# CHESS POWER


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- [Chess events] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/page/218535): Chess events for kids both onsite and online - compete in chess, learn to play well and win great prizes






- [Coaching Courses] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/category/63576): APCC Accredited Coaching Courses

- [Holiday Programs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/category/holiday-programs): Develop problem solving and learn great new skills with our interactive school holiday programs

- [Catering] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/category/171775): Our catering product range for paid catered events

- [Products] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/category/174009): A wide range of products including clocks, sets, books and cool stuff are available through our sister site, Chess City. Your one-stop shop for chess gear.

- [School Chess Programs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/category/school-chess-programs): Chess classes held within schools

- [Tournaments] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/category/sarapu-cups): Sarapu Cup events across New Zealand open to all kids





- [Ian Mans] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2249756): Chess teaches adaptability by encouraging children to consider different perspectives, respond to unexpected challenges and find new solutions when their original plan no longer works.

- [Marielle Ibarra] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2249743): A great chess coach doesn't just teach children how to win games — they teach them how to think, how to learn from mistakes, and how to believe in their ability to solve difficult problems.

- [Aadil Misba] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2240697): I enjoy helping kids discover the joy of chess, building their confidence, and showing them how the skills they learn, like focus, patience, and planning ahead apply both on and off the board.

- [New Zealand Chess Clubs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347664): A List of Chess Clubs and groups around New Zealand

- [Albertus Viljoen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2248404): Chess teaches problem-solving in ways you don’t usually find in a standard mathematics classroom, and it also builds character—etiquette and resilience, especially after a loss.

- [Elijah Heslop-Brown] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2248243): I pay close attention to the energy and engagement of the students… and I’ll change the pace, make the lesson more interactive, or come back to the idea another time

- [Structuring your teams] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2247632): How to structure your team for the best results.

- [Cullen Milne] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2247654): Chess is rarely repetitive. Every game becomes different after only a few moves. This makes it challenging, with always more to learn and remember. You can never be perfect at chess.”

- [Himanshu Mandawaria] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2247517): A ‘never resign’ attitude keeps you in the game longer, and sometimes you can turn the situation around without losing.

- [Chris Wang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2246999): Teaching chess allows me to encourage critical thinking and a love of learning in a fun environment.

- [Oscar Westra] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2246997): Teaching children chess helps develop problem-solving skills not only in the game, but also outside of it.

- [Mel Morris-Jenkins] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2246903): I focus on creating a positive environment where students feel confident to learn, make mistakes, and keep progressing.

- [Arush Singh] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2246048): I focus on making sure they understand the reasoning behind moves, not just what to play.

- [Daniel Knowles] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2246001): Chess teaches kids to solve problems through skill rather than luck.

- [Beatrice Proverbs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2245973): Chess builds patience, critical thinking, and concentration — which are increasingly valuable in a world of instant answers (internet/AI).

- [Nick Tran] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2245767): Good teaching often comes from someone who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo, because it is through getting to the underlying problems that we can help others be their best possible self.

- [Alec Cruz] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2245605): Every win validates your own capabilities and every loss shows your potential to grow.

- [Salil Bose] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2245594): I focus not just on moves, but on understanding strategy, tactics, and how to analyse situations from multiple perspectives — much like we approach challenges in life.

- [Richard Wessels] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2245593): Chess prepares a child to figure out what to do when they don’t know what to do.

- [Regions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224726): Understand the regions that are covered by Chess Power Regional events

- [Prizes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/342037): Team scores are calculated by summing the points of the Top 4 scoring players from each school at the end of play. Ties are broken by including the 5th highest score, then the 6th and so on until the tie is broken.

- [Player Rules] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/342035): The arbiter for each day will clearly explain all rules before the start of play. It is expected that there will be a significant proportion of players in every event who have minimal or zero tournament experience.

- [Costs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/342032): A break-down of the costs for entering regional events for host and non-host schools.

- [How to Enter] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/337219): Details of how to register players and make any changes.

- [Format] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/337218): Find out about the format of the tournament including registration timing, tournament structure, the points system and divisions within the Regionals tournament

- [IM Vlad Larkin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2244939): Chess feels like a different world—one where I can focus on what matters, think deeply about improvement, and feel genuine satisfaction.

- [IM Andrew Wagdy] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2244694): Chess isn’t just a game; it’s a way of thinking.

- [Lucas Barnett-Harris] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224772): Having played several sports, I have been coached by many different individuals, and I believe that incorporating their teaching styles into my own allows me to develop my students into better players and well-rounded individuals.

- [Ryan Painton] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224742): I have lots of patience and am a very friendly person, I am really good at connecting with people on a personal level and will go out of my way to make sure someone is comfortable.

- [Josh Hornblow] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224766): I enjoy working with kids because I love seeing them grow in confidence and knowledge. The older people in my life have taught me so much, and I want to give back by helping the next generation develop their own skills and potential.

- [JM Andy Xie] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242935): Andy achieved his Junior Master title by getting a perfect score of 9 out 9 points in the Junior division of the Onsite Team Nationals 2025.

- [JM Emily Gan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242933): Emily achieved the Junior Master title by coming 3rd place in the Senior division of the Onsite Team Nationals 2025 with 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Maksim Korolev] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242932): Maksim achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st place in the Junior division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2025 with 8.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Ryan Yueyan Chen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242931): Ryan gained the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2025 with 7.5 out of 9 points, and also 1st equal in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2025 with a perfect score of 9 points.

- [JM Rex Xiaoyu Chen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242930): Rex gained the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2025 with 7.5 out of 9 points, and also 1st equal in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2025 with a perfect score of 9 points.

- [JM Sayuni Pathiranage] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242929): Sayuni achieved the Junior Master title by coming 2nd place in the Open division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2025 with 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Vrajesh Ravi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242927): Vrajesh achieved his Junior Master title by getting a perfect score of 9 out 9 points and coming 1st place in the Junior division of the Online Team Nationals 2025.

- [JM Dillon Sina'au] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242926): Dillon achieved his Junior Master title by getting a perfect score of 9 out 9 points in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2025 and coming 1st place.

- [JM Dylan Sun] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242925): Dylan achieved his Junior Master title by getting a perfect score of 9 out 9 points in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2025 and coming 1st place.

- [JM Paul Gudoy] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242924): Paul earned the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Senior division of the Online Team Nationals 2025 with a score of 8 out of 9 points.

- [JM Sean Balbalin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242923): Sean earned the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Senior division of the Online Team Nationals 2025 with a score of 8 out of 9 points.

- [JM Aidan Batyrbekov] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242921): Aidan earned the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Junior division of the Online Champions Trophy 2025 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Olivia Li] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242912): Olivia achieved her Junior Master title by coming clear 1st by scoring 8 out of 9 points at the Onsite Team Nationals 2024 Junior division.

- [JM Kaisar Batyrbekov] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242920): Kaisar earned the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Junior division of the Online Champions Trophy 2025 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Nate Whitaker] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242919): Nate earned the Junior Master title by placing 1st equal in the Junior division of the Online Champions Trophy 2025 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Isaiah Heta] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242918): Isaiah earned the Junior Master title by coming 2nd place in the Intermediate division of the Online Champions Trophy 2025 with a score of 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Thomas Su] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242917): Thomas earned the Junior Master title by placing 2nd equal in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2025 with a score of 6.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Caleb MacDonald] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242916): Caleb earned the Junior Master title by placing 2nd equal in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2025 with a score of 6.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Harrison Meng] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242911): Harrison achieved his Junior Master title by placing 2nd in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Team Nationals 2024 by scoring 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Jeremy Coombe] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242910): Jeremy gained the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 8 out of 9 point in the Senior division of the Onsite Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Zachary Thirkell] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242909): Zachary gained the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 8 out of 9 point in the Senior division of the Onsite Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Aleksei Korolev] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242908): Aleksei achieved his Junior Master title by coming clear 1st by scoring 8 out of 9 points at the Onsite Champions Trophy 2024 Junior division.

- [JM Minh Nhat (Sunny) Truong] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242907): Sunny gained the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal with 7 out of 9 point in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Ayaan Bhatia] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242905): Ayaan gained the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal with 7 out of 9 point in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Theo Hill] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242904): Theo gained the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal with 7 out of 9 point in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Laker Zeng] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242903): Laker gained the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal with 7 out of 9 point in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Brendan Meadows] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242902): Brendan gained the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal with 7 out of 9 point in the Open division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Luna Lu] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242901): Luna achieved her Junior Master title by getting a perfect score of 9 out 9 points in the Junior division of the Online Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Junqing Jerome Tao] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242900): Junqing achieved the Junior Master title by getting a perfect score of 9 out 9 points in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Almas Khan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242899): Almas gained the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 8 out of 9 point in the Senior division of the Online Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Ryan Zhou] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242898): Ryan gained the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 8 out of 9 point in the Senior division of the Online Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Jacob Miller] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242897): Jacob gained the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 8 out of 9 point in the Senior division of the Online Team Nationals 2024.

- [JM Kisara Hettiarachchi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242895): Kisara achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 7.5 out 9 points in the Junior division of the Online Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Linyu Wang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242894): Linyu achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal with 7.5 out 9 points in the Junior division of the Online Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Maximilian Fang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242893): Maximilian achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st place with 7.5 out 9 points in the Intermediate division of the Online Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Whitimai Witoko-Clair] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242892): Whitimai gained the Junior Master title by coming 3rd equal with 5.5 out 9 points in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Ranuga Ekanayake] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242891): Ranuga gained the Junior Master title by coming 3rd equal with 5.5 out 9 points in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Oliver Baldwin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242890): Oliver gained the Junior Master title by coming 3rd equal with 5.5 out 9 points in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2024.

- [JM Buthsara Hettiarachchi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242885): Buthsara achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st place in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2023 with a score of 8.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Yanbo Jin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242884): Yanbo achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st place in the Open division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2023 with a score of 8.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Alex Chen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242883): Alex gained his Junior Master title by scoring a perfect 9 out of 9 points at the Online Team Nationals 2023 Junior division.

- [JM Jayden (SiHyun) Lee] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242882): Jayden gained the Junior Master title by coming 3rd in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2023 by scoring 8 out of 9 points.

- [JM Shawn Randell Lamong] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242881): Shawn gained the Junior Master title by coming clear 1st in the Senior division of the Online Team Nationals 2023 by scoring 8 out of 9 points.

- [JM Arush Gupta] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242880): Arush gained the Junior Master title by coming clear 1st in the Intermediate division of the Online Champions Trophy 2023 by scoring 8 out of 9 points.

- [JM Koki Hara] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242877): Koki achieved the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal in the Junior division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Eden Xu] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242876): Eden achieved the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal in the Junior division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Khelan Shors] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242875): Khelan achieved the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal in the Junior division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Oscar M Petersen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242874): Oscar achieved the Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal in the Junior division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7 out of 9 points.

- [JM Zane Sarmad] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242873): Zane earned his Junior Master title by coming 2nd in the Intermediate division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Victor Coen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-daniel-gong): Victor earned his Junior Master title by coming 2nd in the Open division of the Onsite Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Richard Jinjie Liu] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242871): Richard earned his Junior Master title by coming 1st equal in the Junior division of the Online Team Nationals 2022 with a score of 8 out of 9 points.

- [JM Matthew Keith] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242870): Matthew achieved the Junior Master title by coming clear 1st by scoring 7.5 out of 9 points at the Online Team Nationals 2022 Intermediate division.

- [JM Oscar Cui] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242869): Oscar gained his Junior Master title by scoring a perfect 9 out of 9 points at the Online Champions Trophy 2022 Junior division.

- [JM Daksh Bhatt] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242868): Daksh earned his Junior Master title by coming 2nd place in the Intermediate division of the Online Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Levi Paxton] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242867): Levi achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2022 with a score of 8 out of 9 points.

- [Nicholas Fulton] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242758): Chess teaches children to think ahead and see the bigger picture, an invaluable skill in today’s world. It also helps bring kids together through a shared interest, encouraging even the more introverted players to connect and grow.

- [Chinmay Teke] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2242168): I believe in encouraging students to think for themselves and enjoy the process rather than just getting the final answers.

- [Timothy Setiawan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2241026): Chess mirrors real life: anticipate what’s next, learn from mistakes, and keep going.

- [Rahul Seenivasan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2240998): Every move matters—much like in life.

- [Michael Law] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2240893): I believe children should learn why a move is good and why a move is bad, rather than just memorising openings.

- [Ryan Gao] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2237435): As a student myself, I can relate to the benefits of good teaching and the challenges of poor teaching, and apply what I believe are the best methods to make learning chess fun, enjoyable, and effective.

- [Tharika Weerakoon] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2236894): Chess constantly teaches me to think ahead, adapt strategies, and stay calm under pressure—skills I value both on and off the board.

- [Yasitha Samarathunga] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2235485): I’m patient and supportive, and I like making hard ideas easy to understand. I enjoy working with each student in their own way and try to make learning fun.

- [Ishan Wiratunga] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2227144): Chess has shaped my personal and intellectual growth. It has challenged me, offered deep strategic insights, and allowed me to build meaningful global connections. It continues to be a central part of my life.

- [Jacob Barry] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224737): Chess is the great equalizer. Your age, background, and experiences don’t matter on the board, all that’s important is your strength and determination.

- [Amri Arshad] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2226717): I enjoy working with kids because they bring energy, creativity, and excitement to learning. Seeing kids grow their confidence and skills over time is incredibly rewarding.

- [Format] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/339968): Find out about the format of the Sarapu Cup tournament including Registration Timing, Tournament structure, the points system and divisions within the tournament

- [Jackson Laidlaw] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2225246): My fascination with the game drives me to teach children constructively, helping them develop a strong foundation and structured plans in their gameplay.

- [Akshaan Sharma] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224732): I believe that forming a connection with the students is an important part of being a good coach. With my previous experience in holiday programs, I pride myself in being able to form bonds with the students and making everyone feel involved. This is a key trait that I believe makes me a good coach.

- [Thomas Nguyen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224744): I can prepare great, and engaging materials while providing a simple learning structure so that students can have an easy time understanding.

- [Dhiraj Beharie] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224735): Not all students are at the same level. A coach should be able to recognize this and also incorporate an element of fun especially at the beginner level.

- [Sadhana Natali-Khan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224770): One of my proudest achievements is playing competitively with my nephew, who started learning chess at five years old and has since become a national chess talent in the UK at age 13.

- [Ayush Sharma] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2211178): My key strengths include my ability to create a fun, engaging environment for kids to develop their skills, patience, and understanding to help the students feel supported. I believe my strengths create a positive atmosphere where they feel supported and excited to learn.

- [Ksenia Krasovskaia] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224826): One of the most rewarding parts of coaching is watching children succeed. When they grasp a new concept, beat an opponent they once found too strong, or develop confidence in their abilities, it energizes me.

- [Paul Macdonald] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/paul-macdonald.html): I fell in love with Chess when I was 19. Ever since then I have been hooked. Someone once told me that if you have knowledge, it is your civic duty to share that knowledge with our children to serve the next generation. So that's what I do!

- [Arbz Calido] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224733): Organized with a positive attitude towards my students and knowing how to connect with them, I have certificates of National Instructor in chess and Arena International Master.

- [Kashyap Choudhary] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/924473): I’ve had success in many regional and National Chess Power tournaments. I was the school chess champion at Mt Roskill Grammar.

- [Roshan Gallage] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/roshan-gallage.html): I really like how kids enjoy themselves when they beat me in chess games. I use this opportunity to teach them to understand the game of life using the game of chess.

- [Philip Hair] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/philip-hair.html): I think Chess helps kids to achieve a longer concentration span, and this counteracts the effect of technology (which reduces attention spans). The ability to concentrate and think clearly is important in educational achievement in any discipline.

- [Bruce Pollard] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/bruce-pollard.html): Coaching helps me understand and organise what I know in a clear way as I explain important concepts in chess to children. It gives me a way to share my enjoyment and understanding of chess.

- [Christoph Thurner] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/christoph-thurner.html): Chess is a game of endless possibilities that does not need a language. If you come to a new city or country a Chess Club will always be a welcoming place, even if you know nobody there.

- [Arth Nayak] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224771): I believe what makes me a good chess coach is my ability to communicate complex concepts in a clear and simple manner. My strong background in chess allows me to create a fun, engaging, and structured coaching environment that keeps students motivated while helping them improve.

- [Kushal Patel] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/2224739): Chess is a beautiful game that combines strategy, logic, and creativity. I love how it challenges me to think ahead, analyze different possibilities, and make the best move based on the current situation.

- [Jerry Hsiao] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/965849): Chess helps kids develop critical thinking skills and improve their ability to make decisions. It also helps them develop problem-solving abilities.

- [IM Paulo Bersamina] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/958853): Based in the Phillipines, International Master Paulo Bersamina is one of our most powerful chess coaches.

- [National Finals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/350092): Learn more about the National Finals qualification criteria, awards and format.

- [Terms and Conditions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/342033): Each school must provide parents or teachers (minimum 1 per each 15 students) who are responsible for supervision of participants for the duration of the event.

- [Costs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348114): The entry fees range from $21 to $43 (inc GST) per player, per event.

- [A Tribute to Ortvin Sarapu] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/533223): Learn more about the history of the Sarapu Cup and one of the greatest Chess players in New Zealand history, Ortvin Sarapu.

- [Meet the chess-loving family that’s bringing a new junior tournament to Hawke’s Bay] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/962026): Two budding young chess-playing Havelock North siblings wanted some new competition, so their mum's bringing a new junior tournament to Hawke's Bay.

- [Champions Trophy 2022 Round-up] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/956226): The Chess Power Champions Trophy events were held on Sunday 23rd October 2022, following the conclusion of the Teams Nationals the previous day. The onsite and online tournaments saw 178 and 93 competitors, respectively, taking to the chessboard.

- [Teams Nationals 2022 Round-up] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/956206): After a two-year wait to compete in-person, over two hundred school students and their supporters participated at the Chess Power Team Nationals at Lynmore School, Rotorua over Labour weekend.

- [JM Mantra Bhatt] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/951669): Mantra earned his Junior Master title by coming 2nd equal in the Intermediate division of the Online Team Nationals 2021 with a score of 8 points out of 9.

- [JM William Liu] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926245): William achieved the Junior Master title by coming clear 1st, scoring 8.5 out of 9 points at the Chess Power Online Champions Trophy 2021 Junior Division.

- [JM Leo Malcolm] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926258): Leo earned his Junior Master title by coming 1st equal in the Open divison of the Online Champions Trophy 2021 with a score of 8 points out of 9.

- [JM Eric Mironov] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926261): Eric earned his Junior Master title by coming 1st equal in the Open division of the Online Champions Trophy 2021 with a score of 8 points out of 9.

- [JM Saahir Saheb] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926257): Saahir achieved the Junior Master title by scoring 7.5 points out of 9 at the Chess Power Online Champions Trophy 2020 Open division.

- [JM Uros Ponjiger] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926255): Uros achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st on tie-break along with Amanjot Singh at the Chess Power Online Champions Trophy 2020 scoring 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Amanjot Singh] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926256): Amanjot achieved the Junior Master title by coming 1st equal on tie-break along with Uros Ponjiger at the Chess Power Online Champions Trophy 2020 scoring 7.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Tejasvi Kichavadi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926237): Tejasvi achieved a double by coming clear 1st place at the Chess Power Team Nationals 2020 Intermediate divison scoring 8 points out of 9 and then coming clear 1st in the Chess Power Champions Trophy 2020 Intermediate division with 8 points from 9.

- [JM Artem Anikonov] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926241): Artem scored a double coming 1st equal along with Ritika Joseph in the Chess Power Online Team Nationals 2020 Junior Division scoring a perfect 9 out of 9 points and then coming clear 1st place at the Chess Power Champions Trophy 2020 Junior division.

- [JM Brillion Lau] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926246): Brillion achieved the Junior Master title by coming clear 1st, scoring 8.5 out of 9 points at the Chess Power Online Champions Trophy 2021 Intermediate division.

- [JM Pamiru Gallage] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926242): Pamiru Gallage gained his Junior Master title by scoring a perfect 9 out of 9 points at the Chess Power Online Team Nationals 2021 Intermediate division.

- [JM Grayson Po`e-Tofaeono] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926244): Grayson achieved the Junior Master title by scoring 8 out of 9 and coming 1st on tie-break at the Chess Power Team Nationals 2021 Junior Division.

- [JM Toby Shannon] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926240): Toby earned his Junior Master title by winning the Chess Power Online Teams Nationals 2020 by scoring 8.5 points out of 9 and coming clear 1st place.

- [JM Crystal Chanwong] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926238): Crystal came clear 1st place at the Chess Power Teams Nationals 2020 Senior divison scoring 8.5 out of 9 points.

- [JM Hunter Po`e-Tofaeono] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/926236): Hunter scored 8.5 out of 9 conceding just half a point at the Chess Power Team Nationals 2020 Junior division.

- [Learning Chess Sites] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347685): Great Chess Websites that help you learn how to play chess

- [JM Nathan Sun] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/905304): Nathan earned his JM title by participating in the Nationals Online Champions Trophy 2020 and achieving 8 out of 9 points and a first place result along with JM Ritika Joseph.

- [Prizes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348117): Trophies are awarded for winners. Prizes are available by Age Group, for Best Girl and for 1st, 2nd and 3rd overall. The top players qualify for the Sarapu Cup Championships.

- [JM Ritika Joseph] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/897591): Ritika achieved a double Junior Master award but scoring 9 out of 9 at the Online Team Nationals 2020 and then the very next day coming first overall in the Online Champions Trophy 2020.

- [Maraetai Beach School students head to national chess competition] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/879816): This Saturday a group of Maraetai Beach School students will head to Alfriston College to pit their chess skills against Auckland’s best, when they take part in the Chess Power Nationals Finals Team Chess Championships 2020.

- [Tournament Arbiter - Napier] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/866853): Looking for a part-time Onsite Manager for a series of tournaments in the Napier region.

- [Tournament Arbiter - Timaru] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/866624): Looking for a part-time Onsite Manager for a series of tournaments in the Timaru region.

- [TV review: beautiful minds on display in Brainboxes and Matilda and Me] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/848618): Brainboxes follows six gifted Kiwi children not only so we can gawp at their pint-sized proficiencies but also so we can try to understand the pitfalls of both owning a brain the size of a planet and having to negotiate parenting these beautiful minds.

- [Siblings become New Zealand's first-ever Pasifika chess champions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/848617): For the first time, three young Pasifika students will compete in the Australasian National Chess finals after winning gold at the NZ Power Team tournament.

- [South Canterbury pupils close to podium finish at chess nationals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/847103): Four South Canterbury schools competed in the chess tournament held at Avonhead School on Friday and Waihi's results were the best ever recorded by a South Canterbury school at the national tournament.

- [JM Michael Lin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/JM-Michael-Lin): Michael earned his JM titled at the Chess Power Teams Nationals 2019 scored 8 out of 9 points in the Senior division. Michael also came clear first in the super-strong Champions Trophy the following day, effectively winning the Junior Master title twice!

- [JM Kaeden Govender] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/JM-Kaeden-Govender): Recently arriving to New Zealand from South Africa, Kaeden achieved an incredible 9 out of 9 at the Chess Power Champions Trophy 2019 in a field of 115 players and was recognised with the JM title.

- [JM Oscar Qin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/JM-Oscar-Qin): Oscar earned his JM title by scoring a perfect 9 out of 9 at the Chess Power Teams Nationals 2019 Junior Division.

- [JM Baraa Al-Afaghani] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/JM-Baraa-Al-Afaghani): Baraa achieved his JM title by coming clear 1st at the Chess Power Teams Nationals intermediate division. Baraa didn't lose a single game at the event.

- [JM Lucas Xiao] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/JM-Lucas-Xiao): Lucas achieved his JM title by not losing a single game in the Intermediate division at the Chess Power Champions Trophy 2019.

- [JM Max Stephens] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-max-stephens): Max earned the JM title by winning the 2018 Champions Trophy whilst a year 10 student at Hamilton Boys’ High School. A keen sportsman, Max is also a member of his school’s first tennis team and has represented the Waikato-Bays tennis team at Nationals.

