Chennai G9: Magnus .44 beats battling Anand

11/21/2013 – It was everything the chess fans hoped for, no matter who they supported: a sharp battle with Anand all guns ablaze. Carlsen admitted this was the first time he risked being mated in the match, and the position could not have been more exciting. With computer precision he found all the defensive moves, and a final slip by Anand left him half a point from the title. Large illustrated report.

Istanbul-Cologne rematch

11/21/2013 – Just over a year and ago a nice event took place online. The players from Satranc Club in Istanbul huddled together to play a match against their opponents from Cologne. The clubs and the players loved the rivalry, but they still wanted to meet over the board, face to face. Through hard work and clever organization this was made possible and Guven Manay reports on a friendly match.

WCh Chennai: Languages of India, and of chess

11/20/2013 – The World Championship press room is filled with journalists from all parts of India, and they are filing reports in a dozen different languages. The main Indian language is Hindi, spoken by over four hundred million people. But Chennai is in the middle of the Dravidian language family that is less closely related to Hindi than, let us say, Norwegian (both Indo-Aryan languages). We thought we would give you an impression of the local dialects.

Deep Fritz 14: Faster, better, cheaper

11/20/2013 – Deep Fritz 14 has just been released and this 64-bit program comes with a brand new engine that supports up to eight processor cores. It is faster than ever and is almost 100 Elo stronger than Deep Fritz 13. In addition, Deep Fritz 14 is now the cheapest one ever at EUR 69.90, but retains all the perks such as Let’s Check, Cloud Engines, and a half year of Premium Playchess! Read to find out more...

When chess beats lingerie models

11/20/2013 – While chess has never lacked respect, the general media has long taken only a casual look, publishing the occasional centerpiece as a form of tipping its hat. Now, the world championship and chess itself have seen an absolutely mind-boggling surge of interest, and men's fashion magazine GQ was shocked to report that an article on chess was beating a photo gallery of 100 lingerie models.

Chennai 08: "Berlin...and yada yada yada"

11/19/2013 – Carlsen summarized the game in the following manner: "He played the Berlin. I played the most solid line... yada yada yada we go to the doping control." With only four rounds to go team Anand is in panic mode and they must create complications for Carlsen on the very next game. Anand only has two whites left, and if this is all he can create with black he will have to rely on them. Today's brief analysis.

Chennai G8: Anand plays Berlin against Carlsen

11/19/2013 – The openings were a surprise all-round as Magnus Carlsen opened with 1.e4 for the first time. Whether or not Vishy Anand was surprised by this decision is not clear, but it was hard to predict a Berlin as his comeback choice. Carlsen was unfazed and rattled off each of his moves with 30 seconds thought, leading to complete equality. They drew after 40 minutes. Report and video analysis.

Kavalek in Huffington: Carlsen, Azerbaijan

11/19/2013 – World Chess Champion Vishy Anand, 43, is defending his title against Magnus Carlsen, 22, and has made his task very difficult. The 2013 European Team Championship in the Polish capital of Warsaw was won by the Azerbaijani team. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek comments on some surprising knight retreats, from this event and in earlier games.

ETCC Final: Azerbajian, Ukraine gold!

11/18/2013 – The Women's section saw very few surprises as Russia was able to take out an Ukraine and clinched silver, while Poland took out Lithuania for bronze. In the Open Azerbaijan retained its lead by drawing Armenia while Russia's win against France didn't allow them to leapfrog over their opponents, but did allow them third place while France retained the silver. Beautiful closing ceremony report.

Chennai 07: Stabilization or Insipidity?

11/18/2013 – The obvious pro-Carlsen view of the round is that an easy draw puts him half a point closer to the World Championship title. However there is something to be said that is favorable to Anand. After two tough losses he managed to simply survive, he has time to stabilize his game and maybe come back with something stronger not in this set of games, but the next. Analysis of today's tame game.

RCA online prize tournament!

11/18/2013 – The entire chess population has become a big audience with the WCC. However this Saturday jump back into playing with an online tournament hosted on www.playchess.com and sponsored by the Remote Chess Academy. Win prizes during the last rest day while Anand and Carlsen finish off their preparation! All details of this Swiss tournament inside.

Are twelve games enough?

11/18/2013 – One of the more controversial aspects of the world championship today lies in the actual length of the title match. Since 1886, most of the matches to decide the title have lasted more than twelve games, which brings to question the fairness of the current system: How efficient is it at determining the rightful champion? Michael von Keitz looks at past matches to see how history might have changed.

