7/1/2023 – Ray Robson won the 2023 edition of the Prague Masters tournament after beating Bogdan-Daniel Deac in blitz playoffs. Robson’s strong nerves served him well in the blitz encounters, as he never stopped looking for tactical chances despite having lost his advantage in the first of two 5-minute games. Meanwhile, Mateusz Bartel scored a final-round victory to win the Challengers section. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

6/30/2023 – The ninth and final round of the Prague Chess Festival starts at 11.00, four hours earlier than the previous rounds. In the Masters, Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Ray Robson are joint leaders with 5 out of 8 each, but their pursuers, including Vincent Keymer, still have a chance to secure joint first place. In the Challengers, Mateusz Bartel leads with 5.5 out of 8, but there is still plenty to play for. | Follow the games live with computer-assisted analysis starting at 11.00 CEST (5.00 ET, 14.30 IST)

6/28/2023 – There was only one decisive game in round 6 of the Prague Chess Festival Masters Tournament: Wang Hao won with White against Boris Gelfand. Vincent Keymer missed good chances against Haik Martirosyan, but is still tied for first place with Ray Robson and Bogdan-Daniel Deac with 3.5 out of 6. Behind them are five (!) players with 3 out of 6 each - so with three rounds to go, eight players have a good chance of winning the tournament. In the Challengers, Benjamin Gledura is still the sole leader with 4.5 out of 6.| Photos: Petr Vrabec

6/26/2023 – Ray Robson rejoined the lead at the Prague Masters after beating Wang Hao with white in Sunday’s fifth round. This was the US grandmaster’s third decisive game in a row, as he employed the same line he had used to defeat Boris Gelfand in round 3. In the other decisive game of the day, Haik Martirosyan got the better of Thai Dai Van Nguyen. Meanwhile, an eventful round in the Challengers left Benjamin Gledura in the sole lead. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

6/25/2023 – Bogdan-Daniel Deac scored a crucial win over former co-leader Ray Robson in round 4 of the Prague Masters to join Vincent Keymer in the lead of the standings. Keymer held David Navara to a draw in a 100-move game, while Wang Hao returned to a fifty-percent score by beating Haik Martirosyan. In the Challengers, three games ended decisively, with Benjamin Gledura winning to join Mateusz Bartel in the lead. | Photo: Anežka Kružíková

6/24/2023 – Ray Robson joined Vincent Keymer in the lead of the Prague Masters tournament after beating Boris Gelfand in what turned out to be the only decisive game of round 3. Both Robson and Gelfand are known for favouring principled, theoretical lines, and that is precisely what they did in their direct encounter. The young US grandmaster prevailed following an engaging strategic battle. In the Challengers, Mateusz Bartel beat Vaclav Finek and is now the sole leader with 2½/3 points. | Photo: Anežka Kružíková

6/23/2023 – All five games in the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival finished drawn, leaving Vincent Keymer in the sole lead. Meanwhile, in the Challengers, Matuesz Bartel and Benjamin Gledura both won with white to join Vaclav Finek in the lead with 1½/2 points. Bartel obtained a fine win over Czech IM Richard Stalmach, whose approach in the French Defence proved ineffective against Bartel’s energetic play. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

6/22/2023 – The Prague Chess Festival kicked off on Wednesday. Both the Masters and the Challengers saw four draws and a decisive game each. In the Masters, top seed Wang Hao was defeated by German star Vincent Keymer, who got a superior endgame out of a sharp, theoretical variation, and converted it proficiently. In the Challengers, 13-year-old Czech FM Vaclav Finek beat Indian GM Akash G with the white pieces. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

6/15/2023 – The fifth edition of the Prague Chess Festival will take place on June 21-30 at the Don Giovanni Hotel in the Czech capital. The Masters Tournament is a 10-player single round-robin with Wang Hao, Sam Shankland and defending champion Pentala Harikrishna (pictured) as the top seeds. The lineup also includes German star Vincent Keymer and David Navara who, like Shankland, has been invited to all five editions of the Masters. | Photo: Vladimír Jagr