Taizhou 07: Hou Yifan is World Champion

9/20/2013 – In a desperate last-ditch attempt to take her opponent out of book, reigning champion Anna Ushenina played a rather bizarre Najdorf, but to no avail. The 19-year-old challenger Hou Yifan soon obtained a pleasent edge and, with some precise play, wrapped up the game and the World Championship in 40 moves. Final report with extensive analysis by IM Elisabeth Pähtz.

World Junior: Yu Yangyi and Irina Bulmaga dominant

9/20/2013 – At the midway point, after seven rounds of ardent competition, some players have already staked their claim as to the podium. In the Open section, top-seed Yu Yangyi leads with a dominant 6.5/7, while in the Girls section, it is Irina Bulmuga with 6.0/7. Anything can happen yet, so be sure to follow it. In the meantime here is a report with videos and pictures.

Tashkent 02: Zhao Xue and Koneru lead

9/20/2013 – Many exciting duels were seen today in Tashkent. Ju Wenjun-Lagno was a tactical melee in which the Chinese missed a killing blow at the end of the game. Muminova's poor time management cost her the game after she had soundly outplayed Khotenashvili. Koneru outplayed Danielian and now leads with Zhao Xue who beat Kosteniuk. Analysis by the players and report.

World Championship: interview with Carlsen

9/19/2013 – The Russian Internet TV channel Chess TV has recorded two interview for the upcoming World Championship match. We start with the challenger, Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen, who speaks very frankly about his talents, his weaknesses, preparation and chances – and also reveals to the interviewer which animal he would (definitely) like to be if he were not a human. Like to guess?

Sadler's French Winawer Guide

9/19/2013 – "The French Winawer (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4) has always been a blind spot of mine," writes English GM Matthew Sadler, the book reviewer at New in Chess magazine. But suddenly it seemed to him to give this opening one last chance." Could any of the books on the market convince him that the Winawer was worth playing? Or any of the DVDs, for that matter. Excerpts from Matthew's review.

Tashkent 01: Favorites prevail

9/19/2013 – The first round games in Tashkent saw many mistakes as the ladies at the Grand Prix in Uzbekistan used way too much time on the clock. This provided very entertaining games, even if the quality was maybe not the best. Ultimately however the rating favorites came ahead as the only "upset" of the round was Dronavalli's win over Khotenashvili. Pictures and report.

Taizhou 06: Hou Yifan wins, leads by three points

9/18/2013 – It's all but over. Challenger Hou Yifan won her third black game in a row to take a commanding lead over reigning world women's champion Anna Ushenina, who must now contrive to win three of the remaining four games just to stay in the match. It looks very much as if the 19-year-old Chinese GM will regain the title she first won at sixteen. Report and analysis.

Women's Grand Prix in Tashkent begins

9/18/2013 – The third Women's Grand Prix has begun in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The tournament is part of the Women's World Championship cycle and features some of the strongest women chess players, including ex World Champions Kosteniuk and Stefanova as well as World number three Koneru. The players were greeted by a beautiful opening ceremony and we bring you a pictorial preview.

Taizhou 05: draw in 61, Ushenina under pressure

9/17/2013 – On Tuesday Challenger Hou Yifan had a second white, and she once again played the aggressive Keres Attack she had used in the previous game. A theoretical battle ensued, with many exchanges leading to an even endgame. On move 21 women's world champion Anna Ushenina missed a chance and the game was drawn in 61 moves. Round five report with analysis by Tania Sachdev.

Karsten Muller: Rook against Knight

9/17/2013 – The endgame rook vs knight turns up in less than one percent of all games – so what is the point of studying something you will see so rarely in your tournament career? Well, the new Fritz Trainer from Dr Karsten Müller has eight related themes surrounding the R v N theme, and the concepts you learn from them will generally enhance your late middlegame in a profound sense. Review.

ACP 03: Grischuk prevails

9/16/2013 – The strongest knockout rapid tournament of the year has come to a conclusion. In a tournament with many interesting games full of mistakes and emotions, it was at the end that Alexander Grischuk toppled Ian Nepomniatchi in an Armageddon playoff to take the title. We bring you a full summary of the semi-finals and finals including annotations of the decisive game.

World Junior under way in Kocaeli

9/16/2013 – The World Junior Chess Championship 2013 in Turkey was moved from the border of Syria to as far from the war-torn country as possible. 118 players turned up for the open group, and 77 for the section reserved for girls. Three rounds have been played, and former Junior World Champion (and daredevil ChessBase reporter) Alexander Ipatov leads the open section with 3.0/3. Big pictorial with videos.

