Test your IQ(P) IV

8/23/2012 – The move 17...Nc2 unleashes a double attack on White's rook on the edge and forces the answer 18.Ra2 (18.Rb3 Na1!). Thereupon Black wins ...

A)... a piece;
B)... a pawn;
C)... nothing, he must repeat moves with 18...Ncb4.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Spassky's sister: help save my brother!

8/23/2012 – New and even more shocking revelations around Boris Spassky: last Saturday a Russian newspaper reported that the former World Champion had "fled" from his home in Paris to Moscow, where he had told a harrowing story of being held under "house arrest", fearing death. Now his sister in St. Petersburg turns the story upside down and fears that her beloved brother may have been abducted.

Third International Chess Festival 'Terre degli Elimi'

8/23/2012 – The playing venue of this festival is Erice, a beautiful medieval town in Sicily, located about 700 meters above sea level overlooking the Strait of Sicily, with a view of Mount Etna in the distance. Apart from Russian GM Vladimir Epishin, who won the A Group with 6.5/7 points, there were a host of female players who finished in the top ten. Organiser Alessandro Monaco sent us this big illustrated report.

The Power Play Show with GM Daniel King

8/23/2012 – Improvement of your own play is one of the main aims when you are engaged in chess training. GM Daniel King is an expert who can guide you in achieving this goal. In his Power Play show he will present a bunch of practical examples and show you how to handle different kinds of positions, which will help improve your practical results. An example and more information.

CBM training: Karjakin's kings and Svidler's surprise

8/22/2012 – Today's endgame lessons by ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller are taken from games of the 65th Russian Championship that finished in Moscow recently. Sergey Karjakin shows us how exact calculation can win a rook ending, even with a small advantage, while Peter Svidler demonstrated rook power in endings with opposite colored bishops. Learn and enjoy.

Sakartvelos, Gaumarjos – Long Live Georgia!

8/22/2012 – Chess tournaments are not only about piece pushing and rating points. They also offer participants a unique opportunity to meet other people and visit exciting places. If, that is, you have an intelligent and interested mind, and are willing to travel. After playing the Women's Rapid and Blitz World Championship in Georgia IM Irina Krush toured the country and shares her impressions with us.

2012 Istanbul Chess Olympiad preview

8/21/2012 – After the London 2012 Olympics, in which we saw a number of records fall with participants from 204 nations, the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey, should be no less impressive. Players hailing from over 160 countries are expected. The official website is already up with a list of the many teams and their makeups, and expect to enjoy photos and videos as well. Here is a preview.

Tiviakov wins Roosendaal LBV weekend tournament

8/21/2012 – Roosendaal? It is not one of the more famous Dutch towns, but rather sneaks by unseen, unheard, unnoticed. But it pays host to a lovely weekend tournament: "I can honestly say I have never seen such joyful, full-of-life and happy-to-help-you organizers – the Dutch gezellig way became rather contagious..." writes WGM Alina L'Ami in her big pictorial report.

Remembering Svetozar Gligoric (Part one)

8/20/2012 – "If you post a follow-up article on Gligoric, please don't make the mistake of other sites and simply copy & paste his win versus Petrosian from Rovinj-Zagreb from Wikipedia," wrote Kiril Penusliski. We asked the Macedonian art historian to select examples that better illustrate the unique Gligoric style, and he sent us some beautifully annotated games of his teacher and mentor. Do not miss this one.

Did he bite a police officer? Kasparov on his unlawful arrest

8/20/2012 – Some people are out to get him. The allegation that Kasparov had bitten a police officer in the course of his violent arrest is clearly intended to provide grounds for a jail sentence. However, using BBC video Kasparov is able to demonstrate that the officer in question, his hands clearly visible before, during, and after the police assault, was never injured. Video, stills and statements.

Viktor is still the Terrible!

8/19/2012 – The trend of matches between aging champions and another set of players is an attractive one, and has been tried in many forms. The Geneva Chess Club proposed its own spin by pitting its aspiring masters against a group of legendary players. The veterans won, led by Viktor Korchnoi, 81 years-old, bound to a wheelchair. Report, video, plus photos by Frits Agterdenbos.

Boris Spassky, fearing death, 'flees' to Russia

8/18/2012 – Since Thursday we had been searching for the 75-year-old former World Champion who, his wife told us, had disappeared from their house in Meudon near Paris. Now he has turned up in Moscow, with a harrowing story, which he revealed to the Russian newspapers Komsomolskaya Pravda. After a stroke in 2010 he was rehabilitating in France, where he apparently felt trapped. Interview.

