Mexico R09: Morozevich beats Kramnik, Anand leads

9/24/2007 – It was quite a shocker, first with Alexander Morozevich beating Vladimir Kramnik to relegate the world champion to fifth place; and then, late in the evening, Alexander Grischuk, who had lost his previous two games, bounced back with a victory over Boris Gelfand. This left Vishy Anand, who drew against Aronian, with a one-point lead on the table. Express report.

Mexico World Championship: a walk around the city

9/24/2007 – Visiting the chess championship is exciting, but it also affords us an opportunity to see and experience a vibrant city, whose population of 19.2 million make it the largest in the western hemisphere and the second largest in the world. Mexico City is also a place filled with the remains of ancient civilizations and historical events. Here is the first edition of our Mexico journal.

Mexico: GM Mihail Marin annotates round eight

9/23/2007 – Despite the relatively early draw, Svidler-Kramnik featured rich strategic content. Morozevich tried to remount the variation that led him to defeat against Gelfand, and failed, but was helped by Aronian's imprecise play that led to a draw. Gelfand-Anand was also drawn without too much fight. Leko's win with White against Grischuk was a rather one-sided affair. Analysis and videos.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (15)

9/23/2007 – Chess books repackaged as camouflage in Nazi Germany. Numerous contradictions regarding a four-move game. The chess encyclopaedia that never was. Quotes strangely attributed to Spielmann and Capablanca. These and other mysteries are discussed in the latest selection from Chess Notes. Readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

The Match of his Life – Kasparov on 60 Minutes

9/23/2007 – If you receive CBS News, you can see a report on former world champion and current Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov, who comes on tonight (Sunday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. ET/PT) – after a segment in which the Iranian President Ahmadinejad addresses controversies regarding his country's alleged assistance to Iraqi insurgents and his intentions to visit ground zero. Catch it if you can.

Time pressure (and other maladies) - part 2

9/22/2007 – In the previous ChessBase Workshop column we introduced the idea of "beating oneself", based upon those little self-doubting psychological quirks from which some players suffer and which can really hurt one's chess results. This time our Workshop delves into the world of psychology again in this week's column, with a look at "rating envy" and how to combat it with the help of Fritz.

Mexico R08: Gelfand-Anand drawn, Leko beats Grischuk

9/22/2007 – The duel of the leaders, Gelfand vs Anand, ended in a draw, which left Anand still in the lead in the world championship in Mexico. Peter Leko defeated Alexander Grischuk to get to 50% and move to fourth place on the table. The other two games were drawn. Saturday is a free day. Express report from Mexico.

GM commentary: Mihail Marin on round seven

9/21/2007 – Morozevich-Leko ended in a draw after a long but relatively uneventful struggle. Leko missed his chance to complicate the fight by accepting a piece sacrifice. Svidler-Aronian could not question the peaceful reputation of the Exchange Ruy Lopez. Kramnik-Gelfand was a typical Anti-Moscow variation of the Semi-Slav. Anand won a fine positional game against Grischuk. Commentary and video.

Mexico R07: Anand beats Grischuk, takes sole lead

9/21/2007 – Vishy Anand, the hightest ranked player, defeated Alexander Grischuk in a remarkably exciting game. Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand drew their encounter, which left Anand in the sole lead at half time, with a 2900+ performance and half a point ahead of the field. Full analysis will follow tomorrow, for now we bring you an express report with the games, results and lots of pictures.

Women in Chess – a matter of opinion

9/21/2007 – The recently ended International Women's Chess Tournament in Baku was a great success, with sponsors and organisers promising further such tournaments in the future. Our reporter Zahir Ahmadov used the opportunity to conduct an informal questionnaire on the state of women's chess: are men better at the game, and if so why. Interesting reactions.

GM Mihail Marin annotates the round five games

9/20/2007 – Anand managed to neutralize Svidler's initiative in the Marshall Attack, then initiated a queenside diversion, which led to a winning attack on the opposite wing. Grischuk elegantly refuted Morozevich' strategically over-ambitious opening plan. Gelfand came up with a new plan that yielded him a favourable version of the Benoni against Aronian. Comments by GM Marin and videos by Vijay Kumar.

Carlsen’s school wins Nordic School Team Championship

9/20/2007 – The Nordic Championship for Gymnasium School Chess Teams was held in Lund, Sweden, 7-9 September. The Norwegian top athletic gymnasium NTG Bærum won with half a point margin. GM Magnus Carlsen and IM Jon Ludvig Hammer are students on the school, but no one of them participated. Report.

