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  • Nakamura marks first US win

    Nakamura marks first US win

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    Hikaru Nakamura won his first game of the tournament in the fifth round of the Tata Steel tournament, which brings him back to 50%. The leading pair drew on a day where the veterans Boris Gelfand and Vassily Ivanchuk both won with the black pieces. Harikrishna and Turov still retain the lead in the lower groups.

  • Aronian and Karjakin win

    Aronian and Karjakin win

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    After starting with two losses, Sergey Karjakin has won his second game in a row. The other winner was Levon Aronian who has now caught Magnus Carlsen and shares the lead. In the C-tournament Maxim Turov still has a perfect 4/4, and Pentala Harikrishna is still ahead in the B-Group.

  • Carlsen is tops

    Carlsen is tops

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    The big 2800 clash between Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian was won by the Norwegian wunderkid in the longest game of the round. The other winners were Teimour Radjabov (now on 2/3) and Sergey Karjakin who gets off the mark. Two players have perfect scores: Pentala Harikrishna in the B-group and Maxim Turov in the C-Group lead with 100%..

  • Aronian on 2/2

    Aronian on 2/2

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    In the second round of the A-Group, Levon Aronian gave up his queen for rook and bishop. With pawns all on one wing, the queen was unable to create enough counter-threats and Nakamura gradually went under. Fabiano Caruana's victory over Sergey Karjakin has left the Russian in last place.

  • The top two seeds on target

    The top two seeds on target

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    Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian won their first games in the first round of the Tata Steel A-Group. The other winner was Anish Giri in a long game against Boris Gelfand. In Group-B, the leading female player Kateryna Lahno started with a win.

  • Tata Steel 2012

    Tata Steel 2012

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    The first super-GM tournament of the year, featuring Magnus Carlsen, is the traditional Wijk aan Zee event which takes place from the 14th to the 29th of January 2012. This is arguably the strongest ever edition and includes seven from the World's top ten in the featured A-Group.

  • Hou Yifan is No.2

    Hou Yifan is No.2

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    The Chinese women were in great form in 2011, and now have three women in the World's top seven. Hou Yifan is up to second place, with Ju Wenjun sixth and Zhao Xue seventh. Anna Muzychuk had an incredible tournament in Porto Carras and is now fourth, hot on the heels of Humpy Koneru.

  • Carlsen way ahead

    Carlsen way ahead

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    World No.1 Magnus Carlsen is 30 points ahead of his closest rival Levon Aronian in the January 2012 ratings. After poor recent form, Viswanathan Anand has dropped below the 2800 mark and down to fourth. The next big test for the world elite will be in Wijk aan Zee at the Tata Steel tournament starting on Saturday.

  • Volokitin wins the Donostia Chess Festival

    Volokitin wins the Donostia Chess Festival

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    Eleventh seed Andrei Volokitin won a strong event in Donostia (the Basque name for San Sebastian, in the Spanish Basque country) and took home the 20,000 Euros first prize. The event from the 28th of December to the 5th of January celebrated the centenary of the famous San Sebastian tournaments of 2011 and 2012 won by Capablanca and Rubinstein.

  • Wang Yue dominates Hastings

    Wang Yue dominates Hastings

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    The traditional Hastings tournament was won by the Chinese star Wang Yue. He finished ahead of the field after never being in danger throughout the nine rounds of the tournament. The Indian contingent impressed and took four of the top seven places, with Babu Lalith and Sundar Shyam both obtaining GM norms.

  • Anish Giri top in Reggio Emilia

    Anish Giri top in Reggio Emilia

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    The 17 year-old Dutch star won the prestigious category 20 Reggio Emilia tournament after his closest rivals both lost in the last round. The table demonstrates how close it was with three players finishing just behind the leader. Hikaru Nakamura was leading by some way at one point, but a disastrous run-in, including his last round loss, cost him dear.

  • Vachier-Lagrave wins Port-Marly

    Vachier-Lagrave wins Port-Marly

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    The sports complex 'Les Pyramides' in Port-Marly (eastern suburbs of Paris) was the venue for the first leg of the new French Federation Rapidplay Grand Prix. Ten 2600 plus players were present including many of the leading French players, including their highest-rated player Etienne Bacrot. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (French No.2) beat the young Brazilian GM Alexander Fier in the final.

  • Jobava is European Rapidplay Champion

    Jobava is European Rapidplay Champion

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    The Georgian GM Baadur Jobava finished ahead of a group of seven to win the 2011 Championship in Warsaw, Poland. In second place was the young Russian Sanan Sjugirov, and in third the local player Robert Kempinski.

  • Melkumyan wins European Blitz in Warsaw

    Melkumyan wins European Blitz in Warsaw

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    The European Blitz and Rapid Championships are taking place in Warsaw, Poland. The new European Blitz Champion is Hrant Melkumyan, which is something of a surprise result, as the Armenian was only the 28th seed. Aleksey Dreev took silver and Radoslaw Wojtaszek bronze.

  • Blindfold in Beijing!

    Blindfold in Beijing!

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    The three-day Blindfold rapid has finished with a three-way tie on 5/7 for first place in the mixed event. The Hungarian GM Zoltan Almasi had more victories under his belt and was thus declared the winner ahead of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vugar Gashimov. In the parellel Women's event, Hou Yifan added the Blindfold crown to the Blitz title she won earlier this week.

  • Jan Timman is 60!

    Jan Timman is 60!

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    The Dutch GM, and former World No.2, has turned 60-years-old today. Once known as an openings pioneer, he has in recent years been closely involved in endgame studies and analysis, which explains why New in Chess have organized a endgame study tournament to commemorate his 60th birthday.

  • Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins Blitz

    Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins Blitz

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    The Young Frenchman proved yet again that he is an exceptional Blitz player. After the European, Vachier-Lagrave has now won the Mind Sports Blitz title. In the Women's Blitz event, World Champion Hou Yifan, finished ahead, another home success for the Beijing public to appreciate.

  • Wang Hao wins Quickplay

    Wang Hao wins Quickplay

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    The young Chinese GM Wang Hao finished first alone in the Mind Sports Quickplay that took place from the 9th to the 11th of December. Former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk put behind her some recent poor form to win the Women's event.

  • World Mind Games Festival in China

    World Mind Games Festival in China

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    The World Mind Games Festival in Beijing takes place from the 8th to the 16th of December in Beijing. Apart from Chess, there are also tournaments involving Bridge, Draughts, Go and Chinese Chess. There are three disciplines in the chess section, Quickplay, Blitz and Blindfold.

  • Kramnik wins the third London Classic

    Kramnik wins the third London Classic

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    A draw was enough to ensure first place for Vladimir Kramnik. The only winner in the final round was Hikaru Nakamura who beat the out-of-sorts Michael Adams in the most complicated struggle of the day. The American thus moves up to second place ahead of Magnus Carlsen. The leading English player, and the only one to gain rating points, was Luke McShane in fourth.