Mexico R07: Anand beats Grischuk, takes sole lead 2007.09.21. ishy Anand, the hightest ranked player, defeated Alexander Grischuk in a remarkably exciting game. Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand drew their encounter, which left Anand in the sole lead at half time, with a 2900+ performance and half a point ahead of the field. Mexico R06: Gelfand beats Morozevich, joins Anand in the lead 2007.09.21. The two oldest players in this tournament are in the lead. Israeli GM Boris Gelfand, 39, beat Alexander Morozevich, 30, to join Vishy Anand, 38, in the lead at the World Championship in Mexico. The other games were drawn. Vladimir Kramnik, 32, and Alexander Grischuk, 23, are half a point behind. Mexico R04: Aronian beats Leko, Anand and Kramnik lead 2007.09.17. It was a long night, with Vishy Anand pressing hard with the black pieces against Alexander Morozevich, and Vladimir Kramnik trying to win a pawn endgame against Alexander Grischuk. In spite of the fight it was, in the end, only Levon Aronian who scored a full point against Peter Leko. Mexico R03: Morozevich beats Svidler, Anand and Kramnik draw 2007.09.17. Another very tense round, with Alexander Morozevich outplaying Peter Svidler in a Scotch Game, and Vladimir Kramnik causing some problems for Anand in a rook ending. Leko vs Gelfand is still running (at 2:45 a.m. European time), with the latter trying to win a Q+P ending. Mexico R02: Anand draws first blood, Kramnik beats Morozevich 2007.09.17. Anand drew first blood in this world championship by beating Aronian with the black pieces. Vladimir Kramnik soon followed suit with a white victory over Alexander Morozevich. Mexico R01: All games drawn, comments by Seirawan and Kasimdzhanov 2007.09.17. The first round of the World Championship ended with four draws. Transmission of the moves from Mexico to the rest of the world went smoothly. Morelia R7: Anand, Topalov, Ivanchuk win 2007.02.27. Halftime at the Morelia-Linares Super-GM tournament. Anand scored a fine black-piece victory over Leko to join Magnus Carlsen in the lead. Ivanchuk put a damper on Aronian's aspiration with a white-piece win, and Topalov defeated Morozevich to improve his position at the end of the table. Morelia R5: Aronian beats Anand, Carlsen beats Topalov 2007.02.23. A day of shocks. Both the top seeds lost, Anand in a tense struggle against Aronian, and Topalov with a sensational resignation in a position that must be a draw. In fact Carflsen shows the horrified former world champion the defence immediately after he had resigned. Now the 16-year-old Norwegian once again leads the field. Morelia R4: Anand, Carlsen win, Anand leads in Morelia 2007.02.22. Alexander Morozevich played an excellent game, holding out against Vishy Anand's aggressive intentions until just before the first time control. There the Russian GM lost track, an important pawn and eventually the game. Meanwhile Magnus Carlsen scored a fighting 60-move black win against Vassily Ivanchuk. Anand beats Carlsen, leads with Ivanchuk 2007.02.21. Another exciting round, with Anand outplaying Carlsen with black and joining Ivanchuk in the lead. Alexander Morozevich turned a dangerous position into a clear win against Aronian, but missed a key line that would have got him the full point. Veselin Topalov and Peter Leko fought a theory battle that ended in a draw. Morelia R2: Ivanchuk beats Topalov 2007.02.19. he shock of the day came at the end of the first time control. Veselin Topalov, a pawn down against Ivanchuk, played a colossal blunder that lost instantaneously. Carlsen pressed against Levon Aronian with black, Leko was unable to overcome Morozevich. Anand drew Svidler after overcoming technical difficulties. Morelia R1: Carlsen beats Morozevich 2007.02.19. Magnus Carlsen beat Alexander Morozevich in a game lasting five and a quarter hours. Anand held Topalov to an effortless draw with the black pieces. Svidler and Aronian drew in 39 moves. Ivanchuk had Leko on the ropes but ran into deadly time trouble, and the game ended in a dramatic draw. Leko, Gelfand, Radjabov, Ivanchuk in semis of World Cup 2007.01.09. If it wasn't for an incredible one-move blunder by Morozevich against Radjabov the top