Elista R6: Grischuk, Alekseev win, marathon games in Elista

12/21/2008 – Alexander Grischuk had to work for 79 moves to win his pawn-up ending against Pavel Eljanov. Evgeny Alexseev outplayed the Armenian GM Vladimir Akopian on the black side of a Ruy Lopez Breyer which lasted 61 moves. Cheparinov-Gashimov concluded with bare kings on move 68. Mamedyarov-Leko was a titanic 110-move struggle which ended in a draw. Round six report.

Nanjing R10: Topalov wins Pearl Spring with 2890 performance

12/21/2008 – Ivanchuk outplayed the Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi to take a final point in the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing. Aronian-Svidler was drawn in 45 moves, while the Slav between Topalov and Movsesian lasted 32 moves before peace was agreed. In the final standings Veselin Topalov finished a point and a half ahead of the field – another remarkable performance by the Bulgarian Super-GM. Final report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (14)

12/21/2008 – The end-of-year quiz presented by the Editor of Chess Notes is simplicity itself (or almost): decide which move White played in each of six positions. The main prize is a copy of Yasser Seirawan’s fine book Winning Chess Combinations, which the US master will inscribe personally to the winner of the competition. The battle is now on.

Nanjing R9: Topalov defeats Svidler, wins Pearl Spring

12/20/2008 – Is he on his way to becoming the greatest player in the history of chess? Veselin Topalov won the penultimate game of the Super-GM in Nanjing, beating Peter Svidler with the black pieces. That puts him a point and a half ahead of the field and clear the winner of the event. Topalov's "live rating" is now 2810, almost 20 points ahead of World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Full illustrated report.

Updating your ChessBase 10 Database

12/19/2008 – ChessBase 10 allows you to update your database via the Internet with just a mouseclick. But it's important to properly select the target database beforehand. We show you how to do this in the newest ChessBase Workshop.

Nanjing R7: Svidler and Aronian win, Bu-Topalov drawn

12/19/2008 – By far the most attention was given to the game between the leaders of the Pearl Spring Tournament: Bu Xiangzhi vs Topalov ended in a 70-move draw, with the Chinese GM pressing. Meanwhile there was plenty of (black) action in the other two games: Peter Svidler beat Sergei Movsesian, and Levon Aronian beat Vassily Ivanchuk, who had an accident with his chair. Full illustrated report.

Elista R5: Cheparinov, Gashimov win, Gashimov leads

12/19/2008 – Round five of the FIDE Grand Prix in Elista saw Ivan Cheparinov try a novelty against Ernesto Inarkiev, fall into trouble, but then extricate himself and win. Vugar Gashimov too turned around a dangerous position, against Grischuk, and also took the full point. Now two Azeris, Gashimov and Radjabov, are in the lead, with 3.5/5 points. The organisation used the opportunity to poll the players on doping.

Nanjing R8: Topalov defeats Ivanchuk, leads by a full point

12/19/2008 – Veselin Topalov has done it again: in round eight of the Pearl Spring Tournament the former FIDE world champion chalked up another victory, defeating the second seed Vassily Ivanchuk in convincing style to take sole lead in the table, a full point ahead of his colleagues. Peter Svidler put a damper on the ambitions of Bu Xiangzhi, giving the Chinese GM his first loss in the event. Illustrated report.

Feel the age of change in chess

12/19/2008 – Vlastimil Hort was born a year after Bobby Fischer and played no fewer than eight world champions in his career. On his new DVD 'Facing the World Champions' Hort looks back at these encounters, devoting a chapter to each of them. The DVD is packed with personal memories and anecdotes and represents a unique piece of chess history. Buy it now or read more.

Elista R4: Bacrot, Alekseev and Wang Yue win

12/18/2008 – The game of the day was a 31-mover between top French GM Etienne Bacrot and top Hungarian Peter Leko. The latter played a Caro-Kann, had a good position but fell to the amazingly complex tactics that the game produced. Wang Yue won a nice light-piece ending against Pavel Eljanov, and Evgeny Alekseev outplayed the luckless Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Illustrated report from Elista.

Elista R3: Radjabov, Leko, Eljanov win, Radjabov leads

12/17/2008 – Round three of the Third FIDE Grand Prix brought three decisive games: Teimour Radjabov beat Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a very convincing game, to take the sole lead in the tournament with 2.5/3. Peter Leko defeated Topalov second Ivan Cheparinov, and Pavel Eljanov took a full point from Russian GM Evgeny Alekseev. Illustrated report from Elista.

Max Euwe: the Candidate's Swan Song

12/17/2008 – In 1953 the former World Chess Champion was bringing his career as an elite player to a close – at a Candidates' Tournament with two games classic games: a dashing attacking one against Najdorf and a brilliant defensive one against Geller. Both involved a fantastic speculative rook sacrifice. See it unfold in Wednesday's Playchess lecture by Dennis Monokroussos. You're good to go!

