Japan: is the big one coming?

3/15/2011 – We are all sitting around watching the chess tournaments in Monaco and Reyjkavik, but keeping a nervous eye on the enormous crisis unfolding in Japan. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the following tsunami have probably taken tens of thousands of lives, and now there is the danger of a nuclear meltdown. A chess friend in California is tracking the events.

Amber 2011: Karsten Müller's queen endgame lesson

3/15/2011 – In his round two blindfold game Magnus Carlsen had a rook endgame against Vugar Gashimov, which he then converted into a queen ending with an extra pawn. Although the position was a theoretical draw, Magnus proceeded to win it. We did not analyse it further, we knew that we would receive detailed analysis from GM Karsten Müller. Yu can use his commentary as a didactic endgame lesson.

Amber 2011: Carlsen score 2-0 to join the leaders

3/14/2011 – Magnus Carlsen joined Levon Aronian and Alexander Grischuk in the shared lead in the overall standings by defeating Vugar Gashimov 2-0.His victory with the black pieces won the € 1,000 "Game of the Day" prize. Aronian beat Hikaru Nakamura 1½-½, while Grischuk had the same result in his mini-match against former co-leader Boris Gelfand. Round two report with video GM analysis.

Magnus in the New Yorker

3/14/2011 – Normally we would not make such a big thing out of it, but this is one of the most prestigious magazines in the world, and the story is nine pages long, and exceptionally well-written – great for a lay audience. The author, D.T.Max, met up with Magnus Carlsen a number of times, and also queried other players (Anand, Kasparov). The article is not free online, so go buy the magazine this week.

Fressinet takes French Rapid crown

3/14/2011 – The 9th International Meurthe and Moselle Chess Festival took place this weekend in Nancy, France, with 202 players including former FIDE world champion Kasimdzhanov, French stars Bacrot, Fressinet, Indian Harikrishna, and Germany's top three: Naiditsch, Meier and Fridman. Reigning French classical champion, Laurent Fressinet, also became the French rapid champion. Report + videos.

Amber 2011: Anand and the domination game

3/13/2011 – In our first report of round one we dealt with all kinds of accidents and blunders that befell the players in this blindfold and rapid chess tournament. Today we turn to a remarkable 67-move game in which the reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand used the domination motif to take a point off his last-year's challenger Veselin Topalov. GM Karsten Müller explains how it was done.

The chess twins of the chess twin

3/13/2011 – She is an IM, WGM, and a professor at the Faculty of Culture and Media at a Belgrade University. He is an FM, TV sports editor, chess columnist and since recently editor of the prestigious Chess Informant. On February 21st Dr Alisa Maric and Josip Asik became parents of twins – not a complete surprise, since Alisa was a twin herself. We congratulate the proud chess couple.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (60)

3/12/2011 – The death has been announced of the chess historian and archivist Jeremy Gaige of Philadelphia. In 1988 the Editor of Chess Notes received from Gaige, his close associate, a unique document which was not to be disclosed during the American’s lifetime: a ‘self-obituary’. The text is made public here for the first time, to mark the passing of a magnificent figure in the history of chess.

Amber 2011: Four players start with 2-0 scores

3/12/2011 – The four winners were Gashimov, Gelfand, Grischuk and Aronian, and the corresponding 0-2 losers were Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Kramnik and Giri. There was a lot of luck – both good and very bad – in play, which is hardly surprising in a blindfold and rapid tournament like the 20th Melody Amber. This is incidentally the last edition. Round one report.

FFE Cheating: Judge rules incriminating SMS inadmissible

3/11/2011 – After unearthing a series of SMS messages between players accused of cheating at the Olympiad using a phone lent by the French Chess Federation vice president, the FFE sought to have those messages transcribed and included as evidence in the upcoming Disciplinary Committee. A judge ruled that secrecy could only be waived if the FFE sued in court, as the FFE explains in a public statement.

Discovered attacks ...

3/11/2011 – ... on various diagonals White had to consider when in this position he went for 20.Bg5 harrassing the black queen. What is your verdict - the counterstrike 20...Nxd4 leads to...
A)... advantage for Black
B)... advantage for White
C)... dynamic equilibrium

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

You win some, you lose some – MP Reykjavik Open

3/11/2011 – Last year's Reykjavik Open winner, Icelandic GM Hannes Stefansson (2557), finished his first game in this year's event with a summary execution of his much weaker opponent in just ten moves. Then Hannes faced the dauntingly lovely Belarusian WGM Anna Sharevich, well over 200 points his inferior, and got crushed in 35 moves. That's the way the cookie crumbles. Report from Iceland.

