 "Chess (#1143)")
Mariya Muzychuk is the new women's world champion. She will have a title defence against Hou Yifan at the end of 2015. China has already reportedly made a bid to host the match. The younger and lower-rated of the Muzychuk sisters beat Natalia Pogonina 2.5-1.5 in the finals of the Sochi Knockout.
Muzychuk won game 2, which was the only decision in the four-gamer. She gradually built an irresistible attack, despite missing several quick wins. Mariya was also within an ace of winning Game 3 where both players missed a little trick that turned a drawish rook endgame into a win. However, Muzychuk held draws without trouble to hold her lead.
The US championships with the highest ratings in history is now being played. World number 3 Hikaru Nakamura leads with 4.5 from 6 and a 2840 performance. Ray Robson is in clear second with 4. Alexander Onscihuk, Samuel Sevian and Wesley So share 3-5 with 3.5 each. The world number 8, So has lost two games so far, to Robson and Sevian (who is the youngest ever US-born GM). Nakamura is lucky to be undefeated.
St. Louis (where the US championships is played) will host a nostalgia match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short, who contested a seminal title match in London, in 1993, after setting up the Professional Chessplayers Association. That PCA match led to a breach with Fide and a strange situation where there was no universally recognised world champion for years.
Kasparov and Short will play two rapid and eight blitz games on April 25-26. The former world champion is long retired at 52 but he's likely to take this exhibition very seriously. Short, of course, remains both an active and a strong GM.
The Aeroflot Open ended in triumph for Ian Nepomniachtchi who scored 7/9 and had a better tiebreak than Daniil Dubov (also 7). Ivan Bukashin (6.5) was third. Of the Indian contingent, Krishnan Sasikiran (5) started well but faded. The best Indian performance came from Baskaran Adhiban (5.5). The Dubai Open, which also has a strong field, has just kicked off, so there's will be plenty of quality chess over the rest of April.
The DIAGRAM, WHITE TO PLAY (White: Robson Vs Black: So, US Chp 2015) is from a wild time scramble. If 31.Bb6 Bb3! 32.Bxd8 Qxd8 33.Rd3 Bxa4 34.Qxa4 Rxb7 Black stays better but white played 31.Ba7?! Qe7? Black had the killer 31...Rxb7! 32.Qxb7 Bd5 33.Qc7 Bxg2! 34. Kxg2 Qg4+ 35.Kf1 Qxd1+ 36.Kg2 Qg4+
Play continued 32.Bxb8 Rxb8 33.Bf3 Qxb4 34.a5 g5 35.h3 Qxb2 36.Qd6 Rc8? Black has messed up. This loses. 37.Qxe5! h6 38.Qxd4 Qxd4 39.Rxd4 Rc1+ 40.Rd1 Rc7 41a6 Ra7 42.Bb7 (1-0).
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player
Muzychuk won game 2, which was the only decision in the four-gamer. She gradually built an irresistible attack, despite missing several quick wins. Mariya was also within an ace of winning Game 3 where both players missed a little trick that turned a drawish rook endgame into a win. However, Muzychuk held draws without trouble to hold her lead.
The US championships with the highest ratings in history is now being played. World number 3 Hikaru Nakamura leads with 4.5 from 6 and a 2840 performance. Ray Robson is in clear second with 4. Alexander Onscihuk, Samuel Sevian and Wesley So share 3-5 with 3.5 each. The world number 8, So has lost two games so far, to Robson and Sevian (who is the youngest ever US-born GM). Nakamura is lucky to be undefeated.
St. Louis (where the US championships is played) will host a nostalgia match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short, who contested a seminal title match in London, in 1993, after setting up the Professional Chessplayers Association. That PCA match led to a breach with Fide and a strange situation where there was no universally recognised world champion for years.
Kasparov and Short will play two rapid and eight blitz games on April 25-26. The former world champion is long retired at 52 but he's likely to take this exhibition very seriously. Short, of course, remains both an active and a strong GM.
The Aeroflot Open ended in triumph for Ian Nepomniachtchi who scored 7/9 and had a better tiebreak than Daniil Dubov (also 7). Ivan Bukashin (6.5) was third. Of the Indian contingent, Krishnan Sasikiran (5) started well but faded. The best Indian performance came from Baskaran Adhiban (5.5). The Dubai Open, which also has a strong field, has just kicked off, so there's will be plenty of quality chess over the rest of April.
The DIAGRAM, WHITE TO PLAY (White: Robson Vs Black: So, US Chp 2015) is from a wild time scramble. If 31.Bb6 Bb3! 32.Bxd8 Qxd8 33.Rd3 Bxa4 34.Qxa4 Rxb7 Black stays better but white played 31.Ba7?! Qe7? Black had the killer 31...Rxb7! 32.Qxb7 Bd5 33.Qc7 Bxg2! 34. Kxg2 Qg4+ 35.Kf1 Qxd1+ 36.Kg2 Qg4+
Play continued 32.Bxb8 Rxb8 33.Bf3 Qxb4 34.a5 g5 35.h3 Qxb2 36.Qd6 Rc8? Black has messed up. This loses. 37.Qxe5! h6 38.Qxd4 Qxd4 39.Rxd4 Rc1+ 40.Rd1 Rc7 41a6 Ra7 42.Bb7 (1-0).
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player