Linares R12: Morozevich and Svidler win with black

3/8/2007 – Peter Svidler defeated the luckless Peter Leko for his first win in this tournament. Since he hadn't lost any games either it moved him to third place. Alexander Morozevich beat Vassily Ivanchuk to join him at places 6-7. Magnus Carlsen held Veselin Topalov and his second place. Anand still leads with half a point. Full report with analysis and video.

Uncompromising Chess in Bretagne

3/8/2007 – The ladies section saw the bloodiest chess ever – just six draws in eight rounds. And the draws all came after long, tough play. Similarly exciting the men's section. Perhaps because of a special rule that forbade draw offers until move 31. And how about Condi Chess, where the clock is ten meters away from the board. Illustrated report.

Man vs Machine, Zap!Chess vs Erwin L'Ami 1:1

3/8/2007 – Dutch GM Erwin L'Ami's opponent in the two-game match was was the American computer program Zap!Chess, the 2005 computer world champion that has recently been upgraded and now tops the computer lists. The games were played with time odds: the computer got 30 minutes (and no thinking on the opponent's time), vs 4½ hours for the human. Report and annotated games.

ACP to FIDE: do something about cheating in chess!

3/8/2007 – The subject simply won't go away. Realizing the gravity of the situation the Association of Chess Professionals has demanded that FIDE take immediate action to find a solution to the problem of cheating in general. Meanwhile new accusations have been raised against an Indian IM. Press release.

ACP's position on the FIDE World Championship format

3/7/2007 – Recently the world chess federation (FIDE) announced its decision on a new world championship format. Now the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) has published its position on the FIDE decision. Press release.

Andras Adorjan and the Hedgehog formation

3/7/2007 – The Hungarian grandmaster, a former world championship candidate and outstanding theoretician and polemicist, is famous for his “Black is OK!” slogan. In his Thursday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us how in 1979 Adorjan used the Hedgehog to rout Tony Miles in 32 moves.

Geeks, Oddballs and Geniuses

3/7/2007 – When one or America's top sports writers takes on chess, we sit up an take notice. Michael Weinreb, who writes for the New York Times and Newsday, describes a year spent with a Brooklyn High School chess team as it strives for a national championship. This description of the cultural milieu of the modern chess world makes for a fascinating read.

Andrew Martin and the Pain of Losing

3/6/2007 – "I don't know about you, but I see a lot of truth in the saying that the pain of losing far exceeds the joy of winning," writes our Playchess.com trainer IM Andrew Martin. "Maybe that's why I'm not as strong as I should be?" Perhaps you would like to discuss the subject with him on his Wednesday night lecture.

Morelia/Linares: the players at play

3/6/2007 – Monday was a rest day in Linares. On such days some Super-GMs simply relax with a good book or a good snooze. Other need to expend surplus energy that has accumulated over the rounds with vigorous sporting activity. So for instance during the first leg of the tournament in Morelia. Pictorial report.

Linares R11: Carlsen beats Ivanchuk

3/6/2007 – Magnus Carlsen continues his extraordinary performance with a further victory in Linares, taking veteran Vassily Ivanchuk to the cleaners on the white side of an Exchange Grunfeld. Anand drew Morozevich with black and leads by half a point ahead of Carlsen. Svidler, Aronian and Ivanchuk follow. Full report with analysis.

Fifth International Chess Festival in Nancy

3/5/2007 – Nancy is a French town with 300,000 inhabitants, located between Paris and Strasbourg. The annual tournament there has been steadily growing, from 60 participants in 2003 to 130 this year. Play was in 13 groups of ten players each. Apart from regular chess there were some interesting experiments. Report by IM Christophe Philippe.

Linares R10: Anand beats Carlsen, leads field

3/5/2007 – India's superstar Vishy Anand scored a fine victory over young Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who was relegated to equal second with Vassily Ivanchuk, a point behind the leader. Peter Leko got into trouble with the white pieces against Veselin Topalov, but managed to salvage a draw. Monday is a rest day. Full report with pictures and analysis.

