Alekhine R05: Vachier leads after Paris leg

4/25/2013 – Fressinet missed winning chances in two consecutive games, but this time he was relentless and finished off Kramnik in superb fashion. Anand showed attacking prowess and demolished Ding. Gelfand and Aronian drew while Adams and Vitiugov also split the point. Vachier seized his chance, beat Svidler with Black and takes his lead to Saint Petersburg. GM commentary inside.

Alekhine R04: Aronian joins the leaders

4/24/2013 – Tears were certainly shed as a couple of games saw very noticeable blunders. First Svidler missed a simple combination against Aronian that gave the Armenian a decisive advantage. Fressinet kept missing wins against Adams, and the Englishman was lucky enough to survive. The rest of the games were solid draws, although Vitiugov had winning chances against Gelfand. Games inside.

Zug R06: Nakamura and Ponomariov score

4/24/2013 – Hikaru Nakamura, playing with the black pieces, defeated former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a wild tactical battle, while Ruslan Ponomariov, also a former FIDE world champion, outplayed Gata Kamskyon the white side of a Nimzo Indian Rubinstein. Four games were drawn. Ponomariov, Morozevich and Topalov nox lead with 4.0/6 points each. Full illustrated report.

Sockos win Polish Championships

4/24/2013 – The Polish Chess Championship, which took place from 13-21 April in Chorzow, was dominated by the Socko family. Bartosz won the open tournament, while Monika prevailed in the women's event, however not without the thrill of the final round battles. Grzegorz Gajewski took silver, 18-year-old Kamil Dragun took bronze,  the greatest surprise of the tournament. Big pictorial report.

Alekhine R03: Gelfand beats Adams

4/24/2013 – Despite the four drawn games today in Paris, the atmosphere is still electrifying and many games went down to the wire. Ding-Fressinet was a particularly wild affair, Vitiugov had to sacrifice a rook to achieve a strange perpetual, while Vachier held on by the skin of his teeth in an inferior rook endgame against Kramnik. Gelfand showed that Adams is still human and took him down while Anand and Aronian went the peaceful route. Big pictorial report.

Zug R05: five decisive games

4/23/2013 – That's a pleasant change from the "all games drawn", which was our headline for the last two rounds. Morozevich, Topalov, Caruana, Karjakin and Kamsky all won their games, leaving the first two in the lead with 3.5/5 points. Ponomariov, Karjakin and Caruana follow half a point behind. We bring you GM analysis and pictures in our round five report.

Natalia Pogonina nominated Girl of the Month

4/23/2013 – Recently Cosmopolitan Magazine chose Magnus Carlsen as one of the 24 sexiest men of 2013. Big deal – the competition was, in our opinion, quite modest. On the other hand look what WGM Natalia Pogonina had to face to be chosen "Girl of the Month" by Russian TV channel, “Russia-2”. We have some bonus shots of Natalia to show you and a enthralling page full of her nearest rivals.

Alekhine R02: three wins again, Adams leads

4/22/2013 – The first round was extraordinary, the second even more so: two of yesterday's winners, Vladimir Kramnik and Ding Liren, took a tumble in round two, while Britain's Michael Adams won his second game in a row (against Peter Svidler) to go into the sole lead. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in second place after beating Ding in spectacular fashion. Full report with results, games, pictures and GM analysis.

Zug R04: all games drawn again

4/21/2013 – Despite the hard fights exhibited by the players, Zug ended in many peaceful results. Nakamura and Radjabov had an extra pawn against Kamsky and Leko but couldn't do anything with it. Morozevich got a great advantage against Karjakin, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov played a wild game, Caruana's king marched to d4 with queens still on the board, and yet all of these games were drawn.

Alekhine Memorial starts with a bang

4/21/2013 – An amazing round opened the Alekhine Memorial! We see some players that were in one of the most exciting tournaments of recent years, the London Candidates, and it seems like their flame has far from extinguished – they continue to play powerful and risky chess! We bring you a report on the opening ceremony and round one, with GM analysis of two of the best games.

13-year-old dominating Chinese Championship

4/21/2013 – Youngster Wei Yi and Super-GM Wang Yue lead the Chinese Chess Championship. Three players, including Hou Yifan, follow suit only half a point behind. In the women's section Ding Yixin leads by a full point. The tournament is being held in the city of Xinghua in Jinasu province, which will also host the World Women's Chess Championship match later this year. Report after round five.

Zug R03: all games drawn

4/20/2013 – The six games of this round were all drawn, most in 45-60 moves in theoretically drawn positions, and with due permission of the chief arbiter, as the Grand Prix rules require. Only one game, Giri-Radjabov, was drawn by repetition in 19 moves in less than an hour. Three players – Morezevich, Ponomariov and Topalov – lead with plus one scores after three rounds of play. Full pictorial report.

