The Candidates Tournament is a tournament to select the contender playing for the World Championship title. The reigning world champion, however continues.
The list for this year's Candidates tournament is on this URL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_2012
Other details of this year's Candidates tournament is also given here.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Chess Quotes
• "Chess is war over the board.
The object is to crush the opponent's mind." - Bobby Fischer
• I am the best player in the world and I am here to prove it." - Bobby Fischer
• One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one.-Bobby Fischer
• Even as a boy, Bobby was his own man. He knew what he wanted, he felt that he knew what was right, and he made his own decisions. Once convinced of something, his integrity, pride and absolute independence ruled out any compromise. Once he made up his mind there was no changing it. Many often had a go at it; Ethel and I never did. And even when the general consensus was that he was dead wrong, it turned out more often than not that he was right. As the heart has its own reasons, so has genius. -- Jack Collins
• What is chess, do you think? Those who play for fun or not at all dismiss it as a game. The ones who devote their lives to it for the most part insist that it's a science. It's neither. Bobby Fischer got underneath it like no one before and found at its center, art. -- Ben Kingsley (from Searching For Bobby Fischer)
• The beauty of his games, the clarity of his play, and the brilliance of his ideas have made him an artist of the same stature as Brahms, Rembrandt, and Shakespeare. -- David Levy (on Fischer)
• By this measure, I consider him the greatest world champion. -- Garry Kasparov
• There's no doubt that the title meant something to him. It meant more than anything. Proof of that is the fact that after winning it he stopped competing. But with or without the title, Bobby Fischer was unquestionably the greatest player of his time. -- Burt Hochberg
The object is to crush the opponent's mind." - Bobby Fischer
• I am the best player in the world and I am here to prove it." - Bobby Fischer
• One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one.-Bobby Fischer
• Even as a boy, Bobby was his own man. He knew what he wanted, he felt that he knew what was right, and he made his own decisions. Once convinced of something, his integrity, pride and absolute independence ruled out any compromise. Once he made up his mind there was no changing it. Many often had a go at it; Ethel and I never did. And even when the general consensus was that he was dead wrong, it turned out more often than not that he was right. As the heart has its own reasons, so has genius. -- Jack Collins
• What is chess, do you think? Those who play for fun or not at all dismiss it as a game. The ones who devote their lives to it for the most part insist that it's a science. It's neither. Bobby Fischer got underneath it like no one before and found at its center, art. -- Ben Kingsley (from Searching For Bobby Fischer)
• The beauty of his games, the clarity of his play, and the brilliance of his ideas have made him an artist of the same stature as Brahms, Rembrandt, and Shakespeare. -- David Levy (on Fischer)
• By this measure, I consider him the greatest world champion. -- Garry Kasparov
• There's no doubt that the title meant something to him. It meant more than anything. Proof of that is the fact that after winning it he stopped competing. But with or without the title, Bobby Fischer was unquestionably the greatest player of his time. -- Burt Hochberg
Friday, February 11, 2011
Jose Raul Capablanca
Jose Raul Capablanca. Who has not heard of him! He is one of the greatest players of all time.
He is my personal favourite also. His magical endgame play has captivated thousands.
So this is how it all started...
On the 19th November in 1888 Capablanca was born. He was born to a Spanish army officer in Havana,Cuba.
He learnt chess at the tender age of four, while watching his father play. There is a small story I would like to share with you. As I mentioned to you before, he learnt the game by watching his father play. And after some days, he pointed out a illegal move made by his father. His father was surprised, but suspected that Capablanca had a talent for chess. This suspicion was confirmed after he was defeated by Capablanca, a month later. There are many other such fascinating stories which I will relate to you later.
Capablanca was excellent at rapid chess games. Playing 602 games in 27 cities, he gained a distinction of 96.4% win (highest of that time).
In 1911, Capablanca challenged Emanuel Lasker( whom I will talk about later) for the World Championships. Lasker agreed to it. However, he proposed 17 conditions for the match. Capablanca objected to some of them and the match did not take place.
In a tournament in 1913, he won all the thirteen games.
Capablanca became the world champion after deafeating Lasker in 1921, in Havana, Cuba.
After this he played a match against Marshall, in which for the first time Marshall used his main weapon 'Marshall Attack". It is an attack, so complex that even great players such as Garry Kasparov avoid it. Even in this variation, he managed to pull out and gain a victory.
After this point, he was never defeated in the next eight years, until Richard Reti (another really good player; famous for the Reti opening) finally defeated him.
He passed away on 8 March 1942 at the age of 53. The world lost someone very special.
He is my personal favourite also. His magical endgame play has captivated thousands.
So this is how it all started...
On the 19th November in 1888 Capablanca was born. He was born to a Spanish army officer in Havana,Cuba.
He learnt chess at the tender age of four, while watching his father play. There is a small story I would like to share with you. As I mentioned to you before, he learnt the game by watching his father play. And after some days, he pointed out a illegal move made by his father. His father was surprised, but suspected that Capablanca had a talent for chess. This suspicion was confirmed after he was defeated by Capablanca, a month later. There are many other such fascinating stories which I will relate to you later.
Capablanca was excellent at rapid chess games. Playing 602 games in 27 cities, he gained a distinction of 96.4% win (highest of that time).
In 1911, Capablanca challenged Emanuel Lasker( whom I will talk about later) for the World Championships. Lasker agreed to it. However, he proposed 17 conditions for the match. Capablanca objected to some of them and the match did not take place.
In a tournament in 1913, he won all the thirteen games.
Capablanca became the world champion after deafeating Lasker in 1921, in Havana, Cuba.
