Tata Steel Rd.10: Triumph and trauma in Wijk aan Zee

1/26/2011 – Yesterday, the top podiums were so crowded the Wijk organizers may have worried they'd have to request an extra batch of trophies. Today Anand and Nakamura both won convincing games, and once again took off into the lead. Carlsen lost in a complicated game to Nepomniachtchi. In "B", Efimenko beat McShane and joined So on top after Sargissian also lost. Full report with videos.

Kavalek in Huffington: Chess Robots By The Sea

1/25/2011 – "Are chess players becoming robots by repeating moves approved at home by their computers?" asks GM Lubomir Kavalek. "Can't they just use their own heads during the game?" His answer: "Of course they do," as shown in an attacking masterpiece by Magnus Carlsen, as well as a new pawn sacrifice uncorked by Wesley So on move 13 in the Fianchetto Grunfeld. Extensive GM analysis.

Tata Steel Rd.8: New leaders and old in B and C

1/25/2011 – The B and C groups have seen shifts in the guard with new leaders taking over and old leaders restoring their majesty. In all cases it has been a demonstration of fighting spirit and character. Wesley So has surged with 4.0/4 to take over B, while Daniele Vocaturo defied the expectations and retook the lead in C – where two ladies are doing very nicely too. Here are the key moments.

Tata Steel Rd.9: Will the real leader please stand up?

1/25/2011 – After a day of hard-fought chess, the leaderboard was never so unclear. With Anand and Nakamura drawing, and Kramnik and Aronian winning theirs, there are now four with 6.0/9. The tale is almost identical in "B", where So, Sargissian and McShane also share the lead with 6.0/9. Only in "C" was Vocaturo able to establish clear dominance with 7.5/9. Report with analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

Eating their way through

1/24/2011 – In this position from the fourth round of the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk, White had just targeted the pawn d6 indirectly with 16.Bg5-f4 (diagram) and Black was now facing the question whether he could get rid of the annoying enemy knight with 16...Nxc6. What does this entail at the end?
A) advantage for Black
B) advantage for White
C) balance on the board
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Feller replies: 'I completely deny the cheating accusations'

1/24/2011 – Two days ago the French Chess Federation announced the investigation of three French players on suspicion of "organized cheating" at the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansyik. Now one of the three, 19-year-old French GM Sebastien Feller, has replied emphatically, implying that the entire action was a result of his support of the current FIDE president (the FFE supported his rival Karpov). Open letter.

Battesti: 'It's insulting to our president and his federation'

1/24/2011 – Instead of adopting an ostrich position the President of the French Chess Federation and his VP have initiated an investigation of French Olympiad members suspected of cheating. They have appointed Leo Battesti, a Sorbonne-educated lawyer, as the spokesperson for the Federation. Battesti has reacted to the criticism of one of the accused player with an interview in Europe Echecs.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (56)

1/23/2011 – Cunning, gamesmanship, skulduggery, bluff, trickery, foxiness, dishonesty and cheating are just some of the terms that may be applied to a set of episodes related by the Editor of Chess Notes. They include play-acting, intentional time-trouble and illegal moves. Never let it be suggested that chessplayers are devoid of ingenuity in trying to outwit their opponents by fair means or foul.

Tata Steel Rd.8: Carlsen beats Nakamura in 3.5/4 streak

1/23/2011 – Who can understand these geniuses? After taking flack for lack of focus or motivation, Magnus Carlsen beat Nakamura in an impressive game, part of a 3.5/4 streak he is now on. The leaderboard has never been so close with Anand and Nakamura at 5.5/8 followed by four at 5.0/8. The "B" group saw So seize the lead, and in "C", Vocaturo is king once more. GM analysis and videos.

FFE accuses its own players of cheating

1/22/2011 – Shocking news: the French Chess Federation (FFE) has announced that it has initiated disciplinary action against three players – one of them one of France's most promising talents – on suspicion of "organized cheating, serious breach of sport ethics, undermining the image of the national Olympic team in Khanty-Mansyik”. We are following the investigation. Press release.

Tata Steel Rd.6 bis: The Nak, the McChine, and GM Tom Thumb

1/22/2011 – The sixth round was such a rich day with so much interesting chess, that we found ourselves with quite simply too much material for a single report. As a result, we are making a second complementary report to give tribute to the many fighters who helped make it an exceptional day. Here are commented games from all three groups, and a gallery of pics of those future stars. More games and pictures.

Tata Steel Rd.7: Nak is back on top! (Free live GM commentary on Sunday!)

