 | On Monday the President of the World Chess Federation signed a contract with the Tretyakov Art Gallery, making it the venue of the Anand-Gelfand World Championship match. FIDE has also signed an agreement granting the company Agon the rights to hold the World Championship matches, Candidates Tournaments and World Cups for the coming years. chessbase.com |
 | 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 chessbase.com |
 | Why do we keep doing it? Every time we celebrate a player for extraordinary results, in the middle of an event, that player will immediately come crashing down to earth. This time the victim of our jinxed reporting was Anna Muzychuk. Meanwhile Pia Cramling and Kateryna Lahno forged ahead with 2.0/3 points. Decision time is Tuesday – you can watch the chessbase.com |
 | 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 chessbase.com |
 | The Vladimir Petrov Memorial took place from 15-20 February in Jurmala, Latvia. Vladimir Petrov (pictured) was a talented Grandmaster from Latvia, who achieved great success in the 1930's. He won the Latvian national championships twice (1935 and... chess.com |
 | The US TV Network CBS broadcast a profile of world #1 Magnus Carlsen, on Sunday 19 February. For those who couldn't watch it - the video is here, or on YouTube here! There are also several 'web extras' available: Chess on the mind - Bob Simon b... chess.com |
 | The ACP Women Chess Cup takes place from 17-22 February in Tbilisi, Georgia. This rapid tournament is a 12-player round-robin competition with some very strong women players, 10 of whom have the full Grandmaster title, and 3 former world champion... chess.com |
 | The US TV Network CBS is broadcasting a show about chess, and in particular Magnus Carlsen, on Sunday 19 February at 7pm ET/PT. A brief preview can be seen here. The program is part of the CBS news "60 Minutes" magazine. By way of comparison, a ... chess.com |
 | Friendly match in Zurich... chessdom.com |
 | The 2012 Central Serbia Open Chess Championship was held from 13th to 19th February in Pozarevac. 70 players competed over... chessdom.com |
 | The 2012 Romanian Chess Championships for men and women took place from 13th to 21st February at the Great Hall... chessdom.com |
 | The 1st Fiji International Open Chess Championship, to be held May 5-12, 2012, is set to become the biggest tournament... chessdom.com |
 | Yesterday, 60 Minutes aired a piece on World #1 Magnus Carlsen. Catch the full piece and web extras and supplemental materials, including interviews with Frederic Friedel of chessbase and GM Danny King. uschess.org |
 | The 2012 US Amateur Team South saw the largest turnout in recent history, with 40 teams and over 160 players. Coming out on top with was YO DOY CLASE, led by FM Eric Rodriguez. Check out standings-full story coming soon. uschess.org |
 | Metropolitan Chess, Inc. is hosting an International Master norm round robin tournament from February 22nd to 26th of 2012. Participants include the young Kayden Troff and CLO contributor Kostya Kavutskiy. uschess.org |
 | The U.S. Amateur Team East, an event known to put big fun into chess with a small entry fee and lots of fellowship, set a new attendance with 294 teams and about 1300 players. uschess.org |
 | GM Mikeil Kekelidze from Georgia scored an incredible 8 out of 9 to win the Marshall Chess Club Invitational. 49-year-old Columbia University professor Ildar Salakhutdinov earned an IM norm. uschess.org |
 | Valentine’s Day was a nostalgic occasion at USCF headquarters. A celebration of the two longest term USCF employees – Joan Dubois with 42 years of service and Judy Misner with 41 years of service took place on February 14. uschess.org |