Andrew Martin on the 'Greek Gift' sacrifice

6/27/2006 – All players at whatever level should be fully conversant with the classical Bishop Sacrifice on h7. It is a topic which GM Yasser Seirawan lucidly explains in his latest book. The Radio Show of our Playchess lecturer begins this week by reveiwing this work and deals with a number of other topical games. Tune in.

Chessboxing on ESPN, Playboy and Maxim

6/27/2006 – This unusual sport, in which two competitors face each other in 11 alternating rounds, six of chess, five of boxing, is rapidly gaining popularity. You know that is the case when you see chessboxing on the front page of a leading sports web site, and as a major story in a number of men's magazines. Check out the ESPN video footage.

AeroSvit R10: All games drawn

6/27/2006 – Which means that nothing has changes on the table, which has Rublevsky leading by half a point, with one round to go. The shortest game was a 23-mover between Nisipeanu and Karjakin, the longest were Bologan's 78-move save against Grischuk and Shirov's 89-move escape against Areshchenko. Report.

AeroSvit R9: Grischuk, Shirov, Ponomariov win

6/26/2006 – Rublevsky and Ivanchuk both drew their games and kept their first and second places. Grischuk and Shirov won their games, both moving into the positive performance zone. At the end of the table are three Ukraines – Ponomariov, Volokitin, Karjakin – and India's Harikrishna. Report with performance statistics.

Midnight Sun Chess Challenge in Tromsø

6/26/2006 – There are parts in the world where, during a certain period of the year, the sun never sets. The northern Norwegian town of Tromsø, which lies well within the Arctic Circle, is one such place. From June 24th to July 2nd, in the middle of the midnight sun period, it is holding chess festival with GMs like Krasenkow and Magnus Carlsen. Big illustrated report.

AeroSvit R8: Ivanchuk wins to close on Rublevsky

6/26/2006 – Tournament leader Sergei Rublevsky drew against Shirov, while his closest follower Ivanckuk beat Volokitin with black. Rublevsky still leads, but only by half a point. Bologan, could not defeat Areshenko, Grischuk took his first loss in this tournament, against Nisipeanu, and Ponomariov lost to Mamedyarov to take the last place. Report.

Paul Keres vs who?

6/25/2006 – In his long career he beat many famous opponents, including nine world champions. In this week’s Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at a lesser-known game by Paul Keres, a win against one H. Szapiel from the 1950 Szczawno Zdroj tournament (which he won). Entertainment and instruction.

AeroSvit R7: Rublevsky leads by a full point

6/25/2006 – After the rest day, which was used for a boat trip on the Black Sea, Sergei Rublevsky won his fifth game in a row, and is now leading the field, with 5.5/7, by a full point. Ivanchuk and Bologan are his nearest rivals at 4.5 points. Tail-enders are Karjakin, Ponomariov, Harikrishna and Nisibeanu, all at 2.5. Report, pictures and games.

Kuala Lumpur: the Scent of a City

6/24/2006 – If you are serious about competitive chess, then please mark down the dates between the 21st and 27th of August 2006 in your diary. That’s when one of the richest chess tournaments in the Asia Pacific region will take place. Native son Edwin Lam Choong Wai tells us about his beloved city and advises us to book a flight to Malaysia today.

AeroSvit R6: Rublevsky beats Bologan, takes the lead

6/23/2006 – In round six of the AeroSvit 2000 Super GM Russian GM Sergei Rublevsky, playing black, beat the leading Viorel Bologan of Moldova and went into the lead with 4.5/6 points. Volokitin beat Shirov, Nisipeanu beat Areshchenko, and Harikrishna defeated Mamedyarov. Report, pictures and games.

A complete white repertoire for 1.e4 e5

6/23/2006 – Winning with the classics: Canadian FIDE master Gregory Huber has published a training CD on two related (classical) openings, the Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4) and the Vienna Game (2.Nc3). The work includes all possible transitions and provides you with a complete white repertoire for 1.e4 e5. "A phenomenal effort in exploring these openings in depth". Review.

Spider-Man, Aliens and Fritz chess sets

6/23/2006 – Tired of using the same old Staunton chess pieces? Then you may want to try a game with Spider-Man pieces, on a sculpted chess board that recreates a roof-top battle between good and evil. Or a set that tries to recapture the mood and design James Cameron's "Aliens." Or you may simply check out what Fritz and Co. have to offer.

