2nd London Chess Classic

I really enjoyed the first day of the 2nd London Chess Classic , which made for excellent chess spectating, with all of the games sharply contested. Just as with last year's tournament, the organizers have done a spectacular job of getting great players with a big Western fan following (Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik, Nakamura, Short, Adams, McShane, and Howell) and making live coverage freely and widely available (including at ICC and Chessgames).  Though the tournament website is running a little slow (likely due to higher than expected traffic), it has a great set of links to all of the live games and live video commentary from the amusingly British IM Lawrence Trent and GM Danny King (backed up by a supercomputer running Hiarchs) -- complete with interviews of all the players immediately following their matches.  What more could you ask for?  Check it out.

London Chess Classic Starts Tuesday

The London Chess Classic starts Tuesday, December 8th, and promises to be one of the most interesting tournaments of the year for chess fans in the Western hemisphere. Not only will the tournament website and related coverage be in English, but the event will feature such fan favorite players as world number one Magnus Carlsen, former world champion Vladimir Kramnik, U.S. champion Hikaru Nakamura, and resurgent British star Nigel Short (all of whom are playing in top form of late). The Daily Telegraph has been providing excellent coverage, including an interview today with 19-year-old Carlsen -- see "Magnus Carlsen: The Rise and Rise of Chess's Answer to Mozart" by Max Davidson. An earlier Davidson article, "London Chess Classic: The Chess Set Come to London," suggests that chess is regaining popularity in Britain, which once produced the strongest players in the West, including former championship challenger Short. Luke McShane and David Howell, who represent the next generation of rising British stars, will participate in the tournament as well, though they are likely to have a tough time against such strong opposition. I will be following the tournament closely and hope to post some articles about the event.