TCF moves the World Junior away from Syria

9/5/2013 – The Turkish Chess Federation has finally decided to move the 2013 World Junior Chess Championship from Hatay to Kocaeli, as far away from Syria as possible. The decision comes quite late as many federations had already decided not to send their players and the tournament starts in approximately one week. Information on the new venue, the list of players and the official announcement.

Vasily Papin wins New Caledonia Open

9/5/2013 – If you look down at your feet you are probably looking in the direction of the South Sea archipelago, a thousand miles east of Australia (and tens of thousands away from anywhere else). To hold a chess tournament there is idyllic and exotic, which is brought out in this big pictorial report by Luis Sanchez Botella. It is about the 64 black and white squares – but also about crows and whales.

Are the chess World Champions just lucky?

9/4/2013 – Some players – notably Fischer – were expected to win the title and did so convincingly. With others, such as the FIDE knockout world champions, clearly luck was involved. Statisticians like PhD student Matthew Wilson tell us what to expect from world championship matches, based on the previous results of the players, the event format. Part one (of two) of his statistical study.

Karjakin wins Moscow Blitz through cold and rain

9/4/2013 – Sergey Karjakin emerged victorious in the traditional chess festival held in Moscow. The tournament looked to be in danger as it is traditionally held outside; however wind, rain and even lightning could not stop this spectator-friendly event from taking place. People flocked to see the top Russian stars duke it out with only minutes on their clocks. Full report including all the games.

14th Karpov Poikovsky - planting for the future

9/4/2013 – Though overshadowed by the World Cup just won by Vladimir Kramnik, the 14th Karpov Poikovsky is now well underway with six of the nine rounds played, and it is just that it will now enjoy the full attention of chess fans as the last three rounds determine a winner. Motylev and Eljanov are the co-leaders, but all the players joined in planting for the future.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (100)

9/2/2013 – The British chess writer Justin Horton has been publishing a fully documented series of articles to show that the output of the chess columnist of The Times and The Spectator relies heavily on plagiarism. The Editor of Chess Notes steps back from the details of the case to reflect on how the game’s media outlets cover controversies and what constitutes chess news.

World Cup Final 4: Kramnik wins Tromsø 2013

9/2/2013 – It was Dmitri Andreikin's last chance, but he chose a somewhat quiet Symmetrical English in a last-ditch attempt to outplay Vladimir Kramnik and stay in the tournament. This plan quickly backfired as every attempt to complicate the issue made Andreikin's position worse. In the end, with Kramnik pressing for a win, Dmitri offered a draw which his opponent accepted. Final report with GM analysis.

Karsten Müller: Looking back at Ningbo

9/2/2013 – Today's endgame session by GM Karsten Müller are taken from the China vs USA classical and rapid chess match that was played in Ningbo, China, from July 18-28. It features four instructive examples of practical endings, selected by our ChessBase Magazine expert, who uses them to teach you techniques that can prove invaluable in your tournament games. Learn and enjoy.

World Cup Final 3: Easy draw

9/1/2013 – Andreikin decided to not go for any sort of complications in the third round of the final match  in Tromso. Kramnik saw no reason to force the issue either as he is point ahead of his rival, who is in a must win situation in tomorrow's game. It all boils down to whether Dmitri Andreikin can take down his formidable opponent with his last breath. Game three report with GM analysis.

September 2013 ratings – Kramnik back at three

9/1/2013 – Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik gained ten points in the past month and retook the third place that is something of a birthright – switching rating slots with Crown Prince and pretender Fabiano Caruana of Italy, who lost 17 points and dropped from third to fifth. September 2013 FIDE ratings.

World Cup Final 2: Risky draw

8/31/2013 – Kramnik barely survived a series of crazy tactics straight out of the opening to achieve an endgame that he was able to hold easily. Andreikin possibly missed some chances early in the game to create further complications and make it harder for the ex-World Champion to defend. This is all wonderfully explained in the analysis of our guest annotator, Indian GM Parimarjan Negi.

Kasparov: 'A game designed for me'

8/31/2013 – David Frost, English journalist, comedian, writer, has been an important media personality over the last fifty years (!). Especially memorable were his interviews with President Richard Nixon in 1977. Sir David, who unexpectedly died on September 1st, ran"The Frost Interview" on Al Jazeera, and recently he spoke to a chess personality who is always in the world news. Don't miss this final interview.

88th French Championship sees surprise winners

8/31/2013 – The 88th French chess championship was held in Nancy, France this year, and with the biggest guns missing, it seemed like the contenders would finally have their shot. Yet this was the year of the underdog, as the top prizes were taken by unlikely champions. Over 800 players came to fight for prizes or just enjoy some chess, and for two weeks Nancy went chess crazy.

