10/11/2010 – Anand, who is now number one in the world rankings, played Kramnik in one of the latter's specialities: a Catalan. Both players were well prepared and the result was an inevitable draw. Shirov-Carlsen was a Breyer that resulted in a totally messy position – but what else can you expect in a game between the two? We bring you the games with extensive analysis by GM Romain Edouard.

10/11/2010 – She is beautiful, smart, fun and super strong in chess. We are talking about the WGM Natalia Andreevna Pogonina, 25 years old, a resident of Saratov in Russia. At 2491 Elo points (she's had up to 2501), she defended the #1 board of Russia-2 in the Chess Olympics. Now Natalia, a law student, has given an indepth interview on different aspects of her life.

10/10/2010 – Perhaps the most significant story in the run-up to this year’s Olympiad was the Azerbaijan team’s decision to leave out Vugar Gashimov. They paid the price at the chess board (finishing 12th), but there were also more problems between the team and the captain Zurab Azmaiparashvili, who lost his FIDE Vice Presidency and now threatens to sue the World Federation. The conflict continues to rage.

10/10/2010 – The second round of the Third Masters Final was precipitous, with two decisive games. Kramnik struck again, this time overcoming Shirov after the latter was punished for neglecting his development. Carlsen had an endgame against Anand that was perfectly under control when he went astray and never found his way back. Games, analysis, and an illustrated report on A Day in Bilbao.

10/10/2010 – A few days ago we published some very nice portraits of Olympiad participants. They were all taken from the official web site, where they appeared without captions. So we asked chess fans to help us identify the players. The results are now in and we can present you with the names and some biographical information of all of the players. And: the prize winners have been informed.

10/9/2010 – If Carlsen's many fans had hoped to see a change of fortune after his less than dazzling Olympiad result, today was not that day. Vladimir Kramnik capitalized on the opportunities missed by his opponent to press home his accrued advantage with an attractive win. Shirov and Anand debated a Ruy Lopez Berlin where neither had any compelling new arguments. Round one report.

10/1/2010 – It was a round that pretty much illustrated the Olympiad: the Russian women swept Bulgaria for the gold, Ukraine clobbered France to maintain their lead going into the last round, and the top-rated players stumbled (again), while Ivanchuk and Shirov played masterpieces to the delight of chess fans. In the round ten report, we bring diagrams and pics galore. GM Karsten Müller comments.

9/30/2010 – The Azerbaijani team had climbed back into contention after their surprise loss to Vietnam, and now faced Ukraine, the leaders. Mamedyarov outplayed Ivanchuk in a Benoni with some briliant shots, but Ukraine's bottom boards rallied. Russia 1 beat Armenia thanks to Svidler, and France beat Georgia to tie for second. As to the women, the Russians nearly lost. Round nine report.

9/30/2010 – In the rapid chess game Anand-Hammer, played in Kristiansund in the "Arctic Securities Chess Stars" tournament, it came down to this minor piece ending. It seems that all entry routes into the black camp are blocked to the white king, because the knight, the b7-pawn and the king are guarding all the important squares on the queenside and in the centre. And yet... White can force the win here with a precise move order, with the motif of zugzwang playing a decisive part.
Compare your solution with the analysis given by grandmaster Karsten Müller on ChessBase Magazine Online.

9/29/2010 – The vote took two hours, and the final count was 95 for the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, 55 for the challenger Anatoly Karpov and three abstentions (four years ago Ilyumzhinov beat Bessel Kok by 96-54). The renewed victory was achieved mostly with votes from smaller federations in Asia, Africa and South America, while Karpov's votes came mainly from European countries. Four more years for Kirsan.

9/29/2010 – In numbers, it was the biggest match of the Olympiad. Russia 1 had just beaten their younger compatriots Russia 2, while Ukraine was in sole lead and had magic Ivanchuk on 6/6. The Ukrainian finally ceded a draw, and it was young Karjakin who overtook the leaderboard with a 3040 performance, seven more than Ivanchuk, after beating Eljanov. Detailed analysis in the round eight report.

9/29/2010 – On Wednesday Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was reelected President of FIDE, which he has headed since 1995. His victory over the challenger Anatoly Karpov, backed by Garry Kasparov, was greeted with delight and dismay in the international press. Accusations of proxy vote rigging have been raised, and Karpov vows that the fight will go on. Reports and explanations.