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.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 3

5/18/2008 – Our ChessBase Workshop series on "Fritz11 tweaks" finishes the settings contained under the "Game" tab, specifically the Coach settings and the list of "on/off" toggles at the bottom of the dialogue. Discover more ways to configure your Fritz in the latest Workshop.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (2) – now a prize quiz

5/17/2008 – The positions presented by the Editor of Chess Notes have proved so intriguing that the feature is now transformed into a prize quiz, with two positions added. The sender of the best solutions will receive a copy of Vishy Anand’s book My Best Games of Chess, personally inscribed to the winner by the world champion. There are signed consolation prizes too. Let battle begin.

MTel R9: Bu beats Topalov, Ivanchuk leads

5/17/2008 – Bulgaria's top grandmaster Veselin Topalov, rated 2767, had won three of his last four games; Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, 2708, had lost three of his last four encounters and was languishing at the bottom of the table. Today they met head-on, and Bu won the game! With a round to go Vassily Ivanchuk is a full point ahead and playing "goal-keeper". Illustrated report with videos.

MTel R8: Topalov and Radjabov win

5/17/2008 – Veselin Topalov had little difficulty beating his second Ivan Cheparinov, while Levon Aronian blundered one move before the time controls (see his round seven interview) to throw away the full point against Teimour Radjabov. Meanwhile Vassily Ivanchuk was lucky to survive against tail-ender Bu Xiangzhi. Full report with a simultaneous exhibition and interview with Boris Spassky.

Najer leads in the President's Cup in Baku

5/16/2008 – 180 players, GMs as far as the eye can see. Korchnoi, Timman, Short and Beliavsky. In the lead is Evgeniy Najer, GM from Russia, who has won all of his first five games. The Third President's Cup is under way in the capital of Azerbaijan, with the stars playing in the Open and separate groups for children and seniors. We bring you standings, games and pictures by Farid Khayrulin.

MTel R6: Topalov and Cheparinov win, Ivanchuk draws

5/15/2008 – The shocker of round six: Vassily Ivanchuk only drew his game against Teimour Radjabov, the first time he has dropped half a point in this tournament. His performance has dropped to a dismal 3155. Both Bulgarians, Cheparinov and Topalov, won their games and are in second and third place. A prominent visitor was Boris Spassky, who commentated for the spectators. Full pictorial report.

'Hao shi duo mo!' – Wang Yue on the Grand Prix in Baku

5/15/2008 – This is something new: a blog report by a top Chinese GM, describing the course of a Super-GM tournament. Wang Yue talks about the circumstances surrounding the First FIDE Grand Prix, which he won last week in Baku (together with Gashimov and Carlsen). Of course in Chinese, but thankfully translated by one of our readers. Thanks also to "Big Sister", who forced him to write it.

MTel R7: Ivanchuk and Topalov draw, Bu loses to Radjabov

5/15/2008 – The summit match between top seed Veselin Topalov and tournament uberplayer Vassily Ivanchuk ended in a hard-fought 49-move draw. Ivanchuk continues to lead Topalov by a full point, while the Bulgarian is a point and a half ahead of the next-best players. Teimour Radjabov beat the luckless Bu Xiangzhi, who has 1.0/7 and a performance of 2427. Full report.

Vladmir Kramnik dominates CEZ match against Navara

5/15/2008 – Their rating difference is just 116 points. But former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik is dominating the rapid chess match against top Czech GM David Navara. Kramnik won the first three of eight games, drawing the fourth for a halftime stand of 3.5:0.5. A big gala event kicked off the CEZ Chess Trophy, with blindfold chess and (you believe it) hacky sack displays. Illustrated report.

Topalov vs Kamsky – and the remarkable Mr Chernenko

5/15/2008 – Russian chess journalist Yuri Vasiliev has now confirmed that the semifinal Candidates Match between Veselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky will take place in Lvov, Ukraine, for a prize fund of US $750,000. On the web site ChessPro Vasiliev tells of a lengthy conversation he had with the initiator, Gata Kamsky's manager (and diamond trader) Alexander Chernenko. Must-read interview.