Do we want to introduce the title of

12/17/2008 – Are there too many grandmasters, and do we need a new title of "Elite Grandmaster" (EGM) for the very strongest of them? Should the FIDE rating list be published more often? Or would that slow down players too much on the Elo scale? What to do about cellphones, coming late for games, draw offers? GM Bartlomiej Macieja reports for the ACP on the FIDE Congress in Dresden.

Nanjing R6: Topalov beats Aronian, Bu beats Movsesian

12/17/2008 – Veselin Topalov is on the rampage. After drawing the first four games the top seed at the Pearl Spring Tournament has now won two in a row and is in the lead. He is accompanied by the Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, who beat Sergei Movsesian for a second time in this tournament. Both GMs are a full point ahead of the rest of the field. We bring you a full illustrated report and interviews.

ChessBase 10's Reference tab - part 4

12/17/2008 – In the final installment of our ChessBase Workshop series concerning ChessBase 10's new Reference features, we show you a brand-new shortcut for filtering your searches. Learn more in the latest Workshop...

Elista R2: Grischuk beats Leko, Radjabov beats Bacrot

12/16/2008 – With a rook for bishop and pawn the Azeri GM Teimour Radjabov, playing black, ground down his opponent, the French GM Etienne Bacrot in 73 moves. Alexander Grischuk took a full point in a Queen's Indian against the second seed Peter Leko. We bring you results and games, and an interview with Geoffrey Borg, CEO of Global Chess, on the future of the Grand Prix tournaments.

The ACP demands: build a sustainable dialog with the players

12/16/2008 – Driven by the controversy and discussions surrounding the FIDE in the World Chess Championship cycle – and the withdrawal of key players from the Grand Prix – the Association of Chess Professionals has jumped into action, objecting to the abrupt changes implemented by the World Chess Federation. "ACP recommends FIDE to build a sustainable dialog with chess players." Press release.

Fabiano Caruana wins the 2008 Italian Championship

12/16/2008 – The strongest under 16 player in the world has done it again. Fabiano Caruana has won the Italian Championship in Martina Franca for the second time in a row, half a point ahead of his perennial national rival, the 41-year-old GM Michele Godena, who drew his final round game against the young player and finished half a point behind him. Report by Dario Mione.

The Father of the Euro – and of the Nanjing Tournament

12/15/2008 – Robert Alexander Mundell is an economy professor working and a Nobel Prize winner. In the 1970s he laid the groundwork for the introduction of the Euro, and a few years ago for the staging of an international Super GM chess tournament in Nanjing. On Monday he visited the event he had initiated and spoke with journalists there. We bring you pictures and excerpts from the interviews.

Nanjing R5: Topalov beats Svidler, joins leaders

12/15/2008 – The top seed Veselin Topalov beat Peter Svidler in an Exchange Grünfeld after a novelty on move 13. With that the Bulgarian GM joins Levon Aronian and Bu Xiangzhi in the lead at the Pearl Spring Chess Tournament in Nanjing, China. All three have 3.0/5 points. Vassily Ivanchuk vs Sergei Movsesian and Levon Aronian vs Bu Xiangzhi were both drawn. Full illustrated report.

Ilyumzhinov: Final decision in March next year

12/15/2008 – Just two weeks ago FIDE announced a new eight-player tournament that would be added to the current Challenger cycle for the 2011 World Championship match. Many players protested vehemently, with some withdrawing from the Grand Prix, and Levon Aronian demanding: FIDE must reverse its decision! Apparently it is in the process of doing just that. Press conference with Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

Nanjing R4: All games drawn, pictures from the opening

12/14/2008 – Once again all games at the Pearl Springs event were drawn. Sergei Movsesian drew by repetition on move 28 against Veselin Topalov; Bu Xiangzhi drew in 30 moves against Vassily Ivanchuk; and Peter Svidler drew in spite of the Worrall Attack against Levon Aronian in 48 moves. But not to worry: we have new pictures from the opening ceremony spectacle to share with you. Don't miss them!

Miroshnichenko wins Ukrainian Championship 2008

12/14/2008 – Evgenij Miroshnichenko, the 2003 Champion, has done it again: he took the 77th Ukrainian title on tiebreak points, ahead of Yuri Drozdovskij. Twelfth was 12-year-old IM Illya Nyzhnyk, who produced a stunning 2600 performance. Anastasiya Karlovich interviewed "Miro", who, it turns out, is planning to break the world blindfold simul record, "even if it drives me mad." Report and interview.

Elista Grand Prix starts, with wins by Jakovenko and Gashimov

12/14/2008 – Originally scheduled for Doha in Qatar, the third FIDE Grand Prix had to be hurriedly moved to Elista, Kalmykia, causing a number of withdrawals. Still, it is a category 19 event, which started with a colorful opening ceremony and two decisive games, one of which ended an 82-game unbeaten streak by the Chinese GM Wang Yue. Playchess.com is broadcasting the games live. Illustrated report.