First «Circuit des Espoirs Europe Echecs» in Lyon

6/28/2008 – Why are these fair maidens playing chess with the names of two famous world champions affixed to their table? They are part of a "Young Hopefuls" tournament to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the French Magazine Europe Echecs – and playing in the exact location where Kasparov played Karpov in 1990. The twelfth champion is a special guest. Pictorial and video report from Lyon.

Dortmund R1: All games drawn in Sparkassen Meeting

6/28/2008 – Gustafsson-Kramnik, an Exchange Grünfeld, ended in a symmetrical rook ending and a draw in 29 moves. Naiditsch-Nepomnaichtchi, a Sicilian Najdorf, saw White with some chances but ended in repetition after 30 moves. Mamedyarov vs Leko was a Sämisch and drawn after 24 moves. Ivanchuk-van Wely was a Scheveningen with a drawn queen ending in 39 moves. Illustrated report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (3)

6/27/2008 – The Editor of Chess Notes rounds off his examination of old masters’ choices of their best games, and for this second part the cast includes Emanuel Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein and Max Euwe. Full scores of all 22 games are provided in replayable form, together with background jottings and a further nomination for 'the perfect game'. See Part II now.

Put a Nigel in Your Tank

6/27/2008 – Good news for consumers of chess software: the price of ChessBase DVDs has not been raised, while the quality stays tops. Nigel Davies is a good example, says Bob Long, who watched Nigel's DVD on the King's Indian Attack. Fasten your seat belts and enjoy this 5+ hours crash course with masterpieces by Fischer, Morozevich, and more. Buy it now or read Bob Long's review.

AMD plays its first game with Vishy Anand

6/26/2008 – The World Chess Champion has signed a deal with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), the company that develops computer processors and related technologies and is the second-largest global supplier of microprocessors. Anand is now the brand model for AMD, which is driving large ad campaigns with him. We bring you the first TV ad and some cool wallpaper.

The United Kingdom of Many Sporting Entities?

6/25/2008 – The discussions are not yet over, and emotions are still running high. Does Britain legitimately enter separate sporting teams for the different nations that "peacefully coexist within one nation state," as Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson thinks? Or is this "absurd, anachronistic, and profoundly discriminatory", as British GM Nigel Short believes? New opinions and more readers' feedback.

Dortmund 2008: The games start on Saturday

6/25/2008 – Our templates are ready: the annual Sparkassen Chess Meeting will take place from June 28th to July 6th, 2008, with eight players: Vladimir Kramnik, Shakhriyar Mamedjarov, Peter Leko, Vassily Ivanchuk, Loek van Wely, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Arkadij Naiditsch and Jan Gustafsson. The average age is 27.9, the average rating 2695 (= category 18). Full details.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 7

6/24/2008 – Our ChessBase Workshop series concerning various Fritz "tweaks" continues this week with a discussion of customization options under the "Tablebases" and "Clipboard" tabs, including a description of various types of text output. Learn more in the latest Workshop.

Garry Kasparov: he's back and he's – teaching!

6/24/2008 – What brings a dozen young and talented chess kids to a skyscraper somewhere in the middle of Manhattan in New York City, on a pre-summer weekend in June? Why would those same kids completely take over the richly decorated, large conference room on a top floor, belonging to a successful financial company? To learn chess from the greatest, that's why. Report by Aviv Friedman.

Armageddon decider – more reader feedback

6/24/2008 – How does Anna Zatonskih feel about her sudden-death win of the US Women's Championship earlier this year? What do other readers think about the comments that have been made on the subject? The letters keep pouring in, and even BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen, who once beat Irina Krush, has weighed in with a proposal for a new blitz clock.

The endgame genius of José Raúl Capablanca

6/24/2008 – Moscow 1936. Soviet master Ilya Kan had drawn his first game against former world champion Capablanca, and things were looking very peaceful in their second encounter. But, as our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos shows, the great "Capa" was able to wring out a win in a "drawn" position, with deep strategic technique. Be there and learn – the show is free.

Karlovich: a pictorial review of Aerosvit-2008

6/23/2008 – The tournament finished a few days ago, with a stunning victory by the youngest participant, 17-year-old Magnus Carlsen. It was a great success, with over 100,000 visitors to the official web site. Television teams and journalists from many different countries were there. We bring final impressions by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, who also conducted a short interview with Sergey Karjakin.

