Sofia 2007: All games drawn, Sasikiran leads

5/20/2007 – One round before the end nothing changed in the tables, with all three games ending in draws. Sunday is the final round, with the tournament leader Krishnan Sasikiran facing national hero Veselin Topalov with black. Topalov will do everything in his power to win the game and the M-Tel event. He has managed in the past – will he pull it off again?

Garry Kasparov detained, world leaders protest

5/20/2007 – The former world chess champion and current leader of the Other Russia opposition group, together with dozens of journalists and activists, was prevented from attending the European Union-Russia summit in Samara, Russia. The incident has dominated the international press, and led to protests by amongst others German Chancellor Angela Merkel and, yes, M-Tel organiser Silvio Danailov.

Sofia 2007: Topalov wins Third M-Tel Masters in Sofia

5/20/2007 – Our words were justified: after his disastrous start we cautioned our readers not to wager large sums on Topalov not winning the event. And the Bulgarian superstar pulled it off yet again. He defeated the tournament leader in the final round to take sole victory in the M-Tel Masters. Four players shared 2nd-5th, with Adams bringing up the rear, just a point behind the winner. Games and final standings.

Sofia 2007: Kamsky beats Sasikiran with black

5/19/2007 – He may not have his notebook, but he is in fighting spirit. Top US grandmaster Gata Kamsky defeated the tournament leader Krishnan Sasikiran to move into joint second place, together with Topalov, Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu. On the free day there was a soccer match between the chess players and a selection of the Bulgarian champions. Pictures and videos.

Radjabov wins 'Match of the Hopes' in Corsica

5/19/2007 – Having staged “The Match of the Legends” in May 2006 between Karpov and Spassky, the Corsican Chess League today organized "Le Match des Espoirs" between the two top juniors of the world – 20-year-old GM Teimur Radjabov of Azerbaijan and 16-year-old GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway. After tying two rapid and two blitz tie-break games Radjabov won the match in the Armageddon playoff.

The outspoken Mr Danailov

5/19/2007 – He is the manager of Veselin Topalov, the main organizer of the M-Tel tournament in Sofia, the creator of the Grand Slam. IM Silvio Danailov is also one of the most controversial figures in world chess. In an interview with the Russian site Chesspro he talks about his colleagues, chess professionalism, M-Tel invitations and about why Kramnik will lose his title in Mexico.

Sofia 2007: India's Sasikiran in the lead

5/18/2007 – With a critical black-piece victory over co-leader Shakriyar Mamedyarov Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran took the sole lead in the M-Tel tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. The other games were drawn, so that "Sasi" now leads with a full point ahead of Topalov, Mamedyarov and Adams. Half a point behind are Nisipeanu and Kamsky who round up the field. Games and standings.

Sofia 2007: Sasikiran, Kamsky and Topalov win

5/17/2007 – Veselin Topalov continued his predicted second-half comeback with a precision victory with the black pieces over Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, who had beaten him in their first-round encounter. Tournament leader Shakriyar Mamedyarov lost to Gata Kamsky, while Krishnan Sasikiran beat Michael Adams to join Mamedyarov in top position. Games and standings.

ChessBase Light 2007 - part 3

5/17/2007 – Our ChessBase Workshop series on the new ChessBase Light 2007 continues with a column about opening searches. Learn how to search a database for games of a specific opening, even if you don't know the opening's proper ECO code, in the new ChessBase Workshop

Oxford vs Cambridge vol. 125 – the never ending game

5/16/2007 – The rivalry between the two great English Universities, Oxford and Cambridge, goes back for hundreds of years. In chess hostilities began in 1873, and since then, interrupted by the odd war, the chess clubs of both universities have been meeting anually to settle the score. This year for the 125th time. Exchange PhD student Olena Boytsun, WIM from Ukraine, helped make it memorable.

Mexico World Championship: Anand or Kramnik?

5/16/2007 – If we ignore you-know-who, the two best chess players in the last ten years have consistently been Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. They are the co-favourites in the Mexico City World Championship this September. Our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos evaluates their chances.

The 2007 Ashgabat International School Championship

5/15/2007 – You may be forgiven for not knowing where Ashgabat is, less so for not being able to locate Turkmenistan on a map. The capital of this Central Asia Republic, just across the border to Iran, has an International School, with chess on its curriculum and a WGM as a trainer. Mahri Geldiyeva sent us a picture report of the first school chess championship and other activities. Read and learn.

