World Cup R2.1: Live by the sword, die by the sword

9/1/2011 – In the second round of the FIDE WC knock-out event, the current European Champion Vladimir Potkin was happy enough to perform an ideal attack against the well-known and fierce attacker Alexei Shirov, a top player who is famous for setting the board on fire. But the time always comes for those who live by the sword to die by it. Here is some very instructive analysis by GM Efstratios Grivas.

World Cup R2.2: Shirov and Movsesian sent packing

9/1/2011 – The second round had a bit of it all. There were Morozevich’s crushing 2-0 win over surprise opponent Fier, as well as Shirov’s surprise 2-0 loss to Potkin. Judit Polgar overcame Movsesian, and Kamsky erased his first-round scare with a clean win over Kasimdzhanov. Vallejo Pons rebounded with a win to push into the tiebreaks, and Karjakin was unable to bully So. Report and GM analysis.

Master Moves #16 – Botvinnik the World Champion

9/1/2011 – 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 here were played by Botvinnik from the 1948 World Championship and beyond. Are you world champion material?

FIDE ratings list – resurgence is the name of the game

9/1/2011 – The new ratings list is out, and the word 'resurgence' has never seemed a more appropriate description. From the very top, we see Kramnik once more the top Russian, Kamsky at the highest rating in his career, and Judit Polgar's return to the 2700 club to name but a few, but the biggest story is Morozevich's rocket gain of 43 Elo after three straight 2800+ performances. The September 2011 list.

Botvinnik Memorial Rapid: the big, fast faceoff

9/1/2011 – In another event dedicated to the memory of the Russian legend, Messrs Anand, Kramnik, Carlsen and Aronian will lock horns in rapid and blitz formats. Also featured is a formidable female section with Humpy, Kosintseva, Cmilyte and Danielian. And the rules have changed. Don’t be surprised if one of them suddenly deserts a heated tactical battle to plug into an iPod. Don't miss the fun!

Commemorating the 20th Independence Day and Cup

8/31/2011 – The “Kiev Cup - Independence of Ukraine Cup” was recently held in Kiev dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, celebrated on August 24. This year saw the participation of 15-year-old Ilya Nyzhnyk (2589 Elo), who saw the top spot snatched by Crimean colleague GM Yury Ajrapetjan. Here is a report replete with pictures by Tanya Kostiuk.

World Cup R2.1: small tragedies, expected victories

8/31/2011 – Alexei Shirov spoilt a comfortable position against Vladimir Potkin and lost in 28 moves. Francisco Vallejo applied pressure for 60 moves, then imploded and lost five moves later. Sergey Azarov tried the Jaenish Gambit against Vugar Gashimov and went down in 23 moves. Other top players (Ivanchuk, Radjabov, Morozevich) took home full points. Report and pictures.

The winner takes it all, the loser standing small...

8/30/2011 – We are reporting enthusiastically on the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, concentrating, as any news site would do, on the stars and the winners. But what about the players who on Tuesday all met at the airport for an early flight to Moscow? They had been knocked out in round one. Chess trainer Efstratios Grivas tells us the story of one of them, with two instructively annotated games.

GM Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 8 – Practical Rook Endings

8/30/2011 – You all know him from his regular CBM blog on our news pages. Now ChessBase has published a training DVD by GM Karsten Müller, the eighth of a series. "Although the lessons on this DVD are difficult, they are very worthwhile for keen students of the endgame, writes Sean Marsh in his Marsh Towers review. He calls this DVD one of the brightest jewels in the ChessBase crown.

World Cup R1 tiebreaks: favourites through, no big surprises

8/30/2011 – Gata Kamsky won one of the first two rapid games, Morozevich both of them. Etienne Bacrot struggled a bit against youngster Ray Robson – each won a game, then Bacrot won both the fast rapid games. One match, Drozdovskij vs Motylev, went all the way to the sudden death (Drozdovskij won). We bring you a full updated report with video and pictures.

Alimini Open - Chess, sand, and sports

8/29/2011 – The Alimini Open took place in the beautiful scenery at the south-eastern extreme of Italy. Though fighting chess was displayed to the end, the titled players generously helped weaker players analyze their games. Everyone was treated to a wave of daily activities ranging from football, volleyball (the girls won!) and even poker with a professional dealer. Report and lovely pictures by Martha Fierro.

World Cup R1.2– Leko, Wang Yue eliminated

8/29/2011 – Hungarian former vice champion of the world Peter Leko and Super-GM Wang Yue were both eliminated after the second game of round one of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. The Chinese generally had a bad day, with all but three players eliminated. Kamsky and Vallejo were forced into the tiebreaks (on Tuesday) by much lower-ranked players. Full report with pictures and video.

