World Chess Championship In NYC This November?

Perhaps. Still no announcement of the venue in NYC for the WC or who the sponsors are or will be. Will Agon do business in the US? Perhaps we should take a look down memory lane regarding Agon's history with conflicting details as to who actually has ownership of Agon. Why is this an important issue? Because there is evidence to suggest that Agon might have a principal owner or benificial party who is presently subject to US Dept. of the Treasury sanctions, to wit, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. The history, with documentation, of Agon's founding was laid out a little more than two years ago by chess.com (link below)

Despite explanations from Ilyumzhinov and Paulson, signatories to the contract with Agon and Ilyumzhinov, stating that this contract was superseded by some other contract, it simply isn't clear what, if any, interest Ilyumzhinov has in the company organizing the WC in 2016. This is a not insignificant issue for business entities in the US that might want to sponsor the WC or enter into a site leasing agreement for the event. If Ilyumzhinov is an interested party in Agon (or any of it's possible off-shore affiliates/subsidiaries) US citizens/companies doing business with Agon in NYC could well be subject to criminal sanctions. 

I suggest it is more likely the 2016 WC will be held in Moscow or Sochi than NYC. I do hope it is held in NYC as it will be fun to visit, but I'm not making reservations just yet.

https://www.chess.com/news/deal-between-paulson--ilymzhinov-revealed-in-yet-another-leaked-document-6252

What Are Karjakin's Chances Against Carlsen In November?

Interesting article this morning on Chessbase by Johnathan Speelman with historical perspective and training advice for the computer age.
http://en.chessbase.com/post/speelman-how-will-karjakin-fare-against-carlsen

Sergey Karjakin Will Challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship

http://en.chessbase.com/post/sergey-karjakin-is-the-new-challenger

Agon Sues Chess24 and Chessbomb But Not ICC

Agon is suing in.............drum roll..........a Russian court. LOL! Good luck with enforcing any judgment obtained from Putin's Legal Kangaroos. Significantly, Agon did not sue in in Federal Court in NY, within
the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals after having issued a whitepaper completely mis-representing and mis-interpreting Second Circuit case law. I'll go out on a limb here and say that there will be no World Championship match in NYC this Fall. I don't think Agon is going to want to subject itself to a real court system, counterclaims, potential enforceable damages and possible US Treasure examination of Agon's relationship with Kirsan. This may also explain why Agon has not sued Pittsburg based ICC. The sites sued are in Germany and Bulgaria respectively.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/there-s-a-new-king-of-the-chess-internet-and-fans-are-outraged

The Easter Attack Rabbits Struck

Was at the Grindstone yesterday with Ian and his friend Ben. A number of others who had planned to be there were, sadly, prevented from playing chess with us by these vicious attack rabbits. Ian was yet again unbeatable at blitz. Pictured are Ian and Ben playing with time odds.

Own a Piece of Chess History

If you can afford it. Interesting article from Chessbase about an upcoming auction.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/historic-chess-sets-auctioned-at-sotheby-s

Caruana Defeats Anand to Lead 2016 Candidates Tournament

[Event "Candidates 2016"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2016.03.23"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Caruana Fabiano (USA)"]
[Black "Anand Viswanathan (IND)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator ""]
[BlackElo "0"]
[Classes "0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[GameID "0"]
[Remark ""]
[Source ""]
[WhiteElo "0"]

