Learning the Scandinavian from Vishy Anand

7/2/2006 – India's supreme chess player Viswanathan Anand is second to none in producing beautiful games – well-prepared, displaying astounding tactical imagination, and forceful execution. In this week’s Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at an Anand effort against Lautier's Center Counter and uses it as instructional material in the Scandinavian Defense.

Three ChessBase disks

7/1/2006 – ChessBase's new opening and historical CDs and DVDs are the latest topic of interest for our ChessBase Workshop columnist. If you want to find out what's on "How to Play the Najdorf, Vol. 2" (by Garry Kasparov!), "The ABC of the Benko Gambit", and "World Champion Capablanca", check out our new ChessBase Workshop.

Sergey Tiviakov wins the Dutch Championship

6/30/2006 – It is one of the stronger national championships, with ten GMs and two IMs. It was won by Sergey Tiviakov, who scored 9.0/11 points, 1.5 more than his nearest rival. In the women's section there was an even more startling result: Peng Zhaoqin won all but one game and took the championship with a 8.5/9 score. Report.

AeroSvit R11: Rublevsky wins, Ivanchuk second

6/29/2006 – The AeroSvit tournament in Foros ended with draws by all top boards, giving Russian GM Sergei Rublevsky undivided first, with 7.5/11 and a 2824 performance. Second was Ukrainian perennial Vassily Ivanchuk, with 7/11 and a 2784 performance. We bring you all results, games and a special report on the Crimean venue.

Alexei Shirov's 'Best Games in the Sicilian Najdorf'

6/28/2006 – IM and Senior Trainer Jovan Petronic has studied the third training DVD by Alexei Shirov and enjoyed the experience of watching the author of 'Fire on the Board' in full action. "Your chess will certainly come a bit closer to understanding the moves and ideas behind a chess geniuses mind." Review.

Carlsen leads the Midnight Sun Challenge

6/28/2006 – A fifteen-year-old super-grandmaster, blessed with an Elo of 2646, is leading the Midnight Sun Chess Challenge in Tromsø. Magnus Carlsen of Norway looks set to break a few new records with the form that he is showing these days. The event is being held well within the Arctic Circle, where at this time of year the nights are bright as day. Misha Savinov reports.

Andrew Martin on the 'Greek Gift' sacrifice

6/27/2006 – All players at whatever level should be fully conversant with the classical Bishop Sacrifice on h7. It is a topic which GM Yasser Seirawan lucidly explains in his latest book. The Radio Show of our Playchess lecturer begins this week by reveiwing this work and deals with a number of other topical games. Tune in.

Chessboxing on ESPN, Playboy and Maxim

6/27/2006 – This unusual sport, in which two competitors face each other in 11 alternating rounds, six of chess, five of boxing, is rapidly gaining popularity. You know that is the case when you see chessboxing on the front page of a leading sports web site, and as a major story in a number of men's magazines. Check out the ESPN video footage.

AeroSvit R10: All games drawn

6/27/2006 – Which means that nothing has changes on the table, which has Rublevsky leading by half a point, with one round to go. The shortest game was a 23-mover between Nisipeanu and Karjakin, the longest were Bologan's 78-move save against Grischuk and Shirov's 89-move escape against Areshchenko. Report.

AeroSvit R9: Grischuk, Shirov, Ponomariov win

6/26/2006 – Rublevsky and Ivanchuk both drew their games and kept their first and second places. Grischuk and Shirov won their games, both moving into the positive performance zone. At the end of the table are three Ukraines – Ponomariov, Volokitin, Karjakin – and India's Harikrishna. Report with performance statistics.

Midnight Sun Chess Challenge in Tromsø

6/26/2006 – There are parts in the world where, during a certain period of the year, the sun never sets. The northern Norwegian town of Tromsø, which lies well within the Arctic Circle, is one such place. From June 24th to July 2nd, in the middle of the midnight sun period, it is holding chess festival with GMs like Krasenkow and Magnus Carlsen. Big illustrated report.

AeroSvit R8: Ivanchuk wins to close on Rublevsky

6/26/2006 – Tournament leader Sergei Rublevsky drew against Shirov, while his closest follower Ivanckuk beat Volokitin with black. Rublevsky still leads, but only by half a point. Bologan, could not defeat Areshenko, Grischuk took his first loss in this tournament, against Nisipeanu, and Ponomariov lost to Mamedyarov to take the last place. Report.

