World Champions – reclaiming a lost century (2)

4/24/2014 – In part one of his article Paul Lillebo claimed that the list of “official” world champions of chess, which begins in 1886 with the Steinitz-Zukertort match, does not do justice to the several earlier masters who were acclaimed by their contemporaries as the champion of chess. To the two masters from part one, Philidor and La Bourdonnais, he adds three more who were supreme in their time.

Gashimov R4: Out-Carlsened

4/23/2014 – White held a small edge from the opening, he put his pieces in such a way that his opponent felt slightly uncomfortable until Black eventuatlly made a mistake and the white player finished him off with precision. A typical Carlsen game, but this time it was the World Champion that was on the receiving end. Caruana wins, catches up with Carlsen and they share the lead with 2.5/4

Recommended: ChessBase Magazine #159

4/23/2014 – "I was delighted to see Jan Timman on the cover of this issue," writes Nagesh Havanur, who was not only pleased with the tournament reports – Wijk aan Zee and Zurich – but also with the 13 opening, and especially with Martin Breutigam’s King’s Gambit treatment, which Prof. Havanur calls "the icing on the cake." Even if you have other preferences there is bound to be something for you.

13th Asian Continental with exciting battles

4/23/2014 – At the midway point, some of the players have already begun to stake their claim to fame, and a qualifying spot into grander events yet. Though the road is long, it is one of the lower rungs toward the world championship, but so far the Elo leaders have been unable to assert their dominance. Nevertheless the players are all showing grit with exciting battles and imaginative chess.

Gashimov R3: Nakamura Retaliates

4/22/2014 – The American took out his loss yesterday to Carlsen on Mamedyarov, whom he proceeded to crush swiftly. A pawn hunting expedition turned sour for the Azeri as too many lines were opened against his exposed king, and Nakamura simply did not forgive. Carlsen was better the entire game, but was unable to convert against Karjakin while Radjabov and Caruana tested each other's Gruenfeld.

Looking back at Dubai 2014: winner's comments

4/22/2014 – The 2014 Dubai Open turned oout to be a battle between former Junior World Champion Abhijeet Gupta and the very talented French GM Romain Edouard. Abhijeet was leading 4.0/4 when he was stopped by Romain in round five. Romain went on to with the tournament alone, a full point ahead of his nearest rival. He has kindly sent us some pictures and notes on two key games.

Gashimov R2: Clear leader already

4/22/2014 – Only two rounds have been played in the Gashimov Memorial, but already Carlsen has taken a full point lead. He played like a machine against Nakamura despite the American's stiff resistance. Karjakin and Caruana drew, as did Radjabov and Mamedyarov, leaving three players with 1.0/2. Carlsen used his two whites to begin the tournament perfectly, and is now 2889 in the live rating list.

Khanty Final: Leaders intact

4/21/2014 – Much fighting spirit was seen in the last round of Khanty-Mansiysk, but no changes were seen in the top spots. Hou Yifan had already clinched her tournament victory, and a draw with Kosteniuk allowed the Russian to retain her third place. Second went to Girya who held down two pawns against Tuvshintugs. However the other games were almost all decisive with quite a few surprises.

Gashimov R01: Opening ceremony, B-Group

4/21/2014 – The Gashimov Memorial tournament began with a visit to the beautiful marble grave of the great Vugar Gashimov. At the opening ceremony many people spoke about their friend, who very tragically passed away in January this year at the age of 27. We have reported already on the A-Group. The first round of the B section saw five fighting draws. Big pictorial with game summaries.

Khanty 10: Hou Yifan clinches

4/21/2014 – With an easy draw against Anna Muzychuk, Hou Yifan was able to secure her win at the Grand Prix in Khanty-Mansiysk. Girya retains her second place by beating Kosintseva but Kosteniuk is right on her heels as she also won, this time against Muminova. Many Grand Prix points are still at stake, but the World Champion was simply untouchable except in egg tapping.

Gashimov R1: Carlsen with a flying start

4/21/2014 – The Gashimov Memorial has started in Shamkir, Azerbaijan, with six very strong players, all under 30 years of age. The average Elo is 2780, making it a category 22. In the first round Magnus Carlsen not surprisingly won his game, the other two were drawn. The B group, with ten players, is a category 17 with an average 2662 (more on it later). We bring you extensive analysis of the three Group A games.

Khanty 09: Hou Yifan leads by two points

4/20/2014 – "Girya in hot pursuit" was the title of our previous report. The Russian WGM had beaten the second seed and was aiming at the leader, Women's World Champion Hou Yifan. The two met in round nine, Chinese GM launched a devastating kingside attack, won the game and took a two-point lead over the field. Her her performance: 2750. With just two rounds to go we have a winner!

