Wijk 08: Kramnik beats Nakamura, Karjakin, Leko and Caruana win

1/24/2010 – Four white wins, one a fateful victory by Vladimir Kramnik over Hikaru Nakamura, left the former in equal 2nd/3rd place and demoted the latter to fourth. Alexei Shirov drew Magnus Carlsen to remain in the lead, by just half a point. Sergey Karjakin, Peter Leko and Fabiano Caruana won. In Group B Anish Giri scored again to lead the field by 1½ points. Big illustrated report from snow-covered Wijk.

A stunning exchange sacrifice...

1/24/2010 – ...in the Marshall Attack was unleashed by Peter Leko in the 4th round in Wijk aan Zee versus Lenier Dominguez. Playing black, here he was facing the question of whether it would be advisable to immediately occupy the long diagonal with 23...Bc6 despite the riposte 24.d5, blocking it with tempo. What do you think?
A) this wins for White;
B) Black prevails;
C) the position eventually remains balanced.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (35)

1/23/2010 – Just occasionally, the worlds of chess and murder have intersected: players of our game have become either killers or victims. In addition to links to his detailed coverage of the Wallace Murder Case and the fatal shooting of a Hastings stalwart, the Editor of Chess Notes provides citations regarding such figures as the Lipstick Killer, Moors Murderer and St Albans Poisoner.

Wijk 07: Nakamura beats Shirov, Carlsen beats Ivanchuk

1/23/2010 – Detractors had pointed out that Alexei Shirov's blistering 5.0/5 start was achieved without playing any of the tournament favourites. Today the Latvian GM encountered one, Hikaru Nakamura – and dropped the full point. Magnus Carlsen scored his third win, against Vassily Ivanchuk, who self-destructed on move eight. Nigel Short came tantalizing close to beating Vladimir Kramnik. Full report.

Wijk 06: Kramnik, Dominguez, Leko win, Short stops Shirov

1/22/2010 – At last: Nigel Short chose a favourite variation of the main line Spanish and held a comfortable draw against Alexei Shirov. The Spaniard is now at 5.5/6, with his performance rating at "just" 3094. With his second win Vladimir Kramnik has joined the follower group 1.5 points behind Shirov. In Group B it is Anish Giri and Group C Ray Robson who are dominating. Both are 15. Round six report.

The knight is a lousy defensive piece

1/22/2010 – When left on its own, a knight frequently has difficulties holding together one flank in problems. If the pawns are not occupying one of the few formations which suit it, it generally cannot manage the task. This motif underlies the piece sacrifice 35.Rxc4!? Rxc4 36.Nxc4 Kxc4 37.Ke4! - played in the game Lock-Webb from the Masters in Hastings - with which White set his opponent serious practical problems. How would you evaluate the resulting position? Can Black still hold the draw or will the white pawns triumph? GM Karsten Müller has analysed the position for Chess Base Magazine Online.

Bobby Fischer – The Career and Complete Games

1/21/2010 – Many books have been written about the American chess genius and world champion Bobby Fischer. But now there is a remarkable new one, by German GM Karsten Müller, whom you will know from his articles and multimedia lectures in ChessBase Magazine. This book contains almost 1000 Fischer games, all of them annotated by GM Müller – a monumental task. Interview with the author.

Wijk 05: Shirov beats van Wely, leads with 5.0/5

1/21/2010 – Can anything stop this man? A fifth consecutive win, with the black pieces against Loek van Wely, put Alexei Shirov a point and a half ahead of the field. Vladimir Kramnik scored his first victory in this tournament, while World Champion Vishy Anand is stuck at 50%. In Group B 15-year-old GM Anish Giri leads, as does 15-year-old GM Ray Robson in Group C. Big report with pictures by Fred Lucas.

Opening trap or not?

1/21/2010 – When Magnus Carlsen lost a pawn against Loek van Wely on his 10th move in well-known way, many might wondered whether he had not fallen into a familiar opening trap. After all, on the CD-ROM "1000 Opening Traps" the pawn loss was branded a mistake, and so far statistics clearly seemed to confirm this. Yet reportedly the Norwegian had followed a recommendation of Garry Kasparov, and it soon turned out that Black gets quite a lot for the pawn.
Buy "1000 Opening Traps" in shop anyway
Replay Van Wely - Carlsen with annotations

2010: The Year of the Haitian Tragedy

1/20/2010 – Daaim Shabazz met the Haitian chess team at the 2006 Olympiad – a genuine and enthusiastic group. They missed the Olympiad in 2008 because of a series of hurricanes. The country had a small, but thriving chess community before the earthquake struck. Since then Daaim has been unable to make contact with anyone in the Haitian chess community. An appeal for assistance.

FIDE World Blitz Championship Internet qualifier

1/19/2010 – A total of 445 players competed in the first qualifier for the FIDE Internet Championship, and tested the tournament software on the Playchess server to its limit. Everything went smoothly, and ten players have qualified for the final on January 30. The second qualifier is on Wednesday evening, the third on Saturday afternoon, with three more to follow. You can play in as many as you like.

Bisik-Bisik with Garry Kasparov – Part 1

1/19/2010 – Last year Garry Kasparov visited Asia – for the first time since the Philippines Olympiad in 1992. He was in India and in Malaysia, where our reporter Edwin Lam did a Q&A with him. Kasparov spoke engagingly and candidly about Asia, his early career as a chess player, his protégé Magnus Carlsen and his Chess Foundation in America. Not a line of blah in this interview. Must read.

