Javier

I've gotta be honest: I never liked their banner for this event, I find it sexist, degrading towards women. Is lipstick the best symbol to represent women that the designers could come up with? C´mon! But I will not load my guns against Turkey: this is a country which is tryng very hard to support and promote women's chess. The World Championship was held there a few days ago and the European Championship was going to be ground breaking: for the first time in History, an official FIDE Event would offer better prizes for women than the men's event. Unfortunately, the event has now been cancelled. Why? well, it's hard to say exactly, the president of the Turkish Chess Federation doesn't get along too well with the president of the European Chess Union (basically, the European Chess Federation) and an exchange of nasty emails and a clash with another women's event seems to have triggered this unfortunate turn of events where there's only one victim: women's chess! I'm not optimistic, but there's still time to remedy the situation, although this time both parties would need to use a bit more diplomacy... Anyway, if you wish to read a bit more about this whole issue, click on this link

Of course, if you don't want to waste time installing some crappy software, you can always choose chesspupil's own sever. CLICK HERE to try it now!

Some time ago, the Internet Chess Club decided that it was giving guest users too many priviledges, so they basically decided that guests would no longer able to play chess on-line against other users. Of course, this was a way to encourage them to register and pay the fee. However, I'm not sure how they thought too much about this "move". Many of the people who played chess anonymously on ICC are now doing it at playchess. Take a look at this picture that I took a couple of days ago: I remember a couple of years ago the number of people playing on the "Cafe" was ALWAYS lower than the number of people playing on the main hall (you need to be registered in order to be able to play on the main Hall). As the image shows (and I've taken a few at several times) this is CHANGING. Playchess also lets guests view live games from tournaments played world wide. Has ICC lost the thread? in my opinion, YES, particularly if we are to judge by the current trend of the internet: most services are free, and they get their income from publicity and other means, and chessbase does have a lot of products they can advertise on their server... Now, maybe you're thinking that the people who play at the cafe are pretty weak. Well, THINK AGAIN. I often played there and I come accross some VERY STRONG opposition. I should kow, I've lost a few games... Finding an opponent on ICC is pretty hard... they'd better do something about it soon, or I predict a slow but certain death...

Here's a preview of what the next rating list will bring. Yes, Carlsen grabs the number 1 spot again after winning the London Classic. Karjakin's impressive +15 pushes him to the 5th spot in the world Nakamura will now be in the top 10 in the world. Topalov keeps sinking. Wang Yue has lost more rating points than anybody else. Check for yourself! : Source: Live Top List Provisional World Chess Rankings

Born February 27, 1994, in Xinghua (Taizhou, Jiangsu, China) Hou Yifan has just become the youngest Female World Champion ever. Congratulations to her! Previous World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, was defeated in round 3 of this knock out event, which was held in Hatay, Turkey 2nd-24th December 2010. T The road to Yifan's victory was a bumpy one. She did los some games, for example this one: [pgn][Event "WCh Women"] [site "Antakya TUR"] [Date "2010.12.11"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Zhu, Chen"] [black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E37"] [WhiteElo "2477"] [blackElo "2591"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2010.12.04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Ne4 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 Nc6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Nf3 Qf6 11. h4 Bf5 12. Bg5 Qe6 {Threat is ...Ng6} 13. Qc1 h6 14. Be3 Qf6 15. Bg5 Qe6 16. Bf4 d4 17. e3 O-O (17... dxe3 18. Bxe3 O-O 19. Bc4 Qf6 20. O-O Bg4 21. Be2 Rfe8 {Black has compensation for the pawn due to the weakness of the pawn on h4.}) 18. Bc4 Qf6 19. exd4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Qxd4 21. Be3 Qf6 22. O-O Qxh4 23. Bd5 Qe7 24. Re1 {White has managed to come out on top of the opening. The pin against the N on e4 is rather annoying.} Rad8 {A mistake.} (24... Rfe8 {This was better.}) 25. Bxe4 Qxe4 26. Bg5 hxg5 27. Rxe4 Bxe4 28. Qxg5 Bc6 29. Re1 Rd5 30. Qc1 Rfd8 31. b4 a6 32. Qf4 R5d7 33. Re3 Rd4 34. Qc7 R4d7 35. Qg3 Rd1+ 36. Kh2 R8d5 37. Qb8+ Rd8 38. Qc7 R1d7 39. Qf4 Rd4 40. Qf5 Rh4+ 41. Rh3 g6 42. Qc2 Rg4 43. f3 Rgd4 44. Qc3 R8d5 45. Kg3 {The king becomes active, heading for e3. The Rook on d4 is pinned, moving it allows Rh8 mate.} Rg5+ 46. Kf2 Rgd5 47. Ke3 Bd7 48. Rh1 1-0 [/pgn] But eventually she did defeat Zhu 2.5/1.5... Hou's most impressive game was probably her victory over Humpy Koneru, the highest rated player in the tournament (2600). It was a very nice technical win in a bishop ending: [pgn][Event "WCh Women"] [site "Antakya TUR"] [Date "2010.12.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2591"] [blackElo "2600"] [PlyCount "155"] [EventDate "2010.12.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. Ne2 Be7 11. b3 a5 12. a4 Be6 13. Bb2 h5 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Rd8 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rad1 Kf7 18. g3 Bb4 19. Kg2 Bd2 20. Kf3 Rd5 21. Ke2 Rhd8 22. c4 R5d7 23. Bc1 Bc3 24. Rxd7+ Rxd7 25. f4 g6 26. Rf3 Bb4 27. Rd3 Rxd3 28. Kxd3 Be7 29. Be3 c5 30. Ke4 b6 31. Kf3 Bf8 32. g4 Be7 33. Kg3 c6 34. Kh3 Bd8 35. Bf2 Bc7 36. Bh4 hxg4+ 37. Kxg4 Kg7 38. Bf6+ Kf7 39. Bh4 Kg7 40. Bf6+ Kf7 41. Kg5 b5 42. Kh6 bxa4 43. bxa4 Bb6 44. Be7 Bc7 45. Bxc5 Bd8 46. Bf2 Be7 47. c5 Bf8+ 48. Kg5 Be7+ 49. Kg4 Ke8 50. Be1 Bxc5 51. Bxa5 Be7 52. Kf3 Kd7 53. Ke4 c5 54. Kd3 Kc6 55. Kc4 Bh4 56. Bd2 Bf2 57. h3 Bg1 58. Bc1 Bf2 59. Bd2 Bg1 60. Kd3 Bf2 61. Be3 Be1 62. Kc4 Bb4 63. Bf2 Kb6 64. Be3 Kc6 65. Bg1 Kb6 66. Bf2 Kc6 67. Bh4 Bd2 68. Bg5 Be1 69. Be7 Bf2 70. a5 Be3 71. Bg5 Bf2 72. h4 Bg3 73. a6 Bf2 74. h5 gxh5 75. f5 exf5 76. e6 Bg3 77. e7 Kd7 78. a7 1-0 [/pgn] The final knock out match (4 games) saw another player from China facing Hou: Ruan Lufei. After those 4 rounds, both players had won a game and the other two had ended in draws. To decide the winner, they had to play 4 additional games, only this time the time controls would be a little faster: 25 minutes + 5 minutes per move. This time around Hou was able win 3-1. Here's the last game: [pgn][Event "WCh Women Playoff"] [site "Antakya TUR"] [Date "2010.12.24"] [Round "4"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [black "Ruan, Lufei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C61"] [WhiteElo "2591"] [blackElo "2480"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2010.12.24"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O Bc5 6. Bc4 d6 7. c3 Ne7 8. d3 O-O 9. Bg5 Kh8 10. Nd2 f6 11. Bh4 c6 12. Qe2 d5 13. Bb3 dxc3 14. bxc3 d4 15. cxd4 Bxd4 16. Rad1 Ng6 17. Bg3 Ne5 18. h3 a5 19. a4 Qe7 20. Kh1 c5 21. f4 Nc6 22. Nf3 Be6 23. Bxe6 Qxe6 24. Rb1 Qd7 25. Rfd1 Rfc8 26. Rb5 Nb4 27. Be1 b6 28. Nxd4 Qxd4 29. Bf2 Qd6 30. e5 fxe5 31. fxe5 Qe6 32. d4 c4 33. d5 Qf5 34. d6 Nd3 35. Bxb6 Re8 36. Qg4 Qf7 37. d7 Re7 38. e6 Rxe6 39. Qxc4 Qxd7 40. Rxd3 Re1+ 41. Kh2 Qe7 42. Qc7 1-0 [/pgn]

