MANILA, Philippines – Grandmaster (GM) Wesley So, FIDE (World Chess Federation) Master (FM) Jan Emmanuel Garcia, reigning RP Boys 12-and-under champion Paolo Bersamina and Narquinden Reyes emerged as winners in Sunday’s 1st Pichay and Davis Cup chess festival.Full article on ABS CBN News
So, currently the world’s no. 64 with an ELO FIDE rating of 2665, defeated GM-elect Ronald Dableo in the finals (2-game match, 7 minutes with 3 seconds increment), 1.5-0.5, to capture the all Master Group A division title.
So received the top prize of P15,000, a trophy and a Nokia mobile phone in the event held at the Blue Wave Mall along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City. "I'm really happy to have played well against Ronald (Dableo) in the finals," said the 16-year-old chess whiz kid from Bacoor, Cavite.
Vasily Smyslov, the seventh world chess champion, who was known for both the artistry of his play and the solidity of his technique, died Saturday at a hospital in Moscow. He was 89.Full article in NY Times
The cause was heart failure, according to the Russian television station NTV.
Mr. Smyslov, though he held the championship for just a year, from April 1957 to May 1958, was one of the most successful and durable tournament and match players of the generation that came of age after World War II.
The world's top-rated player says you can be too smart to play chess.Read more
"Being too intelligent" can "get in your way," Magnus Carlsen, the 19-year-old Norwegian super-GM, told the magazine Der Spiegel.
He cited the case of Britain's John Nunn, who at 15 became the youngest student at Oxford in 500 years. Nunn had considerable chess talent and became a solid grandmaster but never got close to the world championship.
The former world champion Anatoly Karpov announced on Saturday that he was running for president of the World Chess Federation.The New York Times is asking Can Karpov Be President of Chess Federation?
Karpov is trying to unseat Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who has been president of the federation (known as FIDE, its initials in French), since 1995. Ilyumzhinov is also the president of Kalmykia, a small Russian republic on the Caspian Sea.
Karpov would not be the first ex-champion to serve as FIDE’s president. Max Euwe, the fifth world champion (1935-37), led the federation from 1970-78, a period of exceptional turmoil and interest in the game.
It is still six month before the 2010 Chess Olympiad opens on 19th September in the Russian city of Khanty Mansiysk, but the federations are already announcing their lineups.
The 2010 World Amateur Chess Championship features the largest prize fund in the history of the tournament $20,000 USD guaranteed. In addition to the prize fund available the following prizes are present:
* The FIDE Master title for the winner of the event
* The Woman's FIDE Master title for the top placing female player of the event
* 2 scholarships valued up to $36,000 each to Texas Tech University for the top Male and Female participants
The World Amateur Championship is organized by the NA Chess Federation. Currently registered are players from United States, Columbia, Canada, Finland, Russia, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Sri Lanka, India, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, here is all the info and side events:
World Amateur Chess Championship
March 19 – 25, 2010
9R-SS | G/90 + 30/sec increment
$20,000 USD Prize Fund Guaranteed
2 Scholarships to Texas Tech University
FIDE Master and Woman FIDE Master title to top male and female player
More info: http://www.worldchesschamps.com/world-amateur/general-information/
Intercontinental School Team Championship
March 26 – 28, 2010
U18, U16, U14, U12, U10 sections
More info: http://www.worldchesschamps.com/world-school-team/regulation/
FIDE Arbiters Seminar
March 22 – 25
Required seminar for FIDE Arbiter title
More info: http://www.worldchesschamps.com/side-events/arbiter/
25th North American Masters
March 20 – 24
9R-SS | G/90 + 30/sec increment
$5,000 USD Prize Fund Guaranteed
GM/IM/WGM/WIM norms available
More info: http://www.worldchesschamps.com/side-events/25th-na-masters/
