12/27/2018 – A very confident Magnus Carlsen arrived in Saint Petersburg to prove his strength at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. However, his hopes of victory in the Rapid were strongly reduced after he lost his first two games against much lower-rated opposition. The Norwegian went on to win his three remaining encounters and is now one and a half points behind the leaders: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Dmitry Andreikin and 15-year-old Iranian prodigy Alireza Firouzja. | Photos: Maria Emelianova / Lennart Ootes / Official site

12/26/2018 – The year 2018 is drawing to a close and it was filled with great events, strong tournaments and fantastic games. Now, at the end of the year, we invite you to vote for the player of the year (male and female), the newcomer, the game, the combination and the endgame of the year. What do you think: Who was the best female player of 2018?

12/19/2018 – The year 2018 will end with two World Chess Championships: from December 25 to December 31 the world's best players will meet in St. Petersburg to play the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Magnus Carlsen has already declared his ambition to win both titles: "No usurpers are going to be left alive!". In a press release the Russian Chess Federation announces details of the event. | Photo: Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

12/1/2018 – FIDE's December ratings are out and surprisingly little has changed across all rating categories. The World Championship did not lead to a new number one. The Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun will have to wait to claim the number one spot as well, since Hou Yifan played in the German League and is in no danger of dropping off the rating list due to inactivity despite her ongoing University studies. There was more of a shakeup in rapid and blitz ratings thanks to India's first ever super-tournament which featured both. | Pictured: Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun survived a strong challenge to hang on to her title, not unlike a certain Magnus Carlsen! | Photo: ugra2018.fide.com

11/23/2018 – The champion kept her title. Ju Wenjun defeated Kateryna Lagno 3:1 in the tiebreaks of the 2018 Women's World Championship final match by winning both 10+10 games after drawing the first two rapid encounters. This was the first time since 2000 that a player defended her title in a knockout tournament. With another championship cycle over — the second one this year — the next one is expected to include a Candidates Tournament. | Photos: Official site

11/22/2018 – Ju Wenjun managed to come back from her loss in game two of the Women's World Championship final match against Kateryna Lagno and so the title will be decided tomorrow on tiebreaks. The current champion missed some chances in game three but was up to the task the next day in a must-win game, as she built a mating attack with the black pieces. The final day of play in Khanty-Mansiysk coincides with a rest day in London, so there is still plenty of World Championship chess for the coming weekend! | Photos: Official site

11/20/2018 – Kateryna Lagno took the lead over World Champion Ju Wenjun in the Women's World Championship final with a win in the second match game today. The score stands at 1½:½ in favour of the Russian, with two games to play. Before Tuesday, Ju had won all five of her matches without losing a single game. | Photos: Official site

11/20/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent brings you the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. Lawrence is LIVE this week and free for ChessBase Basic account holders for a limited time! (Why not register for FREE in 30 seconds if you don't already have an account?) This week Lawrence looks at the ongoing Women's World Championship final.

11/16/2018 – Defending champion Ju Wenjun (pictured) qualified for the final at the 2018 Women's World Championship knockout. With a safe draw in the second game of the semi-final, the current World Champion won her mini-match 1½-½ over Alexandra Kosteniuk. In the second match of the semi-final, Kateryna Lagno and Mariya Muzychuk also drew and therefore have to play a tiebreak match Saturday for the remaining spot in the final. | Photos: Official site

11/14/2018 – The four semi-finalists of the 2018 Women's World Championship — all of which qualified to an upcoming Candidates tournament — have been decided. Ju Wenjun and Kateryna Lagno got their tickets in the classical portion, Alexandra Kosteniuk defeated Anna Muzychuk in a tense 25+30 rapid phase, and Mariya Muzychuk (pictured) eliminated Zhansaya Abudmalik in the second 5+3 blitz game, after the players traded blows all throughout the match. | Photos: Official site

11/12/2018 – Seven out of eight rating favourites won their round-of-16 matches at the 2018 Women's World Championship, as 40th seed Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova took over Valentina Gunina to become the surprising quarter-finalist. So far, Ju Wenjun is the only player that has not played a single tiebreak game, while Kateryna Lagno had to go all the way to Armageddon to eliminate her compatriot Natalija Pogonina. | Photos: Official site