Play Online Chess, Free Chess Online, nikto.net

We are developing a brand new nikto.net! In the meanwhile...

Chess news:

Vasily Smyslov, 1921-2010, an Appreciation — It is not surprising that accolades have poured in from all over the world on the death of Vasily Smyslov, the seventh world chess champion. Though Smyslov was the titleholder for only a year, he was among the world’s best chess players for decades and his games had a certain clarity to them that was widely admired. He did not play speculatively like Mikhail Tal, or adhere to a set of scientific principals, like his great rival, Mikhail Botvinnik. He was not stubbornly dogmatic, like Bobby Fischer, or a technician, like Anatoly Karpov. Though he drew inspiration from Alexander Alekhine, his style was unique. Boris Spassky has often been described as a “universal” chess player because ...

A Master of Slow Chess Who’s a Speed Demon, Too — The best chess players in the world are ranked on their ability to play slow, or classical, chess, in which each side has at least a few hours for a game. None of them are slouches at blitz chess, in which an entire game lasts five minutes or less, but it puts a premium on tactical skill and quick thinking — which is usually the forte of younger chess players. So it is not surprising that Magnus Carlsen, 19, who is the No. 1-ranked player in the world in classical chess, and 22-year-old Hikaru Nakamura, No. 17, look to be the best in the world at blitz chess. Carlsen, a Norwegian, is the reigning world blitz champion, having won the title in November at a tournament in Moscow. Carlsen beat ...

Can you keep up with the world's best? — It can be addictive following the Amber chess tournament - but what should Black do here? Carlsen-Smeets, Amber (Blindfold) 2010. How should Black play? RB Every now and then, when a deadline looms, I go and hole up in an attic for a week or two. With no – or at least fewer – distractions, I can get a lot of writing done. However, the attic does have an internet connection, and one distraction I've been unable to resist is the live coverage of the Melody Amber chess tournament. The rapid and blindfold games are the perfect internet spectator sport – it's great when you can keep pace, even just for a move or two, with the world's elite. I watched Carlsen-Smeets live, but such is my chess memory that ...

European Chess Championship attracts huge field — The 11th European Chess Championship, which finished March 18 in Rijeka, Croatia, attracted a mammoth field of 408 chess players representing 41 European countries. A record 187 grandmasters competed. At stake were 23 places in the next World Cup, plus a prize fund of 120,000 Euros (about $163,000). Ian Nepomniachtchi, a 19-year-old Russian grandmaster ranked a mere 35th at the start despite his formidable 2656 rating, took first prize with an undefeated score of 9-2. Next were Baadur Jobava of Georgia and Artyom Timofeev of Russia, each 8 1/2 -2 1/2 . Veteran Pia Cramling of Sweden won the 158-player women's chess tournament, which ...

A glittering career — The 7th World Chess Champion Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov (1921-2010) has died at the age of 89 in Moscow. He played four times for the world title including three matches against Mikhail Botvinnik. He won the title in 1957 and was one of the finest players in world chess for over 40 years. He remained an immensely strong chess player even into his 60s and was only eliminated from the world championship cycle by a young Garry Kasparov in 1984. Smyslov learnt the moves from his father, who was a very strong chess player, at the age of six and was schooled initially in endgames which doubtless led to his acknowledged mastery of this phase of the game. He became ...

Chess history, FIDE, USCF, Correspondence chess, Play computer chess, Chess computer, Chessbase

5/17 13:56