Glad to hear you got it working. I'm currently working on a new version. Regards.

This morning I was walking along the streets of Bondi Junction and guess who I bumped into? That's right, Magnus Carlsen! - But... wasn't he supposed to be playing in the olympiad? Well... he's "everywhere" now! Anyway, I can prove it, here's the shot that I took: I knew he'd signed up for that fashion campaign, I just didn't think we'd see it in Australia so soon or even at all!

Very sad news. GM Bent Larsen has passed away. Born in Denmark, he was one of the strongest "independent thinkers" that has ever lived. By this I mean that he didn't follow the trends, he had his own opinion about any position. He never played the openings mechanically or even systematically. In fact, his creativity in the openings produced the Larsen opening, 1.b3, a highly respected system. He was one of the strongest players in the world in the seventies. Here are two victories of his against Karpov. Both with the black pieces. [Event "Montreal"] [site "?"] [Date "1979.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Karpov, An"] [black "Larsen, B."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "1979.??.??"] [Event "Tilburg"] [site "?"] [Date "1980.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Karpov, An"] [black "Larsen, B."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C43"] [PlyCount "132"] [EventDate "1980.??.??"]

Here's the answer:

Use your mouse to highlight the black line below to find the answer.

Take a look at the following position (White has just played d5). Your task is to find a trap in the (short) variations which could follow... A trap for whom? I hear you ask. Does that really matter? ¡¡¡THIS IS PURE CHESS!!

GM Tatiana Kosintseva What harm could an angelical face like Tatiana's do to you?? Well... a lot! For example this: 22.Nxg6!! +- Tatiana Kosintseva, from Russia, is 23 years old and she's taking part in the European Women's Championship which has just started in Rijeka (Croatia): [Event "11th EICC Women"] [site "Rijeka CRO"] [Date "2010.03.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Kosintseva, T."] [black "Medic, Mir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [WhiteElo "2524"] [blackElo "2279"]

Take a look at the following position. White has just played c3 and it's black to move now: Now choose the "least bad" of the 3 following options, but let me give you a piece of advice first: add a little depth to your calculation. a) ...d3 ...dxc c) ...c5 Use your mouse to highlight the black lines below to get some hints... If you need more help still:

