GM Mihail Marin: Tension to the end

9/29/2007 – The only relatively short game in round 13 was Gelfand-Kramnik, with the draw agreed in a position where there was practically nothing left to play for. Anand carried out a risky opening experiment against Grischuk and had to suffer in a rook ending before reaching a draw. Aronian-Svidler was a tense positional fight. Leko employed a new idea to defeat Morozevich. Analysis and video.

Mexico 2007: Vishy Anand is world champion!

9/29/2007 – An effortless 20-move draw against Peter Leko clinched it: Indias's Viswanathan Anand won the World Championship in Mexico City 2007 to become the undisputed World Chess Champion. The other games are still in progress, but nobody can catch Anand, who finishes undefeated with 9.0 points out of 14 games. Kramnik beat Aronian to move to second place. Express report.

Mexico R12 – Gelfand, Kramnik and Morozevich win

9/28/2007 – Things are becoming exciting: Anand drew against Peter Svidler; his nearest rival, Boris Gelfand beat Levon Aronian with black to narrow the gap to the leader to just one point. Vladimir Kramnik beat Peter Leko to step into the slot half a point behind. So there are upset possibilities in the final two rounds on Friday and Saturday. Express report with pictures.

GM Mihail Marin annotates the games of round eleven

9/27/2007 – Grischuk-Kramnik was a quick draw. Gelfand-Svidler and Leko-Aronian lasted longer, but also ended in draws. Anand could have repeated moves against Morozevich, which would have suited his tournament position, but he bravely decided to play on, although the position was quite irrational. Caissa smiled on the courageous and Anand could increase his lead. GM analysis.

Kasparov wins opposition primaries in Russia

9/27/2007 – The Moscow branch of the Other Russia opposition party Monday chose former world chess champion Garry Kasparov as candidate for the 2008 presidential elections. Kasparov garnered 66 of a possible 113 votes at the all-important Moscow primary, defeating ex-premier Mikhail Kasyanov. In addition to many international reports there is a remarkable 12-page (!) story in the New Yorker.

Mexico 2007: The Pyramids of Teotihuacán

9/27/2007 – A free day at the World Championship means more hard work for the players. But not for journalists and dignitaries, who are given the opportunity to visit places of interest. So for instance the famous pyramids, just 40 km from the city. The Pyramid of the Sun is 246 feet high, making it the third largest pyramid in the world. Teotihuacán was, as our photo report shows, a spiritual experience.

GM Mihail Marin annotates the games of round ten

9/26/2007 – A fighting round, featuring several sacrifices – one piece, three exchanges and numerous pawns – but only one decisive game. Anand-Kramnik was enormously complicated and ended in a very tense draw. In Aronian-Grischuk play took an original course from a very early stage. Gelfand with white could not achieve anything against Leko's excellent preparation. Analysis and videos.

World Championship Mexico, Round 11 – Anand!!

9/26/2007 – Today it was all about one player. After Grischuk and Kramnik drew their game in 35 minutes and 13 moves; and after Gelfand and Svidler ceased hostilities after 22; and the Leko vs Aronian battle ended peacefully after 56 moves; we saw Anand going for the kill against Morozevich. His win leaves him a point and a half ahead of his nearest rival. Express report with lots of pictures.

Mexico round nine: GM Mihail Marin annotates

9/25/2007 – Anand-Aronian was a 21-move draw, while Leko-Svidler was also drawn, but after an intense fight. Grischuk obtained a minimal but persistent advantage against Gelfand and won when Gelfand's nerves cracked. The most remarkable game of the evening was Morozevich-Kramnik, which transposed to a curious version of the Benoni. Morozevich won convincingly. Analysis, video and new pictures.

Mexico R10: Kramnik vs Anand drawn after long fight

9/25/2007 – The summit game was sharp – heart-stoppingly so. Anand uncorked some deep preparation in a Semi-Slav, Kramnik fought back with ambitious intentions, Anand defended well and in fact took the initiative. The game ended after 41 moves in a draw, which left Anand a point ahead of the field. Aronian drew first blood, beating Grischuk in 42 moves of a QGD. Express report.

Mexico R09: Morozevich beats Kramnik, Anand leads

9/24/2007 – It was quite a shocker, first with Alexander Morozevich beating Vladimir Kramnik to relegate the world champion to fifth place; and then, late in the evening, Alexander Grischuk, who had lost his previous two games, bounced back with a victory over Boris Gelfand. This left Vishy Anand, who drew against Aronian, with a one-point lead on the table. Express report.

Mexico World Championship: a walk around the city

9/24/2007 – Visiting the chess championship is exciting, but it also affords us an opportunity to see and experience a vibrant city, whose population of 19.2 million make it the largest in the western hemisphere and the second largest in the world. Mexico City is also a place filled with the remains of ancient civilizations and historical events. Here is the first edition of our Mexico journal.

