Elista Express: Game five abandoned

9/29/2006 – Two hours after the scheduled start the game was abandoned, after Kramnik failed to appear on the stage. He attended the press conference and accused the Appeals Committe of bias towards his opponent. Kramnik stated that he was willing to play game five tomorrow, according to the rules agreed prior to the match. Express report.

Psychological Warfare in Elista

9/29/2006 – After a dramatic start of the World Championship the play on the board has given way to heavy psychological warfare. Our past three reports bear testimony to that. In Elista our correspondent Misha Savinov saw it all developing, including the monitoring of the player's rest rooms and the restrictions of toilet use. Pictures and impressions.

Elista 2006: World Championship Crisis

9/29/2006 – Game five was not played, Kramnik foreited and all sides seem unable to give way to compromise. The World Championship and FIDE is in its deepest crisis ever. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has interrupted his visit to a meeting in Sochi with Russian President Putin and is on his way back to Elista. Will he be able to break the deadlock?

Elista 2006: Open Letter II by Vladimir Kramnik

9/29/2006 – Silvio Danailov's protest was filed on a free day, it demanded changes in the event setup that according to the world championship contract requires the prior agreement of both players – these are the legal aspects of the decision taken by the Appeals Committee in Elista today. Kramnik agrees to proceed with the match, starting from game five, if certain conditions are met.

Seirawan: highly-charged situation calls for a compromise

9/29/2006 – GM Yasser Seirawan is the match commentator on Playchess.com, and as such deeply involved in the World Championship in Elista. In a letter to FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov he calls for a calming of nerves, the reversal of the forfeit and the resumption of the match from game five. Yasser's proposal is succinctly argued. Should he be sent to Elista to mediate?

How chess can sharpen your wits

9/28/2006 – Best-selling author David Shenk has written the definitive work on Alzheimer's – The Forgetting. Now he has published a book on chess, "The Immortal Game: How 32 Carved Pieces on a Board Illuminated Our Understanding of War, Art, Science and the Human Brain." ABC News invited him for an interview on the subject of chess and Alzheimer's.

Topalov threatens to abandon the World Championship Match

9/28/2006 – Breaking news: Veselin Topalov, through his manager Silvio Danialov, has cast suspicion on the behaviour of Vladimir Kramnik, who is leading 3-1 in their world championship match. The Bulgarian team has examined the video recordings from the rest rooms and notes that Kramnik is visiting the bathroom, which has no video surveillance, unreasonably often. Press release.

Elista 2006: Game four drawn, Kramnik leads 3-1

9/27/2006 – Once again Veselin Topalov came out fighting, sacrificed a pawn, gnawed away at Kramnik's defence and pushed hard in an advantageous endgame. But after five exhausting hours of play he had to concede a disappointing draw, leaving the classical chess world champion his two-point lead. Full report with analysis by GM Mihail Marin.

FIDE proposes Candidates tournament 2007

9/26/2006 – Originally 16 players were scheduled to play a series of matches next month to fill four places in the 2007 World Championship. But FIDE officials have admitted that they have run into trouble organising the matches. So President Ilyumzhinov has proposed staging a 16-player round robin in Elista next year instead. GM Boris Gelfand protests.

'All you need is luck!'

9/26/2006 – Two games have been played, discussed and dissected, Vladimir Kramnik is leading by an unprecedented 2-0 in the World Championship match. Our correspondent in Elista, Misha Savinov, may be exhausted from the excitement and the strain of producing the official bulletin, but he found time to send us some very interesting pictures and impressions.

Elista 2006: Game three drawn

9/26/2006 – The third game between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov ended in what one could call a short uneventful draw, says our commentator GM Mihail Marin, considering the very high standards of this match. But compared with other top events it is a very interesting game. We bring you Marin's commentary and extracts from interviews with the players.

Elista R2: Kramnik wins, takes 2-0 lead

9/25/2006 – The second game between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik was one of the most exciting games anyone has seen in years, with both players going at each other without compromise. 8000+ visitors were on the server to see the drama unfold, accompanied by live audio commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan. Full annotated report.

