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Ulf Andersson
Ulf Andersson (born 27 June 1951) is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972. Chess career At his peak, Andersson reached number four on the FIDE rating list. Tournaments which he has won or shared first include the 1969 Swedish Chess Championship, Göteborg 1971, Dortmund 1973, Camagüey 1974, Cienfuegos 1975, Belgrade 1977, Buenos Aires 1978, Hastings 1978–79, Phillips & Drew 1980, Johannesburg 1981, Phillips & Drew 1982, Turin 1982, Wijk aan Zee 1983, Reggio Emilia 1985, Rome 1985, and Rome 1986. Andersson drew a six-game match against former world champion Mikhail Tal in 1983, and played top board in the second USSR versus The Rest of The World Match in 1984. He led the Swedish Chess Olympiad Team during the 1970s and 1980s, and reached his best personal result in the 23rd Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires 1978, where he finished in third place on first board, after Viktor Korchnoi and Ore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Västerås
Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 more than the next largest of the 17 localities included in the Västerås Municipality. Västerås is the seat of Västerås Municipality, which is the capital of Västmanland County and an episcopal see. History Västerås is one of the oldest cities in Sweden and Northern Europe. The area has been populated since the Nordic Viking Age, before 1000 CE. Anundshög, Sweden's largest burial mound, is located just outside the City of Västerås. It was built about 500 CE and is over wide and is almost high. In the beginning of the 11th century, Västerås was the second largest city in Sweden; by the 12th century, it had become the seat of the bishop. The name ''Västerås'' originates from ''Västra Aros'' (), first recorded as ''Westra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one of the most influential players in chess history. Tal played in an attacking and daring combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability. Vladislav Zubok said of him, "Every game for him was as inimitable and invaluable as a poem". His nickname was "Misha (name), Misha", a diminutive for Michael (given name), Mikhail, and he earned the nickname "The Magician from Riga". Both ''The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games'' and ''Modern Chess Brilliancies'' include more games by Tal than any other player. He also held the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competitive chess history with 95 games (46 wins, 49 draws) between 23 October 1973 and 16 October 1974, until Ding Liren's streak o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedgehog (chess)
The Hedgehog is a pawn formation in chess adopted usually by Black that can arise from several openings. Black exchanges the pawn on c5 for White's pawn on d4, and then places pawns on the squares a6, b6, d6, and e6. These pawns form a row of "spines" behind which Black their forces. Typically, the bishops are placed on b7 and e7, knights on d7 and f6, queen on c7, and rooks on c8 and e8 (or c8 and d8). Although Black's position is cramped, it has great latent energy, which may be released if Black is able to play ...b5 or ...d5 at some point. These pawn breaks are particularly effective because White usually places pawns on c4 and e4 (the Maróczy Bind). Black manoeuvring Once the basic Hedgehog structure is in place, and depending on how White responds, Black has various ways of reorganizing their pieces. The knight on d7 often hops to c5, where it attacks a white pawn on e4; or to e5, where it attacks a pawn on c4. The knight on f6 can go to e8 (when Black placed their r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) was founded on 26 March 1951 as a new appearance of the International Correspondence Chess Association (ICCA), which was founded in 1945, as successor of the Internationaler Fernschachbund (IFSB), founded on 2 December 1928. The current president is Eric Ruch. History Before ICCF Some sources say that correspondence chess was already played in the 12th century. Most chess historians doubt whether this is true. In the 19th century chess clubs and magazines started to organize more regular tournaments, national as well as international tournaments. Finally in 1928 the first international league (Internationaler Fernschachbund) was founded. Alexander Alekhine, Paul Keres and Max Euwe were well-known enthusiastic correspondence chess players during some periods of their chess careers. ICSB On 15 August 1928, the ICSB (Internationaler Correspondensschachbund/International Correspondence Chess Federation) was created under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Correspondence Chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, traditionally through the postal system. Today it is usually played through a correspondence chess server, a public internet chess forum, or email. Less common methods that have been employed include fax, homing pigeon and phone. It is in contrast to over-the-board (OTB) chess, where the players sit at a physical chessboard at the same time; and most online chess, where the players play each other in real time over the internet. However, correspondence chess can also be played online. Correspondence chess allows people or clubs who are geographically distant to play one another without meeting in person. The length of a game played by correspondence can vary depending on the method used to transmit moves: a game played via a server or by email might last no more than a few days, weeks, or months; a game played by post between players in different countries might last several years. Structu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ChessBase
ChessBase is a German company that develops and sells chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates an internet chess server for online chess. Founded in 1986, it maintains and sells large-scale databases containing the moves of recorded chess games. The databases contain data from prior games and provide engine analyses of games. Endgame tablebases are also provided by the company. ChessBase's Indian YouTube channel ChessBase India has amassed more than 2.5 million YouTube subscribers and more than 2.5 billion total views as of December 2024. History Starting in 1983, Frederic Friedel and his colleagues put out a magazine ''Computer-schach und Spiele'' covering the emerging hobby of computer chess. In 1985, Friedel invited then world chess champion Garry Kasparov to his house. Kasparov mused about how a chess database would make it easier for him to prepare for specific opponents. Friedel began working with Bonn physicist Matthias Wüllenweber who created the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exchange (chess)
