People in Chess

GM Ashley’s Millionaire Chess Open

 in Chess Events / People in Chess by
GM Maurice Ashley continues to garner attention as he promotes his Millionaire Chess open, set for Las Vegas in October. As he does so, he is raising numerous ideas and starting debates on various aspects of how chess events are structured, promoted, and covered while in progress.
 
Most recently, he has sparked discussions on his blog and Facebook pages on two major issues: whether large prizes should be available to amateurs, and on how to improve coverage of events to the point where the public will really follow them (if that is even possible). ChessLecture.com members probably have many ideas on the latter, and maybe on the former, too.  I suggest that you check out these links, and weigh in:

Magnus Carlsen in the United States

 in Chess Education / Chess Events / People in Chess by

As a chess player who has grown up and played almost exclusively in the United States since the 1970s, it has always been my impression that chess is thought to be more widely recognized in European cultures than in my home country, and perhaps in most other parts of the world, too.  I personally experienced the sudden surge in interest in chess nationally in 1972 as a teenager, when Bobby Fischer became world champion.  In recent years, such surges have swept India as Vishy Anand became world champ, and now sweep Norway as Magnus Carlsen inspires national pride.

I’m happy to report on some appearances by Magnus here in the US that indicate the extent that the new world champion is working to further popularize chess far beyond his native land.  This week, he is appearing for two days at what is probably the world’s largest hi-tech trade show in the world, the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, in association with a Nordic hi-tech firm:

www.facebook.com/events/552791494799402/

And next week, Magnus is presenting in California’s Silicon Valley, as described here in LM Dana Mackenzie’s blog:

http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/?p=2694

Equally significant is who is presenting Magnus to the public – one of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, chess master and PayPal founder Peter Thiel – and the venue – the Computer History Museum, which features a permanent gallery on the history of chess and computing.

Magnus is, of course, becoming a major figure among sportsmen worldwide – something only achieved by perhaps three or four grandmasters at most in modern times.  But he is also doing a great deal to promote the role of chess as an educational tool, working with the leading US chess foundation to promote use of their First Move Chess curriculum in 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms.  I, too, have been working to assist with this in more modest ways, and am very excited to see his leadership in this area.  I will have more info to share on this in the next week.

The Millionaire Chess Open

 in Chess Events / People in Chess by

As the old year ends and a new year begins, I would like to call attention to an announcement made recently by GM Maurice Ashley, who is one of the most personable and media-savvy of the many professionals who both play and promote chess at a high level.

In 2005, Maurice organized and promoted an open tournament with $500,000 in guaranteed prizes, and proved his reliability by delivering the highest quality mass-participation I have seen in over twenty years. Now, Maurice has announced the Millionaire Chess Open and invites players to join him in Las Vegas October 9-13, 2014. Here are links to the event web site, and to some early discussion of the pros and cons of such events (including some of my own views):

www.millionairechess.com
www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2013/12/28/early-reactions-to-1000000-chess/

Tournaments like this are not for everyone, but I believe they have a valuable place in inspiring both ambitious players and fun-loving chess fans alike. Everyone who visited the 2005 event came away deeply impressed, and I am confident that this will be the case next October, too.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all of our subscribers – past, present and future – from all of us at ChessLecture.com.

The 16th World Chess Champion

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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.

Following the World Championship match

 in Chess Lectures / People in Chess by

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.

Future World Champion

 in Chess Education / Lecturers / People in Chess by

The world chess championship is underway in Chennai, India, and lecturer LM Dana Mackenzie has written a somewhat tongue-in-cheek blog post looking forward 25 years to a potential future world champion: http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/?p=2620

Seriously, though, Dana honors one of his most successful former students, longtime ChessLecture.com member Elizabeth Spiegel (née Vicary), who herself is one of the United States’ most successful scholastic chess coaches ever, on the birth of her newest student. Congratulations, Elizabeth! (And watch out, Magnus?!)

For members who coach, or who wish to encourage their own or other children, there is a great documentary about the success of the inner-city Brooklyn (New York, US) kids who Elizabeth coaches, called Brooklyn Castle. Here is a great description from PBS, which showed the movie on national TV in the US last month: http://www.pbs.org/pov/brooklyncastle/. At one point, the junior high team even wins the US scholastic national championship for *high schools*.

Jude Acers, the Man in the Red Hat

 in Chess Lectures / People in Chess by
This week, I thought I’d share something interesting about one of the chess world’s most colorful characters: the New Orleans chess master Jude Acers (we don’t have an affiliation with Jude, in case you’re wondering).  Jude has been a legend amongst tourists to his city for decades, and one of the most tireless promoters of chess to the general public I am aware of.  For the past 7 years, an anonymous benefactor has paid for Jude to compete in the FIDE World Senior Chess Championship held annually in Europe, and this November, he’ll be headed there again.

There’s now a Kickstarter campaign to fund a two-person film crew to accompany him, and capture his matches there, to include in a documentary on Jude that they’ve been developing over the past two years.  See more about Jude here and on Facebook, and check out the Kickstarter campaign here.