Russia - China friendship match starts in Moscow

6/10/2016 – The friendship matches between China and Russia have a long tradition. The first match was played in 2001 in Shanghai and since then Russia and China have celebrated friendship and rivalry in eight more matches in different formats and with some of the strongest players of both countries. On June 10 the tenth Russia - China match begins in Moscow. Press Release

Chess holidays

6/10/2016 – Playing chess in nice surroundings has a lot of advantages. If you play well, you will enjoy the nice surroundings even more. And if you do not play well, you can always enjoy the nice surroundings. When Alina l'Ami played a small, fine tournament in Salento, Italy, her results could have been better but she enjoyed the tournament and the place. Large pictorial report.

Follow the Grand Chess Tour Paris live!

6/10/2016 – The first part of the rapid tournament on day one of the Grand Chess Tour tournament in Paris brought fine games, surprising blunders and exciting chess. After five rounds Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen share the lead with 3.5/5 each. Day two of the tournament starts doday, 14:00 hrs local time. To follow the games with live video and commentary click here!

Clichy wins French Top 12

6/10/2016 – Before testing their skills in the Grand Chess Tour against the world's best players Laurent Fressinet and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the two French participants in Paris, gained confidence in the French Team Championship which took place from 28th May to 07 June in Drancy, near Paris. Fressinet and Vachier-Lagrave played for Clichy the French Team Champion 2016.

Trade or ignore?

6/10/2016 – Tactics can seem deceptively simple, particularly when seeing an engine analysing grandmaster games. Strange, however, how difficult it is to find the right move and to calculate variations properly when playing yourself. It is easier if you solve tactical puzzles regularly. In the ChessBase Magazine and his tactics column Oliver Reeh helps you to do so.

Paris: Carlsen and Nakamura lead after day 1

6/9/2016 – For top favorite Magnus Carlsen the Grand Chess Tour tournament in Paris began with a shock. In round one he had a completely winning position against Wesley So but then forgot to move and lost on time. Carlsen recovered by winning three games in a row to finish the day with a draw in round five. He now has 3.5/5 and shares the lead with Hikaru Nakamura.

Anna Ushenina is European Women's Champion

6/9/2016 – Anna Ushenina, Women's World Champion 2012, is the new European Women's Champion.In the final round of the European Women's Championship she played a short and safe draw against Lilit Mkrtchian which guaranteed her the title because Ushenina had the best tie-break. Sabrina Vega and Elisabeth Pähtz played a tense game for second place which Vega won to win silver.

Action and fun: Watch the Grand Chess Tour Paris live!

6/9/2016 – The Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016 promises to be a highlight of the chess year 2016. It will be fun to watch ten of the world's best players battle against their opponents and "contre le montre" (against the clock). Don't miss it and follow the games with live commentary and live video transmission from the tournament hall. The rapid tournament starts today, 14:00 local time.

Let's go: The Grand Chess Tour begins in Paris!

6/9/2016 – Today, 14 pm local time, the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour starts in Paris, France. The next four days ten of the world's best players, among them World Champion Magnus Carlsen, will compete in rapid- and in blitz chess. With an illustrious opening party, simuls and an apperance by Carlsen in a Canal Plus talk show the event began well.

Afghanistan Rising: a request for support

6/9/2016 – How dangerous is it to go to Kabul, to hold a simultaneous exhibition for young Afghani chess talents? Suneet Mausil, CEO of the Planetskool Initiative, spurned the usual security – like an armored vehicle for a short drive from the airport – and chose instead to simply call locals and make a friend from the very beginning. Now he is calling for international tournament directors to support Afghanistan players.

Kasparov pays tribute to Korchnoi

6/8/2016 – At age 85, and seriously enfeebled as any could see even in photos or videos, one would think Viktor Korchnoi's death would be no great shock, and yet it was. The reason is that he had long seemed living proof age was only a number, not a reality. In print and online everywhere, players are writing tributes and testimonies. Here is Garry Kasparov's, one of his biggest admirers.

Jon Speelman: Agony Column #5

6/8/2016 – Computer engines generate thousands and hundreds of thousands moves per second. The majority of these moves are utter nonsense but the sheer numbers help the machine to play strong chess. The move-generator of the human mind is less well-tuned and much more limited but also finds remarkable moves. As Jon Speelman illustrates in his Agony Colum #5.

