Jermuk GP: Dzagnidze wins again, 2948 performance

7/3/2010 – GM Nana Dzagnidze has done it yet again: she beat her main rival Lilit Mkrtchian, with the black pieces, to maintain her 1.5 point lead, now ahead of Tatiana Kosentseva. Meanwhile an eerie silence has descended over Europe. The streets are empty. Everybody watching round nine in Jermuk? No, the football World Cup in South Africa. We have a 2024 star and some soccer jests.

Magnus' mighty rooks

7/3/2010 – In the Kings Tournament Magnus Carlsen was once more very convincing, winning majestically with a lead of two points. The position Carlsen- Radjabov is taken from their seventh round game. In this ending, Black, whose move it is, has to be very careful about the safety of his king, because Carlsen's rooks occupy threatening posts. At the same time the final black pawn is under attack and the question is whether it should be defended with 45...Rg4 or 45...Ra2. Which of these two moves would you recommend Black to play? Analysis by GM Karsten Müller on ChessBase Magazine Online.

Five-star chess tournament in Marrakech

7/2/2010 – The 1st International Tournament of Marrakech took place from June 25th to July 1st, and with a generous prize-fund, held in a five-star hotel, 140 players came from 25 countries to enjoy chess in utopic conditions. GM Andrei Shchekachev took home 4000 Euros after edging GM Georg Meier by tiebreak. Complete illustrated report.

Jermuk GP: Dzagnidze leads with a 2923 performance

7/2/2010 – 23-year-old Nana Dzagnidze is unstoppable. In round seven of the Women's Grand Prix she won her sixth game, the fourth full point in succession. Her 6.5/7 score in this event would be normal for a player rated 2923. The Georgian GM now leads with 1.5 points (ahead of Mkrtchian and Kosintseva). We bring you games, results and beautiful free day pictures by Arman Karakhanyan.

Dzagnidze extends her leads in Jermuk

7/1/2010 – Georgian GM Nana Dzagnidze, 23 years old, has won three games in succession and now leads the field in the Women Grand Prix by a full point. Lilit Mrktchian of Armenia has taken second place, previously occupied by Tatiana Kosintseva. After losing her first two games top seed Hou Yifan has scored 3.5/4 to edge her way towards the top. The Chinese GM has a magic potion.

FIDE ratings July 2010: Carlsen with record 2826

7/1/2010 – Magnus Carlsen, 19-year-old GM from Norway has gained 13 points and is now 23 points ahead of the field. Topalov, Anand, Kramnik and Aronian occupy the next four places. Only one player in history has ever been rated higher than Magnus: Garry Kasparov, who peaked at 2851 exactly eleven years ago. We bring you a historical list of top ratings together with the July 2010 FIDE lists.

1st Danzhou Hainan Tournament 2010

7/1/2010 – In an example of the growing chess community in China, the 1st Danzhou Tournament was held in the city Danzhou, in Hainan province, China. The all-grandmaster event brought in a mix of top talent ranging from the experienced pros to the budding stars. Top pro Bu Xiangzhi outlasted his competition to take it by tie-break with 6.0/9 over Li Chao. 18-year-old Ding Liren came in third.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (42)

6/30/2010 – Shockingly, there are chess writers and publishers who copy the work of others. As the Editor of Chess Notes shows, the copying may include large-scale reproduction of positions, plagiarism of text and, even, removing the real author’s name and putting someone else’s. Readers may have to rub their eyes, but in our beloved chess world all this has really happened.

Karpov Announces FIDE Presidential Ticket

6/30/2010 – Three weeks ago we reported on the electoral ticket of the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Today we received details on challenger Anatoly Karpov's ticket. "I think everyone will agree that we have put together a very talented team," he wrote. In fact the paperwork was submitted to the Athens office of FIDE by what must be the strongest courier in chess history.

Learning by viewing

6/30/2010 – Nigel Short's new DVD "Greatest Hits vol. 2" like his first one is far more than a mere playback of the best games of his career. Other than with classical opening or middlegame DVDs you will learn new strategies and motifs en passant because it is "both instruction and fun", as Michael Jeffrey put it in his review. Buy Greatest Hits vol. 2 now or read more.

Big Think Interview with Anatoly Karpov

6/29/2010 – Big Think is a global forum connecting people and ideas. The site has conducted long video interviews with close to a thousand thought leaders, from Nobel Prize winning scientists to award-winning novelists. Anatoly Karpov is the first chess player to appear on BigThink.com. He spoke to our colleague Paul Hoffman. You can watch the interview in full or in parts.

Candidates for the forthcoming FIDE elections

6/29/2010 – The applications had to be in by June 28th, and two candidates met the deadline: the incumbent FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, nominated by Russia, Argentina and Mexico; and challenger Anatoly Karpov, nominated by France, Germany and Switzerland. On Tuesday FIDE published the list of candidates for Continental Presidents as well. Announcement.

