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Viktor Korchnoi dies at the age of 85
In a bad year for sports legends, the chess world is not staying behind. Today Viktor Korchnoi died at the age of 85 in a hospital in Wohlen, Switzerland. Korchnoi had been ill for some time and was hospitalized last week after suffering from internal bleeding
Viktor Korchnoi was considered by many as one of the most underrated players in the world of chess. He was mentioned as such by Magnus Carlsen in his interview.
Mamedyarov wins Shamkir 2016
In an astonishing round that had to have Gashimov smiling, the final round saw three of his compatriots winning their final games. However, the biggest result was of course Mamedyarov who defeated Giri in a superb rook endgame he played to perfection, right after beating Caruana in the previous round. In a nail-biting playoff, he defeated Caruana and snatched the title.
Coming in as the 6th seed in this tournament, Mamedyarov made it through the end, beating Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri in the last two rounds, and beating Caruana further in the tie-break playoff games.
Final standings before the playoff games follow:
June 2016 FIDE Ratings List
No doubt, the reigning world champion is still on top with 2855, up 4 points from last month. But Vladimir Kramnik, from last month’s 2801, gained 11 more ELO points to take the second spot from Fabiano Caruana for this month’s official FIDE Ratings List June 2016.
Wesley So, although lost 5 points by virtue of his game 3 loss to Ding Liren, is still at No. 10, but now tied with Vishy Anand.
Here’s the current top 20 in the world:
Rk | Name | Fed | Rtg | Gms | B-Year |
1 | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2855 | 9 | 1990 |
2 | Kramnik, Vladimir | RUS | 2812 | 14 | 1975 |
3 | Caruana, Fabiano | USA | 2804 | 0 | 1992 |
4 | Aronian, Levon | ARM | 2792 | 9 | 1982 |
5 | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2789 | 10 | 1990 |
6 | Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2787 | 0 | 1987 |
7 | Ding, Liren | CHN | 2783 | 4 | 1992 |
8 | Giri, Anish | NED | 2782 | 9 | 1994 |
9 | Karjakin, Sergey | RUS | 2774 | 3 | 1990 |
10 | So, Wesley | USA | 2770 | 4 | 1993 |
11 | Anand, Viswanathan | IND | 2770 | 0 | 1969 |
12 | Harikrishna, P. | IND | 2764 | 9 | 1986 |
13 | Topalov, Veselin | BUL | 2761 | 9 | 1975 |
14 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2759 | 7 | 1976 |
15 | Li, Chao b | CHN | 2758 | 9 | 1989 |
16 | Eljanov, Pavel | UKR | 2751 | 9 | 1983 |
17 | Grischuk, Alexander | RUS | 2747 | 8 | 1983 |
18 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2746 | 9 | 1985 |
19 | Navara, David | CZE | 2744 | 11 | 1985 |
20 | Andreikin, Dmitry | RUS | 2743 | 9 | 1990 |
Chessbase lists the complete top 100 and discusses about the top climbers and descenders in the list, among others.
Who will win if Bobby played Karpov in 1975?
I spoke to Boris Spassky about this same issue and he believes that Bobby would have won in 1975, but that Anatoly would have won the rematch.
However, Garry Kasparov has a different viewpoint. He believes that Anatoly would have won in 1975 and supports this opinion by demonstrating the quality of their games at that time. This is what that makes chess so interesting. From all of the people I spoke to, the opinions split right down the middle with a small edge for Bobby.
I think it would have been very close. However, Bobby would have had a small edge due to his greater experience at that time.
Just one of those ‘what-if’ questions that will obviously solicit differing opinions from different people. Apparently, we can’t hold on to the past anymore. Thus, the more relevant question now is: Who will win this year’s world championship?
Wesley So vs. Garry Kasparov Round 10 Video Coverage
Watch how the Round 10 unfolded between Wesley So and Garry Kasparov of the US Ultimate Blitz Challenge 2016. After Wesley So smothered him in this blitz game, perhaps out of frustration or embarrassment (who knows?) — Garry Kasparov walked out immediately of the playing hall. Check out also how the commentators described how astonishing Wesley was playing in this game.
Ding Liren Inches Up Two Spots in the Live Ratings
After defeating Wesley So in the 2016 China-USA Chess Grandmaster Summit, Chinese GM Ding Liren advanced to spots in the Live Ratings as of today, May 12th, 2016.
Apparently, that event was rated.
May 2016 FIDE Ratings List
The updated ratings for May 2016 are out. Here’s the the top 20:
See how 80% of the Top 10 are 90’s babies, i.e., they were born in the 1990’s. It speaks volumes about the quality of computer support these kids got especially when they were starting out.
Anyway, Wesley So retains his hold onto the 10th place, ahead of two former world champions Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov.
The World Championship we are about to witness in November is between the No. 1 player Magnus Carlsen and No. 8 Sergey Karjakin. Looks like a heavily lopsided match to me, I dare say.
Check out the top 100 players here.