People and personalities – photo retrospect (part two)

2/14/2008 – Tomorrow – February 15 – the Super-GM in Morelia and Linares starts. We have survived our 30-hour journey to Mexico and are preparing first reports, while settling down in our hotel and getting communications up. The press conference is coming up, with the opening ceremony tonight. To bridge you over here is part two of our pictorial retrospect of Wijk.

Boris Spassky, the overshadowed genius

2/13/2008 – He is one of the great legends of chess, but Boris Spassky had the misfortune to be continually overshadowed by others – especially Mikhail Tal and Bobby Fischer. A grandmaster at 18 and a Candidate at 19, he did win the world championship title. Our Playchess.com lecturer Dennis Monokroussos looks at an exciting game from his 1968 Candidates match with Efim Geller. Enjoy.

Is the French still ok?

2/13/2008 – Former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov has recorded three DVDs on 'Beating the French' which deals with the aggressive approach 3.Nc3. Each DVD covers one of Blacks main reactions and shows how White gains good winning chances. 'It is strategic, it is tactical, and the subtleties are simply fascinating' is Bob Long's conclusion for vol. 1. Buy the DVD now or read his review.

'We want to win Gold at the 2012 Chess Olympiad'

2/11/2008 – In March 2008 the Turkish Chess Federation, together with the country's largest bank, is staging a spectacular international women's event in the center of Istanbul. But why are they doing this, and intend to continue doing so for the next five years? To encourage Turkish ladies to the point where they can compete for medals at the Olympiad, that's why. Interview with the TCF President.

Remembering Bobby Fischer – on the Dick Cavett Show

2/10/2008 – "Among this year’s worst news, for me, was the death of Bobby Fischer," writes one of America's great talk show hosts, Dick Cavett. "Towering genius, riches, international fame and a far from normal childhood might be too heady a mix for anyone to handle. For him they proved fatal. I’m still sad about his death. In our three encounters, I became quite fond of him." Eulogy and video.

Artyom Timofeev wins Moscow Open 2008

2/10/2008 – After eight of the nine rounds in this tournament Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev was in the lead, having won seven games in a row! Half a point behind were Artyom Timofeev and Alexander Lastin. The showdown came in the final round, when Timofeev played Inarkiev. It was a titanic 117-move struggle, which decided the winner of the tournament. Final report.

Alexei Shirov on the Irtysh at minus 20°C

2/9/2008 – The 2007 FIDE World Cup was held at the end of November in Khanty-Mansiysk, the heartland of Russia, temperatures and wind chill can drop to dangerous levels. Especially if you are riding a snowmobile on the frozen surface of a mighty river. As was done by World Cup finalist (and ChessBase DVD author) Alexei Shirov, who we are glad to report, survived the ordeal.

Timofeev, Popov, Inarkiev lead in Moscow Open

2/8/2008 – In round one third seed Ernesto Inarkiev, rated 2681, lost to FM Okara Andrey, rated 2402 and 158th seed. A shock, but Inarkiev recovered from it very nicely, thank you, and won the next six games. He is now in the lead, together with GMs, Artyom Timofeev and Ivan Popov. In the women's section 17-year-old IM Anna Muzschuk leads, having conceded just a single draw so far. Pictorial report.

Alexander Riazantsev leads Moscow Open 2008

2/7/2008 – You may not have heard the name before, and may not be able to pronounce it now, but the 22-year-old Russian grandmaster won his first four games to take the sole lead in the Open A group. In round five he drew and allowed four other players to catch up. Twenty players follow half a point behind. A small number of games are available from this event. We bring you standings and pictures.

Join Shirov's world of chess

2/7/2008 – Even for strong players with high Elo ratings and FIDE titles it can be very inspiring to listen to a top player like Shirov present his games and ideas. Hedinn Steingrimsson became a GM end of 2007. He has watched several of Shirov's Fritz Trainer DVDs and says he is just delighted by the new Spanish Vol 2 DVD. Buy it now or read the Icelander's review.

To Gligoric with Love – a legend turns 85

2/6/2008 – Svetozar Gligoric, born in Belgrade on February 2, 1923, is the best ever chess player in Serbia and ex-Yugoslavia. He won the national championship eleven times, earned twelve Chess Olympiad medals, six in European championships and was candidate for World Championship title many times. Gligoric was honoured on his 85th birthday with an 85-player Swiss tournament. Illustrated report.

Fischer vs Spassky – the critical sixth game

2/6/2008 – Fischer started his 1972 World Championship match with a blunder and a forfeit. He won games three and five to pull level, and then in game six abandoned his usual 1.e4, sending shock waves through Spassky and the chess world with 1.c4. Our Playchess.com lecturer Dennis Monokroussos looks at this key game.

