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Last Edited: Wednesday 1 December, 2010 3:25 PMContact John Saunders' Chess Blog
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Financing a Chess Set - Payday Loans with Bad Credit

If you are in need of a short term loan to buy a chess set, there are many options available. Lenders like Wage Day Advance can offer bad credit payday loans with instant payouts. These loans can be paid back over an affordable time period and offer an alternative form of finance if you can't get a loan from your bank.


Women's World Championship, Aralik (TUR), 2-25 Dec [01/12/10]

Women's World Championship 2010 logoThe Women's World Championship is being held in Aralik, Turkey, from 2-25 December 2010. It is a 64-player knock-out competition, with mini-matches of two longplay games and rapidplay/blitz tie-breaks as necessary. Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS) is the title holder and nominally top seed (though she is 12th on rating). The favourites are probably Humpy Koneru (IND), Hou Yifan (CHN) and Tatiana Kosintseva (RUS), though the reigning champion punches above her rating in such events and must have a reasonable chance of retaining her title. England's Jovanka Houska (2421) is seeded 34th and in the first round meets Iweta Rajlich (POL, 2446, 31st seed). Official website: http://wwcc2010.tsf.org.tr/


4NCL (British Team League) [09/11/10]

The 4NCL (British Team League) started on 6-7 November at Daventry. As last season, the league is divided into three divisions, with a new, separate 4NCL Northern League. There are 16 teams in the top division, divided into two preliminary pools of eight. After two rounds, Pride & Prejudice, Barbican 1 and Betsson all have maximum points in Division 1a, while Wood Green Hilsmark 1 and White Rose have 100% points in Division 1b. Pride & Prejudice fielded seven GMs, including 2637-rated Sergei Tiviakov and 2616-rated David Howell, and many other titled players turned out. Full details at the official site: http://www.4ncl.co.uk


 

 

World Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk, 21 Sept - 3 Oct [23/09/10]

The Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad runs from 21 September to 3 October, with 1,300 competitors from 144 countries. Online coverage includes all the games live in real-time. Official website: http://www.ugra-chess.com/Online Results Database.





R.I.P. Bent Larsen [10/09/10]

Bent Larsen (1935-2010)Some very sad news: the great Danish player Bent Larsen (4 iii 1935 - 9 ix 2010) is no more. In the second half of the 1960s his light shone as bright as Bobby Fischer, brighter at times, as these two vied to be considered the leading western challenger to the Soviet stranglehold on the world title. Larsen won no fewer than three interzonals, in 1964 (Amsterdam - photo left), 1967 (Sousse) and 1976 (Biel), and played on top board ahead of Fischer for the Rest of the World in the so-called 'Match of the Century' against the Soviet Union in 1970. He was also Fischer's rival as a chess writer, bringing out his hugely influential English language edition of 50 Selected Games around the time Fischer's legendary My Sixty Memorable Games was published. Larsen's aspirations to the world title were cut short when he suffered a calamitous 0-6 defeat to Fischer in the Candidates' semi-final in 1971, and with the subsequent rise of Anatoly Karpov, but he remained a top-flight grandmaster for many years and one whose fighting attitude to the game and opening ideas remain influential to this day. He will be greatly missed.


British Championship, Canterbury, 25 Jul - 7 Aug [08/08/10]

The 97th British Chess Championship is being held at the University of Kent at Canterbury and runs from 25 July to 7 August. England number one Michael Adams heads the list of contenders for first prize. Links: official websitelive webcamlive games. Latest: Michael Adams 9½/11, Nick Pert 8, etc. See http://johnchess.blogspot.com/


BCM Contact Details [31/07/10]

Please note that as of 1 August 2010, Steve Giddins takes over from John Saunders as editor of British Chess Magazine. Thus all enquiries relating to the magazine should be forwarded to Steve from now on. All contact information for BCM can be found here. Please note that John Saunders' Chess Blog may now be found here - http://johnchess.blogspot.com/


BCM: Change of Editor [23/06/10]

After eleven years as Editor of the British Chess Magazine, John Saunders will be leaving his position with effect from the end of July 2010. The Directors of the company wish to thank John for his outstanding contribution to the magazine over the period, and to wish him all the best for the future. At the same time, we are delighted to announce that John’s successor as Editor will be FM Steve Giddins. Steve needs little introduction to BCM readers or the British chess community in general, having been a regular contributor to the BCM in the past... [read more]


British Chess Into the Nineties [30/03/10]

... but we are already into the 2010s, you ask? Well, yes, but it is interesting to look back at this particular article by Glenn Flear which was published in BCM in March 1990. In it, he advocates the formation of a British National League, based on the French league model, with some of his own suggestions and modifications. Three years later, Glenn's dream came true - the 4NCL started in October 1993, with many of the features which the perspicacious English grandmaster had formulated some three years earlier. Perhaps his part in formulating the 4NCL should be more widely recognised. Well worth a read... click here to read it.


R.I.P. Vasily Smyslov (1921-2010) [27/03/10]

Vasily Smyslov in 1954The 7th world chess champion, Vasily Vasilievich Smyslov, died this morning. Reports suggest he died of a heart attack. His dates were 24.3.1921 to 26.3.2010 (he died on the night of Friday/Saturday 26/27 March - subsequent reports indicate that he died around midnight). We will publish a full obituary in the May issue of BCM. Other links: http://e3e5.com/ (the news was first published here) • WikipediaGuardian obituary (by Leonard Barden) • ChessBase obituary.








