Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Chess Snapshot Analysis #6 - Can you spot any improvements?

There are improvements on both sides, can you find them?

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Remembrance Day 2010

Magnus Carlsen Quits World Chess Championship Cycle

It's official - Magnus Carlsen has quit the World Chess Championship cycle. Many in the chess world consider him to be the prime candidate to hold the championship in the future. I am sure Carlsen fans around the world are not too happy about him leaving the cycle at this time, but rest assured he will be back. Carlsen has also launched a new website which you can visit here.

The following is a copy of the letter Carlsen sent to the FIDE regarding his decision to withdraw from the World Championship cycle:

-------------------

To: FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov & FIDE World Championship Committee.

Reference is made to the ongoing World Championship cycle.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of my decision not to take part in the planned Candidate Matches between March and May 2011.

After careful consideration I’ve reached the conclusion that the ongoing 2008–2012 cycle does not represent a system, sufficiently modern and fair, to provide the motivation I need to go through a lengthy process of preparations and matches and to perform at my best.


Reigning champion privileges, the long (five year) span of the cycle, changes made during the cycle resulting in a new format (Candidates) that no World Champion has had to go through since Kasparov, puzzling ranking criteria as well as the shallow ceaseless match-after-match concept are all less than satisfactory in my opinion.

By providing you with four months notice before the earliest start of the Candidates as well as in time before you have presented player contracts or detailed regulations, I rest assured that you will be able to find an appropriate replacement.

Although the purpose of this letter is not to influence you to make further changes to the ongoing cycle, I would like to take the opportunity to present a few ideas about future cycles in line with our input to FIDE during the December 27th 2008 phone-conference between FIDE leaders and a group of top-level players.

In my opinion privileges should in general be abolished and a future World Championship model should be based on a fair fight between the best players in the World, on equal terms. This should apply also to the winner of the previous World Championship, and especially so when there are several players at approximately the same level in the world elite. (Why should one player have one out of two tickets to the final to the detriment of all remaining players in the world? Imagine that the winner of the 2010 Football World Cup would be directly qualified to the 2014 World Cup final while all the rest of the teams would have to fight for the other spot.)

One possibility for future cycles would be to stage an 8-10 player World Championship tournament similar to the 2005 and 2007 events.

The proposal to abolish the privileges of the World Champion in the future is not in any way meant as criticism of, or an attack on, the reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who is a worthy World Champion, a role model chess colleague and a highly esteemed opponent.

Rest assured that I am still motivated to play competitive chess. My current plan is to continue to participate in well-organised top-level tournaments and to try to maintain the no 1 spot on the rating list that I have successfully defended for most of 2010.

Best regards,
IGM Magnus Carlsen

The Wickedest Man in Chess - Aleister Crowley

Happy Halloween everyone!

Can you spot any improvments

Remembering Terry Fox

New Chess Video: Grandmaster Chess Tactics #7

[Event "Reykjavik Open"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2010.02.27"]
[EventDate "2010.02.24"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Henrik Danielsen"]
[Black "Tiger Hillarp Persson"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2495"]
[BlackElo "2581"]
[PlyCount "79"]

1. g3 c5 2. c4 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O a6
7. d3 Rb8 8. a4 Nf6 9. Rb1 O-O 10. Ne1 Bd7 11. Nc2 a5 12. b3
Qc8 13. Bb2 Bh3 14. e3 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Rd8 16. e4 e6 17. Nb5 Ne8
18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. f4 f5 20. Qe2 Nf6 21. Rbe1 Qd7 22. Qd1 Rf8
23. exf5 exf5 24. d4 Rfe8 25. Qd3 cxd4 26. Ncxd4 d5 27. c5 Re4
28. Nf3 Rbe8 29. Qd2 Rxe1 30. Rxe1 Rxe1 31. Qxe1 Ne4 32. Nbd4
Nxd4 33. Nxd4 Kh6 34. Qxa5 Qe7 35. Qb6 Kh5 36. b4 Qg7 37. Qd8
Nf6 38. Ne6 Qf7 39. Ng5 Qg7 40. Nxh7 1-0

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess Snapshot Analysis #5 - Can you spot any improvements?

