"Every Russian Schoolboy Knows" Akhmilovskaya

Grandmaster Alexander Yermolinsky's lecture series is itself justification for Internet Chess Club membership.

Yermo's most recent lecture is an appreciation of the chess career of Elena Akhmilovskaya Donaldson, who died of brain cancer last month.

Our condolences to her family, friends, and students in Seattle and around the world.

The Greatest Game You've Never Seen

This is an amazing game by IM Nadanian, featuring his patented 5.Na4!? against the Grünfeld. The diagram shows the position before all hell breaks lose. The final position looks like a composition: despite Black's huge material advantage and all those pieces clustered around his king, he has no defense against the primitive threat of 18.Qh8#. Astonishing. This game deserves to be in all the anthologies.

GM Karsten Müller annotates endings from Chicago Open

Good stuff on ChessBase.  Don't miss the endgame between GMs Shabalov and Sargissian, beginning at move 75.  (It's hard to win clear first in the Chicago Open unless you win at least one drawn ending!)

I'd just happened to see GM Yermolinsky's instructive comments on the Shabalov-Sargissian game on ICC this past Sunday.  It's the June 3rd entry in Yermo's "Every Russian Schoolboy Knows" series, "Bishop vs. Knight - Part 1."

Carlsen-Nakamura live commentary

The game just started! I'm listening to Alex Yermolinsky on ICC. You can follow for free at Chess in Translation and The Week in Chess, among other places.

Chess can be a cruel game

You can play like a genius for 84 moves, and throw it all away in time pressure:

Grischuk-Nakamura, Tal Memorial 2010

(finished just a few minutes ago)

Black to play and win

There are two reasonable ways to threaten mate on g3: 84....Qe1 and 84...Qf3.  Both moves have problems: after 84...Qe1, White can try to set up a stalemate defense by allowing ...Qxg3 and running the king to h1.  After 84...Qf3, 85.Nxe5+ seems to force a draw: or does it?

Which move would you choose?

Nakamura may have missed a win against Kramnik today....

@GMHikaruHikaru Nakamura

Insane game against Kramnik today. Gotta love how we both didn't know what was going on and Rybka is like, "haha, you stupid idiots!"

7 hours ago via web Favorite Undo Retweet Reply

Miami vs. Chicago tonight at 7 p.m.

You can follow the action in person or online: find out how here!

I'll be joining the match in progress sometime around 9 p.m.

Memory jog

The final regular season match of the Chicago Blaze starts in a couple minutes.

See you online!

Blaze rematch against St. Louis tomorrow at 7 p.m.!

Someone associated with the Blaze (no, not a player!) was noting the probable absence of Nakamura & Shulman (both coming home from Siberia) and confidently predicting another victory.

The games begin at 7 p.m. Chicago time.


Follow the action on the Internet Chess Club (subscription required). 


Or stop by the North Shore Chess Center at 5500 West Touhy Avenue, Suite A, in Skokie.

Blaze vs. San Francisco Mechanics starts at 7:30 tonight!

Follow the action on the Internet Chess Club (subscription required). 


Or stop by the North Shore Chess Center at 5500 West Touhy Avenue, Suite A, in Skokie!

Wonderful rook endgame lesson

GM Joel Benjamin lectures on today's game between Chicago Open champion Loek Van Wely and U.S. #1 Hikaru Nakamura.

The wily Nakamura drew a dead-lost ending today.  Crank up the air conditioning, grab a glass of iced tea, and enjoy!

The Harikrishna Variation

"TomCruise" on the Internet Chess Club (GM Pentala Harikrishna) analyzed the position after White's 44th move long before it occurred in the game.

Topalov-Anand

World Championship, Game 8, May 4, 2010

After 44.h5: Black to play

Black has two moves that don't lose material immediately: 44....Be8 and 44...gxh5.  Which move would you make?

Anand found the drawing move, but went wrong later.  This position may become a classic in endgame books.

"....just like in the movies"

MrHat opines on Black's best move in the following position:

Topalov-Anand, 2010 World Championship

Game 8, May 4, 2010

Black to play after 41.Bd4+

cute tactical sideline from today's game

Courtesy "MrHat" on ICC (GM Joel Benjamin).

 White to play and win

(There's actually more than one way to win, but there's only one best way.)

World Chess Live

I was at a Christmas party in Evanston last night, and spoke for a few minutes with Joel Berez of the Internet Chess Club last night.  Joel explained to me that World Chess Live is intended to be a family-friendly, beginner-friendly companion of the ICC. 

I've heard nothing but good things about World Chess Live, so if you're looking for a place for you or your children to play online, I encourage you to check it out!