Nanjing Pearl Spring Interview Veselin Topalov Vladimir Kramnik's Side of the Story Elista GP Hydra Dresden Olympiad FIDE and Discipline Jonathan Rowson's Book reviews Garry Kasparov Just Checking Maya Chiburdanidze

Content NIC’s Café ‘Number One’ Triumphs in China For the souvenir hunters at the Pearl Spring tournament in Nanjing the most popular target was top-seed Veselin Topalov. Deftly avoiding a slight language barrier, the Bulgarian was conveniently addressed as ‘Number One’. With saintly patience Topalov posed for hundreds of photos, fully acknowledging the historical importance of this first super tournament on Chinese soil. At the board, ‘Number One’ didn’t disappoint his fans either. With a superb 7 out of 10 (TPR 2892) he claimed the 80,000 euro first prize and raised his rating to new spectacular heights, 2809! Interview: Veselin Topalov Immediately after he’d won the Nanjing super-tournament and strengthened his number one position in the world rankings, Veselin Topalov spoke to Dirk Jan ten ­Geuzendam. ‘At the moment there is only one rival, Anand.’ Vladimir Kramnik: My Side of the Story ‘After reading Kasparov’s article in the last issue of New In Chess, I decided that it was about time for me to write something too.’ In a chronological and detailed account of his involvement in the world championship, Vladimir Kramnik answers his great predecessor. Elista GP: Grischuk, Radjabov & Yakovenko When it finally transpired that there was not going to be a tournament in Doha at all, another lifeline for another failed FIDE project was thrown from Elista and it was there, in Chess City, that the Grand Prix continued its unpredictable course. At the end of thirteen rounds three players that had been involved in the fight for first place right from the start topped the table. Flying Hours with Ken Thompson What is the most awesome chess program we’ve ever seen? Could it be Hydra, the multi-headed monster that suddenly broke on the scene slaughtering fellow-programs and humans alike, only to vanish as suddenly as it had appeared? Computer programmer and mathematician Chrilly Donninger, the author of Hydra, tells a mesmerizing tale of FPGAs and parallel processors, whiskey that tastes of wet dog, sheikhs, petrodollars and fifteen minutes of fame. ‘The Heroes of Today’s Armenia’ Two years ago in the Oval Lingotto in Turin they dominated the race from the word go, but that was two years ago. Why would they even get close to the bronze medals at the 38th Olympiad in the Dresden Congress Centre? Weren’t the Armenians only seeded ninth in possibly the strongest Olympiad ever? They were, but that didn’t stop them from pulling off another historic feat. Olympic Gold Returns to Tbilisi It took them a while to heat up, but once they got going there was nothing to stop them. Led by an awesome Maya Chiburdanidze, Georgia pipped defending champions Ukraine at the post, deciding the race in their favour with a difference that was barely visible to the naked eye. FIDE Teaches Discipline Hans Ree deplores a new excess of FIDE’s regulating mania. Endgame Anxiety ‘What’s the use of studying the endgame?’ Jonathan Rowson wonders. Dresden Highlights Jan Timman presents a selection of games from the 38th Olympiad that caught his eye. The Perils of Patronage We hadn’t expected Garry Kasparov to start his column with a quote from Karl Marx, but in his review of FIDE’s latest shenanigans the quote is only too apt. Just Checking What was the best game Maya Chiburdanidze ever played? Did they play your opening? In this issue games with the following openings were annotated by world class players: Sicilian Yakovenko-Kasimdzhanov, by Yakovenko Petrosian-Li Chao, by Petrosian Akopian-Vachier-Lagrave, by Timman Kosteniuk-Chiburdanidze, by Chiburdanidze Gashimov-Mamedyarov, by Gashimov Drljevic-Goletiani, by Goletiani French Kamsky-Ivanchuk, by Kamsky Italian Game Movsesian-Bu Xiangzhi, by Bu Xiangzhi Slav Rodshtein-Petrosian, by Rodshtein Ivanisevic-Aronian, by Aronian Kasimdzhanov-Akopian, by Kasimdzhanov Queen's Indian Chiburdanidze-Maric, by Chiburdanidze Sargissian-Grischuk, by Sargissian Grünfeld Indian Topalov-Svidler, by Topalov King's Indian Eljanov-Radjabov, by Radjabov Alekseev-Grischuk, by Grischuk English Opening Aronian-Gelfand, by Gelfand Aronian-Ivanchuk, by Aronian 1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.a3 Zhukova-Rajlich, by Zhukova