The European for men and women starts on Saturday (March 6th - 118th) in Rijeka (Croatia). The event is very strong, just take a look at the table below, the 200th seed is 2486 (!). 1 GM Almasi Zoltan 702293 HUN 2720 2 GM Bacrot Etienne 605506 FRA 2714 3 GM Movsesian Sergei 310204 SVK 2709 4 GM Navara David 309095 CZE 2708 5 GM Vallejo Pons Francisco 2205530 ESP 2708 6 GM Motylev Alexander 4121830 RUS 2705 7 GM Adams Michael 400041 ENG 2704 8 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 4147235 RUS 2701 9 GM Alekseev Evgeny 4138147 RUS 2700 10 GM Jobava Baadur 13601520 GEO 2695 11 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 4650891 GER 2691 12 GM Akopian Vladimir 13300032 ARM 2688 13 GM Volokitin Andrei 14107090 UKR 2687 14 GM Bologan Viktor 13900048 MDA 2684 15 GM Caruana Fabiano 2020009 ITA 2680 16 GM Sargissian Gabriel 13300881 ARM 2675 17 GM Kurnosov Igor 4142527 RUS 2674 18 GM Areshchenko Alexander 14109530 UKR 2670 19 GM Fressinet Laurent 608742 FRA 2670 20 GM Georgiev Kiril 2900017 BUL 2669 21 GM Moiseenko Alexander 14102560 UKR 2668 22 GM Bareev Evgeny 4100140 RUS 2667 23 GM Grachev Boris 4129199 RUS 2667 24 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 4162722 RUS 2667 25 GM Najer Evgeniy 4118987 RUS 2665 26 GM Korobov Anton 14105730 UKR 2663 27 GM Meier Georg 4675789 GER 2663 28 GM Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter 1202758 ROU 2661 29 GM Riazantsev Alexander 4125029 RUS 2660 30 GM Berkes Ferenc 718572 HUN 2659 31 GM Laznicka Viktor 316385 CZE 2659 32 GM Beliavsky Alexander G 14602377 SLO 2657 33 GM Cheparinov Ivan 2905540 BUL 2657 34 GM Khismatullin Denis 4142578 RUS 2657 35 GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 4168119 RUS 2656 36 GM Timofeev Artyom 4140419 RUS 2655 37 GM Krasenkow Michal 1113100 POL 2652 38 GM Pashikian Arman 13301578 ARM 2652 39 GM Roiz Michael 2804158 ISR 2652 40 GM Savchenko Boris 4147332 RUS 2652 41 GM Fridman Daniel 11600454 GER 2650 42 GM Sutovsky Emil 2802007 ISR 2650 43 GM Zhigalko Sergei 13502956 BLR 2648 44 GM Smirin Ilia 2801990 ISR 2647 45 GM Gustafsson Jan 4625498 GER 2646 46 GM Zvjaginsev Vadim 4113403 RUS 2643 47 GM Postny Evgeny 2804344 ISR 2641 48 GM Efimenko Zahar 14107201 UKR 2640 49 GM Mamedov Rauf 13401653 AZE 2639 50 GM Predojevic Borki 930849 BIH 2639 51 GM Sokolov Ivan 14400030 BIH 2638 52 GM Kobalia Mikhail 4119150 RUS 2637 53 GM Socko Bartosz 1107038 POL 2637 54 GM Landa Konstantin 4101685 RUS 2635 55 GM Sakaev Konstantin 4104226 RUS 2635 56 GM Bartel Mateusz 1112635 POL 2634 57 GM Papaioannou Ioannis 4201345 GRE 2630 58 GM Vuckovic Bojan 922277 SRB 2630 59 GM L'ami Erwin 1007998 NED 2628 60 GM Drozdovskij Yuri 14107180 UKR 2627 61 GM Delchev Aleksander 2900394 BUL 2625 62 GM Macieja Bartlomiej 1104306 POL 2625 63 GM Tregubov Pavel V 4115341 RUS 2625 64 GM Giri Anish 24116068 NED 2624 65 GM Nyback Tomi 503142 FIN 2624 66 GM Mamedov Nidjat 13400819 AZE 2623 67 GM Balogh Csaba 718939 HUN 2622 68 GM Kokarev Dmitry 4132181 RUS 2622 69 GM Azarov Sergei 13501470 BLR 2621 70 GM Gelashvili Tamaz 13600702 GEO 2621 71 GM Iordachescu Viorel 13900200 MDA 2621 72 GM Belov Vladimir 4132394 RUS 2619 73 GM Markus Robert 921637 SRB 2618 74 GM Banikas Hristos 4202031 GRE 2617 75 GM Edouard Romain 633429 FRA 2617 76 GM Khairullin Ildar 4151348 RUS 2617 77 GM Vorobiov Evgeny E 4121341 RUS 2616 78 GM Hracek Zbynek 300071 CZE 2615 79 GM Lysyj Igor 4150120 RUS 2615 80 GM Howell David W L 410608 ENG 2612 81 GM Petrosian Tigran L 13301616 ARM 2612 82 GM Volkov Sergey 4122763 RUS 2612 83 GM Pelletier Yannick 1301837 SUI 2611 84 GM Stevic Hrvoje 14502569 CRO 2610 85 GM Andriasian Zaven 13302000 ARM 2609 86 GM Guseinov Gadir 13401378 AZE 2609 87 GM Rodshtein Maxim 2806851 ISR 2609 88 GM Saric Ivan 14508150 CRO 2607 89 GM Potkin Vladimir 4131061 RUS 2606 90 GM Safarli Eltaj 13402129 AZE 2606 91 GM Lenic Luka 14603853 SLO 2603 92 GM Kozul Zdenko 14502879 CRO 2602 93 GM Sjugirov Sanan 4189302 RUS 2602 94 GM Aleksandrov Aleksej 13500139 BLR 2601 95 GM Romanov Evgeny 4148843 RUS 2600 96 GM Lupulescu Constantin 1207822 ROU 2598 97 GM Bocharov Dmitry 4138716 RUS 2597 98 GM Galkin Alexander 4120426 RUS 2597 99 GM Berg Emanuel 1704060 SWE 2594 100 GM Erdos Viktor 719978 HUN 2593 101 GM Kotronias Vasilios 5900212 GRE 2593 102 IM Ponkratov Pavel 4157800 RUS 2593 103 GM Salgado Lopez Ivan 2257327 ESP 2592 104 GM Stocek Jiri 304760 CZE 2591 105 GM Golod Vitali 2804140 ISR 2590 106 GM Pantsulaia Levan 13602071 GEO 2588 107 GM Buhmann Rainer 4651340 GER 2587 108 GM Zhigalko Andrey 13502247 BLR 2587 109 GM Gyimesi Zoltan 702218 HUN 2586 110 GM Maletin Pavel 4146786 RUS 2585 111 GM Popov Valerij 4119410 RUS 2585 112 GM Rakhmanov Aleksandr 4173708 RUS 2584 113 GM Gagunashvili Merab 13601652 GEO 2582 114 GM Melkumyan Hrant 13302485 ARM 2582 115 GM Halkias Stelios 4201809 GRE 2580 116 GM Pavasovic Dusko 14600986 SLO 2579 117 GM Bosiocic Marin 14507927 CRO 2577 118 GM Arutinian David 13601741 GEO 2576 119 GM Reinderman Dimitri 1001302 NED 2576 120 GM Yemelin Vasily 4113217 RUS 2576 121 GM Hera Imre Jr 716855 HUN 2574 122 GM Kovacevic Aleksandar 903124 SRB 2574 123 GM Mastrovasilis Dimitrios 4202694 GRE 2574 124 GM Nevednichy Vladislav 1205730 ROU 2572 125 GM Ragger Markus 1610856 AUT 2572 126 GM Sulskis Sarunas 12800112 LTU 2572 127 GM Ruck Robert 705713 HUN 2570 128 GM Sedlak Nikola 922900 SRB 2570 129 GM Jankovic Alojzije 14505959 CRO 2569 130 GM Iotov Valentin 2906074 BUL 2568 131 GM Minasian Artashes 13300040 ARM 2568 132 GM Gajewski Grzegorz 1116207 POL 2567 133 GM Sanikidze Tornike 13602608 GEO 2566 134 