Using chess to help deal with addictions

1/26/2021 – In the Spanish region of Extremadura, there are a number of centres dedicated to the care, treatment and overcoming of addictions: addictions to substances (alcohol, drugs, pills) and others (gambling). The centres that treat these problems in a comprehensive manner are known as Therapeutic Communities. Many were set up in rural areas, where they functioned as real communities. One of the activities used to help the recovering addicts is chess. | Photo: Juan Antonio Montero
Live Tournaments
Round 5: finished
83rd Tata Steel Masters 2021
Carlsen 2862, Caruana 2823, Vachier-Lagrave 2784, Giri 2764, Firouzja 2749, Duda 2743, Harikrishna 2732, Wojtaszek 2705
Round 5: live
81st ARM-ch 1st League 2021
Round 8: finished
Lozovatsky Memorial-A 2021
Live Training
January 27 1:00 The Game of the Week
The game of the week presented by IM Merijn van Delft. View the new video!
January 28 1:00 The fast and the furious
Fast and lightning opening lines with IM Robert Ris. View the new video!
Live Ticker
now
2h
4h
6h
6h
6h
7h
9h
9h
9h
10h
1d
1d
1d
2d
2d
2d
2d
3d
3d
3d
3d
3d
3d
3d
3d
4d
4d
4d
6d
7d
7d
7d
7d
7d
7d
7d
8d
8d
8d
8d
9d
9d
9d
9d
9d
9d
9d
9d
10d
10d
10d
15d
15d
15d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
16d
17d
17d
18d
18d
18d
18d
19d
19d
21d
21d
21d
21d
21d
21d
22d
22d
22d
22d
22d
22d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
23d
25d
25d
25d
25d
25d
26d

No rule without exception

1/26/2021 – Is a knight on the rim always dim? Well, in chess there are no rules without exceptions, and though knights on the rim often make a poor impression there are still countless examples in which they prove to be powerful. The diagram position is one such example: Black to play and draw.

Daniel King analyzses Esipenko vs Carlsen

1/25/2021 – Magnus Carlsen only rarely loses a game, and his defeat against 18-year-old Russian Grandmaster Andrey Esipenko in round 8 of the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee was a big surprise. In his Power Play show Daniel King took a closer look at this game. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

Wijk aan Zee Storytellers (3) - Ian Rogers

1/25/2021 – In the third part of the "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers" series, Eric van Reem, host of the "Let's talk about chess" podcast, talks to GM Ian Rogers, the well-known and popular player and chess writer from Australia. In the podcast Rogers remembers how he first played in Wijk when he was 16 years old. And he reveals what he thinks is the most spectacular game ever played in Wijk. And no, it is not Kasparov vs Topalov but Bellon vs Jamieson, played in group B, in 1977! | Photo: Ian Rogers 2014 | Photo: Macauley Peterson

The power of the bishops: Harikrishna vs Firouzja, Wijk 2021, Round 8

1/25/2021 – In the first round of the Tata Steel Tournament 2021 Alireza Firouzja lost against Magnus Carlsen, but then he scored 5½/7, and with 5½/8 and an Elo-performance of 2882 he is now sole leader. In round 8 Firouzja won an interesting game against Pentala Harikrishna in which he showed how powerful the bishops can be. Karsten Müller had a close look. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit - Tata Steel Tournament 2021

Remembering Eva Moser

1/25/2021 – About two years ago, Austrian Woman Grand Master Eva Moser passed away. Michael Ehn, Kurt Jungwirth and Markus Ragger have now published a beautiful and impressively detailed book to honour the memory, life and chess career of this outstanding player.

Tata Steel R8: Esipenko stuns Carlsen, Firouzja grabs the lead

1/25/2021 – Alireza Firouzja grabbed to sole lead at the Tata Steel Masters by beating Pentala Harikrishna with the black pieces, but remarkably this was not the most shocking development of round 8 as Andrey Esipenko defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in their first-ever confrontation in classical chess — Carlsen played aggressively with the black pieces and was duly outplayed by the 18-year-old. With his win, Esipenko joined the four-player chasing pack which also includes Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana and Jorden van Foreest. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

Understanding before Moving 11: Pattern Recognition

1/24/2021 – 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 eleventh part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman explains how important it is to learn and to remember typical patterns. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

