Sunday Music: Play the Game Tonight

In this Kansas video, a chess game between white and dark-hooded creatures seemingly representing the forces of Life and Death (playing the white and black chess pieces accordingly) is the backdrop to this rock hit video.

Kansas -- Play the Game Tonight

American World Chess Champion, Bobby Fischer, Has Died

In late breaking news this morning, American World Chess Champion, Bobby Fischer, has died in a Reykjavik hospital, announced by his spokesman Gardar Sverrisson. According to the latest news reports at the time I am writing this, he died of an unspecified illness.

I never met Bobby Fischer, but his 60 Memorable Games was one of the two first chess books I ever owned and studied.

In later years, his greatness at the game of chess sadly became overshadowed by his possible mental illness and anti-Semitic rants. I remember talking to Bruce Pandolfini about the anti-Semitic statements once (Fischer had been saying those types of things for several years, apparently), Bruce told me that it probably came from his first chess coach who himself was anti-Semitic.

However, when it comes to the game of chess, his contributions are incalculable. As the last American World Chess Champion (Paul Morphy -- who was unofficially considered World Champion -- was the only other American that history books record as having the title), Fischer's image looms large over the American chess culture.

Fortunately, Gata Kamsky, who will be playing for the World Chess Championship later this year, may bring the title back to the U.S.

Perhaps American chess players will soon be able to say: "The king is dead, long live the king."

American Gata Kamsky Wins FIDE World Cup Chess Championship

Shirov and Kamsky discuss the final game post-mortem.
From ChessBase.com: American GM Gata Kamsky has won the FIDE World Cup.

Normally, the winner of the FIDE World Cup would be crowned the FIDE World Champion, but ChessBase.com reports that last year FIDE changed the rules so that the winner of the World Cup would have to play the previous winner -- Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov -- to become FIDE's World Champion. The match may end becoming something of a spectacle if Gata brings his dad, Rustam, along. Rustam was well-known during Gata's early years. From ChessBase.com:

A number of readers have suggested that the Kamsky-Topalov match could become really exciting if the American reactivates his famously belligerent father Rustam, to counter the activities of Topalov's manager Silvio Danailov. "That would be a wonderfully thrilling matchup," wrote one wag, "with explosive off-the-board play. We look forward to daily blow-by-blow reports on your news page."

I remember seeing Rustam at the 1993 FIDE candidates in Biel/Bienne Switzerland during a weekend that I took off while I was at Oxford University. I still have a picture of Gata playing against a long-haired Vladimir Kramnik. Maybe I will scan it in and post it sometime. I don't remember Rustam causing any trouble at the tournament; but there was always the fear that he would. I had a lot of great memories of that tournament. Every morning I would have breakfast with many of the Grandmasters all sitting at the same table. During one breakfast, German GM Eric Lobron animatedly explained his preparation in his win over GM Judit Polgar. I also had dinner with Former many-time U.S. Champion Yasser Seirawan and French GM Joel Lautier and Lautier's father. But I digress.

In any case, it is exciting to have an American at the top of Chess World again. Maybe this will spur some interest chess in the United States unlike we have seen in quite a while.

If I get a chance to talk to Gata between now and the match with Topalov, I will try to post that, too.

Chess World Cup Update: Kamsky Wins Game 2

American Gata Kamsky won the second game of the finals match over Spain's Alexei Shirov for the FIDE World Cup Chess Championship. The first game was drawn. With two regular games yet to be played, Kamsky is in a very strong position as Shirov will have to win one of them to send it to a playoff. Kamsky started out with the black pieces and won his game today while playing the white pieces.



You can see the full report with an analysis of the game by Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenko at ChessBase.com.

An American Reaches the Finals of the FIDE World Cup Chess Championship

ChessBase.com reports that Gata Kamsky, who took a long sabbatical from competitive chess to obtain a law degree, has knocked out Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen to reach the finals of the FIDE World Chess Championship.


I have little doubt that the talented Norwegian will become World Champion himself someday. Having just turned 17 years old, he still has plenty of time to hone his skills.






Gata will face either another child prodigy, Ukrainian Sergey Karjakin, or Spanish GM Alexei Shirov.

Karjakin is already saying it is his generation's turn.