Dortmund 2010: Three decisive games, Ponomariov leads

7/20/2010 – The fifth round finally lived up to the fighting spirit demonstrated by the players until now, with decisive results in all. Kramnik outsmarted his opponent by locking his rook away for good, while Leko's attempts to force a win ended up backfiring, and blowing up in his face. The two leaders Ponomariov and Mamedyarov met, and the leader's mantle traded hands once more. Games and analysis.

43rd Biel Chess Festival: Round one

7/20/2010 – The 43rd Biel Chess Festival is underway, and this year's invitational event is a tribute to the growing number of junior talents already breaking into the world elite. The list is a veritable who's who of top juniors, all vying to show that they are the ones most deserving of your admiration. Round one brought in a few surprises. See the report and illustrated introduction.

Saint Louis: Irina Krush US Women's Champion 2010

7/20/2010 – IM Anna Zatonskih had been leading the event since round five, but in the last two rounds she conceded two draws, while her main rival IM Irina Krush won both her games to take the title. In the junior section top seed Ray Robson suffered a last-round defeat to make it a three-way tie for first. Armageddon games on Tuesday will decide the winner. Round nine report.

Saint Louis: Krush/Zatonskih, Robson lead

7/19/2010 – IM Irina Krush scored a win in round eight, while her main (and only) rival IM Anna Zatonskih drew her game, so that with just one more round to go both ladies are tied at 7.0/8 points (with 2640 and 2624 performances). In the Junior section top seed Ray Robson leads ahead of surprise runner-up Parker Zhao. Don't miss the final games! Rounds seven and eight reports.

Hold your horses...

7/19/2010 – ... before taking the enemy ones, White thought here when he played 34.Nb4-c2, controlling the square a1 and planning to capture the pinned Nb6 afterwards. How is Black's position now?
A) winning
B) losing
C) a shade worse. 

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

4th Leiden Chess Tournament

7/19/2010 – For the fourth consecutive year, the Leiden Chess Tournament was held at the Mind Sports Center in Leiden, Netherlands. Erik Van den Doel seemed poised to run away with the event, before lightning struck in the last two rounds, allowing Pedrag Nikolic an unexpected opportunity to take the laurels. We bring you the report complete with videos and test positions.

XXX International Open 'Villa de Benasque'

7/18/2010 – In the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees, in the Benasque Valley, a small town has been the source of a magnificent chess festival, now celebrating its 30th edition. This picturesque town attracted more than 500 players and 26 grandmasters from all corners of the globe to its open, as well as hosting a special champions' tournament for previous winners. Pictures and report.

Dortmund 2010: Le Quang Liem beats Ponomariov

7/18/2010 – 19-year-old Le Quang Liem earned a place in this tournament by winning the Aeroflot tournament in Moscow, earlier this year. The Vietnamese GM has had a string of very strong events, jumping from practically nowhere into the top 50 in the world. That was no fluke, as he demonstrated today with a fine victory over tournament leader Ruslan Ponomariov. Round four report.

'Our only aim is to contribute to the development of chess'

7/17/2010 – The Ukrainian chess community is waiting for changes, reforms and new projects. All these expectations are connected with the personality of Viktor Kapustin, a banker and international economics expert, who in April 2010 was elected the President of the Ukrainian Chess Federation. He is also on the Karpov ticket for the position of FIDE Treasurer. Interview by Olena Boytsun.

Dortmund 2010: Mamedyarov beats Le, leads with Ponomariov

7/17/2010 – The third round brought more fighting chess, though again only one decisive result in spite of the players’ best efforts. In an Open Catalan against Leko Kramnik was unable to achieve anything – in fact he came close to losing. Mamedyarov won a complicated and exciting game against young Le Quang Liem. Naiditsch came close to defeating the leading Ponomariov. Round three report.

FIDE Elections: The Four Million Dollar Man

7/17/2010 – Anatoly Karpov played many world championship matches for millions. Now as a candidate for FIDE President he wants to bring millions to further the game. On an Asian campaign tour, Karpov announced a worldwide development package of four million dollars. He has already announced a $100,000 for Central America, and $300,000 for the Balkan region. Where will the rest go?

Anand on the Forbes cover: All the Right Moves

7/17/2010 – World Champion Viswanathan Anand's life has quite a few lessons on the art of winning. "There’s one more thing I truly admire about him," writes author Indrajit Gupta. "In the cold and fiercely competitive world of chess, Anand is still able to retain his human touch. He is the quintessential Mr. Nice Guy, whom even his rivals can’t seem to hate!" Article and great podcast.

