Chess Jokes: Chess cartoon 2

Chess Joke: Chess Funny Cartoon 1

Chess Jokes: Kings Indian

(Two old friends get together after work for drinks and catch up on things)

• Joe: “How are things, do you still play chess like we did in the old days?”
• Larry: ”Sure do. In fact, I play almost every weekend down at the club.”
• Joe: “That must be tough on your personal life.”
• Larry: ”A couple of months ago, I told my wife that I was going to play in a tournament on our anniversary. She told me that if I went to the club that night, our marriage would be over!”
• Joe: “Wow. So what did you do?”
• Larry: “I played Nf3. I always play the Kings Indian Attack!”

Chess Quotes:Funny chess Quotes

"Chess is mental torture" -Kasparov

"You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas." -Stanley Kubrik

"The winner is the one who makes the next to last mistake" -Tartakower

"Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine" -Spielman

"A bad plan is better than no plan at all" -Marshall

"Two passed pawns on the sixth beat everything, up to a royal flush" -Ian Rogers

"Chess is mental torture" -Kasparov

"You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas." -Stanley Kubrik

"The winner is the one who makes the next to last mistake" -Tartakower

"Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine" -Spielman

"A bad plan is better than no plan at all" -Marshall

"Two passed pawns on the sixth beat everything, up to a royal flush" -Ian Rogers

Chess Jokes : Queens Gambit

CHESS JOKE :

A seaside town was hosting a world caliber chess tournament. Two days into the tournament, one of the competitors, finished with his game, decides to go for a swim. After a few minutes, he is heard crying out; it is discovered that a shark has taken a bite out of his leg. Everyone is alarmed, but assurances are given that the shark will be found, and it was after all small bite.

The next day another tournament player goes swimming, and his leg also has a bite taken out of it. Same thing the third day. Strangely, though there are other people at the beach, it is only the chess players that are being nibbled.

In an effort to assure the public and keep the tournament from collapsing, a strong net is placed around the beach and the queen is asked if she can intervene. "It is well known that you play chess, your Majesty. There is a protective net up now, and if you can swim safely, then the players will be reassured and the people can feel comfortable on our beaches again. The queen agrees, and goes for a quick swim. She has been out for only a minute when she yelps. She is quickly pulled out of the water, and her leg inspected. Lo and behold, another shark bite. This time however, it appears the shark dd not remove any flesh. The public is told tha queen has emerged in one piece.

The tabloids cannot resist the story.
The next day's headlines read "Queen's gam bit, declined."

Topalov: Chess Player Profile

Veselin Topalov (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE world champion. In the January 2008 FIDE rating list, he is ranked third in the world with an Elo rating of 2780.His current trainer and manager is International Master Silvio Danailov.

Topalov became the FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. Topalov was awarded the 2005 Chess Oscar. In October 2006, Topalov had the second highest Elo rating of all time (2813).

Topalov played Classical World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in a twelve-game title unification match. The match was drawn at 6-6, but Topalov lost the tie-break 2.5-1.5.

Early career

Topalov was born in Rousse, Bulgaria. His father taught him to play chess at the age of eight. In 1989 he won the World Under-14 Championship in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and in 1990 won the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore. He became a Grandmaster in 1992.

Topalov has been the leader of the Bulgarian national team since 1994. At the 1994 Chess Olympiad in Moscow he led the Bulgarians to a fourth-place finish.

Over the next ten years he won a number of tournaments, and ascended the world chess rankings. As early as 1996, he was being invited to "supergrandmaster" events for the world's élite. Topalov's loss to reigning Classical World Champion Garry Kasparov at the 1999 Corus chess tournament is generally hailed as one of the greatest games ever played. Kasparov later said, "[[During the game Topalov]] looked up. Perhaps there was a sign from above that Topalov would play a great game today. It takes two, you know, to do that."[3] In the knockout tournaments for the FIDE World Chess Championship, he reached the last 16 in 1999, the quarter-finals in 2000, the final 16 in 2001, and the semi-finals in the 2004 tournament. In 2002, he lost the final of the Dortmund Candidates Tournament (for the right to challenge for the rival Classical World Chess Championship) to Péter Lékó.

