Isek Aquamatch wins Turkish Isbank Chess League

7/10/2011 – In the very last round the Isek Aquamatch Sport Club, sporting Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, won their match against the Hava Yollari Sport Club 7.5-2.5 and became a sole winner of the championship. Yapi Kredi and Adana Truva tied for second. We bring you another big pictorial with all the winners by our faithful reporter Anastasiya Karlovich, straight from a cave in Turkey.

Problem chess: pacifists and masochists

7/10/2011 – In the second instalment of his new series on chess problems, Steve Giddins moves away from direct mates and looks instead at helpmates and selfmates. Helpmates represent all that is best and most elegant about cooperation on the chessboard, whilst selfmates are the problemists' equivalent of Suicide Chess. Don't miss some absolute beauties!

XXXIV International Open Barbera del Valles

7/9/2011 – The XXXIV International Open Barbera del Valles is currently underway in the lovely town in Spain. As the number indicates, it is in its 34th edition, and those seeking a chess event for the summer are well served in this lyric Spanish retreat. At the same time, a three-day fiesta is taking place, with various spectacles to be enjoyed, all of which has been captured by the camera of Alina L'Ami.

CBM Blog: Activity matters + the Bodycheck

7/9/2011 – Double rook endings are less drawish than single rook endings, especially if the attacker can take aim at the king's castle, as our endgame specialist Dr Karsten Müller vividly demonstrates. And when a rook fights against pawns, he explains, the bodycheck usually is the defender's best weapon. Give yourself an Elo boost with our regular installment of grandmaster instructions.

Video: Thompson awarded the Japan Prize in California

7/8/2011 – In April Ken Thompson, the father of Unix and the computer language C, was due to receive the Japan Prize in Tokyo. Unfortunately the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami made that impossible. In May the prize was awarded at Google headquarters in California. The ceremony was taped and Ken spoke to the audience. See if you can lead a meaningful life without having heard his alligator story.

The homecoming: Boris Gelfand is back (Part III)

7/7/2011 – The Challenger for the World Championship match next year is Boris Gelfand. The Israeli GM won the Candidates' Matches – to the surprise of many – in May, defeating Mamedyarov, Kamsky and Grischuk in the process. The last battle and his chances now against reigning champion Vishy Anand are are the subject of discourse in this final installment of his interview with Shay Bushinsky.

Power Play 15: Practical Pawn Endgames

7/6/2011 – Some chess DVDs take awhile to get interesting, but within the first ten seconds of GM Daniel King's new DVD he presents a position for which the viewer has to make a decision regarding what to do. In Chess Cafe Steve Goldberg shows us this position and writes of the product: "It's a quick moving, highly instructive DVD that is typical of King's Power Play series." Review.

Turkish League: Isek Aquamatch Sport Club leads

7/6/2011 – After eight rounds ISEK Aquamatch Sport Club became the sole leader of the championship with fifteen points. The team won seven matches with only one draw. The competition continues without abate with its unique format in which the teams consist of top GMs, a female board, and U14 and U16 youth categories all rolled into one. Once more a lovely pictorial by Nastja Karlovich.

Giri, Peng win Dutch Championships with record scores

7/5/2011 – Seventeen-year-old Anish Giri scored a thumping 7.5/9 points, two full points ahead of his nearest rival, with a performance of 2849. Anish stands to gain 16 points from this tournament in the next FIDE rating list. In the women's section Peng Zhaoqin finished with 9.0/10, three points ahead of her nearest rival. We bring you a big illustrated report with remarkable photos by Frans Peeters.

CBM Blog: Knight Geometry and the Fourth Phase of the Game

7/5/2011 – How to get rid of the annoying pin: 70.Nxf7 or 70.Rxg5+? One move saves the day, one runs into a beautiful refutation. In his second example our endgame specialist Dr Karsten Müller explains that after the opening, middlegame and endgame, both sides can queen and start the fourth phase of the game. There's a lot to learn from these grandmaster instructions.

Gawain Jones wins Commonwealth Championship on tiebreak

7/5/2011 – Jones defeated Abhijit Gupta in the final round of the Commonwealth & South African Open Chess Championships in Ekurhuleni to record an impressive total of 9.5/11 and secure the title of 2011 Commonwealth Chess Champion. In doing so he edged out compatriot Nigel Short on tie-break whilst GM David Smerdon of Australia made a later charge to get bronze. Final report and videos.

Kavalek in Huffington: Chess, Jazz and Hockey Legends in Prague

7/4/2011 – The CEZ Chess Trophy 2011 saw lectures, simuls and a chess match between the strongest players of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. One simul was given by World Champion Vishy Anand and was keenly watched by Czech president Vaclav Klaus celebrated his 70th birthday with a jazz concert at the Prague Castle. GM Lubomir Kavalek was there and describes the chess days in Prague.