Eurasian Blitz Cup has $100,000 prizefund

6/7/2016 – Over the next few weeks, starting tomorrow, there will be two closed elite Rapid and Blitz events in Paris and London as has been announced. However, this is not the only top-notch action to come as the Eurasian Blitz Cup has been announced for June 17-20 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, open to all players rated over 2300 (2200 for women) with 22 rounds and a massive $100 thousand prizefund!

Chess in the park

6/7/2016 – On Thursday the Grand Chess Tour begins in Paris and ten of the world's best players will try their skills in rapid and blitz. Maybe the chess fans from the Jardin du Luxembourg will come to "La Maison de la Chimie" to watch Carlsen & Co. play, maybe they prefer to do what they do throughout the year. Play chess in beautiful surroundings.

Entertaining start of the Cez Chess Trophy 2016

6/7/2016 – Before David Navara and Richard Rapport started their four-game match at the Michna Palace in Prague they played a blindfold game of living chess which was won by Rapport. However, in the first two games of the match the Hungarian grandmaster had to content himself with a draw. Meanwhile Timur Gareyev provided more blindfold-entertainment.

A really strong king

6/7/2016 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Erwin L'Ami!

Close final at the European Women's Championship

6/7/2016 – The European Women's Championship in Mamaia, Romania, will be decided in the eleventh and final round. Anna Ushenina, who is sole leader with 8.0/10, has to play against Lilit Mkrtchian who trails with 7.5/10. Elisabeth Pähtz and Sabrina Vega can also hope for the title if things go their way. They both have 7.5/10 and play against each other in the final round.

Sethuruman and Kulkarni win Asian Continental

6/6/2016 – The Asian Continental held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan ended with no small amount of surprises and drama. The men's event saw the two sole leaders Le Quang Liem and Wei Yi both lose with white in the final round, missing gold as a result. Indian GM Sethuruman beat Wei Yi and took first. In the women's event, WGM Bhakti Kulkarni took sole first with 7.0/9. Illustrated report with analysis.

Viktor Korchnoi dies at 85

6/6/2016 – He was one of the truly great chess players, a legend. He played in three matches that produced the World Champion, but in each case lost to Anatoly Karpov. It made him the strongest player never to have won the title. In 1976 he defected from the Soviet Union and took up residence in Switzerland, where he continued to be active into his eighties in spite of a stroke. Now he has gone and leaves a grieving chess community.

Philidor's "L'Analyze des Echecs"

6/6/2016 – When Tom Ewers analysed the endgame K+R+B against K+R he came across André Danican Philidor's book "L'Analyze des Echecs", in which Philidor had analysed this endgame more than 250 years ago with remarkable precision. From the analysis of the endgame Ewers soon moved to the book itself and wondered how the content changed with new editions and translations. Here are his findings.

Fritz Online: introducing the basics

6/5/2016 – When ChessBase began rolling out the web apps that now enrich the experience of Premium subscribers, one that stuck out for its primitivity was the Fritz Online app. It was a basic board with a handful of options that was waiting for the facelift and care the others had all received. Now the true feature-filled version is available and brings with it many interesting ideas.

Shamkir Rd9: Mamedyarov beats Caruana in playoff

6/4/2016 – In an astonishing round that had to have Gashimov smiling, the final round saw three of his compatriots winning their final games. However, the biggest result was of course Mamedyarov who defeated Giri in a superb rook endgame he played to perfection, right after beating Caruana in the previous round. In a nail-biting playoff, he defeated Caruana and snatched the title. Final report.

Muhammad Ali – indeed the greatest

6/4/2016 – "I used to tell people that in my youth I had three great sporting heroes: Muhammad Ali, Bobby Fischer and Franz Beckenbauer. Nobody else came close to them. A Dutch colleague had the same heroes, with Cruyff replacing Beckenbauer. Fischer died in January 2008, at the age of 64, Cruyff a few months ago at the age of 69, and now Dirk Jan and I both mourn the greatest boxer of all time." Eulogy by Frederic Friedel.

Shamkir Rd8: Three-way fight for first

6/3/2016 – It was a dramatic penultimate round in which leader Caruana hit an oil slick and lost to Mamedyarov. Things might have gone worse for him had rival Anish Giri managed to win his game against Hou Yifan a piece up, but in the end he failed to convert. Caruana, Giri, and Mamedyarov can all win now, since first place is decided by a playoff in the event of a draw. Round eight report.