Magnus Carlsen – Coming of Age

2/27/2007 – The first half of Morelia/Linares has marked a coming of age for Magnus Carlsen, who has clearly demonstrated his ability to slug it out at the highest level. This week's Radio ChessBase Show on Playchess.com starts with Magnus's notorious struggle against Topalov.

Morelia R7: Anand, Topalov, Ivanchuk win

2/26/2007 – Halftime at the Morelia-Linares Super-GM tournament. Anand scored a fine black-piece victory over Leko to join Magnus Carlsen in the lead. Ivanchuk put a damper on Aronian's aspiration with a white-piece win, and Topalov defeated Morozevich to improve his position at the end of the table. Full report with commentary by GM Mihail Marin.

Morelia R6: All games drawn, Carlsen still leads

2/25/2007 – Vishy Anand fought it out with Vassily Ivanchuk for 32 moves, with the Ukrainian using up almost all his time to abandon a promising position. The others essentially took a break: Aronian Topalov drawn in 22 moves, Carlson-Leko drawn in 20, Morozevich-Svidler drawn in 16. Pictorial report with analysis by GM Mihail Marin.

Aeroflot Open 2007: Evgeny Alekseev wins in style

2/25/2007 – The winner of the Russian championship superfinal also took clear first the Aeroflot Open 2007. Actually he completed a hattrick by winning the St. Petersburg Blitz Championship in between. Well done! Evgeny Tomashevsky finished second, outmatching Dmitry Jakovenko by the narrowest of margins. Big illustrated report by Misha Savinov.

Morelia Round five pictures and analysis

2/24/2007 – Friday was a free day, with activities for players and journalists. In our round five express report we brought you and express report with the games and the (sensational) results: Anand lost to Aronian and 16 year old Magnus Carlsen shocked the world by beating Topalov and retaking the lead in this Super-GM tournament. Pictures, commentary and videos.

Morelia 2007: Pigging out in Quiroga

2/23/2007 – In Morelia it is currently all about chess. Our host are extremely gratious and treat us like kings. But not everyone is satisfied with the luxurious restaurants and fine South American wine. Some of us will insist on going out into the countryside, to see the "real Mexico." And to smell, tast and hear it. We invite you to an extraordinary culinary adventure.

$16,000 Freestyle tournament starts on March 2nd

2/23/2007 – The Fifth PAL/CSS Freestyle Chess Tournament begins on March 2nd on the Playchess server. The main tournament is an eight-round Swiss, with time controls of 60 min + 15 sec per game. You probably know that in Freestyle any kind of assistance is allowed: computers, friends, books, anything. The starting fee is 10 Euro. GMs and IMs are free. You can still join the fun!

Morelia: GM Mihail Marin annotates round four

2/23/2007 – The express commentary of the Morelia Super-GM is provided by Romanian grandmaster Mihail Marin, who is the author of a number of very popular ChessBase training CDs and articles for ChessBase Magazine. His commentary here is simple and instructive, the next ChessBase Magazine will carry comprehensive analysis. Look and learn.

Morelia R5: Aronian beats Anand, Carlsen beats Topalov

2/23/2007 – A day of shocks. Both the top seeds lost, Anand in a tense struggle against Aronian, and Topalov with a sensational resignation in a position that must be a draw. In fact Carlsen shows the horrified former world champion the defence immediately after he had resigned. Now the 16-year-old Norwegian once again leads the field. Express report.

ChessBase Mgazine 116: Stars comment on top events

2/23/2007 – The new issue covers the historic match Kramnik vs. Deep Fritz 10 and the Tal Memorial from the end of last year. World class players like Shirov, Radjabov, Leko, Gelfand, Van Wely comment their masterpieces and focus on the latest trends in opening theory. More than two hours training on the DVD. Order it now or read this overview with sampler.

Aeroflot: Jakovenko, Alekseev, Tomashevsky lead

2/22/2007 – Actually the sensation is 21-year-old GM Stanislav Novikov, who has come out of nowhere – and from a very modest background – to show opening originality, excellent endgame knowledge, pragmatism, stubbornness in defense and incredible determination. Take a look at his tenacious draw against Jakovenko. Misha Savinov reports.

Morelia R4: Anand, Carlsen win, Anand leads in Morelia

2/22/2007 – Alexander Morozevich played an excellent game, holding out against Vishy Anand's aggressive intentions until just before the first time control. There the Russian GM lost track, an important pawn and eventually the game. Meanwhile Magnus Carlsen scored a fighting 60-move black win against Vassily Ivanchuk. Pictures and videos.

