Editor-in-Chief emeritus of the ChessBase News page. Studied Philosophy and Linguistics at the University of Hamburg and Oxford, graduating with a thesis on speech act theory and moral language. He started a university career but switched to science journalism, producing documentaries for German TV. In 1986 he co-founded ChessBase.
3/11/2024 – Chess is a fun game – ask the countless millions who play it. But apart from the contest at the board, there are additional forms for you to enjoy, like chess puzzles and studies. Many of them defy the imagination. Today we start a new column, and have three deceptively simple – but enchanting – examples for you to solve. The sources and solutions will be provided in a week. Until then, have fun working things out all by yourself.
1/16/2024 – Last Tuesday, this young lad turned 15. Shreyas Royal gained his IM title in 2022, the youngest English player to do this. As a result he was invited to the London Chess Classic in December. There he was the lowest ranked player, but finished with 2630 performance, 226 points above his FIDE rating. In the Hastings Congress he missed his third GM norm by a whisker. It is time to take a closer look at this bright young talent, from whom we will be hearing a lot in the future. | Photo: Olympics.com
1/10/2024 – The ChessBase Christmas Puzzle week has concluded, but one final competition remains! To all amateurs and aspiring composers, now is your chance to gain fame by submitting a composition with chance for prizes too – with ChessBase publications in the brand-new eBook format up for grabs! The deadline for submission is January 21st – this article provides all other details! So good luck and happy composing to all!
1/5/2024 – How did you fare with the three fun-to-solve puzzles we provided on December 30? They were fairly subtle, one quite amuzing. We got them from Gauri Shankar is a FIDE Master with eight IM norms. He lives in Chicago and produces entertaining video shorts explaining problems and studies. You can watch them for the solutions to our Christmas selection.
1/3/2024 – In part four of our Christmas Puzzle Week we had some seasonal chess problems – a candle and two Christmas trees. But we also included a helpmate in two, with a devilishly difficult retroanalytical part. Were you able to find the two solutions, and explain why one of them was illegal? Try and follow the analysis of our problem expert.
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
1/1/2024 – Today we bring you the first instalment of solutions, to the puzzles on our Christmas Day page. It includes charming video of two 14 year old lads solving one of the problems. Today, both are Candidates for the World Championship. Solutions to the next six puzzle pages will follow soon – together with details on our composition competition, which will end on January 15.
12/31/2023 – Today we have two very special problems. They are doubtlessly like no other chess puzzle you have seen. And warning: they are very hard. You could easily spend a substantial part of the final day of the year 2023 struggling to solve them. But if you succeed, you will experience an exhilarating feeling of pride. Take a look.
12/30/2023 – Today you get three puzzles that are simply enjoyable to solve. Very strong players should try to solve them in their minds, straight from the diagrams, mere mortals can move pieces. They may be surprised to see that our live diagrams will defend for the black side, stopping you from reaching the goal. Unless you find the unexpected solutions, which will be presented to you with instructive and entertaining videos in the new year.
12/29/2023 – Today we provide you with a master-level lesson. Leonid Ivanovich Kubbel, born in 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia, was one of the greatest composers in chess history. One of the greatest composers of our time was GM Pal Benkö, born in 1928, died in 2019. The latter shows us how he improved on one of the most famous studies of all time, composed by the former.
12/28/2023 – Problemists love to construct problems in shapes that symbolize something auspicious. The great composer (and World Championship candidate) Pal Benkö sent us a problem shaped like a candle. Today we bring you two problems shaped like Christmas trees. They are not too hard, which we cannot say about the third problem, which taxes the brain.
12/27/2023 – Let's say you find an interesting mating motif. Now you want to use it as the final position of a chess problem you will compose. The moves leading to it must be imaginative, clever and not very easy to find. But they must also be unique. There mustn't be alternative sets of move that lead to the final (or any) mate. For amateur composers, here's an example of a fellow amateur making a valid problem out of the position displayed.
12/25/2023 – For two decades we ended each year with traditional Christmas puzzles – here are some of the best from the early years. Many of our younger readers will not have seen them – remember, some of them were not born when we started. For others it will hopefully bring back nostalgic memories. And perhaps some additional joy on the big festive day. From today until January 1st 2024 we revive the tradition, with new contributors who will hopefully maintain it in the decades to come.
12/11/2023 – The second part of the ChessBase India winter solving contest contained problems in different chess variants that involve deviation from the standard rules. This can involve finding ways to reconstruct a given position, or changes to pieces or rules, leading to creative and strategic gameplay. We present one challenging example, and a video lesson in problem solving from a true master. There is a lot to learn and to enjoy.
11/28/2023 – Do you know who the current World Chess Champion is? Can you name him and tell us which country he is from? If you can do this you belong to an absolute minority in the world of chess enthusiasts. Try to estimate how many of them can answer the two questions correctly. You are wrong! A recent survey, conducted by YouGov and World Chess, tell us the sad truth.
11/27/2023 – Sofia Polgar's new book is instructive and informative. It is also generously illustrated, with acrylic on canvas paintings by the author. It is published by Russell Enterprises, and makes for an ideal Christmas gift. We have known Sofia since she was a very young girl, and tell you about that in part two of our review 0150 which also includes some of the paintings from the book.
11/24/2023 – We told you about Ohad Munder-Zichri, who was abducted by Hamas from the kibbutz of Nir Oz, where he was visiting his grandparents. That was one day before his 9th birthday. Since then, he has spent 48 days in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, together with more than 200 hostages taken during the devastating Oct. 7 incursion. We have just seen in the news that today (November 24, late evening) Ohad has been set free!! We rejoice for this young chess talent.
11/22/2023 – Occasionally you come across a must-have chess book – here's one that we discovered that makes for an ideal 2023 Christmas present. It is written (and illustrated, with acrylic on canvas paintings!) by Sofia Polgar, the "middle sister" who in 1989 scored 8½ points out of 9 in a GM tournament with a performance rating of 2930 performance. Sofia's book, published by Russell Enterprises, was our pleasure to review.
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
Videos: Nico Zwirs on the Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.f4) and part 2 of “Mikhalchishins miniatures”. “Lucky bag” with 53 commented games by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Gabriel Sargissian, Nodirbek Yakubboe
Dive into the fascinating world of the Sicilian Kalashnikov variation! We will uncover the secrets of this explosive opening from the very first moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5.
This Fritztrainer offers you the perfect addition to any Sicilian or Najdorf repertoire, and covers all the minor variations that White has tried to avoid the open Sicilian.
The Powerbook Philidor Defence 2024 is based on 33,000 computer games from the engine room of Schach.de as well as 21,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Philidor Defence Powerbase 2024 is a database and contains a total of 4561 games from the Mega 2024 and the Correspondence Database 2024, 269 of which are annotated.
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
Videos: Nico Zwirs on the Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.f4) and part 2 of “Mikhalchishins miniatures”. “Lucky bag” with 53 commented games by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Gabriel Sargissian, Nodirbek Yakubboe
Dive into the fascinating world of the Sicilian Kalashnikov variation! We will uncover the secrets of this explosive opening from the very first moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5.
This Fritztrainer offers you the perfect addition to any Sicilian or Najdorf repertoire, and covers all the minor variations that White has tried to avoid the open Sicilian.
The Powerbook Philidor Defence 2024 is based on 33,000 computer games from the engine room of Schach.de as well as 21,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Philidor Defence Powerbase 2024 is a database and contains a total of 4561 games from the Mega 2024 and the Correspondence Database 2024, 269 of which are annotated.
€9.90
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