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MORELIA + LINARES = ARONIAN
The organizers of the Ciudad de Linares tournament entered the post-Kasparov era with an intercontinental adventure. Following a thrilling first half in chess-crazy Morelia, Mexico, the players moved back to Spain to determine the winner of the 23rd Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez. Peter Leko led the field after the first leg, but on his return to Europe the Hungarian’s play lost much of its power and freshness. Veselin Topalov had a disastrous start, losing no fewer than three games in Morelia, but in a breath-taking reversal of fortune the world champion fought his way back to the top. However, in the end it was none other than Levon Aronian, the leader of the new generation, who topped the table and took home the traditional Linares trophy and the 100,000 euro first prize. TWO-HORSE RACE IN MONACO
The 15th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament was a close race and overall victory was only decided in the very last game to finish. Vishy Anand and Alexander Morozevich shared first place in the combined classification. The quick-silver Indian also topped the rapid competition, but in the blindfold his Russian rival was in a stellar system of his own, finishing 3 points ahead of the rest. John Nunn reports from the Côte d’Azur. INTERVIEW: LEVON ARONIAN
Of late Levon Aronian has been playing enough ‘good chess’ to continue his meteoric rise in the world rankings. Thanks to the points he gathered with his win in Linares, the 23-year-old now occupies third place behind Topalov and Anand. In Monaco Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam talked to the Armenian phenomenon about his unique approach to chess and the confusion he sometimes causes among colleagues with his jokes. ‘THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE’
Alexander Onischuk cruised to a very convincing, albeit hard fought victory in the 2006 US Championship. The tournament, divided into 32-player Groups ‘A’ and ‘B’, saw the ‘A’ winner Onischuk defeat ‘B’ winner Yury Shulman in a rapid chess playoff before a large crowd of spectators both online and at the playing venue. Larry Christiansen was our man on the spot. THE RIGHT MOVE
Jan Timman shares his ideas and hopes concerning the forthcoming FIDE presidential elections. SHIROV REGAINS FORM IN POIKOVSKY
Fate had it that the two players who topped the table with one round to go, Alexey Dreev and Alexey Shirov, were paired against each other on the final day of the seventh Poikovsky tournament. In a tense game Shirov ended a period of disappointing results with a fine win. An impression by Ruslan Ponomariov. S.O.S.: 2.Na3 AGAINST THE SICILIAN DEMON DRINK
Hans Ree muses about the dangers and delights of chess and alcohol. ROWSON’S REVIEWS
Jonathan Rowson read the eagerly awaited My Great Predecessors V on Karpov and Kortchnoi. ANOTHER LINARES SPECTATOR
For the first time in a decade, Garry Kasparov joined thousands of chess fans around the world to watch ‘his’ Linares tournament from a distance. JUST CHECKING
Has chess made Alexander Morozevich happy? Did they play your opening?In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players: Sicilian
Christiansen-Wojtkiewicz, by Christiansen
Leko-Radjabov, by Leko
Leko-Morozevich, by Nunn Pirc
Ponomariov-Zviagintsev, by Ponomariov Caro-Kann
Shirov-Dreev, by Shipov Ruy Lopez
Svidler-Topalov, by Svidler
Bologan-Ponomariov, by Bologan
Leko-Aronian, by Aronian Slav
Topalov-Vallejo, by Vallejo Nimzo-Indian
Topalov-Leko, by Topalov
Shulman-Onischuk, by Christiansen Queen's Indian
Ivanchuk-Anand, by Nunn
Akobian-Ibragimov, by Christiansen King's Indian
Onischuk-Florean, by Onischuk
Aronian-Radjabov, by Aronian
Topalov-Radjabov, by Radjabov Benoni
Shulman-Shabalov, by Christiansen
Onischuk-Nakamura, by Christiansen English Opening
Nielsen-Aronian, by Nunn
Ivanchuk-Aronian, by Ivanchuk Réti
Morozevich-Anand, by Nunn
Nakamura-Friedel, by Christiansen
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