6/6/2010 – The first two games in final of the XXIII Ciudad de León Masters were drawn. Then Armenian GM Levon Aronian outplayed Boris Gelfand to take the lead. The Israeli struck back in game four to equalise, and blitz tiebreak games were required. Gelfand won them both to take victory in this "Advanced Chess" event. Final report.

6/4/2010 – Last weekend more than 200 people from the Sports Board and athletic federations in Norway met in Tromsø, Norway, to discuss sporting issues. To kick things off the world's highest ranked player, Magnus Carlsen, played an exhibition game – two minutes vs five minutes – against Norwegian soccer star Sigurd Rushfeldt. The event was carried on national TV.

6/4/2010 – "Sorry for this format of an open letter," writes GM Michal Krasenkow. "I am not against anyone and don't want to criticize anyone. However, I think the matter is extremely urgent." He is worried about special prizes being awarded at team competitions for individual performances. That, he believes, can completely ruin the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk.

6/4/2010 – Although only just out, Yasser Seirawan’s book Chess Duels (subtitled My Games with the World Champions) is already receiving rave reviews. It is choc-full of deeply-annotated games against the title-holders, with a wealth of stories and reflections. Learn more about Chess Duels from Seirawan himself, read an extensive excerpt, and find out how to obtain a personally inscribed copy.

6/3/2010 – The action on the chessboard is in the moves and chess players are eager to make them. But sometimes they would rather stay put, skip a move, go for a walk and never come back. The dreaded word "zugzwang" crosses their mind and they know they are in trouble. GM Lubomir Kavalek demonstrates three beautiful examples of zugzwang in chess problems. Solutions next week.

6/3/2010 – Everyone is well aware of the division of a game of chess into three phases: opening, middlegame and endgame. But there is also a so-called fourth phase, which occurs when both sides have promoted a passed pawn. In the rapid game Gurevich-Ivanchuk, played in the World Cup in Odessa, Ivanchuk chose after 58.Ke6 the continuation 58...Rxf6+, and the promotion of both pawns was imminent. What do you think? Was Ivanchuk's decision the correct one or was there a better continuation available to him?  As always, you will find the solution and the analysis by GM Karsten Müller on ChessBase Magazine Online.

6/3/2010 – Last week we published an article, submitted by the Corsican chess organiser Léo Battesti, which drew far-reaching conclusions from the statistics of rated players in different countries. The article was strongly criticised on the Ilyumzhinov campaign site. Now the French Chess Federation sent us its reply to this piece. Here are both articles and the feedback from our readers.

6/2/2010 – It was conducted before his successful World Championship defence, and affords some new insights into the life of India's sporting hero Viswanathan Anand, who touches on the important milestones in his chess career. The most enchanting bit: when Anand is joined by wife Aruna, who asks some of the questions. Like whether it was good for his career always being Mr Nice Guy...

6/2/2010 – With spectator numbers and gate receipts that would turn any chess organiser green with envy, with centers in Los Angeles, London, Berlin and Siberia, chess boxing is becoming a real success story. Recently in London a super-fit boxer managed to knock out his opponent just when he was about to be mated. You'll never guess whom director Iepe Rubingh has been trying to recruit.

6/1/2010 – For – would you believe it? – 23 years GM Lubomir Kavalek ran a respected and widely read chess column in the Washington Post. In 2007 the award-winning column was reduced and last year terminated. Thankfully Kavalek's retirement did not last long. Now the Huffington Post has snapped him up and we can expect extensive commentary every two weeks. Here's his first submission.

6/1/2010 – It is over five years since Kasparov’s dramatic announcement that he was giving up serious chess play. Such declarations, or intentions, are by no means rare, and the Editor of Chess Notes recalls a number of decisions, often surprising and mostly fleeting, by greats of the past: Botvinnik, Capablanca, Euwe, Fine, Harrwitz, Lasker, Marshall, Pillsbury and Steinitz. Retirement.

5/31/2010 – The Fourth ACP World Rapid Cup was a fast-paced event, with action and big surprises. Sergey Karjakin won it by a hair – in the final stages of the final Armageddon game. Around the event there were political meetings and discussions, the prize-giving, and a blindfold event for young Ukrainian talents. Our photographer WGM Anastasiya Karlovich sent us these impressions from Odessa.