Ivanchuk strikes again, leads Leko by 5:3

10/28/2007 – Déjà vu: the first rapid chess game on day two in Mukachevo ended in a draw, in the second Vassily Ivanchuk triumphed with the white pieces, and the last two games were drawn. Just like on day one. The Ukranian star and world's second highest ranked player now leads by two points, which means that Peter Leko must win two games tomorrow just to catch up. Report and games.

The 'Bilbao Draw' – how it doesn't solve the problem

10/28/2007 – Chess fans and organisers all over the world are worried about the problem of too many draws in chess. Actually: about pre-arranged or unfought draws. Many remedies have been tried, including threats, prohibition and, most recently, the Bilbao system of awarding three points for a win and one for a draw. Is that the solution? No, says one astute reader and points to a possibly fatal flaw.

A chess feast in Château de Villandry

10/28/2007 – The location was magical: a Renaissance châteaux on the banks of the Loire, with decorative and herbal gardens that must be seen to be believed. A pianist gives a recital of music by Danican Philidor, and four great chess masters (Korchnoi, Fressinet, Kosteniuk and Skripchenko) play a chess tournament. One of the games is the longest rapid chess game in history. Report with pictures and videos.

Nakamura wins Magistral D'Escacs in Barcelona

10/27/2007 – US Grandmaster and former child prodigy Hikaru Nakamura, who turns 20 in December, dominated the strong Barcelona tournament from the start. After six rounds he had collected 5.0 points with an Elo performance of over 2900. Then came a shock loss, from which he recovered nicely with two final round wins, to take first place by a full point. Report and games.

Bilbao vs Durban – Rapid Chess over 8800 km

10/26/2007 – Until a few years ago encounters between chess teams from different cities were fairly expensive – prohibitively so if they were many thousands of kilometers apart. Today that has changed. The organisers of the Bilbao Blindfold World Cup, using Playchess.com, were able to stage an eight-board match between the Basque city and the South African Durban. How things have changed!

Ivanchuk leads in rapid chess match in Mukachevo

10/26/2007 – Vassily Ivanchuk, 38 years old, is on a career high. After occupying second place in the October world rankings the Ukrainian GM is now dominating the rapid chess match against Peter Leko. In the first four games he won one and came close to winning two further points. The match lasts three days and is played over twelve games. Will it be the first of a long series?

Gelfand's book of memorable games

10/25/2007 – Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand isn't generally counted among the more dynamic players of our era. The reasons for this are his use of the Catalan and the Petroff, paired with an inadequate antipathy toward short draws. But overall it's a mistake, as we'll see in our Thursday night Playchess lecture by Dennis Monokroussos. Nine p.m. ET.

Viktor Mikhalevski wins Calvia International Open

10/25/2007 – He started off with seven wins in the first seven rounds, chalking up a theoretical performance of 3289. Two draws in the final round brough that down to a more realistic 2876, enough to win the tournament a full point ahead of the field. Second to Mikhalevski was Canadian GM Kevin Spaggett. The Seniors was won by Juan Bellon. Illustrated report.

Kasparov on Chris Matthews' Hardball

10/25/2007 – Yet again we see Garry Kasparov on a big American TV network. One Good Move, which provides the video feed, writes: "Kasparov makes a compelling case for the Bush Administration's hypocrisy in the world, and that Putin has the puppet Bush dancing to his tune. A dance meant to keep the world in turmoil so that KGB Inc. can benefit from high oil prices." Interview and our readers' reactions.

Anand in the news: Time, Sportstar and other stories

10/25/2007 – Having regained the World Championship title, Anand is currently on a “vacation” in India, where he is being "felicitated" and showered with gifts. Time for the game’s finest ambassador to reflect on what chess has given him, and how it can be promoted as a spectator sport. And to reveal details on the strategies that led to his dramatic success. We have links and excerpts.

Kasparov vs Wolf Blitzer on CNN's Late Edition

10/24/2007 – He did it again: the former world champion and leader of the Russian opposition has appeared on yet another prime time American TV show. After Colbert and Maher, this time Kasparov argues with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about Russian politics under the regime of the president Vladimir Putin. Late Edition can be seen all over the world – in case you missed it here are transcripts and a podcast.

IM Sergey Nikolaev slain in Moscow racist attack

10/24/2007 – Horrific news: a Russian IM, who hailed from the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, was brutally murdered in Moscow this weekend, by a gang of racist youths after a soccer match who attacked him because of his Eurasian complexion. It adds to the rising number of hate crimes in the Russian capital. Meanwhile news services are full of today's conviction of the "chessboard killer". All deeply disturbing.

