French Team Ch: Clichy and Bischwiller victorious

6/4/2014 – It was a fitting conclusion to a great event held in Saint Quentin, France. In the penultimate round, not only was Clichy guaranteed the title, and Bischwiller the silver, but the two tail-enders condemned to play next year in the lower division and fight for their spot in the sun. Despite knowing the results, all the teams played the games in the final round to the bitter end.

13-year-old scores GM norm in Saint Louis

6/4/2014 – Saint Louis was recently named the capital of chess in America, and it is living up to its name. Only a couple of weeks after the US Championship two closed tournaments were held simultaneously; one an IM-norm and one a GM-norm section. The GM section was dominated by young kids, and the winner was 13 year old Samuel Sevian from California. Brian Jerauld brings us a full report.

Norway 01: Caruana strikes first

6/3/2014 – The first round in Stavanger almost saw five draws and a very solid series of games. Carlsen had some chances against Giri but an exceptional defense allowed the Dutchman to hold on to a draw. Grischuk got into his typical time pressure but his solid position should have ended in the players splitting the point, until a colossal move 39 mistake cost him the game Round one report.

Final Four Nations League Weekend – Part three

6/3/2014 – Over 850 players and £10,000 in cash prizes make this the most prestigious team chess event held in the United Kingdom. It takes place over various weekends from October to May 2013/14, in several venues. In the third (of four) reports John Saunders shows us two games, one an adventurous display of counterattacking chess, one a game that baffles chess engines. Learn and enjoy.

Norway Blitz brilliancies and blunders

6/3/2014 – Every chess player enjoys a blitz game, and there is nothing quite like watching the best of the best slug it out between themselves. Chess fans got a major dose of it in the opening day of Norway, where the elite fought for the fun and prestige of it. The predominant feature of blitz games is tactical fireworks and many great shots were made and missed. Can you find them?

Norway Blitz: Carlsen Crushes

6/2/2014 – Magnus Carlsen, who recently announced his goal of being the best player in blitz, rapid and standard time controls, proved that he is definitely capable of dominating all of chess' speeds as he razed his opposition in the blitz tournament in Norway. A crushing 7.5/9 eclipsed even Aronian's 6.5/9, a score that was enough to win last year. Full report with all the blitz games!

It's back: the Maharashtra Chess League 2014

6/2/2014 – It is a unique chess tournament that starts with an exciting bidding process by private sponsors to determined the line-ups of the teams. Some of the top Indian players are up for sale to the highest bidders: GMs Abhijit Kunte and Vidit Gujrathi netting Rs. 120,000 each. Present at the auction was former World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Big illustrated report by V. Saravanan.

June 2014 ratings - US teenagers in rocket race

6/1/2014 – The June ratings list saw some standout changes such as the consistent rise by Anish Giri and Wesley So as they close in on the Top 10. French player Romain Edouard also breaks into the 2700 for the first time, but the US is seeing a race of a rare kind. While 13-year-old IM Samuel Sevian just scored a GM norm, 14-year-old IM Jeffrey Xiong has gained 76 Elo in three months.

Super Chess in Stavanger begins Tomorrow

6/1/2014 – The 2014 edition of Norway's Super Tournament begins tomorrow with the blitz tournament to determine the pairing orders. With some of the best chess players, including the top four in the FIDE rankings, the beautiful city of Stavanger is yet again the center of attention of the chess world. We bring you a preview of the event as well as some fabulous views of the host city.

French Team Ch: three dominate

6/1/2014 – It had almost seemed as if the reigning champion, Clichy, would whitewash the event as they successively beat top challengers Bischwiller and Mulhouse, all with top players on their front lines. Just when the danger seemed past, Evry, a team that has been struggling in the event, pulled off a huge 3-3 upset, including some very unexpected board results. The lesson is never drop your guard.

Mitropa Cup: Hungary and Italy take gold

5/31/2014 – The Mitropa Cub in chess holds a unique status as a team event with national squads without being part of any of the official FIDE cycles. Despite this, it is now in its 33rd edition, with a full roster of teams and grandmasters playing. The men's event was won by Hungary thanks in large part to a monster result by Peter Acs, the Italians took the women's. A large illustrated report.

Asian Cup: China takes gold, India is silver

5/31/2014 – The final round of the men's competition was a cliffhanger since the medals were not assured, and a slip could end in tragedy. The Chinese men played Iran-A, and barely scraped through a win, thus taking gold, while India had an easy round and took silver. Iran's GM Elshan Moradiabadi sent us a report of the tour of Tabriz, with many fascinating glimpses into the culture of the region.

