Asia
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Florencio Campomanes dies at 83
The Honorable Florencio Campomanes has passed away after suffering from cancer. He had become an icon in the Karpov-Korchnoi match in Baguio, Philippines and for initiating reforms in FIDE when he took office in 1982. He officiated over the five Kasparov-Karpov championship matches including the historic 1984-85 match which lasted…
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2009 World Team Championship (Bursa, Turkey)
Many of the world’s top chess federations will assemble in the Bursa province of Turkey for the World Team Championships. Some of the notable teams represent perennial powers Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel and USA. Also included in the field is India, the world’s #6 team Despite the fact that World…
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2009 World Cup: Round #4
Round #4 will feature a healthy dose of 2700 battles. We can expect shorter draws and perhaps longer matches. A few marquee matches are on tap including Svidler-Shirov, but Ruslan Ponomariov may be lurking in the wings hoping the field has forgotten that he has won this tournament back in…
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2009 World Cup: Round #2
Key matchups are on tap for the FIDE World Cup. While most of the top seeds moved on, they will face stiffer tests in round two. Judit Polgar will start her first match today against Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania. This tournament may see the rise by a number of young…
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South Africa welcomes Vishy Anand
African chess experienced a brush with greatness the past week. Viswanathan Anand’s recent visit to Africa has been the subject of conversation this past week. What was not emphasized in the media was his short stop in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province in South Africa prior to Botswana. The World Champion…
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What Anand’s Visit Means to Africa
Tomorrow Viswanathan Anand will set foot down on the African continent. This is reportedly his first visit which is significant for a number of reasons. First, no other sitting World Champion has visited the continent in recent memory (or perhaps ever). This is revolutionary for a number of reasons and…
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“No Tolerance” rule considered harsh
The clock strikes one… or two! In yet another controversy brought on by the FIDE “no tolerance” rule, two players forfeited games at the Chinese Championships recently held in Jiangsu, China. The rule was famously deployed at the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany, an event replete with controversial rulings.…
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