Dedicated to Keres – The Baltic Sea Young Stars

10/23/2007 – Periodically the Baltic countries dispatch their young chess champions, boys and girls, to take part in a special tournament. The host is the ancient town Narva, on the border between Estonia and Russia, the venue Hermann Castle, built in the XIII Century. This year it was dedicated to the memory of the greatest Estonian player, Paul Keres. Big illustrated report.

Shakhryar Mamedyarov wins Essent Hoogeveen

10/22/2007 – With a win and two draws Shak Mamedyarov took the four-player double round robin in Essent by half a point. Behind him Ruslan Ponomariov and Loek van Wely switched places – Loek took second – and at the end of the table former Junior World Champion Zaven Andriasyan stayed firmly with his zero point score. Games, results and a photo special by Fred Lucas.

Bu Xiangzhi wins Blindfold Chess World Cup in Bilbao

10/21/2007 – He led the event from start to finish, and until the last round had not lost a single game (performing, incidentally, at almost 3000 Elo). But even the last-round loss to Judit Polgar could not stop the remarkable Chinese GM from taking first. Meanwhile Sergey Karjakin overtook his great rival Magnus Carlsen to win Silver. Final report.

Bu leads in the Blindfold Chess World Cup

10/20/2007 – Four more rounds have been completed in Bilbao, with Chinese grandmaster Bu Xianghzi scoring heavily (3.5/4) to take a commanding lead. Only Magnus Carlsen, who is in second place, can catch Bu – who would have to lose both his final games to allow this. In third place behind these two former child prodigies is the ultimate child prodigy Sergey Karjakin. Report and games.

Kasparov on Maher – checkmate in two

10/20/2007 – Bill Maher is a colorful, eloquent and witty talkshow host, a comedian who has very high ratings and a dedicated following. Maher also tends to dominated his guests with his superior intellect and verbal skills. But his encounter with Garry Kasparov ended in a double checkmate for the former world chess champion. It was an impressive display in a tough talk show. Good stuff, must watch.

Nigel Short on FIDE: 'Either they don't know or they don't care'

10/19/2007 – The Commonwealth Chess Championship 2007 is scheduled to be held at the state-of-the-art Sirifort Sports Complex, Khelgaon, (India would also be hosting the Commonwealth Games 2010 at the same venue), New Delhi, from December 02-10, 2007. The US $20,000 prize money tournament is likely to attract the cream of chess talents from the Commonwealth countries. Report and interview.

Opening training DVDs

10/19/2007 – The previews continue in the virtual pages of ChessBase Workshop. Our columnist takes a look this week at four opening training DVDs including The Pirc Defense and A World Champion's Guide to the Petroff. Get a closer look at what these disks contain in the latest edition of ChessBase Workshop.

Who was the future GM? Fabiano Caruana, Italy's top grandmaster!

10/18/2007 – He was born in Miami, Florida, in 1992, went to school in Brooklyn, played in Queens in the Susan Polgar Club, trained with Pal Benko, defeated a GM at the age of ten, moved to Spain, then to Hungary, and made his GM norms at the age of 14 years. Today, at 15, he is the strongest player in Italy and the world's youngest grandmaster. Pictorial answer to our quiz.

Blindfold Chess World Cup in Bilbao

10/18/2007 – An unusual tournament is under way in the Basque city of Bilbao: six players – Topalov, Carlsen, Polgar, Bu, Karjakin and Harikrishna – are facing each other in a blindfold rapid chess double round robin. No draw offers are allowed ("Sofia rules") and the scoring system awards three points for a win and one for a draw. The first four rounds were marred by one-move blunders. Illustrated report.

The Homecoming – Anand arrives in Chennai

10/18/2007 – The new world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand, hails from Madras in South India, a city today known as Chennai. After a brief sojourn in Delhi Anand at last flew into his home town, where he was awaited by tens of thousands of fans. It was not easy to get shots of the champion in the throng. Our reporter Arvind Aaron did his best and presents visual impressions.

Kasparov on Colbert – a closely contested draw

10/18/2007 – It is not often – like never before until now – that a chess player will appear on the "Colbert Report", one of America's most popular comedy shows. Last night Garry Kasparov was there, in a brief but illuminating visit, in which the chess champion seemed to take charge of the banter and pin Colbert on the ropes. The obligatory game of chess was short: 1.e4 draw. Watch the video.

Mamedyarov leads in the Essent Hoogeveen tournament

10/17/2007 – The 11th edition of the Essent Chess Tournament is taking place from October 12 to 20, 2007 in the city of Hoogeveen, Netherland. There are several competitions: an Amateur Tournament, a youth event, a strong Open, and the Crown Group. This double round robin has four players with an Elo average of 2670. Special feature: the participants have to play with glass pieces.