A truly chaotic position ...

5/6/2011 – ... was on the board in this game from the Asian Individual Chess Championships, where Black's had last played 30...Bd4-f2 with the idea after 31.Rxf2 to continue with 31...Qxe4. How would you judge the situation after that? White ...
A) ...wins with 32.Bf3
B) ...wins with 32.hxg4
C) ...stands badly since both continuations lose
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

FIDE Candidates: GM commentary on Aronian-Grischuk

5/6/2011 – Did you enjoy the first round of the 2011 FIDE Candidates matches? Especial the epic battle between top favourite Levon Aronian and the ever resourceful Alexander Grischuk had us enthralled until way into the evening. But how much of it did you understand? Here to help us appreciate what transpired is Super-GM Fabiano Caruana, 18, who sent us some remarkably insightful commentary.

FIDE Candidates R1G2: Kamsky strikes first

5/6/2011 – It was certainly not what the punters expected, as Kamsky drew first blood in the Candidates. Topalov carefully prepared a very ambitious novelty 9.0-0-0 in a Grünfeld line that Kamsky has played more than once, to set up an all-out affair. Instead, his game never got going and it was his king that went the way of the Dodo. The other games were played out, but drawn. Game two report.

FIDE Candidates – pictures from the opening ceremony

5/5/2011 – Before every major chess event there is an ceremony for the players, their seconds, for dignitaries, organisers, sponsors and the chess public. It involves music and dance performances, and the drawing of lots. At the FIDE Candidates Matches in Kazan, Russia, we have photographic impressions by Vladimir Barsky, and use the opportunity to present the seconds of the players.

FIDE Candidates Rd1 G1: Fighting chess but no knockouts

5/5/2011 – Despite the conspicuous absence of Magnus Carlsen, the 2011 Candidates has a number of intriguing matchups between vastly contrasting players styles, promising combative chess at the highest level. The first games showed two Najdorfs and a clear desire to win, but only Aronian ever threatened to score the full point, against Grischuk, tripping right before the winning line. Express report.

FIDE Candidates Matches 2011 start on Thursday

5/4/2011 – In 2012 there will be a World Championship match between the reigning champ Vishy Anand and – who? We will know that on May 25, when the Candidates Matches in Kazan, Russia, finish. It will be one of eight players, with Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov being the favourites. The event coverage includes excellent live hi-res video from Kazan.

CBM Blog: The Troitzky Line

5/3/2011 – This is not a route on the Moscow Metro but a technique to solve a rare and difficult ending: two knights vs a pawn, which, you may or may not know, is winning if the defending pawn can be blockaded on or behind a certain line on the board. This was proven by the great endgame specialist A.A. Troitzky and is explained to us by GM Karsten Müller in a recent game. Very instructive.

Promoting a country with chess

5/3/2011 – The game of chess, with its air of intellectual sophistication, has been used to brand almost any activity, product or business. Now it will be used to promote an entire country – Ukraine, which has two heavy-weight boxing world champions (who play chess) and the Chess Olympiad gold medalists. So don't be surprised to see chess and sports promoting Ukraine in the world media.

Slyusarchuk revisited – the annotated match against Rybka

5/3/2011 – The Ukrainian chess amateur Andriy Slyusarchuk, who recently beat Rybka 4.0 blindfold, is contributing to our understanding of the human mind. Really. He is showing us vividly just how gullible people are, how absurd a claim can be and still be accepted by the media. Chess Today sent us an article on this illusionist genius, with new video links and annotated Rybka games.

FIDE May ratings: Top players inactive, Anand leads

5/2/2011 – Nothing much has changed at the top of the May rating list released by FIDE today. This is understandable since eight high-ranking players have been preparing for the Candidates matches which begin on Thursday. The World Champion, Vishy Anand, who is now a proud father, remains on top, two points ahead of the Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen. May 1st 2011 FIDE rankings.

ECU decision on Nielsen protest

5/1/2011 – Three weeks ago Danish GM Peter Heine Nielsen protested about the tiebreak system used by the ECU to determine which players in the 2011 European Championship would qualify for the 2011 World Cup. He demanded that the final standings be recalculated, or that the affected players be compensated. Now the ECU, while accepting that the system was flawed, have rejected both demands.

Slyusarchuk's incredible chess memory feats

5/1/2011 – Remember Andriy Slyusarchuk? The chess amateur who read three thousand books about the game and then went on to beat Rybka blindfold? The Ukrainian professor performs other mental feats, like memorizing 80 chess boards in 4½ minutes and then identifying changes made to them. GM Georgy Timoshenko took part in the act and wrote a wonderfully entertaining expose.