128th Varsity Match, Oxford vs Cambridge, 6 March [06/03/10]

The 128th Varsity match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities was played on 6 March 2010 at the RAC Club in London's Pall Mall. The match was drawn 4-4. Click here for more information.


BCM, January 2010 - London Chess Classic Souvenir Issue [18/01/10]

BCM January issueCarlsen - probably the best chessplayer in the worldIt came out a little later than normal - apologies to subscribers - but we were eager to include a full report of the London Chess Classic won by Magnus Carlsen. There are no fewer than 40 pages on this elite event, including many colour photos. It was quite simply the finest tournament played in London for a quarter of a century. Order your souvenir copy now!







The Gambit Chess Rooms (1898-1958) [10/02/02]

A little bit of chess history: the Gambit Chess Rooms, in Budge Row, were one of London's favourite chess haunts. They closed just over fifty years ago. Here is an article from the March 1958 issue of British Chess Magazine by John Roycroft, giving a flavour of their atmosphere, to go with some recent footage released by British Pathe, showing the Gambit Chess Rooms in 1946.


Hastings Congress, 28 Dec 2009 - 5 Jan 2010 [06/01/10]

The 85th Hastings International Chess Congress takes place from 28 December 2009 to 5 January 2010 at the Horntye Park Sports Complex in Hastings. Once again the event is being generously sponsored by Hastings Borough Council, with additional local support. GM David Howell, who did so well at the London Chess Classic, is amongst the line-up in the Hastings Masters Tournament, which is a nine-round Swiss system event running from 28 December to 5 January ... click here for further details • Official Website: www.hastingschess.org.ukLatest: The joint winners were Andrei Istratescu (ROU), Mark Hebden (ENG), David Howell (ENG) and Romain Edouard (FRA) on 7/9. England's Jonathan Hawkins secured his final IM norm and probably enough rating points to get the title • BCMChess Blog. Games: View/Download Games from the 2009/10 Hastings Masters (via BritBase.co.uk - complete games)


2010 Gibtelecom Festival [31/12/09]

Hou YifanThe 8th Gibtelecom Chess Festival runs from Tuesday 26 January 2010 to Thursday 4 February 2010 at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. The Gibtelecom Masters line-up grows ever stronger. After application of the January 2010 ratings, the top players are:  Etienne Bacrot (FRA 2713g), closely followed by Sergei Movsesian(SVK 2708g) and Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP 2705g). Other star names are Michael Adams (ENG 2694g) and Gata Kamsky (USA 2693g). The women's field has suddenly become stronger than ever. As well as world number two woman player Humpy Koneru (IND 2614g), we hope to have (fingers crossed, if her visa application is on time) the world number three - Hou Yifan (CHN 2590g - see photo above) - and the current Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS 2523g). Alexandra isn't the only world champion - we have the sensational brother and sister duo from Peru, Jorge and Deysi Cori Tello - Jorge is the world under-14 champion and on the brink of becoming a GM aged 14 - and Deysi is the world girls under-16 champion. There are now comprehensive lists of all players entered in the tournament on the official website - http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com. Also see the BCMChess Blog.


London Chess Classic, 8-15 Dec [02/12/09]

Click here for further infoMalcolm Pein reports: The London Chess Classic takes place from 8-15 December 2009 at the Olympia Conference Centre. It will be the highest level tournament in London for 25 years and will be the first in a series of events designed to increase enthusiasm for chess in the UK and promote the game and its undoubted educational benefits in schools and communities. England's four leading grandmasters; Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell will be pitched against a world-class field that comprises: former world champion Vladimir Kramnik; 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen, ranked world number two, now coached by Garry Kasparov and widely seen as a future holder of the world crown; one of China's finest players, Ni Hua; and the US Champion Hikaru Nakamura. Adult tickets are £10 per day or £50 for all seven rounds. Official website: http://www.londonchessclassic.com/Latest (24/11/09): Open tournament entries include HAMMER, Jon Ludvig, 2588g (NOR); CONQUEST, Stuart C, 2563g (ENG); WILLIAMS, Simon K, 2550g (ENG); HEBDEN, Mark L, 2522g (ENG); WELLS, Peter K, 2489g (ENG); SUMMERSCALE, Aaron P, 2449g (ENG); MCDONALD, Neil, 2412g (ENG); Viktor Korchnoi will be the guest of honour at the tournament. Click here for further details - and apply to play Korchnoi in a simultaneous display. Plus full details of the FIDE Open tournament and other subsidiary events to be held alongside.


Obituary: Richard O'Brien (1944-2009) [02/12/09]

Some very sad news: well-known chess arbiter, organiser and publisher Richard O'Brien has died, aged 65. His friend and club-mate FM Andrew Smith has written an obituary - click here to read.


London Chess Classic Women's Invitational [08/11/09]

Lawrence Cooper reports: I have at least one spare place in the London Chess Classic Women's Invitational which takes place from 8-15 December at the London Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington. It is a ten-player, nine-round all-play-all and WIM norms will be available. Please apply to Lawrence Cooper for further details. Entry fee is £100 and includes access to the The Classic which includes world number two Magnus Carlsen, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik as well as England's top four players.

 


Britbase

http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase

Best and most comprehensive source of British tournament games available for free download in zipped PGN format, many not available anywhere else.
http://www.saund.co.uk/britbase