- [JM Miles Lee] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-miles-lee): Miles Lee achieved the remarkable score of 8 from 9 games at the Chess Power Nationals Finals 2015 equalling the top score at the event. Miles was awarded the Junior Master title for this outstanding achievement.

- [JM Ngoc Minh Tri Nguyen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-ngoc-minh-tri-nguyen): Tri Nguyen, affectionately known amongst friends as Harry, achieved clear 1st place in the prestigious and ultra-strong Champions Trophy 2015 and was awarded the Junior Master title at this event.

- [JM Euan McDougall] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-euan-mcdougall): Euan was awarded the Junior Master title at the Chess Power National Finals in 2015. Euan achieved a perfect score winning all 9 games. The photo is from when Euan won the Sarapu Cup Championship.

- [JM Daniel Morrin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-daniel-morrin): Daniel achieved the JM Master title by placing clear 1st overall at the Chess Power National Finals in 2016. He managed to win 8 of his 9 games which was an outstanding result given the intense competition.

- [JM Daniel Gong] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-daniel-gong): Daniel gained his Junior Master title by achieving a perfect 9 out of 9 score at the Chess Power Teams National Finals 2015.  Daniel has since gone on to be one of the strongest chess players in New Zealand and as of August 2018 is ranked #18 in the country. The photo was taken at the Central Auckland regionals 2014 where Daniel's Mt Roskill Intermediate team won the event beating a number of senior teams.

- [jm-johnson-chen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-johnson-chen): Johnson was the highest scoring player at the Chess Power Interschool National Finals 2015 scoring 8 from 9 games and accordingly was awarded the Junior Master title.

- [Whangārei's Hora Hora Primary School off to Christchurch chess champs] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/846093): Hora Hora Primary School teacher Joseph Tobin said he was incredibly proud of his students heading to the National Chess Champs in Christchurch

- [Chess success puts Nelson school in its first national competition] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/843781): Auckland Point School chess team have made it through to the school's first ever national competition; the Chess Power junior tournament in Christchurch.

- [Hora Hora Primary School chess club numbers double after students win] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/834481): The number of kids attending chess club has gone from about 10 to 20. These guys had such success that they really deserve to be recognised.

- [JM Christopher Schramm] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-christopher-schramm): Christopher earned his JM title by competing in the Chess Power Teams National Finals 2017 and scoring 1st equal individually along with JM Sarah Yan.

- [JM Anya Thurner] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-anya-thurner): Anya earned her title by winning the Junior division of the Champions Trophy 2017. The following day she was also the top junior at the Teams National Finals 2017 - so if it was possible she effectively earned the title twice!

- [JM John Yanes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-john-yanes): John earned the Junior Master title by winning the Champions Trophy in 2016. He then won it again in 2017! Remarkable as he won the 2016 event as an intermediate player and comes from the rural town of Reefton.

- [The Dark Knights, New Zealand's latest Dark Horse-inspired chess club] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/799471): Staff at Korowai Manaaki are always looking for relief valves to stop the kids from acting out. There are the usual staples of sport and music, but the Dark Knights chess club is an unlikely success story. The Dark Knights team recently attended the Chess Power Ngatea Zone regionals, performing very well. One of the players even managed to qualify for the National Champions Trophy, showing this kids are more than capable of competing with the best.

- [Soundland Express : Your Move] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/789373): About 130 pupils from 15 schools throughout Southland took part in the Chess Power regional tournament organised for primary, intermediate and secondary schools. "We want to teach children that chess can be fun. It helps them develop, they learn how to check things and they get immediate feedback. It's really good watching them learn" - Bruce Pollard

- [Judith Polgar] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325743): Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, she achieved the title of Grandmaster  (GM) at the age of 15 years and 4 months. She was, at that time, the youngest person ever to do so. Polgár is ranked number 49 in the world on the November 2010 FIDE rating list with an Elo rating of 2686, the only[update] woman on FIDE's Top 100 Players list, and has been ranked as high as eighth (in 2005)

- [Xie Jun] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347715): Xie Jun (born October 30, 1970, Baoding, Hebei) is a chess grandmaster from China. She had two reigns as Women's World Chess Champion, from 1991 to 1996 and again from 1999 to 2001. Xie is only the second woman to have two reigns, the other being Elisabeth Bykova.

- [Humpy Koneru] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347705): Humpy Koneru (born 31 March 1987 in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh) is a chess grandmaster from India. Her January 2010 FIDE Elo rating is 2614, placing her number two in the world for women (behind Judit Polgár). In 2007 she surpassed the rating of 2577 set by Susan Polgar  to become the second-highest ranked female player in history. She became the second female player ever, after Judit Polgár, to exceed the 2600 Elo mark.

- [Maia Chiburdanidze] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347706): Maia Chiburdanidze (born January 17, 1961) is a Georgian chess grandmaster, and the seventh (and then youngest) Women's World Chess Champion. She is the only chess player in history who has won nine Chess Olympiads.

- [Nona Gaprindashvili] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347704): Nona Gaprindashvili (born 3 May 1941) is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion (1962–1978), and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia (then part of the Soviet Union), she was the strongest female player of her generation.

- [Vera Menchik] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347713): Vera Menchik (16 February 1906–27 June 1944) was a British-Czech chess player who gained renown as the world's first women's chess champion. She also competed in chess tournaments with some of the world's leading male chess masters, defeating many of them, including future World Champion Max Euwe.

- [Hou Yifan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347714): Hou Yifan (born February 27, 1994, in Xinghua, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China)is a Chinese chess prodigy. She is the current Women's World Chess Champion, the youngest ever, and the youngest ever female player to qualify for the title of Grandmaster.

- [Southland Express : Mind Games] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/788248): Chess rewards focus and concentration and it opens the door for all kids to participate regardless of the background, gender, age, religion and regardless of the physical aptitude.

- [Principal says chess is the right move for Avalon School] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/783412): As the principal at Avalon School, he has encouraged the school's chess club and believes it is a game that has a range of educational benefits.    Last year, the decile two Lower Hutt school attended the nationals and came a creditable fifth.

- [JM Sarah Yan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-sarah-yan): Sarah earned her JM title by competing in the Chess Power Teams National Finals 2017 and scoring 1st equal individually along with JM Christopher Schramm.

- [JM Joe Wang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-joe-wang): Joe earned his JM title by scoring the highest number of points in the intermediate division of the Chess Power Teams National Finals 2017.

- [JM Nina Nguyen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-nina-nguyen): Nina was the top intermediate player in the Champions Trophy 2017.

- [JM Justine Aubrey Cortez] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-justine-aubrey-cortez): Justine earned her JM title as the top senior player in the Champions Trophy 2017.

- [JM William Zhang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-william-zhang): William won the MC Cup Finals Championships 2012 and was awarded the Junior Master™ title at the 1st MC Cup Qualifiers event in 2013.

- [JM Alphaeus Ang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/jm-alphaeus-ang): Alphaeus came 1st place in the Junior Division of the Chess Power National Interschools Finals 2011 and was awarded the Junior Master title during the 1st MC Cup Qualifiers 2012 event.

- [Chess News] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347689): Great Chess News sites showing the latest stories from around the world.

- [Alexander Alekhine - October 31, 1892 – March 24, 1946] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/323973): Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever. By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world.

- [Wilhelm Steinitz (May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/324098): Wilhelm Steinitz, sometimes called William, was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. Steinitz was also a prolific writer on chess, and defended his new ideas vigorously. The debate was so bitter and sometimes abusive that it became known as the "Ink War".

- [Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/324099): Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years. In his prime Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever.

- [Siegbert Tarrasch (March 5, 1862 – February 17, 1934)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/329582): Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Tarrasch was a highly esteemed chess writer. It was Tarrasch who wrote in his Preface to The Game of Chess (1931) the often repeated line:  “Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy.”

- [Tigran Petrosian (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347726): Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was an Armenian World Chess Champion  from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else. He was arguably the hardest player to beat in the history of chess.

- [José Raúl Capablanca (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347716): José Raúl Capablanca (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Due to his achievements in the chess world, mastery over the board and his relatively simple style of play he was nicknamed the "Human Chess Machine".

- [McGlashan 5 have all the right moves] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/718322): John McGlashan College chess team members celebrate after winning the intermediate New Zealand chess power interschools national final. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH

- [Whangaparaoa Primary students focus on chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/678909): Chess is taking off in a big way at Whangaparaoa School – a recent open day there attracted more than 50 students keen to learn from scratch, or improve their game.

- [John McRae] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/659996): Chess Power has done a great job promoting chess in schools around New Zealand...

- [Wairarapa Junior Sportsman of the Year] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/652548): Joseph Teofilo from the Wairarapa, who has participated in many Chess Power events was awarded Wairarapa Maori male Junior Sportsman of the Year and the Peoples Choice trophy for his achievements in chess both regionally and nationally.

- [Chess enthusiasts battle it out] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/636098): Five schools gave their best at the Chess Power tournament at Morrinsville Intermediate recently.

- [Life skills from smart moves - Nelson Mail] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/579475): Board games, a wet school holiday afternoon and a hall packed with children usually result in chaos and noise.    But the main sounds at the Chess Power Nationals at Annesbrook Church were the slapping of the timer and the occasional sharp intake of breath.

- [Chess Teams Tie for Eighth at Nationals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/579474): Paeroa and Hauraki Plains colleges chess teams combined travelling arrangements to head to Nelson last weekend for the National Secondary Schools Chess Finals.

- [What's in the Bag?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578142): Chocolate Fish, a name badge, a Champions Trophy Pen and a Free Rating Wristband!

- [Excellence Award Winners] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578242): Achieved 6 or 6.5 points from 9 games (Rishit Patel, Benjamin Nylund, Kashyap Choudhary, David Marshall, Louie Wei, Zi Yuan Tee, Findlay Lister, Andrew Cai, Tim Koorey, Nathan McDougall, Daniel Clarke, Samuel Porter Samuels and Iain Sweatman)

- [Distinction Award Winners] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578240): Achieved 7 points or more from 9 games (Eric Chow, Timothy Rains, Vlad Barbu, Euan McDougall)

- [Credit Award Winners] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578237): Achieved 5 or 5.5 points from 9 games

- [Champions Trophy 2014 Champions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578248): From Left (Best Junior Benjamin Nyland 6.5/9, Best Girl Sylvia McDougall 5.5/9, Best Intermediate Euan McDougall 7/9, Overall Champion Eric Chow 8.5/9, Best Senior Timothy Rains 8/9)

- [Champions Trophy 2014 Champions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578249): From Left (2nd Best Girl [on tie-break] Sayuni Weerasiri 5.5/9, Best Junior Benjamin Nyland 6.5/9, Best Girl Sylvia McDougall 5.5/9, Best Intermediate Euan McDougall 7/9, Overall Champion Eric Chow 8.5/9, Best Senior Timothy Rains 8/9)

- [Best Girls] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578247): The Best Girl on tie-break Sylvia McDougall. The 2nd Best Girl on tie-break  Sayuni Weerasiri

- [Best Girls] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578245): The Best Girl on tie-break Sylvia McDougall. The 2nd Best Girl on tie-break  Sayuni Weerasiri

- [Best Girls] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/578244): The Best Girl on tie-break Sylvia McDougall. The 2nd Best Girl on tie-break  Sayuni Weerasiri

- [Gray Gillespie, Teacher, Stanhope Road School, Auckland] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/546701): Thanks so much for supporting Stanhope Road. It was Leigh's (year 5 &6 coordinator) first time attending the Chess Power event and we both agree that you run an excellent program. Your instructions to the students are really clear and everybody had a great time.    We are looking forward to upcoming events.

- [1st Sarapu Cup 2014 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/538581): The newly created Sarapu Cup in memory of the great Ortvin Sarapu would have pleased Ort with so many juniors turning up for some exciting Chess!

- [Sarapu Cup Championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348118): The Sarapu Cup Championship has a Kings Championship Division and various Open Divisions. Winners of the Sarapu Cup events through the year gain entry into the Kings Championship Division. The winner of the Kings Championship Division of the Sarapu Cup Championship is crowned Sarapu Cup Champion and their name is engraved on the Sarapu Cup.

- [1st MC Cup 2014 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/531358): A promising start to the year with 62 avid competitors ready to get their Chess year off to a great start!

- [2nd Place Team Winners - ACG Strathallen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/371337): Nathan Winspear, Daniel Passau, Raymond Luo, Sam Wilson, Connor Murphy, [name removed on request] and Sam Abel. Chess Power Arbiter Alisah Yarmoradi.

- [3rd MC Cup Apr 2013 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/477728): The April event had a lot of atmosphere and lots of enjoyment was had by all!

- [2nd MC Cup Mar 2013 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/477616): A few more players came out of woodwork in March to polish off their chess skills. It is great to see so many keen Chess players in great weather!

- [1st MC Cup Feb 2013 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/477501): The 1st MC Cup of the year kicked off quite well with 40 avid competitors! That is a great turn out for the beginning of the year.

- [MC Cup Championships 2012 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/477483): The MC Cup Championships for 2012 featured two divisions - the Open Division and the Kings Championship Division.

- [MC Cup November 2012 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/454746): The last MC Cup Qualifier for the year promised to be full of fun and excitement and we found out who could do what it took to make it to the Championships!

- [MC Cup October 2012 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/450123): The days are warmer with summer just around the corner but Chess is as popular as ever with a great turn out for this MC Cup. And a surprise winner decides to come out of the woodwork especially for this event and assert his dominance.

- [MC Cup September 2012 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/445812): A new venue and a new division created a pleasant change for the 58 competitors.

- [Tauhara College - Right Moves Made] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/441888): One event which has a highlight for a number of students this past week was the Chess competition. We were delighted to win the overall competition.

- [MC Cup August 2012 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/440165): 79 players joined us at the Auckland Bridge club for the 6th MC Cup for 2012.

- [Viktor is still the Terrible!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/439520): The trend of matches between aging champions and another set of players is an attractive one, and has been tried in many forms. The Geneva Chess Club proposed its own spin by pitting its aspiring masters against a group of legendary players. The veterans won, led by Viktor Korchnoi, 81 years-old, bound to a wheelchair. Report, video, plus photos by Frits Agterdenbos.

- [Remembering Svetozar Gligoric (Part one)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/439515): "If you post a follow-up article on Gligoric, please don't make the mistake of other sites and simply copy & paste his win versus Petrosian from Rovinj-Zagreb from Wikipedia," wrote Kiril Penusliski. We asked the Macedonian art historian to select examples that better illustrate the unique Gligoric style, and he sent us some beautifully annotated games of his teacher and mentor. Do not miss this one.

- [Did he bite a police officer? Kasparov on his unlawful arrest] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/439513): Some people are out to get him. The allegation that Kasparov had bitten a police officer in the course of his violent arrest is clearly intended to provide grounds for a jail sentence. However, using BBC video Kasparov is able to demonstrate that the officer in question, his hands clearly visible before, during, and after the police assault, was never injured

- [2012 Istanbul Chess Olympiad preview] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/439512): After the London 2012 Olympics, in which we saw a number of records fall with participants from 204 nations, the upcoming Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey, should be no less impressive. Players hailing from over 160 countries are expected. The official website is already up with a list of the many teams and their makeups, and expect to enjoy photos and videos as well.

- [Tiviakov wins Roosendaal LBV weekend tournament] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/439511): Roosendaal? It is not one of the more famous Dutch towns, but rather sneaks by unseen, unheard, unnoticed. But it pays host to a lovely weekend tournament: "I can honestly say I have never seen such joyful, full-of-life and happy-to-help-you organizers – the Dutch gezellig way became rather contagious..." writes WGM Alina L'Ami in her big pictorial report.

- [Hauraki Plains College - Knights and Pawns: HPC Chess Tournament] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/438484): The Hub was bursting with 59 enthusiastic chess players on the 27th of June. Players had arrived from Morrinsville Intermediate, Stanley Avenue, Paeroa College and Te Puru Primary along with Hauraki Plains College.

- [Chess through pink-tinted glasses] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433897): WGM Alina L'Ami is frank about it: she was never a big fan of weekend tournaments for the obvious reason: too much chess in too short a time. But never say never! As it turned out, the Nova College Chess Tournament changed her mind. Not just her as one surprise guest was famous GM Ulf Andersson. It didn't hurt that it was in Haarlem, Holland, a postcard setting, not to mention: pink everywhere!

- [Match of the Century begins in Reykjavik] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433896): That could have been the headline of our newspage, exactly forty years ago this afternoon, when after some harrowing manoeuvring the US Challenger Bobby Fischer sat down to the first game of the World Championship match against Boris Spassky in Iceland. It was a very tense encounter and has been beautifully recreated by Frank Brady, who was an eye-witness at the scene.

- [Breaking news: Fischer loses first game to Spassky in Reykjavik] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433895): Yesterday we reported on the start of the historic World Championship match between Boris Spassky and his challenger Robert Fischer. In a completely drawn position the American had lost a bishop and was fighting to survive. Many thought he would make it, but after resumption Spassky played with great precision to win the first game. We ask our readers: could the game have been saved?

- [Ivan Sokolov wins 40th Annual World Open in Philadelphia] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433894): A quick draw in the final round left Ivan Sokolov and Alex Shabalov tied for first in the Open Section, with 7.0/9 points each. They were not caught by three GMs half a point behind, and so had to take part in an Armageddon play-off. Sokolov had the white pieces and five minutes, Shabalov the black pieces, three minutes and draw odds. Ivan Sokolov won and became the 2012 World Open Champion.

- [Anand on the World Championship in Moscow (Part 1)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433893): Just six weeks ago Viswanathan Anand successfully defended his World Championship title in Moscow, against Israeli GM Boris Gelfand. Immediately after the final Anand spoke to an old friend, journalist Jaideep Unudurti. The interview was too long (and profound) for his newspaper, which carried only parts of it. Jaideep has given us the rest, which we bring you in three parts.

- [Dortmund 2012 – Kramnik shocks Gustafsson with a KID... as black!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433892): Vladimir Kramnik is famous for his merciless destruction of the King's Indian. He has been so efficient that even Garry Kasparov shied away from it, and it all but disappeared from elite play for many years. So imagine Jan Gustafsson's shock in round two, when he found himself facing it in the hands of its most notorious killer. And what a game!

- [Can we still deceive computers in chess?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433891): Today the best players in the world would balk at playing against a strong chess program. But are there any positions or ideas left that computers cannot figure out? Kiyoshi Takahashi has put together some elementary themes that traditionally posed problems for computers. To this we have added a study which for almost thirty years has genuinely stumped our electronic friends.

- [Dortmund Rd5 – Karjakin joins Kramnik and Ponomariov for lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433890): The fourth round was such a lukewarm affair, there was nothing to remark on the five draws other than their exercise in symmetry at the end. Round five was another story altogether. While Kramnik and Ponomariov were unable to decide anything, Karjakin beat Daniel Fridman in a powerful game, Caruana outclassed Gustaffson in their encounter, and Bartel lost to Naiditsch

- [Fifth FIDE Women's Grand Prix starts in Jermuk] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433889): This event with zwelve elite female players is taking place in the Armenian hamlet of Jermuk, which is fast becoming a centre of chess, with it's third Grand Prix in four years. It started with a big opening ceremony on Monday, with the President of the country (and chess federation) present. In round one on Tuesday Humpy, Ju Wenjun and Kovalevskaya scored.

- [Chess mates bring home silver] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/433314): Winning a chess game isn't as black and white as it may seem. That's how Dargaville Intermediate students managed to bring home silver medals from the Northland Zone Chess Tournament at Whangarei Boys' High School

- [Gold for young chess star] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/432794): When it comes to chess, 10-year-old Devon Gamble, of Dunedin, is proving to be king.    Devon was taught the game six months ago and surprised everyone, including herself, when she won two gold medals at Chess Power's interschool championship in Dunedin this week.

- [Tal Memorial Rd6 – Moro loses to Nakamura, Kramnik joins lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/428067): It was perhaps not the highest level chess, but as far as drama and excitement go, spectators were on the edges of their seats. Morozevich set up a violent attack against Nakamura, but as time trouble came, Nakamura found inspired moves and turned the tables for his first win. Caruana beat McShane and Kramnik exchanged blunders with Tomashevsky to win.

- [Rogers and Ajith Kumar on Anand in Sportstar] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/428066): Almost two weeks have passed since World Champion Anand narrowly defended his title in Moscow, although he was supposed to win it in a breeze. How that came about and what was involved in preparatory work on both sides is described by Australian GM Ian Rogers. Meanwhile columnist P.K. Ajith Kumar tells us about Anand's charisma in India

- [The third Danzhou tournament – Bu Xiangzhi takes gold] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/428065): The 3rd Hainan Danzhou GM tournament finished in a race. The sole leader GM Ni Hua, opted for a quick draw against GM Zhao Jun in the last round. GM Bu Xiangzhi, who was half a point behind, beat top seed GM Wang Yue, and snatched first place on tiebreak. This also gave him the last spot on the Chinese team for the Olympiad. He comments his win in the pictorial by Gu Xiaobing.

- [Mikhalchishin: how to beat a World Champion] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/428064): He has a daunting task: GM Adrian Mikhalchishin coaches WGM Betul Cemre Yildiz, bottom seed at the Women's Grand Prix in Kazan. In round two she faced the reigning women's world champion Hou Yifan, rated almost three hundred points above her, with the black pieces. But Betül managed to trick her Chinese opponent and pull off her first win against her. Mikhalchishin tells us how.

- [Calm or concrete?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/428062): Which continuation would you recommend to maintain/increase Black's clear positional superiority?    A) 23...Rd6  B) 23...Rd8  C) 23...Ng4

- [MC Cup May 2012 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/426973): The MC Cup event continues to show rapid growth - this time with 20% more players reaching a total of 78 players. The introduction of the Rookies division gave players more opportunities and will be a permanent feature of future MC Cup events.

- [Knight sorties] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/425863): With the preceding exchange 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 (diagram) White had cleared a central square for the knight sortie 21.Nd5 in order to uproot the black bishop d3 with tempo.  What does this operation entail in the end?  A) positional advantage for White  B) equality  C) material gains for Black

- [World Championship closing ceremony in Moscow] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/425862): On Thursday, a day after the after the end of the playoffs, the closing ceremony of the World Chess Championship was held – with champions, dignitaries, sponsors, laurel wreaths and trophies. We have videos and pictures of the the festivities. Also statics of the Championship as a media event, which was so successful that the Russian Chess Federation is considering a repeat.

- ['Gelfand, you are awesome!' – the Challenger returns to Israel] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/425861): More than a month away from home, family, children. At long last World Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand was back on Israeli soil. At Tel Aviv Airport he was given a hero's welcome, by young fans and the press. At the airport there was a scare with missing luggage, but that resolved itself quickly, and the family reunion was unspoiled.

- [Stefanova wins Women's World Rapid in Batumi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/425860): The top-ranked players were all battling for the medals, but it was the luckiest (by her own admission) who took Gold in the end. Antoneta Stefanova could hardly complain – two of her highest-ranked opponents blundered winning positions to mate in two or mate in one. The Blitz Championship starts on Monday. From the final rounds of the Rapid we are treated to Europe Echecs video reports.

- [Chess Match: Blondes vs Brunettes in Moscow] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424448): Eric van Reem is a German Lufthansa employee and chess organiser. He is also a member of Team Anand and the hero of the last World Championship in Sofia, when he arranged a 40-hour transportation for Vishy when an Icelandic volcano paralysed most of Europe. Eric is maintaining a blog on the World Championship, and has thankfully reported pictorially on an important side event.

- [Video commentary and impressions from Moscow] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424447): Believe it or not we have more on the World Championship. First our most prolific trainer and commentator GM Daniel King asks whether the 17-move win by Anand in game eight was the shortest in World Championship history (spoiler: it was!). He looks at the second shortest game – from 1886! Then GM Robert Fontaine takes us on a fascinating video tour of the chess-riddled Russian capital

- [World Championship G9 – Anand saves a tough game to a draw] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424446): After an almost embarrassing defeat in round eight, Gelfand regrouped and won a moral victory in round nine. Anand went for the Nimzo-Indian, and Gelfand once more showed an edge with white. Despite clearly having the better chances, he was unable to maneuver to a win, and drew after making Anand suffer until move 49. Full report with pictures, video and GM commentary.

