Africa...I've always dreamed to put my foot on African red soil, to discover unknown places, to understand the people's life and their history, to eat crocodiles (this idea was given by Sergey Tiviakov:) or just to stare around, absorbing as much as possible.
Many chess players don't realize what a great opportunity they have thanks to the activity we practice. Without chess, probably it wouldn't have even crossed my mind to visit Angola!
 |
| 1st Edition (Russian) |
I have just finished reading the book "The Luzhin Defence" by Vladimir Nabokov...a chilling story of obsession and madness. As a young boy, Luzhin was unattractive, distracted, withdrawn, grumpy - an enigma to his parents and an object of ridicule to his classmates. He takes up chess as a refuge from the anxiety of his everyday life. His talent is prodigious and he rises to the rank of grandmaster but at a cost: in Luzhin's obsessive mind, the game of chess gradually replaces the world of reality. His own world falls apart during a crucial championship match, when the intricate defense he has devised pales under his opponent's unexpected and unpredictable lines of assault.
Mate in two moves...piece of cake, isn't that right?! Strangely enough, sometimes it's not that easy. Try to solve the following exercises, it's fun and useful at the same time. By working faithfully six hours a day you may eventually get to be a notorious GM and work ten hours a day:)
Two rounds have already passed in the long-awaited event: Candidates Matches from Kazan. So, who will face Anand for the World Title?! Aronian was seen as the clear favourite on various websites and our poll didn't make a separate opinion. But there are still many games to go, we can enjoy their fights much longer and see if the final standings will look like our predictions.
It might sound a bit odd, but chess and cars are not two opposite topics that exclude each other. Chess can be linked to anything, either if it's about branding an entire country (Ukraine) or promoting a bank's loan.
More and more articles are written, where chess and cars can be seen cooperating with each other.
While trying to bring my head into the chess mood, I discovered the following position:
 |
| White to move and win |
It's not as easy as it seems to be...
SOLUTION:
