Mexico World Championship


Interview: Vishy Anand

Mainz Chess Classic


Amsterdam: Rising Stars vs Experience

UK-China


Carlsbad 1907 Centenary


Chinese School of Chess?


Just Checking: Artur Jussupow

NIC’S CAFÉ

VIVA VISHY
He had Garry Kasparov’s blessing and bookmakers believed he was the safest bet, but few could have expected that Vishy Anand would win the World Championship in Mexico in such a sovereign manner. Virtually without a glitch the Indian superstar strode through fourteen long rounds, steadily improving his score and confidently averting defeat to finish one full point ahead of Vladimir Kramnik, the old champion, and Boris Gelfand, who at 39 years showed that there is no substitute for experience. Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam was on the spot and saw the most popular participant scale a new peak in his fabulous career. Plus great annotated games, including guest analysis by Veselin Topalov and Magnus Carlsen!

INTERVIEW: VISHY ANAND
Twenty hours after he’s won the World Championship, Vishy Anand opens the door of room 1414 of the Sheraton Centro Historico hotel. With a welcoming smile, the new champ continues to be in high spirits, although he admits that his throat is beginning to feel a bit hoarse. A talk with a happy champion who first and foremost wants to enjoy the sweetness of his victory. Still, he doesn’t forget to call the privileges of Kramnik and Topalov in the new cycle ‘outrageous’.

RISING STARS RULE IN AMSTERDAM
Last year the NH Hotels tournament was introduced to the chess calendar, which pitted a team of ‘rising stars’ against a team of ‘experienced’ players. The event was jointly sponsored by NH Hotels and Mr and Mrs van Oosterom, who are better known for the annual Amber tournament. Last year John Nunn came out of retirement to join the ‘experienced’ players, but this year he decided to enjoy the event as a spectator rather than as a player. At the Krasnapolsky hotel he saw the ‘rising stars’ win 26½-23½. Sergey Karjakin earned the coveted ticket to the 2008 Amber tournament.

TENTH CHESS CLASSIC TITLE FOR ANAND
One of Europe’s most scenic rail lines runs from Koblenz to Mainz, along the Rhine river. Near the end of the line lies the Mainz Hilton and Congress Hall, the riverside venue of one of Europe’s great chess festivals – the Mainz Chess Classic. Ian Rogers saw Vishy Anand win his tenth Black Jacket.

UK INVITE CHINESE FIREWORKS
At the Liverpool 800th Anniversary Summit Match the UK team got some Chinese food for thought as their guests trounced them 28-20. Our reporter from the banks of the Mersey is England’s Nigel Short, who doesn’t let the opportunity pass to criticize FIDE for seeing the UK not as one country, but as five, Northern Ireland excluded. ‘In short, this incongruous, illogical and unjust mess is a typical FIDE dog’s breakfast.’

CARLSBAD REVIVES GLORIOUS PAST
To celebrate the centenary of the legendary tournament of 1907, chess returned to the Czech spa of Karlovy Vary, which in the history of our game is better known as Carlsbad. At the end of seven entertaining rounds Sergei Movsesian and Ruslan Ponomariov shared first prize in the Czech Coal Carlsbad Tournament. A report by David Navara, who had to settle for shared third place after a moment of chess blindness ruined an inspired effort in the penultimate round.

THE CHINESE SCHOOL OF CHESS?
Prompted (and puzzled) by the UK-China match in Liverpool, Jonathan Rowson began to wonder if there is any such thing.

FROM LONDON TO CARLSBAD
Jan Timman shares games and positions that struck him during his recent travels.

JUST CHECKING
Who is Artur Jussupow’s favourite player of all time?

Did they play your opening?

In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players:

Sicilian
Short-Bu Xiangzhi, by Short
Anand-Morozevich, by Anand
Movsesian-Kortchnoi, by Movsesian
Stellwagen-Ljubojevic, by Nunn
Adams-Zhang Pengxiang, by Zhang Pengxiang
Adams-Werle, by Timman
Shirov-Laznicka, by Timman

Ruy Lopez
Stellwagen-Jussupow, by Nunn
Wang Hao-Short, by Wang Hao
Movsesian-Navara, by Navara
Anand-Grischuk, by Carlsen
Leko-Grischuk, by Leko
Karjakin-Beliavsky, by Karjakin

Slav
Aronian-Anand, by PH Nielsen
Grischuk-Svidler, by Svidler
Kramnik-Anand, by Topalov
Aronian-Gelfand, by Gelfand
Jussupow-Smeets, by Nunn

Catalan
Kramnik-Grischuk, by Carlsen

Queen's Indian
Shirov-Timman, by Timman

Grünfeld Indian
Laznicka-Ponomariov, by Navara

King's Indian
Khalifman-Cheparinov, by Cheparinov