Alexei Shirov's 'Best games in the Spanish'

6/14/2006 – International Master and Senior Trainer Jovan Petronic has taken a closer look at Shirov’s second new DVD “My best games in the Spanish” (Ruy Lopez) and gives another strong recommendation for players of all levels. “Personally I can confirm that I have benefited directly from watching this DVD, after only a few minutes.” Review.

$16,000 Freestyle tournament begins on Friday

6/14/2006 – The Third PAL/CSS Freestyle Chess Tournament begins on Friday, June 16, on the Playchess server. In the previous edition, won by Zor_Champ of the UAE, there were a number of grandmasters participating. One was Tony Kosten of England, assisted by the program Hiarcs 10, who gives us his assessment of such computer-assisted tournaments. You can still join!

Sicilian with 2.c3: Positional, aggressive and a lot of potential

6/13/2006 – "The Alapin (Sicilian with 2.c3) is a very safe way for White to play for a win", says someone who knows what he is talking about: Grandmaster Rogozenko has for almost ten years been commenting the most important games in the Alapin for ChessBase Magazine. For this opening system he has now completed a CD-ROM that no friend of the Sicilian should miss. Interview with Rogozenko.

Sitting on the Top of the World

6/13/2006 – Playchess lecturer Andrew Martin kicks off this week's show with the highest quality chess imaginable. It's a game between Anand and Topalov, a Berlin Lopez from Leon. Then comes San Marino with a white success in the Sveshnikov. Then Budapest, Yerevan and finally the weekly puzzle. Drop by.

Anand defeats Topalov, wins León

6/12/2006 – The final of the Ciudad de León rapid chess tournament saw a determined Anand defeat FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov by 2.5:1.5. Topalov had chances in the first game, Anand in the fourth. The match decider came in game two when Anand dismantled the Berlin Defence of his opponent. He generally impressed the audience with his very fast play. Final report.

Kramnik on the Olympiad, Topalov and Deep Fritz

6/12/2006 – After months of illness classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik made a very convincing comeback at in Turin, achieving the highest rating performance of any player at the Chess Olympiad. In an interview immediately after the final round Kramnik spoke about his health, his form and his immediate plans. Excerpts.

Party Time at the Chess Olympiad

6/12/2006 – Some chess players are tedious and boring; but most are affable and good-natured, and not adverse to enjoying life. Some in fact are veritable party animals. Luckily there are many parties at chess Olympiads. So too in Turin, where at the wildest one there was an incident that has made it to the world press, which suddenly revealed a keen interest in chess. The full story.

Topalov defeats Vallejo, to face Anand

6/11/2006 – On day two of the Ciudad de León rapid chess tournament FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov defeated local champ Francisco Vallejo 2.5:1.5 and will now face Vishy Anand in the final on Sunday. Their four-game final can be watched live on Playchess.com. The event is taking place in the city of León in the northwest of Spain. Report.

This week: a Monokroussos game!

6/11/2006 – The main game for this week’s Monday night Playchess lecture doesn’t feature any great players. But it does show that ordinary players can profitably learn from the legends of the game! By way of proof Dennis Monokroussos offers one of his own games as Exhibit A.

Anand defeats Bruzón in León semi

6/10/2006 – The 19th Ciudad de León rapid chess tournament, which is taking place from June 9th to 11th 2006 and can be watched live on Playchess.com, started with a tough victory by Vishy Anand of India over Lázaro Bruzón of Cuba. On Saturday the second semifinal between Topalov and Vallejo will be played. Report.

'I thank Kasparov for his support...'

6/9/2006 – Words of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, reelected FIDE president, who interprets Garry Kasparov's implicit endorsement of his opponent Bessel Kok in a novel way. In a trademark interview with the Russian journalist Jurij Vasiliev Kirsan explains why he won and Bessel lost, and also reveals details on the upcoming world championship match. Must read.

Alexei Shirov's 'Best games in the Sicilian'

6/9/2006 – International Master Jovan Petronic has spent many hours with Alexei Shirov’s new DVD “My best games in the Sicilian”. In his review he tells us what you can expect from this multimedia course, pointing out not just the quality of games and analysis, but also Shirov’s candid and honest style of presentation. Review.