Paul Keres vs who?

6/25/2006 – In his long career he beat many famous opponents, including nine world champions. In this week’s Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at a lesser-known game by Paul Keres, a win against one H. Szapiel from the 1950 Szczawno Zdroj tournament (which he won). Entertainment and instruction.

AeroSvit R7: Rublevsky leads by a full point

6/25/2006 – After the rest day, which was used for a boat trip on the Black Sea, Sergei Rublevsky won his fifth game in a row, and is now leading the field, with 5.5/7, by a full point. Ivanchuk and Bologan are his nearest rivals at 4.5 points. Tail-enders are Karjakin, Ponomariov, Harikrishna and Nisibeanu, all at 2.5. Report, pictures and games.

Kuala Lumpur: the Scent of a City

6/24/2006 – If you are serious about competitive chess, then please mark down the dates between the 21st and 27th of August 2006 in your diary. That’s when one of the richest chess tournaments in the Asia Pacific region will take place. Native son Edwin Lam Choong Wai tells us about his beloved city and advises us to book a flight to Malaysia today.

AeroSvit R6: Rublevsky beats Bologan, takes the lead

6/23/2006 – In round six of the AeroSvit 2000 Super GM Russian GM Sergei Rublevsky, playing black, beat the leading Viorel Bologan of Moldova and went into the lead with 4.5/6 points. Volokitin beat Shirov, Nisipeanu beat Areshchenko, and Harikrishna defeated Mamedyarov. Report, pictures and games.

A complete white repertoire for 1.e4 e5

6/23/2006 – Winning with the classics: Canadian FIDE master Gregory Huber has published a training CD on two related (classical) openings, the Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4) and the Vienna Game (2.Nc3). The work includes all possible transitions and provides you with a complete white repertoire for 1.e4 e5. "A phenomenal effort in exploring these openings in depth". Review.

Spider-Man, Aliens and Fritz chess sets

6/23/2006 – Tired of using the same old Staunton chess pieces? Then you may want to try a game with Spider-Man pieces, on a sculpted chess board that recreates a roof-top battle between good and evil. Or a set that tries to recapture the mood and design James Cameron's "Aliens." Or you may simply check out what Fritz and Co. have to offer.

Tiviakov leads in the Dutch Championship

6/22/2006 – The Dutch Chess Championship is taking place in TV Studio 22 in the Hilversum Media Park, from June 17 to 29 June. It is a 12-player round robin, category 13 and has a first prize of €12,000. After five rounds Sergey Tiviakov is in the lead, with 4/5 and a 2780 performance. Picture report.

Fritz Endgame Turbo 3 - Part 1

6/22/2006 – The Fritz Endgame Turbo 3, containing three through six piece endgame tablebases, has recently been released. But what are tablebases and how are they used? In the first of two ChessBase Workshop columns on endgame tablebases we examine what they are and a few simple technical aspects involving their installation. Workshop...

Chess Serial Killer arrested in Moscow

6/21/2006 – MosNews is reporting that a shop assistant has been arrested under suspicion of being the notorious Bitsa Park serial killer, whom Moscow police have been tracking for half a year. He is accused of at least 14 murders, but has confessed to a total of 61. Apparently the killer was trying to commit one murder for each square of the chessboard.

The inventor of the Slav System with 4...a6

6/21/2006 – Every chess player know the a6 Slav, but does anyone know who first introduced this move into tournament practice? It was a player named Skripchenko – not our beloved Almira, but her father Fyodor, who played it back in 1972, before she was born. Here's the full story about the birth of a variation.

AeroSvit R5: Bologan leads with 4/5

6/21/2006 – After another victory, this one over India's Pentala Harikrishna, Viorel Bologan of Moldova took over the sole lead in the AeroSvit 2000 International Chess Tournament in Ukraine. Sergei Rublevsky defeated Andrei Volokitin to move to striking distance of the leader. We bring you a report, pictures and games.

The Pillsbury Attack –2006 style

6/20/2006 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury was a very intelligent man. Such was the depth of his ideas that they are being used successfully today, as we see in our first game,where none other than Vishy Anand gets downed by a Pillsbury Attack! This and more by our Playchess lecturer Andrew Martin on this week's show.