Miskolc 2007: Kramnik wins rapid chess match by 3½ 4½

4/29/2007 – The final day of the rapid chess match was attended by the largest crowd so far. Everyone in the theatre was eager to see if Peter Leko would be able to get the point he needed to catch Vladimir Kramnik. The first game ended in a fairly quick and fairly safe draw. In the second Kramnik almost took the point with the black pieces. Big pictorial report with a new perspective on the match.

The No-theory Defence, or how to meet 1 d4 if you are over 35

4/29/2007 – The Czech Benoni (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e5 4 Nc3 d6 5 e4 Nbd7 or Be7) has been successfully applied by several strong GMs like Nisipeanu, Aronian, Sokolov, and others in the last few years. On his new DVD Andrew Martin shows that this little system not only attracts the elder club player, it should make it to the top-level of chess sooner or later. Buy it now or read this review with sampler.

Cheparinov wins Sigeman, Carlsen takes Gausdal

4/28/2007 – We knew about Ivan Cheparinov's victory one round before the end. The 20-year-old Bulgarian took the tournament with a point and a half more than his nearest rival Jan Timman. In Gausdal 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen won his final game against Mihal Krasenkow to take first, a point ahead of three players (amongst them Lajos Portisch). Final report, standings, games.

Freestyle Chess –Teaching an Engine how to Fly

4/28/2007 – The 5th PAL/CSS Freestyle Tournament on Playchess.com is already history and the 6th issue is coming soon: Main event June 1-3, Final June 22-24. Freestyle Chess allows players to form a team and use any software and hardware they like. The main sponsor, the PAL Group in Abu Dhabi (UAE), has provided a $16,000 dollar prize fund for each online tournament. CC GM Arno Nickel reports.

Miskolc 2007: Exciting chess, both players score

4/28/2007 – The third day of the match in Miskolc was the most exciting so far. The first game went somewhat unexpectedly to Vladimir Kramnik, and Hungarian fans could be seen walking around with grim countenances during the pause before game six. But then their beloved Lékó Péter struck back and the triumphant yell of the audience could be heard all around the theatre. Picture report.

Global Chess to operate out of Amsterdam

4/27/2007 – In December 2006 we reported that FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov had launched a ten-million dollar company to be run by Dutch businessman Bessel Kok. Now that company, Global Chess, has now taken residence in the Max Euwe Center in Amsterdam. The web site Chess Vibes met with the main Global Chess officers and has provided indepth video interviews.

Miskolc 2007: Vladimir Kramnik draws first blood

4/27/2007 – In game three Peter Leko botched up his home analysis and handed his opponent Vladimir Kramnik a golden opportunity to go into the lead. The fourth game was a tense affair and ended after some remarkable twists in a draw. In between two eight-year-olds gave a charming chess display on the stage of the National Theatre. And then came the wine tasting in City Hall. Big illustrated report.

Meanwhile in Malmö and Gausdal...

4/26/2007 – Two international tournaments have reached their final stages: the Sigeman GM in Malmö, Sweden, and the Gausdal Classics in Norway. The former is already decided, since Ivan Cheparinov leads with a point and a half before the last round. In Gausdal local lad Magnus Carlsen is still in the lead, and can win by holding his closest rival to a draw in the final round. Joint reports.

How to Play the Queen's Indian

4/26/2007 – Since its birth in the early 20th century the Queen's Indian Defence (QID) has become one of the very classical weapons against 1.d4. The Mega Database 2007 counts nearly 75 000 QID games. With his latest ChessBase CD Dimitij Oleinikov offers a surprisingly smooth tool to master this atractive opening as Black or to learn how to meet it as White. Buy it now or read more.

Learning technique with Anatoly Karpov

4/26/2007 – Most fans prefer the games of his successor Garry Kasparov, but Anatoly Karpov's positional mastery is something the student of chess should not ignore. In his Thursday night lecture our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos shows us how Karpov disposes of Yasser Seirawan in a 1989 "dead-drawn" game, highlighting techniques you can directly apply to your own games.

Miskolc 2007: Peter Leko misses a big chance

4/26/2007 – After a tense, uneventful game one local hero Peter Leko missed an excellent opportunity to take the lead in game two in his rapid chess match against Vladimir Kramnik. Peter suffered a similar mishap in the previous year against Anatoly Karpov – was it nerves or the fast time controls? The event is under way in the beautiful National Theater. We bring you annotated games and pictures.

Miskolc starts with the Peter Leko Chess School

4/25/2007 – On Wednesday the first tow games of the rapid chess match between world champion Vladimir Kramnik and his former challenger Peter Leko will be played in Miskolc, Hungary. Two days earlier Peter inaugerated his newly founded chess school, which will train the young talents of the city. Amongst these are some very young and devastatingly cute children. Illustrated report with interview.

