The greatest endgame player of them all

6/5/2006 – In the first part of the 20th century the great names were Lasker, Capablanca, and Alekhine. But there was one player who overshadowed them all – in one phase of the game. Akiba Rubinstein, who was dazzlingly skilled in the endgame. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at an example from a 1909 game against Emanuel Lasker.

Olympiad R13: Armenia and Ukraine take Gold

6/5/2006 – The 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin ended on Sunday. Rapid draws by the Armenian men's team and the Ukraine women assured both teams, which were leading by 2.5 and 2.0 points, of Olympic Gold. China took Silver in the men's section and USA Bronze. The Russian women took Silver and the Chinese team won Bronze. Report, games and final standings.

The election speeches

6/5/2006 – On June 2nd 2006 the FIDE General Assembly held elections for the President of the World Chess Federation. As reported the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was challenged by Dutch businessman Bessel Kok. Ilyumzhinov won the election clearly by 96 votes to 54. Before the election both candidates received 15 minutes to address the General Assembly.

Olympiad R12: Armenia leads, China or Russia for Silver

6/4/2006 – There is little doubt that Armenia will take Gold at the 37th Olympiad in Turin. With one round to go, the team is 2.5 points ahead of China, which is half a point above Russia. Second seed India has dropped to 33rd place after Vishy Anand lost to Pascal Charbonneau, almost 300 points below him. In the women's section, Ukraine is two points ahead of the field and virtually assured of Gold.

Olympiad R11: Armenia on the path to Gold

6/3/2006 – A 3:1 dubbing of the rival Czech team put Armenia a full 3.5 points ahead of the field and on a clear path to the Gold medal at the 37th Olympiad in Turin. China and France are in 2-3rd place, Russia is in fourth, half a point behind. In the women's section Ukraine demolished Bulgaria 2.5:0.5, while Russia beat Georgia 2:1. Report and pictures.

Election 06: A Game of Chess – and Politics

6/2/2006 – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is facing one of the toughest political battles of his life. On Friday the mercurial president faces an election that could see him toppled from his throne – not in the Russian republic but as head of the chess world. Here's a final pre-election assessment by the Moscow Times.

Breaking news: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov reelected

6/2/2006 – The election is over. Delegates from more than 150 national chess federations cast their ballots on Friday in Turin, Italy, to elect the president of the International Chess Federation. The result was a clear victory for the incumbent president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who collected 96 votes, compared to 54 for his challenger Bessel Kok. First assessment.

The Andrew Martin Video Show

6/1/2006 – We will welcome you to the Radio Show direct from Hamburg this week and what a show it will be! We kick off with two veterans slugging it out in a recent exhibition match. Spassky has many reasons to want revenge against Karpov and here he scores a fine endgame victory with the help of 7 h3!? a quiet opening move which seems to dull Karpov's sense of danger.

Junior wins Computer Chess World Championship

6/1/2006 – The Israeli program Junior – authors Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky – won the 14th World Computer Chess Championship, which was held as a side event of the Chess Olympiad in Turin. Junior scored 9/11. Second was Shredder with 8.5/11, third Rajlich with the same score. Results and pictures.

Olympiad R10: Armenia surges ahead, Russia in third

5/31/2006 – The Armenians are clealy on their way to Gold. Today they defeated China 2.5:1.5 to regain their two-point lead over the nearest rival. Russia scored a 3:1 victory over Ukraine to recapture third place. In the women's section Ukraine and Russia are clearly in the lead. A great attraction of the Olympiad are the live broadcasts by Yasser Seirawan.

Election 06: Kirsan the Incredible

5/31/2006 – That is the title of a mini-book that is being distributed in the campaign hall at the Olympiad in Turin. It is by Yuriy Vasiliev and describes in glowing terms the activities of the current FIDE president. On a different note the New Yorker has devoted an unprecedented eight pages to an intergalactic story about Ilyumzhinov and chess in his republic. Excerpts and links.

Garry Kasparov: Open Letter to the General Assembly

5/31/2006 – He does not have any personal interest in the crucial FIDE elections that will be held this week. But: "I write from a deep love for the game of chess and out of concern for its future." In an open letter to the delegates of the General Assembly of the 77th FIDE Congress in Turin Garry Kasparov says: 'Just make the right move.'

Chess Olympic Tango in Argentina 2010?

