(5/11)  Bobby Fischer Trivia by Bill Wall:  Chessville welcomes back Bill Wall's Wonderful World of Chess.  Today Bill has a compilation of fascinating and little-known facts about the late former World Champion.  Did you know, e.g., that Fischer had planned on playing over 400 opponents in a simultaneous exhibition in New York on November 27, 1963, but it was postponed and cancelled because of President Kennedy’s assassination?  In 1964, Fischer played 1,882 games in a nationwide simultaneous exhibition.  He won 1,719 games, drew 102 games, and lost 61 games.  Check out all the fun in Bobby Fischer Trivia.

(5/11)  UCO Opening Theory:  Orthoschnapp-Khan Gambit from Clyde Nakamura.  Join Clyde as he resumes his Search for Dragons and Mythical Chess Openings, this month looking at the Orthoschnapp-Khan Gambit.  "There exists a chess opening gambit against the French Defense (1.e4 e6) called the Orthoschnapp Gambit, which was developed by International Master Stefan Buecker of Germany.  The moves are: 1.e4 e6 2.c4 (normally White plays 2.d4 against the French Defense) 2…d5 3.cxd5 exd5 4.Qb3 and now the pawn at e4 can be taken with 4…dxe4...I had wondered if a similar type of gambit could be created against the Caro-Khan Defense (1.e4 c6), so I played some test games on the Playchess.com server on the Internet..." Orthoschnapp Gambit Starting Position  ...after 4.Qb3 The moves for this new gambit are: 1.e4 c6 (Caro-Kann Defense) 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Qb3 (starting position of this gambit) and the pawn at e4 hangs.

(5/11)  Review:  Play the English - An Active Opening Repertoire for White by IM Craig Pritchett (Everyman Chess, 2007) reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "Building an opening repertoire is a really difficult thing these days.  The basic question of course is what factors make an opening alluring enough to take up?  If you are following a certain player, it is likely you will play some of his or her openings.  Just consider if the number of Najdorf players following Kasparov is greater than the number who followed Fischer ( I think we have to go on a percentage or per capita basis as the population has grown).  Maybe chess literature shows games that catch our imaginations and we feel the opening is the secret to playing wonderful chess?  To be honest, I think the basis is that we all want to win and we are attracted to the path that seems easiest.  The question attains relevance when we are considering the purchase of chess books.  Among books, DVDs and databases, the amount of material available is overwhelming and we have to find something that suits us.  Not an easy task..."

(5/10)  Alekhine's Parrot:  Welcome to the weekly leader of chess events around the world.  This week: Players Corner: This week:  The critical 8. Rb1 in the Grunfeld Exchange, with 12. Qb3.  Here is the tabiya position from last week... Strongest ever US Tournament.  September 19-28 sees a [so far] Category 15 tournament in the 10 player SPICE CUP.  Seven of the ten invitees have already signed up, average Elo is currently 2600... Parrot calling!  A Q&A telephone interview with Russ Mollot examining the idea of chess metrics – what they are, how much they cost, their international scope, and what’s next  for CRX...

(5/10)  Nuestro Círculo #301:  10 de mayo de 2008, dedicado al Maestro alemán Wilfried Paulsen (1828-1901). Publicamos, además de su biografía, las notas: "La partida interna", "En Villa del Parque", "Poemas de ajedrez" y "El aguafiestas 231".  Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.

(5/8)  Les Echecs des Femmes:  JanXena is back with the May edition of her survey of the women in chess, and the chess in women... One of the great stories of this Championship from this chess femme's perspective is that IM Marie Sebag (FRA 2521) earned her third and final GM norm... What I think is that Humpy is just starting to come into her own.  As Judit Polgar, the #1 woman in the world, continues to cut back her appearances, Humpy (who is currently #2 on the Women's FIDE Ratings List) will be in more demand and will continue to play in events where she is challenged by highly rated male players on the international circuit... Kolkata, Merida, Dubai, Plovdiv, Tulsa, Las Vegas, Iran, Serbia, Chicago...

(5/4)  Chess Instruction: Study Your Games with GM Nigel Davies (Tiger Chess).  "In search for inspiration I decided to follow the most common advice one can find in the works of Alekhine... and Botvinnik... study your games.  Ever since, every game I played has been extensively annotated." - Alex Yermolinsky (The Road To Chess Improvement, Gambit 1999.)  Wise words from Yermolinsky who raised his game from being an also-ran to one of the strongest players in the world.  Yet despite this, and the fact that two of the greatest champions have recommended this form of study, how many people actually do it?  They persist in the belief that there is some short cut to success, such as buying a book or video on a particular opening..."