Tiviakov leads in the Dutch Championship

6/22/2006 – The Dutch Chess Championship is taking place in TV Studio 22 in the Hilversum Media Park, from June 17 to 29 June. It is a 12-player round robin, category 13 and has a first prize of €12,000. After five rounds Sergey Tiviakov is in the lead, with 4/5 and a 2780 performance. Picture report.

Fritz Endgame Turbo 3 - Part 1

6/22/2006 – The Fritz Endgame Turbo 3, containing three through six piece endgame tablebases, has recently been released. But what are tablebases and how are they used? In the first of two ChessBase Workshop columns on endgame tablebases we examine what they are and a few simple technical aspects involving their installation. Workshop...

Chess Serial Killer arrested in Moscow

6/21/2006 – MosNews is reporting that a shop assistant has been arrested under suspicion of being the notorious Bitsa Park serial killer, whom Moscow police have been tracking for half a year. He is accused of at least 14 murders, but has confessed to a total of 61. Apparently the killer was trying to commit one murder for each square of the chessboard.

The inventor of the Slav System with 4...a6

6/21/2006 – Every chess player know the a6 Slav, but does anyone know who first introduced this move into tournament practice? It was a player named Skripchenko – not our beloved Almira, but her father Fyodor, who played it back in 1972, before she was born. Here's the full story about the birth of a variation.

AeroSvit R5: Bologan leads with 4/5

6/21/2006 – After another victory, this one over India's Pentala Harikrishna, Viorel Bologan of Moldova took over the sole lead in the AeroSvit 2000 International Chess Tournament in Ukraine. Sergei Rublevsky defeated Andrei Volokitin to move to striking distance of the leader. We bring you a report, pictures and games.

The Pillsbury Attack –2006 style

6/20/2006 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury was a very intelligent man. Such was the depth of his ideas that they are being used successfully today, as we see in our first game,where none other than Vishy Anand gets downed by a Pillsbury Attack! This and more by our Playchess lecturer Andrew Martin on this week's show.

AeroSvit R3: Mamedyarov, Bologan in the lead

6/20/2006 – After six draws in round two, round three brought four decided games, with wins by Bologan, Mamedyarov, Shirov and Rublevsky. The losses were incurred by Nisipianu, Areshchenko, Karjakin and Ponomariov respectively. Report, games and pictures.

Endgame 1: Basic knowledge for beginners

6/20/2006 – The endgame often separates the wheat from the chaff. And a lot of games end with a surprising result because one side is lacking basic endgame technique. That can now change. With his new series of training DVDs the German GM and endgame expert Karsten Mueller offers every chess player the opportunity to build up excellent endgame knowledge from scratch. Review.

AeroSvit R4: Three black wins in round four

6/20/2006 – Veteran Vassily Ivanchuk defeated the tournament leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to put the Azerbaijani and join him in second place. Grischuk beat Harikrishna and Rublevsky the Romanian Dieter Nisipeanu. Bologan drew his game and remains in the lead. Report.

A clash of styles and personalities

6/18/2006 – At the end of the Steinitz era two there were two giants of the game vying for a place as pretenders to the throne. In 1893 a long match between Russian Mikhail Chigorin and German Siegbert Tarrasch was arranged to settle it. In this week’s Monday night Playchess lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at a key game.

AeroSvit R2: All games drawn in Foros

6/18/2006 – Round two of the Cat. 18 round robin tournament in Foros/Yalta saw all six games drawn. The shortest was 23 moves (Grischuk vs Areshchenko), the longest a tense 78-move battle between former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov and his former second Viorel Bologan. And Andrei Volokitin turned twenty. Report, games and pictures.

Harry Nelson Pillsbury, the American tragedy

6/17/2006 – One hundred years ago, on June 17 1906, one of the brightest chess talents of all time passed away – at the age of just 33. But Harry Nelson Pillsbury was never forgotten, and in fact became an immortal legend of the game. Small wonder, when he stood up to the world champions and performed prodigious feats of mental skill. A look back with Garry Kasparov.