11/2/2009 – Top seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, rated 2718, is josting for top place with third seed Sergei Zhigalko of Belarus, rated 2646. In round nine both won their games and were equal first, in round ten Vachier played a quick draw, while Zhigalko won again to take the sole lead. No pictures of the chess action in Puerto Madryn, but we have received some very nice shots of whales.

11/2/2009 – "Think fast. Think under pressure. Think strategically. That’s how you win in business – and in chess." That's the motto of Your Next Move, an organisation that for the third time staged a chess event near Antwerp centered around Garry Kasparov. It was captured by the Belgian Sports TV company EXQI and is now available in extraordinary high definition. Must watch.

11/2/2009 – Karpov is definitely not the player he once was. In the second half of his rapid chess match against Viswanathan Anand the former World Champion took a 0:2 beating. Surely this is due to lack of practice and modern training methods – a deficiency that can be remedied. We bring you the games and pictures from a chess event held in the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte.

11/1/2009 – First there were 32-board simuls, against participants from the Corsica Masters. Reigning World Champion Anand won all his games, 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov conceded one draw, against a 15-year-old. Then they faced each other in the first of four rapid chess games. Anand won one, the second was drawn. The next two are scheduled for November 2nd. Illustrated report.

10/31/2009 – Daniel Stellwagen had fought bravely for 69 grueling moves. On move 70 the Dutch GM played the only rook move that lost him a drawn position. Azeri Vugar Gashimov seized the chance and won Gold for his team. Russia was second and Ukraine third. In the women's section it was Russia ahead of Georgia on tiebreak points. Here, too, with Ukraine took Bronze. Final report.

10/30/2009 – What usually happens is that extra forces help the besieging army storm fortresses. But there is also the opposite case, when the presence of extra material actually saves the defending side, as in the present situation. If he did not have his rook, Black would be totally lost in the duel between White's remaining rook and the black bishop. But White simply cannot force the exchange of rooks:

Analysis Spoelman-Najer

10/30/2009 – With one round to go in the European Team Championship Russia and Azerbaijan are leading, two match points ahead of five teams in the follow-up group. In the women's section Russia and Georgia are leading, three points ahead of any other rivals (best performance: Alexandra Kosteniuk). Playchess will broadcast the two exciting struggles for Gold. Round seven and eight reports.

10/30/2009 – Puerto Madryn is a city on the east coast of southern Argentina, in a geographical region known as Patagonia. In this remote place, where right whales and dolphins congregate, 84 of the most talented young players – under twenty years old – are playing for a prestigeous title. The girls's section has 45 contestants. The official web site is unfortunately comprimised, but we have results and games.

10/29/2009 – ...can completely change the evaluation of a position in one single moment. Here 34.Nc4xe5 had just been played,, and now Black inserted 34....g3 (diagram) in an attempt to deflect White's queen and prevent his pawn d4 from being taken. What do you say on this? A) good idea, 35.Qxg3 fxe5 is forced, reducing any black disadvantage to a minimum; B) White has a trick with a discovered attack in the e-file; C) Black jumps out of the frying pan into the fire since d4 is falling anyway. The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

10/28/2009 – Last month we reported on the Women's World Team Championship in Ningbo. An exciting event in a remote place. While most players just flew in and out, one, IM Irina Krush, first board of the US team, took time to look around. Irina travelled from Shanghai to Ningbo, Hangzhou and Guilin, enjoyed the countryside, met the people, tried the food and sent us a remarkable photo documentation.

10/27/2009 – Chess is a suitable sport for many children and adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Scientific research on this subject is lacking, also on an international level, but experience indicates that chess stimulates social, emotional and cognitive development. A new book, "Developing Chess Talent", by Karel and IM Merijn van Delft, uses case histories to illustrate this assumption. Excerpts.

10/27/2009 – The Azeris, led by Teimour Radjabov, have won five matches and drawn one to take a two-point lead in the European Team Championship. In the women's section Russia has caught Georgia, with both teams sharing a 10.0/12 point lead. The best performance so far in this event is by a Norwegian teenage grandmaster – and no, it is not Magnus Carlsen. Report on rounds four to six.