Ramirez: Playing Kamsky under Pressure

5/17/2013 – Last weekend Gata Kamsky and Alejandro Ramirez tied for first in the 2013 US Championship, making a playoff necessary. Here the 24-year-old "upstart" Ramirez faced one of the most exprienced GMs in the US (Kamsky was twice Soviet under-20 champion before Alej was born). Alejandro, who is now a co-editor of our newspage, tells us in vividly annotated games what the encounter was like.

The joys of chess – Refuting the refutation

5/16/2013 – Christian Hesse is a PhD from Harvard and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Stuttgart. He is also an avid chess fan and has written a number of articles for our news page. As a book author he has been successful with instructive and entertaining works on chess. Now one of his best is available in English. We bring you an interesting chapter on refutations and counter-refutations. Enjoy.

WGP Geneva: Khotenashvili wins with 8.0/11

5/16/2013 – Georgian IM Bela Khotenashvili drew her final round game against Women's World Champion Anna Ushenina and won Neva Women's Grand Prix in Geneva. Her nearest rival, Anna Muzychuk, who had to win the game in order to catch the leader, drew against Alexandra Kosteniuk. Tatiana Kosintseva and Nana Dzagnidze shared 3rd-4th. Final report.

Norway 2013 Rd7: Karjakin, Carlsen, and Anand win

5/15/2013 – After a near miss in the previous round, Vishy Anand steamrolled Teimur Radjabov with black in impressive fashion. Sergey Karjakin showed he was not going to relinquish his pole position without a fight, and beat Hikaru Nakamura to secure his lead, while Magnus Carlsen outplayed Jon Hammer and stays in the race. Full report with analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

WGP Geneva: Khotenashvili leads alone

5/15/2013 – It was the round of the Georgians, with GM Nana Dzagnidze beating Chinese IM Ju Wenjun and, more relevantly, IM Bela Khotenashvili defeating one of the tournament favourites, third seed GM Kateryna Lahno. That boosted Bela's performance to 2700+ and her rating to 2531 – which means her GM title is now assured. GM Adrian Mikhalchishin analyses her win in our pictorial report.

Norway 2013 Rd6: Carlsen closes on Karjakin

5/14/2013 – Trying to sum up the incredible action of the day in a few lines is nearly impossible. The games were sharp, exciting, dramatic, and Playchess commentator GM Daniel King even said “My brain is hurting”. Aronian beat Hammer in an explosive game, and Carlsen ground down Radjabov in his vintage endgame play. Anand nearly beat Karjakin after a virtuoso performance. Report with GM commentary.

US Ch: Kamsky beats Ramirez in playoff

5/14/2013 – The 2013 U.S. Championship went extra innings on Monday in a gripping tiebreak final. After splitting a pair of rapid games, GM Gata Kamsky won $30,000 and his fourth title in an Armageddon game against GM Alejandro Ramirez, who was seeking his first title. The entire playoff was broadcast live, with running GM commentary. Highlight was a wonderful stalemate defence by Ramirez.

WGP Geneva: Muzychuk, Khotenashvili win and lead

5/14/2013 – Three decisive games, two with the black pieces, saw Anna Muzychuk and Bela Khotenashvili, who completed her final GM norm, stay in the lead. Tatiana Kosintseva beat Kateryna Lahno to move to clear third place, half a point behind the leaders. The local derby Ju Wenjun-Hou Yifan ended in a 40-move draw. On the free day some players gave a simul for children. Round nine report with GM analysis.

Kramnik: Anand tense, scared of Carlsen

5/13/2013 – That is what former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik thinks, after playing next to Anand at the Alekhine Memorial. BUT: Vishy Anand, who since 2007 has fended off challenges from three different players, can defeat the world's number one if he is in the right frame of mind. "If he manages to hold up to the pressure for six games, then Anand will become a favourite," is Kramnik's opinion.

Norway 2013 Rd5: Carlsen beats Karjakin

5/13/2013 – It was a must win situation for Magnus Carlsen to still dream of first, and it started badly as Sergey Karjakin took the initiative. With his vintage luck of the champions, Karjakin miscalculated and Carlsen went on the attack to score an impressive win. Karjakin leads with 4.0/5, followed by Carlsen and Nakamura with 3.0/5. Jon Hammer scored his first win against Wang Hao. Report with GM commentary.

