Solutions to chess problems and astronomical dilemmas

11/9/2007 – Recently John Nunn, retired world-class grandmaster, won the 31st World Championship for problem solvers. In our report we showed you some sample problems – today we provide the solutions. John is also an amateur astronomer, who owns a 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. He sent us some pictures he took with a normal digital camera. They include the moon and an exploding comet.

Five out of five

11/9/2007 – Repertoire DVDs go fast. Especially when they cover a wide range of variations. Nigel Davies' new course '1...d6 Universal' along with his previous Pirc DVD is a powerful prototype learning instrument, for with only these two DVDs you can let White play just everything. FM Carsten Hansen in his monthly Chess Cafe column gave it his top evaluation. Buy it now or read more.

Ponomariov leads in Champions League

11/8/2007 – It was Judit Polgar who broke the spell of the two leaders – by beating former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov with the black pieces in the fourth round (after beating another former FIDE champion, Rustam Kasimdzhanov with the black pieces a round earlier). Meanwhile Ruslan Ponomariov coasted to sole first with his two black piece victories. Illustrated report.

34th Women’s National Championship of India

11/8/2007 – This event sees the cream of Indian women's chess battling it out in Puna. Top seed Dronavalli Harika, rated 2480, is the overall number 15 player in the country, Nisha Mohota, 2416, and Tania Sachdev, 2413 follow close behind. The three top players will represent India at the next Olympiad. Pictorial report.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure

11/8/2007 – Some people find the typical household chore of taking out the garbage annoying, but in chess it’s a real pleasure facing and taking out the opponent’s garbage openings. In his Thursday night Playchess lecture, Dennis Monokroussos scrapes the bottom of the barrel and targets what he considers may be the worst opening in chess: the Latvian Gambit.

Chess, football and the Bilbao Rule

11/8/2007 – The discussion and the search for remedies for the perceived problem of short draws in chess continues. Josu Fernández, a Spanish organiser, sent us a report on the effects of the Bilbao 3-1-0 system on the football league in his country, and on what this means for chess. Other readers too have submitted thoughful papers on the subject. Again, it is a long interesting read.

ETCC: Russia are European men's and women's team champions

11/7/2007 – The men had already clinched it one round before the end, and on the final day the women's team joined them by scoring two match points more than their nearest rivals (the men were three points ahead of the field). The best player of the tournament was Peter Svidler who scored 6/7 on board one for Russia, with a performance of 2989. Report with pictures, results and games.

ETCC: Russia leads in both men's and women's section

11/6/2007 – Actually the men are through, with a three-point lead before the final round they cannot be caught. But at least they were forced to concede their first draw, against Spain, led by the volatile Alexei Shirov, who defeated Alexander Morozevich. In the women's section Poland suffered a first defeat, while Russia won their match to take a two-point lead. Pictures, results and games.

Anand blasts FIDE's 'political patronage' of Kramnik

11/6/2007 – Gentlemen, let the hostilities begin. After Vladimir Kramnik passed some disparaging remarks about Vishy Anand's world championship win ("I have lent Anand the crown") in an Izvestia interview, the Indian star strikes back in a national newspaper, saying Kramnik's arguments were based on mere technicalities. Anand also reveals that he may soon move back to India. Hindustan Times stories.

The Bilbao Draw – feedback from our readers

11/6/2007 – In a recent article one of our readers analysed the system used in the recent Bilbao tournament, which awarded three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a defeat. Ron Dorfman came to the conclusion that this does not prevent short draw but may in fact encourage collusion amongst player. A lot of our readers disagree, and many have proposed profound alternatives. Long, interesting read.

What is indispensability?

11/5/2007 – Imagine a training DVD with the perhaps best chess player in history, explaining you the main line in the nowadays most-played opening. Well, you need no imagination here, it is Kasparov's DVD on the Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be3. Even if you play neither 1.e4 nor 1...c5 you will learn a lot in this five hours video course. "Absolutely", says Bob Long. Buy How to Play the Najdorf #3 or read his review.

ETCC: The Unstoppables win again

11/4/2007 – Russia continues to dominate the European Team Championship, beating Israel 3:1 to keep their clean 6-0 match tally and the lead in the table. Peter Svidler on board one has now scored 4.5/5 points with an Elo performance of over 3000. Way to go, Pyotr! In the women's section Poland "suffered" another draw while Russia won to catch them at the top of the table. Round six report.

