ChessBase Magazine Online

World Youth Chess Championship in Antalya
18.11.2007 – It is one of the biggest events of its kind in the world, the starting point for new chess talent, a gathering of young chess players, 1450 of them from 103 countries around the globe. The tournament in twelve separate categories is being held in twelve age groups for boys and girls. A warm welcome awaited us on our arrival in the Turkish Mediterranean town of Kemer-Antalya. Big pictorial report.
 

Vladimir Kramnik wins the Tal Memorial with a round to spare
18.11.2007 – Former world champion wrapped up this event in impressive style, beating Shakhriyar Mamedyrov in the penultimate round and taking a 1.5 point lead over his closest opponent. Kramnik has not lost a game and won four of his five white games. His rating performance so far: 2920. In second place is Alexei Shirov with three wins and two losses. Games, results and videos.
 

Tania Sachdev wins Indian Women’s Championship
18.11.2007 – She started as third seed, and went through the event without a single defeat – the only player with this record. In the final round WGM Tania Sachdev beat Padmini Rout to win the 34th Women’s National A Chess Championship on tiebreak points, ahead of Kiran Monisha Mohanty and Soumya Swaminathan. With this result all three have qualified for the 2008 Olympic team. Pictorial report.
 

Tal Memorial: Kramnik leads by a full point
18.11.2007 – Vladimir Kramnik increased his lead when he beat Evgeny Alexseev in round six. Top US grandmaster Gata Kamsky lost with white to Jakovenko in round six, only to come back with a black-piece win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in round seven. Alexei Shirov beat Magnus Carlsen and Evgeny Alekseev to advance to second place. Exciting games.
 

Washington Post: Winning by Rook or by Crook
18.11.2007 – It's been a banner year for cheating scandals in sports. But a couch potato's juices really start to flow when the epidemic spreads to chess. Paul Hoffman was particularly horrified that an eight-year-old participant at a children's championship was accused of receiving illicit help. The journalist, author and chess aficionado vents his frustration in today's Washington Post op ed piece.
 

The fascinating Maroczy System
16.11.2007 – Sergei Tiviakov is not only one of the leading Dutch grandmasters but also a fighter for creative chess – for instance in the Sicilian Maroczy system, which is the topic of one of his new training DVDs. As John Donaldson put it in his review, "no one in the world understands the Black side of the Maroczy as well as Tiviakov". Buy 'The Marcozy System' now or read more.
 

FEMIDA 2007 – traditional for many GMs
15.11.2007 – Recently the city of Kharkov, Ukraine, hosted three tournaments: Men and Women GMs and a Women Rapid Tournament. Great organization, great chessplayers, surprises, and Ukranian food. And music by students of the local Academy of Law (yes, law, not music). Our report by Elena Partac includes lots of pictures, a video and a recipe for Ukrainian Borscht.
 

Chess, football and the Bilbao Rule – Part II
15.11.2007 – The debate on the perceived problem of too many – unfought – draws in chess, and what to do about it, continues. The letters pour in and we keep receiving extensive, well thought through proposals that attempt to create incentives for playing to win. Josu Fernández presents closing arguments for the Bilbao System, while Serbian GM Dragan Solak tells us why he thinks it cannot work.
 

Champions League: Topalov wins with big finishing effort
15.11.2007 – It didn't look good for him during much of the tournament, but former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov produced another trademark strong finish, winning his last three games, all against his main rivals, to take the event in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain, with a 2835 performance. Judit Polgar and Ruslan Ponomariov both lost to give Topalov his impressive 1.5-point lead. Final report.
 

Tal Memorial R5: Kramnik beats Shirov, takes lead
15.11.2007 – Four draws and one decided game – but tremendous fighting chess: A slugfest between Jakovenko and Leko which ended after 61 moves in a tense draw; a 93-move draw between Ivanchuk and Carlsen in which when the world's number two could not overcome the teenager's resistance; and a grudge game in which Kramnik ground down Shirov in a trade-mark Catalan. Results, games and videos.
 

Champions League: Topalov beats Ponomariov, takes the lead
14.11.2007 – We know why Vesselin Topalov is feared by his colleagues. Like Kasparov the Bulgarian will try to win when really necessary, he will make heroic efforts at the end of a tournament and grab the point when it really matters. That is what happened in the penultimate round in Vitoria, where Topalov defeated the tournament leader Ruslan Ponomariov to take the sole lead. Illustrated report.
 

Seirawan's beautiful, instructive and unusual game
14.11.2007 – One of his great successes was his Wijk aan Zee win in 1980, at the age of 19. In his heyday he was one of the very few players who was thought to have a chance to challenge the Karpov/Kasparov dynasty. Chess politician, author and commentator Yasser Seirawan is the subject of tonight's Playchess lecture by Dennis Monokroussos. Note that the broadcast has been moved to Wednesday!