11/25/2017 – Levon Aronian survived the pressure from Hikaru Nakamura, making a draw that ensured him a share of first place. He was somewhat surprisingly joined by Dmitry Jakovenko, who beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the black pieces. MVL was in a must win situation, so had to go for broke. All other games ended in draws including the remaining key game for the Candidates qualification: Teimour Radjabov vs. Richard Rapport. In the end Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk maintained their lead in the overall Grand Prix standings and secured the final two Candidates tournament spots.

11/25/2017 – With only two rounds left, round eight was decisive in showing how alive the chances to qualify for the Candidates are for both Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Teimour Radjabov. After another draw, MVL is still on a modest +1 and needs to win at all costs in round nine. Radjabov has come back from his loss roaring with two wins, this time against Gelfand in a do or die game analyzed in detail by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson. | Photo: Valerij Belobeev

11/24/2017 – Although little changed overall in round seven, perhaps the buzzword that best describes the action of the day was ‘determination’. On board one, it was Rapport’s tenacity that won out over Aronian, who came close to winning, while Radjabov overcame his disappointment to outplay Li Chao. Finally, Boris Gelfand scored his first win, beating Riazantsev in a game analyzed by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson. | Photo: Valerij Belobeev

11/23/2017 – Round six of the FIDE Grand Prix in Palma was a bit of confirmation of how the tournament had gone thus far. Levon Aronian built a big advantage against Svidler, but after a mistake settled for a draw, and is still sole leader. The next notable result was Teimour Radjabov’s loss to Tomashevsky after declining a draw earlier. Read on in this illustrated report. | Photo: Valerij Belobeev

11/21/2017 – After the tempestuous round the day before, round five was an understandable anticlimax with draws on all boards. For the top two boards in particular, this was quite expected, as it pitted the leaders against each other. Lions don't attack other lions for the 'challenge', they wait for easier prey. Still, it was not all dull games or lack of theoretical ideas as shown by GM Alex Yermolinsky in his round five report. | Photo: Valerij Belobeev

11/20/2017 – What an exciting round it was! Round four not only saw a plethora of decisive games, but spectacular ones at that. Levon Aronian was once more his brilliant best as he defeated Anish Giri in a beautiful game with sacs coming from all directions. Ding Liren's imaginative attack against Ernesto Inarkiev was also a joy to watch, and even Hikaru Nakamura's endgame squeeze over Radjabov started with a sparkling queen sac. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Valerij Belobeev

11/19/2017 – Round three was mostly one of missed opportunities as many games failed to capitalize on the promise of their positions. The first and foremost was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's excellent chances against co-leader Levon Aronian that fizzled out during the technical transition, while Rapport will regret his near-win not yielding its fruits. That said, Peter Svidler did deliver mate on the board against Jon Hammer! Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky | Photo: Valerij Belobeev

11/18/2017 – After a cautious game in round one, Teimour Radjabov roared like a lion as he unleashed a powerful King's Indian as only he, one of the world's foremost proponents, could do. It was a masterful game as he beat Vallejo Pons. Levon Aronian is another who scored a brilliant win, showing magnificent opening preparation that caught Inarkiev in his net. Here is the round two report with analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Agon

11/17/2017 – The final stage of the FIDE Grand Prix has started in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and at stake are the final two spots in the next Candidates. Both Teimour Radjabov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will fight tooth and nail to pull the rug from under the feet of Mamedyarov and Grischuk. In round one, MVL had a perfect start with a win over Gelfand. Inarkiev and Giri also won their games with stylish victories. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky | Photo: Agon

9/18/2017 – The FIDE World Cup in Tbilisi is turning into a master class for the endgame rook vs bishop: Last week French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave held a theoretically lost tiebreak game against Russian GM Alexander Grischuk and thus qualified for the next round. Where did Grischuk go wrong and how could he have won? World-class trainer Efstratios Grivas show you how — and gives you the chance to win rating points in the process.

9/17/2017 – In his previous instalment GM Efstratios Grivas showed us, systematically, how to win rook vs bishop with three paws each on the same side. In Round 4 of the FIDE World Cup, the endgame rook vs bishop occurred again, this time with a pawn each on the same side. The experienced Armenian Levon Aronian, currently number two in the world, decisively defeated the young Russian Daniil Dubov. Grivas tells us exactly how.

9/13/2017 – Checking in on World Championship candidates qualification, the twists and turns that have already occurred and are still to come as the drama mounts and the pool of players shrinks. For many potential candidates the World Cup is the only possible route to qualification, but some have multiple paths to follow. Will Mamedyarov and Caruana stay on track despite being eliminated from the World Cup? Who else can join Sergey Karjakin to attempt to overthrow Magnus Carlsen next year? | Player drawings: WorldChess.com/ratings