Maharashtra Chess League starts in Pune

4/27/2013 – An exciting bidding process by private sponsors determined the team line-ups to be used in the Maharashtra Chess League. Some of the top Indian players are participating in the event, and the World Champion himself was there to grace the opening ceremony. This rapid tournament has already produced many exciting games. Read about the first two rounds in our big pictorial report.

Jet-lagged in Japfa (part two)

4/27/2013 – Continuing the travel report on Indonesia, globetrotting WGM Alina L'Ami shares her pictures and impressions of a country rich in culture, tradition, and delicious food. Not to mention the tireless efforts made by GM Utut Adianto, Indonesian senator, to promote chess in Indonesia.

Zug GP R08: Topalov wins, leads alone

4/27/2013 – Alexander Morozevich played a Symmetrical English against Veselin Topalov, using a line he had played unsuccessfully against Grischuk earlier this month. In a long, complicated struggle his opponent Veselin Topalov gained an advantage and drove it home for the full point. All other games were drawn, which puts the Bulgarian GM in the sole lead. Full illustrated report with GM analysis.

Endgames from the Alekhine Memorial

4/26/2013 – Kramnik's crushing breakthrough, Adams' activity, Aronian's attacking king, and Adams' amazing knights – those are the subjects of this week's endgame lessons, brought to you by ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller. They are all from the Alekhine Memorial that has two rest days while the players move from Paris to St. Petersburg. Learn and enjoy.

Jet-lagged in Japfa (part one)

4/26/2013 – Many things come to mind when speaking of Indonesia, from its enormous Muslim population to its breathtaking cultural diversity, but chess is usually not one. The JAPFA Chess Festival, held in Jakarta, organized a Women Tournament calling it the highlight, and treated the players like superstars, but Alina L'Ami explains this is no surprise when you see how rampant chess is there.

Zug R07: Kamsky beats Morozevich

4/25/2013 – The Russian GM, true to his style, played a fairly unusual opening. His American opponent used the opportunity to prepare a kingside assault. A few incautious actions around move 24 put Alexander Morozevich on the spot and Gata Kamsky turned the assault into a full-scale attack and took the full point. All other games were drawn. Full report with pictures and commentary.

Russian Youth won by Artemiev and Kashlinskaya

4/25/2013 – After years of difficult conditions, the Russian Youth Championship seems to finally have a worthy home in AquaLoo. Over 1300 children, accompanied by parents and coaches, from 75 regions in Russia, came to compete for the right to represent their nation, with Artemiev and Kashlinskaya at the top. One player aspires to be the next Mikhail Tal.

Alekhine R05: Vachier leads after Paris leg

4/25/2013 – Fressinet missed winning chances in two consecutive games, but this time he was relentless and finished off Kramnik in superb fashion. Anand showed attacking prowess and demolished Ding. Gelfand and Aronian drew while Adams and Vitiugov also split the point. Vachier seized his chance, beat Svidler with Black and takes his lead to Saint Petersburg. GM commentary inside.

Alekhine R04: Aronian joins the leaders

4/24/2013 – Tears were certainly shed as a couple of games saw very noticeable blunders. First Svidler missed a simple combination against Aronian that gave the Armenian a decisive advantage. Fressinet kept missing wins against Adams, and the Englishman was lucky enough to survive. The rest of the games were solid draws, although Vitiugov had winning chances against Gelfand. Games inside.

Zug R06: Nakamura and Ponomariov score

4/24/2013 – Hikaru Nakamura, playing with the black pieces, defeated former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a wild tactical battle, while Ruslan Ponomariov, also a former FIDE world champion, outplayed Gata Kamskyon the white side of a Nimzo Indian Rubinstein. Four games were drawn. Ponomariov, Morozevich and Topalov nox lead with 4.0/6 points each. Full illustrated report.

Sockos win Polish Championships

4/24/2013 – The Polish Chess Championship, which took place from 13-21 April in Chorzow, was dominated by the Socko family. Bartosz won the open tournament, while Monika prevailed in the women's event, however not without the thrill of the final round battles. Grzegorz Gajewski took silver, 18-year-old Kamil Dragun took bronze,  the greatest surprise of the tournament. Big pictorial report.

Alekhine R03: Gelfand beats Adams

4/24/2013 – Despite the four drawn games today in Paris, the atmosphere is still electrifying and many games went down to the wire. Ding-Fressinet was a particularly wild affair, Vitiugov had to sacrifice a rook to achieve a strange perpetual, while Vachier held on by the skin of his teeth in an inferior rook endgame against Kramnik. Gelfand showed that Adams is still human and took him down while Anand and Aronian went the peaceful route. Big pictorial report.

