Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (20)

12/11/2007 – After Pillsbury died, did a chessplayer examine his brain? Was Edward Young a pseudonym used by Fred Reinfeld? Did Blackburne overlook a standard queen sacrifice? Who discovered Capablanca’s missed win against Fine at AVRO, 1938? Did Fischer play a training match in the 1970s against Collins? On these and other matters from Chess Notes readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

Khanty-Mansiysk World Cup: Shirov through in the tiebreaks

12/11/2007 – The 17-year-olds are both out: after Magnus Carlsen lost to Gata Kamsky in their regular games, today it was Sergey Karjakin who drew the shorter straw against Alexei Shirov, former FIDE world championship finalist and one of the most interesting currently active GMs. Shirov will play Gata Kamsky in the four game finals. Pictorial report with full commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

World Championship final Kamsky vs Karpov – in 1996

12/11/2007 – Our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos doesn't want to jinx Gata Kamsky – he actually doesn't believe in such things. But he has chosen a world championship game Gata played, and lost, against Anatoly Karpov back in 1996. In his Wednesday night show Dennis will take this game apart, move by move, piece by piece, until we understand every bit of it. Be there, watch, learn.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Gata Kamsky in the Final

12/10/2007 – Comeback Kid, Brooklyn Boy – whatever you call him: Gata Kamsky defeated Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the second semifinal game of the FIDE World Cup to move into the final stage. There he will meet the winner of the match Alexei Shirov vs Sergey Karjakin, which produced a second draw today and thus goes into the tiebreaks. Full report with a portrait of Gata Kamsky.

World's Youngest GM – GM Wesley So, age 14

12/10/2007 – No, he is not from China, Russia or India. The latest grandmaster, who has earned his final norm at the tender age of 14 years, one month and 28 days, is Wesley So from the Philippines (where two months earlier another GM, Darwin Laylo, emerged). Wesley is currently the youngest GM in the world, and the seventh youngest in the history of the game. Portrait by IM Rodolfo Tan Cardoso.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Sergey Karjakin advances to semifinals

12/9/2007 – The 17-year-olds have both made it through to the semifinals! After Magnus Carlsen's convincing performance in the regular games it was Sergey Karjakin, former child prodigy and youngest grandmaster (at twelve!) in the history of the game, displayed excellent nerves and tactical skills in the rapid chess tiebreak games of round five. Illustrated report with Fritz analysis.

Zugzwang – Ronan Bennett's chess thriller

12/9/2007 – "Zugzwang" is a story fraught with political treachery, murder, intrigue and passion. It is set against a background of the great St Petersburg tournament in 1914. Chessplayers will recognise the similarity between one of the main characters in the book, Avrom Rozental, and a certain participant in the real tournament. Here's an interview with the author Ronan Bennett and a must-watch video on the book.

Khanty-Mansiysk: both semifinal games drawn

12/9/2007 – Magnus Carlsen, playing the white side of a Scotch Game, conceeded a somewhat timid 21-move draw to his opponent Gata Kamsky. Alexei Shirov and Sergey Karjakin battled it out for 41 moves before coming to the same conclusion: neither of them could win. Outside the local kids enjoyed the ice sculptures – a frozen chess chess set. Illustrated report with comments.

Chess in Iran – Nigel Short's illuminating report

12/9/2007 – "I am still slightly baffled as to how I, an oenophile, atheist Englishman, became Iran’s national chess coach," writes Nigel in this eminently readable Times article. Multiple sojourns in this country, currently in the international media focus, have led to insights that the wine-loving (oenophile) English grandmaster freely shares with the Times readers. We bring you excerpts.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Carlsen, Kamsky and Shirov through

12/7/2007 – Alexei Shirov, always the firebrand, won his second game, with black, against Dmitry Jakovenko to move 2-0 to the semifinals. Gata Kamsky outplayed Ruslan Ponomariov to advance with 1.5:0.5 points. And the youngest player, Magnus Carlsen, easily drew against Cheparinov to make it through. Full report with games, pictures and commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

Learning about learning from – a martial arts fighter?!

12/6/2007 – Josh Waitzkin, the chess prodigy who was the main character of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, did not stick with the game that made him famous. After high school he read Kerouac, studied oriental philosophy and took up the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan. His book, The Art of Learning, tells us how this helped him develop his personality. Part two of Carol Jarecki's review.

New super women's tournament – in Turkey!

