Entrevista de Magnus Carlsen a revista Time

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Magnus Carlsen en 'Time'
En muy poco tiempo, la prestigiosa revista "Time" ha publicado dos reportajes sobre Magnus Carlsen. El 25 de diciembre publicó una entrevista con la súper estrella de ajedrez en la cual nuevamente demostró un fino sentido de humor. Preguntado por el trágico destino de los que otrora niños prodigios Morphy y Fischer, el noruego de 19 años opinó que es fácil dejarse llevar por completo por el ajedrez, pero que por ahora no tenía la sensación de ir a volverse loco. A Magnus el ajedrez no le parece un arte, sino un tipo de combate. La meta para él siempre es vencer a su oponente y encontrar siempre las jugadas más desagradables posibles para el rival. Se suele entrenar exclusivamente en el ordenador. "A veces nos vienen a visitar a casa y piensan que deberíamos tener muchos tableros de ajedrez. Entonces les contesto: 'Puede que en alguna parte tengamos uno, pero ahora no sé muy bien, dónde está'". Ayer "Time" publicó otro retrato del noruego, titulado "A Bold Opening for Chess Player Magnus Carlsen" (Una apertura valiente para el ajedrecista Magnus Carlsen) escrito por Eben Harrell, que pueden leer en inglés en la web de Time...

Your judgement, please - Pt. 39

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

Barriers
05.01.2010 – An active king often plays a decisive part in rook endings. If it can support a passed pawn in its advance, then the king and pawn form an extremely deadly duo. So the ability of the rook to cut off the king horizontally or vertically from one of the theatres of war and thus to restrict its activity is an important weapon in the arsenal of endgame technique. Karsten Müller has selected a recent endgame in which the theme of the barrier and the struggle against it are in the foreground.

Analysis of Brynell-Popov for ChessBase Magazine Online.

Position after 73...Re4

The strongest players of all time

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

05.01.2010 – According to the current FIDE rankings Magnus Carlsen is the strongest player in the world. But his rating of 2810 is not the highest ever. That was achieved by Garry Kasparov, who in the July 1999 FIDE list reached 2851 points. Two other players have at some stage had higher ratings than Magnus. Here's a list of all Super-GMs (over 2700) and their top ratings.

Top Ratings of Super-GM

Three years ago Przemek Jahr of Pila, Poland, sent us a list of all players who had reached a rating of 2700 or higher, giving their highest ever ratings and the year and the FIDE list in which it was achieved. Chess fan Kostantin Ikonomovski of Jankovec, Macedonia, has been updating this list meticulously and sent us the latest version that incorporates all list up to the January 1st 2010 FIDE rankings.

Konstantin is a member of the amater team of Alkaloid for many years; "That meant that I used to have four extra vacations every year on company expences," he writes, "always in some wonderful places throughout the former Yugoslavia. I carry beautiful memories of this."

Top ten players of all time

The highest rating ever, by Garry Kasparov, is 38 points more than any other player in history. Five players have crossed the 2800 mark, five players have come within twenty points of it. Here's the complete table.

