4/12/2010 – The 2009/10 German "Schachbundesliga" season ended with a victory for Baden-Baden, the team with the most stellar members (Anand, Carlsen, Svidler, Shirov, Bacrot, Movsesian, Adams, Naiditsch, etc.). They ended a point ahead of Werder Bremen and two above Solingen. It was the fifth consecutive title for Baden. The next season begins in October 2010. Final report.

4/12/2010 – One month ago Anatoly Karpov announced his candidacy for President of the World Chess Federation (elections in September). The former World Champion was nominated by the French and Swiss Federations. Now the President of the German Chess Federation, Robert von Weizsäcker, has come forward with a nomination and unanimous support. Press release and information.

4/11/2010 – ... was what Black had managed to achieve in this 140 year old classic, but now had to show that this was worth a full queen. What do you think, which assessment is true in this position?
A) the game ends in perpetual check;
B) the second player checkmates;
C) White's material advantage prevails.

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

4/10/2010 – Seriously: are we turning into a science blog? It could certainly look that way, after we published a story on April 1st on the Large Hadron Collider, and then a week later a follow-up with a proposed solution to the Fermi paradox by GM Yasser Seirawan. This in turn has generated a spate of new letters and messages from our readers. We share with you the most interesting speculations.

4/10/2010 – Not the catchiest of headlines, that – but the Russian teams aren't known for their pretty names. The Championships were played in three groups, the Premier, Higher and Women's Leagues. Sergey Karjakin and Alexander Riazantsev were the top performers amongst the men (2889 and 2885), while Viktorija Cmilyte shone with a 2700 performance amongst the women. Illustrated report.

4/9/2010 – The German Schachbundesliga, the strongest team championships in the world, ends with a shootout this weekend between three contenders, two of whom (Bremen and Solingen) will play each other, while the third, Baden-Baden, plays the fourth in the table. To get in the mood we bring you pictorial impressions of the previous round and a beautiful annotated win by the youngest player.

4/2/2010 – ... Black had spotted in this position when he went for 28...Bh3 to allow his c-rook to forcefully occupy the second rank while clearing the diagonal b6-g1. How would you assess the situation after the capture of the bishop?
A) Black wins; 
B) the position is balanced;
C) White gets the advantage.

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

4/2/2010 – They are known as the ‘post-Carlsen generation’: young players not so dependent on computers, not obsessed with the opening theory, looking for much more practical and aggressive play. They are Wesley So, Berbatov, Nyzhnyk – and Richárd Rapport of Hungary, who became a grandmaster at thirteen and who has now launched a professional career. Indepth portrait of a young professional.

4/1/2010 – On Tuesday, at 13:06h CEST, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland/France achieved the world's first seven tera electron volt collisions. It was a great moment in physics, but also a topic of discussion in GM circles for some years now. There is reason for their concern: could the LHC generate micro black holes that destroy the earth? Theories and explanations.

4/1/2010 – After his death on January 17, 2008 an Icelandic court awarded Bobby Fischer's estate to his wife Miyoko Watai. Then Marilyn Young, Fischer's "Filipina live-in partner", filed a claim on behalf of her eight-year-old daughter Jinky, who she says was fathered by the former World Champion. Now it appears the case will be settled by the disinterment of Fischer's remains for DNA testing. Press release.

4/1/2010 – Two weeks ago we published an interview by the German magazine Der Spiegel with Magnus Carlsen, with a picture that one of our readers found familiar. "He looks remarkably like my son," thought Professor Nancy Carlsson-Paige of Lesley University of Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a little research we discovered that the two are second cousins. Guess who the American relative is.

3/31/2010 – Every book on rook endings tells us that positions with pawns on the same wing are usually drawn, even when one side has an extra pawn. In Nice, Magnus Carlsen demonstrated that even with an equal number of pawns (four against four on the kingside) there are still plenty of practical chances, especially in a rapid game. Playchess spectators were enthralled to see how a hopelessly drawn endgame turned in the hands of the Norwegian into a winning position. In his analysis for ChessBase Magazine Online, Karsten Müller reveals to you exactly where Carlsen's opponent Ponomariov left the path which led to a draw.