Garry Kasparov marches on

3/5/2007 – 2000 protesters were announced, over 5000 turned up. They were confronted by 3000 riot police, over 100 were beaten and detained. This biggest protest rally against the current regime in Russia was organized by former chess world champion Garry Kasparov and former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The movement is growing.

FIDE decides on World Championship format

3/3/2007 – In a nutshell: if Kramnik does not win the Mexico City, as ex world champion he gets to play the winner in 2008. If he does win he has to play former world champion Topalov. After that the champion will face a challenge from the winner of the World Cup in odd years. No more world championship tournaments, always matches. Ilyumzhinov has decided.

Complexity and Beauty in the Game of Chess

3/3/2007 – Artist Justin Michael Jenkins has a style that some have compared to Escher, Bosch and Dali, with his own unique flair that borders on the a psychedelic style of surrealism and pop art. Justin has completed a collection of chess drawings that attempt to dissect the elements of the game and portray them in connection with life itself. Take a look.

Linares R9: Morozevich beats Leko

3/3/2007 – Topalov managed to save a white game against the clearly superior Ivanchuk, who got into time trouble and had to concede a draw. Peter Leko lost badly to Alexander Morozevich to join him at the tail-end of the cross table, with Topalov half a point clear. The other games were drawn. Full report with pictures and analysis.

The Dlugy Files

3/2/2007 – Maxim (Max) Dlugy was born in 1966 in Moscow, immigrated with his family to the USA in 1979, won the world junior championship in 1985 and was awarded the grandmaster title a year later. Twenty years ago he dropped out of chess to marry and become a finance enterpreneur. He remains an awesome Internet blitz specialist. Interview.

Schaakkunst – the art of chess

3/2/2007 – The Dutch enterprise is a collection of currently 14 artists who have used the theme of chess in their works. Schaakkunst organized its first exhibition in April of 2006 and is now present at chess tournaments like the Dutch Championship and Wijk aan Zee. A full exhibition will be opened next week. Samples.

Linares R8: all games drawn

3/2/2007 – The Super-GM Morelia/Linares has entered its second half with the first round completed in the Andalusian town of Linares. All games were drawn: Aronian-Svidler was an unfought 16-mover, Anand-Topalov a light 25-move tussle, Leko-Ivanchuk a 38-move struggle, and Morozevich vs Carlsen a 42-move battle with black pressing. Report with commentary.

Morelia: the Great Mexican Chili Challenge

3/1/2007 – The first half of the Morelia-Linares Super-GM tournament ended with Anand and Carlsen in the joint lead. After the closing ceremony and some last-minute shopping, the participants all embarked on the trip back to Europe. But at the Mexico City Airport there was a red-hot incident that almost disrupted the course of the event. Big pictorial report.

Are you a Gerd Müller, a Gary Lineker or Alessandro del Piero?

3/1/2007 – In chess as in football it does not suffice to build a great attack, without the ability to finish off your opponent. In the first volume of his "Powerplay" series Daniel King shows you what a top scorer must know in order to succeed. Buy " Mating Patterns" now or read this review with sampler.

The fighting French Tarrasch

2/28/2007 – The French Defense is considered a fighting opening, but that general attitude doesn’t usually extend to the 4…exd5 line of the Tarrasch. However, that is a mistake, as our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos shows us in this week's talk. Be there and learn.

Magnus Carlsen – Coming of Age

2/27/2007 – The first half of Morelia/Linares has marked a coming of age for Magnus Carlsen, who has clearly demonstrated his ability to slug it out at the highest level. This week's Radio ChessBase Show on Playchess.com starts with Magnus's notorious struggle against Topalov.

Morelia R7: Anand, Topalov, Ivanchuk win

2/26/2007 – Halftime at the Morelia-Linares Super-GM tournament. Anand scored a fine black-piece victory over Leko to join Magnus Carlsen in the lead. Ivanchuk put a damper on Aronian's aspiration with a white-piece win, and Topalov defeated Morozevich to improve his position at the end of the table. Full report with commentary by GM Mihail Marin.