{Game analysis^13 ^10 Processor: AMD A10-5757M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics
  (@2.50GHz)^13 ^10 Engine(s): stockfish^13 ^10 Analysis time: 0:10:40} 1. c4
e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3
Re8 9. f3 exf3 10. Nxf3 d5 11. d4 dxc4 {[%t Val] <}{[%t Shrt] N} (11... Ne4
12. Qc2 dxc4 13. Rb1 f5 14. g4 Qe7 15. gxf5 Nd6 16. Ng5 {...1-0, Kasparov
Garry 2760  - Ivanchuk Vassily 2625 , Moscow 1988 Ch URS}) 12. Qc2 {[%t Val] 2}
{[%t Shrt] N} (12. Bg5 Qd6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Ne5 Qh6 15. Nxf7 Qe3+ 16. Kh1
{+0.36}) 12... h6 13. Bf4 Ne4 {[%t Val] 7} (13... Nd5 14. Bc1 Nf6 15. Bf4 Nd5
16. Bc1 Nf6 17. Bf4 Nd5 18. Bc1 Nf6 19. Bf4 {+0.00}) 14. Rad1 {[%t Val] 2}
(14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Nd6 16. Rf2 Qg5 {+0.19}) 14... Bf5 15. Ne5 Nd6 {?!}{[%t
Val] E} (15... Nxg3 {!?} 16. e4 Nxf1 17. exf5 {+0.00}) 16. e4 Bh7 17. Qe2 Ne7
{?!}{[%t Val] S} (17... Rb8 {!?} 18. Rfe1 Na5 19. Qg4 Kh8 20. Qh5 Qe7 {+0.71})
18. Bxh6 {?!}{[%t Val] E} (18. Bd2 {!?} 18... Nec8 19. Qg4 Ne7 20. Rde1 f5 21.
exf5 {+1.43}) 18... gxh6 19. Qh5 Nef5 20. exf5 Qg5 21. Qxg5+ hxg5 22. f6 Ne4
{?!}{[%t Val] Q} (22... Rad8 {!?} 23. Rde1 Bd3 {+0.73}) 23. Rfe1 {?!}{[%t Val]
I} (23. Bxe4 {!?} 23... Bxe4 24. h4 Re6 25. hxg5 Ra6 26. Rf2 Ra3 27. Rc1 Bd3
28. g6 Bxg6 {+1.29}) 23... Nxc3 {?}{[%t Val] X} (23... Nd6 {!} 24. Bd5 Bc2 25.
Rd2 Bf5 26. Rde2 Be6 {+0.88}) 24. Rc1 Nb5 25. Bxb7 Rad8 26. Bc6 Nxd4 27. Bxe8
Rxe8 28. Kf2 Nc2 29. Red1 Be4 30. Nxc4 Re6 31. Rd8+ Kh7 32. Kg1 Rxf6 33. Rf1 1-0

Vermont Ivory Bill Will Affect Chessmen Collectors

A friend forwarded this alert from the National Rifle Association. A bill in the Vermont legislature will impact chess set collectors who trade in ivory sets from the 19th Century and earlier. Also, Mammoth ivory is not causing the death of mammoths that died thousands of years ago. Collector sets of chessmen are now made of this legal form of ivory. House of Staunton presently sells mammoth ivory sets. What follows is the core information from the NRA press release:

This Wednesday, March 23, the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs will hear House Bill 297, sponsored by Representatives Kurt Wright (R-Chittenden-6-1) and Joan G. Lenes (D-Chittenden-5-2). H. 297 would prohibit the import, sale, offer for sale, purchase, barter or possession with intent to sell any ivory (defined to include mammoth ivory), ivory product, rhinoceros horn, or rhinoceros horn product, with limited and narrow exceptions.  It is vital that you contact the Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs,Senator Kevin Mullin (R-Rutland), TODAY and urge him to OPPOSE H. 297

H.297 was introduced with the intent of curbing poaching of elephants in Africa and helping to end the illegal ivory trade.  Unfortunately, H.297 would not accomplish its purported objective, but would instead harm those who have no part in these activities; firearm owners, sportsmen, hunters, recreational shooters and gun collectors who have legally purchased firearms (knives, jewelry, antiques and other items) that have incorporated ivory features for decades. And chess collectors.

Carlsen Interviewed By Children In Germany and His Mate In 2 Problem

http://en.chessbase.com/post/kids-interview-magnus-carlsen

White to Move and Mate in 2

Should Caruana Have Played For The Win?

Play the game through as see what you think. Post your thought......

