Brazilian Championship: democracy restored

11/8/2013 – In a structure that is used in many countries still, Brazil restructured the national championship to reduce the number of automatic seeds, while requiring all others to fight for their chance, even the country's top player. One of the qualifying events took place in Rio de Janeiro at the beautiful setting of the Vasco da Gama club. Here is Albert Silver's illustrated report with GM Rafael Leitão's annotations.

WCh Chennai: Opening Ceremony

11/8/2013 – Thursday was the grand opening ceremony of the 2013 FIDE World Championship, held in the massive Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, with 6000 visitors in attendance. It was a festive affair, with competitive presentations by Indian and Norwegian performers. The drawing of lots gave Magnus Carlsen white in the first game on Saturday. Impressions by Anastasiya Karlovich.

Kasparov on Anand vs Carlsen

11/8/2013 – "Some have suggested my rooting loyalties should lie with my fellow 'old man', Anand, and not with the 22-year-old who broke my rating record, writes Garry Kasparov. "But while I cannot say I feel joy when one of my records falls, a win for Carlsen will also be a win for the chess world." Kasparov, who trained Magnus Carlsen in 2009, puts his thoughts on record in this Business Insider article.

WCh Chennai: Press conference and news reports

11/7/2013 – With the official opening ceremony set for this evening – and moved from the Hyatt to the massive Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, we are told – we bring you video from the press conference that was held with both players, Anand and Carlsen, earlier. And as a bonus a small pick of newpaper articles that appeared in Indian newspapers. Remember: the match begins on Saturday.

European Team Chess Championships in Warsaw

11/7/2013 – Although most eyes will be set on the World Championship match starting this Saturday, it certainly is not the only important event going on at the time. There is also the European Team Chess Championships. The Polish Chess Federation, who are hosting the event, extensively advertised it in an amazing campaign to bring attention to the event. Preview with interactive statistic charts.

The Ultimate World Championship Setup

11/7/2013 – In our recent guide to the world championship, there was one recommendation that was saved for last: The Ultimate World Championship Setup. Although we gave our heartfelt recommendations for the best experience possible, there is one way to make it even better: two screens. See why it is the best, and why you do not need two monitors in this step-by-step How-To guide.

Interview with Casino Barcelona winner

11/6/2013 – Csaba Balogh earned his IM title in 2002 and in 2004 he obtained his grandmaster title. In 2006 he finished 2nd in the Hungarian Chess Championship. Now Csaba Balogh has added a brand new title to his extensive curriculum: the famous Magistral Casino Round Robin tournament, held in Barcelona between 25 – 31 October. The PR manager of the event Ana Matnadze interviews him.

Kavalek in Huffington: The Towering Defense

11/6/2013 – ... that shaped chess history. The Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, World Cups and World Chess Championships are usually won with good defense. Which defense is going to decide the upcoming world championship match between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen, which starts on Saturday in Chennai, India? Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek speculates.

Diwali greetings for Anand

11/6/2013 – Diwali, a "festival of lights", is a five-day national Hindu holiday that is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. It is a time of reflection and good wishes – of which plenty are directed at sporting hero and five times World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. We have collected messages directed at Anand by his colleagues, in English and in Hindi.

ChessBase guide to the world championship

11/5/2013 – In just a few days the world championship Vishy Anand vs. Magnus Carlsen will start, heralded by many as one of the most dramatic and awaited matches in a very long time. In today's age, the question of how to watch an event such as this, is less a question of how it's possible, and more an issue of what the best recommendations are. Here is a guide so you don't miss a thing.

The Coffeehouse Genius, part 1

11/5/2013 – The enigmatic John Healy was featured recently on our website as having one of the most interesting stories, rehabilitating from alcoholism and a life of thuggery and brutality to finding redemption and passion in the game of chess. But what kind of player was he exactly? Did his style live up to his reputation? We let you decide that by yourself in this series of brutal attacks.

Documentary: Magnus Carlsen's Last Big Title

11/4/2013 – The Norwegian television network, VG TV, just posted a lovely documentary called Magnus Carlsen's Last Big Title. It is a very nice work, with many fascinating images, footage, and testimonies by Magnus Carlsen and those close to him, as he closes in on the World Championship title. We bring you choice excerpts and moments.

Anand vs Carlsen: what their colleagues are saying

11/4/2013 – "It is hard to recall any other match in recent decades where the defending champion has begun with his back so firmly pressed to the wall," says Nigel Short, the 1993 World Championship Challenger. Fourteenth World Champion Vladimir Kramnik thinks Anand may be scared of Carlsen, while Indian GMs Krishnan Sasikiran and Koneru Humpy are more optimistic. Press reports on the match.