Mexico: GM Mihail Marin annotates round eight

9/23/2007 – Despite the relatively early draw, Svidler-Kramnik featured rich strategic content. Morozevich tried to remount the variation that led him to defeat against Gelfand, and failed, but was helped by Aronian's imprecise play that led to a draw. Gelfand-Anand was also drawn without too much fight. Leko's win with White against Grischuk was a rather one-sided affair. Analysis and videos.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (15)

9/23/2007 – Chess books repackaged as camouflage in Nazi Germany. Numerous contradictions regarding a four-move game. The chess encyclopaedia that never was. Quotes strangely attributed to Spielmann and Capablanca. These and other mysteries are discussed in the latest selection from Chess Notes. Readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

The Match of his Life – Kasparov on 60 Minutes

9/23/2007 – If you receive CBS News, you can see a report on former world champion and current Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov, who comes on tonight (Sunday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. ET/PT) – after a segment in which the Iranian President Ahmadinejad addresses controversies regarding his country's alleged assistance to Iraqi insurgents and his intentions to visit ground zero. Catch it if you can.

Time pressure (and other maladies) - part 2

9/22/2007 – In the previous ChessBase Workshop column we introduced the idea of "beating oneself", based upon those little self-doubting psychological quirks from which some players suffer and which can really hurt one's chess results. This time our Workshop delves into the world of psychology again in this week's column, with a look at "rating envy" and how to combat it with the help of Fritz.

Mexico R08: Gelfand-Anand drawn, Leko beats Grischuk

9/22/2007 – The duel of the leaders, Gelfand vs Anand, ended in a draw, which left Anand still in the lead in the world championship in Mexico. Peter Leko defeated Alexander Grischuk to get to 50% and move to fourth place on the table. The other two games were drawn. Saturday is a free day. Express report from Mexico.

GM commentary: Mihail Marin on round seven

9/21/2007 – Morozevich-Leko ended in a draw after a long but relatively uneventful struggle. Leko missed his chance to complicate the fight by accepting a piece sacrifice. Svidler-Aronian could not question the peaceful reputation of the Exchange Ruy Lopez. Kramnik-Gelfand was a typical Anti-Moscow variation of the Semi-Slav. Anand won a fine positional game against Grischuk. Commentary and video.

Mexico R07: Anand beats Grischuk, takes sole lead

9/21/2007 – Vishy Anand, the hightest ranked player, defeated Alexander Grischuk in a remarkably exciting game. Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand drew their encounter, which left Anand in the sole lead at half time, with a 2900+ performance and half a point ahead of the field. Full analysis will follow tomorrow, for now we bring you an express report with the games, results and lots of pictures.

Women in Chess – a matter of opinion

9/21/2007 – The recently ended International Women's Chess Tournament in Baku was a great success, with sponsors and organisers promising further such tournaments in the future. Our reporter Zahir Ahmadov used the opportunity to conduct an informal questionnaire on the state of women's chess: are men better at the game, and if so why. Interesting reactions.

GM Mihail Marin annotates the round five games

9/20/2007 – Anand managed to neutralize Svidler's initiative in the Marshall Attack, then initiated a queenside diversion, which led to a winning attack on the opposite wing. Grischuk elegantly refuted Morozevich' strategically over-ambitious opening plan. Gelfand came up with a new plan that yielded him a favourable version of the Benoni against Aronian. Comments by GM Marin and videos by Vijay Kumar.

Carlsen’s school wins Nordic School Team Championship

9/20/2007 – The Nordic Championship for Gymnasium School Chess Teams was held in Lund, Sweden, 7-9 September. The Norwegian top athletic gymnasium NTG Bærum won with half a point margin. GM Magnus Carlsen and IM Jon Ludvig Hammer are students on the school, but no one of them participated. Report.

Mexico R06: Gelfand beats Morozevich, joins Anand in the lead

9/20/2007 – The two oldest players in this tournament are in the lead. Israeli GM Boris Gelfand, 39, beat Alexander Morozevich, 30, to join Vishy Anand, 38, in the lead at the World Championship in Mexico. The other games were drawn. Vladimir Kramnik, 32, and Alexander Grischuk, 23, are half a point behind. Illustrated report with games, results and lots of new pictures.

GM Mihail Marin comments round six games

9/20/2007 – Gelfand-Morozevich featured an interesting confrontation of different styles. White's advantage of space and initiative prevailed over Black's stability on dark squares. Grischuk sacrificed two pawns against Svidler and got a dangerous attack. After a far from obvious mistake from Svidler, he could have won with a simple manoeuvre. Instead, he only obtained a draw by perpetual. Comments.