8/19/2009 – It was arguably the most dramatic match in chess history. Challenger Anatoly Karpov was on the verge of winning it, when he took game 23, but was foiled by World Champion Garry Kasparov in the very last game. History only remembers the winners, but as Dennis Monokroussos shows in his Wednesday night Playchess lecture, Karpov's best efforts are worth another look. So are these videos.

8/19/2009 – Six draws from seven games – but happily there was quite a bit of excitement in at least two games. One was of course Rustam Kasimdzhanov's victory over Ivan Cheparinov, which brought the former FIDE World Champion into the lead group of Peter Leko and Vassily Ivanchuk, a full point ahead of the field. We bring you a big illustrated report with impressions by Arman Karakhanyan.

8/18/2009 – In the final round the Dutch team were three points down and ready to fight for victory. Jan Smeets did the necessary against Luke McShane, but just as Loek van Wely appeared to have Nigel Short on the ropes the Rejuvenated One struck back and took the full point. Nigel is now over 2700 on live ratings and, at 44, once again Britain's top grandmaster. Final report by Steve Giddins.

8/18/2009 – This unique event, which takes place in the heart of Amsterdam, pits five highly talented young chess players against five older and experienced colleagues. You may remember that last year the Experience team got a painful drubbing. They lost to the Rising Stars for the third time in a row, but never was the score so dramatic: 33½-16½. For this year's event drastic measures were required.

8/18/2009 – Watching games on the Fritz Server – a high-class tournament or a blitz match between top players – is great fun. As a kibitzer, you feel the tension of such encounters, and even if you are "only" a hobby or club player, you enjoy the pleasant feeling that you have learned something. But there is much more, especially when you upgrade to ChessBase Light 2009 Premium (Euro 49.99). Take a look.

8/17/2009 – Innovations after move 20? There is no need to wait that long. In Aronian-Kamsky, Jermuk 2009, the Armenian came up with his innovation on move five! And five moves later he basically had a winning position. What the bizarre opening moves 1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.d4 have to do with the Grünfeld Defence was explained by Mihail Marin in CBM 126 (buy it now!); we reproduce here a shortened version of his article. Kamsky certainly hadn't had a look at Marin's analysis – you better do it!
Aronian-Kamsky with annotations
Mihail Marin on the variation 1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.d4

8/17/2009 – Entering into a free day, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave enjoyed a half-point cushion in accompaniment with his sole lead. With half his games ending in sixteen move draws, however, one wonders whether it is a matter of time before he is overtaken. Tkachiev has already had his opportunity to provide resistance, and now only Laurent Fressinet truly stands between Maxime and the title.

8/17/2009 – In round eight of the Howard Staunton Memorial the Dutch players struck a fearsome blow: a 1.5-3.5 victory to equalise their overall score against the Brits. But in round nine the island inhabitants hit back with a 4:1 win that put them in the overall 24-21 lead. With one round to go. In individual scores Nigel Short leads with 7.0/9, two points in front of his nearest rivals. Report by Steve Giddins.

8/17/2009 – Entering into the final round, Zoltan Almasi and Ferenc Berkes held the joint lead, a half-point ahead of their nearest competitor, Csaba Balogh. After an indecisive final round, with all games drawn, Almasi and Berkes emerged as the tournament's top finishers. Unfortunately, for Berkes, with a superior Sonneborn Berger score, Almasi takes home the title.

8/17/2009 – Round seven was a slugfest, with six decisive games to one draw. Round eight was the other way around: six draws to one decisive game. The outcome: Vassily Ivanchuk and Peter Leko are in the lead with 5.5/8 points, followed by Rustam Kasimdzhanov half a point behind. We bring you a report of both rounds and once again some very insightful pictures by Arman Karakhanyan.

8/16/2009 – Coming out of a free day two players, Aronian and Kasimdzhanov, showed gritty determination and took full points (the latter with black) to join the leaders Leko and Ivanchuk at the top of the table. Vassily Ivanchuk was in a tough position against US GM Gata Kamsky, but saved the day in an unusual ending in a unique way. Big illustrated round six report.

8/16/2009 – It was bear hugs in the final round: GMs Alexander Areshchenko Boris Avrukh had the black pieces but squeezed the life out of top contenders GMs Yuriy Kuzubov (30 moves in a Meran) and Alexander Morozevich (55 moves in a QGA) to take equal first at this strong event. We bring you more picture portraits by Georg Kradolfer of interesting players and faces in our final report.