Olympiad R10: Armenia surges ahead, Russia in third

5/31/2006 – The Armenians are clealy on their way to Gold. Today they defeated China 2.5:1.5 to regain their two-point lead over the nearest rival. Russia scored a 3:1 victory over Ukraine to recapture third place. In the women's section Ukraine and Russia are clearly in the lead. A great attraction of the Olympiad are the live broadcasts by Yasser Seirawan.

Election 06: Kirsan the Incredible

5/31/2006 – That is the title of a mini-book that is being distributed in the campaign hall at the Olympiad in Turin. It is by Yuriy Vasiliev and describes in glowing terms the activities of the current FIDE president. On a different note the New Yorker has devoted an unprecedented eight pages to an intergalactic story about Ilyumzhinov and chess in his republic. Excerpts and links.

Garry Kasparov: Open Letter to the General Assembly

5/31/2006 – He does not have any personal interest in the crucial FIDE elections that will be held this week. But: "I write from a deep love for the game of chess and out of concern for its future." In an open letter to the delegates of the General Assembly of the 77th FIDE Congress in Turin Garry Kasparov says: 'Just make the right move.'

Chess Olympic Tango in Argentina 2010?

5/30/2006 – During the Olympiad in Turin a number of countries are bidding to hold the Olympiad in 2010 (in 2008 it will be in Dresden, Germany). Poland, Montenegro, Khanty-Mansiysk are all candidates. One entry comes from Argentina, which promises invitations to all FIDE delegates and their wives, polo, soccer and a special Tango tournament.

Olympiad R8: Armenia leads by two points

5/30/2006 – The Armenian team looks quite unstoppable, demolishing Cuba 3:1. Russia could only draw against the Czech Republic 2:2, and Ukraine defeated Sweden 3:1. After the dust had settled we find Armenia two full points ahead. In the women's section Russia leads Ukraine by half a point. Meanwhile on Playchess Yasser Seirawan interviewed both presidential candidates.

Olympiad R9: Russia loses to France

5/30/2006 – Another shock result: Russia lost 1.5:2.5 to France, and are now on place four on the table. China, on the other hand, demolished Georgia 4-0 and advanced to place two. Armenia beat Ukraine to stay in the lead. In the women's section Ukraine beat the US and lead ahead of Russia, which drew China. Things are getting close.

More strange searches and curiosities

5/30/2006 – In his search for chess abnormalities, our ChessBase Workshop columnist didn't stop with pawns. In the latest column he switches the focus to Queens to try to discover just when "much" becomes "too much". Workshop...

Xie Jun, at the consuetudinary hour

5/29/2006 – For many decades, Georgian women had a stranglehold on the world championship. This was only overcome in 1991, by a young woman from China, Xie Jun, who inaugurated a new era in women’s chess. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos examines one of her games, against Danish legend Bent Larsen. Come and watch.

Olympiad R7: Armenia leads by a full point

5/29/2006 – Aronian, Akopian and Co. scored an important 3:1 victory over the Netherlands, increasing their lead over the Rest of the World to a full point. Russia beat Belarus by the same score, and is now in second place, a point behind the Armenians. In the Women's section Russia beat Slovakia 3:0 and now lead by a full point. Also: pictures from a Chess Fidelity promotion.

Olympiad R6: Holland defeats Russia, Armenia in the lead

5/28/2006 – The team from the Netherlands shocked Russia with a 2.5:1.5 victory, which put them in second and Russia in third. Armenia beat Uzbekistan to jump to the top rank, with 18/24 points. India defeated Germany 3:1, Sweden pulled off a 2.5:1.5 surprise over Bulgaria. In the womens' section Russia stays in the lead with 14.5/18 points. Report with pictorial impressions by Gabriele Grasso.

Olympiad Turin: Where to find the videos

5/27/2006 – The Chess Olympiad in Turin is being broadcast extensively on the Playchess server, with GM Yasser Seirawan providing live commentary. Even the Turkish Chess Federation is doing its own Playchess show. If you are unable to catch these shows at the time of broadcast you can watch them later, in our Olympiad archives.

Spassky beats Karpov in 'Legends' match

5/27/2006 – A two-game match between Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov ended in a 1½:½ victory for the veteran Spassky. The "Match des Légendes" took place on May 26th 2006 in Porto-Vecchio, Corsica. The rate of play was 15 mins + 3 secs increment per move. The prize fund was 22,000 Euros, 15,000 for the winner. More.

