Clean Tricks and creative attacks

6/5/2008 – As Sean Marsh puts it on his review of two of Nigel Davies' new Fritz Trainer DVDs, the British GM is a "club player's friend, forever imparting sensible and useful information." While his "1.e4 Creative Attacker" comes with a full surprise repertoire, "Chess for Scoundrels" will tell you more about psychology in chess than you may have dreamed of. Buy them now or read this review with samplers.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 6

6/5/2008 – In Part Six of his ChessBase Workshop series on configuring Fritz, Steve Lopez solves one of the biggest mysteries concerning the software: what do the "Tournament" settings under the "Options" tab control? The veil is lifted in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Magnus at 15 – visions of Karpov and Petrosian

6/4/2008 – We all know that 17-year-old Magnus Carlsen, with his ridiculous 2765 rating, is an extraordinary talent. Take a look at his performance at 15, when he outplayed an experienced Swedish GM easily and completely in a drawish position – as if he had left the board and been replaced by Karpov or Petrosian, says our Wednesday night Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos. Details on the server.

Miskolc: Carlsen wins the rapid chess match 5:3

6/3/2008 – Game seven was make-or-break for Peter Leko, and things looked quite promising for the Hungarian GM. But on move 42 he faltered badly, and Magnus Carlsen lashed out with a crushing win. In the final game the young Norwegian was never in danger and drew in 27 moves. He finished with a two-point overall victory. Illustrated report with GM analysis.

Morozevich decelerates, finishes Sarajevo with 1.5 point lead

6/3/2008 – After seven rounds Morozevich had scored 6.0 points, and a performance of 2987. He was on track to becoming number two in the world – theoretically he could have even overtaken Anand to occupy the number one slot. But then came three draws and the uberflieger settled for a third place in the next FIDE rating list. Results, games and rankings.

Four-way tie for first in Odessa Rapid

6/3/2008 – Four players – Tregubov, Drozdovskij, Gelfand and Ponomariov – finished the double-round rapid chess Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup in Odessa, Ukraine, with 9.0/14 points. Pavel Tregubov took possession of the winner's cup on tiebreak points. The most poignant game of the tournament was between arch rivals Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi. Big pictorial report.

Ivanchuk beats Anand in León Rapid final 2.5:1.5

6/2/2008 – Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk overcame World Champion Vishy Anand in the final of the XXI Magistral Ciudad de León. Both players won their first games, with black, the third was drawn, and then Anand blundered a move transposition and resigned after 16 moves. It was the first time ever that he did not win this tournament. Illustrated report by GM Zenón Franco Ocampos.

Alexei Shirov replies to Gata Kamsky

6/2/2008 – Last week Alexei Shirov published a press release asking FIDE to resolve the crisis surrounding the special Challengers' Match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov. Kamsky's representative replied, and then FIDE came up with a decision on the venue in Lvov, Ukraine. "This is exactly what I wanted with my press release five days ago," says Shirov in his new press release.

The manager – Carsten Hensel turns 50

6/2/2008 – He looks after the interests of two of the world's top grandmasters: Peter Leko and Vladimir Kramnik. Professionally he studied law and psychology, became involved in sports event management, started to concentrate on chess and then landed where he is today. The rapid chess matches in Miskolc are largely his doing. Today is Carsten's fiftieth birthday. Interview by Diana Mihajlova.

Tweaking Fritz - PART 5

6/2/2008 – The "Training" and "Engine" tabs are the subject of the latest installment in our ChessBase Workshop series on Fritz11 – and this column contains the answer to one of the most frequently asked questions regarding configuring Fritz. You won't want to miss the latest workshop column.

Morozevich approaches escape velocity in Sarajevo

6/1/2008 – After eight out of ten rounds of the six-player double round robin category 18 tournament – average Elo 2694 – in Bosnia Alexander Morozevich is in the lead with 6.5/8 ("plus five"). What does this mean? His performance is 2933 and in the next rating list he will advance to number two in the world. With wins in the last two rounds he could even go after Anand's pole position. Report and games.

Ivanchuk through to the final against Anand

6/1/2008 – The second semifinal of the rapid chess event in León ended in victory for Vassily Ivanchuk. The Ukrainian grandmaster defeated Alexei Shirov of Spain 3-1, virtually settling the outcome in the first two games, which he won. In game three Shirov came very close to narrowing the gap, but overlooked a clear win to draw. The final Anand-Ivanchuk will take place on Sunday. Illustrated report.