GM Grigoryan Avetik 13302191 ARM 2565 135 GM Evdokimov Alexander A 4139275 RUS 2564 136 GM Grigoriants Sergey 4130804 RUS 2562 137 GM Nijboer Friso 1000063 NED 2562 138 GM Godena Michele 800090 ITA 2561 139 GM Maslak Konstantin 4130901 RUS 2560 140 GM Medvegy Zoltan 708402 HUN 2556 141 GM Babula Vlastimil 301264 CZE 2554 142 GM Svetushkin Dmitry 13900463 MDA 2554 143 GM Shimanov Aleksandr 4198603 RUS 2553 144 GM Solak Dragan 916811 SRB 2553 145 GM Parligras Mircea 1204297 ROU 2551 146 GM Cvitan Ognjen 14500086 CRO 2550 147 GM Damljanovic Branko 900125 SRB 2550 148 IM Nikolov Momchil 2905710 BUL 2550 149 GM Lopez Martinez Josep Manuel 2212943 ESP 2548 150 GM Zelcic Robert 14500310 CRO 2547 151 GM Drazic Sinisa 901172 SRB 2545 152 GM Brkic Ante 14506688 CRO 2543 153 GM Neverov Valeriy 14100150 UKR 2542 154 GM Jovanic Ognjen 14504081 CRO 2538 155 GM San Segundo Carrillo Pablo 2200082 ESP 2534 156 IM Papin Vasily 4143183 RUS 2532 157 GM Narciso Dublan Marc 2201500 ESP 2530 158 GM Gdanski Jacek 1100106 POL 2527 159 GM Holzke Frank 4600428 GER 2526 160 GM Jovanovic Zoran 14505320 CRO 2526 161 GM Oleksienko Mikhailo 4152417 UKR 2525 162 GM Szabo Gergely-Andras-Gyula 1205064 ROU 2525 163 IM Anisimov Pavel 4135229 RUS 2519 164 IM Banusz Tamas 722413 HUN 2517 165 GM Guliyev Namig 13400363 AZE 2516 166 IM Janssen Ruud 1004816 NED 2516 167 GM Gasanov Eldar 14104466 UKR 2514 168 IM Llaneza Vega Marcos 2253585 ESP 2514 169 GM Ter-Sahakyan Samvel 13302531 ARM 2513 170 IM Szabo Krisztian 722901 HUN 2513 171 GM Mastrovasilis Athanasios 4201990 GRE 2511 172 GM Berczes David 722960 HUN 2510 173 GM Maiorov Nikita 13501720 BLR 2510 174 GM Makarov Marat 4101103 RUS 2510 175 IM Jurcik Marian 14907518 SVK 2510 176 GM Djukic Nikola 922412 MNE 2509 177 IM Martinovic Sasa 14509792 CRO 2509 178 IM Skoberne Jure 14604299 SLO 2509 179 IM Nanu Ciprian-Costica 1204580 ROU 2505 180 IM Sebenik Matej 14602296 SLO 2504 181 GM Lintchevski Daniil 4171055 RUS 2503 182 IM Erdogdu Mert 6301495 TUR 2502 183 Podolchenko Evgeniy 13504134 BLR 2502 184 GM Haznedaroglu Kivanc 6300634 TUR 2501 185 GM Horvath Adam 708003 HUN 2501 186 GM Prohaszka Peter 726265 HUN 2501 187 IM Stern Rene 4611799 GER 2501 188 IM Benidze Davit 13603086 GEO 2499 189 IM Hovhannisyan Robert 13302507 ARM 2498 190 GM Danielsen Henrik 1400185 ISL 2494 191 GM Fercec Nenad 14500299 CRO 2492 192 FM Goganov Aleksey 24109959 RUS 2492 193 IM Ekstroem Roland 1302302 SUI 2491 194 IM Sulashvili Malkhaz 13602284 GEO 2490 195 GM Swiercz Dariusz 1126881 POL 2488 196 GM Chirila Ioan-Cristian 1211668 ROU 2487 197 GM Berescu Alin 1204920 ROU 2486 198 GM Gallagher Joseph G 1303422 SUI 2486 199 IM Levin Evgeny A 4182596 RUS 2486 200 IM Nigalidze Gaioz 13603078 GEO 2486 201 GM Boros Denes 722340 HUN 2485 202 GM Mrva Martin 14900092 SVK 2485 203 Nabaty Tamir 2809052 ISR 2485 204 GM Saric Ante 14506254 CRO 2483 205 IM Miron Lucian-Costin 1210920 ROU 2482 206 IM Berbatov Kiprian 2910446 BUL 2481 207 GM Ortega Lexy 811416 ITA 2479 208 IM Bokros Albert 710458 HUN 2479 209 GM Carlsson Pontus 1705814 SWE 2478 210 IM Brunello Sabino 813613 ITA 2476 211 IM Durarbeyli Vasif 13402935 AZE 2476 212 GM Arkell Keith C 400270 ENG 2474 213 GM Maiwald Jens-Uwe 4612396 GER 2474 214 IM Shytaj Luca 812633 ITA 2472 215 GM Petrosian Davit G 13301349 ARM 2468 216 IM Yilmaz Mustafa 6302718 TUR 2468 217 IM Neubauer Martin 1602675 AUT 2465 218 IM Doric Darko 14507200 CRO 2464 219 Iakemov Vladimir 14110164 UKR 2463 220 FM Kovalev Denis 14104059 UKR 2460 221 IM Rasulov Vugar Ural Oglu 13402390 AZE 2457 222 IM Kalegin Evgenij 4103416 RUS 2456 223 GM Todorovic Goran M 900168 SRB 2453 224 IM Womacka Mathias 4611390 GER 2452 225 IM Dvirnyy Daniyyl 817570 ITA 2450 226 GM Potapov Alexander 4115074 RUS 2446 227 IM Zufic Miroslav 14506157 CRO 2445 228 IM Baumegger Siegfried 1602829 AUT 2442 229 CM Popilski Gil 2809060 ISR 2441 230 IM Vernay Clovis 633046 FRA 2440 231 GM Tosic Miroslav 900460 SRB 2439 232 GM Butnorius Algimantas 12800066 LTU 2437 233 GM Gutov Andrey 4130480 RUS 2437 234 IM Smirnov Artem 4143256 RUS 2435 235 IM Boskovic Drasko 927368 SRB 2434 236 IM Azaladze Shota 13603027 GEO 2433 237 IM Kurmann Oliver 1308173 SUI 2432 238 IM Cioara Andrei-Nestor 1203509 ROU 2430 239 IM Delorme Axel 632023 FRA 2429 240 IM Potapov Pavel 4169786 RUS 2427 241 IM Caspi Israel 2807394 ISR 2426 242 IM Zueger Beat 1300067 SUI 2425 243 FM Malakhov Igor 4183088 RUS 2425 244 IM Loncar Robert 14501325 CRO 2424 245 IM Pancevski Filip 15002187 MKD 2423 246 IM Bodiroga Predrag 915700 SRB 2422 247 IM Ris Robert 1011480 NED 2422 248 IM Piscopo Pierluigi 809152 ITA 2418 249 FM Buss Ralph 1305697 SUI 2416 250 IM Barle Janez 14600021 SLO 2415 251 FM Baron Tal 2809958 ISR 2415 252 IM Jakovljevic Vlado 916080 BIH 2412 253 IM Nikolaev Nikita 4129741 RUS 2411 254 IM Schroll Gerhard 1600907 AUT 2411 255 FM Petre Nad-Titus 1204165 ROU 2410 256 IM Rukavina Josip 14500191 CRO 2409 257 IM Zavgorodniy Sergiy 14110148 UKR 2409 258 IM Reutsky Sergei 4157419 RUS 2404 259 FM Martic Zlatko 14500850 CRO 2404 260 FM Mihok Oliver 728012 HUN 2403 261 IM Berkovich Mark A 2801639 ISR 2401 262 FM Hamitevici Vladimir 13902393 MDA 2401 263 IM Kargin Arseny 4135997 RUS 2400 264 Nedilko Vasily 14101459 UKR 2400 265 FM Firat Burak 6305881 TUR 2398 266 IM Lekic Dusan 905330 MNE 2396 267 IM Sale Srdjan 14500760 CRO 2396 268 IM Plat Vojtech 325740 CZE 2395 269 FM Bajarani Ulvi 13403028 AZE 2395 270 IM Golubovic Boris 14502160 CRO 2392 271 IM Manea Alexandru 1207660 ROU 2392 272 FM Zaslavsky Mikhail 2807670 ISR 2391 273 IM Kreisl Robert 1613880 AUT 2389 274 