This blog has moved

This blog has now moved address to:

http://www.geniusprophecy.com/

The move has transitioned smoothly. As far as I can see, the email subscriptions have been successfully transferred to the new address so followers do not need to take any action.

New Facebook Like Option

You can now choose to 'like' GeniusProphecy Chess using your Facebook account. Either do it on the GP Chess homepage or follow this blog link. Please support our website!

Greatest Chess Performances

I have added a new section to the homepage called 'Greatest Chess Performances'. It is split into two subheadings - 'Greatest of All Time' and 'Greatest Modern Performances', the latter which I am yet to fully compile. So far, there are games from Karpov, Kasparov, Lasker, Tal, Alekhine and Carlsen.

Bent Larsen passes away at 75

The well-known Danish Grandmaster Jørgen Bent Larsen (1935-2010) passed away on the 12th of September 2010 after a short illness at the age of 75. Born in Tilsted (near Thisted), Denmark, he is considered to be the strongest chess player ever born in Denmark and the strongest to be born in the Scandinavian region at least until the emergence of Magnus Carlsen. Larsen was a world-class player, winning the Danish Championship at least 6 times, and was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on four occasions. Larsen was awarded the first Chess Oscar in 1967.

Click here to see ChessBase's tribute article to Bent Larsen and Lubomir Kavalek's dedication in The Huffington Post.

Reasons for Playing Chess

In a time of growing uncertainty, I have recently pondered my own motivations for playing chess. After delving to the edge of human knowledge (just kidding!), I have come to better appreciate the royal game we play. The reasons one plays chess is often difficult to explain, particularly to those who do not share our passion. I have tried to break down this reasoning scientifically.

Click here to see the article "Reasons for Playing Chess". Note that the clearly inferior article "Why Play Chess" has now become a 'subset' of this piece.

Yes, chess is a sport

Of course chess is a sport, what were you worried about? It is easy to argue chess as a mind sport, but people are often doubtful to call chess a full-fledged sport. However, the skeptics can be silenced when you flamboyantly proclaim that chess is a recognised sport of the International Olympic Committee. Whilst the IOC does approve of chess, it does not feature in the Olympics. Presumably, this is because it is too difficult to arrange - anyway, we already have a World Championship, World Cup and World Teams Olympiad! Any addition of a further world-class tournament would just be confusing.

Here is the visual evidence, from Wikipedia:

A new elusive chess engine

A new free chess engine called Houdini (version 1.03a) has purportedly overtaken Deep Rybka 4 in playing strength! The IPON rating list places Houdini first in front of several big names like Rybka, Stockfish and Naum. Houdini borrows many ideas from the source codes of Ippolit/Robbolito, Stockfish and Crafty, and is hence released as free software.

Click here to visit the Houdini website.

Age is no barrier!

I recently read this paragraph that English Grandmaster Nigel Davies (aged 50) wrote: "Perhaps this... has led to the belief that it is impossible for someone to improve their chess after a certain age. Frankly, I believe this view is total poppycock; players can improve their chess at any age as long as they adopt an effective approach." I think this is sufficient evidence to justify that the excuse of old age has been busted.

On a separate note, I have expanded the Building a chess repertoire article with two new sections: How to learn an opening (coincidentally also based on recommendations from Nigel Davies) and a tip on studying complete games (adapted from English International Master Andrew Martin).

New Chess Ebook!

I have released an ebook called Opening Repertoire Suggestions in PDF format. This is a completely overhauled, revised and updated version of my original "Opening Repertoire Suggestions" article on the GP Chess Website.

I present two opening repertoires. One for those who have limited study time and require systems that are simple to learn but still carry some bite. The other one is a 'strategic repertoire' for those who have more time to dedicate to chess, but who do not have the stomach to digest the main lines.

Video Vault Sample

Here is a sample to my new Chess Openings Video Vault.

Nimzo-Indian Defense (Part I):



If you are viewing this by email, click here to see the sample video.

Chess Openings Video Vault

The Chess Openings Video Vault is an exciting new product offered at GeniusProphecy Chess. It is a collection of videos and files providing helpful summaries of a range of chess openings.

Click here for more information on the Chess Openings Video Vault.

Chess-boxing

Chess-boxing is a trendy new hybrid sport involving alternating rounds of chess and boxing. The creative idea has attracted much attention in Europe. It is excellent that a byproduct of the new sport is to create more awareness of normal chess and hopefully this will lead to more sponsorship for chess events around the world.

Click here to learn more about the mechanics of chess-boxing.

Chess Questions

I have created a new page for Frequently Asked Chess Questions. I will add to this question bank over time.

I have already compiled two common questions:

Why is chess so attractive?

