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On July 25, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave became the third player to win both ends of a Titled Tuesday, after GM Hikaru Nakamura (who has done it five times) and GM Wesley So. Nakamura himself prevented Vachier-Lagrave from joining him and GM Magnus Carlsen in the perfect 11/11 club by winning their final-round matchup in the late event.

The 2020 Speed Chess Championship (SCC) runner-up continues to live up to his username in blitz chess: he is the LyonBeast.

In the early field of 570 players, Vachier-Lagrave didn't lose a single game, but he still needed tiebreaks to win. Aimchess Rapid star GM Eduardo Iturrizaga, and Indonesian GM Susanto Megaranto, matched Vachier-Lagrave on 9.5 points.

For a while, it seemed like GM Daniil Dubov might outlast them all. But Dubov's 7/7 start to the tournament ran into Vachier-Lagrave in round eight. Dubov wasn't overwhelmingly worse in the final position, but he was out of time while Vachier-Lagrave still had 45 seconds left to play.

That win gave Vachier-Lagrave the sole tournament lead, which he retained in the next round by defeating GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Duda had Black and played the Najdorf Sicilian, Vachier-Lagrave's favorite opening against 1.e4, but any psychology that may have been involved in that choice did not pay off.

A draw was next for Vachier-Lagrave, which allowed Iturrizaga to catch up into a share of first place by defeating GM Jose Martinez.

Vachier-Lagrave and Iturrizaga finally faced each other in the last round and drew quickly in 18 moves. This in turn allowed a third player to tie for the lead in Megaranto, who beat Wesley So to get there.

Ultimately, the top three finished in the order in which they had entered the tournament lead: Vachier-Lagrave first, Iturrizaga second, and Megaranto (who will be playing his third straight World Cup in a few days) third.

July 25 Titled Tuesday | Early | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

Vachier-Lagrave won $1,000 for his efforts, with more to come. Iturrizaga won $750 and Megaranto $350. GM Vladimir Kramnik came in fourth place for $200 and IM Renato Terry in fifth place for $100. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk won the $100 women's prize with a score of 7.5/11.

A slightly smaller field of 472 greeted Vachier-Lagrave in the late tournament, but he won it all the same, this time in even more dominant fashion. Vachier-Lagrave was a perfect 10/10 with one round to go, already clinching the outright victory.

He got there with wins over the likes of GM Gata Kamsky (round five), Martinez (round six), GM Vladimir Fedoseev (round nine), and Duda for the second time in the day (round 10).

Oh, and Carlsen in round eight. It was also Carlsen who Vachier-Lagrave defeated in the semifinals of the SCC back in 2020.

The repeat performance against Duda clinched just the fifth sweep in Titled Tuesday history for Vachier-Lagrave, who was also now one win away from joining Nakamura and Carlsen in perfection.

Perfection was not to be, however. Nakamura needed only 32 moves to defeat Vachier-Lagrave and take over second place.

July 25 Titled Tuesday | Late | Final Standings (Top 20)

(Full final standings here.)

Vachier-Lagrave won another $1,000 for a total of $2,000 on the day. Nakamura took home the $750 prize, while GM Daniel Dardha finished third for $350. Martinez won $200 in fourth place, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son $100 in fifth, and IM Le Thao Nguyen Pham $100 as the highest-scoring woman.

Chess.com hosts Titled Tuesday as two 11-round Swiss tournaments for titled players every Tuesday. There is an early tournament at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/17:00 Central European/20:30 Indian Standard Time, with the late tournament following at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/23:00 Central European/2:30 Indian Standard Time (next day).

More here:
Vachier-Lagrave Sweeps Into Titled Tuesday, Wins Both Events - Chess.com

With a nod to the Bard, we will once again look at games that involve attacks against the king. In response to last months column, I was sent our first game, with notes, by the winner. Patrick Walsh, also known as Konchog, describes himself as, a deaf-blind chess player whose first tournament was the 1972 Texas Open the tournament where Ken Smith introduced the Smith-Morra Gambit, and the tournament that also produced one of the finest endgames ever played, a masterpiece by Botvinnik against Reshevsky. I also just happened to have celebrated the 25th anniversary of my ordination as a Tibetan Buddhist monk.* I have crossed swords with Konchog, and his chess is not peaceful or serene.

* Editor's note: While a large International tournament did take place in Texas (San Antonio) in 1972, neither Botvinnik nor Reshevsky competed there, and there is no record of any other meeting between the two during that year. There is anecdotal evidence that Botvinnik retired in 1970 (my database has no competitive games after 1970). Ken Smith was there, and he did play his gambit there, but that apparently was the International debut of the gambit, as Ken had essayed it in local tournament many times prior.

