Chess Metaphors – Artificial Intelligence and the Human Mind

1/28/2010 – In chess we grapple with honesty, deceitfulness, bravery, aggression, fear, beauty, and creativity. Chess is an activity in which we deploy almost all our available cognitive resources; making it an ideal laboratory for investigation into the workings of the mind. That is the subject of a new book by an Argentinian biologist. Guess who reviewed it and guess whose 25-year-old photos we found.

Wijk 10: Anand and Carlsen win, Kramnik leads

1/27/2010 – We had to wait ten rounds for this: World Champion Vishy Anand won his first game, with a little help from opponent Alexei Shirov. Magnus Carlsen surprised everyone in the world by playing the French Defence for the first time in a tournament game – and won it against his permanent rival Sergey Karjakin. Vladimir Kramnik drew and is in the sole lead. Illustrated report.

The wrong choice of ending

1/27/2010 – In round 7 in Wijk, Nigel Short was within touching distance of a win over Ex-World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. In the position in the diagram he had to decide whether to exchange queens or to gobble up another pawn with Qxc5. Short chose 50.Qxc5, but after 50...Be6! 51.g4 Bxf5 52.Qxf5 Qb2+ the activity of the black queen turned out to be the decisive drawing factor, despite Black being two pawns behind. But how should the minor piece ending after 50.Qxf6 gxf6 be evaluated? Can the extra pawn be made to tell in the struggle of knight against bishop? Yes, says GM Karsten Müller in ChessBase Magazine Online.

Wijk 09: Kramnik beats Carlsen, leads with Shirov

1/27/2010 – It was a fateful day – in all three groups. Vladimir Kramnik beat Magnus Carlsen after the latter blundered in terrible time trouble. Smeets, van Wely and Karjakin won their games, against Caruana, Leko and Nakamura. In Group B Anish Giri suffered his first loss against Anna Muzychuk, while Ray Robson also dropped the full point against his main rival Li Chao. Big pictorial report.

Former FIDE President Fridrik Olafsson turns 75

1/26/2010 – He has two victories over Bobby Fischer, two against Tigran Petrosian and two against Mikhail Tal. Friðrik Ólafsson of Iceland earned his GM title 52 years ago. In 1978 he succeeded Max Euwe as President of FIDE, where he served until he was replaced by Florencio Campomanes in 1982. Ten days ago he played a brilliancy in a rapid chess event. Today Fridrik celebrates his 75th birthday.

Wijk aan Zee Group B – Faces and Personalities

1/26/2010 – We have been following the first Super-GM event of the new decade very closely, but our attention and photographic efforts have been mainly concentrated on the A-Group. We should remember: Group B is a category 16 event with a rating average of 2629 – a top tournament anywhere else. To make amends Dutch photographer Frits Agterdenbos has sent us splendid close-up gallery.

The highest level chess tournament in history?

1/25/2010 – This could be an all-time world record: eight chess players from Brunei are planning to scale Mount Everest, as part of a project to help poor families in the Southeast Asian country. At the South Base Camp, 5,360 metres above sea level, the team will play a chess tournament. It is the highest in the federation's history – could it be the highest level ever in the world? Brunei FM report.

Bisik-Bisik with Garry Kasparov – Part 2

1/25/2010 – At the end of last year Garry Kasparov sat down for an indepth interview with our Malaysian correspondent Edwin Lam Choong Wai. In part one he spoke about his early years and his collaboration with Magnus Carlsen. In the current session he talks about the first Karpov-Kasparov match, the anniversary exhibition in 2009, and his strength in simultaneous play. With a very nice example.

Gibtelecom Masters starts tomorrow

1/25/2010 – We have heard many excuses before: illness, missed flight, or Oscar Wilde's classy "I have to decline due to a subsequent engagement". But this one is new: I cannot attend the Gibtel Masters because I am taking part in the opera Tannhäuser (by Richard Wagner). Still, even without the singing, dancing, soccer-playing GM the event has a great field. Preview.

Wijk 08: Kramnik beats Nakamura, Karjakin, Leko and Caruana win

1/24/2010 – Four white wins, one a fateful victory by Vladimir Kramnik over Hikaru Nakamura, left the former in equal 2nd/3rd place and demoted the latter to fourth. Alexei Shirov drew Magnus Carlsen to remain in the lead, by just half a point. Sergey Karjakin, Peter Leko and Fabiano Caruana won. In Group B Anish Giri scored again to lead the field by 1½ points. Big illustrated report from snow-covered Wijk.

A stunning exchange sacrifice...

1/24/2010 – ...in the Marshall Attack was unleashed by Peter Leko in the 4th round in Wijk aan Zee versus Lenier Dominguez. Playing black, here he was facing the question of whether it would be advisable to immediately occupy the long diagonal with 23...Bc6 despite the riposte 24.d5, blocking it with tempo. What do you think?
A) this wins for White;
B) Black prevails;
C) the position eventually remains balanced.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (35)

1/23/2010 – Just occasionally, the worlds of chess and murder have intersected: players of our game have become either killers or victims. In addition to links to his detailed coverage of the Wallace Murder Case and the fatal shooting of a Hastings stalwart, the Editor of Chess Notes provides citations regarding such figures as the Lipstick Killer, Moors Murderer and St Albans Poisoner.

