtfully annotated games.

Fpawn Favorite Games from Tata A

• Rd 1: Karjakin 1-0 HouYifan == French 3.Nc3 == sacs yield dangerous initiative vs king
• Rd 2: Aronian 1/2 Carlsen == KID 5.Nf3 == Carlsen holds on miraculously down a pawn 
• Rd 3: Anand 1-0 Caruana == Closed Ruy Lopez == world champion invades on c-file
• Rd 4: Aronian 0-1 Anand == QGD Meran == Anand beat Aronian in 23 moves as black
• Rd 5: Harikrishna 1-0 vanWely == Paulsen Sicilian == tactical game ends in queen sac
• Rd 6: Giri 0-1 HouYifan == Dragon Sicilian == black takes initiative with exchange sac
• Rd 7: Karjakin 1/2 Aronian == Ruy Lopez anti-Marshall == wild draw as black miss wins 

Aronian Analyzes Round 10 Victory

Have you ever wondered what an elite Grandmaster thinks about while playing? Shortly after a spectacular positional win, the champion of Tata 2012 shares some of his thoughts with the media and an internet audience. This video on YouTube lasts 17 minutes.

The official website has many similar videos from every round. Watch candid interviews with Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and even some players in Groups B and C. Enjoy!



As a small tribute to Levon Aronian, the Internet Chess Club released its Game of the Day video from round 12 to the public. Aronian clinched first place with this win as black against Boris Gelfand. Watch nearly an hour of detailed analysis by the popular Alex Yermolinsky!

Levon Aronian Wins Tata 2012

(Giri vs Aronian, the beginning of a brilliancy. Photo from tournament website.)

This weekend, #2 ranked Levon Aronian further established himself among the World elite by taking clear 1st at the 2012 Tata Chess Tournament at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. The Armenian scored 9.0 out of 13, losing twice, but winning an impressive seven games to finish a point ahead of the field. Showing his ability to fight on either side of the board, three of his victories came with the black pieces. Aronian gained 15 FIDE rating points to push his live rating up to 2824, surpassed only by two men ever--Garry Kasparov and the current #1, Magnus Carlsen.

Special congratulations both to Aronian and his former coach, Melik Khachiyan (now living in Southern California). In fact, both Grandmasters have a taste for positional exchange sacrifices, such as move 13 in Giri vs Aronian (round 10).

Three challengers stayed hot on the winner's heels, but could not catch up. As the top seed, Carlsen can be disappointed with plus-3, especially his one defeat. In post game interviews, he criticized his own play, at one point even uttering a profanity. He did manage to hold on to his 2835 rating. Teimour Radjabov was the only player to escape defeat in Tata 2012, bringing his new rating up to 2784. And the young Italian star, Fabiano Caruana, cracked the top 10 of the World with four wins and just one setback, gaining 26 rating points.

Final Standings

• 9.0 Aronian
• 8.0 Carlsen, Radjabov and Caruana
  
• 7.5 Ivanchuk and Nakamura
• 7.0 Kamsky
• 6.5 Karjakin
• 5.5 Van Wely
• 5.0 Topalov, Gashimov and Gelfand
  
• 4.5 Giri and Navara
  

The bottom of the standings included a few surprises. Not so long ago, Veselin Topalov was at the top of his game. However, the Bulgarian lost four times in Wijk aan Zee, winning once. The oldest rated over 2700, Boris Gelfand still expected to score better than minus-3 as he prepares for a title match this May against World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Lastly, the Dutch youngster Anish Giri started out well at 4.0/7, but then lost five in a row to drop into the cellar. I am sure he will be back soon.

The two Americans moved up in the rankings with scores above 50%. Both won three rounds, but Gata Kamsky lost twice while Hikaru Nakamura just once. Nakamura now stands as #6 in the World, behind Carlsen, Aronian, Kramnik, Anand and Radjabov.

Let me complete my round-by-round list of favorite games from Group A.

1. Karjakin 0-1 Aronian -- Ruy Lopez closed
2. Aronian 1-0 Nakamura -- Dutch Leningrad
3. Carlsen 1-0 Aronian -- Queen's Gambit Declined + BN vs R endgame
   
4. Navara 0-1 Karjakin -- Ruy Lopez Berlin + pawn endgame
   
5. Nakamura 1-0 Navara -- English Opening, reversed Dragon
6. Gelfand 0-1 Nakamura -- Dutch Leningrad
7. Kamsky 1-0 Navara -- Ruy Lopez Berlin + R and B endgame
8. Giri 0-1 Gashimov -- Sicilian Najdorf, 6.Bg5
9. Ivanchuk 1-0 Giri -- Queen's Gambit Declined + R and N endgame
   
10. Giri 0-1 Aronian -- Queen's Gambit Declined + exchange sacrifice
    
11. Carlsen 1-0 Topalov -- Bb5 Sicilian (Canal-Sokolsky)
    
12. Gelfand 0-1 Aronian -- Queen's Gambit Declined, Petrosian
    
13. Kamsky 1-0 Topalov -- Queen Pawn Game, Indian
    

Tata Through Round 7

(Gelfand faces the Dutch from Nakamura. Photo from Chessbase.)

The Tata Steel Chess 2012 tournament has reach the halfway point with the top two rated players in the World continuing to share the lead. In the past three rounds, both Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian drew twice and won once, leaving them with 5.0/7. American star Hikaru Nakamura picked up ground with a pair of exciting victories. On the other hand, three players lost twice since the first rest day: Vugar Gashimov, Boris Gelfand, and David Navara.

Standings After Round 8 of 13
Updated 1/22: All round 8 games were drawn except for Giri 0-1 Gashimov.

• 5.5 Aronian and Carlsen
• 5.0 Radjabov
• 4.5 Caruana, Ivanchuk and Nakamura
• 4.0 Giri and Van Wely
• 3.5 Kamsky, Karjakin and Topalov
• 3.0 Gashimov and Gelfand
• 2.0 Navara

The biggest surprises are the two local players, seeded 12th and 14th out of 14. The youngster Anish Giri has two wins against a single defeat (1/22: now two defeats) while the veteran Loek Van Wely managed seven straight draws. Most disappointed must be World Championship challenger Gelfand and the highly rated Vugar Gashimov. There is still plenty of time for fortunes to change since six rounds remain to be played.

Here are my favorite games from Group A, one for every round.

1. Karjakin 0-1 Aronian -- Ruy Lopez closed
2. Aronian 1-0 Nakamura -- Dutch Leningrad
3. Carlsen 1-0 Aronian -- Queen's Gambit Declined + BN vs R endgame
   
4. Navara 0-1 Karjakin -- Ruy Lopez Berlin + pawn endgame
   
5. Nakamura 1-0 Navara -- English Opening, reversed Dragon
6. Gelfand 0-1 Nakamura -- Dutch Leningrad
7. Kamsky 1-0 Navara -- Ruy Lopez Berlin + R and B endgame
8. Giri 0-1 Gashimov -- Sicilian Najdorf, 6.Bg5
   

Wijk aan Zee Tournament

(World #1 Carlsen plays white against #2 Aronian. Photo by Chessbase.)

The beginning of each new year brings two of the most prestigious chess events: Wijk aan Zee in January and Linares in March. Both tournaments attract star players--this time 7 of the World's top 10. Chess enthusiasts from around the globe analyze every single game, hoping to understand the brilliant ideas behind the moves. Masters watch for the latest opening innovations while amateurs try to pick up a few tricks to use in their own games. Only the World Championship, Olympiad and World Cup can match this level of excitement.

More than a thousand serious fans brave the snow, cold and ocean breeze on the coast of the Netherlands to participate in a chess festival that began in 1938. Amateurs play in the same hall as the super-Grandmasters, and might even rub elbows with them. For over a decade, the steel company Corus funded the tournament. When Tata bought Corus two years ago, they assumed fiscal responsibility for continuing a tradition. Unfortunately, next year (2013) might bring the end; Tata has not indicated that it will continue the generous financial support.

Who are the players in Tata 2012? The all-star lineup in Group A includes the top 2 rated and 7 of the top 10 on the January FIDE Rating List. The bottom half of the field includes two (and a half) Americans. All but one player is rated over 2700--the unofficial threshold for super-GM. The average rating is a mind-boggling 2755!

• #1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR 2835) -- chasing record rating of 2851 set by Kasparov
  
• #2 Levon Aronian (ARM 2805) -- 2011 was best year of his chess career
  
• #5 Teimour Radjabov (AZE 2773)
• #6 Veselin Topalov (BUL 2770)
• #7 Sergey Karjakin (RUS 2769)
• #8 Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR 2766)
• #10 Vugar Gashimov (AZE 2761)
• #12 Hikaru Nakamura (USA 2759) -- top rated American
  
• #16 Boris Gelfand (ISR 2739) -- challenger to World Champion Anand in May 2012
• #17 Fabiano Caruana (ITA 2736) -- born in USA but moved to Italy at age 12
  
• #20 Gata Kamsky (USA 2732) -- second American and reigning US Champion
• #28 Anish Giri (NED 2714) -- youngest player at age 17, but top rated Dutchman
• #30 David Navara (CZE 2712)
• #54 Loek Van Wely (NED 2692) -- frequently plays Open tournaments in USA

Unfortunately, a pair of big names are missing from this list: #3 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS 2801) and reigning World Champion #4 Viswanathan Anand (IND 2799). Kramnik will probably play in Linares. Anand is taking an extended break to prepare for his title defense in May.

The traditional format is a 14-player round-robin, meaning all-play-all. The entire tournament lasts over two weeks--13 rounds interspersed by 3 rest days. Four rounds are now in the books, and the two 2800s share the lead at 3.0/4. They squared off in round 3, with Carlsen pulling out a victory in a wild endgame. On the other hand, Aronian won each of his other three games, including a middlegame win as black against Karjakin and a fighting game against Nakamura's Leningrad Dutch (see adjacent photo). Radjabov and the rising junior Caruana stand in third place, half a point behind the leaders.

• Official Website -- lots of video interviews
• LIVE Games -- 4:30am to approximately 10:30am PST
  
• Games in Java -- after school or work
• Crosstable
• Daily Bulletin
  
• Chessbase Reports
• ICC ChessFM -- video interviews and Game of the Day (Activities - Events)
  

I strongly encourage all of the advanced kids reading this article to play through the games of Group A. You may choose to select a couple of top players to follow throughout the year. Over time, you will learn the style of these Grandmasters and see what you need to do to improve. Although not my primary goal, you should also pick up some new opening theory. Any junior rated over 2000 should already be analyzing GM games on his/her own. I think most 1800s are strong enough as well. Now get to work! :-)

While browsing the Official Website, make sure to check out the B and C groups. Group B is an impressive Grandmaster tournament in its own right, with an average rating over 2600. The third invitational, Group C, seems somewhat weaker; still there are six Grandmasters, including two rated around 2650. One small detail: the winner of Group C earns a spot in Group B next year, while the champion of Group B plays with the big boys.