Oklahoma was #8 in the BCS poll, and playing at home. Didn't matter. That's eight victims down, and Notre Dame will move up to at least (and probably at most) #4 in tomorrow's new BCS poll. Four victims to go, not counting the bowl game; next week victim, the Pitt "Panthers". Time for a tune!

#5 ranked Notre Dame will start the pummeling of the #7 ranked Oklahoma Sooners about half an hour from now. The telecast starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be shown on ABC. Pre-game materials here, for your reading pleasure.

Reader Kurt W. Stein writes in to share a link to some investment advice; not because he's promoting that author's wisdom (if any), but because the author (one John P. Hussman) finds chess - chess endgames particular - especially apt as an analogy for his market advice. Considering that he labels the 2230-rated WIM Tsagaan Battsetseg a "highly ranked world chess champion", I'd ask for a second or...

This four player, six round event (a double round-robin) has just finished, and Hikaru Nakamura was the convincing winner. When we left off after four rounds, Hikaru Nakamura led with three points, good for a half-point lead over Sergei Tiviakov. In round 5 Nakamura drew with Black against Hou Yifan with slight, but only slight, difficulty. Tiviakov was unable to defeat Anish Giri with White...

Last week it was the New York Times that took notice of chess Maecenas Rex Sinquefield's significant political donations, with a slight edge of concern. (Shocking, considering the Times' left-leaning ways, while Sinquefield typically gives to right-leaning candidates and issues.) This weekend, it's the Wall Street Journal that profiles Sinquefield, and you'll be just as shocked to know that this...

The accused, GM Falko Bindrich, has responded to the accusations that he cheated during last weekend's opening matches in the Bundesliga. Readers can (and, obviously, will) make up their own minds about this; I'll offer just three comments. First, a player's privacy concerns are a legitimate factor, and if cell phones aren't banned from the premises there has to be some sort of accommodation...

Live games with computer analysis

The Chigorin Memorial 2012, one of the strongest open tournaments for the season with over 100 titled players, started with a rapid tournament. A total of 173 players entered the two days fast chess event. GM Denis Khismatullin won convincingly the Chigorin rapid, scoring 8,0/9 after seven victories and two draws. He finished a full [...]

Hotel “Park” in St. Petersburg will once again be a host of a strong open tournament, and once again the event will be honoring a chess legend. The Chigorin Memorial will take place October 27 – November 4 as part of the Russian Cup competitions. It will be s Swiss tournament with time control 90 [...]

Is it true that your chess results are always a product of your own efforts? Of course this is a trick question – obviously your opponent’s efforts also count for something! Just because you win doesn’t necessarily mean that you played well … and sometimes when you lose it’s because your opponent played “the game [...]

Το ομαδικό πρωτάθλημα παίδων και κορασίδων θα διεξαχθεί στην Κέρκυρα, στις 10 και 11 Νοεμβρίου.Οι αρχηγοί των ομάδων θα πρέπει να δηλώσουν συμμετοχή και τη σύνθεση των ομάδων στον κ. Μάνο Ναθαναήλ το συντομότερο δυνατό! ...

Belgrade, 26 Oct 2012 – First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vucic played a game of chess with the world’s best female chess player Judit Polgar at the Serbian government today. Judit Polgar is visiting Belgrade for the first time as a special guest of the Belgrade Book Fair. During the meeting, [...]

The 5th International Masters Tournament “Douglas Martinez” is taking place from 25 to 30 October 2012 at the Centro Comercial Copacabana Guarenas Municipio Plaza, Venezuela. The tournament will be played over 9 rounds of Swiss system with the Bilbao scoring (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw). Top prize is 15,000 Bs, which [...]

Ο Σκακιστικός Όμιλος Θεσπρωτίας διοργανώνει ένα νέο καινοτόμο πρωτάθλημα, το 1ο Ομαδικό για μικρούς και μεγάλους!Ακολουθεί η αναλυτική προκήρυξη του τουρνουά! Ο αρχηγός της ομάδας μπορεί να δηλώσει συμμετοχή...