Florencio Campomanes turns eighty

2/22/2007 – Three weeks ago Florencio Campomanes suffered a serious car accident and has been hospitalised in Antalya, Turkey, ever since. Today the long-time (1982-1995) president of the world chess organisation celebrates his eightieth birthday. We congratulate him and bring you a comprehensive look back at the Campo years.

Phuket is back – an invitation to paradise

2/22/2007 – Phuket is ready and prepared to host the next Bangkok Chess Club Open at the opulent Graceland Resort & Spa. The sights of crystal clear blue-green water, white sand beaches, and tropical island flora and fauna should be enough to entice anyone to visit, but throw in the weighty GM-billed tournament and this one simply can’t be resisted.

Kasparov speaks to the Foreign Policy Association

2/21/2007 – "History teaches us they are ideas worth fighting for and worth dying for," said Garry Kasparov in his speech to this prestigious organisation in New York. "The current Kremlin regime under Vladimir Putin is in some ways a new and difficult cancer to diagnose and treat." Strong words from the former World Champion. Video and transcript.

Sometimes a weakness is just a weakness

2/20/2007 – Contemporary chess is about concrete, dynamic play. Material is sacrificed, weaknesses are accepted, and pieces move to strange squares – as long as it works! Nevertheless, say our Playchess lecturer Dennia Monokroussos, we some need to heed Freud's adage.

Morelia R3: Anand beats Carlsen, leads with Ivanchuk

2/20/2007 – Another exciting round, with Anand outplaying Carlsen with black and joining Ivanchuk in the lead. Alexander Morozevich turned a dangerous position into a clear win against Aronian, but missed a key line that would have got him the full point. Veselin Topalov and Peter Leko fought a theory battle that ended in a draw. Full pictorial report with GM commentary.

Andrew Martin – Lights, Camera, Action

2/20/2007 – This week's Radio ChessBase Show on Playchess.com comes from Davenport, Iowa, where the temperatures are freezing but the chess action red hot. Using modern technology IM Andrew Martin will bring you pictures, whether you want them or not...

Morelia R2: Ivanchuk beats Topalov

2/19/2007 – The shock of the day came at the end of the first time control. Veselin Topalov, a pawn down against Ivanchuk, played a colossal blunder that lost instantaneously. Carlsen pressed against Levon Aronian with black, Leko was unable to overcome Morozevich. Anand drew Svidler after overcoming technical difficulties. Full report with analysis and video.

Snowflakes are fallin' on the Aeroflot Open 2007

2/19/2007 – After months of temperate climate the traditional Russian winter has returned to Moscow, where the Sixth Aeroflot Festival is taking place in Moscow from February 13th to 23rd. The prize fund for all tournament groups is $200,000. After six of nine rounds GM Stanislav Novikov leads. Games, results and impressions from Moscow by Misha Savinov.

Morelia first round pictorial report

2/18/2007 – After struggling with such mundane things as jet lag and instable Internet connections your ChessBase team has finally settled down in Morelia and will be resuming normal reporting from now on. We start by supplying you with visual impressions of the first round, of the players taking up battle at the highest levels of chess. Pictures and videos.

Morelia R1: Carlsen beats Morozevich

2/18/2007 – Magnus Carlsen beat Alexander Morozevich in a game lasting five and a quarter hours. Anand held Topalov to an effortless draw with the black pieces. Svidler and Aronian drew in 39 moves. Ivanchuk had Leko on the ropes but ran into deadly time trouble, and the game ended in a dramatic draw. Full analysis by GM Mihail Marin.

Super-GM Morelia-Linares begins today

2/17/2007 – Ready for another top event? The traditional Linares tournament, which since 2006 has been split in two halves, is starting its first leg today (Saturday). The venue is the state theatre in Morelia, Mexico, and participants Topalov, Ivanchuk, Leko, Morozevich, Svidler, Carlsen, Anand and Aronian. We bring you pictures and the pairing.

Zurab Azmaparashvili replies to Nigel Short

2/17/2007 – In an Indian newspaper the British GM called the FIDE Vice President a "dunderhead" who, as a member of the Appeals Committee during the world championship 2005 in Argentina, had spent most of his time away from the playing venue and was therefore singularly unsuited for the job. Now Zurab Azmaiparashvili fires back and Nigel short replies.