Two top Chicago

5/30/2014 – The traditional Chicago Open was held only days after the U.S. Championship. With many players taking advantage of the close location between the tournaments it is not a surprise that the event was incredibly strong. At the end, Armenian GM Gabriel Sargissian and Indian IM Priyadarshan Kannappan shared first place and the nice first prize.

Final Four Nations League Weekend – Part two

5/30/2014 – This tournament, held over three divisions, with over 850 players and over £10,000 in cash prizes on offer, is the most prestigious team chess event held in the United Kingdom. It takes place over various weekends from October to May 2013/14, in several venues. In his inimitable style – wonderful narrative, interesting analysis – John Saunders reports on the final weekend. Enjoy.

Asian Cup: China wins women's event

5/29/2014 – It was a perfect performance by the Chinese women as they completed a rout in the standard event, while India took silver and Iran-A bronze. Iran's double result against India in both the Open and Women event stood out as the last-minute draw in the women secured their medal, while the Indian men lost their lead after a win by Iran's Moradiabadi over Adhiban changed everything.

French Team Ch: Clichy and Bischwiller share lead

5/29/2014 – In Saint Quentin, France, eleven teams are fighting for the title of best team in France, bringing a roster of top grandmasters such as Vachier-Lagrave, Ivanchuk, Wojtaszek and many more. One thing that separates this event from others is that it runs for eleven days straight instead of spread out over the year. GM Alejandro Ramirez has annotated a couple of fantastic attacks.

1.e4 or 1.d4 – which is the better move?

5/28/2014 – We all know that 1.e4 is an attacking move, producing explosive, decisive games. 1.d4 is muted, leading to closed positions that are more likely to end in draws. But is this impression rooted in fact? Ioannis Halkias, a physicist and mathematician from Spoa-Karpathos, Greece, – himself a 1.e4 player – has some very original arguments that may come as a big surprise. What do you think?

Kavalek: Chess Champions in America

5/27/2014 – Gata Kamsky, at 39 the oldest participant in this year's US Championship, he needed help to retain his title. Only a draw between his main rivals, Varuzhan Akobian and Aleksandr Lenderman, kept his chances alive by drawing their game. One particular move in the critical game caught GM Lubomir Kavalek's eye. The Huffington Post columnist uses it in a trip down memory lane.

Asian Cup: India beats China and takes lead

5/27/2014 – It was a cataclysmic day as both men's and women's competitions saw the leaders, China and India, meet head on for a possibly decisive battle. In the women's section, the Chinese had a significant rating advantage overall, and were able to make it count as they beat India, but the men's section was another matter and India has now taken the lead after scoring a fantastic victory.

Alina in Iasi: more chess and more players

5/26/2014 – Our reporter in Romania, WGM Alina l'Ami, sent us three well-received reports on the International Chess Festival Iai Open. Previously she dealt with the winners, but they were not the only ones who produced chess jewels, as we see today. We can also present you with a lot of great pictures of lesser-known players and participants, in this final report for you to enjoy.

Dragoljub Velimirovic, 1942–2014

5/26/2014 – He was noted for his attacking style and possessed a great gift for visualizing sacrificial possibilities. Whilst spectacular chess made him popular with onlookers, each game required a great effort and this handicapped his quest for international success. Dragoljub Velimirovi died last Thursday. In his eulogy Andrew Martin honors the Master of Attacks with a beautiful annotated game.

Mystery revealed: it was chess at the South Pole

5/26/2014 – A week ago we published a picture of a masked man holding up a ChessBase logo. He was, we said, in the process of playing two correspondence chess games – under unusual circumstances. We asked our readers to guess the location of the player. A surprising number got it right – perhaps because the solution could be found on our Facebook page?! Here now is the full story.

Asian Cup: China leads, Iranians shine

5/24/2014 – After the Rapid competition, the standard event began, qualifying the winners to the World Team Championships later this year. In the Open section, the top seeds are China and India, though the Chinese have taken off in the lead. In the women's section, the top seeds are the Chinese again, but have met serious resistance by their rivals. Still, in both events Iran has top performers.

Dharamshala: an Indian (chess) paradise

5/24/2014 – Chess players travel to some wonderfully exotic places in the world, but it is not uncommon for them to come back having seen nothing at all. The game is so engrossing that it becomes much more significant than the medley of trees, mountains and rivers around them. IM V Saravanan, who played in the 52nd National Challenge, sent us impressions he captured of the Himalayan city.