Women’s World Championship Final – Ushenina takes the title

12/1/2012 – After two draws in the regular games Anna Ushenina and Antoaneta Stefanova traded blows, each taking a game. With the score tied at 2:2 rapid chess tiebreaks had to be played. In the first Ushenina held her pressing opponent to an 89-move draw, in the second she ground her down in 94 moves. The Ukrainian is now Women's World Champion. Congratulations, Anna!

Tashkent R8: Leko beats Kamsky, Karjakin and Caruana lead

11/30/2012 – "It's pretty weird," said Gata Kamsky. "In spite of superior development I could not find an advantage. It took me almost an hour to realize that Black is just better. Amazing, but this is chess!" His opponent, Peter Leko, was able to score a first win after seven draws. No other game was decisive, Sergey Karjakin and Fabiano Caruana continue to lead. Full report with GM commentary.

LCC update: Press conference, Finding Nepo, Twitter game

11/30/2012 – Friday was the opening of the 4th London Chess Classic, the strongest ever event in Britain. It started with some informal games, a press conference where it was revealed that Magnus Carlsen's second Ian Nepomniachtchi would be granted a visa – and more relevantly: how to pronounce his name. It ended with a Twitter game. Remember: the games start on Saturday at 2 p.m. local time.

Old hands

11/30/2012 – Black's queen stands perfectly centralised, while her counterpart on h5 lacks any purpose. What does the move 33.Qf7, occupying the 7th rank and attacking the knight on e6, entail for White?
A) a slight initiative
B) a clear plus
C) an immediate zero

New: ChessBase Magazine December, larger diagram and solution.

LCC update: special study, Magnus' second, Game of the Day

11/29/2012 – For this prestigious event, which starts on Saturday, Israeli composer Yochanan Afek has provided a highly entertaining chess study. Meanwhile we learn that GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen's second for London, was refused a visa for Britain. And finally we bring you a video preview of the Chess Classic by Andrew Martin, who will be doing Play of the Day shows during the event.

Women’s World Championship Final – Ushenina goes into the lead

11/29/2012 – The first game was a fighting draw, the second a short, sharp theoretical battle. In the third former women's world champion, Antoaneta Stefanova went for the Chebanenko Variation. Her opponent, Anna Ushenina conducted an interesting tactical operation, and when Stefanova got into time trouble played flawlessly to win. She leads with 2:1 points and one (regular) game to go. Not impressed?

Tashkent R7: Karjakin and Caruana edge the rest

11/29/2012 – As the second half of the tournament unfolds, the podium players could not be less certain. Morozevich has shown himself to be a good candidate, but back and forth results have prevented him from running away with it. Today he blundered in an equal endgame against Karjakin, who took the lead together with Caruana who beat the struggling Dominguez. Big illustrated report with GM commentary.

Judit Polgar: 'I never wanted men's pity'

11/29/2012 – "Almost a quarter of a century ago I met a 12-year-old girl in Budapest who told me when she was rich she wanted a castle," writes Dominic Lawson in The Independent. Earlier this month he went back to Hungary to see Judit and her "strikingly handsome" husband Gusztav Font, who showed him around their smart two-floor apartment in Budapest. Must-read portrait in the British broadsheet.

Watson on Martin: The Queen's Gambit Declined

11/28/2012 – "I think that this ChessBase DVD is a good example of IM Andrew Martin's ability to present a competent, sound repertoire in a clear way. The core is the Cambridge Springs Variation, a great choice because it is solid and limits White's choices at the same time. This material can be used profitably by players from an elementary level all the way up to low master." Review.

The London Chess Classic 2012 starts on Saturday

11/28/2012 – Reminder: in just three days we will see the start of this premium event which this year features a stronger line-up and an average rating higher than any previous chess tournament held in the UK. The event is staged by Chess in Schools and Communities, a UK registered charity whose mission is to deliver chess to primary schools in UK inner cities. Reports and info.

The secret to chess with Maurice Ashley

11/28/2012 – There are many topics in chess that are difficult to understand. Maurice Ashley is one of the people who teach these topics in a comprehensive way. His DVD series is an option that many of our readers know. Now he complements this with his monthly show on Playchess. Be there when enthusiastic commentary meets hunger for chess. More information...

Tashkent R6: Moro regains sole lead

11/28/2012 – Alexander Morozevich was once again the highlight of the round, as he came back from a disappointing loss against Ruslan Ponomariov, sharing the lead with four others, to beat Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez for the only win of the day. Many of the other games showed promise, such as Gelfand against Mamedyarov, or Leko versus Hao, but all drew. Full report with GM commentary.

