World Youth Championship: players and personalities

11/21/2007 – This gigantic event is under way in the Mediterranean town of Kemer-Antalya, Turkey. There are two grandmasters in the top (under 18) group, and many talented young players with and without titles in all sections. The top Turkish players are being trained by Slovenian grandmaster Adrian Mikhalchishin, who celebrated his birthday with his students during round one. Big pictorial report.

Vladimir Kramnik: 'Beating Anand is more important...'

11/21/2007 – ...than topping the FIDE rating list, which is what he will most likely do in January, after his spectacular result at the Tal Memorial is counted. After this victory the former World Champion spoke to chess reporter Yuriy Vasiliev about the event, his rating, his black repertoire, the world blitz championship and the enthusiastic support he receives from his wife Marie-Laure. Sport Express interview.

Kasimdzhanov wins World Blitz Championship Qualifier

11/20/2007 – Former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov won the 64-player Preliminaries to the World Blitz Championship in Moscow. He and five other players qualified for the Finals that will be held on November 21 and 22. They are joined by the ten paticipants of the Tal Memorial, by previous finalists Grischuk and Svidler, as well as Anand and Karpov. Pictures and videos.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (19)

11/20/2007 – A further selection from Chess Notes focuses on games and positions. Why is it claimed that Rubinstein played an ending that repeated a nineteenth century composition? Did Chigorin remove one of his own pieces from the board in an endgame against Tarrasch? And what about the game which Fahrni purportedly won by moving his remaining pawn backwards? Join in the hunt for clues.

Catch it if you can: Garry Kasparov on CV Warehouse

11/19/2007 – On Monday, November 19 at 18.30 CET, Garry Kasparov will play a simultaneous exhibition against 26 opponents (24 CEOs and two children) in Antwerp, Belgium. Nigel Short will provide commentary. The event will be filmed in HDTV, and everybody can watch the games on a special coverage page. Details are somewhat sketchy, but it's worth a try. Here are details and links.

'The greatest Arab player since Stamma'

11/19/2007 – When was the last time a player from Africa, or one from an Arab country, dominated the chess world? Philipp Stamma did it, back in the 18th century. Now a lad from Egypt, Ahmed Adly, is following in his tracks. First stage: winning the World Junior Championship, ahead of all the hot European and Asian favourites. Adly is a multi-talent that bears careful watching. Meet Ahmed Adly.

Tal Memorial R9: all games drawn, Kramnik triumphs

11/19/2007 – We knew the result already yesterday, and with all final round games drawn nothing basically changed. Vladimir Kramnik stayed 1.5 points ahead of the field, and ended with a 2901 performance, one of the finest of his career. Only one other player had a plus score: Alexei Shirov, who won three and lost two games. The drawing average was high, but most games were hard-fought. Final report.

Hot off the press – Fritz 11 is out!

11/19/2007 – A year ago it became the first commercial chess program to defeat a reigning World Champion. Now the new version is 80 Elo points stronger. It also has an entire package of new features that will help you to improve your game quickly and in an entertaining way. Like the new calculation training, and tactic competitions on the chess server. Order it now or check out the details.

Washington Post: Winning by Rook or by Crook

11/18/2007 – It's been a banner year for cheating scandals in sports. But a couch potato's juices really start to flow when the epidemic spreads to chess. Paul Hoffman was particularly horrified that an eight-year-old participant at a children's championship was accused of receiving illicit help. The journalist, author and chess aficionado vents his frustration in today's Washington Post op ed piece.

Tal Memorial: Kramnik leads by a full point

11/18/2007 – Vladimir Kramnik increased his lead when he beat Evgeny Alexseev in round six. Top US grandmaster Gata Kamsky lost with white to Jakovenko in round six, only to come back with a black-piece win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in round seven. Alexei Shirov beat Magnus Carlsen and Evgeny Alekseev to advance to second place. Exciting games.

Tania Sachdev wins Indian Women’s Championship

11/18/2007 – She started as third seed, and went through the event without a single defeat – the only player with this record. In the final round WGM Tania Sachdev beat Padmini Rout to win the 34th Women’s National A Chess Championship on tiebreak points, ahead of Kiran Monisha Mohanty and Soumya Swaminathan. With this result all three have qualified for the 2008 Olympic team. Pictorial report.

Vladimir Kramnik wins the Tal Memorial with a round to spare

11/18/2007 – Former world champion wrapped up this event in impressive style, beating Shakhriyar Mamedyrov in the penultimate round and taking a 1.5 point lead over his closest opponent. Kramnik has not lost a game and won four of his five white games. His rating performance so far: 2920. In second place is Alexei Shirov with three wins and two losses. Games, results and videos.

