3/21/2021 – In the first set of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational finals on Saturday all the games played between Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in draws. In the first game, Giri missed a chance to win, while the remaining three games were evenly matched. In the match for third place, Wesley So had no chance against Magnus Carlsen: the World Champion won the first set 3:1. | Photo: FIDE

5/14/2020 – In a press release World Champion Magnus Carlsen today revealed his $1 million vision for a new online chess tour designed to cement the game’s future in the public eye. Four super-tournaments culminating in a Grand Final in August will become the new "majors" for online chess, the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. It follows the breakout success of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational which shattered all records for online viewership and now serves as the first leg of the Tour. Carlsen believes carrying the momentum into an online Tour presents the opportunity to establish chess permanently as a mass media sport.

5/13/2020 – In this show Merijn van Delft takes a look at one of the best and exciting games from the FIDE Nations Cup: Yu Yangyi vs Wesley So. | Merijn's show is available at 15.00 UTC (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

5/12/2020 – In his weekly show IM Lawrence Trent takes a look at the crucial final round encounter of the FIDE Nations Cup today between the USA and China, and analyses the game Yu Yangyi vs Wesley So. | Lawrence' show is available at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST, 13:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive)

5/6/2020 – Merijn van Delft takes a look at the dramatic final of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational match where Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura showed their skills in rapid chess. | Merijn's show is available at 15.00 UTC (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

5/5/2020 – In his weekly show IM Lawrence Trent talks about New York 1924, recaps the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, and looks forward to the Online Nations Cup. | Lawrence' show is available at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 12 Noon EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive)

5/4/2020 – The first Magnus Carlsen Invitational was won by none other than world champion Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian defeated Hikaru Nakamura 2½:1½ in a closely disputed final match. The confrontation was highly technical, as all the games went relatively deep into the endgame. Nakamura almost tied the score in the fourth game, but failed to make the most of his advantage. Round-up show by GM Yannick Pelletier. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

5/3/2020 – The final match of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational features the world champion facing quick-play specialist Hikaru Nakamura. They first play a four-game rapid match with a time control of 15 minutes + 10 seconds. In case of a tie, two blitz games with a time control of 5'+3" will follow. If these do not break the tie, an Armageddon game will be played. The action kicks off at 14:00 UTC (16:00 CEST, 10:00 EST). | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/3/2020 – The second semi-final of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational was a tension-filled affair. Carlsen and Ding Liren traded one-move blunders in games two and three, before the Chinese rejected a threefold repetition and ended up losing in the fourth encounter. Carlsen will play online-blitz specialist Hikaru Nakamura in Sunday's final, when US$25,000 will be at stake — the winner gets 70K and the loser 45K. IM Lawrence Trent recapped the action of the day. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

5/2/2020 – Hikaru Nakamura is the first finalist of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. The American defeated his compatriot Fabiano Caruana 4:2 after drawing in the four-game rapid section and winning both blitz tiebreakers. Nakamura will face either Carlsen or Ding Liren, who will play the other semi-final on Saturday. Round-up show by GM Yannick Pelletier. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

4/30/2020 – The seventh round of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational saw world numbers one and two, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, losing to Ding Liren and Anish Giri respectively. Carlsen played some dicey openings against Ding and, despite equalizing in the middlegame, made critical mistakes in three of the four rapid games. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura also won. The first semi-final between Caruana and Nakamura will be played on Friday. Round-up show by IM Lawrence Trent. | Photo: Official site

4/30/2020 – The four-player field for the semi-finals of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational has been decided one round prior to the end of the round-robin section. Fabiano Caruana defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to leave the Frenchman without chances of qualifying, while Hikaru Nakamura got the better of Ding Liren in Armageddon — both Nakamura and Ding will nonetheless join Carlsen and Caruana in the semis. | Photo: Official site

4/29/2020 – Merijn van Delft takes a look at the match and games between Alireza Firouzja and Anish Giri at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. | Merijn's show is available at 15.00 UTC (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Alireza Firouzja in Wijk 2020 | Photo: Alina l'Ami

