All news

• Shake up amongst the leaders.

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  The sensation of the day was St.Petersburg losing to the Ural team despite out-rating them on all six boards.
  In the clash between the closely matched '64' and Economist teams it was the famous Russian magazine that came out on top and has, in consequence, taken the overall lead.

• Dagomys in focus

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  The team championships in Russia is the main chess event in the world at present. It features a number of elite foreign GMs as well as a whole host of high-level home bred stars.

• Russian Team Championship 2010

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  The strongest national club championship in the World is taking place this week in Dagomys, Sochi in the Black sea resort near the border with Georgia. Many of the World's top 100 players are involved. Economist may be European club champions but only find themselves in third place at present.

• Smyslov: The gentle giant.

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  Former World Champion Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov died last week at the age of 89. A tall man noted for his calm nature and baritone singing voice, he was probably the strongest player in the world for a number of years in the 1950s.

• Ivanchuk catches Carlsen!

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  Ivanchuk's one-and-a-half points against Gelfand were enough for him to bridge the gap at the top as the Norwegian only managed one from two against Grischuk. Ivanchuk and Carlsen made the majority of their tally in the rapid event, but Grischuk proved to be strongest in the blindfold.

• Carlsen ahead again!

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  Magnus Carlsen downs Ponomariov 2-0 and overtakes Vassily Ivanchuk who drew both games against Vladimir Kramnik who is now alone in third place.
  One more round to go with the champion likely to come from one of these three.

• It's Tight at the Top!

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  Grischuk makes a maximum 2/2 today and moves up the table to equal third.
  Above him Carlsen beats Dominguez and moves within half-a-point of leader Vassily Ivanchuk.
  The top four are within one point of each other with two days to go.

• Ivanchuk - a full point ahead.

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  Ivanchuk draws both games but with Kramnik beating Carlsen 1.5-0.5 the Ukrainian moves further ahead.
  There are now seven players within one-and-a-half points in the chasing pack, all with aspirations of finishing on the podium.
  

• Carlsen stumbles and Ivanchuk retakes the lead

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  Carlsen's loss to Gashimov in the Blindfold chess and Ivanchuk's 1.5-0.5 over Grischuk has taken the veteran Ukrainian back to the top of the standings.

• Videos!

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  For those that like video reports here we present some produced by our friends at Europe Echecs about recent events in the chess world. Videos

• Carlsen does it again!

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  Carlsen wipes out a fourth opponent in six rounds. This time it was Gelfand who fell foul of Carlsen's power.
  Ivanchuk drew both games and has been overtaken by the Norwegian in the overall standings.

• Ivanchuk retakes the lead!

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  Ivanchuk's 1.5-0.5 over Smeets was enough to edge ahead of Carlsen who only managed 1-1 with Karjakin.
  Gelfand wins both games again and moves up to equal second with Carlsen.

• Jobava earns silver and Monika Socko gets bronze.

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  Jobava downed Timofeev with the Black pieces to claim the silver medal.
  In the Women's event Monika Socko had to win two matches to earn her place on the podium.

• Prizes and Play-offs in Rijeka

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  The tournament in Rijeka is over for most players, but for some an extra effort is required. Medals and qualification places have to be decided on play-off day. Here is a summary of what is at stake with the results due later in the day.

• Nepomniachtchi is European Champion

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  A win by the 19-year-old against Vladimir Akopian ensured first place and the winner's purse of 20,000 Euros for Ian Nepomniachtchi.
  Pia Craming beat Viktorija Cmilyte in a long game to snatch the Women's crown.
  

• Carlsen catches Ivanchuk!

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  Carlsen wins 2-0 again for the third day in a row and now has six points, the same as Ivanchuk. These two lead going into tomorrow's rest day.
  Gelfand and Grischuk both win with a whitewash and now share third place.

• Nepomniachtchi and Cmilyte strong favourites

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  The penultimate round in the men's event saw only draws on the top seven boards, thus leaving Nepomniachtchi ahead going into the last round where he will have White.
  In contrast, in the Women's event, wins by Cmilyte and Cramling leave them in the first two places with the Lithuanian having a half-point more. Their meeting will probably decide the title.

• Ivanchuk is ahead but Carlsen recovers strongly.

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  Carlsen and Aronian managed two wins today at the expense of Svidler and Smeets.
  Ivanchuk stays ahead in the Blindfold and the overall standings whereas Kramnik has the lead in the rapidplay.
  

• Nepomniachtchi downs Jobava!

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  Things seemed to be going so well for Jobava, but he was knocked back today as the 19-year-old Nepomniatchi inflicted a severe defeat on the pre-round leader.
  The young 35th seed Russian is sole leader as Sokolov-Efimenko finished in a draw.
  Cmilyte wins with Black against Socko and takes the sole lead in the Women's event.

• Melody Amber: The first week-end

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  An opening day to forget for Carlsen who went down 2-0 to Vassily Ivanchuk.
  With ten decisive results from twelve games one can say that the tournament started with a bang before calming down somewhat on Sunday. Carlsen beat Aronian twice on the second day to get to within one point of the lead.