Tal Memorial 2016

The Tal Memorial concluded in Moscow, with Ian Nepomniachtchi crowned the winner. The final round was played on Thursday October 6th. It saw only one decisive round, which was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov’s nice win over Vladimir Kramnik. Mamedyarov, playing White, clearly intended to sharpen play with his 19.g4(!?) but Kramnik seemed […check it out!]

The eighth round of the Tal Memorial Tournament, in Moscow, was played on October 5th. Just like the previous round, it saw all games drawn. Levon Aronian and Li Chao debated a Queen’s Gambit Declined, which saw Black develop his light-squared bishop prior to playing …e6. White’s pawns became rather […check it out!]

Round 7 of the Tal Memorial was played on Tuesday 4thOctober. The day before had been a rest day for the players and the final one before the closing three rounds of the tournament. It seemed that the players were still in laid back mood as the round was rather […check it out!]

The sixth round of the Tal Memorial would be the round before the second and final rest day. The tournament was approaching its closing stages and one would assume that the players would be wanting to make this round count so that they could enjoy their day off and prepare […check it out!]

Round-5 of the Tal Memorial 2016, was played on Saturday 1st October. It saw only one decisive game, at the expense of poor Boris Gelfand, who dropped his fourth point in as many games. His beneficiary in this round was Viswanathan Anand, who was lagging behind a point and a […check it out!]

Round-4 of the Tal memorial was played on Friday 30th September. It saw another round of largely decisive games. One of these was Vladimir Kramnik, who dominated his Guioco Piano against Viswanathan Anand. With excellent piece play, White penetrated the Black position along the a-file and just couldn’t be shaken. […check it out!]

The third round of the Tal Memorial was played on Thursday 29th September. It saw a bloody round of chess, after which a couple of players would leave with their tails up and at least one would feel a bit battered. The win of the round (or maybe the collapse […check it out!]

Round-2 of the Tal Memorial, currently underway in Moscow, Russia, saw Viswanathan Anand and Anish Giri join Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead. Both took nice wins, against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Boris Gelfand, respectively, to earn their places at the top of the standings at the first rest day. Mamedyarov was […check it out!]

Round one of the Tal Memorial began with a minute’s silence in honour of Mark Dvoretsky, whose death was announced earlier in the day. Dvoretsky was widely respected as a chess player and trainer and personally known by many involved in the tournament. Peter Svidler was one player to tweet […check it out!]

The Tal Memorial is getting underway, today in Moscow. The event, which runs from September 26th to October 6th, is held in honour of Russia’s former World Chess Champion, Mikhail Tal (1936-1992), who held the title from 1960 to 1961 and is still regarded as one of the most attacking […check it out!]