Joys of Chess – Mitrofanov's deflection follow-up

11/4/2013 – In a previous article earlier this week Christian Hesse showed us one of the most beautiful, profound, quiet moves in all of chess composition history. In conclusion he asked: "Has anything as fantastic as Mitrofanov’s deflection ever been successfully employed in over-the-board chess, at least in rudimentary fashion?" It has, as Prof. Hesse shows, in two tournament games. Enjoy.

Second Planetskool Soul Event – with dinosaurs

11/3/2013 – As we recently reported, Indian entrepreneur and chess player Suneet Mausil ran an event that brought kids with different backgrounds and privileges to cooperate in a simultaneous match against him. In a second follow-up event, staged amongst roaring dinosaurs in a theme park, Suneet introduced a new element: teach kid on the spot to play chess, and then let them cooperate in three-player groups. Again: inspirational and certainly worth emulating.

World Chess: New maps and statistics

11/3/2013 – Michael Paterek, a computer scientist and FIDE master from Poland, has sent as a few wonderful maps and graphs that certainly catch the eye. The information presented is based on our recent article of the World's biggest nation, but Michael takes it to a whole new level adding new information and even the possibility of exploring different country's highest rated player and their player at position 100 with interactive maps.

Etienne Bacrot victorious at Cap d'Agde

11/3/2013 – In many ways, the matchup in the finals was everything the audience wanted: a French player, Etienne Bacrot, fighting the legend and man in form, Anatoly Karpov. The players were greeted by whistles and cries of encouragement for the local hero, knowing that despite his Elo edge, he was facing one of the greatest players of all time. Read all about it in the illustrated report.

Blindfold against ten detainees

11/2/2013 – On Friday, Timur Gareev's quest to break a world record by playing 50 simultaneous games of chess took a detour into Cook County Jail's Division Six. The 25-year-old grandmaster faced the top ten finishers from the medium-security division's first-ever chess tournament. Chapeau! The No. 3-ranked chess player in America is doing a lot for chess in the media. Chicago Tribune report and video.

Karpov and Bacrot into Cap d'Agde finals

11/2/2013 – The semifinals of Cap d'Agde were as exciting as hoped for, and provided hours of entertainment. Ivanchuk may regret fighting so hard to avoid Karpov in the semifinals as he was beaten 2-0 by Etienne Bacrot, ending in an exciting KID. Muzychuk held Karpov to a draw in game one, but was beaten in a fascinating endgame in game two, ending her Cinderalla run. Illustrated report with games.

Csaba wins Casino Barcelona

11/1/2013 – Balog Csaba crowned himself as the winner of the 18th edition of Casino Barcelona as he finished the tournament with 2.5/3, allowing him a +2 score and enough to be half a point ahead of any competitor. A series of people followed at 4.0/7, Hansen, Edouard and Narciso. The short tournament was full of exciting and lively chess. Impressions and games.

Karpov, Bacrot, Ivanchuk and Muzychuk through

11/1/2013 – The Cap d'Agde qualifier finished with the expected win by Karpov, followed by Bacrot two points behind, but with only two spots left to be fought over by Ivanchuk, Pelletier, and Muzychuk, a tiebreaker was played. On paper, the two grandmasters were the overwhelming favorites, but the last female standing had other plans, and it literally went to a tiebreaker of tiebreakers.

Master class vol.1: Bobby Fischer

11/1/2013 – Master Class: Bobby Fischer is the first in an ambitious new DVD series designed to examine every facet of the play of chess giants. Each aspect such as the openings, the strategic style, and the endgame play, is analyzed in depth by a grandmaster, plus there are tons of interactive training videos and quizzes. See what the fuss is about in this review by Albert Silver.

November 2013 ratings – Nakamura in place four

11/1/2013 – Naturally Magnus Carlsen is firmly entrenched in place one, 69 points above anyone else. Hikaru Nakamura switched places with Alexander Grischuk and is now number four in the world. Boris Gelfand gained 12 points to rise to number seven – ahead of World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who is eighth. November 2013 FIDE ratings.

Wei Yi – youngest 2600+ GM ever

10/31/2013 – On the November 1st FIDE rankings Chinese GM Wei Yi will officially appear with 2604 rating points. The amazing thing about this is that Yi achieved his 2600+ rating (on October 1st) at the tender age of 14 years 4 months and 30 days. That is seven months less than the previous record of Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So from October. James Satrapa has tracked his progress.