World records in chess
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Some World records in the game of chess (as played in serious tournaments):
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[edit] Longest game
The longest tournament chess game ever to be played under modern time rules was Nikolić - Arsović, Belgrade, 1989, which lasted for 20 hours and 15 minutes, ending in a 269-move draw.
[edit] Shortest tournament game
The shortest decisive game ever played is often considered to be Đorđević - Kovačević, Bela Crkva 1984. It lasted for only three moves (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c6 3.e3 Qa5+ winning the bishop). Even shorter decisive games have occurred in amateur play, including two-move games ending in Fool's Mate (1.g4? e5 2.f3?? Qh4# and variants thereof).
There have been a number of forfeited games (which could technically be regarded as a loss in zero moves - the most notable examples being Game 2 of the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer, which Fischer defaulted, and Game 5 of the 2006 World Championship match between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, which Kramnik defaulted), and a number of frivolous examples (a game between Fischer and Oscar Panno, played at the Interzonal Palma de Mallorca 1970, for example, went 1. c4 resigns - Panno's resignation is more a sign of his unwillingness to play than any reflection of the position on the board). Panno was not present when the game was to begin. Fischer waited ten minutes before making his move and went to get Panno to convince him to play. Fifty-two minutes had elapsed on Panno's clock before he came to the board and resigned. (An absence of sixty minutes results in a forfeit.)
Another record is held by the German Robert Hübner, who, in a World Students Team Championship game against Kenneth Rogoff played in Graz in 1972, agreed to make a draw after one move was played (1. c4) - this was actually beneficial to the whole team, as it improved the player lineup at the other games - and Hübner could enjoy an easy tournament day. However, the arbiters insisted that they play some moves, so they made up a score sheet with ludicrous moves (according to the tournament book the game went 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Ng1 Bg7 4. Qa4 0-0 5. Qxd7 Qxd7 6. g4 Qxd2+ 7. Kxd2 Nxg4 8. b4 a5 9. a4 Bxa1 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Bh8 Bg7 12. h4 axb4 draw agreed). The referees didn't accept that either — and as Hübner still resisted making a move, it was counted as a win for Rogoff.[1]
[edit] Latest first capture
The game between Filipowicz and Smederevac, Polanica Zdroj 1966, lasted 70 moves without a single capture. The game ended as a draw.
[edit] Longest decisive game without a capture
Nuber - Keckeisen, Mengen 1994 lasted 31 moves without a single capture. In the end Keckeisen resigned.
[edit] Greatest Concentration of Chess Grandmasters
Beersheva, Israel, with eight grandmasters, has a higher percentage of grandmasters per capita than any other city worldwide; the city of 183,000 has one grandmaster per 22,875 residents. The majority of them are immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
[edit] Perfect tournament score
In top-class chess it is rare for a player to complete a tournament with a 100% score. This outstanding result was however achieved by;
- Emanuel Lasker at New York in 1893 (he scored 13 out of 13)
- José Raúl Capablanca at New York in 1913 (13/13)
- Capablanca at New York in 1914 (11/11)
- Alexander Alekhine at Caracas in 1939 (10/10)
- Bobby Fischer at the US Championship of 1963/64 (11/11)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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