Malcolm Pein on…MVL Topping the Tour
Malcolm Pein on…MVL Topping the Tour Maxime Vachier-Lagrave overhauled Ian Nepomniachtchi on the fifth and final day to take first at the GCT Rapid & Blitz in Zagreb. MVL is one of the world’s best Blitz players and secured first with a round to spare to take home $37,500 (£27,000). He now leads the tour […]
Malcolm Pein on…Haria Holding On
The FIDE World Cup is under way in Krasnaya Polyana, just inland from Sochi. This gigantic knockout is headlined by Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana and runs until August 8. The opening round featured 144 players bidding to make one of the 72 qualifying spots for the second round when the top seeds will join. […]
Malcolm Pein on…Nepo’s Lead
Malcolm Pein on…Nepo’s Lead World title challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi was the early pacesetter when the third leg of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour began in Zagreb, Croatia. The second Rapid & Blitz event of the series is a 10-player all-play-all that includes former world champions Vishy Anand and Garry Kasparov. Anand plays both disciplines, with […]
Malcolm Pein on…The Old and the New
Malcolm Pein on…The Old and the New Garry Kasparov was back at the board at the weekend, playing the Blitz in the Grand Chess Tour at Zagreb. Magnus Carlsen is in the field for the World Cup knockout in Sochi on the Black Sea coast. Levon Aronian certainly travelled to Sochi with a spring in […]
Malcolm Pein on…ChessFest 2021
Malcolm Pein on…ChessFest 2021 ChessFest came to London town last Sunday with a day of chess based entertainment and fun for all the family. The festival was for every chess player, from expert, to those who may come to learn. The outdoor event took over Trafalgar Square for the day, with free chess lessons, simultaneous […]
Malcolm Pein On…Remembering Dokhoian
Malcolm Pein On… Remembering Dokhoian Awful news from Moscow of the death of GM Yury Dokhoian at the age of 56 due to COVID. Dokhoian was qualified several times for the USSR Championships and won many international tournaments, including shared first at the Wijk aan Zee B Group in 1989. Dokhoian ended his tournament career […]
Malcolm Pein On…Haria Holding the Flag
Difficulties with quarantine and travel restrictions have limited English participation in the forthcoming FIDE World Cup to just one player. It will be left to IM Ravi Haria to carry the flag. The tournament is being held at Sochi on the Black Sea coast and play begins tomorrow. Doubtless wishing to secure some over-the-board match […]
Malcolm Pein on…Forceful Aronian
Levon Aronian rode his luck to take the first set against Vladislav Artemiev in the final of the Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24. Aronian won the third game, below, after surviving a lost position in game two. He closed the set out with aggressive play as black, forcing his opponent to take a perpetual when […]
Malcolm Pein on…So Close to Carlsen
MAGNUS Carlsen survived an almighty comeback from Wesley So in their quarter-final match at the Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24. Having taken the first set, Carlsen won the opening game of the second as Black, then went 1.5-0.5 ahead, only for So to take the match to a tie-break after winning games three and four. […]
Malcolm Pein on…Brilliant Young Mind
Abhimanyu Mishra from New Jersey has become the youngest grandmaster of all time, at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days. Mishra broke the record of Sergey Karjakin set back in 2002, when the future world championship challenger was aged 12 years and seven months. Already the youngest ever International Master, Mishra […]
Malcolm Pein on…The 150 Attack
One of my favourite games of all time is Garry Kasparov’s victory over Anatoly Karpov at Linares 1993 when Kasparov, playing black in the King’s Indian, managed to outplay his perennial rival to such an extent that all the white pieces ended up on the first rank. In this encounter, Black mishandles the Modern Defence […]
Malcolm Pein On…Carlsen Thrilled
Malcolm Pein On…Carlsen Thrilled Magnus Carlsen had to battle hard to take the first set of his quarter-final against Wesley So at the Goldmoney Asian Rapid on Chess24. As we will see, Carlsen blundered and should have lost the first game of the match, and he was positionally outplayed in the return. The world champion […]