From Kiev life it's – Nigel Short vs Sergey Karjakin

7/3/2008 – The event is taking place in the Academic Puppet Theatre, lasts five days and encompasses ten rapid chess games between the former world championship challenger and a former record-breaking child prodigy. After an evening of press conferences and wild festivities it was the younger player who started with a clearer head. Karjakin won both games.

Chessboxing World Championship 2008 in Berlin

7/3/2008 – In October there is one between Anand and Kramnik in Bonn. But that will be peaceful compared to the World Championship that is scheduled in Berlin this weekend. There four minutes of chess are interspersed with three minutes of violent pugilistic activities. We bring you photos and videos – and we also found out what FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov thinks about this sport.

Dortmund R4: Nepomniachtchi beats van Wely, joins the leaders

7/2/2008 – Ian Nepomniachtchi, the youngest player in Dortmund (he turns 18 in two weeks), scored his first win, beating Dutch GM Loek van Wely in 48 moves. Ian joins Jan Gustafsson and Peter Leko at "plus one", which is enough to lead after four of the seven rounds. The other games were drawn. The other games were drawn; the draw quota is 69% – with all wins scored by White. Round four report.

Chess in Iran: Premier League after five rounds

7/2/2008 – The third round of Iranian Premier League took place on Wednesday, June 25th, in Sari, the capital city of Mazandaran, a beautiful and green province on the south coast of Caspian Sea. There were a lot of surprises, as when GM Tigran Petrosian with the white pieces was held to a draw by the untitled Mehdi Atabaki, who is rated exactly 562 points lower. Report by FM Arash Akbarinia.

The secret filling station of Vassily Ivanchuk

7/1/2008 – In the restaurant in Linares, scene of the annual Super-GM tournament, Garry Kasparov always had a permanent table for his entourage, and a chair that was only his. One day Vassily Ivanchuk sat down on that chair, with a very specific goal in mind. In his Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us the result: Ivanchuk blasted Topalov off the board in just 25 moves. Enjoy.

Grand Slam Chess Final Masters Bilbao

7/1/2008 – It has been tried before, with success: top-level chess played in a glass "aquarium", where the public can approach the tables without disturbing the players. This time it's in September in Bilbao, Spain, on the Town Square. Anand, Carlsen, Ivanchuk, Topalov, Radjabov and Aronian take part in a unique tournament with no draw offers and the football scoring system of 3-1-0. Press release.

Dortmund R3: Naiditsch beats Kramnik with sensational rook sacrifice

7/1/2008 – A very dramatic day in Dortmund. While three games ended in relatively uneventful draws (in 19, 27 and 31 moves) the second-youngest player, Arkadij Naiditsch, uncorked a giant novelty against Vladimir Kramnik's Petroff Defence. It worked like clockwork and Naiditsch took home his first point. Mind you it turns out that Garry Kasparov had analysed this move nine years ago. Round three report.

5th Dato’ Arthur Tan Open – Malaysia, truly Asia

6/30/2008 – It’s almost July and in about a month and a half Mid Valley City in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will see the arrival of grandmasters, IMs, players, enthusiasts and fans from around the world for the 5th IGB Dato’ Arthur Tan Malaysia Open. With a $24,000 prize fund it will be the richest ever edition in the series. Participants can relax and sight-see in the beautiful country. Register now.

Anand tops July 1st 2008 FIDE ratings, Carlsen sixth

6/30/2008 – Actually the news is: Magnus Carlsen is only sixth on the official FIDE list, although up-to-date rating calculations put him on a history-making second place. The media (and chess fans) assumed that would be his place on the FIDE list, but a missed deadline thwarted that. Alexander Morozevich is second Vassily Ivanchuk third. Here are the FIDE and the Live Rating lists.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 8

6/30/2008 – The "Language" options in Fritz sometimes confuse even experienced users of the software. Our ChessBase Workshop columnist solves the mysteries and describes the settings in his latest column. Workshop...

The United Kingdom – once more, with feeling

6/29/2008 – Our original "gratuitous aside" about British sporting representation led to passionate responses from people for or against devolution or federalism. Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson and British GM Nigel Short made strong statements, and now their views have spilled over into a Scottish newspaper. We bring you excerpts and a final installment of some eminently enjoyable readers' feedback.

Romain Edouard wins Lyon Rapid on tiebreak

6/29/2008 – The French call it un blitz de départage «mort subite» – a sudden death blitz game. The Aspiring Youth Rapid Chess Championship, staged in Lyon to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the French Chess Magazine Europe Echecs, went down to the wire, with 18-year-old IM Romain Edouard beating 17-year-old Sébastien Feller in the tiebreak. Final pictorial and video report from Lyon.