London Chess Classic – Chess in in Schools

7/4/2011 – Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik: "It is a great tournament in a great city where, and I have some very pleasant memories. I can sincerely say that it has quickly become my favourite tournament..." The same applies to us and we bring you a reminder to keep the beginning of December free for this great event, sponsored by the Chess in Schools Charity. Here are some charming videos.

Peter Falk – death of a chess player

7/4/2011 – He will remain immortal as the scruffy, bumbling Lieutenant Columbo in the detective series, but also as a Hollywood movie actor with two Academy Award nominations, five Emmys and a Golden Globe. Peter Michael Falk, it turns out, was a chess aficionado who took lessons and visited chess tournaments. In a Columbo episode chess was the theme. Yasser Seirawan remembers.

AAI International: Caruana wins with 2800 performance

7/3/2011 – He suffered a glitch in the penultimate round, when he lost his only game to Czech national champion Viktor Laznicka. But in the end Fabiano Caruana had distanced the field by a full point, scoring 7.0/11 with a 2798 performance. He stands to gain eleven points in the next FIDE list. Second was Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran. Final report.

2011 Turkish Isbank Chess League

7/2/2011 – The Turkish Isbank Chess League takes place in Konya-Hilton Garden Inn Hotel from June 28th till July 9th. This year includes top players such as Eljanov (2712), Kasimdzhanov (2685), and Inarkiev (2679). Each team consists of four titled players, followed by a female athlete, a junior player, U16 boy and girl tables, and U14 boy and girl tables. Report and pictures by Anastasiya Karlovich.

Tiviakov wins and reports on the Eforie Nord Festival

7/2/2011 – This event was marred by a warning issued by the Romanian Chess Federation that the tournament had not been sanctioned and organisers were not to be trusted. The final winner, GM Sergey Tiviakov said that he was well treated and received good conditions. The Black Sea venue was spectacular and Sergey went on not just to win the tournament but also send us this beautiful pictorial report.

FIDE ratings: Carlsen returns to the top

7/2/2011 – In two lists – March and May 2011 – Magnus Carlsen was surpassed by Vishy Anand. Now the twenty-year-old Norwegian has overtaken the reigning World Champion from India, who is just over double his age. Another boy wonder, Sergey Karjakin, 21, is surging up towards the top. Women's world champion Hou Yifan has shed 37 points but still remains in third in her gender group. July 2011 rankings.

The power of the passed pawn ...

7/1/2011 – ... had been clearly underestimated by the first player with her previous move 36.Rd2-g2?, running into the splendid reply 36...Rb8-g8! (diagram). But after the defence 37.Rf5-f2 Black had yet to seal the deal. How? 
A) 37...d2
B) 37...Nf3+
C) 37...Rg5

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

Pîrvan: Evaluating Tournament Strength

7/1/2011 – The method described by Felix Pîrvan applies to all kind of chess tournaments, regardless of the format (round robin, Swiss, knock-out, or any other), and also to matches between two players, making all chess events comparable on a unique basis. In closing the Romanian software engineer gives an assessment of how sheer strength contributes to the importance of a chess event.

AAI International: Caruana leads with a 2876 performance

6/30/2011 – This Category 17 GM tournament, the strongest ever staged in India, is being dominated by the world's top junior, Fabiano Caruana, who after seven rounds is 1.5 points ahead of his nearest rivals. Another piece of good news: women's world champion Hou Yifan, 17, seems to have overcome her crisis and started to score. Yifan was also the only player on the free day to take a grand tour of Delhi.

Gregory Young wins 2011 US Junior championship

6/30/2011 – Gregory Young is the 2011 U.S. Junior Champion, taking the title before the final round of play even began. Ranked seventh of the ten players, Young (2327) explained he had never given his chances much thought, not having played in six months. "I was thinking about it as a tournament to get back into rhythm and play." Instead he trounced the field, winning with a two-point lead. Final report.

Belize: painted faces and chess on stilts

6/30/2011 – The Central American nation, south of Mexico, has a population of just 333,000. But in this country, with its spectacular abundance of terrestrial and marine species, chess has become a national passtime. Last May the best players from each district throughout Belize met for what they call a "Chess Olympiad". A special guest at the event, GM Maurice Ashley, sent us this beautiful pictorial report.

Gawain Jones leads in Commonwealth Championship in Ekurhuleni

6/30/2011 – The top seed GMs have survived mostly unharmed in this South African event, fighting for maximum points in the early rounds, a task not made easy by ambitious youngsters (Nigel Short: "My opponent was rated a thousand points below me but made me work!"). After seven rounds English GM Gawain Jones leads with 6.5 points, followed by 15 players with 60./5 each. Report and videos.