After this he played a match against Marshall, in which for the first time Marshall used his main weapon 'Marshall Attack". It is an attack, so complex that even great players such as Garry Kasparov avoid it. Even in this variation, he managed to pull out and gain a victory.
After this point, he was never defeated in the next eight years, until Richard Reti (another really good player; famous for the Reti opening) finally defeated him.
He passed away on 8 March 1942 at the age of 53. The world lost someone very special.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine, one of the greatest chess players was born onOctober 31, 1892 in Moscow Russia. He became the fourth world champion by defeating Jose Raul Capablanca in the year 1927. He was known for his innovative variations and strong endgames.
Early career in chess
Alexander was born in a rich family and was taught to play chess by his mother. His first known match was from a correspondence tournament which he played at the young age of 10! After that he won the all-Russia amateur chess championship at St. Petersburg. From then on he played in stronger tournaments. Many of them were outside Russia. At first his results were mixed, but later he established himself as one of the best chess players in all of Russia. In his first major victory he tied with Aron Nimzowitsch in the All Russian masters tournament. He played several tournaments in the same perios and his results were the same. They were mixed at first but consistent later on.
Grandmaster Alekhine
In April 1914 he stood third behind Jose Raul Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker in the St. Petersburg championship. It is here that Tsar Nicholas II gave the title grandmaster to the top five finalists.
The two world wars and his career
World War I
He was playing the Manheim tournament in Germany when the war broke out. Alekhine and 11 other Russian players were detained in Germany. Alekhine and three others were soon let go. The others returned later. He was leading the tournament with 9 wins and was to recieve 1100 marks as the prize. After he returned to Russia he held exhibtions to free the chess players interned in Germany. Rumours were moving around in the west stating that Alekhine was killed!
World war II
He joined the french army as a sanitation officer. Then in June 1940, France fell. Alekhine escaped to Marseilles. He seeked permission to get into Cuba promising to play against Capablanca. But he was denied. He had to cooperate with the Nazis who had looted his castle and also had to protect his wife. He tied the first place with Paul Felix Schmidt in the Salzburg 1942 tournament. He also took part in tournaments in Munich, Prague and Warsaw.
1927-1935 world champion-first reign
He defeated Capablanca in the year 1927 to become the world champion. This championship took place between September and November. This was the longest world chapionship before the Kasparov-Karpov 1984 championship.
Loss of the title 1935
In the year 1935 Alexander Alekhine challenger Max Euwe. Max Euwe defeated Alekhine and snatched the title. Max Euwe became the fifth world champion. He held the title for 2 years and the title shifted back to Alekhine in the year 1937.
1937-1946 World champion-second reign
Alekhine challenged Max in 1937 just 2 years after he had lost the title to the same person. Alekhine just won. He kept the title till 1946. He was to have a return match against Jose Raul Capablanca who held the title 19 years ago.
Alekhine's death
Alekhine was in Estoril, Portugal. He was thinking of the rematch with Capablanca. On March 24 1946 he died in his hotel room. The cause of his death is uncertain. Some say he was murdered. Some say he choked on a piece of meat. But the most believed story is that he had a heart attack.
Early career in chess
Alexander was born in a rich family and was taught to play chess by his mother. His first known match was from a correspondence tournament which he played at the young age of 10! After that he won the all-Russia amateur chess championship at St. Petersburg. From then on he played in stronger tournaments. Many of them were outside Russia. At first his results were mixed, but later he established himself as one of the best chess players in all of Russia. In his first major victory he tied with Aron Nimzowitsch in the All Russian masters tournament. He played several tournaments in the same perios and his results were the same. They were mixed at first but consistent later on.
Grandmaster Alekhine
In April 1914 he stood third behind Jose Raul Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker in the St. Petersburg championship. It is here that Tsar Nicholas II gave the title grandmaster to the top five finalists.
The two world wars and his career
World War I
He was playing the Manheim tournament in Germany when the war broke out. Alekhine and 11 other Russian players were detained in Germany. Alekhine and three others were soon let go. The others returned later. He was leading the tournament with 9 wins and was to recieve 1100 marks as the prize. After he returned to Russia he held exhibtions to free the chess players interned in Germany. Rumours were moving around in the west stating that Alekhine was killed!
World war II
He joined the french army as a sanitation officer. Then in June 1940, France fell. Alekhine escaped to Marseilles. He seeked permission to get into Cuba promising to play against Capablanca. But he was denied. He had to cooperate with the Nazis who had looted his castle and also had to protect his wife. He tied the first place with Paul Felix Schmidt in the Salzburg 1942 tournament. He also took part in tournaments in Munich, Prague and Warsaw.
1927-1935 world champion-first reign
He defeated Capablanca in the year 1927 to become the world champion. This championship took place between September and November. This was the longest world chapionship before the Kasparov-Karpov 1984 championship.
Loss of the title 1935
In the year 1935 Alexander Alekhine challenger Max Euwe. Max Euwe defeated Alekhine and snatched the title. Max Euwe became the fifth world champion. He held the title for 2 years and the title shifted back to Alekhine in the year 1937.
1937-1946 World champion-second reign
Alekhine challenged Max in 1937 just 2 years after he had lost the title to the same person. Alekhine just won. He kept the title till 1946. He was to have a return match against Jose Raul Capablanca who held the title 19 years ago.
Alekhine's death
Alekhine was in Estoril, Portugal. He was thinking of the rematch with Capablanca. On March 24 1946 he died in his hotel room. The cause of his death is uncertain. Some say he was murdered. Some say he choked on a piece of meat. But the most believed story is that he had a heart attack.
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