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.

Anti-cheating: the fifteen minute debate continues

6/29/2011 – Our recent reply to stern criticism leveled against us in the Dutch magazine New in Chess resulted, unsurprisingly, in a large number of letters from our readers, many quite effusive. But we decided not to publish any until at least one turned up supporting the views of our NiC critic. Six weeks went by until it at last came, authored by the critic himself. Now we can publish your letters.

Wojtaszek wins György Marx Memorial with 2900 performance

6/29/2011 – Working with a World Champion clearly has beneficial effects. Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek has been a permanent second for Vishy Anand for a few years now, and the 24-year-old is showing signs of real greatness. At the 9th Gyorgy Marx Memorial he declassed the opposition, scoring 8.0/10, a point and a half more than anyone else. Which confirms a new genetic theory.

Master Moves #14

6/28/2011 – All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the positions are from the 2011 Russian Championship - Higher League. Get ready for a rush of Russians!

Passed pawn versus second rank

6/28/2011 – In this double rook ending both sides have their trumps. The move 41...h5-h4 (diagram position) leads to ...

A) ... victory for Black;
B) ... a draw;
C) ... a won pawn endgame for White.

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

Caruana leads at half-time in AAI International in Delhi

6/27/2011 – India's first ever Category 17 tournament brings together some of the finest young international talents – amongst them four who have made the all-time top-25 list of chess prodigies. At half-time the players are all neatly arranged on the scoreboard according to their Elo rating. Top seed Fabiano Caruana leads with 4.0/5 and a 2900 performance. Big illustrated report.

Russian ch. - Higher league: Morozevich is back!

6/27/2011 – After watching the first half dominated by 18-year-old Sanan Sjugirov, the next two rounds saw the leadership change hands twice more. First it was Timofeev who beat Sjuigirov in round seven, and then Morozevich beat Timofeev, never relinquishing his lead. It was a combination of both skill and consistency, but the luckiest man was unquestionably Ernesto Inarkiev. See why.

The homecoming: Boris Gelfand is back (Part II)

6/27/2011 – Israeli GM Boris Gelfand won the recent Candidates Matches in Kazan, making him the challenger of Vishy Anand in next year's World Championship match. Boris was given a hero's welcome on his return, and was interviewed by our colleague Shay Bushinsky, author of the Junior chess program. Here is part two on Gelfand's matches against Mamedyarov and Kamsky. Fascinating insights.

Loek van Wely – Dutch Internet Champion 2011

6/26/2011 – GM Loek van Wely recently added a new feather to his cap by becoming the 2011 Dutch Internet Champion, after beating GM Jan Smeets in the final. Every second Saturday, the Royal Dutch Chess Association organizes a tournament open only to Dutch players, giving special master points and crowning a champion every year. For the final, arbiters were sent to the players' homes. Report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (64)

6/26/2011 – From around the world there came a very strong entry for the photograph quiz set about a week ago by the Editor of Chess Notes. Now it is time for the answers and the announcement of the five winners. Among the names often put forward by readers were Geller, Ivanchuk, Korchnoi, Smyslov, Stein and Tal, but were they there? What was the actual line-up of the mystery seven?

Commonwealth Chess Championships debut in Africa!

6/26/2011 – The Championships are being held from June 25th to July 4th in the spectacular Emperors Palace Hotel in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The field of over 700 participants boasts more than 40 titled players and is headed by three times past champion GM Nigel Short from England. The chess promises to be exciting, but the surrounding wildlife even more so. See for yourself.

International Chess Tournament of Forni di Sopra

6/25/2011 – Chess in paradise – well, as close as it gets, in Europe, in a beautiful town located in the magnificent Dolomiti Alps near the Italian border with Austria. The tournament, which carried a prize fund of 10,000 Euros, was attended by 148 players from 21 countries, wqith 17 GMs and 18 IMs. Winner was Ecuadorian GM Franco Matamoros. Big pictorial report.

Navara beats Movsisian in CEZ Chess Trophy 2011

6/24/2011 – This event gives chess enthusiasts the opportunity to attend lectures, play in simuls – one of them, on thirty boards, by World Champion Vishy Anand – and watch the two strongest players of the Czech Republic and Slovakia play a six-game match, all in the Michna Palace at Prague's Kampa. Navara won the match (+1 =5). We bring you a big pictorial by Vladimír Jagr.

