World Blitz: Surprises left and right

6/19/2014 – Despite the fact that Carlsen is the sole leader and that Nakamura is chasing him half a point behind, today was a day of big surprises. Chinese phenom Lu Shanglei, a relatively unknown grandmaster, took down Carlsen and is only one point away from him while Meier is sitting strong with Nakamura at 8.5/9. We bring you impressions, blitz analysis and round by round action.

Explaining male predominance in chess

6/19/2014 – There are two theories to explain male predominance at the apex of intellectual achievement: some attribute it to some innate evolutionary ability differences, others to social factors of present-day society. Robert Howard of Sydney, Australia, has sent us the most profound and well-researched article we have seen on this subject – we urge everyone to read and ...
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World Rapid: Miraculous Carlsen

6/18/2014 – Despite his rocky day today, losing to Anand and salvaging a lost position against Grischuk and Aronian, Carlsen added another jewel to his crown. He is now the World Rapid Champion by finishing half a point ahead of Caruana, Morozevich, Anand and Aronian who ended in 10.5/15. Tomorrow Carlsen will begin his fight to finish his triple crown, for now report on the rapids.

The Golden Guidelines of Endgame Play

6/18/2014 – Karsten Mueller's Chess Endgames series on DVD changed endgame study for many, by making a subject often considered dull into something dynamic and pleasant to learn. However, every good thing has an end, and volume 14 represents the last in the series. Don't despair, since the good doctor has left the best for last with these golden guidelines spread out over 65 bite-sized videos.

World Rapid: All about Carlsen

6/18/2014 – Even though Fabiano Caruana started strong by beating the leader, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and taking the top spot for himself, it was Magnus Carlsen who ended the day with a bang. The Italian player faced the World Champion in a crucial round ten and the Norwegian took the full point home, going into round eleven with a half point lead over Levon Aronian. Report and impressions.

Pantsulaia wins Mumbai Mayor’s Cup 2014

6/17/2014 – This strong GM Open had 18 grandmasters and an overall rating average of 2177. After the top players had had accidents in the first two rounds the road was clear for the third seed, Georgian GM Pantsulaia Levan, to forge ahead and take unshared first place. Our report from Mumbai contains a lot of interesting highlights from the games, presented by Sagar Shah.

Alekhine Mem.: Ponkratov and Artemiev dominate

6/17/2014 – In spite of a schedule that conflicted with the Russian Higher League, the 18th Alekhine Memorial, held in Voronezh, Russia, nevertheless has drawn 50 masters and grandmasters. The main event is the Master section, which has been dominated by Pavel Ponkratov and 16-year-old Vladislav Artemiev, both with 4.5/5 and performances over 2800, and there has been some great chess.

World Rapid: Nepomniachtchi is day one leader

6/16/2014 – The opening day of the 2014 World Rapid Championship saw many exciting games, and unexpected results. The first came in round one as top seed Nakamura fell to Iturrizaga, and after four rounds only Nepomniachtchi had a perfect score. After five rounds, he leads with 4.5/5 together with Karjakin and Caruana, but this is only the start of the 15-round marathon. Report and special pictorial.

Huschenbeth: Tactic Toolbox Najdorf

6/16/2014 – Niclas Huschenbeth, 22, is a German grandmaster and the 2010 national champion. Since 2012 he has been studying psychology in Baltimore, where he leads the University's team. In a new DVD Niclas shows us the important tactical motives and sacrifices in the Najdorf. It is a uniquely interactive suite of lessons that requires serious work on your part. Review by Diana Mihajlova.

World Rapid and Blitz Championship starting

6/16/2014 – Held in Dubai, UAE, the World Rapid and Blitz Championship is set to start with the chess equivalent of a Hollywood action blockbuster. The quick fire excitement of rapid games and blitz will reign supreme for the next days as the world's elite all congregate to fight for the top title and top rating. Nakamura, Carlsen, Aronian, Anand, Caruana, Grischuk and more will play. Don't miss it!

Karsten Müller: Endgames from Norway Chess

6/15/2014 – Finished enjoying the Norway Chess 2014 tournament? Now's the time to learn from the games. You can improve your endgame skills and your ratings by going through some of the endings with a world-class expert – like our resident GM Karsten Müller. Today he takes a look at three key games of Karjakin, Carlsen, Aronian and Agdestein. Learn and enjoy.

Hungary-Poland training match for Olympiad

6/14/2014 – In preparation for the forthcoming Chess Olympiads, Hungary and Poland organized a training match between their top teams in both men and women. The competition took place in Budapest, Hungary where each team came with a full six players and all their stars, including Richard Rapport, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and Judit Polgar among others. It was a hard fought competition with exciting chess.

