3/6/2018 – 13 rounds of blitz is tiring. If you are not playing well you want to get over with it as soon as possible. But if you are winning like Sergey Karjakin was at the Tal Memorial Blitz 2018, you would want to keep playing forever! Sergey was in top-notch form as he mustered up 10.0/13 (+8,=4,-1) and finished 1½ points ahead of second-placed Nakamura. The American tried hard but couldn't keep up with Karjakin's pace. Third place was won by Ian Nepomniachtchi. We have the full coverage with interesting games, positions and lot of videos!

3/5/2018 – In memory of Mikhail Tal, the 11th Tal Memorial takes place in Moscow from March 2nd-4th, with a blitz tournament on March 5th. The venue is the Museum of Russian Impressionists in Moscow. Participants are Mamedyarov, Kramnik, Svidler, Nepomniachtchi, Anand, Dubov, Nakamura, Gelfand, Karjakin and Grishuk. Watch live with video updates and more from the venue by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal

3/5/2018 – Chess is considered as a young man's game, but a 48-year-old gentleman from India is changing that perception! Vishy Anand seems to be on a mission - to win just about every rapid event that he plays. Gold at the World Rapid Championship 2017 was difficult, but winning the Tal Memorial Rapid was tougher. The field had some of the best rapid players on the globe and Vishy simply cruised to the finish line with 6.0/9, one point ahead of the rest. In this article we try to analyze the reason for his spectacular performance. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

3/4/2018 – We are heading towards an exciting final day at the Tal Memorial 2018. Vishy Anand won his sixth round game against Hikaru Nakamura and came back to the lead along with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov with 4.0/6. Two players: Kramnik and Grischuk follow them on 3.5/6. In this report, you can find a wealth of instructive content including videos, analysis, interviews and much more. We also discuss the question of whether chess in museums is a good idea or not? Report from Moscow by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.

3/2/2018 – The Tal Memorial 2018 begins on the 2nd of March 2018. It consists of two events - nine rounds of rapid and thirteen rounds of blitz. The Candidates tournament is about to begin in a week, yet four of them are playing here: Kramnik, Karjakin, Mamedyarov and Grischuk. Competing with them are Anand, Gelfand, Nakamura, Svidler, Nepomniachtchi and Dubov. It is going to be a wonderful event and we have Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal present at the venue to bring you high-quality coverage. In this first report apart from the opening ceremony we bring you a very interesting experiment that was conducted with the players using Tal's famous games.

10/7/2016 – After a power rush in the early rounds with 4.5/6, Ian Nepomniachtchi was unable to maintain the momentum as he finished with three draws. This allowed other players to make their move and try to change their fate, but it never worked out. Anish Giri, who trailed by only half a point, had a golden opportunity as he held a completely winning position, but a slip on move 41 cost him his advantage, and a drew ensued. Mamedyarov was the only win as he beat Kramnik. Report, games, and GM analysis.

10/5/2016 – In a sense, the event was both uneventful in that it ended with five draws, yet not quite so, as it leaves Ian Nepomniachtchi in the driver’s seat going to the last round, with Anish Giri right behind. Of the five games, the two hardest fought were Levon Aronian against Li Chao, and Kramnik’s 7-plus hour battle with Tomashevsky as he tried his hardest to convert a material advantage. Report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

10/4/2016 – As the title suggests, there were five draws today in Moscow after we had been spoiled with hard-fought, violent rounds. Several of the games saw little to no chances for either side to win, or even create real threats. Nepomniachtchi keeps his half point lead over Giri, who had amazing news yesterday! On the rest day his son Daniel was born! Congratulations to him and Sopiko.

10/2/2016 – What an exciting and powerful round we had in Moscow! Four white wins, which blast the tournament wide open! The most important ones for the top standings were Aronian's win against Giri, finishing with a flourish, and Nepo's positional domination against Mamedyarov: the Russian now regains sole lead. Svidler blew Li Chao off the board while Kramnik beat Gelfand, who suffered his fifth loss in a row.

10/1/2016 – A relatively quiet day in Moscow, as we had been spoiled with about three decisive games per day in the Tal Memorial. The only win today was by Vishy Anand against the completely luckless Boris Gelfand. It was an interesting affair in a Rossolimo Sicilian, but White with good preparation always had the edge. Priyadarshan Banjan brings a full transcript of Anand's post-game interview.

9/30/2016 – With his third straight victory it is Anish Giri that is stealing the show in Moscow. He leads with 3.5/4, half a point ahead of Ian Nepomniachtchi who drew against Levon Aronian. Two other games were decisive: Vladimir Kramnik returns to 50% by defeating Vishy Anand, while Li Chao came with strong preparation and beat a luckless Gelfand with the black pieces. Report of round four.