Wijk 07: Nakamura beats Shirov, Carlsen beats Ivanchuk

1/23/2010 – Detractors had pointed out that Alexei Shirov's blistering 5.0/5 start was achieved without playing any of the tournament favourites. Today the Latvian GM encountered one, Hikaru Nakamura – and dropped the full point. Magnus Carlsen scored his third win, against Vassily Ivanchuk, who self-destructed on move eight. Nigel Short came tantalizing close to beating Vladimir Kramnik. Full report.

Wijk 06: Kramnik, Dominguez, Leko win, Short stops Shirov

1/22/2010 – At last: Nigel Short chose a favourite variation of the main line Spanish and held a comfortable draw against Alexei Shirov. The Spaniard is now at 5.5/6, with his performance rating at "just" 3094. With his second win Vladimir Kramnik has joined the follower group 1.5 points behind Shirov. In Group B it is Anish Giri and Group C Ray Robson who are dominating. Both are 15. Round six report.

The knight is a lousy defensive piece

1/22/2010 – When left on its own, a knight frequently has difficulties holding together one flank in problems. If the pawns are not occupying one of the few formations which suit it, it generally cannot manage the task. This motif underlies the piece sacrifice 35.Rxc4!? Rxc4 36.Nxc4 Kxc4 37.Ke4! - played in the game Lock-Webb from the Masters in Hastings - with which White set his opponent serious practical problems. How would you evaluate the resulting position? Can Black still hold the draw or will the white pawns triumph? GM Karsten Müller has analysed the position for Chess Base Magazine Online.

Bobby Fischer – The Career and Complete Games

1/21/2010 – Many books have been written about the American chess genius and world champion Bobby Fischer. But now there is a remarkable new one, by German GM Karsten Müller, whom you will know from his articles and multimedia lectures in ChessBase Magazine. This book contains almost 1000 Fischer games, all of them annotated by GM Müller – a monumental task. Interview with the author.

Wijk 05: Shirov beats van Wely, leads with 5.0/5

1/21/2010 – Can anything stop this man? A fifth consecutive win, with the black pieces against Loek van Wely, put Alexei Shirov a point and a half ahead of the field. Vladimir Kramnik scored his first victory in this tournament, while World Champion Vishy Anand is stuck at 50%. In Group B 15-year-old GM Anish Giri leads, as does 15-year-old GM Ray Robson in Group C. Big report with pictures by Fred Lucas.

Opening trap or not?

1/21/2010 – When Magnus Carlsen lost a pawn against Loek van Wely on his 10th move in well-known way, many might wondered whether he had not fallen into a familiar opening trap. After all, on the CD-ROM "1000 Opening Traps" the pawn loss was branded a mistake, and so far statistics clearly seemed to confirm this. Yet reportedly the Norwegian had followed a recommendation of Garry Kasparov, and it soon turned out that Black gets quite a lot for the pawn.
Buy "1000 Opening Traps" in shop anyway
Replay Van Wely - Carlsen with annotations

2010: The Year of the Haitian Tragedy

1/20/2010 – Daaim Shabazz met the Haitian chess team at the 2006 Olympiad – a genuine and enthusiastic group. They missed the Olympiad in 2008 because of a series of hurricanes. The country had a small, but thriving chess community before the earthquake struck. Since then Daaim has been unable to make contact with anyone in the Haitian chess community. An appeal for assistance.

FIDE World Blitz Championship Internet qualifier

1/19/2010 – A total of 445 players competed in the first qualifier for the FIDE Internet Championship, and tested the tournament software on the Playchess server to its limit. Everything went smoothly, and ten players have qualified for the final on January 30. The second qualifier is on Wednesday evening, the third on Saturday afternoon, with three more to follow. You can play in as many as you like.

Bisik-Bisik with Garry Kasparov – Part 1

1/19/2010 – Last year Garry Kasparov visited Asia – for the first time since the Philippines Olympiad in 1992. He was in India and in Malaysia, where our reporter Edwin Lam did a Q&A with him. Kasparov spoke engagingly and candidly about Asia, his early career as a chess player, his protégé Magnus Carlsen and his Chess Foundation in America. Not a line of blah in this interview. Must read.

Alexei Shirov: The Philidor Defence

1/19/2010 – He is a well-known firebrand in the chess world. In Wijk he is currently playing at a 3500 level. But Alexei Shirov is also a prolific chess teacher, and his ChessBase DVDs are amongst the most popular. Take for instance one of his latest, on the Philidor Defence, a surprise opening that can give rise to extreme open and closed positions. Shirov's treatment is reviewed by a field biologist in the Yukon.

To sacrifice or not to sacrifice?!

1/19/2010 – A complicated position arose during time trouble in Tomashevsky (2708) vs Fier (2653). The pawn structure leaves us in no doubt: it was a King's Indian. The sacrifice 35...Bxg4 is on the cards, but calculating through all the consequences accurately is hardly possible. What does your intuition tell you?
A) The sacrifice is unsound. Black does not get sufficient compensation.
B) The sacrifice is playable. The position remains balanced.
C) 35...Bxg4 decides the game in Black's favour.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Wijk 04: Ivanchuk beats van Wely, Shirov wins yet again

1/19/2010 – Vassily Ivanchuk needed 26 moves to finish off Loek van Wely. Magnus Carlsen had Nigel Short on the ropes, but let the British GM escape with a draw. Kramnik was in trouble against Tiviakov but survived. Alexei Shirov scored his fourth win in succession, to lead with a 4.0/4 score and a 3483 performance. You'd think that was a record, but he will have to win the next five games to do that. Curious?