Macieja: The increase of the K-factor is essential

4/28/2009 – Yesterday we reported that FIDE had decided not simply to change the K-Factor in its rating calculation, but to publish two parallel lists for a year and then review the results. Today we received a passionate appeal by GM Bartlomiej Macieja not to delay the decision but increase the K-factor immediately. In fact he advocated recalculating the lists of the last two or even five years. Let the debate begin.

Nalchik R12: Leko wins, joins Aronian in the lead

4/28/2009 – One round before the end Peter Leko scored an important victory over Rustam Kasimdzhanov to join Levon Aronian on the top of the table (Kasimdzhanov joined Ivanchuk at the other end). Sergey Karjakin defeated Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk beat Etienne Bacrot. Tomorrow Aronian plays Leko. Full illustrated report with commentary by GM Sergey Shipov.

27th Metz International Open Chess Tournament

4/27/2009 – Reputed to be France's third most prestigeous open tournament of the calender year, the organizing Metz Alekhine Chess Club succeeded in surpassing expectations with the participation of 26 GMs and ten IMs in a field of 101 players from more than a dozen countries. The prize fund was 10,000 Euros, with four players tying for first, amongst them our reporter GM Kevin Spraggett.

Add-on to Slav 4...a6 5.a4 e6 6.g3

4/27/2009 – Our reader Andrey Terekhov from Munich immediately seized his CBM 129 in order to study the article by Evgeny Postny on 5.a4 e6 6.g3 in the Chebanenko-Slav. He had recently played an interesting game in this variation, a game which he has sent to us with detailed annotations. Essentially speaking, it supports the evaluation of our Israeli author. Read more on the Chebanenko Slav...

FIDE: Anand-Topalov bidding, K-Factor

4/27/2009 – The World Chess Federation has opened the bidding for the next World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov, scheduled for April 2010. At the same time FIDE has reacted to concerns of players and decided not to simply change the K-Factor in its rating calculation, but to in fact publish two parallel lists for a year and then review the results. Press releases.

Nalchik R11: Ivanchuk, Bacrot, Gelfand win

4/27/2009 – At the top Levon Aronian and Peter Leko drew their games, to remain in first and second place respectively. Vassily Ivanchuk beat Alexander Grischuk, winning his first game in this tournament – he has lost three and is at the end of the table. Boris Gelfand ground down Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and a clean-shaven Etienne Bacrot beat Sergey Karjakin. Commentary by GM Sergey Shipov.

Tie for first by half the field in Oslo

4/27/2009 – The Arnold Eikrem Memorial, part of the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Oslo Chess Club, saw an exciting finish in true Norwegian social democratic spirit: it ended with half the field sharing first place! The open, Knut Bockman Cup, was won by the new shining star on the Norwegian chess heaven, FM Frode Urkedal (15) with a stunning 8.0/9. Pictorial report by GM Leif E. Johannessen.

Refined Chess – a new proposal to combat draws

4/26/2009 – Last December Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh proposed a solution to the perceived problem of too many unforced draws in chess (force everyone to play to mate). There ensued a lively discussion. Now we have another proposal on the table, submitted by Ali Ferhat Tamur, a computer engineer and 2200 player, who differentiates between complete and slight wins. What do you think?

Nalchik R10: the bloodiest round of the tournament

4/26/2009 – High drama in Nalchik: five decisive games, with Aronian, Leko, Akopian, Mamedyarov and Grischuk scoring. After the dust has settled we see Levon Aronian once again in the sole lead, with Peter Leko half a point behind. Three players share 3rd-5th places, a full point behind Aronian. We bring you commentary by GM Sergey Shipov and pictures from the Grand Prix in our round ten report.

Opening Surveys in ChessBase Magazine 129

4/24/2009 – The Sicilian Najdorf Variation is hard to tackle, so hard, in fact, that many players simply want to evade it. But most of these avoidance systems do completely without d2-d4 and pose no big challenge for Black. The anti-Najdorf-system presented by Alexey Kuzmin in CBM 129 starts with 2.Ne2, and only after 2...d6 - i.e. the attempt to enter the Najdorf - dispenses with the direct advance of the d-pawn (however, 2...e6 3.d4 or 2...Nc6 3.d4); the continuation is 3.g3, possibly followed by c3 and d4.
More opening surveys in CBM 129, buy in online shop
Description of the article in the CBM 129 booklet
Kuzmin: Sicilian with 2.Ne2 d6 3.g3

How is basketball like a game of chess?

4/24/2009 – Our beloved game has been used to promote a variety of human activities: financial institutions use it – ad nauseam –, car sales people too. Even in Victorian times it was a popular image. Now the National Basketball Association (NBA), North America's a professional men's basketball league, has picked chess to convey a message. Check out the newest chess promo for the NBA on TNT.

Nalchik R9: Kamsky, Alekseev and Bacrot win

4/24/2009 – Another dramatic round, with Gata Kamsky coming back strongly from his two previous losses to grind down Alexander Grischuk in 101 moves – with the black pieces. Etienne Bacrot scored a full point against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Evgeny Alekseev defeated his young colleague Sergey Karjakin. Alekseev has now joined Aronian in the lead. Full report with GM commentary.