9/29/2016 – A relatively bloody day in Moscow, as three white victories significantly change the standings. All of them came in very different ways: Mamedyarov annihilated Gelfand with a powerful attack, Nepomniachtchi was able to defeat Kramnik with excellent positional maneuvers while Giri ground down Tomashevsky in an extremely long endgame. Report, GM commentary and even a transcript of Vishy's analysis!

9/28/2016 – Vishy Anand joined the lead at the 2016 Tal Memorial in a stylish manner. He fended off a sacrificial attack by Mamedyarov to emerge a piece up in a winning endgame, despite Black's three passed pawns as compensation. A study-like finish gave a nice win to the Indian former World Champion. Find out all about this endgame in step-by-step analysis by Sagar Shah, and in comments by Viswanathan Anand himself! Very instructive.

9/27/2016 – Anand fended off a sacrificial attack by Mamedyarov to emerge up a piece in a winning endgame, despite Black's three passed pawns as compensation. A study-like finish gave a nice win to the Indian former World Champion. Meanwhile, with the black pieces, Anish Giri played a dynamic and cool game in a King's Indian, sacrificing first a pawn and then an exchange to win with a crushing attack.

9/26/2016 – The first round of the Tal Memorial had absolute dominance by Ian Nepomniachtchi in a Scotch against his compatriot Evgeny Tomashevsky. After only 23 moves and less than two hours of play, Black was forced to resign in a hopeless position. Svidler almost toppled Kramnik, but was unable to put the finishing touch. All other games were solid draws to kick off the event.

9/25/2016 – The first day of the X Tal Memorial opened with a favorite of fans all over: a blitz tournament. There is nothing quite like spending a Sunday watching the elite go crazy in blitz games all day to fight for the right to an extra white in the event to follow. It was Mamedyarov’s party as he crushed the field, with live video commentary in both Russian and English. Here is the report with some fun positions to test your skills!

9/20/2016 – Under the motto "Chess is Art" the Russian Chess Federation and the Timchenko Foundation organise important tournaments and matches in museums. In 2012 the World Championship match between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand was played in the Tretyakov Gallery and on Saturday the strong 10th Tal Memorial (Elo-average 2760) begins with a blitz tournament in the recently opened Museum of Russian Impressionism in Moscow.

11/19/2014 – After the Petrosian Memorial ended in Moscow, a number of the elite players who took part in it, came to Sochi on a double mission: the first was obviously to see first hand the World Championship match, but the second was to play in the Tal Memorial Blitz, a fitting tribute to one of its most passionate aficionados. Mamedyarov took clear first and is now world no.3.

6/23/2013 – The Tal Memorial has come to an end with a series of draws. Gelfand easily equalized against Kramnik, who just wanted the tournament to be over. Carlsen needed a win against Mamedyarov to emerge victorious in the event, but instead he could consider himself very lucky for holding the half point. Morozevich beat Nakamura with black in a strange game. Last round report with key game analysis.

6/22/2013 – Gelfand was held to a draw easily by Mamedyarov while Carlsen beat Nakamura and is now in second place. With the correct results tomorrow Carlsen might even win the tournament with a last minute streak. Caruana beat Morozevich in a complex game and ties for third alongside Mamedyarov, Nakamura and Andreikin. Report, standings and pictures

6/21/2013 – Two games were clear highlights from the rest. Nakamura tried to punish Gelfand's Sveshnikov and it backfired, as the Israeli obtained the pair of bishops and a surprisingly strong attack which he used to convert the full point. Andreikin beat Kramnik after the latter strangely blundered. Kramnik is now in last place. Standings, report and pictures.

6/19/2013 – Nakamura took down the World Champion, regaining the solo lead in the tournament and achieving 2789 in the live ratings list. Gelfand missed an important chance against an overeager Carlsen. Kramnik held Caruana to a draw in a wacky game. Morozevich and Andreikin played long endgames against Karjakin and Mamedyarov but couldn't bring the full point home. GM Analysis, pictures.

6/18/2013 – Carlsen demolished a very passive Anand. Gelfand played a clean game and punished Morozevich for a dubious opening choice. The other games were drawn. After five rounds, not a single one of the four Russian players have scored a win. Report and GM analysis.

6/17/2013 – Nakamura played a convincing game against Caruana. A novel idea in the Najdorf was unsuccessfully dealt with by the Italian, and now Hikaru jumps to clear first place after losing his first game. Mamedyarov survived Karjakin's extra material and retains second, along with Gelfand who solidly held Anand. GM Analysis, pictures and standings.