Miskolc: Leko narrowly fails to equalise

6/1/2008 – Two exciting draws in the Rapid Chess match in Hungary. Once again local hero Peter Leko had the audience in the National Theatre trembling with anticipation of a white-piece win over Norway's Magnus Carlsen. But once again victory narrowly eluded him, to the anguish of the public. Commentary by GM Zoltán Gyimesi and a new form of pictorial visualisation of the games. Take a look.

Ilyumzhinov guarantees Topalov-Kamsky match in Lvov

6/1/2008 – After a great deal of international bickering the matter is now settled: the special Challengers Match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov will take place between November 26th and December 14th 2008 in Lvov, Ukraine. This has just been announced by FIDE, with President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov guaranteeing the organiser’s offer of US $750,000 with his personal finances. Press release.

Kamsky answers: I intend to play against Veselin Topalov

5/31/2008 – Yesterday Alexei Shirov published a statement stating that since the World Cup winner, Gata Kamsky, did not wish to play the special candidates match against Topalov in Bulgaria he should forthwith be replaced by runner-up Shirov. Today we received a message from Kamsky's representative repudiating these "disturbing rumours being spread by Shirov". Press statement and latest news.

People and players in Miskolc

5/31/2008 – Halftime at the rapid chess match in Miskolc, Hungary. A good time to step back and take a look at the players. Not just the ones moving the pieces, but those accompanying them. People in the background who made this exciting event possible. Who are responsible for it running smoothly. And those who make the journey to Miskolc to enjoy the chess. Impressions by Diana Mihajlova.

Short leads in Bazna, Mecking and Portisch follow

5/31/2008 – Nigel Short, former World Championship finalist, is leading the Bazna tournament in Romania, with 5.0/7 and a 2735 performance. But we are especially interested to watch the progress of former child prodigy and world-class grandmaster Henrique Mecking of Brazil. He has recovered from serious illness and is playing, in his own words, with divine assistance. Report and games.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (2)

5/31/2008 – Josef Krejcik was just one of the figures from the past who caused difficulties for many entrants in the Chess Explorations quiz we published two weeks ago. Here the Editor of Chess Notes presents, with much background information (and, to clarify one tricky position, some analysis specially contributed by Yasser Seirawan), the solutions to the first four positions.

Anand wins first semifinal of León Rapid

5/30/2008 – The XXI Magistral Ciudad de León rapid chess match started today, with four players competing: Vishy Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexei Shirov and Francisco Vallejo. The first semifinal over four games between Anand and Vallejo ended in a 2-2 tie, so that blitz tie-break games were required. Anand won the first and accepted a draw offer in the second in a totally won position. Illustrated report.

Karpov and Korchnoi in 4th Pivdenny Bank Cup

5/30/2008 – A rare sight: arch rivals Anatoly Karpov, 57, twelfth World Champion, and his three-time challenger Viktor Korchnoi, 77, both in the same event. It is a category 15 tournament being staged in Odessa, Ukraine. After five rounds Yuri Drozdovskij and Ruslan Ponomariov are in the lead with 4.0/5 points, while Karpov and Korchnoi have 1.5/5 each. The draw average is just 35%. Big pictorial report.

Miskolc: First two games drawn

5/29/2008 – The first round of the Miskolc Rapid Chess tournament began with a fast and furious first game, which ended after 36 moves in a draw. After a short pause the second game was started, and this ended in a slightly anticlimatic 18-move draw. The games are being analysed in real time for the public by two chess experts, one of whom has provided us with his notes: commentary by GM Zoltán Gyimesi.

Shirov's press release

5/29/2008 – After numerous extensions of the deadline for bids to stage the special Challengers Match between Gata Kamsky and Veselin Topalov FIDE is now faced with a demand by the next-in-line player to have a chance. Alexei Shirov is willing to play in Bulgaria, something Kamsky balked at. "According to the match regulations he should be replaced by me in this case," Shirov says. Press release.

Don't miss what you may lack

5/29/2008 – The latest issue of ChessBase Magazine focusses on the newest trends in opening theory, from more than one angle, so to say: several top-class games are analysed by stars like Anand, Radjabov and Aronian. Moreover, opening experts examine lines such as the Modern Alekhine with 5...c6, the reloaded Jaenisch Gambit, or new ideas in the Sicilian Dragon. Buy it now or read more.

Miskolc: Carlsen draws first blood

5/29/2008 – An exciting day: game three of the rapid chess match saw Peter Leko attacking, allowing a repetition, which was not claimed, and then missing a clear win to draw after 96 gruelling moves. In the second game it was Magnus Carlsen who did the attacking, and he was able to win in 58 moves, after Leko missed some drawing chances. Full report with special commentary by GM Zoltán Gyimesi.