Another adventurous round in 2008 Morelia Linares super tournament! Even if Aronian-Anand ended in somewhat disappointing draw after the curious opening, the other games kept us glued for the chairs, with Carlsen and Shirov battling for almost 7 hours! Leko-Ivanchuk had interesting development, where black castled short and actually attacked his opponent from the Caro-Kann.

For the first cycle of 2008/9, all players in the World Championship (ie. Kramnik or Anand) and Challenger matches (Topalov or the World Cup 2007 winner) will be invited to participate in the Grand Prix from the outset. Should any of these players decline to participate in the Grand Prix series, the President may nominate one player to replace and this player must be rated among the top 40 players in the World.

Carlsen-Shirov, round 9 live commentary starts at 10:00 EST / 16:00 CET

Aronian-Anand, round 9 live commentary starts at 10:00 EST / 16:00 CET

Spanish leg of the 2008 Morelia Linares tournament continues in fighting spirit established in Mexico, with three decided games and only one draw. Vishwanatan Anand wins again against Alexei Shirov, extending the lead to full point. Topalov and Shirov, both tied on 2nd prior to this round, lost their games and were relegated to 4th place.

Ivanchuk-Carlsen, round 8 live commentary starts at 9:30 EST / 15:30 CET

Aronian-Topalov, round 8 live commentary starts at 9:30 EST / 15:30 CET

Famous French grandmaster Joel Lautier took participation in the festival opening ceremony. He played an outdoor chess game against the team of strongest players from Irkutsk region, with the pieces conveniently sculptured from Baikal clean ice.

GM Daniel Fridman wins the German chess championship.

Nittedal Sjakklubb is a Norwegian chess club from Nittedal, a small municipity just outside of Oslo. The club has 30 players (15 adults and 15 juniors).