Giant slalom

12/3/2010 – Black's cornered king was already stalemated in this game from the recent Remco Heite Tournament, meaning that he had only to give both his rooks to achieve the desired half point. The sequence 39...Rf1+ 40.Kxf1 Rf2+ leads to
A) victory for White;
B) draw;
C) victory for Black (just kidding).

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

Flanking and bodychecks

12/2/2010 – Did you know that you can follow our ChessBase Magazine Blog on this special index page, which lists all columns? There is a permanent link to it on the left of our main news page. In the CBM Blog extraordinary experts keep you briefed on games and occurrences in recent days and weeks. Like the endgame on the left, in which it is Black to move. He is fighting for a draw with bishop and king against the pair of white passed pawns (g4,h4). In the game, the pawns outran him. Now it is your turn to try and find the narrow path to safety. CBM endgame expert GM Dr Karsten Müller has analysed the ending for ChessBase Magazine Online.

Dan Dzo wins 6th Femida Chess Tournament

12/2/2010 – The winners of this team tournament, staged at the National Law Academy in Kharkov, Ukraine, was won by a team with the catchy name of A DAN DZO-PGMB from Chernigov. Their top board, Baadur Jobova, scored 3.0/3. The event is aptly named after Femida, Goddess of the Justice. Big illustrated report by Anastasiya Karlovich.

Kavalek at Huffington: The man with too much chess talent

12/2/2010 – Dragoljub Velimirovic used to be one of the most feared attackers in the world, always looking for the impossible. His imaginative play was compared to the colorful world champion Mikhail Tal's razzle-dazzle. His playing style was unique, daring and often falling off the edge. He made risky moves and so many of them that you wondered how much punishment his chess pieces could take. Latest column.

Chess conference with Peter Svidler

12/2/2010 – "Peter Svidler is the black sheep of contemporary chess – original in every way. Which other Russian player is keen on cricket, prefers English to Russian, doesn’t consider Leo Tolstoy a great writer, resigns in drawn positions and plays billiards masterfully? Only Peter." That is the assessment of Sergey Shipov, who published this 'chess conference' on the Russian news portal Crestbook.

All you ever wanted to know about Kirsan...

12/1/2010 – ... and then some. The New York Times was approached by the President of the World Chess Federation, who offered to answer readers’ questions. The result is a giant three-part Q+A which deals with all aspects of Ilyumzhinov's career and work, including the perennial question about alien abduction and the galactic origin of chess. Turns out he will be publishing a book on the subject.

McShane wins Third Remco Heite

11/30/2010 – It is known as "the tournament with the horse": there is a giant one of the Trojan variety to be seen at the location in the Dutch city of Wolvega, and the first prize includes a live horse – theoretically. Actually the winner gets, in addition to his prize money, a check that allows a local charity to buy a horse for its equestrian therapy. This year's tournament was won by English GM Luke McShane. Report.

Snowdrops beat Oldhands 18:14 in Marienbad

11/30/2010 – Victory came with the penultimate round, which the young female talents won 3:1. It mattered not that the legendary veterans could score a revenge 3:1 in the final round. The young ladies took the match by four points. Humpy Koneru was the top player with 6.0/8 points, Vlastimil Hort the top male with 5.0/8. We bring you a final illustrated report with pictures and portraits of the players.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (52)

11/29/2010 – In 1975 Bobby Fischer filed a $20,000,000 libel suit over a book by Brad Darrach on the 1972 Spassky v Fischer world title match in Iceland. What were the rights and wrongs of the affair? The Editor of Chess Notes examines the coverage of the time, which is highly revealing about the individual reviewers and commentators, quite apart from the insights provided into Fischer and Darrach themselves.

The Sunday treat: Garry at Google

11/28/2010 – Yes, we know: nobody watches videos – certainly not long chess reports. But this is an exception. Take an hour off and follow this discussion with Garry Kasparov in the unique Googleplex environment. The former World Champion touches on a number of interesting topics: man and machine, talent, courage for risk, politics in Russia. Watch it in HQ Google video.

30th Leiden Computer Chess: Rybka on 260 cores wins

11/28/2010 – The Open Dutch Computer Chess Championship, celebrating its 30th edition, is one of the cornerstones in the highest echelons of computer chess competitions. This year, it included no fewer than three supercomputers, with massive clusters of hundreds of cores that can compute in less than an hour what a desktop would need several days and nights. Here is the report on this super chess.

Alisa Galliamova wins Russian Women's Superfinal

11/28/2010 – The Russian Women's Superfinal had seen no fewer than three outright leaders, and by round 6 it was the turn of 17-year-old Nazi Paikidze. However, a fierce burst by the reigning champion Alisa Galliamova, with four straight wins, changed this, and it seemed hers. Again, nothing was as it appeared, and nerves were the deciding factor in the final stretch. Illustrated report of a thrilling event.

