6/14/2009 – The entire subject of prodigies in chess is fascinating from many standpoints, but, as the Editor of Chess Notes observes, no book has yet given it in-depth treatment. While marvelling at the exploits of such Wunderkinder as Capablanca and Reshevsky we should spare a thought for some truly obscure youngsters also praised by journalists for their exploits, whether real or dubious.

6/14/2009 – China is an emerging super-power – in chess. The 2009 Championship brought forth a sixteen-year-old winner, one of the strongest female players in the world is a fifteen-year-old grandmaster. The championship was overshadowed by event deciding game defaults, but sweetened by some great photography and beautiful portrait impressions by GM Ye Rongguang.

6/13/2009 – Chess players have outstanding abilities in things like... well, playing chess. And anything else? Economists at the University of Kassel (Germany) want to find out and invite you to join a simple online experiment. All you have to do is choose a number between 0 and 100, as explained in the test. You can win ChessBase vouchers worth €350. Deadline: June 28th 2009.

6/12/2009 – The Scheveningen Sicilian is the most polular response to 1.e4. There are many thousands of games, and it is very hard for club players to grasp the really important ideas. On his new DVD GM Lubomir Ftacnik explains key games and provides you with an understanding that is soundly founded on the development of each line. Buy his DVD now or read this review with a nine minutes sampler.

6/12/2009 – This tournament, named after the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov, took place from June 3rd to 12th in the West Siberian town, with a population of 20,000. It was category 18 with an average rating of 2694, and convincingly won by Russian GM Alexander Motylev, who finished a full point ahead of the field. At the bottom of the table was shockingly Alexei Shirov. Report.

6/12/2009 – About 320 volumes on chess, 400 periodicals, nine unexamined personal floppy disks, proofs for My 60 Memorable Games, preparation notes for Taimanov, Petrossian and Spassky – all of this was up for sale at Bonhams and Butterfield on Madison Avenue. It was snapped up for US $61,000 by Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield, sponsors of the 2009 US Championship. Press release and details.

6/11/2009 – The ChessBase CD "The greatest tournaments in the history of chess" has a remarkably detailed review of the most beautiful game in the 1883 London tournament. In the diagram position the d5-square has been cleared; but White now has to deal with threats on the c-file. Which evaluations is correct: A) Black has the initiative firmly in his hands since he is threatening ...Rc2; B) It's obvious how White can get the advantage – what are long diagonals for? C) The bishop on b2 will play a decisive part in the attack – but first White needs some more open lines. The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram

6/11/2009 – Last week the Chinese Championship was decided, amongst other things, by a winner getting a full point when his last-round opponent did not appear at his board in time for the start. A lot of readers have commented, some eloquently, some stridently, some tongue-in-cheek, on FIDE's "zero tolerance" rule. We, on the other hand, were hard put to find the exact wording. Who can help clear this up?

6/10/2009 – He had read about her in chess magazines and websites. In August 2008 they met at the Tal Memorial. Peter Zhdanov and Natalia Pogonina played some blitz, and a new friendship was born, which eventually blossomed into love and led to a marriage between the two young Russian chess players. They are currently working on an extraordinary book, one you are not going to want to miss.

6/9/2009 – The sixteen-year-old winner of the 2009 Championship, with 8½/11 and a near-2800 TPR, was undefeated and beat three of the four highest-rated players in the tournament. In this week's Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos takes a first look at Ding's chess, specifically that the game that decided the championship: his win over Wang Hao. Be there to watch at 9 p.m. ET.

6/9/2009 – The 2009 Chinese Championship was won by Ding Liren, an untitled 16-year-old, rated 2458, the youngest national champion ever. But Ding's victory was overshadowed by the last-round default of his opponent, who was not seated at the board when the clocks were started. The only female contender, 15-year-old GM Hou Yifan, also lost a game by default when she arrived five seconds late for the start.

6/8/2009 – Both games were hard-fought draws, with World Champion Vishy Anand pressing, but unable to overcome Peter Leko's defence. In the end Anand had won 5-3. We bring you games with GM analysis and pictures of the final day in Miskolc. For his victory Anand received an equisite crystal glass trophy (and Peter Leko a smaller one). We used the opportunity to visit the artist who made them.