- [World Championship G10 – An offbeat Sicilian is flavor of the day] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424445): With two whites to go, Anand chose 1.e4 as one means to try and keep his opponent off-balance. Gelfand was ready with his Sicilian, and even Vishy's 3.Bb5, and fairly offbeat 5.b3, were replied to nearly instantly. The queens came off by move eleven after which the position remained equal until their handshake at move 25. Illustrated report with GM analysis and videos.

- [Chesska defends World Champion title in Robot Chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424444): Picture this: two massive industrial robots playing five-minute blitz in a Moscow park, for a world championship title no less. To warm things up Alexander Grischuk risked his life playing a six-game match against the challenger, a robot named KUKA from Germany. He remained uninjured – except for his ego, after a 1.5:4.5 loss. Do not miss the HD video at the end of our report.

- [Asian Team Championship – China dominates] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424443): The 2012 Asian Team Championship is underway from May 19 to May 26 in Zaozhuang, Shandong, China. The event brings together many of Asia's top players including Wang Hao (2730), Krishnan Saskiran (2720), Le Quang Liem (2703), and more. In the men's event, China has dominated with a stellar Wang Hao while they won the women's event in a clean sweep.

- [WCh 103 years ago] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424441): The first player is planning 28.Bd3 with the idea 29.exf5 in order to upgrade his light-squared bishop and give his rooks more space again. A move of which black piece counters this manoeuvre?  A) knight e6  B) rook f8  C) pawn g6

- [Kavalek in Huffington: US Chess Champ Hikaru Nakamura (Part 2)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/424440): Two best U.S. grandmasters, the defending champion Gata Kamsky and the top-rated American Hikaru Nakamura, went neck-to-neck in the 11-round robin, leaving others far behind them. Hikaru was a half point behind Kamsky with two rounds to go. They met in the penultimate round and Nakamura scored the most needed victory – with black. GM Lubomir Kavalek annotates the key games.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: Women in chess – a few tales (Part 2)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/423736): After WWII Russian ladies had the World Championship title, but in 1962 they were replaced by two Georgian players who dominated women's chess – for nearly thirty years. Then the Chinese took over, their dynasty only briefly interrupted by champions from Hungary, Bulgaria and Russia. In part two of his Huffington Post column GM Lubomir Kavalek retraces history with some exciting games.

- [World Championship G7 – Gelfand draws first blood and leads] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/423735): It's the decisive result for which everyone has been clamoring, but it wasn't the big win Anand's fans were hoping for. As noted by Kasparov, the buzzword so far has been "safety", and here it was taken too far, as the passive play by the world champion allowed Gelfand to penetrate with decisive effect for the match's first win. Extensive analysis by GM Gilberto Milos and IM Malcolm Pein.

- [Nakamura and Krush win US Championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/423734): It was a dramatic finish to one of the most exciting US Championships in years. Nakamura was the slight favorite, but with two rounds to go, Kamsky had taken the sole lead. Then in round ten, Hikaru pulled out the big guns and beat Kamsky, followed by a win over Seirawan in the final round. Krush beat Zatonskih in a playoff for the Women's title.

- [World Championship Game seven – pictures and video] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/423733): At last another game with action and excitement – and a 1-0 decision! Many spectators kept their cool, but some didn't. We brought you full analysis by different GMs and IMs in our previous report, and now we add to that with a video report by Europe Echecs and some wonderful pictures provided by the event photographers Anastasiya Karlovich and Alexey Lushenkov.

- [World Championship G8 – Anand strikes back, wins in 17 moves!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/423732): What a game, what a fascinating turn of events! World Champion Vishy Anand shockingly lost the seventh game and let Challenger Boris Gelfand take the lead. Today he struck back with a resounding 17-move win that took commentators Peter Leko and Ian Nepomniachtchi and more importantly Gelfand completely by surprise. Express report with tons of GM commentary and videos.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: US Chess Champ Hikaru Nakamura (Part 1)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/423731): They fought gallantly and when it was over on Saturday afternoon, the horse, I'll Have Another, and the chessplayer, Hikaru Nakamura, 24, were declared winners almost at the same time. Nakamura wanted the title badly. He was rated number seven in the world and it was a matter of prestige for him. GM Lubomir Kavalek annotates some of the key games.

- [US Championship – Kamsky joins Nakamura in lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/422641): One thing must be said about the US championship, on top of the great organization and live coverage open to all, and that is that it is anything but boring. In round five, Nakamura had taken the sole lead, but Kamsky was not about to give up his title that easily, and in round seven caught up as the two lead by a full point. GM Ramirez beat Kaidanov in one of the craziest games of his career.

- [World Championship: Interviews, reflections, chess sets] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/422640): Is the Championship in Moscow, without a Russian player, an audience success? Can chess ever be that? Yes it can, says chief organiser Ilya Levitov, who has a 21st Century formula to bring chess to a wide audience – and make events pay for themselves. Compelling. We also get a tour of chess sets and pictures in the Tretyakov Museum

- [Sigeman: Caruana wins Sigeman with 2852 performance] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/422639): He is the hottest chess talent – still a junior but number eight in the world. Italian/American GM Fabiano Caruana won his last two games in the Hipp Theater in Malmo, Sweden. His 2852 performance should contribute seven points to his FIDE rating. Hungarian GM Peter Leko celebrated his "comeback" with the second place and a respectable 2792 performance.

- [World Championship G5 – Sveshnikov drawn in 27 moves] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/422638): In the fifth game Anand and Gelfand played 17 moves of theory, after which White deviated from the previous 2009 game and seemed to get a small advantage. However Anand allowed his Israeli challenger to trade down and after ten more moves there was nothing left to play for. Full report with pictures and videos, as well as double analysis by GM Romain Edouard and IM Malcolm Pein.

- [Top seed Khotenashvili wins Georgian Women Championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421555): After eight rounds WIM Meri Arabidze, rated 2337, was in the lead, a full point ahead of top seed Bela Khotenashvili, 2490. In round nine the two clashed and Bela beat Meri, who went on to draw and then lose a game. Bela on the other hand won and drew, so that on the final scoreboard she was the sole winner and 2012 Georgian Women's Champion.

- [World Championship G2 – Anand shows his hand as Semi-Slav is played] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421554): Although the second game failed to develop the tension that might have led to a decisive victory, it did answer an important question: what did Anand have planned as his main black weapon? Against Topalov it had been the Grünfeld, then the stultified Catalan. This time the Semi-Slav was chosen, though it developed into a calm position that ended in a draw.

- [Sigeman: Caruana leads, Grandelius in second place] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421553): Fabiano Caruana is number eight in the world. With two wins and a draw, and a 2940 performance, he has taken the lead in the 20-year jubilee of the Sigeman Chess Tournament. In second place is Sweden's most interviewed chess player, dredlocked Nils Grandelius, who is known for Grandelius innovative playing style. The dredlocked GM is totally fearless, as his games in Malmö show.

- [World Championship – Opening ceremony, Anand has white] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421413): The World Chess Championship was opened in the Tretyakov Gallery on Thursday in spectacular style and with plenty of prominence. There was the playing of anthems, speeches by dignitaries, and the drawing of colours – Anand will play white in the first game. But the highlight is the musical part of the evening, which includes a pre-teen pianist whom we shall call the Magnus Carlsen of Music.

- [Fit for the WCh?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421412): Today is the first game of the title match between Anand and Gelfand (13.00 live on Playchess.com), so the sophisticated kibitzer should exercise calculating long variations. In this position the liquidation sequence 14...Nxe5 15.dxe5 Bxe5 16.Nxd5 Bxa1 17.Qxa1 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Qxg7 leads to ...  A)... advantage for White since the rook h8 drops;  B)... advantage for Black after 19...Bh3;  C)... an unclear position.

- [World Championship G1 – a fighting draw sets the tone] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421411): In the most anticipated match of the year, the World Championship got under way with Vishy Anand against challenger Boris Gelfand. It was neither the cataclysmic opener of his match against Topalov in 2010 nor a dull draw, though draw it was. The game was a fascinating Grünfeld, which has been summarised for us by IM Malcolm Pein.

- [US Championship – Favorites lead, with wins all around] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/421410): It is perhaps symptomatic of chess players more reared on swiss opens than round robins, but whatever the reason, even the presence of world top players such as Nakamura and Kamsky have not changed the fact that nearly all players have at least one win. Nothing is decided yet in this event with live video GM commentary, and beautiful online coverage.

- [CBM training: Caruana's King – Endgames from Italy] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420596): Distant opposition; via the queenside to the kingside; the blockade; Caruana's king – these are the themes that crop up in the positions that our endgame specialist Dr Karsten Müller – of ChessBase Magazin fame – has extracted from the recent Italian Team Championships. His analysis and annotations will give your practical tournament rating a boost. Don't miss it.

- [Norwegian Chess Festival – great fun in beautiful Fagernes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420595): The second "Norsk Sjakkfestival" took place from 28th of April to 5th of May at Norway’s new “Chess Hotel” Quality Hotel & Resort Fagernes, with a central placement in Southern Norway, 2½ hours from Oslo airport. There were several events for players of different categories, from beginner to grandmaster. We received an informative report and some wonderful pictures by WFM Maria Bolshakova.

- [Chess and Shogi – Chernin in Japan (Part 2)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420594): When Jacques-Marie Pineau, chess enthusiast and trainer in the emerging western-chess nation of Japan, invited grandmaster Alexander Chernin to take part in a good-will tour, which involved lectures and simultaneous exhibitions in a country mainly fascinated with Shogi. Jacques-Marie starts his final report with a description of how a young Shogi talent can take to chess

- [Kavalek in Huffington: Women in chess – a few tales (Part 1)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420593): Lurking in the background, hiding their identity, they seem mysterious, magical, beautiful. At first they observed the game from a distance, but as centuries went by, women were drawn closer to the chessboard. Still, for ages they could not play chess in public and it took courage and determination to break into the male dominated game. GM Lubomir Kavalek takes a look at some who paved the way.

- [MC Cup April 2012 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420178): Easily the largest MC Cup to date, 65 avid and keen Chess players prepared to battle it out, challenge Masters, solve tough puzzles and enjoy a Sunday afternoon of Chess fun!

- [Chess and Shogi – GM Alexander Chernin in Japan] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420127): It is astonishing that Japan, the third largest economy on the planet, with a population of 127 million, ranks at a paltry 92th on FIDE's chess world rankings, just behind Monaco. On the other hand the national version of chess, Shogi, is played by millions. Jacques-Marie Pineau has tried to rectify the situation by inviting a strong GM and trainer to motivated students – with resounding success.

- [Vaibhav Suri, grandmaster at fifteen] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420117): The student of Modern School in New Delhi won the 3rd Luc Open at salle Debeyre in Lille, France, on Sunday, defeating four GMs and drawing four. That brought Vaibhav Suri his third and final norm, making him India's 27th grandmaster, and at 15 years, 2 months and 21 days the 27th youngest in history. Vaibhav is being trained by Ukrainian GM Alexander Goloschapov.

- [GM Czebe Attila wins First International Open in Melaka] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420116): Prizes galore were given away at the multi-event chess festival in the quaint Malaysian city, a product of Islamic, Dutch, Portuguese and British influences through the ages. A look at the first emergence of international chess in a place that’s keen to put itself on the global chess map. Where it would be a colorful jewel of tropical beauty, as you can see in WGM Kruttika Nadig's big illustrated report.

- [ChessBase 25 Composing Tourney Awards – Part two] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420114): This tourney attracted wide participation – 73 entries, from which the tourney judge GM John Nunn selected 22 prize winners and commendations. In a second instalment of new studies, selected by the tourney judge, Dr Nunn, in his wonderful explanatory style, presents some dramatic themes, and also looks at two predecessors to one of the prize winning entries.

- [Bologan takes Taça Cuca by storm] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420113): One of Africa’s major oil producers, Angola, is also becoming one of the world’s most interesting places to…play chess. There are enough beautiful and exotic locations to make it deserving of a detour to enjoy a once in a lifetime chess experience. With an absolutely 'insane' 8.0/9, Victor Bologan convincingly won the men's section. Illustrated report by WGM Alina L'Ami.

- [The 2012 Russian Youth Championships] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420112): The Russian Youth Championships (under 10/12/14/16/18) were recently held in classical, rapid and blitz time controls. Aside from the obvious honor of being crowned national champion, at stake was also the right to represent Russian in the next World and European Youth Championships. Vladimir Barsky was on scene and took a number of lovely photographs.

- [47th Capablanca Memorial starts] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420162): The 47th Capablanca Memorial started and as is customary includes both top Cuban players with elite foreign GMs. There are two tournaments, the Elite group as well as the Premier. The Elite brings top Latin American player Leinier Domínguez, his compatriot Quesada, followed by Ivanchuk, Nepomniachtchi, Laznicka, and Potkin. In the first round, Domínguez drew first blood.

- [Georgian Women Championship 2012] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/420161): This strong event is being staged in the beautiful Black Sea costal town of Anaklia – a name that translates to "Ana is crying" (explained in our report). The press officer of the championship, WIM Sopho Nikoladze, has sent us some lovely pictures and, thankfully, full captions that acquaint us to the players. We can only share half of them in our current report – the rest will follow soon.

- [Zurich Challenge G5: Draw in 43 moves] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/419006): Coming into the penultimate game tied at 2.5-2.5 Vladimir Kramnik deviated from game one on move eight, but his opponent Levon Aronian was well prepared with a quiet line in the Moscow Variation. The Armenian was able to equalise and offered a draw. But his Russian opponent pressed on and introduced some lively complications. At move 43 they repeated moves for a draw.

- [Zurich Challenge G6: Exciting draw after 43 moves] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/419005): Levon Aronian again opened with the unusual (for him) 1.e4 and Vladimir Kramnik played his pet Berlin Defence. The game remained fairly balanced, with Kramnik waiting for a chance to strike. And strike he did, with an exchange sacrifice on move 31 which almost won him the match. It was only time trouble that saved his Armenian opponent.

- [ChessBase 25 Composing Tourney Awards – Part one] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/419004): Special occasions in the chess world are often celebrated by chess problemists with a composition tourney. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of ChessBase we staged a commemorative tourney. A total of 73 eligible entries were received for this tourney, an excellent response. The tourney judge Dr John Nunn selected 22 prize winners and commendations. Today we bring you the top four.

- [Central knight duo] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418443): The sortie 17.Ne5 (diagram) attacks the black queen which is tied to the defence of the Ne4, but also opens the diagonal to g2. What is the bottom line? White ...  A) ... wins material  B) ... loses material  C) ... gets checkmated

- [Magnus Carlsen defeats Stephen Colbert 2-0] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418354): We know he is the strongest in the world, but did you know this was true about rock-paper-scissors? Magnus Carlsen was on the Colbert Report (pronounced Coll-bair Re-por) last night, and after obediently answering the chess questions was challenged by the host to a best-of-three in the well-known hand game. The chess prodigy won convincingly with a perfect 2-0 score.

- [Zurich Challenge G3: Kramnik strikes back, evens score] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418355): On move eleven Levon Aronian sacrificed his queen – and it didn't seem to be preparation, as the opening choice by Vladimir Kramnik was very offbeat – a Scotch Four Knights, something he had never played before. He refuted the very dangerous looking attack of Aronian with precise calculation and went on to win an unusually exciting game – for which we bring you extensive commentary.

- [Zurich Challenge G4: Draw, Aronian wins rapid game] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418353): The fourth game of the Zurich Chess Challenge, another Berlin Defense, ended in a draw before the prescribed minimum of 30 moves or three hours. In such cases Swiss law – well, the match rules – prescribe that a rapid game be played, which is not rated or counted in the final score. This exciting game was won by Levon Aronian with the black pieces.

- [Premature?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418152): White is clearly on the ropes, however, if Black tries to solve the position by tactical means, the queen on h6 could prove the saving factor. In concrete terms - the immediate strike 39...Rxf3+ after 40.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 41.Kg2 leads to what?  A) victory for Black  B) equality/perpetual check  C) advantage for White

- [CHESS Magazine: Anand vs Gelfand – a preview] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418151): The build-up to the Anand-Gelfand world championship is in full swing. There is now an official website, and a couple of press releases have been issued. The CHESS editor John Saunders takes stock of the two players, their careers, rating development, scores against each other, their repertoires, and their chances of winning. John even predicts the openings and the character of the winner.

- [IV Taca Cuca Tournament in Angola] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418150): For a European, few things could be more adventurous than a trip to Africa, yet nations such as Angola organize events including a women's tournament, with such generous conditions that any preconceived notions against it are soon forgotten. This is why it has grown to attract as many as nine grandmasters such as Viktor Bologan and Sergey Tiviakov. A pictorial report by WGM Alina L'Ami.

- [Dubai Open: Five players share first with 7.0/9] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/418149): Specifically: GMs Ni Hua, Baadur Jobava, Mikheil Mchedlishvili, Normunds Miezis and Sandipan Chanda, from four different countries (China, Georgia, Latvia and India). Their performances ranged from 2770 to 2709, with all standing to gain rating points in the next list. Our final report from this interesting tournament in the UAE provides results, games, pictures and video.

- [En prise] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/416295): The white pawn e4 is hanging, yet its colleague on g6 radiates danger. Which continuation is recommendable for Black?    A) 37...Bxe4 (38.Qc7)  B) 37...Qxe4  C) neither nor, the pawn is poisoned

- [Kasparov in Estonia – interview with Postimees] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/416294): Garry Kasparov is on the roll. Apart from his political activities in Russia he is travelling around the world to actively promote chess in schools. He is also completing a book with a very startling thesis (in our times technical innovation has ground to a halt). And he has spoken about historical chess rating records in a lengthy telephone interview with an Estonian newspaper.

- [Alina's Tunisian chess adventure – Part two] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/416293): With so much to see and do in her stay in Tunisia, Alina L'Ami found herself taking a philosophical look on issues such as time and learning to seek the brighter side of life. This was made easy by an extremely generous people and country that has so much to offer. In part two of her report, she shares the rewards of learning to adapt in her unusual trip.

- [Chess-playing Japanese Shogi champions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/416292): The Japanese chess variant Shogi is the most popular board game in the country. In recent years some of its greatest contemporary champions have started taking up chess, and two intersting experiments were recently conducted: a top GM played a chess simul against two Shogi masters, and the top Shogi champion a three-board Shogi handicap against chess masters.

- [Tomsk-400 wins Russian Team Ch. with brilliant Karjakin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/416291): The Russian Team Championship lived up to its promise of returning stars, top competition, and possibly some brilliancies. While the top teams brought in big guns to spearhead their ambitions, Tomsk-400 struck gold with a brilliant Sergey Karjakin on board one and 2896 performance. In second was St. Petersburg, with Sergei Movsesian constantly making the difference.

- [Baden Baden wins the Bundesliga; Tiviakov beats Anand] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/416284): The final rounds of the Bundesliga were no less dramatic than the Russian Team Championship whose final rounds played the same weekend. The leader was top-rated Baden Baden, but they suffered an unexpected setback when their top board, Viswanathan Anand, lost to an inspired Sergey Tiviakov. Nevertheless, the team held strong in the last round and took the title.

- [On the dark squares] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414794): Following a double exchange sacrifice, White had just blocked her opponent's threats in the d-file with 22.Bb3-d5 (diagram) and now was ready to play 23.Qh6. What is the best defence for Black against this?  A) 22...Kf8  B) 22...Qd6  C) 22...??

- [2012 Chinese Championship – Ding Liren completes hat trick] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414793): With three rounds to spare, Ding Liren was in the lead, and his only real rival was 17-year-old Yu Yangyi, whom he faced and held in round nine. 19-year-old Liren won with 8.0/11, making him the youngest player to achieve a hat trick. Yu Yangyi came in second and Ni Hua came third. In the Women's championship WGM Huang Qian won the title on tiebreak. Report with GM commentary.

- [Top GM spent 1:43 min on move four – in Armageddon blitz!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414792): It's a rapid chess knockout event with absolute world-class players. In a blitz Armageddon tiebreak game player A chooses the Petroff with the black pieces, and on move four he falls into a deep think – for almost two minutes! Can you guess who the player was – hint: one of the fastest in the world – and how the game ended? Watch this exciting Easter video with wonderful commentary.

- [Masters of our time: impatience and self-control in chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414791): Like everyone else in the chess world you probably know the terrors of the clock. But why do people spend too much time searching for a specific move? Are they striving for perfection or is it just indecision? Swedish scientist Patrik Gränsmark, who recently studied the effect of facing an attractive opponent, turns his attention to time trouble. Help him with his research and win $500.

- [Gelfand: 'Nobody's invincible, nobody's immune to mistakes'] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414790): The next World Championship match is just a month away, and the players, World Champion Vishy Anand and Challenger Boris Gelfand are winding down their preparations. The latter, who lives in Israel, took time to speak to the press and assess his chances in the match. Gelfand also gives players some general advice on the use of computers. Video interview.

- [VI Georgy Agzamov Memorial – Tashkent Open 2012] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414789): The sixth edition of Agzamov Memorial, aka Tashkent Open, recently took place and attracted players from fourteen countries and sixteen grandmasters, including one over 2700. Dedicated to the first Uzbeki grandmaster, Georgy Agzamov, also known as the nightmare of top GMs who even beat Anand in an all-day blitz match, here is a large illustrated report by Jamshid Begmatov.

- [Master Moves #25] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414419): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots below are from recent events. Show you can find these shots that shocked.

- [Scholastic Chess in Hawaii is Booming!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414418): Hawaii is generally off of the chess radar. It’s not home to any GMs or IMs, although there is one FIDE Master and a few National Masters. Rated events are few and far between. In truth, many of Hawaii's players get in more rated chess on the U.S. Mainland (mostly at the big opens in Las Vegas or national scholastic events) than at home in Hawaii. Pictorial report by Beau Mueller.

- [Chinese Championship 2012 – Two teens lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/414417): It is a sign of the times that a national championship as strong as that of China has four teenagers out of eleven players, two of whom are in the clear lead. 19-year-old Ding Liren is close to winning his third title, followed closely by 17-year-old Yu Yangyi, whom he faces in the next round. During the rest day, Hou Yifan gave a simul, interview, and even had a statue inaugurated in her honor.

- [Alina's Tunisian Chess Adventure] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412758): Chess tournaments are not just about moves and norms, trophies and prize sums. When a very dedicated sponsor and organiser like Kamel Meddeb takes it into his mind to stage a big event in Tunisia, and concentrates on making all participants feel good about it, you get something culturally enjoyable as well, as our roving reporter Alina L'Ami shows us in this big pictorial report.

- [European Championship: Mamedyarov defaulted again, quits tournament] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412757): The second seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who lost a game owing to the "zero tolerance" rule yesterday, today defaulted by breaking the "Sofia Rule", which does not allow draw offers to be made before move 40, and always through the arbiter. A second game, Baron-Safarli, was similarly defaulted. Mamedyarov quit the tournament and will not be playing in the remaining rounds. What a mess.

- [Mate threats] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412756): White has just thrown his strongest piece into the attack with 18.Qh5 (diagram), whereupon 18...hxg5? now would obviously be suicidal. Instead, what is the best defence for Black?  A) 18...Bf6  B) 18...dxe3  C) 18...Bxg5 19.hxg5 dxe3

- [Chess in the birthplace of Modern Persian] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412460): Mashhad is known as the city of Ferdowsi (940–1020), the Iranian poet and author of Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”), which is considered to be the most important work in Persian literature. Ferdowsi also loved chess, and wrote poetry about its emergence. In his honor, the 2nd Ferdowsi International Chess Open was recently held. 16-year-old FM Nima Javanbakht has the report.

- [Official web site of the World Championship match] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412459): In one month and 13 days the opening ceremony of the World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and his challenger Boris Gelfand will be opened, in the world famous Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. The event now has its official web site, where you can find out all about the players, the venue, sponsors, rules and the schedule. Take a look.

