European Women’s Championship to kick off in Montenegro

3/18/2023 – The 23rd edition of the European Women’s Individual Chess Championship will take place on March 17-30 at the Hotel Palas in Petrovac, Montenegro. The tournament grants 9 spots for the next Women’s World Cup. The top five seeds are Bella Khotenashvili (Georgia), Valentina Gunina (FIDE), Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), Marsel Efroimski (Israel) and Yuliia Osmak (Ukraine). | Photos: European Chess Union
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Svitlana's Smart Moves - The Catalan

3/17/2023 – Svitlana shows us the basics of the open and closed Catalan. This opening is often played by some world class players, like Magnus Carlsen, or Vladimir Kramnik. It can either get sharp, or super positional. The model game was played by Alekhine, and the most powerful weapon of the Catalan, the bishop on g2, is exchanged rather quickly. But there are more threats, than only the bishop!
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Daniel King’s Power Play Show: King’s Indian brilliance

3/17/2023 – In his new Power Play Show, GM Daniel King shares more King’s Indian brilliances with us. Vasyl Ivanchuk played the black side in the recent European Championship and his young opponent chose a line where White looks to take over the initiative on the kingside. This was a highly instructive game where one side's strategy triumphed. | 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.

"Draw?"

3/17/2023 – What should you do if your opponent offers a draw at an early stage of the game? What aspects should you take into account when making your own decision? GM Jan Markos gives you a series of rules of thumb in the fifth part of his series "Practical Tips for the Tournament Player" to help you go for the full point more often - or accept the offer if it is advisable. You can watch an excerpt from his video here!

Explained by the engineers! - The new "hints" option for ChessBase 17!

3/17/2023 – Today: Matthias Wuellenweber goes into detail about the new hints option for ChessBase 17. In our new video series, our developers personally explain the new features they have developed themselves. From the new data format to the beauty index. In no time at all, you'll learn how it's done.

Kosteniuk has switched to Switzerland

3/17/2023 – Former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, currently in the top ten of women's chess, is one of several top Russian players who have left the country or criticized the invasion of Ukraine. Kosteniuk will in future play under the Swiss flag.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Attacking with the King's Indian

3/17/2023 – In his Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks at the game Lupulescu-Donchenko, played in the last round of the European Individual Championships. The game features a highly topical line of the Karpov System (5.Be2 & 6.Be3) against the King's Indian and led to a fine win for Black. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Chessable Masters Play-In: Le Quang Liem the top scorer

3/16/2023 – Four players qualified to play in Division I of the upcoming Chessable Masters in last week’s Play-In event. Le Quang Liem, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Fedoseev and Vladislav Artemiev will join Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana in the online tournament set to start on April 3. In a very competitive competition, the likes of Anish Giri and Nodirbek Abdusattorov could only make it to Division II.
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UK vs Ukraine solidarity match reaches Parliament

3/16/2023 – The British chess boom reaches Parliament on Wednesday 22nd March, with two events hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. The first will be the opening ceremony of a UK vs. Ukraine Solidarity Match, with the UK number one, Michael Adams, taking on the Ukrainian champion Andrei Volokitin, who is currently living as a refugee in Poland with his family. In the second contest of the day over the board, the GMs will captain teams of MPs and Peers as they battle for bragging rights in a match between the House of Lords and House of Commons.
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Game of the Week #559: A. Sarana - A. Korobov

3/16/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #559, Merijn van Delft looks at the game Alexey Sarana vs Anton Korobov, played at the European Championship in Vrnacka Banja. The game was instructive and tense and turned out to be crucial for the tournament. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Endgames from Vrnjacka Banja (3)

3/15/2023 – Close to 250 games were played daily for 11 rounds at the European Championship that came to an end on Monday. The players were fighting for an entrance to the World Championship cycle via the World Cup, which made for very competitive struggles. Karsten Müller kept an eye on the games, and sent us many notable endgames with instructive analyses. Replay here ten of his finds! | Pictured: Ellen Fredericia Nilssen | Photo: European Chess Union

Look within yourself

3/15/2023 – Sagar Shah has been a chess player, coach, journalist, YouTuber, entrepreneur and more. In his journey through different countries and tournaments, he has collected plenty of valuable experience to share. In his new series ‘From the CEO’s Desk’, he shares his musings and thoughts about various things — sometimes related to chess, and sometimes just life. Today, Sagar takes a closer look at the deep-rooted emotions and fears of a chess player, drawing parallels with his own life.
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Blitz, the Chess Manga from Monaco - A Review