FM Kanarek Marcel 1126822 POL 2388 275 IM Schmidt Raul 1210998 ROU 2387 276 FM Platzgummer Fabian 1617222 AUT 2383 277 Pavlidis Antonios 4212312 GRE 2376 278 IM Mazi Leon 14600315 SLO 2375 279 Jacobsen Bo 1400738 DEN 2375 280 FM Dragomirescu Robin-Alexandru 1213849 ROU 2372 281 IM Lanzani Mario 800244 ITA 2371 282 FM Slavin Alexei 24104388 RUS 2368 283 FM Michalczak Thomas 4622634 GER 2367 284 FM Bentivegna Francesco 809055 ITA 2361 285 FM Hoffmann Paul 4664450 GER 2361 286 FM Wintzer Joachim Dr 4602854 GER 2361 287 FM Valsecchi Alessio 818860 ITA 2360 288 FM Pankov German 4174569 RUS 2353 289 FM Grimberg Boris 4697499 GER 2352 290 FM Szamoskozi Gabor 719056 HUN 2347 291 IM Onoprienko Vladimir 4117409 RUS 2346 292 IM Morchiashvili Bachana 13602535 GEO 2345 293 FM Kozlitin Roman 4142845 RUS 2344 294 FM Schiendorfer Emanuel 1309889 SUI 2340 295 FM Ramesa Davor 14507986 CRO 2339 296 FM Pavlidis Anastasios 4208404 GRE 2338 297 IM Polajzer Danilo 14600218 SLO 2332 298 FM Raznikov Danny 2811154 ISR 2331 299 FM Lorscheid Gerhard 4606000 GER 2328 300 FM Plenca Julijan 14508044 CRO 2323 301 FM Sarbok Torsten 4630068 GER 2319 302 Sandalakis Angelos 4207645 GRE 2319 303 FM Boehnisch Manfred 4611543 GER 2316 304 IM Chudinovskikh Alexander M 4106083 RUS 2314 305 IM Medancic Rikard 14500531 CRO 2311 306 FM Kunze Carlo 4623142 GER 2306 307 FM Zelic Mladen 14501244 CRO 2306 308 IM Wittmann Walter 1600060 AUT 2302 309 IM Bakalarz Mietek 4000749 LUX 2300 310 IM Nedochetov Mikhail 4119673 RUS 2299 311 FM Vonthron Horst 4600495 GER 2297 312 Katzir Moshe 2802260 ISR 2288 313 Baghdasaryan Vahe 13303139 ARM 2284 314 FM Logothetis Sotirios 4203267 GRE 2283 315 IM Pesotskyi Vitalii 14101157 UKR 2282 316 FM Fucak Emilijo 14501023 CRO 2280 317 Veleski Robert 15001008 MKD 2278 318 FM Djurovic Goran 14509938 CRO 2276 319 Maevsky Nikolay 4198220 RUS 2275 320 FM Dimitrijevic Darko 14500892 CRO 2272 321 Cucancic Sinisa 14503832 CRO 2271 322 Nakar Eylon 2811111 ISR 2264 323 Feher Adam 739081 HUN 2260 324 FM Voiteanu Gabriel 1208810 ROU 2254 325 FM Bach Adrian-Kalman 1201107 ROU 2251 326 FM Tassopoulos Marios 4206282 GRE 2245 327 Bente Bjoern 4638611 GER 2245 328 Jadrijevic Ante 14504278 CRO 2244 329 Papadakis Michalis 4207386 GRE 2244 330 Spichkin Alexander 4144074 RUS 2241 331 Sgnaolin Davide 806137 ITA 2234 332 FM Bakin Alexander 4174038 RUS 2232 333 Beletic Daniel 14602709 SLO 2232 334 Gebigke Martin 4640276 GER 2232 335 Mihalinec Damir 14504260 CRO 2232 336 Juranic Bruno 14506017 CRO 2220 337 Tate Alan 2401878 SCO 2215 338 Civric Zdravko 908592 SRB 2207 339 Sheskin Matan 2809435 ISR 2207 340 Kostanjsek Zorko 14503123 CRO 2204 341 Pogosian Vladimir 13301586 ARM 2204 342 Jelecevic Ivo 14509962 CRO 2203 343 Ofstad Per 1500708 NOR 2197 344 Hartung Jerry 4000480 LUX 2191 345 Elkin Leonid 13501240 BLR 2189 346 Malachi Avraham 2801167 ISR 2188 347 Pantaleoni Claudio 800945 ITA 2179 348 FM Barlocco Carlo 802450 ITA 2173 349 Kadric Denis 14403803 BIH 2171 350 Sikanjic Bojan 14507471 CRO 2170 351 Ernst Michael 1618393 AUT 2166 352 Demel Paul 24666149 GER 2155 353 Milonakis Georgios 4206320 GRE 2154 354 FM Welz Peter Dr 4621867 GER 2148 355 Kinez Ivo 14502224 CRO 2138 356 Astengo Corrado 802905 ITA 2136 357 FM Valenti Giuseppe 801119 ITA 2130 358 IM Chubar Vladimir 14101491 UKR 2124 359 Dinter Brian 14527570 CRO 2124 360 Faika Michael 4644808 GER 2114 361 Neagos Raul-Alexandru 1213091 ROU 2110 362 Krauss Josef 24656950 GER 2102 363 Burstein Almog 2803640 ISR 2100 364 Levine Yonatan 2802082 ISR 2100 365 Reinwald Patrick 1622790 AUT 2096 366 Hetzer Volkhard 4645464 GER 2091 367 Bozinovic Boban 929697 AUT 2086 368 Spika Ivica 14508982 CRO 2086 369 Muskardin Mario 14518180 CRO 2085 370 Schweitzer Werner 1622927 AUT 2081 371 Piro Valerio 814008 ITA 2069 372 Guidi Maurizio 815705 ITA 2067 373 Lazic Dusko 14511177 CRO 2050 374 Hayes Peter J 2502569 IRL 2046 375 Durandeau Jean-Marie 644838 FRA 2040 376 Porfireanu Serban 1208632 ROU 2034 377 Valkovic Kristian 14513200 CRO 2027 378 Bar Aviv 2806339 ISR 2022 379 Pascucci Marco 836958 ITA 2021 380 Nastic Milorad 14508770 CRO 2009 381 Grosse Manfred 1617370 AUT 2004 382 Klasan Elvis 14507897 CRO 1995 383 Lanzani Giuliano 813273 ITA 1992 384 Partys Petr 320250 CZE 1977 385 Stefan Mario 14509091 CRO 1973 386 Zrilic Bozo 14508966 CRO 1968 387 Gradiser Dragoljub 14521059 CRO 1964 388 Srdoc Nenad 14512645 FRA 1954 389 Jokic Miljenko 14509016 CRO 1949 390 Nakas Spyridon 4211910 GRE 1949 391 Antoniacci Riccardo 804908 ITA 1934 392 Camber Ivan 14500477 CRO 1921 393 Pejic Igor 14520133 CRO 1912 394 Di Lazzaro Gabriele 812676 ITA 1911 395 Pfeifer Antun 14514664 CRO 1900 396 Jambresic Jurica 14517086 CRO 1898 397 Monjac Mislav 14520761 CRO 1882 398 Winkler Stefan 4698142 GER 1877 399 Dubrovic Mihovil 14515563 CRO 1876 400 Gandolfi Gianfranco 813389 ITA 1855 401 Lekic Lazar 900052 MNE 1849 402 Krsnik Cohar Ivan Vihor 14520044 CRO 1780 403 Mravic Filip 14514095 CRO 1769 404 Russo Carmelo 816590 ITA 1739 405 Mateta Marin 14520060 CRO 1718 406 Plenca Jadranko 14527146 CRO 1718 407 Rafaelic Denis 14527880 CRO 1714 408 Dubrovic Gabriel 14517620 CRO 1687 409 Dujic Davor 14500825 CRO 1606 410 Tomulic Teo 14527006 CRO 1598 411 Dubrovic Rafael 14526891 CRO 1577 412 Tica Sven 14526948 CRO 1562 413 Dubrovic Romuald 14526905 CRO 0 414 Hamiti Gani EUR 0 415 Rakita Risto 14534380 CRO 0 416 Sahitaj Naim 939137 EUR 0 417 Samanic Patrik 14527928 CRO 0 418 Vdovenko Volodymyr 14110938 UKR 0 419 Von Mahren Bivoj CZE 0 420 Zivkovic Elvis 14525780 CRO 0 The organisers have put together a nice site: Official website

