Monthly Archives: November 2013

Today began with the official ceremony recognizing Magnus Carlsen as the 16th World Chess Champion, in the line of undisputed world champions that began with Wilhelm Steinitz in 1886.

Magnus – who will celebrate his 23rd birthday in less than a week from now (November 30) – becomes the second youngest champion in history; Garry Kasparov was five months younger in 1985, when, at 22, he broke the record set by then-23-year-old Mikhail Tal in 1960. Kasparov reigned continuously from 1985 until 2000. Viswanathan Anand, who became the 15th World Champion in 2007, had successfully defended his title three times in matches prior to this month. We join the entire chess world in congratulating both the old and the new world champions.

In honor of his victory, we’re offering a bundle of ten lectures on previous games by Magnus – nine by IM David Vigorito and plus one by GM Jesse Kraai – which we’ve collected on DVD as “Magnus Madness” and “Carlsen’s Black Magic & Carlsen in Baku”. Each is normally $19.95, we’re offering the two as a bundle for $29.95 in our store. Member discounts apply to this price – 40% for platinum and gold, 30% for silver and 20% for bronze – and this offer will remain available for holiday gifts through December 25th.

Like me, I’m sure that many of you are following the world championship match with great interest. The amount of live coverage, and ongoing discussion, is huge – with analysis and opinions evolving almost minute by minute.

As I write this, seven of the scheduled twelve games have been played, and nobody knows if many twists and turns lie ahead. But one thing is certain: what we see appearing on the chessboard is only the visible part of preparation, and of the analysis and judgments made at the board during the games.

In the coming weeks, our team of lecturers will find many of the great “teachable moments” for you, and will plumb the depths of the strategies – both those shown at the board, and those hidden below the surface – for you.

With all of the great players who have been commenting daily – both during the game, and then in hurriedly written articles in the ensuing hours – it seems like sometimes the most basic underlying truths can be easily overlooked. Then, suddenly, one comment makes it all clear, such as GM Hikaru Nakamura’s tweet after game six, “…can someone tell me why Anand eschewed 53.b3 which led to a theoretical draw?” And indeed, none of the commentators seemed to have noticed that the theoretically drawn endgame of rook plus f- and h-pawns vs. rook could be reached, and that Anand should hold the draw. We will bring you these kinds of insights, which only the most talented players in the world seem to be able to produce right on the spot.