- [The Lewis Chessmen: Lillören's final remark] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412458): The Icelandic-Norwegian battle over the origin of the famous (infamous?) Lewis Chessmen – a collection of chess pieces, handcrafted in the 12th century – has been waging for almost two years now. The Norwegian critic of the Icelandic theory, Morten Lillören, has sent us final remarks. With it we close our discussion of the subject, which may be continued in archeological and historical journals.

- [Breaking news: FIDE announced new dates for Candidates] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412457): After numerous protests about the scheduling of the next Candidates Tournament – in October, in the middle of the high season of chess – FIDE and its new organiser Andrew Paulson have relented and moved the Candidates to March 2013, where it will clash with nothing. For a second time Magnus Carlsen, who is intimately affected by the decision, was surprised – this time pleasantly so.

- [MC Cup March 2012 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/412259): In our largest MC Cup by far, old hands dominated the leader board with a few new-comers joining the ranks of the Elite.

- [Alina L'Ami hears the Call of the North] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411719): The Reykjavik Open 2012 took place from March 6–13, and our playing correspondent WGM Alina L'Ami sent us a number of beautiful reports from the Icelandic capital. She was obvious so enthralled by the Nordic country, its people and landscape, that she has written one more massively illustrated report. It is filled with a yearning to go back to Reykjavik next year.

- [University of Texas at Dallas' GM Invitational] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411721): The University of Texas at Dallas is known for many reasons. It has a fabulous engineering department, backed by Texas Instruments, and its Arts & Technology department works with companies that range from Blizzard to Zynga and Dreamworks, but its pride and joy is its chess team. Their GM Invitational made Conrad Holt America's newest GM. Report by GM Alejandro Ramirez.

- [13th European Championship has started in Plovdiv] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411718): This event, with 300 players, 15 of whom are rated above 2700, is taking place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from March 20th to 31st, 2012. The zero tolerance rule is in force and draw offers are forbidden before move 40. In round one our attention was focussed on two young stars, top seed Fabiano Caruana, 19, and fourth seed Anish Giri, two years his junior. Annotations by GM Alejandro Ramirez.

- [Yuri Sergeyevich Razuvaev, 1945–2012] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411717): Born on October 10th 1945 Yuri Razuayev was one of the internationally renown players of the 1970s and 80s, a force to be reckoned with at any tournament – but also an enormously respected figure as a coach and an author. After a protracted illness Razuvaev died yesterday at 18:00h Moscow time. We bring you a short review of his career and a eulogy by Boris Gulko.

- [Xtreme Chess Championships – semifinals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411399): In the semifinals of the The Extreme Chess Championships, a made for TV competition, Justus Williams broke Kassa’s own record for the youngest African-American master in history faces Duke University student Kassa Korley in the semi-finals. The second semifinals match featured poker player Alex Barnett and Stanford student, Elliott Liu, in a spectacular attack.

- [Gaziantep: Gunina overtakes Pähtz, wins European Women's Blitz] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411398): She already won the title in the classical time controls, now Russian IM Valentina Gunina added the Blitz title to it. In the final round she was able to defeat former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanov 2-0 and overtake the leading Elisabeth Pähtz. The German IM will remain in Turkey, since she has signed a contract to train young talents. Big pictorial report.

- [A journey to the world of chess in Rishon Lezion] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411397): The Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand is almost totally occupied these days with his preparations for the match of his life against World Champion Vishy Anand in May. Nevertheless even in such a busy and tense period he still finds some time to support the intensive chess life of his hometown of Rishon-Lezion. Report by IM Yochanan Afek with a inspiring video chess in the kindergarten.

- [Endgame study solving is fun for everybody] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/411396): A fortnight ago we brought you a report on Harold van der Heijden, who had collected 76,132 studies in an electronic database. At the end of the story there was a study by the Dutch endgame expert himself – for you to solve. Simple and elegant it is not quite easy to calculate. Harold explains the solution and tells us about a GM who took just seconds to give the main line.

- [Gaziantep: Tatiana Kosintseva wins European Rapid] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410906): The two-day European Women's Rapid Chess Championship saw two Russians on the winners' rostrum: GM Tatiana Kosintseva won with 9.0/11 points, followed by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and German IM Elisabeth Pähtz, both with 8.5/11 points, but Kosteniuk taking Silver on tiebreak points. We bring you pictures and highlights.

- [Judith Polgar: Queen among the Kings] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410815): Angie's Diary is an online writing magazine and resource to allow published authors and aspiring writers to be read, published and sell more books. The site is interesting because there are a number of original articles on chess. Yesterday there was one on Judit Polgar, written by the English Professor Andrew J. Sacks.

- [Master Moves #23 - Cappelle-La-Grande] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410814): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots are from Cappelle-La-Grande. Will you be crowned in this contest?

- [Lady Levity] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410812): In this position White played 35.Bh5, planning after 35...Rxh6 36.Bxf7 to activate her bishop and open lines against the enemy king. How should Black continue now?  A) 36...Rxh1  B) 36...g4  C) 36...Rf6  Two losers, one winning move!

- [Historical material on Euwe and Capablanca] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410432): The Dutch channel Geschiedenis 24 specializes in historic archive footage, which is provided on cable and satellite – but also on the Internet. G24 has happily dug into its chess holdings and put some remarkable material online. We start with a portrait of the former World Champion Max Euwe, which includes a segment with José Raúl Capablanca talking. A treasure trove.

- [2011/12 Junior Four Nations Chess League (J4NCL)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410431): Just like the adult 4NCL, the junior edition brought teams of all ages competing over three weekends in two separate divisions. The J4NCL differentiates itself by offering free structured coaching between rounds for all the children, going through games on a one-to-one basis. This season’s coaches were GM Nick Pert, IM Andrew Martin and WFM Sabrina Chevannes.

- [Paulson: 'World cities will glorify chess'] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410430): FIDE recently transferred the rights to its World Championship cycle to a company called Agon, an action that sent shock waves through the chess world. The man behind Agon is Andrew Paulson, and American born media entrepreneur working in Russia, who is not well known in the chess world. That changes radically now, since GM Raymond Keene sent us this very outspoken interview.

- [Caruana wins Reykjavik 2012, Hou misses big chance] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410428): We came this close to a major sensation. 18-year-old Hou Yifan, the reigning women's world champion, had a winning position against the tournament leader Fabiano Caruana, and would have finished the tournament in first place if she had steered the game to victory. But Fabiano has some special guardian angels and escaped with a draw and finished in sole first place himself.

- [Battle for “Migingo” in Nairobi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410426): Nairobi Chess Club continues to make waves in African chess. In 2009 it organized the first Internet match against the famous Wageningen Chess Club, which had Jan Timman on board one. This year the long awaited match against the Uganda National the match affectionately called “The Battle for Migingo”. Big and sometimes startling report by Kim Bhari.

- [Gaziantep: Muzychuk falters, Gunina wins EIWCC title] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/410425): It was a thrilling final round. The Slovenian GM Anna Muzychuk was in the lead by a full point, but suffered a defeat at the hands of the Russian IM Valentina Gunina. At the same time a super-aggressive game by Tatiana Kosentseva allowed her to join the top group with 8.5/11 points each. Gunina won the title on tiebreak.

- [European Women's Championship: Hoang in the sole lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/409078): The leader after four rounds, GM Marie Sebag, drew her next two games, while GM Thanh Trang Hoang won both of hers to tally up 5.5/6 points with a 2727 performance. Sebag, Gunina, Foisor and Cmilyte are half a point behind the Hungarian player (Hoang), and five more players with 4½ points behind them before the free day on Thursday. Round six report.

- [Shirov: with black and white in Ottawa simul] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/409077): Two simultaneous exhibitions on 39 boards – that is nothing unusual for a top grandmaster. But Alexei Shirov is willing (a) to take the black side of as many boards as the participants want; and (b) to do a four-hour lecture with his opponents on their games after the event is over. "That’s why we keep inviting him," writes John Upper in this must-read report filled with games and analysis.

- [Reykjavik Chess Festival 2012 under way] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/409076): This popular tournament, which has drawn 200 players (including 25 GMs and 20 IMs), is taking place from March 6 to 13 in the capital of Iceland. The venue is the spectacular, newly-finished Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, and the players have a direct view of the harbour and ocean. WGM Alina L'Ami, who is playing in the tournament, has send us this report after round three.

- [Do Women Have a Chance against Men in Chess?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/409075): As we know all too well: most of the strongest players in the world are male. In the past we have speculated on the reasons for this gender discrepancy, with vigorous reader participation. On International Women's Day Peter Zhdanov, who is married to a very strong female player, provides us with some valuable statistics, comparing men and women on a country-by-country basis. Eye-opening.

- [Double sortie] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/409074): After the invasion of his one knight on d7 White here had also sent out its colleague with 22.Ng5 (diagram), planning after 22...Nxg5 23.Qxg5 to take the diagonal b2-g7 under fire. This leads to what?    A) victory for White  B) equality  C) advantage for Black

- [First women’s rapid and blindfold tournament in the world] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/409073): It was like Melody Amber, only a lot crazier! The first rapid and blindfold tournament in the country modelled on the famous Monte Carlo event successfully concluded in Pune, India last month, with the home team emerging exhausted winners. This historic women’s tournament held to raise awareness against the horrific social crime of female foeticide.

- [European Women's Championships start in Gaziantep, Turkey] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/408336): For the first time in history a women's event will have a higher prize fund than the corresponding men's event. The European Women's Championships boast a total prize fund of 150,000 Euros, with a 20,500 Euro first prize in the classical section – that's 500 Euros more than the top male will receive in Plovdiv later this month. Round one in Gaziantep brought a number of surprises.

- [Chess history: Nineteen Hours with Bobby Fischer – Part 2] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/408217): In 1981 the Film Board of Canada approached Bobby Fischer, hoping for his participation in a feature-length documentary on the game of chess. Last week we published part one of research writer Camille Coudari's harrowing encounter with the reclusive former world champion. In part two Camille describes the religious background that caused Fischer to think and behave the way he did.

- [Bartel, Rajlich win the Polish championship 2012] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/408216): For GM Mateusz Bartel it was a hat-trick: the third title in a row, won in a very close contest in play-off games, and IM Iweta Rajlich won her title after drawing both play-off games on a better tiebreak score. So there was plenty of action and excitement right to the end. We bring you a big report with annotations by Iweta Rajlich and a beautiful pictorial by Sylwia Rudolf.

- [Capture or corner?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/408215): Black threatens 48...Qf3 followed by mate on g2. Which defence is the right one for White and gives him a clear advantage?    A) 48.Kxh3  B) 48.Qa8 (Rd5)  C) 48.Rxe4

- [76,132 studies – It's the thought that counts] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/408214): If you looked at a study for five minutes, eight hours a day, it would take you over three years to go through all the endgame studies that Harold van der Heijden has collected in his database: 85% of all studies ever composed. He worked for fifteen years on the project, but also managed to have a family, do a doctorate, and work as a research scientist. Steve Giddins tells us his remarkable story.

- [CBM training: Sasikiran's Surprise and Melkumyan's Miracle] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/407555): In this week's alliterative column our ChessBase Magazin expert Dr Karsten Müller explains four final instructive endgames from the recently ended Aeroflot Open. You will want to especially study the second example, which tells you everything you ever wanted to know about opposition but were afraid to ask. Take a break, learn and enjoy. It's free!

- [Romanian Championships in Arctic conditions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/407554): The championships were won by WGM Cristina Foisor and GM Vladislav Nevednichy. The big final report of WGM Alina L'Ami is again under the shock of the most severe winter since 1954. The players got to the playing hall much the same way Robert Scott reached the South Pole – on sleds pulled by horses. But for some all that snow was pure delight.

- [Second rank, seventh rank] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/407553): In this position Black invited the white queen into his camp with 45...Rxd7 46.Dxd7. After that, he ...    A)... stands with his back to the wall in view of the threats 47.Be5/Re7;  B)... is better since a clever trick allows the exchange of queens;  C)... wins on the spot.

- [Getting chess into schools Europe-wide] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/407552): For six months now the Kasparov Chess Foundation has been lobbying to get chess introduced into the curriculum of schools in Europe. With the help of the British charity Chess in Schools Garry Kasparov worked the members of the European Parliament, so far garnering 377 of the 380 signatures required.

- [Tbilisi: Dzagnidze beats Cramling in tiebreak, wins ACP Cup] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/407040): It was an exciting finish: Swedish GM Pia Cramling was in the lead before the final round, in which she drew her game. Nana Dzagnidze won her final game to force a tiebreak. Both blitz games were drawn, and in the Armageddon the Georgian GM was able to win and take the title – together with the cool US $10,000 first prize. We bring you the big final report by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.

- [Chess history: Nineteen Hours with Bobby Fischer – Part 1] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/407039): In 1981 the National Film Board of Canada agreed to finance a feature-length documentary on the game of chess – one of the most ambitious projects of its kind ever undertaken. For the "Great Chess Movie" the producers decided to approach the reclusive world champion Bobby Fischer. Camille Coudari describes the harrowing encounter in this remarkable historical document.

- [Chess champs Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen on 60 Minutes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/406502): This Sunday the very influential CBS TV news magazine 60 Minutes will be turning its eyes – or rather: lenses – on chess, with a segment concentrating on the exploits and personality of Magnus Carlsen. To get people in the mood they are streaming a "60 Minutes Rewind" of a report produced in 1972 on the upcoming match between Boris Spassky and challenger Bobby Fischer. Don't miss it!

- [Long Moscow Variation] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/406501): White is threatening a little something on h7. Now the sequence 23...Ne2++ 24.Kh2 Bg1+ 25.Kh1 Ng3+ ultimately yields Black ...  A)... a material advantage;  B)... a material disadvantage;  C)... neither nor (equality).  Extra question: Why does 23...Nf5+ 24.Kh2 Kg7 or 23...Nf3+ 24.Kh1 Kg7 fail?

- [Mozart of Chess – Magnus Carlsen on CBS 60 Minutes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/406498): When has chess last received this kind of world-wide exposure? CBS's famous 60 Minutes program last night aired some extraordinary HD footage, shot during the London Chess Festival, on the world's strongest grandmaster. Magnus comes across as likeable, focused and disarmingly honest. Watch the full 13-minute segment and some interesting bonus material CBS has placed at our disposal.

- [The ACP Women Cup Rapid in Tbilisi] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/406500): It is a typically fighting event, with only one of the first twelve games ending in a (hard-fought, 103-move) draw. This very strong rapid, which lasts from February 17th to 21st February, 2012, has a prize fund of US $40,000 and is organised by the Association of Chess Professionals and the Georgian Chess Federation. After two rounds four players lead with perfect scores.

- [Aeroflot Blitz won by Sergey Karjakin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/406499): After the prestigious open, there was a first rate blitz tournament, a nine-round swiss with eighteen games of three minutes plus two seconds increment. The tournament attracted a number of top players such as Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich with its 25 thousand Euro prize fund. Game videos by Sergey Solokhin.

- [Problem chess: The Self-block] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/406497): It is one of the building blocks of the chess problem: Black (the defending side) is forced to block flight squares in the king's field and thus enable mate. Our problem expert David Friedgood demonstrates this with a remarkable problem with a record of eight self-blocks – arguably the most perfect two-mover ever composed. There are also two self-block problems for you to solve.

- [Queenstown Classic turns up some surprises] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404854): Australian GM Darryl Johansen followed up a fine victory in the Australian Championship with a win on tiebreak at the Queenstown Chess Classic - and the Oceania Open Championship to boot! FM Mike Steadman overtook early leaders to snatch the New Zealand Championship and the famous Silver Rook.

- [Aronian-Kramnik: a diamond-studded encounter] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404853): It will be the first match in history in which both players are rated over 2800. From April 21 to 28, 2012, the world's number two, Levon Aronian, will play the world's number three, Vladimir Kramnik, in the time-honored Hotel Savoy Baur en Ville in Zurich, Switzerland – the venue of many a famous chess event in the past. The match is sponsored by the diamond industry.

- [Aeroflot 2012 – Korobov leads, Caruana recovers] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404852): Anton Korobov is in the lead, with 5.0/6 points. The Ukrainian GM stopped Fabiano Caruana in round four, but the young US/Italian star has since fought his way back into equal second place and will now be eying the top spot. Fabiano's performance is 2831 and in the current rating period he has already gained 33 points to reach seventh place in the world.

- [Edge queens] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404851): With his last move 55.Re1-d1 (diagram) White had initiated a deflection manoeuvre to promote his passed h-pawn.  The capture 55...Rxd1 now leads to ...    A)... victory for Black  B)... perpetual check

- [Breaking news: Candidates 2012 to be held in London] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404850): It had been buzzing around vigorously in the Twitter world, but FIDE would not confirm anything. Now Sport Express has published a first announcement: the next Candidates Tournament will be held from October 23 to November 13 in London, England. Part of the arrangement is apparently to transfer the rights to the world championship cycle to a new sponsor.

- [Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (78)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404849): In 1987 Olga Capablanca Clark mentioned to the Editor of Chess Notes an unknown game played by Capablanca and Tartakower in Paris in the late 1930s. She offered it for sale, but the reserve price was not reached. The game remained unpublished until this month, when its owner, David DeLucia, made it available for publication in Chess Notes. A wonderful episode.

- [CBM training: Endgames from the Moscow Open] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404848): The Moscow Open ended last weekend (ChessBase report to follow shortly), with at least 60 GMs participating. Naturally there was a lot of exciting play, and our resident endgame expert GM Karsten Müller has picked three instructive endings that will help you to improve your practical play.

- ['Population growth' – some interesting facts about chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404847): Before you read this article try to guess: which countries in the world have the largest number of international chess players, i.e. people with a FIDE rating? Which countries are growing fastest? Which have the most GMs, which the strongest? How many GMs, IMs, FMs are there world-wide? Here are some very illuminating statistics collected by Boris Schipkov for Chess Siberia.

- [2012 Moscow Open won by Igor Lysyj and Marina Romanko] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/404846): The classic Moscow Open was given renewed life and prestige as it was brought under the auspices of the Russian State Social University which expanded it to nine events, with the main Open, the Women's Open, student and amateur events, as well as the Fifth World Cup of Problem Solving, a Shogi tournament, and a qualifier for the World Blitz Chess Championship.

- [Wijk aan Zee Rd5: Gelfand, Ivanchuk, and Nakamura win] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/401298): It is only fair that they be credited, especially as it also marks their first wins in the tournament. Gelfand beat Karjakin with a beautiful Najdorf remniscent of his Candidates success, while Ivanchuk and Nakamura rolled over their opponents in impressive fashion. The game of the round was nevertheless the incredibly exciting draw between Carlsen and Giri that went all the way.

- [Wijk aan Zee puzzle] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/401297): Black urgently needs to do something for the development of his queenside.    Which move of the bishop c8 does not lose material?  A) 14...Bb7  B) 14...Bd7

- [Wijk aan Zee Rd6: Aronian takes sole lead once more] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/401296): Levon Aronian is clearly on a streak, and despite his third round loss to Carlsen, he once again took sole lead after beating Vugar Gashimov. Radjabov joined Carlsen in second after beating Karjakin, while Nakamura benefited from a blunder from Gelfand to win a second straight. Giri ground down Kamsky in 80 moves, while in B, Harikrishna beat Timman in the game of the day.

- [ChessBase Puzzles 2011 – Solutions part one] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/401179): 'Twas the week after Christmas, when all through our news page people were solving chess and logic puzzles. On January 15 at midnight (Central Samoan Time) we closed entries for our prize contest, and were gratified to see how many readers had participated. Today we bring you the solutions to the first five installments, the rest will follow shortly.

- [Ashley's Caribbean Chess Tour: US Virgin Islands] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/401053): As previously reported the special chess promotional tour of Maurice Ashley took him to Martinique, Guadeloupe and Jamaica. Today the world's first African-American grandmaster tells us about his adventures in St Croix, where a 13-year-old talent, who had recently finished the Central American Games with a perfect 7-0, had him fighting for survival in a blindfold exhibition. Also included is a nice tactical video excerpt from Maurice.

- [Interview with Judit Polgár] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/401051): The Brazilian site, Rádio Xadrez, spoke with Judit Polgár, who will visit Brazil next month. She gives details of her life as a mother, a wife and a chess player. She also recalls important moments of her career such as her games against Anand and Kasparov, or Bobby Fischer's visit to her family. She gives valuable tips to young and upcoming female chess players.

- [Wijk aan Zee Rd4: Aronian rejoins Carlsen in lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/400757): If Carlsen had hoped to demoralize Aronian with yesterday's win, the Armenian showed it takes more than that. In a good game against Gata Kamsky, Aronian built a solid advantage he never let go of until the end. Carlsen on the other hand was actually in danger of losing to Caruana at one point, but ended up drawing. Karjakin also came back to 50% with a second win over Navara.

- [Wijk aan Zee Rd3: Carlsen beats Aronian to snatch lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/400756): It was the clash of the titans as the top two players in the world bumped heads for first place. Magnus Carlsen scored an impressive win over Levon Aronian as he slowly built up an advantage into a convincing win. Radjabov joined Caruana and Aronian in second after a blunder by Navara. Both Harikrishna and Turov lead Group B and C respectively with 3.0/3.

- [Wijk aan Zee: Aronian off to a 2.0/2 start, Caruana beats Karjakin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/400755): Two decisive results, and two extremes. Levon Aronian declared that it was time to take his game to another level (some of us mistakenly thought 2800 was another level), and after a veritable see-saw battle against Nakamura, he had the last word and is on 2.0/2. Fabiano Caruana joined the chasers with 1.5 after he beat Karjakin, who is now on a worrisome 0.0/2 start.

- [Wijk aan Zee: Carlsen, Aronian, and Giri are first to score] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/400754): It was a day for the young up-and-comers, though with Carlsen and Aronian in the top two, perhaps up-and-camers is more appropriate. Carlsen had an edge in an endgame against Gashimov, and sure enough weaseled his way into a win. Aronian beat Karjakin with black in a complicated and exciting game, while Giri ground down Gelfand after 70 moves.

- [Queenstown Classic underway] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/400408): With 148 players competing and 14 grandmasters set in NZ's southern playground, the Queenstown Classic will be a great tournament to key an eye on.

- [2011 South African Junior Chess Championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/400405): The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elisabeth hosted the 2011 South African Junior Chess Championship, in which an impressive 1800+ youths participated. Efforts such as this have led to South Africa's first WGM, Melissa Greeff. To help promote chess there, Susan Polgar was invited to provide a simul as well as give a seminar on "Women in Chess".

- [All about Basque – Interview with GM Feliz Izeta] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399961): The Donostia Chess Festival has just ended. It used the innovative and dynamic "Basque system", a world's first. Not only did the participants play two games at the same time; if they lost in the knock-out format the event was not over. Anastasiya Karlovich talks to the organizer and person responsible for making this idea a reality: GM Feliz Izeta, who discusses all that is Basque.

- [Christmas puzzles prize contest: closing date is Sunday!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399960): Our yearly puzzle week brought us, as usual, a sack-load of emails. From January 1st to 15th they will be counted as entries to our prize contest, where you can win a signed and dedicated book and programs autographed by world champions.You increase your chances by solving the brain teaser. In addition we show you a truly unbelievable optical illusion.

- [Clearing work] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399959): It's nice to attack with such a magnificent white knight on f5, on the other hand here the black king also has two defensive knights for his protection. Asked concretely - what does the sacrifice 27.Rxf6+ lead to in this position?  A) victory for White;  B) perpetual;  C) advantage for Black.

- [Gott Nytt Ar!!! Shimanov wins 41st Rilton Cup in Stockholm] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399634): This beautiful event was won by Russian GM Aleksandr Shimanov, who is also a singing talent. Our reporter Alina l'Ami started with a 1-0-1-0-1-0-1 tic-tac-toe score, but then drew a game and won her last one to pocket her third IM norm. Amazing, since the Romanian WGM spent a lot of time exploring the delights of the Swedish capital. Here's her big illustrated report.

- [Gashimov wins Donostia Blitz tournament!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399633): Why the exclam? Because it was not Vugar Gashimov, the super-GM rated 2761 and ranked number nine in the world, who went through the high-class field of 13 GMs, three rated over 2700. It was rather his older brother and manager Sakhan, who does not have a FIDE title and is rated 2351 (= 3834th in the world).

