11/26/2010 – Snow has come to Mariánské Lázne, tons of it, and the Snowdrops are apparently thriving. They lead the Oldhands by 14:10. The event is extraordinary: in the last three rounds, the subject of this report, there was one single draw. Best player with 4.5/6 is GM Humpy Koneru, the only undefeated player Vlastimil Hort. Big illustrated report with beautiful pictures by Vladimir Jagr.

11/26/2010 – Yesterday we reported on allegations that the TCF may have bought votes to support their 2012 Olympiad bid. The New York Times said that the FIDE President was "looking into it". Today Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has come out in strong support of TCF President Ali Nihat Yazici: "As long as I am the President of FIDE, nobody may take away the 40th Chess Olympiad from Istanbul." Press release.

11/25/2010 – The New York Times has come out with a piece implying that the Turkish Chess Federation paid voters to help win the bid to host the 2012 Chess Olympiad. The TCF President Ali Nihat Yazici says not a penny was paid and that this "scandal", which comes just 72 hours before an important TCF Financial Assembly, is an attempt by his rivals to unseat him by undemocratic means.

11/24/2010 – Last week Nigel Short, the former World Championship challenger, visited the Ottawa RA Chess Club in Canada to give a lecture and play a simul. The jury is out on which was the more entertaining. John Upper summarizes the hightlights of the former and provides us with a number of interesting positions from the latter. Judge for yourself.

11/24/2010 – The Russian Women's Superfinal is underway, and can be seen as a preview for the upcoming Women's World Championship, as all of the prominent Russian players are in both. The tournament is extremely hard-fought, the lead having changed hands several times. Nadezhda Kosintseva started well, but faltered, and the 17-year-old Paikidze is sole leader. Pictorial report by Anna Burtasova.

11/24/2010 – FIDE has just announced the dates for the Candidates matches in Kazan, Russia (3 to 27 May 2011), but leave the replacement of Carlsen by Grischuk as a dangling hypothetical. If it materializes then the pairings change quite dramatically. In a long and eloquent interview conducted during the Blitz World Championship Teimour Radjabov speaks his mind.

11/24/2010 – The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, one of the most popular tournaments in the world, will be held for the tenth time running, from 7 to 19 February 2011. It is open to chess players of most varied qualification: from unrated to GMs. The total prize fund is 160,000 Euros, and it includes qualification places for the Super Tournament in Dortmund and the World Blitz Championship 2011. Register now!

11/23/2010 – That's Marianske Lazne in Czech, and it is where once a year a rising generation of female chess players faces a team of chess legends of the 20th century. They are represented by Portisch, Hort, Velimirovic and Uhlman, while the ladies are Humpy, Cmilyte, Caoili and Olsarova. They were tied after two rounds but the Oldies took a thumping in the third. Illustrated report.

11/22/2010 – The Editor of Chess Notes points out that writers of opening monographs often simply ignore the detailed work of theoreticians from bygone years. Taking Alekhine’s Defence as an example, he gives many references to forgotten articles published in magazines up to the middle of the twentieth century, including analysis by such luminaries as Réti and Grünfeld. A salutary lesson.

11/22/2010 – ... one must be able to take something, the second player had thought here liquidating White's passed pawn with 25...Bb5xc6, which was of course followed by 26.Rb1-e1 whereupon all black pieces were directly or indirectly attacked. How would you assess the position now?
A) Black can favourably unpin;
B) no advantage, but the strong b-pawn guarantees Black the draw;
C) Black ultimately loses a pieces.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

11/21/2010 – The event is just huge and is a chess lover's dream come true. It is hosting the Ibero-American Championship, then there is a high-profile bonanza with 10-minute games with stars such as Topalov, Polgar, and Ivanchuk, plus simuls by Karpov and Kasparov, a huge outdoor chess art exhibition, lectures, a recreation of "The Turk", and a giant open. Plentiful pictorial by Nadja Wittmann.

11/20/2010 – This could be the highest chess tournament in Europe. It is staged in the pretty Alpine town of Livigno, located at an altitude of 1,816 meters, in an area famous for its scenery, cows, cheese and birth rate (highest in Italy). The inhabitants are convinced that it is more beautiful than the neighboring St. Moritz and set out to prove this with a chess tournament. Big pictorial report by Diana Mihajlova.