The joy of chess: ten-year-old beats IM

7/9/2013 – That was the title of a story in a number of (non-chess) news sources this week. They pointed to a video showing the sheer joy of a boy, who has just turned ten, realizing that he is going to win a game against an IM – and proceeds to do so with enthusiasm and determination. The blitz game took place two and a half years ago, but deserves to be enjoyed by anyone who does not know it. Must watch!

Beijing Rd5: Three wins, Grischuk now clear second

7/9/2013 – Yesterday Karjakin led, Mamedyarov was second and Grischuk was third. In round four Grischuk beat Mamedyarov to switch places with him in the standings, while Sergey Karjakin's draw against Boris Gelfand left him in the lead. Giri and Ivanchuk scored wins against Kamsky and Wang Yue. Report with standings and GM analysis.

Kurnosov wins 20th Abu Dhabi Chess Festival 2013

7/8/2013 – The Masters Tournament of this popular international event was won by Russian GM Kurnosov, who tied for first with GMs Zahar Efimenko, Mikhailo Oleksienko abd Avetik Grigoryan, but beat them on tiebreak points. Kurnosov's performance was 2709. In addition to the Masters there were many FIDE registered tournaments: an Open, Junior and Blitz.  Big pictorial report.

Anti-Cheating Measures – the discussion continues

7/8/2013 – Last week we published a discussion between GM Oleg Korneev and international lawyer WGM Irina Lymar on a grave problem that is confronting chess today: cheating with computer assistance. What can and should be done about it. Naturally a lot of mail poured in – with an especially interesting proposal by an IM (and IA) who has spent twelve years on the FIDE Rules Commission. Readers' feedback.

Beijing Rd4: Three white wins

7/7/2013 – Alternating colours: yesterday in round three three players triumphed with the black pieces, with the remaining three games drawn. Today Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Wang Yue and Alexander Morozevich defeated Wang Hao, Gata Kamsky and Boris Gelfand – with the white pieces. Sergey Karjakin still leads alone with a 3000+ performance. Full report with GM analysis.

Beijing Rd3: Three black wins

7/6/2013 – After two rounds of meager pickings, chess fans were served three decisive games and remarkably all by Black, bucking the age-old wisdom of ‘win with white, hold with black’. In fact, the round was so tense that even the three draws could have ended in wins. The winners were Mamedyarov, Giri, and above all, Karjakin on a perfect 3.0/3 start. Illustrated report and GM analysis.

BBC: The Master Game – Part two

7/6/2013 – The very popular BBC chess-themed TV show ran for seven series between 1975 and 1982. In his previous report John Saunders described its genesis and importance in bringing chess to mainstream television. In this second part he gives us an impression of the players' live commentary that was part of the appeal of the show. Two series of The Master Game are now being released on DVD.

Beijing R02: Karjakin wins, leads.

7/5/2013 – Karjakin demolished Wang Hao's pirc with a brutal attack on the kingside. The Chinese tried to counterattack but it was too little, too late. The rest of the games were drawn, some of them relatively quickly. This gives Karjakin an early lead as he is the only one with a perfect score. Games, pictures and report.

CB for Android: How to download and review games

7/5/2013 – With the latest update of ChessBase for Android, users now have complete tools to not only review their games in detail, but do genuine opening preparation on the go, and all with their smartphones or tablets. You can also download PGN games, commented or not, and review them with a super grandmaster engine quite easily. This takes only a few seconds. Here's a How-to guide.

Anand interview: ‘I could feel my effort flagging’

7/4/2013 – World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand spoke frankly to The Indian Express about his intense playing schedule with no fewer than six tournaments prior to his title defense in November, what he learned from them, some of his thoughts on Carlsen's openings, and what he thinks of Gelfand's recent string of successes. Here is the interview.

Beijing 01: Three Black Victories

7/4/2013 – In what seems to be the latest fashion, Black continues to accumulate wins in top level tournaments. Karjakin's Berlin was impervious to Giri's multiple sacrifices, Topalov played a clean game against Gelfand who over extended while Kamsky over stepped the time limit against Grischuk. Leko and Morozevich had their chances but were never winning. Pictures and analysis.

Beijing Grand Prix begins tomorrow

7/3/2013 – The fifth stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series will be held in Beijing between the 3rd and 17th of July 2013. The playing venue will be at the premises of the Chinese Chess Association. The players were treated to a fabulous opening ceremony and the games are ready to start. Pictorial report on the opening ceremony.

