Rijeka: Special report – Women's group

3/14/2010 – We have been reporting quite extensively on the European Individual Championships, but contrary to urban legend we have been neglecting the female players. After the first seven rounds it is time to make amends. We do so with a look at a number of games, we offer you some tactical puzzles, and bring you a large number of uncaptioned pictures – and ask you to identify the players.

A splendid fighting game...

3/13/2010 – ... with an amazing final was played between Michal Krasenkow und Baadur Jobava in the 4th round of the European Individual Championship in the Croatian town of Rijeka. Here White had just attacked the black Nd5 for the third time with 33.Qg2. How would you assess the situation now?
A) the battery in the d-file decides for White; B) a clever unpinning trick leads to an endgame with a minus exchange for Black, but a likely draw. C) the second player wins.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Karpov to run for FIDE President

3/13/2010 – Fifteen years ago Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov was elected President of the World Chess Organisation. At the next election during the General Assembly of the FIDE Congress, which will be held during the 39th Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk in September this year, he faces a challenge by former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Press release.

Rijeka: No change in the lead

3/13/2010 – Round seven saw no changes in the rankings prior to the rest day on Saturday, with draws on no fewer than the eight top boards. Though the tendency would be to write they “ended with a peaceful result”, that would be a very inadequate description for all the games except for Almasi-Nepomniachtchi, which did indeed end shortly after it started. Report with pictures of the Zemat Sport Center.

Amber 2010: Let the games begin

3/13/2010 – The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament begins today, with the first games at 2:30 p.m. EST (4:40 Moscow, 1:30 London, 8:30 a.m. New York) The participants include Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk (who jumped in for Alexander Morozevich), Peter Svidler, Boris Gelfand, and others. Watch the live action on the official site and on Playchess.

Karpov on his FIDE presidential campaign

3/13/2010 – Yesterday the twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov announced that he was running for FIDE President. Today he addressed the extraordinary meeting of the European Chess Union (ECU), which was meeting during the European Individual Championship in Rijeka. Karpov had hash words for the current FIDE leadership and outlined his own program for change in FIDE. Video interview by Europe Echecs.

Did you guess who the (future) grandmaster was?

3/12/2010 – A week ago we published a picture of a very young chess player who was destined to become a world class grandmaster. Most of our readers guessed instantly who it was – especially the lips gave him away. But going through the clues we unhelpfully provided, readers had many a doubt created in their minds. Read about it in our feedback and find out what Nigel Short was doing in Hamburg.

Rijeka: Two ahead, two behind, and the masked rider

3/12/2010 – No one was spared on the top boards in the European Championship, and exciting, uncompromising games were the result, to the delight of chess fans. Both top boards featuring Efimenko and Jobava against Nisipeanu and Timofeev leave two ahead and two playing catch-up. Also find out about the untitled Belarussian who is +1 against 2600+ competition. Round six report.

The fortress breaker

3/11/2010 – It is frequently anything but easy to make the material superiority of a rook over a bishop tell when all the pawns are on one side of the board. Last month we showed you a game with reduced material in which zugzwang brought about the decision. Today we follow that with an example with more pawns, in which White has to find access to a black fortress that is hard one to storm. The siege had already lasted for over twenty moves before White turned to radical measures with 55.f5!? GM Karsten Müller demonstrates how the game was decided and what additional defensive resources Black had. ChessBase Magazine Online.

Rijeka: Jobava, Efimenko lead, zero tolerance appeal

3/10/2010 – Currently the FIDE rules require that players must be seated at the board no later than zero seconds past the scheduled start of a game. This has led to some unpleasant situations in the past. At the 11th European Individual Championships 110 participants signed a petition to change the grace period to 30 minutes. In the tournament Baadur Jobava and Zaher Efimenko lead. Round four report.

ChessBase show: Miles vs Karpov, the clash of styles

3/10/2010 – Britain's first ever grandmaster, the late Anthony John Miles, was not just strong but also extremely creative. When this fiery player clashed with Anatoly Karpov, it was pure provocation facing ice-cold strategy. In his Playchess presentation Dennis Monokroussos shows us Karpov succeeding – next week it will be Miles taking down his illustrious opponent. Be there at 9 p.m. ET.

Postny wins Nancy Chess Festival Group A

3/10/2010 – 168 players took part in the biggest chess festival of closed tournaments in France, with seventeen groups, from the A Group (ten players, average 2526 Elo) all the way to the last group with an average Elo of about 1300. Israeli GM Evgeny Postny won first place with 6.0/9. The venue, the “Conseil General”, is normally reserved for local government meetings. IM Christophe Philippe reports.

