From the Official World Chess Championship Website (www.anand-topalov.com)

The FIDE World Chess Championship match between the reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and his challenger Former World Champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria was set to start on the 21st April with the official opening ceremony.

CHESS CURIOSITIES (U.S. Chess Trust Commentary)

The World Champion Viswanathan Anand and the challenger Veselin Topalov are staying in seperate hotels with their respective teams.  Their teams consist of “seconds”, a term used in Europe to refer to a team of technical people who assist in the preparation of each game.  In situations like this, players travel with their own support team.

Anand has not released any information about who his “seconds” are for the match, but, it is known that he requested ten hotel rooms.

The players have already selected their chairs.  Basically, what this means is that each player was presented with a number of chairs to choose from. Due to the length of time the players are seated during the match, comfortable seating is extremely important.

On another note, you can sense the spirit of competition in the air.  Topalov has already indicated that he will not offer or accept draws – he’s playing for a win.

At this level, in chess, it’s very exciting.  I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of anticipation.  Butterflies, a bit of tightness in the chess…it’s better than football!  What do you think?

Let’s see how this all plays out.  We look forward to bringing you replay options. So stay tuned!

Note: The schedule below reflects the date and time in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Check back for more FIDE World Chess Championship Match coverage!!

SCHEDULE

April 21 – 18.00 EEST (15.00 UTC) – Official opening
April 24 – 17.00 EEST (14.00 UTC) – Game 1
April 25 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 2
April 26 – Rest Day
April 27 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 3
April 28 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 4
April 29 – Rest Day
April 30 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 5
May 1 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 6
May 2 – Rest Day
May 3 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 7 May 4 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 8
May 5 – Rest Day
May 6 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 9
May 7 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 10
May 8 – Rest Day
May 9 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 11
May 10 – Rest Day
May 11 – 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) – Game 12
May 12 – Rest Day
May 13 – Tie breaks

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

From the Official World Chess Championship Website (www.anand-topalov.com)

Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion.

Anand held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. With this win, he became the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats: Knockout, Tournament, and Match. He will next defend his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov, the winner of a challenger match against Gata Kamsky in February 2009.  READ MORE >>>

Veselin Topalov born 15 March 1975 is a Bulgarian Grandmaster and 19th World Champion. In the January 2009 FIDE rating list, he is ranked first with an ELO 2780.His current trainer and manager is International Master Silvio Danailov.  Topalov became the World Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. He was awarded the 2005 Chess Oscar. In October 2006, Topalov had the second highest Elo rating of all time (2813). READ MORE >>>

“The match is taking place at the Central Military Club in Sofia, Bulgaria. The total prize fund 2.000.000 EUR, full regulations can be found here, the updated playing schedule is posted bellow.

Viswanathan Anand won the World Championship in 2000 under knockout system and held the title until 2002. In 2007 he reclaimed the throne by winning the double round-robin World Championship tournament in Mexico. He successfully defended the title in the match against Vladimir Kramnik, which was held in 2008 in Bonn, Germany.

Veselin Topalov became the World Champion after winning the first double round-robin World Championship Tournament in 2005 in San Luis, Argentina. He lost the title in 2006, following the unification match against Vladimir Kramnik in Elista, Russia. He again earned the right to challenge the World Champion by winning the 2009 match versus Gata Kamsky.

Anand has arrived to Sofia by car and asked for a three day postponement. Closed German airspace prevented him from flying by plane.
FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos in his capacity of FIDE Supervisor for the match decided to postpone the first game for one day.

The final inspection took place on Wednesday morning, followed by the press conference with both players.”  READ MORE >>>

OPENING CEREMONY

The opening ceremony of the FIDE World Chess Championship match started at 17:00 CET as scheduled.  “More than 20 TV crews and about 100 journalists were present for the ceremony.”   VIEW THE OFFICIAL PHOTO GALLERY HERE >>>

INTERVIEWS (Excerpts from Official World Chess Championship Website)

FIDE PRESIDENT MR. KIRSAN ILYUMZHINOV

Mr. President, it’s a well known fact that several countries applied to organize this World Chess Championship match. Why was Sofia chosen?

April 22, 2010, Temple-monument “Alexander Nevski”: President of the World Chess Federation FIDE Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov receives the jubilee medal of the temple and orthodox icon.

“For several reasons. Bulgaria is a country with strong chess traditions. One of the very few having World Champions in all categories – men, women, seniors. And this happened quite recently in a short time frame, providing ground for representatives of international media to claim Bulgarians as the smartest people. Secondly, every year the M-Tel masters takes place in Sofia – one of the strongest and best organized chess tournaments. The government pays serious attention developing our sport in this country. I have as well to give credit to the hard work of Bulgarian Chess Federation, presided by Mr. Stefan Sergiev. Bulgaria has demonstrated serious attitude to the applying procedure and offered the best candidacy in any aspect.”  READ ENTIRE INTERVIEW – GO TO OFFICIAL WEBSITE  >>>

SAINT LOUIS, April 20, 2010–The final four spots have been filled for the 2010 U.S. Championship, which is set for May 13-25 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

The 24-player field was finalized today with the four, official wildcard selections: Grandmaster Alexander Stripunsky (NJ), Grandmaster Vinay Bhat (CA) and International Masters Irina Krush (NY) and Sam Shankland (CA). This year’s championship will feature a purse of more than $170,000, the largest per-capita prize fund in the tournament’s history.

“Our four wildcards represent many aspects that are important to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis,” said CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich. “By nurturing America’s top juniors and women and inviting the top contenders, we have created an incredibly strong and dynamic field for this year’s championship.”