In our second game, Richard Ralls goes after Benjamin Hobacks Stonewall formation right from the start. Once the center is settled, he switches his attention to the kingside. Black lets up his guard for just one move, and White blows the kingside wide open. It only takes six more moves for Black to resign.

If you read my column with any regularity, you know that I am not a fan of system openings shortcuts to theory and so I revel when I see one taken down. Yes, I am that petty. Our third game, Rowe Baerg, sees the London System suffer defeat after White overplays his hand. After a somewhat unsteady opening, Chandra Baerg shows patience and decent technique, missing only one small tactic, and forcing checkmate in the ending.

In our fourth game, Scott Beaver plays to occupy the center while Zachary Bazan attacks from the flank, but otherwise limits his control to pieces. Black falls for what appears to be a small material gain, but White quickly rebounds with a kingside assault. Black commits an error under fire, and the end comes mercifully quick.

In our fifth and final game for this month, Benjamin Hoback shows solid technique in starting the middlegame with a queenside pawn majority yet finishing off his opponent with a kingside attack. Impressive play!

My next column on the elements of chess analysis will not be ready for another month or two, as I am currently completing a book that will be published in late 2023 or early 2024, which I will discuss in a later column. The next element to be discussed will be time, or a lead in development. If anyone has a relatively recent game that shows the impact of a lead in development, please send it to me, with or without notes, at correspondence_chess@yahoo.com.

Good skill in your games!

Robert

2016 Golden Knights Final Standings

The 2016 Golden Knights tournament has concluded. Congratulations to our winner Rick Johnson of Fremont, California. This is Johnsons first Golden Knights championship. 119 players entered the competition which consisted of 17 preliminary sections, followed by six semifinal sections, culminating in two final sections.

Name

Overall Weighted Score

Place

Prize

Rick Johnson

39.60

1

$480

Ferdinand Burmeister

36.15

2

$300

Gary Adams

34.55

3

$180

Ferdinand Burmeister

34.00

4

$60

Michael Buss

32.80

5

$60

James Ellis

32.75

6

$60

Abe Wilson

28.40

7

$60

Bradley Rogers

26.15

8

$60

Paul Ott

25.15

9

$60

Michael OKeefe

18.90

10

$60

2022 46th Annual Absolute Championship

The tournament concluded on July 8, 2023, having started March 1, 2022. As previously reported, Tim Corkum of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin and John Walton of Pullman, Washington scored 7/12. They split the point in their game, and each boasted three wins and zero losses. Corkum wins his first Absolute Championship on tie-breaks

The completed cross table can be found here.Cross Table (iccf.com)

Former CC players Richard E. Patchett of Duarte, California, Roy Greenburg of Fort Lee, New Jersey, Ivan Kaplan of Sinai, New York, and Ed P. Hernandez of Placentia, California have recently passed away.

On July 9, 2023, USPS increased the first-class postage rate to $.66 for letters and $.51 for postcards.

Walter Muir E-Quad

22W24, Kevin Buswell & Josh Pruett 41

23W02, Robert Angres 4 1

Victor Palciauskas

23VP01, Donald Tirrell 51

23VP04, Fernando Puerto Mendoza 5

23VP05, Timothy Oltman & Patrick Walsh 5

John W. Collins Memorial

21C10, Louis Biasotti 60

Read more from the original source:
Check is in the Mail: Once More Unto the Breach! - uschess.org

Ive heard Jack Robinson is deadly on the chessboard. Like, will have you sweating in four moves.

Do you know of any other surfers who double as grandmasters?

Slatz and John have had some pretty epic battles too.

Ainara Aymat was a Stab High Costa Rica judge and team captain on Stab Highway California a bit of a pawnstar by the sounds humbled multiple staff members in a few moves during our CR stint. Sophie Bell is a Vans Pipe Master from South Africa and a wonderful guest host of The Pickup presented by Vans. Her chess ability is yet to be determined.

The following vid is a sketchbook of the pairs time in yesteryears most popular wave: Lakey Peak which got absolutely decimated by Stab High, Glad you Scored, Saturn and Jai Glindeman.

Per the films description:

A human from South Africa meets another human from the Basque Country and they create a piece of work with a much-needed help of Kylian Castells.

From the very start everything was not on their side; Ainara lost her passport one daybefore the trip, booked the wrong domestic flight and lost her wallet when she arrived in Indo. Sophies visa was delayed so she had to wait until she had it done.

They somehow managed to get to Sumbawa and for those 10 days the trip lasted, all they did was surf, play chess, read, eat and sleep. Some skin and boards were damaged in the process, but fully worth it.

A tandem has never ever been that much needed as when these two humans gatherand try to make a project work.

Friendship goals, If they fall, they fall together.

