Chennai 05: First blood, what next?

11/15/2013 – Carlsen won, he has proven that he can obtain the kind of positions that he is strong in, and that even Anand cannot always hold positions which can technically be held b ut are very uncomfortable. The World Champion has been in this situation before but he will need to conjure up all his tricks tomorrow to be able to put on the pressure on the Challenger. Full analysis of today's round.

Chennai G5: Carlsen draws first blood

11/15/2013 – In game five, Magnus Carlsen finally eschewed the Reti, and after 1.c4 it was a Semi-Slav. It did not seem promising as he went for simplifications, but it was exactly the type he thrives on, and exactly what Carlsen has been hoping for since game one. Vishy Anand seemed up for the challenge, but each time he regained his footing, he slipped. Ultimately he failed to hold and Carlsen takes the lead. Illustrated report.

ETCC 06: No changes at the top

11/15/2013 – France and Ukraine were stopped at the draws in the Open and Women's section respectively, but they still keep their lead. Both are trailed closely by a pack of teams, but Ukraine has a full match point over the nearest competitors while France only has a half point over Azerbaijan. We bring you the report of round 6 while Alina l'Ami shows us what they did during the free day.

WCh Chennai: The Nature of Draws

11/14/2013 – Draws in chess are inevitable when two players exhaust all possible winning chances, and neither blundered nor made mistakes that were that easily exploitable. Draws come in all shapes and forms, some to secure the paycheck at the end of a tournament, and some the just result of an all-out battle that neither player managed to win. Here is a look at the nature of draws with video analysis by Tryfon Gavriel.

ETCC 05: Ukraine, France leaders

11/14/2013 – France has kept the lead as they drew an important match against Hungary. The immediate suitors are now Azerbaijan, Greece and Georgia. In the women's section a solo leader has finally emerged. Muzychuk, Lagno and Ushenina are having a spectacular event and they helped the Ukrainian team annihilate Poland. Although there are many rounds left, it seems hard to stop them. Round five report.

Anand vs Carlsen: No more kings!

11/14/2013 – The World Chess Championship is a winner-take-all format which very often does not pit the world's best players against each other. It is, according to Matt Gaffney, writing in Slate Magazine, an unsatisfactory benchmark of chess skill and should be replaced by four big Grand Slam tournaments every year, just like in tennis. And Magnus Carlsen is the man to do it. Food for thought.

Chennai 04: The Tables Turned

11/13/2013 – With everything going right for the defending World Champion, it seemed that it was up to Carlsen to create something and prove that his game was up to par. And today he did exactly that. A slip from Anand allowed Carlsen to snatch a "poisoned pawn", but precise calculation allowed him to keep it and put the pressure on. Anand survived, through cunning and perseverance.

Chennai G4: Carlsen presses Anand in epic battle

11/13/2013 – Another fantastic battle, and the odd trend of trouble for White persists. In game four, Magnus Carlsen played his pet Berlin and it was a resounding success as Vishy Anand floundered and then lost a pawn. The story was a repeat of game three, with Black sporting a large advantage, pressing to win, but unable to deliver the killing blow. Despite Carlsen’s efforts, Anand saved the game. Large illustrated report.

Learning the Neo-London with Henrik Danielsen

11/13/2013 – Recently John Hartmann decided to rework his repertoire with the help of a new ChessBase "60 minute" video in which Icelandic GM Henrik Danielsen sketches a system for White after 1.d4 d5. His fundamental premise is that it is advantageous to play 2.Bf4, thereby delaying Nf3 – an approach called the "Neo-London". Hartmann describes what he learnt and how it influenced his tournament results.

The Pyjama Girls interview

11/13/2013 – As further evidence of the connection Magnus Carlsen has managed to make with young people around the world. In round two, a bold picture circulated on Twitter of four beautiful young girls showing their support for Magnus Carlsen. The interview shows that the impact goes beyond pinup pictures in a teenager's room, and has managed to bring an unprecedented 'cool' factor to chess.

Chennai G3: A thrilling battle as Anand close to win

11/12/2013 – The match finally fulfilled the promise of a thrilling fight, and the chess world held its breath as world champion Vishy Anand built a serious advantage against Magnus Carlsen's Reti, and seemed poised to win. Had he played 29…Bxb2 it might have been, but the moment passed and great defense by the Norwegian challenger saved the draw. A dramatic and exciting battle. In the illustrated report Garry Kasparov comments on the opening preparation.

Chennai 03: How bad was it?

