9/21/2018 – It was none other than Vladimir Putin, who dropped in at the training camp in Sochi. There he spoke to the men and women team members, about the importance of Russia regaining their dominating role in chess, about young talents and talent schools — like the one initiated by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. "Sirius" has already produced a number of children's champions. Watch this 1TV report — it is in Russian, but we provide a rough transcript for you to read.

10/6/2017 – From October 3rd to 5th, Sochi hosted the Russian Blitz and Rapid Championships. With individual and team events (both open and for women) in blitz and rapid it was a real chess festival that attracted a lot of strong players for a week of fast and exciting games. | Pictured: Gata Kamsky and Alexander Motylev | Photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation

7/24/2017 – The Russian Higher League concluded in a celebration of youth, with as much drama and excitement for the five qualifiers in each event as for the ones who failed to make the cut. The open section was won by Daniil Dubov and Sanan Sjugirov, with classy performances, and the women’s section was won by Marina Nechaeva, while 13-year-old Bibisara Assaubayeva just barely missed out after a fantastic tournament. Report and analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

5/11/2017 – The Russian Team Championship ended predictably in a clean sweep for Siberia-Sirius, winning all its matches with its unparalleled lineup (Kramnik, Giri, Mamedyarov, etc). The Women’s event was a far tighter affair, won by Yugra (Ushenina) over ShSM Legacy Square Capital (Kosteniuk), coming down to their individual match. Here is a large illustrated report by Alex Yermolinsky.

5/13/2016 – In this final report on the Russian Team Championship, you will read about the trials and tribulations of being the top dog, either being beaten down to size as "Malachite" in the Higher League, or utter domination such as "Legacy Square Capital" in the Women's event, winning two rounds in advance! It had it all from guts and glory to children's delight.

5/12/2016 – The last half of the Russian Team Championship was just as good as the first, with a slew of exciting battles. Although the story of the event was Vladimir Kramnik's majestic performance and ensuing 2812 rating, it could have been more had he not let Karjakin escape a won game. Herein find some of the great games and mind-boggling moves.

5/7/2015 – There is only one round left in the Russian Team Championship. The strong team of Siberia (Novosibirsk) is poised to win the event, and that should come as no surprise. Excellent performances by Kramnik, Aronian and Jakovenko have the Siberian team leading. In second place is University of Belorechensk, who will have a tough time in their last round against Saint Petersburg.

4/14/2015 – Is the women's chess world divided into two camps, Hou Yifan vs the rest? How does one deal with issues such as the prevalent male chauvinism in chess? What are the other advantages for being a finalist or the champion? What should players do to help promote the game? These are a few of the questions Natalia Pogonina is asked in this second part of the in-depth interview.

4/12/2015 – "The race after titles, fame and money is destroying people from the inside", says Natalia Pogonina in an in-depth interview conducted after the exciting Women World Championship. After being dubbed (justifiably) the queen of comebacks after producing three victories in must-win situations, the finalist discusses the special preparation made, and her mental approach.

4/7/2015 – The official closing ceremony of the Women's World Chess Championship took place on April 6. 64 players from 28 countries competed for the chess crown from March 16 to April 5. In the final match Mariya Muzychuk from Ukraine defeated Natalia Pogonina from Russia by 2.5-1.5 and became the 15th World Champion. In the high-profile affair, unique gifts were given. Pictures and comments.

4/6/2015 – In the last game of the match, Natalia Pogonina needed a win at all costs, and the question was whether Mrs Comeback herself would be able to pull off a fourth miracle in the tournament. Unfortunately, the task was made all the harder as she had Black, and White only needed a draw, and Muzychuk pretty much shut down Natalia in the game. At the end, a new champion was crowned.

4/5/2015 – After the nervous wreck that was game two, with errors and mistakes belying the nonchalant face both players displayed, game three was a different beast altogether. The two finalists duked it out in a Semi-Slav, sidestepping the Meran for less chaotic waters, and succeeding to a degree. It would go down as an uneventful game, were it not for one move.

