2010 Canadian Open Chess Championship

7/15/2010 – After five rounds five players lead in this popular event, which is taking place from July 10 to 18 in a very attractive place (Downtown Toronto), with many strong players and attractive category prizes (ratings, age, ladies, brilliancy). There are numerous side events during the day, of which the grandmaster simultaneous exhibitions are most popular. Big pictorial report.

Dortmund 2010: category 20 tournament begins today

7/15/2010 – The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, one of the most important traditional chess tournaments in Germany, is a favourite of former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who has won it a record nine times. This year the average rating is 2734 – the six players are Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and Le Quang Liem. Games begin at 15:00h, with audio commentary on Playchess.

Kavalek at Huffington: A Chess Odyssey

7/14/2010 – "One single square can make a big difference in a chess game," writes GM Lubomir Kavalek in his latest Huffington Post column. "It helped me to launch one of my longest combinations against Anatoly Karpov in Caracas 40 years ago." Karpov was at the time the reigning world junior champion. Kavalek brings extensive analysis of their game plus solutions to the Independence Day puzzles.

Luxurious Mediterranean Boys and Girls Championships

7/14/2010 – This is an excellent chance – a special offer: the 3rd Mediterranean Boys and Girls Chess Championships will be held from 31st August to 8th September 2010 in Crete, Greece. The players will stay in the beautiful five-star Hotel Cavospada, with one male and one female participant from each federation getting full board free of charge. Nominations before July 21!

Saint Louis: Zatonskih vs Krush drawn

7/14/2010 – Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih are the clear favourites in the US Women's Championship 2010. The two are just six rating points apart – 2476 to 2470 – but 150 points ahead of the rest of the field. Every single games of the tournament had been decisive until the two met in round three. After four rounds the two lead, with Parker Zhao on top in the Juniors. Big illustrated report.

Mega Database 2010 tutorial - Part 2

7/14/2010 – After learning how to install and configure your Mega Database 2010 as a reference database, and why, we bring you the next part of the tutorial, and now teach you how to set up an account so that your database is always up-to-date with the latest games from ChessBase's professional update service. The instructions were designed to be as easy as possible. Don't miss Part 2.

Karpov2010 fund-raiser at Simpson's in London

7/13/2010 – Remember the Karpov fund-raiser in New York? A similar extravaganza will take place in London, in the famous Simpson's-in-the-Strand, where 19th century intellectuals, sitting on comfortable divans, discussed politics and played chess. Steinitz, Morphy, Lasker and Zukertort were regulars. On Sept. 8th you can join forces with Kasparov, Adams, Short and McShane in exhibition games. Invitation.

Sebastien Feller wins Paris Championship

7/13/2010 – The Paris Championship is the oldest French Open – Abraham Baratz won the first edition in 1925. The leading players in this year's event included GM Tigran Gharamian (2650), GM Alberto David (2622) and GM Sébastien Feller (2611). The Open Tournament took place from July 3rd to 11th, 2010. It was a nine-round Swiss, FIDE rules, 40 moves/1h 30 + 30 sec then 30 mn + 30 sec. Pictorial report.

Interview with Pavel Eljanov

7/12/2010 – We bring an interview with GM Pavel Eljanov, fresh off an impressive win at the FIDE Grand Prix in Astrakhan, which rocketed him to 8th in the world rankings. He is currently the number one Ukrainian, ahead of stars such as Ivanchuk and Karjakin. He describes his impressions on the Sofia rules, his development as a player, and reveals his fashion consultant. Here is the pictorial profile.

2010 US Women's and Junior Championships

7/12/2010 – Two of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship and the 2010 U.S. Junior Closed Championship, are taking place July 9-20 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. IM Anna Zatonskih is looking to defend the crown which she won two years in succession. In the Junior section Ray Robson is the top seed. Report after two rounds.

Combining attack with defence...

7/12/2010 – ... is always a good idea was White's reasoning here when he played 37.Re1-e3, covering the threat against f2 while getting the rook into position on the third rank. How is the position to be assessed after this?
A) White wins, his king is safe and there is nothing against the threats 38.d6 and Qh8+;
B) Black can land an immediate counterstrike;
C) Black gets the advantage by also combining attack with defence.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Pastor in Iceland: Fischer not 'exhumed'

7/11/2010 – A week ago we broke the news: tissue samples had been taken from chess champion Bobby Fischer's grave, on the order of the Icelandic Supreme Court to settle a paternity dispute. Most news sources reported that the body had been "exhumed", and our version – a hole dug in the ground next to the grave – was disputed. Now the Pastor in charge of the procedure provides clarification.

