9/13/2023 – Thanks to his tournament wins in the American Cup and Norway Chess this year, Hikaru Nakamura moved up to second place in the FIDE world rankings (August 2023). In the "Special" of ChessBase Magazine #215 our authors analyse their favourite games of the top grandmaster - an exclusive collection of 19 great encounters from the period 2007 to 2023 awaits you! In addition, Mihail Marin sheds light on "Nakamura's strategy in practice" with videos + many training exercises. And Karsten Mueller presents a selection of the most beautiful endgames from "H-Bomb". As a sample from the "Special" you can watch Michal Krasenkow's analysis of his game against Nakamura from 2007 here. Have fun!

9/13/2023 – The FIDE World Cup was a complete success, as top players fought for spots in the Candidates, both in the open and in the women’s section. Magnus Carlsen and Aleksandra Goryachkina were the winners. As ever, GM Karsten Müller compiled the most interesting positions from the tournaments. Find here five more instructive endgames from the open category! | Photo: Stev Bonhage

9/12/2023 – Holger Blauhut is a Norwegian Candidate Master who enjoys playing in tournaments himself and looks after his talented daughter Anna. In mid-August, he took part in the RTU Open in Riga with his daughter, and experienced the typical adventures of chess travellers.

9/12/2023 – Fred Lucas is a Dutch photographer who specializes in chess photography. He has been doing it for well over 20 years and documented the most important tournaments – the World Chess Championship, Candidates, and Olympiads. He shot most of his pictures with a Nikon and 200mm lens, meticulously capturing the action, the mood and the emotions of the players. Now Fred has compiled his best pictures into a historical book that visually takes us through the world of chess in the first decades of this century.

9/12/2023 – If the title of British Champion is to go by, England’s most naturally talented player ever may happen to be an amateur. Henry Ernest Atkins was a school teacher by profession, yet won the British Championships in nine out of eleven participations. On the recent 151st anniversary of his birth, it is worth remembering this extremely gifted chess player. | Pictured: Rufus Stevenson and Henry Atkins at Malvern (The Sphere, 20 August 1921), via BritBase

9/12/2023 – All in all, in the Knight vs. Bishop duel, the Bishop is more likely to win. However, this duel is tricky and sometimes the knight is the better piece. An example of this is the diagram position, where White used her knight effectively to win the game. What did she do?

9/10/2023 – The Tata Steel Chess India Blitz tournament came to an end after rounds 10 to 18 were played on Saturday. Russian grandmaster Alexander Grischuk was the outright winner with a 12/18 score. Grischuk finished ahead of Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who both collected 11/18 points. Arjun Erigaisi and rapid-tournament winner Maxime Vachier-Lagrave were the two remaining players to end with a plus score. | Photo: Vivek Sohani

9/9/2023 – The former Ken Whyld Association has since been renamed the Chess History and Literature Society. Its members meet regularly for exchange, most recently in Belfort, a magical place for bibliophiles and chess historians. The city library administers the 27,000 volumes chess library of the famous collector Dr Jean Mennerat (1917-2007). | Photo: From left to right: Clémence Tariol (curator) and a staff member, Dr Hans Ellinger (Germany), Henri Serruys (Belgium), Dr Jurgen Stigter (Netherlands), Jean-Olivier Leconte (France). ©Herbert Bastian

9/9/2023 – Judit Polgar is a legend. At the age of 15 years and four months, she became a grandmaster, breaking the 34 year old record of Bobby Fischer as the youngest grandmaster of all time. Polgar went on to become the best female player in the history of chess and was the first woman to achieve a rating above 2700. At her peak Polgar belonged to the top ten in the world and played for the absolute world championship. She is known for her attractive attacking style and won many games through brilliant combinations. The new ChessBase Master Class takes a close look at her legacy.

9/9/2023 – Former World Champion Garry Kasparov stormed in to grab the lead on the first day of the 2023 Champions Showdown: Chess9LX, as he scored two wins, against Wesley So and Ray Robson, along with a draw against Hikaru Nakamura to end the day in clear first place with 2½/3. Tied for second going into day 2 are Levon Aronian and Sam Sevian, both half a point behind with 2/3. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

9/9/2023 – The Tata Steel Chess India tournaments are taking place from August 31 to September 9 at the Bhasa Bhawan Auditorium of the majestic National Library in Kolkata. The blitz section of the men’s event is being played from Friday to Saturday, with five Indian stars facing five international grandmasters. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 11.30 CEST (5.30 ET, 15.00 IST)

9/9/2023 – After 21.Bxh6! (diagram) Black can't take back, but after 21...g6 White needs a brilliant idea to prevent his attack from going nowhere. Can you deliver?