Amber: Carlsen and Ivanchuk win 19th Amber

3/26/2010 – The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament has ended in an overall victory for Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and Ukraine’s Vasily Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk caught up with the leading Carlsen in the final round thanks to a 1½-½ victory over Boris Gelfand, while Magnus shared the points with Alexander Grischuk with one win apiece. Big pictorial report with some really cool Google imagery of Nice.

A rook on the seventh rank...

3/25/2010 – ... usually is of enormous power. In this endgame, however, its range there is pretty 'short'. White's last move was 40.g5-g6, whereupon Black had to evaluate the consequences of 40...Nxg6 41.Rxd7 Nh4+ 42.Kg3 Nxf3 43.Kxf3 Kf8. What do you think about it?
A) good idea, Black traps the rook on d7;
B) a return sac leads to equal chances;
C) White wins.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Amber: Carlsen back on top with one round to go

3/25/2010 – In round ten Magnus Carlsen reclaimed first place in the overall standings with a 2-0 win over Ruslan Ponomariov. With one round and two games to go, the Norwegian grandmaster is half a point ahead of Vasily Ivanchuk and one and a half points ahead of Vladimir Kramnik. Ivanchuk and Kramnik drew their mini-match today after two hard-fought games. Round ten report.

FIDE Elections: Turkish Chess Federation supports Ilyumzhinov

3/25/2010 – During the 39th Chess Olympiad, which takes place in September in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, the elections for FIDE President will be held. Two candidates are running: the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov seeking reelection, and a challenger, the twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov. The Turkish Chess Federation has announced its support for the former. Press release.

Like to help Chess Movie get off the ground?

3/24/2010 – Over the last two years Katie Dellamaggiore has been producing and directing a documentary about scholastic chess with her company Rescued Media. Her ultimate goal: to secure a television broadcast for Chess Movie and a small theatrical release. Requirement: pledges pledges must total at least $4,000 by April 25. You can watch a five-minute teaser and back the project.

Amber: Carlsen closes in on tournament leader Ivanchuk

3/24/2010 – Vasily Ivanchuk defended first place in the overall standings with two draws against Vugar Gashimov. With two rounds and four games to go the Ukrainian grandmaster has a half-point lead over Magnus Carlsen, who defeated Leinier Dominguez of Cuba 1½-½. Vladimir Kramnik also improved his position, moving into third place, which he shares with Alexander Grischuk. Round nine report.

IM/WGM Elena Tairova passes away at eighteen

3/24/2010 – Very sad news from Russia: the talented young player Elena Tairova, born on August 28 1991, has died at the age of just 18. Elena became a WGM at just 14 years of age, and a full IM the following year. She won a succession of European and World girls’ junior titles, and in 2006 was the Russian women’s under-20 champion. We offer our deepest condolences to her family and friends.

Baklan wins Hypercube Blitz in Utrecht

3/23/2010 – This popular blitz tournament was held in the National Mindsport Centre in the Dutch town of Utrecht for the eleventh time this year. The event was won by top seed Vladimir Baklan of Ukraine, who beat all GMs, drew four games and lost two – against talented Dutch youngsters. The most colorful figure was GM Vladimir Epishin, who played in coat and cap. Big pictorial report by Fred Lucas.

Technique in rook endings

3/23/2010 – In rook endings tiny subtleties are often what decides between victory and a draw. This position from the game Heinig-Prusikin from the German Championship is a good example of this. Should White, to move, immediately go for a clearing up of the situation with 50.h4 gxh4 51.Rxh4 or does he have a better continuation? What do you think? As usual on ChessBase Magazine Online, you will find analysis by our endgames expert Karsten Müller and in addition there is a reader's comment on the previous week's endgame Lubbe-Huschenbeth.
ChessBase Magazine Online.

Amber: Kramnik defeats Carlsen, Ivanchuk retains the lead

3/22/2010 – Magnus Carlsen lost a key encounter with Vladimir Kramnik ½-1½, and actually couldn’t complain that he didn’t lose both games. Kramnik moved up to joint third place with Boris Gelfand, only half a point behind Carlsen. Vasily Ivanchuk retained first place in the overall standings. Monday is a free day. Europe Echecs interviewed Kramnik on the Anand-Topalov match in Sofia. Round eight report.

Merci, Nigel

3/21/2010 – Did you know that when White plays 5.Nf3 in the French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7) that indicates he is going to play against Black’s “hanging pawns” on e6 and d5? It is strategical knowledge of this kind that Nigel Davies presents on his new DVD on the French Defence. Bob Long has gone through the entire course and regards it 'the most useful DVD I have seen in a long time'. Buy it now or read Bobs review with sampler.

Amber: Carlsen scores a fourth 2-0 knock-out

3/20/2010 – Apparently nothing can stop the world's highest-ranked player. In round six of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament Magnus Carlsen dispatched Boris Gelfand, who had won his four previous games, with a 2-0 score. Carlsen is now alone in the lead. Dutch GM Jan Smeets won his first game in Nice – against Vladimir Kramnik in blindfold. Round six report with video interviews.

