6/19/2010 – 19-year-old GM Ian Nepomniachtchi started with four draws before losing to Ivanchuk in round five. Since then the tide has changed: first he defeated Alekseev in a 66-mover in round six; then he took Bruzon's Berlin Defence apart; and finally Ian had a bit of luck against Nigel Short. Now, with two rounds to go, Ian is just half a point behind the leader, Vassily Ivanchuk. Round eight report.

6/19/2010 – We don't often see a non-sports international organization funding a chess tournament, especially a children's one. But that is exactly what the European Commission recently did in Uzbekistan. The event was organized by Europa House in Tashkent, together with the Uzbek Chess Federation, on the International Children's Day. Beautiful pictorial report by Jamshid Begmatov.

6/18/2010 – Have we seen this opening in top tournament play in the current century? After all it's supposed to be refuted. Magnus Carlsen used it in his game against top Chinese GM Wang Yue (possibly to avoid the Petroff) and won a full point. Radjabov and Ponomariov also won their games, making it 3-0 for White in this round. Radjabov and Carlsen lead. GM commentary by Dorian Rogozenco.

6/18/2010 – On April 1st of this year we reported – and it was not a tasteless April Fool's joke – that the remains of former World Champion Bobby Fischer could be exhumed to settle a paternity dispute. The District Court of Reykjavik did not allow it, but now the Iceland Supreme Court has overturned this ruling after receiving new evidence from the claimant Marilyn Young. The story is in the international news.

6/18/2010 – 154 moves had already been played in the game Aronian-Dominguez, when Aronian carried out a brilliant idea in the form of 155.Qb6+!. The intention is, after the forced exchange of the blockading queen with 155...Qxb6 156.Bxb6 and the bishop sacrifice Kxb6, to support the advance of the white passed pawn duo with 157.Kh5. So far, so good.
But what does White play if Black does not take the bishop but sets up a new blockader in front of the passed pawns with 156...Bg6? GM Karsten Müller has analysed the ending for ChessBase Magazine Online.

6/17/2010 – Following the string of successful events, the ASEAN Championships were held in Subic Freeport, Olongapo City, Philippines from 4th to 13th June 2010. Participants competed in the U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U20 age groups for girls and in the open section. At the ASEAN Conference Norway presented its bid for the 2014 Olympiad. Pictures and videos by Europe Echecs.

6/17/2010 – The XLV edition of the annual tournament dedicated to the greatest Cuban chess player ever, José Raúl Capablanca, is VI rounds deep. Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk is in top form and has scored IV plus half a point in VI games, followed by Nigel Short with III plus one half and a MMDCCLXVIII performance. What is wrong with us, you ask? As usual we have caught the Roman numeral fever.

6/17/2010 – Last weekend Viktor Bologan became co-winner in the top-class Poikovsky tournament. The Moldavian GM is also a great chess trainer and has recorded two Fritztrainer DVDs, one on the Philidor Defence (for Black) and one on the Sicilian Rossolimo (for White). Sean Marsh reviewed both and recommends them especially to advanced players. Place your order now or read this review.

6/16/2010 – The 2008 and 2009 Dutch Champions, Jan Smeets and Anish Giri, are duly in front after five rounds, in the women's section Peng Zhaoqin's has scored a phenomenal 6.0/6. Meanwhile Loek van Wely participated in a medical experiment to record emotional reactions during the game. His opponent tested them sorely with a 13-fold repetition. With beautiful pictures by Frans Peeters.

6/16/2010 – After errors by Ruslan Ponomariov in a King’s Indian Teimour Radjabov built up pressure and won rather easily in 48 moves. Nisipeanu-Wang Yue was a quiet draw in the Petrov’s Defence. Carlsen-Gelfand saw the Moscow Variation of the Semi-Slav. Gelfand neutralized White’s attacking intentions and in fact got a slightly better endgame, which was a draw. GM commentary by Dorian Rogozenco.

6/16/2010 – It's been a few days since we looked in at the race for the FIDE presidency. Ilyumzhinov already announced his ticket and platform, now it's Anatoly Karpov's turn. Eight pages of policy includes finances, federalism, and, of course, the World Championship. He's also made known almost all of his ticket and we're sure you'll recognize the latest addition.

6/16/2010 – In the second round of the Turneul Regilor in Romania all three games ended in a draw. Wang Yue tried to outplay Ponomariov in a quiet Catalan endgame; Gelfand-Nisipeanu was balanced and resulted in a safe endgame with knights versus bishops; Radjabov-Carlsen, the longest game of the round, saw the Norwegian equalise and vainly press for a win. Commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco.