7/23/2016 – Players in Bilbao got 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. Magnus Carlsen won the "Masters" with 17 points from 10 games, or, should you prefer the traditional 1-point-per-win-count, with 6.5/10. He won four games, lost one, and drew five. The game that secured Carlsen's tournament victory was his win against Anish Giri in round nine - the first time Carlsen could beat the Dutch in a game with classical time-control. Daniel King takes a closer look.

7/23/2016 – The tenth and final round of the "Masters" in Bilbao ended with three draws. Wesley So and Magnus Carlsen quickly had opposite-colored bishops on the board and drew after 38 moves. Sergey Karjakin and Wei Yi needed only 26 moves for a peace treaty and Anish Giri and Hikaru Nakamura drew after 48 moves. Carlsen won the tournament with 17 points from 10 ten games, Nakamura finished second with 12 points. Results and games...

7/22/2016 – Before Bilbao 2016 Magnus Carlsen had never won a game with classical time-control against Anish Giri. But in round nine of the "Masters" in Bilbao he finally did. This win must have been particularly sweet because it helped Carlsen to win the tournament with one round to go. Hikaru Nakamura and Sergey Karjakin drew and so did Wei Yi and Wesley So. Before the last round Carlsen now has 16.0/9 and is full five points ahead of Nakamura.

7/22/2016 – In round eight of the "Masters" in Bilbao Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen drew after only 19 moves. In his video analysis of the game Daniel King wonders whether Carlsen could have trapped Karjakin's queen instead of repeating moves. He also takes a look at the endgame that Wesley So won against Anish Giri - Wesley So's first win in the "Masters" and the only decisive game of round eight.

7/21/2016 – In round eight of the "Masters" in Bilbao Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin played a last time against each before they will meet in the World Championship match in November. However, it was hard to get excited about the game which quickly ended in a draw through a repetition of moves. The games of the other players offered more, particularly the encounter between Wesley So and Anish Giri, which So won after being worse. With two rounds to go Carlsen continues to lead the field.

7/21/2016 – Round seven of the "Masters" in Bilbao saw three draws. The longest game of the round was Magnus Carlsen vs Wei Yi, in which the World Champion tried hard to create winning chances in the endgame. But did he have real winning chances at any point during the game? Did he miss something? And could have Wei Yi played better? In his video analysis Daniel King takes a closer look.

7/20/2016 – Round seven was fianchetto day in Bilbao: in all three games White fianchettoed the king's bishop. The two Catalans of Hikaru Nakamura vs Wesley So and Anish Giri vs Sergey Karjakin were drawn without much excitement and Magnus Carlsen and Wei Yi eventually also split the point. Perhaps the game between Nakamura and So was the most interesting of the round - their heartbeat was measured during the game.

7/20/2016 – Anish Giri rarely loses but in round six of the "Masters" in Bilbao he did lose against Chinese prodigy Wei Yi. With the notoriously solid Berlin Defense. Now Wei Yi is known to be especially strong with White but what exactly went wrong? Did Wei Yi find a way to challenge the Berlin or did Giri blunder in a drawn endgame? Daniel King takes a closer look.

7/20/2016 – After five rounds and the end of the first cycle the players in the Bilbao "Masters" took a break. The organisers used the free day to entertain the public with a game of living chess, in which "Europe" played against the "World" with children acting as pieces. But in round six it was back to serious business. Hikaru Nakamura drew against Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So drew against Sergey Karjakin but Wei Yi managed to crack Anish Giri's Berlin Wall.

7/18/2016 – Anish Giri seems to be a difficult opponent for Magnus Carlsen. In games with classical time-control Carlsen lost one game against Giri, the others all ended in a draw. That is, the World Champion still has to find a way to win against his younger rival. In round five of the "Masters" in Bilbao, Carlsen came close - but only close - after outplaying Giri from an equal position. But did Carlsen miss a win? Daniel King takes a look.

7/17/2016 – Like it or not, Magnus Carlsen is the player who provides the greatest entertainment in Bilbao. In round five he played with Black against Anish Giri and managed to create winning chances from an equal position. However, Giri's tenacious defense allowed him to draw. Sergey Karjakin and Hikaru Nakamura played an old line of the Queen's Gambit Declined and after an improvement by White Black quickly forced a draw. Wesley So tried hard to win against Wei Yi but had no success. After five of ten rounds Carlsen leads with 10.0/15.