World Cup R1.1 – A few upsets and vivid coverage

8/29/2011 – In the first round of the FIDE World Cup brought many players with large rating differences – 250-350 Elo points – together on the first ten boards. Almost all ended in the favorites beating the underdogs, but we saw losses by Super GMs Wang Yue and Peter Leko to lesser opponents. The HD video coverage from Khanty-Mansiysk is very impressive and vividly shows the drama of the game.

Vienna Game

8/28/2011 – In view of possible pin motifs, capturing the e-pawn in the diagram position had to be well considered. What do you think? After 19...Nxe5, Black ...

A)... simply wins a second pawn;
B)... can give up his queen for good compensation;
C)... loses a full piece

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Gunina leads in the Russia Women's Superfinal

8/27/2011 – This event, staged in the Central Chess Club in Moscow, determines the 2011 National Women's Champion. For the last two years Alisa Galliamova has taken the title, but this time after seven of nine rounds Valentina Gunina looks like the the runaway winner: she has 6.0/7 (performance: 2717) and is a point and a half ahead of her nearest rival. Big illustrated report by Anna Burtasova.

FIDE World Chess Cup starts in Khanty-Mansiysk

8/27/2011 – For the fourth time Russia’s Ugra region in Siberia is hosting this event, which is a 128-player knockout with 128 participants from all over the world, playing two-game matches from August 27th until September 20th. The opening ceremony was spectacular, and all captured on HT video, which you can watch and enjoy before the games begin on Sunday at 11:00h CEST.

Botvinnik Memorial Open picture parade

8/26/2011 – The International Chess Festival celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mikhail Botvinnik saw 166 players taking part in a very strong Open, with seven tying for first at 7.0/9 points. The women did not play in a separate section but did get a separate ranking table. We wrap up this event with a splendid pictorial provided by Irina Sudakova and Elena Mikheeva with lots of new faces.

Vachier-Lagrave wins 2011 French Championship

8/26/2011 – After ten rounds there were two players vying for the title: reigning champion Laurent Fressinet and the top seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, both with 6.5/10 points on the score table. Fressinet lost a kamikaze Pirc against Christian Bauer, while Vachier-Lagrave survived a lost position against Etienne Bacrot, who would have won the Championship if he hadn't blundered on move 26.

YACS at the Botvinnik Memorial Open

8/25/2011 – This tournament, part of the International Chess Festival celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mikhail Botvinnik, was won by seven players with a score of 7.0/9. But it was the 98th placed player who got the most attention. Sergey Klimentiev, rated 1698, had been crushing FMs and IMs, until his briefcase and pen were taken from him, after which he collapsed. Yet another cheating scandal.

Illumzhinov: Gaddafi is alive and well in Tripoli

8/24/2011 – The rebels stormed his compound in Tripoli, NATO and US Intelligence are searching with satellites and surveillance drones for him, without success. But in the middle of the manhunt for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi the President of FIDE received a call on Tuesday evening. The Libyan dictator told Ilyumzhinov he was alive and well, and 'certain to win'. His forces would 'drive the rats out of the city.'

Turkish Rapid Chess Championship in Datca

8/24/2011 – The town is a fine vacation spot, a place where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean, where Turks and Greeks can swim out to meet each other. It is also the place where this year's Turkish Rapid Championship took place – in the Open and U16 categories. It was fun for all, especially the youngest players, whom WGM Anastasiya Karlovich has caught in her wonderful pictorial report.

The 5th PanArmenian games are a success

8/24/2011 – For those not from that corner of the world, the idea of PanArmenian games may sound strange. The underlying purpose is a peace effort to reconnect Armenians and Armenians in diaspora with their country of origin, most notably those living in the independent but not officially recognized (thus not on official maps) state of Nagorno-Karabakh. Here is an illustrated report by Liane Aghabekyan.

World Junior: Free day outing to Mahabalipuram

8/24/2011 – It is a 7th century port city with extraordinary architectural works, and the participants of the Sdat-RAMCO World Junior were taken there during the event in Chennai. Press officer R.R. Vasudevan has sent us a beautiful pictorial report which is meticulously captioned – a relief from the photo dumps that are usually thrown at chess fans. His report also contains a lot of videos. Take time and enjoy.

Feller's interview, and a solution to the cheating scandal

8/23/2011 – The French Championship is in its eighth round, with four GMs in the joint lead. The event is marred by continued suspicion and anti-cheating measures, brought on by accusations that one of the participants had in the past engaged in organised cheating. Sébastien Feller has given an interview on the subject, and we have a proposal on how to clear up the matter quickly.