Pairings for Candidates Matches are released

2/7/2011 – FIDE has released the final pairings for the Candidates Matches to be held in Kazan, Russia, from May 3rd to 27th. The matches will be four games and six games long, with as many as fifteen possible rapid and blitz tiebreak games to decide the winner in the event of a draw. There are two days rest between matches. Read on for complete information.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (57)

2/6/2011 – ‘A most extraordinary game in that the final moves were wholly unexpected’, wrote one commentator. But what is the truth about the brilliancy, with a full range of suggestions regarding the loser’s identity? And what can be discovered about a master’s painting of the spectacular conclusion? The Editor of Chess Notes looks at a miniature with a unique checkmate.

Demythologizing the chess player's Elo rating

2/6/2011 – Certain facts regarding the rating system are misunderstood or unfamiliar to top-rank players, as well as organizers and administrators of major chess events. The recent articles that appeared on the subject, as well as the contest organized by a statistician, point to the fact that certain basic concepts have not been fully understood. Elmer Dumlao Sangalang endeavors to rectify the situation.

Tata Steel: Once more with feeling (and a good camera)

2/5/2011 – John Nunn is not just a mathematician, chess player, analyst, author, publisher and, of late, a roving astronomer. He has also taken up photography in a serious way. John visited Wijk with his Canon 7D camera and sent us a selection of pictures – which we give you in normal and higher resolution. He has also written wonderfully detailed instructions for ambitious chess photographers.

Gibraltar Masters: Ivanchuk wins with 9.0/10 and 2968 performance

2/5/2011 – It was an awesome performance by Ivanchuk showing just how big a difference there is when a Super-GM in form is lined up against the rest. Can you say 'target practice'? Short came back from his loss with 8.5/10 and also a remarkable 2883. No less incredible was 79-year-old legend Korchnoi, finishing with a 2634 performance, and nearly beating Vallejo in the end. Round 9 and 10 report.

London withdraws its 2012 World Championship bid

2/3/2011 – It was going to be a World Championship to remember: in the same location as the magnificent Chess Classics, for a prize fund of around two million Euros, tax prepaid. The potential organisers paid a € 50,000 deposit and gave FIDE until January 29th to accept or reject. Neither happened and today the sponsor formally withdrew his offer. Bad news.

Kramnik's Norwegian nemesis

2/2/2011 – Vladimir Kramnik seems to have a problem with Magnus Carlsen. At the London Chess Classic the Norwegian was lost against the former World Champion, but somehow survived. In Wijk aan Zee in a drawn position Carlsen played on and took home the full point in a masterful and highly instructive endgame performance. Deep analysis by GM Karsten Mueller.

Chess on a high-speed express

2/2/2011 – Reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand played two games against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov on Tuesday. Then the two took on eleven players each in simultaneous matches. The unusual part was the venue: it was on a high-speed Spanish train en route from Madrid to Valencia. Our report includes a 45-minute video interview with Anatoly Karpov.

Gibraltar Masters: Ivanchuk leads with a 2947 performance

2/2/2011 – Seven wins, two draws – Vassily Ivanchuk is marching through. After nine rounds the Ukrainian Super-GM is half a point ahead of his only serious rival, Nigel Short (performance 2849). IM Melia Salome of Georgia missed a clear win in round eight, but is with a 2612 performance still on course for a GM norm. The weather is splendid and we have pictures of topless GMs frolicking in the sea.

Routes for the king in Wijk

2/2/2011 – In the endgame the king takes on a very special role. Not only is its intervention necessary, often the whole outcome of the game depends on it.

But in many cases it is not an easy decision as to exactly which route the king should take.

GM Karsten Müller has annotated two endings from Wijk for ChessBase Magazine Online in which everything depends on the correct choice of route.

FFE: cheating not the first time, Biel statement

2/1/2011 – The French Chess Federation disclosed they had evidence that the "organized cheating" accusation, which has rocked the chess world recently, is in fact not the first time. They have now mandated the Federal Bureau to take the case to trial in a court of law. Meanwhile the Organisers in Biel have issued a statement on the same players earlier last year in their Master Group. Open letters.

Gibraltar Masters: Ivanchuk leads, six players follow

2/1/2011 – Everything went black on The Rock on Monday evening, as play was interrupted for over an hour due to an electricity outage. The participants had to wait by candlelight. Nigel Short, who enjoyed sole second place behind Vassily Ivanchuk, was joined by five other players – one of them female – in the catch-the-king slot. During the day some visited the monolithic limestone promontory that is Gibraltar.