Spring starts with chess in Budapest

4/20/2014 – During the 80s and 90s, the Budapest Spring Chess Festival was one of the largest chess events in the world with over 450 participants among whom were some of the greatest names of the day. Largely funded by the government, it died off with the political changes when funds dried up. After a long absence, it is back, hoping in time to relive its former prestige and glory.

13th Asian Continental – a two-nation battle

4/19/2014 – The Open Section has 64 players, including 32 GMs and 11 IMs, and a 2398 average rating. There are 32 prizes, with the winner receiving US $6000. The Women's section has 32 players and a decent rating average of 2141, with the first prize being $3000. The event is essentially a powerhouse confrontation of the two big chess nations: India and China. Three rounds have been played.

Magnus Carlsen explains his approach to chess

4/19/2014 – In an interview he gave to Le Monde, Magnus Carlsen looks back on winning the supreme title against Viswanathan Anand and talks about his vision and approach to the game. He elaborates on his work with Garry Kasparov and what he learned. He emphasizes one of Garry's strongest and least-appreciated abilities: his psychological understanding of his opponents. A must-read interview.

Chess Social Initiative of the Year in Ukraine

4/18/2014 – "When I look back at my childhood I realize how bright it was – because of chess." Ukrainian WIM Olena Boytsun decided it was her mission to help children to discover the game and experience the same emotions and feelings. She founded an Ukrainian Foundation called “Chess for Children”, which has been named "Social Initiative of the Year". A really outstanding chess initiative.

Khanty 08: Girya in hot pursuit

4/18/2014 – The big news of the day from Khanty-Mansiysk is Girya's victory against Muzychuk. This allows her to leapfrog over the Slovenian and she is now at striking distance from Hou Yifan; only one point away. This point can be quite decisive for the tournament as tomorrow is a rest day, but afterwards the battle between the leaders will take place. Report of an exciting round eight.

Müller: Endgames from ChessBase Magazine

4/17/2014 – The best way to improve your endgame skills and improving your ratings is by going through practical endings from top level games – and by in addition having a world-class expert like our resident GM Karsten Müller to explain it all. This time he shows us three games from the World Teams Championship. These instructions are provided for you free of charge.

Khanty 07: Leaders advance

4/16/2014 – The top three players in the Khanty-Mansiysk Grand Prix have distanced themselves from the pack even further. Hou Yifan, Muzychuk and Girya, currently the one, two and three places of the tournament, all won their games with white today and move forward in the tournament, though the Chinese retains a full point lead. Girya's game today against Kosteniuk was brilliant.

Edouard wins Dubai 2014 in exciting finish

4/16/2014 – He was leading during most of the tournament, clinched it with a victory in the final round: French GM Romain Edouard scored an undefeated 8.0/9 points, a full point ahead of his nearest rival. His performance: a tremendous 2856. Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta, who was in serious contention, collapsed in the final round. Illustrated report with analysis.

Khanty 06: Few changes at the top

4/16/2014 – Both Hou Yifan and Muzychuk drew their games which means that the only change on the leader-board was on who was tied for third place. Zhao Xue lost quite badly against Girya, not only losing her opening advantage with white early on but giving black the better chances quickly. Kosteniuk won a crazy game against Dzagnidze, and now both Girya and Kosteniuk are tie for third place.

Big finish expected for the 2014 Dubai Open

4/15/2014 – After eight from nine rounds French GM Romain Edouard is leading, with 7.0/8 points. Half a point behind is his main contender, former Juniour World Champion Abhijeet Gupta of India, and six players still have chances at 6.0/8. Everthing will be decided on the final day (Tuesday). We bring you a big pictorial report with three games annotated by GM Gupta, who has just launched a new web site.

Khanty 05: Relative Peace

4/15/2014 – Most of the games were drawn today, and Hou Yifan was the one that came on top of the round as she beat the lowest rated player in the event, Nafisa Muminova. Her closest competitor, Anna Muzychuk, is now a point behind her as she was only able to draw Kateryna Lagno. Hou Yifan will face stiff competition in the next few rounds. Will she mantain her 2831 performance?

Malachite wins Russian Team Championship

4/15/2014 – Four teams were way ahead of the other nine, with Malachite Sverdlovsk taking gold in the end. That was in no small part due to a 6.0/7 score and 2940 performance on board two by Alexander Grischuk, who gained 15 rating points and is now the number three player in the world. In the women's section Ugra won ahead of SHSM. Big report with lots of pictures.