7/25/2019 – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix series in Riga after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with Black in Armageddon. The contenders showed great fighting spirit throughout their final match-up, with Vachier-Lagrave twice stepping up to get wins on demand. Thanks to this triumph, Mamedyarov now shares first place with Alexander Grischuk in the GP overall standings table. | Photo: World Chess

7/24/2019 – The FIDE Grand Prix has just ended and IM Merijn van Delft has flagged the semi-final Catalan of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov as his Game of the Week. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. Merijn is on-demand this week starting at 18:00 UTC (20:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT).

7/23/2019 – After a quick loss in game one, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave evened the score of the final with a 32-move win out of an Italian Opening at the Grand Prix in Riga. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov did not react well to his opponent's unhurried approach, which provoked his position to collapse rapidly. The winner of the event will be decided on Wednesday's tiebreaks, starting at 12:00 UTC (14:00 CEST, 8:00 AM EDT). | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/22/2019 – Game one of the FIDE Grand Prix final in Riga finished surprisingly quickly, as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov took down Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from the white side of a Grünfeld Defence in 28 moves. The second classical game of the finals will be played on Tuesday, July 23rd, starting at 12:00 UTC (14:00 CEST, 8:00 AM EDT), with Vachier-Lagrave in need of a win to take the match-up to tiebreaks. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/20/2019 – No tiebreakers were needed to decide who will play the final match of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew Wesley So (after having beaten the American in game one) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave took down Alexander Grischuk in the rematch encounters of the semi-finals. Given that the sole rest day was scheduled for Sunday and the potential tiebreaks were to take place on Saturday, the finalists will have two days to recover before the deciding match-up. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/18/2019 – In the first game of the semi-finals at the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga we saw a couple of elite chess battles, as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov surprised Wesley So to get a quick win and Alexander Grischuk got himself in trouble out of a Berlin Defence against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Grischuk and So will have the white pieces in Friday's rematch encounters. | Photo: World Chess

7/18/2019 – Alexander Grischuk and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov knocked out Yu Yangyi and Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the first two games of the quarter-finals tiebreaks at the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga. Meanwhile, Sergey Karjakin and Wesley So drew all their 25'+10" and 10'+10" games — in the end, So emerged the winner after turning around a sharp tactical position in the first 5'+3" encounter and saving a draw in a roller-coaster of a rematch game. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/16/2019 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has already secured his spot in the semi-finals of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, as Veselin Topalov shocked everyone by offering a draw after merely twelve moves in a must-win situation. The rest of the match-ups are still tied and will be decided on tiebreaks — while Wesley So, Sergey Karjakin, Yu Yangyi and Alexander Grischuk played it safe, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Jan-Krzyztof Duda got into a real fight in Tuesday's round. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/16/2019 – Much like in round one of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave kicked off the quarter-finals with a win in classical chess, this time over Veselin Topalov. In the meantime, Wesley So had the black pieces and signed a 17-move draw with Sergey Karjakin, Jan-Krzysztof Duda had a good position but could not make much of it against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Alexander Grischuk did not make the most of his game with White against Yu Yangyi. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/14/2019 – Two players have already been eliminated from the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, as David Navara could not bounce back from an early loss against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Daniil Dubov was defeated by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov during the second day of action. The rest of the match-ups are tied after two draws, which means six spots will be decided on Sunday's tiebreaks. | Photos: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/13/2019 – The second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix kicked off with plenty of fighting chess. Only Maxime Vachier-Lagrave managed to score a full point, however, as he took down David Navara in 19 moves out of a sharp Caro-Kann. Wesley So, Alexander Grischuk and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had big chances but failed to join Vachier-Lagrave as the winners of round one, while Peter Svidler and Jan-Krzysztof Duda played a sharp, entertaining game. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/8/2019 – We saw history in the making, as Magnus Carlsen won his eighth tournament in a row at the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Zagreb. The world champion defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from the white side of a Grünfeld to finish in clear first place a full point ahead of his closest pursuer with a 'plus five' score. Carlsen's official rating in August will equal his own peak rating of 2882 points — the highest ever achieved. Wesley So finished in sole second place. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

7/7/2019 – Round ten of the Grand Chess Tour event in Zagreb finished with all six games drawn. Wesley So had the white pieces against leader Magnus Carlsen and decided to use a safety-first approach which resulted in a 36-move tie. Only Caruana v Mamedyarov, by far the longest game of the day, saw the players creating some imbalances at the board. In Sunday's final round, Carlsen will have White against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and So will face Levon Aronian with the black pieces. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