Topalov vs Kramnik on the day off

9/24/2006 – Can't get enough of the world championship in Elista? Monday is a free day, but our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos has an earlier confrontation of the two players in store for you: Belgrade 1995, where Kramnik proved that he could pull a Topalov against Topalov.

The Nimzoindian Defence – The Easy Way

9/24/2006 – Jacob Aagaard is on the verge of become a grandmaster, mainly by using the Nimzoindian Defence. But here's a secret: Jacob knows very little of the theory of the opening. He does it by understanding general structures and where to put his pieces. The secret is revealed in his entertaining and instructive DVD. Buy it now or read this review by Steve Giddins.

Quest on Kasparov – catch it if you can

9/24/2006 – In a program called "Quest for Genius" CNN presenter Richard Quest takes a journey into the human mind, exploring the concept of genius. "When it comes to cerebral challenges," he says, "few can match the majesty of chess. And when it comes to grandmasters, nobody is more regal than Russia's Garry Kimovich Kasparov." Catch it on CNN.

Elista 2006: The games can begin

9/23/2006 – The World Chess Championship in Kalmykia is about to start. But before it does there are a number of things to attend to. Tables, chess sets, chairs need to be examined, then an opening ceremony in a football stadium, with thousands of spectators, with the drawing of colours (Kramnik gets white in game one). Big illustrated report.

Viktor Korchnoi wins World Senior Championship

9/23/2006 – This man has been a candidate for the world championship since the sixties, and although he never actually won the title (in spite of three finals against Karpov) he remained in the world elite for decades. At 75 he still plays in top events, but now has taken part in a Senior Championship, which he naturally won. A world title for Korchnoi!

Trophy vs Trophy

9/23/2006 – It's FIDE champion versus the classical champion, a golden trophy versus a silver cup, Topalov's fire versus Kramnik's ice. We're sneaking in yet another preview before today's game one in Elista. The career score heavily favors Kramnik while Elo rating is on Topalov's side. But what does Kasparov think? The answer might surprise you.

Elista 2006: Kramnik wins game one

9/23/2006 – The World Championship between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik started with a fighting 75-move game that lasted six and a half hours. Topalov played a novelty on move 12, and achieved a drawing position. But he refused to repeat moves, pressed for a win, blundered and lost. Full report and commentary.

Khurtsidze, Muzychuk, Gara win Hungarian Championship

9/22/2006 – The International Hungarian Womens’s Championship, with 36 participants from six countries, ended in Szeged with a tie for first between Nino Khurtsidze from Georgia and Anna Muzychuk from Slovenia. Third was 22-year-old WGM Ticia Gara from Hungary, who thus became the 2006 national women's champion. Illustrated report by WGM Zsuzsa Veroci.

The future of chess in Herceg Novi

9/22/2006 – The European Youth Championships 2006 in an idyllic Mediterranean town, where we see the grandmasters of tomorrow, the brightest young talents playing in groups under 18, 16, 14, 12 and 10, for boys and girls. But also having fun on a boatride on the free day, and celebrating their victory at the closing ceremony. Big picture report.

Magnus Carlsen, 15, Norwegian Chess Champion

9/21/2006 – Two months ago two players tied for first at the 2006 Norwegian Championship: Magnus Carlson, 15-year-old chess prodigy, and his former teacher Simen Agdestein, 39, seven times national champion. From September 19–21 there was a playoff. The two standard games ended in draws, then Carlsen won both rapid chess games to take the title.

Andrew Martin: uncompromising chess

9/20/2006 – Short surprises Hebden, Vachier Lagrave shows us how to win the symmetrical Fianchetto Grunfeld, Shirov goes down to Romero Holmes, Korchnoi plays a non-pensionable Modern Benoni. There are lots of chess fireworks on this week's Radio Show by our Playchess lecturer Andrew Martin. Don't miss it.

Stars in Spain

9/20/2006 – Where will you find Aronian, Ivanchuk, Svidler, Morozevich, Adams, Shirov, Ponomariov, Karjakin and a galaxy of other top stars all playing together? In the Spanish Team Championship, that's where. The qualification rounds have been held, the favourites have duly qualified, the finals come in November. Results, games and pictures.