7/13/2009 – Just prior to the start of summer there is a noteworthy event which for 28 years has held a prominent place in the Hungarian chess calendar. Zalakaros is located in the south western part of Hungary, 200 km far from both Budapest and Graz. The event is favoured by many Hungarian GMs and IMs, in addition to players from further abroad. Pictorial report by Diana Mihajlova.

7/13/2009 – For the second time in recent memory, Alberta plays host to the Canadian Open. As in the 2005 edition, the top seeds sit amongst some of the best players in the world. Alexei Shirov has returned to defend the title he split with GMs Mark Bluvshtein and Vassily Ivanchuk, and has scored two fine victories in the first two rounds. Illustrated report with annotations by GM Alexander Shabalov.

7/13/2009 – If you own Pocket Fritz 3, you will have known for some time that the program allows you convenient access to almost all the data from the ChessBase Magazine DVD (since CBM 126). This means that the combination of Pocket Fritz 3 and ChessBase Magazine is unbeatable training and reference tool when you are away from home. Peter Schreiner gives more details…

7/12/2009 – Vladimir Kramnik played a fine black game against his compatriot Dmitry Jakovenko, and was a hair's breadth away from winning the game and the event. But he untypically missed the chance and with the other two games drawn there are four contenders for first place (Kramnik is half a point up on the other three). Note: the game on Sunday start at 13:00h CEST! Round nine report.

7/12/2009 – This is definitely his tournament: Vladimir Kramnik won it eight times previously, and after an inauspicious start the former World Champion mopped up in the second half to finish a full point ahead of his nearest rivals. They were Peter Leko, Magnus Carlsen and Dmitry Jakovenko, all at 5.5/10 points. Kramnik's performance: 2848. Final report with statistics.

7/12/2009 – Chess authors and publishers have a tendency to become over-excited, to put it mildly, when trying to induce potential customers to part with their money. But a darker side also emerges on occasion. With some grim examples the Editor of Chess Notes shows that there are cases where hype tips over into something far more reprehensible. It is time for a reality check.

7/10/2009 – Two games – Magnus Carlsen vs Peter Leko and Etienne Bacrot vs Vladimir Kramnik – ended in relatively uneventful draws. The third encounter, between Arkadij Naiditsch and Dmitry Jakavenko, developed into a drama in which the German GM let an advantage slip away, then got an unexpected gift from Jakavenko, but failed to capitalise on it. Round seven report.

7/10/2009 – The legendary twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov has long been an ambassador for chess. In his latest mission he travelled to Syria to make the first move of the Arabic Chess Championships Under 14. He was accompanied by roving chess journalist GM Robert Fontaine of Europe Echecs, who sent us a pictorial report, including high-def video footage. Extraordinary visual impressions.

7/10/2009 – On June 25th the iconic pop star died in Los Angeles of cardiac arrest. While the world stopped to mourn and millions followed his memorial service, we discovered an interesting factoid: Jackson owned a very luxurious gold-and-marble chess set, which he actually used, back in 2000, to teach his son Prince Michael, then aged three, the first steps in the game. Here is video evidence.

7/10/2009 – An advanced knight outpost in the enemy camp is a fine thing, and two of them often make you believe the game should just win on its own. Playing 29.Bg5, White had just provoked the losing move 29. ... f6 here. What would you recommend to him now? A) There are no forced continuations, but the modest bishop retreat to c1 keeps all the advantages of his position; B) Don't stop half way, the strike 30.Nxf6+ clearing the d-file wins at once; C) Sacrificing is correct, but the right method is rook h3 with the threat 31.Rxh5+. The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

7/10/2009 – And suddenly things have changed... After two relatively uneventful rounds Vladimir Kramnik was able to go into the lead at the Sparkassen tournament in Dortmund, after the leader since round one Magnus Carlsen blundered in a probably drawn position. Dmitry Jakovenko was able to defeat Etienne Bacrot in an 81-move marathon. Round eight report with pictorial impressions.

7/9/2009 – The Basque seaside town of San Sebastián, famous for its intense cultural life and international festivals of film and jazz, is paying host to a category 18 event, with ten GMs averaging 2682 – amongst them the legendary 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov and two former FIDE world champions. After two rounds US GM Hikaru Nakamura leads. Pictorial report by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.