Tromsø 2009 – the Arctic Chess Challenge

8/2/2009 – The Arctic Chess Challenge in Tromsø is this year’s most prestigious event in Norway. More than 35 titled players are taking part, including 13 GMs. Top seed is Polish GM Bartosz Socko, rated 2656, with three more super-GMs just below him. The tournament is truly an international open: the 118 participants hail from 26 countries, and from all parts of the world. Pictorial report.

Chess Classic: 'That’s life: if you play badly you get punished'

8/2/2009 – These words come from the eleven-time Chess Classic winner Vishy Anand, who failed to qualify this time for the final on Sunday. Anand had a good position in his must-win game against Ian Nepomniachtchi – Q+2P vs Q – but only managed a draw. Levon Aronian, on the other hand, beat Naiditsch to secure his place one round before the end. Aronian plays Nepomniachtchi in the final.

Chess Classic: Grischuk wins FiNet Chess 960 Open

8/1/2009 – In Chess960 the pieces are shuffled before the start of each game – to eliminate all opening preparation. But does that render top GMs helpless? It does not. For a long stretch Gata Kamsky, was leading. He lost to former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in the final round, so that the winner in the end was top seed Alexander Grischuk. Report with lovely pictures by Christian Bossert.

Chess Classic: Bad start for the World Champion

8/1/2009 – The first day of the Rapid Chess World Championship in Mainz brought a nasty shock for the eleven-fold Chess Classic winner Vishy Anand, who lost his first two games, both with white, to Levon Aronian and newcomer Ian Nepomniachtchi. Anand retained chances to enter the final on Sunday by beating Arkadij Naiditsch in the third game. Aronian and Nepomniachtchi lead with 2.5/3. Illustrated report.

2009 Victoria Summer Chess Festival: National Champions clash

7/31/2009 – From July 20-28, Victoria, British Columbia played host to a number of events, including the Canadian Youth and Junior Chess Championships, and the British Columbia Open. Well attended and well received, the festival was highlighted by an encounter between GMs Mark Bluvshtein and Hikaru Nakamura during the opening ceremonies. Pictorial report.

A mating attack against the long castle...

7/31/2009 – ... is almost half done with a bishop placed on d3 (d6), keeping the enemy king in the c-file. Here Black sent out a clear signal with 23. ... Qxa2 - the white king is to be hunted down with 24...Nb3+. How do you judge the situation now?
A) Checkmate can only be prevented by giving up the queen, leaving Black on the victory path;
B) Thanks to Black's back rank weakness, White just so manages to escape into a roughly equal endgame;
C) White actually wins.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Chess Classic: Nakamura wins 960 World Championship

7/31/2009 – On the first day of the Chess960 World Rapid Chess Championship in Mainz Levon Aronian had dominated, winning all three of his games. On the second day US GM Hikaru Nakamura had won all of his to get into the finals. And there he beat Aronian in the first three of four games to take the 2009 title of 960 World Championship. Illustrated report. with video.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins Biel 2009

7/31/2009 – At 14 years and four months he was the ninth youngest GM in history. Today, at eighteen, he is rated 2703 and number 29 in the world. The French GM was leading after nine rounds, and with all three games from round ten being drawn he retained his half-point lead to take sole victory in the tournament. Alexander Morozevich and Vassily Ivanchuk took Silver and Bronze. Final report.

2009 Villarrobledo Rapid Tournament: Naiditsch edges the field

7/31/2009 – The annual rapid tournament of Villarrobledo, Spain, concluded a few days ago, with good news for German fans. GM Arkadi Naiditsch finished clear first, with a solid 7.5/9, leaving the likes of GMs Alexei Shirov and Alexander Grischuk in his wake. Though an impressive showing, the victory was not without some serious adversity. Illustrated report.

Biel 2009: Morozevich beats Ivanchuk, Vachier leads

7/30/2009 – Alexander Morozevich continues his roller coaster play with a win over tournament leader Vassily Ivanchuk (who essentially dropped a rook). The Russian GM has single-handedly contributed to the low 63% draw ratio in this event, having drawn only two games in nine rounds. French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave drew his game against Boris Gelfand and is now alone in the lead. One round left.

Chess Classic: Nakamura's comeback

7/30/2009 – On the first day of the Chess960 World Championship in Mainz a somewhat jet-lagged Hikaru Nakamura had scored a disappointing 1.0/3 points. On the second day the American GM fought back, winning all three games and bringing Levon Aronian into the danger zone of not qualifying for the final. But the Armenian did and Thursday will bring a clash between the two.

Chess Classic: Aronian dominates in Chess960

7/29/2009 – It is a form of chess, originally proposed by Bobby Fischer, in which the position of the pieces – not the pawns – is shuffled randomly before the start of each game. This eliminates deep opening preparation and fosters a new form of creativity. Armenia's top GM appears to have plenty of that. After the first day he leads with 3.0/3 – after a 40-board simultaneous display. Illustrated report.

