2/13/2019 – Fighting chess continues to abound at the Cairns Cup in Saint Louis. In round six, Valentina Gunina joined Alexandra Kosteniuk in the lead after beating Elisabeth Paehtz from a drawn rook endgame. In the meantime, both Harika Dronavalli and Nana Dzagnidze won games they could have easily lost had their opponents taken advantage of clear chances to round off the game in their favour. Three rounds remain. | Photo: Crystal Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

2/12/2019 – IM Lawrence Trent brings you the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments ever Tuesdays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST). This week he looks at games from the Cairns Cup. Free to watch on-demand for a limited time with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

2/12/2019 – Pawn races require precise calculation. Calculation which you might see as a warm-up for today's "Endgame Magic Show" in which Karsten Müller has Erwin l'Ami as his guest. The "Endgame Magic Show" starts live at 14:30 UTC (15:30 CET, 9:00 AM EST) and is FREE to watch on-demand (for a limited time)! But first enjoy the warm-up.

2/12/2019 – Karsten is joined by Grandmaster Erwin l'Ami. This week's show is live at 14:30 UTC (15:30 CET, 9:00 AM EST) and FREE to watch on-demand (for a limited time)!

2/12/2019 – Europe's largest (and most influential) news portal, Der Spiegel, recently published a three-part series on the history of chess programming. It was authored by Frederic Friedel, emeritus editor of the ChessBase news page. In the early 1980s Frederic was intrumental to bringing computer chess to the attention of the German public, and in 1987 he co-founded ChessBase. Here is part two of his series. Read part one.

2/12/2019 – Is the Bird opening an audacious attempt by chess mavericks? Or a slightly offbeat way for White to get an advantage in today's hyper-engine-analyzed opening landscape? Can the Bird's be a way to disorient our opponents using a lesser-known opening? The Bird's is an opening for players who are free spirits, says reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO. IM Lawrence Trent in his latest work addresses this need, covering all of Black's answers, and proudly finding new moves in old lines. If you are a club or a tournament player, searching for a surprise weapon, the Bird's can give a boost to your wins!

2/11/2019 – In this Simon Says we take a look at a few additional highlights of the Gibraltar Masters plus some recent games. Simon is live this week at the usual time: 18:00 CET (17:00 UTC). If you miss the show, you can watch it in the archive with a ChessBase Account. Don't have an account? You can register a free 90-day account to watch!

2/11/2019 – ChessBase 15 is a powerful program with a lot of useful functions. The online support helps you to get the most out of ChessBase 15 and is easy to access. And if you really want to explore the depths of the program the ChessBase 15 online manual will help you. It is free and available in four languages! | Drawing: ChessBase

2/11/2019 – All five games of round five at the Cairns Cup could have easily finished with decisive results, as all boards saw the players relentless in attack and defence — the fighting spirit was at its peak in Saint Louis. Eventually, however, the three top contenders ended up scoring wins and widening the gap with the rest of the field. Thus, Alexandra Kosteniuk is still the sole leader, while Valentina Gunina and Irina Krush remain a half point behind. | Photo: Crystal Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

2/11/2019 – Chefchaouen, a small city in the North-West Morocco, has its houses, doors, pavements and streets partially washed in shades of blue. It is popularly known as the ‘blue city’, or the ‘blue pearl’ of Morocco. DIANA MIHAJLOVA brings you a photo diary of the annual chess activities in this colourful town, with the 18th edition of its chess tournament scheduled for July. All photos: D.M.

2/10/2019 – Four decisive results in round four of the Cairns Cup left Alexandra Kosteniuk at the top of the standings with 3½/4. She cannot sit back and relax though, as both chasers — Valentina Gunina and Irina Krush — also won and are still half a point behind. The games were full of ups and downs, with the players showing great fighting spirit on all boards. Sunday's fifth round will be the last one before the rest day. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

2/9/2019 – The Gibraltar Masters was the first very strong open of 2019 and it might indicate which openings will be particularly popular in 2019. THORSTEN CMIEL had a look which openings were "trendy" in Gibraltar and how the Grandmasters started the new year. Yesterday we looked at Black's choices after 1.e4. Now Thorsten tackles 1.d4 and 1.c4/1.Nf3 openings.

2/9/2019 – The only clash of co-leaders in round three of the Cairns Cup favoured Alexandra Kosteniuk, who defeated Zhansaya Abdumalik with the black pieces to grab the sole lead in the standings. Anna Zatonskih and Nana Dzagnidze won with White and bounced back to 50% after, coincidentally, both having lost their inaugural games in Saint Louis. The other two games finished peacefully rather quickly. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

2/9/2019 – On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Armenian Dram currency, the country's central bank has recently issued new banknotes. The newly introduced 2000 Dram certificate honors the Armenian world chess champion Tigran Petrosian.

2/8/2019 – Friday at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST) Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

2/8/2019 – The Gibraltar Masters was the first very strong open of 2019 and it might indicate which openings will be particularly popular in 2019. Thorsten Cmiel had a look which openings were "trendy" in Gibraltar and how the Grandmasters started the new year. Previously he examined the openings in the last major event of the year the World Blitz and Rapid. In focus in Part II is 1.e4, met by the Caro-Kann, Sicilian and French.

2/8/2019 – The diagram position saw the continuation 18...Nxc3 19.Qh5 whereupon White threatens discovered check and mate. Now, what Black player would be so foolhardy to allow such a seemingly deadly constellation... You!?

2/8/2019 – The 53rd Annual Greater New York Scholastic Team and Individual Chess Championships and a similar event in Chicago were held recently, and the Greater Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Championships is coming up in a just over a week. All are in cooperation with the Kasparov Chess Foundation. | Pictured: (Seated) Michael Khodarkovsky and Garry Kasparov (standing) scholastic coach Michael Ellenbogen and New York scholastic players | Photo: Kasparov Chess Foundation