Dortmund Round 6: Dead equal

7/22/2017 – With all games drawn, Polish GM Radek Wojtaszek clings to a slim lead as a massive chasing pack tries to overtake him. He faced Bluebaum with Black today in a key matchup that was as close to equality as they come. It all comes down to one final round 7 on Sunday.

Awonder Liang, Akshita Gorti are U.S. Junior champs

7/22/2017 – The 2017 U.S. Junior Championship and Girls Junior Championship were held in Saint Louis, in the same hall as the prestigious Sinquefield Cup and U.S. Championship. After ten days of gruelling chess, we had two very different tournaments. Akshita Gorti dominated the Girls section from beginning to end, while the Juniors had an absolutely last-minute result, in which GM-elect Awonder Liang prevailed. | Photos: Austin Fuller, Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis

Dortmund: Wang wins one

7/22/2017 – Matthias Bluebaum's luck seems to have turned. After missing chances on Thursday against Dmitry Andreikin in a long draw, Wang Yue ground him down in an endgame on Friday as the Chinese scored his first win.

Georg Meier wins 20th Maccabiah

7/21/2017 – Georg Meier wins 20th Maccabiah top group ahead of Alexander Moiseenko, while Tal Baron took the B group. Yochanan Afek sends stories, photos and highlights | Photos: Ritvo Photography

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (5)

7/21/2017 – After three games in the Match of the Century the score was 2:1 for the reigning World Champion. In game four Spassky played a well-prepared Sicilian and obtained a raging attack. Fischer defended tenaciously and the game was drawn. Then came a key game, about which the 1972 US Champion and New York Times and Chess Life correspondent GM Robert Byrne filed reports. In Reykjavik chess fan Lawrence Stevens from California did something extraordinary: he manually recorded the times both players had spent on each move.

The perfect prelude

7/21/2017 – A murky position: in order to win, White must tackle the enemy king without disregarding the potential threats of Black's queen + knight tandem. How would you start his attack?

Storms in Dortmund fail to shake up the scoreboard

7/21/2017 – Amid a tumultuous summer thunderstorm in Dortmund, the standings of the 45th Sparkassen Chess Meeting remain the same through four rounds. With both rest days behind them, the players head for a tense final weekend, with Wojtaszek and Bluebaum clinging to a half point lead.

Precision count on Playchess

7/20/2017 – Some of you may not have noticed: in our live broadcast of international tournaments, when computer analysis is added to the games, there are "precision" statistics given at the end of the notes. They give the percentage of relevant (non-forced) moves that are identical with the ones a top chess engine would play. In top events we find correlations between 15% and 97%. You can compare the level of precision of different players, and also look for suspicious values. Here's how, and why you should care.

Wei Yi dominates Danzhou Supertournament

7/19/2017 – Chinese prodigy Wei Yi gets stronger and stronger and dominated the Hainan Danzhou Super GM tournament from beginning to end, winning four games and drawing five to finish sole first with 6.5/9. On the live-rating list the 18-year old Chinese is now the world's number 14.

Speelman: Winning on One Side

7/19/2017 – This year’s World Senior Team Championship was held in late April on the island of Crete. In the over-50s section Short, Nunn, Speelman, Arkell and Chapman played in the England One team and finished third. Our columnist Jonathan Speelman scored 5.5/7 points, winning two very nice games in the end. Jon uses these two games to demonstrate how you can play for a win in a rook and knight endgame, even when things are looking fairly drawn. Don't miss this practical GM endgame lesson from CHESS Magazine.

Help Nino Khurtsidze overcome cancer

7/19/2017 – Top Georgian player Nino Khurtsidze is fighting cancer. She underwent surgery in Germany and now has to undergo five rounds of chemotherapy. The total cost is beyond what she can afford. Her friends have asked the chess community to support her efforts to overcome the situation and return to the chess board. | Photo: Evgeny Surov, chess-news.ru

Alexander Morozevich turns 40

7/18/2017 – Today, Alexander Morozevich celebrates his 40th birthday. Morozevich is one of the most original grandmasters in the chess scene and was in his best year, 2008, number two in the World Cup. The Russian Chess Association honors the anniversary with a portrait.