Election 06: Ilyumzhinov, Makropoulos reply

5/27/2006 – Yesterday we published an open letter that was sent to us by former Deputy President of FIDE (1995 to 1996) Bachar Kuoatly that was very critical of the tenure of the current President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and his Deputy President Georges Makropoulos. Now Ilyumzhinov and Makropoulos have reacted with strongly worded replies to Kuoatly.

Shredder 10 now available

5/26/2006 – No other program has won as many titles as Shredder, the chess program written by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen of Germany. The latest version has been substantially improved and plays about 80 Elo points stronger than its predecessor. And it can access its new highly compressed tablebases 1000 times faster, dramatically increasing its endgame abilities. Don't wait, buy it now!

Olympiad R5: Armenia holds Russia, joins in lead

5/26/2006 – Vladimir Kramnik is back after a lengthy illness in full strength, with a fine victory for Russia over Levon Aronian of Armenia. After a 2-2 score both teams still share the lead. Uzbekistan drew The Netherlands, the USA defeated Georgia, and Iran pulled off a stunning 3:1 victory over Vietnam join the group at places 5-11. Illustrated report with performance statistics.

Election 06: Can F.I.D.E be reformed?

5/26/2006 – Grandmaster Bachar Kuoatly has fought a number of FIDE presidential battles, and as such has intimate knowledge of the electorial process. And of the management structures of the World Chess Federation. Today he sent us an "open letter" with his assessment of the current election campaign. Warning: it contains some fairly tough language.

Election 06: 'Statements of support' are nonsense

5/26/2006 – Russian chess journalist Yuriy Vasiliev is gaining cult status. After famously using George Orwell's Animal Farm to criticise opponents in the democracy debate, Vasiliev, who staunchly supports the Kirsan ticket, has written about an attempt by the other side to install "fifth columns" (as in the Spanish Civil War) and destroy world chess unity. Article and a puzzler.

Olympiad R4: Russia beats China, leads with Armenia

5/25/2006 – Kramnik and Bareev drew, but Svidler and Grischuk scored to send China from place two down to nine. Armenia defeated Norway 4-0 to join Russia in the lead. Both teams have four match points and 13.5 board points. In the women's section Russia defeated Lithuania 3-0. Tatiana Kosintseva and Kateryna Lahno (Ukraine) have perfect 4-0 scores. Full illustrated report.

Turin: Seeing the Olympiad with your own eyes

5/25/2006 – Let's face it, not everybody can travel to Turin to see the chess spectacle that is taking place there. Certainly not people living in more distant places in the world. But you can watch the games, with live video commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan, on Playchess. Or do a walk-around with our staff in Turin. And listen to interviews with the players. Like to try?

TCF to Israel Gelfer: you must respect democracy

5/24/2006 – That is what the Turkish Chess Federation is demanding of Israel Gelfer, the member of FIDE Executive Board who sharply attacked the Right Move campaign and Ali Nihat Yazici, the Turkish candidate for Vice Presidency. Murat Kul, the Deputy President of TCF, sent us the following reply.

Olympiad R3: Kramnik, Anand play and win

5/24/2006 – Vladimir Kramnik played his first game at the 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin, defeating Germany's Arkadij Naiditsch in a nice 33-move game. Anand, who flew in from Sofia, beat Cegmed Batchuluun, a cheeky young FM from Mongolia. Russia, China and Uzbekistan are now in the lead. Big pictorial report.

Kasparov: 'I'm just an interested outsider'

5/24/2006 – Recently Garry Kasparov spent a few days in Greece to launch the first volume of his book series "My Great Predecessors". He gave a press conference in Athens and answered questions from a group of Greek chess journalists. See what the Great Chess Player has to say about retirement, Topalov-Kramnik and the FIDE Presidency. Excerpts from the interviews.

If it's good enough for Capa...

5/23/2006 – The finest players in the world are still trying to find the best black defence to the Ruy Lopez. This week our Playchess lecturer Andrew Martin takes a game from 1911, where the legendary Jose Raul Capablanca plays 3...Bc5 4.c3 Qf6!, to make life easier for chess players today. Come watch.

Election 06: Scandal in the US Chess Federation?

5/23/2006 – The Kirsan Campaign has published a letter written by an Executive Board Member of the USCF, Beatriz Marinello, who says that "the more fanatical supporters" were trying to prevent her from taking a neutral position in the upcoming election. Chess Fidelity speaks of a "shocking campaigning methods" of the US Federation. Another lesson in democracy and elections.