The Bilbao Draw – feedback from our readers

11/6/2007 – In a recent article one of our readers analysed the system used in the recent Bilbao tournament, which awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Ron Dorfman came to the conclusion that this does not prevent short draw but may in fact encourage collusion amongst player. A lot of our readers disagree, and many have proposed profound alternatives. Long, interesting read.

What is indispensability?

11/5/2007 – Imagine a training DVD with the perhaps best chess player in history, explaining you the main line in the nowadays most-played opening. Well, you need no imagination here, it is Kasparov's DVD on the Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be3. Even if you play neither 1.e4 nor 1...c5 you will learn a lot in this five hours video course. "Absolutely", says Bob Long. Buy How to Play the Najdorf #3 or read his review.

ETCC: The Unstoppables win again

11/4/2007 – Russia continues to dominate the European Team Championship, beating Israel 3:1 to keep their clean 6-0 match tally and the lead in the table. Peter Svidler on board one has now scored 4.5/5 points with an Elo performance of over 3000. Way to go, Pyotr! In the women's section Poland "suffered" another draw while Russia won to catch them at the top of the table. Round six report.

Topalov tricks Kasimdzhanov with a Trojan Horse

11/4/2007 – Two former FIDE world champions clashed at the Chess Champions League in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain. The ever flamboyant Veselin Topalov permitted his opponent to take a pawn, but in return he had the initiative that ended up being decisive. Judit Polgar drew Anatoly Karpov, while late replacment Nisipeanu held his own against Ponomariov. On the side we saw a bunch of chess pieces having fun.

ETCC: Russia take a three-point lead

11/4/2007 – In round seven Russia beat France by 2.5:1.5, the seventh match victory in succession. With its closest rivals, Slovenia, losing to Armenia this meant that with two rounds to go the Russian team has a solid three-point lead, with Armenia now being in second place. In the women's section both Poland and Russia won, and thus remain in the lead. Report with pictures, results and games.

Hikaru Nakamura wins Corsican Circuit 2007

11/3/2007 – After winning the Magistral D'Escacs in Barcelona 19-year-old American GM Hikaru Nakamura continued his European rampage, winning the Corsican Circuit rapid chess tournament ahead of Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Anatoly Karpov, Evgeny Bareev and Loek van Wely. 95 players participated in the preliminaries, 16 in the knockout finals. We bring you all results and games.

Chess Champions League – benefit in Vitoria Gasteiz

11/3/2007 – Four former world champions – Karpov, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov – plus Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, who jumped in for the ill Alexander Khalifman, and Judit Polgar, are taking part in a double round robin in Spain. All proceeds from this event go to a hospital in Mbuji-Mayi, one of the poorest regions in Congo. In round one there were two black victories. Report and games.

John Nunn wins World Chess Problem Solving Championship

11/3/2007 – At 52 John Nunn, once a world-class player, has retired from competitive chess. He is now one of the directors of Gambit Publications, which produces some of the finest chess books in the world, and an amateur astronomer. John is also a chess problem expert and took part in the 31st World Championship for solvers, winning with an incredible 89/90 points. Report and sample problems.

Vladmir Kramnik: 'I have lent Anand the crown'

11/2/2007 – "Я одолжил Ананду чемпионскую корону на время" is exactly what he said, the former World Champion, who in September lost the title he had held for seven years to India's Vishy Anand. Next year, probably in September, Kramnik gets to play a match against Anand. "If I lose that, I will accept completely the fact that I have lost the title, but right now, I have no such feelings." Izvestia interview.

Middlegame and endgame training

11/2/2007 – Not all ChessBase training DVDs concern themselves exclusively with the opening -- quite a few tackle the middlegame and endgame as their topics. Our ChessBase Workshop columnist peeks inside the DVD cases to provide you with a glimpse of what you'll find on recent releases by Adrian Mikhalchishin and Karsten Mueller. Read all about it in the latest Workshop.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (18)

11/1/2007 – An apparent missed mate in one at the 1936 Munich Olympiad; an enigma regarding two Fox brilliancies; the origins of the Swiss System; an untraceable painting of Staunton; the strange case of the prodigy Birdie Reeve. These and other mysteries are discussed in a further selection from Chess Notes. Readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

ETCC: Russia routs Azerbaijan to take sole lead

11/1/2007 – Round five of the European Team Championship saw the two leading teams pitted against each other. Russia came out of this summit with a 3.5:0.5 victory, with Svidler, Morozevich and Axekseev beating Mamedyarov, Radjabov and Guseinov. Ukraine drew France after a blackout by Ivanchuk. In the women's section Poland remained in the lead after drawing Russia. Results, tables and games.

