Korchnoi vs Spassky in Elista

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.

World Championship Sofia – contract signed by FIDE

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.

The Poisoned Pawn Variation...

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.

London: Hammer wins the Festival FIDE Open

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.

London R7: Carlsen wins Chess Classic

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.

The tricky knight

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.

Wednesday night training on Playchess

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.

London R6: Kramnik and Ni Hua win, Carlsen escapes

12/15/2009 – For a while it looked as though Magnus Carlsen was going to lose with the white pieces against Michael Adams, but the latter did not play the best continuation and let the Norwegian off the hook. Vladimir Kramnik won a scrappy game against Nigel Short to move within a point of Carlsen. Ni Hua won his first game, against Luke McShane. Illustrated report with analysis.

Fritz 12 - Premium for everyone

12/15/2009 – Live commentary on top events, online training with titled players, simuls with IMs or GMs – all of this is free in the new full year premium membership that comes with Fritz 12. Premium members can watch Magnus Carlsen's postgame analysis of his first round win in London against Vladimir Kramnik at full length. Here's a three-minute taster or read more about the Premium membership here.

Hurry up

12/15/2009 – If you want to improve your understanding of a complex opening with a huge history the best that can happen is to have a really strong player with many years of experience teach it to you. That's exactly what GM Lubomir Ftacnik offers you on his Sicilian Scheveningen and Gruenfeld DVDs. Carsten Hansen from chesscafe.com tested the former thoroughly. Read his review with sampler.

London R5: Carlsen and McShane win

12/14/2009 – Round four of the London Chess Classic saw two decisive games today: Luke McShane defeated Hikaru Nakamura, and Magnus Carlsen stretched his lead to three points after beating Ni Hua with black. In the post-game press conference Magnus charmed everyone to the degree that John Saunders wishes that Britain’s over-zealous passport authorities will not let him out of the country.

World Cup final: Gelfand beats Ponomariov to win the Cup

12/14/2009 – After drawing the regular games Ruslan Ponomariov and Boris Gelfand and into the tiebreaks. They won a rapid chess game each and drew two to proceed to the blitz, where again each won a game. Game three and four went to the Israeli, who thus won the World Cup. Gelfand is now part of the eight-player tournament to find a challenger for the World Champion. Final report and interview.

World Cup final: Ponomariov-Gelfand go to tiebreaks

12/13/2009 – The fourth and final long game of the FIDE World Cup final ended, like the first three, in a (35-move) draw. That left the players, Boris Gelfand of Israel and Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine, tied 2:2 and going into the tiebreaks. The winner earns a place in the FIDE world championship match and pockets $96,000. The runner up gets $64,000. Musically illustrated report.

London R4: All games drawn, but fighting chess

12/13/2009 – Draws like those in round four of the London Chess Classic are exciting and instructive. We know this from following the games live with GM commentary at the venue and on the Playchess server. And after the games chess fans all over the world could listen to all eight players annotating their games. At least two had people holding their breath. Full illustrated report with analysis.

People and personalities at the London Chess Classic

12/12/2009 – Tournaments like the current one in London give us great chess and allow us to see some of the world's finest players up close. But they are also social occasions that bring together a multitude of interesting personalities. Too many to present all in one report. So here is a selection, ranging from players to authors, editors and successful traders. Photo impressions by Frederic Friedel.

World Cup final: Ponomariov-Gelfand 1.5-1.5

12/12/2009 – Yesterday the second game of the FIDE World Cup final ended in a 20-move Catalan draw – nothing to write home about. So we decided to skip a report of our daily coverage. The third game was more interesting, a Grünfeld by Boris Gelfand which ended after 37 moves in another draw. Sunday is the last regular game, after that it is rapid, blitz and armageddon tiebreaks. Illustrated report.

World Cup final: first game Ponomariov-Gelfand drawn

12/11/2009 – The four-game final of the 2009 World Cup has started, with Israeli GM Boris Gelfand playing a Petroff against Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine. The game ended after 37 moves in a draw. We use the opportunity to show you some of the art on display at the playing venue in Khanty-Mansiysk, and the fascination some people feel for the world cup trophies. Illustrated report.

London R2: Kramnik and Carlsen analysed

12/11/2009 – After their games in round two of the London Chess Classic most of the players once again congregated to the commentary room to explain what had just transpired to the audience in London and visitors of the Playchess server. This time it was Nigel Short, David Howell, Vladimir Kramnik, Magnus Carlsen and Luke McShane who shared their impressions. Report by John Saunders.

London R3: Kramnik wins again, Carlsen leads

12/11/2009 – After his first-round loss Vladimir Kramnik is on a winning streak: today he beat Luke McShane with the black pieces. With two wins and one loss he has six points according the "football" scoring system used in London. Magnus Carlsen, who missed a clear win with black against David Howell, has seven points and is in the lead. Giant illustrated report with analysis by John Saunders.

A coffin nail...

12/11/2009 – ... in chess is a pawn which has advanced to the sixth rank in the enemy king position, creating all kinds of mate motifs. Here Black had to decide whether he could allow White's pawn to go to h6 or not. 37...Ra4xe4 in your opinion leads to which result?
A) win for Black;
B) positional draw;
C) win for White.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a  larger version of the diagram.

World Champion Vishy Anand turns forty

12/11/2009 – It seems like just last week that he came visiting for the first time, a highly likeable, immensely talented 18-year-old chessplayer. Today Viswanathan Anand turns forty. He has won all worthwhile titles in chess: world championships, chess Oscars, you name it. In our congratulatory report we look back at dozens of memorable articles on the champ. Join us in wishing him a happy birthday!

London R2: Thirty love – Carlsen beats McShane

12/10/2009 – The rampage of the top seed Magnus Carlsen continues. The 19-year-old Norwegian scored another convincing victory, this time over Luke McShane, to take the lead. Vladimir Kramnik came back from his first-round loss (to Carlsen) with a win over Chinese GM Ni Hua. The other two games were drawn. A report on the game will follow, here for now is Magnus' blog entry and pictures from round two.

A mate attack out of the blue

12/9/2009 – Today will see the first game of the final Gelfand-Ponomariov at the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. Opportunity for us to look back on an exciting moment from the endgame Karjakin-Mamedyarov. The latter has just played 49...Rb2? (diagram), thus giving his young opponent the unexpected chance to decide the game by mating threats. Which surprising move helped the 19-year-old Ukraine to secure victory now? Use this larger diagram to work it out for yourself. Grandmaster Karsten Müller has analysed the endgame Karjakin-Mamedyarov for ChessBase Magazine Online.

Wednesday night training on Playchess

12/9/2009 – Since Ruslan Ponomariov has made it to the finals of the 2009 World Cup, it seems like an auspicious moment to have a look back at prior success of his career. At eighteen he won the FIDE knockout world championship, ahead of Anand, Adams, Morozevich and Ivanchuk. In this week's Playchess lecture by FM Dennis Monokroussos we see one of his great and instructive games. Be there and watch.