Rating debate: is 24 the ideal K-factor?

5/3/2009 – FIDE decided to speed up the change in their ratings calculations, then turned more cautious about it. Polish GM Bartlomiej Macieja criticised them for balking, and Jeff Sonas provided compelling statistical reasons for changing the K-factor to 24. Finally John Nunn warned of the disadvantages of changed a well-functioning system. Here are some more interesting expert arguments.

Czech GM Miroslav Filip dies at 80

5/3/2009 – At six foot nine inches Miroslav Filip was an imposing presence at the chess board. But he became a world force in the 50s and 60s, represented his country in 12 consecutive Chess Olympiads and inflicted defeat on no fewer than three world champions (Euwe, Smyslov and Tal). Filip was born in Prague on October 27, 1928, and died there on April 27, 2009. Obituary by Raymond Keene.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (20)

5/1/2009 – Lasker’s house in Germany, Capablanca’s bungalow in Cuba and Alekhine’s château in France are among the properties on view in the latest article by the Editor of Chess Notes. Over the years he has been building up an address book of many of the old masters’ residences. Find out whether any prominent chess figures of the past lived near you.

Alexei McQueen

4/30/2009 – "If I knew that Garry Kasparov had already made a DVD on the Grünfeld Defence for ChessBase I would never have dared to make one myself," confesses Alexei Shirov. Needless to say, Shirov is an expert here too, and with his games from the end of the 90s up to 2007 you can relive the development of this opening over the last ten years. Buy his Grünfeld DVD or read Bob Long's review.

Macieja: the FIDE General Assembly must decide

4/30/2009 – "Using the FIDE Laws of Chess terminology, the move has been made, and no takeback is any longer possible." Polish GM Bartlomiej Macieja is insisting that the decision to increase the K-factor in rating calculations is not just necessary and good in the current tournament situation, it is in fact irrevocable and can only be legally changed by the body that passed it. Open letter.

Incredible Abundance

4/30/2009 – Mark Donlan has examined ChessBase Magazine 129 for ChessCafe.com. The American has called his article "Incredible Abundance". He points out as an example of the abundance of contents of  ChessBase Magazine that it contains, e.g. introductory videos in Fritztrainer format by Karsten Müller and Dorian Rogozenco, and then columns by Daniel King, Peter Wells, Karsten Müller, Oliver Reeh and Rainer Knaak and much, much more. Buy CBM 129 or read this review

Nunn on the K-factor: show me the proof!

4/30/2009 – With the debate raging over FIDE's decision to change or not to change the K-factor used in calculating players' ratings, we are glad to receive an important message from our voice-of-reason grandmaster. Dr John Nunn says "there seems no real evidence that K=20 will result in a more accurate rating system, while there are a number of risks and disadvantages." His explanation and reader feedback.

Pourkashiyan won the Iranian Women's Championship 2009

4/30/2009 – We return to this Championship, which had 14 participants and was won, for the third time, by WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan, who scored 11/13 points. Bronze went to eleven-year-old WFM Sara Sadat Khademalsharieh. For those of you who have had enough flawless 2800 play for a while, here's a big pictorial report by Reza Mahdipour with highly enjoyable chess highlights from the event. Don't miss it!

Nalchik R13: Levon Aronian wins Fourth FIDE Grand Prix

4/29/2009 – With Aronian and Leko both leading by a full point cynics were predicting a quick GM draw. But it turned into a merciless battle with Levon Aronian dominating and eventually crushing Peter Leko after an exchange sacrifice. The Armenian took sole first by a full point and with a 2833 performance. Bacrot, Gelfand and Akopian also won their games. We bring you pictures from the closing ceremony.

FIDE: We support the increase of the K-factor

4/29/2009 – Yesterday we published a letter by GM Bartlomiej Macieja asking the World Chess Federation not to delay the decision to increase the K-factor in their ratings calculation. Today we received a reply to Maceija's passionate appeal from FIDE, outlining the reasons for the actions. In addition interesting letters from our readers, including one from statistician Jeff Sonas. Opinions and explanations.

Polugaevsky vs Keres – instructive, entertaining, quirky!

4/28/2009 – This Wednesday night lecture by Dennis Monokroussos on Playchess presents a 1973 encounter in Talinn between two immortals: Lev Polughaevsky and Paul Keres. It shows the three-time Soviet champion Polugaevsky at his best, executing devious little plans to wrong-foot his opponent. Come watch the lecture and add the stutter step approach to your repertoire of tricks. 9 p.m. ET.

Yazici: 'Law is just and justice prevails'

4/28/2009 – A year and a half ago the President of the Turkish Chess Federation, Ali Nihat Yazici, invited Boris Kutin, the President of the European Chess Union to resign. The reason: the ECU was preventing Turkey from staging three major European Chess events. The matter went to arbitration, and now the court in Lausanne has decided in favour of the Turks – with dramatic consequences.