four seeds would have made it to the semifinals of the ACP World Cup. This way number five in the seeding list gets a chance. The rapid chess event is taking place in the splendid Londonskaya Hotel, and ends on Monday. Tal-Mem Blitz: Anand wins with two point lead 2006.11.20. Everyone knows that Indian superstar Vishy Anand is one of the world's strongest rapid chess players. This was driven home forcefully by a magnificent start-to-finish victory at the Tal Memorial blitz final, where 18 players, all rated 2650 or higher, played a double round robin on two days. Anand did not lose a single mini-match and won the event two points ahead of his nearest rival. Tal-Mem R8: Peter Svidler beats Alexander Morozevich 2006.11.16. Peter Svidler is number four in the world, Alexander Morozevich number five. They are the two top seeds in the Tal Memorial tournament. With his victory Svidler in round eight climbed to seventh place, and Morozevich is now alone in last place. Tomorrow will bring the final exciting clashes. We have simulations on who needs to do what to win. Tal-Mem R6: Leko, Grischuk, Aronian win 2006.11.13. Back on track, three decided games, one in which tail-ender Grischuk defeated the world's number four Peter Svidler with black, and one in which young Magnus Carlsen made a single false move in a rook and pawn ending against Aronian. Now Peter Leko, Ruslan Ponomariov and Lev Aronian share the lead, and the draw statistics down to 64%. Tal Memorial category 20 starts in Moscow 2006.11.07. Ten superstars are present at The Tal Memorial, which is being held from November 5th to 19th in Moscow. The rating average of is 2727 – only 15-year-old Magnus Carlsen misses the 2700 mark by two points. Round one saw wins by Aronian, Gelfand and Ponomariov. Leko beats Karpov 4.5:3.5 2006.09.04. The final day of the rapid chess match in Miskolc, Hungary, brought another two draws. But once again they were fighting games that had the packed audience enthralled. Especially when Karpov pulled off another incredible save. Miskolc 2006: Leko vs Karpov 1:1 2006.08.31. oth the games on the first day of the rapid chess match in Miskolc, Hungary, between the top national GM Peter Leko and the legendary 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov, ended in draws. The first was a fighting game in which Karpov introduced a novelty in the Caro-Kann and both sides had winning chances. Dortmund R7: Vladimir Kramnik wins Super-GM 2006.08.07. Who would have thought so a few days ago. With two dramatic victories in the last two rounds classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik snatched victory from the colleagues who had been looming ahead of him during the earlier part of the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Equal first was Peter Svidler. Dortmund R6: Kramnik zaps Jobava in 15 moves with black 2006.08.07. Stunned by a combination he had overseen Georgian Baadur Jobava resigned to Vladimir Kramnik on move 15. Peter Svidler outplayed Levon Aronian with black to score a second win and join Peter Leko in the lead. Dortmund R5: Leko, Gelfand win, Leko leads 2006.08.07. Peter Leko beat Levon Aronian for his second win and the sole lead in this event. After a 7½ hour marathon loss to Michael Adams in round four, Boris Gelfand, 38, was faced with another seven-hour game, but this time on the winning end. He ground down Baadur Jobova in an interesting and instructive endgame queen and pawn vs queen. Dortmund R4: Adams beats Gelfand in 7½ hours 2006.08.03. That was the grind that was! It took Michael Adams 117 moves, requiring seven hours and 25 minutes, to wrest, with a bit of luck, the full point from a tenatious Boris Gelfand and catch up with the leaders at the Dotrmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Aronian was close to victory against Naiditsch, but this and the other two games ended in draws. Dortmund R3: All games drawn, but some excitement 2006.08.02. Arkadij Naiditsch tried to provoke Vladimir Kramnik with the black pieces and almost succeeded in causing him trouble, and Adams played a wild game against Peter Leko. Dortmund R2: All games drawn 2006.08.02. The two Peters, Svidler and Leko, stayed at the top of the