7/17/2016 – The game between Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So from the fourth round of the "Masters" in Bilbao is puzzling. Carlsen, who had White, opted for a solid Anti-Berlin and showed no particular aggression in the opening. But then his knights suddenly started to dance and Black was in trouble. Carlsen won in 26 moves. Daniel King takes a look at the mysteries of this game.

7/16/2016 – With each round of the "Masters" in Bilbao World Champion Magnus Carlsen seems to get better. After his first round loss against Hikaru Nakamura he won three games in a row - in round four he defeated Wesley So in just 26 moves after a seemingly innocuous opening. It was the only decisive game of the round. Hikaru Nakamura drew against Anish Giri and Wei Yi drew against Sergey Karjakin. Carlsen now leads with 9.0/12.

7/16/2016 – For weeks chessfans had been waiting for the encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin in the Bilbao "Masters", the prelude of their World Championship match in November. But their third round game turned out to be a pretty one-sided affair in which Carlsen worked his magic again. After a quiet opening he "simply" attacked on the kingside and came to a seemingly effortless win. Daniel King takes a closer look at this crucial encounter.

7/15/2016 – If the encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin in the third round of the "Masters" in Bilbao is anything to go by Karjakin will not have an easy time in the World Championship match against Carlsen in November. But maybe this was only a final rehearsal that went wrong. At any rate, their game was a rather one-sided affair in which Carlsen smashed Karjakin in a smooth attack. With this victory Carlsen took the sole lead in the tournament.

7/15/2016 – Wei Yi vs Magnus Carlsen, potential World Champion against reigning World Champion, was the highlight of the second round of the "Masters" in Bilbao. After his first round loss against Hikaru Nakamura the World Champion obviously wanted to win but was careful to avoid undue risks. This led to an interesting game with lots of tactical moments in the endgame. Daniel King takes a closer look.

7/14/2016 – After his first round loss Magnus Carlsen was determined to strike back in round two. Playing with Black against Wei Yi he managed to reach a better endgame in which he finally overpowered the Chinese. Sergey Karjakin and Anish Giri threw it all at each other but after a long fight were forced to split the point in a basic pawn ending. The draw between Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So was much less exciting.

7/14/2016 – What happened? Magnus Carlsen lost with White against Hikaru Nakamura, who played strong and calm chess. But where did the World Champion go wrong, what could he have done better, when was he lost and what opportunities did he miss? In his "Powerplay" YouTube channel English Grandmaster Daniel King tries to find answers to these and other questions. See the video...

7/13/2016 – The first round of the Masters in Bilbao started with a bang. For the first time in his career Hikaru Nakamura won against Magnus Carlsen in a game with classical time control. World Champion Carlsen played too aggressively and an unimpressed Nakamura countered. The two other games were drawn. Wei Yi successfully defended a difficult ending against Anish Giri while Sergey Karjakin and Wesley split the point after some excitement in the middlegame.

7/13/2016 – Today, 16.00 CEST the first round of the IX Bilbao Chess Masters Final begins, yesterday the opening ceremony took place. The players were presented to the press and the pairings were drawn. In round one Sergey Karjakin plays against Wesley So, Anish Giri faces Wei Yi and Magnus Carlsen plays against Hikaru Nakamura. You can follow the games live and with commentary on the playchess server.

6/15/2016 – In November Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin will play for the World Championship, in July they will clash in one of the strongest tournaments of the year: The Bilbao Grand Slam Masters Final, a six-player double round robin with a fantastic line-up. The four players who compete with Carlsen and Karjakin are Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Wesley So and Wei Yi. Press Release...

3/3/2016 – Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand played two World Championship matches and in 2016 they will meet again: in the Bilbao Chess Grand Slam Masters Final 2016, a six-player round-robin that will take place from 20th to 30th July. Hikaru Nakamura also confirmed to play and thus it will be one of the strongest and most prestigious tournaments of the year. Press Release...

9/20/2014 – The last round of the tournament in the Grand Slam Final in Bilbao finished with two pretty positional wins by the White pieces. Aronian took out Anand after a couple of inaccuracies by the Indian left his king too weak in a major piece endgame. Vallejo's intrepid c-pawn lunged all the way to c6 where it squashed Ponomariov's position. Last round report.

9/19/2014 – The games were relatively dry to what we have seen in the rest of the tournament, but that was perfectly ok for Vishy Anand who clinches the Bilbao Grand Slam Masters final with one round to spare. The 3-1-0 scoring system means that he is four points ahead of Aronian, who can at most reach ten points tomorrow. That's some definite pressure on Carlsen and the upcoming WCC!