Kavalek in Huffington: a chess legend turns to music

3/7/2011 – Svetozar Gligoric was one of the world's leading chess players in the 1950s and 1960s. After nearly seven decades playing chess, the Yugoslav GM turned to music. Last month, shortly after his 88th birthday, Gligoric presented his first music album in Belgrade – twelve compositions, mostly jazz, blues and rap. GM Lubomir Kavalek tells the story and gives us the solutions to last week's puzzles.

Humpy's qualification official – Anand on her chances

3/6/2011 – On Saturday Humpy Koneru won her final game and with that Women Grand Prix in Doha. It is now official: the Indian GM has earned the right to challenge the reigning women's world champion Chinese GM Hou Yifan for a title match later this year. We bring you final photos from Doha and some pointers Humpy received from a compatriot world champion. Interview with Vishy Anand.

Master Moves #7

3/6/2011 – 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 Women's FIDE Grand Prix and Cappelle-La-Grande. One move was worthy of Marshall!

Humpy pulls it off – wins Doha GM and qualifies

3/5/2011 – Indian GM Humpy Koneru won her final game and with that Women Grand Prix in Doha, ahead on tie-break points of Elina Danielian, Armenia, who drew against Bulgarian Antoaneta Stefanova. According to our (still unofficial) calculations Humpy has thus won the right to challenge Hou Yifan for the Women's World Championship title later this year. First report with results and games.

Norwegian-Icelandic war over the Lewis Chessmen?

3/5/2011 – Last year we published an article on the famous Lewis Chessmen. The two Icelandic authors claimed that the pieces were carved in their country. "With few reservations parts of the chess world have adopted this theory," writes Morten Lilleøren of Norway, who finds the article "filled with faults and oversights." Lilleøren sets out to correct the facts and prove: the Lewis Chessmen are from Norway.

Miyoko Watei is Bobby Fischer's legal heir

3/4/2011 – The late chess champion has not been able to rest in peace. After his death in 2008 a Filipina live-in partner claimed that her young daughter had been fathered by the American, and then two nephews of Fischer challenged his marriage to Japanese Chess Association president Miyoko Watai. Now the Reykjavík District Court has determined: Miyoko was his wife and is his only legal heir. Press report.

Winning the queen ...

3/4/2011 – ... with 31.Rb3-a3 was White's lethal threat in this game from the last Bundesliga weekend. How would you assess the position following the counter 30...Nf4 with the double threat 31...Ne2+ and 31...Rxd1+?
A) won for White
B) won for Black
C) balanced

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

Humpy in striking distance – showdown on Saturday

3/4/2011 – In round ten of the Women Grand Prix in Doha the leading player, GM Elina Danielian of Armenia was outplayed by her Swedish colleague Pia Cramling, while Humpy Koneru, the hot contender for the right to challenge for the women's world championship later this year, took a full point from Lilit Mkrtchian. All is set for an exciting finish on Saturday. Note that the round begins three hours earlier!

Cappelle-La-Grande: Young IM Ipatov and GM Jankovic lead

3/4/2011 – The traditional International Open at Cappelle-La-Grande is at its 27th edition and attracted a strong field including over 50 grandmasters. This in turn has attracted numerous players including young talents seeking experience, norms, and success. 17-year-old Spanish IM Ipatov leads with GM Jankovic with 6.0/7. There is a video with interviews and a gallery of pictures by Dominique Primel.

Danielian loses to Humpy, stays in the lead

3/4/2011 – After conceding just one draw in her first seven games Elina Danielian suffered a potentially critical loss to Indian GM and top seed Humpy Koneru in round eight. But the Armenian GM bounced back in round nine to maintain her one-point lead over the field. Marie Sebag has a plus four score and is alone in place two. With two more rounds to go nothing is final. Pictorial impressions from Doha.

Polish Chess Championship: all about the beauty

3/3/2011 – There is no memorable tournament without beautiful games. In our second visit to the men’s and women’s sections of the Polish Chess Championship (12-20 February 2011) we focus on spectacular shots, pretty combinations, and elegant mating conclusions. After that you can take a short pictorial trip around Warsaw, the city where the tournament was held. Report by Piotr Kaim.

Female grandmaster wins Hamilton Rookies Shield!

3/3/2011 – Here's an unusual bit of news: two players, apparently father and daughter, registered for a New Zealand tournament which is restricted to players rated under 1700. They gave false names. One, it is suspected, was a WGM and the other 2200+. The damage they did was moderate: they won a combined prize money of $55. But still, the incident has led to animated discussion.