Rijeka: Medals, statistics and quotes

3/20/2010 – In our previous report we gave you the gold medal winners of the European Championship. On Thursday the silver and bronze medals in the open and womens groups were played out. The statistics of the event are impressive: 566 players from 41 countries, 440 players with titles, 196 of them grandmasters. Of the 3,078 games 2,088 or 68% were decisive, only 32% drawn. Final report.

Amber: Gashimov beats Carlsen, Ivanchuk leads

3/20/2010 – Vasily ‘Mr Amber’ Ivanchuk once again back in the sole lead. The Ukrainian beat Alexander Grischuk 1.5:0.5, while his main rival, Magnus Carlsen, lost 0.5:1.5 to Azeri GM Vugar Gashimov. Sergey Karjakin scored 2-0 against his compatriot Ruslan Ponomariov, while Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian shared the points with a win each. Round seven report.

Pocket Fritz 4: Full ahead!

3/19/2010 – To play and to analyze – those are the most important element in a chess program. To this respect, Pocket Fritz 4 provides a real thoroughbred, not just a bean counter. But don't be afraid: you don't need a special training course to run this beast. Everything is very easy, with a pleasant and intuitive interface. To study and to have fun, Pocket Fritz 4 offers you versatility and power.

Killerladies

3/19/2010 – Passed pawn versus kingside attack was the theme of this game from the European Women's Championship, where mighty batteries had been erected in the c and g-file. White is to play – which move would you recommend to her now?
A) 34.c8Q
B) 34.Kxh3
C) 34.gxh3

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

Rijeka: Nepomniachtchi, Cramling European champions

3/18/2010 – The European Championship ended with a bang, not a whimper, with great games on the top boards. Open section leader nineteen-year-old Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi was victorious against Armenian GM Vladimir Akopian. He took the title alone and with a 2868 performance. Swedish GM Pia Cramling defeated IM Viktorija Cmilyte to become Women's champion. Final report.

Amber: Carlsen's winning streak ends after seven games

3/18/2010 – It must surely be a record: seven wins in a row for the Norwegian super-talent Magnus Carlsen. But he was stopped by a defeat at the hands of Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine. Boris Gelfand, Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler all scored 2-0 wins, while Vassily Ivanchuk celebrated his 41st birthday by regaining the overall lead at the Amber tournament. Round five report.

ChessBase show: Miles vs Karpov, the clash of styles (2)

3/17/2010 – In last week's Playchess by Dennis Monokroussos presentation we saw Tony Miles play the funny 1.c4 b6 2.d4 e6 3.d5 Qh4 against Anatoly Karpov, with the then-world champion eventually winning. This week, in part two, Miles plays the even more provocative 1.e4 a6! and wins the game with confident ease. The lecture is at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night – watch out for daylight saving time changes.

Amber: Carlsen continues with sixth victory in succession

3/17/2010 – This is a real Rambo-style comeback: after the shock 0-2 loss in round one Magnus Carlsen has won six games in a row, and caught the leading Vassily Ivanchuk in the overall score. Israeli GM Boris Gelfand shocked former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik with a 2-0 wipe-out. Gelfand and Grischuk are now a point behind the leaders. Wednesday is a free day. Round four report.

The Fantasy Variation under discussion

3/17/2010 – In CBM 133 Sergey Erenburg recommended a setup with 3...e6 against the Fantasy Variation 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3. In CBM 134 Lars Schandorff followed up with 3...dxe4, a recommendation for Caro-Kann players who do not like the "French"-type structures after 3...e6 and prefer a free development of their c8-bishop. Our reader Marcus Schmücker took the article by Lars Schandorff as a starting point to delve deeper into the material and to look for alternatives for White. His interesting suggestion after 3... dxe4 4.fxe4 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Bc4 Nd7 goes 7.c3!? (7.0-0 was analysed by Schandorff). ChessBase Magazine Online.

Rijeka: Nepomniachtchi, Cmilyte take the sole lead

3/16/2010 – Tournament leader Baadur Jobava beat top seed Zoltan Almasi, but then lost to nineteen-year-old Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is now in the sole lead. In the women's section Polish GM Monika Socko lost her game and the lead to Lithuanian IM Viktorija Cmilyte. There are some interesting news tidbits from Silvio Danailov in the Europe Echecs video interviews by GM Robert Fontaine.

Amber: Carlsen back in business, with second 2-0 victory

3/16/2010 – The third round started with a misunderstanding: Magnus Carlsen wanted to key in a move in the blindfold game but found 1.e4 already on the screen for his opponent Peter Svidler. Magnus did not know he had black! But never mind, after a shot of orange juice he went on to demolish Svidler 2-0. Aronian also did a 2-0 round against Jan Smeets. Ivanchuk leads overall. Round three report.

Domination by the bishop

3/16/2010 – 18-year-old Niclas Huschenbeth showed great fighting spirit in coming from number 16 in the starting list to take the German championship title. Karsten Müller has selected and analysed one of the endgames of the new champion for ChessBase Magazine Online. This endgame is further proof that the young player from Hamburg prefers to fight out his games till the very last minute since during the tournament he turned down six offers of draws from his opponents. Here too he scored the full point with black, although White had drawing chances. But at the end of the game the domination by the bishop can be seen clearly.