Topalov scored his first "super-tournament" success at Linares 2005, tying for the first place with Garry Kasparov (though losing on tiebreak rules), and defeating Kasparov in the last round, in what was to be Kasparov's last tournament game before his retirement.[4] He followed this up with a one point victory (+4 =5 −1) at the M-Tel Masters 2005 tournament, ahead of Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Ruslan Ponomariov, Michael Adams, and Judit Polgar. The average rating of the participants was 2744, making this super-GM, double round-robin tournament the strongest in 2005.

World Champion

On the strength of his rating, Topalov was invited to the eight-player, double round-robin FIDE World Chess Championship in San Luis, Argentina, in September-October 2005. Scoring 6.5/7 in the first cycle, Topalov had virtually clinched the tournament at the halfway mark, before drawing every game in the second cycle to win by 1.5 points and become FIDE World Chess Champion. The average rating of the field in the championship was 2739, and Topalov's performance rating was 2890.[5]

The unification of the FIDE World Title (held by Topalov) and the Classical Chess World Title (held by Vladimir Kramnik) was fervently encouraged by the chess community. On 16 April 2006, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced that a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov would be held in September-October 2006. Kramnik defeated Topalov to become the first undisputed champion in thirteen years.

In May 2006, Topalov defended his M-Tel Masters title in the 2006 edition of the tournament, coming first with 6.5, a half point ahead of Gata Kamsky (whom he beat 2-0). Topalov started the tournament somewhat hesitantly to later record four consecutive wins and clinch the title.

Kramnik-Topalov match controversy

FIDE World Chess Championship 2006

On 28 September 2006, Danailov published a press release, casting suspicion on Kramnik's behaviour during the games. The Bulgarian team made a public statement that Kramnik visited his private bathroom (the only place without any audio or video surveillance) unreasonably often, about 50 times per game (a number that FIDE officials later claimed to be exaggerated) and made the most significant decisions in the game in the bathroom.

They also demanded that the organizers of the tournament make available to journalists the surveillance video from Kramnik's room for games 1 through 4. The organizers made parts of the video available, explaining that other parts of it were missing due to technical issues. Danailov demanded to stop the use of private restrooms and bathrooms, and threatened to reconsider Topalov's participation in the match.[7] The Appeals Committee that governed the match agreed, and ruled that the players' private restrooms should be closed and replaced with a shared one.

Kramnik refused to play game 5 and was forfeited. On 1 October, the restroom issue was resolved in Kramnik's favour and the Appeals Committee resigned and were replaced. The FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov decided that the current score of 3-2 should be preserved. He also indicated that this was not a compromise decision but his own.[8] The match resumed on 2 October 2006.

On 1 October, the Association of Chess Professionals released a statement denouncing Danailov for publicly accusing his opponent without evidence, and calling for him to be investigated by the FIDE Ethics Committee. Topalov has also been similarly denounced by numerous top players, including former World Champions Anatoly Karpov, Boris Spassky, and Viswanathan Anand, grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi,[9] former US Champions Lev Alburt and Yasser Seirawan, and others.[10][11]

On 3 October, Topalov said in a press conference, "I believe that his Kramnik's play is fair, and my decision to continue the match proves it".[12] However the next day the crisis escalated, with Topalov's manager strongly implying that Kramnik was receiving computer assistance.[13]

In a post-match interview, Danailov expressed a desire for a rematch between Topalov and Kramnik, saying, “FIDE regulations allow every world champion that has lost the title to challenge the title holder. The total prize fund is 1.5 million dollars. We will find this money and will request the game to take place in Sofia. We will offer an exact date, 3rd of March 2007.”[14] However this will be impossible, because according to FIDE's regulations such a match must be held and finished six months before the next world championship, which will begin in September 2007 in Mexico.

On 14 December 2006, Topalov directly accused Kramnik of using computer assistance in their World Championship match.[15] On 14 February 2007, Topalov's manager released pictures, purporting to show cables in the ceiling of a toilet used by Kramnik during the World Championship match in Elista. They were supposedly reported to the authorities, who Danailov claims suppressed the information. The Topalov team claims they were pressured by officials to keep their allegations quiet.[16] On 29 July 2007, following a complaint by Kramnik's manager Carsten Hansel, the FIDE Ethics Commission sanctioned Topalov with "a severe reprimand" because of the accusations made in the interview of 14 December. According to the Ethics Commission, "these statements were clearly defamatory and damaged the honour of Mr. Vladimir Kramnik, harming his personal and professional reputation".