3/15/2023 – The internationally successful Japanese chess manga "Blitz" stems from the imagination of Cédric Biscay, was inked by mangaka Daitaro Nishihara and put into the grids by co-scenarist Tsukasa Mori. "Blitz" impresses with its accurate and detailed artwork and with its precise depiction of the chess game. A review by Tatiana Flores. | Photo: IWA/Shibuya Productions
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Norway Chess lineup announced: Carlsen, Naka and Gukesh in the mix

3/14/2023 – The 11th edition of the Norway Chess Tournament is scheduled to take place from May 29 to June 9 in Stavanger. A rejuvenated lineup will see Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Dommaraju Gukesh making their debuts at the Norwegian super-tournament. Magnus Carlsen, who remarkably won the event five times, will also be present, alongside the likes of Alireza Firouzja, Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So.
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Explained by the engineers! - The new positional search of ChessBase 17!

3/14/2023 – Today: Jeroen Van den Belt shows us the best positional search option, ChessBase has ever had. In our new video series, our developers personally explain the new features they have developed themselves. From the new data format to the beauty index. In no time at all, you'll learn how it's done.
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Reti players beware!

3/14/2023 – In the current ChessBase Magazine #212 you'll find new repertoire ideas for eleven different openings - from the English Opening to the Scotch to the King's Indian. In his article, Roven Vogel examines a trendyline against the Reti Opening: more and more often Black played the "somewhat strange" move 2...b6!? after 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3. White can of course build up in the most varied ways here, and the position types that Vogel analyses are correspondingly diverse. His conclusion: "So far I don't see in which direction Black should really have problems and can therefore warmly recommend this little side variation, at least as a secondary idea for one's own repertoire against 1.Nf3." Take a look!
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European Championship: Sarana, Shevchenko and Dardha on the podium

3/14/2023 – Alexey Sarana became the 2023 European champion after signing a 7-move draw with co-leader Kirill Shevchenko. That draw meant both players had secured at least shared first place, but still had to wait to see if someone else would join them on a final 8½/11 score. Out of the chasers, only Daniel Dardha managed to catch up with the leaders. Tiebreak criteria were used to decide the final placements. In the end, Sarana grabbed gold, Shevchenko took home silver and Dardha was awarded the bronze. | Photos: European Chess Union
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Middlegame or endgame?

3/14/2023 – Positions with queen and piece against queen and piece have aspects that are typical for middlegames and aspects that are typical for the endgame. In the diagram position the white king is safe - a typical middlegame aspect - while the dangerous passed pawns - typical for endgames, are good for Black. In the diagram position it is Black to move and draw. How?

Starting Friday: The American Cup returns

3/14/2023 – America’s best chess players will return to the Saint Louis Chess Club to battle over the board from March 17- 26, 2023 for the second annual American Cup. With $300,000 in prize money up for grabs, the competitors will prove their mettle under mounting pressure in this double-elimination knockout tournament. Unlike in the inaugural edition last year, Hikaru Nakamura will be among the participants this time around. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Endgame Magic #231: Endgame highlights from the Women's Grand Prix

3/13/2023 – In his Endgame Magic Show #231 Karsten shows endgame highlights from the Women's Grand Prix. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

European Chess Championship - Live!

3/13/2023 – The European Chess Championship is taking place on 2-14 March 2023 in Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia. The event features more than 480 players from 40 federations, including more than 125 Grandmasters and 104 International Masters. The top 23 players in the final standings will get a spot in the next edition of the FIDE World Cup. | Follow the games live with computer analysis starting at 15.00 CET (9.00 ET, 19.30 IST)
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European Championship: Shevchenko joins the lead

3/13/2023 – As the end of the European Championship approaches, two players share the lead on 8/10 points. Kirill Shevchenko joined Alexey Sarana atop the standings after beating Benjamin Gledura with the white pieces. Twelve players stand a half point behind with one round to go in Vrnjacka Banja. | Photos: European Chess Union
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Wesley So wins ‘Armageddon Series: Americas’

3/13/2023 – Wesley So emerged victorious in the first event of the Armageddon Championship Series 2023, organized by World Chess. So’s flawless performance secured him a spot in September’s Grand Finale, along with Sam Shankland, the tournament’s runner-up. The series was broadcasted live on 16 online and TV platforms, including CNBC, BeIN Sports and FOX Australia. | Photos: World Chess
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Understanding before Moving 116: Play the Sicilian (17)

3/12/2023 – 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 116th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to explain why it is good to study and to play the Sicilian. | Photo: Pascal Simon
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