I was doing an online lesson with one of my students this week and then he noticed something I hadn't thought about (thanks Jeremy!). Ok, here's the problem, which is not too difficult, but it's kind of interesting. (you may want to work it out whilst travelling on the underground or bus!) If you're an advanced player, you should try to work it out WITHOUT a board, but if you're a beginner, you may use a board. You need to set up a checkmate position, but with some conditions: You must use 2 bishops and a King vs a King. The "victim" king cannot be in a corner And now the tricky part: swap the 2 bishops for 2 knights and ... the position is still checkmate! To check one of the many possible solutions, hightlight the black line:

The numbers on the right mean, in this order: average rating of the top 4 players, Number of Grand Masters, Number of International Masters and Number of titled players (including FIDE Masters). France at number 4? that's hard to believe, but 40 GMs is pretty amazing... The US is slowly sinking in the list... not to mention England. 1 Russia 2730 198 463 1938 2 Ukraine 2689 74 186 427 3 China 2645 27 17 99 4 France 2642 40 85 313 5 India 2641 21 62 185 6 Israel 2640 34 43 146 7 Azerbaijan 2637 17 14 61 8 United States of America 2636 68 113 524 9 Hungary 2636 43 108 386 10 Armenia 2631 30 19 70 11 Germany 2624 75 210 1115 12 Bulgaria 2621 29 54 119 13 Poland 2619 30 90 291 14 Netherlands 2614 24 71 265 15 Georgia 2608 24 36 101 16 Spain 2593 34 94 417 17 England 2592 37 56 227 18 Serbia 2588 51 96 509 19 Czech Republic 2580 24 69 230 20 Cuba 2580 18 37 262 21 Croatia 2575 29 58 228 22 Romania 2574 21 74 265 23 Belarus 2572 14 25 86 24 Sweden 2564 16 38 122 25 Greece 2548 11 23 93 26 Slovenia 2546 10 25 96 27 Brazil 2544 8 28 121 28 Uzbekistan 2541 11 9 37 29 Norway 2539 10 21 88 30 Slovakia 2530 10 21 79 31 Bosnia & Herzegovina 2527 8 20 80 32 Kazakhstan 2525 15 27 101 33 Philippines 2524 10 25 58 34 Denmark 2521 10 33 101 35 Italy 2511 7 37 171 36 Switzerland 2509 7 34 117 37 Vietnam 2509 6 7 77 38 Lithuania 2503 7 16 50 39 Iceland 2495 11 13 47 40 Austria 2494 7 41 181 41 Peru 2494 4 9 50 42 Latvia 2479 8 11 49 43 Moldova 2475 6 21 63 44 Egypt 2475 3 24 41 45 Canada 2473 6 30 124 46 Turkey 2470 3 13 54 47 Belgium 2467 4 16 67 48 Chile 2465 4 8 45 49 Former YUG Rep of Macedonia 2464 8 11 45 50 Montenegro 2464 6 11 55 51 Iran 2464 5 9 54 52 Mexico 2449 5 26 119 53 Australia 2444 4 17 78 54 Finland 2442 5 19 87 55 Colombia 2435 3 24 80 56 Portugal 2427 3 12 35 57 Scotland 2418 5 8 32 58 Singapore 2403 3 11 47 59 Bangladesh 2397 5 1 25 60 Ecuador 2391 1 8 35 61 Mongolia 2384 2 5 28 62 Venezuela 2372 1 12 37 63 Ireland 2364 1 6 21 64 Paraguay 2335 2 3 18 65 Albania 2335 1 5 15 66 Dominican Republic 2331 1 6 18 67 Tajikistan 2331 1 3 5 68 Malaysia 2327 0 5 18 69 Luxembourg 2326 1 2 13 70 Iraq 2316 0 5 30 71 Uruguay 2312 1 3 16 72 New Zealand 2309 1 6 29 73 United Arab Emirates 2300 2 4 31 74 Costa Rica 2300 1 7 15 75 Wales 2297 0 4 16 76 South Africa 2293 0 6 32 77 Syria 2293 0 3 17 78 Algeria 2289 1 10 27 79 Faroe Islands 2281 0 3 6 80 Bolivia 2275 1 1 16 81 Tunisia 2271 2 3 14 82 Myanmar 2260 1 4 32 83 Jordan 2255 0 1 15 84 Japan 2253 0 1 17 85 Yemen 2245 0 3 11 86 Nicaragua 2243 0 2 15 87 Lebanon 2243 0 1 12 88 El Salvador 2237 0 3 19 89 Thailand 2228 0 0 6 90 Andorra 2211 1 1 5 91 Monaco 2207 1 0 7 92 Puerto Rico 2207 0 2 9 93 Guatemala 2207 0 1 12 94 Palestine 2196 1 1 3 95 Zimbabwe 2187 0 3 6 96 Angola 2175 0 6 8 97 Nigeria 2167 0 4 10 98 Uganda 2162 0 0 2 99 Jamaica 2159 0 0 4 100 Sri Lanka 2152 0 0 10

