Tata Steel Chess - Live!

1/16/2021 – Given the circumstances, the tournament in Wijk aan Zee will not be the massive festival — with three masters tournament and a number of side activities — that we were used to enjoy at the beginning of each year. But it will be a great (over-the-board) tournament nonetheless, with Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana included in the lineup! The action kicks off at 13.00 UTC (14.00 CET, 08.00 ET)
Live Tournaments
Round 1: soon
83rd Tata Steel Masters 2021
Carlsen 2862, Caruana 2823, Vachier-Lagrave 2784, Giri 2764, Firouzja 2749, Duda 2743, Harikrishna 2732, Wojtaszek 2705
Round 2: live
Lozovatsky Memorial-A 2021
Round 8: live
11th A.Margaryan Memorial 2021
Live Training
January 18 1:00 Simon Says
Attacking chess and fun ideas with GM Simon Williams. View the new video!
January 19 1:00 The Weekly Show
The weekly highlights with IM Lawrence Trent. View the new video!
Live Ticker
28m
1h
1h
2h
2h
7h
8h
9h
9h
10h
13h
13h
16h
22h
5d
5d
5d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
6d
7d
7d
8d
8d
8d
9d
9d
9d
11d
11d
11d
11d
11d
11d
12d
12d
12d
12d
12d
12d
13d
13d
13d
13d
13d
13d
13d
15d
15d
15d
15d
15d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
17d
17d
17d
17d
17d
17d
17d
18d
18d
18d
18d
18d
18d
18d
19d
19d
19d
20d
20d
22d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
24d
24d
24d

French Blitz Team Championship - Semifinals Live!

1/16/2021 – This weekend the final rounds of the French Team Blitz Championship will take place on Playchess. The semifinals will be played on Saturday, while the final and a match for third place will be played on Sunday. Live with commentary starting at 13.30 CET.

Tata Steel Chess 2021: A preview

1/15/2021 – It all starts on Saturday in Wijk aan Zee, as the first round of the much-anticipated Tata Steel tournament kicks off at 14:00 (CET). Given the circumstances, it will not be the massive festival — with three masters tournament and a number of side activities — that we were used to enjoy at the beginning of each year. But it will be a great (over-the-board) tournament nonetheless, with Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana included in the lineup!

Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Frank Marshall's Octopus Knight

1/15/2021 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King takes a look at game by Frank Marshall (1877-1944), U.S. Champion from 1909 to 1936, and a legendary attacking player. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET). All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

Be well prepared - with the ChessBase Magazine

1/15/2021 – With 11 articles about various openings the new ChessBase Magazine #199 offers a lot of material for ambitious chess players who want to improve their openings. IM Patrick Zelbel, for example, examines a surprise weapon against the Modern Benoni, namely 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bg5!?. If Black reacts with the standard move 7...Bg7, Zelbel recommends an idea by Matthias Blübaum: 8.Nd2!?, which prepares e2-e4 and a later f2-f4. Let us show you how White can achieve a "huge advantage" against an unprepared opponent. And how Black should best meet White's bishop move.

Donchenko playing in Wijk!

1/15/2021 – Despite the corona pandemic, the Tata Steel Tournament 2021 in Wijk aan Zee is an over-the-board tournament, where the top players face each other live. But the safety measures are strict, and corona stopped Daniil Dubov from taking part. The Russian Grandmaster who is famous for his creative attacking chess, had to cancel after someone close to him was tested positive for Covid-19. But the organisers found a last-minute-replacement: the young German Grandmaster Alexander Donchenko (pictured). The tournament will begin tomorrow, Saturday, January 16, and last till January 31. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Fireworks

1/15/2021 – In the diagram position White just played 21.Nf6+!, which gives him a winning attack. There are some most beautiful variations to discover, the highlight being a checkmate in ... 14! Enjoy!

Throwback Thursday: Carlsen’s first title in Wijk aan Zee

1/14/2021 – The 83rd edition of the traditional Wijk aan Zee tournament is about to begin, with the first round scheduled to take place on Saturday. Seven-time winner Magnus Carlsen will be leading a 14-player field which includes world number 2 and latest World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana. Carlsen won the “A tournament” for the first time thirteen years ago, when he shared first place with Levon Aronian. | Photos: Frits Agtenderbos / ChessVista

A trip to Lexington with Beth Harmon and Walter Tevis

1/14/2021 – The lives of Walter Tevis and his literary character Beth Harmon have a number of similarities. Both of them experienced a childhood marked by drug addiction, and later, alcoholism, both "lived" in Lexington, Kentucky. And both of them found their salvation in chess. A hunt for clues in Lexington.