In the news: rogue trader loses bank £60 million

6/23/2008 – A rogue trader is an authorised employee making unauthorised trades on behalf of their employer. The most famous rogue trader is Nick Leeson, who lost Barings Bank £827 million in 1995 and received a 6½-year jail sentence. The latest case of a £60 million loss for a London bank is smaller fry, but made it to all the broadsheets last week. Find out why we are telling you all this.

Chess in Iran – players and venues of the national league

6/23/2008 – The Iranian Premiere League has a total of sixty players, fifty-six of them holders of international ratings. There are five GMs, with more – including super-GMs – to come. The rounds take place in different cities throughout the country. If you don't know the Si o Se Pol in Esfahan or the Ganjnameh of Hamedan, you will after you have read this pictorial report by Arash Akbarinia.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (3)

6/21/2008 – A week ago the Editor of Chess Notes chronicled many old masters’ choices of their best games. Now, for readers' convenience and for the record, he has prepared two follow-up articles, giving all the game-scores (some 40 in all) as text, PGN and in replayable form. There are also additional comments on the games and suggestions for further reading. See Part I now.

Anand on the Origins of Chess

6/20/2008 – Who invented chess? Listening to Russian GMs at the 1991 Reggio Emilia tournament the young Vishy Anand got the impression that they owned the game. "But didn't we Indians invent chess?" he asked himself. In an essay in TIME Magazine the reigning World Champion looks at the origins of the game and its route from India to Persia to Spain, one that reflects his own chess journey.

Ilija Penušliski

6/19/2008 – Blurb... Link.

Armageddon and Football – reader feedback

6/19/2008 – The US Championship, "between a woman with a Russian-sounding name and another woman with a Russian-sounding name," was decided by "the most ridiculous tie breaker in sports history," writes an AOL blogger. On this side of the Atlantic we were taken to task for carelessly naming regions from an archipelago that lies to the northwest of Europe. Excerpts from your letters with addenda.

There is a lot to relearn in chess strategy

6/19/2008 – What long-term strategical implications do the moves 1.e4 c5 carry with them? Well, any at all? Yes, says none less than former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. His DVD "Strategy – Step by Step" is a real eye-opener for most of us. Starting with the very first moves of the games he analyses six of his strategic masterpieces in great depth. Buy it now or read more.

Aerosvit 2008: Carlsen wins by a full point

6/19/2008 – Alexei Shirov and Andrei Volokitin scored final round victories, while Vassily Ivanchuk won another game, this time against Pavel Eljanov in a queen ending. Magnus Carlsen held Ukrainian co-prodigy Sergey Karjakin to a draw to take the category 19 tournament by a full point, with a 2877 performance. He will be number two in the next world rankings – if FIDE rates this event.

Aerosvit 2008: Carlsen wins with a round to spare

6/18/2008 – Vassily Ivanchuk defeated Loek van Wely with the black pieces to join Pavel Eljanov (who drew against Karjakin) in second place. Alexei Shirov defeated Peter Svidler in a Slav, and Magnus Carlsen drew a marathon 79-move game against birthday boy Andrei Volokitin. With a round to go Carlsen is a point and a half ahead and therefore already the winner of Aerosvit 2008. Round ten report.

Chess in Iran – the Premier League

6/17/2008 – Ten teams are part of this league, which is played on weekends (Fridays in Iran) in different cities all over Iran. The first rounds started this year, 1387 according to the Iranian calendar. Sixty players, including five GMs, four IMs and nine FMs were present – one was very sadly missed: GM Karen Asrian, who passed away tragically last week. Pictorial report by Arash Akbarinia.

Sergey Karjakin at eighteen – simply frightening

6/17/2008 – He began as the ultimate chess prodigy, an assistant to a world championship candidate at eleven, the youngest grandmaster in history at twelve and a half. On Wednesday night our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos shows us how today, at 18, Sergey Karjakin is able to combine positional and tactical motifs to match the best players in the world. The show is free.

Aerosvit 2008: Eljanov and Nisipeanu win, Carlsen leads

6/17/2008 – Romania's Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu defeated Alexei Shirov after a fatal king move by the latter. Magnus Carlsen played a 16-move draw today, while one of his nearest rivals, Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov, defeated compatriot Andrei Volokitin to come within theoretical striking distance. With two rounds to go Carlsen leads by a point and a half. And before we forget: Happy Birthday, Pyotr!