Dortmund 03: All games drawn in sweltering heat

7/4/2009 – The city of Dortmund has been struck by a heatwave. Problem is you do not have much air-conditioning – in Germany you need it for just a couple of weeks per year. All of the players in the Sparkassen GM tournament seemed fazed by the temperature and all three games ended in more or less rapid draws. Meanwhile Sofi Leko, wife of Peter, discussed literature with a German professor. Pictorial report.

Your judgement, please

7/2/2009 – The bishop sac on h7 (h2) to rip open the enemy's king position is a classical motif in chess. Sometimes it is good, sometimes it isn't - but one always has to be aware of it. And what is the case after 13.Nxc4 here?
A) Black wins easily, after all he's not got only one bishop, has he?
B) The sac is correct, however, victory requires yet a 'silent hammer blow'.
C) As good as it might look, the strike backfires; with cool defence White gets the advantage. The solution is for replay here or as video sample from Kings Powerplay 1 DVD. Hint: first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Dortmund 01: Carlsen beats Jakovenko

7/2/2009 – The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, the most important traditional chess tournament in Germany, started with a fine victory by top seed Magnus Carlsen. The 18-year-old Norwegian GM out-maneuvered his opponent, Russia's top GM Dmitry Jakovenko, in a knight vs bishop ending and took the full point after 49 moves. The other games were drawn. Report with commentary.

25th Spring Chess Festival in Budapest

7/2/2009 – Hungary certainly does not lack in chess tournaments. The year starts with the traditional early January tournament organised by the Hungarian Chess Federation, soon afterwards, in March, the spring season starts with the Spring Chess Festival. This year was the 25th edition. The events in Budapest are fraught with cultural activities. Illustrated report by Diana Mihajlova.

Monokroussos on not winning a model game

7/1/2009 – Few things in chess are more satisfying than winning a model game. The opening prep goes smoothly, one gains an advantage of some sort of another, and a series of fine moves leads to the inexorable conclusion: we win! And then there's the other 90% of the time. Lecture this Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on Playchess.

July 2009 FIDE ratings: Topalov leads, Anand second

7/1/2009 – Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov has gained one point from ten games to retain his top ranking in the FIDE list, 25 point ahead of reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand. In third place we find Magnus Carlsen, the 18-year-old GM from Norway. The biggest fall – once again – was by Vassily Ivanchuk, who shed 43 points. Top rankings and statistics.

Lviv – the chess capital of Ukraine

7/1/2009 – Chess was popular in the Ukrainian city of Lviv (or Lvov) before World War II, but it reached its golden age in the 1960s, when Leonid Stein gave inspiration to young young boys and girls. But it was the work of legendary trainer Viktor Kart that brought the country to the forefront of chess, producing some of the best players in the world. Illustrated report by Vladimir Grabinsky.

More Fischer-Spassky memorabilia on sale

6/30/2009 – We recently reported on a large Fischer collenction that was snapped up for US $61,000 by Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield. Collectors – and especially philatelists – have an opportunity to get some new items from the 1972 Fischer vs Spassky World Chess Championship, with postcards, envelopes, a signed admittance ticket. They are from a private Icelandic collection.

Do men and women have different brains?

6/30/2009 – In a recent thought-provoking article WGM Natalia Pogonina and Peter Zhdanov presented their views on the topic of why women are worse at chess than men. A number of our readers were unconviced: they think that efforts at "explaining" differences between the sexes only from environmental factors are doomed at the outset. Recent studies seem to support this. Feedback and articles.

Swedish ChessBoxing Sensation in London

6/28/2009 – London hasn’t been this crazy about a Swede since the heady days of Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon. This was undoubtedly the best chessboxing night yet seen in the UK; there was a superlative headline bout between two of the world's leading chessboxers, controversy involving an illegal move, the flamboyant Red Kite, and an England vs Germany match. Pictorial report with annotated games.

Tiger Lilov’s Chess Show: The Art of Defense

6/28/2009 – Bulgarian chess trainer Valeri Lilov, rated 2411, has a weekly show on Playchess.com. On Mondays at 20:00h CEST (7 p.m. London, 2 p.m. New York) he presents practical chess problems and interesting themes based on games taken from recent super-tournaments. This time he will focus on the defence in chess, with live audio commentary. Take a look, it’s free!

For the beginners

6/28/2009 – It's been quite a while since our ChessBase Workshop columnist had a look at Fritz features geared toward the beginning chess player. Novices take heart – a new ChessBase Workshop series for this group of novices and amateurs starts now with a column devoted to general advice. Learn more in the latest Workshop.