Problem chess: Bringing back checkmate

6/24/2011 – Ask even a non-chessplayer what the object of the game is. Clearly it is checkmate. But be honest, now: how often do we actually see a king checkmated in a game of chess? There is a branch of chess, however, where mate occurs all the time, in virtually every position. We are talking, of course, of problem chess. Steve Giddins starts a new column on the subject. Prepare to be amazed!

III Int.Chess Festival – Eforie Nord

6/24/2011 – With the summer just starting in the northern hemisphere, numerous tournaments and festivals are held in vacation spots hoping to attract chess players seeking a fun event without forgoing a genuine holiday. The quaint Romanian town of Eforie Nord, with beaches on the coast of the Black Sea, is holding its third chess festival, and we have a lovely photo report by Sergey Tiviakov.

CBM Blog: Knight storms the fortress + Do not rush

6/24/2011 – In the game Nakamura-Nisipeanu from the 5th Kings' Tournament White had a solid extra pawn, but it seemed that Black's castle could not be taken. Nakamura opened the gate first on the kingside to finally use the back door on the queenside. In Hector-Tikkanen White messes up a rook and pawn ending by being too impatient. GM Karsten Müller explains.

80th Ukrainian Championship – pictorial impressions

6/23/2011 – We had completed our report on this championship, the stongest ever in the country, when we received a special report by its tournament director Yaroslav Mazurenko. The details on the final rounds and the fantastic triumph of Ruslan Ponomariov had been told, but the pictures by Yaroslav and Nikolay Gavljuk are worth sharing with our readers. Enjoy.

Russian Championship: Sjugirov takes early lead

6/22/2011 – With three coveted spots qualfiying for the Russian Championship Super Final to be held later this year, the eleven-round Higher League is a swiss open with nearly 50 players rated over 2500, including a returning Morozevich. After six rounds, 18-year-old Sjugirov leads with 5.0/6 and a 2846 performance. Held in Taganrog, Russia, here is a panoply of pictures by Anna Burtasova.

Ponomariov wins 80th Ukrainian Championship with 2853 performance

6/22/2011 – The strongest championship ever was full of exciting chess. That can be especially said of the winner, 27-year-old Ruslan Ponomariov, who showed aggressive, fighting spirit to the very last game. Only needing a draw to clinch the championship he went on to beat his main rival with the black pieces. He has gained thirteen points and will appear in the top ten in the next rating list. Final report.

CBM Blog: Rook Endings + a Houdini-like escape

6/21/2011 – In rook endings in case of h- and f-pawn even two solid extra pawns are often not enough to win, as our resident GM and endgame specialist Karsten Müller demonstrates. He also shows us a miracle escape by GM Vlad Tkachiev against GM Arkadij Naiditsch on the top board of the German Team Cup Final. Replay Dr Müller's didactic analysis: there are interesting things to learn.

Bobby Fischer Against the World, premiering in July

6/21/2011 – More than three years have now passed since Bobby Fischer died, but it is quite clear that the final word has yet to be written on the former world chess champion’s life. Interest in him seems to be as strong as ever and there is no shortage of people keen to retell his story. July 5th is the premiere of a remarkable new movie which was discussed in the latest issue of CHESS Magazine.

Medias Kings Rd10: Carlsen-Karjakin draw, Carlsen wins Medias 2011

6/21/2011 – Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin took joint first after a last round matchup was unable to break the tie. The superb results also had an impact on the world rankings as Carlsen will retake first, and Karjakin will pass Kramnik as clear fourth. A last round win by Ivanchuk relegated Nakamura to under 50%, tied third-fourth with Radjabov. Photos, videos, GM commentary.

Medias Kings Rd9: Karjakin catches Carlsen – again

6/20/2011 – Carlsen manuevered to a promising middlegame, but an exchange sac by Nisipeanu stopped him cold, while a disastrous opening by Ivanchuk gave Karjakin a blitzkrieg attack that ended it in just 22 moves. Nakamura pressed but was not able to take Radjabov's fortress. Tomorrow will be the big showdown to decide gold and silver. Full report with videos and GM analysis.