Best of CLO 2007-#7
January 28, 2008
krush52_web.jpg
Photo Cathy Rogers
2007 U.S. Women's Champion IM Irina Krush's blog from the 2007 Gibtelecom Masters in Gibraltar struck readers and judges with great photos, candid chess analysis and a controversial story about Korchnoi's behavior after losing to Irina. Check some of the comments on the original article. Her result in the event, including wins over Viktor Korchnoi and tournament winner Vladimir Akopian was enough to land her on the cover of the April Chess Life Magazine , which included a report by Ian Rogers and very cool monkey chess photography by Cathy Rogers.

This year, Irina's participation in Corus Chess in Wijk aan Zee conflicted with Gibraltar, but GMs Varuzhan Akobian and Hikaru Nakamura are playing in the 2008 Gibtelecom Chess Festival. Hikaru has 6/8 and Varuzhan has 5/8 with two rounds to go. Check the official website or monroi.com for more info.

The Judges Sound Off

To learn more about the judges, read "Meet the Judges."

Fantastic mix of photos, stories, and games captures the atmosphere and competition of this event-  Alexey Root

This article gave me, as the average Joe, a glimpse inside the world of one of my favorite players and into one of the lesser-known tournaments.  The analysis of the games was very good, and the great photographs complimented the article perfectly.  I especially liked the way Irina did not shy away from her unpleasant encounter with Korchnoi, even if it was controversial of her to write about it.  I appreciated the honesty.  I remember Jim Berry making some joke about Korchnoi joining our group for dinner the night after the penultimate round of the Women’s Championship, and the look on Irina’s face.  It was great, and I wish you had been there to laugh too!  Even the wrap-up of the tournament was well-written—something other authors of articles sometimes forget to let the reader have a conclusion to the journey-- Mike Cornett

Another nice report which provides some good chess insight along with mixing in some good other anecdotes to keep the readers energized.  The bit about Korchnoi, though unpleasant in some sense was very interesting to read- Arun Sharma

Great photos (best photo of Paehtz I have seen), human interest aspects, personal  and candid perspectives and intriguing games. -Michael Klein