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Wijk R04: Judit, Kramnik win, Topalov loses to van Wely
15.01.2008
– When is the last time you saw Veselin Topalov languishing at the bottom of a table with minus two? A second loss, to Dutch local Loek van Wely, in round four of the Wijk aan Zee Super-GM left the former FIDE world champion at the bottom of the table. Judit Polgar scored a victory over luckless Boris Gelfand. After a draw against each other Carlsen and Aronian remain in the lead.
Express report.
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Wijk R03: A highly intstructive endgame struggle
15.01.2008
– All games of round three drawn – but one was a tense 85-move battle from
which there is a lot to learn. Watching the tournament on Playchess.com
Russian politician Garry Kasparov tried to explain its complexities – without
the use of the computer. Our commentator Mihail Marin did have tablebases and
attempts to do just that, in an endgame training session
you cannot afford to miss.
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A great moment in chess (Part 2)
15.01.2008
– Reykjavik, July 11, 1972. Of the 3000 spectators at the "Match of the Century" 500 have already left, since the position on the board has no winning chances for either side. But then Bobby Fischer plays 29...Bxh2. Gudmundur Thorarinsson, President of the Icelandic Chess Federation, says: "One move and we hit every front page everywhere in the world."
Prof. Christian Hesse narrates.
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Wijk R03: All games drawn, excitement in the lower groups
15.01.2008
– After the furious start today the A-Group took a break, with draws in 17 moves (Eljanov-Anand), 22 (Ivanchuk-Gelfand), 23 (Mamedyarov-Kramnik) and 27 (Aronian-Leko). Other games lasted 38, 45 and 85 moves. We will focus our attention on that last in tomorrow's analysis. Today we concentrate on the B and C Groups. In one there is a
13-year-old GM killer on the loose.
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Oh the intensity... Wijk round two analysis
14.01.2008
– The second round was characterized by intense fight on practically all boards. True, we saw only two decisive games (compared with three in the inaugural day), but the move average increased dramatically. Gelfand-Aronian featured a complex strategic fight in which Gelfand blundered in a difficult position. Carlsen played a great technical game against Eljanov.
Commentary by GM Mihail Marin.
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Wijk R02: Carlsen and Aronian score again
13.01.2008
– After two rounds, it is Aronian and Carlsen who share the lead on 2/2. Aronian showed some deep opening preparation with against Gelfand and won this black game in fine style. Carlsen took much longer to beat Eljanov, grinding down his opponent with relentless determination and technique. Anand drew a promising position against Mamedyarov.
Express report.
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Wijk R01: Did Mamedyarov resign prematurely?
13.01.2008
– Grandmaster Mihail Marin, who is annotating the most important games from Wijk
aan Zee 2008, thinks so – and that Anand overlooked a repetition. Marin
will be providing simple and instructive notes for chess enthusiasts. We will
publish his express commentary on the day after each round, while the next ChessBase
Magazine will carry comprehensive analysis.
Enjoy and learn.
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Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (22)
13.01.2008
– This further selection from Chess
Notes includes a neglected game which Lasker reportedly nominated as his
deepest, a discussion of the short-lived American player George H. Derrickson,
discrepancies in a Colle v Grünfeld game, and the still-unresolved affair of
the termination of the 1984-85 Karpov v Kasparov match. Readers are invited
to
join in the hunt for clues.
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Wijk R01: Anand and Topalov lose, Carlsen wins
12.01.2008
– An explosive start to the 2008 edition of Wijk aan Zee: Teimour Radjabov defeated World Champion Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian took the full point from Veselin Topalov. And youngster Magnus Carlsen started off with a black-piece victory over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the C-Group the drawing ratio was zero percent.
Express report with games and pictures.
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Wijk aan Zee 2008 starts on Saturday
12.01.2008
– The annual Wijk aan Zee tournament takes place from January 12th to 27th 2008. This year it is a category 20 event with an average rating of 2742, with Anand, Kramnik and Topalov participating. There are two more groups of strong grandmasters. A special treat awaits you: Playchess kicks off with live commentary by former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov.
Full information.
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Fifth Bykova Memorial – the glamour tournament of the year
11.01.2008
– Elisaveta Bykova, the third Women's World Champion (1953-56), was born in a town near the former Russian capital of Vladimir. Every year there is a memorial tournament for Bykova, and this year it was an especially attractive affair. Not just because of the beautiful historical location, and the exciting chess. The highlight was a glamour shoot with the girls.
Spectacular photo report.
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The essentials
11.01.2008
– ChessBase Workshop columnist Steve Lopez has often mentioned "the essentials" – ChessBase products that he finds himself unable to do without. But he's never provided us with a comprehensive list of said essentials – until now. You'll find his list in the latest
ChessBase Workshop.
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