11/1/2021 – With an impressive finish Michal Krasenkov won the strong Sheik Russel tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh, that ended 27 October. In the last three rounds the Russian-born Polish GM scored 3.0/3, which helped him to finish sole first with 7.0 out of 9. Six players followed half a point behind and shared second to seventh place. | Photo: Alina l'Ami (Archive)

7/20/2021 – Fabiano Caruana was surprisingly knocked out of the FIDE World Cup in round 3, as Kazakhstani GM Rinat Jumabayev beat him with the black pieces in a hard-fought game. Other upsets from the third round include Vasif Durarbayli knocking out David Navara and Amin Tabatabaei leaving Yu Yangyi out of contention. A total of 17 matches (in both sections) will be decided in Tuesday’s rapid and blitz playoffs. | Photo: Eric Rosen

1/28/2018 – Magnus Carlsen won the 80th Tata Steel Masters which was decided in a blitz tiebreak over Dutch number one Anish Giri. The players contested two blitz games with 5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move, with no sudden death Armageddon game needed. Vidit played solidly to earn a draw that was enough to win the Challengers, as Korobov could not manage to pull off a win with black on-demand. | Photo: Alina l'Ami TataSteelChess.com

1/17/2018 – Yesterday Anand caused a sensation, but in today's fourth round it was Vladimir Kramnik's turn to be the ex-World Champion star. After just 24, moves Peter Svidler gave up resistance as his lifetime classical score versus Kramnik dips to -8. Anish Giri and Anand remain in the lead in the Masters. In Challengers Korobov and Vidit extended their lead to a full point. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook © 2018 Tata Steel

1/16/2018 – Magnus Carlsen drew quickly with Wei Yi to start round three, and there were more draws to follow including the leader Anish Giri. That gave Anand an opportunity to pull equal on 2½ points. In the challengers, top seed Vidit Gujrathi scored for the second straight day, but Anton Korobov kept pace, and both now stand at 2½ as well. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook © 2018 Tata Steel

1/15/2018 – Magnus Carlsen won in round two and, as luck would have it, two of three co-leaders after the first round met in round two. Anish Giri toppled Vladimir Kramnik, while Vishy Anand drew, so the Dutchman moves to the fore. In the Challengers group, no one can claim a perfect score after two rounds. The 2018 Tata Steel Masters and Challengers takes place January 13th to 28th. Grandmaster Daniel Fernandez dissects the Masters games in detail. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook © 2018 Tata Steel

1/14/2018 – One down, twelve to go; Tata Steel Chess is often described as a "marathon" — more of a "Belmont Stakes" than a "Preakness" — where anyone can recover from a loss and the early lead isn't necessarily indicative of how things will be down the stretch. Still, it's nice to be out in front! Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Anish Giri, jumped out to an early lead on Saturday, as Anand starts his bid for a record busting sixth Wijk aan Zee title. The 2018 Tata Steel Masters and Challengers takes place January 13th to 28th. Grandmaster Daniel Fernandez breaks down the action in our extensive round one report. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook © 2018 Tata Steel

7/15/2017 – The traditional Porticcio Open took place for the fourth year in a row on Corsica island, gathering 139 participants from 18 countries and beating all the records of the previous years. Tournament winner Michal Krasenkow from Poland had an impressive 8/9 score and 2834 performance. Eltaj Safarli and Gadir Guseinov finished 2nd and 3rd. IM Nino Batsiashvili was the top woman. Surprise upsets were 14-year-old Corsican prospect Albert Tomasi (rated just 2141) beating GM Sergei Zhigalko, and 10-year-old Maurizzi Marc Andria (a mere 1841) downing French grandmaster Fabien Libiszewski (2542)!

2/27/2017 – What to do against 1.d4? Michal Krasenkow recommends the "Triangle Setup": Black puts his pawns on c6, d5 and e6 - a solid and flexible system that offers Black still a lot of scope to play for a win. This is what FM Markus Hochgräfe was looking for and why he had a careful look at Krasenkov's DVD.

3/15/2015 – What to do against 1.d4? A question that starts to get urgent when you lose game after game when your opponents moves the annoying d-pawn two squares ahead. Grandmaster Michal Krasenkow offers help. He recommends "The Triangle Setup: A complete defense against 1.d4. A DVD that for Davide Nastasio seemed to be like an answer to his prayers.

2/6/2015 – A solid, firm setup, no matter what White plays, has many advantages. White has the first move, but Black determines the structure of the game and sets the terrain for the upcoming struggle. And if he knows this terrain it's even better. Therefore Polish GM Michal Krasenkow recommends to counter 1.d4 with "The Triangle Setup". Interesting and easy to learn.

8/16/2014 – Coinciding with the Olympiad, the HZ Chess Tournament was held in Vlissingen, Holland, featuring a very healthy lineup of grandmasters, masters and amateurs, and brought in as its showcase player, Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, rated 2707. The tournament was announced as having a maximum of 250 players allowed to play, and the roster was filled up quite easily. An illustrated report.