Keres, Kortschnoi, Karpov – revisiting Tallinn

1/15/2006 – A week ago we reported on a Rapid Chess tournament in Estonia, dedicated to the memory of Paul Keres. Today we return to Tallinn, putting the spotlight on the famous guests, the historical ambiance – and the previously neglected women's section of the event. Spectacular pictorial report.

Corus Wijk aan Zee starts today

1/14/2006 – At long last, the first mega-tournament of 2006 is about to begin. We have pictures of the opening ceremony and the pairings of all three groups. The first moves will be played on Saturday at 13:30h CEST in the De Moriaan hall. The games will be broadcast on the official site and on Playchess.com, with live video commentary by Yasser Seirawan.

'The pieces are like my children'

1/13/2006 – Look what found: a four-page pictorial interview with world chess champion Veselin Topalov – in Playboy Bulgaria. The December issue features the national sports hero answering twenty questions on the burdens of the title, the Bulgarian phenomenon, superstition, and the future of the game. We told you we bought it for the interviews.

Becoming a FIDE Instructor and Trainer

1/12/2006 – Germany's first official FIDE Academy starts a new course for FIDE Instructor and Trainer. It will take place in Berlin, from 24 February until 2 March 2006, under the guidance of GM Uwe Bönsch, member of the Fide Trainer Committee and Federal coach. A maximum of 16 trainers will be accepted. Like to take part?

An Invitation to the Chess Olympiad in Turin

1/12/2006 – This year, from May 20 to June 4, the 37th Chess Olympiad will be held in Turin, Italy. For the 140 federations and 450 games per day a giant playing venue, 21,000 sq. m. in size, is being prepared. The virtual venue on the Playchess server is already installed and running. You can play in blitz tournaments there every Thursday, and maybe win a ticket to Turin.

The 3rd European Internet Championship

1/11/2006 – 2006 begins with one of the biggest challenges in Internet chess – the European Championship. This is the third time that the European Chess Union and ChessBase are organising this event. From January 9–22 participants will fight for €6,000 in prize money. All Europeans can take part.

Chess prodigies and mini-grandmasters

1/10/2006 – SEE THE 2018 UPDATE Our recent report on 12-year-old Parimarjan Negi achieving a GM norm brought the realization that our records on the youngest grandmasters in history – contained on a that is copied and quoted all over the web – are hopelessly outdated. For this reason we present a new list of child prodigies and record-breaking grandmasters.

Fritz 9 3D boards – part 1

1/10/2006 – The new chessplaying program Fritz9 is here! Among its many new features are a pair of stunning 3D boards which allow you to play against animated characters. In the latest ChessBase Workshop we introduce you to one of your new chessplaying partners and show you how to change some of her settings. Meet Mia in the new ChessBase Workshop.

Brazen, checkmate, Kasparov quits, the final score

1/9/2006 – These are the titles of Andrew Martin's Wednesday night Playchess lecture. He looks at the (brazen) Latvian Gambit, stages a checkmate competition, discusses a new book on Kasparov, and examines a recent demolition of the English. Tune in...

Keres Memorial in Tallinn – what happened?

1/9/2006 – It is a yearly event to remember Estonia's greatest sporting hero, Paul Keres, whom you may or most likely may not recognise from the wax figure in his museum. The top group was won by Ivanchuk, Karpov and Kasimduzhanov, but marked by a record-breaking negative performance by Alexei Shirov, who scored a single draw in nine games. A mystery.

Jaan Ehlvest, the Estonian Super-GM

1/9/2006 – A decade or so ago Estonian GM Jaan Ehlvest was among the world's best, once even breaking into the top five. Today he is a familiar sight at large American Swisses. In this week's Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos takes a look at an exciting and instructive game played by Ehlvest at his prime.

Parimarjan Negi – the Hero of Hastings

1/9/2006 – He finisht 16th in a field of 106 players at the traditional Hastings tournament, with a score of 6/10 and a performance of 2568. That was enough to achieve a GM norm. What makes this special is the fact that IM Parimarjan Negi of India is just 12 years old. This extraordinary chess prodigy is now clearly set to become the world's youngest grandmaster.

