FIDE April 2013 ratings – and reform plans

4/1/2013 – Vladimir Kramnik lost a bunch of rating points and descended from rank two to three, exchanging places with Levon Aronian, while Fabiano Caruana gained twelve to rejoin the top ten. Apart from that nothing really noteworthy to report this month, which has led to discussions within FIDE on how to "hot up" the list. We were privy to some of their very daring plans and can tell you what is in store.

Candidates R14 – leaders lose, Carlsen qualifies

4/1/2013 – Magnus Carlsen overpressed a messy position against Peter Svidler and was swiftly punished. However Kramnik gambled all of his chips, and Ivanchuk simply took them all! Carlsen’s luck has not abandoned him and he is now the official challenger against Anand for the World Chess Championship, edging out the Russian’s great performance by virtue of his better tiebreak. Full report with GM analysis.

Candidates R13 – pictures and postmortems

4/1/2013 – After a truly dramatic twelfth round that overturned all expectations we saw a thirteenth round that was equally tense – with equally score table churning results. Everything was played out in the live video coverage of the organisers, which is meticulously archived so that people who missed the games can relive them at a later time, including postmortem analysis with the players.

Sainthood for Bobby Fischer?

4/1/2013 – It has come to our attention that an application for Sainthood has been made for the late World Champion Bobby Fischer. This was initiated by Stan Vaughan of the World Chess Federation. The application cites six postmortem miracles that were prayed for and verified as having occurred – normally only two are required.

Candidates R13 – Kramnik draws, Carlsen wins

3/31/2013 – Another heart-stopping round. Vladimir Kramnik had a very nice position and looked right on the path to victory, in his game against Boris Gelfand and in the tournament. This because Magnus Carlsen had a very drawish position on his board against Teimour Radjabov. But the latter blundered in the endgame and Carlsen drew level with Kramnik. The event goes all the way to the wire.

Candidates – tiebreaks, chances of winning

3/31/2013 – Round 12 of the Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship was a thrilling affair, and it ripped a huge hole in the sail of Magnus Carlsen, who had been coasting to victory. Now the odds have been overturned and Kramnik is the statistical favourite to win. But it all depends on the tiebreak, as Jeff Sonas explains. Anyone for an expert lesson in statistics and chess?

Candidates R12 – full report, pictures, videos

3/30/2013 – The twelfth round of the Candidates was easily the most dramatic of this tournament so far: Kramnik's victory over Aronian and Ivanchuk's defeat of Magnus Carlsen turned all expectations upside down. IM Lawrence Trent and Nigel Short doing a splendid commentary job on the World Chess live broadcast. If you missed the action yesterday you can relive the round and commentary – all six hours of it.

Ketevan to be operated in Berlin in April

3/30/2013 – We recently reported that during the Women's World Chess Team Championship, which was held from March 2nd to 12th in Astana, Kazakhstan, one participant, Georgian IM Salome Melia, was not playing only for the honour of her country, but also for her daughter, four-month-old daughter Ketevan, who desperately needs a heart operation. Here's how things developed.

Candidates R12 – Kramnik wins, overtakes Carlsen

3/29/2013 – A tremendously exciting round: Vladimir Kramnik pulled off an incredibly important victory over Levon Aronian, who blundered in the endgame. Meanwhile Magnus Carlsen got into trouble against Vassily Ivanchuk, who won the rook ending in impeccable style. This left Kramnik in the lead, with two rounds to go.  High drama.

Candidates – tiebreaks, chances of winning

3/29/2013 – In his last statistical evaluation of the tournament Jeff Sonas gave Magnus Carlsen a 71% chance of winning the tournament and becoming the challenger. Levon Aronian had a 12% chance and Vladimir Kramnik 9%. In his latest article we see how the values have changes. In addition, if you were wondering how the tiebreak system works in case of a tie, here's a precise explanation.

Candidates – Postmortems of round eleven

3/29/2013 – Alexander Grischuk drew against tournament leader Magnus Carlsen with a coffeehouse move; Vladimir Kramnik beat Teimour Radjabov, who fell for a nice trick on move 28; Peter Svidler played a potentially tournament-deciding game by beating Carlsen's main rival Levon Aronian; Vassily Ivanchum and Boris Gelfand ended an theoretical duel with a draw on move 17. Press conferences.

Candidates R11 – Kramnik wins, Aronian loses

3/28/2013 – Magnus Carlsen played a coasting 23-move draw against Alexander Grischuk. Meanwhile his nearest rival, Levon Aronian, came a cropper against Peter Svidler and is now a full point behind the Norwegian. But: Vladimir Kramnik beat Teimour Radjabov and, with three rounds to go, is just half a point behind the leader. Express report with pictures, games and standings.