Russian Higher League: Lysyj and Girya win

6/14/2014 – The Russian Higher League finished with a flurry as many of the strongest Russian players fought for both a spot on the podium, and more importantly a seat in the Super Final later this year. For many this was both one and the same, since five players would pass the test of fire, but not all, since even a fourth or fifth place would be good for the coveted prize. Illustrated report.

Norway Final: Karjakin repeat winner

6/13/2014 – With very important victories in the last two rounds Sergey Karjakin emerged as the winner of this year's edition of the Norway Super tournament. This is a repeat from his performance from last year. Carlsen edged out Agdestein and ended second, while Grischuk defeated Kramnik in a dangerous game for third. Final round over view.

Aronian at Summer Chess Camp in LA

6/13/2014 – For some years now the Metropolitan Chess Club has run yearly summer camps in Los Angeles, featuring some very, very strong instructors (like Michael Adams and Viswanathan Anand). This year the world's number two Levon Aronian will be the lead instructor, and the camp will be staged in Glendale, home to one of the richest Armenian communities in the world. Pictorial report.

Norway 08: Missed Chances

6/12/2014 – Many missed chances in this round! Grischuk could not convert an extra pawn against Giri, likewise Aronian couldn't do it against Caruana. More shockingly Carlsen has one of those positions where "every move wins", but he somehow was unable to do so and Svidler salvaged a draw. Karjakin, however, did finish Kramnik off and now he is the solo leader with a round to go.

Unstoppable in Prague

6/12/2014 – The number one American and the newly minted number five in the World according to the live rating lists was able to finish strong in his four game match against Navara. Without a shadow of a doubt Nakamura was better the entire game in the last round and in what could only be suffering for the Czech player the game took a full 78 moves before finally Black was checkmated.

5th Blitz Marathon brings Anand

6/11/2014 – Last weekend, the 5th Blitz Marathon was held in Rabat, Morocco, bringing a very strong field with sixteen grandmasters among the 100-plus participants to play 21 rounds of non-stop blitz action. Even low-rated players had reason to give it their all to the end: since the only way to play in the simul against Anand and Ipatov was to win a spot. Illustrated report with GM analysis.

Having Fun with the King's Gambit

6/11/2014 – Ah, the King's Gambit! A romantic chess opening if there ever was one. But did Bobby Fischer not refute it? And can you still play it in the age of computer chess? Simon Williams thinks you can. He just published two ChessBase DVDs in which he explains how to do so. And in the following interview he reveals why he thinks the King's Gambit is fun.

Breaking news: World Championship in Sochi

6/11/2014 – In April FIDE announced that it had received no bids to stage the 2014 World Chess Championship in November. Today news broke that the city of Sochi, where recently the Olympic Winter Games were held, would host the event. It is assumed that the deal was hammered out between Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIDE chief Ilumzhinov during a children's chess tournament.

Fedoseev and Girya dominate Russian qualifier

6/11/2014 – Being favorite is a double-edged sword as anyone can attest to. After six rounds, the Russian Higher League, qualifying to the Russian Super Final later this year, is finally taking shape and the leaders are also clear. In the men's section, 19-year-old Vladimir Fedoseev started like a rocket with 5.0/6 and a 2835 performance, while Olga Girya dominates the Women's. Illustrated report.

Norway 07: Giri dizzies himself

6/11/2014 – Today featured four draws, none particularly shiny. That doesn't mean however that there was no hard fought chess, the contrary, if anything it was too hard fought. The only decisive game today was between Giri and Karjakin. Somehow the Dutch player won an exchange, but he could not make progress. After 131 moves a brutal blunder left him completely lost.

Norway Chess R05: why did Caruana resign?

6/10/2014 – He started this Super-GM tournament with two wins. In round five Fabiano Caruana found himself defending a King's Indian against Vladimir Kramnik. Just when everything seemed safe the young Italian GM blundered, and a few moves later, to the surprise of everyone, resigned. The position was dire, but was it actually lost? Our endgame specialist Karsten Müller clears up this question.

Nakamura clinches in Prague

6/10/2014 – Even though he had some problems in the opening, Hikaru Nakamura was able to overcome his bad position and salvaged a draw to move into a 2.5-0.5 position against David Navara. The Czech has no chance to win the match as it is only four games long, but the players will still play the last game. We bring you a report of what was certainly a missed opportunity.