After 54 moves and 5 hours of play, Game 4 of the World Chess Championship Match ended in a hard-fought draw. In a kind of psychological posturing, both players banged out the opening moves very quickly and with much confidence. As play progressed, Topalov seemed a bit more cautious showing a discretion is the better part of valor attitude. Chided for not playing e4 at some points in this game, Topalov clearly understands that agression without control may lead him into a 3-point deficit against the Classical World Champion. Game 5 is on Friday.
Continue reading "Round 4: It's a Draw. Match Score: Kramnik 3 Topalov 1" »
Topalov has managed to stem the flood of two consecutive losses with a 38-move draw in Game 3. For Kramnik's second go around with the white pieces, he again got into an Open Catalan. Topalov was the first to vary from Game 1 with 5. ...Nc6. It's still very early in the match and there is lots of chess yet to come--Game 4 begins tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Eastern--watch it here!
This week at the George Cunningham Chess Club at the University of Maine, Orono it's a bishops and pawns vs knights and pawns tournament with prizes for the top three places. A good opportunity to work on your endgame technique and have some fun while you're at it. Also results from last week's Ruy Lopez Open Variation Theme Tournament.
Important information for viewing the World Chess Championship Match using the LIVE Game Link: after clicking on the LIVE Game Link from any of the ChessMaine.net World Chess Championship Match entries, a selection of games will appear i.e., Game 1, Game 2 etc. Choose the game number you wish to follow LIVE or a game from a previous round. A board and notation window will appear. Just below the board you will see (for example) Game 2 09-24-2006, WCC Match Elista, 2006 0-1 Topalov, Veselin vs Kramnik, Vladimir. You MUST click on this link in order to activate the LIVE transmission. Good luck, enjoy the games, and let us know if you experience any difficulties.
GM Roman Dzindzichashvili called it one of the most exciting games ever played in a world championship match. Both players went in for uncompromising chess with plenty of complications. Some regressions were evident (with the help of Fritz 9 on 16-ply) on behalf of both players and each missed the strongest continuation in turn. In the end it was Kramnik who, with 63. ... Re3 had the last move, and the last laugh.
Vladimir Kramnik has hit the ground running. Playing the white pieces in the first round of the World Chess Championship Match in Elista, Kalmikia he let Veselin Topalov know that he was ready to play. The game was an Open Catalan that lasted six and a half hours. Rather than repeat the position and settle for a draw, Topalov pressed for a win, made a serious inaccuracy on move 57 and lost.
Mike McCabe and Haley DeLuca Lowell posted perfect scores in the Open and K-8 sections respectively of the Washington County Chess Federation September Swiss which took place on September 23rd in Pembroke, Maine. This is the first in a monthly series of tournaments hosted by the newly-formed WCCF.
FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Classical Chess World Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia are ready to commence play in the much-anticipated World Chess Championship Reunification Match in Elista, Kalmikia. ChessMaine.net is extending its borders to bring you coverage of this historic match. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
The trend continues: more and more chess clubs are making themselves known to the Maine Chess Community. We are pleased to announce the Mid-Coast Chess Club in Rockland is welcoming chess players on Thursday nights. This brings the number of chess clubs on the Maine Chess Club Directory page to twelve with no signs of abatement!
The George Cunningham Chess Club at the University of Maine, Orono is back online for the 2006 -2007 academic year. Come on down for skittles, serious chess, blitz or theme tournaments. For those not familiar with theme tournaments, all players start their games with a previously chosen opening variation. This week's variation is the first seven moves of the Open Ruy Lopez. It's a great way to explore the middle and endgame positions arising from a particular opening.
