Biel R05: Bacrot beat Rapport – narrowly

7/26/2013 – And Alexander Moiseenko narrowly avoided losing to the other Frenchman, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Etienne Bacrot played a super-sharp Botvinnik Variation against Richard Rapport, but the Hungarian's 17th move took the French GM by surprise. Bacrot fought for an advantage, relinquished it on move 23, and then got it back when Rapport blundered on the next move. Round five report.

A long-term cure for HIV in the offing?

7/26/2013 – Nowadays an HIV/AIDS infection is treated with anti-retroviral medication (costing over $15,000 per year). Problem is that the disease is reignited as soon as the therapy is suspended. Now an Italian lab has achieved long-term remission in macaques, after a single three-month course. Why are we telling you this on a chess newspage? Because the grad student involved is chess IM Luca Shytaj.
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Biel R04: Ding Liren beats Vachier-Lagrave

7/25/2013 – The other two games were each drawn in 35 moves, whild this game of the day lasted just 28 moves. It came to a head on move 18, when the French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played an incautious knight move, which was thoroughly punished by his Chinese opponent. We have the games, results and video postmortems with the players in our round four report.

Seventh Leiden Chess Tournament

7/25/2013 – It is one of the strongest Dutch opens, and this this year fielded 75 players, 20 with titles. It was won in a close duel by Indian GM S.P Sethuraman, ahead of his compatriot GM Deep Sengupta, followed by Bosnian GM Predrag Nikolic. Leiden is the beautiful Dutch city where Rembrandt was born, just over 400 years ago. Report by WIM Ioana Smaranda Padurariu.

The Dutch Stonewall by Leonid Kritz

7/25/2013 – Often adding a new opening to one’s repertoire can be an intimidating task, not to mention onerous, which can require massive study. In Leonid Kritz’s 60-minute presentation of the Dutch Stonewall, it can be said that everything you need to play it has been covered, and he made sure you are ready for anything. A review by Albert Silver

China leads at halftime

7/24/2013 – The China vs. USA match has started in Ningbo. Ray Robson leads the Americans while Wang Yue does the same for the Chinese. After the classical games China has a substantial lead, but with the rapids still left the final result is yet to be determined. The American women's team has provided us with impressions and a huge pictorial report. Standings, games and pictures.

Biel R03: Three draws again

7/24/2013 – "In round three of the Biel GM tournament we saw caution, blunders and brilliance!" says Daniel King in his marvelous 3½-minute video summary of the day's events. This is a special service by the ChessBase team in Biel and is delivered just hours after the round has ended. In addition there are videos of the analysis sessions with the players, recorded immediately after the games. Round three report.

Short wins 2013 Canadian Open Championship

7/24/2013 – The 50th Canadian Open Chess Championship in Ottawa saw 178 players, including 12 GMs, competing in a nine-round Swiss. Nigel Short and Eric Hansen tied for first, with Short taking the title on tie-break. He is practically a resident, so often has he visited and played in the city. There were plenty of interesting games at the 2013 Championship, as John Upper shows in his giant pictorial report.

2013 Maccabiah Games - The Jewish Olympics

7/24/2013 – Every four years, the best Jewish sportsmen from all around the world come together to compete in the Maccabiah Games. Here the royal game has been recognized as a sport and was included in the Maccabiah Games as early as 1935, and since 1989 it has thrived under the tutelage of Moshe Slav. This year includes numerous events with opportunities for all.

Biel R02: 3-0! All games decisive

7/23/2013 – Yesterday all the games were drawn, today all brought decisions: Etienne Bacrot beat Ding Linren with white, while Alexander Moiseenko and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave overcame Richard Rapport and Ian Nepomniachtchi with the black pieces. Our full report is now up, with pictures and video interviews with the players, and a video summary of the round by GM Daniel King.

Richard Rapport: the sky's the limit

7/23/2013 – Three years ago we introduced you to a chess prodigy from Hungary who, at thirteen had become the sixth youngest grandmaster in history. Today at seventeen Richárd is a towering lad, charming and well-spoken. And his chess is probably the most exciting we can find in the current U21 generation. We are certain to hear a lot more about this chess star, portrayed here by Diana Mihajlova.

Karsten Müller: endgame lessons from the masters

7/23/2013 – Today's endgame lessons by GM Karsten Müller are taken from the recently concluded Renova FIDE Grand Prix in Zug, Switzerland, and involve three former FIDE world champions, Ponomariov, Topalov and Kasimdzhanov, as well as young stars like Nakamura, Caruana and Radjabov. So our ChessBase Magazine endgame expert is plucking grapes from the finest vines. Learn and enjoy.

