1/31/2018 – The quartet at the Tradwise Masters in Gibraltar became a quartet. Rapport beat Howell and drew with Nakamura after he played only a draw against Wang Hao. Daniil Dubov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also score 6.5 points. | Photo: Sophie Triay

12/23/2017 – Nigel Short got to cross another country off his already impressive list (now at 123 countries at last check) as he made his first foray to Kyrgyzstan in November at the invitation of MiniChess Central Asia. Alexandra Samanagova's photo report shows a jam-packed five day tour. | Pictured: Press conference at the Sputnik international news agency (left to right: Talant Mamytov, Nigel Short, Bakyt Omurzakov, Robin Ord-Smith) | Photo: MiniChess Team

12/11/2017 – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana tied for first place after nine rounds, leading to a blitz playoff, won by Caruana. But Magnus Carlsen took the Grand Chess Tour as a whole. The GCT finale was the 9th London Chess Classic, a 10-player round-robin, with a prize fund of USD $300,000. The LCC will return in 2018 with a new format.

12/8/2017 – At 15 he was Oxford University's youngest undergraduate since Cardinal Wolsey in 1520; and at 23 he did his doctorate in algebraic topology — and achieved his final grandmaster norm. He went on to become one of the top ten players in the world, and a world champion chess problem solver. Today John Nunn, at 62, is slowly gliding into retirement (from his chess publishing business), but that does not mean sitting idly around. He is addicted to rational thinking, puzzles, mathematics and beautiful vacations. Frederic Friedel joined him on one.

11/12/2017 – It’s never an easy thing to be the rating favourite in a field where the 2nd seed is a 100 points below and the 4th seed, almost 200 points. Nigel Short was in such a scenario where there was a lot to lose and little to gain, in terms of Elo and reputation. However, he is no stranger to being in such a position. Having steamrolled through Bunratty Masters and Bangkok Open earlier this year, he just cruised through the field at the Negros International Open in Bacolod last month, to win the event one point clear. Srinath Narayanan reports. | Photo: Piaya Network Facebook page

10/15/2017 – We look back at IoM one more time, focusing on the many Indian players who performed admirably, first and foremost, Vishy Anand for his second place finish, scoring 7.0 / 9. The second was Vidit Gujrathi, who had a very solid +4 performance. However, his biggest achievement of the event was surely holding Magnus Carlsen to a draw. And the third, rather lesser known, was GM Swapnil Dhopade, with a rating of 2532, but who performed at an Elo of 2768. We got in touch with all the three high performers and try to understand the secrets of their success. Photos: | Alina l'Ami (Anand), Chess.com/Maria Emelianova (Vidit and Swapnil)

8/24/2017 – The Egyptian Grandmaster Bassem Amin won the strong 24th International Chess Festival in Abu Dhabi that was played from 14th to 22nd August in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. With 7.5/9 Bassem Amin came clear first, second place went to Nigel Short who scored 7.0/9 and was half a point ahead of seven players with 6½/9. Almost 500 players took part in the festival. | Photo: adchessfestival.ae

8/3/2017 – The Xtracon Open and it's forbearer the Politiken Cup is a strong annual open tournament north of Copenhagen. This year fan favorite Baadur Jobava took first place clear with an impressive 8.5 / 10. Krishnan Sasikiran and Marin Bosiocic were second and third. IM David Midema was on the scene in Elsinore | Photo: Sigfred Haubro

5/11/2017 – With a brand new sponsor, the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess tournament is back! The five-round event is being held in Malmo, Sweden. The tournament features a strong contention in the form of Nigel Short, Pavel Eljanov, Baadur Jobava, Nils Grandelius, Erik Blomqvist and Harika Dronavalli. And Short is off to a 'dream' start as he explained in his one-line tweet after the game. Report with grandmaster analysis.

3/28/2017 – We reported yesterday: the official International Chess Federation web site announced the resignation of its President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, followed within hours by emphatic denials from Ilyumzhinov. Today there are new letters on the FIDE page, describing the circumstances of his alleged resignation: "During the Presidental Board Meeting in Athens, you several time threatened to resign, and at the end of the meeting three times you repeated 'I resign' before leaving the room." In a press conference of the Russian Chess Federation Ilyumzhinov explained his position.

3/28/2017 – Sam Collins is an International Master (with two grandmaster norms) and a prolific author. He was born in Dublin in 1982 where he now works as a barrister. In an interview he talks about his latest DVD about ...Bc5 in the Open Games, his career, how to study openings and his favorite games.