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20.11.2009 17:58 Defence, part 1: How does Black fight back?

Svidler-Jobava, European team chess championship, 2009. Black, to move, is under attack. How does he save himself? Our theme over the next few columns is defence – hardly a glamorous subject, and little discussed, but of course vital in chess. White has just played his knight into the middle of the board, heading towards Black's king, and the rook and the queen are also in powerful attacking positions. What does Black have in his favour? Not much. But he does have a material advantage, rook for knight and an extra pawn. This gives him a little hope: if Black survives the attack, he could find himself with a winning position. So let's concentrate on survival. First we ...

20.11.2009 12:37 Carlsen Blitzes Through Moscow

19.11.2009 18:32 Kramnik triumphant in Moscow

Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik won the flu-stricken Tal Memorial on Saturday. Playing more deliberately and sharply, the Russian grandmaster reinvented himself. He did not mind dwelling in complications and kept his cool in difficult situations. He withstood the last-round charge of Ukraine's Vassily Ivanchuk, last year's winner of the same chess event. Magnus Carlsen sneaked in a tie for second place by winning the last two games. The Norwegian grandmaster gained enough rating points to move into the world's top spot. The world chess champion Vishy Anand of India had a chance to tie for first with Kramnik, but lost in the last round with the white pieces to ...

19.11.2009 18:00 Anti-Sicilians

Anti-Sicilians from the European Club Cup, the European Team Championship, and the World Junior

19.11.2009 00:58 English and Flank Openings

A potpourri of ideas in the King's English

18.11.2009 17:33 French chess star wins world junior

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France edged Sergei Zhigalko of Belarus to win the World Junior Chess Championship in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Each scored an undefeated 10 1/2 -2 1/2 in the 82-player tournament, the most prestigious age-limited chess event. Only players born in 1989 or later were eligible. Vachier-Lagrave, 19, earned the chess grandmaster title in 2005 and won the French championship in 2007. He entered the tournament as the top seed with a rating of 2718 (23rd in the world), but his triumph was hardly guaranteed in an upset-filled melee that included 16 other grandmasters, including six rated above 2600. Zhigalko, 20, was seeded third ...

17.11.2009 17:30 Kramnik Wins Tal Memorial, Carlsen Claims No. 1 Ranking

In a wild and exciting final round, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, the former world chess champion, drew his last game to claim the 2009 Tal Memorial tournament title. Kramnik led from Round 6 on and finished with three wins, six draws and no losses. Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, Kramnik’s last round opponent, missed several chances to win and settled for a tie for second with Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who beat Peter Leko of Hungary. With his victory, Carlsen overtook Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to become the world’s top-ranked chess player. At 18, Carlsen is the youngest chess player to be No. 1. Viswanathan Anand of India, the world chess champion, was in second place before ...

17.11.2009 16:23 Nimzo and Benoni

Action from the latest super-GM tournament!

16.11.2009 22:26 Dragon Sicilians

The latest Dragon theory!

16.11.2009 20:15 Daring Defences

The Benko is back!

16.11.2009 01:01 Kramnik Tops Tal Memorial, Carlsen Leads FIDE Ratings

15.11.2009 17:52 Norwegian, 18, Is Youngest to Be Ranked No. 1 at Chess

The chess world has a new No. 1 player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, and he is only 18 years old — the youngest chess player ever to hold the rank. On Saturday, Mr. Carlsen beat Peter Leko, a Hungarian player now ranked No. 11, in the final round of a chess tournament in Moscow. Though Mr. Carlsen on...

14.11.2009 17:36 Kramnik Retains Lead at Tal Memorial; Carlsen Notches First Win

With one round to go in the Tal Memorial chess tournament in Moscow, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia holds a half-point lead over Viswanathan Anand of India, the world chess champion, and Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine. Magnus Carlsen of Norway is alone in fourth after beating Ruslan Ponomariov in Round 8. ...

12.11.2009 17:41 A Bad Night at the Board

“Nobody told me there would be days like these, strange days indeed.� (John Lennon) Hikaru Nakamura is the reigning United States chess champion and ranked No. 24 in the world. He is one of the best chess players the United States has ever produced. As good as he is, it has probably been a very ...

11.11.2009 17:57 Tournament of Stars

The Tal Memorial, honoring the brilliant Latvian world chess champion, is underway in Moscow. Mikhail Tal (1936-1992) won the world chess title in 1960 and had great results throughout his playing career. But he is mostly remembered for the way he played. He enriched the chess world with incredible ...

11.11.2009 00:27 Open Sicilians

Is the Sicilian Black's most solid defence to 1 e4?

10.11.2009 17:53 Kramnik Surges Ahead at Tal Memorial

With convincing wins in Rounds 3 and 4, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, the former world chess champion, has taken the lead of the strong Tal Memorial tournament in Moscow. The current world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand of India, and Levon Aronian of Armenia are tied for second and third, a half po...

09.11.2009 17:45 Armenia and Azerbaijan vie for chess supremacy at Russia's expense

More than 150 nations are affiliated to the global chess body Fide, yet team supremacy on the chess board is currently being fought out by two small Caucasian republics. In the process the pair have humilated their big neighbour Russia, for long the undisputed No1. When Armenia won the 2006 Chess Ol...