Tiviakov's French 3.Nd2 - a peerless pedigree

9/16/2013 – The French Defense is an immensely popular opening at all levels and especially in club play. Sergey Tiviakov is a very successful player in opens and proposes to teach his pet 3.Nd2 line, with all the lines, ideas and thousand of commented games. More impressive than his high rating, is his pedigree with the opening, including a whopping win rate of over 80%.

Sinquefield 06: Magic Magnus wins again

9/15/2013 – It seemed for a moment that a repeat of the Candidate's tournament would occur. Nakamura was against the ropes against Kamsky but he was able to salvage an almost miraculous draw. Aronian with black outplayed Carlsen, played on in an equal endgame, and then saw his position deteriorate move by move until a blunder sealed his fate in an already bad position. Carlsen wins another tournament. Last round report.

Taizhou 04: draw in 31, Hou leads by two points

9/15/2013 – The second white by the challenger, who has won both her black games, was a Sicilian Scheveningen in which Hou Yifan executed the aggressive Keres Attack (7.g4 after 6...e6). She gained enough advantage to play for a win, but the women's world champion Anna Ushenina defended well and the game ended in a draw. Round four report with beautiful photos by Anastasiya Karlovich.

ACP 02: rapid World Champion out

9/15/2013 – Many interesting games happened today in Riga. The only match to go into tiebreaks was Nepomniatchi-Malakhov in which the younger player was able to beat his opponent in tiebreaks. In two important matches Svidler was able to take out Radjabov while Grischuk took care of Wojtaszek. Meanwhile the rapid World Champion Mamedyarov was taken out by Ponomariov. Report.

Sinquefield 05: Carlsen keeps lead

9/15/2013 – With two draws that were not as interesting as they could be, Magnus Carlsen goes into the last round with a half point lead and will face Levon Aronian with the white pieces. Gata Kamsky held an edge today but was unable to convert against Aronian. We bring you a analysis of the games, the standings but also a full view on how wonderfully the live spectators are treated in this magnum event.

Taizhou 03: Hou Yifan increases her lead

9/14/2013 – Hou Yifan played a classical Nimzo-Indian and had her opponent thinking for 40 minutes after move 15. World Champion Anna Ushenina did not find the right path and soon found herself in serious trouble. Her 19-year-old Chinese challenger took the initiative, played some precise moves and forced Ushenina's resignation after just 24 moves. Round three report with pictures and videos.

ACP 01: No surprises

9/14/2013 – The strongest knockout rapid tournament of the year has begun in Latvia and few surprises were seen. The rating favorites took their matches, although since rapid ratings are used it is hard to say that this means much. Wojtaszek, Nepomniatchi, Ponomariov, Grischuk, and the reigning World Champion Mamedyarov have advanced. Pictures and analysis.

Mamma Mia in the Romanian Miami: Mamaia!

9/14/2013 – In Romanian, a Latin language, it means grandmother, and in an article covering the country's top chess leagues there, the beachside resort had been described as desolate. This year, the country's top guns once again gathered for war in the same locale, but somehow a transformation took place and what was torture has now become fun. Find out how in this lovely article by Alina L'Ami.

Sinquefield 04: American Disaster

9/14/2013 – Both Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky lost crucial games against their opponents today. Nakamura was soundly outplayed after a questionable opening that allowed Aronian an initiative on the kingside. Kamsky's game was a series of inaccuracies, but ultimately the American was unable to hold an endgame that seemed drawable. Report and analysis.

ACP Cup starts today

9/13/2013 – An amazingly strong rapid knock-out tournament is about to start in Riga, Latvia. The event is hosted by the Association of Chess Professionals and it features rapid ratings for pairings rather than the standard FIDE list. With Grischuk, Morozevich, Ivanchuk, and many other strong players this will certainly be an exciting event. Report on the opening ceremony, pairings and an interesting puzzle.

Joys of Chess – the most over-rated move

9/13/2013 – Christian Hesse, PhD from Harvard and Professor of Mathematics, is an avid chess fan and has written many an article for our news page. As a book author he has been successful with entertaining works on chess. Here's an interesting chapter he wrote on one of the most famous moves of chess history: Marshall's 23...Qg3!!! in 1912. Does it really deserve three exclams? Prof. Hesse thinks not.

Taizhou 02: Draw after 33 moves

9/12/2013 – The second game of the Women's World Championship that is being currently played in China was a Sicilian Pelikan/Sveshnikov that followed theory for 17 moves. Challenger Hou Yifan seemed unfamiliar with the position and decided to simplify the position quickly to obtain a draw rather than allow complications that could turn against her. Commentary and pictures.