Super-GMs who achieved a 2700 or higher rating

#	Surname, Name	Nat.	Born	Max	When	01.10
1	Kasparov, Garry	RUS	1963	2851	1999.07	2812
2	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	1975	2813	2006.07	2805
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	1975	2811	2002.01	2788
4	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	1990	2810	2010.01	2810
5	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	1969	2803	2006.04	2790
6	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	1977	2788	2008.07	2732
7	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	1969	2787	2007.10	2749
8	Aronian, Levon	ARM	1982	2786	2009.11	2781
9	Fischer, Robert	USA	1942	2785	1972.04	2785
10	Karpov, Anatoly	RUS	1951	2780	1994.07	2619
11	Svidler, Peter	RUS	1976	2765	2006.01	2744
12	Leko, Peter	HUN	1979	2763	2005.04	2739
13	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	1987	2761	2009.01	2733
14	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	1968	2761	2010.01	2761
15	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	1985	2760	2008.01	2741
16	Jakovenko, Dmitry	RUS	1983	2760	2009.01	2730
17	Gashimov, Vugar	AZE	1986	2759	2010.01	2759
18	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	1972	2755	2008.01	2723
19	Adams, Michael	ENG	1971	2755	2000.07	2694
20	Movsesian, Sergei	SVK	1978	2751	2009.01	2704
21	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	1983	2750	2009.04	2736
22	Wang, Yue	CHN	1987	2749	2010.01	2749
23	Kamsky, Gata	USA	1974	2745	1996.07	2693
24	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	1983	2743	2002.04	2737
25	Bareev, Evgeny	RUS	1966	2739	2003.10	2643
36	Eljanov, Pavel	UKR	1983	2736	2010.01	2736
27	Polgar, Judith	HUN	1976	2735	2005.07	2682
28	Nakamura, Hikaru	USA	1987	2735	2009.09	2708
29	Karjakin Sergey	RUS	1990	2732	2008.01	2720
30	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	1983	2731	2005.04	2713
31	Vachier-Laqrave, Maxime	FRA	1990	2730	2010.01	2730
32	Navara, David	CZE	1985	2725	2006.10	2708
33	Alekseev, Evgeny	RUS	1985	2725	2009.09	2703
34	Ni, Hua	CHN	1983	2724	2009.04	2657
35	Dominguez Perez, Lenier	CUB	1983	2721	2009.04	2712
36	Malakhov, Vladimir	RUS	1980	2716	2009.09	2716
37	Salov, Valery	RUS	1964	2715	1995.01	2644
38	Wang Hao	CHN	1989	2715	2010.01	2715
39	Van Wely, Loek	NED	1972	2714	2001.10	2652
40	Bu, Xiangzhi	CHN	1985	2714	2008.10	2682
41	Akopian, Vladimir	ARM	1971	2713	2006.07	2700
42	Cheparinov, Ivan	BUL	1986	2713	2008.01	2660
43	Short, Nigel	ENG	1965	2712	2004.04	2707
44	Sasikiran, Krishnan	IND	1981	2711	2009.01	2664
45	Vellejo-Pons Francisco	ESP	1982	2711	2009.11	2711
46	Beliavsky, Alexander	SLO	1953	2710	1997.07	2657
47	Motylev Alexander	RUS	1979	2710	2009.07	2697
48	Almasi Zoltan	HUN	1976	2710	2010.01	2710
49	Tomashevsky Evgeny	RUS	1987	2708	2009.11	2705
50	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	ROM	1976	2707	2005.10	2681
51	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	UZB	1979	2706	2001.10	2702
52	Sokolov, Ivan	BIH	1968	2706	2004.01	2649
53	Tal, Mikhail	LAT	1936	2705	1980.01	2705
54	Dreev, Alexey	RUS	1969	2705	2003.10	2650
55	Milov, Vadim	SUI	1972	2705	2008.07	2644
56	Jabava Baadur	GEO	1983	2704	2010.01	2704
57	Rublevski, Sergei	RUS	1974	2703	2009.07	2697
58	Krasenkow, Michal	POL	1963	2702	2000.07	2656
59	Smirin, Ilia	ISR	1966	2702	2001.07	2668
60	Khalifman, Alexander	RUS	1968	2702	2001.10	2616
61	Azmaiparashvili, Zurab	GEO	1960	2702	2003.07	2637
62	Bologan, Viktor	MDA	1971	2700	2005.04	2692
63	Tiviakov, Sergei	NED	1973	2700	2005.10	2662
64	Naiditsch Arkadij	GER	1985	2700	2008-04	2687

Colour codes: Veteran active, Retired, Deceased

Your judgement, please - Pt. 38

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

The huge space advantage...
01.01.2010 – ... of White in the diagram position was obvious, yet with 24...Qb6 Black had produced the double threat 25...Bxa3 and 25...Nxe5 26.Bxe5 Rxe5. How would you assess the position now?
A) White can win material;
B) he is optically better, but there is nothing concrete;
C) looks are deceptive, the first player is on the defence.

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Position after 24...Qb6
A) White can win material;
B) he is optically better, but there is nothing concrete;
C) looks are deceptive, the first player is on the defence.

André Diamante é o mais novo talento do xadrez brasileiro

Retirado do R7.

Assista à matéria da TV Record com o GM e ex-campeão brasileiro André Diamant. A reportagem é de Adriana Bittar, do programa Esporte Fantástico. André Diamante campeão brasileiro de xadrez, foi para a rua enfrentar desafio de xadrez na cidade.

Assista em: http://videos.r7.com/andre-diamante-e-o-mais-novo-talento-do-xadrez-brasileiro/idmedia/f731ec40a17e609c8e0a5112816bfc24.html

Your judgement, please - Pt. 37

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

The pawn roller
31.12.2009 – After the final rounds of the Russian Championship, our endgames expert Karsten Müller casts an eye back at the remarkable and extremely original endgame Timofeev-Khismatullin from round five. The position in the diagram arose after 50.bxa5, after which the two black rooks had to take up the fight against four linked passed pawns and a knight – and it turned out to be hopeless for them.

