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.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
Round one of the 2024 Sinquefield Cup will offer a sneak peek of the upcoming world championship match: GM Ding Liren and GM Gukesh Dommaraju will meet for the first time since Gukesh became the challenger. As the finale of the Grand Chess Tour,...
GM Alireza Firouzja captured first with two rounds to spare at the 2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz on Friday. Leading the event during the entire last day, his victory was never in doubt, echoing his convincing performance at the same tournamen...
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is the sole leader of the 2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz after the first day of rapid games. After escaping vs. GM Hikaru Nakamura and turning the tide vs. GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the French grandmaster defeated...
The Kids, WFM Bodhana Sivanandan and CM Antoni Radzimski, defeated the Stars, WGM Nemo Zhou and FM Anna-Maja Kazarian, by a five-point margin in the second edition of Kids vs. Stars. While the Stars scored their share of victories, the Kid...
GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Daniel Naroditsky have knocked everyone else out of the Winners Bracket of the Bullet Chess Championship 2024 (BCC). Nakamura led by a vast margin throughout his match vs. GM Nihal Sarin. Naroditsky fought off ...
GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Sam Sevian, Nihal Sarin, and Daniel Naroditsky advanced to the Winners Semifinals of the Bullet Chess Championship 2024 (BCC) on Monday. In his debut to the BCC, Sevian defeated the 2021 champion, GM Alireza Firouzja, ...
GMs Vladimir Fedoseev, David Paravyan, Sam Sevian, and Christopher Yoo fought through the Play-Ins to advance to the main event of the Bullet Chess Championship 2024. In the first Play-In, Paravyan defeated Sevian in the Winners Final. Yet, Sevi...
The Kids, FM Rose Atwell and WFM Megan Paragua, defeated the Stars, WGM Nemo Zhou and WFM Anna Cramling in the first Kids vs. Stars match on Tuesday. With a combination of tactical awareness, endgame technique, and superior time management...
GM Magnus Carlsen triumphed at Casablanca Chess 2024, clinching first in a dynamic finish vs. GM Hikaru Nakamura. Nakamura himself won second while GM Viswanathan Anand finished third. The 15th world champion's compelling last-round victor...
GM Magnus Carlsen gained a full-point lead at Casablanca Chess 2024 on day one. Combining his knowledge of chess history and his enjoyment of venturing beyond modern opening theory, Carlsen scored 2.5/3, defeating his longtime rivals GMs Viswanath...
GMs Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer prevailed in the Division I Winners Semifinals of the Champions Chess Tour Chess.com Classic 2024. Carlsen won with his uncanny ability to turn drawish positions into wins vs. GM Denis Lazavik. After losing to...
IM Ulviyya Fataliyeva won clear first at the European Women's Championship on Monday. Fataliyeva was unstoppable throughout the event, finishing undefeated a full point ahead of the field. IM Nataliya Buksa finished second with the to...
CM Matfey Rogov prevailed in the Atomic Chess Championship of the Variants Community Series (VCS) on Thursday. In a sibling rivalry-fueled Final, he overcame his older brother, Timofey Rogov. Along the way, Matfey also defeated the top see...
The brother/sister duo of GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and GM-elect Vaishali Rameshbabu stole the show as the only victors in round three of the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament. Praggnanandhaa defeated one of the leaders, GM Vidit Gujrathi, by u...
With a novelty followed by three sacrifices, GM Vidit Gujrathi broke GM Hikaru Nakamura's 47-game undefeated streak, as enterprising play at the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament led to an all-decisive day two. GM Ian Nepomniachtchi prevailed in the...
The players displayed an abundance of fighting spirit on the opening day of the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament. GM Hikaru Nakamura sacrificed two rooks vs. GM Fabiano Caruana. GM Alireza Firouzja and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu co-created a duel...
Webster and Saint Louis have eliminated all the other teams in their path to reach the Final of the 2024 Collegiate Chess League (CCL). Though the favorites ultimately prevailed, their rivals gave them a massive fight. A Botez Gambit in the last s...
IM Alice Lee captured the lead vs. GM Irina Krush for the first time in a match in the Grand Final of the 2024 American Cup. GMs Levon Aronian and Wesley So had a peaceful day, making two draws and leaving the fate of their match entirely on ...
GM Wesley So and IM Alice Lee have risen out of the Elimination Bracket to challenge GMs Levon Aronian and Irina Krush in the Grand Finals of the 2024 American Cup. After a brilliant game by GM Ray Robson to take the lead, So won on demand...
GMs Levon Aronian and Irina Krush prevailed in the Champions Bracket on day six of the 2024 American Cup. With pragmatic play, Aronian equalized vs. GM Ray Robson, clinching the match with ease after his 2-0 start the day before. Chan...
While the favorites lead in the Champions section, it was a day of comebacks in the Elimination Bracket on day five of the 2024 American Cup. GM Levon Aronian went 2/2 vs. GM Ray Robson, putting the latter in a must-win position for b...
GMs Levon Aronian and Ray Robson prevailed against their respective world top-10 opponents, GM Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So, on day four of the 2024 American Cup. They advance to meet in the Finals. In the Women's section, GM Irina Krush and Al...
GM Irina Krush and IM Alice Lee each went 2-0 on day three of the 2024 American Cup. GM Ray Robson has taken the lead vs. GM Wesley So while GMs Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian are tied so far. Meanwhile, the Elimination Bracket beg...
The 2024 Collegiate Chess League (CCL) playoffs are upon us, and you can join in on the excitement by predicting who wins! Can you see Saint Louis clinching their third title in a row? Do you envision Webster taking over the CCL in their d...