There are improvements on both sides, can you find them?

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Website Back

http://www.jrobichess.com is now back online after the hosting maintenance.

Website Errors

Just a quick note to let you know the main site is experiencing troubles due to a hosting upgrade. It shouldn't be down for long.

Chess Snapshot Analysis #4 - Can you spot any improvements?

There are improvements on both sides, can you find them?

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: The Sicilian Defence - Dragon Variation - Classical

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess game can you spot any improvments

Chess Games of Grandmaster Veselin Topalov added to Interactive Grandmaster Database on www.jrobichess.com

The chess games of Grandmaster Veselin Topalov have been added to the Interactive Grandmaster database section of www.jrobichess.com. Topalov just wrapped up his bid for the World Chess Championship against Anand, falling short in game 12 and losing the match 6.5 to 5.5 against the reigning World Champion Anand.

To access the interactive Grandmaster database from the main page, click on your Grandmaster or tournament of choice on the left-hand side of the main site.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

www.jrobichess.com - World Chess Championship PGN Database Updated on Interactive Grandmaster Database

The interactive Grandmaster database section on the main site ( http://www.jrobichess.com ) has been updated to include the 2010 World Chess Championships. The series was amazing, and I was very happy to cover it for all my YouTube subscribers, both new ones to the channel and the grizzled vets that have been following my chess videos for a long time.

To interact with all the World Chess Championship PGN's going back to the very first one, make sure to visit the main site and click on the tournament section on the left. There are several tournaments to browse through, along with a number of Grandmaster databases to explore. I will be adding several new Grandmasters to the list in the near future.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 12

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 Game_12"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.11"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D56"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 Ne4 8. Bxe7
Qxe7 9. Rc1 c6 10. Be2 Nxc3 11. Rxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd7 13. O-O b6 14. Bd3 c5
15. Be4 Rb8 16. Qc2 Nf6 17. dxc5 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 bxc5 19. Qc2 Bb7 20. Nd2 Rfd8
21. f3 Ba6 22. Rf2 Rd7 23. g3 Rbd8 24. Kg2 Bd3 25. Qc1 Ba6 26. Ra3 Bb7 27. Nb3
Rc7 28. Na5 Ba8 29. Nc4 e5 30. e4 f5 31. exf5 e4 32. fxe4 Qxe4+ 33. Kh3 Rd4 34.
Ne3 Qe8 35. g4 h5 36. Kh4 g5+ 37. fxg6 Qxg6 38. Qf1 Rxg4+ 39. Kh3 Re7 40. Rf8+
Kg7 41. Nf5+ Kh7 42. Rg3 Rxg3+ 43. hxg3 Qg4+ 44. Kh2 Re2+ 45. Kg1 Rg2+ 46. Qxg2
Bxg2 47. Kxg2 Qe2+ 48. Kh3 c4 49. a4 a5 50. Rf6 Kg8 51. Nh6+ Kg7 52. Rb6 Qe4
53. Kh2 Kh7 54. Rd6 Qe5 55. Nf7 Qxb2+ 56. Kh3 Qg7 0-1

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Anand vs. Topalov - Game 11

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 Game_11"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.09"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Topalov, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8.
a3 O-O 9. b4 Be6 10. d3 f6 11. Ne4 Qe8 12. Nc5 Bxc5 13. bxc5 Nd5 14. Bb2 Rd8
15. Qc2 Nde7 16. Rab1 Ba2 17. Rbc1 Qf7 18. Bc3 Rd7 19. Qb2 Rb8 20. Rfd1 Be6 21.
Rd2 h6 22. Qb1 Nd5 23. Rb2 b6 24. cxb6 cxb6 25. Bd2 Rd6 26. Rbc2 Qd7 27. h4 Rd8
28. Qb5 Nde7 29. Qb2 Bd5 30. Bb4 Nxb4 31. axb4 Rc6 32. b5 Rxc2 33. Rxc2 Be6 34.
d4 e4 35. Nd2 Qxd4 36. Nxe4 Qxb2 37. Rxb2 Kf7 38. e3 g5 39. hxg5 hxg5 40. f4
gxf4 41. exf4 Rd4 42. Kf2 Nf5 43. Bf3 Bd5 44. Nd2 Bxf3 45. Nxf3 Ra4 46. g4 Nd6
47. Kg3 Ne4+ 48. Kh4 Nd6 49. Rd2 Nxb5 50. f5 Re4 51. Kh5 Re3 52. Nh4 Nc3 53.
Rd7+ Re7 54. Rd3 Ne4 55. Ng6 Nc5 56. Ra3 Rd7 57. Re3 Kg7 58. g5 b5 59. Nf4 b4
60. g6 b3 61. Rc3 Rd4 62. Rxc5 Rxf4 63. Rc7+ Kg8 64. Rb7 Rf3 65. Rb8+ Kg7
1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess Snapshot Analysis 4 - Can you find any improvements?

