10/2/2010 – On its last working day the FIDE General Assembly took a decision on the venue of the 41st World Chess Olympiad in 2014. There were two cities bidding to host the event – Albena in Bulgaria and Tromsø in Norway. The bidding procedure lasted several days, in the end the Norwegians won by a 95-47 vote margin. We have reported extensively on Tromsø – here's a summary.

10/1/2010 – One day after winning the bitterly contested election the old and new President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov held a reconciliation press conference with his opponent Anatoly Karpov, whom he offered the post of Vice President. Karpov, who had originally helped Ilyumzhinov into office, said that he was considering the offer but was not in "time trouble." His decision will be forthcoming. Election details.

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.

9/29/2010 – ... and the offside black queen were the factors optically speaking in White's favour in this position after 14...a5 from the first round of the Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. How would you assess the situation?
A) equality, Black always gets to counterattack the weak point d4 in time;
B) White wins the queen by force. 
C) he can start a crushing attack on the kingside.

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

9/28/2010 – He became China's 18th grandmaster at the age of 17, and is currently his country's highest ranked player – at 2732 number 16 in the world. Recently 23-year-old student Wang Yue won the World University Chess Championship 2010, an event that carried no prize money, by a clear two points. He spoke to the Swiss organisers about his plan to return to the top ten slot in the world rankings. Insight.

9/28/2010 – Usually, everybody pays attention only to the Presidential elections, but the FIDE Congress is not solely about elections. Currently, the 81st FIDE Congress is underway in Khanty-Mansiysk, and will last until October 2nd. Olena Boytsun, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, has been faithfully attending the meetings and has sent us this comprehensive report.

9/28/2010 – The world number one, who comments on his loss against Jobava, has been having a tough tournament, and lost again, this time against Adams after a very odd opening choice. On the other hand, Ivanchuk and Georgian GM Pantsulaia have had a perfect five in five start. Georgia, Armenia, and Ukraine lead the men, while the Russian women are in sole lead. Round six report with stats and analysis.