Grischuk to replace Carlsen in the Candidates

11/10/2010 – Reacting to the withdrawal of Magnus Carlsen from the FIDE Candidate Tournament to decide the next challenger for World Champion Viswanathan Anand, FIDE has expressed understanding for the reasons he gave – and in fact agrees with some of them. But it says it cannot change its regulations at such a late date and at the request of one player. Press release.

The last checkmate?

11/9/2010 – At the recent Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk the team from Israel, one of the smallest nations, took Bronze, close behind the winners Ukraine and Russia. Not the first in a remarkable series of successes – but one which national chess captain Alon Greenfeld is sadly convinced will never be replicated. He explains the reasons for his pessimism in a well-written Jerusalem Post article.

Anand and Obama – meeting in Delhi

11/9/2010 – Memories of the last World Championship and his epic journey to Sofia after all flights had been cancelled due to volcanic eruptions in Iceland. This time a cyclone off the coast of Chennai almost prevented Viswanathan Anand from reaching a dinner, hosted by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for US President Barack Obama and wife Michelle, in time. But he made it and they met.

5th Tal Memorial: Round 3 and 4 – Aronian takes the lead

11/8/2010 – The third round saw Aronian rise to the top after a fine win over Gelfand, while Shirov and Eljanov made it zero for three. Don't miss Shirov's game against Mamedyarov (you never saw such a Breyer). Aronian has even leapt to second in the Provisional Ratings as a result. The fourth round was all drawn, though Nakamura and Kramnik had a lively battle. Report for rounds three and four.

Anatoly Karpov vs Hou Yifan in Sanya City, China

11/7/2010 – He is the legendary 12th World Champion, 59, Russian, probably the most successful tournament player of all time. She is a phenomenally talented Chinese prodigy, 16 years old, grandmaster and already third highest ranked female in the world. They are playing a six-game match in the southernmost city of China. After the first two games Karpov has a one-point lead. Big pictorial report.

Maximum checking distance

11/6/2010 – The position opposite comes from the recent game Efimenko - Moen, Plovdiv 2010, where white had reached a won rook ending. The black king is confined to edge of the board whilst his counterpart is free to play actively. However, as is so often the case in chess, precision is of great importance here. What would you suggest for white?
Learn about maximum checking distance, liquidation into won pawn endings and about the winning zone for the king in queen against pawn endings in Grandmaster Dr. Karsten Müller’s analysis for ChessBase Magazine Online.

5th Tal Memorial: Round 2 – Nakamura and Gelfand win

11/6/2010 – After losing owing to uncharacteristic blunders, Kramnik safely drew. However, Gelfand decided to get his tournament back on track and exploited an inaccuracy by Shirov to win with very fine technique. Nakamura, who had seemed a bit timid before the event, beat Eljanov with a fine win. For your Sunday, we bring you the round two report with analysis by GMs Nakamura and Elshan Moradiabadi.

5th Tal Memorial: Four out of five games decisive

11/5/2010 – The event is in honor of one of Caissa's favorite children: Mikhail Tal, and the rest day is on his birthday. The event brings in a beautiful roster of top players: Aronian, Kramnik, Grischuk, Mamedyarov, Karjakin, Gelfand, Eljanov, Nakamura, Shirov, and Wang Hao. Round one was bloody beyond belief, and the Russian Federation is broadcasting fantastic images online every day. Report and games.

Magnus Carlsen drops out of World Championship cycle

11/5/2010 – The shock on Friday: the world's number one player for most of 2010, 19-year-old Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen, has decided to drop out of the current World Championship cycle, in which he had reached the Candidate stage of the last eight. The series of knock-out matches is scheduled to begin in March next year, to determine the challenger of the World Champion Vishy Anand. Letter to FIDE.

2010 Cap d'Agde rapid - Ivanchuk beats Nakamura

11/4/2010 – After beating their respective opponents in the semifinals, Ivanchuk and Nakamura met in the final, both of whom have had an excellent year. The Ukrainian immediately took the psychological initiative by choosing a King's Gambit in game one, surprising his opponent, and eventually prevailing in the endgame. Nakamura tried returning the favor in game two, but less successfully. Report and videos.

Aquaprofit on the path to chess success

11/3/2010 – Chess and bottled water – a two-billion Forint company engaged in important environmental projects in Hungary and all over the world – a great team. In 2009/2010 Aquaprofit-NTSK emerged as national champions for a third time, and now they are going for another title. With the likes of Shirov, Naiditsch, Caruana, Beliavsky, Nisipeanu, Kotronias and none other than Vishy Anand on the team.

Official Magnus Carlsen Blog launched

11/3/2010 – "I like to share my thoughts when I play tournaments," Magnus writes. "Not so regularly I also write about other things." And he does it mostly himself, with occasional assistance from his team during tournaments. The reports appear on the next day – a treasure trove of topical commentary and feelings. Magnus even tweets. Here are some sample blog entries.