Candidates R10 – the odds of winning the event

3/28/2013 – In our follow-up of round ten of the Candidates we bring you new pictures from London, and video postgame analysis conducted with the players immediately after they finished the rounds. Some of the explanations are humorous, many highly revealing. As an additional bonus we bring you the latest Monte Carlo calculations of the odds of each player winning the event.

Candidates R10 – Kramnik, Aronian, Carlsen win

3/27/2013 – Once again the spectators were given a feast of great chess. Radjabov-Svidler ended in an early repetition, while the first win came after Grischuk blundered and converted into a lost endgame against Kramnik. Aronian beat Ivanchuk by exploiting his opponent’s time trouble to complicate and attack, and Carlsen ground down Gelfand in the same opening Radjabov had nearly defeated him with.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (97)

3/27/2013 – London, one hundred years ago. Facing Edward Lasker in a seven-board simultaneous display, Capablanca produced an entertaining and instructive game that received analytical attention from Alekhine and Spielmann. The Editor of Chess Notes provides extensive information on the game, reproducing material from Austria, Cuba, England, Germany, the Netherlands and the US. A remarkable encounter.

First female Advanced Chess match

3/27/2013 – In Advanced Chess players are allowed to consult a computer during the game, analysing the position and making decisions about their next moves. A match has been organised on April 2nd between reigning women's world champion GM Anna Ushenina and President of the All-Ukrainian Charity Foundation «Chess for Children»WIM Olena Boytsun. Press release.

Candidates – Who is going to win?

3/26/2013 – Last night an old friend – a very strong player – asked us to estimate the chances of Magnus Carlsen finishing this tournament as the winner. He thought it was four to one. Today we received exact calculations from statistician Jeff Sonas. They contain some remarkable information. Did you know that for Carlsen finishing tied for first is almost as bad as finishing second? Read and believe.

Candidates – Round nine postmortems

3/26/2013 – Magnus Carlsen magically survived a powerful novelty by Vladimir Kramnik in a Catalan; Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk played the most spectacular game of the tournament so far; after six and a half hours of play, Vassily Ivanchuk scored his first win of the tournament; and Boris Gelfand defeated Levon Aronian in a game that was critical for the tournament standings. Postgame press conferences.

Candidates R9 – Carlsen survives, Aronian loses

3/25/2013 – A leader emerges – naturally it's Carlsen. The Norwegian super-star must count how many lives he has remaining, as he certainly used one up today to salvage his game against Kramnik. Aronian fell prey to an emerging Gelfand, which gives Carlsen solo lead. Svidler and Grischuk played a spectacular game, while Ivanchuk ground down Radjabov with technical precision. Full report inside.

Maurice Ashley at TED

3/25/2013 – You know him as one of the most dynamic speakers in chess, and a grandmaster and author, and today and next Monday, he is going to be the live commentator of the Candidates games at Playchess. However, recently he appeared at the world-renowned TED speaker platform, and more specifically their TED Ed program, discussing how to solve problems backwards. See his fascinating talk.

Alekhine Memorial International Super-Tournament

3/25/2013 – This event, which will be held from April 20 to May 1st at the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris. The participants: Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Svidler, Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave, Fressinet, Adams, Vitiugov and Ding Liren. The event will open with a concert by Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky, who is a chess fan and a great admirer of Alexander Alekhine. A cultural treat.

Candidates – round eight postmortems

3/25/2013 – As you probably know and have seen, at the London Candidates, in addition to the live commentary during the entire round, the players have agreed to give live interviews immediately after each round, and actually analyse the games they have just completed. This often provides fascinating insights to their thinking, as well as many interesting factoids around the game.

Candidates R8 – Kramnik, Gelfand, Grischuk win

3/24/2013 – One of the wonderful things about chess is its unpredictability, and after two rounds of all draws where wins had been expected, today saw three wins where at most one was expected. While Carlsen and Aronian drew, Radjabov fell prey to a battling Gelfand, Kramnik squeezed Svidler until he choked, and Grischuk beat Ivanchuk in his first Candidates win in six years. Round eight report.

ChessCasting – making the invisible visible!

3/24/2013 – At the London Candidates Tournament we can see an ambitious project by the organisers FIDE and AGON: the innovative display of the games in progress, on mobile tablets for the audience and on computer screens for people at home. The goal is to make this software platform the standard for chess entertainment broadcasting and turn chess into an exciting spectator sport. Press release.