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World Chess News

 
Get into the mood for Bonn 2008

Get into the mood for Bonn 2008

Yesterday's announcement of the next World Championship match Anand vs. Kramnik in October 2008 in Germany was great news. Another top event in chess history, and a fascinating perspective for the coming year. For everyone who is still missing something for Christmas, Bob Long strongly recommends Kramnik's DVD 'My Path to the Top'. Simply superb. Buy it now or read more. More...
 
Kasparov in New York - and on Al Jazeera

Kasparov in New York - and on Al Jazeera

What does the former World Champion do when he is not taking part in political rallies against Russian leader Vladimir Putin, or serving a prison sentence in Moscow for political activities? Garry Kasparov spends quality time in New York, doing book signings in the mega bookshops of the US metropolis. We have pictures from recent signings and a remarkable must-watch TV report on Al Jazeera. More...
 
Chess and Nutrition - how to feed a chess grandmaster

Chess and Nutrition - how to feed a chess grandmaster

Many aspects of the extraordinary abilities of top chess players have undergone the scrutiny of science. Mental and physical exercises have been devised to optimise their performance. Now a nutritional scientist has systematically studied the eating habits of grandmasters - 72 of them. His paper culminates in a catalog of dietary instructions for serious chess players. More...
 
Anand vs Kramnik World Championship Match 2008

Anand vs Kramnik World Championship Match 2008

After lengthy negotiations FIDE, the two players and the organizers Universal Event Promotion (UEP) have come to an agreement: the next World Chess Championship will take place from October 11 - 30, 2008, in the National Art Gallery in Bonn, Germany, with the reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand taking on challenger Vladimir Kramnik in a twelve-game match. Press release. More...
 
Take care - it's the Caro-Kann

Take care - it's the Caro-Kann

Caro-Kann players have to be a hardy lot. There are quite a few aggressive schemes against it, and a moment's carelessness can get even a player slaughtered. Tonight our Playchess lecturer Dennis Monokroussos looks at a example by the great Caro-Kann expert Alexey Dreev. Be there and learn. More...
 
Russian Superfinal under way in Moscow

Russian Superfinal under way in Moscow

The Russian Championship Superfinal runs from 17-30 December (rest days 21st and 25th), at Moscow's Central House of Chessplayers (the former Moscow Central Chess Club). Round one saw a terrible loss for Svidler with the white pieces, a spoiled brilliancy for Morozevich, and a beautiful queen sacrifice from one of the outsiders. Report with pictures. More...
 
Understanding Grandmaster play - Fabiano annotates

Understanding Grandmaster play - Fabiano annotates

Recently a 15-year-old won the Italian Championship. Fabiano Caruana took the title in this twelve-player round robin with a resounding three-point victory and a 2740 performance, which exceeded a theoretical GM norm by a point and a half (Fabiano already has the GM title). Lase week we featured this achievement in a special report. Today we bring you a key game annotated by the champ. More...
 
New: Mega Database 2008 is out!

New: Mega Database 2008 is out!

It once started as a disk. Now the new ChessBase Databases Big and Mega 2008 come on DVDs, with 3.8 million games. Mega Database 2008 with 61,000 commented games is the starting point for any serious study of chess. All games are classified by ECO key, names, tournaments, etc. and include the Playerbase 2008 with 30,000 pictures. Buy Mega 2008 now or read more. More...
 
Khanty-Mansiysk Final: Kamsky wins, to challenge Topalov

Khanty-Mansiysk Final: Kamsky wins, to challenge Topalov

American GM Gata Kamsky has won the FIDE World Cup. In the fourth game he was able to force a perpetual check and hold Alexei Shirov to a draw, which meant that he had won the Final with a score of 2.5:1.5 (three draws, one win). Kamsky won, did not lose a single game and performed 102 points higher than his nominal 2714 rating. Congratulations Gata! More...
 
Arpad Elo and the Elo Rating System

Arpad Elo and the Elo Rating System

Ask chess players about their rating you will get an immediate response, ask them where the term "Elo" comes from and you get a puzzled look. Most think it is some kind of abbreviation or acronym. In Reality it comes from a Hungarian-born chess player and physicist, Árpád Imre Élö, who gained immortailty with his rating system. It is comprehensively described in this article by Daniel Ross. More...