(24 April 2010): GM Veselin Topalov Smashes GM Viswanathan Anand in opening game of World Chamipionship

The 12-game match between the defending champion Anand and Topalov started today in Sofia, Bulgaria with a 30-move win by Topalov playing the white pieces vs. Anand's Grunfeld Defense. It is probable that Topalov and his team prepared this opening right to the final move. The match will continue with a rest day following each second game (an extra rest day is scheduled between games 11 & 12). You can follow the games live at the official web site.

[Event "Sofia BUL, WCC2010"]
[Site "Sofia BUL"]
[Date "2010.04.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D87"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Na5 11. Bd3 b6 12. Qd2 e5 13. Bh6 cxd4 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. cxd4 exd4 16. Rac1 Qd6 17. f4 f6 18. f5 Qe5 19. Nf4 g5 20. Nh5+ Kg8 21. h4 h6 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Rf3 Kf7 24. Nxf6 Kxf6 25. Rh3 Rg8 26. Rh6+ Kf7 27. Rh7+ Ke8 28. Rcc7 Kd8 29. Bb5 Qxe4 30. Rxc8+ 1-0

(24 January 2009): Chess Today reaches 3000 issues today!

Chess Today

Congratulations to GM Alex Baburin and his entire Chess Today staff on the publication of their 3000th issue of this outstanding e-magazine. It arrives every day in the inbox of many hundreds of satisfied customers with a daily dose of International chess news, lots of just played games (in ChessBase and PGN formats), an annotated game of the day usually from a current event, chess problems to solve, commentary on the world of chess, letters from readers, endgame discussions, and many other great items (including my favorite feature Beware Blunder! showcasing recent oversights by top players).

I encourage all my friends to support GM Baburin in this worthy endeavor of publishing the chess news on a daily basis. In the process you'll also treat yourself to a daily dose of the best in chess with the latest news and some very useful chess educational material. I have been a subscriber for a number of years and can personally recommend it. Why not try a year's subscription to Chess Today and see for yourself? Please mention that his long-time subscriber Franklin Campbell recommended it to you. See the Chess Today web site for subscription information. Click here to see a sample copy of issue #3000 in PDF format (Adobe Acrobat required to read it).

(5 October 2008): The 61st ICCF Congress in Pleven, Bulgaria

The following report has been supplied by Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary.

(Photo by GM Raymond Boger) Nol van 't Riet (NED) on left presenting ICCF-US Secretary Corky Schakel with ICCF title medals and certificates for USA players during 2008 ICCF Congress.

The recently concluded 61st ICCF Congress in Pleven, Bulgaria approved a number of changes that will be welcomed by USA players in ICCF events. The highlight of the Congress for me was receiving medals and certificates for our new title holders: GM Dan Fleetwood, SIM and IM Michael Proof, SIM Ted Brandhorst, and IM Keith Holzmueller. The Congress also approved Leeds, England for the 62nd ICCF Congress next September. Anyone receiving a title is welcome to attend, and receive their certificate and medal in person.

There were several changes in rules, and new events approved and announced. A link to the minutes is at www.iccf.com. World Cup 17 will start March 2009, all games on the webserver. A change for Provisional ratings was approved, to allow the Provisional rating to be set somewhere close to an established club rating, instead of by event type. This will certainly help us organize Friendly Matches, which were set at 1800P. New Rapid (10/20) and Blitz (10/10) events were approved as a one year experiment, with the format the same as Money Prize Tournaments, but prize money to be credit for future entries. A new Interzonal tournament is expected to be started by the end of 2008. Veterans World Cups will be started every two years. A small change in rules to discourage slow play in lost games was approved: time doubles after twenty days on one move (server) and after twelve days (post). Rating changes will now be calculated with a maximum difference of 350, as is done in FIDE. The previous 600+ limit discouraged higher rating players from competing with lower rated opponents.

New Executive Board members are Eric Ruch (France) as Marketing Director and Søren Perschardt (Denmark) as Finance Director. These are strong additions to the ICCF leadership team, and it was a pleasure for me to visit with not only these two, but many of the others who participated in the Congress, as well as Michael Millstone, the other American attending and ICCF's Direct Entry Commissioner. The future looks very good for ICCF.

Corky Schakel, ICCF-US Secretary

(22 September 2008): ICCF Congress Begins

Union of CC Players in Bulgaria

The International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) holds an annual Congress every year hosted by one of its member nations. This year it is in Pleven, Bulgaria 20 September - 26 September 2008. During the meeting various awards will be presented and work of the organization will take place, such as planning for future projects and updating of the rules of play. This is a great occasion for the officers and members of ICCF, giving an opportunity to meet cc friends face-to-face and have both serious discussions and enjoyable social activities. The first report has arrived for Day 1 of the meeting and is posted on the ICCF Congress web site. See Day 1 Report.