A recent blitz game with the white pieces. Can you find improvements for either side?

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 10

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010

Game_10"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.07"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D87"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Qd2 Bb7 12. Rac1 Rc8 13. Rfd1 cxd4 14. cxd4
Qd6 15. d5 Na5 16. Bb5 Rxc1 17. Rxc1 Rc8 18. h3 Rxc1+ 19. Qxc1 e6 20. Nf4 exd5
21. Nxd5 f5 22. f3 fxe4 23. fxe4 Qe5 24. Bd3 Nc6 25. Ba6 Nd4 26. Qc4 Bxd5 27.
Qxd5+ Qxd5 28. exd5 Be5 29. Kf2 Kf7 30. Bg5 Nf5 31. g4 Nd6 32. Kf3 Ne8 33. Bc1
Nc7 34. Bd3 Bd6 35. Ke4 b5 36. Kd4 a6 37. Be2 Ke7 38. Bg5+ Kd7 39. Bd2 Bg3 40.
g5 Bf2+ 41. Ke5 Bg3+ 42. Ke4 Ne8 43. Bg4+ Ke7 44. Be6 Nd6+ 45. Kf3 Nc4 46. Bc1
Bd6 47. Ke4 a5 48. Bg4 Ba3 49. Bxa3+ Nxa3 50. Ke5 Nc4+ 51. Kd4 Kd6 52. Be2 Na3
53. h4 Nc2+ 54. Kc3 Nb4 55. Bxb5 Nxa2+ 56. Kb3 Nb4 57. Be2 Nxd5 58. h5 Nf4 59.
hxg6 hxg6 60. Bc4 1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Anand vs. Topalov - Game 9

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 Game_9"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.06"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Topalov, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "165"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4
dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. Re1 Nbd7 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Bd3 Re8 14. Qe2 Bxc3
15. bxc3 Qc7 16. Bh4 Nh5 17. Ng5 g6 18. Nh3 e5 19. f3 Qd6 20. Bf2 exd4 21.
Qxe8+ Rxe8 22. Rxe8+ Nf8 23. cxd4 Nf6 24. Ree1 Ne6 25. Bc4 Bd5 26. Bg3 Qb4 27.
Be5 Nd7 28. a3 Qa4 29. Bxd5 Nxe5 30. Bxe6 Qxd4+ 31. Kh1 fxe6 32. Ng5 Qd6 33.
Ne4 Qxa3 34. Rc3 Qb2 35. h4 b5 36. Rc8+ Kg7 37. Rc7+ Kf8 38. Ng5 Ke8 39. Rxh7
Qc3 40. Rh8+ Kd7 41. Rh7+ Kc6 42. Re4 b4 43. Nxe6 Kb6 44. Nf4 Qa1+ 45. Kh2 a5
46. h5 gxh5 47. Rxh5 Nc6 48. Nd5+ Kb7 49. Rh7+ Ka6 50. Re6 Kb5 51. Rh5 Nd4 52.
Nb6+ Ka6 53. Rd6 Kb7 54. Nc4 Nxf3+ 55. gxf3 Qa2+ 56. Nd2 Kc7 57. Rhd5 b3 58.
Rd7+ Kc8 59. Rd8+ Kc7 60. R8d7+ Kc8 61. Rg7 a4 62. Rc5+ Kb8 63. Rd5 Kc8 64. Kg3
Qa1 65. Rg4 b2 66. Rc4+ Kb7 67. Kf2 b1=Q 68. Nxb1 Qxb1 69. Rdd4 Qa2+ 70. Kg3 a3
71. Rc3 Qa1 72. Rb4+ Ka6 73. Ra4+ Kb5 74. Rcxa3 Qg1+ 75. Kf4 Qc1+ 76. Kf5 Qc5+
77. Ke4 Qc2+ 78. Ke3 Qc1+ 79. Kf2 Qd2+ 80. Kg3 Qe1+ 81. Kf4 Qc1+ 82. Kg3 Qg1+
83. Kf4 1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 8