1/22/2011 – Again there was a shakeup at the top, with Anand and Carlsen drawing quickly, Nakamura was given a chance to fight for the lead, and that he did, beating Smeets in an exciting game. He is back on top with 5.5/7 and a 2942 performance. The "B" group saw untouchable McShane mated by Le Quang, rejoined by Efimenko and So. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

Garry Kasparov as you have never seen him before

1/21/2011 – The idea for a series of commercial spots, produced with the former World Champion Dutch banking giant ING, is unique: Kasparov and a host wear the hats of different countries and speak about openings named after them: the English, Polish, Russian. The video clips, posted on the bank's home page and on YouTube, are multilingual, short and going viral in the chess community. Enjoy.

Tata Steel Rd.6: Four wins with black, Nakamura joins Anand

1/21/2011 – An exciting day, with four black victories (and none with white) in group A, Carlsen, Kramnik, Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi being the winners. With that Hikaru Nakamura joins Vishy Anand in the lead, both with 2900+ performances. In the B-group six of the seven games were decisive, three with the black pieces. Luke McShane leads with 5.0/6 and a 2921 performance. Round six report.

Tata Steel: looking with pleasure at B and C

1/21/2011 – The Wijk aan Zee “B” and “C” groups have traditionally served to herald rising stars, such as Karjakin, Carlsen, and Anish Giri the last two years. This year seems unlikely to be an exception with McShane having a breakthrough period since the London Classic, and 14-year-old GM Nyzhnyk in the "C" event just behind Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Karsten Mueller.

Tata Steel Rd.5: Anand, Carlsen win, Grischuk loses to Wang

1/20/2011 – Viswanathan Anand applied systematic pressure on Jan Smeets until the Dutch GM blundered and gave the World Champion the sole tournament lead. Magnus Carlsen did pretty much the same to Erwin l'Ami, only to blunder the won position to a theoretical draw – which the amazingly determined Norwegian GM went on to win! Alexander Grischuk lost to Chinese GM Wang Hao. Round five report.

TCF renews offer to host the 2011 European Women Championship

1/19/2011 – Three weeks ago the Turkish Chess Federation withdrew its offer to host this attractive event, due to a conflict with the European Chess Union. According to a New York Times report the ECU President Silvio Danailov implied that the TCF had simply run out of funds. Now the Turkish side is renewing its offer: we will stage if you will be polite. Open letter + new NYT article.

Tata Steel Rd.4: Anand joins Nakamura in lead

1/19/2011 – Shockingly, Nepomniachtchi blundered in ten moves against Aronian, but fortunately attention was drawn away to Anand's lovely positional piece sacrifice against Wang Hao. Anish Giri gave leader Nakamura no end of trouble, but was unable to win. Our report has analysis by GM Karsten Müller plus video commentary by GMs Daniel King and Sergey Shipov, and photos by Fred Lucas.

Chess prodigies and mini-grandmasters revisited

1/18/2011 – It is one of our most-quoted reports – a page dating back to 2002, which we upgraded periodically. Now it is time for a general overhaul. With the help of our readers we have collected the data of all prodigies who became grandmasters at the age of fifteen or younger. In addition we address the question: who were the strongest players in the different age categories? Latest data and statistics.

Open letter by Women's World Championship participants

1/18/2011 – It was an exciting event, and we reported enthusiastically. But as it turns out not all the players were enchanted by the conditions of the WWCCh in Antakya/Hatay (Turkey). They feel they were overcharged, unappreciated and had to play in substandard conditions. Eighteen participants have signed the highly critical letter – to which FIDE has promised to respond. Plus: a new NYT article.

An unblocked passer ...

1/18/2011 – ... is always dangerous, particularly after having reached the 6th rank already. The second player was well aware of this when he went for 34...Be5 in this position, expecting a certain deflection move whereupon his queen is to stay in the e-file. What do you think? This...
A)... loses for Black;
B)... leads to an approximately balanced position;
C)... gets Black the advantage.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Tata Steel Rd.3: Nakamura leads A with 2.5/3; McShane on 3.0/3 in B

1/17/2011 – The tournament has certainly taken an unexpected turn, with the leaders taking a lackadaisical approach. What is one to make of Carlsen's colossal blunder, dropping a piece to Giri right out of the opening? Nakamura has shown that his arrival in the top ten is no fluke as he beat Shirov in a fine game taking sole lead, while McShane continues his rocket run with 3.0/3. Round three report.

Tata Steel: Round two live on Playchess

1/16/2011 – Naturally, all the games of this event are being broadcast live on Playchess, with commentary by GM Daniel King and others. This commentary is normally only available to premium members – but today it is free for all visitors. What's more: you can follow it on your browser, including Apple systems. In addition: we have some instructive analysis by GM Karsten Mueller.

Master Moves #3

1/16/2011 – 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. Here are some positions from recent master and grandmaster practice. Test you tactical eye.