Biel Rd.7: Post-game analysis, statistics of an exciting event

7/27/2011 – Last year the Biel Chess Festival was a somewhat lack-luster affair. This year, in contrast, it is pure fireworks. Just three games in under 30 moves, as opposed to 17 in 2010, and 48.6% draws vs 69% in the previous edition. We have some theories why this is so. Also the post-game analysis on Playchess, which can be watched by spectators all over the world. Enjoy.

Dortmund Rd6 – Hits and kicks all round, but no knock-outs

7/27/2011 – Though the round yielded draws on all three boards, there was nothing sedate about any of them. Kramnik continued his fighting chess and built up a very threatening position against Ponomariov, but was unable to finalize and they drew. Nakamura managed to win a pawn against Giri, but found no way to convert in the endgame. Finally, Le and Meier also drew. Round six report.

Biel Rd.8: Carlsen-Morozevich drawn, Vachier, Shirov win

7/27/2011 – The game between the leaders, Carlsen and Morozevich failed to live up to expectations and ended in a draw – though they did play it out. Vachier-Lagrave beat Pelletier with a spectacular rook sac, but almost squandered the win (the Swiss returned the favor). Shirov kept up with the French player after squeezing Caruana for 50 moves in an endgame with superb technique. Express report.

1st Hangzhou WGM Tournament - Ju Wenjun wins, Harika becomes GM

7/26/2011 – The 1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster tournament ended with a superb result by IM Ju Wenjun, with 6.5/9 and a near 2700 performance. It was the strongest women's tournament in history, and was marked also by a 3rd and final GM norm for second-place Dronavalli Harika, making her India's second female GM. With many memorable moments here is a beautiful pictorial by Liang Ziming.

Biel Rd.7: Carlsen, Morozevich, Caruana win, Carlsen leads

7/26/2011 – Morozevich has found his stride – he beat Vachier-Lagrave in round seven to take his score to 13/7 with a 2870+ performance. At this rate, it won’t take long to see him back in the Top Ten. Carlsen one-upped Morozevich by playing a positional masterpiece against Shirov and leads with a superb 16/7. Caruana finally notched his first win, beating Pelletier in a fine game. Express report.

Dortmund Rd5 – Kramnik on 3102 performance

7/25/2011 – It is hard to find words for this. "Stratospheric" is inadequate – this man is clearly headed for low-earth orbit. Vladimir Kramnik beat Anish Giri in a Gruenfeld Exchange to hit 4.5/5, increasing his lead to 1.5 points after Le, undefeated, beat Ponomariov to assume second place. Meier and Nakamura played a marathon 150-move game that ended in a draw. Round six report.

CBM Blog: The Flight and Knight Tactics

7/25/2011 – The training we get on these pages from renowned endgame expert Dr. Karsten Müller is not just instructive – it is also topical. Today he explains the wins of two young talents, Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri, at the recent AAI GM tournament in Delhi and in round three of the Dortmund Super-GM last Saturday. GM Müller's column is indeed brand new and up-to-date.

Tigran Petrosian leads in Lake Sevan

7/25/2011 – No, not Tigran Vartanovich, but the 26-year-old Armenian GM whose first name was deliberately chosen by his father to match that of the former world champion. Petrosian has 2.5/4, the same as two other GMs who are playing in the strong tournament on the banks of the beautiful lake. IM Ashot Nadanian sent us this big illustrated report with some remarkably instructive annotations.

Biel Rd.6: Carlsen beats Pelletier, takes a commanding lead

7/25/2011 – After his unexpected lapse against Vachier-Lagrave, Carlsen refused to take his foot off the accelerator. He beat Pelletier in their return game, and is now leading with thirteen points. Morozevich missed a golden opportunity to stay abreast after Shirov took incredible risks, was lost for a long time in a chaotic position, and finally managed to draw. Updated report with postgame analysis and videos.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (67)

7/24/2011 – Few old game-scores of lightning chess (also known as rapid transit and blitz) have survived, but the Editor of Chess Notes presents a number of specimens, most of which were played at ten seconds per move and all of them before the 1930s. The masters featured include Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Capablanca, Janowsky, Kupchik, Marshall and Tartakower, and the play contains several brilliancies.

Dortmund Rd4 – Kramnik unstoppable at 3.5/4 and 3064 performance

7/24/2011 – At the breakneck pace at which he is speeding, Kramnik is not only on track to win Dortmund, but he could conceivably score the greatest tournament performance of his career. Playing Nakamura, Kramnik seemed headed for a draw after most of the pieces came off, but a series of imprecisions yielded a winning position and he converted. The other games were drawn. Round four report.

World Team Ch. Rd7 – Lightning strikes twice

7/24/2011 – They say lightning never strikes the same place twice, but not only did it in Ningbo, but it was a storm of unexpected results. Russia lost dramatically to China when Karjakin lost a won game against Wang Hao. However, the biggest surprise was USA's win over Azerbaijan with Kamsky beating Radjabov and Seirawan defeating Mamedyarov for a 2800+ performance. Round seven report.