table with a 23-move draw at the Dotrmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Naiditsch and Jobava, who had lost in round one, drew against Boris Gelfand and Michael Adams. Aronian and Kramnik drew in 43 moves. Dortmund R1: Svidler and Leko win 2006.08.02. Peter Leko, playing his first serious tournament game in over four months, scored a convincing victory over the winner of last year's Dotrmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Arkadij Naiditsch. Newcomer Baadur Jobava pressed too hard against the world's number five player Peter Svidler, who won with the black pieces. Dortmunder Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2006 2006.07.10. Dortmunder Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2006, a category XIX supertournament will be held July 29 to August 6, 2006 in Dortmund, Germany. GMs Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko, Peter Svidler, Michael Adams, Boris Gelfand, Arkadij Naiditsch, Baadur Jobava, Levon Aronian will play. FIDE's April 2006 ratings 2006.04.03. For decades we have been used to see him at the top of every chess rating list. Now, a year after his retirement from competitive chess, Garry Kasparov has been taken off the FIDE rating list. His successor is the current FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov, just one point ahead of Vishy Anand. Morozevich and Anand win Melody Amber 2006.03.31. Vishy Anand did it for the fifth time, Alexander Morozevich for the third (in just four appearances). The two shared first at the 15th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament in Monaco, with a score of 14.5/22. Two points later we find Francisco Vallejo, with Grischuk, Topalov and Leko following. Melody Amber rapid and blindfold tournament 2006.03.21. This traditional and very unusual tournament is being held for the 15th time, from March 18 to 30, in Monte Carlo, in Monaco. The players are of the highest calibre and include Topalov, Anand, Svidler, Aronian, Leko and Ivanchuk. They play two-game mini-matches against each other, one game of rapid chess, the other blindfold. Total prize sum is €216,000. Linares R14: Levon Aronian wins Morelia/Linares Super-GM 2006.03.19. This prestigious event was won not by FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov, nor by the other favourites Svidler and Leko, but by 23-year-old Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian, who after all is number five in the world rankings. Aronian achieved this by beating Peter Leko with the black pieces in the final round. Linares R13: The incredible Topalov comeback 2006.03.19. emember two weeks ago in Morelia? After the first half of the Super-GM FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov was at the bottom of the table, with 2.5/7. Now, one round before the end, he is at the top, sharing the lead with three other players. This he achieved with a win over the leader Peter Leko today. Morelia R12: All games drawn, Leko remains in the lead 2006.03.10. Four draws in round twelve, one unfought, left Hungarian GM Peter Leko in the lead, but with the toughest battles ahead: on Friday with black against FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov, and on Saturday in the last round with white against his nearest rival Levon Aronian. Morelia R7: Peter Leko leads at halftime 2006.02.27. The final round of the first half of the Linares-Morelia Super-GM saw Peter Leko draw Veselin Topalolv to retain the lead at halftime. The ambitious Armenian Levon Aronian beat Etienne Bacrot with black to come within striking distance of Leko. The event continues on Friday, March 3rd, in Linares, Spain. Analysis and photos up now. Corus R2: Leko-Karjakin 2006.01.17. Peter Leko played an interesting queen sac in a known line against Karjakin's Najdorf. White clearly has compensation but it's hard to see how he could play for a win. Corus Wijk aan Zee starts 2006.01.17. The Corus Chess Tournament 2006 is being held from 13-29 January 2006 in Wijk aan Zee, Holland. The venue is the De Moriaan Community Centre (Dorpsduinen 4, 1949 EG Wijk aan Zee) and the nearby bar de Zon. Commentary is available in the Corus Chess Pavilion, on the Village Green in Wijk aan