Norway Chess 2013 Rd1: Strong start with three wins

5/8/2013 – It was a great start with all games being hard fought and three ending in decisive results. Magnus Carlsen tried his best to beat Topalov, but the Bulgarian held fast. Anand and Aronian drew a sensible game, while Svidler ultimately managed to outclass Hammer in their endgame. Nakamura trounced Wang Hao while Radjabov continued his misery as he lost to Karjakin. Full report with GM commentary.

Phiona meets Kasparov

5/7/2013 – The "Women in the World Summit" in New York City showcased celebrities, politicians, freedom-fighters, entrepreneurs, and two very different chessplayers. Former world champion Garry Kasparov spoke on chess and education on a panel with Ugandan teen Phiona Mutesi, whose story of survival and triumph brought tears and applause. They even played chess!

WGP Geneva: Lahno in the sole lead

5/7/2013 – Former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan bounced back after her shock defeat by the lowest seed in round three with a admittedly slightly lucky win against Lithunian GM Viktorija Cmilyte. Nana Dzagnidze and Tatiana Kosintseva also scored with the white pieces, while Kateryna Lahno defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk with black. Full report with analysis by GM Adrian Mikhalchishin.

Norway 2013 Blitz won by Sergey Karjakin

5/7/2013 – The pairings of the Norway 2013 tournament were decided by a round-robin blitz tournament with more than just prestige on the line. The top five players would be the beneficiaries of five whites instead of five blacks, which is a distinct advantage. It was a fun exciting event with more than a few surprises, from blunders to a queen sac by Magnus Carlsen.

'I’m deeply disappointed by the FIDE decision'

5/7/2013 – As you know the International Chess Association has awarded the 2013 World Championship to the south Indian city of Chennai – in spite of a protest by the Norwegian Chess Federation. There was speculation that challenger Magnus Carlsen might pull out, but he has now confirmed that he will play – under protest. Meanwhile the news channel VG-Nett tells us what awaits him in Chennai.

How to tame the Alekhine, Scandinavian and Pirc

5/7/2013 – In his latest DVD by ChessBase, Victor Bologan, a top grandmaster, proposes to teach players from beginner to grandmaster a complete repertoire against the Alekhine, Pirc, and Scandinavian all in a single DVD lasting under five hours. He promises to teach his own repertoire and personal analyses dating back decades. Is he peddling magic bullets, or is he serious? Find out in this review.

WGP Geneva: shocker in round three

5/6/2013 – It is not often you see the bottom seed in a tournament take a full point from the top seed. But that is what WGM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs did when she outplayed former women's world champion Hou Yifan, rated more than 300 points above her. Bela Khotenashvili and Katerina Lahno won their games and join Anna Muzychuk in the lead after three rounds. Report with GM analysis.

CHESS Magazine: The Art of Chess

5/6/2013 – Nette Robinson is an artist and jazz singer who fell in love with chess three years ago. "Since then it has become an obsession and huge source of pleasure," she says. "As an artist, I find it entirely natural to express that joy and enthusiasm for chess through creating art." Nette will have an exhibition in The Muse Gallery, London, in May. CHESS article.

XIV European Individual Championship has started

5/5/2013 – The European Individual Championship held in Legnica, Poland is the strongest Swiss system tournament in the year, and the numbers say it all: twelve players are rated 2700 or more, 38 of the world’s top 100 players are participating, and so on. Despite only being one round deep, surprises abound such as a draw by IM Mariya Muzychuk with a 2700+ player.  Here are the pictures and games.

Chennai confirmed as World Championship venue

5/5/2013 – First announced on April 8th, then confirmed in a memorandum of understanding on April 19th, subsequently vigorously protested by the Norwegian Chess Federation on May 3rd – with a rival bid presented by Paris on the same day – FIDE has now signed the final agreement at the Presidential Board meeting in Baku, awarding the 2013 World Championship to Chennai, India. Press release and photos.

US Championships under way

5/5/2013 – They are blessed with a $180,000 prize fund plus $65,000 in prize money for the women, and are being staged in the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. In the open section top seed Gata Kamsky and veteran GM Larry Christiansen lead with 2.0/2 points, as do Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, one of whom will win the women's section. Pictorial report after round two.

WGP Geneva: Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun score

5/4/2013 – It was a good day for the Chinese girls. After losing unhappily in round one WGM Ju Wenjun struck back today with a 72-move light pieces victory over Mongolian WGM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs. Top seed Hou Yifan also took home the full point against IM Bela Khotenashvili of Georgia. Three players – Hou Yifan, Anna Muzychuk and Viktorija Cmilyte, all full GMs, lead with 1.5/2 points each.