Biel Rd.4: postgame analysis of the players

7/23/2011 – Once again we are able to present you a unique insight into the workings of the top chess minds. After the rounds the players – at least those who are not too upset – joined the official match commentator, GM Miso Cebalo, for live analysis for a world-wide audience on the Playchess server. These sessions, together with PGN files of the game analyses, are available on our special postgame reports.

World Team Ch. Rd6 – Seirawan clubs Polgar, Armenia still leads

7/23/2011 – There were no major changes in the team rankings in round six, with draws between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel against Azerbaijan. The most remarkable result was perhaps the drawn match between the USA and Hungary, thanks to Yasser Seirawan who saved the team by beating Judit Polgar in a gutsy game, his first win over a 2700 player in a long time. Round six report.

Dortmund Rd3 – Ponomariov overpowers Nakamura

7/23/2011 – In spite of an inauspicious loss to Kramnik in the first round, Ponomariov bounced back with a win in round two, and now with a second win in round three, outplaying Nakamura, he is clear second. Giri also won, but was dead drawn against Meier until the latter threw the game away with a blunder on move 70. Kramnik was unable to crack Le Quang Liem and conceded his first draw. Round three.

Biel Rd.5: Vachier-Lagrave stops Carlsen, Morozevich wins

7/23/2011 – Magnus Carlsen's stratospheric cruise over the tournament in Biel was brought to a crashing stop by French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who showed remarkable perspicacity and patience in grinding down the world's number one in 96 moves. Alexander Morozevich refuted the "rule of the fist" and beat Fabiano Caruana to close up to the tournament leader. Full report with postgame interviews.

Biel Rd.4: Carlsen wins again, 3015 performance

7/22/2011 – After four rounds of the International Chess Festival in Biel, the only question is who will be second. With 3.5/4 and a 3000+ performance, the first place is all but wrapped up. In a way, much like Kasparov in his heyday, Carlsen’s biggest challenge is himself, and one imagines that his next self-challenging goal would be Kasparov’s record 2851 Elo. Express report.

Dortmund Rd2 – Kramnik and Ponomariov win

7/22/2011 – It may not have been the cleanest win, but a point is a point. Kramnik spent much of his game against Meier either equal or a bit worse, but when the German's clock ran short, he managed to shake the tree with complications yielding him a 2.0/2 start. Ponomariov won a nice positional game against Giri, outplaying the young Dutchman to stay in contention. Round two report.

Popovic wins First Science Park Amsterdam Chess Tournament

7/21/2011 – Almost 300 chess players participated in the new summer chess tournament in Amsterdam, with a prize fund of more than 10,000 Euros. It was the first big open in the Dutch metropole since 2006. Five players tied for first, with 7.0 out of 9 points. GM Dusan Popovic claimed tournament victory on tie-break points. Big pictorial report by Lennart Ootes.

Kasimdzhanov: Open letter to FIDE – with a proposal

7/21/2011 – Uzbek-born grandmaster and former FIDE knockout world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, now a permanent second of World Champion Vishy Anand, is a profound thinker, and not just in chess openings. He has now written an open letter to FIDE, describing the current unsatisfactory situation in top professional chess and proposing a startling solution.

World Team Ch. Rd5 – Armenia leads, Russia and Hungary second

7/21/2011 – Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. While Armenia kept its slim lead, Russia and Hungary moved into clear second. Russia beat Egypt as expected, but Hungary's destructive win over Israel by 3.5-0.5 just confirmed no one was safe. Leko and Polgar have been the driving force behind their team, and Judit will be rejoining the 2700 ranks in the next list. Round five report.

Dortmund Rd1 – Kramnik strikes in first round

7/21/2011 – With so much elite chess taking place at once, spectators might get whiplash as they glance from one board to the next, but one thing is clear: Dortmund is never to be missed. The lineup is mouthwatering with legends, fighters, and talents-on-the-rise, and the games were to their credit. Kramnik locked horns with Ponomariov and emerged the sole victor in round one. Round one report.

Biel Rd.3: postgame analysis of the players

7/21/2011 – Our live broadcast of Biel 2011 is attracting press attention. Not just the live GM commentary during the games, but especially the post-game sessions by the players themselves, who analyse for a world-wide audience while the moves are still fresh in their minds. You can follow these sessions live on Playchess or your browser. Here are video captures with the analysis files in PGN.

World Team Ch. Rd4 – Azerbaijan crushes Russia 3-1

7/21/2011 – The only clear thing about the rankings after the fourth round is that Armenia leads...barely. After that it is a giant jumble with no fewer than four teams tied for second after non-stop strike and counterstrike by the teams as they battle for the gold. The biggest news was Azerbaijan's crushing win over Russia, but China nearly whitewashed the US after a 3.5-0.5 win. Round four report.