NIC’S CAFEYOUR MOVECARLSEN BRILLIANT AND RESILIENT
In a thrilling finale Magnus Carlsen won the 40th Biel Chess Festival, the first major victory in his career. Having spoiled a comfortable lead with two consecutive losses, the 16-year-old Norwegian fought back with a brilliant last-round win against Radjabov and then defeated his closest rival Alexander Onischuk in a dramatic tiebreak. INTERVIEW: ALEXANDER GRISCHUK
Should we hope for Alexander Grischuk to win the World Championship in Mexico? We’re not sure. After all, he might use his title to hold an even more emphatic plea for the abolishment of classical chess. UNSTOPPABLE IVANCHUK
Canada seems to be enjoying a veritable chess boom. What other conclusion can one draw after two major events in Ottawa and Montreal that attracted a host of strong players from all over the world? AKOBIAN AGAIN
Following a nine-way tie for first place, Varuzhan Akobian defeated Alex Stripunsky in an Armageddon blitz game to win the World Open. ON THE EDGE IN ELISTA
After the Topalov-Kramnik match in Elista, the Bulgarian’s PR manager Jivko Ginchev described his impressions in ‘The Toilet War’. For the English translation Veselin Topalov has annotated the games and written an extensive introduction. We bring you the part in which he sketches the preamble to the match and the events in Kalmykia that caused so much controversy. GRANDA CONTINENTAL CHAMPION
The Continental Championship in Cali, Colombia, ended in a five-way tie. Julio Granda Zuniga took the title. A report by American grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest. KRASENKOW SHOWS NO WEAKNESS
Much to Peter Heine Nielsen’s astonishment the Copenhagen Chess Festival was moved from the Danish Capital to Helsinore, a minor city in the north of Zeeland. HUMPY’S DREAM
Two tournament victories raised Humpy Koneru’s Elo rating to 2599, eerily close to a magic barrier that was crossed by only one woman before. WHO WANTS TO BE A GM?
At the Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco the Imre Konig Memorial offered five aspiring American IMs the chance to pit their strength against experienced GMs. CHESS AMAZONS
All his life Victor Bologan believed there was no real difference between men’s and women’s chess. Twelve days at the North Urals Cup in Krasnoturinsk firmly shook this conviction. SURPRISE OR STAGNATE
Jonathan Rowson judges the merits of the 'Secrets of Opening Surprises' series. AMERICAN SCHOLASTICS
Michael Weinreb’s book 'The Kings of New York' made Hans Ree realize that his own chess youth had been comparatively easy. BITS AND PIECES
Jan Timman presents a selection of fragments and positions that attracted his attention lately. REVOLUTION IN THE ’70S?
Citing Victor Hugo’s 'Les Misérables', Garry Kasparov argues that the title of his latest book wasn’t as ill-chosen as some critics want us to believe. JUST CHECKING
Which three people would Varuzhan Akobian invite for dinner? Did they play your opening?In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players: Pirc
Carlsen-Radjabov, by Carlsen French:
Robson-Akobian, by Akobian
Ruy Lopez:
Zhu Chen-Stefanova, by Zhu Chen
Tiviakov-Short, by Tiviakov
Friedel-Atalik, by Baburin Slav:
Milov-Bu Xiangzhi, by Bu Xiangzhi
Onischuk-Grischuk, by Onischuk
Pelletier-Bu Xiangzhi, by Pelletier
Akobian-Stripunsky, by Akobian
Carlsen-Onischuk, by Carlsen Catalan:
Cordova-Granda Zuniga, by Granda Nimzo-Indian:
Baburin-Friedel, by Baburin
Kamsky-Eljanov, by Eljanov Queen's Indian:
Krasenkow-Agrest, by Krasenkow
Miton-Ivanchuk, by Ivanchuk
Chanda-Tiviakov, by Chanda
Nielsen-De Firmian, by P.H.Nielsen Grünfeld Indian:
Akobian-Howell, by Akobian King's Indian:
Van Wely-Radjabov, by Van Wely Benoni:
Koneru-Siebrecht, by Koneru Queen's Pawn:
Iturrizaga-Ehlvest, by Ehlvest Dutch:
Akobian-Spraggett, by Ehlvest
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