4/26/2009 – High drama in Nalchik: five decisive games, with Aronian, Leko, Akopian, Mamedyarov and Grischuk scoring. After the dust has settled we see Levon Aronian once again in the sole lead, with Peter Leko half a point behind. Three players share 3rd-5th places, a full point behind Aronian. We bring you commentary by GM Sergey Shipov and pictures from the Grand Prix in our round ten report.

4/24/2009 – The Sicilian Najdorf Variation is hard to tackle, so hard, in fact, that many players simply want to evade it. But most of these avoidance systems do completely without d2-d4 and pose no big challenge for Black. The anti-Najdorf-system presented by Alexey Kuzmin in CBM 129 starts with 2.Ne2, and only after 2...d6 - i.e. the attempt to enter the Najdorf - dispenses with the direct advance of the d-pawn (however, 2...e6 3.d4 or 2...Nc6 3.d4); the continuation is 3.g3, possibly followed by c3 and d4.
More opening surveys in CBM 129, buy in online shop
Description of the article in the CBM 129 booklet
Kuzmin: Sicilian with 2.Ne2 d6 3.g3

4/24/2009 – Our beloved game has been used to promote a variety of human activities: financial institutions use it – ad nauseam –, car sales people too. Even in Victorian times it was a popular image. Now the National Basketball Association (NBA), North America's a professional men's basketball league, has picked chess to convey a message. Check out the newest chess promo for the NBA on TNT.

4/24/2009 – Another dramatic round, with Gata Kamsky coming back strongly from his two previous losses to grind down Alexander Grischuk in 101 moves – with the black pieces. Etienne Bacrot scored a full point against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Evgeny Alekseev defeated his young colleague Sergey Karjakin. Alekseev has now joined Aronian in the lead. Full report with GM commentary.

4/23/2009 – Sergey Karjakin played an explosive game against Gata Kamsky, and at one stage (move 27) was basically lost. He fought back to win after his opponent had let the opportunity slip. Boris Gelfand got hammered by a heavy pieces attack on his exposed king, with Pavel Eljanov doing the attacking with the black pieces. Levon Aronian continues to lead. Full report with GM commentary.

4/23/2009 – For Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov it was the second win in succession – in two rounds he has disposed of Gelfand and Kamsky with the black pieces. On the other hand US grandmaster Gata Kamsky lost for the second time in a row, to take up residence at the bottom of the table (half a point ahead of Ivanchuk). Lev Aronian continues to lead, with 5.0/8 and a 2814 performance. Full illustrated report.

4/22/2009 – "Major pieces vs. Minor pieces" is the subject of Daniel King's latest Powerplay-DVD. These positions are not only difficult to play but hard to evaluate because a wide range of criteria must be considered. Amateurs can learn more from the masters here than in any other middlegame theme. Mark Donlan reviews the DVD at chesscafe.com. Buy "Powerplay 9" or read this review.

4/22/2009 – There are two rest days in the FIDE Grand Prix tournaments, and they are used to give the players an outing in the local surroundings. After round five in Nalchik they were taken to the spectacular Chereksky region of Kabardino-Balkaria, which contains the second-deepest lake in the world. "It is difficult to describe in words the beauty surrounding us," said Levon Aronian. Pictorial.

4/22/2009 – In Nalchik there is a player coming up from behind. Vladimir Akopian started badly, but won his last two games to move up the table. People forget that the Armenian was runner-up in the FIDE knockout world championship in 1999, and has a plus score against Garry Kasparov. Dennis Monokroussos, our Playchess lecturer, shows us a stunning Akopian win against the greatest player ever.

4/22/2009 – Forget Sunday's table. In round six Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beat the leader Alexander Grischuk, while Levon Aronian beat a completely out-of-form Vassily Ivanchuk. Peter Svidler won with black against Pavel Eljanov and Vladimir Akopian moved up the ladder with a victory over Sergey Karjakin. Now Aronian leads, with four players behind him. Full report with commentary.

4/21/2009 – The 2009 PWC Toronto Open Chess Championship took place from April 17th to 19th, 2009 – five rounds Swiss, prize fund $17,000+, entry fee $90 + bring your own clocks. Two players, Russian GM Bator Sambuev, 2498, and US GM Joshua Friedel took first place, with 5.0/5 points, leaving the likes of Nakamura, Perelshteyn and Shabalov in their wake. Illustrated report and games.

4/21/2009 – In 1963 the artist Marcel Duchamp posed for a picture at the Pasadena Art Museum in which he played a game of chess against a naked model. Inspired by this picture and the circumstances surrounding it two-time US Women's Champion WGM Jennifer Shahade, who has worked on a book on Duchamp, engaged in a one-sided nude chess game at the Philidelphia Soundstages. Here's the video.