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.

Mexico R05: Anand, Grischuk and Gelfand win

9/19/2007 – We have made our way to Mexico, successful on our second day of trying. We arrived late in the evening, to learn that Anand had beaten Svidler to take the sole lead; Gelfand had beaten Aronian, who does not appear to be quite well, and Leko vs Kramnik had ended in a draw. We bring you the games and results, together with first impressions after our arrival in Mexico.

Russian Paul and Little Daddy – the NYC chess scene

9/18/2007 – September is a time of rebirth for chess. With schools back in session, students are returning to their chess clubs. Some of those students may be dreaming of vying for the title, now held by Vladimir Kramnik. More likely is that they will someday vie for a few dollars in Union Square Park in Lower Manhattan against the likes of a man known as Russian Paul. The New York Times reports.

Time pressure (and other maladies)

9/18/2007 – Time pressure got you down? Maybe the problem isn't really the clock. Our ChessBase Workshop columnist takes a look at the psychology behind time trouble and offers a possible remedy in his latest column. Workshop...

Monika Socko wins International Women's Tournament in Baku

9/18/2007 – It was a close finish, with two players – former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova and Monika Socko of Poland leading the field with 6/8 points. Stefanova faced top seed Pia Cramling with black, and drew in 23 moves. Socko fought for 70 moves against Nargiz Umudova, winning the game, point and event. Spectacular photo report by Zahir Ahmadov.

From cover to cover: Vladimir Kramnik – My Path to the Top

9/17/2007 – He did what Karpov, Short and Anand had failed to do: defeat the almighty Garry Kasparov in a match for the world title. Today he is the reigning world chess champion, defending his title in a world championship tournament in Mexico. On the latest ChessBase DVD Vladimir Kramnik describes his arduous path to the top of the chess world. Review by Edwin Lam.

GM Mihail Marin on missed opportunities in Mexico

9/17/2007 – Kramnik showed excellent home preparation in an almost non-existent variation, gaining a decisive advantage. But Grischuk defended accurately and managed to draw. Anand won a pawn and was more or less winning against Morozevich. But he could not bring home the point. Leko lost his patience, a piece and the game against Aronian. GM comments and video interviews.

Mexico R04: Aronian beats Leko, Anand and Kramnik lead

9/16/2007 – It was a long night, with Vishy Anand pressing hard with the black pieces against Alexander Morozevich, and Vladimir Kramnik trying to win a pawn endgame against Alexander Grischuk. In spite of the fight it was, in the end, only Levon Aronian who scored a full point against Peter Leko. Meanwhile outside the country was celebrating Independence Day – Grito de Dolores.

Mexico R03: Morozevich beats Svidler, Anand and Kramnik draw

9/16/2007 – Another very tense round, with Alexander Morozevich outplaying Peter Svidler in a Scotch Game, and Vladimir Kramnik causing some problems for Anand in a rook ending. Leko vs Gelfand is still running (at 2:45 a.m. European time), with the latter trying to win a Q+P ending. We close down our news service for the night with an Express report with videos and pictures.

ACP demands standardizing time controls in chess

9/16/2007 – In July 2005 the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) met with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) to discuss new time controls for official FIDE events: 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for remaining moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move. Now the ACP is demanding action on FIDE's part, with a proposal for comprehensive and binding regulations.

GM Mihail Marin: 'A day of curious moments'

9/16/2007 – Morozevich fell behind against Svidler, who allowed his opponent to come back and win. Aronian tried to sacrifice a pawn against Grischuk, but found himself a pawn up and under attack. Anand got nothing out of the opening against Kramnik and had to fight for a draw. Leko vs Gelfand went for 100 moves. Here are comments by GM Mihail Marin and postgame video interviews by Vijay Kumar.

The Berlin Defense – a dangerous weapon in your arsenal

9/16/2007 – Today, players in world championship matches use openings like the Slav and the Berlin Defense. Back in 1886, when it all started, Johannes Zukertort, in his match with Wilhelm Steinitz, played – the Slav and the Berlin Defense! This Monday, on the break day in Mexico, our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos shows us some trick you can add to your repertoire. Remember: nine p.m. ET.

The scent of a book

9/15/2007 – There are more than half a billion people on the planet who play chess. Obviously there is more to the game than grandmasters and super-tournaments. There are charming, ordinary people, there are engaging stories about the intriguing aspects in the game, all waiting to be brought to life in a book. That has happened in Engaging Pieces by Howard Goldowsky. Edwin Lam reviews it.

Anand: 'We found ...c5 here, just three days ago'

9/15/2007 – "The game revolved around this move 17...c5," says Vishy Anand in an interview with Indian TV journalist Vijay Kumar. "Sometimes if you can surprise your opponent it is worth almost as much as making a lot of good moves, because he has to deal with a lot of problems over the board." We bring you this video interview and, of course, the highly instructive comments of GM Mihail Marin.

Mexico R02: Anand draws first blood, Kramnik beats Morozevich

9/14/2007 – Round two is under way, with 7000+ visitors on Playchess, watching the games, and many listening to live commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan. Anand drew first blood in this world championship by beating Aronian with the black pieces. Vladimir Kramnik soon followed suit with a white victory over Alexander Morozevich. Express report with videos and pictures.

Andrews Alekhine

9/14/2007 – Hardly any author in chess shows as much productivity and creativity as the English IM Andrew Martin. His new training DVD in the ChessBase video format is a course in the Alekhine Defence (1.e4 Nf6), making it an excellent repertoire DVD against 1.e4. Carsten Hansen has checked it intensively and found a sound mixture of proven lines and surprising ideas. Buy the DVD now or read this review.

Mexico Round one: Analysis of the games by GM Mihail Marin

9/14/2007 – Four draws – sounds boring. But there was a fair amount of tension during the first round of the World Championship in Mexico. And a lot to learn from the games played there yesterday. Mihail Marin dissects the games in his usual instructive style, giving chess amateurs and tournament players alike an insight into grandmaster thought and plans. An analytical lesson you will not want to miss.

A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game

9/13/2007 – We have known Paul Hoffman for years. He turns up at chess events and spends a lot of time talking to players and fans. Often he tells us about his latest book projects, and can have a dinner table full of people glued to his every word. Now (at last) Paul has written a chess book, one we are reading with great fascination. We bring you a quick review.