Jan-Krzysztof Duda: 15-year-old gains GM title

19.5.2013 - Jan-Krzysztof Duda was born on April 26, 1998, in Krakow, Poland. On May 16, 2013, in the last round of the European Championship he completed his final and third GM norm. He is currently rated 2506 and thus fulfils all conditions for a full GM title. This makes Jan-Krzysztof the world's second youngest GM (after Chinese GM Wei Yi, who is still 13!). We use the opportunity to update our prodigy list.

Sergey Karjakin wins Norway Chess 2013

18.5.2013 - After the massive buildup to see Sergey Karjakin challenged for first, many expected Carlsen to catch up with him. Instead Aronian held Carlsen to a draw, Anand blundered and lost to Hao, letting Nakamura snatch third, while Karjakin played a very tough game against Topalov and drew a winning position to take a brilliant sole first. Illustrated report with GM analysis.

Norway 2013 Rd8: Karjakin and Carlsen lose

17.5.2013 -The first result was a blitzkrieg by Anand who sacrificed three pawns and a knight to overwhelm Hammer, then Nakamura beat the struggling Radjabov. The first surprise was Svidler’s win over Karjakin after a back and forth game, but who would have expected Carlsen to enter a balanced endgame with Wang Hao, and then misplay it so badly he lost? Big report with GM commentary.

Ramirez: Playing Kamsky under Pressure

17.5.2013 - Last weekend Gata Kamsky and Alejandro Ramirez tied for first in the 2013 US Championship, making a playoff necessary. Here the 24-year-old "upstart" Ramirez faced one of the most exprienced GMs in the US (Kamsky was twice Soviet under-20 champion before Alej was born). Alejandro, who is now a co-editor of our newspage, tells us in vividly annotated games what the encounter was like.

The joys of chess – Refuting the refutation

16.5.2013 - Christian Hesse is a PhD from Harvard and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Stuttgart. He is also an avid chess fan and has written a number of articles for our news page. As a book author he has been successful with instructive and entertaining works on chess. Now one of his best is available in English. We bring you an interesting chapter on refutations and counter-refutations. Enjoy.

WGP Geneva: Khotenashvili wins with 8.0/11

16.5.2013 - Georgian IM Bela Khotenashvili drew her final round game against Women's World Champion Anna Ushenina and won Neva Women's Grand Prix in Geneva. Her nearest rival, Anna Muzychuk, who had to win the game in order to catch the leader, drew against Alexandra Kosteniuk. Tatiana Kosintseva and Nana Dzagnidze shared 3rd-4th. Final report.

Norway 2013 Rd7: Karjakin, Carlsen, and Anand win

15.5.2013 - After a near miss in the previous round, Vishy Anand steamrolled Teimur Radjabov with black in impressive fashion. Sergey Karjakin showed he was not going to relinquish his pole position without a fight, and beat Hikaru Nakamura to secure his lead, while Magnus Carlsen outplayed Jon Hammer and stays in the race. Full report with analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

WGP Geneva: Khotenashvili leads alone

15.5.2013 - It was the round of the Georgians, with GM Nana Dzagnidze beating Chinese IM Ju Wenjun and, more relevantly, IM Bela Khotenashvili defeating one of the tournament favourites, third seed GM Kateryna Lahno. That boosted Bela's performance to 2700+ and her rating to 2531 – which means her GM title is now assured. GM Adrian Mikhalchishin analyses her win in our pictorial report.