The Great ChessBase Simul Hunt (3)

10/5/2008 – The third instalment in our series the Great ChessBase Simul Hunt has games played by Ftácnik, Andersson and Polugayevsky against readers in the United States, Sweden and Switzerland. The German master Karsten Müller provides annotations to the games, all of which were played in the early 1990s. Replay and enjoy the games.

Rybka, Hiarcs lead in Computer Championship

10/3/2008 – The 16th World Computer Chess Championship is being held in Beijing, China – as part of the Computer Games Championship, with 28 different games. After five rounds two programs are in the lead, with 4.5 points: Rybka (USA) and Hiarcs (England). The hardware being used by the participating programs ranges from a 40-core system to a Nokia cellphone. Report, results and games.

Reb Fountain's Chess Boxing single

10/3/2008 – It sounds unlikely: a Kiwi singer who makes "soul music that is real and heartfelt and pure and connects with people because it sounds good and feels great," has been inspired in her new album by – chess boxing. "It is quite beautiful, people boxing and then coming to the chessboard bleeding profusely. I like the idea of that." Video report.

Bisik-Bisik with GM Nigel Short

10/3/2008 – Mention GM Nigel Short and we think grandmaster, world championship challenger, coach, author and journalist. Some of us will also associate him with the French Defence, an opening that he used to play regularly many years ago. But away from the chess board, this man is also very well known for his witty reports and articles on chess. Edwin Lam interviews the chess writer.

Grandmaster strategy for everyone!

10/2/2008 – Top-level middlegame and endgame strategy is often thought to be beyond the average player's understanding, but an ex-world champion has managed to close the gap. Rustam Kasimdzhanov's Fritz-Trainer DVDs were greeted enthusiastically by Hedinn Steingrimsson, who highly recommends them for players of all levels. Buy them now or read his review.

ChessBase 10 trees - part 1

10/1/2008 – ChessBase 10 has arrived, with new features plus significant improvements to existing ones. In the first of a two part series on opening trees in ChessBase, columnist Steve Lopez offers a refresher course on selecting a tree and reading its data. Find out more in the new ChessBase Workshop Workshop...

Vishy Anand: 'Chess is like acting'

10/1/2008 – In a rare interview before the World Championship, which begins in less than two weeks in Bonn, Germany, the reigning champion Viswanathan Anand speaks about the title match against Russian Vladimir Kramnik, about his training in the cellar, the role of emotions and his meeting with Bobby Fischer. The story is in the SPIEGEL, one of Europe's largest new portals. Must-read interview.

Harikrishna wins 2008 SPICE Cup in Lubbock

9/30/2008 – This event is staged by the Texas Tech University and is the acronym for Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence. The ten-player event had an average rating of 2605, making it a category 15 – the highest-rated tournament of its kind held on U.S. soil. With a final round victory Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna joined the leaders with 5.5/9 points, taking the first prize on tie-break. Illustrated report.

Topalov tops the October 2008 FIDE ratings

9/30/2008 – Veselin Topalov's incredible performance at the Bilbao Chess Masters – one of the strongest tournaments in history, which he won by a 1.5-point margin – has catapulted him to the top of the FIDE ratings list. The Bulgarian has gained 14 points and leads Alexander Morozevich by four points. Viswanathan Anand's Bilbao disaster dropped him to fifth place, eight points behind Topalov. October ratings.

Getting ready for the World Championship

9/30/2008 – With the Anand-Kramnik match coming up later this month, it's time to start whetting our appetites with a look back at some of their career highlights. This week our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos will start with a look at a game that was instrumental in bringing Vladimir Kramnik to the title, his second win over the then-defending champion Garry Kasparov. Be there.

Back by popular demand...

9/29/2008 – What question does our ChessBase Workshop columnist receive more often than any other? Go ahead amd guess -- and we'll bet you get it wrong. Steve Lopez reveals the single most burning question on the minds of his longtime readers in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

A great moment in chess (Part 4)

9/28/2008 – July 15, 1972. Reykjavik, Iceland. After threatening to abandon the World Championship match and leave Iceland, Challenger Bobby Fischer appears for game three, in a back room of the theatre. There he discovers a closed-circuit television camera for the audience in the main hall. “No cameras!” he roars. Prof. Christian Hesse recounts the harrowing events surrounding the match.

