Anand wins first semifinal of León Rapid

5/30/2008 – The XXI Magistral Ciudad de León rapid chess match started today, with four players competing: Vishy Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexei Shirov and Francisco Vallejo. The first semifinal over four games between Anand and Vallejo ended in a 2-2 tie, so that blitz tie-break games were required. Anand won the first and accepted a draw offer in the second in a totally won position. Illustrated report.

Karpov and Korchnoi in 4th Pivdenny Bank Cup

5/30/2008 – A rare sight: arch rivals Anatoly Karpov, 57, twelfth World Champion, and his three-time challenger Viktor Korchnoi, 77, both in the same event. It is a category 15 tournament being staged in Odessa, Ukraine. After five rounds Yuri Drozdovskij and Ruslan Ponomariov are in the lead with 4.0/5 points, while Karpov and Korchnoi have 1.5/5 each. The draw average is just 35%. Big pictorial report.

Miskolc: First two games drawn

5/29/2008 – The first round of the Miskolc Rapid Chess tournament began with a fast and furious first game, which ended after 36 moves in a draw. After a short pause the second game was started, and this ended in a slightly anticlimatic 18-move draw. The games are being analysed in real time for the public by two chess experts, one of whom has provided us with his notes: commentary by GM Zoltán Gyimesi.

Shirov's press release

5/29/2008 – After numerous extensions of the deadline for bids to stage the special Challengers Match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov FIDE is now faced with a demand by the next-in-line player to have a chance. Alexei Shirov is willing to play in Bulgaria, something Kamsky balked at. "According to the match regulations he should be replaced by me in this case," Shirov says. Press release.

Don't miss what you may lack

5/29/2008 – The latest issue of ChessBase Magazine focusses on the newest trends in opening theory, from more than one angle, so to say: several top-class games are analysed by stars like Anand, Radjabov and Aronian. Moreover, opening experts examine lines such as the Modern Alekhine with 5...c6, the reloaded Jaenisch Gambit, or new ideas in the Sicilian Dragon. Buy it now or read more.

Miskolc: Carlsen draws first blood

5/29/2008 – An exciting day: game three of the rapid chess match saw Peter Leko attacking, allowing a repetition, which was not claimed, and then missing a clear win to draw after 96 gruelling moves. In the second game it was Magnus Carlsen who did the attacking, and he was able to win in 58 moves, after Leko missed some drawing chances. Full report with special commentary by GM Zoltán Gyimesi.

Monokroussos on Radjabov vs Bu – start of a new series

5/28/2008 – In his Wednesday night Playchess show Dennis Monokroussos often deals with older games. Tonight it is about a very recent classic: Teimour Radjabov vs Bu Xiangzhi in Sofia this month, a game has a bit of everything – and a nice way to kick off a series of weeks on the game's new stars.

Miskolc 2008: the games start today

5/28/2008 – The two world-class players, former chess prodigies, Peter Leko and Magnus Carlsen, begin their eight-game rapid chess match today in Miskolc, Hungary. Yesterday was the traditionally spectacular opening ceremony, with a very impressive drama and dance presentation in Hungarian and Norwegian, including battles of the Vikings and the Huns. As usual we are present in Miskolc.

Morozevich leads in Sarejevo, King's tournament in Bazna

5/27/2008 – The traditional Sahovski Klub tournament is taking place in Sarajevo, Bosnia. After four rounds the draw average is 75%, but of the three wins two were produced by Alexander Morozevich, who leads with 3.0/4. Meanwhile in Bazna the King's Tournament is being held, with eleven famous (and mainly veteran) players. Results, games and links.

Death of a chess original – Bukhuti Gurgenidze, 1933–2008

5/26/2008 – Bukhuti Ivanovich Gurgenidze was one of the most original and striking players of the Soviet era. He won the Championship of his native Georgia eleven (or twelve) times, competed in nine USSR Championship finals, and was the trainer of some of the most successful women players in the game. His name has been applied to variations in the Modern Defence and the Sicilian. In Memoriam.

Stars from the Chinese League

5/26/2008 – China is one of the great emerging chess nations and has been playing an increasingly dominant role in recent international events. The Chinese Chess League has attracted 26 GMs, three IMs, and eleven WGMs. Nobody can afford to ignore these players or their league, and we are grateful to Yaoyao (Crystal) Zhu for providing us with all the necessary introductions.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 4

5/26/2008 – The subject of our latest ChessBase Workshop column is the "Multimedia" tab under "Options" in Fritz11. Learn how to make Fritz talk (or shut him up!), plus the difference between "Talk" and "Chatter". You'll also learn how to make Fritz play music, all in the newest Workshop.

