4/9/2020 – Fans, professionals and anybody who follows the world of professional chess agree on the fact that Magnus Carlsen is on a class of his own. Besides reigning as World Champion in all three formats (classical, rapid and blitz), the Norwegian has managed not to lose a single classical game in over twenty months. Let us recap Carlsen's astounding — and ongoing — streak! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

4/3/2020 – This new series of articles will focus on reliving some of the best chess events from a relatively recent past. We will go back eleven years in the first instalment, to the 2009 edition of the Linares Tournament. Viswanathan Anand was the world champion at the time and headed an eight-player field set to play a double round robin. In the end, seventh seed Alexander Grischuk got the title, after scoring 8/14 and edging Vassily Ivanchuk on tiebreaks (most wins). An 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen finished third. | Photos: Frederic Friedel

4/2/2020 – Amid the Coronavirus crisis, chess players have turned to online tournaments to practice, compete and keep their spirits high. In this context, ChessBase India organized a five-event series to take place every Saturday since the 21st of March. Two tourneys have already been played. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Arjun Erigaisi were the winners, but Diptayan Ghosh is leading the overall standings table. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

3/27/2020 – As many predicted, the Coronavirus outbreak has interrupted the one strong sporting event that was taking place amid the worldwide crisis, the FIDE Candidates Tournament. This is not a first, however. During the twentieth century, strong chess tournaments were taking place when war declarations — that would eventually turn global — put a stop or gravely affected chess competitions. | Image: World War I cartoon by Sava Zlachkin

3/25/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi went into the second rest day of the Candidates Tournament leading by a full point. The only other player with a plus score was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Today the two played each other, and Vachier-Lagrave, who had the white pieces, outplayed the Russian and caught up with him in the standings table, a full point ahead of the field. The remaining three games ended drawn. Expert analysis by GMs DANIEL FERNANDEZ and SIMON WILLIAMS. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/23/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi goes into the second rest day of the Candidates Tournament leading by a full point after beating Ding Liren with White on Monday. The only other player with a plus score is Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who held Wang Hao to a draw. Anish Giri defeated Kirill Alekseenko in a game that lasted over seven hours, while Alexander Grischuk had to be precise to split the point with Fabiano Caruana. Expert analysis by GM SAM SHANKLAND and IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/22/2020 – The 2020 Candidates Tournament has a sole leader for the first time, as Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Wang Hao with the white pieces in round five. The three other games finished drawn. Kirill Alekseenko and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave entered a sharp Najdorf which ended in a repetition, while Anish Giri could not make the most of the very promising position he got against Fabiano Caruana. Expert analysis by GM ELSHAN MORADIABADI and IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/21/2020 – All games of round four at the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg finished peacefully, which means Wang Hao, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are still sharing the lead on 2½ out of 4. Caruana pushed his h-pawn against Nepomniachtchi's Grünfeld but could not convert his slight advantage, while Grischuk entered his usual excessive time trouble while defending a complicated position against Vachier-Lagrave — in the end, he managed to hold the balance. Expert analysis by GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ and IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/19/2020 – The battle between pre-tournament favourites Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana ended up favouring the Chinese, who responded convincingly to Caruana's provocative play in the opening to get his first win of the tournament after back-to-back losses in the first two rounds. The remaining games finished drawn, which means Wang Hao, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are sharing the lead on 2 out of 3. Expert analysis by GMs STEPHEN GORDON and DANIEL KING. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/18/2020 – The second round of the Candidates Tournament sees top seed Fabiano Caruana defeating Kirill Alekseenko in 34 moves, while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defeated second seed Ding Liren in 37. Anish Giri was in deep trouble against Wang Hao, but managed to miraculously save a draw in the end. Four players are now sharing the lead, as the tournament goes into the last round before the first scheduled rest day. Expert (and thorough) analysis by GMs STEPHEN GORDON and SIMON WILLIAMS. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / FIDE

3/17/2020 – The long-anticipated Candidates Tournament kicked off with two surprising results, as both Ding Liren and Anish Giri lost with the white pieces, against Wang Hao and Ian Nepomniachtchi respectively. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave v Fabiano Caruana and Alexander Grischuk v Kirill Alekseenko were hard-fought games that finished drawn, with Grischuk going into his usual extreme time trouble. Video round-up by GM SIMON WILLIAMS and GM BORIS GELFAND analysed the all-Russian clash. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/14/2020 – It was a rather short final day of action at the Women's Grand Prix in Lausanne. All six encounters finished drawn after 33 moves or fewer, which meant the standings table remained unchanged. Nana Dzagnidze and Aleksandra Goryachkina thus shared first place with 7 out of 11 points, while Zhansaya Abdumalik finished third on 6½. Dzagnidze was declared the champion on tiebreaks (total number of wins). | Photos: David Llada

3/13/2020 – World champion Ju Wenjun lost a second game in a row, this time against Aleksandra Goryachkina, who thus caught Nana Dzagnidze atop the standings table of the Women's Grand Prix in Lausanne. The co-leaders will face each other in Friday's deciding round (which kicks off three and a half hours earlier than usual!). Zhansaya Abdumalik is the only player a half point behind. | Photo: David Llada

3/12/2020 – With an impressive win over world champion Ju Wenjun, Nana Dzagnidze took the sole lead at the Women's Grand Prix in Lausanne. Two rounds are left to go and only Aleksandra Goryachkina stands a half point behind the leader — the latest World Championship challenger quickly drew on Wednesday. The other decisive result of the day saw Alexandra Kosteniuk beating Pia Cramling and ending the Swedish's run of eight consecutive draws. | Photo: David Llada

3/11/2020 – Four decisive games on Tuesday resulted in a number of changes in the standings table. Nana Dzagnidze defeated Marie Sebag and now shares the lead with Aleksandra Goryachkina, as former co-leader Alina Kashlinskaya lost against world champion Ju Wenjun. Mariya Muzychuk joined the chasing pack with a win over Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Antoaneta Stefanova defeated Harika Dronavalli. | Photo: David Llada

3/10/2020 – The players returned well-prepared after the rest day, which led to five out of six games finishing drawn in round seven. The only winner of the day was Anna Muzychuk, who defeated Alexandra Kosteniuk with the white pieces. This means Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alina Kashlinskaya are still sharing the lead on 'plus two', except that now four players make up the chasing pack, with Muzychuk joining Dzagnidze, Harika and Abdumalik on 4 out of 7. | Photo: David Llada

3/8/2020 – Round six's three decisive results produced important changes in the standings table. Alina Kashlinskaya beat Marie Sebag with the white pieces and caught up with Aleksandra Goryachkina on 'plus two', while Harika Dronavalli — who was co-leading until round five — was defeated by Alexandra Kosteniuk and is now among the chasers. Tied with Harika on 3½ is now Zhansaya Abdumalik, who defeated Antoaneta Stefanova. | Photo: Official site

3/7/2020 – Despite the fact that most games were hard fought, only Nana Dzagnidze scored a full point in round five — she beat Anna Muzychuk with the black pieces. In the meantime, co-leaders Harika and Goryachkina signed a 31-move draw; Zhansaya Abdumalik versus Alina Kashlinskaya was a sharp fight throughout; and Mariya Muzychuk could not convert the winning advantage she got against world champion Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Official site