Navara with a 3241 performance at the Czech Championship

5/8/2010 – After seven rounds top Czech GM David Navara has scored 7.0 points, i.e. won every game. This extraordinary result is evaluated by most rating calculators as a 3241 performance. But there are problems with the arbitrary addition of a few hundred points in the case of a 100% score. After discussion with experts we have decided to implement a new algorithm in the next version of ChessBase.

FIDE Elections: the match for FIDE President heats up

5/8/2010 – After publishing an interview with FIDE’s Development CEO David Kaplan, we were contacted by Karpov’s campaign headquarters in New York. They responded to some of Kaplan’s statements and presented the case for change in FIDE. They are also preparing a fundraiser in New York with two former world champions and a near certain future one. Can you guess who?

Grandmaster Andor Lilienthal dies at 99

5/8/2010 – Just three days after his 99th birthday the world's oldest grandmaster has passed away. Andor Lilienthal was born in Moscow but spent most of his life in Hungary. In his long career he recorded wins against Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov, as well as players like Tartakower, Najdorf, Bronstein and Taimanov. In memoriam.

Bella combinazione

5/7/2010 – Italians enjoy the reputation of being best at defending - in football. In chess, however ... but judge for yourself. The sacrifice 17.Nd5 exd5 in this position ...
A) ... promises the typical long-term compensation for the piece, but not more;
B) ... leads to material advantage for White by force;
C) ... is good for Black;

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

Sofia World Championship: Giri on game nine

5/7/2010 – Many of our readers were feeling frustrated. After annotating a number of games at the beginning of this match GM Anish Giri suddenly disappeared. Had we "fired" him? Replaced him with older, more experienced commentators (Anish is fifteen)? No, he was playing in the French League and on a brief holiday with his family. Now Anish is back and has sent us some truly remarkable commentary.

Sofia R10: Topalov presses, Anand holds

5/7/2010 – The Grünfeld was finally back after the disaster in game one – if anything to show Anand's house was in order. The opening went well and he equalized easily, but a very sharp Topalov found a way to lead him astray. A classic endgame with a bishop pair advantage followed. The Bulgarian made inroads and pushed, but a finesse by the Indian put a halt to them and secured the draw.

Nalchik GP: Kosintseva leads, Hou and Cramling follow

5/6/2010 – In round eight Tatiana Kosentseva was in trouble but managed to draw bottom seed Betul Yildiz. Since her main rivals lost their games it was enough to put her a point and a half ahead of the field. In round nine Tatiana drew again, while Hou Yifan and Pia Cramling won, so that the gap, two rounds before the end, is one point. Illustrated report.

FIDE Election: Yazici to Karpov – show me the facts

5/6/2010 – Recently Anatoly Karpov, candidate for the Presidency of FIDE, suggested that the incumbent President had yet to receive official support from any major chess federation. Wrong, says Ali Nihat Yazici, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov had received support from his, the Turkish Chess Federation. Meanwhile Ilyumzhinov has moved into the international news spotlight with a story of alien abduction.

Sofia R9: Anand misses multiple wins, draw in 83

5/6/2010 – The longest game of the match. Anand switched to a Nimzo-Indian, forsaking the Catalan that had served him so well. His choice seemed to be vindicated as Topalov found himself in trouble in an ultra-complicated endgame with an imbalanced position. Anand made it to the winning line more than once, but faltered at the last moment. The Bulgarian's resilience paid off with a draw.

Kasparov and Carlsen – together again in Oslo

5/5/2010 – Former World Champion Garry Kasparov was in Norway to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum – but also to meet up with his young colleague and sometime student Magnus Carlsen, currently number one in the world rankings. The two were interviewed by the national NRK TV. We have translated and transcribed some of the material and provide you with the video and screen grabs.

Sofia World Championship: another look at game eight

5/5/2010 – In this game Topalov and Anand again played the Slav Variation that Anand had used successfully in games three and five. This time he ended up with a miserable looking position, however Topalov allowed a bishops of opposite colour endgame. Anand got a completely drawn position and then blundered. In contrast to game seven both players played poorly. All very odd, thinks IM Malcolm Pein.

Sofia R8: Topalov wins, equalises the match

5/4/2010 – The World Champion had appeared to have recovered from his shock defeat in game one, and seemed to have it all under control. An oversight got him into trouble, and Topalov went hard to work trying to milk the position for all he could. Still, just as it seemed as if Anand had made it safely back to shore, a final blunder sealed his fate. The match is now drawn 4-4, with four games left. Express report.

