8/9/2010 – In an event where he had over 150 Elo on his closest opponent, Michael Adams justified his favoritism with a crushing 9.5/11 score, undefeated and a point and a half over the second place finisher. GM Nicholas Pert came in clear second with a last-round victory. Jovanka Houska is the 2010 British Women's champion. We bring you many pictures in the pictorial coverage.

8/9/2010 – As day follows night, a piece from one campaign follows another. In this case, the the Karpov campaign plays offense and defense in a reply to the interview with the FIDE treasurer we published several days ago. They are particularly emphatic in rejecting the accusation that a Karpov administration would do away with "one nation, one vote," which has been a hotly debated topic.

8/8/2010 – After suffering a setback in the first round, and a disaster in the second, the Russian men finally drew against their Chinese opponents thanks to team captain Potkin's stylish victory. Xiangzhi countered this with a strong attack as Black against Malakhov. The women also drew, though four of the five games were decisive. Round three report.

8/8/2010 – The Arctic Chess Challenge, an open held in the Norwegian city, Tromsø, brought 164 players from all corners of the world, of which 25 GMs. The event was led by Loek van Wely until the last round, when Mikhail Kobalia clinched it with a dramatic last-round victory. Mexican champion Manuel Leon Hoyos came in second on tie-break. Øystein Brekke reports.

8/8/2010 – 701 chess players are taking part in this rapid chess world championship – 165 have international titles, and the average rating of the top ten is 2727! After five rounds 12 players still have a perfect 5/5 score, amongst them Aronian, Gashimov, Karjakin, Grishuk, Bologan, Kamsky, Kasimdhzanov. There were simultaneous exhibitions with Anand, Aronian and Kosteniuk. Big illustrated report.

8/7/2010 – Two days ago we published a letter from the Cyprus chess federation that described "unanimous" support for the incumbent FIDE president. Now we have received a letter from Vassilis Aristotelous, Cyprus Chess Federation PR officer and Board member. He disputes that statement and questions the legitimacy of the letter of support for Ilyumzhinov. Apparently the chess community is divided.

8/7/2010 – If in the first round, the Chinese men won their encounter, nothing could have prepared one for the second round where they nearly whitewashed their Russian counterparts by a sizzling score of 4.5-0.5. This time there was no saving grace by the women who were held to a tie, after which the Chinese take the overall lead by 11.5-8.5. Round two report and games.

8/7/2010 – The top ranked player GM Humpy Koneru of India lost a game against tenth seed Batkhuyag Munguntuul in round seven, which saw five decisive games. In round eight Humpy scored an important win against Antoaneta Stefanova to take the sole lead, after leader Zhao Xue lost both her games. Second seed Hou Yifan missed her round eight game due to illness – possibly food poisoning.

8/6/2010 – The youngest player, GM Hou Yifan, 16, won two games in succession, while the highest ranked participant, Indian GM Humpy Koneru, scored 1.5/2. Both are now half a point behind the leader Zhao Xue, with a serene plus four and a 2743 performance. The draw rate is a remarkably low 39%. We bring you games, results and pictorial impressions in our rounds 5+6 report.

8/6/2010 – The fact that even simple looking rook endings can be very tricky is exemplified in this example from the Bundesliga. For the moment the black king is shut off from the kingside, where the pair of white passed pawns is heading for promotion. But Black too can still throw his passed pawn into the balance, which greatly complicates matters. Which continuation do you think still offers Black drawing chances here: 53...Rc4, to support the advance of the passed pawn, or 53...Ra8, to harass the white king with checks?
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller on ChessBase Magazine Online.

8/5/2010 – FIDE Presidency candidate Anatoly Karpov has received the backing of the well-known businessman and sports patron Sulaiman Al Fahim, and the UAE Chess Federation. The two announced a $320,000 chess development package for the region. Incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has secured the support of the Chess Federation of Cyprus. Election news.

8/5/2010 – The rules of chess can be mastered by young children. But it is notoriously difficult to get them precisely right on paper. Take pawn promotion: "any pawn reaching the eighth (or last) rank can be changed to any piece a player chooses" sounds right. But it is far from watertight and can be easily misinterpreted. This is illustrated in GM Lubomir Kavalek's latest column.