Cheating allegations against Topalov

Topalov has himself been accused of cheating, both at the San Luis tournament in 2005 and at the 2007 Corus Tournament.

Career after the unification match

Soon after losing the world title, Topalov participated in the Essent Chess Tournament. He finished third of four players with only 2.5 points of 6 games and a 2645 performance. He lost two games against Judit Polgár and one against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

In January 2007, Topalov finished in joint first place (ahead of Kramnik, who finished 4th) at the Category 19 Corus Chess Tournament along with Levon Aronian and Teimour Radjabov.

Traditionally, defeated champions enjoy the right to a return match against the new champion. In the 2006 reunification match, Topalov lost his berth in the 2007 world championship tournament as incumbent FIDE champion to Kramnik. However, as part of the reunification process, both Topalov and Kramnik were granted special privileges in the 2008-09 championship cycle.

Kramnik, who lost the title when Viswanathan Anand won the 2007 tournament, will meet Anand in a title match in 2008. Meanwhile, Topalov will play a match against Gata Kamsky, winner of the 2007 FIDE World Cup. The winner of this match will qualify for the 2009 world championship match against the 2008 world champion.
Topalov Notable tournament victories


* Madrid 1994, 1996, 1997
* Dos Hermanas 1996
* Amsterdam 1996
* Vienna 1996
* Novgorod 1996
* Antwerp 1997
* Monaco 2001
* Dortmund 2001
* Semi-finalist at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004 in Tripoli, Libya.
* Shared first place with Kasparov (Kasparov technically won on tiebreaks though Topalov won their individual game) at Linares 2005
* M-Tel Masters 2005 (a point ahead of Anand)
* FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 (a point and a half ahead of Anand and Svidler)
* Corus 2006 (joint first with Anand)
* M-Tel Masters 2006 (half a point ahead of Gata Kamsky)
* Corus 2007 (joint first with Aronian and Radjabov)
* M-Tel Masters 2007 (half a point over four others)
* Champions League 2007 (a point and a half a head of Ponomariov)

Sasikiran: Chess Profile

Krishnan Sasikiran (born January 7, 1981) is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Among Indians, he is second only to Vishwanathan Anand in FIDE rating.

"Sasi" as he is sometimes called, comes from Chennai in Tamil Nadu in south-eastern India. He earned the Grandmaster title at the 2000 Commonwealth Championship. In 2001, he won the prestigious Hastings International Chess tournament. In 2003, he won the 4th Asian Individual Championship as well as the Politiken Cup in Copenhagen. Sasikiran tied Jan Timman for first place in the 2005 Sigeman Tournament in Copenhagen/Malmo Denmark.

Sasikiran's Achievements:

• Sasikiran became an International Chess Grandmaster at the 2000 Commonwealth Championship held at Sangli, Maharashtra.
• Won the Hastings International Chess Congress, England, in 2001 and 2002.
• Won the Pentamedia Category XI GM tournament, Chennai in 2000.
• In 2003, Sasikiran won the 4th Asian Individual Championship as well as the Politiken Cup in Copenhagen.
• Sasikiran tied Jan Timman for first place in the 2005 Sigeman Tournament in Copenhagen Denmark.

In the January 2007 FIDE rating list, Sasikiran was ranked number 21 in the world with an Elo rating of 2700.[1] He became only the second chess player from India to reach ELO rating of 2700.[2] He won Gold medal in Asian Games 2006 in team event. Tamilnadu Government presented a cheque of Rs 20 Lacs as appreciation towards his success.

Hari Krishna : Chess profile

Hari Krishna,born May 10, 1986, is a chess player from Andhra Pradesh, India. He is now rated second amongst the top Indian players ranking next to Viswanathan Anand and ahead of Krishnan Sasikiran. Harikrishna became the youngest grandmaster from India in 2001.

In November 2004, he won the World Junior Chess Championship. In August 2006, he won the Chess960 (Fischer Random) Junior Chess Championship, beating Arkadij Naiditsch 4.5-3.5 in the final.