Nalchik GP: Kosintseva leads with a 2800+ performance

5/4/2010 – After seven rounds of the Third Women's Chess Grand Prix in Nalchik, Russia, GM Tatiana Kosintseva leads with a remarkable 6.0/7 points, one more than her nearest rival, 16-year-old Hou Yifan from China. Top seed Koneru Humpy has scored a disappointing 50%. Grand Prix leader Zhao Xue is doing worse, with just 2.5/7. We bring you games, summaries, pictures and excerpts from interviews.

David Kaplan's revolution in chess

5/4/2010 – 200-300 million people play chess, one million in a professional environment – but the interest is not increasing. David Kaplan, CEO for Development in FIDE, wants to change that, amongst other things with $64 million as prizes for online chess. If he doesn't succeed in rebranding chess in the next five years, the Israeli business tycoon says, no one will for the next fifty. Interview.

Time to get started – with Playchess version 5

5/3/2010 – It’s here, and it’s better than ever: the new, free-for-download Playchess program brings all the special perks that only owners of the latest Fritz 12 previously enjoyed, as well as access to the numerous special options. Today we show you how to watch and play games. Download the Playchess software now and go through part two of our introductory instructions.

Norway, Albena submit Olympiad bids

5/3/2010 – The bids to host the 41st Chess Olympiad in 2014 were due on April 30, 2010. One came from the Arctic Circle town of Tromsø and carries a government guarantee of NOK 70 million (US $12 million). The other was a last-minute bid by the Bulgarian Chess Federation for the Black Sea town of Albena. Our report includes an interview with Morten Sand, international FIDE advisor. Who will win?

Florencio Campomanes dies at eighty-three

5/3/2010 – He was responsible for putting the Philippines on the chess world map, a player, organiser and teacher. In 1982 he was elected to the FIDE presidency and held the position for 13 years. As from 1995 he was Honorary President of FIDE and appeared in a ceremonious function at numerous events. "Campo", as his friends called him, passed away on 3 May, after a protracted bout with cancer. Eulogy.

Sofia R7: a nerve-shattering, blood-curdling draw

5/3/2010 – Once more the opening debate continued, and in a second consecutive game with Black, Topalov unleashed a hair-raising line, with only a blindfold rapid game to its credit, leading to a piece sacrifice for a slew of passed pawns. This was more heart-wrenching chess at its best as fans wondered as to the outcome. Full analysis and pictures will follow, here for now is our express report.

Kramnik wins President's Cup Baku on tiebreak

5/2/2010 – After a number of tough battles the rapid chess event in the capital of Azerbaijan finised with three players with 5.0/7 points – each with four wins and one loss. On tiebreak points Vladimir Kramnik came in first and picked up the trophy. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov came second and Gata Kamsky of the US was third. The draw average was a low 35%. Illustrated report.

Carlsen, Topalov and Kramnik, Anand separated by one point

5/1/2010 – Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian chess superhero, remains in place one in the FIDE May 1st world rankings. But Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria has closed the gap to a single point. The same applies to World Champion Vishy Anand, who is not just one point behind the third-placed Vladimir Kramnik. Two players in the list prove that marriage must not be detrimental to your ratings. May 2010 rankings.

World Championship G5 – commentary and impressions

5/1/2010 – IM Malcolm Pein, who has analysed the drawn but very interesting game five of the match, thinks Anand must be delighted, since "he has outplayed Topalov in every game bar the first." The Indian broadsheets are mainly concerned with the blackout at move 17, while bloggers are worried about "Elista-style shenanigans in Sofia". Game five addenda.

Sofia R6: Draw, Anand leads 3.5-2.5 at halftime

5/1/2010 – Today's game was unlike any other ever seen in World Championship history. It started off as a normal Catalan, with Topalov deviating from the previous line that had led him to disaster in game four. Then Anand produced a novelty that led to a middlegame pitting his knight pair against Black's bishop pair, and spurred off into a unique sequence of thirteen consecutive knight moves! Express report.

Did you guess correctly? – It was Shakh Mamedyarov!

4/30/2010 – The most puzzling part was our contention that there were three GMs amongst his immediate siblings and that he had never succeeded in achieving an IM title. That's because he moved straight to GM by winning the 2003 World Junior Championship. And apart from him his sisters Zeinab and Turkan are women grandmaster. Since this week Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has his own web site.

White extra pawn versus bishop pair...

4/30/2010 – ... was the constellation in this game, where Black just had played 28...Bg5 targetting the weak spot on e3. What do you think, which assessment is valid in this situation?
A) White has the advantage, but the realization of his plus pawn is difficult;
B) he can win instantly;
C) the position is balanced;

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