In chess, an exchange or trade of chess pieces is a series of closely related moves, typically sequential, in which the two players each other's pieces. Any type of pieces except the kings may possibly be exchanged, i.e. captured in an exchange, although a king can capture an opponent's piece. Either the player of the white or the black pieces may make the first capture of the other player's piece in an exchange, followed by the other player capturing a piece of the first player, often referred to as a ''recapture''. Commonly, the word "exchange" is used when the pieces exchanged are of the same type or of about equal value, which is an ''even exchange''. According to chess tactics, a bishop and a knight are usually of about equal value. If the values of the pieces exchanged are not equal, then the player who captures the higher-valued piece can be said to be ''up the exchange'' or ''wins the exchange'', while the opponent who captures the lower-valued piece is ''down the ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prophylaxis (chess)
In chess, prophylaxis consists of a move or series of moves done by a player to prevent their opponent from taking some action. Such preventive moves, or ''prophylactic moves'', aim not only to improve one's position but also to restrict the opponent in improving their own. Many standard and widespread opening moves can be considered prophylactic. One common prophylactic idea is the advance of the near a castled king, which can be done to provide luft and/or to prevent a pin; another is to transfer one's king to the b-file after castling queenside so as to protect an unmoved a-pawn, among other purposes. Prophylaxis is a distinctive feature of , often preventing opponents from entering risky, double-edged lines, as well as punishing opponents who play too aggressively. Using prophylaxis is an essential skill at advanced levels of play. Famous practitioners of prophylactic play include Aron Nimzowitsch, Tigran Petrosian, and Anatoly Karpov; even players, such as Mikhail Tal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob Aagaard
Jacob Aagaard (born 31 July 1973) is a Danish-Scottish chess grandmaster and the 2007 British Chess Champion. Biography In 2004, Aagaard took second place in the Scottish Chess Championship. In 2005, he took first place in the Scottish Championship but was not a British citizen, so the title went to Craig Pritchett. In 2012 he won the title; the first time he played and was eligible to win it. He is also a chess author and co-owner of Quality Chess, a chess publishing house. In 2011, Aagaard was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. In 2012, Aagaard won the Scottish Chess Championships with a score of 7/9. Aagaard is the only chess writer in the world to win all four major Book of the Year awards: English Chess Federation The English Chess Federation (ECF) is the governing chess organisation in England. It is affiliated to FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an internation . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rook And Pawn Versus Rook Endgame
The rook and pawn versus rook endgame is a fundamentally important, widely studied chess endgame. Precise play is usually required in these positions. With optimal play, some complicated wins require sixty moves to either checkmate, capture the defending rook, or successfully promote the pawn. In some cases, thirty-five moves are required to advance the pawn once. The play of this type of ending revolves around whether or not the pawn can be promoted, or if the defending rook must be sacrificed to prevent promotion. If the pawn promotes, that side will have an overwhelming advantage. If the pawn is about to promote, the defending side may give up their rook for the pawn, resulting in an easily won endgame for the superior side (a basic checkmate). In a few cases, the superior side gives up their rook in order to promote the pawn, resulting in a winning queen versus rook position (see ). A rule of thumb (with exceptions) is: . The side with the pawn can cut off the opposing k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess Endgame
The endgame (or ending) is the final stage of a chess game which occurs after the middlegame. It begins when few pieces are left on the board. The line between the middlegame and the endgame is often not clear, and may occur gradually or with a quick exchange of pieces. The endgame, however, tends to have different characteristics from the middlegame, and the players have correspondingly different strategic concerns. In particular, pawns become more important as endgames often revolve around attempts to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth . The king, which normally is kept safe during the game, becomes active in the endgame, as it can help escort pawns to promotion, attack enemy pawns, protect other pieces, and restrict the movement of the enemy king. Not all chess games reach an endgame; some of them end earlier. All chess positions with up to seven pieces on the board have been solved by endgame tablebases, so the outcome (win, loss, or draw) of best play by bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Draw (chess)
In chess, there are a number of ways that a game can end in a draw, in which neither player wins. Draws are codified by various rules of chess including stalemate (when the player to move is not in check (chess), check but has no legal move), threefold repetition (when the same position occurs three times with the same player to move), and the fifty-move rule (when the last fifty successive moves made by both players contain no or pawn (chess), pawn move). Under the standard FIDE rules, a draw also occurs in a ''dead position'' (when no sequence of legal moves can lead to checkmate), most commonly when neither player has sufficient to checkmate the opponent. Unless specific tournament rules forbid it, players may draw by agreement, agree to a draw at any time. Ethical considerations may make a draw uncustomary in situations where at least one player has a reasonable chance of winning. For example, a draw could be called after a move or two, but this would likely be thought unsp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