- [Gender differences in chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399535): A new and very commendable women's live rating list of top players is being maintained by the Russian chess news portal ChessPro. Fired by this list we did a little additional research to find out how many female players there are in the top 100 and top 1000. What would you estimate? And what are the possible reasons for the superiority of males in certain intellectual activities?

- [54th Reggio Emilia: Ivanchuk has a meltdown] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399187): Normally, the news would be that Morozevich beat Nakamura (which he did) and is now right behind (which he is), followed by Giri in third, but Ivanchuk stole their thunder. In round seven, visibly haunted by his loss to Giri, he dropped a piece against Vitiugov in such a way that spectators were left gaping. In round eight, against Caruana, he just flipped and literally tried to give away all his pieces!

- [A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part four)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399186): As proof that Vas Rajlich had copied program code the ICGA presented pages and pages of Fruit and Rybka code side by side. But, according to Dr Søren Riis, what was labeled as Rybka code was actually fabricated to look like Fruit. He criticizes the ICGA's process failures and ruminates on the reasons behind the unprecedented vendetta launched against the star chess programmer.

- [Cool and correct?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399185): In this position the first player couldn't resist and with 41.Qxh6 made a spectacular queen sacrifice. After its acceptance with 41...gxh6 42.e6+ ...    A)... White wins in all lines;  B)... best play produces a perpetual check;  C)... Black prevails.

- [54th Reggio Emilia: The stars align for Anish Giri as he takes first!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/399184): After four rounds, he stood at a mere 1.0/4, but a fantastic comeback with 5.0/6 allowed 17-year-old Anish Giri to take sole first after his rivals, Nakamura and Morozevich, both of whom had better tiebreaks, lost in the final round. Moro came second, while Nakamura took third. Guramishvili won the women's event ahead of Sharevich and Brunello. Final report, photos and games.

- [A history of cheating in chess (3)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/397502): In January 1999 the main topic of conversation amongst top players like Kasparov, Anand and others: who was the mysterious German chess amateur, rated below 2000, who had won a strong Open ahead of GMs and IMs, with wonderfully courageous attacking chess and a 2630 performance? How had he done it? Turns out it was with unconventional methods, as subsequent investigation uncovered.

- [2011 European Rapid and Blitz – An event for everyone] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/397501): When one thinks of events such as the European Rapid and Blitz championships, the names that come to mind are invariably part of the 2700 club. However, this event is one that also breaks the barriers of rating, age, and gender, ranging from 84-year-old Stanislaw Szczepaniec all the way down to five-year-old Helena Kucharska, who played in both tournaments.

- [SportAccord World Mind Games – Hou Yifan wins gold twice] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/397500): The SportAccord World Mind Games ended in a great success for all the games and participants, drawing top players in all disciplines. After the Rapid competition in chess, there were blitz competitions, won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hou Yifan respectively, followed by blindfold competitions in which Zoltan Almasi snatched the gold, while Yifan took her second.

- [MC Cup Finals 2011 Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/396351): 11 of Auckland's strongest young players gathered to battle over the MC Cup Finals trophy. The victor would become the MC Cup 2011 Champion.

- [SportAccord World Mind Games – Wang Hao and Kosteniuk and more] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/396023): The SportAccord World Mind Games is underway in Beijing, and is an agglomerate of popular intellectual games such as chess, go, bridge, draughts (10x10 checkers), and xiang-qi, that aims to popularize these activities, and of course teach them to all-comers, notably children. In the Rapid event, Wang Hao and Kosteniuk took the top honors.

- [Kethikayan Murali – World U12 champion – In his own words] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/396022): It isn't every day that one receives a report by a young 12-year-old player, much less one who is already making waves as he is. Kethikayan recently compounded his youth tournament successes in India by winning the under-12 division at the World Youth Championships, and has just achieved a 2336 performance at the London FIDE Open.

- [London Classic Rd9: Kramnik wins! Nakamura is second, and Carlsen third] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/396021): Although it was almost certain that Kramnik would win the title by drawing with Aronian, which he did, pundits expected Carlsen to overcome Short and take second. Life had its own plans, as did Nakamura, since Carlsen could not break the Englishman, while the American shocked Adams with a King's Gambit, and won in a highly volatile position to take clear second.

- [MC Cup November 2011 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393967): The last MC Cup qualifier was the hardest fought to date with only one point difference amongst 10 players!

- [A funny thing happened on the way to the tournament hall…] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393956): Vassily Ivanchuk’s recent mugging in Sao Paulo shocked the chess world but it’s far from being the only mishap to befall a chessplayer on the way to or from work. It reminded Steve Giddins of some other off-board misfortunes in the past, from fire on the board (literally) to dog attacks and shootings. It's all in the latest issue of CHESS Magazine's Top Ten Greatest Chess Tournament Mishaps.

- [Ashley in Guadeloupe – Caribbean Chess Tour of a GM] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393955): GM Maurice Ashley, who in 1999 was the first African-American to attain the coveted title of International grandmaster of chess, has become an ambassador of the game. On his Caribbean Chess Tour, after visiting Martinique, he went on the incredible tropical island of Guadeloupe – and found a similar amount of enthusiasm for the game there.

- [5th Aquaprofit - Polgar Chess Day] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393954): For the fifth straight year, Aquaprofit sponsored the Polgar Chess Day, a giant chess bonanza designed to promote chess through many activities, with a focus on children, celebrity presences and massive media coverage. The event is spearheaded by Judit Polgar herself, with the collaboration of her sisters Susan and Sofia.

- [Hou Yifan: The World Champion title did not change me] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393550): At 14½ years she became the youngest female grandmaster in history; at seventeen she has already played in three world championships, losing one and winning two. She admits to a burning desire to become stronger in chess, but does not want the game to dominate her life. A day after her match in Tirana she the old and new world champion gave our colleagues this indepth interview.

- [Perpetual?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393551): White has given two pieces to expose the enemy king and secure perpetual check. In the diagram position Black's 21...Kh5 wins against both 22.Bd1+ and 22.Qh3+. After 22.Qg7, however, ...  A)... the tables are turned in White's favour;  B)... Black wins anyway;  C)... nothing has changed - drawn!

- [Tal Memorial R9 – Aronian, Carlsen tie for first; Carlsen wins on tiebreak] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/393552): Levon Aronian's dramatic win yesterday made serious ripples, as Vladimir Kramnik tried to cash in on what he expected to be a fragile Peter Svidler, but instead ended up losing. Magnus Carlsen once more showed his stuff when under last-minute pressure by beating Hikaru Nakamura in an opposite-colored bishops ending, snatching first on tiebreak.

- [Tal Memorial R5 – All games drawn, with firework displays] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/392560): For some time it seemed that the black pieces would again dominate a round. Nepomniatchtchi, Aronian and Carlsen all had a significant edge. However they were all unable to best their opponents. The five draws again do not betray the fireworks that occurred during the round. And speaking of fireworks, the only "short" draw of the round, Karjakin-Svidler, had enough of those to light up a stadium.

- [Passed pawn duel] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/392559): Facing White's trump on d7, Black had just mobilized his own passed pawn with 26...e4-e3. After the reply 27.Rd1-f1 (diagram) he now can ...    A)... resign;  B)... liquidate into a roughly balanced position;  C)... win on the spot.

- [Aeroflot Open – Invitations, regulations, events and prizes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/392558): The Aeroflot Open Chess Festival, one of the most popular tournaments in the world, will be held in from February 6 to 17, 2012 in a new venue: the Hotel Cosmos, one of the largest in Moscow, located in a beautiful park area 20 travelling minutes from Red Square. The total prize fund is 150,000 Euros, and it includes qualification places for the Dortmund Super Tournament.

- [WWCC R06: Hou Yifan wins, takes two-point lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/392557): The sixth game of the Women's World Championship ended in time trouble. The Challenger Humpy Koneru was pressing in a basically equal position, but with time running out for both players is was the 17-year-old champion Hou Yifan who, in spite of a violent stomach-ache the night before, had the better nerves. With four games left she now has a commanding 4-2 lead.

- [Tal Memorial Rd6 – All drawn again, though not all dull] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/392556): One would be forgiven for bemoaning a third straight round with all draws, but those who were watching were anything but bored. Not all games were equally exciting, it is true, but the early queen sacrifice by Karjakin against Nepomniachtchi, or the nerve-wracking struggle between Svidler and Carlsen were alone worth the price of entry.

- [European Team Championship – a pictorial retrospect] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391908): Earlier this week Germany, starting as tenth seed, created a sensation by winning the title, with Azerbaijan and Hungary getting Silver and Bronze. But who were the strongest individual players in the open and women's sections? And who the most photogenic? We return to the ETCC in Porto Carras one more time with statistics and a beautiful pictorial by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.

- [Uproot treatment] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391905): In this position the second player got down to work with 32...Nxd3 to conquer the point e4. How would you assess the situation following 33.Qxd3 Rxf2?  Black ...  A)... wins;  B)... finally achieves a better endgame with a plus pawn;  C)... conquers the enemy queen, but White gets too much wood.

- [Women's World Championship starts in Tirana – first game drawn] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391904): The match started with Koneru Humpy exerting tremendous pressure on the Chinese prodigy Hou Yifan right from the opening. Hou showed great resilience and patience, as she decided to defend to the point of sacrificing a pawn to reach a defendable endgame. Despite Humpy's persistence, the game was eventually drawn, but not for lack of fighting spirit!

- [WWCC R02: Humpy on the attack, Hou Yifan holds] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391903): After being surprised in the opening, Hou Yifan forced simplifications into a drawish endgame. However, Humpy would have none of that! She pressed hard trying to create something out of nothing, and almost achieved it. However in the end it was impossible to take advantage of her opponent's weak king, and the game ended in another hard fought draw.

- [Tal Memorial Rd1 – A feeling of déjà vu] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391902): It is a historic first with four players rated 2800 participating: Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, and Kramnik, followed by Ivanchuk, Karjakin, Nakamura, Gelfand, Svidler, and Nepomniachtchi. In the first round Kramnik lost to Nepomniachtchi, and while the top seeds failed to impress, Ivanchuk was also first to score, against Svidler.

- [Tal Memorial Rd2 – Carlsen beats Gelfand] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391901): It was a combative round, and once again, Carlsen and Ivanchuk were right there in the mix of it. Ivanchuk played a hard endgame against Nepomniachtchi, but was unable to exploit his extra pawn. Carlsen once more played the most complex game of the round, and eventually beat Gelfand after mindboggling complications.

- [WWCC R03: Hou Yifan draws first blood] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391900): Playing with the white pieces, the challenger Koneru Humpy of India got a good position from the opening, but she was not, in her own words, making good moves. The reigning world champion Hou Yifan from China, took heart (and a pawn on a2) and overran her opponent with a precision that belies her age. Hou now leads 2-1 in this ten-game match.

- [Tal Memorial Rd3 – A black day for white] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391899): In a day and age when the advantage of White has been compared by Valery Salov as being greater than being on serve in tennis, it is remarkable that with the very best players in the world, three out of five games ended in a win for Black, and even Carlsen's draw as Black against Kramnik was probably won in the final position.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: Joys of Chess: From Krabbé to Hesse] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/391890): Two books, one new and one a classic, bring us a a compilation of chess stories, biographical sketches, games and fragments with references to art and science. One, The Joys of Chess, is by a professor of mathematics, the other, Chess Curiosities, by a writer and cyclist. In this week's Huffington Post column GM Lubomir Kavalek gives us samples from both.

- [MC Cup October 2011 Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390257): The 2nd to last MC Cup qualifier tournament and a new qualifier steps forward! View our full tournament report for details.

- [MC Cup October 2011 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390256): The 2nd to last MC Cup qualifier tournament and a new qualifier steps forward!

- [ETCC R5: Germany and Bulgaria triumph, Germany leads] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390252): Normally we are scheduled to cover the European Team Championship after every second round. But round four was so interesting that we are slipping it in. The sensations: Russia was soundly defeated by Bulgaria 3-1, and even more sensationally: Germany beat Ukraine 3½-½ to take the overall lead in the event. We bring you the most interesting games in our round four extra report.

- [FIDE ratings – big gains by Radjabov and Morozevich] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390250): The top has a new occupant: Azeri GM Teimour Radjabov took a 29-point leap from 13th to place five, while Alexander Morozevich gained 25 points to move from place seventeen to nine. Amongst the women's the sensation is of course GM Zhao Xue, who has gained 61 points from 22 games in the last two months. Carlsen, Anand, Aronian and Kramnik remain at the top. November 2011 ratings.

- [Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (72)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388615): The Editor of Chess Notes turns his attention to one of chess history’s most famous games, a 15-move miniature from the nineteenth century which features ‘Boden’s Mate’. The books contain a large amount of contradictory information about when the game was played, and a particular mystery is the exact identity of Boden’s opponent.

- [Sicilian Tactics] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390248): Black has driven the white c3-knight to e2 with 18...b4. The strike 19...Nxe4 20.Qxe4 Bxg5 (with the idea ...Bc6) now ultimately leads to what?    A) piece win for White;  B) plus exchange for Black;  C) a roughly balanced ending.

- [European Team Chess Championship starts in Halkidiki] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390249): This nine-round Swiss, which will run from November 4-12, has a total of 38 countries in the open and 28 in the women's section. In round one on Thursday the top seed Russia squeaked out a win over Moldova, ranking 20th, while the Russian women – actually the Kosintseva sisters – demolished the Israelis 3-1. We bring you a richly illustrated round one report.

- [ETCC R3: Azerbaijan, Spain lead, Russian women dominate] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/390251): After shocking England in the second round of the open section the Greece hosts succumb to higher rated Azerbaijan in the third round. Tournament favourites Russia were held to a draw by lower rated Netherlands, so plenty of fight remains in the open section with uncompromising play all around. The Russian women’s team continued its rampage. Round three report.

- [White Mouse Sebag wins trip to Bejing] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388614): The qualifier for a fully funded trip to the SportAccord World Mind Games in Bejing (December 8-16), which was held on the Playchess server, was won by a player called Sourisblanche – white mouse in French. Turns out this is Marie Sebag, former wonder girl and at 25 a full grandmaster, who outplayed her very strong but tiring rivals from Asia and Russia.

- [Whoah! We're Going To Ibiza] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388613): Ibiza (or Eivissa) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea, 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is known as the Party Capital of the world, but also for its beautiful Mediterranean scenery and climate. The Eivissa Chess Festival, which was held there, was comfortably won by Dutch GM Erwin l'Ami (7.5/8 points). His wife, WGM Alina l'Ami, sent us this lovely pictorial report.

- [Now it's official: Kasparov is training Nakamura] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388348): Some knew, some thought they knew, and speculation was rampant during the Grand Slam Final in São Paulo and Bilbao. Yes, Garry Kasparov, who famously trained Magnus Carlsen, is now working with Hikaru Nakamura. The real story is in the details, straight from the protagonists themselves, and you can find them in the latest issue of New in Chess Magazine.

- [Anand wins Corsican Masters Knockout] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388347): The fourteen top players from the Corsican Open were joined by two seeded world-class grandmaster for the Masters Knockout. The latter showed why they sit on the top of international rating lists by going through to the final. There World Champion Vishy Anand outplayed Azeri Super-GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov with a clean 2-0 result.

- [Fritz 13 and Let's Check – Lesson one: getting started] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388346): You have ordered Fritz 13, on DVD or as a download in the ChessBase Shop. And you have heard a lot about the new Let's Check function. How do you get started? In our tutorial series we begin with some very basic instructions on how to activate the program and then take a few initial steps into the world of cloud computing. Too daunting? Take a look – it's easier than you think.

- [Iran, Seirawan and the incorrect chessboard] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388249): A number of recent articles published on our news page have raised serious questions. Should players who boycott colleagues from certain countries be punished with disqualification? Are Yasser Seirawan's thoughts on the current state of chess endorsable? What was behind the photo-shoot error of two high-ranking German politicians. Entertaining, thought provoking feedback from our readers.

- [Endgame lessons at the Chigorin Memorial 2011] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388248): The annual M. Chigorin International Chess Festival was held in the Hotel Azimut from October 12-22 in St. Petersburg, with a rapid tournament and, of greater interest to us, a nine-round Swiss with classical time controls. It was won with a clear half-point lead by GM Dmitry Bocharov. We use the opportunity to give you your weekly point-winning endgame lesson by GM Karsten Müller.

- [Seirawan's comeback – his views on the chess world today] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388247): Yasser Seirawan is something of a legend: World Junior Champion in 1979, four times US Champion, he has played played all the chess greats. In 2007 the Syrian born US grandmaster stopped playing competitive chess, but has now returned to the game, last week coming joint first in the Barcelona GM. After this success he gave IM Anna Matnadze an extensive, must-read interview.

- [Move by move – politicians playing chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/388246): A new book is creating quite a discussion in Germany. It is about two politicians, one a former chancellor of the country (1974 to 1982), the other quite plausibly a future chancellor (2013–), one 93 years old and razor sharp in his mind, the other, 64, a preeminent critic of global predatory capitalism. Both are chess players and the book uses a game motif on its cover.

- [European Team Chess Championship in November] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/387098): A total of 38 countries are sending four-player teams to this nine-round Swiss, which will be staged from November 4-12 in the five-star Porto Carras Grand Resort on the Halkidiki peninsula of northern Greece. We see illustrious names like Aronian, Karjakin, Grischuk, Ivanchuk, Svidler, Topalov, as well as Kosintseva, Lahno, Muzychuk and Danielian in the women's section.

- [CBM Endgame training: the octopus, Kosteniuk's combination, races] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/387097): This edition of GM Karsten Müller's endgame instructions is devoted exclusively to the ladies. Three former women's world champions feature in the games he has selected for our attention, two from the recently concluded Grand Prix in Nalchik. Studying examples like these in the regular deliveries of ChessBase Magazine will do your practical playing strength a world of good.

- [Wijk aan Zee: Tata Steel tournament breaks records] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/387096): This is the second tournament named after the Indian Steel company. But it has been played in the wind-swept Dutch sea resort since 1938. Group A is this year the strongest ever, with a rating average of 2752 (Category: 21). There are eight female players in the three groups, also a record. The event takes place from January 13 to 29. Pre-tournament information with history and statistics.

- [Valeri Lilov: Tactics: From Basics to Brilliance, Vol. 1] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386770): "Initially, my impression of this DVD was that many of the discussions were just too lengthy to hold the attention of viewers," writes Chess Cafe reviewer Steve Goldberg. "But then, around half a dozen segments into the DVD, I couldn't help but find myself attracted to Lilov's presentations. He continually finds especially interesting examples to demonstrate the themes."

- [Hoogeveen: Kramnik wins by 1½ points, rejoins the 2800 club] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386769): In round five of the 15th Unive Tournament both Anish Giri and Vladimir Kramnik scored full points – the former after a blunder just before the time control by his opponent Judit Polgar, the latter after Vachier Lagrave cracked under intense pressure. Kramnik produced a plus three and 2900+ performance, which puts him back into a very illustrious club. Final report with Let's Check analysis.

- [CBM Endgame training: Mikhalevski's Majorities, breakthroughs, exchanges] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386768): ChessBase Magazine excels with a world-class endgame section. Our resident expert GM Karsten Müller keeps a watchful eye for interesting examples from current tournament play. Here for your weekend study are three examples, all derived from games played this month. You can study Dr Müller's analysis or download the games for later review.

- [Nalchik GP: Zhao Xue loses final game, wins event by 2½ points] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386767): It was her first and only loss in this tournament, and cost her an entry as the best performance of all time in chess. But GM Zhao Xue of China easily won the third Women's Grand Prix 2011-2012, gaining 42 rating points in the process! Second was compatriou WGM Ju Wenjun, who defeated Zhao in the final round and will soon bear the IM and GM titles.

- [Maurice Ashley: What Grandmasters Don't See] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386766): "Maurice Ashley scores again as favorite teacher with this DVD," writes Steven Dowd. "Ashley teaches with a entertainingly fast pace, is quick to crack a good joke, and simply relates well to the audience. If there really were a ChessBase University, Ashley would be a candidate for teacher of the year, and would be my hands-down choice to win."

- [Hoogeveen: Kramnik beats Polgar, leads by a full point] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386260): In round two Vladimir Kramnik beat Judit Polgar – as usual, we are tempted to say. In twenty classical encounters Judit still has to win a single one. At the end of this game Fritz 13 surprised people on Playchess by announcing mate in 45 moves – on a super-fast spectator machine. In rounds three and four all games were drawn, but some of them quite interesting.

- [Magnificent Morozevich fulfills 2900 promise] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386259): It was a fantastic beginning in the face of such a tough field, and the question was whether Alexander Morozevich could fulfill the unspoken promise of such a start. The answer was 8.5/11 and a 2917 performance, with a superb final win, taking him back to the Top Ten in the next list. Evgeny Tomashevsky came in second, with a 2800 performance, and Peter Leko in third.

- [Gary Kasparov in Brazil – The new man in charge] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386258): Garry Kasparov is different. However, it's neither his physical appearance nor his way of walking into a wave of applause that is changed in the former world champion. Seven years later, he has returned less arrogant and less self-sufficient and, for the first time, demonstrates a subtle feeling of gratitude and humility, never seen before in his public career.

- [Daniel King: Power Play 16 – Test Your Rook Endgames] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386152): "Too often, one may learn something of value but not have the opportunity to use that knowledge right away," writes Steven Dowd. "In such cases the knowledge fades quickly into the recesses of our brains." So what can we do about that? How about two new ChessBase training DVDs? Here's a Chess Cafe review of the first, which gets five out of six stars.

- [Early chess cheating story by Martin Gardner] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386151): American writer Martin Gardner anticipated current cheating woes in chess with his short story Nora Says 'Check'. In it a world champion called Sierpinsky alleviates his chess boredom by guiding a not very bright waitress named Nora to chess fame with the help of a confederate and some electrical trickery. You should not miss this visionary jewel of a tale, written in 1948!

- [Romanian Chess Leagues – Home Sweet Home] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386150): Brasov was the host of the Romanian League, one of the strongest editions so far. The event brought in a number of world-class players, such as Gata Kamsky, Jobava Baadur, Anna Muzychuk and Pia Cramling. Above all, it was a return to Home Sweet Home for our correspondent who lavishes her report on Brasov and Romania with love. Enjoy this illustrated report by Alina L'Ami.

- [Chess Power to run three divisions for next years Nationals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/386212): All interschool tournaments run from Term 4 2011 through to Term 3 2012 will run in three separate divisions, Primary, Intermediate and Secondary rather than the two Junior and Senior divisions that were run this year.

- [Romanian Chess Leagues – Home Sweet Home] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385981): Brasov was the host of the Romanian League, one of the strongest editions so far. The event brought in a number of world-class players, such as Gata Kamsky, Jobava Baadur, Anna Muzychuk and Pia Cramling. Above all, it was a return to Home Sweet Home for our correspondent who lavishes her report on Brasov and Romania with love.

- [Nalchik GP: Zhao Xue with 7.5/8 points, 2968 performance, +38 rating points] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385980): This is definitely her tournament: Chinese GM Zaho Xue conceded one draw, against the bottom seed in round seven, and went on to beat the top seed in round eight. This gave her a three-point lead over her nearest rival, compatriot Ju Wenjun, who could bury her hopes of catching the leader after a painful loss to tail-ender Batkhuyag Munguntuul.

- [The Rio de Janeiro State Team Championship – An 83-year-old tradition] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385979): To most outsiders, Rio de Janeiro would never be linked to a deep tradition in chess, yet the very first club was co-founded by legendary author Machado de Assis, who also took part in the first tournament in 1880. The first State Team Championship was held in 1928 and this year the Tijuca Tênis Clube won its 17th title since its first in 1941, 70 years ago.

- [Nalchik GP: The Zhao Xue express steams on] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385682): Someone should call Guinness – the Chinese GM Zaho Xue is on the rampage and has now won her sixth game in a row, maintaining a nominal 3300 performance. This time she profited from a prime blunder by former women's world champion Zhu Chen. Alexandra Kosteniuk ended her losing streak with a well-played game which, however, her opponent was able to defend.