Saint Louis: Robson joins Zhao in the Juniors lead

7/16/2010 – 15-year-old GM Ray Robson, top seed in the Junior section of the US championships, easily won his round six game to join surprise leader Parker Zhao, who lost to FM Conrad Holt, at the top of the table. Nobody will be surprised if it is all RR from now to the end. In the Women's both top contenders Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush won their games to leave Zatonskih in the lead. Round six report.

Dortmund 2010: Ponomariov beats Kramnik

7/16/2010 – The organizers of Dortmund have to be extra pleased this year. Their roster may be lacking a few of the absolute top Elos, which is usually the best way to keep the general public’s attention, but the players are clearly all in prime fighting mood. In round two all three games had the potential for full point scores, in the end it was only Ruslan Ponomariov who beat top seed Vladimir Kramnik. Report.

Dortmund 2010: Mamedyarov and Ponomariov score

7/16/2010 – Akadij Naiditsch displayed courage when he played a well-known Najdorf line that Nigel Short had refuted 14 years ago. Had the German GM found something new and effective? Obviously not, as his opponent Shakh Mamedyarov proved. The "technicians" Ponomariov and Leko played an exciting game which the former won. Rookie Le Quang Liem drew with the top seed Kramnik. Round one report.

Saint Louis: Zatonskih and Zhao lead

7/15/2010 – Four Zs squared off in pivotal match-ups in Saint Louis. Two of them brought their A-game. IM Anna Zatonskih topped WIM Iryna Zenyuk and NM Parker Zhao outlasted FM Steven Zierk in round-five action. IM Irina Krush conceded a twelve-move draw. After five rounds Zatonskih leads by half and Zhao by a full point. Round five report.

FIDE Trainers' Commission

7/15/2010 – While chess has benefited greatly from the Internet, and experienced explosive growth, this has also led to poorly regulated standards for chess instruction. The FIDE Trainers' Commission now exists to standardize instruction with a system of certification for trainers. Chairman Adrian Mikhalchishin and FST Jovan Petronic explain.

2010 Canadian Open Chess Championship

7/15/2010 – After five rounds five players lead in this popular event, which is taking place from July 10 to 18 in a very attractive place (Downtown Toronto), with many strong players and attractive category prizes (ratings, age, ladies, brilliancy). There are numerous side events during the day, of which the grandmaster simultaneous exhibitions are most popular. Big pictorial report.

Dortmund 2010: category 20 tournament begins today

7/15/2010 – The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, one of the most important traditional chess tournaments in Germany, is a favourite of former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who has won it a record nine times. This year the average rating is 2734 – the six players are Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and Le Quang Liem. Games begin at 15:00h, with audio commentary on Playchess.

Kavalek at Huffington: A Chess Odyssey

7/14/2010 – "One single square can make a big difference in a chess game," writes GM Lubomir Kavalek in his latest Huffington Post column. "It helped me to launch one of my longest combinations against Anatoly Karpov in Caracas 40 years ago." Karpov was at the time the reigning world junior champion. Kavalek brings extensive analysis of their game plus solutions to the Independence Day puzzles.

Luxurious Mediterranean Boys and Girls Championships

7/14/2010 – This is an excellent chance – a special offer: the 3rd Mediterranean Boys and Girls Chess Championships will be held from 31st August to 8th September 2010 in Crete, Greece. The players will stay in the beautiful five-star Hotel Cavospada, with one male and one female participant from each federation getting full board free of charge. Nominations before July 21!

Saint Louis: Zatonskih vs Krush drawn

7/14/2010 – Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih are the clear favourites in the US Women's Championship 2010. The two are just six rating points apart – 2476 to 2470 – but 150 points ahead of the rest of the field. Every single games of the tournament had been decisive until the two met in round three. After four rounds the two lead, with Parker Zhao on top in the Juniors. Big illustrated report.

Mega Database 2010 tutorial - Part 2

7/14/2010 – After learning how to install and configure your Mega Database 2010 as a reference database, and why, we bring you the next part of the tutorial, and now teach you how to set up an account so that your database is always up-to-date with the latest games from ChessBase's professional update service. The instructions were designed to be as easy as possible. Don't miss Part 2.

Karpov2010 fund-raiser at Simpson's in London

7/13/2010 – Remember the Karpov fund-raiser in New York? A similar extravaganza will take place in London, in the famous Simpson's-in-the-Strand, where 19th century intellectuals, sitting on comfortable divans, discussed politics and played chess. Steinitz, Morphy, Lasker and Zukertort were regulars. On Sept. 8th you can join forces with Kasparov, Adams, Short and McShane in exhibition games. Invitation.