Let's talk about chess... with Jeroen van den Berg

1/14/2021 – For more than twenty years Jeroen van den Berg has been running the tournament in Wijk aan Zee as director, and he has enormously contributed to the ongoing success and attraction of this event, which each year is an absolute highlight in the chess calendar. In his latest "Let's talk about chess..." podcast Eric van Reem talks to Jeroen van den Berg about the long and colourful history of the tournament, about fantastic games played in Wijk, and, of course, about this year's tournament, which will start on Saturday - under special conditions but still as an over-the-board tournament. | Photo: Grenke Schach

Grand Chess Tour 2021

1/14/2021 – The Grand Chess Tour 2021, a series of five top tournaments (two with classical time-controls, three in rapid and blitz mode) announced the ten players that will compete as full 2021 tour participants: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alexander Grischuk, Levon Aronian, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, and Anish Giri. Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura decided not to take part as full tour participants in 2021. The first Grand Chess Tour 2021 event will be the Superbet Chess Classic, in Bucharest, Romania, from June 3 - 15, 2021.

Chess in film: Kola Kwariani - wrestler, chess player, actor

1/14/2021 – Stanley Kubrick is widely considered as one of the greatest directors of all time. But he was also a passionate chess player, and when he lived in New York, he often visited the "Flea House", a well-known and rather notorious meeting place for chess players and gamblers. In his film "The Killing" from 1956 Kubrick paid homage to this institution and one of its regular guests: the wrestler, chess lover, and actor Kola Kwariani. | Picture: Kola Kwariani (left), Stanley Kubrick (center) and Sterling Hayden (right), Cover of "Chess Review", March 1956

Game of the Week: A brilliancy by Max Warmerdam

1/13/2021 – This week Merijn van Delft takes a look at a brilliant game Max Warmerdam played at the Vergani Open. A game that was not only a piece of art but also helped Warmerdam to win the tournament and to become a grandmaster. | Merijn's show is available at 16.00 UTC (17:00 CET, 12:00 EDT) and on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Alina l'Ami (Archive)

"The Hollywood Reporter" portrays Queen's Gambit star Anya Taylor-Joy

1/13/2021 – The success of the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" made Anya Taylor-Joy, who played the main character Beth Harmon in the series, a star. "The Hollywood Reporter" talked to Anya Taylor-Joy about her career, the series, why she fell in love with Beth Harmon, and how she learned to play chess to understand her character better. | Photo: Netflix

New: A Black Repertoire versus the Anti-Sicilians - Nicholas Pert

1/13/2021 – The Sicilian is the most popular opening against 1.e4 because it is theoretically sound but offers Black double-edged play at the same time. Whilst you must know how to handle the main line (2. Nf3 and 3.d4), sidelines are also very important. In this video series, Nicholas Pert gives a strong and practical Black repertoire against these sidelines such as the Bb5 Sicilian, the Grand Prix Attack, the Alapin and many more, from his years of experience playing the Sicilian.

Franz Kafka, the pawn of a pawn

1/13/2021 – You do not need to know the rules of chess to understand the metaphors of the game. In one of his many letters to his confidante and platonic friend Milena Jesenská (1896-1944), Franz Kafka made an excursion into the realm of chess to bare his soul and heart. Sergio Negri had a closer look.

Chess in Spanish prisons

1/12/2021 – The Club “Magic Extremadura Deportivo-Social” sponsors a social program called “Nuestro ajedrez reinserta” (“Our chess reintegrates”) in Extremadura, Spain. The club works in two prisons, each of them located in the capitals of the two provinces of Extremadura, Badajoz and Cáceres. Juan Antonio Montero, psychologist, director of the program and director of the Club Magic Extremadura Deportivo-Social sent us an illustrated report.

Dante Alighieri and chess

1/12/2021 – Dante Alighieri's work "The Divine Comedy" (written 1307-1321) is a classic of world literature and was the basis for today's Italian written language. Dante died in Ravenna in 1321 - this year marks the 700th anniversary of his death. Dante was a passionate chess player and owned a personal chess set. But what happened to it?, asks Adolivio Capece. | Picture: Fresco of Domenico di Michelino in Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence 1465

Congratulations! Vlastimil Hort celebrates his 77th birthday!

1/12/2021 – Today, January 12, Vlastimil Hort celebrates his 77th birthday. Congratulations! To mark the anniversary, the former World Championship candidate and great chess connoisseur gives the chess community another - albeit somewhat macabre - story.
12345...Next