7/6/2019 – Magnus Carlsen still leads the Croatian leg of the Grand Chess Tour, as both he and his only chaser Wesley So got half points in round nine. Carlsen and Levon Aronian played a remarkable, precise 49-move draw while Wesley So was on the brink of defeat but miraculously survived against Ian Nepomniachtchi. The only winner of the day was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who defeated Vishy Anand with the white pieces. Round ten will see the deciding match-up between Carlsen and So. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

7/1/2019 – A wild round was followed by a quieter one in Zagreb, as five games ended in draws, with most of them not living up to the level of excitement seen on Saturday. Only Ding Liren defeated Anish Giri to bounce back to 50% in the standings table. The other highlight of the day was Levon Aronian not managing to convert a big advantage — which emerged from brilliant play in the early stage of the game — against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Ian Nepomniachtchi defended well against Hikaru Nakamura and still leads. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/30/2019 – There were no decisive results in round four of the Croatian Grand Chess Tour, but not for a lack of trying. Most notably, Magnus Carlsen vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Anish GIri were wild struggles which could have gone either way. Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana also fought hard, while fortune continues to smile on Ian Nepomniachtchi, who was in a difficult position against Sergey Karjakin but ended up taking home the half point and still commands the standings table. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/6/2019 – Plenty of fighting chess was seen in (almost) all the classical games of round two at the Altibox Norway Chess Tournament. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Fabiano Caruana were the first ones to pick up two points by winning "slow" games in Stavanger. Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen barely saved a draw against Levon Aronian in the Classical, but then went on to win in Armageddon. Wesley So and Yu Yangyi also got 1½ points after winning in sudden death. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

6/4/2019 – The 2019 Altibox Norway Chess Tournament officially kicked off Monday in Stavanger. The traditional Blitz Tournament, which takes place in lieu of the drawing of lots, was won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The Frenchman overpowered Magnus Carlsen in their final round deciding match-up and became the highest-rated player in the blitz ratings list. Levon Aronian and Carlsen shared second place. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / norwaychess.no

5/15/2019 – The race to qualify to the 2020 Candidates Tournament begins this Friday, with the first leg of the Grand Prix Series in Moscow. The tournament is a 16-player knock-out that will use similar rules to the ones seen at previous World Cups. Only one player in the field has a rating below 2700, although we all know that current World Rapid Champion Daniil Dubov (2690) is completely capable of upsetting any member of the elite. | Photo: worldchess.com

4/8/2019 – The one decisive game of round seven saw Magnus Carlsen defeat his Twitter arch-enemy Anish Giri to take the sole lead in Shamkir. It was a rather flashy win, which means Magnus will arrive in Monday's showdown against Sergey Karjakin in high spirits. With only two rounds to go, it seems almost impossible for any player other than Magnus or Sergey to win the event. Grandmaster YANNICK PELLETIER analysed the games in depth. | Photo: Official site

4/3/2019 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen looks determined and focused at the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir. After defeating Viswanathan Anand in Round 2, he also won in Round 3, beating David Navara with Black through good technique and energetic play. He is now the sole leader with 2½ out of 3 alone. The second win of the day was provided by Anand who bounced back from his prior day's loss to beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The remaining three games ended drawn. Report and analyses by GMs ARYAN TARI and DANIEL FERNANDEZ. | Photos: ShamkirChess.com

12/29/2018 – No tie-breaks were needed to decide the winners of the 2018 World Rapid Championships in Saint Petersburg. In the open section, Daniil Dubov arrived in the last round alone at the top of the standings and kept his position after all the top games finished drawn. Meanwhile, Ju Wenjun continued her great run and practically secured first place with a round to spare — will the Chinese manage to win the 'triple crown' of world championships this year? | Photos: Maria Emelianova / Lennart Ootes / Official site

12/27/2018 – 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 player overall of 2018?

11/14/2018 – The Tata Steel Chess India 2018 Rapid came to an end on November 11th with American GM Hikaru Nakamura taking home the first prize with 6.0/9. Nakamura played the event as per the demands of the situation — calm on first and third days and three victories on day two! It was excellent news for Indian fans that Harikrishna managed to fight back with two wins against Levon Aronian and Vidit Gujrathi in last two rounds to finish second. Levon Aronian had to settle for the third spot. IM SAGAR SHAH brings you six things that happened on the last day of the rapid and reflections on the first super tournament held in his native India! Of course, one mustn't forget the small sensation — Vishy Anand was beaten by his former second Surya Sekhar Ganguly in the final round.