Biel Rd8 - Magnus Carlsen five Elo shy of Kasparov record

8/1/2012 – It was a precipitous round in every way imaginable. Anish Giri found himself lost against Etienne Bacrot, but turned the tables around and won. Wang Hao also had a difficult position against Hikaru Nakamura but won, while Magnus Carlsen beat Viktor Bologan to keep the lead and come within five Elo of Kasparov's record 2851. Our challenge received many replies, including a world champion.

Agon and the spiritual home of chess

8/1/2012 – Agon, the company that was recently accorded the commercial rights to the World Chess Championships by FIDE, says that the game is to "return" to Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, which it claims is the "spiritual home of chess in Europe". Simpson’s will be the setting for the Grand Prix event between 20 September and 3 October. The tournament will have a prize fund of 240,000 Euros. Press release.

Chess Life magazine is now in full color

7/31/2012 – After six years existing as a two-color magazine, the print edition of the venerable Chess Life, the flagship magazine of the US Chess Federation, is finally going into full color. This may seem long overdue to some, but contrary to the World Wide Web, where any Tom, Dick or Harry can put up a color publication, print magazines have a different financial burden altogether. Here is a sneak preview.

Chess in Schools – Pein in the Palace

7/31/2012 – IM Malcolm Pein, the CEO of the British charity Chess in Schools and Communities, received the Royal seal of approval earlier this week at St James’s Palace. He was presented with the ‘highly commended’ award by HRH Prince Edward the Earl of Wessex during the Sport and Recreation Alliance's Community Sport and Recreation awards ceremony. Congratulations!

FIDE confirms sanctions in French cheating case

7/30/2012 – Since 2010 we have been reporting on a cheating scandal uncovered by the French Chess Federation: one of its players at the Chess Olympiad had been receiving computer-generated moves during his games. The suspension of the three players involved in the conspiracy has now been confirmed by the FIDE Ethics Committee, which in its 26-page ruling provides some gripping new details.

Biel Rd7 - Magnus Carlsen takes the lead

7/30/2012 – In an energetic surge, the world number one, Magnus Carlsen, came from behind and is now tied for the lead, ahead on tiebreak. On Sunday he played the missing round three game against Viktor Bologan, and sure enough imposed his will to give himself a fighting chance for first. In round seven, a crucial game against leader Wang Hao was all that it took. Report and challenge to the readers.

Biel Rd6 - Anish Giri moves into clear second

7/29/2012 – It was a quieter round than most, but it was not without impact. Wang Hao could not lose his top spot even had he lost, but he did not, and drew. Nakamura and Carlsen drew, and forewent the video post-mortem saying there was little to comment or analyze. Anish Giri shoved the luckless Viktor Bologan, winning a pawn and then eking out the full point to take sole second. Illustrated report.

Jermuk R11: Hou Yifan loses final game, wins Grand Prix

7/29/2012 – In the final round of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix the reigning women's world champion Hou Yifan lost her game against the Ukrainian GM Kateryna Lahno, but managed to retain her lead after her nearest rivals Ju Wenjun and Ruan Lufei both also lost their games. Nadezhda Kosintseva and Katya Lahno finished half a point behind. Final report with game annotations.

A day in Konya

7/28/2012 – As a well-documented globetrotter, Sergey Tiviakov has visited capitals and exotic countries all across the world. During this time, he developed a deep-seated interest in Islamic history and culture. On his list of "cities to see", lay Konya, Turkey, home to mausoleums as well as numerous other artifacts. Enjoy this illustrated report in which he got to see the beard of Muhammad.

Jermuk R10: Hou Yifan leads by a full point

7/28/2012 – And she does so one round before the finish, which means she will be at least equal first in the Fifth FIDE Women's Grand Prix (and in the lead in the entire series). Hou achieved this with a black-piece win over IM Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, while her closest rival, tragically WGM Ju Wenjun, stumbled against compatriot GM Zhao Xue. Round ten report with pictures and annotated games.

CBM #147: Commended for the ambitious player

7/27/2012 – "ChessBase Magazine is the flagship of the company," writes reviewer Nagesh Havanur. "With its database of recent events and presentation on every aspect of the game it provides both the arsenal and field manual to the ambitious player." Prof. Havanur, who resides in Bangalore, India, gives us an impression of issue 147, which dealt with Wijk aan Zee and Gibraltar. Review.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (87)

7/27/2012 – An exceptional visual treat is in store for readers in the form of archive moving pictures of many of the great masters of the past, including Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Bogoljubow and Nimzowitsch. The Editor of Chess Notes provides links to a rich selection of footage, much of which has been found over the years by his correspondents throughout the world. Unmissable.

