A new (chess) community was born

There is a new community in the world... a chess community! Its name is Chess.com (www.chess.com) and its motto is "Learn. Share. Play". The creator of this very ambitious project is Erik, a graduate student at Stanford Business School, California (Usa), where he lives. He learned chess when he was 8 years old, "but - quoting his profile on chess.com - didn't really pick it back up until about 10 years ago. Since then I have been playing, studying and enjoying it regularly".
To explain what Chess.com is, I just report what Erik writes in his article "Why the Pawn in the Chess.com Logo?": "When I first started working on Chess.com a long time ago I began with the logo [etc.]. In choosing the pawn I wanted to send 2 signals.
#1 - This site is a fluid community
It has been said that "pawns are the soul of chess" [etc.]. The point is that the pawns create the environment. And I wanted the members of Chess.com to be the backbone of the site.
#2 - This site is for everyone
We're not all Kings and Queens yet! Chess.com should appeal to all chess players - even those that don't yet know the rules! At the beginning of a game the pawn symbolizes the weakest of all the chess pieces. However, as the pawn makes it's journey up the board it becomes more and more powerful, controlling more important squares, and eventually, if it reaches the other end can be whatever piece it wants. I wanted Chess.com to be a site for chess players who are at any point in their personal chess journey - either making their first move ever, or a Grandmaster".
So, what are you waiting for? Go to www.chess.com and register yourself! You can post your articles and opinions and have your own Blog in the community. And if you want to get involved in the Chess.com project, I think Erik will be happy if you contact him (you can easily guess his e-mail: erik(at)chess.com). Well, you had a great idea Erik. Good luck!
And now let's speak about tournaments in progress around the world... First of all, the Candidates matches in Elista: there were no decisive games today... but just because it was a rest day! The 1st "Aldo Perini" Memorial is taking place in Senigallia, Italy. Four players share the lead in the main A1 group after round 4: Bulgarian GM Todor Todorov, French IM Vladimir Okhotnik, Italian GM Igor Efimov and Serbian GM Sinisa Drazic. Ten players are on 2: among them we find Greek GM Spyridon Skembris, German IM Olaf Heinzel, Serbian IM Nenad Aleksic, five Fide masters and two Italian masters. All can happen! Official site: http://digilander.libero.it/dragonscacchicv/festivalS07.html.
Bulgarian chess Federation has asked Fide to let Topalov play in the 2007 World Championship in Mexico (you can read the full press release on Chessbase.com by clicking here). "Since Veselin Topalov was not allowed to play with V. Kramnik in 2007, it is most evident that he should be permitted to take part in the World Championship tournament in Mexico - president Stefan Sergiev writes in a press release - In this way an injustice will be remedied and Fide will prove that the world chess interests are its priority and that the World Champion should be elected in a competition between the best chess players in the world. Any argumentation for the non-admission of V. Topalov is deprived of any logic. The second, the third and the fourth players from St. Louis will play there but the first one will not! The second in the world ranking list, the chess player who won seven super-tournaments during the last two years will not be allowed to play there! Why? Only because Fide has changed its system in the meantime?! We suggest a Fide resolution is passed for nine participants to play in the tournament in Mexico. The organizers have no objections and they will be happy because Veselin Topalov is very popular not only in Mexico but in the whole of Latin America as well". I don't think Fide will change the system another time. If Topalov plays in Mexico, Kramnik will not (for sure). It's too late for changing, anyway: the WCC will start in less than three months!
I eventually make an announcement for all readers of "Messaggero Scacchi", the one and only Italian chess web-zine :-) In a few days (or even hours) you will have to delete www.messaggerie.it from your bookmarks... the only address of our creature (IM Roberto Messa's and mine) will be www.messaggeroscacchi.it!
Waiting for tomorrow's fight in Elista, here is the game Carlsen won against Aronian just yesterday (no comments - sorry).

Carlsen,M. (2693) - Aronian,L. (2759) [A30], Elista 27.5.2007
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O e6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Re1 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. d4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Be4 11. Ne5 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 O-O 13. e4 Qc8 14. Qg4 Bf6 15. Nf3 Kh8 16. h4 Nc6 17. Bg5 cxd4 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. cxd4 e5 20. Qxc8 Raxc8 21. d5 Na5 22. h5 Nc4 23. Nh4 Nd6 24. h6 Rc3 25. Rac1 Rfc8 26. Rxc3 Rxc3 27. Nf5 Nxf5 28. exf5 Kg8 29. Re4 Kf8 30. Rg4 Rc7 31. Rg7 b5 32. Rxh7 Kg8 33. Rg7+ Kh8 34. d6 Rd7 35. Kf3 b4 36. Ke4 Rxd6 37. Rxf7 Ra6 38. g4 Kg8 39. h7+ Kh8 40. g5 fxg5 41. f6 1-0