4/24/2017 – The Berlin Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6) is a very solid line for Black - so solid that players dubbed it "The Berlin Wall". But Alexei Shirov has some ideas "how to crack the Berlin Wall". Hedinn Steingrimsson liked these ideas - and so did Hou Yifan who used Shirov's recommendations to beat Fabiano Caruana in round 1 of the Grenke Classic.

4/24/2017 – Round three saw intriguing matchups, and two decisive results. The first matchup was the classic between Kramnik and Topalov, who always promise a game worth watching for the spectators, but no blood was spilled this time. The big one due to the standings, was between Mamdeyarov and Eljanov. It was an extremely complicated King's Indian that saw both players have winning edges, and the Azeri with the last word. See the game, and read the notes by Aleksander Lenderman!

4/23/2017 – In conjunction with the Kasparov Chess Foundation's 15th Anniversary Celebration, the Kasparov Chess Foundation Asia-Pacific proposed five activities as its contribution and four of them came together with a tour of four countries in Asia with the common theme of Chess in Education. Here is an illustrated report by Peter Long

4/23/2017 – The opening salvo of rounds at the Gashimov Memorial have certainly been with their fair share of surprises. Winning his second straight game, this time against Pentala Harikrishna, Ukrainian Pavel Eljanov has taken the early lead in round two with a perfect 2.0/2. Still, the crowd-pleaser of the round was unquestionably Veselin Topalov's spectacular win over Radoslaw Wojtaszek with his trademark sacrifices to win a beautiful game. Analysis by GM Aleks Lenderman.

4/23/2017 – It was a thrilling end to a great tournament. In spite of the four draws that might suggest less than exhilarating chess, one game stood out far more than the others: Caruana vs Aronian. Any dreams he had of being the spoilsport, Caruana was forced to set aside as he found himself fighting for his life, a piece down in the endgame. There wouldn't be much to say if he didn't actually pull it off. See all, read all, in this final report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

4/22/2017 – The Reykjavik Open is one of the highlights of the year's chess calendar with amazing scenery, top notch organization, and chess for all. It is now underway with hundreds of players, including names such as Anish Giri, Dmitry Andreikin, Jobava Baadur, as well as budding talents such as Liang Awonder, Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. Enjoy this report with tactics to solve and gorgeous photos by Alina L'Ami.

4/22/2017 – As the Grenke Chess Classic wraps up, another Super GM tournament has just started to fill the gap: The Gashimov Memorial, the 4th edition of the event in tribute to Vugar Gashimov, taken away at the much too young age of 27. Playing in it are players such as Wesley So, Kramnik, Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Topalov, and more. The first round already brought in the shocker as So lost with white to Mamedyarov. Here is the report with detailed analysis by GM Aleks Lenderman.

4/22/2017 – What do you get when you ad one plus one plus one plus one? You get first place at Grenke! Levon Aronian has been unstoppable, and in round six he clinched clear first with a round to spare when his potential rivals Carlsen and Caruana drew their respective games, while he won his fourth in a row, beating Hou Yifan. This took his tally to 5.0/6, a full 1.5 points ahead. Read the report by GM Elshan Moradiabadi with analysis by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.

4/21/2017 – Major pieces love open files. That's why White has just played 13.g5! (diagram position) because he has seen a speedy way to line them up against the black king following 13...hxg5 14.hxg5 Qxg5 - all three of them! How this?

4/21/2017 – Round five saw Magnus Carlsen finally score as he soundly defeated Georg Meier with black. He still remains a full point behind the leader since Levon Aronian also won, beating Arkadij Naiditsch in an inspired performance. After sacrificing an exchange to keep Naiditsch's king in the center, he entered a pawn up into an opposite-colored bishop he handled superbly. Read the report with the highly instructive analysis by Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

4/20/2017 – Grenke Chess Classic, Reykjavik Open, Karpov Poikovsky, Chinese League. You can start watching the games with a single click, here in your browser. And if you have been using our Live Broadcast service you will have noticed that it is being constantly upgraded. We have engine analysis and advanced cloud functions, and now also chat in the browser, where your attention is drawn to interesting things that are happening in the games. You can jump to games in other tournament when people point to them – and that with single click in the chat.

4/20/2017 – Without a doubt, round four brought in a number of dramatic moments for those watching the games live. The one ‘letdown’, if one may, was the uneventful draw between Carlsen and Caruana on top board. Naiditsch and Meier had a crazy game that drew in the end, while Aronian defeated Bluebaum very cleanly to take the lead after Hou Yifan lost to MVL in a tough endgame that is annotated in detail by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.