Awards have come easily to Anand this year. In January he won the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, which was formally conferred just after the Oscar was announced. A little later he was chosen CNN-IBN's Indian of the Year 2007 in the Sports category. What does Anand think about the accolades or about the upcoming World Championship match against Kramnik? See for yourself in Devil's Advocate: Viswanathan Anand on mind games (4 May 2008; IBNlive.com).

Although Chessbase.com announced the 'Breaking News' on 8 May (Anand Wins Chess Oscars for 2007; NB: there is only one Oscar per year), a week later neither the official FIDE site (oscar.fide.com), nor the voting site (www.64.ru), had been updated to show detailed results. All we know is that 'more than 220 chess and sports journalists from 30 countries' participated, with Anand taking 130 first place votes. This compares to the 2005 awards, when 361 journalists from 68 countries participated. Is the Chess Oscar losing its lustre?

In microscopic view of e5, forum member baltimoretom once again shares his special way of looking at chess moves. Along with 'Secret micropscopic view of e5', you'll find 'Torres versus (temporarily forgot name of opponent)', 'Radar for chess pieces?', and 'distance aspects of the relevant range e5'.

Image: 'Chessboard subway map for e5' (baltimoretom / tbrownchess.blogspot.com).

• Seniors, Collectors and Hall of Famers Meet in Florida • 'The Senior Open, Chess Collectors International and Hall of Fame Induction are all set to converge in a thrilling week of chess from April 28 - May 3 in Boca Raton/Miami Florida.' [USchess.org; see links to the auction details]
  
  

The collectors are often even more interesting than their collections. Read more...

A topic mentioned on several blogs was a press release from St. John's University announcing that CPS Professor’s Book to Become HBO Film on "Chess Match of the Century," Fischer vs. Spassky. The professor is none other than Dr. Frank Brady, Chair of the Mass Communication Division in the College of Professional Studies (CPS), and better known to Fischer's many fans as the author of 'Profile of a Prodigy', the definitive biography on the most reclusive of the World Chess Champions. Whether by coincidence or by design, another of our top blogs posted Dr. Frank Brady Lecture Videos on Bobby Fischer, a set of 12 links to YouTube videos capturing a lecture from September 2007, four months before Fischer's untimely death in Iceland (jrobichess.blogspot.com).

Three players tied for first in the 14-player FIDE Grand Prix tournament held 20 April through 6 May at Baku, Azerbaijan. Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan finished first on tiebreak ahead of Wang Yue and Magnus Carlsen. The event was the first in the series of six 2008-2009 FIDE Grand Prix tournaments designed to identify a challenger for the 2010 World Championship.

Each of the 14 players goes on to play three other Grand Prix events. They will be joined by seven more players who did not compete in Baku and still have four tournaments to play. The math works : six events with 14 players each and 21 players with four events each.

The scoring system also requires a little math. In addition to the prize money for each event, the players receive Grand Prix Points based on their final standing. First place earns 140 points, second place 130 points, and so on through 14th place with 10 points. The first three places also earn bonus points : 40 for first place, 20 for second, and 10 for third. In the case of ties, the prize money and Grand Prix Points are split equally.

The cumulative score for the series of events is calculated using the best three results for each player. The big prize will be a shot at the World Championship, but the first ten players overall will receive cash prizes.

The 21 players came to the Grand Prix by several routes. Some qualified from previous FIDE events, some were chosen based on their world ranking, and some were nominated by the FIDE President. Six were chosen by the organizers of the six events. The winner at Baku, Vugar Gashimov, was the nominee of the Baku organizers.

The next Grand Prix event will take place during the first two weeks in August 2008, at Sochi (Soci), Russia. The four other events will be held at four month intervals through December 2009. • Official sites: Grand Prix, Baku 2008 and Grand Prix 2008-2009. • For more about the Grand Prix and an explanation of how it fits into the World Championship cycle, see our ChessChrono 2008-2009 FIDE Grand Prix. • Image: Official logo of the 2008 FIDE Grand Prix, Baku.

The players should not talk during the games; additionally they should not offer draws directly to their opponents. Draw-offers will be allowed only through the Chief Arbiter in three cases: a triple-repetition of the position, a perpetual check and in theoretically drawn positions.

The Sofia Rules have been adopted for FIDE's Grand Prix 2008-2009, the series of World Championship qualifying events described in our recent article The FIDE Grand Prix : Past, Present, and Future. The Grand Prix version adds specific mention of 'the rule of 50 moves'.

Does the adoption of the Sofia Rules forecast the death of the short draw? Let's hope so! • Need to refresh your memory on the significance of draws in chess? See Chess Draws and Short Draws on About Chess. • Need help on the implications of other anti-draw systems like the Bilbao Rules (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw)? See Reader feedback: the great draw debate continues, including links to many recent Chessbase.com articles on the subject.