World Championships
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WCC 2008: Kramnik crushes Anand, closes gap
Vladimir Kramnik came roaring back with a convincing victory over Viswanathan Anand in an interesting Nimzo-Indian. All pundits were speculating that Anand could close the deal with a draw, but the game entered a sharp middlegame where Anand went astray and his position collapsed in only a few moves. It…
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WCC 2008: Anand escapes, holds +3
Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik pawn off. Photo by Frederic Friedel (ChessBase). “I thought I was lost,” stated Viswanathan Anand during the press conference of the World Chess Championship in Bonn, Germany. Indeed. Fans near and far thought this was Vladimir Kramnik’s chance to close the gap. There are a…
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WCC 2008: Kramnik has failed to break through
Vladimir Kramnik went into this highly-anticipated match with a reputation as a superb match player. While his reputation is more legend than fact (having lost several matches), he is the only player to have beaten Garry Kasparov in a match. Kramnik was actually a slight favorite in this match, but…
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WCC 2008: Anand powers ahead of Kramnik!
Viswanathan Anand is known as the ‘Tiger from Chennai’. On Friday he showed his strength after he took the lead in a highly anticipated match with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. Game three featured a complicated Meran variation in which Anand unfurled a novelty in 14…Bb7! This pawn sacrifice helped…
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2008 World Championship (Anand vs. Kramnik)
The big downdown will commence in Bonn, Germany in a few days. World Champion Viswanathan Anand will play in perhaps the biggest match of his life and a chance to cement his legacy among the world’s greatest players in chess history. His opponent… Vladimir Kramnik, who defeated Garry Kasparov in…
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2007 World Cup Chess has begun!
Angola’s Pedro Aderito facing the Ukraine’s Vassily Ivanchuk on board #1. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Alexander Filippenko (governor of Khanty-Mansiysk) make the ceremonial first move. The World Cup Chess Championship has begun and the African contingent has fought valiantly but have bowed out. Only Essam El-Gindy could break into…
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2007 World Chess Championship (Mexico City)
The 2007 World Chess Championship has begun! The games started today and from all indications the games have started off with a fighting spirit… despite the draws. The field is as follows: Participants Viswanathan Anand (India 2792) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia 2769) Alexander Morozevich (Russia 2758) Peter Leko (Hungary 2751) Levon Aronian…
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World Championship Cycle… improvement?
Has anyone figured out the new World Championship cycle? FIDE released a report of changes made essentially to accommodate former FIDE champion, Veselin Topalov. As you all know, Bulgaria’s Topalov played Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik in a match last year… and lost amidst the ‘toiletgate’ controversy. Here’s a Google of ‘toiletgate chess‘…
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Historic Moments: Africans in the 2004 FIDE World Championship
Clockwise (L-R) GM Hichem Hamdouchi (Morocco), IM Amon Simutowe (Zambia), IM Ahmed Adly (Egypt) and IM-elect Kenny Solomon (South Africa). The Dawn of a New Beginning The 2004 FIDE World Knockout Championship was a historic event for many reasons. First, it is the next step toward unification; secondly, the tournament…
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