Chess Championships

* World under-10 championship, 1996, Menorca (Spain), Gold.
* World under-12 rapid championship, 1996, Paris, Silver.
* Children's Olympiad, 1998, Istanbul, Gold.
* Commonwealth championship, 2000, Sangli, Gold (under-18).
* India's youngest International Master, 2000.
* Asian under-14 championship, 2000, Tehran, 2000-01, Gold.
* National 'A' championship, 2000, Mumbai, Fifth.
* Asian junior championship, 2000, Mumbai, Silver.
* Chess Olympiad, 2000, Istanbul, First Grandmaster (GM) norm.
* Corus tournament, 2001, Wijk Aan Zee, Second GM norm.
* National 'A' championship, 2000, New Delhi, Fifth.
* Asian junior championship, 2001, Tehran, Silver.
* Asian championship, 2001, Kolkata, Tenth; Qualified for World championship; Final GM norm.
* India's youngest GM, 2001.
* Ron Banwell MSO Masters tournament, 2001, London, Gold.
* Commonwealth championship, 2001, London, Gold.
* World Junior Champion, 2004.
* Tiayuan Chess Tournament (FIDE Category 15) in China on 20 July 2005, Clear First
* 9th Essent Tournament Hoogeveen, 2005, Clear First
* Bermuda Invitational Tournament, 2005, Shared First with Boris Gelfand
* Pamplona International Tournament, 2005, Shared Second with Ivan Cheparinov
* Reykjavik Open, 2006, Shared FIRST.
* 4th Marx Gyorgy Memorial tournament in Hungary, 2006, clear FIRST.
* Ordix Open (Rapid chess) - Shared Third.
* Beats Arkady Naiditsch in Mainz to become Chess960 World Junior Champion.

Koneru Humpy : Chess Player profile

Humpy Koneru (born 31 March 1987 in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh) is a chess grandmaster from India. Her October 2007 FIDE Elo rating was 2606, placing her at number two in the world for women (behind Judit Polgar), breaking the record of 2577 set by Susan Polgar for the second-highest ranked female player in Chess history and becoming the second female player ever, after Judit Polgar, to cross the 2600 elo mark.

Humpy was originally named Hampi by her parents but her father later changed it to Humpy, a more Russian-sounding name. She writes her family name (Koneru) before her given name.

Humpy holds the record for the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster (not merely a Woman Grandmaster), which she achieved in 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgar's previous record by 3 months.

In 2001 she won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship. In 2006 she participated in the Women's World Chess Championship, but was eliminated in the second round.

Humpy's Achievements:

• World under-14 championship, 2001, Castellan, Spain.
• Asia's youngest International Woman Master, 1999.
• India's youngest Woman GM, 2001.
• World junior championship, 2001, Athens.
• In 2002, Koneru Humpy become the first woman chess player from India to receive the Men's Grandmaster title.
• At 15 years, one month and 27 days, Koneru also became the world's youngest Women Grandmaster to achieve full Grandmaster status, beating the record of her idol Judith Polgar, who achieved the feat at 15 years, four months and 27 days.
• As of July, 2006, Humpy is world number 2 in women's rankings with an Elo score of 2545.

June 1st, 2002 INDIA CHESS DIARY By V Krishnaswamy, New Delhi ONLY TECHNICAL AND BUREAUCRATIC DETAILS REMAIN

Only technical and bureaucratic details remain between Humpy and a decade-old landmark set by Judit Polgar, which crumbled last week. In some ways that landmark, which had bestowed upon Judit the honour of being the youngest woman to complete a Grandmaster title in men's section, was quite appropriately overtaken in the Polgar homeland, in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, where Judit lives.

Taking over that mantle is Koneru Humpy, a shy teenager from India's little-known district of Gudivada near Vijaywada, in Andhra Pradesh. At the Elekes memorial 12-round tournament, Humpy earned her third and final GM norm with a score of 7.5 out in the first 11 rounds. The average rating of her opponents in the first 11 rounds was 2437. On the day Humpy achieved her third Men's GM Norm, she was exactly, 15 years, 1 Month, and 27 days, which bettered Judit Polgar's record of 15 years, 4 months and 27 days.

Chess players, more than other commoners in life, know how technical hurdles are sometimes more difficult to surmount than on-board problems. The latest to discover this could be India's teenaged chess star.

Technical details and bureaucracy are two phrases purists love to hate. And with enough reason. Even as Humpy was re-writing the record books, there were enough critics pointing out to her current rating of 2486. This young holder of four world title in various age categories, is now being stymied by those who claim that she still has one more requirement to complete before being conferred the GM title – that of getting her Elo rating to 2500, which is one of the stipulations of a GM title being conferred upon a player.