- [Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (71)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385680): Which is the most difficult form of chess writing? Of course, each kind presents its own problems and pitfalls, but the Editor of Chess Notes focuses here on a genre which hardly anyone ventures upon nowadays although it used to be highly popular: an attempt to capture the essence of a chess master’s appearance and demeanour with some well-crafted words, in a pen-portrait.

- [CBM Blog: Drawing zones, dominance duel and changing the leader] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385678): Our endgame expert GM Karsten Müller keeps a watchful eye for interesting lessons that can be derived from recent games. Today he explains how in the fight bishop and wrong rook's pawn vs pawns there are two drawing zones for the defending king which must be interpreted with some care. For the weekend we bring you, instead of the usual two, this time three full training units.

- [Nalchik GP: Zhao Xue still with a perfect score after four rounds] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385018): The 26-year-old Chinese GM has won all her games at the FIDE Grand Prix that is being staged in the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia. This translates to a nominal performance of 3289. In second place is another Chinese player, WGM Ju Wenjun. Before the free day on Thursday we bring you a big illustrated report from Nalchik on rounds three and four.

- [Bilbao Masters – Carlsen takes first after blitz tiebreak] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385017): The signs were there, but nothing is written until it is over. The games were fairly sedate among the crosstable leaders with uneventful draws, though Anand came out swinging and avoided a last place finish by beating Vallejo. Top prize was decided by two blitz games, in which Carlsen concluded with a mating attack in the last game. Final report with pictures, video, and GM commentary.

- [14-year-old wins World Amateur Chess Championship 2011] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385016): The Turkish beach resort of Kemer say 67 chess players from 16 countries in an event that restricts partcipants to players who do not have a FIDE title nor have been rated over 2000 for at least two years. The tournament was won by Sumiya Bilguun from Mongolia, who is just fourteen years old. We bring you a big pictorial report with some very charming pictures by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich.

- [Nalchik Women's GP – Zhao Xue and Ju Wenjun take early lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/385014): The third stage of FIDE Women's Grand Prix cycle 2011-2012 is being staged in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. There are twelve titled players participating, including nine GMs, though neither Women's world champion Hou Yifan nor Koneru Humpy are playing as they prepare for their world title match in November. Zhao Xue and Ju Wenjun have taken the early lead.

- [Nalchik Women's GP – Zhao Xue and Ju Wenjun take early lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/384132): The third stage of FIDE Women's Grand Prix cycle 2011-2012 is being staged in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria. There are twelve titled players participating, including nine GMs, though niether Women's world champion Hou Yifan nor Koneru Humpy are playing as they prepare for their world title match in November. Zhao Xue and Ju Wenjun have taken the early lead.

- [Bilbao Masters – Carlsen beats Ivanchuk and ties for first] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/384127): One could hardly ask for more drama than what transpired in the ninth round. It started with Anand completely losing focus in his game against Aronian, and losing in a mere 25 moves. Carlsen built a fantastic attack against Ivanchuk, beat him and is now tied for first, but the shocker was Nakamura's loss on time against Vallejo on the last move of the time-control.

- [SportAccord World Mind Games – win a ticket to Beijing] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/384117): From December 8-16 a special Mind Games event is being staged in the capital of China, a first step towards establishing a third set of Olympic games. The disciplines are bridge, chess, draughts, go and xiangqi. In the chess section we see players like Karjakin, Ivanchuk, Ponomariov, Grischuk and Kamsky. Would you like to attend? You can, by winning a special Playchess qualifier.

- [Bilbao Masters – Ivanchuk runs over Nakamura] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/383894): One would have been justified in thinking that after his fifth round loss to Carlsen, and the terrible incident that marred his trip to Bilbao, Ivanchuk would be unable to continue his Grand Slam Masters ravage. However, the tire marks he left on Nakamura, after he ran over the American's Sicilian, dismissed this thought. The other games drew. Pictorial and video with analysis by GM Romain Edouard.

- [Saint-Petersburg CF wins the European Chess Cup] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/383893): The seven-round event, which took place in Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia, had 65 men's and 12 women's teams participating. It was won by St Petersburg, headed by World Cup winner Peter Svidler. Second was SOCAR, headed by Teimour Radjabov, who scored 4.5/5 points with a 3019 performance. Teimour, we hear, is to get married on October 7th.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: The Most Treacherous Defense in Chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/383892): Named after the Austrian master Ernst Grünfeld, the defense has been around for nearly 90 years. At first, it was looked upon with suspicion: giving White a strong pawn center that could only be tickled by Black's dark bishop and other pieces didn't seem to be a fair deal. In this week's column GM Lubomir Kavalek tells us how he taught a World Championship challenger how to play the Grünfeld.

- [Chess Power Interschool National Finals Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/383108): With 138 competitors from 28 schools across New Zealand, the 1st Chess Power National Finals event was a day to remember.

- [Wayne McDougall, Coach of Mt. Roskill Grammar and Hillsborough Primary] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/382867): Chesspower provide a fantastic opportunity for schoolchildren to develop their chess skills and to take part in many exciting and well-run tournaments throughout the country. Head Coach Paul Macdonald builds a strong rapport with children of all ages, motivating and encouraging each one to do their best.

- [CBM Blog: Dominating the queen – a Knightmare] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381802): Ready for some more endgame lessons from GM Karsten Müller? He shows us how, in a queen ending, the activity of the queens and the safety of the kings is of paramount importance. In the second example a knight has to make an important decision on which path to take – White went astray and lost instead of winning. Find out why, learn and become a better player.

- [Beauty Queens and Battling Knights] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381801): Male chess players choose riskier and more aggressive chess openings when playing against attractive women compared to when playing against less attractive women, although the Elo rating and style of play are the same. The scientists who have found this out are asking our readers to participate in a one-minute survey of their own behavior.

- [São Paulo Masters – Both Carlsen and Anand lose] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381800): In terms of statistical oddities, round three ranks right up there. Not only did Carlsen, the highest ranked player, lose to Vallejo, but Anand also lost to Ivanchuk. This not only meant the top rated players in the world lost in the same round in the same tournament, but both are now the tail-enders of the event. Report on round three and rest day by Albert Silver with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

- [Chinese dominate at the Malaysian Chess Festival 2011] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381799): For the eight year running the Malaysian Chess Festival was held at Mid Valley City, a one stop destination for living, business and leisure on the periphery of Kuala Lumpur City Centre. This year's edition saw patron Dato Tan, 85 years old, playing in the Senior section. In the Open we find the first six places taken by Chinese players, one of them in fact female. Big pictorial by Andrew Ooi.

- [A history of cheating in chess (1)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381797): Hardly a month goes by without some report of cheating in international chess tournaments. The problem has become acute, but it is not new. In 2001 Frederic Friedel contributed a paper to the book "Advances in Computer Chess 9". It traces the many forms of illicit manipulations in chess and, a decade later, appears disconcertingly topical and up-to-date. We reproduce the paper in five parts.

- [Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (69)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381114): Many forgotten interviews with Alekhine have been reproduced over the years by the Editor of Chess Notes. We witness the great champion discussing his chess rivals and predecessors, plans, training routines, blindfold exploits, family background, education, personal lifestyle, pastimes, travel, politics and writings, including the notorious anti-Semitic articles published in the Nazi press in 1941.

- [CBM Blog: Breakthrough, bodycheck and cut off] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381113): When passed pawns are far advanced you must always watch out for breakthrough motifs and promotion combinations, our resident endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller tells us. He also shows us, once again with a recent example, the two themes that are most important when a rook fights against a pawn. Here's your chance to learn from the GM and improve your chess.

- [Montreal Open: a labor of love] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/381112): Very few tournaments can boast a tradition going back 90 years, yet the Montreal Open, is now in its 91st edition no less. Th reason is not an exceptionally deep-rooted chess history as seen in Russia, but a community whose passion for the game seems to know no bounds. The organizers share in this love and put on an exceptionally beautiful event. Here is the colorful pictorial by Alina L'Ami.

- [Nigel Short simul and lectures at RA Chess Club] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380859): The chess club in Ottawa has a special relationship with the former World Championship challenger. GM Nigel Short, who in recent months has been on fire with a string of sterling results, turned up a second time to give a simul and a lecture – his first on the 1993 match against Garry Kasparov in London. You will find annotated highlights from the simul and lecture in this report by John Upper.

- [São Paulo Masters – Aronian draws first blood; Anand and Carlsen draw] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380858): The Grand Slam officially started its first leg in São Paulo, with the world's elite playing, including all three 2800+ players. Anand-Carlsen was the foremost game on the card, but was sadly the least exciting, ending in a lackluster draw. Nakamura and Ivanchuk immediately shirked theory, but also drew, while Aronian struck first and beat Vallejo in an offbeat Slav.

- [Moscow beats St. Petersburg at 100th anniversary encounter] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380857): Last week, St. Petersburg hosted the traditional and historic match between Russia`s two greatest cities: Moscow and St. Petersburg. The first such chess match was held 100 years ago – in 1911, after which 21 more meetings have taken place. After a five-year break another was finally held, promising to be an annual event thanks to the sponsorship of “Gazprom”.

- [World Problem Solving Championship 2011 – Solutions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380856): In his report on the competition, which was won by 19-year-old Kacper Piorun, the second-placed solver, GM Dr John Nunn, presented a selection of problems which the competitors had to face. Today he presents the solutions, in the unique explanatory style that has made his many chess books so popular. Studying his notes allows you to delve into the magical world of chess problems.

- [Akiba Rubinstein is back in town in Polanica-Zdroj] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380356): IM Aleksander Hnydiuk won the 47th Rubinstein Memorial held in Polanica-Zdroj, Poland, scoring his first GM norm with a 2608 performance. The Memorial is likely to regain its level from the past when it used to be a significant event for both top grandmasters and aspiring masters. This would be a good news given the beauty of Polanica and its surroundings.

- [CBM Blog: Counterplay counts + Banusz' Breakthrough] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380355): In rook endings a pawn up, the draw is often secured by counterplay. But how to initiate it? Our resident GM Karsten Müller gives us instruction, using a recent game Bacrot-Robson from the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. And Dr Müller uses another game from two weeks ago to instruct us on the theme of counterplay. Take time to study his examples and improve your tournament results.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: Peter Svidler All the Way] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380354): It was the most amazing move of the 2011 Chess World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, a wonderful coup de grâce you don't see every day. And it could have been enough to play it, go home and enjoy it for years to come.In his Huffington Post chess column GM Lubomir Kavalek peculates that his astonishing move didn't belong to 21st century, where such a brilliant move is not usually allowed.

- [Six-Star DVDs with a Wealth of Information] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/380353): This month in the Chess Cafe Steven B. Dowd looks at three recently released ChessBase DVDs, one each for the opening, middlegame, and ending. "Each one is very well-done, and contain a wealth of information for the learner," he writes. "It will probably be the only time you see me giving six stars – the maximum – to each DVD." Reviews and links.

- [First Youth Chess Tournament for Peace] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379847): This event, organised and sponsored by MonRoi, a St. Laurent-based company which sells an electronic score keeping device to record, store, view and webcast chess games. Twenty-one young chess players participated during the Global Conference on World’s Religions in Montréal, Canada. On this occasion the players had the pleasure to meet His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

- [ChessBase Magazine 143 – A Cornucopia of Chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379846): "Serious chess players will relish spending countless hours studying the information in ChessBase Magazine issues," writes Steve Goldberg. "Some players may find just the opening analysis they've been looking for, others will appreciate the impressive depth and breadth of the annotated games, too many to count, annotated by world class players." Goldberg gives it five stars in his Chess Cafe review.

- [Kasparov in Clichy - video analysis by IM Andrew Martin] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379845): It was a wake up call and reminder that Kasparov is not so far gone into retirement that he is no longer competitive at the top. By soundly beating Vachier-Lagrave in two highly publicized blitz games, a top talent rated over 2700, Kasparov showed he wasn't just there for the cameras, he was out for blood. IM Andrew Martin dissected the games and gave insightful commentary in his video analysis.

- [Turkey vs Iran with an instructive endgame] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379639): This eight round double Scheveningen event with top GMs took place from September 8 to 16. Iran won it by ten points, the final score being 21:11. One of the lesser games contained an interesting ending which international trainer Efstratios Grivas, who is also the Turkish coach, has analysed for our readers – another opportunity for you to hone your endgame skills.

- [World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk: Players in the background] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379637): The organisers of the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk did an extraordinary job, providing the world with live video feed in HD quality, running commentary in Russian and English, live broadcast of the games on the official site and on Playchess, professional pictures in the highest quality we have received from any chess event. Here are some of the people who made it possible.

- [CBM Blog: Knight dance and a mating attack out of the blue] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379636): "The rook's pawn is the worst enemy of the knight," says our resident GM Karsten Müller. He goes on to show us how with queens on the board one side can often conduct a direct attack that culminates in mate. Dr. Müller's analyses, taken from recent games, are an excellent way to increase your understanding of the game and hone your endgame skills.

- [Kasparov defeats Vachier-Lagrave in Clichy exhibition] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379634): In his continued promotion for chess instruction in schools, and the Kasparov Chess Foundation, this weekend Garry Kasparov gave an exhibition blitz match in Clichy against the 2011 French champion, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The match, covered by the French mass media, was won by Kasparov with a flourish. Here is the report with videos and annotations by GM Karsten Müller.

- [World Cup Finals: Svidler wins, Ivanchuk takes bronze] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379358): Peter Svidler drew his final game against Alexander Grischuk, securing it with a nice knight sacrifice. This gave him a 2.5-1.5 win over Alexander Grischuk and the title of World Cup winner. In the match for third place Vassily Ivanchuk drew for a similar final score against Ruslan Ponomariov. Svidler, Grischuk and Ivanchuk have qualified for the next stage of the World Championship.

- [World Cup Finals: Ivanchuk wins game two with black] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379281): Peter Svidler played fourteen moves of theory against his good friend Alexander Grischuk, then they played two more moves and agreed to a pragmatic draw. In the game for place three Vassily Ivanchuk came with a clear advantage out of the opening, and just when his opponent Ruslan Ponomariov appeared to be holding, he cracked under the pressure and gave Ivanchuk an important point.

- [Shenzhen GP: Hou Yifan wins FIDE Grand Prix by a full point] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379357): She drew her final game comfortably with the black pieces and finished with 8.0/11 points on the scoresheet. Seventeen-year-old women's world champion Hou Yifan did not lose a single game in this event and performed at a 2644 level. Second was Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia – the only non-Chinese among the first six players.

- [World Cup Finals: both games drawn, players under pressure] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379283): Alexander Grischuk played his final white game against Peter Svidler aggressively, and came close to losing it in time trouble. But after 29 moves a draw was agreed. In the match for third place Vassily Ivanchuk, playing white, had serious losing chances against Ruslan Ponomariov, but saved the minor piece ending. In the last game Ponomariov and Grischuk are under tremendous pressure.

- [Shenzhen: Hou Yifan leads by a full point] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379282): With one round to go the young women's world champion from China has 7.5/9 points, with IM Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia at 6.5. In rounds nine and ten 50% of the games were decisive, and the total draw rate is a respectable 55% (21.7% white and 23.3% black wins). The organisers are providing excellent coverage – Internet broadcast, reports and high-class pictures.

- [Shenzhen: Hou Yifan in the sole lead after eight rounds] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/379019): The 17-year-old Chinese world women's championship has a plus four score and a 2650 performance, and leads by half a point ahead of GM Zhao Xue. Anna Muzychuk and Ruan Lufei share the third/fourth places another half-point further down. Friday is a free day, where the players will visit local schools. Our report after round eight includes

- [World Cup R6 TB: Grischuk makes it to the final] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378762): The first rapid tiebreak ended in a nice win by Alexander Grischuk, in the second Vassily Ivanchuk bounced back with a convincing win of his own. Then came the accelerated rapids – ten-minute time controls. In the first tragedy struck when Ivanchuk, in a potentially winning position, blundered horribly and lost. The finals start on Friday, with Peter Svidler playing Alexander Grischuk.

- [Poles take World Problem Solving Championship 2011] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378761): The picturesque Italian town of Jesi saw fierce competition amongst the world’s top problem solvers. The team event was won by the Polish solvers, whose average age was less than half that of the second-placed UK team. In the individual championship the 19-year-old Pole Kacper Piorun was victorious, ahead of the previous champion John Nunn, who sent us this

- [How does one play against a World Champion?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378760): GM Adrian Mikhalchishin shares his extensive experience working with players who faced World Champions, and the difficulties this unique challenge presents. He also breaks down the upcoming Women's World Championship and gives his opinion. He explains how he prepares players to face a champion, and how both the trainer and the student can

- [World Cup R6.2: Peter Svidler through to final] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378759): Former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov played a rare line of the Grunfeld, which allowed Peter Svidler to play very sharply and get a queenside pawn avalanche. The St Petersburg grandmaster refused a draw offer and forced a win in 43 moves. With this Svidler moves into the final. On the other board Ivanchuk and Grischuk drew an equally sharp game.

- [Shenzhen Women's Grand Prix - Five tied for first after five rounds] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378431): After the fourth and fifth rounds, Hou Yifan and Zhao Xue were first joined in the lead by Anna Muzychuk in round four, and then by Tan Zhongyi and Ruan Lufei in round five. The rest day, after the fourth round, coincided with a special Chinese holiday that celebrates the moon's brightest and most beautiful appearance in the year, including colorful festivities around it.

- [CBM Blog: Opposition and the Horwitz Manover] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378430): The first games of the World Cup semi-finals did not produce a lot of material for commentary. So we use this analytical pause to bring you two endgame lessons by GM Dr. Karsten Müller. The examples are taken from earlier games in Khanty-Mansiysk and give you insights into complex opposition and a classical winning technique that Ruslan Ponomariov executed perfectly.

- [World Cup R6.1: Both games drawn, Ukraine to move] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378429): Both the Russian grandmasters left in the World Cup played their first game of the semifinals with White. Realizing that the stakes are very high (there are only three tickets to the World Championship, not to speak of the substantial money prize) everyone played very carefully. The result: two draws, in 20 and 22 moves. On Tuesday the Ukrainians have white and thus the advantage.

- [World Chess Hall of Fame opens in St. Louis] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378427): The World Chess Hall of Fame, a cultural non-profit institution relocated from Miami and chose St. Louis as its new home due to the city’s growing reputation as a center of chess. To celebrate its new space, a live chess event was organized to launch the first-ever Chess Merit Badge for the Boy Scouts of America. GM Nakamura participated and stood in as the black king.

- [World Cup R5 tiebreaks: It's Russia vs Ukraine in the semifinals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378046): Alexander Griswchuk won his first rapid chess game against David Navara and survived the second to proceed to the next round. Vassily Ivanchuk managed to hold a difficult ending against Teimour Radjabov and then went on to outplay him in the second game. On Monday Grischuk plays Ivanchuk, and Peter Svidler faces Ruslan Ponomariov.

- [World Cup R5.1: Ivanchuk leads against Radjabov] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378037): Three games were decided quickly – in 14, 16 and 28 moves. But even short games can be of considerable theoretical interest, as the annotation of Svidler-Polgar by GM Efstratios Grivas clearly show. There was one decisive game: Taimour Radjabov overlooked a tactical shot by Vassily Ivanchuk and, playing a queen for rook and bishop down, lost in 41 moves.

- [World Cup R5.2: Radjabov equalises, Polgar and Gashimov eliminated] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378027): Azeri GM Taimour Radjabov lost his first game against veteran Vassily Ivanchuk; in the second he struck back and equalised, forcing a tiebreak on Sunday. David Navara and Alexander Grischuk are also tied and meet in the tiebreaks. Peter Svidler tricked Judit Polgar and Ruslan Ponomariov won a black game against Vugar Gashimov. Both are now in the semi-finals.

- [FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Shenzhen, China] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/378017): The second stage of FIDE Women's Grand Prix cycle 2011-2012 is being staged from 5th to 20th of September in the Wuzhou Hotel in Shenzhen, China. It includes a current and a former women's world champion, the reigning European champion and a bevvy of top female players. After three rounds Hou Yifan and Zhao Xue lead.

- [Unforgettable Venezuelan chess party] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377759): The magic of chess seized Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and lived up to its expectations for the First International Chess Festival held there in a tribute to IM Wiston Boada, to celebrate 25 years of chess and selflessness in promoting it. AjedrezVinoTinto put together a beautiful festival with 80 players and even invited renowned Spanish journalist Leontxo García to lecture.

- [World Cup R4.2: Judit evens the score] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377758): In the second game of round four in the World Cup the amazing Judit Polgar, a loss down against Cuban GM Lenier Dominguez, actually pulled back with a black-piece win. Navara, Svidler and Radjabov went through, the former two with 2-0 wins, with Peter Svidler eliminating Gata Kamsky. Five of the eight games were decisive, five pairings go to the tiebreaks on Thursday.

- [The last day of the “Botvinnik Memorial”] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377757): On the last day of the three-day Botvinnik Memorial in Moscow there were no more battles among the grandmasters. This day was dedicated to remembering the 6th World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. On the program was the inauguration of a plaque dedicated to Botvinnik, and a simul by the participants against 80 juniors from around the country.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: The Hand of God in Chess?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377461): The drama surrounding the game David Navara vs Alexander Moiseenko continues to occupy the chess world, and has made it into the mainstream media. In his Huffington Post chess column GM Lubomir Kavalek felt a deja vu: a game he had played in 1965 wound down to a similar Q vs R+P ending which he proceeded to win. Kavalek also philosophises about offering a draw in a winning position.

- [World Cup R4.1: no draw death in Khanty-Mansiysk] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377460): Round four in the World Cup was another uncompromising day – six games out of eight were decisive! White won four times, Black scored two wins, and of the two draws one was well fought out. Dominguez, Navara, Gashimov, Potkin, Radjabov and Svidler go into the second game on Wednesday with a win under their belts, the first two with the advantage of the white pieces.

- [Sonas: what exactly is the problem?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377306): In recent weeks two strong GMs have sent us their solutions to the problem of draws in chess (have rapid game deciders on the same day, they propose). This has caused quite a stir in the chess world. We asked chess statistician Jeff Sonas to scientifically analyse the problem – it's got to be good to know exactly what we are talking about.

- [World Cup R3 Tiebreaks: Navara wins, and Mamedyarov falls to Zherebukh] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377305): It was an incredibly bloodthirsty round of tiebreaks with nine of the first ten games ending in a decisive result. For those wondering whether Navara's sports-manship would cost him the potential $8000 he risked losing, it did not, and he beat Moiseenko to pass forward. The biggest surprise was 18-year-old Zherebukh's victory over World Championship Candidate Mamedyarov.

- [2011 L. Rudenko Memorial won by 13-year-old Goryachkina] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377304): In its fifth edition, the Lyudmila Rudenko Memorial, dedicated to the second Women's World Champion, brought together 43 female players, vying for a spot in the Russian Women's Cup later this year. In spite of a field including no fewer than eight WGMs, the surprise winner was 13-year-old Alexandra Goryachkina, a full point ahead of the field.

- [How to build your own USB Electronic Chess Board] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377176): How would you like to build your own full-sized wooden electronic board. Sound impossible or highly improbable? Not so. If you are the type of person who enjoys building models, or challenging projects, Bryan Whitby has created a website with step-by-step instructions, and plenty of pictures, showing you how to build a USB chess board that can be hooked up to Fritz.

- [World Cup R3.2: Fair play in Khanty-Mansiysk] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377174): Game two of the third round of the World Cup produced an extraordinary display of fairness. First David Navara accidentally touched a piece, but his opponent, Alexander Moiseenko did not insist on the "touch-move" rule that would have lost him the game. Moiseenko was subsequently outplayed by the Czech GM, who with a forced mate on the board offered him a draw.

- [World Cup R2.1: Live by the sword, die by the sword] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376676): In the second round of the FIDE WC knock-out event, the current European Champion Vladimir Potkin was happy enough to perform an ideal attack against the well-known and fierce attacker Alexei Shirov, a top player who is famous for setting the board on fire. But the time always comes for those who live by the sword to die by it. Here is some very instructive analysis by GM Efstratios Grivas.

