Ivanchuk MTel Masters rounds 4 and 5

MTel Masters was a tournament played earlier in middle May...see other posts about it too... and Ivanchuk was the winner....

Bloggers are like Pawns on a Chessboard

Chess has been used many times to compare/explain situations....and this article is another one...enjoy! and keep blogging!!

Source of the article:...Please click HERE ....

Well, you have to give it up for the title, don’t you think? Probably one of the weirdest blog post titles that you’ve ever seen on Problogger right? Well anyway, by the time you’ve finished reading this post, I can guarantee you that you will know just where on the chessboard (blogosphere) you are. I can not expect all of you to know your chess, and knowledge on the game will only matter less. Most of you are bloggers and my only hope is that you will find this article useful.

For those of you who are less familiar with the games of chess, let me tell you what a pawn is. There are 8 pawns per player on a chess bard. Pawns are the weakest of all the pieces and the lowest ranked. They can only move forward - two squares at the first move and one square per turn thereafter and can capture any other piece on the board moving one square diagonally.

So what blogger-like qualities do I see in pawns?


In the beginning there are plenty of them - and it makes them virtually worthless
In the beginning of the game, there are so many pawns at the same level. And too much of one thing will seriously undervalue it all.

Just like that, when you’re starting off as a blogger, it’s pretty hard to place some value on yourself since there will be so many bloggers at the same level as you are. You just have to accept the fact and work your way through it just like the entire platoon of pawns do. The more you progress in the right track at the right time will make you last long in the game.


Almost every time, a pawn takes the start.
A knight (the horsey figure) on the chess board can jump over all the other pieces on the board at a time, while moving. So, at the start, if you’re not starting the game with your knights, you will have to move your pawn.

If you are a well known personality, like a celebrity, you probably don’t have to take the game’s start as a pawn. Do you think Darren would have to start from scratch, and wait for a few months till his subscriber count hits 100, if he launches a new blog tomorrow? He can use his star power to probably jump over a few obstacles he’d otherwise encounter. It might not be the best thing, but it will be a head start. If not, you should start your game with a pawn, as a pawn. It’s just the way it is. Most of us will start from that zero point, and build on it thereafter.


At the very start, they will move two squares each
On a chessboard, a pawn can only move one square at a time except for the very first move of that pawn. If the player wishes, the pawn can move two squares when it has not been moved before. (When it is at its first move)

Remember that time you started to blog? You were so into making it happen that you used to commit so many hours into you blog? Instead of moving one square at a time, you were a bit impatient so you thought you should move two at a time. You soon learnt that running on full throttle is not something you can do all the time. So, you HAD to slow down and realize your blog doesn’t deserve all of your attention.


Most of them fall off
Pawns are often ignored in the middle game of chess and when in the end game, most of the pawns would’ve been captured (or sacrificed) by the two players. When the going gets rough, I guess some pawns fall off. It’s inevitable.

Similarly, when time goes by, most of the bloggers would just quit on their blogs or ignore them. It’s just a part of the cycle I guess. At a certain level, some people won’t find it worthwhile committing to something that is demanding constant attention. It’s like kids falling off when the class moves up the grades I guess. It just happens that way.


A few makes it to the end and becomes powerful
Do you know what happens to a pawn that defies all the odds and make it to the other end of the chessboard? To the 8th row of the chess board? The pawn, the lowest ranked piece of the chessboard becomes the most powerful piece on the chessboard. At that moment, a player can trade that pawn to any other piece that he/she wants that had been captured by the other side.

Well, I guess you know what that means. A blogger who has got a lot of persistence and survives till the end will undoubtedly find it worthwhile to have made it that far through all the turmoil. That blogger will be recognized as someone who made it to the ‘top’. And that blogger would not be a pawn anymore.


Before you become powerful, people will start attacking you
When pawns make it nearly to the end of the ‘other side’, to become the most powerful piece on the board, the other pieces will start attacking the pawns to make sure that they don’t make it through. It’s a battle, what do you think?

People will sometimes be envious towards what you have achieved for little or no reason and will start attacking you. If they don’t have any valid point for their attack, know that those are the other pieces on this chessboard that do not want you to make it big. Do not let them succeed. You didn’t make 6 rows on your own to be thrown out of the game on the 7th row!