Analysts agree that the next rating list, which will be released in July 2002, will see her breach that mark, too. But now the debate is whether she should right away be considered the youngest woman to become a GM in men's section, or should we wait till the FIDE confirms her rating as 2500-plus. The next rating list is due out on July 1, 2002 and the one after that on October 1, 2002. The question is now, in case Koneru Humpy falls a little short, and is say on 2495 or 2498, on July 1, 2002, will she be disallowed the record. If that is the case, that will really be a pity.

As things stand, if Koneru Humpy's rating is 2500 or over before August 26, 2002 the record is hers.

Humpy's third and final GM norm with 7.5 points from the first 11 rounds of the 12-round tournament. The average rating of the tournament was 2437, and it is expected she will gain some vital Elo points.

In the next few days Humpy is also due to play another GM level tournament in June itself and hopefully that event as well as the Elekes memorial where she won her final GM norm will lift her above 2500 and set to rest all debates.

Pictures from the Koneru Humpy album: as a child top left with her father, on a plane to
the under 10 world championship, at the boys' under 14, with the World Junior Trophy
in 2001, After winning the World U14 in Dortmund (bottom centre and right).

PROFILE OF A CHAMPION

BY V KRISHNASWAMY

SOON AFTER a daughter was born to Koneru Ashok and Latha on March 31, 1987, the father decided his daughter was special. The young one was named Hampi, derived from the word "Champion". Sometime later, Ashok changed that to Humpy, because he felt that sounded a little Russian (!) and his daughter would be a champion in that sport. How true.

A fast and attacking player, Humpy has often dominated the events she has won in India. A good positional player, she has a good finish and she rarely misses a winning ending.

But what is even more outstanding is that she possesses a record at world championships, which even Anand does not have. She is the first, and so far the only, Indian to win four World Championships, having picked a title each in Under-10, Under-12 and Under-14 and the World Juniors (Under-20) age groups. In between she also won a silver medal in Under-12 section.

Born in 1987, Humpy took to chess at the age of six in 1993. Coached by her father, Ashok Koneru, she picked up the finer points in very little time and won the first tournament she played at Vijayawada in 1994. More followed in the next few years.

Humpy in 1997 won her first world title the U-10 World title in Cannes. To that she added the World U-12 title in Oropesa del Mar in Spain in October-November 1998, when the curly haired Andhra girl notched up nine wins, one loss and one draw. The lone draw came against teammate Tania Sachdeva, who finished third. In 1999 Humpy missed out on what would have become an unique record. Starting out as the defending champion in the Under-12 section, she finished second behind Georgian Nana Dzagnidze.

In 1999, Humpy showed her fondness for Ahmedabad as a venue, where she created history, by becoming the first Indian woman player to win a National Boys title. She won the Under 14 Boys title in the National Children Chess Championship for the year 2000 at the Karnavati Club.

Interestingly, in 1998 in December, Humpy had won the Asian sub junior boys (under-12) title at the same venue. That was the first time a girl had won an international boys event since Judit Polgar of Hungary had done that in 1989. A year later in 2000, she paid back Georgian Dzagnidze in the same coin and beat her to the title in the World Under-14 title in Spain.

Magnus Carlsen : Chess Profile

Magnus Øen Carlsen (born November 30, 1990 in Tønsberg, Norway) is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy.

On April 26, 2004 Carlsen became Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 4 months, and 27 days, the third youngest Grandmaster age in history.

Since then, he has established himself as an elite Grandmaster. In the April 2008 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2765, making him Norway's number 1, World Juniors' number 1 and World's number 5.

Chess Biography

Sometimes nicknamed the ‘Mozart of chess’, wunderkind Magnus started playing competitive chess at the age of 8, and by the age of 13 and 3 months became a grandmaster – a record second only to Karjakin. Carlsen lives in Lommedalen, Bærum, near Norway's capital, Oslo. He played his first tournament at the age of eight and was coached at the Norwegian high school for top athletes led by the country's top player, Grandmaster (GM) Simen Agdestein. Agdestein put his civil worker and master player Torbjørn Ringdahl-Hansen, currently a FIDE master with IM and GM norms, as his coach and they had one training session every week, together with one of Magnus' close friends. The young International Master was given a year off from elementary school to participate in international chess tournaments during the fall season of 2003. In that year, he finished third in the European Under-12 Boys Championship.

