Reader feedback: the great draw debate continues

3/27/2008 – "I propose," writes one reader, "that a draw proposal should reduce the time at your disposal to 30 minutes, so you receive a great penalty at the beginning of the game, decreasing to no penalty when you have only 30 minutes or less (at the end of the game)." These and many other imaginative proposals have reached us in the past weeks on a problem that is occupying the thoughts of our readers.

Melody Amber: Aronian wins with 2½ point lead

3/27/2008 – In the blindfold games 25-year-old Levon Aronian, Armenia's top grandmaster, scored 6.0/11, tying with Kramnik and Morozevich. In the rapid section he had 7.5/11, ahead of four players with 5.5 points each. In the combined scores he was (logically) 2.5 points ahead of his nearest rivals, Carlsen, Kramnik, Leko and Topalov. Aronian's performance: 2868. Illustrated report with videos.

The Nimzo-Indian with Rubinstein’s move 4.e3

3/26/2008 – After 4.Qc2 and 4.a3 in the last two weeks our Playchess.com lecturer Dennis Monokroussos today looks at a move introduced by the great Akiba Rubinstein, 4.e3. The game we look at is Taimanov-Averbakh from the famed 1953 Candidates tournament. It’s well worth watching, at 9 p.m. ET = 3 a.m. CET in Playchess.com’s Broadcast room. The show is free.

Melody Amber: Aronian leads by 2½ points

3/26/2008 – Levon Aronian is on fire: in round nine of the Blindfold and Rapid event in Nice he defeated Vishy Anand 1½:½, and in round ten whitewashed Alexander Morozevich 2-0. This put the Armenian GM in a commanding lead in both categories. In the overall score he leads with 12½ points ahead of Carlsen, Kramnik and Leko, who have ten points each. Illustrated report with lots of videos.

Miskolc 2008: It's Peter Leko vs Magnus Carlsen

3/26/2008 – Two world-class players, both chess prodigies. This year the city of Miskolc in the north-east of Hungary will host a spectacular eight-game rapid chess match between national hero Peter Leko, Hungary's top grandmaster, and the 17-year-old Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen. The event lasts from May 27 to June 1st and takes place in the National Theatre of Miskolc. Press release.

Topalov: 'I think this is a very good time for chess'

3/25/2008 – Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov is one of the most interesting players in world chess. His participation in a tournament guarantees uncompromising aggressive chess on at least one board. In November he is scheduled to play a World Championship qualifier against US grandmaster Gata Kamsky. Yuri Vasiliev spoke to Topalov about his general feelings about chess. Sport Express interview.

Women's World Championship in Istanbul?

3/25/2008 – The Atatürk International Women Masters was a great success, enjoyed by all involved. At the closing ceremony, where the players were given a tour of the sponsoring bank, there was an important meeting between the Turkish Sports Minister and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Result: the faltering Women's World Championship will most likely be held in Istanbul. Big illustrated report.

Fritz calculation training - part three

3/25/2008 – In the third of four Workshop columns by Steve Lopez on Fritz 11's new calculation trainer, we learn more about the feature's special function, including how it checks for move legality (and penalizes for illegal moves). Find out more in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Eighth PAL/CSS Freestyle Tournament with $16,000 prize fund

3/24/2008 – A "Freestyle tournament" is one in which computer assistance – or help in any conceivable form – during the game is allowed and encouraged. The Eighth PAL/CSS Freestyle tournament will take place on the Playchess server on two weekends, April 11-13 and April 25-27. The main sponsor, the PAL Group in Abu Dhabi (UAE), has provided a $16,000 dollar prize fund. Join the fun.

Melody Amber: Aronian leads by a full point

3/23/2008 – After seven rounds of the Blindfold and Rapid event Levon Aronian has 9.0/14 points, one more than Vishy Anand, who is in second place. Anand had some problems in his round six blindfold, but pulled off a convincing victory anyway. Others were not that lucky. Then again Anand suffered his first ever defeat against Magnus Carlsen in round seven. Illustrated report with video links.

Atatürk Istanbul: Hou Yifan wins Atatürk Masters

3/21/2008 – A quick final-round draw clinched it. The youngest participant, 14-year-old WGM Hou Yifan, won the Atatürk International Women Masters Chess Tournament in Istanbul with a full point lead, and a rating performance of 2674. Does anyone doubt that we are talking about a future world champion? Second was Swedish GM Pia Cramling. Illustrated round nine report.

