A 76-year-old legendary player with more than 50 years of international tournament experience makes an appearance at this year's National Open--but finishes a half point behind the teenager Nakamura.

Left to right: Stefan Fruebing, Viktor Korchnoi, Bernhard Rutschke. Photo by Harald Fietz.

The veteran player, who just completed a rare U.S. trip, reveals insights on his favorite opening to his new teammates in the Second German Bundesliga.

Colorful Kalmykian costumes help set the atmosphere. Photo by Tara McGowran

I'd fly five thousand miles for a camel. America's top-ranked player and our best hope to bring the world championship back home to the United States falls just short of his goal on the Kalmykian steppe.

Lt. Col. Douglas Taffinder won the overall title at the 2007 United States Interservice Championship. Photo by Pfc. Austin Goacher

... as an American soldier and chess player currently deployed in Iraq, this is what I can say: "I can leave my wife, my children, and my dog but never will I leave my rifle and my chessboard."