It doesn't matter whether your favorite phase of a chess game is the opening, the middle game, or the endgame; everyone likes to talk about openings. Here are three recent forum threads. What's your opinion? • In Names of openings boring?, IMJP suggests, 'One of the "boring" issues in chess is the names of the chess openings and variations!? Could we sit down and change them all?' • In Winning Chess Opening Moves, smtalim says, 'Chessbase's Chess Opening Explorer gives the probability of White winning, by adopting a particular move. I would like the experienced players here to throw more light on this.' • And finally, in Maza's Openings?, Kreider204 asks, 'For anyone who has Maza's Rapid Chess Improvement, does he recommend any particular openings?'

The official site of the 2005 FIDE World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk (Siberia), Russia, has been posting interviews with many of the 128 players. Here are some comments that caught our eye. Read more...

Buying a gift for a chess player is almost as easy as learning how to play the game. No real chess player ever has enough chess sets or enough chess books. Here is a guide to the many product related resources located on About Chess. Read more...

What's new on the World Championship front? In November we had the World Team Championship and the World Junior Championship. Congratulations to all newly crowned winners! Read more...

'How can I improve at chess?' is a question that all chess players ask constantly. What if you could take a test supervised by a world class chess player and trainer? You can! It's the format of IM Khmelnitsky's award winning book. Read more... • See also our review of 'Chess Exam'.

In Name the Players, an old puzzle is finally solved. That's one Hollywood actor that really knew how to play chess!

The 128 players competing at the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, (for more about the event, see Elsewhere on the Web 2005 FIDE World Cup - Introduction, 19 November 2005) qualified in many different ways. Some were successful in previous World Championship events, others were successful in regional qualifying events, some were chosen because of their high standing in the world rating system, while others were handpicked by the organizers. Let's look at the different ways that players earn the right to play in the World Championship cycle. Read more...

One of the best moves to meet the Nimzo Indian Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) is 4.e3. Many authorities call this the 'Rubinstein Variation'. Unlike other moves, 4.e3 doesn't attempt to refute Black's setup. White builds a strong center and aims for flexible development. One idea is to continue Ng1-e2, recapturing with the Knight if Black plays ...Bxc3+. Read more...

In Titles for life?, we copied an email message from a correspondent who asks, 'Should GM (IM, IA, etc.) titles stay for life?' Your Chess Guide expands on the topic and asks, 'Aren't titles a little old fashioned? They were introduced before ratings were used.' • What do you think?