Fritz calculation training - part two

3/21/2008 – In Part Two of our ChessBase Workshop series on Fritz11's new calculation training feature, we learn how Fritz can take nearly any chess position and turn it into a test of your chess visualization, even grading you on how well you calculate a variation. Sound too good to be true? Learn more in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Melody Amber: Aronian leads by a full point

3/20/2008 – Armenian GM Levon Aronian has taken the sole lead in the Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament that is taking place in Nice, France. Vladimir Kramnik defeated Veselin Topalov in their match, which started without a handshake. Vishy Anand lost his match against Peter Leko, but was adequately compensated by receiving a third honorary doctorate. Results, games and video reports.

Unfought draws – reader feedback

3/20/2008 – Last week we published an article of the perceived problem of unfought "grandmaster draws" in professional chess. Kung-Ming Tiong, a mathematician and logician at School of Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia, put together the arguments presented so far, and his analysis of their conclusions. Today we present further imaginative proposals from our readers.

Atatürk Istanbul: Hou Yifan wins with a round to spare

3/19/2008 – Victory against a potential rival, Ekaterina Atalik, gave Chinese wonder Hou Yifan, who turned 14 three weeks ago, an unsurpassable lead of a full point ahead of her nearest rival. This became possible because Swedish GM Pia Cramling lost her game against Lela Javakhishvili of Georgia. Wednesday is a free day, the final round is on Thursday. Illustrated report.

The consultation game of the century

3/19/2008 – Imagine a game with Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Gelfand and Leko on one side, and Carlsen, Aronian, Morozevich and Ivanchuk on the other. A game like that would be a real event, something we'd all love to see – especially in a lively opening. In 1952 a game of this sort took place. Our Playchess.com lecturer Dennis Monokroussos describes it in his Wednesday night lecture.

Opening Surveys in ChessBase Magazine 122

3/19/2008 – The innovation of the year in 2007 probably occurred when the Polish player Grzegorz Gajewski simply played ...d5 rather than ...c5 in a position of the Ruy Lopez which had been seen over a thousand times. In his survey for ChessBase Magazine 122 (one of 11 in the issue) the Danish grandmaster Lars Schandorff has brought together the most important games and variations.

Atatürk Istanbul: Cramling and Hou Yifan in the lead

3/18/2008 – With two rounds to go in this super women's tournament the most senior and most junior players are in the lead: Pia Cramling and Hou Yifan have 5.5/7 points each. The Swedish veteran beat the previous round's leader Ekaterina Atalik, while the 14-year-old Chinese girl took a point from US IM Irina Krush. Turkish junior Betül Yildiz also won her game. Illustrated report.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (26)

3/18/2008 – This latest selection from Chess Notes provides a stark warning against gullible quotation of alleged remarks of the old masters, including Alekhine, Nimzowitsch and Tartakower. There may be no area of chess literature with more dark corners or where the risk of error is greater. Many familiar quotes are, at best, dubious and, at present, lack authentification. Can readers help?

Melody Amber blindfold and rapid starts in Nice

3/16/2008 – The annual Melody Amber tournament has started, this time not in Monaco but in the beautiful French seaside resort of Nice, with twelve leading grandmasters playing blindfold and rapid chess games. The prize fund is a massive 216,000 Euro (currently US $336,000). Vishy Anand started the event with a spectacular win over Vladimir Kramnik. Can you find the winning move?

Atatürk Istanbul: double victory for Turkish ladies

3/16/2008 – Betül Cemre Yildiz, 18-year-old Turkish talent, had a single draw in the first four rounds of the women's super-tournament in Turkey. In round five she scored an attacking win against IM Irina Krush of the US. Meanwhile IM Ekaterina Atalik, Turkey's strongest female player, defeated Ukrainian IM Anna Ushenina. Celebrations all around in Istanbul. Round five report.

Atatürk Istanbul: Ekaterina Atalik leads

3/16/2008 – The local derby between IM Ekaterina Atalik, rated 2408, and 18-year-old WIM Betül Cemre Yildiz, two hundred points her inferior. The younger girl missed a great chance to draw and went down to her more experienced opponent. Former world champion Zhu Chen outplayed her compatriot Zhao Xue to score her first win in this event. Atalik now leads the field by half a point. Illustrated report.

Melody Amber: Anand, Ivanchuk, Aronian lead

3/16/2008 – After three rounds of this annual tournament in Nice, France Ivanchuk, Karjakin and Morozevich lead in the blindfold scores (1.5/3), Anand and Aronian in the rapid section (2.0/3), and Anand, Ivanchuk and Aronian in the combined scoring (3.0/6). We bring you results, games and video reports from the tournament site.

Fritz calculation training - part one

3/16/2008 – In a new ChessBase Workshop series, dedicated to the new Fritz 11 calculation training, we begin with a discussion about chess visualization and how it colors nearly everything we do as players. But how can we as players traditionally hone our visualization skills? With Fritz 11. Steve Lopez explains this in a new series of his Workshop.