World Championship Game seven – pictures and video

5/21/2012 – At last another game with action and excitement – and a 1-0 decision! Many spectators kept their cool, but some didn't. We brought you full analysis by different GMs and IMs in our previous report, and now we add to that with a video report by Europe Echecs and some wonderful pictures provided by the event photographers Anastasiya Karlovich and Alexey Lushenkov. Relax and enjoy.

World Championship G8 – Anand strikes back, wins in 17 moves!

5/21/2012 – What a game, what a fascinating turn of events! World Champion Vishy Anand shockingly lost the seventh game and let Challenger Boris Gelfand take the lead. Today he struck back with a resounding 17-move win that took commentators Peter Leko and Ian Nepomniachtchi and more importantly Gelfand completely by surprise. Express report with tons of GM commentary and videos.

World Championship G7 – Gelfand draws first blood and leads

5/20/2012 – It's the decisive result for which everyone has been clamoring, but it wasn't the big win Anand's fans were hoping for. As noted by Kasparov, the buzzword so far has been "safety", and here it was taken too far, as the passive play by the world champion allowed Gelfand to penetrate with decisive effect for the match's first win. Extensive analysis by GM Gilberto Milos and IM Malcolm Pein.

Kavalek in Huffington: Women in chess – a few tales (Part 2)

5/20/2012 – After WWII Russian ladies had the World Championship title, but in 1962 they were replaced by two Georgian players who dominated women's chess – for nearly thirty years. Then the Chinese took over, their dynasty only briefly interrupted by champions from Hungary, Bulgaria and Russia. In part two of his Huffington Post column GM Lubomir Kavalek retraces history with some exciting games.

ChessBase 25 Composing Tourney Awards – Part five

5/19/2012 – "Congratulations to ChessBase on attracting such high quality entries!" writes problem expert David Friedgood. "The first prize winner is truly amazing, showing a fight of rare equality of brilliance between the protagonists." There were many more laudatory messages from problemists and amateurs alike. Today's studies are from USA, Spain, France, Argentina and Hungary. Final installment.

2012 Polish Extra League

5/19/2012 – Not all chess leagues can sustain the pure caliber of the German Bundesliga, but the Polish Extra League does have a good excuse: they limit teams to only one foreign 'import'. If you thought this might mean each would be jockeying for a 2700, think again as Polonia invested in Anna Muzychuk (2598) to strengthen their lineup. The start brought hard-fought games with several creative efforts.

CBM training: Endgames from the US Championships

5/18/2012 – Gata Kamsky is currently in the sole lead, Hikaru Nakamura is trying to catch him. Our ChessBase Magazin author Dr Karsten Müller has been following the games and extracting the ones with interesting and instructive endgames. His analysis and annotations will help you to improve your technique in this vital section of the game and give your Elo rating a boost.

World Championship G6 – A sixth draw; Kasparov comments

5/18/2012 – It was a sixth straight draw, and though no significant advantage was ever achieved, the chances were Gelfand's, which was in itself both promising and worrisome. Promising as he got a small edge, but worrisome as Anand has held Gelfand so easily with Black so far. Perhaps the highlight was the surprise commentator: Garry Kasparov. Full report with analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

US Championship – Kamsky takes lead with two rounds to go

5/18/2012 – It was an unexpected turn of events, in which a bit of good fortune was Gata Kamsky's reward for years of hard work. In round nine, tied with Nakamura, Kamsky saw Seirawan walk into some years old preparation that ended the game with a spectacular finish. Nakamura was not so lucky as he toiled for 121 moves against Lenderman before shaking hands. Illustrated report with video summaries.

World Championship G5 – Sveshnikov drawn in 27 moves

5/17/2012 – In the fifth game Anand and Gelfand played 17 moves of theory, after which White deviated from the previous 2009 game and seemed to get a small advantage. However Anand allowed his Israeli challenger to trade down and after ten more moves there was nothing left to play for. Full report with pictures and videos, as well as double analysis by GM Romain Edouard and IM Malcolm Pein.

Sigeman: Caruana wins Sigeman with 2852 performance

5/16/2012 – He is the hottest chess talent – still a junior but number eight in the world. Italian/American GM Fabiano Caruana won his last two games in the Hipp Theater in Malmo, Sweden. His 2852 performance should contribute seven points to his FIDE rating. Hungarian GM Peter Leko celebrated his "comeback" with the second place and a respectable 2792 performance. Big closing report.

Chess and Art in Dnipropetrovsk

5/16/2012 – It is hard to pronounce, but a great place live, study, or go out. And for chess. The industrial metropolis in southern Ukraine has just staged a Week of Chess and Art, initiated by Irina Filatova, the sister of the main sponsor of the World Championship in Moscow. Students of Dnipropetrovsk art schools presented their work on chess at the Historical Museum. WIM Olena Boytsun reports.