08.11.2009 23:24 Kramnik Leads at Tal Memorial

08.11.2009 22:09 Paced by a 19-Year-Old Chess Star, France Revives Its Reputation

In the 18th and 19th centuries, France was a center, if not the epicenter, of chess. Two of the greatest chess players of the era, Francois-Andre Danican Philidor and Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, were French, and the Café de la Régence in Paris was a gathering place for anyone who liked ...

07.11.2009 17:37 Players Remain Deadlocked at Moscow Tournament

Day 2 of the Tal Memorial chess tournament in Moscow brought another round of draws as once again none of the competitors was able to score a win. As on Day 1, five draws did not mean that the games were boring. The competitors, who include 10 of the top 13 chess players in the world, played ambitio...

06.11.2009 17:48 Strong Memorial Tournament to Past Chess Champion Begins in Moscow

The Tal Memorial tournament, a tribute to the eighth world chess champion, Mikhail Tal, began Thursday with five hard-fought draws. The 10-player field is stellar, featuring Viswanathan Anand of India, the world chess champion, who is ranked No. 3 in the world; Magnus Carlsen of Norway, No. 2; Levon...

04.11.2009 17:43 America's youngest Grandmaster

Ray Robson of Florida has just won the Pan American Junior with a 8-1 score and in the process has won his third Norm, qualifying for the title of Grandmaster. He becomes the youngest chess Grandmaster in US history, just a couple of weeks shy of age 15. Bobby Fischer was 15 years 4 months plus when...

03.11.2009 17:53 Mad Pawn Rush

The young and powerful team of Azerbaijan clinched the gold medal at the 17th European Team Chess Championship in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on Friday. They won seven matches, drew one and lost to Armenia, scoring 15 out of possible 18 match points. But their victory was a close call. It hung on o...

02.11.2009 23:53 King's Indian

Some new trends in top-level games

02.11.2009 17:30 Another Norwegian Teenager Emerges as a Threat

A 19-year-old Norwegian turned in an impressive performance at the 17th European Team Chess Championships in Serbia, which ended on Saturday. A Norwegian teenager had been expected to do well at the chess tournament, but the surprise was that he turned out to be Jon Ludvig Hammer and not Magnus Carl...

02.11.2009 14:12 Azerbaijan Takes Gold in European Team Championship

02.11.2009 13:32 Queen's Gambit, Slav Defence

The Anti-Meran approach has recently become rather popular at the top level

01.11.2009 17:36 Chess Notes

The US Chess League offers ample opportunities to examine games between highly rated chess players. Here is one in which Patrick Wolff annotates for himself, played on first board for the San Francisco Mechanics v. the Miami Sharks. In this game Wolff crosses up Julio Becerra, the 2006 Most Valuable...

31.10.2009 16:51 English and Bulgarian grandmasters continue feud during European Team Championship

There is history between English and Bulgarian chess grandmasters. Four years ago when Nigel Short was a commentator at the world chess championship in San Luis, Argentina, some players told him of suspicions that Veselin Topalov, who won the title after a fast start, was receiving outside help. Sho...

30.10.2009 16:56 Moscow to host top-tier tribute

The strongest chess tournament of the year, the Tal Memorial, begins Thursday in Moscow. World chess champion Viswanathan Anand of India, former champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen of Norway and seven other stars, all ranked among the world's top 13, will compete in a r...

29.10.2009 16:52 An Often-Shunned Chess Opening, for Good Reason

Some chess openings are perennially popular. Others are rarely used, particularly among elite chess players, and often for good reason. The unpopular chess openings can be broken down into three categories. The Bad: the Grob (1 g4), the Latvian Gambit (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 f5) and the Sokolsky (1 b4) among...

27.10.2009 16:37 Chess notes

The US Chess Federation held the US Women’s Championship during October, courtesy of the St. Louis Chess Club and its founder, Rex Sinquefield. Oddly, none of the contestants was born in the United States, though most are permanent residents or citizens here. Jennifer Shahade, twice American Women...

26.10.2009 16:41 Mastering the Zwischenzug

In the slow flow of the Argentine tango, the dancers suddenly stop and make a few violent moves before they slow down again and return to their unhurried glide. That's the essence of "zwischenzug" in chess. The German word describes an unexpected move, played instead of an obvious recapture or a ret...

26.10.2009 11:27 Should Women's Chess Titles Stay or Go?

25.10.2009 16:39 Bulgaria selected for world chess championship match

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) announced that the 12-game world chess championship match between champion Viswanathan Anand of India and challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria would take place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Tentative dates are April 5 through 24. The Bulgarian prime minister, Boiko Borisov,...

24.10.2009 16:51 Chess Notes

There is increasing reflection among chess commentators that Norwegian youngster Magnus Carlsen, age 18, may be destined to be world chess champion, especially because of reports that Garry Kasparov is coaching Carlsen. Here is a game won by Carlsen against Teimour Radjabov from the Pearl Spring 200...

23.10.2009 16:42 Michael Adams crucial as England look to improve world standing

The campaign to improve England's standing is currently facing a tough test at the European team chess championship at Novi Sad, Serbia, and the junior (under-20) world chess championship at Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Both chess events began on Wednesday. With Nigel Short coaching the British chess c...

21.10.2009 20:48 King Pawn Openings

Important opening novelties

21.10.2009 16:53 Carlsen did it

The leading items of the news last week involved the small nation of Norway. One was the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama for “Yes you can.’’ The other was plaudits to 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen for “Yes, you did!’’ For what Carlsen did was level his opponents in the second Nanjing P...