Tata Steel R7: Four leaders

1/24/2021 – It was an eventful seventh round in Wijk aan Zee, as five out of seven games finished decisively, including Anish Giri beating former sole leader Nils Grandelius with the white pieces. Giri, who was sharing second place before the round, was not the only player from the chasing pack to win on Saturday though — Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja and Jorden van Foreest also scored full points to become co-leaders. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

A Chess Story

1/23/2021 – Irina Bulmaga is a Woman Grandmaster, an International Master, and a chess professional. She discovered her passion for chess when she was still a child, and in a short story she looks back to the start of her chess career and remembers the beginning of a life-long love affair.

Tata Steel R6: Firouzja and Van Foreest score

1/23/2021 – Two decisive results in round 6 left Nils Grandelius still as the sole leader and increased the number of players chasing him a half point behind to six. Jorden van Foreest and Alireza Firouzja won on Friday and are now part of the massive chasing pack on 3½ points. Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen failed to find a winning move against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Fabiano Caruana tried hard but could not take down the leader. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

Wijk aan Zee Storytellers (2) - Vishy Anand

1/22/2021 – Eric van Reem, host of the "Let's talk about chess" podcast, continues his "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers" series. In the first episode he talked to Dutch GM John van der Wiel, now he talks to Vishy Anand, five-time World Champion and five-time winner in Wijk. Anand shared a lot of stories about this fantastic tournament and obviously enjoyed these memories. | Photo: Vishy Anand at his home in Kotturpuram, Chennai | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Carlsen, Firouzja and a typical pawn sacrifice

1/22/2021 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King takes a look at Magnus Carlsen's win against Alireza Firouzja from the first round of the Tata Steel Tournament 2021 in Wijk aan Zee, in which Carlsen brought a typical pawn sacrifice to initiate a dangerous - and finally successful - attack. | 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. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Tata Steel R5: Grandelius beats MVL’s Najdorf, retakes the lead

1/22/2021 – Round 5 of the Tata Steel Masters saw Nils Grandelius retaking the lead after beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the white pieces in the only decisive game of the day. Grandelius showed excellent preparation and managed to convert a position a pawn up against the ever-resourceful Frenchman. Exciting draws were seen in most of the remaining gamess, with David Anton v Aryan Tari a particularly thrilling encounter — Karsten Müller took a closer look at the endgame. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

A missed chance

1/22/2021 – Yes, White's king is on f4! Which Black could have exploited. But this was a rapid game, and in time-pressure Magnus Carlsen, who was playing with Black against Ian Nepomniachtchi, did not find the win. Can you do better?

Throwback Thursday: Russia vs The World 2002

1/21/2021 – Dubbed the Match of the New Century, the third confrontation between Russian and The World was played in Moscow on September 8-12, 2002. Due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a number of players from ex-Soviet countries represented The World. The match was staged over ten boards using a Scheveningen System with a rapid time control. The match ended in an unexpected 52:48 victory for the World team. | Photos: Anna Dergatscheva

Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: A Tribute to Lubomir Kavalek (1943-2021)

1/21/2021 – In this week's show, well-known Dutch trainer Robert Ris pays tribute to the legendary Grandmaster and writer Lubomir Kavalek, who passed away January 18, 2021, at the age of 77. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Let's talk about chess... and Wijk aan Zee!

1/21/2021 – The Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee has a long tradition, reaching back to 1938. To hear more about this tradition and to share stories from this famous tournament, Eric van Reem, host of "Let's talk about chess", invited a number of "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers" to his podcast. In the first episode he talks to GM John van der Wiel (1959) from The Netherlands, who participated no less than 28(!) times in the Wijk aan Zee tournament.

Nihal Sarin wins Gazprom Brilliancy Prize

1/21/2021 – In the past, many tournaments offered brilliancy prizes for particularly beautiful games, but unfortunately this fine custom has gone a little out of fashion. But the FIDE Online Cadet and Youth World Championships 2020 paid respect to this tradition and awarded a brilliancy prize. It was donated by the Russian company Gazprom, and it was won by 16-year old Indian prodigy Nihal Sarin for an impressive game full of sacrifices and unexpected moves. | Photo: Nihal Sarin (ChessBase India)
12345...Next