World Championship G4 reflections – it's the computers!

5/16/2012 – Two exciting games, two rather dull efforts, and a scoreboard that shows 2-2 with four consecutive draws. Some chess fans are starting to feel disappointed and searching for someone or something to blame. The shortness of the match contributes to the problem, by making the players especially cautious. But the main problem lies elsewhere, as Steve Giddins boldly proposes. Food for thought.

World Championship Rest Day 2 – Daniel King opines on action and lack of

5/16/2012 – Today, GM Daniel King did a private broadcast on the action until now, and more specifically commented on the lack of action many have been grumbling about. To further spice up the show, he read the comments by Steve Giddins on computers and chess, and had something to say about that as well. Still, it is not just a talk show, and he compares Anand to ... Petrosian!

US Championship – Kamsky joins Nakamura in lead

5/16/2012 – One thing must be said about the US championship, on top of the great organization and live coverage open to all, and that is that it is anything but boring. In round five, Nakamura had taken the sole lead, but Kamsky was not about to give up his title that easily, and in round seven caught up as the two lead by a full point. GM Ramirez beat Kaidanov in one of the craziest games of his career.

World Championship: Interviews, reflections, chess sets

5/16/2012 – Is the Championship in Moscow, without a Russian player, an audience success? Can chess ever be that? Yes it can, says chief organiser Ilya Levitov, who has a 21st Century formula to bring chess to a wide audience – and make events pay for themselves. Compelling. We also get a tour of chess sets and pictures in the Tretyakov Museum. Must-watch interview by Europe Echecs.

World Championship G3 – Anand tantalizingly close to first win

5/15/2012 – Game three came tantalizing close to a first decisive result, but alas, the audience was left wanting once more. Surprised by Gelfand's Grünfeld in game one, Anand came prepared with an offbeat variation, seeking to just play chess. After a deeply passed pawn on d6 it seemed he would be victorious, but Gelfand saved the game. Daniel King shows us how Anand could probably have won. Update.

Negi wins 11th Asian Continental Chess Championship

5/15/2012 – Parimarjan Negi of India, once the world's youngest grandmaster, has won the very strong Asian Championship. In the women's section Irine Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia triumphed. The highlight of the championship was the exceptional video reporting by Iranian FIDE official Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh. Take time, watch these reports with the two enchanting Vietnamese anchors.

World Championship G4 – Gelfand unable to dent Anand's Semi-Slav

5/15/2012 – As in game two, the players stuck to their guns, showing the Semi-Slav was here to stay. Despite a slight modification, Gelfand's preparation was insufficient to generate any winning chances and the game remained both tame and balanced throughout. This also means it lacked excitement and though lasting ten more moves than before, the result was never in doubt. Report with GM analysis.

47th Capablanca Memorial won by Ivanchuk

5/15/2012 – While it was Leinier Domínguez's dream to shine in front of his home crowd, the plan was foiled by a certain Ukrainian who not only seized the lead but never let go of it. To add insult to injury, Vassily Ivanchuk beat him twice in their encounters. Still, while all seemed lost, a heroic last-round win against second-place Ian Nepomniachtchi gave him a tie for second-third. Final report.

ChessBase 25 Composing Tourney Awards – Part four

5/15/2012 – We come to the Honourable Mentions and the Commendations in the tourney. Four studies by composers from the USA, Hungary, Norway and Germany. One of the studies was the successful correction of an earlier attempt which had a "cook" in the second move. The tourney judge, Dr John Nunn, presents each study and then explains it in a way that even non-experts can understand. Enjoy.

World Championship G2 – Rest day video reports and pictures

5/14/2012 – Sunday is a rest day in Moscow – opportunity for us to catch up on the masses of material pouring in. We bring you videos with rest day reflections by GM Daniel King on Playchess, a round two report by French chess magazine reporter GM Robert Fontaine, and game two analysis by chess trainer Andrew Martin. In addition some wonderful photos by Anastasia Karlovich and Alexey Yushenkov.

US Championship – Nakamura takes sole lead

5/13/2012 – The competition has certainly been heated as the top-rated players were unable to stamp their authority until now. Reigning champion Gata Kamsky, was taken by surprise by last-minute replacement Gregory Kaidanov in round four, which Hikaru Nakamura took advantage of by beating Kaidanov in round five for the sole lead. Three are tied for first in the women's competition. Illustrated report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (83)

5/13/2012 – The fascinating history of the world chess championship has long been plagued by a lack of proper documentation, and many myths and controversies have arisen. The Editor of Chess Notes has written a range of detailed articles covering everything from early occurrences of the title ‘world chess champion’ to a catalogue of books about many of today’s leading players, including Anand and Gelfand.