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The main event of the Sardinia Chess Festival, a 9-round Swiss open featuring 11 players rated 2600 or above, took place from April 27 to May 4 on the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. An eventful final round saw former co-leaders Alan Pichot and Yair Parkhov both losing their games. The outcomes of the games on the top boards resulted in four players tied atop the standings with 7/9 points each. Daniel Dardha, who beat Pichot in the final round, had the best tiebreak score and thu...

Five out of seven games ended decisively in the penultimate round of the Tata Steel Masters, leaving five players tied for first place going into the last day of action. Vidit Gujrathi defeated former sole leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov to create the exciting scenario for Sunday. Vidit and Abdusattorov are joined by Gukesh D., Wei Yi and Anish Giri in the lead. Similarly, in the Challengers, Leon Luke Mendonca caught former sole leader Marc’Andria Maurizzi atop the standings. | Photo: Tata Steel...

Five games ended decisively, all favouring the player who had the white pieces, in round 9 of the Tata Steel Masters. Praggnanandhaa R. and Nodirbek Abdusattorov scored victories and joined the 4-player leading pack, which also includes Gukesh D. and Anish Giri. Former co-leader Alireza Firouzja, on his part, was defeated by Alexander Donchenko. Firouzja is now one of three players standing a half point behind the leaders. In the Challengers, Marc’Andria Maurizzi remains atop the standings aft...

Defending champion Anish Giri remains the sole leader of the Tata Steel Masters after six rounds. The Dutchman could have increased his lead, though, as he failed to convert an advantageous position against Parham Maghsoodloo on Friday. Standing a half point back is Alireza Firouzja, who bounced back from his round-5 loss by beating Wei Yi with white. In the Challegers, Erwin l’Ami escaped with a draw in his game against second-placed Anton Korobov to keep the sole lead. | Photo: Tata Steel Ch...

Alireza Firouzja became the first sole leader in this year’s Tata Steel Masters after beating Parham Maghsoodloo with white in the second round — the Frenchman is the only player who started the event with back-to-back victories. Gukesh D. and Max Warmerdam also grabbed wins on Sunday. Meanwhile, in the Challengers, five players are sharing first place with 1½/2 points. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Lennart Ootes

The much-anticipated Tata Steel Masters kicked off on Saturday in Wijk aan Zee. A lively first round saw four players scoring full points, all with the black pieces — Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja, Anish Giri and Wei Yi are sharing the lead after the first day of action. The Challengers also saw four players grabbing wins right off the bat. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament / Lenart Ootes

This week's Wednesday Workout starts a two-part series on the 2023 Gashimov Memorial rapid and blitz event, featuring a number of prominent top players. Played in Azerbaijan in honor of the late Azeri great, Indian GM Vidit Gujrathi won with a score of 5/9 in the rapid and and 12/18 in the blitz, totaling a 22/36 score (as rapid games counted for two points each). Vidit finished a half-point ahead of countryman GM Arjun Erigaisi, and Romanian GM Richard Rapport was third with 19/36.

After finishing the rapid section in shared second place, Vidit Gujrathi tied for first in the blitz to claim overall first place at the Gashimov Memorial. Vidit managed to keep his ½-point lead over Arjun Erigaisi by winning his final game in Gabala — Arjun also scored a full point in the 18th round of blitz and grabbed clear second place. Richard Rapport, who had struggled in the rapid but obtained as many points as Vidit in the blitz, finished third. | Photo: Mukhtar Ahmad

The youngest and lowest-rated participant prevailed in the rapid section of the Gashimov Memorial. 18-year-old Aydin Suleymanli played fearlessly on day 3 of the rapid to collect two wins and a loss, and go into Monday’s 18 rounds of blitz as the sole leader in Gabala. Sharing second place, one point behind, are Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and the top scorer in the final three rounds of rapid, Jorden van Foreest. | Photos: Official website

No player has managed to remain undefeated after six rounds at the Gashimov Memorial in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Rounds 4-6 were played on Saturday and featured a number of entertaining encounters. Three players emerged as co-leaders, with Arjun Erigaisi and Aydin Suleymanli (pictured) joining early leader Nijat Abasov at the top of the standings, all with plus-one scores. A very closed competition, all remaining seven participants have either fifty-percent or minus-one scores. | Photos: Official web...