Exercises in Style: From Wilhelm Steinitz to Magnus Carlsen (2/4)

7/18/2017 – What is style in chess? And how unique is it? Tal and Botvinnik played differently but how easy — or difficult — is it to spot these stylistic differences? Part 1 of the "Exercises in Style" presented games by Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine, the first four World Champions in the history of chess. Now follow games by Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov and Mihail Tal. Do you know which World Champion played which game?

The long march

7/18/2017 – In pawn endings when there are no more pieces on the board the kings can often roam freely. However, they should know where they are going.

Vive la Victoire in Vin

7/17/2017 – The Médoc Wine Open already has a 20 year tradition of meting out prizes in wine, as a fraction of winners' weights. This year the top honors went to FM Pablo Ollier who received 60 bottles for his victory. Evi Zickelbein participated for the 10th time, finished in fourth and brought home 14 bottles to Hamburg, as well as this report.

Hans Tikkanen is the Swedish Champion

7/17/2017 – This weekend the Swedish Championship wrapped up in Stockholm, where over a thousand players took part in the many rating groups, as the Swedish Chess Federation celebrated its 100th anniversary. GM Hans Tikkanen won the title.

Surprise weapon against the French

7/17/2017 – If you play 1.e4 you might not always welcome the French and its often unique structures. But there is a way to take French aficionados out of their comfort zone. Play 3.Bd3! In the current issue of the ChessBase Magazine International Master Georgios Souleidis shows you why this move is worth a try.
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45th Sparkassen Dortmund: Bluebaum and Wojtaszek lead

7/17/2017 – Round two showed a tournament that is clearly hard to define early on. While Vladimir Fedoseev made headlines by beating his compatriot Vladimir Kramnik in the opening round, in round two he was soon in big trouble against Matthias Bluebaum after excessively optimistic opening play, and lost. Joining Bluebaum is Radolaw Wojtaszek, who defeated Wang Yue in a back and forth struggle. Report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago (4)

7/16/2017 – The challenger, tormented by the cameras installed in the playing hall, traumatically lost the first game of his match against World Champion Boris Spassky. He continued his vigorous protest, and when his demands were not met Fischer did not turn up for game two. He was forfeited and the score was 0-2. Bobby booked a flight back to New York, but practically at the very last moment decided to play game three – in an isolated ping-pong room!

45th Sparkassen Dortmund: Kramnik falls to Fedoseev

7/16/2017 – Vladimir Kramnik is referred to as Mr. Dortmund locally, and for good reason: he has won the prestigious tournament a staggering ten times. As the top seed and no. 2 player in the world, it was no small surprise to see him fall to the young gun Vladimir Fedoseev, the latest rising star in the Russian chess pantheon. Defending champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also had a brush with defeat, though lived to tell the tale. Enjoy this report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

Teimour Radjabov wins FIDE Grand Prix in Geneva

7/16/2017 – It was a suitably exciting end to an overall excellent tournament. In the final round, Teimour Radjabov fought a tough-as-nails game against Ian Nepomniachtchi, who needed a win in order to pull the first-place rug from under the Azeri’s feet. Incredibly, both players offered draws at different moments, and both declined, though in the end, they did indeed draw, giving clear first to Radjabov, and second to Nepomniachtchi. Final report with analysis by GM Lenderman.

The Wei Way: Danzhou dominated by teen sensation

7/16/2017 – Wei Yi is having a stellar performance in the super-GM tournament in Danzhou, China. With an impressive +4 score, he looks unstoppable, as he rockets up the FIDE rating list to crack the Top 15 for the first time. GM Elshan Moradiabadi looks at two of Wei's key wins.

FIDE Grand Prix - Geneva: Tense round leads to showdown

7/15/2017 – Round eight of the FIDE Grand Prix in Geneva was both fascinating and intense. While leader Teimour Radjabov drew quickly and quietly against Alexander Raizantsev, Alexander Grischuk put up a huge fight against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and in spite of a huge advantage, was unable to close the deal. Ian Nepomniachtchi took advantage and joined Grischuk in second after beating Levon Aronian.

Krasenkow storms Corsica's Porticcio Open

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)!