ChessBase 25 Composing Tourney Awards – Part five
19.05.2012 – "Congratulations to ChessBase on attracting such high quality entries!" writes problem expert David Friedgood. "The first prize winner is truly amazing, showing a fight of rare equality of brilliance between the protagonists." There were many more laudatory messages from problemists and amateurs alike. Today's studies are from USA, Spain, France, Argentina and Hungary. Final installment.
 

US Championship – Kamsky takes lead with two rounds to go
18.05.2012 – It was an unexpected turn of events, in which a bit of good fortune was Gata Kamsky's reward for years of hard work. In round nine, tied with Nakamura, Kamsky saw Seirawan walk into some years old preparation that ended the game with a spectacular finish. Nakamura was not so lucky as he toiled for 121 moves against Lenderman before shaking hands. Illustrated report with video summaries.
 

World Championship G6 – A sixth draw; Kasparov comments
18.05.2012 – It was a sixth straight draw, and though no significant advantage was ever achieved, the chances were Gelfand's, which was in itself both promising and worrisome. Promising as he got a small edge, but worrisome as Anand has held Gelfand so easily with Black so far. Perhaps the highlight was the surprise commentator: Garry Kasparov. Full report with analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.
 

CBM training: Endgames from the US Championships
18.05.2012 – Gata Kamsky is currently in the sole lead, Hikaru Nakamura is trying to catch him. Our ChessBase Magazin author Dr Karsten Müller has been following the games and extracting the ones with interesting and instructive endgames. His analysis and annotations will help you to improve your technique in this vital section of the game and give your Elo rating a boost.
 

World Championship G5 – Sveshnikov drawn in 27 moves
17.05.2012 – In the fifth game Anand and Gelfand played 17 moves of theory, after which White deviated from the previous 2009 game and seemed to get a small advantage. However Anand allowed his Israeli challenger to trade down and after ten more moves there was nothing left to play for. Full report with pictures and videos, as well as double analysis by GM Romain Edouard and IM Malcolm Pein.
 

Sigeman: Caruana wins Sigeman with 2852 performance
16.05.2012 – He is the hottest chess talent – still a junior but number eight in the world. Italian/American GM Fabiano Caruana won his last two games in the Hipp Theater in Malmo, Sweden. His 2852 performance should contribute seven points to his FIDE rating. Hungarian GM Peter Leko celebrated his "comeback" with the second place and a respectable 2792 performance. Big closing report.
 

World Championship: Interviews, reflections, chess sets
16.05.2012 – Is the Championship in Moscow, without a Russian player, an audience success? Can chess ever be that? Yes it can, says chief organiser Ilya Levitov, who has a 21st Century formula to bring chess to a wide audience – and make events pay for themselves. Compelling. We also get a tour of chess sets and pictures in the Tretyakov Museum. Must-watch interview by Europe Echecs.
 

US Championship – Kamsky joins Nakamura in lead
16.05.2012 – One thing must be said about the US championship, on top of the great organization and live coverage open to all, and that is that it is anything but boring. In round five, Nakamura had taken the sole lead, but Kamsky was not about to give up his title that easily, and in round seven caught up as the two lead by a full point. GM Ramirez beat Kaidanov in one of the craziest games of his career.
 

World Championship Rest Day 2 – Daniel King opines on action and lack of
16.05.2012 – Today, GM Daniel King did a private broadcast on the action until now, and more specifically commented on the lack of action many have been grumbling about. To further spice up the show, he read the comments by Steve Giddins on computers and chess, and had something to say about that as well. Still, it is not just a talk show, and he compares Anand to ... Petrosian!
 

World Championship G4 reflections – it's the computers!
16.05.2012 – Two exciting games, two rather dull efforts, and a scoreboard that shows 2-2 with four consecutive draws. Some chess fans are starting to feel disappointed and searching for someone or something to blame. The shortness of the match contributes to the problem, by making the players especially cautious. But the main problem lies elsewhere, as Steve Giddins boldly proposes. Food for thought.
 

Chess and Art in Dnipropetrovsk
16.05.2012 – It is hard to pronounce, but a great place live, study, or go out. And for chess. The industrial metropolis in southern Ukraine has just staged a Week of Chess and Art, initiated by Irina Filatova, the sister of the main sponsor of the World Championship in Moscow. Students of Dnipropetrovsk art schools presented their work on chess at the Historical Museum. WIM Olena Boytsun reports.
 

47th Capablanca Memorial won by Ivanchuk
15.05.2012 – While it was Leinier Domínguez's dream to shine in front of his home crowd, the plan was foiled by a certain Ukrainian who not only seized the lead but never let go of it. To add insult to injury, Vassily Ivanchuk beat him twice in their encounters. Still, while all seemed lost, a heroic last-round win against second-place Ian Nepomniachtchi gave him a tie for second-third. Final report.