Bulgaria to Ilyumzhinov: we are worried

9/27/2008 – During the Bilbao Masters tournament Veselin Topalov's manager IM Silvio Danailov told journalists that there were no news regarding the Topalov vs Kamsky match. Now Stefan Sergiev, President of the Bulgarian Chess Federation has appealed to FIDE President: "Mr. Ilyumzhinov, please inform me where and when the match will take place!" Full story, now with official corrections.

The Grass Arena – now a Penguin Classic

9/26/2008 – As a child John Healy discovered that drink offered a release from his violent and unpredictable father. For fifteen years he dossed, drank and fought in the grass arena – the parks and open spaces of London. And spent time in prison. On one occasion he learnt chess – and became hooked. After a decade out of print Healy's gripping tale is now published as a Penguin Classic.

Kasparov in the Harlem Children's Zone

9/26/2008 – The Harlem Children's Zone is staging a Chess Festival on Sunday, September 28th. It features free chess lessons, a free drawing for 300 chess sets and T-shirts, problem-solving contests and free refreshments. As part of the celebration, Kasparov will play 20 games simultaneously against student players from Harlem. Press release.

Get Ready for Earth vs. Space

9/26/2008 – On Monday, September 29 Greg Chamitoff, travelling 210 miles above the earth at five miles a second, will challenge team earth to a ground-breaking Space Match. It is a unique event, pitting the International Space Station astronaut against the residents of Earth, guided by a team of schoolchildren. Rate of play is one move per day. Press release.

The world crown eludes Humpy – again

9/25/2008 – The 22-year-old Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, rated 2622, is the second strongest female player in the history of chess. In this year's Women's World Championship she cruised through to the semi-finals and was then eliminated by 14-year-old Chinese wonder girl Hou Yifan. What went wrong? Manisha Mohite analyses the situation around Humpy and offers explanations. Sify report.

The Milov vs. Rybka Handicap Match

9/24/2008 – The chess program Rybka has played a number of handicap matches against titled players, but never before one against a 2700+ player. Last week it got an opportunity against Vadim Milov, playing two regular games, two with pawn and move handicap and four with exchange odds. It was a well-matched battle, instructive for both the programmers and the Super-GM. Larry Kaufman reports.

Learning from the young Keres and Smyslov

9/24/2008 – In 1939 neither the legendary Paul Keres, 23, nor the future World Champion Vassily Smyslov, 18, were obviously at their prime, but they were already very strong and great battlers. In our Wednesday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos takes a look at an encounter which starts with a low-tech opening but develops into a firework of attacking brilliance. Wed. night, free of charge.

Fifth China vs Russia Match in Ningpo

9/24/2008 – Ningpo or Ningbō is a provincial Chinese city – populated by over two million and covering an area of over 6000 square kilometres. It is playing host to a traditional China vs Russia match, which this year is going in favour of the Eastern players. After the five rounds of regular chess (rapid and blitz are to follow) the score is 26:24 points – thanks to the Russian girls. Pictorial report.

Get into the mood for Anand vs. Kramnik

9/23/2008 – It is 21 days to go for the start of the long awaited World Championship match. While tension is rising you should not miss getting to know the champion and his challenger in person. While Kramnik recorded his famous DVD 'My Path to the Top' at the end of 2007, Anand just recently made two DVDs, also in the Fritz Trainer format. Buy Vishy's 'My Career vol 1 and 2' now or read this review.

Like to get some sun this winter?

9/23/2008 – One of the quirks of living on the surface of a tilted sphere is opposite seasons. When it is cold, dark and damp in the Northern Hemisphere, the southern half is enjoying balmy weather, with the denizens engaging in activities such as mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, skydiving and river safaris in jet boats. You can join them and play chess as well. The Queenstown Open is in January.

NSK DDOR Novi Sad wins Serbian League

9/22/2008 – The Serbian Chess League took place in Subotica, from September 1 to 12, 2008. Fifty-one participating grandmasters make it one of the world’s strongest leagues. The well deserved victory went to NSK DDOR from Novi Sad. Second was Beograd Beopublikum, which chould not catch Novi Sad in spite of a 6/10 result and 2704 performance by Arkadij Naiditsch. Report and games.

Bilbao Masters: photographic impressions by Fred Lucas

9/21/2008 – We turn, as in the past, from the digicam journalists who swarm around chess events to the professionals who take their work very seriously, composing, framing, cropping, colour-correcting their high-quality pictures, and producing aesthetically pleasing visual feasts. Our friend and teacher Fred Lucas was at the Chess Masters in Bilbao and has provided us with his take on the event. Enjoy.

