Winner Takes It All in Iceland

3/4/2008 – Actually everyone got their fair share at the Team Championship in Iceland, which was won by the team of Taflfélag Reykjavikur, ahead of Hellir. There were delicious meals and beer at the closing ceremony, with Abba’s “Winner takes it all” performed in honor of the champions. The participants got to visit an Icelandic water reserve which featured "four desperate men.“ IM Dejan Bojkov reports.

Linares R12: Carlsen mates Topalov, closes gap to Anand

3/4/2008 – The 17-year-old wonderboy from Norway has done it again. Magnus Carlsen got himself into a somewhat precarious situation, two pawns down, against the former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov, but fought back to equalise. Just when everyone was expecting a draw disaster struck and Topalov blundered. Full report with games, commentary and video.

Linares R11: Topalov and Leko win, Anand leads

3/3/2008 – Veselin Topalov beat Alexei Shirov in an Exchange Grunfeld that lasted just 34 moves. Peter Leko got an extra pawn and ground down Magnus Carlsen in a 62-move effort. The other two games were drawn, which left Anand with a one-point lead over Aronian, Carlsen and Topalov, with three rounds to go. We bring you a full report with pictures and video interviews by Europe Echecs.

A French tribute to Bobby Fischer

3/2/2008 – 64 years, 64 squares. International Grandmaster at 15 years old. The 11th champion of the world left behind no school, no follower. He was incarcerated in Japan and died far from his old chess friends in Iceland. Who was Bobby Fischer? The French chess magazine Europe Echecs has devoted its whole issue to Fischer. Excerpts.

Linares honors its greatest son

3/2/2008 – Forget chess for a moment, on this free day of the Super-GM in the Andalusian capital. Forget the games and cross tables. We took a stroll to the Andrés Segovia museum, built for one of the greatest classical guitarists who ever lived. He was born in Linares and almost single-handedly turned the gut guitar into the concert instrument it is today. Pictures and videos.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (25)

3/2/2008 – How did the Benko Gambit originate? What is known about Znosko-Borovsky’s non-chess writings? Is it possible to resolve discrepancies in a spectacular game won by Krejcik? And how did the famous brilliancy Steinitz v von Bardeleben really end? These are just some of the historical enigmas in this latest selection from Chess Notes. Readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

Linares R10: All games drawn, Ivanchuk near collapse vs Topalov

3/1/2008 – Anand vs Carlsen and Radjabov vs Aronian were relatively peaceful draws; Shirov pressured Leko with an extra pawn. But the greatest tension was to be seen in the game Vassily Ivanchuk vs Veselin Topalov. The latter got into trouble after sacrificing a pawn, Ivanchuk had a virtually winning position, blew it in tactical complications and almost lost. Express report.

Linares R9: Carlsen and Ivanchuk win, Leko down in the dumps

2/29/2008 – Aronian vs Anand, not without tension, ended abruptly after 27 moves in a draw. Veselin Topalov did not succeed in outmaneuvering Teimour Radjabov and drew in 54. The luckless Peter Leko lost yet another, with White against Ivanchuk. The cliff-hanger was an 80-move effort by Magnus Carlsen, who overcame Shirov's defences to take second place in the tables. Full illustrated report.

Play a real chess game

2/29/2008 – The best guarantee to know more opening theory than your opponent is to put him out of his opening book straight away, with moves like 2.Na3 against the Sicilian or 3.f3 in the Caro-Kann. That is, as GM Davies puts it, to play a real chess game rather than to just replay a latest grandmasters' game upto move 25. Buy his DVD '1.e4 for the Creative Attacker' now or read more.

Linares R8: Anand, Carlsen, Aronian win

2/28/2008 – The slugfest continues. After three days of travel, rest and jet lag adjustment the players came out swinging, with three decided games in the first round of the Spanish leg of the Super-GM tournament. Anand beat Shirov, Aronian beat Topalov and Carlsen did the same to Ivanchuk with the black pieces. We bring you a full report with games, commentary and pictures from Linares.

Linares Torneo Internacional Super-GM begins today

2/28/2008 – The first half of this Super-GM was a very exciting affair in Morelia, Mexico. The draw average was a sensationally low 46%. Topalov drew just two games, Anand won the first half, scoring three wins, all with black, and one loss. Today the second half begins in Linares, with games starting at 16:00h CET (= EST, 18:00 Moscow, 15:00 GMT/London, 10 a.m. NY). We bring you live commentary.

In the style of Capablanca and Fischer – Peter Leko

2/27/2008 – Peter Leko may not be the most popular player among amateurs, but to neglect his chess would be a pity both aesthetically and instructionally. He is one of the world’s strongest players, and his games are very useful to study. Our Playchess.com lecturer Dennis Monokroussos proves this with a 2002 Leko masterpiece against Alexander Beliavsky from the Olympiad in Bled. Enjoy.

