Cheating scandal: player disqualified for cell phone use

10/27/2012 – Actually, as the accused player, German GM Falko Bindrich, points out: not for proven use but for refusing to allow the arbiter to examine the phone he had with him during multiple toilet visits during last weekend's Bundesliga round. The rules permit the arbiter to check in case of justified suspicion, and so Bindrich was disqualified and the point awarded to his opponent. Long, compelling read.

Unive Hoogeveen: both games drawn

10/26/2012 – Ignoring the 180-point rating difference Chinese GM Hou Yifan, Elo 2605, put the pressure on top seed Hikaru Nakamura, 2786, and forced the world-class US grandmaster to defend for most of the game, which ended after 71 moves in a draw. Sergey Tiviakov and Anish Giri signed a peace accord after 46 moves. If Tiviakov beats Nakamura in the final round he can still win. Report with GM commentary.

Open for everything

10/26/2012 – The first player is better developed and wants to exploit the diagonal b2-g7 as well as the e-file. The sequence 15.Nd5 exd5 16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Qxd5+ leads to what?
A) victory for White;
B) victory for Black;
C) a dynamically balanced position.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Simultaneous Blindfold Exhibition in Maribor

10/26/2012 – The Slovenian city of Maribor is set to host the 2012 World Youth Chess Championships in November. It has also been nominated European Capital of Culture, and as such has been staging a number of interesting events. Recently Luka Lenic, Slovenia’s strongest player, a former World Youth Chess Champion, gave a blindfold simultaneous exhibition against six youthful opponents.

Wolfgang Uhlmann: Meine besten Partien

10/26/2012 – "Wolfgang Uhlmann has authored a wonderful DVD," writes John Watson. "He presents 20 of his most memorable games in 7 hours and 38 minutes, with Karsten Müller as co-commentator. Uhlmann is much like his games: lively, sharp, and full of enthusiasm (he's 77 years old now)." Watson thinks this rare DVD might be worth getting even if you don't speak German. Review with sampler.

Unive Hoogeveen: Tiviakov beats Hou Yifan in a tense battle

10/25/2012 – After the free day Anish Giri vs Hikaru Nakamura ended in a 25-move draw, while Dutch GM Sergey Tiviakov ground down Hou Yifan in a 70-move marathon, after the women's world champion had missed several promising opportunities. This is shown in the analysis of our commentator GM Eltaj Safarli, which is accompanied by pictorial impressions by WGM Alina L'Ami.

Reviewed in TWIC: ChessBase Training DVDs and Downloads

10/24/2012 – "I'm going to fulfill an old promise to discuss some of the scores of DVDs from ChessBase I've watched parts or all of over the years," writes John Watson in the weekly chess service TWIC. "I'll discuss the type of videos I've used myself in teaching and writing, i.e., those about openings and middlegames". Watson reviews five DVDs and downloads, with examples of analyses they contain.

Ashley and King: premium shows on Playchess

10/24/2012 – They used to comment for TV together, during the Intel PCA Grand Prix events. GMs Maurice Ashley and Daniel King are now established chess trainers with a lot of ChessBase training products between them. Tonight both will appear on Playchess, Maurice at 7 p.m., Daniel at eight. The entry fee is 50 Ducats for spectators, but it is free for Premium members.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (90)

10/24/2012 – Many of the finest masters have been the subject of busts, statues and other models. The Editor of Chess Notes has gathered together depictions of such legendary figures as Labourdonnais, Morphy, Lasker, Capablanca, Euwe and Keres. The photographs, which come from, among other cities, Amsterdam, Havana, Tallinn and Tel Aviv, help bring the greats to life. A rich collection.

Unive Hoogeveen: both games drawn

10/23/2012 – Women's world champion Hou Yifan of China, eighteen years old and rated 2605, battled it out with top Dutch GM Anish Giri, four months younger and rated 2730, in the second round of the Univé Crown group. Her winning attempts were parried and the game ended in a 58-move draw. Sergey Tiviakov and Hikaru Nakamura drew their game after 47 moves. Commentary by GM Eltaj Safarli.

Mar del Plata 2012 : The banana ate the monkey

10/23/2012 – In the last couple of rounds, fraught with swings and upheavals, Peruvian GM Julio Granda Zuniga came out the great winner, followed by Alexander Shabalov, Diego Flores, Gregory Kaidanov, and Canadian IM Eric Hansen. The five fought for four spots in the round-robin tiebreak and it all came down to the last game. Read what happened and the meaning of the title in the final illustrated report.

Unive Hoogeveen: Nakamura wins again, beats Hou Yifan

10/23/2012 – Top US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura won the second of three games in the Univé Crown group, beating women's world champion Hou Yifan after she had blundered on move 19. This translates to a 2936 performance so far, with a five-point rating gain. Sergey Tiviakov drew against Dutch prodigy Anish Giri. Wednesday is a free day, the return round begins on Thursday. Commentary by GM Eltaj Safarli.