Halloween special: the worst in chess

10/31/2007 – Normally, in his Thursday night Playchess lecture, Dennis Monokroussos celebrates spectacular, brilliant and instructive games in chess. But in the spirit of the season this week we take a perverse pleasure in the worst of chess, especially when it’s the world’s best who are the victims. Think you messed up last week at the club? You’ve got nothing on these guys. Nine p.m. ET.

ETCC: Russia, Azerbaijan lead, Poland heads women's section

10/31/2007 – In round four of the European Team Championship Russia beat Slovenia and Azerbaijan the Netherlands, which meant that the latter teams dropped out of the top group, which is now occupied by Russia and Azerbaijan. In the women's section Poland beat France while Russia and Hungary drew their encounter. Poland leads. Results, tables and games.

ETCC: Seven teams with maximum board points

10/31/2007 – After three rounds of the European Team Championship in Crete, Greece four teams are left in the men's section with the maximum of six board points: Slovenia, Azerbaidjan, Netherlands and Russia. In the women's section it is three teams: Hungary, Poland and Russia. We bring you full results, tables and games.

Boris Gelfand: 'There are not enough places for everyone'

10/31/2007 – The oldest player – at 39 – in the World Championship in Mexico almost pulled off a surprise win, always staying within striking distance of the ultimate winner Vishy Anand – the second oldest player. In the end Boris Gelfand shared 2nd-3rd with Vladimir Kramnik. But he improved his "invitability" to top chess events further. What about the others? Interview with Boris Gelfand.

Sixth North American FIDE Invitational in Chicago

10/31/2007 – The “windy city's” biggest claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of one Robert J. Fischer. But now Chicago has, as Yogi Berra might say, a great history ahead of it. The North American Chess Association is staging an invitational with nine titled player – an ideal event for the event’s norm seekers. Most intriguing is an FM who who turned 13 just a few days before the event started. Illustrated report.

NEW: Shredder 11 and Deep Shredder 11

10/31/2007 – Only Shredder can do it! For the past eight years this program has won world championship titles with monotonous regularity. Now Shredder 11 is out. Programmer Stefan Meyer-Kahlen has been hard at work, so that this record run is in no danger of being broken. The strength of the new program has been increased by no less than 100 Elo points. Buy Shredder 11 now or read more.

ETCC: Russian men and women beat Armenia 2.5:1.5

10/30/2007 – In both the men's and the women's sections Russia faced its arch-rival Armenia (remember: they won the 2006 Olympiad in Turin) at the European Team Championship in Crete. The result was identical in both matches. The Ukrainian men drew Spain while the women trounced England. Nine men's and six women's teams have maximum board points. Results, games and pictures.

An indepth discussion with Alexander the Great

10/30/2007 – Amongst players of the younger generation Alexander Morozevich is a cult figure. His uncompromising playing style, the unique, daring forays into the unknown have brought this 30-year-old more fans than just about anyone in the chess world. After the Mexican World Championship he has been very active and is now playing in the European Team Championship. Interview with Yuri Vasiliev.

European Team Championships in Crete, Greece

10/29/2007 – Of the 197 players in the unrestricted ("men's") section 66 are rated 2600 or higher. The Russian team has brought no player rated below 2700, and the average rating of the team is 2726. In the women's section there are 146 players, of whom six are full ("male") GMs, and 35 are rated over 2400. The nine round Swiss tournament goes from October 28 to November 6. Round one report.

Mukachevo: Leko equalises, Ivanchuk wins blitz tiebreak

10/29/2007 – After eight rounds Vassily Ivanchuk was leading this 12-game rapid chess match by two full points, and Peter Leko had to win twice in the last four games. Which he duly did, thank you. Now two blitz games had to decide the outcome, and Leko held the first effortlessly with the black pieces. However in the final game it was Ivanchuk who won and took overall victory. Report.

Ivanchuk strikes again, leads Leko by 5:3

10/28/2007 – Déjà vu: the first rapid chess game on day two in Mukachevo ended in a draw, in the second Vassily Ivanchuk triumphed with the white pieces, and the last two games were drawn. Just like on day one. The Ukranian star and world's second highest ranked player now leads by two points, which means that Peter Leko must win two games tomorrow just to catch up. Report and games.

The 'Bilbao Draw' – how it doesn't solve the problem

10/28/2007 – Chess fans and organisers all over the world are worried about the problem of too many draws in chess. Actually: about pre-arranged or unfought draws. Many remedies have been tried, including threats, prohibition and, most recently, the Bilbao system of awarding three points for a win and one for a draw. Is that the solution? No, says one astute reader and points to a possibly fatal flaw.