Original post:
All They Did Was Surf, Play Chess, Read, Eat and Sleep - Stab Magazine

The International Space Station (ISS) has been in orbit around the Earth for over 9,000 days. The 109-metre-long station is operated under the leadership of NASA by 16 countries and five space agencies, including NASA and the European ESA. The ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 400 km in an easterly direction and needs 93 minutes at a speed of about 28,800 km/h for a complete orbit. In fact, the station loses about 50 to 150 metres of altitude every day, which is compensated for by an acceleration manoeuvre.

Ideas of a permanently manned space station have existed in the USA since the 1960s. When NASA began concrete planning in the 1980s, they realised that the cost of operating such a station would be exorbitant. After the end of the Cold War, however, there was cooperation with the Soviet Union, or later Russia. The Soviet Union had already installed its MIR space station in space in 1986 and the USA eventually joined the programme. The MIR was abandoned in 2001.

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: Attack like a Super GM with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

In parallel, NASA launched its ISS project in cooperation with other international space organisations and countries. The station has a modular design, and the individual components have been gradually assembled by Russian and American expeditions in over 40 flights since 1998. The station is being successively expanded.

The first long-term ISS crew expedition moved into the station on 2 November 2000 and was brought there on a Russian Soyuz-TM 31. The astronauts and cosmonauts William Shepherd (USA), Yuri Gidsenko and Sergei Krikalyov (Russia) remained at the station for 136 days, until 19 March 2001. On 20 August 2001, ISS Expedition 2 arrived at the station on a NASA space shuttle. Susan Helms was the first woman to occupy the ISS.

After initially only Russian cosmonauts and US astronauts provided the crew of the ISS, other countries also provided personnel after 2006. However, US-Russian cooperation suffered greatly after Russias attack on Ukraine and the US support measures for Ukraine.

As early as July 2022, Yuri Borisov, head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos, had declared that Russia would withdraw from the ISS project after 2024. Russia would fulfil all its contractual obligations until then, but would build its own station in parallel. It is possible that Roskosmos will continue to use the Russian modules of the ISS.

The crew of ISS Expedition 69 is currently on the ISS. The seven-member crew includes Andrey Fedyaev, Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev (Russia), Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg (USA) and Sultan Alneyadi (VAR).

The official portrait of the Expedition 69 crew: (from the left) flight engineers Frank Rubio of NASA, Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos, Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates, Woody Hoburg of NASA, Stephen Bowen of NASA, Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos and Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos.

In addition to the scientific programme in the ISS, the maintenance of the station, which also includes some outdoor expeditions, the team members have time to take breathtaking photos of space and of the Earth.

Self-explanatory controls and cable connections

Outreach: NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen and United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi are seen in their spacesuits during a seven-hour and one-minute spacewalk, during which they laid cables and applied insulation

Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

View of the Earth

View of Sicily with the volcano Etna

Or else they play chess. The biggest chess fan on the team is US astronaut Woody Hoburg.

Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg (both NASA), Sultan Alneyadi from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Stephen Bowen from NASA playing chess

Hoburg not only remembered to bring a chess set with him to the ISS, but also made sure that the pieces were magnetic, which is a particularly useful feature on the ISS.

Woddy Hoburg plays a remote game against the controllers in the mission centre at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. There is time for one or two moves a day between appointments. Hoburg has won the first game.

Or he plays against his colleagues, as here against the cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev. The game took place in the dome of the International Space Station. The ISS was 259 miles above the Colombian-Venezuelan border at the time this picture was taken.

Where to put the beaten figures

Link:
Chess in outer space - ChessBase

Almost three years after the premiere of the popular Netflix show The Queen's Gambit, the streaming giant released The Queen's Gambit Chess, a game based on the series, on Tuesday. You can play this game for free and without ads or paywalls with a Netflix subscription (starting at $7, 7 or AU$7 a month) on Android and iOS devices.

The Queen's Gambit Chess is a good introduction to chess for anyone who enjoyed the show and wanted to play the game, and it's a good challenge for people who already know how to play chess.

You can select your experience level early in the game -- I haven't played chess in years so I opted for the easiest setting. Early parts of the game teach you the placement of the pieces and how they move, and once you get the basics down, you'll start tackling chess puzzles and playing games against the computer.

As you progress, you'll also explore more of the world from the show, including the Methuen Home orphanage, where Beth Harmon learned to play chess in the show, and Moscow, where Beth took on the USSR grand master Vasily Borgov.

There's also an online game mode where you can play ranked matches against other people from around the world. The game even gives you an Elo rating -- the numeric system used to rank chess players -- so you can see how you stack up against others.

You can access this game and others with any of Netflix's subscriptions, which start at $7 a month. To access Netflix games, open the Netflix app on your Android or iOS device, scroll down the homepage until you see the Mobile Games carousel, and tap into the game you want to play.

Read more:
Rook No Further, The Queen's Gambit Chess Is Now on Netflix Games - CNET