I can't imagine this is news to anyone, but as widely expected Vishy Anand was able to prevail in the rapid play-off to retain his title, last Wednesday. Both players returned home to heroes' welcomes.

Today the Tal Memorial started .... in the form of a blitz tournament. This tournament was used to determine which 5 players would get an all important extra white in the 10 player round-robin. From a mere sporting view we note that Morozevich tied for 1st with Carlsen. The three other "top" players were Grischuk, Radjabov, and Aronian. Play in the main event starts tomorrow.