World Cup 6.2: MVL pulls a miracle

8/27/2013 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave saw himself against the ropes from the very beginning of his game. Kramnik eventually gained a decisive material advantage in the endgame. However, after a blunder by Kramnik, MVL took his opponent's last pawn and forced a draw. Tomashevsky was unable to secure an advantage and will also go to tie-breaks against Andreikin. Report and analysis.

World Cup 6.1: Draws in 14 and 16 moves

8/26/2013 – All of you who rushed home to see the first games of the semi-finals in Tromsø were treated to many minutes of spell-binding chess. Vachier-Lagrave vs Kramnik was drawn in 16 moves, Andreikin vs Tomashevsky in 14. There is little to say about the round, except maybe that Andreikin has made it to the semi-finals but has actually lost rating points. Find out why in our appropriately short report.

Ketevan is in great shape

8/26/2013 – Sometimes the news is good. We recently reported that the infant daughter of Georgian IM Salome Melia was born with a heart defect that urgently needed corrective surgery. The procedure had to be conducted in Germany and the costs were beyond the means of the family. Our call for funding was successful and baby Ketevan has been operated. She now has a chance to live a normal life.

World Cup 5.3: Caruana, Svidler out

8/25/2013 – Or, on a positive note: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Dmitry Andreikin won their games and advanced to the semi-finals. The French GM defeated the top ranked Fabiano Caruana, who played the Dutch Defence and got lost in the resulting Stonewall formation. Andreikin played an off-beat 1.d4-line against Peter Svidler and won the full point in just 30 moves. Report with pictures and analysis.

Magnus in Chennai – all set for the Championship

8/25/2013 – Magnus Carlsen seems to have found everything at the Championship venue in order. We have a new video with HD footage of the 2000 screaming girls (and Carlsen's reaction to them), as well as the toughest simul of his life! There is also an interview with Anand, who, asked whether the home turf provides special motivation, replies: "I would be motivated to win if the match was played on the moon."

World Cup 5.2: Tomashevsky, Kramnik advance

8/24/2013 – Evgeny Tomashevsky took advantage of some time pressure mistakes by Gata Kamsky to create a surprising and swift mating attack on his opponent's king. This victory with black seals the pass of Tomashevsky to the semi-finals. Another Russian secured his placement in the top four as Kramnik barely held his game today against Korobov and won the match. Svidler-Andreikin and Vachier-Lagrave-Caruana go to tiebreaks. Report with GM commentary

Karsten Müller: Endgames from Tromsø

8/24/2013 – Today's endgame session by GM Karsten Müller are taken from the FIDE Grand Prix that is currently taking place in Norway. It features instructive examples from games by Morozevich, Kamsky, Tomashevsky and Aronian. Our ChessBase Magazine endgame expert uses them to teach you techniques that can prove invaluable in your tournament games. Learn and enjoy.

Slovenian WIM Vesna Rozic dies at 26

8/24/2013 – It is with deep sadness that we inform our readers that Vesna Roži has lost her battle against peritoneal cancer. We asked our readers to help Vesna, the second strongest female player in her country, to obtain funds her final treatment in a German clinic. People from all over the world contributed generously. Unfortunately in vain: Vesna passed away on Friday.

World Cup 5.1: Kramnik pounces

8/23/2013 – The matches started somewhat quietly as Tomashevsky and Kamsky drew quickly. Svidler obtained a small advantage with Black against Andreikin but soon decided to call it a day. MVL put strong pressure on Caruana but to no avail. Kramnik, however, was able to capitalize on his opponent's mistakes and takes the lead in his mini-match. Grandmaster analysis and report.

The Pacific Coast – and the Pacific Coast Open 2013

8/23/2013 – The 18th Annual Pacific Coast Open was held at the Sheraton Agoura Hills Hotel, Agoura Hills, California. With a number of GMs and titled players participating it was won by Timur Gareev of Uzbekistan. He is not just a very strong player – and a blindfold record setter – but an explorer and adventurer who is in the process of discovering America's West. Here is his pictorial report.

World Cup 4.3: unparalleled drama in Tromsø

8/22/2013 – What a day! Peter Svidler showed exceptional determination when he ground out a win in 135 moves to eliminate Le Quang Liem. Then Evgeny Tomashevsky lost a virtually won position in the first accelerated game against Alexander Morozevich. He fought back and won a mind boggling 169-mover and finally went through in the blitz, calling this the craziest match that he had ever played.

Sonas: Overall review of the FIDE rating system

8/22/2013 – Statistician Jeff Sonas has done comprehensive work on the chess rating system, showing us how optimizing various factors and parameters can yield more (or less) accurate values. Now he embarks on another line of research: slicing the actual historical data into various views and visualizing the data from those different perspectives. Here's part one of a series of articles.