Nalchik R7: Karjakin and Eljanov score

4/23/2009 – Sergey Karjakin played an explosive game against Gata Kamsky, and at one stage (move 27) was basically lost. He fought back to win after his opponent had let the opportunity slip. Boris Gelfand got hammered by a heavy pieces attack on his exposed king, with Pavel Eljanov doing the attacking with the black pieces. Levon Aronian continues to lead. Full report with GM commentary.

Nalchik R8: Gelfand, Eljanov win with black

4/23/2009 – For Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov it was the second win in succession – in two rounds he has disposed of Gelfand and Kamsky with the black pieces. On the other hand US grandmaster Gata Kamsky lost for the second time in a row, to take up residence at the bottom of the table (half a point ahead of Ivanchuk). Lev Aronian continues to lead, with 5.0/8 and a 2814 performance. Full illustrated report.

Make big progress with little ado

4/22/2009 – "Major pieces vs. Minor pieces" is the subject of Daniel King's latest Powerplay-DVD. These positions are not only difficult to play but hard to evaluate because a wide range of criteria must be considered. Amateurs can learn more from the masters here than in any other middlegame theme. Mark Donlan reviews the DVD at chesscafe.com. Buy "Powerplay 9" or read this review.

Nalchik rest day: the Chereksky gorge and Blue Lake

4/22/2009 – There are two rest days in the FIDE Grand Prix tournaments, and they are used to give the players an outing in the local surroundings. After round five in Nalchik they were taken to the spectacular Chereksky region of Kabardino-Balkaria, which contains the second-deepest lake in the world. "It is difficult to describe in words the beauty surrounding us," said Levon Aronian. Pictorial.

Akopian and the Revenge of the Tourists

4/22/2009 – In Nalchik there is a player coming up from behind. Vladimir Akopian started badly, but won his last two games to move up the table. People forget that the Armenian was runner-up in the FIDE knockout world championship in 1999, and has a plus score against Garry Kasparov. Dennis Monokroussos, our Playchess lecturer, shows us a stunning Akopian win against the greatest player ever.

Nalchik R6: Grischuk loses, Aronian wins to take lead

4/22/2009 – Forget Sunday's table. In round six Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beat the leader Alexander Grischuk, while Levon Aronian beat a completely out-of-form Vassily Ivanchuk. Peter Svidler won with black against Pavel Eljanov and Vladimir Akopian moved up the ladder with a victory over Sergey Karjakin. Now Aronian leads, with four players behind him. Full report with commentary.

Sambuev and Friedel win Thrilling Toronto Tournament

4/21/2009 – The 2009 PWC Toronto Open Chess Championship took place from April 17th to 19th, 2009 – five rounds Swiss, prize fund $17,000+, entry fee $90 + bring your own clocks. Two players, Russian GM Bator Sambuev, 2498, and US GM Joshua Friedel took first place, with 5.0/5 points, leaving the likes of Nakamura, Perelshteyn and Shabalov in their wake. Illustrated report and games.

Jennifer Shahade – getting back at Marcel Duchamp

4/21/2009 – In 1963 the artist Marcel Duchamp posed for a picture at the Pasadena Art Museum in which he played a game of chess against a naked model. Inspired by this picture and the circumstances surrounding it two-time US Women's Champion WGM Jennifer Shahade, who has worked on a book on Duchamp, engaged in a one-sided nude chess game at the Philidelphia Soundstages. Here's the video.

'Magnificent Chess Tournament' in Jamaica

4/20/2009 – Magnificent Chess Limited (MCL) is a new and innovative enterprise to revolutionize the mindset of Jamaican people and their Caribbean neighbours, through the democratization of the art of learning, teaching and playing chess. The organisers hosted a tournament which was duly won by the only GM in the Master's section, Alfonso Romero Holmes. Big pictorial report from Jamaica.

Nalchik R5: Kasimdzhanov and Akopian win

4/19/2009 – A day of surprise results: Vladimir Akopian, who has been languishing with 1.0/4 alone at the bottom of the table, beat second-placed Gata Kamsky in a titanic R+B vs R ending over 98 moves (Kamsky missed a number of drawing chances, the simplest on move 93). Vassily Ivanchuk self-destructed with the white pieces in 25 moves against Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Report with commentary.

Nalchik R4: Kamsky beats Svidler, Grischuk leads

4/18/2009 – Just before the time control Peter Svidler sacrificed an exchange and messed up his position. He defended tenaciously, but his opponent Gata Kamsky ground him down in 74 moves. All other games were drawn, Alexander Grischuk leads the event with 3.0/4 points. Full report with pictures and commentary – and excerpts from an interesting interview with Boris Spassky.

Nalchik R3: four wins, Aronian drops a point

4/17/2009 – High drama at the Fourth FIDE Grand Prix: Sergey Karjakin took the 2-0 leader Levon Aronian to the cleaners in a 34-move slugfest; Alexander Grischuk continued his excellent form with a win over Rustam Kasimdzhanov (in time trouble); Alekseev outplayed Eljanov and Leko did the same to Akopian. We bring you pictures plus commentary by birthday boy Sergey Shipov.