ChessBase 11: finding top theoretical novelty

3/13/2012 – Do you know the option "Theoretical weight" in our database program? Steven Dowd shows theory fans how to use just a few clicks to scour games from recent tournaments for TNs. "Based on games I knew had important TNs, I found that the database handled it with great accuracy for the most part," he writes, giving the program 6/6 stars in his latest Chess Cafe review.

Chess and cleavage – dress code story in the media

3/13/2012 – Periodically one of our reports will be picked up by the general media – we never know which one. This week it was the story of the ECU dress code, which specified how many buttons of a female player's shirt may be open and how many inches above the knee her dress may be. The international media had a field day with this. Meanwhile Anastasiya Karlovich asked the players for their opinion.

Caruana wins Reykjavik 2012, Hou misses big chance

3/13/2012 – We came this close to a major sensation. 18-year-old Hou Yifan, the reigning women's world champion, had a winning position against the tournament leader Fabiano Caruana, and would have finished the tournament in first place if she had steered the game to victory. But Fabiano has some special guardian angels and escaped with a draw and finished in sole first place himself. Final report.

Paulson: 'World cities will glorify chess'

3/12/2012 – FIDE recently transferred the rights to its World Championship cycle to a company called Agon, an action that sent shock waves through the chess world. The man behind Agon is Andrew Paulson, an American born media entrepreneur working in Russia, who is not well known in the chess world. That changes radically now, since GM Raymond Keene sent us this very outspoken interview.

Caruana leads in Reykjavik Open with 6.5/7 points

3/12/2012 – Fabiano Caruana has conceded just one draw so far in the Reykjavik Open 2012 (March 6 to 13). The nineteen-year-old Italian GM is in the sole lead, and his 2885 performance has raised him to number six in the world on the live ratings list. In our round seven report we include a big pictorial by WGM Alina L'Ami of one of the geologically most exciting places on earth.

Harikrishna tops 74 GMs in Cappelle-La-Grande

3/12/2012 – The 28th edition of the International Open of Cappelle-La-Grande, France was as successful as ever. The event boasted 169 titled players, of whom 74 were Grandmasters, and it attracted players from as far away as Japan and Peru. In the end, the Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna topped the field. Find out why so many players consider this event unmissable in this report by GM Alejandro Ramirez.

Fridman wins 83rd German Individual Championship

3/11/2012 – In a fine win in the final round of the 2012 German Championship the top seed Daniel Fridman secured sole first place and the title, finishing half a point ahead of his closest rival, the second seed Igor Khenkin. The Latvian born Fridman has won the title for a second time. Our ChessBase Magazin expert Dr Karsten Müller has picked out some interesting endgames from the event.

Gaziantep: Foisor, Gunina, Muzychuk lead

3/11/2012 – The free day on Thursday was filled with cultural activities in the historic Turkish city where the European Women's Championship is being held. The players came back in full fighting spirit, maintaining an incredibly low drawing quota (25.2%) in this event. The leaders share 6.5/8 points going into the two final rounds. We bring you a big illustrated report after round eight.

2011/12 Junior Four Nations Chess League (J4NCL)

3/11/2012 – Just like the adult 4NCL, the junior edition brought teams of all ages competing over three weekends in two separate divisions. The J4NCL differentiates itself by offering free structured coaching between rounds for all the children, going through games on a one-to-one basis. This season’s coaches were GM Nick Pert, IM Andrew Martin and WFM Sabrina Chevannes. Report by Mike Truran.

Gilberto Milos wins Festa da Uva Open

3/11/2012 – The final phase of the Festa da Uva chess activities was the much awaited Rapid Open, which took place over two days, and was a thoroughly grueling event. The open included the four players from the invitational event and followed a very unorthodox time-control scheme. The top place was won by Gilberto Milos. Updated with reader feedback and the complete Polgar-Mecking games.

Alexei Shirov: Beating the Berlin

3/10/2012 – The Berlin Defence – characterised by the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 – was used by Vladimir Kramnik as a drawing weapon against Garry Kasparov in their 2000 World Championship match. In recent years the Berlin has gained popularity. Now one of it's consummate experts, Latvian GM Alexei Shirov, has produced a training DVD that shows us how to crack this dreary defence.

Double sortie

3/9/2012 – After the invasion of his one knight on d7 White here had also sent out its colleague with 22.Ng5 (diagram), planning after 22...Nxg5 23.Qxg5 to take the diagonal b2-g7 under fire. This leads to what?