Dortmund R2: Kramnik, Leko and Gustafsson win

6/29/2008 – Vladimir Kramnik outwitted Loek van Wely in a highly tactical Queen's Gambit Declined and clinched the point in 29 moves. Peter Leko had to work harder and longer – 57 moves – against Vassily Ivanchuk in a Sicilian Taimanov. Jan Gustafsson (thumbnail) whipped up a deadly attack after strategic errors by Arkadij Naiditsch. Round two report.

Chess at 1700 meters: Turkish İş Bank Chess League

6/28/2008 – The Turkish İş Bank Chess League is taking place from June 23 to July 3, 2008, with 22 GMs, 18 IMs, 15 FMs, 15 WGMs, 2 WIMs and 2 WFMs participating. It is taking place in a mountain resort near Izmit, just east of Istanbul, at an altitude of 6000 feet. We have a beautiful pictorial report brough to you from the Kartepe Mountain Resort by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich and Özgür Akman.

First «Circuit des Espoirs Europe Echecs» in Lyon

6/28/2008 – Why are these fair maidens playing chess with the names of two famous world champions affixed to their table? They are part of a "Young Hopefuls" tournament to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the French Magazine Europe Echecs – and playing in the exact location where Kasparov played Karpov in 1990. The twelfth champion is a special guest. Pictorial and video report from Lyon.

Dortmund R1: All games drawn in Sparkassen Meeting

6/28/2008 – Gustafsson-Kramnik, an Exchange Grünfeld, ended in a symmetrical rook ending and a draw in 29 moves. Naiditsch-Nepomnaichtchi, a Sicilian Najdorf, saw White with some chances but ended in repetition after 30 moves. Mamedyarov vs Leko was a Sämisch and drawn after 24 moves. Ivanchuk-van Wely was a Scheveningen with a drawn queen ending in 39 moves. Illustrated report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (3)

6/27/2008 – The Editor of Chess Notes rounds off his examination of old masters’ choices of their best games, and for this second part the cast includes Emanuel Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein and Max Euwe. Full scores of all 22 games are provided in replayable form, together with background jottings and a further nomination for 'the perfect game'. See Part II now.

Put a Nigel in Your Tank

6/27/2008 – Good news for consumers of chess software: the price of ChessBase DVDs has not been raised, while the quality stays tops. Nigel Davies is a good example, says Bob Long, who watched Nigel's DVD on the King's Indian Attack. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy this 5+ hours crash course with masterpieces by Fischer, Morozevich, and more. Buy it now or read Bob Long's review.

AMD plays its first game with Vishy Anand

6/26/2008 – The World Chess Champion has signed a deal with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), the company that develops computer processors and related technologies and is the second-largest global supplier of microprocessors. Anand is now the brand model for AMD, which is driving large ad campaigns with him. We bring you the first TV ad and some cool wallpaper.

The United Kingdom of Many Sporting Entities?

6/25/2008 – The discussions are not yet over, and emotions are still running high. Does Britain legitimately enter separate sporting teams for the different nations that "peacefully coexist within one nation state," as Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson thinks? Or is this "absurd, anachronistic, and profoundly discriminatory", as British GM Nigel Short believes? New opinions and more readers' feedback.

Dortmund 2008: The games start on Saturday

6/25/2008 – Our templates are ready: the annual Sparkassen Chess Meeting will take place from June 28th to July 6th, 2008, with eight players: Vladimir Kramnik, Shakhriyar Mamedjarov, Peter Leko, Vassily Ivanchuk, Loek van Wely, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Arkadij Naiditsch and Jan Gustafsson. The average age is 27.9, the average rating 2695 (= category 18). Full details.

Garry Kasparov: he's back and he's – teaching!

6/24/2008 – What brings a dozen young and talented chess kids to a skyscraper somewhere in the middle of Manhattan in New York City, on a pre-summer weekend in June? Why would those same kids completely take over the richly decorated, large conference room on a top floor, belonging to a successful financial company? To learn chess from the greatest, that's why. Report by Aviv Friedman.

Armageddon decider – more reader feedback

6/24/2008 – How does Anna Zatonskih feel about her sudden-death win of the US Women's Championship earlier this year? What do other readers think about the comments that have been made on the subject? The letters keep pouring in, and even BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen, who once beat Irina Krush, has weighed in with a proposal for a new blitz clock.

The endgame genius of José Raúl Capablanca

6/24/2008 – Moscow 1936. Soviet master Ilya Kan had drawn his first game against former world champion Capablanca, and things were looking very peaceful in their second encounter. But, as our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos shows, the great "Capa" was able to wring out a win in a "drawn" position, with deep strategic technique. Be there and learn – the show is free.