Kampf der Könige – Fighting For The Crown

9/20/2008 – Just 23 days, 20 hours, 37 minutes and 06 seconds left (at the time of writing) for the start of the World Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn, Germany. For those of you who can barely wait there is a chess quiz on the official site; an opportunity to buy premium tickets for the live online coverage; and a chess film on DVD with spectacular chess visuals.

EU Individual Championships: Jan Werle wins

9/19/2008 – The European Championship in Liverpool, England, with 141 players and a prize fund of 30,000 pounds, was won by the young Dutch grandmaster Jan Werle, half a point ahead of a trio consisting of Czech GM Viktor Laznicka and the top Brits Michael Adams and Nigel Short (who lost one game by ringtone). The reporting on the tournament site was exceptional. Big pictorial wrapup.

Frank Marshall's contribution to chess

9/17/2008 – If you're a 1.e4 e5 player you will want to tune in to our Wednesday night Playchess lecture. Dennis Monokroussos takes a special look at one of the first great American players, Frank Marshall, whose fame continues until today on account of his Ruy Lopez gambit. The game is from the World Championship match against Emanuel Lasker in 1907. Very instructive.

Nalchik: Alexandra Kosteniuk is Women's World Champion

9/17/2008 – The Russian GM drew the fourth game against the 14-year-old Chinese wondergirl Hou Yifan to win the final of the Women's World Championship with a 2.5:1.5 score. In the final game Alexandra Kosteniuk was winning but played it safe and drew with a perpetual check. We bring you a final pictorial report from Nalchik with a special section of the actors in the background. Beautiful people.

Bilbao R10: Topalov wins Bilbao, leads in live rankings

9/16/2008 – Veselin Topalov won his final game in Bilbao against Vassily Ivanchuk in fine style, securing first place by a big margin and advancing to number one in the world in the unofficial live rankings. Teimour Radjabov beat Levon Aronian with the black pieces, putting Magnus Carlsen in second place according to the Bilbao system. Anand was a shocking last. Big pictorial report.

Nalchik Final: Kosteniuk leads 2:1, needs just a draw

9/16/2008 – The third game of the Women's World Championship Final was a tough, 72-move draw. That left the Russian GM Alexandra Kosteniuk in the lead with 2:1 points. On Wednesday the 14-year-old Chinese has to win with black in the last game to force a tiebreak. Kosteniuk can pick up the title with a draw. The game starts at 15:00h local time (GMT +3). You can watch it on the Playchess server.

Ctrl C and Ctrl V – Cut and Paste

9/16/2008 – Have you ever seen the gamescore of a chess game on a web page somewhere and wish you could somehow just copy it right into ChessBase, replay and save it? The fact is that you can – and it is easier than you think. We show you how this extremely useful function works in the new ChessBase Workshop.

Nalchik Final: Kosteniuk leads, miracle save by Hou

9/15/2008 – In the first of the four-game final of the Women's World Championship Russian GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, playing with the black pieces, scored a very convincing victory over her Chinese opponent. In the second game Kosteniuk had four pawns against Hou's one in a rook ending, but the 14-year-old was able to pull off a miracle save. The score is now 1.5:0.5 for Kosteniuk. Report from Nalchik.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (9)

9/13/2008 – The Editor of Chess Notes recalls some of the longest chess combinations ever played, focussing on the old-timers, including the trio of world champions Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine. There are instances of the winner seeing 10, 12 or 15 moves ahead, and readers will certainly marvel at these over-the-board exploits.

Chessboxing in London’s East End

9/12/2008 – The UK’s first chessboxing extravaganza kicked off on a sultry summer’s night on 15 August in the East End of London. Famous for Jack the Ripper, Pearly Kings and Queens, and 1960’s gangsters, the area is now the hub of a vibrant night scene. Rajko Vujatovic gives his inside account as chess arbiter on the night, whilst Tim Woolgar offers a unique first hand report of his debut chessboxing bout.

Nalchik R5: 14-year-old Hou Yifan in the final

9/12/2008 – Facing the top seed GM Koneru Humpy of India in the Women's World Championship the young Chinese super-talent proved to have the better nerves. After winning the first rapid chess game she lost the second, but then in the blitz playoff it was Hou all the way. With two wins in succession she reached the final and will play Russian GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. Full illustrated report.

Bilbao R9: all games drawn, Topalov leads

9/12/2008 – Anand vs Topalov was a Caro-Kann, with unambitious play by the World Champion, who seemed satisfied with a draw-and-nothing-more. Radjabov vs Carlsen was a tough fight that ended in a 53-move draw. Ivanchuk vs Aronian saw the Ukrainian achieve a winnable position and then spoil it to a draw in time trouble. Note: the final round begins on Saturday at 4 p.m. local time. Illustrated report.