Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
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In a shocking turn of events, defending champion GM Humpy Koneru withdrew from the Cairns Cup 2023 after round four, greatly affecting the standings for GMs Alexandra Kosteniuk and Nana Dzagnidze―two of the players who were previously chasing afte...
GM Irina Krush scored another victory and caught the leader, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, in round three of the Cairns Cup 2023 on Monday. The eight-time U.S. women's champion perceptively squeezed the full point out of a bishop ending vs. GM Nana Dzag...
A heavily decisive round one with four victories out of five games commenced the Cairns Cup 2023 on Saturday. GM Alexandra Kosteniuk scored her first-ever classical victory vs. GM Humpy Koneru, the second-highest-rated woman in the world. GM ...
Just days after winning the ChessKid Cup, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov finished in clear first at the Norway Chess Blitz 2023 on Monday. After a rocky start in half of the event with losses to GMs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, Abdusattorov score...
In the penultimate round, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and IM Polina Shuvalova engaged in a captivating 95-move battle, featuring a daring white king and a wealth of unique dynamic possibilities. Shuvalova is in contention for first, just a half po...
In round nine of the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023, the competitors threw the fate of the tournament into uncertainty. IM Gunay Mammadzada defeated the leader, WGM Dinara Wagner, while GM Bella Khotenashvili scored her first victo...
It was a day of narrow escapes in round eight of the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023. WGM Dinara Wagner maintained her lead, navigating her way out of a close call vs. IM Polina Shuvalova, who prepared a shrewd psychological surpris...
WGM Dinara Wagner leapt to the clear top of the scoreboard by defeating fellow leader, GM Kateryna Lagno, in a tactical slugfest at the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023 in round seven. With this victory over the world number five, Wagner ...
WGM Dinara Wagner joined the leaders by defeating IM Oliwia Kiolbasa in round six at the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023 on Sunday. As we enter the second half of the tournament, Wagner has caught up with GMs Harika Dronavalli, Kateryna ...
Resurging after her round-one disappointment, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina was the only victor of round four at the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023 on Friday. She scoured the ending with a microscopic edge until she induced mistakes by her ...
IM Polina Shuvalova was the sole winner of round three at the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023, defeating IM Gunay Mammadzada with a combination of strategic understanding and tenacity. Shuvalova is now tied for third, trailing the leader...
GMs Kateryna Lagno and Tan Zhongyi have taken the lead, each winning a second game in a row at the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023 in round two. Lagno defeated IM Gunay Mammadzada, gaining an edge by undermining her opponent's cente...
Every single game of the first round of the Nicosia FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2022-2023 ended decisively. With imaginative and fearless play, GM Tan Zhongyi defeated her fellow women's world champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. WGM Dinara Wagner's deter...
GM Fabiano Caruana won clear first at the Superbet Classic Romania 2023 on Monday. Entering the last round with a half-point lead, he drew a sharp theoretical battle in the English vs. GM Richard Rapport. The four players—GM Anish ...
In round seven of the Superbet Classic Romania 2023, GM Alireza Firouzja caught GM Fabiano Caruana, the tournament leader for most of the event, by defeating GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and breaking down his attempt at a fortress. The two are now tied f...
As the Superbet Classic Romania 2023 nears the home stretch, GM Fabiano Caruana continues to lead despite blundering away his winning chances at a critical moment vs. GM Alireza Firouzja in round six. With this stroke of luck, Firouzja remains in ...
GM Alireza Firouzja gained his very first classical victory vs. a world champion in round five of the Superbet Classic Romania 2023. The youngest player to break 2800 defeated GM Ding Liren in a back-and-forth duel for the initiative, scoring his ...
Winning a second game in a row, GM Fabiano Caruana gained his first classical victory vs. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in round four of the Superbet Classic Romania 2023. This win propels the American grandmaster into clear first. GM Alireza...
GM Fabiano Caruana was the sole winner of round three at the Superbet Classic Romania 2023, demolishing GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's King's Indian Defense with the radical 3.h4―tossing classical opening principles to the wind. He joins GM Ian Nepom...
GM Wesley So scored the first victory at the Superbet Classic Romania 2023, defeating the 2022 Grand Chess Tour champion, GM Alireza Firouzja, in round one on Saturday. The kickoff event of the 2023 Grand Chess Tour promises an array of explosiv...
With a second win in a row, GM Lei Tingjie defeated GM Tan Zhongyi on Monday to clinch victory in the final of the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2022-2023 with a round to spare. She will challenge GM Ju Wenjun later this year for the wom...
After opening the match with back-to-back decisive results, GM Lei Tingjie and GM Tan Zhongyi made their first draw in game three of the final of the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2022-2023 on Friday. With white, Tan explored a new move out...
GM Lei Tingjie retaliated vs. GM Tan Zhongyi, winning game two of the final of the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2022-2023 on Thursday. Rising from the ashes of her own time trouble blunder in game one, Lei didn't hesitate when Tan made a mis...
GM Tan Zhongyi defeated GM Lei Tingjie in game one of the final of the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2022-2023 on Wednesday. Tan played enterprisingly from start to finish, sacrificing two pawns to create complex problems for Lei, who overloo...
