The king is crowned

11/25/2013 – With a couple of days to rest and recover, before the closing ceremony, Magnus Carlsen chose to indulge in his favorite activities such as some basketball and football. A gymnasium was reserved and he challenged a team of journalists to face his team of Norwegians. Finally, the day came for the players to receive their medals, trophies, and checks. Large pictorial report.

Maturity and Majesty

11/25/2013 – While Magnus Carlsen’s victory is a victory for youth, with his numerous records in precociousness, it is unfair and incorrect to suggest that excellence and success are the exclusive domain of the young. As a follow-up to our look at the wonders of those in the springtime of life, here is a list of the players for whom age is just a number, and each wrinkle is but a battle scar.

The world takes notice

11/24/2013 – As would be expected, the news of the result of the Anand-Carlsen world championship match and the new title-holder circumnavigated the globe like wildfire, and media around the world has reported on it. The focus has clearly been on Magnus Carlsen, who is described as the "Justin Bieber of chess" or "a cross between a boxer and a 50s gangster". Here is a sample of the stories and headlines.

The youngest and the greatest

11/24/2013 – With the advent of Magnus Carlsen as the new world champion, the 16th in the line of classical chess, we decided to compile a few lists regarding the records and results, the stats and the facts. You know who the youngest number one ever is, but can you name the second? The third? How about the youngest world champions, or the most crushing victories? We answer all these questions and more.

Huffington: Magnus Carlsen – World Chess Champion

11/23/2013 – Magnus Carlsen is the new world chess champion, having defeated the titleholder Vishy Anand of India in ten games with the score 6.5-3.5. The 22-year old Norwegian grandmaster has now won everything there is to win in chess. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek comments on the course of the Championship and the Berlin Defense that played a critical role.

The French Defense by GM Nick Pert

11/23/2013 – The French Defense has always stood out as a special kind of beast, garnering a passion that borders on religious fervor. GM Nick Pert comes as the high priest as he presents his finest material, which is the result of hundreds of hours of study and thought. The new DVD comes with over seven hours of videos to give you a complete competitive repertoire against 1.e4. Read the review.

Chennai Final: Magnus Victorious

11/22/2013 – The game was well described by Vishy Anand: "a microcosm of what the match was". Anand played a solid game while keeping tension, but he started making mistakes. A blunder by each player led them to an endgame with an advantage for Carlsen. He tried to win the knight endgame but forced a draw when things got complicated. Analysis of the game that made Magnus Carlsen the new World Champion.

Magnus Carlsen is the new World Champion!

11/22/2013 – There seemed little doubt a real game would be played today, with Magnus the consummate player, and Anand unwilling to disappoint his fans for not trying. They played a hedgehog, and a long battle ensued, culminating in in a fascinating knight endgame Magnus might have won. After they finally drew, a new king was crowned. Long live the king. Illustrated report with celebratory video.

More impressions from Chennai

11/22/2013 – The chess match is nearing its end and we are set to leave the south Indian city that is hosting it. The stay was very interesting and as promised we will be providing you with impressions around and outside the event. On one of the free days ChessBase editor Frederic Friedel accompanied two young chess ladies on a shopping tour and visited a famous temple in the city. Big pictorial report.

Chennai 09: Thrilling fight tarnished

11/21/2013 – Today was one of the most exciting games of chess seen in recent years. The World Champion pawn stormed his opponent without caring about Carlsen's b pawn... which was queening! However an unfortunate and horrifying blunder ended the attack and Anand had to resign. Anand must win the next three games in a row, two of them with black. Round 9 grandmaster impressions.

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.