Like every year, New In Chess is asking its readers what they think was the best opening novelty of 2011. The inventor of the novelty will receive a prize of €350 ($450). Among those who have voted for the winning novelty, a one-year subscription to the Yearbook will be raffled.

You might remember last year's New in Chess Yearbook Novelty of the Year which was Vishy Anand's 10.Na3! in the Catalan against Veselin Topalov in their World Championship match in Sofia, May 2010.

NIC Yearbook editor GM Genna Sosonko gives the first prize to Vishy Anand

The voting for 2011 Novelty of the Year has now started. Candidate novelties must meet the following conditions:

• they must have been played in 2011
• they must have been published in New In Chess Yearbooks 98, 99, 100 or 101

VOTE HERE

Here's the shortlist of six candidate novelties:

The shortlist of six candidate novelties can also be found here on the New in Chess website. There, visitors can cast their final vote until February 12, 2012.