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 Game_8"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.04"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 c5 8. e4 Bg6
9. Be3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxc4 Rc8 14. Bb5 a6
15. Bxd7+ Kxd7 16. Ke2 f6 17. Rhd1 Ke8 18. a5 Be7 19. Bb6 Rf8 20. Rac1 f5 21.
e5 Bg5 22. Be3 f4 23. Ne4 Rxc1 24. Nd6+ Kd7 25. Bxc1 Kc6 26. Bd2 Be7 27. Rc1+
Kd7 28. Bc3 Bxd6 29. Rd1 Bf5 30. h4 g6 31. Rxd6+ Kc8 32. Bd2 Rd8 33. Bxf4 Rxd6
34. exd6 Kd7 35. Ke3 Bc2 36. Kd4 Ke8 37. Ke5 Kf7 38. Be3 Ba4 39. Kf4 Bb5 40.
Bc5 Kf6 41. Bd4+ Kf7 42. Kg5 Bc6 43. Kh6 Kg8 44. h5 Be8 45. Kg5 Kf7 46. Kh6 Kg8
47. Bc5 gxh5 48. Kg5 Kg7 49. Bd4+ Kf7 50. Be5 h4 51. Kxh4 Kg6 52. Kg4 Bb5 53.
Kf4 Kf7 54. Kg5 Bc6 55. Kh6 Kg8 56. g4 1-0

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Anand vs. Topalov - Game 7

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 game_7"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Topalov, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Bf4
dxc4 9. Ne5 b5 10. Nxc6 Nxc6 11. Bxc6 Bd7 12. Bxa8 Qxa8 13. f3 Nd5 14. Bd2 e5
15. e4 Bh3 16. exd5 Bxf1 17. Qxf1 exd4 18. a4 Qxd5 19. axb5 Qxb5 20. Rxa7 Re8
21. Kh1 Bf8 22. Rc7 d3 23. Bc3 Bd6 24. Ra7 h6 25. Nd2 Bb4 26. Ra1 Bxc3 27. bxc3
Re2 28. Rd1 Qa4 29. Ne4 Qc2 30. Rc1 Rxh2+ 31. Kg1 Rg2+ 32. Qxg2 Qxc1+ 33. Qf1
Qe3+ 34. Qf2 Qc1+ 35. Qf1 Qe3+ 36. Kg2 f5 37. Nf2 Kh7 38. Qb1 Qe6 39. Qb5 g5
40. g4 fxg4 41. fxg4 Kg6 42. Qb7 d2 43. Qb1+ Kg7 44. Kf1 Qe7 45. Kg2 Qe6 46.
Qd1 Qe3 47. Qf3 Qe6 48. Qb7+ Kg6 49. Qb1+ Kg7 50. Qd1 Qe3 51. Qc2 Qe2 52. Qa4
Kg8 53. Qd7 Kf8 54. Qd5 Kg7 55. Kg3 Qe3+ 56. Qf3 Qe5+ 57. Kg2 Qe6 58. Qd1
1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Anand vs. Topalov - Game 6

