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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

7/26/2011 – The 1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster tournament ended with a superb result by IM Ju Wenjun, with 6.5/9 and a near 2700 performance. It was the strongest women's tournament in history, and was marked also by a 3rd and final GM norm for second-place Dronavalli Harika, making her India's second female GM. With many memorable moments here is a beautiful pictorial by Liang Ziming.