- [FIDE ratings list – resurgence is the name of the game] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376674): The new ratings list is out, and the word 'resurgence' has never seemed a more appropriate description. From the very top, we see Kramnik once more the top Russian, Kamsky at the highest rating in his career, and Judit Polgar's return to the 2700 club to name but a few, but the biggest story is Morozevich's rocket gain of 43 Elo after three straight 2800+ performances. The September 2011 list.

- [World Cup R3.1: Top players clash, Polgar, Kamsky, Sutovsky win] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377032): Round three of the World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk saw top players finally encountering each other, with upsets still possible. The big one was the victory of the only remaining female in the event, Judit Polgar, over top seed Sergey Karjakin. Emil Sutovsky brought down the great Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Grischuk outwitted Alexander Morozevich with an obscure line of play.

- [Botvinnik Memorial Rapid Day two – Anand and Cmilyte take first] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377030): At the end of the day’s scrambling, Vishy Anand’s solid showing fetched him the title in the open section and Viktorija Cmilyte’s sharp play brought her the women’s top honours. Rating favourites Carlsen and Humpy finished tail enders. The mixed blitz doubles were won by Anand-Humpy, making it a fine day for Indians. Report with lovely photographs by Anna Burtasova.

- [Botvinnik Memorial Rapid Day one – Comedy of errors] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377029): Carlsen dropped both Anand and Aronian from his jaws on day one of the rapid tournament while Kramnik pleased spectators with a flamboyant piece sacrifice. Aggression in the women’s section reigned high with only two draws from nine games. Check out the incredible blunders, oversights and missed opportunities of these grandmasters, Here is the report with pictures by Anna Burtasova.

- [Pawn careers] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/377026): In this game from the current World Chess Cup, White's f-pawn had eaten its way to h7 early on and just remained there. What does that mean for the postion? The strike 28.Rxg7 now leads to ...  A)... victory for White  B)... perpetual check  C)... advantage for Black    The solution is here.

- [Master Moves #16 – Botvinnik the World Champion] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376673): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots here were played by Botvinnik from the 1948 World Championship and beyond.

- [Commemorating the 20th Independence Day and Cup] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376510): The “Kiev Cup - Independence of Ukraine Cup” was recently held in Kiev dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, celebrated on August 24. This year saw the participation of 15-year-old Ilya Nyzhnyk (2589 Elo), who saw the top spot snatched by Crimean colleague GM Yury Ajrapetjan. Here is a report replete with pictures by Tanya Kostiuk.

- [The winner takes it all, the loser standing small...] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376509): We are reporting enthusiastically on the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, concentrating, as any news site would do, on the stars and the winners. But what about the players who on Tuesday all met at the airport for an early flight to Moscow? They had been knocked out in round one. Chess trainer Efstratios Grivas tells us the story of one of them, with two instructively annotated games.

- [World Cup R2.1: small tragedies, expected victories] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376508): Alexei Shirov spoilt a comfortable position against Vladimir Potkin and lost in 28 moves. Francisco Vallejo applied pressure for 60 moves, then imploded and lost five moves later. Sergey Azarov tried the Jaenish Gambit against Vugar Gashimov and went down in 23 moves. Other top players (Ivanchuk, Radjabov, Morozevich) took home full points. Report and pictures.

- [World Cup R1 tiebreaks: favourites through, no big surprises] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376390): Gata Kamsky won one of the first two rapid games, Morozevich both of them. Etienne Bacrot struggled a bit against youngster Ray Robson – each won a game, then Bacrot won both the fast rapid games. One match, Drozdovskij vs Motylev, went all the way to the sudden death (Drozdovskij won). Our full report will follow tonight, for now we bring you the games and results in our express report.

- [World Cup R1.2– Leko, Wang Yue eliminated] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376389): Hungarian former vice champion of the world Peter Leko and Super-GM Wang Yue were both eliminated after the second game of round one of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. The Chinese generally had a bad day, with all but three players eliminated. Kamsky and Vallejo were forced into the tiebreaks (on Tuesday) by much lower-ranked players. Full report with pictures and video.

- [World Cup R1.1 – A few upsets and vivid coverage] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376388): In the first round of the FIDE World Cup brought many players with large rating differences – 250-350 Elo points – together on the first ten boards. Almost all ended in the favorites beating the underdogs, but we saw losses by Super GMs Wang Yue and Peter Leko to lesser opponents. The HD video coverage from Khanty-Mansiysk is very impressive and vividly shows the drama of the game.

- [FIDE World Chess Cup starts in Khanty-Mansiysk] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376387): For the fourth time Russia’s Ugra region in Siberia is hosting this event, which is a 128-player knockout with 128 participants from all over the world, playing two-game matches from August 27th until September 20th. The opening ceremony was spectacular, and all captured on HT video, which you can watch and enjoy before the games begin on Sunday at 11:00h CEST.

- [Botvinnik Memorial Open picture parade] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376212): The International Chess Festival celebrating the 100th anniversary of Mikhail Botvinnik saw 166 players taking part in a very strong Open, with seven tying for first at 7.0/9 points. The women did not play in a separate section but did get a separate ranking table. We wrap up this event with a splendid pictorial provided by Irina Sudakova and Elena Mikheeva with lots of new faces.

- [Vienna Game] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376211): In view of possible pin motifs, capturing the e-pawn in the diagram position had to be well considered. What do you think? After 19...Nxe5, Black ...    A)... simply wins a second pawn;  B)... can give up his queen for good compensation;  C)... loses a full piece

- [Alimini Open - Chess, sand, and sports] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/376209): The Alimini Open took place in the beautiful scenery at the south-eastern extreme of Italy. Though fighting chess was displayed to the end, the titled players generously helped weaker players analyze their games. Everyone was treated to a wave of daily activities ranging from football, volleyball (the girls won!) and even poker with a professional dealer.

- [Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik – hundredth anniversary] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/375361): Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik was born on August 17, 1911, and died in 1995, at the age of 84. He was the first world-class player to develop within the Soviet Union, winning the World Championship three times, while working as an electrical engineer, and in fact earning a PhD. The latter part of his life was devoted to his chess school for young talents – and to chess programming.

- [Collect or consolidate?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/375360): In this endgame from the Russian Superfinal White here took on e6 with the rook and thus refrained from 37.a3 (diagram) which would have given Black the option of playing 37...Rxc5 38.bxc5 d3. With what result, in your opinion?  A) victory for Black;  B) perpetual check after mutual promotion;  C) victory for White.

- [Which US presidents played the royal game?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/375359): Here are the answers to our August weekend puzzle: of the 43 presidents of the United States, over the last 222 years, 24 , i.e. more than half, have played and enjoyed chess. It started with the first president, George Washington, and ends with Barack Obama, who has occasional games with Michelle. Here is the full list and some interesting bits of information.

- [Coordination is crucial + the king attacks] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/375358): When two rook fight against a queen it is often extremely important whether the rooks can coordinate or not. That is the first lesson of our endgame expert Dr. Karsten Müller, who goes on to show us how normally drawish opposite colored bishop endings can be transformed if there are rooks present. Today's lessons include a very instructive blitz game

- [Turkish Rapid Chess Championship in Datca] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/375357): The town is a fine vacation spot, a place where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean, where Turks and Greeks can swim out to meet each other. It is also the place where this year's Turkish Rapid Championship took place – in the Open and U16 categories. It was fun for all, especially the youngest players, whom WGM Anastasiya Karlovich has caught in her wonderful pictorial report.

- [Top Girls] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/371336): Amelaine Otukolo (Clendon Park), Merenia Key (Clendon Park) and Aimee Read (Rosehill Intermediate). Te Ataiti Adams (Clendon Park) didn't appear in the photo as her name wasn't called in error.

- [Coffin nail] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/370849): Passive defence seemed hopeless to Black here in view of his exposed king, and he rather preferred to create counterthreats by playing 64...h3 (diagram). How would you assess the position after 65.Re7+ now? White...  A)... wins the black queen by force  B)... must eventually pin his hopes on a plus pawn in a rook ending  C)... achieves only perpetual check; if he allows the black king to escape via h5-g4, Black even wins

- [Kavalek in Huffington: Long Live the Chess King] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/370848): Chess sometimes becomes a beautiful game even in the eyes of those who don't play it. Find a charming town, bring back its glorious past, turn people into chess pieces, invite kids and a jester and you can evoke magical moments. GM Lubomir Kavalek tells us about "living chess" in medieval costumes, and a blindfold game between him and Hungarian GM Lajos Portisch.

- [Biel Rd.10: statistics and Playchess analysis] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/370847): This wonderfully exciting tournament is over, and to wrap things up we bring you a final report with interesting statistics (did you count: there were more black wins than white). Also the remarkable postgame sessions on Playchess with the players, who explained to a world-wide audience what transpired in the games they had just finished. Great event, pity it's over.

- [Dortmund Rd9 – Kramnik wins Dortmund; Nakamura ends drought] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/370844): Kramnik's win of Dortmund came as no surprise, and he took no chances and drew against Giri, securing a two point lead over the field after Le drew against Ponomariov. His 7.0/9 score and 2933 performance are one of the greatest tournament victories of all time, but he still has a tenth round to try and extend it if he wishes. Nakamura ended his drought with a win over Meier.

- [MC Cup Auckland July 2011 Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/370828): With a record 5 Adults competing, this MC Cup was all about separating the men from the boys - oh and two girls.

- [MC Cup June 2011 Auckland Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363715): With 28 registered players and the #1 rated active player in Sri Lanka, the June MC Cup was set to be the biggest challenge yet!

- [Eleven-year-old Kazakh gains WIM] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367892): Zhansaya Abdumalik already has three junior world championship titles under her belt. Recently she won an international tournament in Indonesia among girls under 20 years of age as well, which gave her the title of Women's International Master and a heavy boost in her rating. Now she has set her sights at the Women's Grandmaster title. Good luck, Zhansaya

- [XXXIV Barbera del Valles - Sun, fun, and a GM norm] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367901): It was a euphoric Alina L'Ami who sent in a second photographic report on the international tournament in sunny Barbera del Valles. In spite of her 2312 rating, she scored a full-fledged GM norm with a 2612 performance against no fewer than five GMs. Despite this, she found the time to also visit Barcelona and share her pictures and impressions with Chessbase readers. A pictorial by Alina L'Ami.

- [Tactics Power Play: Kings on the h-file] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367899): His exposed majesty had caused Black to go for the deflecting strike 48...Nc3xe4 before, in order after 49.Qf3xe4 Qa2-f2 (diagram) to get out of the affair by the mate threat on g1. Which move wins for White now?  A) 50.Bg2  B) 50.Qf5+  C) neither (draw)

- [FIDE has announced qualifiers for the World Cup 2011] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367898): "FIDE gave me a wildcard for the World Cup!" wrote GM Peter Heine Nielsen. "Thanks a lot for your help, Vladica, Jeff and Fred. Can't tell how much I appreciate that." It is, PH assumes, the result of a series of articles we published in April, and the support they generated. The World Cup will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk from August 26 to 21 September 2011

- [CBM Blog: 'Rook endings are always drawn?'] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367897): Well, in a certain sense yes, but usually the defender must play actively, as our our endgame specialist Dr Karsten Müller meticulously demonstrates. In his second example GM Müller shows us how in a "wrong rook pawn" ending the defender can often hope to construct a fortress, and how this can be overcome by the attacker. Valuable lessons for your next tournament.

- [Breaking news: World Championship 2012 in Chennai] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367894): There was a bid from Russia, but now the Tamil Nadu Government has placed a winning bid for the Chess World Championship match between reigning Champion Viswanathan Anand and Challenger Boris Gelfand. The match will take place in April or May of 2012, the total budget is Rs. 20 crores (= 3.2 million Euros or US $4.5 million)

- [Marija and Kosara's project 'Children in Chess'] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/367893): The two Serbian sisters Marija and Kosara Stojanovic are on a mission to help hearing impaired children, and young people with mental disabilities, to find pleasure and enjoyment in chess. In their pilot project they conduct classes once a week, and organise simultaneous exhibitions and outdoor events. Wonderful work that needs to be supported – or simply emulated by others.

- [Gawain Jones leads in Commonwealth Championship in Ekurhuleni] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363942): The top seed GMs have survived mostly unharmed in this South African event, fighting for maximum points in the early rounds, a task not made easy by ambitious youngsters (Nigel Short: "My opponent was rated a thousand points below me but made me work!"). After seven rounds English GM Gawain Jones leads with 6.5 points, followed by 15 players with 60./5 each

- [Belize: painted faces and chess on stilts] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363940): The Central American nation, south of Mexico, has a population of just 333,000. But in this country, with its spectacular abundance of terrestrial and marine species, chess has become a national passtime. Last May the best players from each district throughout Belize met for what they call a "Chess Olympiad". A special guest at the event, GM Maurice Ashley, sent us this beautiful pictorial report.

- [Gregory Young wins 2011 US Junior championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363939): Gregory Young is the 2011 U.S. Junior Champion, taking the title before the final round of play even began. Ranked seventh of the ten players, Young (2327) explained he had never given his chances much thought, not having played in six months. "I was thinking about it as a tournament to get back into rhythm and play." Instead he trounced the field, winning with a two-point lead.

- [AAI International: Caruana leads with a 2876 performance] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363938): This Category 17 GM tournament, the strongest ever staged in India, is being dominated by the world's top junior, Fabiano Caruana, who after seven rounds is 1.5 points ahead of his nearest rivals. Another piece of good news: women's world champion Hou Yifan, 17, seems to have overcome her crisis and started to score. Yifan was also the only player on the free day to take a grand tour of Delhi.

- [Wojtaszek wins György Marx Memorial with 2900 performance] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363937): Working with a World Champion clearly has beneficial effects. Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek has been a permanent second for Vishy Anand for a few years now, and the 24-year-old is showing signs of real greatness. At the 9th Gyorgy Marx Memorial he declassed the opposition, scoring 8.0/10, a point and a half more than anyone else. Which confirms a new genetic theory.

- [Master Moves #14] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363935): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the positions are from the 2011 Russian Championship - Higher League.

- [Passed pawn versus second rank] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363934): In this double rook ending both sides have their trumps. The move 41...h5-h4 (diagram position) leads to ...    A) ... victory for Black;  B) ... a draw;  C) ... a won pawn endgame for White.

- [The homecoming: Boris Gelfand is back] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363933): Israeli GM Boris Gelfand won the recent Candidates Matches in Kazan, making him the challenger of Vishy Anand in next year's World Championship match. Boris was given a hero's welcome on his return, and was interviewed by our colleague Shay Bushinsky, author of the Junior chess program. Here is part two on Gelfand's matches against Mamedyarov and Kamsky

- [Russian ch. - Higher league: Morozevich is back!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363932): After watching the first half dominated by 18-year-old Sanan Sjugirov, the next two rounds saw the leadership change hands twice more. First it was Timofeev who beat Sjuigirov in round seven, and then Morozevich beat Timofeev, never relinquishing his lead. It was a combination of both skill and consistency, but the luckiest man was unquestionably Ernesto Inarkiev

- [Commonwealth Chess Championships debut in Africa!] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/363931): The Championships are being held from June 25th to July 4th in the spectacular Emperors Palace Hotel in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The field of over 700 participants boasts more than 40 titled players and is headed by three times past champion GM Nigel Short from England. The chess promises to be exciting, but the surrounding wildlife even more so.

- [Garry Kasparov launches Chess Foundation in Europe] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360479): Garry Kasparov and Jan Callewaert, founder of Option, today announced the creation of the Kasparov Chess Foundation Europe. The mission of this non-profit organization will be to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children and young people throughout schools in Europe, both public and private, by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs.

- [Checks and counterchecks] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360478): In this position White had just played 26.Nxe5 inviting his opponent to go for 26...Rxg2. Which continuation leads to victory after that?    A) 27.Nf7+ Kg8 28.Nh6+;  B) 27.Ng4+ Kg8 28.Qe6+;   C) neither nor, Black can always save his skin with a discovered (counter) check.

- [Master Moves #13] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360477): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the positions are from the 2011 French League Championship. Time to bodybuild the brain!

- [King's Tournament Medias – pictures from the opening ceremony] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360476): Friday afternoon the six players of the Fifth Kings Tournamentin Medias gathered together in the Natural Gas Documentation and Information Centre to meet the sponsors, Romgaz, execute the drawing of lots and speak to the journalists. The ceremony had a world champion present: Ognean Mihnea-Ionut, World School under seven Champion.

- [Medias Kings Rd1: Carlsen and Ivanchuk open with wins] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360475): All the ingredients for a super tournament are there, with ultra-talented players known for their creativity and combativeness. Magnus Carlsen, always in the center of the international spotlight, beat Nakamura in a powerful game in the opening round, while Ivanchuk did much the same against Radjabov, in a highly original King's Indian Averbakh.

- [Medias Kings Rd1: Commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360474): One of the key persons at the Medias Kings' Tournament is GM Dorian Rogozenco, who not only advises the organisers, but also interviews the players after the games. Then, after a swim and a meal, this industrious grandmaster retires to his room and prepares full annotations to all the games, in his own well-loved style. We present his notes and analyses with Chessbases' new JavaScript player.

- [Kings' Tournament Rd2: Nakamura wins after Nisipeanu blunders] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/360473): In the second round, the two winners from round one drew after it quickly became evident neither could force the issue. Radjabov obtained a significant space advantage over Karjakin but was unable to make anything of it, while Nakamura and Nisipeanu also seemed destined to draw until a late-game hallucination by the Romanian handed the win to the American.

- [MC Cup May 2011 Auckland Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/358984): The MC Cup is a premiere qualification event for accomplished players. This is the fourth event of the year, and with a wonderful new venue, it is our best yet! [more]

- [CBM Blog: Fortress or Not? + Knight endings] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/358827): Against a bishop the defender can often try to construct a fortress, as it can visit only half the squares of the chessboard, as our resident GM and endgame specialist Karsten Müller demonstrates. The themes of outside passed pawn and zugzwang play a major role in knight endings as well, where, due to the tactical abilities of the knight, great care is often required. Learn and become stronger.

- [CBM Blog: One diagonal, and to exchange or not to exchange?] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/358667): Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a very large drawish tendency. If the defender is dug in on squares of his own bishop his fortress usually cannot be stormed. In his second example our resident GM endgame expert has a serious admonition: before trading down into a pawn ending you should calculate it to the end. Useful lessons for tournament success.

- [Italian National Scholastic Team Championship set a new record] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/358666): This year the annual event attracted 1480 players from 286 schools from all over Italy. It was staged from May 12-15 in the beautiful city of Spoleto in Umbria, the center of the country. The large number of participants relied to a great degree on support from the FIDE Chess in Schools initiative and its Chairman Ali Nihat Yazici, as we learn from this illustrated report by IM Martha Fierro.

- [No fewer than four candidate moves ...] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/358665): ... the first player had to consider here when she went for 34.Rd1-d8 (diagram), pinning the Bf8 on the opponent's back rank but also making her own king prone to perpetual check ideas. What is the correct continuation for Black now?  A) 34...Rd6  B) 34...Rxf6  C) 34...Qb1+ 35.Kh2 Qe4  D) 34...Qb2

- [St. Louis: Nakamura and Robson prevail in whirlwind final] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/358664): Both the native GMs led after the six classical games. Hikaru Nakamura went on to defeat Ukrainian FIDE ex-world champion Ruslan Ponomariov by 3-1 in the rapids, while Ray Robson held Ben Feingold 2-2 to maintain his two-point overall lead. The rapid chess phase was interrupted by tornado warnings, which sent the players into the basement.

- [2nd Hainan Dangzhou: 16-year-old Yu Yangyi leads] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/354998): After the success of the first Hainan Dangzhou tournament, the second edition is underway and a long-term contract has already been signed for five tournaments. This year has the cream of the crop of Chinese players including Wang Hao, Wang Yue and the teen prodigies, Hou Yifan and Yu Yangyi. 16-year-old Yangyi leads after three rounds. Here is the illustrated report by Gu Xiaobing.

- [FIDE Candidates Semis Tiebreak: G-Day for the Ks] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/354997): It was G-Day for the Ks, as both Kramnik and Kamsky bowed out to Grischuk and Gelfand respectively. Grischuk pursued his "draw with white" plan into the rapids, and pushed into the blitz, where he manhandled Kramnik and went through. Kamsky beat Gelfand in game three, but the Israeli clinched the fourth, and then won the blitz. Surprise finalists. Big illustrated report.

- [Karsten Müller's CBM Blog: Deceptive Simplicity, Knight Moves] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/354996): Our resident GM endgame expert shows us that even pawn endings with only a few remaining pawns can be quite tricky. In his second example he shows us a tricky pawn ending with rook and knight, one he asks you to try and work out in your mind before you look at the solution. Dr. Müller once again proves that learning can be fun.

- [Candidates Semifinals G4: Blood, sweat and real tears this time] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/354995): Yesterday’s blurb might well have fitted today’s, although with the names inverted. Kamsky improved on the game two opening against Gelfand and drew in 23 moves. Kramnik-Grischuk was a hair-raising English, with both players missing golden opportunities for large, if not winning, advantages. In the end a dejected Kramnik had to accept perpetual check. GM Fabiano Caruana comments.

- [FIDE Candidates Semis G3: Blood, sweat and tears] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/354994): The bad news is that we had two more draws; the good news is that at least one of the games had people on the edge of their seats until the end. It wasn't the quiet Petroff in Grischuk-Kramnik, but Kamsky-Gelfand's incredibly complicated Najdorf where both missed clear chances, and fate chose not to favor either. Once again our Russian colleagues in Kazan provided spectacular video coverage.

- [Light versus dark squares] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/354993): The black queen has a dominating position on d4, and White faces the question whether to attack it directly, indirectly (idea 38.Bxh7+) or not at all. So what's the correct continuation?  A) 37.Bc4  B) 37.e5  C) 37.g3

- [Meanwhile, elsewhere] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/353312): While the whole chess world is following the developments in Kazan, obviously there’s more in chess than the Candidates matches. Baadur Jobava finished first at the strong Bosna open, and Pentala Harikrishna won the Asian Individual on tie-break. Biel announced its full line-up (including Morozevich!), the European Women’s Championship is ongoing, the Capablanca Memorial and the Bahía Feliz tournament (with a very interesting players field) have also started.

- [Candidate move] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/353311): In this difficult position the second player Gata Kamsy went for 30...N8e7, whereupon he had to continue suffering and could save the game only by a miracle. How would be your assessment of the alternative 30...Nxd4 31.Bxd4 Bxa2 with a discovered attack on the the white bishop d4?  A) good enough for equality;  B) still worse for Black, but better than the game anyway;  C) a direct way to disaster, White wins immediately.

- [European Women Chp: Cmylite perfect after four rounds] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/353310): Contrary to previous editions, this year the European Women Chess Championship is being held separately from the overall event at Tbilisi, Georgia. It is a fitting choice considering the history of women's chess there, and the number of Georgian greats. After four rounds, Lithuanian GM Viktorija Cmylite is the only player with 4.0/4. Robert Fontaine from Europe Echecs has provided daily video reports.

- [Kavalek in Huffington: Chess Champ Kamsky Marches On] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/353309): Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov were the favourites to meet in the finals of the 2011 FIDE Candidates matches in Kazan, and one of the two to challenge Vishy Anand of India for the world chess title in 2012. But both GMs dropped out in the first round, Topalov being eliminated by the US champion Gata Kamsky. GM Lubomir Kavalek has analysed the key win.

- [FIDE Candidates Semis G1: Gelfand and Kamsky draw] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/353308): You might be wondering why no mention is made of Grischuk-Kramnik in the title. The reason is that it was hardly a game. The first semifinal encounter of the Candidates and they draw in sixteen moves? That is both embarrassing to the players and disrespectful to the fans. Kamsky and Gelfand played a Najdorf that quickly simplified to a balanced endgame, and drew.