Fritz ratings vs.

6/8/2006 – We receive lots of questions about Fritz 9's rated game mode – and about just exactly how does that Elo rating system work? Steve Lopez tackles these questions and tells you why your Fritz rating isn't neccearily identical to your over the board rating in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

MaxoChess tournament in Fuerteventura

6/7/2006 – On Saturday, June 10th, there will be an international blitz tournament on Fuerteventura, which is part of the Canery Islands. Like to play? Well, you don't have to actually travel to the Atlantic island to participat, you can do it on the Playchess server. The prize fund is 10,000 ducats. Join the fun!

Andrew Martin's Olympiad Special

6/6/2006 – The Olympiad in Turin has just finished – a feast of chess, with virtually all the top players in the world giving their best. Our Playchess lecturer Andrew Martin pick four exciting and theoretically intersting games of this week's lecture.

The greatest endgame player of them all

6/5/2006 – In the first part of the 20th century the great names were Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine. But there was one player who overshadowed them all – in one phase of the game. Akiba Rubinstein, who was dazzlingly skilled in the endgame. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at an example from a 1909 game against Emanuel Lasker.

Olympiad R13: Armenia and Ukraine take Gold

6/5/2006 – The 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin ended on Sunday. Rapid draws by the Armenian men's team and the Ukraine women assured both teams, which were leading by 2.5 and 2.0 points, of Olympic Gold. China took Silver in the men's section and USA Bronze. The Russian women took Silver and the Chinese team won Bronze. Report, games and final standings.

The election speeches

6/5/2006 – On June 2nd 2006 the FIDE General Assembly held elections for the President of the World Chess Federation. As reported the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was challenged by Dutch businessman Bessel Kok. Ilyumzhinov won the election clearly by 96 votes to 54. Before the election both candidates received 15 minutes to address the General Assembly.

Olympiad R12: Armenia leads, China or Russia for Silver

6/4/2006 – There is little doubt that Armenia will take Gold at the 37th Olympiad in Turin. With one round to go, the team is 2.5 points ahead of China, which is half a point above Russia. Second seed India has dropped to 33rd place after Vishy Anand lost to Pascal Charbonneau, almost 300 points below him. In the women's section, Ukraine is two points ahead of the field and virtually assured of Gold.

Olympiad R11: Armenia on the path to Gold

6/3/2006 – A 3:1 dubbing of the rival Czech team put Armenia a full 3.5 points ahead of the field and on a clear path to the Gold medal at the 37th Olympiad in Turin. China and France are in 2-3rd place, Russia is in fourth, half a point behind. In the women's section Ukraine demolished Bulgaria 2.5:0.5, while Russia beat Georgia 2:1. Report and pictures.

Election 06: A Game of Chess – and Politics

6/2/2006 – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is facing one of the toughest political battles of his life. On Friday the mercurial president faces an election that could see him toppled from his throne – not in the Russian republic but as head of the chess world. Here's a final pre-election assessment by the Moscow Times.

Breaking news: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov reelected

6/2/2006 – The election is over. Delegates from more than 150 national chess federations cast their ballots on Friday in Turin, Italy, to elect the president of the International Chess Federation. The result was a clear victory for the incumbent president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who collected 96 votes, compared to 54 for his challenger Bessel Kok. First assessment.

The Andrew Martin Video Show

6/1/2006 – We will welcome you to the Radio Show direct from Hamburg this week and what a show it will be! We kick off with two veterans slugging it out in a recent exhibition match. Spassky has many reasons to want revenge against Karpov and here he scores a fine endgame victory with the help of 7 h3!? a quiet opening move which seems to dull Karpov's sense of danger.

Junior wins Computer Chess World Championship

6/1/2006 – The Israeli program Junior – authors Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky – won the 14th World Computer Chess Championship, which was held as a side event of the Chess Olympiad in Turin. Junior scored 9/11. Second was Shredder with 8.5/11, third Rajlich with the same score. Results and pictures.