Macieja: The increase of the K-factor is essential

4/28/2009 – Yesterday we reported that FIDE had decided not simply to change the K-Factor in its rating calculation, but to publish two parallel lists for a year and then review the results. Today we received a passionate appeal by GM Bartlomiej Macieja not to delay the decision but increase the K-factor immediately. In fact he advocated recalculating the lists of the last two or even five years. Let the debate begin.

Nalchik R12: Leko wins, joins Aronian in the lead

4/28/2009 – One round before the end Peter Leko scored an important victory over Rustam Kasimdzhanov to join Levon Aronian on the top of the table (Kasimdzhanov joined Ivanchuk at the other end). Sergey Karjakin defeated Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk beat Etienne Bacrot. Tomorrow Aronian plays Leko. Full illustrated report with commentary by GM Sergey Shipov.

27th Metz International Open Chess Tournament

4/27/2009 – Reputed to be France's third most prestigeous open tournament of the calender year, the organizing Metz Alekhine Chess Club succeeded in surpassing expectations with the participation of 26 GMs and ten IMs in a field of 101 players from more than a dozen countries. The prize fund was 10,000 Euros, with four players tying for first, amongst them our reporter GM Kevin Spraggett.

Add-on to Slav 4...a6 5.a4 e6 6.g3

4/27/2009 – Our reader Andrey Terekhov from Munich immediately seized his CBM 129 in order to study the article by Evgeny Postny on 5.a4 e6 6.g3 in the Chebanenko-Slav. He had recently played an interesting game in this variation, a game which he has sent to us with detailed annotations. Essentially speaking, it supports the evaluation of our Israeli author. Read more on the Chebanenko Slav...

FIDE: Anand-Topalov bidding, K-Factor

4/27/2009 – The World Chess Federation has opened the bidding for the next World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov, scheduled for April 2010. At the same time FIDE has reacted to concerns of players and decided not to simply change the K-Factor in its rating calculation, but to in fact publish two parallel lists for a year and then review the results. Press releases.

Nalchik R11: Ivanchuk, Bacrot, Gelfand win

4/27/2009 – At the top Levon Aronian and Peter Leko drew their games, to remain in first and second place respectively. Vassily Ivanchuk beat Alexander Grischuk, winning his first game in this tournament – he has lost three and is at the end of the table. Boris Gelfand ground down Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and a clean-shaven Etienne Bacrot beat Sergey Karjakin. Commentary by GM Sergey Shipov.

Tie for first by half the field in Oslo

4/27/2009 – The Arnold Eikrem Memorial, part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Oslo Chess Club, saw an exciting finish in true Norwegian social democratic spirit: it ended with half the field sharing first place! The open, Knut Bockman Cup, was won by the new shining star on the Norwegian chess heaven, FM Frode Urkedal (15) with a stunning 8.0/9. Pictorial report by GM Leif E. Johannessen.

Refined Chess – a new proposal to combat draws

4/26/2009 – Last December Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh proposed a solution to the perceived problem of too many unforced draws in chess (force everyone to play to mate). There ensued a lively discussion. Now we have another proposal on the table, submitted by Ali Ferhat Tamur, a computer engineer and 2200 player, who differentiates between complete and slight wins. What do you think?

Nalchik R10: the bloodiest round of the tournament

4/26/2009 – High drama in Nalchik: five decisive games, with Aronian, Leko, Akopian, Mamedyarov and Grischuk scoring. After the dust has settled we see Levon Aronian once again in the sole lead, with Peter Leko half a point behind. Three players share 3rd-5th places, a full point behind Aronian. We bring you commentary by GM Sergey Shipov and pictures from the Grand Prix in our round ten report.

Opening Surveys in ChessBase Magazine 129

4/24/2009 – The Sicilian Najdorf Variation is hard to tackle, so hard, in fact, that many players simply want to evade it. But most of these avoidance systems do completely without d2-d4 and pose no big challenge for Black. The anti-Najdorf-system presented by Alexey Kuzmin in CBM 129 starts with 2.Ne2, and only after 2...d6 - i.e. the attempt to enter the Najdorf - dispenses with the direct advance of the d-pawn (however, 2...e6 3.d4 or 2...Nc6 3.d4); the continuation is 3.g3, possibly followed by c3 and d4.
More opening surveys in CBM 129, buy in online shop
Description of the article in the CBM 129 booklet
Kuzmin: Sicilian with 2.Ne2 d6 3.g3

How is basketball like a game of chess?

4/24/2009 – Our beloved game has been used to promote a variety of human activities: financial institutions use it – ad nauseam –, car sales people too. Even in Victorian times it was a popular image. Now the National Basketball Association (NBA), North America's a professional men's basketball league, has picked chess to convey a message. Check out the newest chess promo for the NBA on TNT.

Nalchik R9: Kamsky, Alekseev and Bacrot win

4/24/2009 – Another dramatic round, with Gata Kamsky coming back strongly from his two previous losses to grind down Alexander Grischuk in 101 moves – with the black pieces. Etienne Bacrot scored a full point against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Evgeny Alekseev defeated his young colleague Sergey Karjakin. Alekseev has now joined Aronian in the lead. Full report with GM commentary.