In Memoriam – Georgy Agzamov

4/19/2007 – He was the first ever Uzbek, and thus arguably the first ever Asian grandmaster. Born in 1954 Georgy Agzamov was not just a strong player – the nightmare of top GMs – he was also a great ambassador for chess. At the age of 32 Georgy died in a mountaineering accident. In March a memorial tournament was held for him in Taskent. Spectacular photo report by Jamshid Begmatov.

EURO 2007: Tiebreaks and reverbrations in Dresden

4/18/2007 – The Eighth European Championship, with 550 participants and 184 GMs, ended in a seven-way tie for first and, below them, 37 players with 7.5/11 contending for places in the FIDE World Cup. The final day saw all the tense tiebreaks played out in the Congress Center. The organizers provided us with statistics, some player with protests and our Playchess Sysop with tiebreak games for our final report.

Andrew Martin: Too much information

4/16/2007 – In this week's Playchess radio show, which starts at 21:00h European time, IM Andrew Martin starts off with four product reviews, but then proceeds to the chess at the European Championship in Dresden and in Kazakhstan: a novelty by Nisipeanu, a crunch by Tkachiev, and then, to round things off, a cool win by Sadvakasov. Come and enjoy.

ChessBase and Correspondence chess -- part 6

4/16/2007 – Our ongoing series on ChessBase and correspondence chess continues with an overview of the important points covered in the series' first several installments; think of it as a checklist you should use when starting a new correspondence chess game. Read the details in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

Worldwide condemnation of Kasparov's arrest

4/15/2007 – The detention of the head of the Russian United Civil Front opposition organization, Garry Kasparov, has made the news in almost every Western TV channel, and is reported in all major news agencies and newspapers. Sky TV has put a video report on their web site, and the Kasparov.ru web site provided dramatic pictures. Impressions from Moscow.

EURO 2007: Tkachiev and Kosintseva win European Championship

4/15/2007 – Seven players tied for first, and in the playoff it was Vladislav Tkachiev, born in Moscow, raised in Kazakhstan, living in France, who took the Championship title. In the women's section Tatiana Kosintseva had already secured victory after ten rounds. She won the title two full points ahead of the field. Sergey Karjakin, a top players on Playchess.com, won the EURO Blitz. Final results and games.

Kasparov arrested in Moscow, now freed

4/14/2007 – Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who heads the United Civil Front opposition organization against the Putin government, was trying to attend an oppositional protest rally at Pushkin Square. The government had mobilised 9,000 police to block the march. Update: Kasparov released close to midnight Moscow time after 10 hours of detention. Breaking news.

EURO 2007: Volokitin and Tatiana Kosintseva lead

4/13/2007 – 20-year-old Andrei Volokitin of Ukrain continues to lead the European Individual Championships in Dresden with a 2818 performance, with 21 players breathing down his neck, half a point behind. In the women's section Tatiana Kosintseva has increased her lead to a full point, with a 2742 performance. The action in Dresden is followed by an orange-nosed mascot named Chessy.

Vassily Smyslov, genius of the endgame

4/12/2007 – The seventh world champion was universally talented, but in the endgame he often took decisions of staggering depth. In his Thursday night lecture our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos shows us how Smyslov transformed an endgame position that looked slightly worse into one that was dynamic, dangerous for his opponent and then won – all in just 32 moves. Be there and learn.

Match of the Chess Legends – Portisch vs Spassky

4/12/2007 – This weekend two great names in chess, Lajos Portisch of Hungary and Boris Spassky of Russia, meet in a rapid chess match in the beautiful spa town of Hévíz in Hungary. Both have just completed 70 years, Spassky in January, Portisch last Wednesday. We use this opportunity to belatedly congratulate the new septuagenarian and look back at his illustrious career.

Gata Kamsky wins Foxwoods Open

4/11/2007 – This US Swiss tournament is quite extraordinary, especially to European minds: it is held in the world's biggest casino, the entry fees range from $100 to $300, the prize fund is unclear until all participants have registered (but is guaranteed for $100,000), and the players must bring their own clocks. Top US grandmaster Gata Kamsky won first prize in a blitz tiebreak against Zviad Izoria. Report.

