British Championships: David Howell wins title

8/9/2013 – David Howell, playing with the black pieces, defeated IM Ameet Ghasi, to finish the round at 9.0/10 points (and a 2807 performance). That is one and a half more than his nearest rivals Gawain Jones and Mark Hebden. With one round to go they cannot catch him. In today's historical review we look at Stuart Conquest's 2008 win in a playoff between two 40-something GMs.

NEW: ChessBase Magazine 155 – download sample!

8/9/2013 – If 50% of all White players fail to find the best continuation on move four, everything indicates that Black chose a line with excellent practical chances. 3...Na5 against the Rossolimo-Variation in the Sicilian is such a line. In the new CBM 155 GM Leonid Kritz takes a close look at this move. And you can download his article for free! More...

Russian GM Igor Kurnosov dies in car accident

8/9/2013 – Tragic news: the chess grandmaster was crossing Komsomolsk Avenue in Chelyabinsk on the night of August 8, at 2:45 a.m. local time when he was hit by a Ford Fiesta car, driven by a 20-year-old girl. He died at the scene of the accident. Igor was an honest, kind, positive person; a great friend; and a chess professional who had a true passion for the game (Poginina web site). Rest in peace!

British Championships: Howell closer to the title

8/8/2013 – David Howell defeated Danny Gromally, while his main rival Mark Hebden drew in round nine. That puts the younger GM a full point ahead of Hebden, with eight players following up half a point behind. With two rounds to go things are looking very good for David. In today's historical review we look at another very young champion, actiaööy the youngest ever. Recognise him in the thumbnail?

Looking back: Harikrishna won the Biel Masters

8/8/2013 – We gave the GM tournament in Biel, which provided fighting games, extraordinary coverage. But in the process we neglected the Masters, won by Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna, and the Main tournament, which were held concomitantly. WIM Ioana Smaranda Padurariu played in the former, and also found time to photograph the event and the city in which it was held. Here her big pictorial report.

FIDE World Cup in Tromsø begins on Sunday

8/8/2013 – Currently 128 of the world's best players are making their way into the Arctic Circle, not to view the midnight sun but to play in a giant knockout tournament, with the winners qualifying for the Candidates Tournament of the next World Championship cycle. Aronian and Kramnik are playing, Carlsen and Anand are not. The event lasts from August 10 to September 3rd. Here are all the details.

British Championships: Howell inches towards title

8/7/2013 – David Howell won his round eight game with the black pieces against Simon Williams, raising his score to 7.0/8. But his main rival Mark Hebden also won and remains just half a point behind. Six players are in striking position with 6.0/8 points. Expect some exciting action in the last three rounds. In our historical review of past champions we look back at the ten-time winner Jonathan Penrose.

British Championships: Howell continues to lead

8/6/2013 – Round seven saw a 57-move struggle between David Howell and Mark Hebden. It ended in a draw, while GM Stephen Gordon got mated by Simon Williams in 30 moves. This means that Howell still leads, with 6.0/7 points and a 2734 performance. Four players follow half a point behind. In our historical review of past champions we look back at York 1959, where Rowena Bruce won the first of eleven titles.

Andorra Open, Tania in Hamburg

8/6/2013 – It's a tiny landlocked European country, renown for its scenic beauty (and tax-free status). The 2013 Andorra Open attraced 178 participants, including 16 GMs and 13 IMs. It was dominated by the strongest players, with top places going to the top seeds. But we were especially interested in an IM who finished equal 9-17. After the event Tania Sachdev flew to Hamburg to record her first DVD for ChessBase.

Negi crushes Politiken

8/6/2013 – Despite not having a perfect start, like GM Ivan Cheparinov did with 6/6, Negi showed great class throughout the tournament and won the most important Scandinavian open of the year. The Bulgarian had to content himself with sharing second place with many other players, including Romain Edouard, Sebastian Maze and Hansen Sune Berg. Report of the tournament.

Andrea Amato, King of Erice

8/5/2013 – He is a lowly FM, rated 2291 – not a professional player but a pure amateur who restared his chess career just last year. But in the beautiful town Erice on Sicily, where 82 players from 14 countries were gathered, Andrea Amato was in top form. To everybody's delight he scored a stunning 6.0/7 and finished alone at the top of the final table. Alessandro Monaco sent us this big pictorial report..

British Championships: Howell leads alone

8/5/2013 – Round six: David Howell beat Peter Wells and took the sole lead, after Stephen Gordon drew his black game against Mark Hebden. Howell is now at 5.5/6, with Hebden and Gordon following half a point behind (and a phalanx of nine players on 4.5/6). Once again we combine the 2013 Championship with a historical narrative of the darkest horse to ever win the British Championship.

