Sofia R7: Topalov beats Kamsky, wins candidates match

2/26/2009 – Veselin Topalov sacrificed a pawn in a Tarrasch, which Gata Kamsky took. By move 25 it looked like the American GM had winning chances. But in time trouble he blew a number of opportunities and went down to the counterplay of his opponent. That means Topalov has 4.5:2.5 points and is the winner of the eight-game match. Final report with commentary by GM Mihail Marin.

Etienne Bacrot wins Aeroflot Open 2009

2/26/2009 – Things didn't look that good for France's top GM, until victories in the last two rounds put him at the top of the table and gave him first place on tiebreak points. Second, with the same number of points (6.5/9) was Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine. We bring you all results and games from the top group, plus, from wintry Moscow, a big photo report by WGM Yana Melnikova.

Linares R5: All games drawn, miracle save by Anand

2/25/2009 – "Who said beating a World Champion is easy?" asks our annotator. And indeed, after running into an opening problem against Vassily Ivanchuk, Vishy Anand used some miraculous stalemate motifs to save the game. All the other games were also drawn, Dominguez-Radjabov being the most volatile. Pictures, annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco, video interviews and another truly atrocious pun.

David Janowski vs Edward Lasker, New York 1924

2/25/2009 – Many of the games from this legendary tournament, which included three world champions and three challengers, are well-known – they are included in anthologies and textbooks. But here's one that you probably do not know. In his Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us the fantasy adventure that occurred in Janowski-Ed. Lasker. See you at 9 p.m. ET.

Georgiev breaks Guinness Simul Record

2/25/2009 – After a month of training – mainly walking and saunas – Kiril Georgiev was ready to take the challenge and play a simultaneous exhibition against 360 opponents. For every move the Bulgarian GM had to walk half a kilometer, and after six hours of play had made only eight moves. After 14 hours it was over, he had scored 88% with 284 wins, 70 draws and 6 losses. The record was broken!

British Chess Problem Solving Championship

2/25/2009 – It is hard to assess whether chess is becoming more popular, but one chess activity is rapidly expanding: problem solving. Most European countries now have a national solving championship, and every year there is a world championship for individuals and countries. The 2009 British Championship was held at Oakham School and won by guess who. Report by John Nunn (with problems).

Sofia R6: Game drawn, Topalov leads 3.5:2.5

2/24/2009 – In the sixth game of their eight-game match Topalov played the Caro-Kann as black (no Sicilian yet in this match) and once again produced the novelty – on move eleven. Kamsky was not able to gain or hold a tangible advantage, and so the game became drawish. In the end he gave Topalov a pawn and drew by perpetual. GM commentary by Mihail Marin.

Aeroflot Open 2009 – photographic impressions

2/24/2009 – What was missing from our reports on the Aeroflot Open? Why pictures, visual impressions of the action. Not a single one was on the official site, and so it was a pleasant surprise when a colleague sent us a very nice bunch from Moscow. The include some critical shots of the contentious game Mamedyarov-Kurnosov from round six. From Moscow here is Misha Savinov's big pictorial report.

Linares R4: Aronian, Grischuk, Anand win

2/23/2009 – Vishy Anand outplayed Wang Yue with 1.d4, Alexander Grischuk punished the creative but over-optimistic play by Teimour Radjabov, while Levon Aronian laboured for 92 moves to overcome Leinier Dominguez' resistance an hour before midnight. After four rounds and before the free day Aronian and Grischuk lead with 3.0 points. Server statistics and annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco.

Top seed Mamedyarov withdraws from Aeroflot Open

2/23/2009 – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is the top seed in the 2009 edition of the Aeroflot Open in Moscow (February 17–26). After five rounds he was leading, together with Alexander Moiseenko and Igor Kurnosov. In round six he was crushed by Kurnosov in 21 moves. Mamedyarov filed an official complaint, essentially accusing his opponent of cheating, and withdrew from the event. Breaking news.

Solodovnichenko wins 69th Daniël Noteboom Tournament

2/23/2009 – Daniël Noteboom was a very promising Dutch player who had an Semi-Slav Variation named after him. Unfortunately he died of pneumonia in 1932 (before the age of medicine) at the age of just 21. This year the 69th memorial tournament was held, a 48-hour six-round Swiss, won by Ukrainian GM Yuri Solodovnichenko. Illustrated report by Frits Agterdenbos.

Anand on chess as a profession and on computers

2/23/2009 – World Champion Viswanathan Anand was one of the pioneers in the use of computers for chess. He started using chess database just months after Kasparov, and stuck with information technology ever since. In part two of his indepth interview Anand also speaks about books, professional chess and sporting heros. We have dug up some unique historical pictures.