Your judgement, please

6/27/2009 – Opposite-coloured bishops tend to favour the attacker in middlegame positions, yet in endgames they can sometimes save the weaker side despite being one or even several pawns down. What do you think about the position after 66...Ke6? A) White has nothing better than to go for the trade b7 against e4, when despite two plus pawns his victory is written in the stars. B) There is a clever way to keep the pawn on e4, increasing his winning chances considerably. C) The first player can win by force. The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

CNN-IBN: Anand on his coming year

6/27/2009 – World Champion Viswanathan Anand is currently in his home town of Chennai, India, preparing for his upcoming events. He spoke about them with the network CNN-IBN – about the rapid chess tournament in Mainz, Germany, an event with Kramnik and Karpov. He also speaks about Indian cricket and about the passing of pop superstar Michael Jackson. Watch the video.

Bazna R10: Ivanchuk wins with a full point lead

6/26/2009 – Ukrainian super-GM Vassily Ivanchuk drew Teimour Radjabov on the black side of a sharp Najdorf to take clear first place by a full point (and with a 2872 performance) in the Romgaz King's Tournament in Romania. Gata Kamsky drew Boris Gelfand in 32 moves, while Alexei Shirov got a plus one score with a fine victory against Liviu-Dieter Nisepeanu. Final report.

Rybka's Monte Carlo Analysis revisited

6/26/2009 – Readers to the rescue! Several columns ago we took a close look at the new analysis feature of the program Rybka. Today our ChessBase Workshop columnist dips into his mailbag for some clarifications and corrections sent in by our loyal readers. You can find out what needed fixing in the original article by checking out the latest Workshop.

Bazna R9: Three draws, but exciting games

6/25/2009 – Nisipeanu-Radjabov was an important theoretical game in Sicilian Dragon, which ended in a draw in 40 moves. Ivanchuk was slightly better the entire game against Kamsky, but a draw was agreed on move 55. For most of the time Gelfand-Shirov looked like a quiet game, but at some moment Gelfand had a study-like win, which both opponents missed during the game. Report.

Daniel Pulvett wins Junior Championship for the blind

6/25/2009 – Being blind or visually impaired does not mean you cannot enjoy chess. Naturally the games cannot be conducted as in normal events – the blind need a separate pegged board which they can touch during the games. And the moves are naturally exchanged verbally. The Junior Chess Championship for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Täby/Stockholm was won by Daniel Pulvett of Venezuela.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part I (1809–1914)

6/24/2009 – In August there will be a spectacular event celebrating the 200th jubilee of the oldest chess club in the world: the Schachgesellschaft Zürich, which was founded in 1809. Attendees include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov. To prepare you for the jubilee Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the historical development of the club.

Bazna R8: All games drawn, Ivanchuk leads

6/23/2009 – The top encounter Gelfand-Ivanchuk did not develop into the merciless battle many expected – it ended in a draw by repetition in twenty moves. Shirov vs Radjabov ended in 38 moves peacefully. In Kamsky-Nisipeanu the American GM missed very good winning chances – he went for a beautiful knight sacrifice but missed the study-like win. Commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco.

Opening surveys in ChessBase Magazine 130

6/23/2009 – Exchange variations of nearly all openings are quite unpopular with the second players, since White often gets to play for the advantage without any risk. Naturally, in these lines there is a very high demand to obtain an active game with Black. GM Dejan Bojkov shows how this is possible against the King's Indian with 6.h3 and 7.dxe5, which he proved in practice at the Bulgarian Championship when he used this variation to rake in the full point and clinch the title. Here you can see the article (one of a total of 12 opening contributions) in full length. Complete survey of ChessBase Magazine 130. See Bojkov: Kings Indian 9.Bg5 Na6 10.Nd5 Rd6

Bazna R7: Ivanchuk beats Shirov, leads by a full point

6/22/2009 – Vassily Ivanchuk chalked up the third win in succession at the Romgaz Turneul Regilor in Romania, beating Alexei Shirov in a beautifully entertaining game. The Ukrainian, who came last in the Sofia Super-GM in May, with a performance of 2610, is now playing at 2946! Teimour Radjabov scored his first victory in this event against Gata Kamsky, who is having a really bad tournament. Round seven report.

Monday night: chess lessons for beginners and fans

6/22/2009 – Bulgarian chess trainer Valeri Lilov gives live online training on the Playchess server. On Mondays at 20:00h CEST (7 p.m. London, 2 p.m. New York) he will comment practical chess problems and key parts of games from recent super-tournaments. This time, the games will be from the recently finished Super GM tournament in Poikovsky and there will be live audio commentary. For this week's Playchess lecture you can try to solve the following position. The solution will be revealed in the Monday evening show. Come Monday night and improve your chess while having a lot of fun! Take a look, it’s free!

Ratings Summit in Athens

6/22/2009 – On June 11-12, FIDE held a special meeting in Athens, Greece to discuss the implications of changes to the FIDE rating system, especially the increase of the K-factor. Ratings experts from around the world (including John Nunn and GM Bartlomiej Macieja) were brought together to recommend a course of action to the Presidential Board.  Jeff Sonas reports on the meeting.