- [Surprising winner at the Sydney Open] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/353307): The Sydney International Open took place from April 27 to May 1st, immediately after the Canberra Open. These two events represent best Australia has to offer, and give foreign players a chance to visit this beautiful continent. There was a major upset at the SIO, where a lowly FM, Akshat Khamparia of India, finished ahead of all the GMs participating.

- [Riverhead may be home to a group of Chess prodigies] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/352521): Rodney Times - Riverhead may be home to a group of Chess prodigies, judging by their students' results at an interschool chess tournament.

- [Nikita Vitiugov about the Candidates] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351641): Perhaps the most interesting quarter-final match. Although the odds of Levon Aronian's overall victory in this tournament are high enough, this match it will be very difficult. Grischuk's zeitnots will be testing for both players. Given the most powerful coaching team, Aronian's chief advantage will be in the openings. If Grischuk can surprise him in this initial stage, then his chances are not worse.

- [Korobov wins Nakhchivan Open] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351640): Anton Korobov won the strong Nakhchivan Open in Azerbaijan. The Ukrainian grandmaster was the only player to finish on 7/9, half a point ahead of Zoltan Almasi (Hungary), Paco Vallejo (Spain), Ivan Sokolov (The Netherlands) and Alexander Ipatov (Spain), who scored his third GM norm.

- [Aronian clear favorite to win Candidates] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351638): According to the ChessVibes readers, Levon Aronian is the clear favorite to win the FIDE Candidates matches which start tomorrow in Kazan, Russia. Based on 1,000+ votes, Armenia’s number one grandmaster gained an astonishing 65.19%, followed by ex-World Champion Vladimir Kramnik with 16.57%.

- [FIDE Candidates Rd1: Gelfand rolls six pawns to win] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351629): No recollection of anything like this in world championship history comes to mind. Sac by sac, and move by move, Gelfand was down more and more material for pawns against Mamedyarov until his grand total was a full SIX pawns for a rook. Astonishing. Here is the report on game three, with video of the Daily Wrap-up show, as well as the lucid and highly instructive annotations by GM Alejandro Ramirez.

- [FIDE Candidates – pictures from the opening ceremony] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351628): Before every major chess event there is an ceremony for the players, their seconds, for dignitaries, organisers, sponsors and the chess public. It involves music and dance performances, and the drawing of lots. At the FIDE Candidates Matches in Kazan, Russia, we have photographic impressions by Vladimir Barsky, and use the opportunity to present the seconds of the players.

- [Promoting a country with chess] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351627): The game of chess, with its air of intellectual sophistication, has been used to brand almost any activity, product or business. Now it will be used to promote an entire country – Ukraine, which has two heavy-weight boxing world champions (who play chess) and the Chess Olympiad gold medalists. So don't be surprised to see chess and sports promoting Ukraine in the world media.

- [CBM Blog: The Troitzky Line] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351626): This is not a route on the Moscow Metro but a technique to solve a rare and difficult ending: two knights vs a pawn, which, you may or may not know, is winning if the defending pawn can be blockaded on or behind a certain line on the board. This was proven by the great endgame specialist A.A. Troitzky and is explained to us by GM Karsten Müller in a recent game.

- [FIDE May ratings: Top players inactive, Anand leads] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/351625): Nothing much has changed at the top of the May rating list released by FIDE today. This is understandable since eight high-ranking players have been preparing for the Candidates matches which begin on Thursday. The World Champion, Vishy Anand, who is now a proud father, remains on top, two points ahead of the Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen

- [MC Cup Apr 2011 Auckland Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/350366): The MC Cup is a premiere qualification event for accomplished players. This is the third event of the year, and our biggest yet! [more]

- [MC Cup Mar 2011 Auckland Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/343306): The MC Cup is a premiere qualification event for accomplished players. This is the second event of the year, with new blood and stronger competition! [more]

- [Easter puzzles by Benko – a World Champion challenge (WIN FRITZ 11!)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348979): Pál Benkö, 82 and still going strong, is a world class grandmaster, author and problem composer. He is also a faithful friend who periodically sends us puzzles for our newspage. This time, for Easter, he has selected four problems which stumped a World Champion. It is a challenge for you to do better, and win a special prize in the process.

- [Hou beats Gu, loses to Ding, remains in the lead] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348978): Translation: top seed GM Hou Yifan defeated WGM Gu Xiaobing in a spectacular round six game, but then lost to WGM Ding Yixin after an unfortunate blunder in round seven. Still the 17-year-old women's world champion remains in the lead at the Women's Masters. On the free day the players visited a school campus and played against chess enthusiastic children.

- [Turkish Children's Team Championship 2011] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348977): There is something wonderfully charming about young children playing chess – devoting themselves to a single task with all their concentration and energy. The Turkish Chess Federation claims that today 2.25 million children play the game. Of these 288 took part in the Turkish Children's Team Championship for players under eleven. WGM Anastasiya Karlovich sent us this giant pictorial report.

- [2011 US Championships: Dramatic tiebreaks] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348976): The last round of the preliminaries was dramatic, especially in the women's section where Foisor was forced into the tiebreaks precisely against Zatonskih who had just beaten her. As if signaling a change in the leadership, Zatonskih used her momentum by then trouncing Foisor in the tiebreaks. In the men's Shankland beat Onischuk to also make the semis.

- [Weekly Endgame Study (215)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348975): Every week we present you an endgame study selected by IM Yochanan Afek: player, trainer, endgame study composer and writer. A week later the solution is published. Good luck

- [Russian Team Championship: 64 (Moscow) wins, by half a board point] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348974): Even in the final standings of the Russian Team Championship, 64 and Tomsk-400 were still sharing the lead with 20 match points out of 11 rounds. However, the team from Moscow (with Gelfand, Wang Hao, Caruana and Giri as the top stars) finished with exactly half a board point more: 47.0 vs 46.5.

- [Thai Open: Gustafsson ahead of Vallejo and Short on tiebreak] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348666): All three top seeds entered the final round with 6.5/8 points. English GM Nigel Short smoothly outplayed his opponent, while GMs Jan Gustafsson (Germany) and Paco Vallejo (Spain) had to navigate through tricky endings. But with all three winning their games they ended on 7.5/9 in tie for first. Gustafsson was awarded the trophy on tiebreak.

- [2011 Russian Team Championship: Ponomariov runs over Ivanchuk] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348687): It was one of the biggest matches of the event, with leader Tomsk-400, headed by Ponomariov and Motylev, facing Elo-favorites CHF-St. Petersburg, with Ivanchuk and Svidler as their top boards. On board one, Ponomariov as Black achieved a very active position, and won in under 30 moves. Though they saved the match, HSM-64 was able to draw level. Report on rounds eight and nine.

- [2011 US Championships: Hess and Krush first to finals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348686): Four and five were the number of straight wins that Hess and Krush respectively posted to secure their spots in the finals. Despite nervy play play from all, Hess showed his nerves were steadier than most, much as Krush who won five straight games after her initial loss. Foisor lost the lead after a slip though should make it. The final two rounds will be intense! Illustrated report with videos.

- [CBM Blog: The Domination Game and Slovakian surprises] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348685): The rook is usually far superior to the bishop in an endgame. In 1993 the remarkable Noam Elkies proved that a certain position that was thought to be drawn was in fact a win for White. The knight really is a tricky piece, as shown by our GM endgame expert Karsten Müller in a second Bundesliga game. His CBM blog provides valuable instructions for novice and advanced players.

- [Hou Yifan beats Ju Wenjun to lead First Women's Masters] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348684): The top seeds collided in round four, and in that game it was reigning women's world champion who took the full point. This put 17-year-old Hou Yifan a full point ahead of the field. In round five that narrowed to half a point. Hou is now followed by fourth seed WGM Shen Yang and – surprise – ninth seed WGM Gu Xiaobing, who defeated GM Zhao Xue in round four.

- [Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta wins Dubai Open] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348683): Everyone thought it would be Indian GM Parimarjan Negi, who had led the field for most of the tournament. But in the final round he had to play his compatriat Abhijeet Gupta, with just a draw required to win solo first. However Parimarjan blundered and Abhijeet took the point and the title, while his opponent had to settle for second in a group of four GMs.

- [2011 Russian Team Championship led by Tomsk-400 with 100%] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348682): Despite being only fifth on the starting line, Tomsk-400 has been tearing the opposition apart with seven wins in seven, featuring Ponomariov and Motylev with 2800+ performances. HSM-64 has also dropped only one draw, spearheaded by teenage stars Caruana and Giri, with Evjeny Najer covering the rear with a 2959 performance! The women's event has also started.

- [Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun lead in First Women's Masters] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348681): The event is taking place in Wuxi, China, and features top national female players. Top seed – by 83 points – and clear favourite is reigning women's world champion GM Hou Yifan, who together with second seed WGM Ju Wenjun has scored 2.5/3 points. To start our reporting on this very attractive event we present the participants in a big picture parade.

- [Grivas Training: Building a Repertoire] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348671): "In contrast to the middlegame and the endgame, where theory is objective and accepted by everyone, in the opening each chess player makes his choices in accordance with his emotions and his personal experience. No opening loses, no opening wins." World renown chess trainer GM Efstratios Grivas explains how you should build your repertoire in Part 3 of his lecture series.

- [Player Rules] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348116): The arbiter for each day will clearly explain all rules before the start of play. It is expected that there will be a proportion of players in every event who have minimal tournament experience.

- [Terms and Conditions] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/348115): All players must complete an entry form at the start of the event. Photographs may be taken of each event and published in the local or state media, website, newsletter, magazine or used in future advertising materials.

- [Ding Liren wins second Chinese title] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347698): On Sunday, 18-year-old Ding Liren became Chinese Champion for the second time in his career, with an undefeated 9/11 score and a 2867 performance. Hou Yifan finished 5th, one place ahead of Wang Yue. In the women’s section 21-year-old Zhang Xiaowen was the strongest.

- [Bobby Fischer Against the World in UK cinemas from July 15th] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347697): Last night GM Gawain Jones went to the first UK press preview screening of the new documentary Bobby Fischer Against the World, in Soho, London. This film will be in UK cinemas from July 15th, and Gawain, who lives in London, went on behalf of ChessVibes to do a review for us. Guess which other chess grandmaster he bumped into?

- [Emine – the Turkish Chess Delight] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347696): In today's chess world it is not easy to find a coach who combines passion for the game with the ability to inspire children. A Chess Centre in Salihli, Turkey, is lucky enough to have a tutor who possesses the best qualities of a chess coach whilst being a strong player herself.

- [Thailand Open 2011 Chess Championship under way] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347693): This event is taking place from 11th to 17th April 2011 in the five star Dusit Thani Resort and Spa in Pattaya, Thailand. More than 200 players from 40 countries are participating, making it the biggest and strongest ever held in Thailand. The first prize is 100,000 Baht (€2300 or US $3300). After the first three round two top seeds, Paco Vallejo and Nigel Short, lead with 3.0/3.

- [Master Moves #10] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347692): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. In this edition all the positions are from the 2011 Chinese Championship and the 1st Mangini Memorial.

- [Anand's Simultaneous Slip] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347691): Anand played a 24-game simultaneous exhibition against the very best Uzbek juniors and women. The world champion achieved a creditable result, winning 16 games and drawing 6, but two of his opponents can now say that they have beaten the world champion.

- [Chess in school: Government says board game will help pupils’ IQ] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/347690): Citing the need to help children develop their intellectual capacity, the Armenian government on Thursday decided that chess should to be taught as a separate subject at elementary school level across the country.

- [General Photo 2] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345259): The 2nd table dominated by Mt. Roskill Grammar students.

- [General Photo 1] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345258): Leo Anderson from Riverhead and Liam Macdonald from Helensville battle it out in a tough even game

- [Excellence Award winners (5 or 5.5 points from 7)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345310): For individual names, click the photo.

- [2nd Equal School Teams] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345317): All three schools achieved a score of 20.5 points from a possible 28 points. Click photo for list of players

- [Overall Winning School Team - Milford Primary] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345318): 25.5 from a possible 28. From left Paul Macdonald (ChessPower CEO), Michael Slessor-White, Martin Zhu, Crystal Zhu, William Zhang, Calix Shi, Jack Julian

- [Top Players Overall] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345316): Overall Individual Tournament Winners. From left, Paul Macdonald (ChessPower CEO), Martin Zhu (Milford) - 1st equal, William Zhang (Milford) - 1st equal [Perfect scores 7 points from 7], Daniel Kiernan-James (Riverhead) - 3rd equal, Michael Slessor-White (Milford) - 3rd equal [6 points from 7]

- [Top Players Under 10] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345315): Paul Macdonald (ChessPower CEO), William Zhang (Milford), Martin Zhu - 1st equal Under 10 Overall, Daniel Gong (Hillsborough) - 3rd Under 10 Overall

- [Top Girls] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345314): Paul Macdonald (ChessPower CEO), Marianne Birt (Helensville) - 2nd Best Girl overall, Amy Smith (Parakai) - 3rd Best Girl overall, Crystal Zhu (Milford) - Best Girl overall

- [Top Girls] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345313): Paul Macdonald (ChessPower CEO), Marianne Birt (Helensville) - 2nd Best Girl overall, Amy Smith (Parakai) - 3rd Best Girl overall, Crystal Zhu (Milford) - Best Girl overall

- [Distinction Award winners (6, 6.5 or 7 from 7)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345312): William Zhang (Milford), Martin Zhu (Milford), Michael Slessor-White (Milford), Daniel Kiernan-James (Riverhead)

- [Distinction Award winners (6, 6.5 or 7 from 7)] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/345311): William Zhang (Milford), Martin Zhu (Milford), Michael Slessor-White (Milford), Daniel Kiernan-James (Riverhead)

- [Pressure on the diagonal a5-d2 ...] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/343310): ... was Black's counterinsurance when he decided to heat up the central tension with the thrust 13...e6-e5 (diagram). Which continuation now leads to an advantageous opening of the position for White?   A) 14.cxd5  B) 14.dxe5  C) a third pawn move

- [Taking Care in the Endgame] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/343309): "Do not rush," advises endgame specialist, GM Karsten Müller. "In opposite colored bishop endings the defender must be able to build the fortress." This was not done by young Anish Giri against the experienced Vladimir Kramnik. Dr Müller also analyses the Carlsen vs Anand rook ending, and shows us how sometimes study-like motifs occur in practical games.

- [The Porsche-Kasparov Gambit] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/343308): Chess and cars aren't usually thought of together, except perhaps with the checkered flag, but this Kasparov event on 7 April may change that. First, face Kasparov in a simul or even in a one-on-one blitz game. Then explore one of the greatest sports car collections in the world at the Collier Automotive Museum in Naples, Florida, which is usually closed to the public.

- [Amber 2011: Aronian claims third Amber victory in farewell edition] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/343307): Levon Aronian is the winner of the twentieth and final Amber Tournament. Following earlier wins in 2008 and 2009 this is the third time the Armenian GM claimed first prize. Aronian also won the blindfold competition. The rapid competition was won by Magnus Carlsen, who came second in the overall standings, with World Champion Vishy Anand in third place.

- [MC Cup Feb 2011 Auckland Chess Tournament Results] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/339973): The MC Cup is a premiere event for accomplished players. The first event of the year proved to be a tough battle for first place - but there can only be one winner

- [French Chess Federation suspends players accused of cheating] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/342031): On Saturday the Disciplinary Committee of the French Chess Federation suspended GMs Sebastien Feller, Arnaud Hauchard and IM Cyril Marzolo, finding them “guilty of a violation of sporting ethics” for allegedly cheating during the Chess Olympiad 2010 in Khanty-Mansiysk. The three received suspensions, after evidence was presented.

- [Amber 2011: Aronian and Carlsen well ahead of the pack] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/341905): After eight rounds Levon Aronian, who today defeated World Champion Vishy Anand 1½-½, remains in the lead. With three rounds to go Magnus Carlsen, who defeated Veselin Topalov by the same score, follows at half a point’s distance. In third place, Vishy Anand and Vasily Ivanchuk, are three points behind. Anish Giri won a nice game against Sergey Karjakin.

- [Liquidating to a pawn ending] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/341904): In endgames an especially difficult decision always needs to be taken at the point when there is the opportunity to aim for a simplified position by a further exchange of pieces. This was the case for White in this position, namely whether he had a better chance of achieving a draw in the pawn ending after 52.Rxh3 or in the rook ending after 52.Ra1 Rxh5 53.Ra8. How would you evaluate the two endings and which choice would you have made?

- [How to Enter] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/339972): Details of how to reserve your place

- [Tata Steel: "B" and "C" groups after five rounds] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/330928): The Wijk aan Zee “B” and “C” groups have traditionally served to herald rising stars, such as Karjakin, Carlsen, and Anish Giri the last two years. This year seems unlikely to be an exception with McShane having a breakthrough period since the London Classic, and 14-year-old GM Nyzhnyk in the "C" event just behind Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Karsten Mueller.

- [Tata Steel Rd.5: Anand, Carlsen win, Grischuk loses to Wang] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/330927): Viswanathan Anand applied systematic pressure on Jan Smeets until the Dutch GM blundered and gave the World Champion the sole tournament lead. Magnus Carlsen did pretty much the same to Erwin l'Ami, only to blunder the won position to a theoretical draw – which the amazingly determined Norwegian GM went on to win! Alexander Grischuk lost to Chinese GM Wang Hao.

- [Christmas puzzle solutions – part one] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/330924): As promised we provide you with the solutions to our 2010 Christmas Puzzles. There were a very large number of entries, and our problem expert John Nunn has put a lot of work into explaining the solutions as lucidly as possible. This made it necessary to split the solutions into two parts, with the second due in a few days. For today here is the first part.

- [Chess prodigies and mini-grandmasters revisited] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/330922): It is one of our most-quoted reports – a page dating back to 2002, which we upgraded periodically. Now it is time for a general overhaul. With the help of our readers we have collected the data of all prodigies who became grandmasters at the age of fifteen or younger. In addition we address the question: who were the strongest players in the different age categories?

- [An unblocked passer ...] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/330918): ... is always dangerous, particularly after having reached the 6th rank already. The second player was well aware of this when he went for 34...Be5 in this position, expecting a certain deflection move whereupon his queen is to stay in the e-file. What do you think? This...  A)... loses for Black;  B)... leads to an approximately balanced position;  C)... gets Black the advantage.

- [Master Moves #3] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/330916): All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. Here are some positions from recent master and grandmaster practice.

- [Christmas Break Puzzles and Prizes] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/328868): The ChessBase Christmas Puzzle week is here, with new problems presented by Dr John Nunn for every day from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1st. And there are valuable prizes to be won right now!

- [Helensville School Chess Club impresses in the National Finals] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/327120): The Helensville Community News - In their very first year of both learning the game and competing, Helensville Primary School Chess Club qualified for the 2010 National Chess Competition.

- [Norwest News - Chess kids learn Skills] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/327371): As pawns and knights negotiate the board, norwest children are also learning life skills. Since the beginning of the year, Paul Macdonald has been coaching chess to youngsters in the district.

- [New moves for chess club] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325611): Hibiscus Coast Matters - Orewa Primary School students are working hard on their game plan for an upcoming chess tournament.

- [Chess Rookies do well] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325610): Norwest News - Strategic moves have come up trumps for the Helensville Primary School Chess Club. In just their first year of both learning the game and competing, the club qualified for the 2010 National Chess Competition.

- [Students have the right chess moves] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/324227): Rodney Times - Helensville Primary School "can stand tall" with its fourth place in the primary school division at a national chess tournament.

- [Chess kids head to national contest] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325609): Rodney Times - Helensville and Parakai schools will compete in a national chess competition after winning an interschool tournament at Waioneke School.

- [Sean Valvoi - Chess at Parakai School] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/327017): Parakai School has been witness to major behavioural changes for students previously not able to focus, children that normally who have previously had difficulty is class. Chess isn't just seen as for the children that are bright. Children is an inclusive activity that everybody can enjoy.

- [Sandy Walker and her son Brandon] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/326945): Sandy shares a compelling and wonderful story about how Chess has changed her son Brandon's life.

- [Elle Ainscow and her son Max] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/326824): Elle discusses how Chess helped her son focus and gives him a non-sporting outlet to compete.

- [Giant slalom] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325605): Black's cornered king was already stalemated in this game from the recent Remco Heite Tournament, meaning that he had only to give both his rooks to achieve the desired half point. The sequence 39...Rf1+ 40.Kxf1 Rf2+ leads to  A) victory for White;  B) draw;  C) victory for Black (just kidding).

- [Flanking and bodychecks] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325604): In this endgame it is Black to move. He is fighting for a draw with bishop and king against the pair of white passed pawns (g4,h4). In the game, the pawns outran him. Now it is your turn to try and find the narrow path to safety. Endgame expert GM Dr Karsten Müller has analysed the ending and shows the narrow path to a draw. Can you find it?

- [Dragoljub Velimirovic: The man with too much chess talent] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325603): Dragoljub Velimirovic used to be one of the most feared attackers in the world, always looking for the impossible. His imaginative play was compared to the colorful world champion Mikhail Tal's razzle-dazzle. His playing style was unique, daring and often falling off the edge. He made risky moves and so many of them that you wondered how much punishment his chess pieces could take.

- [Eileen Brunton, Principal, Helensville Primary School] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325515): It is absolutely wonderful to read this report on how chess has so positively impacted our children last term.

- [McShane wins Third Remco Heite] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/325159): It is known as "the tournament with the horse": there is a giant one of the Trojan variety to be seen at the location in the Dutch city of Wolvega, and the first prize includes a live horse – theoretically. Actually the winner gets, in addition to his prize money, a check that allows a local charity to buy a horse for its equestrian therapy. This year's tournament was won by English GM Luke McShane.

- [Snowdrops increase their lead in Marienbad] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/324840): Snow has come to Mariánské Lázne, tons of it, and the Snowdrops are apparently thriving. They lead the Oldhands by 14:10. The event is extraordinary: in the last three rounds, the subject of this report, there was one single draw. Best player with 4.5/6 is GM Humpy Koneru, the only undefeated player Vlastimil Hort.

- [Austrian Attack] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/324839): No fewer than two rooks the first player had invested in this recent game from the Austrian Bundesliga to get to grips with the black king. How would you assess the situation after the last move 26...Nc1-d3? White's attack...  A) ...results in perpetual check.  B) ...leads to mate by force.  C) ...is finished, Black's material advantage prevails.

- [Simul and lectures by Nigel Short] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/324838): Last week Nigel Short, the former World Championship challenger, visited the Ottawa RA Chess Club in Canada to give a lecture and play a simul. The jury is out on which was the more entertaining. John Upper summarizes the hightlights of the former and provides us with a number of interesting positions from the latter.

- [Kavalek at Huffington: Remembering Larry Evans] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/323943): Larry Evans, who died at the age of 78 this Monday, scored an impressive nine points in ten games in his first Olympiad for the U.S. In 26 years, from 1950 to 1976, he chalked up 64.5/100 points in eight Olympiads. GM Lubomir Kavalek, who played next to him at the 1976 Olympiad in Haifa, shows us one of the most thrilling games of Evans' career in this Huffington Post column.

- [16th Asian Games - Kasimzhanov and Yifan are gold] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/323942): The 16th Asian Games are underway, not to be confuse with the Asian Championship. This is a full-fledged Olympic sport event, with two full chess competitions in it. The first is an individual rapid event, men's and women's sections, followed by a tournament control team event. Rustam Kazimdzhanov and Hou Yifan brought gold to their countries. Here are the individual competitions.

- [Aronian wins World Blitz Championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/323941): With two rounds to go Lev Aronian had a point-and-a-half lead over his nearest rival, Teimour Radjabov, with last year's winner Magnus Carlsen half a point behind. Aronian lost both the final games, Radjabov lost one too and Carlsen drew both of his. So the Armenian-in-Superform finished alone in first place, with the Azeri and Norwegian in the places.

- [I Robot – at Russian Women's Chess Championship] (https://www.chesspower.co.nz/blog/323926): The 60th Russian Women's Championship Super Final has started in Moscow. Before it did there was an opening ceremony at the Chess House, with prominent players from the Tal and Blitz Championships in attendence – as well as a simul playing mechanical robot, which earlier had fearlessly mated the chief economic advisor of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.