Kasimdzhanov's proposal – our readers react

8/3/2011 – Two weeks ago former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov made a startling proposal, designed to lift chess out of what he perceives to be a crisis: eliminate draws by playing rapid and then blitz games if there is no decisive result. Naturally our readers commented on this idea with vigor – and many with interesting counter-proposals. Here is a (very large) selection of letters.

Lake Sevan 2011 - Jobava wins volcanic event

8/2/2011 – Held in the upper recesses of Armenia, the GM tournament of Lake Sevan took place in the Armenian Volcanic Highlands, offering breathtaking views to the participants, alongside top-notch chess. The tournament was won by Baadur Jobava on tie-break over Hrant Melkumyan. Completing his profile on the tournament, here is the pictorial with commented games by IM Ashot Nadanian.

2011 Turkish Youth Championships

8/2/2011 – The 2011 Turkish Youth Championship took place July 23-28 in Istanbul, host to the 2012 Chess Olympiad. Since the start of the "Chess in schools" program, TCF statistics show that from 2005 to 2010 the number of children learning chess has increased to 2,250,000! In this year's event, the number of categories was increased to allow more to play. Large pictorial by Anastasiya Karlovich.

Lewis Chessmen Symposium at Skálholt, Iceland

8/1/2011 – In the nineteenth century a collection of chessmen, handcrafted in the twelfth century, was found on the Isle of Lewis, and have become the most famous chess set in the world. This year archaeologists discovered a new chess piece in Iceland, and the controversy surrounding the exact origins of the Lewis Chessmen takes a new twist. In August you can attend a symposium on the subject.

Adams, Short, Jones lead in British Championship

8/1/2011 – The Darwin Strategic British Chess Championships are taking in Sheffield. After six rounds the top GMs are comfortably in the lead. There are also many other events taking place: seniors, under 2000, 1800, 1400; U16, U14, U13, U12, U11, U10, U9, and, most enchanting of all, the U8 section. Top games are being commented by Andrew Martin in all-you-can-eat video coverage.

CBM Blog: Kramnik's King and Giri's flash of genius

7/31/2011 – In endings with rook and knight vs rook and bishop the knight often wants to have full control to compensate for its relative slow maneuvering ability. And in rook endings it is usually bad to advance the pawn so far that the attacking king has no shelter – unless you have a special plan. Our endgame expert Dr. Karsten Müller presents instructive lessons from the current Dortmund tournament.

Problem chess: Forgive me interfering, won't you?

7/31/2011 – In the new instalment of his series on chess problems, Steve Giddins looks at one of the most famous themes in problem chess: a particular type of interference that is known as the Grimshaw, after the 19th century English composer Walter Grimshaw, who first showed it. He illustrated the theme with some remarkable problems for you to enjoy.

Dortmund Rd10 – Kramnik goes for broke against Nakamura

7/31/2011 – Since the results were mostly decided by now, Vladimir Kramnik decided to do everything in his power to break back into the 2800 club. Kramnik played an incredibly brave and belligerent game against Nakamura, and sacrificed a knight for a long-term attack. While he had excellent chances, he ultimately failed to make the most of them, and lost. A fascinating game. Final report and stats.

Biel Rd.10: statistics and Playchess analysis

7/30/2011 – This wonderfully exciting tournament is over, and to wrap things up we bring you a final report with interesting statistics (did you count: there were more black wins than white). Also the remarkable postgame sessions on Playchess with the players, who explained to a world-wide audience what transpired in the games they had just finished. Great event, pity it's over.

Dortmund Rd9 – Kramnik wins Dortmund; Nakamura ends drought

7/30/2011 – Kramnik's win of Dortmund came as no surprise, and he took no chances and drew against Giri, securing a two point lead over the field after Le drew against Ponomariov. His 7.0/9 score and 2933 performance are one of the greatest tournament victories of all time, but he still has a tenth round to try and extend it if he wishes. Nakamura ended his drought with a win over Meier. Round nine.

Biel Rd.9: Analysis on Playchess by the players

7/29/2011 – Once again we bring you a special report with the postgame sessions conducted with the players in Biel, which can be viewed by a world-wide audience on the Playchess server and in regular browsers – live or as video captures on YouTube. The system changes the way chess can be brought to a very large audience, providing unique insights into the thinking process of Super-GMs.

Biel Rd.10: Morozevich wins game, Carlsen set and match

7/29/2011 – Lagrave and Shirov drew their final round game to share 3-4th place; Caruana probably went into the round with secret hopes of beating the leader, but was suprised by a Philidor (Magnus, it seems, can play anything) and never had any winning chances. Alexander Morozevich beat the lowest seed Yannick Pelletier to improve his second-place score. Express report.

