World Championship G9 – Anand saves a tough game to a draw

5/23/2012 – After an almost embarrassing defeat in round eight, Gelfand regrouped and won a moral victory in round nine. Anand went for the Nimzo-Indian, and Gelfand once more showed an edge with white. Despite clearly having the better chances, he was unable to maneuver to a win, and drew after making Anand suffer until move 49. Full report with pictures, video and GM commentary.

Chesska defends World Champion title in Robot Chess

5/23/2012 – Picture this: two massive industrial robots playing five-minute blitz in a Moscow park, for a world championship title no less. To warm things up Alexander Grischuk risked his life playing a six-game match against the challenger, a robot named KUKA from Germany. He remained uninjured – except for his ego, after a 1.5:4.5 loss. Do not miss the HD video at the end of our report.

Kavalek in Huffington: US Chess Champ Hikaru Nakamura (Part 1)

5/22/2012 – They fought gallantly and when it was over on Saturday afternoon, the horse, I'll Have Another, and the chessplayer, Hikaru Nakamura, 24, were declared winners almost at the same time. Nakamura wanted the title badly. He was rated number seven in the world and it was a matter of prestige for him. GM Lubomir Kavalek annotates some of the key games.

New queen, new luck?

5/22/2012 – In view of White's manyfold threats Black's only hope is to promote his passed e-pawn, yet of course this must happen with check. In other words, 43...Rg3+ here leads to ...
A) ... victory for White
B) ... perpetual
C) ... victory for Black

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Impressions of the World Championship in Moscow

5/22/2012 – It's another free day, and after the drama of games seven and eight, time to catch our collective breaths. We have been providing you with a lot of information – games, analysis, videos. Here as a change is a personal view of what it is like to attend such an event. IM Venkatachalam Saravanan, who hails from Anand's home town of Chennai, has sent us a report. Guess who impressed him the most.

Nakamura and Krush win US Championship

5/21/2012 – It was a dramatic finish to one of the most exciting US Championships in years. Nakamura was the slight favorite, but with two rounds to go, Kamsky had taken the sole lead. Then in round ten, Hikaru pulled out the big guns and beat Kamsky, followed by a win over Seirawan in the final round. Krush beat Zatonskih in a playoff for the Women's title. Final report with video and GM commentary.

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.