Alexei Shirov: The Philidor Defence

1/19/2010 – He is a well-known firebrand in the chess world. In Wijk he is currently playing at a 3500 level. But Alexei Shirov is also a prolific chess teacher, and his ChessBase DVDs are amongst the most popular. Take for instance one of his latest, on the Philidor Defence, a surprise opening that can give rise to extreme open and closed positions. Shirov's treatment is reviewed by a field biologist in the Yukon.

To sacrifice or not to sacrifice?!

1/19/2010 – A complicated position arose during time trouble in Tomashevsky (2708) vs Fier (2653). The pawn structure leaves us in no doubt: it was a King's Indian. The sacrifice 35...Bxg4 is on the cards, but calculating through all the consequences accurately is hardly possible. What does your intuition tell you?
A) The sacrifice is unsound. Black does not get sufficient compensation.
B) The sacrifice is playable. The position remains balanced.
C) 35...Bxg4 decides the game in Black's favour.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Wijk 04: Ivanchuk beats van Wely, Shirov wins yet again

1/19/2010 – Vassily Ivanchuk needed 26 moves to finish off Loek van Wely. Magnus Carlsen had Nigel Short on the ropes, but let the British GM escape with a draw. Kramnik was in trouble against Tiviakov but survived. Alexei Shirov scored his fourth win in succession, to lead with a 4.0/4 score and a 3483 performance. You'd think that was a record, but he will have to win the next five games to do that. Curious?

ChessBase show: Colle against the Queen's Indian

1/19/2010 – Edgar Colle (1897–1932) was a Belgian chess who scored excellent results in world-class tournaments. He died tragically at the age of 34, and is mainly remembered for the Colle Opening System 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3. This, as Dennis Monokroussos relates in this week's Playchess lecture, was not what he was able to play in a beautiful game against Ernst Grünfeld. Be there at 9 p.m. EST.

Promise of greatness – Anish in Wijk

1/18/2010 – Shirov won two in a row, Carlsen and Nakamura drew first blood – those are the stories from the Super-GM in Wijk aan Zee. But there is something extraordinary in the B-Group: a 15-year-old has won his first two games, both in dashing style, to take the lead. According to a Dutch newspaper Anish Giri holds the "promise of greatness in Dutch chess". Special report.

A black day in Wijk – with blood on the floor

1/18/2010 – What a round: White lost no fewer than four games in the top group, without winning any. Alexei Shirov continued his storm in the Dutch resort with a third victory in succession, beating Tiviakov. Nakamura, Ivanchuk and Carlsen also won their black games (Garry Kasparov was pleased as Punch about his protégé's victory). Round three report with beautiful photos by Fred Lucas.

Wijk R02: Shirov, Nakamura and Carlsen win, Shirov leads

1/17/2010 – With the world's strongest kibitzer watching anxiously Magnus Carlsen pulled off his first win in the Super-GM in Wijk aan Zee, beating Dutch GM Jan Smeets in a tense 41-move game. Nakamura played an aggressive, exciting win over Loek van Wely, and Alexei Shirov scored a second full point against Fabiano Caruana. In Group B Anish Giri won a second game and leads. Full report.

'The best game of the last 20 years'...

1/16/2010 – ... Jan Timman wrote about this encounter between two absolute top grandmasters of the 70s and 80s. Here Black played 21...Bb5 and later succumbed in a remarkable attack. How would you assess the position after 21...Nxc7 instead?
A) The second player maintains his plus pawn without risk;
B) White gets the advantage;
C) the result is a draw by perpetual check.

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

Chessmile – orthodontic braces with a difference

1/16/2010 – What if you are a young chess fan – with crooked teeth? Braces is the answer, but now an orthodontic doctor has come up with a way to combine a healthy set of straight teeth with your love for the game. Chessmile offers braces in the form of chess pieces. You can set up endgames, puzzles and even checkmates. And this is the brainchild of? WIM Dr Carolina Blanco, that's who.

Wijk R01: Shirov, van Wely draw first blood

1/16/2010 – Loek van Wely, playing in Wijk an Zee for the 19th time is succession, started off with a fine text-book victory over Nigel Short, while Alexei Shirov, playing the black side of Ruy Lopez Moeller, punished Peter Leko's exchange sacrifice in a fine endgame performance. Live coverage with audio commentary is available on the Playchess server. Big pictorial report.

Wijk aan Zee: let the games begin

1/15/2010 – Just one more day without top-level chess. On Saturday the action starts, in the Dutch seaside town, with three incredibly strong invitationals. Friday was the opening ceremony and pairings, on Saturday we will see the first round at 13:30h local time. Live coverage is available on Playchess, with audio commentary by GMs Yasser Seirawan and Daniel King. Pictures and video report.

More about barriers

1/15/2010 – Our endgame blog started the New Year on the subject of barriers. Just a week later, we can offer you two more examples on this important theme. In Getz-O'Toole, played in the Masters in Hastings, White won in exemplary fashion with the help of a horizontal barrier. A vertical barrier could be seen in Sasikiran-Aronian, where a draw would have been the correct result. But the world class Armenian GM went wrong, allowing Sasikiran to win with flawless technique. Would you have found the correct move in the diagram? Black to play and draw! The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.