Morozevich drops out of FIDE Grand Prix

2/27/2008 – "The whole system for playing the world championship is flawed," says Alexander Morozevich. In a Sport Express interview the current number four in the world rankings has announced that he will not be participating in the FIDE Grand Prix cycle – joining the top three Anand, Kramnik and Topalov (he says) in his boycott. Sport Express interview.

Dick Cavett on Fischer – thank you very much!

2/26/2008 – The reactions to talk show host Dick Cavett's eulogy on Bobby Fischer were moving – not just the ones from our newspage readers, but also those in the New York Times. Cavett has written a new piece thanking the Fischer fans who wrote in. “Thank you, Mr. Cavett, for bringing the human Bobby Fischer back into my life,” as one lady said. Report with a new video you've got to see.

Morelia R7: Carlsen, Topalov and Shirov win

2/24/2008 – What an exciting tournament! On the final day there were three decided games. Magnus Carlsen played a classic against Levon Aronian; Veselin Topalov, playing black, took a full point from a luckless Peter Leko; and Alexei Shirov won a fine game against Teimour Radjabov. Anand is the sole winner of the first half of Morelia-Linares 2008. Full report with pictures.

Morelia 07: Fighting chess pleased the organisers

2/24/2008 – The Morelia part of the tournament has finished, the players need a good rest. Fighting hard in every game is not an easy job. In the last games due to tiredness many players performed below their usual level. On the other hand chess professionals must get used to play every game until the end and I hope we'll see this tendency in the Linares part as well. GM Dorian Rogozenko analyses.

Morelia R6: Radjabov beats Carlsen, Topalov-Anand draw

2/23/2008 – It was a long day. Topalov vs Anand was the first game to end, in a tough draw. Ivanchuk-Shirov followed suit. Then Teimour Radjabov succeeded in overcoming the defences of Magnus Carlsen and scoring a full point. Shortly after nine p.m. Lev Aronian gave up trying to beat Peter Leko. We bring you a summary and lots of pictures in our express report.

Morelia 06: No quarter given, no holds barred

2/23/2008 – The last free day in the Morelia part of the tournament allowed the grandmasters to rest and come fresh to their games in the fighting mood again. In this unpredictable tournament it is highly difficult to guess the results, but one thing the spectators can be sure of: the players are always trying hard to show their best. The sixth round was no exception. GM Dorian Rogozenko analyses.

Another French cruncher

2/22/2008 – You can not take the solid 3...dxe4 fortress in the French by storm. But former world champion Kasimdzhanov in his Beating the French vol.3 shows you where to set your pieces and how to increase the pressure step by step. "Watching this DVD has strengthened my understanding of the French probably 100-200 rating points!" says Bob Long. Buy it now or read his review with sampler.

Nepomniachtchi wins Aeroflot Open 2008

2/22/2008 – We are going to have to learn to pronounce his name. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia scored 7.0/9 to finish clear first in the 2008 Aeroflot Open in Moscow. His performance was a resounding 2822. Behind him we find Russian GMs Alexander Motylev and Alexey Dreev, each with 6.5 points. We bring you the final standings, games, pictures and videos.

Life After Chess – Kasparov in Newsweek

2/21/2008 – Recently Garry Kasparov wrote a eulogy for Bobby Fischer in Time Magazine. This week the former world chess champion and author of general life strategy books is featured in a Newsweek article, conducted via Skype call. Other stories tell of Kasparov's detention on a trip to Sochi, his lawsuit against a pro- Kremlin youth organisation and his question to US Presidential candidates.

Morelia R5: Carlsen beats Topalov, Anand wins

2/21/2008 – The first win on this dramatic day was by Vishy Anand, over Peter Leko, who was overrun by Anand's black kingside pawns. Then followed Magnus Carlsen's victory over Veselin Topalov, which he achieved, believe it or not, on the black side of Alekhine's Defence (1.e4 Nf6). The results put Anand in the sole lead. We bring you lots of pictures in our express report.

Magnus Carlsen wins with the Alekhine

2/21/2008 – In the fifth round of the Morelia tournament the participants continued to please the spectators with entertaining chess, which resulted in two wins for Black and two draws. No boring openings, no "lazy" draws, but rare openings like the Janisch gambit and, in round five, the Alekhine Defense. We are witnessing a highly exciting and interesting tournament. GM Dorian Rogozenko analyses.

High drama in Morelia

2/20/2008 – The tournament in Morelia provided another round of exciting chess. The leader Veselin Topalov lost to Alexey Shirov, but the drama of the day was Ivanchuk's blunder in a winning position against Aronian. The ratio of decisive games is unusually high for such a top tournament: nine out of 16 games ended with a win for one side. Remarkable indeed! GM Dorian Rogozenko analyses.