Chess career

2004

Corus 2004

The result that brought him to the attention of the international chess world, however, was his victory in the C group at the Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee with 10.5/13, losing just one game (against the highest rated player of the C group, Dusko Pavasovic), taking his first Grandmaster norm, and achieving an Elo tournament performance rating of 2702. Particularly notable was his win in the penultimate round over Sipke Ernst in which Carlsen sacrificed material to mate Ernst in just 29 moves. This game won Carlsen the Audience Prize for best game of the round (including all the games played in the B and A groups), though the first 23 moves had already been seen in the game Almagro Llanas-Gustafsson, Madrid 2003 (which, however, was a draw).

Carlsen's tournament victory in the C group qualified him to play in the B group in 2005, and led to Lubomir Kavalek, writing in the Washington Post, to describe him as the "Mozart of chess". According to an interview with mentor Agdestein, himself once the world's youngest GM at 18, Carlsen is a significantly better player than he was himself at the same age. Carlsen is said to have an excellent memory and plays an unusually wide range of different openings.

[edit] Moscow Aeroflot Open 2004

Carlsen obtained his second GM norm in the Moscow Aeroflot Open in February 2004. In a blitz chess tournament (where players have much less time for their moves than in normal chess) in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 17 March 2004, Magnus Carlsen defeated former world champion Anatoly Karpov. The blitz tournament was a preliminary event leading up to a rapid chess knock out tournament beginning the next day, where Carlsen achieved one draw against Garry Kasparov, who was then the top-rated player in the world, before losing to Kasparov after 32 moves of the second game, thus being knocked out of the tournament.

[edit] Dubai Open Chess Championship 2004

In the 6th Dubai Open Chess Championship, held 18 April to 28, 2004, Carlsen obtained his third Grandmaster norm (enough for getting the GM title), after getting four wins and four draws before the last game was to be played. Resulting from this he was at the time world's youngest GM and the second youngest person ever to hold GM status, after Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine who attained the feat at 12 years and 7 months of age in 2002.

World Championship 2004

Carlsen was the youngest player to participate in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, but was knocked out in the first round on tie breaks by Levon Aronian.

[edit] Norwegian Championship

In July 2004, Carlsen finished second place behind Berge Østenstad in the Norwegian Chess Championship. Since the scores of these two players were equal (each got 7 points out of 9 but Østenstad had better tiebreaks) a 2-game play-off match between the two was arranged. Due to Østenstad's superior tiebreak score he would win the title should this match end with a 1-1 tie. The match did end with a 1-1 tie after two draws, so Østenstad retained his Norwegian championship title.

2005

Smartfish Chess Masters 2004-05

In Smartfish Chess Masters at the Drammen chess festival 2004-05 (Norway) Carlsen defeated Alexei Shirov, ranked number 13 in the world. In June 2005 in the Ciudad de Leon rapid chess tournament Carlsen played a four-game semi-final against Viswanathan Anand, former FIDE World Champion and number 1 ranked player in the world. Magnus lost 3-1. Carlsen was invited to the tournament as the most promising young chess player in 2005.

[edit] Norwegian Chess Championship

In the 2005 Norwegian Chess Championship, Carlsen again finished in a shared first place, this time with his mentor Simen Agdestein. A playoff between them was arranged between November 7 and November 10. This time Carlsen had the better tiebreaks, but the rule giving the player with better tiebreaks scores the title in the event of a 1-1 draw had been revoked previously. The match was closely fought, Agdestein won the first game, Carlsen won the second, so the match went into a phase of two and two rapid games until there was a winner. Carlsen won the first rapid game, Agdestein the second. Then followed a series of three draws until Agdestein won the championship title with a victory in the sixth rapid game.

World Chess Cup

At the end of 2005 he participated at the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the knock-out tournament, Carlsen upset the 44th-ranked Georgian Zurab Azmaiparashvili in round one, winning 2–0 at rapid chess after a 1–1 tie in the normal length games, and proceeded to beat Tajik Farrukh Amonatov and Bulgarian Ivan Cheparinov (also after rapid chess) to reach the round of 16. There he lost 1.5-2.5 to Evgeny Bareev, which prevented him from finishing 1st to 8th. He then won against Joel Lautier 1.5-0.5 and Vladimir Malakhov 3.5-2.5 securing him at least a tenth place and therefore a spot in the Candidate Matches. Carlsen became the youngest player to be an official World Championship Candidate.

