A quick pre-match interview with Vladimir Kramnik

10/9/2008 – Next Tuesday is the day, the first move in the World Championship match between Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik will be executed in the State Art Gallery in Bonn, Germany. This week the players have arrived and taken up quarters with their teams. We took the opportunity to do a phone interview, in which the Challenger reveals some but not all of his secrets.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (10)

10/8/2008 – Our quiz invites readers to identify ten chess figures, and the good news for entrants is that all the pictures can be found in Chess Notes. The main prize is a copy of Richard Forster’s monumental book Amos Burn. In Bonn next week, it will be personally inscribed to the winner by both Anand and Kramnik, as well as Forster himself. An unmissable opportunity for all readers.

ChessBase 10 trees - part 2

10/8/2008 – In our last ChessBase Workshop column we had a "refresher" on the basics of viewing opening books/trees (the terms are interchangeable) in the ChessBase program. In the second Workshop we look at the new tree features to be found in ChessBase 10, and some tweaks you may find very useful. Learn more in the latest Workshop.

Getting ready for the World Championship

10/7/2008 – The Anand-Kramnik match is just six days away. Last week our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos looked back at a career highlights of challenger Vladimir Kramnik. This Wednesday he will take us through a delightful game by World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Sit back and enjoy.

Peter Svidler leads in Russian Super Final

10/7/2008 – In round four he took a 14-move break, but after winning the first three games Saint Petersburger GM Pjotr Svidler is in the lead in the Russian Championship, with 3.5/4 points and a performance of 3028. He is followed by Alexander Lastin with 3.0 points. Top seed Alexander Morozevich (there are three Alexanders in this tournament) is in 5-8th place with 2.0. Report after round four.

Alexandra Kosteniuk wins Women's Blitz in Beijing

10/7/2008 – The 1st World Mind Sports Games is currently taking place in Beijing, close to the venue of the 2008 Olympic Games. It features five mind sports: bridge, chess, go, draughts and xiangqi. In the chess section there are blitz, rapid, team and mixed competitions. Alexandra Kosteniuk won the Women's Blitz, in the men's section young Ukrainian GM Martyn Kravtsiv was successful. Report from Beijing.

Garry Kasparov Plays in Harlem

10/7/2008 – Recently, the gaze that used to make top grandmasters shake was focused on grade-school kids. The Harlem Children's Zone and the Kasparov Chess Foundation brought the best local players and the former world champion together in an unforgettable event. Hundreds of people came to watch Kasparov's simul and to participate in the First Harlem Children's Zone Chess Festival.

Rybka wins World Computer Chess Championship

10/6/2008 – The US program Rybka won the 16th World Computer Chess Championship that was held in Beijing, China, a full point ahead of its nearest rival, the British program Hiarcs. Third, a point behind, was the Israeli program Junior, followed by Cluster Toga and then Shredder. The hardware used in the event ranged from a 40-core system to a Nokia cell phone. Final report.

Gopal leads in Banja Luka

10/5/2008 – It is a famous tournament site, in the capital of the Republic of Srpska (an entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina). From September 28 to October 9 ten GMs are battling it out – quite literally, since there was only one "saloon draw" in the first four rounds. Indian GM Geetha Narayanan Gopal, rated 2548, leads, with 77-year-old Viktor Korchnoi in hot pursuit. Report from Banja Luka.

Svidler, Lastin lead in Russian Super Final

10/5/2008 – The Russian Championship, which for some years now has been called the "Super Final", is taking place as a 12-player round robin from October 3-15 in the Moscow Central Chess Club. After two rounds Peter Svidler and Alexander Lastin lead, each having won both his games. Svidler scored a fine black win against top seed Alexander Morozevich. Round two report.

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.