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.

Morozevich wins Petrov Memorial + CBM training by Karsten Müller

3/4/2012 – The Vladimir Petrov Memorial took place in Jurmala, Latvia, as a tribute to one of the brightest representatives of Latvian Chess, who tragically died in Soviet camps during WWII. The event started with a Qualifier (Feb. 16-17) and a Final (Feb. 18-19), which was won by Alexander Morozevich. Endgame specialist GM Karsten Müller has picked out four games with instructive endings.

Judit Polgar wins Festa da Uva Invitational

3/4/2012 – The final of the invitational rapid event of the Festa da Uva was determined by Judit Polgar beating Gilberto Milos 2-0, while Andrés Rodriquez beat Henrique Mecking for third. After the tournament, the players saw the Grape festival with a water fountain shooting wine, and the world's longest bus. Then came Judit's book signing, and a large popular simul. Pictorial report by Albert Silver.

European Women's Championships start in Gaziantep, Turkey

3/3/2012 – For the first time in history a women's event will have a higher prize fund than the corresponding men's event. The European Women's Championships boast a total prize fund of 150,000 Euros, with a 20,500 Euro first prize in the classical section – that's 500 Euros more than the top male will receive in Plovdiv later this month. Round one in Gaziantep brought a number of surprises.

Europe Echecs goes QR

3/3/2012 – The French chess magazine – which started publication 53 years ago – is one of the most innovative in its field. Europe Echecs produces video reports from major tournaments, in French and English, and provides excellent news coverage of chess in general. Of course they have a glossy monthly printed magazine, which they are now enhancing with the latest digital technology.

Grape Celebration with Judit Polgar

3/3/2012 – For the second time, the Festa da Uva (Grape Celebration) International Chess Open decided to repeat its innovative formula, and invited international chess star Judit Polgar to join in the invitational and open rapid events. Judit gave a lecture, launched her book "Chess Playground" in Portuguese, and gave a simul in this fun event with a very jovial setting. Large illustrated report by Albert Silver.

FIDE March ratings – Aronian closes gap to Carlsen

3/2/2012 – Leader Magnus Carlsen maintained his 2835 rating – the second highest in history – while Armenian GM Levon Aronian gained 15 points to come within 15 points of his prodigious Norwegian colleague. US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura gained twelve points to climb from 12th to 6th place, while Fabiano Caruana gained 31 to climb from 17th to 7th. March 2012 ratings.

Bartel, Rajlich win the Polish championship 2012

3/2/2012 – For GM Mateusz Bartel it was a hat-trick: the third title in a row, won in a very close contest in play-off games, and IM Iweta Rajlich won her title after drawing both play-off games on a better tiebreak score. So there was plenty of action and excitement right to the end. We bring you a big report with annotations by Iweta Rajlich and a beautiful pictorial by Sylwia Rudolf.

Capture or corner?

3/2/2012 – Black threatens 48...Qf3 followed by mate on g2. Which defence is the right one for White and gives him a clear advantage?

A) 48.Kxh3
B) 48.Qa8 (Rd5)
C) 48.Rxe4
ChessBase Magazine
Tactics in CBM 146, larger diagram and solution.

76,132 studies – It's the thought that counts

3/2/2012 – If you looked at a study for five minutes, eight hours a day, it would take you over three years to go through all the endgame studies that Harold van der Heijden has collected in his database: 85% of all studies ever composed. He worked for fifteen years on the project, but also managed to have a family, do a doctorate, and work as a research scientist. Steve Giddins tells us his remarkable story.

Chess history: Nineteen Hours with Bobby Fischer – Part 2

2/29/2012 – In 1981 the Film Board of Canada approached Bobby Fischer, hoping for his participation in a feature-length documentary on the game of chess. Last week we published part one of research writer Camille Coudari's harrowing encounter with the reclusive former world champion. In part two Camille describes the religious background that caused Fischer to think and behave the way he did.

CHESS Magazine: Basque Chess – does it work for you?!

2/29/2012 – Remember the tournament last January in Donostia? The players faced each other on two boards, simultaneously, with opposite colours. Initial opinions of the high-ranked players who took part in the knockout event were generally positive. But will it catch on? With the shifting of chairs is Basque chess ergonomically sound? Chess Magazine editor John Saunders raises some important questions.