[Event "Candidates 2016"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2016.03.16"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Aronian Levon (ARM)"]
[Black "Caruana Fabiano (USA)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A77"]
[LiveChessVersion "1.4.8"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 Ne5 12. b3 Bg4 13. Bxg4 Nfxg4 14. Bb2 a6 15. h3 Nf6 16. f4 Ned7 17. Nc4 Nb6 18. Rae1 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Nd7 20. e5 dxe5 21. f5 b5 22. Ne4 Nb6 23. Bc1 Nxc4 24. d6 gxf5 25. Rxf5 Nxd6 26. Bg5 Qa5 27. Bd2 Qd8 28. Bg5 Qa5 29. Bd2 Qd8 30. Bg5 1/2-1/2

Agon's Legal Threats Having No Effect On Independent Site Broadcasts of Candidates 2016

Into the fifth round and chessbomb.com and chess24.com are still doing live transmission of the moves from the Candidates Tournament in Moscow (Russia, not Illinois). Bravo to them.
You can also follow the moves in real time on the Follow Chess Android app.

Fans Of Chess Should Boycott Agon/FIDE's Transmission of the Candidates Tournament From Moscow

This article from The Guardian makes clear that the "leaders" at FIDE are at it again to the detriment of those around the world who love the game.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/13/world-chess-champion-magnus-carlsen-candidates-tournament-moscow-agon

Agon/FIDE Sues Chess Web Sites Covering World Championship of Chess Candidate's Tournament

Agon has announced that they will be commencing legal action against chess24, chessbomb, ICC, and chessgames:
http://www.agonlimited.com/news/2016/3/12/agon-ltd-commences-legal-action-against-chess24-internetchessclub-chessgames-and-chessbomb-for-breaching-broadcast-restrictions

Good luck to them. Agon's actual broadcast is subject to copyright, but the moves of the games are not. If these sites only relay the moves which they get from watching Agon's broadcast, Agon will not have a legal leg to stand on. As to the denial of service attack claims, I hope they have proof (apparently they don't) that these entities actually perpetrated a denial of service attack. Maybe Agon's servers just weren't up to the task of servicing a billion chess fans.

Nakamura and Caruna Draw First Round Game; Anand Defeats Topolov

[Event "Candidates 2016"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2016.03.11"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Nakamura Hikaru (USA)"]
[Black "Caruana Fabiano (USA)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A30"]
[Annotator "Deep Fritz 14 x64 (10m)"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]

{A30: Symmetrical English: Double Fianchetto and Hedgehog} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3.
Bg2 Bg7 4. e3 {Controls d4} e6 {Covers d5} 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 Ne7 7. d5 exd5 8.
cxd5 d6 9. Nc3 Nd7 10. Nf3 O-O 11. O-O h6 {Consolidates g5} 12. h4 {Black's
piece can't move: c8} Nc5 13. Re1 Bg4 14. Bf4 Nf5 {White has an active position
} 15. Qd2 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 {White has the pair of bishops} Qf6 17. Rac1 a5 {White
has an active position} 18. Nb5 {Attacks the isolani on d6} Qxb2 19. Qxb2 Bxb2
20. Rc2 Bf6 21. Bxd6 (21. Rd1 Rfd8 $14) 21... Nxd6 $14 22. Nxd6 b6 23. Rb1 Rab8
24. Nc4 {White threatens to win material: Nc4xb6} Na4 25. Bg4 Rfd8 26. d6 h5
27. Bh3 b5 {Black threatens to win material: b5xc4} 28. Nxa5 Rxd6 29. Nc6 {
White threatens to win material: Nc6xb8} Rb6 {Black threatens to win material:
Rb6xc6} 30. Nb4 {A sound move} Nc3 31. Rb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates 2016"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2016.03.11"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Anand Viswanathan (IND)"]
[Black "Topalov Veselin (BUL)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[LiveChessVersion "1.4.8"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. a4 a6 13. Bf1 Re8 14. a5 Ba7 15. Qb3 Nc6 16. d5 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4 18. Qxb7 Nd7 19. Nc4 Nc5 20. Qc6 Nb3 21. Rb1 Nxc1 22. Rbxc1 Rb8 23. Qxa6 Qh4 24. Rc2 Rxe4 25. Ne3 Qd8 26. Qc4 Bg6 27. Bd3 Rf4 28. Bxg6 hxg6 29. g3 Re4 30. a6 Qe8 31. Rce2 Bb6 32. Qd3 Ra8 33. Kg2 Qa4 34. b3 Rd4 35. bxa4 Rxd3 36. Nc4 Rxa6 37. a5 Bd4 38. Re8+ Kh7 39. R1e7 Rc3 40. Nd2 Rc2 41. Ne4 f6 42. h4 Rxa5 43. Rf7 g5 44. h5 Rxf2+ 45. Nxf2 Ra2 46. Rff8 Rxf2+ 47. Kh3 g4+ 48. Kxg4 f5+ 49. Rxf5 1-0