12/6/2007 – Women's chess has always been sadly neglected. Now a bank in Turkey, together with the Turkish Chess Federation, has taken the initiative and announced a super women's event in Istanbul in March 2008. Eligible are all female players over 2460 Elo, or over 2400 and having a GM title. The prize fund is US $16,000 (plus appearance fees). Great conditions: ladies, apply quickly.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Carlsen and Shirov win first quarterfinal game

12/6/2007 – Two games were decisive: Alexei Shirov and Magnus Carlsen won with white against Dmitry Jakovenko and Ivan Cheparinov respectively. The game Carlsen vs Cheparinov was especially tense and exciting. The two had already met in the third round of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk two years ago, when Magnus knocked Ivan out. Full report with commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

Is the King's Gambit really busted?

12/5/2007 – After looking at double king pawn openings in the past weeks our our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos is ready to take aim at the granddaddy of f-pawn pushes in the Open Game: the King's Gambit. Did Fischer really refute it back in 1960? We get to see two deliriously successful outings by Yugoslav legend Svetozar Gligoric with 'Fischer's bust'.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Aronian, Svidler, Bareev knocked out

12/5/2007 – The carnage in the tiebreak games of the FIDE World Cup was shocking: last year's winner Levon Aronian lost to Dmitry Jakovenko; Peter Svidler lost a white game against Gata Kamsky (after drawing the first one); and Evgeny Bareev simply lost both of his games against Evgeny Alekseev to end his stay in Khanty. Full illustrated report with commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Karjakin and Cheparinov win, Carlsen holds Adams

12/4/2007 – Alexei Shiriv and Ruslan Ponomariov had won their first-round games, and drew to advance. Magnus Carlsen held a tough game with black against Michael Adams to join the others in the quarterfinals, where we now also find Sergey Karjakin and Ivan Cheparinov, who beat Nisipeanu and Wang Yue respectively. Full report with commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

Five stars for birthday boy Rustam Kasimdzhanov!

12/4/2007 – Born on December 5th 1979, the grandmaster from Uzbekistan won the FIDE world championship title in 2004, beating players like Ivanchuk, Grischuk, Topalov and Adams. Kasimdzhanov is also a superb chess teacher, who explains chess ideas in an eloquent, lucid style, with a fine touch of humour. Edwin Lam has reviewed his Tactics DVD, and we have added a few charming family photos.

An Evening of Chess, Literature and Music

12/3/2007 – It was a splendid event, here in Hamburg, with a well-known Irish novelist and screenwriter, and his latest book (Ronan Bennett, Zugzwang); with a gorgeous young actress, composer and singer (Vaile); with a double bass wielding grandmaster (Daniel King) and with a music composing and teaching computer program (Ludwig). Join us for an exquisite evening in this pictorial report.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Ponomariov, Shirov and Carlsen score

12/3/2007 – Round four is under way in the FIDE World Cup. Ruslan Ponomariov surprised everyone with a white win in game one of the round. Alexei Shirov did his usual firebrand thing, winning the first game with the black pieces. And the youngest player in the tournament, Magnus Carlsen, defeated veteran Michael Adams with white. Full report with commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

Learning about learning from a chess prodigy

12/2/2007 – Josh Waitzkin – the name may sound familiar. Back in 1993 his father Fred wrote about the lad's early years as a chess prodigy, in a book entitled Searching for Bobby Fischer. That was subsequently turned into a successful Hollywood movie, and Josh into a media star. Now 31, Josh revisits that story in an extraordinary book, for which we have an extraordinary review by Carol Jarecki.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Top seed Ivanchuk knocked out

12/2/2007 – In today's tiebreaks four matches were decided after the rapid games, in two matches the blitz games were played. The winners were Aronian, Svidler, Bareev, Nisipeanu, Karjakin and Sasikiran. Ivanchuk, Rublevsky, Grischuk, Bacrot and Macieja are out. If you are interested in the chess, as opposed to just the pure results, we have a treat for you: commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenko.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Shirov, Carlsen, Adams through

12/1/2007 – Today we celebrate the first round three wins with the black pieces, by Alexei Shirov (who else) against Alexander Onischuk. Magnus Carlsen beat Dominguez Perez, Michael Adams and Ivan Cheparinov drew to advance. Ten players are through to round four, six matches go into tiebreaks tomorrow. We bring you a full report with extensive commentary by Dorian Rogozenko.

Questions, questions

12/1/2007 – ChessBase Workshop isn't afraid to tackle the tough questions, and the toughest come from our readers. In the new column we look at a recent batch of e-mails and brave the cruel slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to provide some answers. Read more in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Khanty-Mansiysk: Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Ponomariov through

11/30/2007 – The round two tiebreaks consisted of twelve matches, with two rapid games, two blitz games, and finally an Armageddon shootout. Top seed Vassily Ivanchuk coasted through with a fine win against Alexander Galkin, Magnus Carlsen won both his rapid games against Arkadij Naiditsch, and Ruslan Ponomariov played a very dangerous game to take out China's Wang Hao. Illustrated report.