Zug R05: five decisive games

4/23/2013 – That's a pleasant change from the "all games drawn", which was our headline for the last two rounds. Morozevich, Topalov, Caruana, Karjakin and Kamsky all won their games, leaving the first two in the lead with 3.5/5 points. Ponomariov, Karjakin and Caruana follow half a point behind. We bring you GM analysis and pictures in our round five report.

Natalia Pogonina nominated Girl of the Month

4/23/2013 – Recently Cosmopolitan Magazine chose Magnus Carlsen as one of the 24 sexiest men of 2013. Big deal – the competition was, in our opinion, quite modest. On the other hand look what WGM Natalia Pogonina had to face to be chosen "Girl of the Month" by Russian TV channel, “Russia-2”. We have some bonus shots of Natalia to show you and a enthralling page full of her nearest rivals.

Alekhine R02: three wins again, Adams leads

4/22/2013 – The first round was extraordinary, the second even more so: two of yesterday's winners, Vladimir Kramnik and Ding Liren, took a tumble in round two, while Britain's Michael Adams won his second game in a row (against Peter Svidler) to go into the sole lead. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in second place after beating Ding in spectacular fashion. Full report with results, games, pictures and GM analysis.

Zug R04: all games drawn again

4/21/2013 – Despite the hard fights exhibited by the players, Zug ended in many peaceful results. Nakamura and Radjabov had an extra pawn against Kamsky and Leko but couldn't do anything with it. Morozevich got a great advantage against Karjakin, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov played a wild game, Caruana's king marched to d4 with queens still on the board, and yet all of these games were drawn.

Alekhine Memorial starts with a bang

4/21/2013 – An amazing round opened the Alekhine Memorial! We see some players that were in one of the most exciting tournaments of recent years, the London Candidates, and it seems like their flame has far from extinguished – they continue to play powerful and risky chess! We bring you a report on the opening ceremony and round one, with GM analysis of two of the best games.

13-year-old dominating Chinese Championship

4/21/2013 – Youngster Wei Yi and Super-GM Wang Yue lead the Chinese Chess Championship. Three players, including Hou Yifan, follow suit only half a point behind. In the women's section Ding Yixin leads by a full point. The tournament is being held in the city of Xinghua in Jinasu province, which will also host the World Women's Chess Championship match later this year. Report after round five.

Zug R03: all games drawn

4/20/2013 – The six games of this round were all drawn, most in 45-60 moves in theoretically drawn positions, and with due permission of the chief arbiter, as the Grand Prix rules require. Only one game, Giri-Radjabov, was drawn by repetition in 19 moves in less than an hour. Three players – Morezevich, Ponomariov and Topalov – lead with plus one scores after three rounds of play. Full pictorial report.

Alekhine Memorial Super-Tournament starts

4/20/2013 – Just to remind you: the opening ceremony of this event will be held tonight, with a concert by Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky. The games start on Saturday April 21 and last until May 1st. The venue is the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris. The participants: Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Svidler, Gelfand, Vachier-Lagrave, Fressinet, Adams, Vitiugov and Ding Liren. We will be reporting on a daily basis.

Zug R02: three wins, three draws

4/19/2013 – A day of reversals! Kamsky and Leko outplayed their opponents, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov, in aggressive and impressive fashion straight from the opening. However both lost their way and not only relinquished the advantages, but also at the end a full point! Ponomariov played a fine positional game against Caruana while the rest of the games fizzled out into draws. Round two report with GM analysis.

MOU signed for World Championship in Chennai

4/19/2013 – FIDE, the All-India and Tamil Nadu State Chess Associations signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday for the World championship match to be held in Chennai, from November 6 to 26. FIDE vice-president Israel Gelfer said the venue of the championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen would be finalised within 21 days. Press release.

Zug R01: Morozevich and Caruana win

4/18/2013 – Solid yet unorthodox chess marked the start of the Zug Grand Prix. Morozevich used a quick fianchetto setup to confuse Kasimdzhanov, and it worked. Radjabov created too many weaknesses against Caruana who was happy to scoop them up one by one. Nakamura went out for blood against Karjakin's weak opening, but couldn't capitalize. The remaining games were solidly drawn. Round one report.

Magnus Carlsen on TIME 100 list

4/18/2013 – TIME Magazine has named Magnus Carlsen one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2013. The full list and related tributes will appear in the April 29 / May 6 issue of TIME, available on newsstands tomorrow. Magnus is in excellent if somewhat mixed company. According to TIME this is not a list of the most powerful or the smartest people in the world, it’s a list of the most influential.