The ECU and Boris Kutin reply to Eric van den Doel

4/25/2007 – In our final report on the European Championship we mentioned the fact that there were some serious complaints launched by players, most relevantly by GM Erik van den Doel and published on the ACP web site, regarding what Doel calls "the disappearance of money." Now the president of the European Chess Union, Boris Kutin, sent us his reply to the accusations.

Kasparov on Nova TV in the Netherlands

4/25/2007 – Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov is on tour again to promote his book. In Holland he appeared for a fairly extensive interview on Nova TV, Den Haag. Naturally he was questionen on the passing of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, but also on his role in Russian politics. The interview gives some fresh insights and is well worth watching. Partial transcript and link to the TV report.

Miskolc 2007: it's Vlagyimir vs Léko Péter

4/25/2007 – The eight-game rapid chess match between Vlagyimir Kramnyik and Lékó Péter begins today in Miskolc, Hungary. It was started off on Tuesday with a press conference, the drawing of colours and a spectacular opening ceremony, provided by the Polgármester of Miskolc, Káli Sándor. Explanations for the mysterious orthography adopted in this blurb are given in our big pictorial report.

Andrew Martin: Something different

4/24/2007 – Our Playchess trainer has been receiving a lot of mail with openings questions, and this Wednesday his radio show, which starts at 22:00h European time, is devoted to discussing games that arise after the line: 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.Nc3!? Martin shows that it is still dangerious for Black, particularly at the sub 2400 level. Come, learn and enjoy.

FIDE to stage 100,000 Dollar computer match in Elista

4/23/2007 – It is billed as the President's Cup, the Ultimate Computer Chess Challenge, and will take place in the final days of the FIDE Candidates Matches in June in Elista, Kalmykia. The opponents in this six-game match are the reigning computer chess world champion Deep Junior and the winner of the match against the human world champion Deep Fritz. Tal vs Capablanca.

Gausdal Classics: Carlsen ahead of Portisch

4/22/2007 – The youngest and oldest players of the tournament are fighting for the lead. Currently 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen, the top seed, is in the lead with 4.0/5, followed by 70-year-old chess legend Lajos Portisch, half a point behind. IM Irina Krush of the US is in joint third, having "krushed" a Super-GM, Alexei Dreev, with black in round two. Report from Gausdal.

Sigeman 2007: Cheparinov ahead of Hillarp-Persson

4/22/2007 – 20-year-old Ivan Cheparinov, trusted second of Veselin Topalov, is in the lead with 4.0/5 points. His rating performance so far: 2769. Cheparinov is followed by Tiger Hillarp-Persson, the subject of last Thursday's Playchess lecture. India's brightest young talent, Parimarjan Negi, is in 4-7 place after a round five win against a nervous Jan Timman. Report from Malmö.

Kasparov's risky moves provoke the Kremlin

4/22/2007 – After organising two protest rallies and getting arrested and fined former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was interrogated by prosecutors of Russia's main security agency. That and dozens of interviews given by the leader of the opposition group has led to another slew of report in the world media outlets – including the eerily hysterical "Putin Diary". We bring you excerpts.

An easy guide into the trendy Slav (4...a6)

4/21/2007 – Kasparov, Shirov, Morozevich, Bologan and others played it with success: The trendy Slav with a very aerly ...a7-a6 offers Black solidity, dynamism and variety couched in an easy-to-understand setting. On his new DVD Andrew Martin shows lots of ideas for Black which can be used by amateur and professional alike. Buy it now or read more.

Listen to the grandmaster sing

4/21/2007 – Last week Emil Sutovsky, Israeli grandmaster, just missed winning the European Championship by a hair. Weighing in at 2648 Elo points, Emil is also an accomplished bass-baritone singer. During the recent Poikovsky tournament he gave a small recital, which was filmed by a chess fan. We bring you Emil Sutovsky singing an aria from Mozart's Don Giovanni and a famous Russian folk song.

Strong juniors in the 7th Bangkok Chess Club Open

4/21/2007 – Why, oh why, did we not receive these photos twenty days ago?! We could have made such a lovely first of April report with them. Still, better late than never. Here's a report on the Bangkok Chess Club's strongest open tournament to date, with a total of 109 players from 30 different countries. It was won by an up-and-coming Australian talent, but the show was stolen by a Thai junior.

Lajos Portisch vs Boris Spassky: 3-3

4/20/2007 – The two great legends of chess, who each recently celebrated their 70th birthday, met in a rapid chess match in the beautiful spa town of Hévíz, Hungary. The eleventh world champion drew blood in the first game, but the great Hungarian player equalised in game four, when Spassky overlooked a piece. We bring you an illustrated report and the games.