Iron Fist

chess24.com (@chess24com)

“I have long thought that moving to an annual knock-out event, similar to the World Cup, would be more equitable”, 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen writes on his Facebook wall. “This change would in effect improve the odds of becoming World Champion for nearly every chess player, with the exception of the reigning World Champion, and potentially a few other top players who would no longer be favoured by the current format”.

16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen
Photo: Fred Jonny Hammeroe

TKO (Technical Knockout)

Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen)

“I have long thought that moving to an annual knock-out event, similar to the World Cup, would be more equitable”, 16th World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen writes on his Facebook wall. “This change would in effect improve the odds of becoming World Champion for nearly every chess player, with the exception of the reigning World Champion, and potentially a few other top players who would no longer be favoured by the current format”.

The Arrangement

In international chess, it was announced recently that FIDE and the Ukrainian Chess Federation have agreed that the Ukrainians would host the Women’s Chess Championship match between the current champ, Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine, and former women’s world champion Hóu Yìfán of China in Lviv, Ukraine, in March, 2016. No other details were provided. There was also no mention of Hóu having any input into the selection of a site in Muzychuk’s backyard. And there was no indication of whether Hóu had yet actually challenged Muzychuk, which is required for there to be a match at all. [Read more].

• Harold Dondis and Chris Chase, Chess Notes, The Boston Globe, July 19, 2015

Artwork: yomerome

回到未来 (Back to the Future)

Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, has rarely tasted defeat in his long playing career. But on Monday, in an election for the presidency of the World Chess Federation, the game’s governing body, Mr. Kasparov received a stinging rebuke in his effort to unseat the incumbent, Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov. Mr. Ilyumzhinov won handily, by a vote of 110 to 61 in Tromsø, Norway. [Read more].

Photo: @Ilyumzhinov

• Dylan Loeb McClain, Kasparov Loses Bid for Helm of World Chess Federation, The New York Times, August 11, 2014
• Kirsan wins election, as expected, Spraggett on Chess, August 11, 2014

Innocence in Extremis

Breaking news: “There will be a Chess Olympiad”, Chess News, 5 giugno 2014

To Tromsø with Style, Chess News, 5 giugno 2014

Lonely Planet – Norway

The times they are a-changin’

Dal 2 al 3 febbraio si sono svolti a Singapore il I Campionato Nazionale di scacchi960 (Fischerandom Chess) e il I Campionato Nazionale di Quadriglia (bughouse), organizzati in tandem dalla Federazione Scacchistica di Singapore e dal Club Mindsports Club della Singapore Management University. Mentre i Fischerandom Chess sono già contemplati (in appendice) dalle “FIDE LAWS of CHESS” (cfr. pp. 22-23), non ci sono ancora regole universali per la variante Quadriglia. Due giocatori singaporiani hanno però elaborato un prontuario di regole ad hoc per il Campionato e ne proporranno l’inserimento – tramite apposito comma – nelle FIDE LAWS. In bocca al lupo!
Per ulteriori informazioni e dettagli rimandiamo all’appassionato reportage di Leung Weiwen per ChessBase.com, 7 febbraio 2013.

Robert James Fischer