<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>washingtonpost.com - Chess</title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/columns/chess?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><description>Chess</description><language>en-us</language><ttl>15</ttl><image><title>washingtonpost.com</title><width>140</width><height>20</height><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com</link><url>http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/hp/image/wp_web.gif</url></image><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61582-2005Apr17.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61582-2005Apr17.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Baseball returned triumphantly to Washington last Thursday after 34 years. "Luckily, it is not a national pastime in Russia," joked Garry Kasparov on Friday after he got hit over the  head with a wooden chessboard he had just autographed. He was speaking to young political activists in Moscow when the attack occurred. The 13th official world chess champion survived the brush with Russian politics with only a bump. Let's hope his political opponents don't discover baseball bats.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42687-2005Apr10.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42687-2005Apr10.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  On Wednesday Garry Kasparov, the world's best player in the last two decades, will turn 42. After he retired from professional competition last month he was asked what his greatest game was. He pointed to his encounter against Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov, played in the Dutch coastal town of Wijk aan Zee in 1999. Later in an interview with his friend Michael Greengard, Kasparov called the game "the best combination ever."]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23883-2005Apr3.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23883-2005Apr3.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Vishy Anand, the world's top-rated grandmaster among active players, dominated the 14th Melody Amber tournament in Monaco last week. The Indian superstar scored eight points in 11 games in the blindfold competition and left his nearest rivals two points behind. In the rapid event, Anand scored 7.5 points, edging Alexander Morozevich of Russia by a half point. Anand triumphed over many of the world's best players with a combined score of 15.5 points in 22 games. Morozevich finished second with 13 points.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5689-2005Mar27.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5689-2005Mar27.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Two world champions, who don't play competitive chess anymore, made the headlines last week. Both expressed high opinions about their skills. Last Tuesday, Bobby Fischer was granted Icelandic citizenship, which may protect him from extradition to the United States. Two days later he flew from Japan to his new adopted country. The 24-hour journey ended in the middle of the night at the Reykjavik airport and suggested an extraterrestrial landing. The next day Fischer declared that he does not play the old chess, but added: "Obviously, if I did, I would be the best."]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52498-2005Mar20.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52498-2005Mar20.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Garry Kasparov retired from professional competition after he won the tournament in Linares, Spain, this month. You could see it coming when he declared in January that he was through with world championship play. "We have been going to tournaments for 30 years," his mother and closest supporter, Klara, said. Her son was the world's top-rated player for the last two decades. He played eight world championship matches and held the world title for 15 years. It's an amazing feat that may never be surpassed.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32536-2005Mar13.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32536-2005Mar13.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Happy birthday, Bent Larsen! The legendary Danish grandmaster and world championship candidate turned 70 on March 4. An optimist by nature, Larsen was one of the fiercest fighters in the last century and one of the few players capable of challenging the Soviets for the world championship. He came close, participating in seven Candidates matches. But when his chances were the best, he was stopped twice by players who became world champions: Boris Spassky in 1968 and Bobby Fischer in 1971.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12632-2005Mar6.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12632-2005Mar6.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Great chess players are not getting any younger. Bent Larsen, one of the most original and fascinating players of the last century, celebrated his 70th birthday last Friday. We will have more next week about the Danish grandmaster, who was once acknowledged as the "tournament world champion."]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58771-2005Feb27.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58771-2005Feb27.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Emil Sutovsky, an Israeli grandmaster, won the spectacular Aeroflot Open in Moscow last Thursday and qualified for a super-tournament in Dortmund, Germany. The former world junior champion shared first place with Vladimir Akopian of Armenia, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, and two Russians, Andrei Kharlov and Alexander Motylev. They all scored 6 1/2  points in nine games, but Sutovsky won the tie-break, playing more games with the black pieces.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40632-2005Feb20.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40632-2005Feb20.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Two major open tournaments collided last week in Europe. The event at Cappelle-la-Grande, France, attracted 590 players from 52 countries. It finished Saturday with international master David Shengelia of Georgia and grandmaster Michail Brodsky of Ukraine sharing first place with 7.5 points in nine games.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21961-2005Feb13.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21961-2005Feb13.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  The prestigious 2004 Book of the Year Award at ChessCafe.com went to Pal Benko and Jeremy Silman for their impressive "Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions." It is their second success; they also won the 2004 British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award for the same work.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3613-2005Feb6.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3613-2005Feb6.