Karpov as an attacking player

5/14/2008 – He is known foremost as a positional player and endgame specialist, but hardly as a master of attack. Yet 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov was (and is) capable of beautiful attacking play. In Wednesday night's Playchess show Dennis Monokroussos shows us a particularly impressive example against Hungarian GM Gyula Sax in Linares 1983. See you on the server.

Thrilling courses

5/14/2008 – Former world-champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov has proven a highly entertaining author in the Fritz trainer format. He recorded several DVDs and regularly contributes to ChessBase Magazine. John Elburg, chess reviewer for more than ten years now, watched his DVDs on 'Anti-Moscow Gambit' and 'Strategy'. Conclusion: Simply thrilling! Buy them now or read this review with samplers.

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

5/14/2008 – 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. Sydney. This week the subject is how to neutralise tricky opening lines and gambits. Send in your questions.

Looking back and forward to Baku

5/13/2008 – The FIDE Grand Prix in Baku ended a week ago. Now another big event starts in the capital of Azerbaijan: the Third President's Cup. Two rounds have already been played. Before we receive and publish first reports from this tournament we take a look back at the Grand Prix, with a round-up report by Zahir Ahmadov and some spectacular photography by Farid Khayrulin. A visual feast.

Devil's Advocate: Viswanathan Anand on mind games

5/13/2008 – World chess champion Viswanathan Anand is set for his title-defending match against challenger Vladimir Kramnik in October. Anand says Kramnik's challenge and taunts don't bother him because he believes "the main thing" is to win. "My own tendency is to just ignore him," Anand told Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate in CNN-IBN Live. Videos and transcripts.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (2)

5/12/2008 – The Editor of Chess Notes presents a challenge: half a dozen positions to solve from over-the-board play, ranging from quite straightforward to labyrinthine. But which are which? Although few, if any, clues are being given, readers are assured that there are some truly beautiful lines to puzzle out.

MTel R5: Ivanchuk aiming for infinity with 5.0/5

5/12/2008 – When's the last time we have seen anything like this? The amazing Vassily Ivanchuk has won his fifth game in succession, beating Levon Aronian. He has won all games of the first half of the category 20 tournament, and has beaten all of the other players, three times with black and twice with white. Veselin Topalov is also in top form, winning his third game, against Bu Xiangzhi. Full report.

MTel R4: Ivanchuk wins yet again, leads by 1½ points

5/11/2008 – This is it, a potentially all-time record-breaking run: Vassily Ivanchuk has his fourth game in round four, continuing to maintain a perfect score in a category 20 tournament with a 2737 average rating of the participants. His performance, if that can be counted for a 4/4 score, is 3530. The other two games were drawn, leaving Veselin Topalov in second place with 2.5/4 points. Full report.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 2

5/11/2008 – The second in a series of columns on "Fritz11 tweaks" discusses some of the options found under the "Game" tab, specifically those which control when the Fritz program will resign or accept a draw. You can find more in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Lothar Schmid – the Complete Chess Authority turns 80!

5/10/2008 – He was born on May 10th 1928 in Dresden, Germany, son of a book publisher and heir to the Karl Mai adventure series. Lothar Maximilian Lorenz Schmid became one of Germany's strongest grandmasters – and internationally famous as the arbiter in great matches, and a one of the world's leading collectors of chess books. Today he turns eighty. Happy birthday, Lothar!

MTel R3: Ivanchuk wins again, Topalov beats Cheparinov

5/10/2008 – For the third time in three rounds Vassily Ivanchuk scored a full point, utterly crushing Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, who could have resigned right out of the opening. Veselin Topalov beat his second Ivan Cheparinov with the black pieces. Ivanchuk leads with a perfect 3.0/3 score. The only regret: he missed a chance for a perfect miniature by overlooking a spectacular mate in 13.

MTel R2: Ivanchuk beats Topalov

5/9/2008 – It was a wild and vicious game, one of the most enjoyable we have seen in a long time. Both sides had chances, and it was the trademark throw-everything-at-the-enemy strategy of Veselin Topalov that failed against Vassily Ivanchuk, possibly the most experienced player in top-level chess. The other games were drawn. Full report with commentary and videos.