Andrew Martin: Something different

4/24/2007 – Our Playchess trainer has been receiving a lot of mail with openings questions, and this Wednesday his radio show, which starts at 22:00h European time, is devoted to discussing games that arise after the line: 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.Nc3!? Martin shows that it is still dangerious for Black, particularly at the sub 2400 level. Come, learn and enjoy.

FIDE to stage 100,000 Dollar computer match in Elista

4/23/2007 – It is billed as the President's Cup, the Ultimate Computer Chess Challenge, and will take place in the final days of the FIDE Candidates Matches in June in Elista, Kalmykia. The opponents in this six-game match are the reigning computer chess world champion Deep Junior and the winner of the match against the human world champion Deep Fritz. Tal vs Capablanca.

Gausdal Classics: Carlsen ahead of Portisch

4/22/2007 – The youngest and oldest players of the tournament are fighting for the lead. Currently 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen, the top seed, is in the lead with 4.0/5, followed by 70-year-old chess legend Lajos Portisch, half a point behind. IM Irina Krush of the US is in joint third, having "krushed" a Super-GM, Alexei Dreev, with black in round two. Report from Gausdal.

Sigeman 2007: Cheparinov ahead of Hillarp-Persson

4/22/2007 – 20-year-old Ivan Cheparinov, trusted second of Veselin Topalov, is in the lead with 4.0/5 points. His rating performance so far: 2769. Cheparinov is followed by Tiger Hillarp-Persson, the subject of last Thursday's Playchess lecture. India's brightest young talent, Parimarjan Negi, is in 4-7 place after a round five win against a nervous Jan Timman. Report from Malmö.

Kasparov's risky moves provoke the Kremlin

4/22/2007 – After organising two protest rallies and getting arrested and fined former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was interrogated by prosecutors of Russia's main security agency. That and dozens of interviews given by the leader of the opposition group has led to another slew of report in the world media outlets – including the eerily hysterical "Putin Diary". We bring you excerpts.

An easy guide into the trendy Slav (4...a6)

4/21/2007 – Kasparov, Shirov, Morozevich, Bologan and others played it with success: The trendy Slav with a very aerly ...a7-a6 offers Black solidity, dynamism and variety couched in an easy-to-understand setting. On his new DVD Andrew Martin shows lots of ideas for Black which can be used by amateur and professional alike. Buy it now or read more.

Listen to the grandmaster sing

4/21/2007 – Last week Emil Sutovsky, Israeli grandmaster, just missed winning the European Championship by a hair. Weighing in at 2648 Elo points, Emil is also an accomplished bass-baritone singer. During the recent Poikovsky tournament he gave a small recital, which was filmed by a chess fan. We bring you Emil Sutovsky singing an aria from Mozart's Don Giovanni and a famous Russian folk song.

Strong juniors in the 7th Bangkok Chess Club Open

4/21/2007 – Why, oh why, did we not receive these photos twenty days ago?! We could have made such a lovely first of April report with them. Still, better late than never. Here's a report on the Bangkok Chess Club's strongest open tournament to date, with a total of 109 players from 30 different countries. It was won by an up-and-coming Australian talent, but the show was stolen by a Thai junior.

Lajos Portisch vs Boris Spassky: 3-3

4/20/2007 – The two great legends of chess, who each recently celebrated their 70th birthday, met in a rapid chess match in the beautiful spa town of Hévíz, Hungary. The eleventh world champion drew blood in the first game, but the great Hungarian player equalised in game four, when Spassky overlooked a piece. We bring you an illustrated report and the games.

With 14.f4 right into the jaws of the Tiger

4/19/2007 – Swedish grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson is renowned for his creativity and imagination, his willingness and the ability to go where few others could. In his Thursday night lecture our Playchess trainer Dennis Monokroussos shows us how he reacts when GM Ivan Sokolov grabs space with pawn pushes. It promises to be one of the most amazing and entertaining games you’ll see for a long time.

Sigeman 2007 starts without draws

4/19/2007 – The annual Sigeman & Co Chess tournament is taking place from April 18 to 26 in central Malmö, Sweden. The participants include veteran Jan Timman and newcomers like 20-year-old Bulgarian Ivan Cheparinov and the world’s youngest grandmaster, 14-year-old Parimarjan Negi of India. The first round saw all games decided, without a single draw. Report, games and pictures.

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.