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Garry Kasparov never played Bobby Fischer and never will. "Wait a minute," says Bohumir Stedron, author of an article titled "Forecasts of Artificial Intelligence,"don't be so sure." In the March-April  2004 issue of the Futurist, Stedron predicted that by 2050 we will be able to mimic human thought processes. Does this mean we could create as many Fischers and Kasparovs as we wanted? "In theory we could," he says, "but we should only create one of each and protect them by copyright."]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50091-2005Jan30.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50091-2005Jan30.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[Peter Leko, the  Hungarian world championship challenger, won the prestigious Corus tournament yesterday in the Dutch coastal town of Wijk aan Zee. He was the only undefeated player in the event, scoring 8 1/2  points in 13 games. Last year's winner, Vishy Anand of India, finished with eight points. Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria was third with 7 1/2  points. The world champion Vladimir Kramnik and his Russian compatriot Alexander Grischuk, together with Judit Polgar of Hungary and England's Michael Adams, all scored seven points. The Dutchman Loek van Wely, Ukraine's Ruslan Ponomariov and Lazaro Bruzon of Cuba finished with 6 1/2  points, a 50 percent score. Russia's Peter Svidler had six points; England's Nigel Short ended with 5 1/2  points; Alexander Morozevich of Russia with 4 1/2  points and Ivan Sokolov of the Netherlands was last with 3 1/2  points.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31538-2005Jan23.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31538-2005Jan23.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Yesterday,  the top-rated Vishy Anand of India and the classical world champion, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, played each other to a draw at the prestigious 14-player Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee,  Netherlands. After suffering setbacks in the second round, they fought well last week and made up the deficit. After eight rounds Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov is in the lead with 5 1/2 points. He is followed by Anand, England's Michael Adams and Hungary's Peter Leko, all with 5 points. Kramnik and Alexander Grischuk of Russia have 4 1/2 points. All these grandmasters have a chance to win the event, which concludes Sunday.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14674-2005Jan16.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14674-2005Jan16.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Indian superstar Vishy Anand is the highest-rated player among the 14 colorful grandmasters at the traditional Corus tournament, underway in the Dutch coastal town of Wijk aan Zee. Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria was leading after yesterday's second round with two wins, against former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov and the current classical world champion, Vladimir Kramnik.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61895-2005Jan9.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61895-2005Jan9.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Arnold Denker, the dean of American chess, passed away on Jan. 2 at age 90. Denker became U.S. champion in 1944 and successfully defended the title in 1946 in a match against Herman Steiner. He also won six Manhattan Chess Club championships. In 1950 he became an international master, and in 1981 FIDE awarded him the title of honorary grandmaster. His major international success came in 1946 in a star-studded tournament in the Dutch city of Groningen, where he shared 10th-12th  places.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43457-2005Jan2.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43457-2005Jan2.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[ In the January 2005 rating list issued by the World Chess Federation (FIDE), Garry Kasparov of Russia is still on  top with a 2804 rating. Vishy Anand of India is second with 2786; Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov moves to the third spot with 2757. World champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia has 2754, and his opponent, Peter Leko of Hungary, is fifth with 2749. Russia's Alexander Morozevich and England's Michael Adams share a  rating of 2741. Peter Svidler, a four-time Russian champion, has 2735. The top woman in the world, Judit Polgar of Hungary, has a 2728 rating. Etienne Bacrot of France closes the Top 10 list with 2715.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS  Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28097-2004Dec26.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28097-2004Dec26.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Here are some events making the chess headlines as the year draws to a close:]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS  Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12509-2004Dec19.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12509-2004Dec19.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[  Upon my arrival at the JFK Airport in New York from Europe on Wednesday, the U.S. customs official quickly found out that chess is my profession and said: "The kid won it!"]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60122-2004Dec12.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60122-2004Dec12.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   Grandmaster Simen Agdestein is a former Norwegian soccer star, who turned into a wonderful chess coach. He wrote a fascinating book about his famous pupil called "Wonderboy," subtitled "How Magnus Carlsen Became the Youngest Chess Grandmaster in the World." Recently issued by New in Chess, it is a candid tale that may inspire and help other young players and their parents. The lightly annotated but exciting games complete  the picture of  a prodigy who, according to Garry Kasparov, is the best talent among today's young players.]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item><item><title><![CDATA[CHESS Lubomir Kavalek]]></title><link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38310-2004Dec5.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38310-2004Dec5.html?nav=rss_style/columns/chess</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2005 7:31:00 GMT</pubDate><description><![CDATA[   British master Peter Hugh Clarke, a former chess correspondent of the Sunday Times in London, once wrote that short draws are necessary, a means of conserving energy. "As such they can contribute to raising the standard of play rather than lowering it," he said. He would not dare to run this excuse by Erik Anderson, the man behind recent U.S. championships and the founder of the America for Chess Foundation. Anderson hates short draws, and anybody who tries them earns his wrath. But aren't short draws more honest than a spectacular game that copied recently published analysis leading to a perpetual check?]]></description><author> Lubomir Kavalek</author></item></channel></rss>