A legal move from Karpov

7/10/2010 – The Karpov campaign for FIDE president has made good its promise to launch a court case against the FIDE administration of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is running to retain his post. The international law firm White & Case has sent out a terse statement declaring that it is initiating a request for arbitration. What does it all mean? The New York Times has some details.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (43)

7/10/2010 – The Editor of Chess Notes discusses the unusual brilliancy by Capablanca against Kevitz at New York, 1931, on the basis of the loser’s notes in a letter written many years later. The game has been described as ‘a delightful gem with a piquant finish’ and with ‘a problem-like move’, but is the exact game-score certain? And, above all, has the Cuban’s play been over-praised?

FIDE Elections: Karpov in Puerto Rico, Bahamas

7/9/2010 – Yesterday we went through the Ilyumzhinov election site, today we look at recent Karpov2010 campaign efforts – in the Caribbean. There is some remarkable video of a vote being taken in Puerto Rico to support the challenger's ticket. We also learn that Presidential candidate Karpov is taking up his opponent's challenge with a $100,000 sponsorship package to promote chess in Central America.

Mega Database 2010 tutorial - Part 1

7/9/2010 – When it comes to commercial databases, Mega Database 2010, with its 4.5 million games, is really as good as it gets for both amateur and professional alike. However, if not set up properly you may miss out on key features, such as running opening statistics of any position, or the weekly automatic update that keeps your database up-to-date. Check out part 1 of our tutorial.

Anand and Darpan – two champions meet

7/9/2010 – Both became national champions at the age of 16 – Vishy Anand in 1986, the youngest Indian player to win the title, and 2010 Darpan Inani, the youngest Indian to win the National Blind Chess Championship. A meeting between the two was arranged, and to Darpan's delight the World Champion spent some quality time with him. A touching Midday story.

To exchange or not to exchange?

7/9/2010 – In endgames, a further reduction in material is always a critical decision. In our position, Black was offered with 60...Kxg2 61.Kxe3 Rxb5 62.axb5 f1Q 63.Rxf1 Kxf1 the option of a liquidation to a pawn ending, which would leave him with a protected passed pawn on a5.

What do you think? Should he choose that liquidation or should he rather go for 60...Rc3 and the ending with rooks and bishops of opposite colours?
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller on ChessBase Magazine Online.

FIDE Elections: Ilyumzhinov Presidential ticket claims 64 votes

7/8/2010 – "The number 64 is significant," it says on the campaign site, "as it is a symbol for the 64 squares of our beloved game." Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who is running for reelection as FIDE President, is on the road and announcing high-prized new tournaments. Meanwhile one of his most ardent supports, Turkish Federation President Ali Nihat Yazici, has named his team for the ECU Presidency.

GM Daniel King's Powerplay Show on Playchess

7/8/2010 – "Hello, my name is Daniel King, and I would like to invite you to join me on Thursday evening for my Powerplay show on Playchess.com. Strategy, tactics and ball control – that's the Powerplay show Thursday evening 7:00 p.m. UK time, eight p.m. Central European Time. Almost as exciting as the World Cup!" Be there, bring your vuvuzelas – but first watch this video teaser.

Kavalek at Huffington: Laznicka wins World Open

7/7/2010 – Played over the Independence Day weekend, the World Open is the premier open tournament in the United States. It attracted nearly 1200 players this year, competing in 10 sections. The top Open section with 119 players included 35 grandmasters. The winner, 22-year-old Czech GM Viktor Laznicka, won an instructive game. Deep analysis by Lubomir Kavalek.

Magnus Carlsen's new career: fashion model!

7/7/2010 – After our teaser yesterday we received hundreds of emails and Skype messages, guessing what Magnus might have taken up. Poker professional was the most common theory, then came rock band, politics, marriage. Only one person, a fashion-conscious WIM from Ukraine, got it right. At a press conference in Berlin the Dutch clothing company G-Star also announced a world chess challenge.

Jermuk GP: Dzagnidze wins by a point and a half

7/6/2010 – Nana Dzagnidze drew her final game at the FIDE Women Grand Prix to finish at plus seven (9.0/11), with no losses and a 2747 score. For this 23-year-old Georgian grandmaster picked up a 6,500 Euro first prize. Tatiana Kosentseva lost her round eleven game but stayed in second place, a full point ahead of three players sharing 3rd-5th places. Final report from Jermuk.

Breaking news: Magnus Carlsen set to launch a new career

7/6/2010 – The world's highest ranked chess player is set to launch a new career as a – oops, we are not allowed to say until after the official announcement tomorrow. But it is okay for you to guess. Tennis? Soccer? Action movies? We can tell you that it is a side career, and that Magnus has no intention of abandoning the game he is so very good at. Unless of course he really gets into the new gig. Curious?