Have you tried the Iphone version of chessgenius?

FIDE has just released the rating lists for March 2010. You can check out their website HERE Here's the list of the top 20: 1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2813 13 1990 2 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2805 0 1975 3 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2790 13 1975 4 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2787 13 1969 5 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2782 9 1982 6 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2760 9 1985 7 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2756 16 1983 8 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2750 9 1976 9 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2750 7 1968 10 Wang, Yue g CHN 2749 0 1987 11 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2748 13 1969 12 Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2740 7 1986 13 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2740 7 1987 14 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2737 13 1972 15 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2737 0 1983 16 Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2736 0 1983 17 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2735 21 1987 18 Leko, Peter g HUN 2735 13 1979 19 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2727 9 1990 20 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2725 14 1983

The OSG Baden-Baden team, with World Champion Anand and Svidler, Shirov, Bracot, Movseian, Adams, Naiditsch y Peter-Heine Nielsen has won the first 9 rounds of the competition. However, on the 10th, they met Gashimov's team, Werder Bremen. All of the 8 players in the Baden-Baden team had a higher rating than their opponent, but things don't work like that in chess... The match saw 5 draws on the first 5 boards, and then both Adams and Naidisch lost. Here's the position which saw Adams blunder in a somewhat uncomofrtable but definitely not lost position: Sure, the pawn on d2 in rather annoying, but after a move like Kg2, threatening to take the pawn on d2, the game is about level. However, Adams played Qd3?? How did the game end? (use mouse to highlight the black line to see the answer)

Although Topalov is now on 2812 also, Carlsen is still number one (2812.9) The most spectacular rise has been Grischuk's, who gains 33 points and is now number 6 in the world! 01 Carlsen 2812,9 +2,9 13 1 1990 02 Topalov 2812,2 +7,2 10 1 1975 03 Kramnik 2789,9 +1,9 13 1 1975 04 Anand 2788,7 -1,3 14 2 1969 05 Aronian 2783,5 +2,5 19 2 1982 06 Grischuk 2769,6 +33,6 26 3 1983 07 Mamedyarov 2759,5 +18,5 9 1 1985 08 Wang Yue 2751,1 +2,1 1 1 1987 09 Ivanchuk 2749,8 +0,8 15 2 1969 10 Svidler 2745,3 +1,3 12 2 1976 11 Radjabov 2740,2 +7,2 7 1 1987 12 Gelfand 2740,0 -21 17 2 1968 13 Ponomariov 2737,0 0 0 0 1983 14 Eljanov 2735,4 -0,6 6 2 1983 15 Leko 2735,2 -3,8 13 1 1979 16 Nakamura 2734,8 +26,8 21 2 1987 17 Shirov 2733,9 +10,9 17 2 1972 18 Gashimov 2729,8 -29,2 17 2 1986 19 Vac.Lagrave 2728,7 -1,3 16 2 1990 20 Jakovenko 2725,1 -4,9 14 2 1983

Magnus Carlsen has made it into the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald. Unfortunately, the editors have chosen what seems to be his saddest picture ever. I guess this kind of exposure is better than no exposure at all, but since chess appears so little in the Australian Media, one would expect them to have taken the opportunity to portray chess as something a little more "fun". This is not surprising, however. Chess is not considered a sport in Australia. The article appears in the "culture" section, but chess is not considered culture either. What is it then? Well, in Australia, apparently, it's just a "leissure activity", and as such, it gets no subsidies of any type. Article on the SMH.

Magnus Carlsen, at the very top. This is the rating list with the 20 highest rated players in the world (updated daily by the Live Top List website). Carlsen's new rating is a massive 2809. Wan Yue has gained 17 points and is now eigth in the World. Mamedyariov has gone up 22 rating points and is now 11th. 01 Carlsen off 2809,6 +8,6 16 2 1990 02 Topalov off 2805,1 -4,9 4 1 1975 03 Anand off 2789,7 +1,7 9 1 1969 04 Kramnik off 2787,5 +15,5 16 2 1975 05 Aronian off 2781,3 -4,7 17 2 1982 06 Gelfand off 2761,3 +3,3 25 2 1968 07 Gashimov off 2758,8 +0,8 21 3 1986 08 Wang Yue off 2751,1 +17,1 9 2 1987 09 Ivanchuk off 2748,7 +9,7 13 2 1969 10 Svidler off 2741,5 -12,5 32 5 1976 11 Mamedyarov off 2741,3 +22,3 19 2 1985 12 Grischuk off 2740,2 +4,2 10 2 1983 13 Leko off 2738,7 -13,3 9 1 1979 14 Ponomariov off 2736,9 -2,1 25 2 1983 15 Eljanov off 2735,5 +6,5 20 4 1983 16 Radjabov off 2733,4 -14,6 13 2 1987 17 Morozevich off 2732,3 -17,7 19 3 1977 18 Vachier-Lagrave off 2730,0 +12 25 3 1990 19 Jakovenko off 2727,5 -8,5 19 3 1983 20 Navara off 2722,6 +15,6 19 3 1985

I was taking a look at the game Nigel Short lost against Luke Mcshane in the first Round of the "London Chess Classic". It was a pretty long game, 163 moves... (see below) and then I remembered another game which lasted just one move less, 162 moves, and which Nigel also lost against GM Valery Salov (a player who gave up chess for very unclear reasons). Anyway, I then decided to check my database to find some of Short's longest games. What I found is rather shocking: Nigel has only scored 2.5 (that's a little over 20%) in the 12 longest games that he has ever played! And I'm now wondering whether some players are trying to exploit the fact that Short doesn't seem to score too well when he plays very long games. I mean, we're talking about big competitions here, any strategy is valid if it achieves its aim... There's one other game which would seem to support this theory: Short also lost a very long game against Krasenkov when he blunderd a whole Rook in an endgame where he was the exchange up. Shereshevsky's classic book, "Endgame strategy", supports the controversial idea that when you're playing a slightly better ending, the torture of repeating moves is an excellent strategy to make your defending opponent feel worse in a position where his only hope is a draw. That's got another name, "playing with his mind". I'm feeling pity for Short! GM Nigel Short. [Event "Chess Classic"] [site "London ENG"] [Date "2009.12.08"] [Round "1"] [White "McShane, L."] [black "Short, N."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2615"] [blackElo "2707"] [Event "Linares 8th"] [site "Linares"] [Date "1990.??.??"] [Round "3"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [black "Salov, Valery"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [blackElo "2645"] [PlyCount "324"] [Event "FIDE-Wch k.o."] [site "Tripoli"] [Date "2004.06.21"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [black "Krasenkow, Michal"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2712"] [blackElo "2609"] [PlyCount "244"] [EventDate "2004.06.19"]

