The great Bu's up – and playing at a 3022 level! 30.01.2008– Bu Xiangzhi of China is 22 years old. He
became a grandmaster when he was 13 years, 10 months, 13 days old – which
made him the youngest
GM in history (at the time). After eight rounds of the 6th Gibtel Chess
Festival in Gibraltar Bu is leading with 7½/8, and a Elo 3022 performance.
Which led BCM editor John Saunders to come up with one of the most atrocious puns in chess history.
Nigel Davies:
A busy person’s opening system Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
More information...
The 6th edition of Gibraltar's Gibtelecom Chess Festival takes place from 22-31
January 2008 at the Caleta Hotel, one of Gibraltar's best hotels.
Gibraltar, according
to Nigel Short, is a place which you either love or hate. It’s a rock,
a British naval base which was very important for controlling the entrance to
the Mediterranean. From here you can see Africa, even with the naked eye, and
so you could see any ships entering the Mediterranean. Historically it was just
a garrison town, now the military presence has been wound down quite significantly.
It has a population that numbers in the tens of thousands.
The Caleta Hotel is on the east side of the rock, the main town is on the other
side, so that the players are a bit isolated. But everything is in walking distance.
The runway of the airport is actually longer than the width of the peninsular,
so it actually extends out into the sea.
The Great Bu's Up
Round eight report
1.Nf3! Round eight game by The Great Bu against Victor Bologan [photo by
Manuel Weeks]
Bu beat Bologan in a great rook and bishop ending to score his fifth consecutive
win in the Gibtelecom Masters. After eight rounds (and two rounds to go) he
has played seven grandmasters, scoring 7½/8 with a truly phenomenal rating
performance: Elo 3022! Here are his individual results:
The most important games are being broadcast live on Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download ChessBase Light, which gives
you immediate access. You can also use it to read, replay and analyse
the PGN games.
Picture Gallery
Leading, with a 3022 performance: Bu Xiangzhi, 22, 2691, China
Bu learnt chess at the age of six, and was intensely trained when his talent
became apparent. His first chess book was a translation of Bobby Fischer’s
My 60 Memorable Games. At the age of twelve he won the Under-14 World
Youth Champion. In autumn 1999 Bu made three Grandmaster norms in a space of
two month, the last in September 1999, when he was 13 years, 10 months, 13 days
old – which made him the youngest
GM in history (at the time).
In second place: Ni Hua, 24, rated 2680, from Shanghai
Equal second: Wang Yue, 20, Chinese GM with a 2698 rating
5th-11th: Antoaneta Stefanova, 2464, Bulgaria
The former Women's World Champion is playing very well in Gibraltar, performing
400 points better than her nominal rating. That will give her a great boost
on the next FIDE rating list.
Tigran L. Petrosian (no relative), 23, 2606, Armenia
Hikaru Nakamura, 20, 2670, USA
Anna Muzychuk, 17, 2460, Slovenia (but originally from Lviv, Ukraine)
Viktorija Cmilyte, 24, 2475, Lithuania
Leonid Kritz, 23, 2592, Germany
And now for the Great Chess Pun
In his round eight report John Saunders, editor of 'British Chess Magazine',
who is acting as blog master for Gibtel, wrote:
"Fans of the British TV comedy series Blackadder will probably recall the
wonderful scene in which the eponymous hero Edmund Blackadder finds himself
throwing a drunken party in one part of his house whilst playing host to his
strictly teetotal uncle and aunt elsewhere in his home. Edmund’s attempts
to impress his relatives with a display of moral rectitude and religious observance
(with a view to inheriting their enormous wealth) are suddenly thrown into jeopardy
when a reveller from the party suddenly bursts into the room where his aunt
and uncle are staying and exclaims “Great booze-up, Edmund!” before
reeling out again. Edmund attempts to explain this away to his shocked relatives
by concocting a long story about a tribal chief called ‘Great Bu’
whom he says is staying elsewhere in the house, is suffering from sleeping sickness
but has just risen from his bed. Hence his ludicrous interpretation of the drunken
reveller's exclamation as 'Great Bu’s Up'."
The Old Testament prescribes stoning for puns like these, we believe.
Click at your own risk: Blackadder, Great Bu's up!
