7/12/2009 – Chess authors and publishers have a tendency to become over-excited, to put it mildly, when trying to induce potential customers to part with their money. But a darker side also emerges on occasion. With some grim examples the Editor of Chess Notes shows that there are cases where hype tips over into something far more reprehensible. It is time for a reality check.

7/10/2009 – Two games – Magnus Carlsen vs Peter Leko and Etienne Bacrot vs Vladimir Kramnik – ended in relatively uneventful draws. The third encounter, between Arkadij Naiditsch and Dmitry Jakavenko, developed into a drama in which the German GM let an advantage slip away, then got an unexpected gift from Jakavenko, but failed to capitalise on it. Round seven report.

7/10/2009 – The legendary twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov has long been an ambassador for chess. In his latest mission he travelled to Syria to make the first move of the Arabic Chess Championships Under 14. He was accompanied by roving chess journalist GM Robert Fontaine of Europe Echecs, who sent us a pictorial report, including high-def video footage. Extraordinary visual impressions.

7/10/2009 – On June 25th the iconic pop star died in Los Angeles of cardiac arrest. While the world stopped to mourn and millions followed his memorial service, we discovered an interesting factoid: Jackson owned a very luxurious gold-and-marble chess set, which he actually used, back in 2000, to teach his son Prince Michael, then aged three, the first steps in the game. Here is video evidence.

7/10/2009 – An advanced knight outpost in the enemy camp is a fine thing, and two of them often make you believe the game should just win on its own. Playing 29.Bg5, White had just provoked the losing move 29. ... f6 here. What would you recommend to him now? A) There are no forced continuations, but the modest bishop retreat to c1 keeps all the advantages of his position; B) Don't stop half way, the strike 30.Nxf6+ clearing the d-file wins at once; C) Sacrificing is correct, but the right method is rook h3 with the threat 31.Rxh5+. The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

7/10/2009 – And suddenly things have changed... After two relatively uneventful rounds Vladimir Kramnik was able to go into the lead at the Sparkassen tournament in Dortmund, after the leader since round one Magnus Carlsen blundered in a probably drawn position. Dmitry Jakovenko was able to defeat Etienne Bacrot in an 81-move marathon. Round eight report with pictorial impressions.

7/5/2009 – She was born in the USA but raised in Hong Kong, where her Chinese mother and Scottish father had lecturing positions. She is a WGM and strongest chess player in Hong Kong and has represented the island at several Olympiads playing on the first table against, amongst others, Gata Kamsky. In spite of an academic career this girl has a bright chess future. Portrait by Diana Mihajlova.

7/4/2009 – In the July 2009 FIDE ratings he is listed as the highest ranked GM in Russia. On the second day in Dortmund Dimitri Jakovenko defeated Germany's Arkadij Naiditsch in a nice endgame effort. The game was a Sicilian Najdorf and lasted 62 moves. Vladimir Kramnik drew Etienne Bacrot in 30 moves, Peter Leko held Magnus Carlsen in 25. The Norwegian leads. Round two report.

7/4/2009 – US President Barack Obama is meeting with several prominent members of the Russian opposition, including United Civil Front leader (and former chess world champion) Garry Kasparov. The meeting is set to take place on July 7th at the Ritz Carlton hotel. "The previous American administration didn’t dare to do this,” said Kasparov in a radio interview. Report in 'The Other Russia'.

7/4/2009 – The city of Dortmund has been struck by a heatwave. Problem is you do not have much air-conditioning – in Germany you need it for just a couple of weeks per year. All of the players in the Sparkassen GM tournament seemed fazed by the temperature and all three games ended in more or less rapid draws. Meanwhile Sofi Leko, wife of Peter, discussed literature with a German professor. Pictorial report.

7/2/2009 – The bishop sac on h7 (h2) to rip open the enemy's king position is a classical motif in chess. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it isn't - but one always has to be aware of it. And what is the case after 13.Nxc4 here?
A) Black wins easily, after all he's not got only one bishop, has he?
B) The sac is correct, however, victory requires yet a 'silent hammer blow'.
C) As good as it might look, the strike backfires; with cool defence White gets the advantage. The solution is for replay here or as video sample from Kings Powerplay 1 DVD. Hint: first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

7/2/2009 – The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, the most important traditional chess tournament in Germany, started with a fine victory by top seed Magnus Carlsen. The 18-year-old Norwegian GM out-maneuvered his opponent, Russia's top GM Dmitry Jakovenko, in a knight vs bishop ending and took the full point after 49 moves. The other games were drawn. Report with commentary.