Karsten Müller shows you for CBM Online how this unusual position came about and how the game ended.

Position after 50.bxa5

Your judgement, please - Pt. 36

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

Both kings threatened by discovered check...
28.12.2009 – ... was the situation in this recent game from the German Bundesliga, where White to play had to calculate the consequences of 27.Rf7-f4+. How would you assess the position after that (diagram)?
A) White is better;
B) the position is balanced;
C) Black has the advantage.

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Position after 27.Rf7-f4+
A) White is better;
B) the position is balanced;
C) Black has the advantage.

Your judgement, please - Pt. 35

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

To exchange or not to exchange?
26.12.2009 – Correct evaluation of pawn endings is an important pillar of good endgame technique. So, e.g., in the following position Black had to come to a judgment as to whether, after the exchange of rooks with 47...Rxe2 48.Kxe2, the ensuing pawn ending is a draw. Otherwise, he would be obliged to do without the exchange and to defend the rook ending.
What do you think? Does the exchange of rooks lead to a drawn position?

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Does 47...Rxe2 48.Kxe2 lead to a drawn position?

Falsa especulação acerca de Magnus Carlsen treinar Anand para o Mundial

Corrigindo a notícia anterior publicada neste blog, o pessoal do site Chessbase.com cometeu um engano no entendimento da reportagem do jornal indiano. Abaixo a mais nova notícia:

Speculation about Carlsen being Anand's second
23.12.2009 – An article in the Indian newspaper The Telegraph set off a flurry of excitement in news pages and chess blogs. "Magnus Carlsen will be one of my seconds [in Sofia]," World Champion Vishy Anand was quoted as saying. A misunderstanding, since Magnus, who is a great friend and will surely root for Anand, will not be assisting him in at the 2010 World Championship. Details.

The passage in the Telegraph interview that caused all the confusion reads as follows:

Whether Surya Sekhar Ganguly will be his one of his seconds this time too

[Anand]: He may be. I am not sure. Seconds are a very secretive thing. Even if I tell you that he will be one of my seconds, the rival camp will not believe me. But one thing is for sure, Magnus Carlsen (the world No. 2) will be one of the seconds.

[Late in the evening, Surya told The Telegraph that he did have a talk with Anand in the afternoon, but nothing has been finalised. “It will take some time,” he said.]

Due to time difference and social engagements we were not able to reach Anand, who is currently in India, on Wednesday evening, when the news hit the blogs. A likely explanation – which we shall confirm or correct on Thursday – for the above passage is that Anand said "Nielsen", referring to his second of many years, Peter Heine Nielsen. The journalist, whose ears have been ringing in the past few weeks with one Skandinavial "-sen" name, remembered "Carlsen", googled it and came up with the above story.

We were able to contact Magnus' father Henrik Carlsen, who like us is a creature of the night. He confirmed that his son, who has been good friends with Anand for a number of years now, and has in fact worked with him in the past, now has his own plans and schedule. These do not include working for or with Anand for his World Championship match in Sofia.

More details to follow later...

Magnus Carlsen será o treinador de Vishy Anand para o Mundial!

Quem segura esse garoto? Até onde pode ir Magnus Carlsen? Quem diria que o número 1 do ranking atual estaria treinando o atual campeão do mundo...

Carlsen ainda fará muita história no xadrez, com certeza!

Retirado do site Chessbase.com.

Carlsen será el entrenador de Anand para el Mundial en Sofía
El pasado lunes, Viswanathan Anand visitó Calcuta, para felicitar a los ganadores de la zona oriental de la "NIIT Mindchampions Academy". Aprovechó l aportunidad para dar una rueda de prensa. El periódico "Telgraph Calcutta" publicó ayer un resumen de las intervenciones de Anand. Entre otras cosas, anunció que ya tiene entrenador para el duelo por el título mundial contra Veselin Topalov en Sofía. ¡No será nadie menos que el propio nuevo número uno del mundo, Magnus Carlsen! El noruego ya había apoyado a Anand en el último Campeonato del Mundo contra Kramnik. Además está también negociando también con Ganguly. Anand comentó que ya se está preparando de manera muy intensa al duelo ahora mismo y que se está entrenando hasta 12 horas (¡!) al día. El artículo en Telegraph Calcutta (en inglés).