Chennai: Impressions from the World Championship

11/18/2013 – Senior ChessBase editor Frederic Friedel, who is a personal friend of both the World Champion and the Challenger, has undertaken a trip to South India to attend at least part of the World Championship. In a series of special reports he will provide us with his impressions of Chennai and the venue of this spectacular event. Part one is about getting there and settling in.

Chennai G7: A toothless draw

11/18/2013 – After the loss in game six, many speculated on what Anand might do to shake things up and prepare a Rambo mission against Carlsen’s king. Some hoped for a King's Gambit, while others suggested a Scotch. When White repeated the same Anti-Berlin line from Game six, the question was what he had found to insist on this. The answer was nothing as Carlsen equalized with ease and drew on move 32. Round seven report.

Christie's exquisite chess sets auction

11/17/2013 – Christie's is a fine arts auction house with headquarters in London, currently the world's largest – sales in the first half of 2012 totalled some $3.5 billion, the highest in the art market history. Occasionally they have a dedicated section, and starting from the 20th of November, Christie's South Kensington section will offer for auction 106 interesting chess sets from three different collections. Take a look.

ETCC 08: Medals defined Tomorrow

11/17/2013 – Almost all medals are up for grabs at the European Team Championship. The only major exception to this rule is the fact that the Ukrainian Women's team has demolished the competition and has secured the gold medal for themselves regardless of what happens tomorrow. In the open nothing is defined while silver and bronze in the women's can still be anybody's. Penultimate round report.

Chennai 06: Disaster for India

11/16/2013 – The match isn't quite over, but Anand is in such a disadvantage. Psychologically he might be able to recover, but the damage done in the scoreboard and the obvious fact that his preparation isn't causing Carlsen problems should worry him greatly. Tomorrow is as rest day, a much needed one for himself and his team as they try to conjure some ideas. Analysis of today's major mistake.

Chennai G6: Carlsen wins second straight

11/16/2013 – The game was a solid, uninspiring Spanish that seemed to have nothing in it. The position simplified and an endgame arose with draw predictions from all sides. It was no surprise that Carlsen insisted, until Anand dropped a pawn out of the blue. After the surprise subsided, a draw was again on the horizon, and Magnus played his last trap. Suddenly, it was all over. Illustrated report.

ETCC 07: Ukraine, France mantain

11/16/2013 – In a wild match France tied with Azerbaijan and keeps the lead. Despite the fact that that was possibly the most important match in terms of standings, certainly many eyes were focused on the Russia-Armenia match. Sargissian took out Tomashevsky while everyone else drew giving Armenia the win. Ukraine relied on Muzychuk's win to take out Poland in the women's and leads comfortably. Round 7.

Chennai 05: First blood, what next?

11/15/2013 – Carlsen won, he has proven that he can obtain the kind of positions that he is strong in, and that even Anand cannot always hold positions which can technically be held b ut are very uncomfortable. The World Champion has been in this situation before but he will need to conjure up all his tricks tomorrow to be able to put on the pressure on the Challenger. Full analysis of today's round.

Chennai G5: Carlsen draws first blood

11/15/2013 – In game five, Magnus Carlsen finally eschewed the Reti, and after 1.c4 it was a Semi-Slav. It did not seem promising as he went for simplifications, but it was exactly the type he thrives on, and exactly what Carlsen has been hoping for since game one. Vishy Anand seemed up for the challenge, but each time he regained his footing, he slipped. Ultimately he failed to hold and Carlsen takes the lead. Illustrated report.

ETCC 06: No changes at the top

11/15/2013 – France and Ukraine were stopped at the draws in the Open and Women's section respectively, but they still keep their lead. Both are trailed closely by a pack of teams, but Ukraine has a full match point over the nearest competitors while France only has a half point over Azerbaijan. We bring you the report of round 6 while Alina l'Ami shows us what they did during the free day.

WCh Chennai: The Nature of Draws

11/14/2013 – Draws in chess are inevitable when two players exhaust all possible winning chances, and neither blundered nor made mistakes that were that easily exploitable. Draws come in all shapes and forms, some to secure the paycheck at the end of a tournament, and some the just result of an all-out battle that neither player managed to win. Here is a look at the nature of draws with video analysis by Tryfon Gavriel.

ETCC 05: Ukraine, France leaders

11/14/2013 – France has kept the lead as they drew an important match against Hungary. The immediate suitors are now Azerbaijan, Greece and Georgia. In the women's section a solo leader has finally emerged. Muzychuk, Lagno and Ushenina are having a spectacular event and they helped the Ukrainian team annihilate Poland. Although there are many rounds left, it seems hard to stop them. Round five report.