Monday, May 28, 2012

Chess Video: Game Mason-McCann

Game Info:
White: Mason, S - 1980 USCF Rating
Black: McCann, J - 2033 USCF Rating
Casual game played on 5/21/12 with no clock
Opening: A88 - Dutch Defense
Result: 0-1

This was a wild tactical battle with both sides getting in some good moves. It concludes with a queen sacrifice for mate. Enjoy!

If you have any games you would like analyzed or posted, please send them in!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Chess Video: Mason, S-Holmes, G

Here is my first attempt at a chess video! Please comment and let me know if you would like more of this type of content.

Game Info:
White: Mason, S - 1980 USCF Rating
Black: Holmes, G - 1886 USCF Rating
Tournament: Columbia, SC G/20 Quick Chess Quad played on 5/17/12
Opening: B36 - Accerated Dragon Maroczy Bind
Result: 1-0

Recently I was traveling for work and had a free evening so I found a quick chess tournament about 60 miles away. I tied for first in the quad and won a net sum of $3 for my efforts (and lost 10 rating points). Enjoy the game!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Anand-Gelfand, World Championship Game 8

Perhaps we should put some chess on the chess site too! By request, for those that have not seen it yet, Game 8 of the World Chess Championship that is currently going on in Moscow between World Champion Vishy Anand and challenger Boris Gelfand. Gelfand made a miscalculation getting his queen trapped and ended up resigning on move 17! It is one of the shortest decisive games in World Chess Championship history.

UPDATE: As of this morning (5-30-12), the match was won by Anand, retaining the title of World Champion. The first 12 games ended with a tie score of 6-6 (one win each and 10 draws). The match was then decided by a 4 game playoff match of quick time control chess (approximately G/30). Anand won the second game of the quick chess match when Gelfand made a mistake in a drawn ending under time pressure. Anand drew the other three games to win the playoff 2.5 pts-1.5 pts.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Chess Books For Sale

If you are looking for some great deals on chess books, one of our members that runs the Pink Elephant Chess Podcast has many on his site for sale. Here is a partial list:

Kasparov My Great Predecessors: Prices are 50% 0ff this series
Pt 1 $35
Pt 2 $35
Pt 3 $30
Pt 4 $35

Dvoretsky Series
School of Chess Excellence #1(Paperback) PE's Price $12.00 List Price $26.60
School of Chess Excellence #2: Tactical Play (Paperback) PE's Price $12.00 List Price $26.60-$35
School of Chess Excellence #3(Paperback)PE's Price $12.00 List Price $26.60 School of Chess Excellence #4: Opening Developments PE's Price $12.00 Amazon $23.10/List Price $35
List Price for all 4 vol. $103
Buy all 4 volumes for a bigger savings $42.00

More Dvoretsky Books
Opening Preparation (Paperback) PE's Price $15.00 List Price $25.39
Attack & Defense (Paperback) PE's Price $15.00 List Price $40.00

C.J.S. Purdy
#1 Search for Chess Perfection $45.00 PE's Price $20.00 + Shipping Condition NEW
#2 Extreme Chess" World Championships 1935, 1937, 1972 $49.00/ $75.00 PE's Price $20.00
#3 Guide to Good Chess $33.00 PE's $18.00
#4 How Purty Won $10.00 New HB Ed Discriptive $10.00
#5 Action Chess: Purdy's 24 Hours Opening Repertoire $37.00 PE's Price $20.00
#6 How Fischer Won

BIO's
Spassky: 100 Best Games (Bernard Cafferty) Hard Bound: Descriptive Notation [Condition Good]
Best Games of Boris Spassky (Andrew Soltis) Hard Bound: Descriptive Notation [Condition like new]
Chess Star's Series Tal: 4 Vols (complete) $60.00

Tournament Books
Bronstein's 1953 Zurich Hardcover w/Jacket 1st Edition

Openings
Ideas behind the Chess Openings GM Fine
The Opening Game in Chess - GM Ludek Pachman
How to Open a Chess Game
Mastering the Chess Openings Vol 1 & 2
Modern Chess Opening Theory - GM Suetin
Plan like a Grandmaster - GM Suetin
(X) Lastly Mastering the Endgame Volume 1 & 2 IM Shereshevsky (Types of Endgames that lead from given openings)

Strategy and Tactics
Chess Fundamentals - Wch. GM Capablanca
A Primer of Chess - Wch. GM Capablanca
Laskers Manual
The Middlegame in Chess - GM Pachman
Point Count Chess
The Middle Game in Chess - GM Fine
Chess Strategy For the Tournament Player -GM Alburt
Complete Chess Strategy - GM Pachman
How to Play the Middlegame in Chess Littlewood
The Middle game in Chess - Znosko Borovsky
The Art of the Middle Game -GM's Keres and Kotov
New Ideas in Chess - GM Evans
Positional Chess Handbook - Gelfer
Art of chess Combination - Znosko Borovsky
The Art of Checkmate - Renaud and Khan
Combinations in the Middlegame - Bondarevsky
Chess Tactics - GM Kotov
Combination Challenge - Hays and Hall
The Inner Game of Chess - GM Soltis
The Art of Combination - Blokh
Chess Middle Game Combinations
Attack With Tal
Modern Chess Tactics
Attack and Defense in Chess Tactics
The Art of Attack - Vukovic
The Chess Sacrifice - Vukovic
Think Like a Grandmaster - GM Kotov
Play Like a Grandmaster - GM Kotov
Train Like a Grandmaster - GM Kotov
Pawns in Action - Sokolsky
Pawn Power In Chess - Kmoch
Pawn Structure Chess - GM Soltis
Understanding Pawn Play in Chess - Marovic
Chess Middlegame Planning - Romanovsky
Judgement and Planning - Wch. Dr. Max Euwe
Planning in Chess - GM Flesch
How to Choose a Chess Move - GM Soltis
Three Steps to Chess Mastery - GM Suetin
A Contemporary Approach to The Middle Game - GM Suetin
Secrets of Positional Chess - Marovic
The MiddleGame Book 1 & 2 - Wch. Dr. Max Euwe
Art of the Sacrifice Spielman
Middlegames - Laszlo Polgar RARE!

Endgame
Chess Endings for the Practical Player - Pachman
The Endings in Modern Theory and Practice
Endgame Strategy - Shereshevsky
Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual
Pal Benko's Endgame Laboratory

To purchase any of these books, please go to the Pink Elephant Chess Podcast Store