Alekhine Memorial Super-Tournament starts

4/20/2013 – Just to remind you: the opening ceremony of this event will be held tonight, with a concert by Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky. The games start on Saturday April 21 and last until May 1st. The venue is the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris. The participants: Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Svidler, Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave, Fressinet, Adams, Vitiugov and Ding Liren. We will be reporting on a daily basis.

Zug R02: three wins, three draws

4/19/2013 – A day of reversals! Kamsky and Leko outplayed their opponents, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov, in aggressive and impressive fashion straight from the opening. However both lost their way and not only relinquished the advantages, but also at the end a full point! Ponomariov played a fine positional game against Caruana while the rest of the games fizzled out into draws. Round two report with GM analysis.

MOU signed for World Championship in Chennai

4/19/2013 – FIDE, the All-India and Tamil Nadu State Chess Associations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday for the World championship match to be held in Chennai, from November 6 to 26. FIDE vice-president Israel Gelfer said the venue of the championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen would be finalised within 21 days. Press release.

Zug R01: Morozevich and Caruana win

4/18/2013 – Solid yet unorthodox chess marked the start of the Zug Grand Prix. Morozevich used a quick fianchetto setup to confuse Kasimdzhanov, and it worked. Radjabov created too many weaknesses against Caruana who was happy to scoop them up one by one. Nakamura went out for blood against Karjakin's weak opening, but couldn't capitalize. The remaining games were solidly drawn. Round one report.

Magnus Carlsen on TIME 100 list

4/18/2013 – TIME Magazine has named Magnus Carlsen one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2013. The full list and related tributes will appear in the April 29 / May 6 issue of TIME, available on newsstands tomorrow. Magnus is in excellent if somewhat mixed company. According to TIME this is not a list of the most powerful or the smartest people in the world, it’s a list of the most influential.

2013 Israel Championship in Acre/Akko

4/18/2013 – It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country, with a population is 46,000 (72 percent Jewish, 28 percent Arab). This year's national championship was held in the Palm Beach Hotel in Akko and was won by GM Tamir Nabaty. We bring you pictures, games and analysis, plus a video report by Aleksander Nesterovsky that includes interviews with the players.

Third FIDE Grand Prix 2012-13 starts in Zug

4/18/2013 – The third stage of the Grand Prix Series was originally scheduled to take place in Lisbon, Portugal, and staged by AGON. It was moved to a picturesque Swiss town and is being run by the tried and tested FIDE Grand Prix team. Among the twelve participants of the tournament are three former world champions: Ponomariov, Topalov and Kasimdzhanov. Round one starts at two p.m. this afternoon.

More on Byrne – annotated games of the master

4/17/2013 – Last Friday we had to pass on the sad news that the great American chess player, academic and writer Robert Byrne had passed away, just days before his 85th birthday. Our eulogy was followed by a tribute from his friend Lubomir Kavalek. Today we bring you a number of games of the master, annotated by GM Alex Baburin (Chess Today), Tryfon Gavriel and Andrew Martin, the latter two with videos.

2013 Russian Youth Championship at AquaLoo

4/17/2013 – It is that time of year when hundreds of youths from all around Russia converge to compete against each other for the honor of the 2013 Russian Youth Champion title. Once again the event is staged at AquaLoo, a spacious venue that is both child and adult-friendly, where even parents can wait for the games to finish without being bored. Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili bring many pictures.

Why chess should be required in US schools

4/17/2013 – That is the banner headline of a lead story in the Pacific Standard, which tells, in a compelling video, how a three-million-soul nation like Armenia is using chess to teach children basic life skills. The same trend can be witnessed all over the world, including Britain, where thousands of pupils from inner-city primary schools are to receive lessons in chess in a £700,000 taxpayer-funded programme.

15th Dubai Open Chess Championship

4/16/2013 – This very strong tournament, with close to 200 players (38 GMs) from 34 countries, took place from April 6-16 and was won by Russian GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov. The venue was the Dubai Chess and Culture Club, possibly the biggest than most modern chess club in the world. Our giant closing report contains a wealth of pictures and plenty of videos to watch. Dubai 2013.

Bo Lindgren – Swedish grandmaster of composition

4/16/2013 – Bo Waldemar Lindgren (1927–2011) was one of the most versatile chess problem composers with awards in many genres. He was, as David Friedgood recalls, a friendly, serious character who had many interests, including science, literature and poetry. He composed around 500 problems and published an anthology in 1978. Here are examples of his creativity, and two problems for you to solve.