Endgame Magic with GM Karsten Müller

10/22/2012 – Endgame knowledge is not easy to acquire and for this reason it is a valuable weapon in practical tournament play. In his Endgame Magic Show on Playchess, the well-known endgame expert GM Karsten Müller will assist you with a bunch of practical endgames. He shows how to handle the positions, which will help improve your results. An example and more information.

Chess Train Tournament a great success

10/21/2012 – From October 12-16 a special train transported 46 chess players from ten different countries across the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria. On board they played a 13-round rapid chess tournament. The oldest participant was 77, the youngest a seven-year-old prodigy from China. There was also time for a charity simul. Don't miss this big pictorial report.

Mar del Plata 2012 : A midnight football mob

10/21/2012 – It started with a classic game of football being organized by the players. Usually, this sort of informal affair is lightly attended, but it bears remembering this is South America where football is as much religion as it is sport. As a result, two fields were required to fit the 30-40 players who turned up and played from ten at night until two in the morning.

Unive Crown Group Hoogeveen: Nakamura beats Giri in round one

10/21/2012 – The 16th Univé Chess Festival is taking place from the 19th to 27th of October 2012, in Hoogeveen, Holland. The main event is a four-player Crown Group double round robin with Hikaru Nakamura, USA, Anish Giri and Sergey Tiviakov, Holland, and women's world champion Hou Yifan, China. The average rating is 2695, making this a category 18 tournament. Report with GM commentary.

Final online qualifier for World Mind Games

10/20/2012 – Tonight, Saturday, October 20th, at 16:00h = 4:00 p.m. CEST (click for world-wide timings), the final round of the World Mind Games qualifier will be held on the Playchess server. It is your last chance to win an all-paid trip to Bejing to attend the 2012 Games. Today the 15 places in the candidates tournament will be fixed – GMs with a 2550+ rating can come in at this phase. Don't miss this opportunity.

Mar del Plata 2012 : A leader at last; Hungaski scores two norms

10/20/2012 – With warming weather, excellent seafood, and great wines, it is hard to only consider the tournament, no matter how important it may be in the calendar of events in the Americas. Still, one player managed to grab the podium all to himself: 23-year-old Venezuelan GM Eduardo Iturrizaga. Also, taking advantage of a last-pick chance, IM Hungaski has scored two norms. Report and GM commentary.

Award winning documentary 'Brooklyn Castle' opens today

10/20/2012 – Brooklyn Castle is a documentary about I.S. 318 – an inner-city school where more than 65 percent of students are from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level – that also happens to have the best, most winning junior high school chess team in the country. There have been rave reviews in Time and the New York Times, and a section today on MSNBC Today. Report and trailer.

Your judgement, please

10/19/2012 – In this position with mutual rook batteries and knight forks, three continuations are to be considered - one wins for White, one for Black and one leads to a roughly equal situation. Make your pick!
A) 47...Qa7 48.Qxd6
B) 47...Qa7 48.Ng5+
C) 47...Ne5 48.Rxe5

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

ECCC Eilat: Socar overtakes Saint-Petersburg, wins Gold

10/18/2012 – It was a dramatic final round: the rating favorite Socar Azerbaijan was trailing Saint-Petersburg Chess Federation significantly in tiebreak points, but they were able to overcome this by trouncing the very strong Tomsk-400 team to win the gold medal in the 28th European Club Cup 2012. Women's gold had been decided by Monte-Carlo one round before the end. Final report.

Indonesia Open 2012: Resounding win for Yu Yangyi

10/18/2012 – The Indonesian Open took place from October 10-17 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and was a success by all counts. It was an immensely strong open inasmuch as of the 106 participants, no fewer than 79 were FIDE titled. The tournament was a resounding success for Yu Yangyi, who scored 7.5/9, with an impressive 2825 performance. Report with interview of Yu Yangyi.

Mar del Plata 2012 : A bloodthirsty round at the top

10/18/2012 – If round six saw the leaders caught by others, it was merely a prelude to the cutthroat round to follow. On the top ten boards, there were only two draws and many a head was lopped off. It started top-seed Lazaro Bruzon beating his compatriot in just 22 moves, followed by wins by Leitão, Iturrizaga, and Ortiz. Report, pictures and an annotated game by GM Sergio Slipak.

ECCC Eilat: three teams catch Saint-Petersburg

10/17/2012 – In a dramatic sixth round defending champions Saint-Petersburg Chess Federation lost for the first time, 2.5:3.5 to Socar Azerbaijan. With that they were caught by the Azeris, as well as by Ashdod, who beat Economist Saratov 3.5:2.5 and Tomsk who crushed Ugra 4.5:1.5. The women's section has already been decided, with Monte-Carlo winning the Cup deservedly. Big illustrated report.