Dortmund Rd8 – Kramnik has miracle save; Pono beats Nakamura

7/29/2011 – It was the most dramatic round of the tournament. All three boards seemed headed for a decisive result, including Le – over Kramnik! The Russian took serious risks, Le played well and achieved a winning advantage. It took mistakes by the Vietnamese GM and surgical precision by Kramnik to save it. Ponomariov, with only two draws in eight games, defeated Nakamura. Round eight report.

Bologan: Beating the Sicilian Vol. 2

7/28/2011 – Imagine reading a book with the mysterious title "Beating the Sicilian" on a train – you are bound to get some puzzled stares. That may also happen if you go through the new Fritz Trainer DVD by Viktor Bologan. But it will most likely be on the face of your opponent in the next tournament you play. The Moldovan GM has a lot of good advice in an opening played by Garry Kasparov with Black. Check it out.

Kavalek in Huffington: Long Live the Chess King

7/28/2011 – Chess sometimes becomes a beautiful game even in the eyes of those who don't play it. Find a charming town, bring back its glorious past, turn people into chess pieces, invite kids and a jester and you can evoke magical moments. GM Lubomir Kavalek tells us about "living chess" in medieval costumes, and a blindfold game between him and Hungarian GM Lajos Portisch. Big pictorial column.

Biel Rd.8: Post-game analysis on Playchess

7/28/2011 – Round eight of the Biel Chess Festival brought two more wins from three games – once again underlining the fighting nature of this tournament: just 45.8% of the games were drawn, with 29.2% white and 25.0% black wins. In the postgame analysis sessions we see what was going through the heads of the players, with everything broadcast live on Playchess for chess fans all over the world.

Biel Rd.9: Caruana beats Morozevich, Carlsen wins Biel 2011

7/28/2011 – The games of the leaders were what the fans had hoped for: fascinating games, and lots of drama. Carlsen’s game against Vachier-Lagrave was a very exciting battle which started on the queenside, and then shifted to a full out pawn storm attempt against Carlsen, which he survived. Morozevich lost to Caruana in a tense Semi-Slav, giving Carlsen first prize a round in advance. Express report.

Dortmund Rd7 – Kramnik beats Meier and breaks 2800

7/28/2011 – With a huge lead over the field, Kramnik could conceivably cruise to victory, or he could take this chance to make history and see where it goes. With his powerful win over Meier, he is soaring over the 3000 performance mark once more, and is at 2800 in the live rating lists. Anish Giri beat Ponomariov in a double-rook endgame and is now third, while Nakamura and Le drew. Round seven.

Coffin nail

7/28/2011 – Passive defence seemed hopeless to Black here in view of his exposed king, and he rather preferred to create counterthreats by playing 64...h3 (diagram). How would you assess the position after 65.Re7+ now? White...
A)... wins the black queen by force
B)... must eventually pin his hopes on a plus pawn in a rook ending
C)... achieves only perpetual check; if he allows the black king to escape via h5-g4, Black even wins
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Hans Tikkanen is Swedish Champion 2011

7/27/2011 – The last round of this year's Swedish Championship was fraught with drama and excitement. Player A was in the lead and needed a draw, player B was set for a GM norm if he drew his final game against player C. Both A and B lost, and player C, newly titled GM Hans Tikkanen, finished first. We have some wonderful analysis by Ari Ziegler to play through in our final report.

World Team Ch. – Armenia gold, China silver, Ukraine bronze

7/27/2011 – It was a glorious campaign for Armenia, who were the only undefeated team in the competition and deserved winners of the gold. Below it was a mad shoot-out for silver and bronze, with China surging in the last rounds to silver with brilliant performances by Wang Hao and Wang Yue, the top performance of the event with 2916. Ukraine took the bronze, and Russia was fourth. Illustrated final report.

Biel Rd.7: Post-game analysis, statistics of an exciting event

7/27/2011 – Last year the Biel Chess Festival was a somewhat lack-luster affair. This year, in contrast, it is pure fireworks. Just three games in under 30 moves, as opposed to 17 in 2010, and 48.6% draws vs 69% in the previous edition. We have some theories why this is so. Also the post-game analysis on Playchess, which can be watched by spectators all over the world. Enjoy.

Dortmund Rd6 – Hits and kicks all round, but no knock-outs

7/27/2011 – Though the round yielded draws on all three boards, there was nothing sedate about any of them. Kramnik continued his fighting chess and built up a very threatening position against Ponomariov, but was unable to finalize and they drew. Nakamura managed to win a pawn against Giri, but found no way to convert in the endgame. Finally, Le and Meier also drew. Round six report.

Biel Rd.8: Carlsen-Morozevich drawn, Vachier, Shirov win

7/27/2011 – The game between the leaders, Carlsen and Morozevich failed to live up to expectations and ended in a draw – though they did play it out. Vachier-Lagrave beat Pelletier with a spectacular rook sac, but almost squandered the win (the Swiss returned the favor). Shirov kept up with the French player after squeezing Caruana for 50 moves in an endgame with superb technique. Express report.