Some thoughts on the Bilbao scoring system in London

12/19/2010 – Lubomir Kavalek wrote in the Huffington Post that in the annals of chess history the final result of the 2010 Chess Classic would show Magnus Carlsen as the co-winner, together with Anand and McShane. But according to the official "Bilbao" scoring system Magnus was two points ahead and sole winner. This led to vigorous discussion in the chess forums and blogs, and we too received a lot of feedback.

Mega Database 2011 with automatic 200,000 game update

12/19/2010 – It contains 4.8 million carefully edited games, 65,000 of which have been annotated by top players. For openings classification it has 100,000 positions, it can identify 257,000 players and has 32,000 pictures of the best-known of them. AND: it updates itself automatically for a full year, keeping it permanently up-to-date through the whole of 2011. An essential tool for the ambitious player.

Kasparov at the London Chess Classic

12/18/2010 – On the final day of the Chess Classic a snowstorm hit Scotland – and hurricane Garry Kasparov descended on London. Both were similarly titanic events, the latter involving CNN taking over part of the venue. It was interesting to see a network news program made – and to talk to the former World Champion, who had an interesting comment on the scoring system in London. Pictorial and video.

2010 Women's World Championship – Yifan and Ruan in final

12/18/2010 – It was a titanic semifinal with both top-rated Hou and Humpy in one match, and the surprise Zhao and Ruan in the other. Yifan beat Koneru who played a Berlin for the first time, and ended up in a rotten endgame. Their second game was a draw. Zhao and Ruan went into a tiebreak, and for the fifth straight time, Ruan prevailed and is now a finalist despite losing Elo. Report, pics, games.

The capture on f7...

12/18/2010 – ... was of course the obvious continuation in this game from the Women's World Championship, yet the opening the f-file allowed Black a counter strike due to White's back rank weakness. Following 26.Rxf7, how would you assess the consequences of 26...Bxb4 now? This...
A) ... equalizes completely;
B) ... loses on the spot;
C) ... leads to a superior endgame for White.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Russian men's Superfinal – Svidler sole leader

12/17/2010 – The event had all the hallmarks of an explosive tournament, with a 2700+ average rating and worth the very prestigious title of Russian Champion. Sadly, the bomb has been a dud so far, with barely over 27% of the games ending with a decisive result. This has been compensated slightly by Svidler, now sole leader, who has played strong original chess, and the lovely pictures by Yana Melnikova.

Kavalek in Huffington: Carlsen fights and wins in London

12/17/2010 – The second London Chess Classic, one of this year's major events, is over. But many chess players may ask: who actually won the tournament? Magnus Carlsen according to the tournament rules, but ask the traditionalists and they will tell you that three players shared first place in London: McShane, Anand and Carlsen. Here's extensive analysis of a critical game by GM Lubomir Kavalek.

A comfortable way to reach comfortable positions

12/16/2010 – The series of the ChessBase Tutorials belongs to the top-sellers in the Christmas season. Like ChessBase Magazine, it combines a fully packed DVD with a carefully designed booklet that includes a precise introduction to each opening line covered on the DVD. An experienced customer, Dr. Leonard F. Koziol, send us comprehensive feedback on #01 and 02. Buy the CB Tutorials now or read more.

London Chess Classic - Carlsen wins after incredible comeback

12/16/2010 – The 2nd London Chess Classic was as exciting an event as could be hoped. McShane started like a rocket, to be joined later by World Champion Anand, who seemed a likely candidate to snatch first. Instead, Carlsen, who started with two losses in three, came back with 3.5/4, and his uncompromising play (only one draw) gave him the clear win using London's scoring system. Round seven report.

London Chess Classic – Kramnik-Carlsen revisited

12/15/2010 – After crushing Carlsen through the game, Vladimir liquidated into an endgame without a second thought, which turned out to be far trickier than expected, and a miraculous draw ensued. Was it winnable? Yes, said a 12-core Hiarcs, but it was a fiendishly hard win to work out. IM and psychologist Ilias Kourkounakis shows how this could have been avoided, with added analysis by GM Karsten Mueller.

2010 Women's World Championship – And then there were four...

12/15/2010 – After two weeks of non-stop competition, we are finally down to four players, three of whom are Chinese. The two top ratings, Indian Humpy Koneru (2600) and Chinese Hou Yifan (2591) made it through. Skripchenko played a bold Evans Gambit that might have brought her glory, but a missed chance and she is out, while Harika finally failed a tiebreak, losing to Lufei Ruan. Round and analysis.

