Bilbao, Rd. 8: Two draws and So beats Giri

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.

Uncompromising Chess Battles in Jerusalem

7/21/2016 – The third international tournament in memory of Gideon Japhet was concluded last weekend. It was the highlight of a spectacular summer chess festivity in Jerusalem throughout the first half of July, starting with the National Cup Games played in the first country’s railway station compound followed by a simul at the foot of the Tower of David. Pictures, videos, and great shots!

Johan Salomon is new Norwegian Champion

7/21/2016 – IM Johan Salomon is one of the greatest Norwegian talents. But in the National Championship 2016 he had a slow start - scoring only 2.5/5. But then he won the next four games and with this strong finish he managed to win the tournament on tie-break after a nerve-wrecking last round. Thomas Robertsen sends a report with lots of chess and lots of pictures.

Daniel King's video analysis: Magnus Carlsen vs Wei Yi

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.

The duel: Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin

7/21/2016 – Today, 21st July 2016, 16.00 CEST, Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin will meet in the eighth round of the Bilbao Masters. It is the last game these two will play before their World Championship match in November and it will be their 21st game with classical time-control. The current overall score favors Carlsen: He won 4 games, lost 1, 15 were drawn. All five decisive encounters were examples of brilliant modern chess. Here they are again – with comments by Mihail Marin, Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen.

Double the fun in Cardiff (2/2)

7/21/2016 – With classic castles, highlands, and breathtaking vistas, players coming to the South Wales Open might feel the chess is almost secondary, but chess was there too, and gritty with a nice selection of grandmasters and masters to keep interest up. In this second part of the illustrated report you will find plenty of games and exercises.

Bilbao, Rd. 7: Three draws on fianchetto day

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.

Grandelius and Westerberg lead at Swedish Championships

7/20/2016 – The Swedish Championship in Uppsala is a real chess festival. From 15th to 24th July more than 1,000 players will take part in the various tournaments and enjoy themselves with classical chess but also with other forms of chess such as bughouse. The "Mästarklassen", the Master Class, is a strong ten-player round-robin event with eight Grandmasters. After four rounds GM Nils Grandelius and IM Jonathan Westerborg lead with 3.0/4 each.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #11

7/20/2016 – In today's column English Grandmaster Jon Speelman presents two fine games played by amateurs - the "ecstasy" - while reserving the "agony" for himself. Whereas the two amateurs showed a good eye for tactics and a fine sense of attack the grandmaster demonstrated how difficult tactics can be - and how difficult it is to win a won game, no matter, how strong you are.

Komodo: Birth of a chess engine

7/20/2016 – Komodo is a chess program that is different from the rest. Its search makes greater use of extensions than any other top engine, which allows Komodo to often see deeper than the others, even if it is displaying a slightly lower search depth. Still, have you ever wondered about the birth of a top chess engine? Here is its tale and the actors whose passion and genius fueled its creation.

Daniel King's video analysis: Wei Yi vs Anish Giri

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.

Double the fun in Cardiff (1/2)

7/20/2016 – Combining two passions can be a best of two worlds, unless they are found in conflict. Fortunately, this was not the case as Alina L'Ami discovered upon visiting Cardiff, Wales for the South Wales Open, where she could join the local fans still in euphoria over their football aspirations, as well as a pleasant chess open in the beautiful Welsh backdrop.

Bilbao: Wei Yi cracks Berlin Wall

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.

Jeffery Xiong wins U.S. Junior

7/19/2016 – With a prize fund higher than most national championships, you can expect that the U.S. Junior will attract several talented players. Leading the pack was Jeffery Xiong, with his massive 2641 FIDE, but it was not all smooth sailing for him. Second place Awonder Liang, only 13 years old, chased him the entire way. We bring you a summary as well as round by round key game analysis by Robin van Kampen!

Shah Rukh Khan's most valuable gift: chess

7/19/2016 – He is arguably the most popular and successful (net worth $600 million) film star in the world – a Bollywood icon with hundreds of millions of fans and followers. On graduation day at his daughter's school Shah Rukh Khan spoke about the five gifts given to him by his father and how they changed his life. The first gift, which he received at the age of ten, was a chess set! Listen to his beautifully delivered speech and especially his thoughts about the game.

Evgeny Alekseev wins Amsterdam Science Park

7/19/2016 – More than 300 players took part in the "Amsterdam Science Park Chess Tournament" that was played from 9th to 17th July and offered a prize-fund of about 7,500 Euros. 77 players started in group A, among them several grandmasters and title-holders. Clear rating-favorite was the Russian GM Evgeny Alekseev and he did not disappont and won the tournament with 8.0/9.

Seniors: "The bill, please!"

7/19/2016 – In November, the Chess World Championships for seniors 50+ and 65+ will take place in Marienbad. However, there are already complaints about the conditions. The participants, for example, are only allowed to stay in hotels the organisers have a contract with - for prices that some participants consider excessive. Vlastimil Hort and Bodo Schmidt voice the protest and ask: "Are we living in Absurdistan...?"

Bishop starts pawn race

7/19/2016 – Every week ChessBase Magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun.

Dortmund ends with three draws and a win

7/18/2016 – After six rounds Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was certain to win the Grandmaster Tournament in Dortmund, but four of the eight participants still wanted or had to fight in the seventh and last round. Ruslan Ponomariov and Fabiano Caruana drew in 18 moves, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu and Rainer Buhmann in 27. Leinier Dominguez Perez tried to beat Vachier-Lagrave but without success. Vladimir Kramnik was the only winner of the round. He defeated Evgeniy Najer with energetic play.

Daniel King's video analysis: Anish Giri vs Magnus Carlsen

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.

CBM 172: Recommended for the tournament player

7/18/2016 – “Professional chess is demanding and success eludes the best. If you study the games in this issue you will know how battles are won and lost at this level.” Those are the thoughts of Prof. Nagesh Havanur on Volume #172 of ChessBase Magazine, which has become the essential study tool of ambitious players. The current issue has 837 OTB games, 115 of which are annotated (by Kasimdzhanov, Marin, Krasenkow, Ftacnik and others). The Telechess section includes 20147 correspondence games, 29 games annotated. And 14 exemplary openings surveys.

Bilbao Rd. 5: Three draws

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.

Daniel King's video analysis: Magnus Carlsen vs Wesley So

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.

World Senior Team Championship 2016

7/17/2016 – The World Senior Team Championship is a relatively recent addition to the chess calendar. Starting just three years ago, it has grown rapidly and the 2016 edition attracted over 500 players to Radebeul, a suburb of Dresden. A few years ago, FIDE changed the age limits for senior events from a single category of 60+ to two categories of 50+ and 65+. John Nunn, who played on board one for England (and got a silver medal for his 2600+ performance), describes the action, including a remarkable combination spotted by an 83-year-old.