Bulgaria to Ilyumzhinov: we are worried

9/27/2008 – During the Bilbao Masters tournament Veselin Topalov's manager IM Silvio Danailov told journalists that there were no news regarding the Topalov vs Kamsky match. Now Stefan Sergiev, President of the Bulgarian Chess Federation has appealed to FIDE President: "Mr. Ilyumzhinov, please inform me where and when the match will take place!" Full story, now with official corrections.

The Grass Arena – now a Penguin Classic

9/26/2008 – As a child John Healy discovered that drink offered a release from his violent and unpredictable father. For fifteen years he dossed, drank and fought in the grass arena – the parks and open spaces of London. And spent time in prison. On one occasion he learnt chess – and became hooked. After a decade out of print Healy's gripping tale is now published as a Penguin Classic.

Kasparov in the Harlem Children's Zone

9/26/2008 – The Harlem Children's Zone is staging a Chess Festival on Sunday, September 28th. It features free chess lessons, a free drawing for 300 chess sets and T-shirts, problem-solving contests and free refreshments. As part of the celebration, Kasparov will play 20 games simultaneously against student players from Harlem. Press release.

Get Ready for Earth vs. Space

9/26/2008 – On Monday, September 29 Greg Chamitoff, travelling 210 miles above the earth at five miles a second, will challenge team earth to a ground-breaking Space Match. It is a unique event, pitting the International Space Station astronaut against the residents of Earth, guided by a team of schoolchildren. Rate of play is one move per day. Press release.

The world crown eludes Humpy – again

9/25/2008 – The 22-year-old Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, rated 2622, is the second strongest female player in the history of chess. In this year's Women's World Championship she cruised through to the semi-finals and was then eliminated by 14-year-old Chinese wonder girl Hou Yifan. What went wrong? Manisha Mohite analyses the situation around Humpy and offers explanations. Sify report.

The Milov vs. Rybka Handicap Match

9/24/2008 – The chess program Rybka has played a number of handicap matches against titled players, but never before one against a 2700+ player. Last week it got an opportunity against Vadim Milov, playing two regular games, two with pawn and move handicap and four with exchange odds. It was a well-matched battle, instructive for both the programmers and the Super-GM. Larry Kaufman reports.

Learning from the young Keres and Smyslov

9/24/2008 – In 1939 neither the legendary Paul Keres, 23, nor the future World Champion Vassily Smyslov, 18, were obviously at their prime, but they were already very strong and great battlers. In our Wednesday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos takes a look at an encounter which starts with a low-tech opening but develops into a firework of attacking brilliance. Wed. night, free of charge.

Fifth China vs Russia Match in Ningpo

9/24/2008 – Ningpo or Ningbō is a provincial Chinese city – populated by over two million and covering an area of over 6000 square kilometres. It is playing host to a traditional China vs Russia match, which this year is going in favour of the Eastern players. After the five rounds of regular chess (rapid and blitz are to follow) the score is 26:24 points – thanks to the Russian girls. Pictorial report.

Get into the mood for Anand vs. Kramnik

9/23/2008 – It is 21 days to go for the start of the long awaited World Championship match. While tension is rising you should not miss getting to know the champion and his challenger in person. While Kramnik recorded his famous DVD 'My Path to the Top' at the end of 2007, Anand just recently made two DVDs, also in the Fritz Trainer format. Buy Vishy's 'My Career vol 1 and 2' now or read this review.

Like to get some sun this winter?

9/23/2008 – One of the quirks of living on the surface of a tilted sphere is opposite seasons. When it is cold, dark and damp in the Northern Hemisphere, the southern half is enjoying balmy weather, with the denizens engaging in activities such as mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, skydiving and river safaris in jet boats. You can join them and play chess as well. The Queenstown Open is in January.

NSK DDOR Novi Sad wins Serbian League

9/22/2008 – The Serbian Chess League took place in Subotica, from September 1 to 12, 2008. Fifty-one participating grandmasters make it one of the world’s strongest leagues. The well deserved victory went to NSK DDOR from Novi Sad. Second was Beograd Beopublikum, which chould not catch Novi Sad in spite of a 6/10 result and 2704 performance by Arkadij Naiditsch. Report and games.

Bilbao Masters: photographic impressions by Fred Lucas

9/21/2008 – We turn, as in the past, from the digicam journalists who swarm around chess events to the professionals who take their work very seriously, composing, framing, cropping, colour-correcting their high-quality pictures, and producing aesthetically pleasing visual feasts. Our friend and teacher Fred Lucas was at the Chess Masters in Bilbao and has provided us with his take on the event. Enjoy.