Other

In October 2005 he took first place at the Arnold Eikrem Memorial in Gausdal with 8 out of 9 points and a performance rating of 2792 at the age of 14.

2006

In the 2006 Norwegian Chess Championship, Carlsen was close to winning outright, but a last round loss to Berge Østenstad again tied him for first place with Agdestein. The last-round loss deprived Magnus of beating Agdestein's record of becoming the youngest Norwegian champion ever. Nonetheless, in the play-off November 19-21, Carlsen won 3-1. After two draws in the initial full time games, Magnus won both rapid games in round two, securing his first Norwegian championship.

Magnus won the 2006 Glitnir Blitz tournament [1] in Iceland. He won 2-0 over Viswanathan Anand (2003 FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion, 2004 Amber Rapid Chess Champion, 2007 FIDE Classical World Champion) in the semi finals. Carlsen also won 2-0 in the finals. [2]

Magnus scored 6/8 in the 37th Chess Olympiad in 2006 against opponents averaging 2627 ELO, gaining 18 ELO (a rating performance of 2820 points). One of his notable wins was against top English grandmaster Michael Adams.[3]

In the Midnight Sun Chess tournament Carlsen had some misses and came in second, beaten by Sergei Shipov (FIDE-Elo: 2576).

In the 2006 Biel/Bienne grandmaster tournament he achieved second place, after having beaten the eventual winner Alexander Morozevich twice (once with each color).

In the NH Chess Tournament held in Amsterdam in August 2006, Carlsen participated in an 'Experience' v 'Rising Stars' Scheveningen team match. The 'Rising Stars' won the match 22-28 with Carlsen achieving the best individual score for the youngsters, 6.5/10 and a 2700 ELO performance, thus winning the right to participate in the 2007 Melody Amber tournament.[4]

* In the World Blitz Championship at Rishon LeZion, Israel he was no. 8 of 16 participants with 7.5/15 points.

* In the rapid chess tournament Rencontres nationales et internationales d'échecs i Cap d'Agde, France he got to the semifinal, losing to Sergey Karjakin.

* Carlsen achieved a shared 8th place of 10 participants in the Mikhail Tal Memorial in Moskow with 2 losses and 7 draws. In the associated blitz tournament Tal Blitz Cup he received 17.5/34 points and 9th place in a group of 18 participants.

2007

* In the 2007 Corus chess tournament Carlsen, playing in group A for the first time, had to settle for the last place after 9 draws and 4 losses, scoring 4.5 points in 13 rounds.
* In the prestigious Linares chess tournament Carlsen met the following top-rated players: Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Svidler, Alexander Morozevich, Levon Aronian, Peter Leko, and Vassily Ivanchuk (replacing Teimour Radjabov). With the significantly lowest ELO rating, he achieved a 2nd place (on tiebreaks) with 7.5 points after 4 wins, 7 draws and 3 losses, and an ELO performance of 2778.
* In March 2007, Carlsen played for the first time in the Melody Amber blind and rapid chess tournament in Monte Carlo. In the 11 rounds he achieved 8 draws and 3 losses in the blindfold, and 3 wins, 7 draws and 1 loss in the rapid part. This resulted in a shared 9th place in the blindfold, shared 2nd place in the rapid (beaten only by Anand), and an 8th place in the overall tournament.
* In May-June 2007, he participated in the Candidates Tournament for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. He was paired with the top seed Levon Aronian. The 6-game match was drawn (2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses), with Carlsen coming from behind twice. The 4-game rapid playoff was drawn as well (1 win, 2 draws, and 1 loss), with Carlsen winning the last game to stay in the match. Finally, Aronian won both tiebreaker (blitz) games, to eliminate Carlsen from the Championship.
* In July-August 2007, he won the International Chess Festival Biel Grandmaster Tournament 2007, with a +2 record (an ELO performance of 2753). His score was equalled by Alexander Onischuk and by the tie-breaker rule of the tournament, they played a tie-breaker match to determine the winner. After drawing two rapid and two blitz games, Carlsen won the armageddon game. He became the youngest person ever to win a category 18 tournament.
* In December 2007, he reached the semi-final round of the World Chess Cup 2007, after defeating Michael Adams in the round of 16, and Ivan Cheparinov in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, he was eliminated by the eventual winner Gata Kamsky, 0.5:1.5.