Mexico R06: Gelfand beats Morozevich, joins Anand in the lead

9/20/2007 – The two oldest players in this tournament are in the lead. Israeli GM Boris Gelfand, 39, beat Alexander Morozevich, 30, to join Vishy Anand, 38, in the lead at the World Championship in Mexico. The other games were drawn. Vladimir Kramnik, 32, and Alexander Grischuk, 23, are half a point behind. Illustrated report with games, results and lots of new pictures.

GM Mihail Marin comments round six games

9/20/2007 – Gelfand-Morozevich featured an interesting confrontation of different styles. White's advantage of space and initiative prevailed over Black's stability on dark squares. Grischuk sacrificed two pawns against Svidler and got a dangerous attack. After a far from obvious mistake from Svidler, he could have won with a simple manoeuvre. Instead, he only obtained a draw by perpetual. Comments.

Mexico R05: Anand, Grischuk and Gelfand win

9/19/2007 – We have made our way to Mexico, successful on our second day of trying. We arrived late in the evening, to learn that Anand had beaten Svidler to take the sole lead; Gelfand had beaten Aronian, who does not appear to be quite well, and Leko vs Kramnik had ended in a draw. We bring you the games and results, together with first impressions after our arrival in Mexico.

Russian Paul and Little Daddy – the NYC chess scene

9/18/2007 – September is a time of rebirth for chess. With schools back in session, students are returning to their chess clubs. Some of those students may be dreaming of vying for the title, now held by Vladimir Kramnik. More likely is that they will someday vie for a few dollars in Union Square Park in Lower Manhattan against the likes of a man known as Russian Paul. The New York Times reports.

Time pressure (and other maladies)

9/18/2007 – Time pressure got you down? Maybe the problem isn't really the clock. Our ChessBase Workshop columnist takes a look at the psychology behind time trouble and offers a possible remedy in his latest column. Workshop...

Monika Socko wins International Women's Tournament in Baku

9/18/2007 – It was a close finish, with two players – former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova and Monika Socko of Poland leading the field with 6/8 points. Stefanova faced top seed Pia Cramling with black, and drew in 23 moves. Socko fought for 70 moves against Nargiz Umudova, winning the game, point and event. Spectacular photo report by Zahir Ahmadov.

From cover to cover: Vladimir Kramnik – My Path to the Top

9/17/2007 – He did what Karpov, Short and Anand had failed to do: defeat the almighty Garry Kasparov in a match for the world title. Today he is the reigning world chess champion, defending his title in a world championship tournament in Mexico. On the latest ChessBase DVD Vladimir Kramnik describes his arduous path to the top of the chess world. Review by Edwin Lam.

GM Mihail Marin on missed opportunities in Mexico

9/17/2007 – Kramnik showed excellent home preparation in an almost non-existent variation, gaining a decisive advantage. But Grischuk defended accurately and managed to draw. Anand won a pawn and was more or less winning against Morozevich. But he could not bring home the point. Leko lost his patience, a piece and the game against Aronian. GM comments and video interviews.

Mexico R04: Aronian beats Leko, Anand and Kramnik lead

9/16/2007 – It was a long night, with Vishy Anand pressing hard with the black pieces against Alexander Morozevich, and Vladimir Kramnik trying to win a pawn endgame against Alexander Grischuk. In spite of the fight it was, in the end, only Levon Aronian who scored a full point against Peter Leko. Meanwhile outside the country was celebrating Independence Day – Grito de Dolores.

Mexico R03: Morozevich beats Svidler, Anand and Kramnik draw

9/16/2007 – Another very tense round, with Alexander Morozevich outplaying Peter Svidler in a Scotch Game, and Vladimir Kramnik causing some problems for Anand in a rook ending. Leko vs Gelfand is still running (at 2:45 a.m. European time), with the latter trying to win a Q+P ending. We close down our news service for the night with an Express report with videos and pictures.

ACP demands standardizing time controls in chess

9/16/2007 – In July 2005 the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) met with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) to discuss new time controls for official FIDE events: 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for remaining moves, with an increment of 30 seconds per move. Now the ACP is demanding action on FIDE's part, with a proposal for comprehensive and binding regulations.

GM Mihail Marin: 'A day of curious moments'

9/16/2007 – Morozevich fell behind against Svidler, who allowed his opponent to come back and win. Aronian tried to sacrifice a pawn against Grischuk, but found himself a pawn up and under attack. Anand got nothing out of the opening against Kramnik and had to fight for a draw. Leko vs Gelfand went for 100 moves. Here are comments by GM Mihail Marin and postgame video interviews by Vijay Kumar.