42 rounds is more than enough to prove who is really the best blitz player in the world. And Carlsen has done just that. But he has done it in impressive fashion: ¡¡He has defeated 2-0 all the 4 players behind him in the final standings!! Here's one of the games from the event: [Event "World Blitz"] [site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2009.11.17"] [Round "26"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [black "Bareev, E."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [blackElo "2634"] World Blitz Moscow RUS 2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 1 Carlsen,M 2801 +93 ** 11 11 11 11 ½1 10 1½ 11 10 01 01 ½½ 11 10 01 1½ 10 1½ 11 11 01 31.0/42 2 Anand,V 2788 +47 00 ** 1½ ½1 1½ 11 ½0 ½½ 11 ½1 1½ ½½ 11 11 1½ 11 ½½ 0½ 10 1½ ½1 10 28.0/42 3 Karjakin,Sergey 2723 +62 00 0½ ** 0½ 01 ½0 11 0½ 11 11 10 10 ½1 11 1½ ½½ 01 ½0 11 ½0 11 11 25.0/42 4 Kramnik,V 2772 +2 00 ½0 1½ ** 00 10 1½ 1½ 00 1½ 11 11 10 01 01 11 ½1 ½1 0½ 1½ 10 11 24.5/42 5 Grischuk,A 2736 +23 00 0½ 10 11 ** ½½ ½0 1½ 10 0½ 10 1½ ½1 10 11 ½½ ½½ 11 0½ 11 ½½ 01 23.5/42 471.50 6 Svidler,P 2754 +4 ½0 00 ½1 01 ½½ ** 11 00 10 10 10 11 10 10 00 ½½ ½½ 11 11 11 0½ 11 23.5/42 466.00 7 Ponomariov,R 2739 +20 01 ½1 00 0½ ½1 00 ** ½0 0½ ½0 ½½ ½½ 11 1½ 1½ ½½ 11 11 10 ½0 11 11 23.5/42 466.00 8 Leko,P 2752 -18 0½ ½½ 1½ 0½ 0½ 11 ½1 ** 0½ 11 ½0 00 ½½ 0½ 11 ½½ 1½ ½½ ½0 1½ 01 ½1 22.0/42 451.50 9 Mamedyarov,S 2719 +16 00 00 00 11 01 01 1½ 1½ ** 01 ½½ 00 0½ 11 1½ 01 00 10 11 11 01 11 22.0/42 429.00 10 Morozevich,A 2750 -24 01 ½0 00 0½ 1½ 01 ½1 00 10 ** ½½ 10 11 00 11 ½1 11 01 11 10 00 01 21.5/42 440.25 11 Gashimov,V 2758 -32 10 0½ 01 00 01 01 ½½ ½1 ½½ ½½ ** ½0 01 1½ 01 0½ ½1 ½1 1½ 0½ 11 01 21.5/42 436.50 12 Aronian,L 2786 -70 10 ½½ 01 00 0½ 00 ½½ 11 11 01 ½1 ** ½0 ½½ 0½ ½1 1½ 11 ½0 1½ 00 10 21.0/42 13 Dominguez Perez,L 2719 -16 ½½ 00 ½0 01 ½0 01 00 ½½ 1½ 00 10 ½1 ** ½1 00 ½½ 1½ 01 11 01 01 11 20.0/42 395.50 14 Bareev,E 2634 +72 00 00 00 10 01 01 0½ 1½ 00 11 0½ ½½ ½0 ** 10 10 ½0 11 01 ½1 11 11 20.0/42 379.75 15 Ivanchuk,V 2739 -46 01 0½ 0½ 10 00 11 0½ 00 0½ 00 10 1½ 11 01 ** 10 10 ½0 10 01 ½1 11 19.5/42 16 Karpov,Ana 2619 +71 10 00 ½½ 00 ½½ ½½ ½½ ½½ 10 ½0 1½ ½0 ½½ 01 01 ** 10 ½0 01 1½ ½1 ½½ 19.0/42 17 Gelfand,B 2758 -82 0½ ½½ 10 ½0 ½½ ½½ 00 0½ 11 00 ½0 0½ 0½ ½1 01 01 ** 00 11 01 01 11 18.5/42 18 Jakovenko,D 2736 -76 01 1½ ½1 ½0 00 00 00 ½½ 01 10 ½0 00 10 00 ½1 ½1 11 ** 01 00 10 1½ 17.5/42 19 Polgar,Ju 2680 -26 0½ 01 00 1½ 1½ 00 01 ½1 00 00 0½ ½1 00 10 01 10 00 10 ** ½½ 11 10 17.0/42 20 Tkachiev,V 2642 -4 00 0½ ½1 0½ 00 00 ½1 0½ 00 01 1½ 0½ 10 ½0 10 0½ 10 11 ½½ ** 1½ 00 16.0/42 21 Naiditsch,A 2689 -71 00 ½0 00 01 ½½ 1½ 00 10 10 11 00 11 10 00 ½0 ½0 10 01 00 0½ ** 0½ 15.0/42 22 Kosteniuk,A 2517 +62 10 01 00 00 10 00 00 ½0 00 10 10 01 00 00 00 ½½ 00 0½ 01 11 1½ ** 12.5/42 Average elo: 2718 <=> Category: 19 gm = 15.12 m = 6.72

The mobile version of Shredder came out recently. You can purchase it for the Iphone, for other mobile phones and also for the pocket pc. I'd tell you a lot about it, but I'm going to keep it short because I've tested the program and it has been a really disappointing experience. Extremely so! : - No icons for navigation. Everything is done thru a text menu. Very "last millenium" like, if you're into that. - The playing strength is very low compared to other programs currently available: Around 1800-1900. - The price is rather high for what it has to offer. - It doesn't do anything that other programs do. In fact, it does a lot less! It's great that new companies compete in the mobile chess market, but mobile Shredder has a long way to go before it makes a competitive product. VERY LONG way to go. Website.