Tiviakov wins 19th Fajr Open – and goes caving!

3/10/2011 – In another display of Iran's vibrant chess community, after the recent world records set in giant simuls, the 19th Fajr Open was held, bringing together 25 GMs, 15 IMs and 10 FMs. This event allows Iranian players a rare opportunity to seek title norms in their home country. It was won by Sergey Tiviakov. No games are available, but Sergey sent us underground photographic impressions.

Alaa in Tahrir Square

3/10/2011 – Photo report. Article.

HIARCS 13 – the Professional Openings Book

3/10/2011 – The British chess program Hiarcs is famous for its sharp attacking chess. This is ideally enhanced by one of the best openings books around, derived from top correspondence and OTB human games together with the best computer games, producing the latest cutting edge chess theory and a wealth of novelties to provide a huge repertoire of finely tuned variations. Examples.

John Nunn's problem grand slam

3/9/2011 – The early part of each year involves a busy schedule of events in the problem solving world. We already reported on the Tata Steel Study Solving competition, and the months of January and February saw two other major solving events. Both were won by John Nunn, a remarkable feat given that he was one of the older participants. Report with sample problems.

Alekhine, Pomar, Reshevsky – Chess After the War

3/8/2011 – It is remarkable how quickly international competition was re-established after the Second World War. Alexander Alekhine was still very much alive, though understandably none too popular as a suspected Nazi collaborator. There was a first "Match of the Century" and the code-crackers chess masters were honoured. Yes, and can you guess when the electronic chessboard was invented?

Amusing blunders and a grandmaster’s endgame lesson

3/8/2011 – In our final account of the Polish Championship (12-20 February 2011) we focus on two extremes of the chess art: ridiculous blunders and sophisticated endgame technique. While reading the first part of this report you may gain the impression that beating a strong GM is as easy as pie. The rook endgame lesson delivered by GM Bartosz Socko should return you to reality. Report by Piotr Kaim.

Kavalek in Huffington: a chess legend turns to music

3/7/2011 – Svetozar Gligoric was one of the world's leading chess players in the 1950s and 1960s. After nearly seven decades playing chess, the Yugoslav GM turned to music. Last month, shortly after his 88th birthday, Gligoric presented his first music album in Belgrade – twelve compositions, mostly jazz, blues and rap. GM Lubomir Kavalek tells the story and gives us the solutions to last week's puzzles.

Master Moves #7

3/6/2011 – All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the positions are from the Women's FIDE Grand Prix and Cappelle-La-Grande. One move was worthy of Marshall!

Humpy's qualification official – Anand on her chances

3/6/2011 – On Saturday Humpy Koneru won her final game and with that Women Grand Prix in Doha. It is now official: the Indian GM has earned the right to challenge the reigning women's world champion Chinese GM Hou Yifan for a title match later this year. We bring you final photos from Doha and some pointers Humpy received from a compatriot world champion. Interview with Vishy Anand.

Norwegian-Icelandic war over the Lewis Chessmen?

3/5/2011 – Last year we published an article on the famous Lewis Chessmen. The two Icelandic authors claimed that the pieces were carved in their country. "With few reservations parts of the chess world have adopted this theory," writes Morten Lilleøren of Norway, who finds the article "filled with faults and oversights." Lilleøren sets out to correct the facts and prove: the Lewis Chessmen are from Norway.

Humpy pulls it off – wins Doha GM and qualifies

3/5/2011 – Indian GM Humpy Koneru won her final game and with that Women Grand Prix in Doha, ahead on tie-break points of Elina Danielian, Armenia, who drew against Bulgarian Antoaneta Stefanova. According to our (still unofficial) calculations Humpy has thus won the right to challenge Hou Yifan for the Women's World Championship title later this year. First report with results and games.

Cappelle-La-Grande: Young IM Ipatov and GM Jankovic lead

3/4/2011 – The traditional International Open at Cappelle-La-Grande is at its 27th edition and attracted a strong field including over 50 grandmasters. This in turn has attracted numerous players including young talents seeking experience, norms, and success. 17-year-old Spanish IM Ipatov leads with GM Jankovic with 6.0/7. There is a video with interviews and a gallery of pictures by Dominique Primel.