Russian Youth Championships - Paving the future

4/30/2011 – Although the Russians still hold the greatest number of grandmasters and masters, the key is in the renovation. The 2011 Russian Youth Championships just took place, crowning not only the new champions, but also designating those who will represent Russia in the next World and European Youth Championships. Here is a beautiful panoply of pictures by Anna Burtasova.

The vulnerability of his 3rd rank ...

4/29/2011 – ... White had to consider when in this position he went for 37.Nf6-h5 pinning the black rook g7. What is your evaluation? This...

A) ...decides immediately;
B) ...wins an exchange, but not the game; 
C) ...is a blunder, Black comes out on top.

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

Kavalek in Huffington: Kamsky Defends U.S. Chess Title

4/29/2011 – It was déjà vu all over again, as Gata Kamsky carved through the field at the 2011 US Chess Championship in St. Louis, Miss, with relative ease. Kamsky likes to build his games slowly, relying on his positional judgment. Once he gets a small advantage, he is willing to torture his opponent for hours. But GM Lubomir Kavalek shows us a different, more entertaining Kamsky in this key game.

2011 US Championsips: Kamsky and Zatonskih are champions!

4/29/2011 – In the men's section, Kamsky showed that he was in a category of his own as he secured the 2011 title of US Champion, 20 years after winning his first, never requiring a tiebreak. In contrast, Zatonskih and Abrahamyan went to the wire for a thrilling sprint to the title. Zatonskih showed incredible perseverance and stamina as she took 19 games to become champion. Final report and videos.

Amateur beats Rybka blindfold – while hell freezes over

4/29/2011 – Chinese media and other sources tell us that Ukrainian chess amateur Andrew Slyusarchuk beat Rybka 4.0 in a two-game blindfold match after reading three thousand books on the subject. The reports also says the 39-year-old doctor can recite 20,000 books by heart and has memorized 30 million digits of Pi. There are lots of video demonstrations, but as Robert Ripley used to say...

First Fagernes Chess Festival – Chess in the fjords

4/28/2011 – Though Magnus Carlsen really put Norway on the map in the chess world, not many really know what this untamed northern country is like. To celebrate the Norwegian Federation's 100th anniversary, Øystein Brekke organized the 1st Fagernes chess festival, attracting several grandmasters. Recording the event with his camera, here is a photo report by Sergey Tiviakov.

Swedish chess players on Playchess

4/27/2011 – ChessBase and the Swedish Chess Federation (Sveriges Schackförbund – SSF) are offering Swedish chess players the chance to play online chess for a special price on the leading chess server Playchess.com. Peter Halvarsson of the SSF: "We are delighted to offer Internet play of a high quality on an easy-to-use server to our younger members coming directly from schools." Press release.

Hou Yifan wins the First Women Master in Wuxi

4/27/2011 – This astonishing 17-year-old, who already owns the women's world championship title, went into this tournament as top seed and by winning her final two games took first place a full point ahead of the field. In second place was WGM Shen Yang and in third, by tiebreak, WGM Ju Wenjun (who also won both her final games). Final report.

Master Moves #11

4/27/2011 – 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 Team Championship. Shirk the shackles of duncedom!

CBM Blog: Keeping control and rook endings

4/26/2011 – "I would like to thank Dr. Karsten Müller for his outstanding work on endgames," wrote Nicholas Jodidio of Switzerland. "I deeply admire his work for ChessBase which really gives me love for the game." Other readers have expressed themselves in similar vein. Well, here's another installment from the CBM Blog, giving us valuable tips on the use of knights and rooks.

2011 US Championships: Finals all set to go

4/26/2011 – It had promised to be a change of the guard, but in the end the veterans Kamsky and Shulman had the last word, as they setup to decide the title once more. In the women's championship, Zattonskih confirmed her rise from the ashes as she overcame Krush in a very tense playoff. She meets Abrahamyan in the finals. The live commentators had a surprise interview with Garry Kasparov.

The counterattack

4/26/2011 – The opponent's exposed king lured White into playing 42.Qe6xd6 in this position, attacking the Bc6 while enhancing his own dark-squared bishop. Which continuation leads to advantage for Black now?
A) 42...Rf1+
B) 42...Bxg2
C) neither nor, White is simply better

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