Henrik Carlsen will participate in the 2008 edition of Gausdal classics.

The chess blogsphere has been underdeveloped in the past years, with only a few blogs spreading news about chess competitions. However, this has been changing and many blogs have been emerging in the past months. One that particularly attracts attention is the blog dedicated to the young chess prodigy Sergey Karjakin.

The strong gandmasters – GM Viktor Laznicka and GM Nguyen – are leading the 3rd Kolkata open that is taking place in India 23 March to 2nd April. Laznicka and Nguyen are with full points 4,0/4 and are paired in the next round on board 1.

The Chess Grand Prix will take place April 20 – May 6 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Expect frequent reports, live games commentary, and many surprises on Chessdom.com during the Grand Prix.

Ali Al Sulaiti finished on top in the Bahrainis Chess Championship which concluded yesterday at the Bahrain Mind Sports Association (BMSA) premises in Muharraq.

The list of titled players has grown by more than 50 names. GM, IM titles were awarded at the Presidential Board Meeting in Turkey.

Wanyama secured a crucial draw against Kenyan Ben Nguku in the closing round to win the East Africa Chess championship at Lugogo on Easter Monday.

The German GM Thorsten-Michael Haub won the Open International de Fourmies.

The Sri Lanka Open Chess Championship was conducted by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka from 19th to 23rd March 2008 at the Co-operative Development Institute in Polgolla, Kandy. The event was played over 9 games and the closing Ceremony was held under the patronage of Dr. RD Gunaratne, the Vice President of the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka.

First tournament in the FIDE Grand Prix series is set to take place on 20th April – 6th May in Baku, Azerbaijan. Global Chess CEO Geoffrey Borg and FIDE press secretary Berik Balgabaev have visited Baku over the weekend for inspection on the facilities and overall preparation.