Monokroussos analyses Topalov-Kramnik, Wijk 2008

7/29/2009 – In a recent poll on the Russian website chesspro.ru they picked their ten best games of 2008. The winner was Topalov-Kramnik, from Wijk aan Zee – an explosive game between two mortal enemies. This game is the subject of Dennis Monokroussos' Playchess lecture this week. If you don't know it, you'll love it; if you do, you'll enjoy a second, closer look. 9 p.m. ET.

Biel 2009: Vachier Lagrave and Ivanchuk lead

7/29/2009 – After eight of ten rounds two players are in the lead by a full point: French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave and Ukrainian perennial Vassily Ivanchuk. Russian GM Alexander Morozevich has been doing a roller coaster, with Caissa frowning on him in round six, smiling in round seven and frowning again in round eight. Illustrated round seven/eight report.

6000 chess players took part in our beauty contest

7/29/2009 – We recently conducted a test: you had to choose a number between 0 and 100, and could win prizes if your number was closest to 2/3 of the average of the numbers given by all participants. The experiment is known as the "Beauty Contest" and goes back to John Maynard Keynes, one of the most influential economists who ever lived. Did chess players score above or below average?

Simple positions...

7/28/2009 – ... can actually be full of venom, particularly when they feature a weak back rank. Here White had just attacked the enemy rook with 34.Bxa5 and now Black had the choice between three moves: 
A) 34...Ra6
B) 34...Rb7
C) 34...Rxb3.
What would you advise? Only one continuation doesn't lose!
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

US Junior Championship: IM Ray Robson, 14, victorious

7/27/2009 – The US Junior Invitational Championship was hosted by Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 12-17th. The top seven American juniors under the age of 21 were joined by last year’s Junior Open champion for this eight-person round robin event. The tournament drew one of the strongest fields ever with one GM, three IMs and three FMs. It was won by a 14-year-old, with a 2751 USCF performance!

Rating inflation – its causes and possible cures

7/27/2009 – Thirty years ago there was one player in the world rated over 2700. Fifteen years ago there were six. Today there are thirty-three. What is the cause of this "rating inflation". A general improvement of chess skills? A larger number of players in the rating pool? The way the initial ratings are conducted? In this clearly written article statistician Jeff Sonas addresses these questions. Must read!

Biel 2009: Alekseev beats Morozevich, Ivanchuk leads

7/26/2009 – Talk about mercurial and unpredictable: after winning the first two games in the Biel Chess Festival Alexander Morozevich lost in round four to the youngest participant, Fabiano Caruana, and in round six to Russian GM Evgeny Alekseev. "Moro" is now at 50%, together with three other players. Vassily Ivanchuk leads with 3.5/6 points. Round six report.

Giri on a rampage at the Dutch Open Championship

7/26/2009 – The Open Netherlands Championship is taking place in Dieren, Holland. Jan Timman is playing here for the first time in several decades – he was Open Champion in 1970, when still a junior! But the talk of the town is Anish Giri, just turned fifteen, currently the world's youngest grandmaster. Anish has won every game in the first five rounds. His performance: a stunning 3164!

GM Chao Li gunning for a historic win next month!

7/26/2009 – Of all the events in the Asia-Pacific region, the IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open is establishing itself, not only as an annual tradition, but as a location for chess tourism and tough over-the-board battles. For those looking for a reason to take part, consider the tourist options, and the strong contingent of players converging on the area. Pictorial report by Edwin Lam.

Aronian on Mainz: I wish chess could always be like this

7/26/2009 – The 2007 Chess Classic starts on Monday, with a simul on 40 boards by GM Levon Aronian. The Armenian Olympic Champion and world number four goes on to defend his Chess960 title and then play in the Rapid World Championship against World Champion Vishy Anand. What does he think about the Mainz event? Levon clearly thinks it is great fun. Light-hearted interview.

Chess and cars in Ukraine – presentation by Mercedes

7/25/2009 – Chess, as we all know, is a magnificent game. It is also a great promotional tool. Banks, insurance companies, law firms – everyone seems to use chess motifs these day. Even car companies, and even in the Ukraine. Earlier this month German auto manufacturer Daimler presented two new Mercedes models, and invited WGM Natalia Zhukova to star in the event. Pictorial report.

Biel 2009: Caruana beats Morozevich in round four

7/25/2009 – In 2006 a 15-year-old lad scored a double victory over Alexander Morozevich in the Biel Tournament – which in spite of this the Russian won. That was Magnus Carlsen. This year another chess prodigy, Fabiano Caruana, has defeated Morozevich in the first half of the double round robin. At halftime Ivanchuk and Morozevich lead, with 3.0/5 points. Report after round five.