Stripunsky, 39, missed out on qualifying by rating for the 2010 U.S. Championship by a single point. On the February 2010 rating list used to invite rating qualifiers, he was rated 2615, right behind CCSCSL GM in-residence Ben Finegold, who was rated 2616. Last year, he also missed out by just one spot on the rating list. Stripunsky has an excellent record in U.S. Championships. In 2005, he was runner-up and lost in a playoff to reigning champion GM Hikaru Nakamura. In 2006, he had another strong run and finished in third place. Stripunsky also just tied for first in the Philadelphia Open.

Bhat may be the strongest eligible American who has never played in a U.S. Championship. The 25-year-old lives in the Bay Area and has been a chess professional ever since receiving the Samford Scholarship in 2008. Bhat maintains a blog, “An Unemployed Fellow,” where he gives insightful analysis on his recent games and thoughts on the tournament circuit (vbhat.wordpress.com).

Krush is a renowned team player. The former Samford Fellowship winner led the 2008 bronze medal Olympic team in Dresden, Germany, and was part of the 2004 silver medal Olympic team in Mallorca, Spain. Krush, 26, hails from Brooklyn, NY, where she manages the New York Knights U.S. Chess League team. She is also a two-time U.S. Women’s Champion and will be the only woman in this year’s mixed event. Krush plans to play in the 2010 U.S. Women’s Championship, set for Saint Louis from July 9-19.

Shankland, 18, is the top rated player under 21 who was not already slated to play in the U.S. Championship. GMs Robert Hess, Aleksandr Lenderman and Ray Robson qualified by rating and winning the U.S. Junior, respectively. Shankland won a gold medal for the U.S. at the 2008 World Youth Championship in Vietnam. He currently has two grandmaster norms, and is ardently searching for his third, which will qualify him for the title. The incoming Brandeis University freshman called the U.S. Championship his “dream tournament for the year.” He maintains a blog (samshankland.blogspot.com) and website (www.samshankland.com).

Another recent addition to the U.S. Championship field is IM Levon Altounian of Arizona, who bested competitors from all over the country by winning the ICC Tournament of State Champions. Altounian wrote a story on Chess Life Online http://main.uschess.org/content/view/10313/141/ about his quest to qualification.

“It is very exciting to play at the U.S. Championship, the most important event of the year,” Altounian said. “I am very proud to be a part of this elite group.”

The complete list of players includes the following:

• The defending U.S. Champion: GM Hikaru Nakamura
• The winner of the 2009 U.S. Senior Open Championship: GM Larry Christiansen
• The winner of the 2009 U.S. Junior Championship: GM Ray Robson
• The top five qualifiers from the 2009 U.S. Open Championship: GMs Aleksandr Lenderman, Sergey Kudrin, Alex Yermolinsky, Dmitry Gurevich, and Jesse Kraai
• The winner of the 2010 ICC State Champion of Champions: IM Levon Altounian
• The top 11 U.S. players by rating of the United States Chess Federation:
  • GM Gata Kamsky
  • GM Alexander Onischuk
  • GM Varuzhan Akobian
  • GM Yury Shulman
  • GM Jaan Ehlvest
  • GM Alexander Shabalov
  • GM Gregory Kaidanov
  • GM Robert Hess
  • GM Melikset Khachiyan
  • GM Joel Benjamin
  • GM Ben Finegold

• Four wildcard spots:
  • GM Alexander Stripunsky
  • GM Vinay Bhat
  • IM Irina Krush
  • IM Sam Shankland

The 2010 U.S. Championship is open to the public and will feature live grandmaster commentary by GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Spectators can access the event by purchasing a membership to the CCSCSL, which costs just $5/month for students and $12/month for adults. The championship quad finale will take place May 22-24 and will culminate with the $10,000 U.S. Championship Blitz Open at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 24, an event that will feature U.S. Championship competitors and some of the top players from across the country. CLICK HERE for more details about the $10,000 U.S. Championship Blitz Open.

For more information, please call 314-361-CHESS (2437) or visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.
_______________________________________________________________________

The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the public to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, lessons and special lectures.

Another important aspect of our mission is to develop in-school and after-school scholastic chess programs. Chess teaches valuable lessons for developing students like problem solving, critical thinking, spatial awareness and goal setting. If you’d like more information about the CCSCSL, our mission or our programs, or if you’d like to support our cause with a financial contribution, please call us at 314.361.CHESS (2437), or e-mail info@saintlouischesscub.org.

For more information, contact:
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis
Mike Wilmering
mwilmering@saintlouischessclub.org
314.361.CHESS (2437)

World Junior and Girls U-20 Championships Invitation (Chotowa, Czarna, Poland) – A FIDE (World Chess Federation) Event

Organizing Committee acting on behalf of the Polish Chess Federation has a great pleasure and a honor in inviting young players of 168 federations, members of the International Chess Federation FIDE to take part in the World Junior and Girls U-20 Championships be held in Chotowa, Municipality Czarna, close to the city of Tarnow, Poland, from August 2 to 17, 2010.

We hope to host the best young players in the World and we prepared for you the highest prize fund in the history of the Championships – the amount of 25,400 Euro. We are trying to prepare also the best conditions of stay (comfortable rooms with TV and Internet), the best Polish food and good program to rest after games – the lake, swimming pool, sport hall, playground and other sport facilities.

Welcome to Poland!

Jan Kusina
Andrzej Grygiel
Józef Chudy

• Click Here for Official Website
• Click Here for Registration Form
• About FIDE