AeroSvit R3: Mamedyarov, Bologan in the lead

6/20/2006 – After six draws in round two, round three brought four decided games, with wins by Bologan, Mamedyarov, Shirov and Rublevsky. The losses were incurred by Nisipianu, Areshchenko, Karjakin and Ponomariov respectively. Report, games and pictures.

Endgame 1: Basic knowledge for beginners

6/20/2006 – The endgame often separates the wheat from the chaff. And a lot of games end with a surprising result because one side is lacking basic endgame technique. That can now change. With his new series of training DVDs the German GM and endgame expert Karsten Mueller offers every chess player the opportunity to build up excellent endgame knowledge from scratch. Review.

AeroSvit R4: Three black wins in round four

6/20/2006 – Veteran Vassily Ivanchuk defeated the tournament leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to put the Azerbaijani and join him in second place. Grischuk beat Harikrishna and Rublevsky the Romanian Dieter Nisipeanu. Bologan drew his game and remains in the lead. Report.

A clash of styles and personalities

6/18/2006 – At the end of the Steinitz era two there were two giants of the game vying for a place as pretenders to the throne. In 1893 a long match between Russian Mikhail Chigorin and German Siegbert Tarrasch was arranged to settle it. In this week’s Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at a key game.

AeroSvit R2: All games drawn in Foros

6/18/2006 – Round two of the Cat. 18 round robin tournament in Foros/Yalta saw all six games drawn. The shortest was 23 moves (Grischuk vs Areshchenko), the longest a tense 78-move battle between former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov and his former second Viorel Bologan. And Andrei Volokitin turned twenty. Report, games and pictures.

Harry Nelson Pillsbury, the American tragedy

6/17/2006 – One hundred years ago, on June 17 1906, one of the brightest chess talents of all time passed away – at the age of just 33. But Harry Nelson Pillsbury was never forgotten, and in fact became an immortal legend of the game. Small wonder, when he stood up to the world champions and performed prodigious feats of mental skill. A look back with Garry Kasparov.

AeroSvit 2000 category 18 in Foros/Yalta

6/17/2006 – For those of you suffering withdrawal, after Sofia and Turin, here is a very strong international GM tournament that has crept up on us almost unnoticed. The AeroSvit 2000 in the southern Crimean town of Foros/Yalta is a round robin with players like Ponomariov. Ivanchuk, Grischuk and Shirov. We bring you games, results and pictures.

Olympiad: Most Photogenic Players contest

6/16/2006 – Here's a tedious task for all you chess players out there: 65 exquisite portraits of female chess players at the Turin Chess Olympiad 2006 (before some people crucify us, the male competition is to follow). You have to rate as many as you can, not by their Elo performances, which we give, but by their photogenic qualities. Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Brilliancy in computer assisted chess

6/16/2006 – The Third PAL/CSS Freestyle Chess Tournament starts today. In this form of chess, originally proposed by Garry Kasparov, the human players may use computers – or any other assistance they can muster. It is not OTB chess as we knew it, but it does produce a lot of very high-level games. Here, from the Second Freestyle Tournament, are the three most brilliant examples.

Topalov at the 2006 Essent Chess Tournament

6/15/2006 – Immediately after his title match against Vladimir Kramnik (Sept 21 – Oct. 13th Elista) FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov will play in the Crown Group of the 2006 Essent tournament in Hoogeveen, Netherlands. Other players are Judit Polgar, Shakhryar Mamedyarov and Ivan Sokolov. The games will be played with glass pieces.

Font issues in ChessBase and Fritz

6/15/2006 – In the new ChessBase Workshop column, our correspondent ventures into the wild world of fonts to describe how you can change your font displays in ChessBase and Fritz, as well as fix the occasional font-related problems which may arise. He also reveals a little-known technical secret about the use of fonts in our products. All is revealed in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

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.