6/3/2018 – Ding Liren is expected to make a full recovery following surgery on Friday for a fractured hip after a fall off a bicycle. But his need to rest following the injury trumps his need to play chess and he has bowed out of the tournament in Stavanger. The three draws he has made will not count for score and the tournament continues with his remaining opponents getting a rest day. Fabiano Caruana was the beneficiary in round four, and he returned to the board with a vengeance on Saturday, scoring the day's only win. Report and games by ALEX YERMOLINSKY. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

6/2/2018 – In the first three rounds of the Altibox Norway Chess tournaments, Magnus Carlsen was the only player to win a game, but in round four Sergey Karjakin and Levon Aronian put their first number 1 up on the crosstable. Viswanathan Anand and Wesley So drew, as did Hikaru Nakamura and Carlsen. The game between Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana was postponed following a serious bicycle accident suffered by Ding, who fractured a hip. Carlsen's lead has now shrunk to half a point. Report and games annotated by GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

6/1/2018 – Ding Liren is at a career best 2798 on the Elo ratings and number four in the world. But Thursday night it emerged that he's suffered a hip fracture while bicycling in Norway and will miss today's fourth round. The scheduled game with Caruana has been postponed (for now) until the next rest day, June 4th. Before the incident, the players took part in a "cook-off" where they were paired up and got to play the roll of professional chefs for a while. Here Ding enjoys the fruits (or rather veggies) of his labour. Behind him (L-to-R): Vachier-Lagrave, Aronian, Caruana and Karjakin | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

5/31/2018 – Magnus Carlsen seems to be in top form at this year's Norway Chess tournament. In Round 3, he defeated Levon Aronian in a near miniature and in a manner that was typically Carlsen-esque. This puts the World Champion in the clear lead after with 2½ of 3. The four other games ended in a draw, leaving Carlsen the only player who has yet scored a full point — and with two of them, he's already a heavy favourite to win the tournament if history is any guide. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

5/30/2018 – The second round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament did not bring a winner, but some interesting draws and opening finesses. Magnus Carlsen remains in the lead. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

5/29/2018 – An omen for the upcoming World Championship? Magnus Carlsen played the opening round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament against Fabiano Caruana, his next challenger in for the World Champion's title, and won, improving his classical record against the American. The remaining games ended in draws. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Altibox Norway Chess

5/26/2018 – Rounds five through seven of the Chinese League were held in Shenzhen this week. The team from Shanghai currently leads the league, but the performance of Ding Liren (who plays for Zheijang) has attracted attention. He has had a strong showing, winning all five of his games so far, and by beating Ivan Cheparinov in the seventh round he nudged up past Vladimir Kramnik to the fourth spot in the world rankings and is less than three Elo points shy of 2800. | Photo: qipai.org.cn

4/29/2018 – The writing was on the wall, and the last round clash between Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren remained somewhat anticlimactic as they drew after just 27 moves. To be fair, Magnus never gave his opponent a chance to liven things up. The one decisive game of the last round was Sergey Karjakin’s win over Veselin Topalov. A great tournament victory for the World Champion with signs of what is to come. | Photo: Shamkir Chess

4/23/2018 – After 15 draws over the first three rounds in Shamkir, Sunday's round saw one of the players finally win a game. Veselin Toplalov wrestled with Shakriyar Mamedyarov in a razor-sharp Open Spanish and thus takes over the sole lead. Plus: David Navara analyzes the Caro-Kann until the end, Anish Giri lets Liren Ding off the hook and Teimour Radjabov explains his strategy with White against World Champion Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Shamkirchess.az

4/22/2018 – At the Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijani, the curious "remis-sery" (to use a cross-language pun) could not be broken in the third round either. The ten top grandmasters have played fifteen games; because none of them was decided, there are naturally also ten "leaders" with 1½ points. GM Alex Yermolinsky reports that things could have changed today round three, which saw the Bulgarian ex-FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov miss a winning chance against Ding Liren. Unfortunately, of the two ways in which Topalov could sacrifice his knight, Topalov chose the wrong one, and Ding could save the game in a draw. | Photo: Shamkirchess.az

4/20/2018 – The first round of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir ended with five draws, and the second round also brought five draws. The most excitement offered the game between Anish Giri and Veselin Topalov but in the end the two players shared the point. | Photos: Shamkir Chess

4/20/2018 – The Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijan began with five draws. The top game between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Magnus Carlsen was rather unspectacular. The best chances for a victory were held by Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren, but at the crucial moment against Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Ding lacked a killer instinct. | Photo: shamkirchess.az

4/10/2018 – The final day of China versus the world match featured some amazing miniatures, inspiring comebacks and also a few incredible blunders! While the World team failed to overcome their two-point deficit on the final day, they came close and made sure the Chinese did not declare victory without breaking a sweat. Day 2 report and games.