2008

* Playing for the second time in the top group A of the Corus chess tournament, Carlsen showed big improvement over his 2007 performance. His final score was 8 points in 13 rounds, an ELO performance of 2830. Carlsen scored 5 wins (including beating former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik with the black pieces), 2 losses and 6 draws. He shared first place with Levon Aronian, becoming the youngest person ever to win a category 20 tournament.

* At the 2008 Linares chess tournament, Carlsen had another 2800+ ELO performance, scoring 8 out of 14 (5 wins, 3 losses and 6 draws). He finished in sole second place, 1/2 point behind the winner, world champion Viswanathan Anand.

* In March 2008, Carlsen played for the second time in the Melody Amber blind and rapid chess tournament, which was held in Nice for the first time. In the 11 rounds he achieved 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses in the blindfold, and 3 wins, 6 draws and 2 losses in the rapid part. This resulted in a shared 5th place in the blindfold, shared 3rd place in the rapid and a shared 2nd place in the overall tournament.

* Between April 20 and May 6, 2008 Carlsen will be first seed in the first Grand Prix Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Rating

In the October 2006 FIDE ratings, Carlsen advanced to world number 22 with a rating of 2698. In the January 2007 ratings he dropped to 2690 and rank 24. In the July 2007 ratings, after a series of strong results, Carlsen advanced to become world number 17 with a rating of 2710. On the January 2008 FIDE rating list he was rated at 2733, and on April 2008 he reached 2765 ELO rating, reaching fifth place in the world rankings.

Chess Video: Funny chess

Chess Funny Video

Chess Jokes: Who is Chess Addict

You know you are a chess addict if:

1. You bump into someone or something and say J'adoube.
2. Fantasizes of beating Mr Spock in 3-D chess.
3. Proudly display, 'Chessplayers make better mates' bumper sticker on your car.
4. Mate, mating positions, exposed bishops, and forking the queen have nothing to do with sex.
5. When you meet someone, your first question is, "What's your rating?"
6. You have fantasies of mating one of the Polgar sisters.
7. You have a crush on Irina Krush.
8. You have checkered underwear with "It's your move" on the front.
9. You spot the chessboard set up wrong in every movie with a chess scene.
10. You who know exactly what James Bond movie the above scene was taken from.
11. You have read all of this.

Chess Jokes : Chess Warning Signs

Warning signs you won't beat a computer at chess.

1. Before moving your queen, you consulting Eddie Murphy.
2. Your "garlic breath" strategy fails to intimidate this particular opponent.
3. You counter 'every' move with the "Canadian Burbon Opening."
4. Video tapes of you shouting at the ATM are legendary among the bank security staff.
5. You plan to use the "James T. Kirk Strategy" -- Talk the computer into blowing itself up!

Chess Jokes

Once, two Sardars were feeling bored and decided to play a few games

of chess to pass the time.

They were doing this for some time, when two more sardar friends

dropped by. Seeing them play chess, they said -

"Come on guys, we are feeling bored too. Let us play doubles!"

Chess Jokes

Santa Singh is Flying from Moscow to Delhi. To his surprise, sitting right beside
him is Gary Kasporov, the world Chess Champion. Santa has always been in awe
of Chess players, and immediately starts up a conversation with Gary about the
Nuances of the Game etc. Gary says ... "How would You like to Play me for $ 500/
US"?

Santa: "But you're too damn good".

Gary: "I'll play left handed".

Santa cant resist the bet and accepts. Kasparov, Check Mates our Sardar in 8
Moves .......

Santa is still scratching his head, as he leaves the airplane.

Upon Reaching Amritsar, Santa tells Banta about the game he had with
Kasparov.

Banta: "Tu bhi pura buddhu hai Santa". (You're an absolute fool Santa)
Santa: "kyon" (why)?

Banta: "Abe chooteye ........ Gary Kasparov Khabbu hai". (You ass hole, Gary
Kasparov IS a lefty, no wonder he beat you left handed).