FIDE announces its Grand Prix Circuit 2008/09

2/6/2008 – The World Chess Federation, together with its commercial arm, Global Chess, is staging a Grand Prix circuit. The top 40 players can participate in four out of six 14-player events that will be staged around the globe. Venues are Baku, Krasnoyarsk, Doha, Montreux, Elista and Karlovy Vary, top qualified players are Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Kamsky, Shirov, Carlsen and Karjakin. Announcement.

People and personalities – photo report from Wijk (part one)

2/5/2008 – Inspired by the recent pictorial by Fred Lucas on our news pages we went through our own modest photographic spoils from the Wijk aan Zee 2008 tournament. We spent three days in the Dutch sea-side town, equipped with a less ambitious (and much lighter) camera, and met many old friends there. Here then is part one of our pictorial retrospect of Wijk.

Moscow Open 2008 under way

2/4/2008 – The total prize fund is five million rubels, which translates to US $205,000 or close to 140,000 Euro. There are four groups, two open, one for women and one for children. Total number of participants: around 1000. Venue: Russian State Social University in Moscow. Dates: February 2nd to 10th. After two rounds only a few games are available, but a bunch of pictures by Eugene Atarov.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (24)

2/3/2008 – It has been called the perfect murder. Did the chessplayer W.H. Wallace construct an elaborate alibi before killing his wife at their Liverpool home in 1931? The Editor of Chess Notes examines the chess aspects of the classic Wallace murder case, including a claim that Wallace played against Capablanca. Once again readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

Nakamura beats Bu, wins Gibtel 2008

2/2/2008 – It was a tremendously exciting finish. After eight rounds Bu Xiangzhi of China was leading with 7.5 points. In round nine he lost and was caught by Zahar Efimenko. But the Ukrainian GM was beaten by America's Hikaru Nakamura in the final round. So Bu and Nakamura were tied for first. A rapid chess tie-breaker was played, and it was the American who had the better nerves. Final report.

Kasparov on Fischer + Fischer's Legacy, Big Screen plans

2/1/2008 – The latest issue of Time Magazine has a moving tribute to the eleventh World Champion Bobby Fischer, written by Garry Kasparov, the thirteenth World Champion. Meanwhile controversy is brewing over Fischer's estate, estimated at £1 million. And Variety reports on plans for a Hollywood movie "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald. Links and excerpts.

Marinha Grande – Chess and fun in Portugal

2/1/2008 – The country has 1700 organised chess players, of whom only 250 regularly take part in tournaments. Which makes for a family atmosphere in the chess scene. Everybody knows everybody else. The country has two GMs, nine IMs and a bunch of FMs (and a WIM). And FM Ruben Pereira, rated 2423, came second in the world U-16 championship. Impressions by Nicholas Lanier.

The two Q's guarantee

2/1/2008 – What novelties are there for your repertoire? What does your next opponent play? In order to get sound and reliable answers here you must have a database that guarantees both quantity and quality. Mega Database 2008 is the number one in this respect. More than 3.8 million games that have been collected and carefully edited for over ten years. Buy it now or read more.

Easter in the East – like to join?

1/31/2008 – We have just celebrated Christmas and the New Year’s. With Lent just around the corner, the Easter weekend (March 23rd) is surely not too far away. How will you be celebrating Easter this year? What about going east this Easter to compete in chess competitions in Australia and Thailand? Read on to find out more on what’s in store in the East, this Easter! Details by Edwin Lam.

The Kalyanam of Sasi and Radhika

1/30/2008 – Let us explain: Kalyanam is Sanskrit and Tamil for wedding. Sasi is grandmaster Krishnan Sasikiran, the second strongest player (after you-know-who) in India, the second to cross the 2700 mark. Radhika is the daughter of Suryanarayanan and bravely agreed to wed Sasi. The ceremony took place last Sunday in Chennai, South India. We have pictures.

Alexei Shirov: My Best Games in the Sveshnikov

1/30/2008 – Looking for something sharp? If you like complex positions which require precise and inventive play from both sides, you may want to lean them from the present-day Mihail Tal, grandmaster Alexei Shirov, who like Tal hails from Latvia and is one of the strongest, certainly one of the most imaginative players in the world. His latest DVD is another jewel of chess training.

The great Bu's up – and playing at a 3022 level!

1/30/2008 – Bu Xiangzhi of China is 22 years old. He became a grandmaster when he was 13 years, 10 months, 13 days old – which made him the youngest GM in history (at the time). After eight rounds of the 6th Gibtel Chess Festival in Gibraltar Bu is leading with 7½/8, and a Elo 3022 performance. Which led BCM editor John Saunders to come up with one of the most atrocious puns in chess history.