London Chess Classic – analysis of round five

12/14/2010 – Nigel Short tried a sacrificial sideline of the Marshall Attack. Hikaru Nakamura was able to find a stable continuation and ultimately won. Nigel was his usual ebullient self in the commentary room and burst into song. David Howell found the cruel truth of the biblical quotation “he that has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has”. Commentary and postgame analysis of the player.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (53)

12/14/2010 – A quiz set by the Editor of Chess Notes concerns chessplayers in the company of animals (seated on them, in two cases). A frisson of danger comes from a bullfighter and a master posing with two lion cubs. There is a reptile too, but whose neck is it dangling around? The prizes in this unusual challenge are some fine items inscribed by participants in the London tournament. Can you supply the answers?

London Chess Classic - Carlsen pulls a Houdini

12/14/2010 – The penultimate round saw four draws, but that had the spectators on the edges of their seats. Adams and Anand was a trench war draw, while Short and Howell exchanged blows in a King's Gambit. McShane and Nakamura also slugged it out, but the game of the round was Kramnik's crushing position against Carlsen, only to liquidate into an endgame that proved unwinnable. Round six report.

London Chess Classic – Carlsen, Anand, McShane lead

12/13/2010 – The game between the two leaders was a tough trial for the tournament's dark horse, McShane, who found himself in a difficult position, in danger of losing. Adams and Kramnik had a hard game before they also drew. Short played a rare offshoot of the Marshall Attack against Nakamura which backfired, while Carlsen outplayed Howell in a simplified middlegame and won. Full report with pictures.

Russian men's Superfinal – Svidler and Karjakin take lead

12/13/2010 – After the somewhat sedate opening round, the second saw four decisive games and four players join Nepomniachtchi in the lead. The third round was marked by two victories, one by an inspired Svidler seeking an amazing sixth title, and the other by Karjakin over fellow Russian super talent Nepomniachtchi in an exciting game that lived up to the billing. Illustrated round three report.

Very active pieces...

12/13/2010 – ... had title holder Alexandra Kosteniuk in her second game at the Women's World Championship in Antakya, yet on the other hand White exerted central pressure against the shaky points d5, e5 and potentially f3. How would you assess the position? (Black to play)
A) good for White;
B) balanced;
C) won for Black;
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

London R4: Anand mates Short, joins McShane in the lead

12/12/2010 – The fourth round showed a bit of luck for Anand. He benefited from a nasty oversight by Short, who blundered thinking he was going for the brilliancy prize. With this, Anand joined McShane in the leadership, who drew his game after Adams missed a cute equalizing trick. Kramnik outplayed Howell and also won, while Carlsen eventually outplayed Nakamura in a Dutch. Big illustrated report.

London Chess Classic – Carlsen vs Nakamura, and a walk in the park

12/12/2010 – One more round on Sunday, and after that a rest day. What to do in the fine, sunny London weather? How about a walk in the park? London has an excellent selection of open spaces to pick from, and Richmond Park is a beautiful nature reserve where you can see a wide variety of birds and animals. Meanwhile we provide you with some analysis from the round four encounter Carlsen vs Nakamura.

2010 Women's World Championship – Armageddon

12/12/2010 – It was an exciting round, and while the Elo favorites Koneru and Yifan went through smoothly, it also marked the end of Kosteniuk's title defense after she lost to Ruan Lufei. Skripchenko, facing Cmilyte, was once again saved in the tiebreak by her superior blitz skills. Indian Hakira and Muzychuk had an epic match that went the distance. Read what happened in the round three report.

Russian men's Superfinal – Beauty and the beast

12/11/2010 – The incredibly strong Russian men's championship Superfinal, with seven out of twelve players sporting 2700 ratings, just started with Grischuk, Svidler, Karjakin and Nepomniachtchi. The opening ceremony was a fun event followed by a robot challenge taking on two super GMs in a clock simul, and a knight odds against belle Mariya Fominykh. There are many beautiful pictures by Evgeny Surov.

Kavalek in Huffington: Imagination Breeds Creativity

12/11/2010 – How do chess players create beautiful games and compositions? Do they dig deep into their memory and retrieve ideas of others or do they use their own imagination? Obviously, it is a combination of both, because what they learn and remember and what they create themselves goes hand in hand. The art of creating is remembering and imagining, as illustrated by mathematician Noam Elkies.

London Classic – Round two commentary

12/10/2010 – Six decisive games so far, with all eight being exciting and entertaining. The Second London Chess Festival is giving the spectators their money's worth. Luke McShane is the sole leader after beating Nigel Short in a complicated tactical struggle. Two points behind him is America’s Hikaru Nakamura who scored a great win against former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Round two commentary.

2010 Women's World Championship - Heads start to roll

12/10/2010 – The second round of the world championship was brutal, and while the very top-seeds such as Kosteniuk, Koneru, and Yifan, went through, others such as Kosintseva, Dzagnidze, and Stefanova, saw an abrupt end to their journeys. Players who were particularly strong at faster time controls benefited from the tiebreaks, but others not. Only sixteen players remain now. Round two report.