4/4/2015 – The second game probably caused no end of heart attacks from fans of both players. The nerves, compounded by more than two weeks of non-stop play without break, began to show, and after a highly theoretical Ruy Lopez Breyer, Muzychuk set up a huge attack, while missing winner after winner. Would Pogonina regroup and defend, or would Muzychuk finally cash in? It was drama to the end.

4/3/2015 – After over two weeks of relentless competition, the final match has arrived. It is hard to imagine the toll this has had on the players, since this is not like a two week tournament, each two games determined whether they would stay or go home. At last, only two warriors still stand, and both went through their own trials of fire. Report, game and player impressions.

3/31/2015 – The Women World Championship has been one of the most exciting on record, with drama, tension, front runners, and comebacks, and plain old fighting chess. The semifinal tiebreaks lived up to the billing, and it all came down to strong play and missed opportunities, the kind to leave a player awake at night. See what happened in this report illustrated by powerful images.

3/31/2015 – Three times Natalia Pogonina was faced with a must-win situation, a draw would see her in the spectators side of the cordoned area, and three times she pulled it off to press her claim to the Women World Championship. Harika Dronavalli drew her second game with Mariya Muzychuk, so both semifinals will be decided by tiebreaks. Report and interview with Pogonina.

3/29/2015 – It was a day when expectations went one way, and reality the other. Not only were all three tiebreaks won by the lower-rated players, but four out of the eight games played were decided in Black's favor. The biggest surprise was M.Muzychuk's victory over Koneru after her perfect start, while her sister fell to Pia Cramling. Pogonina beat Zhao Xue once more with her Benko Gambit.

3/28/2015 – The level of tension and fight is best illustrated by the fact that of the four matches left, three will need to be decided in the tiebreaks. Harika Dronavalli was the only player to avoid that fate, as she defeated Meri Arabidze. Both Humpy Koneru and Natalia Pogonina pulled off their must-win missions, with the Russian winning her game after an entertaining Benko Gambit.

3/27/2015 – The fourth round of the Women's World Championship bespoke the tension and quality of the eight players left in the competition. While they say some luck is needed to win a tournament, this final group also represents those who have played the best. The competition is now at its tensest and today it was Mariya Muzychuk who showed her grit by breaking Humpy Koneru's streak.

3/26/2015 – Six players returned to the SCC Galactica to find out who would advance to the quarterfinals, with only three tickets into the last eight. For the Russians, it was a very nervous affair since two of them were Russian, and elimination of the two would mean that was that. There are no easy matches left, and it showed as the games were nervy and dramatic.

3/25/2015 – Arriving for the return games of the third round the four Russian players faced an uphill battle: they all faced must-win situations to avert elimination after devastating losses from day before. Two of them succeeded, Pogonina and Kosteniuk, with a chance for redemption in the tiebreaks, while Gunina fell to Cramling, and Humpy Koneru beat Galliamova in her sixth straight win.

3/24/2015 – Depending on which side of the fence you lie, it was either a disastrous day for the Russians, or a great day for Asian players. Whichever your preference, it was a wonderful day for chess spectators with only two of the eight games ending in draws. The tension showed in several games, with violent upheavals all around, but there was no lack of excitement.

3/23/2015 – After the second round of standard time control games had been played, the sixth day of the FIDE Women's World Championship ushered in another series of tiebreak games played at rapid and blitz time controls. This time ten players were left to settle the score. As if the nerve-wracking rapid and blitz games were not enough, Anna Ushenina missed her first game by a cruel twist of fate.

3/22/2015 – In round two of the Women's World Championship in Sochi number two seed Ju Wenjun had to give up all hopes of becoming World Champion after losing against Natalja Pogonina. But most of the favorites prevailed, and Valentina Gunina (picture) and Humpy Koneru even won their fourth game in a row. Five matches were drawn and will be decided in the tie-break.