Biel R01: All games fighting draws

7/22/2013 – One of today's games, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Richard Rapport, ended after a repetition on move 22. A quick draw, right? Wrong, it was in fact a very interesting game that deserves to be looked at quite carefully. The other two draws are similarly not uninteresting by any standard. We bring you games, pictures, video analysis and interviews in big round one report.

Daniel King – A Summer Simul in Hanwell

7/22/2013 – The fourteenth day of July 2013 proved to be scorching hot, but this did not deter chess enthusiasts in Oxfordshire, England, from appearing for a body and mind battle against chess GM and trainer Daniel King. According to organiser Carl Portman, in such events it is critical to avoid "taciturn introverts" and invite a gregarious grandmaster, willing to engage with the players.

Kavalek in Huffington: Tired chess brains in China

7/21/2013 – Saved from collapse by rich Russian sponsors, the FIDE Grand Prix moved to China this month for its fifth leg. Some of the world class players came to Beijing tired from the previous hectic schedule, having taken part in the Candidates Tournament, Alekhine and Tal Memorials, Norway Classic and Grand Prix in Zug and Thessaloniki. Huffington Post columnist Lubomir Kavalek analyses the consequences.

The Kasparovs tour Africa for chess in education

7/20/2013 – Former World Champion Garry Kasparov and his wife Dasha just completed a trip across seven African nations to meet with chess and education officials as well as chess players and kids. It was part of the Kasparov Chess Foundation's drive to bring chess into education around the world by gathering public and private sponsors and organizations together. We have a giant pictorial report.

Slovenian WIM Vesna Rozic in distress

7/19/2013 – Vesna Rožic, 26, has played for her country in six Mitropa Cups, four European Championships and four Chess Olympiads. She is the second strongest Slovenian player, after world number four Anna Muzychuk. Now she has been struck by a very serious condition: peritoneal cancer. Always a fighter Vesna is determined not to give up but to combat the disease.

International Chess Festival Biel

7/19/2013 – The double round robin GM tournament in Biel, Switzerland, this year features six players, led by Maxime Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Etienne Bacrot. It takes place from July 20 – August 2nd and will be covered extensively with video commentary and postgame interviews on Playchess. There are a number of subsidiary events in which practically anyone can participate.

Happy Nelson Mandela Day!

7/18/2013 – While the Commonwealth Championship ended in a deserving victory for GM Abhijeet Gupta, its conclusion was overshadowed by some prestigious VIP guests: South African president Jacob Zuma and former world champion Garry Kasparov. Zuma revealed that as a political prisoner he had played chess with soap pieces and driftwood. Today they celebrate Nelson Mandela's 95th birthday.

The Life Gambit à la Benko – Part two

7/18/2013 – On Monday Pal Benko, legendary grandmaster, author, and problem composer, turned 85. Diana Mihajlova, who recently met with the fit and active octogenarian in his home town of Budapest, sent us a birthday report in two parts. Today we learn of Benkos escape from Communist Hungary to the US, and his relationship with Bobby Fischer. And we get to solve two highly entertaining problems.

Tikkanen beats Grandelius in Swedish Ch.

7/17/2013 – Top seed Nils Grandelius dominated throughout the event, playing impressive, imaginative chess. In the final round he was caught by clubmate Hans Tikkanen. In the playoff Grandelius could have won both rapid games, but let Tikkanen escape. The blitz ended 1-1, in the Armageddon Grandelius once again had a winning position – and missed an important zwischenzug. He was deeply upset.

Swordplay in Slovakia

7/17/2013 – Deep in Slovakia, in the midst of a volcanic caldera, lies Banska Stiavnica. This medieval town is a World Heritage Site and for the last years has hosted a spectacular live chess event as a part of its medieval summer festivities. While GM Sergey Mosvesian and GM Jan Markos fought on a board, the live pieces enacted sword fights for the audience. Don't miss this beautiful pictorial.

Beijing GP: Mamedyarov wins, 2847 performance

7/16/2013 – Azeri GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew his final round game against Boris Gelfand to claim clear first place with 7.0/11 points. Alexander Grischuk placed second, half a point behind of the winner, with Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov sharing third place with 6.0/11. Full report with the games, standings , postgame video interviews and many, many pictures.

Ashley Tapp: better opportunities for all

7/16/2013 – What do you do if you are a young chess player, a girl, living in Canada, talented enought to qualify for national and international events, but not really able to afford the trips and the training? Be undaunted and start fundraising for the means. That is what 13-year-old Ashley Tapp is doing, successfully enough to extend the fundraising for general causes. An inspiration for all chess kids.