5/30/2006 – During the Olympiad in Turin a number of countries are bidding to hold the Olympiad in 2010 (in 2008 it will be in Dresden, Germany). Poland, Montenegro, Khanty-Mansiysk are all candidates. One entry comes from Argentina, which promises invitations to all FIDE delegates and their wives, polo, soccer and a special Tango tournament.

Olympiad R8: Armenia leads by two points

5/30/2006 – The Armenian team looks quite unstoppable, demolishing Cuba 3:1. Russia could only draw against the Czech Republic 2:2, and Ukraine defeated Sweden 3:1. After the dust had settled we find Armenia two full points ahead. In the women's section Russia leads Ukraine by half a point. Meanwhile on Playchess Yasser Seirawan interviewed both presidential candidates.

Olympiad R9: Russia loses to France

5/30/2006 – Another shock result: Russia lost 1.5:2.5 to France, and are now on place four on the table. China, on the other hand, demolished Georgia 4-0 and advanced to place two. Armenia beat Ukraine to stay in the lead. In the women's section Ukraine beat the US and lead ahead of Russia, which drew China. Things are getting close.

More strange searches and curiosities

5/30/2006 – In his search for chess abnormalities, our ChessBase Workshop columnist didn't stop with pawns. In the latest column he switches the focus to Queens to try to discover just when "much" becomes "too much". Workshop...

Xie Jun, at the consuetudinary hour

5/29/2006 – For many decades, Georgian women had a stranglehold on the world championship. This was only overcome in 1991, by a young woman from China, Xie Jun, who inaugurated a new era in women’s chess. In his Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos examines one of her games, against Danish legend Bent Larsen. Come and watch.

Olympiad R7: Armenia leads by a full point

5/29/2006 – Aronian, Akopian and Co. scored an important 3:1 victory over the Netherlands, increasing their lead over the Rest of the World to a full point. Russia beat Belarus by the same score, and is now in second place, a point behind the Armenians. In the Women's section Russia beat Slovakia 3:0 and now lead by a full point. Also: pictures from a Chess Fidelity promotion.

Olympiad R6: Holland defeats Russia, Armenia in the lead

5/28/2006 – The team from the Netherlands shocked Russia with a 2.5:1.5 victory, which put them in second and Russia in third. Armenia beat Uzbekistan to jump to the top rank, with 18/24 points. India defeated Germany 3:1, Sweden pulled off a 2.5:1.5 surprise over Bulgaria. In the womens' section Russia stays in the lead with 14.5/18 points. Report with pictorial impressions by Gabriele Grasso.

Olympiad Turin: Where to find the videos

5/27/2006 – The Chess Olympiad in Turin is being broadcast extensively on the Playchess server, with GM Yasser Seirawan providing live commentary. Even the Turkish Chess Federation is doing its own Playchess show. If you are unable to catch these shows at the time of broadcast you can watch them later, in our Olympiad archives.

Spassky beats Karpov in 'Legends' match

5/27/2006 – A two-game match between Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov ended in a 1½:½ victory for the veteran Spassky. The "Match des Légendes" took place on May 26th 2006 in Porto-Vecchio, Corsica. The rate of play was 15 mins + 3 secs increment per move. The prize fund was 22,000 Euros, 15,000 for the winner. More.

Election 06: Ilyumzhinov, Makropoulos reply

5/27/2006 – Yesterday we published an open letter that was sent to us by former Deputy President of FIDE (1995 to 1996) Bachar Kuoatly that was very critical of the tenure of the current President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and his Deputy President Georges Makropoulos. Now Ilyumzhinov and Makropoulos have reacted with strongly worded replies to Kuoatly.

Shredder 10 now available

5/26/2006 – No other program has won as many titles as Shredder, the chess program written by Stefan Meyer-Kahlen of Germany. The latest version has been substantially improved and plays about 80 Elo points stronger than its predecessor. And it can access its new highly compressed tablebases 1000 times faster, dramatically increasing its endgame abilities. Don't wait, buy it now!

Olympiad R5: Armenia holds Russia, joins in lead

5/26/2006 – Vladimir Kramnik is back after a lengthy illness in full strength, with a fine victory for Russia over Levon Aronian of Armenia. After a 2-2 score both teams still share the lead. Uzbekistan drew The Netherlands, the USA defeated Georgia, and Iran pulled off a stunning 3:1 victory over Vietnam join the group at places 5-11. Illustrated report with performance statistics.