4/28/2020 – Day eleven of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational was ripe with strange occurrences. Carlsen was lost after merely seven moves in his first game against Ian Nepomniachtchi, but ended up winning the match in Armageddon, while Alireza Firouzja both wasted winning chances and managed to swindle Anish Giri before getting a 2½:1½ victory. Carlsen is already qualified to the semi-finals, while Nepomniachtchi is no longer in contention to reach the knockout stage. Round-up show by GM Yannick Pelletier. | Photo: Official site

4/28/2020 – After Carlsen's loss on Sunday, two players joined him in the lead the very next day. Ding Liren defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi 2½:1½ to catch up with the world champion, while Hikaru Nakamura got one point in his match against Fabiano Caruana after losing on tiebreaks to also reach Carlsen's mark of eleven points. With two rounds to go in the round-robin section, there are four clear favourites to reach the semis. Round-up show by GM Daniel King. | Photo: Official site

4/27/2020 – Day one of the fifth round at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational saw the underdogs getting unlikely match victories. Anish Giri, who had won one game in seventeen attempts in the online event, took down sole leader Carlsen 2½:1½, while Alireza Firouzja scored his first three points by beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. IM Lawrence Trent recapped the action of the day. | Photo: Official site

4/26/2020 – Hikaru Nakamura and Ding Liren obtained key victories in round four of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. Nakamura took down Ian Nepomniachtchi 2½:1½, while Ding had black and drew Anish Giri in the Armageddon decider of their match-up. Nakamura is now in sole second place a point behind Carlsen and is very likely to reach the semi-finals. Round-up show by GM Yannick Pelletier. | Photo: Official site

4/25/2020 – World numbers one and two, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, won their round-four matches without needing tiebreaks, thus collecting three points each. Carlsen has won all his confrontations so far and is the clear leader with eleven points. He defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, while Caruana inflicted Alireza Firouzja's fourth straight loss. | Photo: Official site

4/24/2020 – The third round of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational concluded on Thursday. Ian Nepomniachtchi inflicted Anish Giri's third straight match loss without tiebreaks, while Ding Liren took down Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Armageddon after their four rapid encounters ended drawn. With four rounds to go, Magnus Carlsen is the sole leader of the event. Round-up show by IM Lawrence Trent. | Photo: Official site

4/23/2020 – The protagonists of the 2018 World Championship match faced each other in round three of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. Carlsen played his best chess of the event thus far to beat Fabiano Caruana 3:1 and take the sole lead in the standings table. In the other match of the day, Hikaru Nakamura defeated Alireza Firouzja after a disconnect in game one apparently upset the youngster's concentration. Round-up show by GM Daniel King. | Photo: Official site

4/22/2020 – This week Merijn van Delft takes a look at a game Alireza Firouzja played against Magnus Carlsen at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational to judge the strength of the 16-year old who currently has an Elo of 2728 and is number 21 in the world. | You can register a Premium account here. Merijn's show is available at 15.00 UTC (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/22/2020 – Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi won their round-two matches in sudden death at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. Both of them did it after winning their fourth rapid encounters on demand. Caruana defeated Ding Liren, while Nepomniachtchi took down Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. With two rounds completed, Caruana is sharing the lead with Magnus Carlsen on five points — incidentally, the co-leaders will face each other on Wednesday. Round-up show by GM Yannick Pelletier | Photo: Official site

4/21/2020 – In his weekly show IM Lawrence Trent takes a look at some of the games Magnus Carlsen and Alireza Firouzja played against each other at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020. | Lawrence' show is available at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 12 Noon EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/20/2020 – After Monday's round, the Magnus Carlsen Invitational has a sole leader in the world champion himself. Magnus Carlsen got a 2½:1½ victory over 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja, thus gaining three points for the overall standings. Firouzja did get to win a game, when Carlsen blundered the game away in one move. In the other match of the day, Hikaru Nakamura defeated Anish Giri. Round-up show by GM Daniel King. | Photo: Official site