London Chess Classic 2011
The London Chess Classic 2011, the strongest tournament in the history of British chess, runs from 3-12 December 2011. The 2800 club makes yet another meeting right after the Tal Memorial and Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, and Kramnik will face each other in a round robin tournament together with Nakamura, Adams, Short, McShane, and Howell.
The tournament will be complemented by a chess festival with tournaments for all levels and free chess coaching for schools. There will be training courses for chess teachers and for those who would like to become chess teachers, both organised by the charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC). Since the last London Chess Classic, CSC has expanded and works in 70 schools in 13 towns and cities in England and Wales. See www.chessinschools.co.uk.
Viktor Korchnoi has agreed to come back again as guest of honour and will give two simultaneous displays.
The London Chess Classic now comes under the Chess in Schools and Communities umbrella and there will be five days of free school activities. Each day, schools can bring children to learn from top coaches and play in a tournament or a simultaneous display. There will also be a chess arbiter’s training course, and on the rest day, Wednesday 7 December, a chess cultural day with film screenings, lectures and more simultaneous displays.
Timetable, course details and tickets are available here: www.londonchessclassic.com
London Classic 2011, the line-up
Magnus Carlsen
Levon Aronian
Viswanathan Anand
Vladimir Kramnik
Hikaru Nakamura
Michael Adams
Nigel Short
Luke McShane
David Howell
Naka is the odd man out here. He’s neither a 2800 player like the first 4 (far from it) nor British like the rest. He’ll likely finish right in the middle.