But, do you really want to be just a pawn..?
So did I make all of these analogies to tell you you’re not a pawn? Well, let me put it this way. As I’ve put out here, you can clearly see how the life-span of a blogger can coincide with a life-span of the pawn of chess. But, there’s one last thing I want to tell you.

On the chessboard, a pawn is a pawn. It has no control of its existence. But, you can think and make decisions for yourself. You are not a pawn. You can choose to be successful. You can choose to fail. You might only move one square at a time. But you are in control of your journey. If you want to make it to the end, keep that in mind.

Chess puzzle - Ivanchuk tactic

Click on THIS LINK to solve the puzzle and you will find another one to solve too. Wait a few seconds for the board to load and slide down to the bottom of the page for the second puzzle - which is the one on this image. Enjoy!

Paul Klee and Chess

Please click HERE to see more Paul Klee art and you can see children's art work in the style of Paul Klee.

Knights!

Some of the chess players I'm playing quite often will know HOW much I love my Knights...please click HERE to solve a puzzle involving Knights!

Ivanchuk takes MTel Masters

Enjoy the game of round 10, the final round. This is Ivanchuk's game against Cheparinov. Ivanchuk is the winner in the Mtel Masters tournament that took place in Sofia, Bulgaria and which ended the 18th May.

MTel Chess rounds 9 and 10

Ivanchuk...image:Chessdom

Update: Final results...after round 10.
Ivanchuk is the Winner of MTel Masters 2008!

Ivanchuk Vassily 2740 UKR 8
Topalov Veselin 2767 BUL 6,5
Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 5,5
Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 4
Bu Xiangzhi 2708 CHN 3
Aronian Levon 2763 ARM 3


Results round 10…the final round…
Topalov, V vs Radjabov, T….1/2
Cheparinov, I vs Ivanchuk, V….0-1
Aronian, L vs Xiangzhi, Bu….1/2


Please click HERE to follow the results of the other rounds played in this tournament. I will update this post on the results of rounds 9 and 10. Round 9 is scheduled for today and the final round tomorrow. This tournament is taking place in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Please click on the images for a larger view.

Round 9: ...End position...Radjabov and Cheparinov...1/2

Round 9:...End position....Xingzhi vs Topalov...1-0!!





Round 9: ...End position...Ivanchuk vs Aronian... 1/2

Chess Queen -- Kosteniuk

Links will open in a new window.

Please click on THIS LINK to see beautiful pictures about Alexandra on my WP blog.

On this video you can see a blitz played by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in 2007 against GM Zoltan Almasi.

Alexandra Kosteniuk comments in detail her blitz game played in Moscow at the World Blitz Championships Qualifiers against one of the world’s top experts on the Berlin Wall defence.

Aura

On my bike

Please click HERE if you want to see more pics of Osterley Park in London.

MTel Chess 2008

These six players are taking part in the M-Tel Chess Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. Follow this link too to read more about Sofia and to see some pictures from Sofia. Please click HERE to read more about the tournament and for a live link to the games.

Baku Chess round 12

On this image you can see the final position between Kamsky and Svidler.
Please click HERE to see more images and results of round 12 played yesterday. Today players play the final round in Baku, Azerbaijan. You can also follow the results of round 13 on this link.

Pairings for round 13....
Round 13 on 05/05/08 at 14:00
Karjakin Sergey - Kamsky Gata
Navara David - Cheparinov Ivan
Grischuk Alexander - Radjabov Teimour
Adams Michael - Gashimov Vugar
Bacrot Etienne - Carlsen Magnus
Yue Wang - Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
Svidler Peter - Inarkiev Ernesto

Baku Chess

Today Round 11 was played in Baku, Azerbaijain. Please click HERE to see the results of this Grand Prix Chess Tournament. On the image you can see Peter Svidler being examined by security.

Baku Chess round 9

Please click HERE to read what these Chess Grandmasters, and some others too, "said" to one another during round 9 of the Chess Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. You will also find a movie which can also be found on the Official Fide-Baku-2008 site. Pairings and standings after round 9 can also be found on this link.