When I was taking a look at the demographics for my YouTube channel, I assumed that most people who watched my videos were probably teenagers. I was surprised to find that, by a large margin, most people who watched my videos were aged 35-44. Perhaps this is the age that one comes back to board games which they didn't feel were interesting earlier in their lives!

People have an attraction to chess for a variety of different reasons. Hence, everybody has their own answer to this question. In many cases, I believe the desire to win plays a large part. The feeling of a good win is more satisfying than winning in almost any other primitive battle. It is also a fun pastime, and an enjoyable way to make and spend time with friends...

Why do so few women play chess?

I don't think anyone really knows the answer to this question, but the reason generally put forward is social conditioning, as women are less aggressive by nature. Perhaps also, men tend to be more obsessive and women are far too sensible to persist in playing a board game, unless they can reach the world elite.

With the knowledge that less than 5% of chess players are women, I think it is easy to explain why there are so few women in the list of top chess players...

Click here to see the full article "Frequently Asked Chess Questions".

New Free Multi-Processor Rybka Version

With the release of the new Deep Rybka 4 (which can be purchased commercially), the Rybka team also released a multi-processor version for free download. The previous free version was Rybka 2.2n2, and we can now add Rybka 2.3.2a to the list. This engine is slightly stronger according to the CEGT rating list, with a rating of 2980. Originally, the single processor version of 2.3.2a was available via a highly obscure method, but the multi-processor version was not. Now both versions are downloadable from the Official Rybka website. You can find a discussion of the old Rybka 2.2n2 in my Free Chess Programs article.

Online Qualifiers and Updated Articles

I have expanded upon my articles on correspondence chess and playing chess online. The CC article now includes a list of advantages of correspondence and I also have revised some of the technical details.

Apart from revising the online chess article, I also added a new section on online qualifying tournaments. The text makes reference to the Gibtelecom Chess Festival and Dos Hermanas, but there is actually a series of qualifying tournaments on right now. Running on the weekend of May 28th-30th, Internet Chess Club members can take part in the Arctic Chess Challenge qualifier with the winner receiving automatic invite, air fare, hotel & breakfast and 400 ($485) euro cash prize! There will also be an additional $700 on offer for prizes on the ICC during the online qualifier.

Click here for more information about the Arctic Chess Challenge 2010.

Anand Wins World Championship

Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (2787, IND) retained the World Championship title by successfully defending it against challenger Veselin Topalov (2805, BUL). I remember watching the 12th game online last night. Anand and Topalov were on an equal score. The opening was the Queen's Gambit Declined and the middlegame looked very drawish to me. I went to sleep fully expecting that the game was drawn and the World Championship would be taken into extra tie-break games, but I was surprised today to learn that Anand had won. He had played ambitiously against Topalov's passive play and was able to break through.

Here are the final results (click the image to enlarge):



I will give an overview of all the games shortly. Watch my 2010 Topalov-Anand World Chess Championship page for any updates. Currently, I have discussed 6 of the games from the WCC, and I will add the other 6 very soon.

Lilienthal passes away at 99

Hungarian Grandmaster Andor Lilienthal (1911-2010) passed away yesterday at the age of 99. Born in Moscow, he spent the vast majority of his life in Hungary. He has scored wins against World Champions José Raúl Capablanca, Emanuel Lasker, Vasily Smyslov, Max Euwe and Mikhail Botvinnik, and has also beaten other greats such as Najdorf, Tartakower, Bronstein and Taimanov. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living grandmaster, and the last surviving person from the original group of grandmasters awarded the title by FIDE in 1950.

Click here to see ChessBase's tribute article to Andor Arnoldovich Lilienthal.

Midway into Topalov-Anand World Championship

We are halfway through the 2010 Topalov-Anand World Chess Championship. Anand is currently leading 3.5-2.5. His early opening deviations (from previous games in the same match), aiming to bypass Topalov's preparation, are working well for him.



(Click image for enlargement.)

I have written a summary of all the games of the match so far. This summary page will be updated again at the end of the match.

2010 World Chess Championship

The 2010 World Chess Championship is currently being played out. The match is being played from April 24 to May 13, 2010 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is a traditional one-on-one challenger vs champion match. The combatants are Challenger Veselin Topalov (2805, Bulgaria) and World Champion Viswanathan Anand (2787, India).

The World Championship is a twelve-game match, with a prize fund of 2 million euros.



(Click the image for enlargement.)

Interesting note: the Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen (2813) very recently took up the FIDE No.1 World Ranking, displacing Topalov who had been No.1 for a while.

New Strategy Games Section

I have created a very primitive Strategy Games Section on the homepage. The purpose of the section is to discuss other strategy games similar to chess. Currenly, poker and the Rubik's Cube are considered. Although I may add another game such as checkers or shogi, I don't have any real plans to expand it.