Zee. FIDE October 2005 rating lists 2005.10.13. In spite of retiring from competitive chess Garry Kasparov still tops the FIDE ratings list. He has done this 22 times so far, with a highest-ever ranking of 2849. Kasparov is followed by Vishy Anand, who is six points ahead of Veselin Topalov. Peter Leko has retained his fourth place, Vassily Ivanchuk remains at fifth. Peter Svidler has gained two points and climbed from seven to six, while Vladimir Kramnik lost five points to slip from six to seven. Judit Polgar remains in the top ten at place eight. R8: Topalov and Leko drew an atypically peaceful game 2005.10.07. Rustam Kasimdzhanov lost unluckily with the white pieces against Alexander Morozevich, while Vishy Anand defeated Judit Polgar in a 62-move struggle. Topalov and Leko drew an atypically peaceful game. Svidler blew an advantage against Adams. Round Seven Summary 2005.10.06. Veselin Topalov has run away with the FIDE world championship but he's not a man in a hurry. He scored his sixth win in seven games, and fifth win in a row, by grinding down defending FIDE champ Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a rook endgame. Barring a second-half collapse as spectacular as his first-half dominance, Topalov will not only be the new FIDE champion but do it while recording one of the greatest tournament results of all time. Round Six Summary 2005.10.05. Anand and Svidler fought for 39 moves, with the Indian former world champion pressing, but to no avail. Kasimdzhanov vs Leko was a complex affair but ended in a 43 move draw. Adams vs Morozevich was even more complex, with the Russian pressing hard when his English opponent faltered. After almost exactly six hours and 76 moves the game ended in a draw. World Chess Championship - Round Four Summary 2005.10.02. First it was Peter Leko, who beat fellow Hungarian grandmaster Judit Polgar in a Sicilian Paulsen in just 25 moves. Then came Veselin Topalov, taking the Mickey out of Adams in an English game that lasted 38 moves. That's exactly how long it took Rustam Kasimdzhanov to demolish top seed Vishy Anand in a Sicilian Najdorf. And finally, late in the evening, Peter Svidler had scored a second victory, over Alexander Morozevich, to stay within striking distance of the leading Topalov. World Championship starts in San Luis 2005.09.29. The first round of the FIDE World Championship in San Luis is under way: Leko vs Topalov, Morozevich vs Kasimdzhanov, Svidler vs Adams (drawn) and Polgar vs Anand. The World Chess Championship in San Luis begins today, September 28, 2005, in San Luis, Argentina. The games start at 15:00h local time in Argentina, which is 2 p.m. in New York, 7 p.m. in Britain and 20:00h in continental Europe. Leko: “This will be the main event of the year” 2005.08.22. Hungarian chess player Peter Leko exchanged some feelings about the World Chess Championship San Luis 2005 with its Press Office. He is sure that “the pressure on the players will be tremendous”, and that “everybody has a decent chance to win”. That’s why he thinks that it will be a very close competition, with a winner that “will be most likely decided in the last round only if not in a possible tie-break”. He also remembered his trip to Argentina in 1994, when he, a great football fan, visited River Plate team and met former goalkeeper Sergio Goycoechea and then national captain Daniel Passarella. Michael Schumacher vs Peter Leko: 6-6 2005.08.04. It ended in a draw, the spectacular match in Budapest, between many times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher and World Chess Championship challenger Peter Leko. Mind you they were not driving or moving pieces on a board. It was a soccer match watched by 22,000 spectators. Dortmund R5 – Leko beats Nielsen with black 2005.07.17. Round five of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting saw a lot of hard-fought draws and one win: Peter Leko defeated Danish GM Peter Heine Nielsen to join the lead group before the rest day. On our live post-game commentary on TV ChessBase Emil Sutovsky demonstrated exciting lines in his draw against Svidler. World Class Field will compete 2005.06.30. The chess world elite in the super tournament, open ELO