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.

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.