Candidates' Tournament Begins Tomorrow in Moscow----Caruana vs Nakamura in First Round

And so it begins tomorrow in a rather interesting venue. Even though the building has clearly be refurbished inside, the exterior is the same as it was when built in 1929 in the early days of the Soviet Union. It really gives the tournament the feel of another era. I wonder if the ghosts of Krylenko, Verlinsky and Botvinnik will be seen.

The venue was built in 1929. Here are two photos, then and now, Comrades.

Computer and Bookmaker Predictions of Who Carlsen's Challenger Will Be----Caruana or Nakamura!

Well soon know as the Candidates tournament gets under way tomorrow in Moscow.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/computer-simulates-and-predicts-candidates-winner

Kirsan Will Run Again For FIDE Presidency and Offers To Take A Polygraph Exam

As reported in Tass. And he'll seek to have chess in the Winter Olympics. 
http://tass.ru/en/sport/860461

This is truly amusing. After having blustered that he was a) going to Washington, D.C. to clear this up with the US DoT; b)was going to sue the US government for defamation; c) would go to NYC regardless of being sanctioned......he now offers to take a polygraph test to "prove" he isn't involved in sanctionable practices in Syria. Too bad the high powered lawyers he was going to hire in the US haven't advised him that polygraph tests are generally meaningless and not admissible in court. If he talks to his ex-KGB buddy Vlad Putin, he will likely be able to get some tips for passing polygraphs as spies are trained to do. 
http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1034995/russian-chess-boss-ilyumzhinov-prepared-to-take-lie-detector-test-ahead-of-re-election-campaign

Shock, Awe and..........Common Sense

From the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, the arbiter's reaction (the guy with the white beard) to finding players at the wrong board. Common sense prevailed. Instead of moving anyone, he simply put the players at a different board for the round. Photo from Chessbase.com

Correspondence Chess With Prison Inmates

I've just commenced a two game match with an inmate in the Oregon state corrections system. I've sent my first move as White in game one and await his first move as White in game two. Our games have been arranged by Herb Hickman of the Correspondence Chess League of America. If anyone is interested in engaging an inmate in a couple of games of chess, let me know and I'll put you in touch with Herb. Having done it before, I can attest to it being a worthwhile activity. You'll also be helping to support the US Postal Service. 

Reminder--G-60 Tournament on April 9th In Middlebury

Several of us from the Lyndonville Chess Club will likely be playing in this tournament. If you are in the Lyndonville area and either need a ride or can offer a ride, please let me know.

APR. 9   Saturday Super-Amateur in Middlebury

4SS, G/60 d5. Courtyard Marriott, 309 Court St (Route 7), Middlebury, VT 05753; 802-388-7600. Two sections. Under 2300, $$ b/16: 200-100, U2100 100, U1900 100, U1700 100. Under 1500, $$ b/16: 160-80, U1300 80, U1100 80, Unr. 40. No Unr. may win over $60. Both sections, EF: $33 if rec’d by 4/7, $35 if rec’d on 4/8, or $38 at site. OK to send EF via PayPal; add $1.25 or pay the transaction fee. Reg.: 8:45-9:35 a.m. Rds.: 10-1-3:45-6:15. Ent: Parker “Monty” Montgomery, PO Box 831, Middlebury, VT 05753-0831; vermonty64@earthlink.net, mobile 802-349-7739. HR: $125 or less; contact Monty for assistance, preferably before 3/18.

Maurice Ashley Turns 50

America's first African-American Grandmaster turned 50 years old today. Such a youngster.I vaguely recall being 50...........Happy Birthday, Maurice!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208771082333474&set=a.2528324526503.8039632.1205155781&type=3