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.

A feature post from a few weeks ago titled Catching Up with Kasparov only caught up with the 13th World Champion through the death of the 11th Champion Bobby Fischer in January. Other newsworthy stories have appeared during the intervening months. Read more...

• The Development of Computer Chess (under Computer Chess History)
• Related articles: The Year 2007 in Review : Computers • 'Game Over' : Did IBM Cheat Kasparov? • ICCA/ICGA

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