World Cup 4.2: Caruana, Kramnik, Kamsky through

8/21/2013 – But the big news was that Hikaru Nakamura lost his game to Anton Korobov and was eliminated after four rounds. Kramnik and Caruana had no serious problems settling matters, the former with a draw against Vassily Ivanchuk, the latter with a win against Julio Granda Zuniga. Four matches go into the tiebreaks on Thursday. Round four game two report.

Ask the pieces by Becker and Mueller

8/21/2013 – When a new product on chess instruction stands out, it is usually based on quality and clarity, but rarely originality or humor. However, the latest "Ask the pieces" does just that, by dissecting the positions via a dialogue that helps uncover seemingly mysterious brilliancies giving rich ideas to both the student and teacher. Here is a review by Albert Silver.

World Cup 4.1: Kamsky, Kramnik, Caruana victorious

8/20/2013 – The round of sixteen started with a bang as many games were wild and interesting. Kamsky played a dazzling piece sacrifice that shocked Mamedyarov, who didn't respond in the best way and lost. Ivanchuk cracked under Kramnik's pressure while Julio Granda simply blundered against Caruana. Gelfand and Vachier-Lagrave played a crazy game that ended in a perpetual. Round four day one report.

Magnus in Chennai – with 2000 screaming girls

8/20/2013 – "Among wizards and geeks, Magnus Carlsen is a pleasant variance. He is surreally cool, boyishly handsome, has sponsors queuing up for endorsements and smudgy eyed teens thronging for autographs. He is not your usual chess champion – nerdy and crusty, reluctant and aloof." The greeting he received at the venue of the World Championship left the challenger "humbled". Broadsheet reports and video.

Summer Chess Festival in the City of Fortune (2/2)

8/20/2013 – The international chess festival, ‘Mare di Fano’ took place from 29 July to 5 August. This chess festival at the peak of summer was a tournament with a splash in the sea, fresh fish, and a taste of famed wines of the region, not to mention a chess fighting company of several GMs and IMs, giving the term ‘chess tourists’ the most literal meaning. An in-depth report with annotated games.

World Cup 3.3: Grischuk and Giri out

8/19/2013 – The stakes are higher and the pressure is increasing - a fact that is noticeable especially in tiebreak situations. Many blunders decided the fate of today's matches, but at the end most of the favourites passed to the next round. Noticeable exceptions to that were Julio Granda Zuniga knocking out Anish Giri and Le Quang Liem doing the same to Alexander Grischuk. Big tiebreak report.

Summer Chess Festival in the City of Fortune (1/2)

8/19/2013 – In Italy, numerous smaller cities hide great beauty as well as historical and cultural treasures but remain obscured by the world fame of their grander counterparts like Rome, Florence or Venice. One such jewel is Fano, which hosted a lovely chess festival surrounded by a rich history dating back to the Romans, as reported by Diana Mihajlova.

ChessBase Magazine #155 – Never write off Gelfand

8/19/2013 – His form had reached its peak with his world championship duel with Anand last year, but missed his opportunity. Perhaps it’s time for the veteran to retire? Not yet. Boris Gelfand staged a triumphant return with a first prize in the Tal Memorial. CBM 155 rightly celebrates the outstanding event, with the tournament winner himself annotating. Review by Prof. Nagesh Havanur.

Magnus in Chennai, doing a 'recce'

8/19/2013 – That's WW2 military slang for reconnaissance. World Championship challenger Magnus Carlsen from Norway landed in Chennai on Sunday to get a feel for the venue of the November championship. It's a maiden visit to the city, and he's loving every bit of it, revealed his manager Espen Agdestein. Out of caution Magnus has brought his own chef. First reports in the Indian broadsheets.

The Chess Games of the 19th Maccabiah

8/18/2013 – The 19th Maccabiah, a sort of Jewish Olympics held in Israel every two years, was a resounding success, and to the envy of FIDE, reserves an important place for chess. Much like the Olympics, it is officially an amateur event, but despite a lack of monetary prizes, norms are regularly scored in hard-fought competition. Here is a large illustrated report by Ram Soffer.

World Cup 3.2: Aronian out, Grischuk equalises

8/18/2013 – Top seed Levon Aronian missed close to winning chances to eventually draw against Evgeny Tomashevsky and drop out of the World Cup. Vladimir Kramnik missed a number of wins in the endgame to draw Alexander Areshchenko, while Alexander Grischuk turned a drawn position against Le Quang Liem into a win and force a tiebreak. Full report with pictures.

An Iranian in Toronto

8/18/2013 – "As a professional chess player for over a decade, exploring new places has always been a part of my nature. I have always wanted to visit Canada." With these words, Iranian GM Elshan Moradiabadi, currently residing and studying in Lubbock, Texas, starts his report on a visit to Toronto where he gave simuls and lectures. Here is his illustrated report.