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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.