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 game_6"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.05.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Topalov, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. Ne5 c5 7. Na3 cxd4 8.
Naxc4 Bc5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Nd3 Ba7 13. Qa4 Nc6 14. Rac1
e5 15. Bxc6 b5 16. Qc2 Qxc6 17. Ncxe5 Qe4 18. Qc6 Bb7 19. Qxe4 Bxe4 20. Rc2
Rfe8 21. Rfc1 f6 22. Nd7 Bf5 23. N7c5 Bb6 24. Nb7 Bd7 25. Nf4 Rab8 26. Nd6 Re5
27. Nc8 Ba5 28. Nd3 Re8 29. Na7 Bb6 30. Nc6 Rb7 31. Ncb4 a5 32. Nd5 a4 33. Nxb6
Rxb6 34. Nc5 Bf5 35. Rd2 Rc6 36. b4 axb3 37. axb3 b4 38. Rxd4 Rxe2 39. Rxb4 Bh3
40. Rbc4 Rd6 41. Re4 Rb2 42. Ree1 Rdd2 43. Ne4 Rd4 44. Nc5 Rdd2 45. Ne4 Rd3 46.
Rb1 Rdxb3 47. Nd2 Rb4 48. f3 g5 49. Rxb2 Rxb2 50. Rd1 Kf7 51. Kf2 h5 52. Ke3
Rc2 53. Ra1 Kg6 54. Ra6 Bf5 55. Rd6 Rc3+ 56. Kf2 Rc2 57. Ke3 Rc3+ 58. Kf2 Rc2
1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 5

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 game_5"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.04.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 c5 8. e4 Bg6 9. Be3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxc4 a6 14. Rc1 Rg8 15. h4 h5 16. Ne2 Bd6 17. Be3 Ne5 18. Nf4 Rc8 19. Bb3 Rxc1+ 20. Bxc1 Ke7 21.Ke2 Rc8 22. Bd2 f6 23. Nxg6+ Nxg6 24. g3 Ne5 25. f4 Nc6 26. Bc3 Bb4 27. Bxb4+ Nxb4 28. Rd1 Nc6 29. Rd2 g5 30. Kf2 g4 31. Rc2 Rd8 32. Ke3 Rd6 33. Rc5 Nb4 34.Rc7+ Kd8 35. Rc3 Ke7 36. e5 Rd7 37. exf6+ Kxf6 38. Ke2 Nc6 39. Ke1 Nd4 40. Bd1 a5 41. Rc5 Nf5 42. Rc3 Nd4 43. Rc5 Nf5 44. Rc3 1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Anand vs. Topalov - Game 4

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 game_4"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.04.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Topalov, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc2
Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 c6 9. a4 b5 10. Na3 Bd7 11. Ne5 Nd5 12. e4 Nb4 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfd1
Be8 15. d5 Qd6 16. Ng4 Qc5 17. Ne3 N8a6 18. dxc6 bxa4 19. Naxc4 Bxc6 20. Rac1 h6
21. Nd6 Qa7 22. Ng4 Rad8 23. Nxh6+ gxh6 24. Qxh6 f6 25. e5 Bxg2 26. exf6 Rxd6
27. Rxd6 Be4 28. Rxe6 Nd3 29. Rc2 Qh7 30. f7+ Qxf7 31. Rxe4 Qf5 32. Re7 1-0

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 3

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC 2010 game_3"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.04.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2787"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2010.04.24"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "BTN"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 c5 8. e4 Bg6
9. Be3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxc4 a6 14. Rc1 Rg8
15. h4 h6 16. Ke2 Bd6 17. h5 Bh7 18. a5 Ke7 19. Na4 f6 20. b4 Rgc8 21. Bc5 Bxc5
22. bxc5 Rc7 23. Nb6 Rd8 24. Nxd7 Rdxd7 25. Bd3 Bg8 26. c6 Rd6 27. cxb7 Rxb7
28. Rc3 Bf7 29. Ke3 Be8 30. g4 e5 31. Rhc1 Bd7 32. Rc5 Bb5 33. Bxb5 axb5 34.
Rb1 b4 35. Rb3 Ra6 36. Kd3 Rba7 37. Rxb4 Rxa5 38. Rxa5 Rxa5 39. Rb7+ Kf8 40.
Ke2 Ra2+ 41. Ke3 Ra3+ 42. Kf2 Ra2+ 43. Ke3 Ra3+ 44. Kf2 Ra2+ 45. Ke3 Ra3+ 46.
Kf2 1/2-1/2