World Cup final G1: Kramnik draws first blood

8/30/2013 – Dmitry Andreikin saw his classical game invincibility end as Vladimir Kramnik outclassed him in game one of the finals. It was vintage Kramnik as he first worked up an advantage, but the turning point was when he sacrificed his queen for rook, piece and a thorny passed c-pawn. Andreikin tried to hold on but was ultimately ground down. Rest day and first round report.

Chess Prodigies Uncovered: Sergey Karjakin

8/30/2013 – Chess Prodigies Uncovered presents a new series, and who better to start with than the youngest grandmaster ever, Sergey Karjakin. Spearheading this first is IM Lorin D'Costa, who presents 26 games of the prodigy, using them as a teaching tool for those who wish they could do as well, and making use of ChessBase's newest interactive video technology. Read the review.

14th Karpov Poikovsky GM Tournament begins

8/29/2013 – This yearly tournament which is held in the Neptune sports center in Poikovsky, Russia has begun. The field attracts a lot of veterans of the tournament such as Alexander Motylev, Dmitri Jakovenko and Alexander Onischuk - all of which have won this tournament in the past. Summary of rounds one and two as well as an amazing missed opportunity.

100 day countdown to London Chess Classic

8/29/2013 – The Fifth London Chess Classic will be held from Saturday 7th December to Sunday 15th December, this year as a Rapid tournament (25 minutes + 10 seconds per move) in four groups, with knockout final stages. The prize fund is €150,000. The first two players to sign up are World Champion Anand and the US No. 1 Hikaru Nakamura, the rest will be announced over the next two weeks. Press release.

FIDE Grand Prix to be held in Paris church

8/29/2013 – It is the sixth and final Grand Prix of the current cycle, and a decider for tow participants in the next Candidates Tournament for the World Championship. Twelve player take part in a round robin tournament that goes from the 21st of September until the 5th of October 2013. Press Officer Alina l'Ami provides us with full details on the event and information on the Grand Prix structure.

World Cup 6.3: MVL, Tomashevsky collapse

8/28/2013 – Vachier-Lagrave collapsed in his game against Kramnik and basically gave away a free point with white in the first rapid game. Kramnik didn't forgive and finished off the match easily. In a bizarre decision Tomashevsky did not trade queens in the second game which allowed a swift attack by Andreikin who will play Kramnik in the finals. Express report and GM Analysis of MVL's debacle.

Experiencing Utopia – the Split Open 2013

8/28/2013 – Sun, sea, a Mediterranean holiday and tough games – that's what the participants of the 3rd International Chess Open Split enjoyed from 10-18 August, 2013. 173 players from 21 different countries (including ten GMs, eleven IMs, two WGMs, two WIMs, nine FMs and three WFMs) took part in the event. Everybody emerged a winner in Split, as WGM Iva Videnova shows us in her big pictorial report.

World Cup 6.2: MVL pulls a miracle

8/27/2013 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave saw himself against the ropes from the very beginning of his game. Kramnik eventually gained a decisive material advantage in the endgame. However, after a blunder by Kramnik, MVL took his opponent's last pawn and forced a draw. Tomashevsky was unable to secure an advantage and will also go to tie-breaks against Andreikin. Report and analysis.

World Cup 6.1: Draws in 14 and 16 moves

8/26/2013 – All of you who rushed home to see the first games of the semi-finals in Tromsø were treated to many minutes of spell-binding chess. Vachier-Lagrave vs Kramnik was drawn in 16 moves, Andreikin vs Tomashevsky in 14. There is little to say about the round, except maybe that Andreikin has made it to the semi-finals but has actually lost rating points. Find out why in our appropriately short report.

Ketevan is in great shape

8/26/2013 – Sometimes the news is good. We recently reported that the infant daughter of Georgian IM Salome Melia was born with a heart defect that urgently needed corrective surgery. The procedure had to be conducted in Germany and the costs were beyond the means of the family. Our call for funding was successful and baby Ketevan has been operated. She now has a chance to live a normal life.

World Cup 5.3: Caruana, Svidler out

8/25/2013 – Or, on a positive note: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Dmitry Andreikin won their games and advanced to the semi-finals. The French GM defeated the top ranked Fabiano Caruana, who played the Dutch Defence and got lost in the resulting Stonewall formation. Andreikin played an off-beat 1.d4-line against Peter Svidler and won the full point in just 30 moves. Report with pictures and analysis.