(5 July 2008): Michael C. Proof is USA’s Newest IM and SIM

SIM-elect Michael Proof

Following is a press release from Bob Rizzo:

"With his recent win in the ‘9th Pan American Team Championship’ vs. SIM Carlos Sosa Patino (PER), Michael Proof has earned the ICCF Senior International Master Title (Mike had earned the IM Title only two weeks prior). With one game still remaining in that tournament, he has already clinched first place on Board 3, scoring 11.5/14 points and thereby exceeding the 11.0 point SIM Norm for a category IV tournament with 16 players. Mike had previously earned a SIM Norm in WS/MN/013, once again exceeding the SIM requirement of 10.0 points with a final overscore of 11.0. ..."

[For the complete announcement and two games in replay format (one annotated by Michael Proof) click here]

IA Ralph Marconi

(5 July 2008): 11th NAICCC Underway

The 11th North American Invitational Correspondence Chess Championship (NAICCC) officially started on 1 July 2008. Organized by Canada and directed by International Arbiter Ralph Marconi (CAN) this event has fielded 15 strong North American players. The event is being played on the ICCF server (see Crosstable).

The participants are: 1. USA IM Miettinen, Kristo S. (2297); 2. CAN Verde, Pino (2311); 3. CAN IM Demian, Valer-Eugen (2420); 4. USA IM Myers, David R. (2416); 5. CAN Fichaud, Alan (2364); 6. CAN Labonte, Richard (2399); 7. USA Hill, Grayling V. (2397); 8. USA Wilson, Abe L. (2400 Provisional); 9. USA SM Reinhart, Kenneth M. (2496); 10. USA Andrews , Randal (2400 Provisional); 11. CAN Hynes, Wayne (2452); 12. CAN IM Maurer, Serge (2366); 13. USA IM Rodriguez, Keith A. (2435); 14. MEX IM Guizar, Dr. Clemente (2352); 15. USA IM Schakel, Corky (2325).

Links to crosstables for all NAICCC events can be found on the NAPZ Crosstable Archives page.

GM Fleetwood

(10 June 2008): Dan Fleetwood Earns GM Title

Bob Rizzo has issued the following press release:

Dan Fleetwood is USA’s newest Correspondence GM With his victory against Poland’s SM Maciej Jedrzejowski, Dr. Daniel M. Fleetwood of Brentwood, Tennessee, has become the eighth US Correspondence Chess GrandMaster. Dan’s Medal and Title Certificate will be issued at the upcoming ICCF Congress in Pleven, Bulgaria, in September. Dan’s two GM norms were earned in the ICCF Olympiad 14 Final on board 3 and the ICCF Olympiad 15 Final on board 1. ...

Click here for the full press release

(5 June 2008): 6th NATT Starting

The 6th North Atlantic Team Tournament is starting this month. The following announcement was made by the USA Team Captain Kristo Miettinen:

This is to inform you (and through you, the CC public) that starting assignments have been made for NATT6, with an official startdate of 20 June 2008.

The US Team consists of (in board order) SM Jerry Weisskohl, IM William Boucher, SM Michael Millstone, Lawrence Coplin, IM Ted Brandhorst, IM Robert Rizzo, (TC) IM Kristo Miettinen, and Gary Walters.

GM norms are available to Jerry and William on the top two boards, and SM norms are available to the middle 4.

This is an incredibly strong field, with teams from Spain (2), Portugal, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, and Iceland as well as the USA and Canada.

We are looking forward to a great event, with sharp competition in a spirit of transatlantic friendship.

Kristo Miettinen
Team Captain, USA

This event is being conducted via the ICCF webserver. See Crosstable.

(5 April 2008): Witold Bielecki Has Died

ICCF General Secretary Pedro F. Hegoburu has reported that our friend Witold Bielecki (POL) has died of a heart attack. Pedro posted the following on the ICCF web site: "Witold's contribution to CC is simply enormous, as Polish Delegate, member of countless Commissions and Committees, and long-time Tournament Director. He will be missed."

(3 April 2008): 17th USA Correspondence Chess Championship Final

The 17th USCCC Final started on January 21, 2008 with 15 players. The participants are: Albanesi, Paul L. (2293), Anderson, Laurence A. (2314), Arnold, G. Robert (2390), Brailsford, James H. (2242), IM Brandhorst, Wesley T. (2479), SIM Duliba, Dr. Edward P. (2549), Eilmes, Don P. (2348), Gach, Andrew (2323), Greene, Sanford I. (2359), Henderson, Greg (2128), Keating, Robert, Motta, Paul, IM Schakel, Corky (2334), Shipman, Joseph (2210), and White, David V. (2408). This USA Championship Final was organized by ICCF-U.S. Secretary IM Schakel, Corky and is being played by post (with email played by postal rules allowed as an option). The tournament director is Kristo S. Miettinen.

