A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part three)

1/4/2012 – A core accusation against Vas Rajlich is that Rybka and Fruit have very similar positional evaluations, and the use of floating point numbers in Rybka’s time management code had to be copied from Fruit. Søren Riis enumerates the ten substantive evaluation differences and shows how the second accusation boils down to a single misplaced keystroke with zero impact on Rybka's play.

Master Moves #20

1/3/2012 – All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots that follow were played at the Groningen Chess Festival. Go on and strut your stuff!

A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part two)

1/3/2012 – In this part Dr Søren Riis of Queen Mary University in London shows how most programs (legally) profited from Fruit, and subsequently much more so from the (illegally) reverse engineered Rybka. Yet it is Vasik Rajlich who was investigated, found guilty of plagiarism, banned for life, stripped of his titles, and vilified in the international press – for a five-year-old alleged tournament rule violation. Ironic.

Groningen chess festival won by Alexander Kovchan and Robert Hess

1/3/2012 – The Groningen chess festival took place from December 21st to 30th, and had a number of activities, including three Swiss opens and two matches. The main open was the 'A' event, which was won by Ukrainian GM Alexander Kovchan, who edged out American GM Robert Hess on tiebreak after both scored 7.0/9. Sergei Tiviakov came in third. Illustrated report.

54th Reggio Emilia: Nakamura wins (again), and so do both juniors

1/2/2012 – Three straight rounds, in a tournament in which all the players are rated 2700 and up, where every game ended in a decisive result. Nakamura outclassed Vitiugov and now has a commanding lead over the field, with a 3018 performance. Giri beat Ivanchuk, while Caruana avenged his loss to Morozevich. Sopiko Guramishvili has a 1.5 lead in the women's section. Round six report and games.

Donostia/San Sebastián: and then there were eight

1/2/2012 – We remind you: this is an extraordinary knock-out event in that the participants have to play two games against each other – simultaneously. In the A group three of eight matches were decided in classical games, three in rapid games and two in simultaneous blitz. All quite harrowing, as we learn from the players and in our illustrated report by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.

A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part one)

1/2/2012 – "Biggest Sporting Scandal since Ben Johnson" and "Czech Mate, Mr. Cheat" – these were headlines in newspapers around the world six months ago. The International Computer Games Association had disqualified star programmer Vasik Rajlich for plagiarism, retroactively stripped him of all titles, and banned him for life. Søren Riis, a computer scientist from London, has investigated the scandal.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (76)

1/1/2012 – Exactly 30 years ago the Editor of Chess Notes began his forum devoted to history and lore, a miscellany of forgotten games, compositions, biographies, photographs, quotes, enigmas and exposés, scrutinizing without fear or favour the saints and sinners of chess, the champions, amateurs, scholars and reprobates. Here is a guide to help readers continue to enjoy the mass of unique material.

54th Reggio Emilia: Spaceship Nakamura takes off

1/1/2012 – It was an impressive turnaround when, in round four, Nakamura downed Giri in a game where the young Dutchman seemed out of sorts, while Morozevich lost his lead when he was defeated by Ivanchuk in an exciting game. This was only a prelude to round five when Nakamura and Ivanchuk had a thrilling battle, which gave the American the sole lead. Pictures and New Year wishes.

FIDE ratings – Carlsen starts 2012 with thirty-point lead

1/1/2012 – If it wasn't for you-know-who twelve years ago we would have said this was unique in world chess: the Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen has climbed to 2835, his highest rating ever, and now leads the field by a full thirty points. Two other players, Aronian and Kramnik, are above 2800, and the World Champion Anand has dipped just below the mark for the first time since July 2010. January 2012 ratings.

Double-game tournament in Donostia/San Sebastián

12/31/2011 – This event, which is taking place from December 28th 2011 to January 5th 2012 in northern Spain, is unusual in that, following an idea by David Bronstein, the participants play two classical games against each other – simultaneously. It is a knock-out tournament, with the eliminated players continuing in a parallel group. Here's a nicely illustrated report by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.

Rilton Cup in Stockholm

12/30/2011 – This chess tournament, staged for the seventh time, is thanks to a very generous man, Dr. Tore Rilton, a Swedish doctor who left six million Swedish kronor in his will to be used only for chess. The venue is the beautiful Clarion Hotel, with a view of Stockholm directly outside the playing hall. In spite of some opening problems Alina l'Ami managed to send us this big illustrated report.

Kavalek in Huffington: The World Chess Hall of Fame

12/30/2011 – The World Chess Hall of Fame, which was recently relocated from Miami to St. Louis, celebrated its tenth anniversary this month. When it first opened in December 2001, Czech GM Lubos Kavalek was inducted there together with five great chess players, with whom he had a lot in common. He tells us all about it in his latest Huffington Post column.