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Anand vs. Topalov - Game 2

[Event "World Championship"]
[Site "Sofia"]
[Date "2010.04.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Anand"]
[Black "Topalov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2817"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. Ne5 c5 7. Na3 cxd4 8. Naxc4
Bc5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bd2 Nd5 11. Rc1 Nd7 12. Nd3 Ba7 13. Ba5 Qe7 14. Qb3 Rb8 15.
Qa3 Qxa3 16. bxa3 N7f6 17. Nce5 Re8 18. Rc2 b6 19. Bd2 Bb7 20. Rfc1 Rbd8 21. f4
Bb8 22. a4 a5 23. Nc6 Bxc6 24. Rxc6 h5 25. R1c4 Ne3 26. Bxe3 dxe3 27. Bf3 g6 28.
Rxb6 Ba7 29. Rb3 Rd4 30. Rc7 Bb8 31. Rc5 Bd6 32. Rxa5 Rc8 33. Kg2 Rc2 34. a3 Ra2
35. Nb4 Bxb4 36. axb4 Nd5 37. b5 Raxa4 38. Rxa4 Rxa4 39. Bxd5 exd5 40. b6 Ra8
41. b7 Rb8 42. Kf3 d4 43. Ke4 1-0

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 1

[Event "World Championship"]
[Date "2010.04.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Topalov"]
[Black "Anand"]
[ECO "D87"]
[WhiteElo "2812"]
[BlackElo "2791"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Na5 11. Bd3 b6 12. Qd2 e5 13. Bh6 cxd4 14. Bxg7 Kxg7
15. cxd4 exd4 16. Rac1 Qd6 17. f4 f6 18. f5 Qe5 19. Nf4 g5 20. Nh5+ Kg8 21. h4
h6 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Rf3 Kf7 24. Nxf6 Kxf6 25. Rh3 Rg8 26. Rh6+ Kf7 27. Rh7+ Ke8
28. Rcc7 Kd8 29. Bb5 QxE4 30.RxC8+ 1-0

(Note: Unfortunately the live viewer I was watching have the last 2 moves incorrect. The PGN here shows the actual moves - either way it was totally lost for Anand at that point.)

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Lady Gaga - Telephone, covered by Pomplamoose

Unique and catchy cover!



Pomplamoose Channel

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess Snapshot Analysis 3 - Can you find any improvements?

There are improvements on both sides, can you find them?

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: Chess Position Practice #5 - Candidate Moves

Game PGN Data

[Event "Carlsbad it, CZE"]
[Site "Carlsbad it, CZE"]
[Date "1907.??.??"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Aron Nimzowitsch"]
[Black "Mikhail Chigorin"]
[ECO "D02"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Bg4 3. Ne5 Bf5 4. c4 e6 5. Nc3 c6 6. Qb3 Qb6
7. Bf4 Nf6 8. c5 Qxb3 9. axb3 Nbd7 10. b4 Nh5 11. Nxd7 Kxd7
12. Bd2 Be7 13. b5 Nf6 14. e3 e5 15. Be2 Ne8 16. bxc6+ bxc6
17. dxe5 Nc7 18. Na4 Rhb8 19. O-O f6 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Bc3 Bc2
22. Rfc1 Bb3 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Nc3 Rb4 25. Bd3 h6 26. Ne2 a5
27. Bf5+ Ke8 28. Nd4 Ba4 29. b3 Bb5 30. Ra3 a4 31. Rca1 Ra6
32. bxa4 Rbxa4 33. Rxa4 Rxa4 34. Rxa4 Bxa4 35. Bd3 Kd7 36. Kf1
Bb5 37. Bxb5 cxb5 38. Ke2 b4 39. Kd2 Na6 40. c6+ Kd6 41. Kc2
Kc5 42. Kb3 Kb6 43. g4 Nc5+ 44. Kc2 Ne4 45. f3 Nd6 46. Kb3 Nc4
47. Kxb4 Nxe3 48. Kc3 Nc4 49. Kd3 Ne5+ 50. Ke3 Nxc6 51. Nxc6
Kxc6 52. Kd4 Kd6 53. f4 Ke6 54. Kc5 f5 55. h3 fxg4 56. hxg4 d4
57. Kxd4 Kd6 58. f5 1-0

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess Games of Grandmaster Mikhail Chigorin Added to http://www.jrobichess.com

I have added the game collection of chess Grandmaster Mikhail Chigorin to the main site at http://www.jrobichess.com. Chigorin was a leading Russian chess player. He served as a major source of inspiration for the "Soviet school of chess," which dominated the chess world in the middle and latter parts of the 20th century.

