Max Euwe and 'the pearl of Zandvoort'

9/11/2006 – Max Euwe is sometimes considered an "accidental" world champion by casual fans, but unfairly. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos shows us why his games and career are very much worthy of attention, using a bold sacrificial game against Alekhine to make his point.

Bent Larsen selling 1927 portrait of Capablanca

9/10/2006 – Legendary grandmaster Bent Larsen, of the Bobby Fischer era, is selling an original signed photograph portrait of world champion José Raúl Capablanca. This picture is claimed to be the only existing portrait of the world champion from the period when he was challenged by Alekhine. In fact it was taken on the day before the start of the match. Starting bid: $22,000.

The Grand Slam is Born

9/10/2006 – The organizers of the world's top professional tournaments got together in Spain to hatch the Chess Grand Slam Association. The participants represented Linares, Corus, MTel, plus the hosts in Bilbao, home of the top annual human-machine tournament. We have early comments from the organizers and hints about their ambitious plans.

Killer stuff in the French Defence

9/8/2006 – The French Defence is very well suited for players who do not have time to continuously keep up with latest opening theory. You can focus on understanding of positional ideas and strategy, rather than worry about tactics. Buy this new DVD training course on the French Defence by IM Ari Ziegler, or read this review.

'It hasn't yet dawned on me that I'm a grandmaster'

9/7/2006 – At 13 Parimarjan Negi is currently the youngest grandmaster in the world, and the second youngest in history. He is also becoming India's second chess superstar. On his recent return from Europe he was given a hero's welcome at a tumultuous press conference.

The Chess Cruise Tournament

9/7/2006 – What is the best venue for an international chess tournament, with the likes of Ivanchuk, Vaganian and Tukmakov participating? And former women's world champion Nona Gaprindashvili? The correct answer is the ferry ship from Odessa to Istanbul. The 15-minute rapid chess was won by the top seed Ivanchuk. Big pictorial report by GM Mikhail Golubev.

The Vodafone Gambit – EU Championships begin

9/7/2006 – The top seed at the European Union Individual Championship (Sept. 6–15) began with a dangerous opening for top seed Nigel Short. After 90 minutes of play the British GM, who seldom plays on home soil, equalised neatly by switching off his cell phone, and then cruised to victory against Mika Karttunen. Steve Giddins reports.

Kasparov wins BDO Tournament in Haarlem

9/6/2006 – Sergey Kaspaov, to be precise. He is 38 and was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and now plays for Belarus. Recently he made his final GM norm, and hasn’t lost a single of his last 60 tournament games. Now Sergey has won the BDO Chess Tournament 2006 Premier Group, with 6½ out of 9. Yochanan Afek won the Challengers Group. Big illustrated report by GM Peng Zhaoqin.

Korchnoi wins Chess Festival in Banyoles

9/6/2006 – On March 23 Viktor Korchnoi turned 75. At an age where most grandmasters spend their time in the comfort of their homes, pontificating on the state of the chess world, Viktor Lvovich is out there bashing it out on the international tournament circuit. At the end of August he won a strong GM Open with 131 players in Catalonia, Spain. Report and videos.

Top of the World Chess

9/5/2006 – Spitsbergen lies just 20° south of the North Pole. Anually in this ice-bound Arctic archipelago two mining communities, one from Norway and one from Russia meet for chess festivals. This year Peter Svidler (Russia) took on Magnus Carlsen (Norway). Illustrated report.

Miskolc 2006: Leko beats Karpov 4.5:3.5

9/4/2006 – On the day of his sixth wedding anniversary Peter Leko clinched victory over Anatoly Karpov in the rapid chess match in Miskolc, Hungary. Both games were drawn on the final day, but again they were fighting games that had the packed audience enthralled – especially when Karpov pulled off another incredible save. Pictorial report with annotated games.

Who will win the Topalov-Kramnik world championship?

9/3/2006 – In a recent interview FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumshinov revealed that the Bulgarian clairvoyant Baba Vanga had predicted his presidency and also multiple Bulgarian world chess champions. Unfortunately Vanga died in 1996, so we cannot consult her on the outcome of the upcoming world championship in Elista. André Schulz tries it with statistical methods.

