10/18/2018 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen kept fans on pins and needles as he appeared to be losing to Ding Liren which would have dropped him to number two in the world behind Fabiano Caruana (at least temporarily). But Carlsen defended hard and salvaged a critical draw that allowed his teammate Nils Grandelius to win the match for the underdog Norwegian squad of Valerenga. They are now in clear first. ALEX YERMOLINSKY shares his outlook. | Photo: Niki Riga / eurochess2018.com

9/6/2018 – The extremely competitive Russian Superfinals finished on Wednesday in Satka. Both the open and the women's sections were decided on two-game rapid playoffs — Dmitry Andreikin and Natalija Pogonina won their games with White and drew with Black, against Dmitry Jakovenko and Olga Girya, to become the 2018 Russian champions. ALEX YERMOLINSKY sent a report with no less than ten games analysed. | Photos: Eteri Kublashvili / Russian Chess Federation

7/18/2018 – The participants rave about a well-organized Senior World Team Championship of seniors in Radebeul, Germany. In the 65+ section, the Russian team won gold. The 50+ category was more competitive, but in the end, the favourites from the USA pulled ahead. GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY reports. | Photo: Karsten Wieland

7/12/2018 – The United States sent a strong squad to the World Team Championship 50+. ALEX YERMOLINSKY is playing, spending time with good old friends and sending some pictures and stories for us to enjoy. The account until round six includes images of the team's trip to Dresden and, as Yermo calls it, the German Grand Canyon.

7/9/2018 – GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY travels to Radebeul (near Dresden), Germany to take part in the 6th World Team Championship 50+ & 65+ from July 7th to the 15th. The American all-GM squad also features Alexander Shabalov (pictured), Joel Benjamin, Jaan Ehlvest and Sergey Kudrin, making it the highest rated team in the competition. High-expectations, but Yermolinsky will also take time out to keep ChessBase readers apprised of how things progress, with annotated games an photos. Now about that cowboy...

6/25/2018 – Sergey Karjakin seemed unstoppable after Saturday's first nine rounds of blitz, however, Nakamura finally emerged as the winner of the Paris Grand Chess Tour. Hikaru fought until last minute and finished one and a half points ahead of the field. Meanwhile, Wesley So played it safe to get clear third and keep the lead in the Tour overall standings. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/3/2018 – The Land of Sky is a traditional tournament in Ashville, North Carolina. ChessBase contributing Grandmaster ALEX YERMOLINSKY made the treck, and (belatedly) tells the tale as part of his ongoing "travelogue" series of stories. A figurative snapshot of open tournament life in the USA, plus an actual snapshot of the 'Yermomobile', Yermolinsky's car!

6/3/2018 – Ding Liren is expected to make a full recovery following surgery on Friday for a fractured hip after a fall off a bicycle. But his need to rest following the injury trumps his need to play chess and he has bowed out of the tournament in Stavanger. The three draws he has made will not count for score and the tournament continues with his remaining opponents getting a rest day. Fabiano Caruana was the beneficiary in round four, and he returned to the board with a vengeance on Saturday, scoring the day's only win. Report and games by ALEX YERMOLINSKY. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

6/2/2018 – In the first three rounds of the Altibox Norway Chess tournaments, Magnus Carlsen was the only player to win a game, but in round four Sergey Karjakin and Levon Aronian put their first number 1 up on the crosstable. Viswanathan Anand and Wesley So drew, as did Hikaru Nakamura and Carlsen. The game between Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana was postponed following a serious bicycle accident suffered by Ding, who fractured a hip. Carlsen's lead has now shrunk to half a point. Report and games annotated by GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

5/20/2018 – Sam Shankland is on a roll. He added to his recent U.S. Championship triumph by dominating the annual Capablanca Memorial in Havana, Cuba from start to finish. Needing only a draw in the final round, he instead racked up an additional win to finish an impressive point and a half clear of Alexei Dreev! ALEX YERMOLINSKY offers his take. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

5/11/2018 – Peter Svidler won eight Russian Individual National Championships and in 2000, 2001, and 2013 he became Russian Team Champion with St. Petersburg. At this year's Russian Team Championships Svidler won his fourth naional team title for St. Petersburg. Alex Yermolinsky analyses highlights from the event. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

5/6/2018 – The Russian Team Championship has long been one of the strongest team events of the year, often with elite players from abroad mixed with local talents. This year, due to economic difficulties, many times were forced to forego on big names, but as pointed out by author ALEX YERMOLINSKY, this is almost a blessing in disguise as many talented local masters and grandmasters find themselves invited to play. Enjoy this illustrated report with various commented games. | Photo: Russian Chess Federation