8/1/2016 – Imagine you are a player rated 2000. How would you feel if one month later, your rating would be 2400+? Ojas Kulkarni from Bangalore, Karnataka, has pulled off something incredible in the bygone 37 days. In four tournaments, all part of the Catalonian circuit in Spain, Ojas has gained 400 points. We have a brief coverage with games and analysis. And we reveal the secret of his remarkable progress!

8/1/2016 – Among the many activities and events hosted at the Biel Chess Festival were two excellent Master Classes. The first was presented by MVL, and this second one is by GM Daniel King together with GM Yannick Pelletier. The theme is suitably a tribute to Viktor Korchnoi, who was a Swiss citizen for much of his life, and his games played at the Biel tournaments. Enjoy this video presentation on Viktor the Terrible!

7/31/2016 – It was the final event of the Biel Chess Festival, saving dessert for last: the blitz challenge. The six players from the matches, Studer, Bok, Rambaldi, Georgiadis, and of course the stars Peter Svidler and Maxime Vachier Lagrave, would face off in a round-robin of blitz. The two elite players won and faced each other in a mini-match that led to a memorable and epic battle. We bring you the report, commented games, and exclusive videos.

7/31/2016 – What can one say except 'Wow'? 25-year-old Frenchman Maxime Vachier Lagrave continues his run after a win at Dortmund and crushing win over Svidler to reach 2819 FIDE and rocket into the world no.2 spot. He will bring great momentum into the approaching Sinquefield Cup. Be sure to read about 15-year-old Iranian phenom Parham Maghsoodloo who gained 75 Elo and is now the top rated in his country. Report, stats, and more.

7/31/2016 – Your best chance to draw or win against a grandmaster is to play one in a simultaneous exhibition. In part one of this article by WIM Dr Alexey Root, grandmasters tell us what they fear most during simuls – and why, despite those challenges, they enjoy giving them. In part two, two amateur players reveal how they scored in simuls against the world’s best and created memories that last a lifetime.

7/30/2016 – The idea of critical moments is not hard to understand, and perhaps because of this is so easy to underestimate. These key moments in our games are essentially the turning point, leading to a decisive and negative change if missed or played improperly. Veteran trainer Adrian Mikhalchishin casts his expert eye on this topic to teach the student to recognize them and not misplay them.

7/30/2016 – In the midst of revolutionary turmoil, Turkey still hosted its top chess league, the Turkish İş Bank Chess League, with stars such as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2764), Vassily Ivanchuk (2728), Ernesto Inarkiev (2730), and many more. It is held in in Izmir, at the Kaya Thermal Hotel, and has reached its midway point with six of thirteen rounds, with tons of great action. Here is the illustrated report with games.

7/30/2016 – Magnus Carlsen has won the event twice before. This year the Norwegian World Champion, playing in a six-player double round robin, started slowly, losing for the first time to Hikaru Nakamura in the classical time limit. He went on to win four games, one more than all his opponents combined. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek analyses two games of the winner who turned the other world-class players into spectators.

7/29/2016 – The 2016 Sinquefield Cup, one of the strongest tournaments of the year, will start in about a week, on 5th August, in St. Louis. Unfortunately Vladimir Kramnik, with a rating of 2812 currently officially number two in the world, had to withdraw due to health issues. But with Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Ding Liren, Vishy Anand, Wesley So and Veselin Topalov the line-up is still enormously impressive, promising a fantastic tournament. Press release...

7/29/2016 – Bournemouth, the large resort town on the south coast of England, hosts the 103rd British Championships. From 23rd July to 6th August a large number of various tournaments are played. 86 players start in the Championship group, among them Michael Adams, David Howell and Gawain Jones. After four rounds these three all have 3.5/4 and share the lead with Nicholas Pert, Keith Arkell and Justin Tan. After each round Andrew Martin presents the game of the day.

7/29/2016 – As so often before it was the Najdorf that brought Maxime Vachier-Lagrave an important victory. The French Grandmaster had Black in the third game of his match against Peter Svidler, and Svidler, who had to win the game to stay in the match, tried an unusual, sharp line of the Najdorf. But while Vachier-Lagrave at one point in the game was worse he managed to win with a surprising counterattack. Including rapid and classical games Vachier-Lagrave now leads 7.5-2.5 and won the match with one round to go.

7/29/2016 – The Karpov Tournament in Poikovsky that honors the 12. World Champion has a long tradition and traditionally is very strong. The 17th edition is a category 18 ten player round-robin with an Elo-average of 2679. After five rounds the Ukrainian Grandmaster Anton Korobov leads with 3.5/5. Half-a-point behind follow Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Maxim Matlakov with 3.0/5.