Austrian Attack

11/26/2010 – No fewer than two rooks the first player had invested in this recent game from the Austrian Bundesliga to get to grips with the black king. How would you assess the situation after the last move 26...Nc1-d3? White's attack...
A) ...results in perpetual check.
B) ...leads to mate by force.
C) ...is finished, Black's material advantage prevails.

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

Snowdrops increase their lead in Marienbad

11/26/2010 – Snow has come to Mariánské Lázne, tons of it, and the Snowdrops are apparently thriving. They lead the Oldhands by 14:10. The event is extraordinary: in the last three rounds, the subject of this report, there was one single draw. Best player with 4.5/6 is GM Humpy Koneru, the only undefeated player Vlastimil Hort. Big illustrated report with beautiful pictures by Vladimir Jagr.

Ilyumzhinov defends Yazici, Turkish Chess Federation

11/26/2010 – Yesterday we reported on allegations that the TCF may have bought votes to support their 2012 Olympiad bid. The New York Times said that the FIDE President was "looking into it". Today Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has come out in strong support of TCF President Ali Nihat Yazici: "As long as I am the President of FIDE, nobody may take away the 40th Chess Olympiad from Istanbul." Press release.

Did Turkey buy votes for the 2012 Olympiad?

11/25/2010 – The New York Times has come out with a piece implying that the Turkish Chess Federation paid voters to help win the bid to host the 2012 Chess Olympiad. The TCF President Ali Nihat Yazici says not a penny was paid and that this "scandal", which comes just 72 hours before an important TCF Financial Assembly, is an attempt by his rivals to unseat him by undemocratic means.

Simul and lectures by Nigel Short

11/24/2010 – Last week Nigel Short, the former World Championship challenger, visited the Ottawa RA Chess Club in Canada to give a lecture and play a simul. The jury is out on which was the more entertaining. John Upper summarizes the hightlights of the former and provides us with a number of interesting positions from the latter. Judge for yourself.

Russian Women's Superfinal: Nazi Paikidze leads

11/24/2010 – The Russian Women's Superfinal is underway, and can be seen as a preview for the upcoming Women's World Championship, as all of the prominent Russian players are in both. The tournament is extremely hard-fought, the lead having changed hands several times. Nadezhda Kosintseva started well, but faltered, and the 17-year-old Paikidze is sole leader. Pictorial report by Anna Burtasova.

Radjabov: And what if tomorrow Carlsen changes his mind?

11/24/2010 – FIDE has just announced the dates for the Candidates matches in Kazan, Russia (3 to 27 May 2011), but leave the replacement of Carlsen by Grischuk as a dangling hypothetical. If it materializes then the pairings change quite dramatically. In a long and eloquent interview conducted during the Blitz World Championship Teimour Radjabov speaks his mind.

Aeroflot Open – tenth anniversary edition in February 2011

11/24/2010 – The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, one of the most popular tournaments in the world, will be held for the tenth time running, from 7 to 19 February 2011. It is open to chess players of most varied qualification: from unrated to GMs. The total prize fund is 160,000 Euros, and it includes qualification places for the Super Tournament in Dortmund and the World Blitz Championship 2011. Register now!

Snowdrops lead Oldhands 7.5-4.5 in Marienbad

11/23/2010 – That's Marianske Lazne in Czech, and it is where once a year a rising generation of female chess players faces a team of chess legends of the 20th century. They are represented by Portisch, Hort, Velimirovic and Uhlman, while the ladies are Humpy, Cmilyte, Caoili and Olsarova. They were tied after two rounds but the Oldies took a thumping in the third. Illustrated report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (51)

11/22/2010 – The Editor of Chess Notes points out that writers of opening monographs often simply ignore the detailed work of theoreticians from bygone years. Taking Alekhine’s Defence as an example, he gives many references to forgotten articles published in magazines up to the middle of the twentieth century, including analysis by such luminaries as Réti and Grünfeld. A salutary lesson.

For a plus pawn...

11/22/2010 – ... one must be able to take something, the second player had thought here liquidating White's passed pawn with 25...Bb5xc6, which was of course followed by 26.Rb1-e1 whereupon all black pieces were directly or indirectly attacked. How would you assess the position now?
A) Black can favourably unpin;
B) no advantage, but the strong b-pawn guarantees Black the draw;
C) Black ultimately loses a pieces.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

First Grand Chess Festival by UNAM in Mexico

11/21/2010 – The event is just huge and is a chess lover's dream come true. It is hosting the Ibero-American Championship, then there is a high-profile bonanza with 10-minute games with stars such as Topalov, Polgar, and Ivanchuk, plus simuls by Karpov and Kasparov, a huge outdoor chess art exhibition, lectures, a recreation of "The Turk", and a giant open. Plentiful pictorial by Nadja Wittmann.