(5/4)  Chessville Columnists:  Another in our recent gatherings of related content links (I like to call them 'Portal Pages') gathers together links to all columnists here at Chessville, past & present.  Quite an impressive group, if I do say so!  From GMs to CC specialists, to Masters of Chess Composition, to untitled players and chess explorers, you'll find links to all on this Portal Page to Chessville Columnists.

(5/4)  Kelly's Quotes - Computers:  Kelly Atkins is back (Kelly's Quotes) with another new batch of his favorite quips, culled from throughout the world of chess.  This week Kelly focuses on computers.  "It is not very optimistic, but I think normal correspondence chess - I have liked it for 30 or 40 years, but it is destroyed, and it is finished by computers. – Jozef Franzen" or how about "He is like every other grandmaster except he doesn't join you in the bar after a game. – Viswanathan Anand (on Deep Fritz)"  Enjoy a dozen new quotes about computers.

(5/3)  Alekhine's Parrot:  Welcome to the weekly leader of chess events around the world.  This week: Players Corner: This week:  She* says ‘Critical’… so lets take a look at the Exchange Variation and that 8.Rb1 in the Grünfeld... Susan Polgar reports:- “This is the first ever DVD from the ChessonDVD.com series...  This 2-volume DVD series will cover the French Defense, the first opening I learned when I started playing chess... US Senior Open – Susan Polgar reports; “Going into the final round, IM Kaufman and Foygel were both 4-0...

(5/3)  Nuestro Círculo #300:  Nuestro Círculo Milestone Issue - #300!!!  Felicidades a Roberto Pagura, su editor.  3 de mayo de 2008, dedicado al Maestro austríaco Karl Ernst Falkbeer (1819-1885). Publicamos, además de su biografía, las notas: "Creatividad", "Karpov comenta" y "300 números".  Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.

(4/27)  On Mastering Tactics Part 2:  from Andy Hortillosa (The White of Their Eyes) comes the follow-up to his exciting debut article, published last month.  In the second installment of Andy's treatise he writes, "We know that familiar positions elicit feelings of safety and confidence in the conduct of one’s play.  Decisive play is usually indicative of optimistic chances...  In over the board contest of wills, the role of the psyche cannot be diminished.  The one who believes that he is winning or has the better position generally seeks, and as a result naturally finds, the best moves...  But it is my contention that finding the best move (avoiding tactical blunders and exploiting tactical combinations) will get much easier with the system...  Never examine candidate moves until the threat elimination steps have been completed.  It is simply a waste of time.  Most blunders occur when threats are not noticed.  They are not found because there was no active search in the first place..."

(4/27)  UCO Opening Theory - From's Gambit Declined (1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.Nf3) Part 1 - Tartakower Attack 5..Nc6 by ICCF-IM Keith Hayward (The Road Not Taken.)  "Most Bird's Opening players dislike facing the From's Gambit.  However, I would like to present analysis on an interesting solution for White not even mentioned in Tim Taylor's Bird's Opening book.  I will present three articles.  In this Part 1 we will look at 5...Nc6.  Part 2 will cover 5...Bg4 lines, and Part 3 will have miscellaneous options..."

(4/26)  Alekhine's Parrot:  Welcome to the weekly leader of chess events around the world.  This week: “I enjoy the beauty in chess when others play well.  Somehow for me it is also a personal connection to my grandmother... a person of an incredible independence and free spirit, both on the chessboard and in life.  She always played the King’s Gambit and always went for the win no matter what..." “In order to groom the next generation of masters and experts, we need to keep our current crop of masters active in the state,” IM David Vigorito, representing Massachusetts, has won the fourth U.S. State Champion of Champions event...

(4/26)  Nuestro Círculo #299:  26 de abril de 2008, dedicado al Maestro francés Napoleón Marache (1815 -1875). Publicamos, además de su biografía, las notas: "Teatro muy breve" y "Semifinales del Campeonato Argentino".  Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.

(4/25)  Chess Art:  From the gallery of Roger J. Morin we bring you three new images from his work.  These are the last of Roger's chess-themed art that we have to share with you, but there's also a link to the artist's cyber-gallery, where you can check out other (non-chess themed) works, most of which are oil paintings, and many of which are for sale.  Enjoy!

(4/20)  Bobby Fischer's Early Blunders:  the latest offering from NM Brian Wall (Going to the Wall) looks at one of the most significant turning points in Bobby's chess career - the year 1957, when he "just got good."  Writes Brian, "I wanted to feel the shift, from 1800 - getting beat up by Masters - to suddenly winning the National Championship and going to the Interzonal.  This is obviously the work of a genius, as all of us who spent a lifetime failing to achieve what Bobby did in two years can testify..."