Sofia R5: Topalov wins game five, leads 3:2

2/23/2009 – Gata Kamsky played the French with an isolated d-pawn, but was holding out well until move 35, when disaster struck in form of a blunder with a pawn loss. Veselin Topalov did not let the opportunity pass and netted a full point. The Bulgarian is now in the lead at 3.0:2:0, with three rounds to go. Our report today has tidbits from Sofia and GM commentary by Mihail Marin.

Corus Study Day – solution and new puzzles

2/22/2009 – Last week we had a report on the Corus Studies Day, where some of the world's best problem and study solvers were gathered and given nine tough studies to crack. The winner was 18-year-old Twan Burg ahead of double world champion John Nunn. In our report we gave you a sample of the studies they had to tackle. Today we bring you the solution and two incredible new studies to solve.

Sofia R4: Kamsky strikes back – wins in 73 moves

2/21/2009 – Gata Kamsky used the white pieces in game four to grind down his opponent Veselin Topalov and equalise the score in the FIDE Candidates match in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was an impressive performance by the American GM, who thwarted Topalov's attempts to complicate the position and punished them when the Bulgarian went too far. GM commentary in English and Romanian.

Linares R3: All games well-fought draws

2/21/2009 – The results may seem desolate, but the games of round three were by no means boring. In each the players worked hard in an attempt to score a point. In fact one last until late in the evening, with Vassily Ivanchuk pushing in vain for 65 moves to overcome Alexander Grischuk. Rooky Leinier Dominguez did well to hold Anand to a draw. Illustrated report with annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco.

Kurnosov leads at Aeroflot Open 2009

2/20/2009 – In recent years, the Aeroflot Open in Moscow (February 17–26) has become established as the world's strongest open tournament. The top section is limited to players rated 2550 or over – and has 76 participants of whom only seven are not GMs. The prize fund is 70,000 Euros, with 21,000 going to the winner. After three rounds Igor Kurnosov leads with 3.0 points. Games and results.

Sofia R3: Game three drawn in 37 moves

2/20/2009 – Gata Kamsky was not afraid to repeat his Grünfeld opening from round one. This time it was a Botvinnik with a black pawn sacrifice with tremendous complications. That got Veselin Topalov thinking and once again Kamsky had the initiative with the black pieces. But he seemed to play it safe and the game ended in a draw. Full commentary by GM Mihail Marin.

Linares R2: Aronian wins after Anand's blunder

2/20/2009 – A shocking turn of events: Vishy Anand was coasting to what looked like a sure victory against Levon Aronian, who kept creating little problems. Suddenly the World Champion cracked and Aronian took the full point. Alexander Grischuk ground down Chinese GM Wang Yue in a Slav. The other two games were drawn, Aronian and Grischuk lead. Full report with annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco.

The save/replace game dialogue - part 1

2/19/2009 – ChessBase 10 contains a large variety of fields into which you can input player and tournament information when saving a game. Some of these can be confusing for new users. In this week's ChessBase Workshop, learn the important difference between saving and replacing a game, and get a first look at the most commonly-used game header fields. Workshop...

Anand on chess – from square one to the World Championship in Bonn

2/19/2009 – Viswanathan Anand has won it all: the knockout, tournament and match world championships, blitz and rapid – you name it. He is the strongest Indian chess player in history, and one of the strongest in the world, ever. In a multi-hour interview Anand sat down with Indian journalists and described his career, candidly and in rare detail. Today you can read the first section: part one – the early years.

Linares R1: Anand defeats Radjabov in 61-move struggle

2/19/2009 – The World Champion, fresh from a long stay in India, went after top Azerbaijani grandmaster and world number six Teimour Radjabov in a Sicilian Sveshnikov. After 61 moves Vishy Anand was able to convert the queen ending into a full point. The other games were more-or-less hard-fought draws. We bring you pictures from the opening and commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco.

Alekhine – inspirational mastery in attack and initiative

2/18/2009 – In 1923 at the Carlsbad tournament Alexander Alekhine played a wonderful game against the legendary Akiba Rubinstein. It contains creative opening and middlegame play, and brilliant combinations leading to a decisive advantage. In his Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos explains why such games are an inspiration to contemporary players. Be there at 9 p.m. ET.

Viktor Bologan and the Chebanenko Slav

2/18/2009 – Recently we found a book entitled The Chebanenko Slav according to Bologan. The author is Moldavia GM Viktor Bologan, who looks back on a two decade long career, which includes a 2003 Dortmund triumph ahead of Anand and Kramnik. That came, incidentally, after a ten-day training session with Garry Kasparov. Read all about it in this Bisik-Bisik session with Edwin Lam.