11/12/2013 – The chess world has many things to celebrate: There was an exciting game, Anand, with the black pieces, almost won today, Carlsen looks shaky and not as dominant as he was thought he was going to be before the match. Where does the match go on from now? How will Carlsen fix his problems? We can only wait and see, meanwhile full analysis of today's exciting round.

WCh Chennai: more wishes for Vishy

11/12/2013 – Can you imagine how popular World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand is in his home country? With what intensity people are rooting for him to win the current match? No you can't! Take a look at what Suneet Mausil is doing, on his visits to the Planetskool chess kids. Suneet had a portrait painting made, and took it to the schools for the students to see. It's called King of Lightening.

ETCC 04: National Day!

11/12/2013 – Today is Poland's Independence Day. The celebrations in the streets were plentiful and because of this the round started a two hours later. The Women's Polish Team gave the locals something to celebrate as they were able to beat Armenia and are now leading the tournament with Ukraine. In the Open, France is dominant with a victory today against Czech Republic. Report of round 4.

WCh Chennai: it's all about style

11/12/2013 – At the World Championship so far two games have ended in draws by forced three-fold repetition. Clearly both players are settling in and show great respect for each other. This may disappoint chess fans for the moment, but it all boils down to the requirements and effectiveness of style. Tryfon Gavriel looks back at Petrosian and Tal, and analyses the start of Anand vs Carlsen. Very instructive video analysis.

ChessBase Puzzles: Loyd's Steinitz Gambit

11/11/2013 – Last month's "Excelsior problem" by immortal problem composer Samuel Loyd struck a chord with many readers, and we were asked by some to display another famous Loyd problem, one which is mainly an attempt to create the most preposterous solution imaginable. We are asked to find the worst possible move in the position – and this move is the solution!

ETCC 03: Leaders Emerge

11/11/2013 – After three rounds of play Czech Republic and France are the only teams with all of their matches won as they vanquished Ukraine and Turkey respectively. In the women's section Armenia swept Poland 3 and now shares the lead with Ukraine and Poland 1. The Russian women took vengeance from yesterday and won 4-0 The Russian men's team did not fare so well.

Chennai 02: Two minor victories?

11/10/2013 – The question is obvious: Who does it favor for the first few games to be lifeless draws? The general opinion is that this favors the World Championship, hands down. However Kasparov objectively observes that the black pieces are the black pieces, and it's good for Carlsen to have been able to neutralize his opponent so easily. We bring you plenty of analysis in English and Hindi.

Chennai G2: More moves, but quicker draw

11/10/2013 – It had the promise of an exciting fight, after a sharp Caro-Kann appeared with castling on opposite wings. Then at a crucial juncture, the queens were traded and the position’s tension vanished in a puff of smoke. Though not the first world championship match to have a slow start, with both players still prodding and studying each other, the fans were hoping for more. Illustrated report with video analysis.

ETCC 02: Russian Disaster

11/10/2013 – The European Team Championship has started with a surprising result in the open section: Turkey was able to defeat Russia despite the considerable rating gap in all boards. Solak took down Grischuk in a strange game while the other boards ended in a draw. As if that was not enough, Russia also lost in the women's section to Israel. Full report and analysis of the debacle.

Live Book: thousands of novelties

11/10/2013 – Since the Live Book and Let's Check functions appeared, hundreds and thousands of opening moves in the Live Book have been deeply studied with engines and yet have never seen the light of day in a serious game. Some are already being scrutinized by legions of users, and may be just around the corner from appearing in a top game. Learn how you can use these unplayed novelties yourself.

Chennai 01: The Grandmaster Perspective

11/9/2013 – The WCC has begun and every chess player in the planet is focused on what is going on in Chennai. Many different perspectives can be seen but it is unanimous between grandmasters that today's game was a victory for Anand, despite the splitting of the point. We bring you full analysis of the game as well as comments and concerns of top players regarding the match, as well as a report in Hindi.

Chennai G1: Anand holds Carlsen to 16-move draw

11/9/2013 – It was an almost anti-climactic start for the world championship. Carlsen was white in game one and chose an offbeat double fianchetto to face Anand’s Gruenfeld. No doubt he was hoping for a war of attrition to outplay the champion, but instead found himself forced to accept a draw by repetition in 16 moves. A moral victory for the champ as he easily holds the challenger to a draw with black. Illustrated report with video analysis.

ETCC kicks off

11/9/2013 – The European Team Chess Championship has started in Warsaw and the tournament saw very few surprises in the first round. Bulgaria was able to take half a point from Armenia in the Open, while Sweden did the same with Azerbaijan, but the real loser of today's round was the Netherlands as both of its teams lost. Report of round one.