tournament and open tournaments, artistic works on the theme of chess, blitz tournament with the grand masters, live commentary, specialized publications, software and books: Dortmund is preparing for Germany’s most renowned chess festival that will fascinate fans once again this summer: the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting – this is the 33rd time for the “Internationale Dortmunder Schachtage” - will take place in the heart of the city from 8th to 17th July, with a varied bill of first-class sports and an entertaining programme surrounding the event. The Sakkzseni (chess genius) from Szeged 2005.06.18. Don't be afraid – sakkzseni means "Chess Genius", and the southern Hungarian city of Szeged is pronounced "segg-gedd". The person in question is the 25-year-old world championship challenger Peter Leko, who like Géza Maróczy and Franz Liszt is a great hero of the townfolk. Here's a big illustrated report of Peter's Szeged. Leko vs Adams drawn 4-4 2005.06.06. It began with high drama, with local hero Peter Leko hitting the canvas in horrible fashion. However, unfazed by the 3-0 lead taken by Michael Adams, Leko came back with a vengeance, winning three in a row himself. On Sunday the match in Miskolc ended in a 4:4 draw. Leko equalises match against Adams 2005.06.05. Leko equalises match against Adams After his shock 0-2 start Peter Leko lost game three as well. But just when it looked like he was heading for the biggest disaster of his career the Hungarian chess hero turned the tide and won the next three games in succession. The score is now 3:3 with no draws, tomorrow is the super-exciting "penalty shoot-out". Leko & Adams rapid chess serial in Miskolc 2005.05.27. Between 2 - 5 June 2005 municipality of Miskolc initiates Lékó & Adams rapid chess serial which high-standard is proved by a world-class International Grandmaster. Michael Adams, who is the 7th on the world ranking list, and who is invited to the Argentinian World Championship by the end of this year such as Péter Lékó, who is the 4th on the FIDE world ranking list. The city of Miskolc will be given a new opportunity to the European Capital of Culture 2010 respecting the old traditions of heavy industry as well as popularity of culture and sports in city of Miskolc. New in Chess Magazine 2005/2 2005.03.24. The traumatic last-round loss in Brissago, a disaster that cost him the world title, had left him with no choice. If he wanted to speed up the recuperation process and rebuild his self-confidence, he would have to win the Corus tournament. Eminently prepared, physically fit and eager to be creative Peter Leko arrived in Wijk aan Zee to accomplish his mission. For the doubting Thomases who still wonder if the Hungarian ace can fight on an equal footing with the Big Three it is high time to wake up to reality. As Leko rightly pointed out he is the only player to have won all Grand Slam tournaments in the past three years: Dortmund in 2002, Linares in 2003 and now the most prestigious of them all. 14th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament 2005.03.23. The Fourteenth Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament will take place at the Monte Carlo Grand Hôtel in Monaco, from 19th to 31st March 2005. The Dutch billionaire J.J. van Oosterom is the exclusive sponsor of this event. 22nd Linares ' Supertorneo', 23 Feb - 10 Mar 2005 2005.03.23. This year's Linares tournament features seven of the world's top players in a double-cycle all-play-all, category 20. The players are Garry Kasparov (2804, world ranked no.1), Viswanathan Anand (2786, no.2), Veselin Topalov (2757, no.3), Peter Leko (2749, no.5), Michael Adams (2741, no.7), Francisco Vallejo Pons (2686, no.18), Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2678, no.25). Peter Leko wins at Wijk aan Zee 2005.03.23. This year's Corus tournament is a category 19 event, with nearly all the top grandmasters except Kasparov (who was prevented from entering because of a potential clash with his mirage of a match with Kasimdzhanov). Final : Peter Leko deservedly won the Corus tournament, finishing half a point clear of last year's winner Vishy Anand and one point ahead of Veselin Topalov. Actual news