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.

Nigel Short faces the FIDE Ethics Committee

5/9/2007 – Recently Nigel Short, grandmaster and chess columnist, gave an interview to the Indian newspaper DNA, in which he was critical of the activities of FIDE officials during the 2005 World Championship tournament in San Luis, Argentina. Now Nigel is being hauled before the FIDE Ethics Committee, accused of defamation. Here's a Daily Telegraph article and the Ethics Committee rules.

d5 or not d5, that is the question

5/9/2007 – You probably know Levon Aronian. Well, how about Gabriel Sargissian, a 24-year-old countryman of Aronian, who recently won an eight-player round robin by an absurd 2½ point margin, with a a 3021 performance rating. In his Thursday night lecture our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos looks at a key game in which Sargissian answers the time-honored Ruy Lopez Marshall question.

ChessBase Light 2007 - part 1

5/9/2007 – A brand new version of ChessBase Light has been released for 2007! As this new version is quite different from its predecessors, our Chessbase Workshop columnist has created a series of tutorials aimed at new users. You can read Part One of this ChessBase Light 2007 series in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Vadim Milov leads in President's Cup in Baku

5/8/2007 – The event is dedicated to the Azerbaijan's late President Heydar Aliyev and is taking place from May 2nd to 12th. There are 53 foreign participants, with 12 players in the event rated 2600 or higher. Top seeds are Nigel Short, Vadim Milov, Loek van Wely and Arkadij Naiditsch. We bring you games and results, and a large partially uncaptioned photo report.

Fischer protests against film documentary

5/8/2007 – World Champion Bobby Fischer is upset about the production of a documentary film about him. It is entitled Vinur minn Bobby (“My Friend Bobby”) and is being prepared by Icelandic cinematographers and Saemundur Pálsson, a former bodyguard and friend of Fischer. The material used in the film, according to the Fischer support group, was obtained by fraud.

Say 'oui, oui' to the French Defence

5/8/2007 – What was the most played opening in 2006? When you check that with your Mega Database 2007 you will find the Sicilian clear in the lead, but with the French already in second place! Why do so many players favour the French? Many good reasons can be found on Ari Ziegler's new DVD. Buy it right away or read this review.

ChessBase and Correspondence chess -- part 8

5/8/2007 – Our ongoing exploration of the use of ChessBase in correspondence chess continues with the revelation of a "secret weapon" -- a commonly overlooked ChessBase feature which can save you literally hours of work. What is this feature? Find out in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Drama in Yerevan – Aronian wins Rapid match 4:2

5/7/2007 – World Champion Vladimir Kramnik was trailing by two points, and on the final day he almost pulled off an historic save. In both games he had a forced mate on the board, and in both cases, plagued by time constraints, he went on to almost lose the game. The two draws left Levon Aronian, Armenia's great treasure, with a 4:2 victory. Illustrated report with analysis.

M-Tel starts on Thursday, Gata Kamsky speaks out

5/7/2007 – The Super-GM tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a double round robin with six players rated 2772 to 2690: Topalov, Mamedyarov, Adams, Kamsky, Nisipeanu and Sasikiran. We bring you full information and the schedule. Before the start the Bulgarian Daily TRUD conducted a remarkable interview with US grandmaster Gata Kamsky, touching on all the controversial subjects in chess today. Key excerpts.