8/14/2022 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 89th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to explain why playing the Benko Gambit might be a good choice for club players. | Photo: Pascal Simon

8/14/2022 – The FTX Crypto Cup, kicks off next week with world champion Magnus Carlsen and new rival Alireza Firouzja topping a stellar line-up. The all-play-all tournament is the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour’s second Major of the season and will be held on-site at the Eden Roc Miami Beach in Miami, Florida, from August 15 to 21. On offer is $210K plus an additional $100K tied to the price of bitcoin provided by leading cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

8/14/2022 – Just a couple of days ago, Komodo 3 received the free "World Chess Software Champion" update. We interviewed the creators of one of the most "human-like" chess engines - Larry Kaufman & Mark Lefler. They describe the main differences between Komodo 2 and Komodo 3 as well as a typical workday for an engine developer. And, fortunately, Mark Lefler demonstrates what can be done with a stack of cards that are lying around on his desk.

8/13/2022 – The gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai was decided in one game: the duel between rising stars Dommaraju Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The 16-year-old Indian grandmaster had a better position after the opening and, in fact, was winning at some point. But then the game gradually slipped out of Gukesh’s hands, and a final blunder decided the game in Abdusattorov’s favour. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/13/2022 – Over 650 games were played daily at the record-breaking Chess Olympiad in Chennai. GM Karsten Müller attentively followed the games, looking for instructive endings. Naturally, all sorts of setups and typical patterns showed up with so many encounters running concurrently. Go over our in-house expert’s analyses, and you are sure to find something to learn or, at the very least, something to enjoy! | Pictured: Praggnanandhaa beats Javokhir Sindarov after converting a tough technical endgame. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/13/2022 – After ten games in the World Championship match in Reykjavik, 1972, the score was 6½-3½ for Challenger Bobby Fischer. The match seemed virtually over – in the last eight games Boris Spassky had only managed to score 1½ points. In game 11 Spassky took on the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Najdorf Sicilian. "Fighting with the desperation of the doomed: he sensationally crushed his opponent in the 11th game" (Kasparov). In the twelfth he held Fischer to a comfortable draw. And then came the 13th round. Fischer played, for the first time in a top-level game, the Alekhine Defence. It turned into one of the most exciting battles of the match, and is beautifully annotated by GM Robert Byrne.

8/13/2022 – In the diagram position, White has yet to react properly to the black queen's check, then he may happily start searching for mates - feel free to join!

8/12/2022 – Lawrence has prepared some stunning tactics, played by the German legend Wolfgang Uhlmann. The French Defence expert was a masterful chess player for ages, and beat Bobby Fischer in 1960, with this very opening. We continue with our journey to reach a rating of 3000. Meanwhile, we are comfortably sitting around 2550.

8/12/2022 – In his "Power Play Show" Daniel King features games from the Olympiad. Apart from the usual puzzles, Daniel will take close look at Nihal Sarin versus Sebastian Bogner, a masterful performance by the gold-medal winner on board 2 for India 2. | Power Play is on air most Fridays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

8/12/2022 – The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) pays homage to American chess phenom Bobby Fischer with the largest exhibition of its kind, 1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, Its Origin, and Influence", on view from August 18, 2022, through April 30, 2023. A public opening reception is happening on Thursday, August 18, 2022, 5-8 pm, with free admission. | Photo: worldchesshof.org

8/12/2022 – Recently, the Exzelsior Verlag published the third and final volume of their huge biography of Emanuel Lasker, mathematician, philosopher, writer, and World Champion from 1894 to 1921. Richard Forster, Michael Negele and Raj Tischbierek edited the three volumes. Like its predecessors, the third volume sheds light on many aspects of Lasker's personality and his wide ranging intellectual interests, and it is a beautiful, carefully designed book well worth reading.

8/12/2022 – Daniel Eduardo Pulvett, born in Venezuela and now representing Spain, finished second at the Valencia International Open last month to grab his third GM norm. With a rating already above 2500, he is set to receive the grandmaster title. Pulvett, aged 31, has a ninety-percent visual impairment. He had grabbed his second GM norm only four months ago, at a closed tournament in Breña Baja, in the Canary Islands. | Photo: David Llada