León 2007 with four world champions

4/11/2007 – Five really, since Boris Spassky, the 10th world champion in chess history, will be present as a guest of honour. Four will be participating in the rapid chess tournament, which takes place from July 4–9 in León, Spain: Vishy Anand, Veselin Topalov, Ruslan Ponomariov and Rustam Kasimdzhanov. They play semifinals and finals, with time controls of 20m + 10s. Put it on your calendar.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (4)

4/10/2007 – What would have happened if the score of the 1927 Capablanca v Alekhine match had reached 5-5? Would the contest have been declared drawn? The affair has been examined in depth in Chess Notes. Here chess historian Edward Winter sifts and summarizes the key evidence. There is also the strange case of a fake photograph of the two masters. Join the investigation.

Anand number one in the news

4/10/2007 – After winning Linares and being elevated to Number One in the FIDE rankings Vishy Anand has dominated the chess news, especially in his home country of India. In recent interviews he has spoken about his success, milestones in his life and career, his faith, his colleagues, and about how he thought, during a league game on April 1st, that some prankster was pulling a fast one on him.

Andrew Martin interviews GM Karsten Müller

4/9/2007 – This Wednesday's Playchess radio show by IM Andrew Martin comes to you at at 15:00h CET, directly from the ChessBase studios in Hamburg. It features an interview with GM Karsten Muller, who, as ChessBase Magazine readers will know, is recognized worldwide one of the leading endgame specialists. You are also treated to the solution of last week's incredible puzzle.

Shirov wins Cañada de Calatrava Rapid and Fischer

4/9/2007 – The 2nd Chess Festival 'Villa Cañada de Calatrava', which was held from April 6th to 8th Spain, consisted of three tournaments: Rapid, Fischer Random and Blitz. The first two were won by Alexei Shirov, the last by perennial Vassily Ivanchuk. The total prize fund was 90,000 Euros. So it was a happy Easter for Alexei.

ChessBase and Correspondence chess -- part 5

4/9/2007 – Our ongoing series of ChessBase Workshop columns pertaining to the use of ChessBase as a correspondence chess tool continues with a look at the creation of opening trees. You can learn the three methods of tree creation in the latest column. Workshop...

EURO 2007: Tatiana Kosintseva scores 6/6 in the womens

4/8/2007 – After leading with 4.5 in the first five rounds young Ukrainian grandmaster Andrei Volokitin drew his round six games and was promptly caught by four colleagues. In the women's section IM Tatiana Kosintseva, who will turn 21 next Wednesday, has won all six games to lead the field by a full point. We bring you the standings and games.

Production of Lasker trainer cancelled

4/7/2007 – On April 1st we reported that ChessBase was planning a new Fritz Trainer DVD, using 1924 film footage shot with Emanuel Lasker. It turns out that this was a cruel hoax by members of our staff who were following a pagan tradition known as "April Fool". At the same time some serious news regarding the FIDE ratings was misidentified by our readers as the intended prank. Retractions.

Bulgarian Chess Federation supports Topalov

4/6/2007 – Today Stefan Sergiev, the director of the Bulgarian Chess Federation, sent a message to FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov decrying the decisions of the World Chess Federation to turn down a $2 million match offer, to change the cycle of the world championship, and to move the candidate matches to an earlier date, and to change the April rating list in reaction to external pressure. Open letter.

Robert Byrne and the English Attack

4/5/2007 – He has chalked up wins over Bronstein, Reshevsky, Smyslov and Fischer. But NYT chess columnist Robert Byrne is probably best known for his contributions to openings theory. Like the English Attack, which he introduced into tournament play long before Nunn, Short, and Chandler were hammering people to bits with it. Tonight our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos tells the story.

EURO 2007: Pictures, games, impressions from Dresden

4/5/2007 – The first two rounds of the 8th Individual European Chess Championships brought a few upsets and some technical glitches – not surprising when you are trying to handle over 600 participants. We bring you results and as many games as have become available. Together with a impressions of Dresden, the venue and the tournament itself in a big pictorial report.

9 of 10 for King on Pawns

4/5/2007 – F or h-pawn – this is often the question when you start an attack against your opponent's king. A simple decision? Believe it or not, Daniel King spent a whole DVD answering it. In his review Michael Jeffreys confesses that he underestimated the "loads of subtle but important ideas that you MUST be aware of" before you take your decision. Buy Danial King's Pawn storm DVD or read the full review.

Andrew Martin: Bundesliga Special

4/4/2007 – How do they do it? This is the question we ask in England as we look in envy at the powerful Bundesliga weekends. Plenty of sponsors, excellent conditions, great players, great games.... one cannot really ask for more. So, this week's Playchess radio show pays homage to the strongest league in the world with three games from the latest bonanza.