Round table: how to make the game of chess more popular

6/29/2010 – That was the subject of discussion at a conference held in Odessa, Ukraine, at the end of May. For the first time a meaningful dialog had been initiated between chess players, their managers, FIDE and the Association of Chess Professionals. The Round Table was initiated and moderated by Olena Boytsun, executive secretary of the ACP, who sent us this report.

Lawrence Trent's Two Knights Defence

6/28/2010 – "There are two kinds of opening works," FM Dennis Monokroussos writes, "honest ones and dishonest ones. The latter feature a great deal of cheerleading in place of careful analysis." Dennis was pleasantly surprised to see IM Lawrence Trent's Fritz Trainer DVD contains no rah-rah spiel promoting the virtues of the opening, but honest, eminently practical advice. Review.

The Rybka4 Book – a treasure trove for tournament players (Part 2)

6/28/2010 – A week ago we published an interview with Jiri Dufek, the author of this powerful and very useful openings book. Jiri told us how it was made and what it was useful for. The final question to him was: "Can you show us a few interesting novelties from the book?" His answer: "Sure…" Today he gives us a small sample of ideas and discoveries found in the Rybka4 book. Take a deep breath.

'Magnus Carlsen: King Among Chess Kings'

6/28/2010 – "Imagine," writes GM Lubomir Kavalek, "Usain Bolt, the fabulous Jamaican sprinter and world record-holder, running a 100 meter dash against the world's best contenders and winning by 20 meters. This is how the Norwegian chess superstar Magnus Carlsen dealt with the opposition at the elite Kings Tournament in Romania. Kavalek is especially enchanted by Magnus' use of the King's Gambit.

Dzagnidze leads in Jermuk

6/28/2010 – After winning three game in the first four rounds 23-year-old Georgian GM Nana Dzagnidze is in the lead with 3.5/4 and a 2800+ performance. She is followed by GM Tatiana Kosintseva, who is being assisted by her sister IM Nadezhda. 16-year-old Hou Yifan, who is the top ranked player in Jermuk, lost her first two games, but has struck back with two wins. Pictorial report.

FIDE Women Grand Prix in Jermuk

6/27/2010 – This high-class event with most of the top female players and a prize fund of € 40,000 is the fourth of six to be staged in different places during this and the coming year. New: the winner gets to challenge the women's world champion (when did this happen?). Three rounds have been played in the beautiful spa town Jermuk. We bring you a big pictorial report.

Medias R9: All games drawn, Carlsen lead ahead of Gelfand

6/25/2010 – On his 42nd birthday today Boris Gelfand had the advantage, but failed to convert it when his clock ran out of time. Magnus Carlsen didn't try another King's Gambit, but his opponent, Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu pulled a well-prepared Jaenisch on him and held him to a draw. On the free day there was another soccer match. We have pictures and a fairly radical proposal to improve football.

Two queens versus one...

6/25/2010 – ... was not saying too much in this game from this year's Polish Championship, since after all the greatest good in chess remains the king. What is your verdict on the sequence 46.Qf8+ Kh5 47.d8Q in this position?
A) win for White;
B) win for Black;
C) draw.

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

Medias R10: Magnus Carlsen wins with two-point lead

6/25/2010 – In all three games of the final round Black was victorious: Radjabov beat Gelfand, Ponomariov beat Nisipeanu and Carlsen beat Wang Yue. This left the youngest player with the highest rating two full points clear of the field, with an incredible 2918 performance. That translates to a FIDE rating of 2826, the second highest in chess history. Final report with commentary by Dorian Rogozenco.

Kavalek at Huffington: Even the Champions Get It Wrong

6/24/2010 – In chess one small slip can turn a winning advantage into a draw – or even a loss. Nobody is immune to blunders, not even the champions. That is a common theme in the excellent new book John Nunn's Chess Endings. The English grandmaster gives plenty of examples where the mighty falter. GM Lubomir Kavalek picks two positions for his HuffPost chess column. Solutions next week.

United engines – which one do I need?

6/24/2010 – What chess program is best suited for analysis? Rybka, Fritz, or Shredder? Is there any sense in using more than one of them? Bo Bredenhof is a correspondence chess player and experienced engine user for years. In his article at  chesscafe.com he tells us where each top programs has its strengths and where it fails to find the best move. His bottom line: united they stand strong.

Second chance: Women's Blitz Qualifier on Playchess

6/23/2010 – The first Women's World Blitz Championship is in Moscow from September 15 to 18, with a total prize fund of € 60,000. Two Online Qualifiers on the Playchess server allow five players each to qualify for the finals. The first was completed last Saturday, the second will be held on Thursday, June 24th at 19:00h (CEST). You can still make it. Results and details.