2nd Singapore International Chess Convention

1/7/2006 – When world champion Alexander Alekhine saw the this small chess community in 1933 he was bewildered by its cosmopolitan nature. Today, more than 70 years later, the game has evolved from the Colonial Club of the 1890s and become a mass movement. Olimpiu Urcan proves this in his big pictorial report.

Waiting for Wijk

1/7/2006 – "I wish the tournament started tomorrow," wrote Dutch journalist Gert Ligterink, echoing the sentiments of chess fans all over the world. Well, it's just a week from today, and we bring you a preview with all the players (Mamedyarov replaces Kramnik). You can also take part in a special contest to guess the winners, and enjoy pictorial impressions by Fred Lucas.

Landa leads in romatic Reggio

1/5/2006 – The city of Reggio nell'Emilia in northern Italy has been hosting strong GM tournaments since 1958. The most memorable edition was 1991-92, when Anand won ahead of nine Russians, including Kasparov, Karpov, Gelfand, and Ivanchuk. This year the stars are less glamorous, but the event nevertheless interesting and personal. Adolivio Capece reports.

The sixteen for the world chess championship

1/5/2006 – FIDE has just announced the 16 participants of the Candidates Matches for the World Chess Championship 2007. These are players who have qualified in different ways, and they will play two rounds of matches against each other. The four finalists will then join Topalov, Anand, Svidler and Morozevich for the 2007 championship. Details.

Kramnik drops out of Wijk Super-Tournament

1/5/2006 – Classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik will not be playing in the Corus Tournament in Wijk aan Zee (13-29 January 2006). In a statement issued today Kramnik cites a health crisis that makes it necessary for him to undertake serious clinical treatment. It will take a few months before he can return to normal competitive chess. Press statement.

Veselin Topalov – reception in the Motherland

1/3/2006 – After winning the world chess championship title, Bulgarian super-grandmaster Veselin Topalov has become a national sporting hero. In his native country he is mobbed by fans on the streets. Recently he was honored at a special reception for extraordinary sporting personalities by the President of the Republic.

'I am not one of the riff-raff'

1/3/2006 – Nigel Short, long feared for his excessively frank writings as a chess columnist in British broadsheets, is no less candid when giving verbal interviews. FIDE, the schism in 1993, the knockout world championship, GM titles and how they are won – all of these come under fire in his latest conversation with the web magazine Chess Chronicle. Interesting reading.

Igor Ivanov - Grandmaster and pianist

1/3/2006 – In November Igor Ivanov, born in 1947, passed away. He was a very strong chess player, one who had beaten the reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov in 1979. But his mother wished him to be a concert pianist. We found a splendid article on Igor on the One Good Move website, with some beautiful piano music by Chopin. A moving tribute to the maestro.

Keeping up to speed with Andrew Martin

1/2/2006 – Svidler beat Tomashevsky on the black side of an English, Kotronias-Cebalo was a combative and theoretically important Sicilian Dragon, Mamedov sacrificed a pawn in the B78 Youoslav Attack. You can follow all the latest developments in our Wednesday night Playchess lecture. Just tune in...

Natalija Pogonina wins Bykova Memorial in Vladimir

1/2/2006 – The event, in honour of the third women's world champion, was held in the ancient Russian town of Vladimir and saw 37 Snegurochkas ("Snow Whites") battling it out in three groups. In Group A WGM Natalija Pogonina took first place, narrowly ahead of G20 world champion Elisabeth Pähtz. Spectacular pictorial report by Valery Golubenko.

14th Asian Team Championship in Esfahan

1/2/2006 – Iran is the cradle of chess, the nation that reputedly produced it in the sixth century. For a while, in our days, it was frowned upon, but now chess is thriving in the country of 70 million – thanks to the work of some very industrious people. Recently they staged the Asian Team Championship in Sefahan. We bring you an illustrated report.

Happy FIDE New Year's Day Ratings!

1/1/2006 – Punctually, on the first day of the new year, FIDE has published its latest rating list. Kasparov is still on it in place one. Second is Veselin Topalov, nine points ahead of Vishy Anand. Peter Svidler is number four, Levon Aronian number five. We bring you all the top ranking lists and statistics.