John Nunn wins World Problem Solving Championship

11/3/2010 – At fifteen he was Oxford's youngest undergraduate since the 15th Century. He did a PhD on finite H-spaces, lectured on mathematics, and became one of Britain's strongest chess grandmasters. At 55 John's brain is still in top shape, as he showed by winning the problem solving world championship ahead of 70 mostly younger solvers. Truly amazing.

Chigorin Memorial in St. Petersburg

11/2/2010 – The 17th International Chess Festival “M. Chigorin Memorial” is taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia, from October 26 to November 5, 2010. The Rapid section is over, with six players at 7.0/9 points, the classical section is under way, with Ivan Sokolov leading at 5.0/5 points. The prize fund is 1.4 million Roubles = 32,000 Euros or US $46,000. Big pictorial report by WGM Irina Sudakova.

Protest letter from ECU Federations to FIDE

11/1/2010 – Fourteen federations of the European Chess Union have lodged a protest at the appointment by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov of five Vice Presidents, all of whom are political allies or supporters, without the required confirmation of the General Assembly. The letter was forwarded by ECU President Silvio Danialov to FIDE, with a reply requested by close of business on Monday.

2010 World Youth Chess Championship – Final report

11/1/2010 – The 2010 World Youth Chess Championship took place at Porto Carras, Greece, and once more crowned new champions, bringing to the fore names to be remembered. Among the most remarkable were American Steven Zierk, rated 26th at 2391, yet taking the gold with a 2723 performance, and Azerbaijani Kanan Azar Izzat, 35th, and also gold. See the photos of these future stars in the final report.

Kavalek at Huffington: Chess World of Karpov and Kasparov

11/1/2010 – The rivalry between the two Ks is the stuff of legends. In Kasparov vs Karpov 1988-2009, an absorbing new book by Garry Kasparov, the centerpiece is his last world championship match against Karpov in 1990. The highlight was the 16th game with 102 moves, the longest win in world championship history. It contained a very special manoeuvre, which GM Lubos Kavalek describes in his chess column.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (49)

11/1/2010 – Truly exquisite play occurred in a little-known game won by Capablanca, at breakneck speed, in a simultaneous exhibition (St Petersburg, 1913). The Editor of Chess Notes presents some text-book discussion and cooperation on the subject among his readers. The pawn ending, involving the complexities of the distant opposition, gives rise to a number of highly instructive manoeuvres.

FIDE ratings: Anand now number one

11/1/2010 – Magnus Carlsen, who has topped the world chess rankings since January 2010, lost a whopping 24 points in the last two-month period. But it is a tribute to the young Norwegian that he could take this and only slip to second place, two points behind World Champion Vishy Anand, who is back on top. Aronian has climbed to number three with a 2800+ rating. November 2010 FIDE rankings.

Vachier Lagrave wins 14th Unive Tournament 2010 in Hoogeveen

10/31/2010 – This double round robin tournament in Holland was won convincingly by the second youngest player in the field, top French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave, who turned twenty a day before the start of the event. Maxime, rated 2721, lost no games, beat top seed Shirov once and Tiviakov twice, finishing a point ahead of the field and gaining 12 rating points. Happy birthday, Max!

Opening surveys in CBM 138

10/31/2010 – Black equalises in the Caro-Kann against 3.Nc3; at the moment, only 3.e5 gives White some hope of an opening advantage. Things are as clear-cut as that according to Leonid Kritz. In any case, the German grandmaster also delivers his contribution to proving this statement, at least as far as the second part on the Advance Variation is concerned. In the critical line after 3...Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 he shows how White achieves a slight advantage both against 6...Qb6 and also 6...cxd4. The Olympiad game Karjakin-Eljanov confirms Kritz' analysis. You will find another 11 articles on the DVD of CBM 138. Read: Kritz' complete article

Nanjing R10: Magnus wins with 2900+ performance

10/30/2010 – What is with him and China? Magnus Carlsen has again won the Nanjing Super-GM, a full point ahead of Vishy Anand, who grabbed a final point back from French GM Etienne Bacrot. Meanwhile Veselin Topalov tricked Wang Yue and converted a lost position into a win. Magnus picked up 80,000 Euros – and enough Elo points to entrench him at the top of the world rankings. Final report.

Out into the open...

10/29/2010 – ... White had invited the black king with his last move 12.Qf3, the obvious intention after 12...Bxe5 being 13.Qxc6+ followed by 14.Rxe5. Considering the underdevelopment of both sides, what do you think should be the result of this operation?
A) advantage for Black
B) advantage for White
C) equality
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Nanjing R09: Carlsen beats Topalov, wins Pearl Spring

10/29/2010 – It was the usual story: Magnus Carlsen kept putting intense pressure on the opponent, turning the screws, until suddenly he cracked. Unusual was that it was the former world number one, Veselin Topalov who buckled. The other games were drawn. Carlsen is now 1½ points ahead of the field and the winner of the event. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Romain Edouard.