(4/20)  UCO Opening Theory - Cambridge Gambit: the latest in Clyde Nakamura's continuing Search for Dragons and Mythical Chess Openings looks at the Cambridge Gambit in the Alekhine’s Defense Four Pawns Attack (1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4).  "The Cambridge Gambit is an interesting and playable line against the Alekhine’s Defense Four Pawns Attack because it is not well known.  Your opponent will certainly be surprised by the 5…g5 move.  Currently there is no known refutation of this gambit, but according to IM Jeremy Silman there could eventually [could] be...  I have covered the five main lines of the Cambridge Gambit.  The 6.exd6 is the main line in the Cambridge Gambit because this line is the one most often played.  The most dangerous line for Black in the Cambridge Gambit is the 6.Qh5 line because Black has to play very accurately to stay alive..."

(4/20)  Chess Training:  A new "Recon64" Move Prediction Exercise from Jim Mitch (aka Professor Chester Nuhmentz.)  In this month's game Hikaru Nakamura lured White's king (played by Mikhail Krasenkow) into a brilliant trap using a queen sacrifice...  Similar to Predict-A-Move and Solitaire-type chess exercises, Recon64 challenges players to find candidate moves from games played by masters.  Players are encouraged to search for several strong candidate moves in each position, and are rewarded as long as their list of moves includes the move selected by the master during the game.  As an extra twist, players invest Recon64 dollars on candidate moves based on how likely they think each move was used in the original game...

(4/19)  Chess Composition:  Finales... y Temas #46, diciembre 2007.  Better late than never, we at last have the final issue of 2007 for you.  Published by ICCF-GM José A. Copié, this issue contains16 pages of endings... and themes.  This Argentine publication, widely distributed in PDF format and through many chess pages, offers high quality articles and surprising studies we are sure will entertain our readers, while teaching them valuable endgame skills in the bargain.  Don't read Spanish?  ¡No problemo!  Finales... y Temas utilizes figurine algebraic notation (FAN).

(4/19)  Alekhine's Parrot:  Welcome to the weekly leader of chess events around the world.  This week: What to Play?  thus armored with 45 minutes study I thought I’d try it in a correspondence game… but the game went like this… 10th North American FIDE Invitational - Chicago April 19 - April 25, 2008. All games held at the Touch Move Chess Center at 5639 N. Ashland Ave Chicago, IL Reversed Chess (Fordisakk) naturally is played according to traditional chess.  Except that the two camps changing places in the beginning position...

(4/19)  Nuestro Círculo #298:  19 de abril de 2008, dedicado al Maestro inglés Augustus Mongredien (1807 y 1888). Publicamos, además de su biografía, las notas: "Música-Matemáticas-Ajedrez", "Campeonato Ruso por Equipos" y "¡Hacer algo!..."  Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.

(4/13)  Chess Instruction - Bishop Off-Side: April's Chess Lesson of the Month from IM Igor Khmelnitsky. "...a bishop is a long ranged piece and needs open space to show its strength in attack.  On defense, a bishop is often a solid force as well.  Depending on its placement, a bishop's range is anywhere from 7 (ex. from a1, a7) to 13 (ex. from d4 or e5) available squares.  When some of these squares become unavailable, the bishop can get into trouble..." 6. White to Move

(4/13)  Jude Acers 64th Birthday Simultaneous Exhibition - April 6, 2008, held at Esplanade Mall in Kenner, Louisiana.  A photo report from Desiree Dubroc Miller, Director of Mall Marketing, reveals - in the faces of the children - why Jude continues to do what he does, why Jude keeps on keepin' on!

(4/13)  Review:  Fighting the Anti-Sicilians - Combating 2.c3, the Closed, the Morra Gambit and other tricky ideas by Richard Palliser (Everyman Chess, 2007), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "As I said, this is the third such book that I have seen, yet my curiosity was sustained throughout.  Though Sicilian players may all be cut from the same cloth, it seems the cloth is woven differently.  Dragon players and Scheveningen players aren't similar, nor are Sveshnikov devotees or Najdorf enthusiasts.  Still, in one book we can find a complete solution for each type of player?  Such doubts lingered as I began to look through the book.  By the end, it was apparent that the coverage provided in this book combines flexibility with activity, which is exactly what any good Sicilian player is looking for..."