Topalov tricks Kasimdzhanov with a Trojan Horse

11/4/2007 – Two former FIDE world champions clashed at the Chess Champions League in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain. The ever flamboyant Veselin Topalov permitted his opponent to take a pawn, but in return he had the initiative that ended up being decisive. Judit Polgar drew Anatoly Karpov, while late replacment Nisipeanu held his own against Ponomariov. On the side we saw a bunch of chess pieces having fun.

ETCC: Russia take a three-point lead

11/4/2007 – In round seven Russia beat France by 2.5:1.5, the seventh match victory in succession. With its closest rivals, Slovenia, losing to Armenia this meant that with two rounds to go the Russian team has a solid three-point lead, with Armenia now being in second place. In the women's section both Poland and Russia won, and thus remain in the lead. Report with pictures, results and games.

Hikaru Nakamura wins Corsican Circuit 2007

11/3/2007 – After winning the Magistral D'Escacs in Barcelona 19-year-old American GM Hikaru Nakamura continued his European rampage, winning the Corsican Circuit rapid chess tournament ahead of Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Anatoly Karpov, Evgeny Bareev and Loek van Wely. 95 players participated in the preliminaries, 16 in the knockout finals. We bring you all results and games.

Chess Champions League – benefit in Vitoria Gasteiz

11/3/2007 – Four former world champions – Karpov, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov – plus Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, who jumped in for the ill Alexander Khalifman, and Judit Polgar, are taking part in a double round robin in Spain. All proceeds from this event go to a hospital in Mbuji-Mayi, one of the poorest regions in Congo. In round one there were two black victories. Report and games.

John Nunn wins World Chess Problem Solving Championship

11/3/2007 – At 52 John Nunn, once a world-class player, has retired from competitive chess. He is now one of the directors of Gambit Publications, which produces some of the finest chess books in the world, and an amateur astronomer. John is also a chess problem expert and took part in the 31st World Championship for solvers, winning with an incredible 89/90 points. Report and sample problems.

Vladmir Kramnik: 'I have lent Anand the crown'

11/2/2007 – "Я одолжил Ананду чемпионскую корону на время" is exactly what he said, the former World Champion, who in September lost the title he had held for seven years to India's Vishy Anand. Next year, probably in September, Kramnik gets to play a match against Anand. "If I lose that, I will accept completely the fact that I have lost the title, but right now, I have no such feelings." Izvestia interview.

Middlegame and endgame training

11/2/2007 – Not all ChessBase training DVDs concern themselves exclusively with the opening -- quite a few tackle the middlegame and endgame as their topics. Our ChessBase Workshop columnist peeks inside the DVD cases to provide you with a glimpse of what you'll find on recent releases by Adrian Mikhalchishin and Karsten Mueller. Read all about it in the latest Workshop.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (18)

11/1/2007 – An apparent missed mate in one at the 1936 Munich Olympiad; an enigma regarding two Fox brilliancies; the origins of the Swiss System; an untraceable painting of Staunton; the strange case of the prodigy Birdie Reeve. These and other mysteries are discussed in a further selection from Chess Notes. Readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

ETCC: Russia routs Azerbaijan to take sole lead

11/1/2007 – Round five of the European Team Championship saw the two leading teams pitted against each other. Russia came out of this summit with a 3.5:0.5 victory, with Svidler, Morozevich and Axekseev beating Mamedyarov, Radjabov and Guseinov. Ukraine drew France after a blackout by Ivanchuk. In the women's section Poland remained in the lead after drawing Russia. Results, tables and games.

Halloween special: the worst in chess

10/31/2007 – Normally, in his Thursday night Playchess lecture, Dennis Monokroussos celebrates spectacular, brilliant and instructive games in chess. But in the spirit of the season this week we take a perverse pleasure in the worst of chess, especially when it’s the world’s best who are the victims. Think you messed up last week at the club? You’ve got nothing on these guys. Nine p.m. ET.

ETCC: Russia, Azerbaijan lead, Poland heads women's section

10/31/2007 – In round four of the European Team Championship Russia beat Slovenia and Azerbaijan the Netherlands, which meant that the latter teams dropped out of the top group, which is now occupied by Russia and Azerbaijan. In the women's section Poland beat France while Russia and Hungary drew their encounter. Poland leads. Results, tables and games.

ETCC: Seven teams with maximum board points

10/31/2007 – After three rounds of the European Team Championship in Crete, Greece four teams are left in the men's section with the maximum of six board points: Slovenia, Azerbaidjan, Netherlands and Russia. In the women's section it is three teams: Hungary, Poland and Russia. We bring you full results, tables and games.