Here and There

(1) We've certainly spent quite a bit of time and space looking at IM Andrew Martin's earlier contributions to TWIC Theory; this week, I'll merely note the presence of his third installment, which offers an unusual Black response to the Trompowsky.

(2) I've always loved studies, and like all my readers (I hope!) I have a sense of humor, too. So what could be better than a tournament combining the two? I'm not sure if all the entries to the Humor Study Composing Tournament are or are going to be available to the general public, but the amazing second prize-winning entry can be found and replayed in Tim Krabbé's outstanding Open Chess Diary (see entry 276).

(3) Finally, the Linares super-tournament is about to start (see here for TWIC's news item and here for the tournament website [in Spanish]). There will be several good places to see it live (ChessBase's playchess.com server, for example, which will almost surely have plenty of informal GM and computer commentary), but where do we go to see high-quality analysis after the fact? If you can read Russian, you're in luck: the Chess pro website has lots of great material.

If you're like me and can't, however, you (and I) may still be in luck: Jim Marfia has opened a site with his own translations of some of the best recent material from the Chess pro site, and I'm hoping he'll have the time, inclination and permission to continue doing so with their coverage of Linares. I know I'll be checking, and if you do too, please send him a thank-you note - Marfia's many translations over the years have contributed greatly to English-speakers' chess literature.