Medvedev: 'It's a crime not to buy a chess set in Elista'

3/3/2011 – On Tuesday the President of the Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, visited the Republic of Kalmykia, formerly ruled by the current FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who at the time was visiting Hungary. Medvedev met with the new President (of Kalmykia, not FIDE), visited the famous "City Chess" and bought himself a chess set. FIDE interna.

FIDE ratings: Anand leads, Ivanchuk back in top five

3/3/2011 – World Champion Viswanathan Anand is once again the world's top ranked player, overtaking Magnus Carlsen by two points after the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Armenian GM Levon Aronian is close behind in the 2808+ club. Vassily Ivanchuk returned to the top five bracket after his success in Gilbraltar Masters. March 1st 2011 FIDE rankings.

Rest day and two more rounds in Doha

3/2/2011 – The chess news is that the leader in the Qatar Women Grand Prix, GM Elina Danielian, conceded a draw in round six (and won again in round seven). Of the twelve games in the two rounds there was only one draw. Danielian now leads with a performance of 2932. On the free day the players were shown around Doha, and got to meet two great soccer stars. But it was a very young lady who stole the show.

19th Fajr Open under way

2/28/2011 – This exotic open tournament is staged regularly in the north-western part of Iran, very close to eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, southern Armenia and Azerbaijan. Amongst the participants are 25 GMs, 15 IMs and 10 FMs. Nine GMs are rated 2600+. After three rounds there are 24 players with perfect scores. One of them, GM Sergey Tiviakov, sent us this pictorial report from Fajr.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (59)

2/28/2011 – Taking the example of a well-known book with a huge number of basic historical errors (Golombek’s volume on Capablanca), the Editor of Chess Notes demonstrates the negligence of a succession of publishers. The underlying issues regarding reprints give much food for thought, and we witness too one publisher’s ‘exquisitely deceitful’ attempt to conceal its failure over the Golombek book.

Kasimdzhanov: Beating the French Vol. 2

2/28/2011 – The French Defense is one of those fascinating defenses that never seems to lose its luster at all levels. Rustam Kasimdzhanov just released three DVDs to remove the veil of mystery, with the second on the position arising after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6. French enthusiast Kevan Cowcill gives his in-depth review – with pictures of a biologist in the Yukon.

Gustafsson's Marshall Gambit: best chess opening DVD ever?

2/28/2011 – "Maybe!" says Dennis Monokroussos. "If you play the Marshall Gambit you would be insane not to buy this disk, even if you're a grandmaster. Gustafsson is one of the world's absolute experts on the Marshall, and in the intro clip he says he's going to tell the viewer everything he knows. Yeah, right! Then you watch the DVD and realize that – gasp! – he might be telling the truth." Review.

Four pawns for the piece ...

2/27/2011 – ... the first player had in this position from the current Women Grand Prix. Yet the black Nf8 is safeguarding the kingside single-handed, while the white minor pieces on the queenside are not participating in the game. How is your judgement here? White is...
A) ... winning
B) ... a shade better
C) ... actually slightly worse
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Bartel wins Polish Championship despite a disturbing thought

2/27/2011 – Mateusz Bartel (2617) and Jolanta Zawadzka (2371) won the Polish Chess Championship men’s and women’s sections respectively. Both the winners came clear first, scoring 7/9. GM Bartel won the tournament for the second time in a succession and showed a respectable 2789 performance. That in spite of disturbing night-time thoughts. Pictorial report by Piotr Kaim.

Can anyone (or anything) stop this lady?

2/26/2011 – She was born in Baku in 1978, but is of Armenian origin and plays for that country. At the Women's Grand Prix in Doha GM Elina Danielian is on fire. She has won her fifth game in a row and leads the field with 5.0/5. Three players, Pia Cramling, Martha Fierro and Marie Sebag, follow two points behind. Big illustrated report with lovely photos by Maria Bolshakova and and Nastia Karlovich

Garry and Dasha win 20,000 for ailing children

2/26/2011 – In Georgia there is a TV show modeled after "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” The prize sum is quite modest by Western standards, but when Garry Kasparov and his wife Dasha took part they had pledged to donate their winnings to a brother and sister who urgently need heart surgery. We have all the questions and challenge you to match your wits with the former World Champion.

Danielian leads Women's Grand Prix with 3.0/3

2/25/2011 – Danielian Elina is in great form in Doha, Qatar. The Armenian GM has won her first three games and leads the event, ahead of Martha Fierro Baquero and Nana Dzagnidze with 2.0/3 each. Martha, an IM from Ecuador and nominally the bottom seed, scored a victory against the second seed from Georgia. The event has seen eight black wins, six with white and only four draws. Illustrated report.