A) victory for White
B) equality
C) advantage for Black
ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

First women’s rapid and blindfold tournament in India

3/9/2012 – It was like Melody Amber, only a lot crazier! The first rapid and blindfold tournament in the country modelled on the famous Monte Carlo event successfully concluded in Pune, India last month, with the home team emerging exhausted winners. This historic women’s tournament held to raise awareness against the horrific social crime of female foeticide. WGM Kruttika Nadig reports.

A chat with Judit Polgar

3/9/2012 – In spite of a schedule that had her on the run from morning until late at night, including two tournaments, a lecture, a book signing, and a large simul, Judit Polgar found time for a short interview in between rounds, in which she talked about her visit to Brazil, her tournament preparation, her family, Hou Yifan, and more. Don't miss this chat with Judit Polgar.

British Solving Championship won by OTB GM

3/8/2012 – This year's competition was held in the famous English institution, Eton College, where the participants could soak up the atmosphere of large paintings of historic luminaries on the walls. For the first time the title was captured by playing GM (and solving IM): Colin McNab, who broke into a clique consisting of Friedgood, McDowell, Mestel and Nunn. Test your solving skills against the masters.

European Women's Championship: Hoang in the sole lead

3/8/2012 – The leader after four rounds, GM Marie Sebag, drew her next two games, while GM Thanh Trang Hoang won both of hers to tally up 5.5/6 points with a 2727 performance. Sebag, Gunina, Foisor and Cmilyte are half a point behind the Hungarian player (Hoang), and five more players with 4½ points behind them before the free day on Thursday. Round six report.

Reykjavik Chess Festival 2012 under way

3/8/2012 – This popular tournament, which has drawn 200 players (including 25 GMs and 20 IMs), is taking place from March 6 to 13 in the capital of Iceland. The venue is the spectacular, newly-finished Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, and the players have a direct view of the harbour and ocean. WGM Alina L'Ami, who is playing in the tournament, has send us this report after round three.

Do Women Have a Chance against Men in Chess?

3/8/2012 – As we know all too well: most of the strongest players in the world are male. In the past we have speculated on the reasons for this gender discrepancy, with vigorous reader participation. On International Women's Day Peter Zhdanov, who is married to a very strong female player, provides us with some valuable statistics, comparing men and women on a country-by-country basis. Eye-opening.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (79)

3/7/2012 – The chess world’s interest in every aspect of Bobby Fischer’s life and career shows no signs of declining. Here, the Editor of Chess Notes presents a variety of items from the unique collection of Fischer memorabilia owned by David DeLucia of Connecticut. At his best, Fischer was sublime; at his worst, he was appalling. Some of the material is truly eye-popping and shocking.

ECU Dress Code for chess tournaments

3/7/2012 – The European Women's Championship is the first where the new ECU Dress Code regulations apply. They are quite specific: regarding décolletés (in the US "cleavage"): "the second from the top button may be opened." And skirts may be no shorter than 5-10 cm above the knees. Anastasiya Karlovich quizzed the ECU General Secretary Sava Stoisavljevic on further specifics.

Shirov: with black and white in Ottawa simul

3/7/2012 – Two simultaneous exhibitions on 39 boards – that is nothing unusual for a top grandmaster. But Alexei Shirov is willing (a) to take the black side of as many boards as the participants want; and (b) to do a four-hour lecture with his opponents on their games after the event is over. "That’s why we keep inviting him," writes John Upper in this must-read report filled with games and analysis.

Gaziantep: Sebag lead alone with a perfect score

3/6/2012 – Marie Sebag defeated one of her main rivals, Viktorija Cmilyte, while the other, Cristina-Adela Foisor, drew her game against Antoaneta Stefanova. This left the French GM in the sole lead after four rounds of the European Women's Championship in Turkey. Six players are half a point behind, and twelve at 3.0/4. We start our report with a panorama sweep of Gaziantep.

Gaziantep: Sebag, Cmilyte, Foisor lead with perfect scores

3/5/2012 – After three rounds of the European Women's Championship in Turkey three players have won all their games and lead, followed by a clutch of 13 players at 2.5/3 points. Typical for women's tournaments with participants in a thousand point range the draw average is just 23%. We bring you pictures and some highlights from two rounds of play, with commentary by GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko.

Mikko Markkula, 1947-2012

3/5/2012 – He was the very active Chairman of the FIDE Qualifications Commission, which he expanded enormously over the years – ratings now go down to 1200 and will go down to 1000 in July. Mikko Markkula also did valuable work on the Laws of Chess and was an expert in the field of Swiss Pairings. Chess statistician Jeff Sonas, who had the pleasure of working with him, sent us this moving eulogy.