ChessBase for Android: Start your engines!

7/3/2013 – Little by little and step by step the ChessBase Online for Android app has evolved from only online database lookups, to a full-fledged analytical tool, and once more a big step forward has been made. In the latest free update, you can now consult top engines, that you can turn on and off with incredible ease, and that even take full advantage of quad-core phones.

Irina Lymar: FIDE must develop anti-cheating rules

7/3/2013 – She is a Ukrainian WGM who since 2000 has been working as a lawyer in Russia: the perfect person to consult when considering what the chess world must do to prevent computer cheating from ruining the game. And who better to discuss the subject with her than Russian GM Oleg Korneev, an Opens specialist, who has recently encountered the problem first-hand. Translated from Chess-News.

Inarkiev wins and Shomoev shines

7/3/2013 – The Higher League of the Russian Championship was held from June 19-30 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. It qualified the top five finishers into the Russian Championship, and also seeded the winner into the 2014 Tal Memorial. It was an exciting event through and through with revelations and masterpieces. Read all, see all, in the report with analysis by Shomoev and Nepomniachtchi.

BBC: The Master Game revived on DVD

7/2/2013 – This very popular BBC TV show ran for seven series between 1975 and 1982. It consisted of a chess competition specially staged for TV, with top national (and later international) players, usually on a knock-out basis, with the games being shown with the players’ own commentary being used as a voice-over. Two series of The Master Game are now being released on DVD. John Saunders reports.

Mamedyarov wins first Geneva Masters

7/2/2013 – The final of the Geneva Chess Masters was almost anticlimactic after so much action over the previous days. This was not from a lack of fighting spirit from the finalists Kramnik and Mamedyarov, but merely how quickly it ended after three days of thrilling chess. Mamedyarov beat Kramnik in game one, and this decided the title. Illustrated report with video.

Kavalek in Huffington: Boris Gelfand in Moscow

7/2/2013 – At the age of 41, Jaromir Jagr should not have been playing in the Stanley Cup final and keeping up with the fast skating hockey players. At the age of 45, the Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand should not be winning major chess tournaments ahead of young talented players and world champions. But sometimes age doesn't matter, as Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek explains.

July 2013 ratings – big changes at the top

7/1/2013 – With the world rankings being published on a monthly basis the action at the top – big gains and losses – are usually fairly restricted. Not so in the latest list: Fabiano Caruana gained 22 points and climbed from ninth to third place in the world. Vladimir Kramnik lost nineteen points and dropped a rank, from third to fourth. July 2013 rating of FIDE.

Opening Encyclopedia 2013: a review

7/1/2013 – Meet the ultimate openings encyclopedia: ChessBase’s Opening Encyclopedia 2013. It quite literally comes with more material than you could view in a lifetime, or several lifetimes, but don’t let that put you off, since what that means is that it has material to answer your questions in every chess opening there is. Think we are exaggerating? Read the review.

Geneva Masters SF: Kramnik and Mamedyarov win

6/30/2013 – It promised to be a great semifinal if the topsy-turvy games from the preliminaries were any indication, and the day’s action lived up to them. Kramnik faced Nakamura in a tough match and it was all decide in a King's Indian in the blitz. Mamedyarov traded blows with Bacrot, and they too had to decide it in the blitz tiebreaks. Report and videos.

Carlsen edges Predojevic in rapid match

6/30/2013 – As an opening event for the Norwegian Chess Championship, Carlsen and Predojevic played a four game rapid chess match. The number one took the victory in the end, but was unable to win more than one game in a long and technical endgame. The ski town of Lillehammer now hosts the top players from Norway who are playing for the national title. Pictures and analysis.

Geneva Masters Rd3: A day of miniatures

6/29/2013 – With three of the fours spots into the final accounted for, one might have thought day three would be a sedate affair, but instead it was some of the most spectacular. Kramnik was pushed into the tiebreaks by Pelletier as they fought for the last qualifier, but the Russian came through in the end. Of note were the two miniatures including an epaulette mate by Kosteniuk.

Dilijan WGP R11: Humpy wins by a full point

6/29/2013 – Sing her praises! Indian GM Koneru Humpy, currently ranked number two female player in the world, won her final round game in the Women's Grand Prix to finish a full point ahead of the field. Her performance was 2666 and she gains ten rating points from this event. Joint second and third were Anna Muzychuk and Nana Dzagnidze. Final report with photos from the closing ceremony.