12/22/2009 – Vladimir Malakhov – not the soccer star, the ice hockey player of dancer, but the 29-year-old physicist and chess grandmaster – has won this very strong rapid chess event in Poland last weekend. He did it by defeating Alexei Shirov with the black pieces in the final round. Second was Vassily Ivanchuk, who defeated top seed Vugar Gashimov in the round 13. Pictures, results and games.

12/21/2009 – The first were held in 2006 in Doha, Qatar; the second a year later in Macau. The third edition in Vietnam saw 4500 athletes from 45 Asian countries competing in 24 sports – including chess. There 19 countries participated. China won three Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze, India won Bronze in all four categories. Pictorial report by Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh.

12/20/2009 – ‘Goal-oriented oppositionally paired dualities’ are certainly enjoyed by our readers, whether they realize it or not. In plain English, the term means ‘games’, but not all authors seem capable of writing plainly. A selection of pretentious and trite passages about our beloved duality is offered by the Editor of Chess Notes in an article which is guaranteed to have your head spinning well before Christmas.

12/20/2009 – When Magnus Carlsen convincingly outplayed that well known openings connoisseur Peter Leko in the very first round of the tournament in Nanjing, the world of chess pricked up its ears, because the Norwegian had done so with a Scotch, an opening which in modern times has been associated above all with the name of Garry Kasparov, who is now known to be Carlsen's trainer. This game spurred Igor Stohl on to take an extremely close look at the variation employed. Here is the complete article, one of a total of 12 on the DVD of CBM 133.
Stohl: Scotch with 10.f4

12/19/2009 – A number of subsidiary events took place during the Chess Classic in London, one of the most attractive of which was the Women's Invitational. It was won by a "chess tourist", Arianne Caoili of Australia, who had planned to visit London with her boyfriend Levon Aronian to see the sights. When he did not obtain his visa Arienne decided to play in the Invitational. Big pictorial report.

12/19/2009 – It is billed as the "Battle of the Giants", between tenth World Champion Boris Spassky, 72, and multiple World Championship challenger Viktor Korchnoi, 78. The latter is still very active in competitive play, while Spassky has essentially retired from chess. In the first game an exhausted Korchnoi (he had rushed to Kalmykia from London) put the pressure on Spassky and won. Illustrated report.

12/17/2009 – The final agreement between FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the President of the Bulgarian Chess Federation Stefan Sergiev was signed in Sofia, Bulgaria. The prize fund is two million Euros (we are told that it is to be transferred to FIDE on January 10th). Ilyumzhinov met with the President Georgi Parvanov of Bulgaria, who is guaranteeing the conditions of the match. FIDE press releases.

12/17/2009 – ... of the Najdorf used to be one of the favourite weapons of Bobby Fischer when he wanted to play for the full point (i.e. practically always). Nowadays many lines have been analysed out to a draw, yet the fascinating complications keep on attracting players. This position occurred at the last Bundesliga weekend. After 28...Ra7, which assessment is true in your opinion: A) Black has a won position; B) White must give perpetual check; C) he actually wins.

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

12/17/2009 – The London Chess Classic was not just about super-grandmasters. The congress was remarkably inclusive and catered for chessplayers of all abilities, from children who had just mastered how the "horsey" moved, right up to the world rated number one. The nine-round Swiss Open was won by a Norwegian prodigy (yes, there are more than one of those), GM Jon Ludvig Hammer. Big pictorial report.

12/16/2009 – With a nail-biting draw against Nigel Short, the top seed Magnus Carlsen finished the London Chess Classic a point clear of his nearest rival, Vladimir Kramnik. The 19-year-old Norwegian GM will appear on the next FIDE list at number one in the world, with a 2810 rating. Michael Adams and David Howell won their final round games. Full illustrated report with analysis.

12/15/2009 – Many amateur players have enormous respect for the knight, to a great extent as a result of painful experience. In an analysis of his Bundesliga game against Wattenscheid at the weekend, GM Karsten Müller shows that the knight can show off its tactical abilities not only in the middlegame but also in the endgame. In the position in the diagram, it was Black's move, and it looks as though all he has to do to win the game is to advance his queenside pawns. But, which pawn should he advance? What do you think? 55...b3 or 55...c3?
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

12/15/2009 – In this week's Playchess lecture by FM Dennis Monokroussos will introduce you (presumably) to one of the best players in the world in the 1930s. Grigory Levenfish, whom you may know for his 6.f4 line against the Dragon, and from his endgame books, will be discussed, with highlights from his great career. Before that IM Merijn van Delft discusses current games. Be there and watch.