Tashkent R5: Kamsky, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov win

11/27/2012 – Boris Gelfand played a risky attack against Gata Kamsky's Leningrad System, and lost the game in a tactical melee. Ruslan Ponomariov faced a French Tarrasch by Alexander Morozevich and outplayed the erstwhile leader. Rustam Kasimdzhanov refuted Wang Hao's Scotch to win his first game in this tournament – and join four other players in the lead. Full report with GM commentary.

2nd Malta Open: an open-air museum

11/27/2012 – Malta, an island with a rich history, architecture, and beautiful beaches, is not known as a typical destination for chess, yet with its second international open in a breathtaking setting in Valletta, it may be becoming one. The guide books describe the Maltese Islands as being one big open-air museum, which might seem like a marketing ploy. Or is it? A beautiful pictorial by Alina L'Ami.

2nd UNAM won by Magnus Carlsen

11/26/2012 – In the second semifinal, Judit Polgar faced Manuel Leon Hoyos, and defeated him, which led to the expected and eagerly anticipated final between Carlsen and her. To the audience's delight, Judit struck the first blow and won the opening game, but Carlsen then won game two and the tiebreaks. In the open, Bartlomiej Macieja took first with 8.5/9. Here is the final illustrated report.

Women’s World Championship – Ushenina vs Stefanova in the finals

11/26/2012 – In the semifinals the Bulgarian GM and former women's world champion Antoaneta Stefanova knocked out the Indian GM Harika Dronavalli in their regular games. The Ukrainian IM Anna Ushenina and Chinese WGM Ju Wenjun drew their two games, so that the decision, in favour of Ushenina, came in the rapid tiebreaks. Monday is a free day, and the four-game final starts on Tuesday. Round five report.

From the Spanish to the King's Gambit

11/26/2012 – Learn From the Open Games is a ChessBase DVD by IM Sam Collins from Ireland. Collins makes it clear that this DVD is not intended as an opening repertoire for either White or Black. Instead, it is meant as a showcase for recurring motifs in a number of instructive Open games. The Chess Cafe reviewer Steve Goldberg thinks this DVD provides an instructive and entertaining experience.

Tashkent R4: Caruana, Svidler, Wang Hao win

11/25/2012 – An exciting round with exciting games. The top seed Fabiano Caruana won his second game in a row, Peter Svidler defeated the former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, and Wang Hao wrestled the full point from the out-of-form US GM Gata Kamsky. Morozevich still leads with 3.0/4, followed by four players with half a point less. Full illustrated report with GM commentary.

CBM training: Krushing attack, Hou Yifan's Knightmare

11/24/2012 – For this weekend edition our linguistically creative ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller has selected two games from the current Women's World Championship in Khanty Mansiysk, and a bonus game, Anand vs Caruana, where the reigning open world champion shows us how to handle rook and knight against rook and knight. Learn and enjoy.

Second Gran Fiesta UNAM with Carlsen and Polgar

11/24/2012 – The UNAM chess festival in Mexico City is one of the largest in the world, with thousands of chess fans, many tournaments and activities. The main attraction is a rapid and blindfold knockout tournament with Magnus Carlsen, Lazaro Bruzon, Judit Polgar and Manuel Leon Hoyos. In the first round on Friday Carlsen knocked out Bruzon, and today Polgar is playing Leon Hoyos. Illustrated report.

Tashkent R3: Caruana bounces back, Mamedyarov also wins

11/24/2012 – A bad day for the Grünfeld, as the two who played it lost. Mamedyarov was the quickest to win as Svidler found himself in a terrible bind very early on and eventually lost the exchange and then the game. Caruana bounced back from yesterday’s loss, and beat Kamsky after the queenside locked up, and the Italian unleashed an unstoppable kingside attack. Full report with GM commentary.

Queens versus knight pair

11/23/2012 – The passed a-pawn is about to promote, but on the other hand the first player threatens to hunt down the enemy king with her central knights. The sequence 38...a1Q 39.Ne8 wins for whom?
A) White
B) Black
C) neither; the game ends in perpetual check

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Tashkent R2: Morozevich strikes again, takes sole lead

11/23/2012 – Although the second round had more than its fair share of draws, they weren't without a struggle. Perhaps the closest of the non-winners was Svidler against Gelfand when he penetrated to the 7th with his rook, only to withdraw it and the pressure. Morozevich delighted his fans by outplaying Caruana in a non-mainline Berlin endgame to take sole lead. Report with analysis by GM Romain Edouard.

A talk with 19-year-old GM Sanan Sjugirov

11/22/2012 – He was born in Elista 19 years ago and has been World Champion U10 and U14, Russian Junior champion, World Junior vice–champion and also European Rapid vice–champion, amongst others. Now Sanan Sjugirov has added a brand–new title to his extensive curriculum: he won the famous Magistral Casino Round Robin tournament, recently held in Barcelona. Here is an interview by Ana Matnadze.