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 – Tactics can seem deceptively simple, particularly when seeing an engine analysing grandmaster games. Strange, however, how difficult it is to find the right move and to calculate variations properly when playing yourself. It is easier if you solve tactical puzzles regularly. In the ChessBase Magazine and his tactics column Oliver Reeh helps you to do so.

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 – 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!

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.

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.

7/21/2016 – 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.

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.

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 – 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.

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.