World Youth Chess Championship in Antalya

11/18/2007 – It is one of the biggest events of its kind in the world, the starting point for new chess talent, a gathering of young chess players, 1450 of them from 103 countries around the globe. The tournament in twelve separate categories is being held in twelve age groups for boys and girls. A warm welcome awaited us on our arrival in the Turkish Mediterranean town of Kemer-Antalya. Big pictorial report.

The fascinating Maroczy System

11/16/2007 – Sergei Tiviakov is not only one of the leading Dutch grandmasters but also a fighter for creative chess – for instance in the Sicilian Maroczy system, which is the topic of one of his new training DVDs. As John Donaldson put it in his review, "no one in the world understands the Black side of the Maroczy as well as Tiviakov". Buy 'The Marcozy System' now or read more.

Tal Memorial R5: Kramnik beats Shirov, takes lead

11/15/2007 – Four draws and one decided game – but tremendous fighting chess: A slugfest between Jakovenko and Leko which ended after 61 moves in a tense draw; a 93-move draw between Ivanchuk and Carlsen in which when the world's number two could not overcome the teenager's resistance; and a grudge game in which Kramnik ground down Shirov in a trade-mark Catalan. Results, games and videos.

Champions League: Topalov wins with big finishing effort

11/15/2007 – It didn't look good for him during much of the tournament, but former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov produced another trademark strong finish, winning his last three games, all against his main rivals, to take the event in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain, with a 2835 performance. Judit Polgar and Ruslan Ponomariov both lost to give Topalov his impressive 1.5-point lead. Final report.

Chess, football and the Bilbao Rule – Part II

11/15/2007 – The debate on the perceived problem of too many – unfought – draws in chess, and what to do about it, continues. The letters pour in and we keep receiving extensive, well thought through proposals that attempt to create incentives for playing to win. Josu Fernández presents closing arguments for the Bilbao System, while Serbian GM Dragan Solak tells us why he thinks it cannot work.

FEMIDA 2007 – traditional for many GMs

11/15/2007 – Recently the city of Kharkov, Ukraine, hosted three tournaments: Men and Women GMs and a Women Rapid Tournament. Great organization, great chessplayers, surprises, and Ukranian food. And music by students of the local Academy of Law (yes, law, not music). Our report by Elena Partac includes lots of pictures, a video and a recipe for Ukrainian Borscht.

Tal Memorial R4: All five games drawn – again

11/14/2007 – After nine draws in the first ten games the Tal Memorial category 20 tournament in Moscow hotted up, with a fast and furious third round (four wins, two by Black). However, that was apparently just a flurry. In round four it was five draws again, two short ones and two long ones. Tomorrow is the last round before the rest day, and we hope things heat up again. Results and games.

Seirawan's beautiful, instructive and unusual game

11/14/2007 – One of his great successes was his Wijk aan Zee win in 1980, at the age of 19. In his heyday he was one of the very few players who was thought to have a chance to challenge the Karpov/Kasparov dynasty. Chess politician, author and commentator Yasser Seirawan is the subject of tonight's Playchess lecture by Dennis Monokroussos. Note that the broadcast has been moved to Wednesday!

Champions League: Topalov beats Ponomariov, takes the lead

11/14/2007 – We know why Vesselin Topalov is feared by his colleagues. Like Kasparov the Bulgarian will try to win when really necessary, he will make heroic efforts at the end of a tournament and grab the point when it really matters. That is what happened in the penultimate round in Vitoria, where Topalov defeated the tournament leader Ruslan Ponomariov to take the sole lead. Illustrated report.

From Cover to Cover – ChessBase Magazine 120

11/13/2007 – It was an eagerly anticipated edition of the electronic magazine that appears every two months. CBM 120 contained the full annotations of all the games from the recently concluded World Chess Championship in Mexico, as provided by GM Mihail Marin. But also delightfully thoughful video comments by Alexei Shirov, and by Rustam Kasimdzhanov and other world stars. Review by Edwin Lam.

Teimur Radjabov: We believe common sense will prevail

11/12/2007 – At the European Championship Azerbaijan won Bronze behind Russia and Armenian. The latter are historical enemies of the Azeris, politically, culturally and in chess. Teimour Radjabov, the star of the Azerbaijani team, gave vent to his personal feelings in a startling interview with the news service APA. Now he has written to us to modify his statements. Interview and Radjabov's clarification.

Tal Memorial: Four spectacular wins in round three

11/12/2007 – Round two was disappointing – all games were (hard-fought) draws, bringing the drawing percentage to ominous 90% for the first two rounds. But then round three made up for everything: no less than four decided games, with two wins for Black. Especially exciting the deadly tactical strike by Shak Mamedyarov against Vassily Ivanchuk. Big report with video interviews by Europe Echecs.