Bilbao requests postponement of FIDE Candidates

2/28/2012 – "Common sense suggests that the FIDE and the organizers of the biggest private tournaments should work together in harmony to avoid the possibility of a clash of dates," writes the Director of the Chess Grand Slam Masters Final, which is scheduled to end just ten days before the FIDE Candidates. Why, asks Juan Carlos Fernández, can it not be staged in the first half of 2013?

Ask the experts: With Matthias Wüllenweber and Mathias Feist

2/28/2012 – Last year we introduced a new series on playchess.com: “Ask the experts”, a show which gives the audience an opportunity to direct questions to chess experts in the ChessBase studio. This year’s first episode will go on air Tuesday, 28th February, and two of our programmers are ready to answer your questions: Matthias Wüllenweber and Mathias Feist.

A history of cheating in chess (4)

2/28/2012 – Las Palmas 1996: Garry Kasparov is agonizing over his 20th move against Vishy Anand. He calculates and calculates but cannot make a very tempting pawn push work. Immediately after the game he discovers, from his helpers, that it would have won the ultimately drawn position. The point that became clear to him: a single bit of information, given at the top level in chess, can decide a game.

Friedgood: Solutions to the self-block problems

2/28/2012 – The self-block occurs when Black (the defending side) is forced to block flight squares in the king's field and thus enable mate. David Friedgood explained this very important theme in problem chess and gave our readers two self-block problems to solve. In addition he challenged us to find an active self-block in actual tournament play. So far with modest results – so we must keep searching.

Strasbourg: Getting chess into schools Europe-wide

2/27/2012 – For six months now the Kasparov Chess Foundation has been lobbying to get chess introduced into the curriculum of schools in Europe. With the help of the British charity Chess in Schools Garry Kasparov worked the members of the European Parliament, so far garnering 377 of the 380 signatures required. You can help: call your MEPs and tell them to sign the declaration.

Chessbase Online for Android gets powerful update

2/27/2012 – A few days ago v2.0 came out, a free upgrade for previous owners, and this was more than a bug fix or minor cosmetic improvement. The latest version now allows users to enter their own games, variations, text comments and symbols, just as you can with the full desktop version, not to mention set up positions, and of course create databases and save them. Here is a tour of the new functions.

Second rank, seventh rank

2/27/2012 – In this position Black invited the white queen into his camp with 45...Rxd7 46.Dxd7. After that, he ...

A)... stands with his back to the wall in view of the threats 47.Be5/Re7;
B)... is better since a clever trick allows the exchange of queens;
C)... wins on the spot.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Romanian Championships in Arctic conditions

2/26/2012 – The championships were won by WGM Cristina Foisor and GM Vladislav Nevednichy. The big final report of WGM Alina L'Ami is again under the shock of the most severe winter since 1954. The players got to the playing hall much the same way Robert Scott reached the South Pole – on sleds pulled by horses. But for some all that snow was pure delight.

SOMETEST

2/25/2012 – Write Text here Link Text

Andrew Martin – First Steps in Opening Play

2/25/2012 – "I am a great fan of the 'First Steps' series and am increasingly becoming a fan of Andrew Martin's teaching style," writes Steven Dowd in Chess Cafe. The overarching theme in this DVD is that if you don't know the opening, you won't get to the other two phases of a chess game! But help is at hand, and the review gives Martin's DVD five stars out of six = Great.

CBM training: Sasikiran's Surprise and Melkumyan's Miracle

2/25/2012 – In this week's alliterative column our ChessBase Magazin expert Dr Karsten Müller explains four final instructive endgames from the recently ended Aeroflot Open. You will want to especially study the second example, which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about opposition but were afraid to ask. Take a break, learn and enjoy. It's free!

Judit Polgar and Henrique Mecking to play in Brazil

2/25/2012 – On March 1st and 2nd, Judit Polgar, relentless in her efforts to promote the royal game, will be playing in an invitational rapid tournament in Brazil, in Caxias do Sul, alongside Brazilian legend Henrique Mecking, Gilberto Milos, and Uruguayan GM Andres Rodriquez. At this chess festival, she will be launching her latest book "Chess Playground" in Portuguese. Find out how you can join in the fun.