Gibraltar: Ivanchuk beats Short to take the lead

1/31/2011 – Nigel Short was leading with 5.0/5 points – then the British GM stumbled on a rock, in the form of Vassily Ivanchuk, who did not show the necessary respect for Nigel's unusual Bogo-Indian. Meanwhile a number of participants, mainly ladies, were taken to the Upper Rock to meet some of the Gibraltar natives. We hope you enjoy the beautiful pictorial report on this interesting encounter.

Yifan on training, travelling and Oliver Twist

1/31/2011 – There is nothing in the slightest bit ordinary about the achievements of Hou Yifan, the Chinese chess prodigy who stunned the world just before Christmas by becoming the youngest ever women's world chess champion at the age of just 16. And yet, In appearance at least, it is a quintessentially ordinary Chinese teenager. Must-read portrait in the Telegraph.

Kavalek in Huffington: Hikaru Nakamura's Great Chess Triumph

1/31/2011 – On the day the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open in Melbourne, American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, 23, achieved the best success of his life. He won the chess equivalent of a Grand Slam event – the Tata Steel Chess tournament in the Dutch coastal town of Wijk aan Zee ahead of the world's four top-rated grandmasters. Analysis by GM Lubomir Kavalek.

Tata Steel: Impressions by Fred Lucas

1/31/2011 – He is the official photographer of the event, and we know his artistic creations from the tournament web site galleries. We especially liked the photos taken on the free day, of which Fred Lucas has sent us a batch. They were taken in adverse circumstance: it was "too cold, even with gloves." Hats off to the players who in spite of this went blow karting on the beach.

Gibraltar: Ladykiller Nigel Short leads with 5.0/5

1/30/2011 – After four rounds two players, Nigel Short and Nadezhda Kosintseva were leading with 4.0/4. They met in round five, and Nigel bead Nadezhda, after having disposed of her GM sister Tatiana two rounds earlier. That gave the British GM the sole lead. The Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Congress has the deliberate policy of encouraging leading women to take part. Big illustrated report.

Tata Steel: Nakamura wins first Super GM event

1/30/2011 – Nakamura won his first Super GM event, with 9.0/13 and a 2879 performance, ahead of Anand, Carlsen, Aronian and Kramnik. McShane and Navara drew and tied for first in B, after Luke found a fantastic save in a seemingly hopeless ending. In C, Vocaturo sacrificed two rooks and a piece to draw against Nyzhnyk and take first. Final report with video and analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

Tata Steel Rd.12: Test of mettle tomorrow

1/29/2011 – It was the last round to decide who will be fighting for what tomorrow, and it seems it will be a true test of mettle in all groups. Nakamura drew against Kramnik, and Anand almost lost to Giri. Carlsen won and is tied with Aronian for third. B leaders McShane and Navara meet tomorrow, as do C leaders Vocaturo and Nyzhnyk. Report with videos, plus analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

Where to go?

1/28/2011 – Fully concentrated on the black kingside was White in this position which had last seen 31...Qd7-b5 (diagram). Which bishop move is now correct to clear the square g5 for the knight and to start the final mating attack?
A) 32.Be7
B) 32.Bf6
C) both win

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

ChessBase Training with GM Efstratios Grivas (Part 1)

1/28/2011 – How do you help talented young chess players to realize their potential? Working with a world-class trainer is a good way to start. ChessBase has started a program to sponsor a series of training sessions, which started, logically, in our offices in Hamburg. Five young talents got a full-day session with an internationally known chess coach, who has graciously placed his entire lecture at our disposal.

Tata Steel Rd.11: Nak in pole position with 2900+ performance

1/28/2011 – The race for first at this year's Wijk aan Zee has been a thrilling duel between Anand and Nakamura, with each surpassing the other every couple of rounds. Nakamura once more took the lead after crushing Nepomniachtchi, while Anand had to settle for a draw against Vachier-Lagrave. To top it off, Magnus Carlsen produced an endgame masterpiece to beat Kramnik. Illustrated report with video.

French GMs: ''We express our full support of the FFE

1/27/2011 – Four grandmasters Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Laurent Fressinet, Vladislav Tkachiev and Romain Edouard have expressed their dismay at the charges brought against three of their colleagues who are accused of cheating. "If the allegations are found to be true, we will condemn them firmly," they write, in this public statement in Europe Echecs.

2011 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival under way

1/27/2011 – This traditional and popular event is takeing place for the ninth time, from Jan. 24 to Feb. 3, 2011, at the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar. There are 231 players in the Masters section: 53 grandmasters, three of whom are rated over the elite level of 2700, and 15 between 2600-2699. A special £10,000 prize will be awarded to the best female. After two round 22 players have perfect 2.0/2 scores. Report.