33-board blindfold simul at US Championship

5/4/2013 – "Impressive doesn't begin to describe it," wrote Mike Wilmering of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, one of the organisers of the blindfold simul given by GM Timur Gareev to kick off the 2013 U.S. Championships in Saint Louis. "It was amazing. I was awestruck." The simul took ten hours and 39 minutes, and Gareev finished it with 29 wins, four draws and zero losses. Pictorial report.

Women's Grand Prix starts in Geneva

5/3/2013 – The first leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix series will take place from May 3 to 15, with twelve top players, three of them reigning or former Women's World Champions (and eight with full GM titles). In the first round IM Bela Khotenashvili defeated WGM Wenjun Ju and GM Anna Muzychuk outplayed WGM Olga Girya. We bring you a big report with photos from the opening ceremony.

Commentary and lessons from recent tournaments

5/3/2013 – "Modern Benoni crash and burn", "Undogmatic" and "A sharp Najdorf" are the titles of three video broadcasts by chess trainer IM Andrew Martin, who has recorded a mini-series of topical games from the top events of the last few weeks. Martin does not just provies analytical dissection, but explains in wonderfully instructive language the ideas behind the games and openings. Learn and enjoy.

Norway sends complaint, Paris ready to bid

5/3/2013 – The President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, Jøran Aulin-Jansson, has sent a vigorous protest to World Chess Federation on the selection of Chennai as the host of the 2013 World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. Just hours after we had received his open letter to FIDE we received word that Paris is apparently placing a €3.45 million bid.

Almasi shines at 2013 Capablanca Memorial

5/3/2013 – With a certain irony, the 2013 Capablanca Memorial was held on the exact same days as the Alekhine Memorial, and thus the two former giants remain rivals even today. Hungarian Zoltan Almasi, playing his first edition of this classic, scored a brilliant first in spite of a loss, but it was a celebration of Cuban chess at this festival of activities. Here is the illustrated report.

FIDE May 2013 ratings – big changes at the top

5/2/2013 – The monthly ratings published by FIDE usually show little variation amongst the strongest players. Not so in April, where a number in the top ten slot gained up to 22 points, and one player dropped a thumping 48 points in a single month, descending from fourth to 14th place in the world. May 2013 rating of FIDE.

Bo Lindgren – problem solutions

5/2/2013 – He was one of the most versatile chess problem composers ever, as David Friedgood told us in a recent article. Bo Waldemar Lindgren (1927–2011) was a friendly, serious character who had many interests, including science, world literature and poetry. David showed us three Lindgren compositions and gave us two problems to solve. Here today are the solutions.

Kasparov – How life imitates chess

5/2/2013 – You can't be blamed if you missed it – this very comprehensive and informative interview was conducted last December on MMC Slovenian TV, thankfully in English with a well-prepared and intelligent host. It is an hour and a half long, and even if nobody has time these days to watch more than one-minute videos, this should be the exception. Take the time, you will not regret it.

Aronian and Gelfand win Alekhine Memorial 2013

5/1/2013 – Top seed Levon Aronian outplayed French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and scored a vital point in the final round, catching tournament leader Boris Gelfand at 5.5/9 points and winning the event on tiebreak. The Israeli drew his game against World Champion Vishy Anand, who finished with 5.0/9 and third. We bring you GM analysis of a key game and pictures from the closing ceremony.

Alekhine R08: Vachier falls, Gelfand leads solo

4/30/2013 – Vitiugov held an advantage against Vachier, but it was mainly due to mistakes by the latter that the Russian broke through. Kramnik missed a win against Gelfand, who now leads by himself with one round to go. Fressinet sacrificed two pawns against Aronian but the game ended peacefully. The other games were uneventful draws. Games and pictures here.

Zug GP R11: Topalov wins game, set and event

4/30/2013 – Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov finished his extraordinary performance (2924!) with a final brilliant game. Although a draw or even a loss would clinch victory in this Grand Prix he went for a complicated, double-edged line against Sergey Karjakin, committed no errors and won the game and the tournament, a point and a half ahead of the field. Full illustrated report.

33-board blindfold simul at US Championship

4/30/2013 – The 2013 U.S. Championships is scheduled to be held from May 2 to 13 in the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Today, to kick things off, Uzbek GM Timur Gareev will be conducting a 33-board blindfold simultaneous exhibition – preparation for a world record attempt on 64 boards, to be held on December 21 on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Press release.