FTX Crypto Cup: Live

8/16/2022 – The FTX Crypto Cup kicked off on Monday 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 is taking place on-site at the Eden Roc Miami Beach in Miami, Florida, from August 15 to 21. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 18.00 CEST (12.00 ET, 21.30 IST)
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This week’s summer special offer - Gold medal winner Ivan Sokolov

8/16/2022 – Now that the Uzbekistan team has won the gold medal at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, Ivan Sokolov may reflect on his greatest accomplishment as a coach. For ChessBase, the Grandmaster created the Fritztrainer series "Understanding Middlegame Strategies." This week, we offer a summer bundle that includes all 4 episodes for only 69.90!
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Ding Liren: “I suddenly got a chance”

8/16/2022 – Ding Liren had a very tough start at the 2022 Candidates Tournament. He lost his first game, and a series of seven draws ensued. At that point, the world number two began to score one win after another, ending with a very impressive 8/14 in second place. We conducted an interview with him, discussing his performance at this elite event, going through the critical positions in each one of his games. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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Pragg's powerful pawns

8/16/2022 – In the diagrammed position White is a pawn up and has two powerful passed pawns that are supported by his king. However, White still needs to be precise to win the game. How should he proceed?

FTX Crypto Cup: Pragg beats Firouzja

8/16/2022 – The FTX Crypto Cup, the second Major of this year’s Meltwater Champions Tour, kicked off at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel in Florida. Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Levon Aronian all started strong, beating their respective opponents ‘in regulation’ — i.e. within the first four rapid games of each match. Notably, Pragg defeated Alireza Firouzja in the duel between rising stars.
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Endgame Magic #207 with Karsten Müller and Lara Schulze: Highlights from the Olympiad

8/15/2022 – In the Endgame Magic Show #207 Karsten Müller has a guest: Lara Schulze, one of Germany's most promising female talents, who in 2021 won the European Women's Championship U20 and the German Women's Rapid Championship. In this episode of the Endgame Magic Show Lara and Karsten look at endgame highlights from the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. | Photo: Oliver Koeller | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.
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Recognizing chess positions

8/15/2022 – How fast and how reliably can strong chess players recognize chess positions? How good are world-class grandmasters at identifying games? And how do they compare with amateurs in this respect. The very successful science and engineering channel Veritasium has picked up this subject and made a very interesting video on it. To which we add our own research, conducted almost forty years ago.

A middlegame lesson by Ivan Sokolov: The king on f8

8/14/2022 – An experienced trainer, Ivan Sokolov just helped Uzbekistan to win the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. In his FritzTrainer series for ChessBase, he showcases a pragmatic style, focusing on general ideas rather than on specific lines. In a section focused on positions where Black has not castled but placed his king on f8, Sokolov analyses a game between Fabiano Caruana and Daniel Naroditsky. Out of a French Defence, Caruana never lets go of the initiative, and achieves a remarkable victory. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club
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Understanding before Moving 89: Basics of the Benko Gambit (8)

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
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Carlsen and Firouzja set for FTX Crypto Cup clash in Miami

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.
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The magicians of Komodo 3 - Larry Kaufman and Mark Lefler

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.
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The dramatic, deciding game

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
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Endgames from Chennai (4)

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
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Fifty years ago: Fischer leads 8:5

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.
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Checks and mates

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!
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Trent's Tactics - The power of Uhlmann

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.
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Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Nihal Sarin demonstrates a smooth demolition

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.

World Chess Hall of Fame Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Legendary 1972 World Chess Championship

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
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Emanuel Lasker III: "Labors and Legacy - Chess, Philosophy, and Psychology"

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.
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