Dortmund Final: Adams emerges victorious

8/4/2013 – Adams came in determined to not let Kramnik have a fighting chance at taking the title away from him. He did so successfully by forcing Kramnik into a repetition very early on in the game, sealing the draw and the victory for Adams with an amazing 2923 performance. Second was Kramnik with an also superb 2866. Leko and Naiditsch tied for third. Final round report.

British Championships past and present

8/4/2013 – There is some interesting and exciting chess going on at the 100th Anniversary British Championship, with GMs David Howell and Stephen Gordon dominating. But our partners in the organisation have been providing us with historical material that is equally fascinating. We bring you the latest from Torquay 2013 and from the championships in 1929 and 1938 in this double-round report.

Dortmund R8: Kramnik in striking distance

8/4/2013 – Until round six Michael Adams and Vladimir Kramnik were leading in the Dortmund GM tournament, two points ahead of the field. In round seven Adams won and Kramnik lost, in round eight the Russian scored while Adams drew. Now Kramnik, a much acclaimed ChessBase DVD author, has it in his power to decide the tournament for himself. Meanwhile a cheating scandal rocked the Dortmund Open.

Tiebreaks: Vachier -Lagrave wins Biel 2013

8/2/2013 – With four players finishing equal in the Biel GM tournament, tiebreaks were required. The semi-finals blitz games were won by Alexander Moiseenko and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who knocked out Etienne Bacrot and Ding Liren respectively. In the rapid chess final Vachier-Lagrave won the first game and drew the second to take the title. Final report with an interview with the winner.

British Championships: Two GM with perfect scores

8/2/2013 – After four rounds in the beautiful Torquay venue, GMs David Howell, and Stephen Gordon are in the lead with 4.0/4 points each. Four players follow half a point behind. We bring you a selection of interesting games to watch, plus a round three Game of the Day video lecture by Andrew Martin. An an historical review of the 1926 British Championship in Edinburgh, which was won by Fred Dewhirst Yates.

Dortmund R06: Kramnik, Adams unstoppable

8/2/2013 – The two tournament leaders continue with an inexorable pace. Adams cooly defended against Naiditsch and collected an easy point, putting him at 3004 performance. Kramnik showed incredibly class in his victory against Fridman. In the other games, Wang Hao and Caruana miraculously saved their games while Meier and Andreikin took the day off with a quick draw. Report and analysis.

The Classical Pirc in 60 minutes

8/2/2013 – Promising a complete answer against the Pirc in a mere 60 minutes might seem bound to come up short on some account, but not so. Not only does Dejan Bojkov avoid turning theory study into an efficient sleeping pill and keep the viewer engaged, he balances teaching theory, plans, and tactics, and goes the extra mile to leave the student armed with rarefied weapons.

Biel R10: Tiebreak with four players!

8/2/2013 – "Note that if Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beats Ding Liren and Etienne Bacrot draws Alexander Moiseenko, there will be tiebreaks with four players on Friday!" That is what we wrote in our previous report, and that is exactly what happened in the final round. The four will meet on Friday, with blitz knockout games in the semi-finals and rapid in the final. The action starts at 12:00 noon CEST.

China trounces USA

8/1/2013 – China was able to finish off a weakened USA who put very little resistance in the rapid games. In the women's section Tan Zhongyi scored an unbelievable 9.5/10 which put all hope of an American comeback to rest. The American girls again sent us their impressions from the tournament, of Ningbo and even annotated one of their best game. Beautiful pictorial report.

British Championships: round two and Torquay

8/1/2013 – A substantial number of readers will know Torquay – from the classical comedy series Fawlty Towers. It was here that Basil Fawlty tortured his guests, and it is here that the 100th British Championships are being held. After three rounds five players – three GMs and two IMs – lead with a perfect score. We bring you a selection of round two games and a historical review of the 1908 Championship.

Biel R09: Moiseenko wins, Ding Liren leads

7/31/2013 – The Biel scoring system awards three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. In the penultimate round Alexander Moiseenko beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in an impressive game and advanced to equal second with Etienne Bacrot. Ding Liren drew Ian Nepomniachtchi and is in the lead. With one round to go there are four players in contention for the title. Round nine report.

Dortmund R05: Kramnik and Adams lead by 1.5

7/31/2013 – In a series of strange openings it seemed that White would do very badly today. Kramnik was pinned against the wall by Leko, while Caruana's and Adam's positions were certainly not better. However Caruana held while the leaders won their games. Andreikin punished an early blunder by Khenkin and the other two Germans drew their game in a long rook endgame. Analysis and report.