(4/13) Chess Composition: Finales... y Temas No 47, March 2008, Edited by ICCF-GM José A. Copié.  22 pages in PDF format of endings... and themes. This Argentine publication, widely distributed in PDF format and through many chess pages, offers us high quality articles and surprising studies we are sure will entertain our readers, while teaching them valuable endgame skills in the bargain.  Don't read Spanish?  ¡No problemo!  Finales... y Temas utilizes figurine algebraic notation (FAN).  This issue includes a look at IM Alberto Foguelman's new book - a 42-page Selection of His Artistic Compositions from 1984-2007.

(4/13)  Chess Fiction:  Secret Message: Part One - A Sherlock Holmes Story by Adailton J Chiaradia; translated by James R. Campbell.  Chessville would like to introduce its readers to our newest writer and chess talent, Adailton Jose Chiaradia, of Itajubá, MG, Brazil.  The Fingerprint of God (A Impressão Digital de Deus) is his magnum opus, containing 900 pages of chess articles and stories – including eight Sherlock Holmes stories with a chess theme.  There will be time to learn of “The Queen” and “The Four Musketeers of the Dean,” among others, but first we will discover the “Secret Message” (“Mensagem Secreta”) ---- Presented here side-by-side with the original Portuguese version!

(4/12)  Alekhine's Parrot:  Welcome to the weekly leader of chess events around the world.  This week: Small Problem with World Championship:  Instead of following the decisions taken at the 78th Congress, FIDE President Kirsan Ilymzhinov has extended the bidding period... When Ratings were Gradings:  Has the FIDE rating system veered away from the original Elo theory as much as the USCF rating system has? Last week we reported the immanent demise of a board member – and his issue concerns legal liabilities of the USCF Forum, & disagreement about the need for insurance...

(4/12)  Nuestro Círculo #297:  12 de abril de 2008, dedicado al Maestro alemán Bernhard Horwitz que vivió entre los años 1807 y 1885. Publicamos, además de su biografía, las notas: "Dos anécdotas", "Violencia Escolar", "Sonetos de J.L.Borges" y "Humphrey Bogart".  Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.

(4/6)  Chess Instruction - Getting the Position: GM Nigel Davies (TigerChess) looks at 'getting' positions arising from the opening choice: "The art of building up good positions is a subject of great relevance for club players.  I know many strong club players that can conduct an attack quite brilliantly once they get the position, but if they play an International Master or Grandmaster they will usually be kept at arms length and get picked off with the jab.  But occasionally a position will arise in which a clear attacking plan is available, and then the chances of an upset are quite high..."

(4/6)  Review:  Gambiteer I: A Hard-Hitting Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Nigel Davies (Everyman, 2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "Club players – looking for a brand new club?  The kind you can bash your opponents with?  Grandmaster Nigel Davies might have just what you’re looking for.  Grab ahold of his Gambiteer I book and start swinging!  Gambiteer I has its feet firmly planted in the world of the average chess player.  As Davies writes in the Introduction: 'Having examined literally thousands of club players’ games over the years, I have noticed several things: 1) The player with the more active pieces tends to win.  2) A pawn or even several pawns is rarely a decisive advantage.  3) Nobody knows much theory.  4) When faced with aggressive play, the usual reaction is to cower.  Accordingly, I suggest that a different approach to that used by the ‘big boys’ and their opening science is in order, especially when one considers the fast time limits under which most club games are played...'"

(4/5)  Alekhine's Parrot:  Welcome to the weekly leader of chess events around the world.  This week: What to Play? When the KID was really young, Continued from last week... I’m not sure if Chessville, in collaboration with Susan Polgar and Paul Truong, pulled the biggest chess April Fools spoof of all time last Tuesday April 1... ‘of the players, for the players’ is Chessville’s official motto... The unofficial one is ‘it takes a [Chess] Village to raise a Patzer...’

(4/5)  Nuestro Círculo #296:  5 de abril de 2008, dedicado al Maestro inglés George Walker que vivió entre los años 1803 y 1879.  Publicamos, además de su biografía, las notas: "Una más de Fischer", "La publicidad" y "Mar del Plata" con 20 partidas del torneo internacional que se jugó en esa ciudad.  Nuestro Círculo, un boletín semanal de ajedrez editado en Argentina en lenguaje español.

(4/1)  Chessville Special Report - Polgar Quits:  "Shocking is not an adequate word for this announcement from Lubbock Texas, home of Susan Polgar, that she is resigning all her chessic positions in the USA - the Chairmanship of the USCF has already been stripped from her by President Bill Goichberg, and now she exits from the board too.  That would, some would say, be an expected event after a troubled experience at America’s chess federation.  But the grandmaster has also decided to switch back her federation..."

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