9/24/2010 – In the fourth round, Georgian Jobava was the hero of the day as he help his team beat Norway resoundingly with a dramatic win over Magnus Carlsen, after deviating from normal theory on move six. Russia 1 defeated the US 3-1, and Russia 2 also beat India. In a key match Hungary overcame China after Judit Polgar once more proved the star of her team. Round four report.

9/23/2010 – The second round continued with disparate pairings, but this time, instead of the oddball upset, top teams stumbled against opponents they were expected to beat. Who would have thought Bulgaria with Topalov would go down to Croatia, much less Azerbaijan, with Mamedyarov and Radjabov, to Vietnam? They no doubt dearly miss Gashimov now. Round two report with videos and games.

9/23/2010 – This is one of the best-known principles in rook endings, formulated by Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch (1862-1934), who was at the turn of the century one of the strongest players around as well as being an extremely influential chess theoretician on account of his writings on chess which earned for him the nickname of Praeceptor Germaniae. Now, you will certainly point out that in this position from the game Acs-Timman the white rook is already in position behind the passed h-pawn. And yet, White found a strong move which is in total harmony with the Tarrasch rule. Analysis by GM Karsten Müller on ChessBase Magazine Online.

9/23/2010 – It has been reported that former World Champion Boris Spassky is in intensive care after suffering a stroke in his Moscow apartment. Doctors said that after receiving an emergency call they discovered the 73-year-old Spassky in a semi-conscious state, paralyzed on his left side. They said his condition was grave. We wish our dear friend Boris Vasilievich a speedy and complete recovery.

9/23/2010 – The third round can be considered the eye of the hurricane as it was the last one before the top teams all start colliding. Ukraine who had led until now, was held to a draw by Croatia, while Bosnian Ivan Sokolov beat his second 2700 player in three rounds, helping draw against Poland. The game of the round though was by Gata Kamsky who won in emphatic fashion. Round three report.

9/22/2010 – After the expected hustle-bustle of the opening day, the first round went underway with the strong paired against the weak. What this usually means is crushing scores on the one hand, and shock surprises on the other, and we were not disappointed. However, some players were able to shine, leaving a mouthwatering tournament ahead. Here is the report with games, results, and videos.

9/22/2010 – The start of the Olympiad from the arrival, to the check-ins, not to mention the spectacular opening ceremony, are items that could certainly be described in words, but where pictures speak volumes more. In the following pictorial, with generous contributions from a variety of sources, we share the story on the start of the mammoth event all in pictures.

9/21/2010 – A week ago, on the basis of absolute neutrality, we invited the campaign managers of both candidates in the FIDE election to summarize their main policies, arguments and track-record, explain the areas of disagreement with the opposing side, and comment on the campaign itself. Only one of the teams accepted the invitation, and we therefore now give the summation by the Karpov campaign.

9/21/2010 – The numbers astonish and stagger: 143 nations, 1294 competitors, including no fewer than 254 grandmasters, 65 WGMs, 159 IMs, and 90 WIMs. There is no question that for the next two weeks, Khanty-Mansiysk will be the absolute Mecca of chess. The start was not without its issues, but the teams are there and the spectacular opening ceremony has taken place. Preview and video.

9/21/2010 – Can we devise a more accurate method for measuring chess strength and predicting results than Elo, which has done good service for half a century? Jeff Sonas has given statisticians 65,000 games which they must use to predict the results 7,800 other games. The idea is to find out who can out-perform Elo. In the lead is 28-year-old Portugese biochemist Filipe Maia. Current status.

9/20/2010 – In its second edition in history, the Women's World Blitz championship took place from September 15-18. The final included players who had survived online qualifiers to the live semi-finals. In the end, Ukrainian GM Katerina Lahno, a known blitz specialist, overcame the women's elite and was hailed champion a round in advance. WGM Yana Melnikova provides a deeply illustrated report.

9/19/2010 – You probably learned the rule of the square very early in your chess career. It defines when a king can catch an enemy pawn and is of extreme practical use – if you understand the concept and its consequences. Some important didactic work in this field was done by the world-class player and study composer Richard Reti, as Lubomir Kavalek shows us in his latest Huffington Post column.