The 2012 Chess Olympiad under way

8/29/2012 – In the first round of this event, 158 teams are paired with the top half facing the bottom half (1 vs 79, 2 vs 80, etc.). This meant many 4-0 wipe-outs, but with a few upsets on individual boards. We bring you pictures and results and all available games from this massive event in Istanbul, Turkey, and now also include play-of-the-day commentary by GM Daniel King.

2012 Chess Olympiad: FIDE press conference

8/29/2012 – The president and deputy president of the World Chess Organisation, together with the president of the Turkish Chess Federation, held a joint press conference on the first day of the Chess Olympiad. All praised the organisation of the event while admitting glitches. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov declared his continuing support for "his brother" TCF President Ali Nihat Yazici. Excerpts.

New documentary on the Polgar family

8/28/2012 – Chess fans are undoubtedly familiar with the statistics, the myths and the rumours surrounding the Polgár sisters, but how many of us really know the true story of the family? For four years, an Israeli film-maker has collected archive material never seen before, and produced a documentary for Israeli TV that is epic and historic, but also personal and intimate. Watch the trailer.

Aloha Vishy! The World Chess Champion visits Hawai'i

8/27/2012 – Waikiki, the beautiful beach on the southern coast of the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, is a tourist magnet. It was recently "blessed to count among its visitors the World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, his wife Aruna, and their sixteen-month-old son, Akhil," writes Beau Mueller, who spent time with the astronomy enthusiast and even taught him how to say Humuhumunukunukuapua'a!

Theory of success in life applied to chess

8/27/2012 – What are the factors that define success? How does one become successful in life in general and in chess in particular? Peter Zhdanov explains KPIs (key performance indicators) used to measure success and seeks to apply them to the game we all love. By objectively evaluating all the components described in his article, you can create your own plan of becoming a successful person.

2012 Chess Olympiad: Opening ceremony

8/27/2012 – The event is being staged in the WOW Hotel and Convention Center, just minutes away from the airport, where many of the top teams and all the dignitaries are staying. On Monday the technical meeting was held, and then the spectacular opening ceremony, with a rich and colourful cultural program, including the often extremely vigorous traditional Turkish dances. Impressions of the opening day.

2012 Chess Olympiad: teams and players

8/26/2012 – The biggest chess event of the year is just two days away, with teams arriving and preparing for round one on Tuesday. The top seeds are Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Hungary, Azerbaijan, China, USA. One of these teams has won four consecutive Golds in the past – can you guess which? Learn more about the leading teams in the Yorkshire Chess Association's excellent Olympiad preview.

2012 French Championship marred by tragedy

8/26/2012 – After a week of bewildering news involving Garry Kasparov, and then Boris Spassky, one hoped for a nice sane report on the French Championship. Instead, a shocked Christian Bauer, tied for first in the penultimate round, learned that his four-month old son had died, and withdrew. In a show of solidarity, the players refused to continue and a four-way draw was declared. Report and game.

2012 Chess Olympiad: Women's Teams in Istanbul

8/26/2012 – The Russians dominated the last Olympiad with a perfect score, followed by China four points behind. This time, with the two highest rated players on boards one and two, the Chinese women are going to mount a serious challenge. But we mustn't forget Georgia, which monopolised the Women’s World Championship for 30 consecutive years. Olympiad preview by Yorkshire Chess.

Kramnik and Klitschko: heavyweight preparation

8/25/2012 – The chess Olympiad starts on Monday, the teams will be swarming into Istanbul from their various training camps. One of the players had a somewhat unusual session: Vladimir Kramnik spent some days in Austria with his old friend and WBA Heavyweight Boxing Champion Vitali Klitschko, who himself was preparing for a tough match. We bring you a photo report of the unusual training session.

Breaking news: Kasparov cleared of protest charges!

8/24/2012 – The accusation that Garry Kasparov had bitten a police officer is clearly intended to provide grounds for a jail sentence. A BBC video had come to Garry's defence, and now a chronological series of new photographs clearly shows that the police officer had a scratch on his left hand before the tussle with Kasparov. On Friday Kasparov spent 9½ hours in a Russian court and scored a partial victory.

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.