Biel Rd5 - The Wang Express has left the station

7/27/2012 – There is no question that beating, no, destroying expectations, Wang Hao has taken a commanding lead in the first half of Biel. With four wins, where each is worth three points, he has made a very strong bid for gold. Anish Giri and Magnus Carlsen fought to the end, but drew in the end. Hikaru Nakamura scored his second win, beating Etienne Bacrot. Report, pictures, and videos.

Jermuk R8: Hou Yifan catches Ju Wenjun in the lead

7/26/2012 – The Chinese WGM Ju Wenjun has been alone at the top of the table for most of the tournament, but two draws allowed her main rival Hou Yifan, to catch her after a round eight win. With three rounds to go the two are a full point ahead of the rest of the field and hot favourites to win. We bring you an illustrated report on rounds seven and eight, again with annotated, replayable games.

Anand on the World Championship in Moscow (Part three)

7/26/2012 – He had played twelve classical chess games and the score was tied at 6:6. Now it was time for rapid chess – and blitz and Armageddon if necessary. How do you switch from one mode to the other, how do you prepare and how can your seconds help you? In this revealing interview Viswanathan Anand describes his thoughts and feelings during the decisive tiebreak games.

Biel Rd4 - Wang Hao wins third game to take lead

7/26/2012 – After impeccable opening preparation so far, Anish Giri's opening went south very fast and by move 30 he was lost, giving Wang Hao his third win and the lead. Magnus Carlsen seemed poised to squeeze a win out of Etienne Bacrot, but an oversight led to a draw. Bologan and Nakamura played a crazy game which went both ways until the Moldavian blundered into a mate. Report with player analysis.

CBM training: Kramnik's endgames in Dortmund

7/25/2012 – As you can imagine, GM Karsten Müller was following the Dortmund GM tournament, picking out interesting and instructive endgames for his ChessBase Magazine column. He shows us three examples in which former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik loses, misses a clear win (pointed out by Garry Kasparov) and actually takes home the full point. Learn and enjoy.

Biel Rd3 - Giri takes lead; Morozevich drops out

7/25/2012 – The third round certainly wasn't lacking in drama. The first news was that Alexander Morozevich dropped out due to health reasons and will be replaced by Viktor Bologan. Anish Giri crushed Etienne Bacrot's King's Indian, ending in a unique central pawn roller. Wang Hao and Hikaru Nakamura had an incredibly complicated game which ended in favor of the Chinese player. Report, pictures, and videos.

Masterclasses by Ivanchuk, Kamsky and Le Quang Liem

7/24/2012 – During the ACP Golden Classic, players and fans were able to enjoy live lectures by Vassily Ivanchuk, Gata Kamsky, and Le Quang Liem. This in itself is far from unusual, but what makes this special is that the organizers not only filmed each and every one of these lectures, but they shared them with the public. Don't miss out on these exceptional videos of exceptional chess.

99th British Championship under way

7/24/2012 – The first round has been played in this national championship, which is taking place in the northernmost place ever in England, in North Shields, a town with fishing and seafaring tradition. The event lasts from July 22 to Aug. 4th and includes seven GMs, with Gawain Jones, rated 2653, leading the pack. We bring you live video coverage and round-by-round commentary by Andrew Martin.

Jermuk R6: Three players stalking Ju Wenjun

7/24/2012 – The Chinese WGM is still in the lead, with 4.5/6 points, but three predatory GMs, Hou Yifan, Humpy Koneru and Ruan Lufei are keeping a sharp eye on her (enough allegories to justify the thumbnail?). The performance of the top four is well over 2600, and, with the next group a full point behind, they are going to decide the championship in the remaining five rounds amongst themselves.

Biel Rd2 - Carlsen crushes Wang Hao, Bacrot beats Moro

7/24/2012 – It was another action-packed round as Magnus Carlsen built up a huge attack against Wang Hao to score his first win. Giri and Nakamura had a tense tussle, but drew, while Bacrot found himself in a double-edged opening against Morozevich with as many as three pawns down, but excessive optimism by the Russian allowed Bacrot to finish in beauty. Illustrated report with video analysis.

Biel Rd1 - Giri beats Morozevich, and Hao beats Bacrot

7/24/2012 – No sooner did Dortmund end than the Biel Chess Festival got underway, bringing back Magnus Carlsen to defend his title. In the first round he clashed with Nakamura, but the American's tenacious defense held the draw in a difficult position. Wang Hao beat Bacrot after the latter took a poisoned pawn, while Giri continued his good run and beat Morozevich. Illustrated report with GM commentary.

Ivanchuk wins ACP Golden Classic; Giri is Dutch champion

7/23/2012 – The ACP Golden Classic was a strange but excellent tournament. The lineup was as good as could be hoped for, with both variety and quality, and included the unusual time control and resurrected adjournments. Ivanchuk was merciless and won with 5.0/6, with Kamsky second. Anish Giri won the Dutch Championship with 6.0/7, and Tea Lanchava won the Dutch Women's Ch. Illustrated report.