Nielsen, Hector, Klimov win active chess slugfest

5/25/2008 – A strong active chess tournament in Denmark turned into a combative chess event. With more than 90% of all games having a decisive result all participants did their best to hush speculations on chess being a drawish game! The winners were the first, fourth and fifth seeds, the first being birthday boy Peter Heine Nielsen, second of two world champions. Illustrated report.

Shulman wins US Championship; Zatonskih wins Women's Title

5/23/2008 – GM Yury Shulman won the 2008 Frank K. Berry U.S. Championship with 7/9, with IM Johhua Friedel completing his final GM norm. In the Women's Championship IMs Anna Zatonskih and Irina Krush tied for first, then went into dramatic blitz tiebreaks, which Anna won in the last possible second. You can watch the scene in a new version of this dramatic video.

Listen the magician talk through his secrets

5/23/2008 – Going out for a win with the black pieces is a hard task for amateur players like most of us but for top players it is not really better - as long as they play opponents of their own level of course. On his latest DVD Alexei Shirov illustrates in another 13 of his masterpieces what must all be considered in order to achieve one's end here. Buy it now or read more.

GM Nigel's Radio Revs – here to answer you questions

5/22/2008 – Once a week grandmaster Nigel Davies gives live online training on the Playchess server, from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. UK time. That means it starts at midnight CEST, 6 p.m. New York or 08:00 a.m. Sidney. This week the subject is ways to avoid theoretical duels and gambit lines. Send in your questions.

Invitation to the 38th Chess Olympiad in Dresden

5/22/2008 – Attention all chess federations and national teams. Attention FIDE officials and dignitaries. Attention chess fans. The 38th Chess Olympiad will be staged in the city of Dresden, Saxony, Germany, from November 12 to 25, 2008. During the time a FIDE Congress will also be held. For those wishing to participate or attend here are all the most important details.

Dominguez Perez wins the 43rd Capablanca Memorial

5/22/2008 – It was the 43rd edition of a great and prestigeous event, and was won by Cuba's top GM Lenier Dominguez Perez, who took clear first with 6.0/9 points. Unfortunately no games are yet available from Havana, Cuba, where the event took place. But: we have received splendid pictures and impressions from one of the players. Enjoy part one of Sergey Tiviakov's pictorial report from Cuba.

World Championship in 145 days – book your tickets now

5/21/2008 – The first round of the World Championship match between the reigning title holder Viswanathan Anand and challenger Vladimir Kramnik starts on October 14th 2008 in Bonn, Germany. Tickets are now on sale and cost 35 Euro (= US $54.80) per round. Special VIP tickets are also available, at 280 Euro (US $438) per round. Here is everything you need to know.

Evgeniy Najer wins President's Cup in Baku

5/21/2008 – The ninth seed finished in undivided first place, with 7.5/9 points, to win the $7000 prize. Evgeniy Najer was followed by eight GMs with 7.0 points each. We bring you the final standings and games, and lots of great pictures by Farid Khayrulin. Twelve were originally of unidentified players, but within hours our readers provided their names. Spectacular pictorial report.

2008 US Championships: Shulman and Zatonskih lead

5/20/2008 – GM Yury Shulman leads the 2008 Frank K. Berry US Championship by a full point, with three rounds to go. Shulman has wins against GMs Gregory Kaidanov, Boris Gulko and Sergey Kudrin. IM Anna Zatonskih is leading the Women’s section, with a perfect 6.0/6 score, half a point more than her main rival IM Irina Krush. Illustrated report.

The Great Draw Debates summarized: definitions, causes, effects

5/20/2008 – Over the past weeks we have received well over 300 letters from readers about the draw issues in chess, and more continue to arrive. Ironically, as the letters have accumulated it has become increasingly unclear exactly what the potential draw problems are in the first place, if any. In today's article we categorize and interrelate the best new and old letters we have received. Is there consensus?

Kramnik beats Navara 5.5:2.5 in Prague Rapid

5/19/2008 – Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik took a decisive 3.5:0.5 lead in the first half of the eight-game CEZ Chess Trophy. After the rest day David Navara fought back, losing a game and almost winning two himself. In one he let his opponent escape with a draw, and the last one ended in victory. Of the five wins in this match two were with the black pieces. Pictorial report.

MTel R10: Ivanchuk wins Sofia by 1½ points

5/18/2008 – Ivan Cheparinov threw everything at him, but Vassily Ivanchuk defended coolly and scored a final black-piece victory to clinch the 2008 MTel Masters, with 8.0/10 and a performance of 2977. Second was Veselin Topalov, who drew Radjabov to end at 6.5/10, with a 2839 performance. We bring you a final report with commentary, pictures and more great videos by Europe Echecs.