4/8/2018 – From April 7th to 9th, China's National team is taking on five representatives of the 'Rest of the World' in a ten round match with a rapid time control of 10 mins + 10 seconds. At the conclusion of Day 1, Team China finished with a two-point lead over the World scoring three wins, a draw and two losses. There were plenty of interesting games and we bring you a report on all the action from Liaocheng, China.

3/28/2018 – GM Daniel King was, of course, one of our round-up show hosts, but he also covered the Candidates Tournament in Berlin round-by-round for his Power Play YouTube Channel, culminating in extensive reporting from on-site for the final two rounds. In case you missed some of his great work, we present it here in one convenient place. Grandmaster analysis in easily digestible bites.

3/28/2018 – With a confident performance in the last round, Fabiano Caruana secured victory in the 2018 Candidates Tournament in Berlin. He played against Alexander Grischuk with a half point lead, and as the round progressed it became clear that a draw would be enough for the tournament victory. But that wasn't enough for Caruana, who pressed on for the full point and finished with a fantastic 9.0 / 14 score and clear first. | Photo: World Chess

3/27/2018 – Sergey Karjkin didn't succeed in posing serious problems for Ding Liren and after, what he called, a "terrible blunder", he had to scramble to save a draw. That left Caruana in great shape to win the tournament. Mamedyarov struggled to find winning chances with black against Kramnik, but in the end that game ended drawn as well. Caruana, needing only a draw, was in command against Grischuk and even won the game to finish in clear first by a full point! | Photo and drawings by World Chess

3/27/2018 – The final four games, the final four players who have a chance — Monday's play brought some clarity to the stakes in the last round, but Tuesday is shaping up to be a barn-burner. Sergey Karjakin's late surge (since Saturday) stalled as he made a dry draw against Wesley So from, and he puts all his hopes on Tuesday's game. Fabiano Caruana took advantage: The American won in a wild melee against Levon Aronian and is now half a point ahead of Karjakin. And Shakh is back: the Azerbaijani world number two won Monday against Grischuk and is now equal second with Karjakin. Ding is the dark horse who will have to go all-out to win. | Photo: Niki Riga

3/26/2018 – The first thirteen rounds of the Candidates Tournament brought top-class chess, brilliant games and many surprises. And the finale is set up to be exciting: four players can still hope to win the tournament and become the challenger of Magnus Carlsen. Fabiano Caruana takes a small lead into the final round, but with two other players within a half point of first, we can see a maximum of three players tied after Tuesday's final round. Who has the best chances? Read on... | Pictured: Sergei Karjakin in profile | Photo: Niki Riga

3/24/2018 – Round twelve had everyone reeling as the event was stood on its head. Sergey Karjakin beat Fabiano Caruana in a powerful game with a superb exchange sacrifice, and now shares the lead with a better tiebreak. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov lost to Ding Liren, who won his first game and thus joins the group a half-point behind the leaders. Read the report and enjoy the analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky! | Photo: World Chess

3/24/2018 – In the Candidates Tournament in Berlin, the leader and his closest pursuer played draws in the eleventh round: Fabiano Caruana found precise answers to Vladimir Kramnik's opening ideas, Shakriyar Mamedyarov steered Wesley So towards an early peace. With three rounds to go, Caruana is still half a point ahead of Mamedyarov. Musical chairs in the chasing group. The Chinese Ding Liren was on the verge of a brilliant victory against Alexander Grischuk, but in mutual time pressure, Grischuk managed a miraculous escape. For Ding, his eleventh consecutive draw. | Photo: World Chess

3/23/2018 – Fabiano Caruana had to face his most persistent pursuer in Berlin, Shakriyar Mamedyarov, in the tenth round with the black pieces. Both players wanted to win the game and thus take a huge advantage into the remaining games, but ultimately played to bare kings. The tournament is still completely open at the top. On the other end of the standings table, Vladimir Kramnik staged a small comeback after several bruising defeats, by winning against Levon Aronian. Both the remaining games, Ding Liren vs So and Grischuk vs Karjakin were drawn. | Photo: Niki Riga

3/20/2018 – Fabiano Caruana failed to put an end to Ding Liren's drawing streak today in the Candidates Tournament, and the US Grandmaster missed several good opportunities in the endgame. Vladimir Kramnik showing fighting spirit, sacrificing a while rook against Karjakin, but his queen and bishop pair was not enough to crack the "Minister of Defence", and he went on to lose his fourth game. Who would have predicted that Kramnik and Aronian would be tied for last place!? | Pictured: Lakhdar Mazouz, FIDE President's Assistant for Africa made the ceremonial first move Photos: Niki Riga

3/20/2018 – At the beginning of the second half of the tournament, the symbolic first move was played by German IM Elisabeth Paehtz. Grischuk and Kramnik, along with Caruana and So provided most of the entertainment. Kramnik sacrificed a pawn, but then could not hold the endgame. So defended successfully against Caruana, however, despite being down the exchange. | Photos: World Chess