Chigorin has several chess openings or variations of openings named after him, the two most important being the Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5) and the Chigorin Defence to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6). Another opening line invented by Chigorin is 1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 in the French Defence. It is now generally regarded as a forerunner of King's Indian setups, but Chigorin also played it with other ideas (such as b2-b3) in mind.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Tom Brokaw Explains Canada

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

2010 Vancouver Winter Games

Personally I really enjoyed these games. The level of competition and overall spirit of all the events were amazing. Vancouver did an outstanding job as host to this international event, so many props to all the people who invested time, resources, and energy in British Columbia (and across the nation) to help make these winter games one of the best ever! I also have to tip my hat to CTV. They did an amazing job covering the games, better than any other network in our history.

That being said, however, it was heartbreaking that Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian athlete, died in his training run. The very thought of an Olympic athlete dying never crosses anyone's mind, and when that tragic accident took place it was a very sad moment. I know that people from all over the world felt horrible, and everyone's heart goes out to Nodar's family, friends, and the Georgian team and nation.

Another downside to the Olympic experience was the Canadian media. Just before the end of the first week I heard nothing but anti- "Own the Podium" references on cable television and talk radio. To those unfamiliar with the Canadian "Own the Podium" initiative, it's basically a catch-phrase for supporting athletes financially. I believe Canada spent around 117 million over the past several years to bolster the support of our Olympic athletes to help them train and prepare for the games. Historically, Canada has spent very little supporting Olympic athletes, so the "Own the Podium" program was the first of its kind in Canada.

Early into the games, when some Canadian athletes didn't perform as well as the media had hoped they would, they began to question the worthiness of the "Own the Podium" program. The general theme they were tossing around indirectly, and sometimes directly, was that the program was a waste of money. Of course, what this basically boiled down to was the Canadian media jumped ship on their own athletes. If you're going to say it's not worth investing money on your athletes, what you're also saying is that you don't find them, or their cause, worthy enough to spend money on. You can't just do the athletes lip service and call it a day.

However, the good news is that our athletes didn't back down, didn't get disheartened, and continued to give their very best. In the end, they broke the all time record for gold medals won in any winter Olympic games with 14 of those beauties and achieved third overall in the total medal count standings. For a nation with a population a tenth of a size of the United States, this is an outstanding accomplishment! Now those in the media that were against the "Own the Podium" program will be doing a complete 180, and I am sure we will hear tons of good things about the worthiness of the program for a long time to come. Welcome back on board Canadian media, although I am sure many didn't miss you anyway.

Nonetheless, the games were amazing and what a finish! To have the Canadian men win hockey gold in such a dramatic fashion was a storybook ending to a very entertaining and memorable winter Olympics. Canada has definitely raised the bar for hosting the Games, and that has caused a swell of pride across the nation!

Top 3 Nations

1. United States 9 Gold - 15 Silver - 13 Bronze
*New all time total medal count record with 37 total

2. Germany 10 Gold - 13 Silver - 7 Bronze

3, Canada 14 Gold - 7 Silver - 5 Bronze
*New all time gold medal total record with 14

For full final standings, visit the official website of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Live Tsunami Feed

?Free TV Show from Ustream

Chess Snapshot Analysis 2 - Can you find any improvements?

Here's an unrated game I played as white against the 2. ... E6 Sicilian. What improvements could black have made (or white)?

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

My First Post (New Contributer - David)

This game was between myself David and a friend of mine I was playing with the white pieces.