Miskolc 2006: games five and six fighting draws

9/3/2006 – Day three began with Peter Leko outplaying Anatoly Karpov, but just when everyone thought he had it in the bag Karpov pulled off a miracle save. In game two Karpov played aggressively, but only got a draw. We bring you pictures, analysis and the story of an eight-year-old lady who can stand up to a GM in a simul. Meet Timea.

Miskolc 2006: on nature, kings, wine and hospitality

9/2/2006 – Friday was a free day in the rapid chess match between Peter Leko and Anatoly Karpov in the Hungarian city of Miskolc. But the organisers arranged a number of events for the players and visitors. In particular we were taken to a nature park where Peter Leko often trains. And then there was a wine-tasting special in the Town Hall. Big illustrated report.

Miskolc 2006: Peter Leko takes the lead

9/1/2006 – On the second day of their rapid chess match in Miskolc, Hungary, Peter Leko won the first game with the white pieces, in a very exciting effort that started with the unusual (for him) 1.d4. In the second game he held his opponent Anatoly Karpov to a draw. The score is now 2.5:1.5 for the local hero. We bring you another big illustrated report from Miskolc.

A goldmine for chess excavations

9/1/2006 – What chess database is best suited for you? For Masters, club players and all others, the Mega Database is first choice. Correspondence Chess players should also not miss the Corr Database 2006. Now FIDE Master Petronic points out that there is a lot to discover in the Corr 2006 for everyone! Review.

Rajlich Team won the third Freestyle tournament

8/31/2006 – The third 3rd PAL/CSS Freestyle Tournament was held in the middle of July. With considerable delay we bring you a report by correspondence GM Arno Nickel on the results of this event, which had a prize fund of US $16,000 and was conducted on the Playchess.com server. Also a reminder that another $16,000 Freestyle tournament begins soon. Like to join the fun?

Table views and printouts in ChessBase 9

8/31/2006 – A frequently-asked ChessBase question concerns tabular game displays: "Can I get my games and variations to display the way they appear in ECO?" The answer is an emphatic "YES!" Learn how to do it in your on-screen displays and your game printouts in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Amsterdam: Rising Stars beat Experience 28-22

8/30/2006 – After a fighting start the "Experience" team could not hold up against the onslaught of the "Rising Stars" in the NH Chess Tournament in Amsterdam. The final score was 28-22 for the youngsters, with Magnus Carlsen achieving the highest individual score to win a place in next year's Amber tournament in Monaco. Final report.

Vugar Gashimov wins Abu Dhabi

8/30/2006 – The venue is spectacular, the climate is seething hot, the first prize is US $4000. A total of 20 GMs, 13 IMs and two WGMs found their way to the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, which was duly won by one of the top seeds, Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan. Big pictorial report.

Interview with John Nunn

8/30/2006 – He didn't do so well as part of the "Experience" team at the NH Chess tournament in Amsterdam. But then again, at 51 John Nunn is no longer really an active chess grandmaster. Instead he is engaged in running a successful publishing company. And is retiring from competitive chess – sort of. John's views.

Miskolc 2006: Leko vs Karpov 1:1

8/30/2006 – Both the games on the first day of the rapid chess match in Miskolc, Hungary, between the top national GM Peter Leko and the legendary 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov, ended in draws. The first was a fighting game in which Karpov introduced a novelty in the Caro-Kann and both sides had winning chances. Images of Miskolc.

Four ChessBase Disks

8/28/2006 – ChessBase has been releasing new training materials and chess engines at a furious clip. You'll find previews of "Alapin Sicilian System", "Chess Endgames 1", "Opening Repertoire for Black", and the Zapchess playing engine in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Rising Stars increase their lead in Amsterdam

8/27/2006 – In round six the "Experience" team was able to hold on and leave the two-point deficit unchanged. But in round seven Magnus Carlsen and Jan Smeets struck out for the "Rising Stars" and increased the lead to four points. The score is now 19.5 to 15.5, with young Carlsen's performance reaching a stellar 2747. Illustrated report.