Garry Kasparov: ‘They Were Trying to Break My Leg’

8/18/2012 – New, harrowing video has emerged of Kasparov being severely man- handled by Moscow police, and now we hear that he could face a five-year jail sentence for allegedly biting a police officer. Protests in Russia are growing – it would be a hilarious irony if they led to a "Russian Summer" and the downfall of the Putin government over an action involving a punk band called Pussy Riot.

Online-Chess tournament between Cologne and Istanbul

8/17/2012 – In the German city of Cologne there is a chess club that was founded, twelve years ago, by players hailing from Turkey. Today the Satranç Club 2000 has members from different countries. Recently they challenged a club from the twinned city Istanbul to an Internet match on ten boards. This is easy to arrange on the Playchess server, and it was hugely enjoyed by everyone involved.

Pawn power vs. d-file

8/17/2012 – The white central advance d4-d5 has been countered by Black with 28...Nf3+ (diagram). How would you assess the position after that? White ... 

A) ... wins with 29.Bxf3 Qxf3 30.dxe6
B) ... wins with 29.Kh1 Nxe1 30.dxe6
C) ... must force move repetition

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Breaking news: Kasparov arrested and beaten at Pussy Riot trial

8/17/2012 – The former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov was beaten and arrested outside the Moscow court house where the Pussy Riot trial is taking place. Kasparov was not protesting, but simply trying to attend the reading of the verdict – two years' prison for three young women who staged a church protest in February. He was cornered and arrested. Latest: Kasparov has now been released.

World Junior Championship: GM Alex Ipatov is the winner

8/16/2012 – The World Junior Championships took place, without undue public attention, in Athens 2nd-16th August 2012. For much of the final stretch two players were in the lead: Richard Rapport (2605) and Alexander Ipatov (2577). The latter, who is from Ukraine but represents Turkey, won in the end on tiebreak. His trainer, GM Efstratios Grivas, sent us annotated games for our big pictorial report.

First ACO World Chess Championship in Dubai

8/16/2012 – 72 players from 25 countries, ages ranging from eight to 79, seven rating groups, nine games, ten days in a five-star luxury beach hotel, many new friendships as well as a gala dinner in the most beautiful ballroom of the world in the famous seven-star hotel Burj-Al-Arab – the first World Amateur Chess Championship was undoubtedly a great success, as our big pictorial report shows.

Chess Day celebrated in Ukraine

8/15/2012 – As a part of the festivities surrounding the recently held Ukrainian Championship, duly won by Anton Korobov, the opening day of the championship was preceded by an official declaration in Ukraine of Chess Day, celebrated on July 20th. In the morning simuls were held in public parks by the players, and in the evening a reception was held. Pictures by Anna Korol and Nikolai Gavljuk.

Svetozar Gligoric 1923-2012

8/15/2012 – He was one of the great players of the 20th century, record national champion of Yugoslavia, friend of Bobby Fischer, theoretician, musician, author and gentleman. He was also a close personal friend, and we will provide more material on his career in the coming weeks and months. Svetozar Gligorić died in Belgrade on August 14 at the age of 89. The chess world will miss this great human being.

Cheparinov wins the Politiken Cup 2012

8/14/2012 – Actually three players tied for first, with 8.0/10 points apiece, but the Bulgarian GM took the title on tiebreak points. The first thirteen places are all occupied by GMs (including legend Jan Timman). The first female is WGM Anna Rudolf in 29th place – amongst 292 participants in the tournament. We bring you an illustrated report with portraits of the most successful players.

Problem Chess Solutions – Schiffman Theme Problems

8/14/2012 – In his previous article our problem expert David Friedgood looked at the major thematic ideas that involve pins – usually in the form of pieces being pinned against the king of the same colour. In the first instalments he dealt with with black pieces being pinned, explaining the theme with two examples and giving us two problems to solve. Did you succeed?

2012 Russian – 6-way tiebreaker won by Andreikin; Pogonina wins

8/14/2012 – It was the most apathetic Russian men's championship ever. The final draw rate for the championship was in excess of 75%. The event ended with six of the ten players in a tie for first. As a result, the next day a rapid round-robin tiebreaker with the six 'winners' was won by Dmitry Andreikin. The Women championship was won with gusto by Natalia Pogonina. Final report.

Olivier Breisacher has left us...

8/14/2012 – That is the headline of an obituary in his home newspaper, Tribune de Genève. The news that shocked the chess world was that Olivier Breisacher, 44, who had just finished running the 2012 Biel Chess Festival, had suffered a swimming accident during a vacation in Majorca. He was flown to the University Hospital in Geneva, but his life could not be saved. Eulogy by Pascal Simon.