We are the World For Haiti - Official Video

To donate $10 dollars to Haiti relief efforts with the Red Cross through your cell phone, follow this step:

Text "haiti" to 90999

So far millions of dollars have been donated this way for Haiti relief efforts, surpassing the entire amount gathered through cell phone donations in 2009.

Source: American Red Cross Twitter Page

Chess Snapshot Analysis - Can you find any improvements?

I thought it would be fun once and awhile to post up a game and ask for snapshot analysis. If you think you see any improvements, jot them down in the comment section and then check them out with your engines to see if you're right. Feel free to post for both sides of the board.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess Movie: The Story of I.S.318

CHESS MOVIE (working title) from Rescued Media on Vimeo.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Sicilian Defence Dragon Variation - Yugoslav Attack: New Annotated Chess Opening with Computer Practice on www.jrobichess.com

I have added an annotated opening for the Sicilian Defence Dragon Variation with computer practice and Grandmaster examples on the main site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

One of Great Britain's strongest grandmasters John Emms notes that "I can safely say that the Yugoslav Attack is the ultimate test of the Dragon. White quickly develops his queenside and castles long before turning his attentions to an all-out assault on the black king. To the untrained eye, this attack can look both awesome and unnerving"

That being said, black has more than enough tools within the Dragon lines to equalize and have solid winning chances. As always, all resources and training materials on http://www.jrobichess.com are free for everyone to use to improve their game. You can find the new opening practice and exploration for the Yugoslav attack in the "Chess Opening Study with Computer Practice" section of my site.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Chess reduces the chance of getting Alzheimers by 60 to 75 Percent

For the article on how chess greatly reduces the chance of getting Alzheimers by 60-75% click here. Spread the word around and get all your friends and relatives pushing the pieces on the 64 square battlefield!

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Crazy Dragon Chess Game - Some mistakes but a failure to capitalize for white.

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: Sicilian Defence - Dragon Variation - Yugoslav Attack

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

White to Move: What would you play?

New Video on the Washington Post's decision to discontinue GM Kavalek's Chess Column

Email the Washington Post at letters@washpost.com to request the return of the online Chess Column by GM Lubomir Kavalek.

To read Mr. Kavalek's last article, visit: http://tinyurl.com/yemt3mv

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

The Washington Post Cancels Chess Column

The Washington Post has ended its chess column written by Lubomir Kavalek. The final column, was published Jan. 4. Kavalek wrote about chess for the newspaper for 23 years.

Lubomir is a noted Czech-American chess player who obtained his Grandmaster distinction in 1965. Kavalek also coaches chess, and is an award winning writer.

Email the Washington Post at letters@washpost.com to request the return of the online Chess Column by GM Lubomir Kavalek. Here is what I sent them - please send them your own letter to the editor through email:

I am writing this quick letter to request that you bring back your online chess column written by Lubomir Kavalek. Mr. Kavalek is an internationally recognized professional in the world of Chess, and an award winning writer. To have his work as part of your online offerings helped increase the overall scope and prestige of your publication. Many notable media organizations support chess columns, such as the New York Times to name one. I hope you reconsider your decision to cancel Mr. Kavalek's chess column, and that he can once again provide quality chess articles for your readers.

Source (Entire Article): The New York Times

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Problems with the Fur Industry

A lot of what PETA does is sickening in and of itself (using billboards of murdered women to make a point for example) however on some issues they do expose practices that definitely need to change.

As everything boils down to freedom of choice, this video gave me several more reasons as to why I won't (and haven't) bought anything made from animal fur / exotic skins:

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

New Chess Video: Chess Lesson: Sicilian Defence - Open Sicilian 2. Nf3 D6 3. D4

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Haiti Earthquake Footage and Donation Information

To donate $10 dollars to Haiti relief efforts with the Red Cross through your cell phone, follow this step:

Text "haiti" to 90999

So far over 5 million dollars have been donated this way for Haiti relief efforts, surpassing the entire amount gathered through cell phone donations in 2009.

Source: American Red Cross Twitter Page

Celebration (Rock Remix) - Madonna

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.

Iyaz - Replay (Cover)

jrobichess makes chess videos and has a chess blog along with a personal chess site at http://www.jrobichess.com.