Interview: Hikaru Nakamura San Sebastian Dortmund Maxime to the Max  Lembit Oll Philadelphia World Open Rowson's Reviews  Dieren Dutch Open Giri-Brandenburg after 19.g6! Just Checking Rustam Kasimdzhanov

Content NIC’s Café Your Move Interview: Hikaru Nakamura He’s changed. He’s left behind an unhappy period in his life and gotten rid of ‘the distractions’. The new Hikaru Nakamura, who in Saint Louis won the U.S. Championship for the second time, no longer seeks offbeat sidelines but plays mainline theory. His new approach seems to be working, as he proved again in San Sebastian. Following this new triumph of the 21-year-old American, Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam had a frank talk with Hikaru ­Nakamura 2.0 at an unusual hour. Naka in Capa’s Footsteps As part of the preparations for a centenary tournament in 2011, Basque GM Felix Izeta organized a chess festival in exactly the same luxurious hall in which Jose Raul Capablanca triumphed in San Sebastian in 1911. And as if history wanted to have it this way, the top group was won by another young and aspiring grandmaster who had crossed the Atlantic to try his luck in Europe. Kramnik on Cloud Nine in Dortmund The 37th Sparkassen Chess-Meeting in Dortmund ended in a resounding victory for Vladimir Kramnik. The Russian GM won the event for the ninth time, an amazing feat that invited comparisons with Garry Kasparov’s nine wins in the Linares super-tournaments. Maxime to the Max The traditional chess festival in Biel staged the strongest closed tournament ever held in Switzerland. First place was sensationally claimed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the 18-year-old French promise, who posted the greatest success in his burgeoning career. Yannick Pelletier reports. Another Silent Estonian Ten years ago the life of Lembit Oll came to an end. In the morning of May 17, 1999, the body of the Estonian GM was found next to the apartment building where he had been living alone after the separation from his wife. In a moving tribute, Jaan Ehlvest shares his memories of Lembit Oll. He is joined by Alex Yermolinsky, who encountered the lamented Estonian in a wondrous variety of places. The Long and the Short of It If you want to win the World Open, it might take you seven days. Or three... make that two. Evgeny Najer and Hikaru Nakamura took very different paths to arrive at the winner’s circle ahead of thirty-two other hungry grandmasters. Joel Benjamin tells the story. Shabalov and Corrales Shared First in Sao Paulo This year’s American Continental Championship, held in Sao Paulo, boasted 268 participants, including 27 GMs and 30 IMs. In absolute numbers it was a record, as FIDE had allowed the participation of many low-rated and even unrated players, a decision that was not welcomed by everybody. If in previous editions 8½ or even 8 points out of 11 were needed, this year Alex Shabalov and Fidel Corrales had to score an impressive 9 points to share the highest prizes. Beyond the Illusion of ‘Talent’ Talent is a word we easily use to describe extraordinary players. ‘But, when you take away demographic fortune, deliberate practice, opportunities to gain feedback, social and parental support and cultural legacies, what is left of talent?’ Jonathan Rowson wonders. In the Style of Tal and Fischer Jan Timman presents highlights from the Dutch Open, where the world’s youngest grandmaster Anish Giri was the crowd-puller. The highly gifted youngster also proves to be a consummate annotator. Just Checking Guess who’s Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s favourite chess player of all time? Did they play your opening? In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players: Sicilian Milos-Shabalov, by Milos Morozevich-Vachier-Lagrave, by Vachier-Lagrave Nijboer-Giri, by Timman Shabalov-El Debs, by Shabalov Hess-Lapshun, by Benjamin French Corrales-Granda, by Corrales Najer-Nakamura, by Najer Scandinavian Nakamura-Vallejo, by Nakamura Petroff Svidler-Karpov, by Svidler Ruy Lopez Ian Nepomniachtchi-Aronian, by Aronian Italian Morozevich-Gelfand, by Morozevich Tarrasch Defence Ponomariov-Vallejo, by Ponomariov Nimzo-Indian Kramnik-Naiditsch, by Kramnik Fier-Iturrizaga, by Fier Bareev-Yudasin, by Benjamin Queen's Indian Giri-l’Ami, by Giri Leko-Bacrot, by Leko Kamsky-Benjamin, by Benjamin