Sofia 2007: three draws, Mamedyarov leads at the halfway stage

5/15/2007 – As is often the case, the day before the rest day produced quieter chess than usual – nobody wants to risk losing, when they will have an extra 24 hours to ruminate on it. Kamsky’s accurate defence thwarted Topalov’s ambitions, whilst the top two, Adams and Mamedyarov, fought down to bare kings. Tuesday is free, so you have an extra 24 hours to enjoy some defensive heroics.

Andrew Martin: Two from Topalov

5/15/2007 – There can be little doubt that former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov is a crowd-pleaser. His games invariably contain fireworks and are full of points of interest. With such a sharp style he is bound to encounter fluctuations, but this adds to the pleasure. Our Playchess trainer takes a look at two games from Sofia, and one of his own efforts a few days ago. Enjoy.

The long way of ChessBase Magazine

5/14/2007 – Do you remember the shoes you wore ten years ago? Porbably not, but probably there is little to be called progress here. Michael Jeffreys went back a decade and gives us some (surprising?) impressons of what ChessBase Magazine looked like once and now. Buy the new CBM 117 right away or step back into history first.

Sofia 2007: Topalov crushes Sasikiran with black

5/14/2007 – Bulgarian fans finally had something to cheer about today, as home favourite Topalov crushed Sasikiran in a 33-move King’s Indian. A razor-sharp game between Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu ended in a draw, as did a marathon between Kamsky and Adams. Entertainment was to the fore, in a Sunday evening slugfest.

Tomsk wins the Russian Team Championships

5/13/2007 – The team from Tomsk-400 won the Russian Team Championship with a perfect 9/9 score. The victorious team included Morozevich, Jakovenko, Karjakin, Kasimdzhanov and Bologan. Second was Ural Ekaterinburg, which fielded Radjabov, Grischuk, Shirov and Akopian. Big photo report by Sergey Tiviakov, who for some reason mainly concentrated on the women's section.

Sofia 2007: Mamedyarov beats Topalov in 30 moves

5/13/2007 – Home favourite Veselin Topalov is propping up the table on just 0.5 point, after three rounds of the M-Tel Masters. Today he was beaten soundly by Shakriyar Mamedyarov, who now leads with 2.5/3. Adams won with an excellent sacrificial attack against Nisipeanu, to move into joint second place with Sasikiran, on a day when kings died of exposure.

Arkadij Naiditsch takes President's Cup in Baku

5/12/2007 – Germany's top grandmaster Arkadij Naiditsch took the strong open in Baku, half a point clear of the field with 12 players rated 2600 or higher. Malakhatko, van Wely and Fedorov shared places 2-4, while the places 5-14 included names like Nigel Short and Vadim Milov. We bring you the games and results, as well as another batch of great pictures.

Sofia 2007: All games drawn, Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu lead

5/12/2007 – Two days in, two white’s gone – and Veselin Topalov is still without a win. In his second round encounter with Michael Adams the British GM played the black side of a isolated queen's pawn position accurately. Adams managed to actually exert pressure before the draw was agreed. The other games were all drawn, after even struggles, on a day when statics balanced dynamics.

ChessBase Light 2007 - part 2

5/12/2007 – Our tutorial series on the new program ChessBase Light 2007 continues with an informative column about basic game header searches. Read all about it in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Roberto Rivello: How the FIDE Ethics Commission works

5/11/2007 – He is a judge udge with jurisdiction n criminal cases, and a Professor of International Law and International Organization at the University of Turin. Roberto Rivello is also the newly appointed Chairman of the FIDE Ethics Commission, which has to decide on the complaint against Nigel Short. We asked Roberto to fill us in on the inner workings of the Commission. Here is his statement.

Sofia 2007: Nisipeanu beats Topalov with black

5/11/2007 – The first round of the Sofia tournament saw two decisive results out of three. The big upset was the defeat of home favourite Veselin Topalov, with white, against Nisipeanu, who surprised his opponent with a 3…Qd6 Scandinavian and secured a comfortable position. Topalov blundered on move 43. In the other games, Mamedyarov beat Kamsky, and Adams drew with Sasikiran. Report and games.

English Chess Federation vigorously defends Nigel Short

5/10/2007 – A short time after we published the report on English grandmaster Nigel Short being hauled before the FIDE Ethics Committee, accused of defamation of FIDE officials, we receive a letter written by the English Chess Federation to FIDE, formally complaining about the action that is being considered against a respected member of their federation. The protest comes with an interesting threat.