The crosstable is being maintained on the ICCF server. See: 17th USCCC Final Crosstable.

Ted Brandhorst USA's Newest SIM

(10 March 2008): ICCF-U.S. Press Release from Bob Rizzo

Ted Brandhorst is USA's Newest SIM

The ICCF-US office is pleased to announce that Ted Brandhorst (USA) has earned the title of Senior International Master as officially confirmed by ICCF Titles Commssioner Eric Ruch. This is the second of what we hope will be many more medals that the USA will be awarded at the Pleven, Bulgaria Congress to be held in September. Ted’s SIM title was earned as the result of Norms earned in the ‘Chessfriends Rochade 5171 - 15 Years’ and the ‘10th North American Invitational CC’ tournaments.

Ted represented the USA team as board 4 in the Rochade event where he scored 8 points. Board 4 was rated 2467 (Category IX) and included 2 GMs as well as 7 SIMs in the field of 15 players. Ted made the SIM standard while earning a performance rating of 2528 and finishing tied for 4th. Ted clinched the norm with his result against Germany’s SIM Thomas Cuno on Halloween, October 31, 2006.

In the Category VII (rated 2417) NAICCC tournament Ted scored 9 points which exceeded the 8 required for the SIM title, missing a GM norm by a mere ½ point. Ted won this tournament with a stratospheric 2617 performance rating. Ted scored his 8th point (title clinching point) against Canada’s IM Valer-Eugene Demian on Christmas Day! It looks like Ted does not take off on Holidays! Congratulations to the USA’s latest SIM.

(10 Mar 2008): 18th USA Correspondence Chess Championship Started

(updated 24 Mar 2008) The first (semi-final) round of the 18th USCCC assignments have been sent to the participants. Eight Nine sections of seven players each are now underway (official start date 24 March 2008). The winner of each semi-final section will automatically advance to the final along with a few invited players and some who have previously earned an advancement. All games are being played on the ICCF webserver. The crosstables can be seen by following these links:

USA/C18/SF:  01  02  03  04  05  06  07  08  09

(5 March 2008): New Owner for CC.COM Domain

Creator/previous owner of the CORRESPONDENCECHESS.COM domain John Knudsen has recently sold the domain to Hagay Avisar of Israel, who is developing a separate domain for on-line playing. CC.COM should remain pretty much as-is, retaining the same web sites (such as this one The Campbell Report, CCCA, The Correspondence Chess Place, Ralph Marconi's Chess Page, and others). However, Mr. Avisar purchased the domain to bring attention to his new playing site Chesshere.com. In the future viewers will see banner ads to publicize this new playing domain. The individual webmasters for the various sites at CC.COM retain full control of their sites and, with the exception of the banner ads, readers should see no other changes. Welcome Hagay Avisar to the CC.COM family! Thanks for supporting correspondence chess.

(9 Feb 2008): USA cc Championship to start ... entries invited

Edward Duliba 15th USCCC Champion

ICCF-U.S. Director Corky Schakel has invited entries for the upcoming USCCC prelims (both a postal and a server event will be held). 7-player preliminary groups will be used to determine qualifiers into the final to determine the USA Correspondence Chess Champion. For information on this event read the full announcement on the ICCF-U.S. web site.

The USCCC Games Archive web page has links to crosstables and games databases for past events. If you wish to enter you should do so as soon as possible. For those new to playing cc on the webserver there is a tutorial available on-line and individual help will be provided on request. There is a nice picture of the 15th USCCC winner Edward Duliba at 15th USCCC Final Report. The 16th USCCC Final is still in play.

(31 Dec 2007): USA 17th Olympiad Team Clinches spot in Final

Click for large version Chess Life cover January 2008

The USA team has clinched 2nd place in preliminary group 3 and qualified the USA into the final of the 17th Correspondence Chess Olympiad, organized by ICCF. The current team score is 32½ - 18½ with three remaining games. There have only been 3 individual games lost against 17 wins in this outstanding performance. Switzerland took first place with Portugal taking 3rd. Congratulations to team members IM Corky Schakel, IM Robert Rizzo, GM Jason Bokar, SIM Michael Millstone, IM Keith Rodriguez, SIM Ken Reinhart and team captain IA Franklin Campbell (ordered by left to right appearance in the team portrait to the right). For more information, including all the team's finished games in replay format, see the team web site.

The team will be featured in the next issue of Chess Life magazine with a lengthy article by CC Director Alex Dunne and cover art work by CL Art Director Frankie Butler featuring photos of the entire team.