RCA online prize tournament!

11/18/2013 – The entire chess population has become a big audience with the WCC. However this Saturday jump back into playing with an online tournament hosted on www.playchess.com and sponsored by the Remote Chess Academy. Win prizes during the last rest day while Anand and Carlsen finish off their preparation! All details of this Swiss tournament inside.

Are twelve games enough?

11/18/2013 – One of the more controversial aspects of the world championship today lies in the actual length of the title match. Since 1886, most of the matches to decide the title have lasted more than twelve games, which brings to question the fairness of the current system: How efficient is it at determining the rightful champion? Michael von Keitz looks at past matches to see how history might have changed.

Chennai: Impressions from the World Championship

11/18/2013 – Senior ChessBase editor Frederic Friedel, who is a personal friend of both the World Champion and the Challenger, has undertaken a trip to South India to attend at least part of the World Championship. In a series of special reports he will provide us with his impressions of Chennai and the venue of this spectacular event. Part one is about getting there and settling in.

Chennai G7: A toothless draw

11/18/2013 – After the loss in game six, many speculated on what Anand might do to shake things up and prepare a Rambo mission against Carlsen’s king. Some hoped for a King's Gambit, while others suggested a Scotch. When White repeated the same Anti-Berlin line from Game six, the question was what he had found to insist on this. The answer was nothing as Carlsen equalized with ease and drew on move 32. Round seven report.

Christie's exquisite chess sets auction

11/17/2013 – Christie's is a fine arts auction house with headquarters in London, currently the world's largest – sales in the first half of 2012 totalled some $3.5 billion, the highest in the art market history. Occasionally they have a dedicated section, and starting from the 20th of November, Christie's South Kensington section will offer for auction 106 interesting chess sets from three different collections. Take a look.

ETCC 08: Medals defined Tomorrow

11/17/2013 – Almost all medals are up for grabs at the European Team Championship. The only major exception to this rule is the fact that the Ukrainian Women's team has demolished the competition and has secured the gold medal for themselves regardless of what happens tomorrow. In the open nothing is defined while silver and bronze in the women's can still be anybody's. Penultimate round report.

Chennai 06: Disaster for India

11/16/2013 – The match isn't quite over, but Anand is in such a disadvantage. Psychologically he might be able to recover, but the damage done in the scoreboard and the obvious fact that his preparation isn't causing Carlsen problems should worry him greatly. Tomorrow is as rest day, a much needed one for himself and his team as they try to conjure some ideas. Analysis of today's major mistake.

Chennai G6: Carlsen wins second straight

11/16/2013 – The game was a solid, uninspiring Spanish that seemed to have nothing in it. The position simplified and an endgame arose with draw predictions from all sides. It was no surprise that Carlsen insisted, until Anand dropped a pawn out of the blue. After the surprise subsided, a draw was again on the horizon, and Magnus played his last trap. Suddenly, it was all over. Illustrated report.

ETCC 07: Ukraine, France mantain

11/16/2013 – In a wild match France tied with Azerbaijan and keeps the lead. Despite the fact that that was possibly the most important match in terms of standings, certainly many eyes were focused on the Russia-Armenia match. Sargissian took out Tomashevsky while everyone else drew giving Armenia the win. Ukraine relied on Muzychuk's win to take out Poland in the women's and leads comfortably. Round 7.

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.