CBM training: Endgames from the Women's Team Championship

12/29/2011 – This time our resident endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller, who provides lessons in his popular ChessBase Magazine section, has picked four instructive examples from the recently ended Women's World Team Championship. Study them and improve. At the same time don't forget to visit our Christmas Puzzle page, where there are now five installments to solve. Enjoy.

San Sebastian reborn with double the fun

12/29/2011 – A very special tournament will take place in San Sebastian, Spain, from December 28 to January 6, celebrating the centenary of Capablanca's victory there in 1911. This new event, or rebirth, with three opens, includes over ten players rated 2700, playing in a new format christened the "Basque system". In this format, players play each other with both colors in two simultaneous games!

54th Reggio Emilia: Morozevich continues his winning ways

12/29/2011 – After three rounds, Alexander Morozevich has taken the early lead after an impressive attack against Anish Giri in round two, also taking him to sixth in the live ratings, two points from fifth. Vassily Ivanchuk joined Hikaru Nakamura in second after beating Fabiano Caruana in round three. In the women's section, WGM Sopiko Guramishvili leads with a perfect score. Rounds two and three.

54th Reggio Emilia: An exciting start

12/28/2011 – The 54th Reggio Emilia is both the last top event of 2011 and the first of 2012, and this year's lineup is as good as one could wish, with Ivanchuk, Morozevich, Nakamura, Caruana, Vitiugov, and Giri. In the very first round, Hikaru Nakamura defied classic rules to beat Nikita Vitiugov handily, while Fabiano Caruana blundered a won position to Alexander Morozevich. Round one report.

Asian Schools Championship – Indian players dominate

12/28/2011 – Is there a stronger word than "dominate"? Of the 570 players in the fray over 400 were from India, and the dominance of the subcontinent was demonstrated on the result sheet: Indian participants won a total of 33 of the 36 medals at stake (one player, Sanskruti Wankhede, scored 7.0/7 in the U5 section). Our reporter Praful Zaveri sees a shift towards a chess playing nation.

Ashley in Jamaica – Caribbean Chess Tour of a GM

12/28/2011 – GM Maurice Ashley, who in 1999 became the first African-American grandmaster of chess, was born in Jamaica, where he spent the first twelve years of his life. Returning to his first home – and meeting an uncle for the first time – was the hightlight of a Caribbean tour, and involved promoting the "Magnificent Chess Foundation". Even the new Prime Minister Andrew Holness supports it.

The Chebanenko Slav in 60 minutes

12/28/2011 – The Chebanenko Slav is a line championed by several top players, such as Gata Kamsky, Vladimir Malakhov, Etienne Bacrot, and the author, German GM Leonid Kritz. GM Dejan Bojkov was impressed, "One would expect that a strong GM would hide some of his ideas from his main repertoire, however, this is not the case with Leonid Kritz." Find out more in GM Dejan Bojkov's review.

Chess Gymnasium by Jaan Ehlvest

12/27/2011 – Chess in Schools has become the hottest topic in the game. A new book by the Estonian GM Jaan Ehlvest (who now lives in the US) introduces us to the “Russian way” of teaching chess to young children. It is a method born of decades of research. “Chess Gymnasium” introduces each concept slowly, but with depth. The author, once ranked number five in the world, describes the project.

Women's World Team Ch: China is gold, Russia is silver, Georgia is bronze

12/27/2011 – The final round was anything but a formality. Although the Chinese lost in round eight, they still secured gold a round in advance, while India, who had been gold contenders throughout, had a disastrous last two rounds, and placed fourth. Russia was quick to take advantage and secured silver, while Georgia snatched bronze when Ukraine drew against Vietnam in the last round. Final report.

Looking back at the BBC Master Game – thirty years later

12/26/2011 – Until 1980 the only way to show a chess game was for a master to stand in front of a demo board and move the magnetic pieces by hand. Then BBC Television pioneered a radical new technology: using a glass chess table and chess pieces with symbols stuck to their bases they brought us animated games, commented semi-live by the players. You can watch these shows on YouTube.

Women's World Team Championship: Mesopotamia and Zhao

12/25/2011 – During the rest day of important events, it is customary to organize activities to entertain the players as well as show off the region's interesting options. The Turkish Federation organized a great program showing sites and ancient ruins of Mesopotamia. In the seventh round, no changes in rankings, though Zhao Xue played a great attacking game. Don't miss Mesopotamia and Zhao.