11th European Individual Championships in Rijeka

3/8/2010 – This event is taking place from March 6th to 18th 2010 in Rijeka, Croatia. Top players include Almasi, Bacrot, Movsesian, Navara, Vallejo, Motylev, Adams, Tomashevsky, Alekseev, Baadur, Naiditsch, Akopian, Volokitin, Bologan and Caruana. After two rounds 34 players have perfect scores, in the women's section it is 17. The venue is spectacular: see if you can read its name from space.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (37)

3/8/2010 – At the New York, 1889 tournament a master lost a game by forfeit after only eight moves because he was, in the words of a newspaper report, ‘laboring under excitement’. The Editor of Chess Notes looks at three great players with reputations for heavy dependency on alcohol, examining how they have been treated by contemporaries and subsequent writers.

Can you guess who this (future) grandmaster is?

3/6/2010 – Here's another puzzle from our early-pictures scrapbook: who is the child in this photo? He was a boy prodigy, who at the sensational age of nineteen became the youngest grandmaster in the world. He has beaten twelve world champions. He lives in Europe and unlike his compatriots speaks flawless English. In our report we provide you with a few more or less helpful clues.

The World Champion at work...

3/5/2010 – ... the German chess fans had the pleasure of watching at the last Bundesliga weekend in Heidelberg, when Vishy Anand's club OSG Baden-Baden had to acknowledge their first defeat of the season versus title contender Werder Bremen. This is his white game from Sunday. How would you assess the situation after 23...Qxe5? A) White is in trouble since the bishop f7 can't move; B) this piece can be unpinned, but Black has no problems whatsoever; C) White wins by force.

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

Richárd Rapport – grandmaster at thirteen

3/5/2010 – Actually at thirteen years and eleven months, but still according to our calculations the fifth youngest player in history to gain the title. Richárd did it in spite of a last-round loss to chess legend Lajos Portisch, who is almost 60 years older than the lad. The tournament was held in Hungary and was won by Alexander Beliavsky. Congratulations to the new GM.

Werder Bremen catches Baden-Baden in the Bundesliga

3/3/2010 – The German Bundesliga is the strongest team championship in the world. Just look at the names: Anand, Svidler, Gashimov, Mamedayrov, Shirov, Adams (playing on board six!). In round ten the champions OSG Baden-Baden faced the ambitious team of Werder Bremen, who snatched a surprise victory to catch the leaders on match points. There are four rounds left to play. Report and games.

A rook full of tricks

3/3/2010 – Okay, the analysis of last week's endgame set you a pretty hard task. But since you are really up to speed on this material, there is an equally hard one for you this week.

After 72...Rb4+ (diagram) White had an important decision to take in the game Romanov-Vescovi: should he move his king aside to g5, in order to advance his h-pawn as quickly as possible, or is perhaps 73.Kh3 the better choice? Work out both variations – but be warned: there are all sorts of hidden tricks!

ChessBase show: Sokolov, Speelman, and the Icelandic Gambit

3/3/2010 – When former multiple world championship candidates collide what can you expect? The fun Icelandic Gambit, that's what. It goes 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 e6 and is not entirely sound. But as Dennis Monokroussos explains in his Playchess presentation, if it worked against a player who was once #3 in the world, it could also work in your local club. 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night.

Chess legend Bent Larsen turns 75

3/3/2010 – An all-time great of chess, Bent Larsen, was born on March 4th, 1935. He is the greatest chess player of Denmark, and the strongest ever Scandinavian (before Magnus Carlsen). As a world top ten GM he beat many legendary world champions and was greatly feared by the Soviet chess hegemony. Today Bent turns 75. We have some remarkable contemporary and historical pictures.

Goals met – Kasparov and Carlsen's new strategy

3/3/2010 – The cooperation between Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest chess player in history, and Magnus Carlsen, one of its greatest talents, began early last year. The results came faster than anyone had expected: Magnus was number one in the last two world rankings. Now the work between the two takes a new direction, with Magnus making all career decisions on his own. Press release.

Magnus Carlsen still number one

3/2/2010 – For the second time in succession the 19-year-old Norwegian has topped the list – his 2813 rating is the second-highest in the history of chess. Second is Veselin Topalov, third Vladimir Kramnik, who has overtaken World Champion Vishy Anand. Levon Aronian is fifth, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (+19 points) and Alexander Grischuk (+20) are now in places six and seven. Top rankings.

Opening surveys in CBM 134

3/1/2010 – The Albin Countergambit does not have a particularly good reputation, but since it is not an opening you have to face very often as White, a lot of players do not know how to achieve a safe advantage against it. This is above all the case after the main move 5.g3 when the switch to 5...Nge7 (from the previoulsy more usual 5...Bg4) means that it is no longer so clear how White can point to any opening advantage. Simple solutions are wanted and they are provided by GM Dorian Rogozenco with his repertoire for White based on the move 5.Nbd2. Here is the complete article, one of 12 in CBM 134. Read Rogozenco: Albin with 5.Nbd2.