US Ch: Krush wins, Kamsky-Ramirez playoff

5/13/2013 – Top seed GM Gata Kamsky started the final round with a half-point lead but could not defeat youthful GM Ray Robson. Three players could win to catch Kamsky, but only GM Alejandro Ramirez got the full point. The two will play tomorrow at noon in a two-game rapid playoff. Meanwhile IM Irina Krush defended her U.S. Women’s Championship title, scoring 8.0/9. Report with pictures and videos.

Norway 2013 Rd4: Sergey Karjakin still perfect

5/12/2013 – Sergey Karjakin is on fire and continues his perfect run with four wins in four games after beating Levon Aronian today. When asked the last time he started with 4.0/4 he replied, "Maybe when I was 10 years old". Magnus Carlsen scored his fourth draw, while Hikaru Nakamura won an excellent game against Vishy Anand and is sole second. Report, videos, and analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

WGP Geneva: four decisive games

5/12/2013 – Once again we saw fighting chess and some critical games. Leaders Anna Muzycuk and Bela Khotenashvili drew to stay in the joint lead. Tatiana Kosintseva and Kateryna Lahno moved into striking position wins against Olga Girya and Nana Dzagnidze. But the big one was reigning Women's World Champion Anna Ushenina vs Challenger Hou Yifan, which GM Adrian Mikhalchishin has analysed.

Kavalek in Huffington: Alekhine and the art of chess

5/12/2013 – "To me, chess is not a game; it is art," said the great Alexander Alekhine, the fourth World Chess Champion. It is fitting that this year's Alekhine Memorial chess tournament was held in the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. In his Huffington Post column GM Lubomir Kavalek looks at a key game from this event and at a 1930 game by Alekhine.

WGP Geneva: six wins, five with black

5/11/2013 – It is a well-known fact that women play uncompromised chess! All six games in round seven of the Neva Fondation Women Grand Prix in Geneva were decisive, and the victories of Black outnumbered White’s success by 5 to 1. After the smoke cleared we found Anna Muzychuk and Bela Khotenashvili in the joint lead with 5.0/7 points and four rounds to go. Big pictorial report with GM analysis.

Norway 2013 Rd3: Brilliant win by Anand

5/10/2013 – Defying expectations, round three was once again defined by three decisive games, and incisive chess throughout. Carlsen played a sharp gambit against Nakamura, which drew after a good fight, and Radjabov broke his fast by beating Hammer. Karjakin beat Wang Hao for a third win, but the game of the day was Anand’s brilliant win over Topalov. Report, videos, and GM analysis.

US Championships: Kamsky and Krush lead

5/10/2013 – After four rounds Gata Kamsky was leading with 4.0 points, and was the only contender for the $64,000 Fischer Prize for an unblemished 9-0 score. In round five he was held to a draw by Joel Benjamin. Irina Krush held on one round longer and had 5.0/5 before she drew her first game in round six. The Fischer Prize is, however, not available in the women's section. Pictorial report after round six.

WGP Geneva: four players in the lead

5/10/2013 – Tatiana Kosintseva and Bela Khotenashvili beat Viktorija Cmilyte and Batchimeg Tuvshintugs to join leaders Anna Muzychuk and Kateryna Lahno, who both finished their games in draws. Anna Ushenina won her first game in the tournament, Alexandra Kosteniuk lost the third in a row. Bela Khotenashvili is the only player who hasn’t made any draws: she has won four games and lost two. Pictorial report.

Norway 2013 Rd2: Karjakin has 2.0/2

5/9/2013 – For obvious reasons, the center of attention was the game between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand, which ended in a draw after a tense fight. Topalov and Radjabov also drew, while Aronian overcame Nakamura despite the American’s creative defensive tries. Svidler went down to Wang Hao, and Karjakin took the lead with a win over Hammer. Report, videos, and analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

WGP Geneva: Muzychuk joins Lahno in the lead

5/9/2013 – The key game in the fifth round was the encounter between the number one and two seeds in this tournament, Hou Yifan and Anna Muzychuk. The Slovenian outplayed the former Women's World Champion and shares the first place with Ukrainian GM Katerina Lagno, who drew her game against Anna Ushenina. Full report with analysis by GM Adrian Mikhalchishin and an historical guess-who picture.

European Individual Ch: Moiseenko on perfect start

5/9/2013 – The European Individual championship is now deep in swing and after four rounds, only one player has managed to keep a perfect score: Alexander Moiseenko (2698) with 4.0/4. To celebrate the opening of the tournament, a sumptuous outdoor show was given with costumes and quality rarely seen in chess. Illustrated report and GM annotations.

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.