Ding Liren wins quadruple round-robin in Hangzhou

4/5/2022 – Since it is likely that Sergey Karjakin will not play in the upcoming Candidates Tournament — his six-month ban is still pending a potential appeal — the spot left behind by the Russian will be filled by the highest-rated, eligible player in FIDE’s ranking list published on May 1. Ding Liren is the clear frontrunner in this race, but he only played 4 games since June 2021, with the regulations stipulating that a minimum of 30 games are needed to be eligible. Ding is quickly making up for lost ground, as three events have been organized in China to get him to play the 26 games needed by the end of the month. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

So beats Nakamura, wins Berlin Grand Prix

4/5/2022 – With a 1½-½ victory in Monday’s rapid tiebreakers, Wesley So became the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix’s third leg in Berlin. So beat Hikaru Nakamura with the white pieces in game 2 of the playoff to take home €24,000 in prize money and finish the series in third place overall. | Photos: World Chess

Endgame Magic Show #189 with Elisabeth Pähtz

4/5/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #189 Karsten Müller talks with Elisabeth Pähtz about the endgame. Elisabeth, World Junior Girls Champion in 2005, European Women's Rapid Champion in 2018, and currently number 13 on the women's ranking list, has an active style, and this also shows in her endgames, e.g. in an entertaining game against Zhansaya Abdumalik at the Online-FIDE-Steinitz-Memorial 2020. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Game of the Week #509: Esipenko vs Nakamura

4/5/2022 – In his "Game of the Week" show #509, Merijn van Delft shows how Hikaru Nakamura won against Andrey Esipenko in the final round of the preliminaries at the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin - it was an interesting, tense fighting game and winning it guaranteed Nakamura a place in the Candidates. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Endgame tactics

4/5/2022 – The diagrammed position is tricky: Black is two dangerous passed pawns up but it is White to move and the rook on h7 is hanging. Now, should White take the rook or look for something better to save the draw?

Arjun Erigaisi clinches victory at first leg of the MPL Indian Chess Tour

4/4/2022 – Arjun Erigaisi won his fourth consecutive individual tournament as he bagged the first leg of the MPL Indian Chess Tour. This was his fifth overall triumph of the year 2022. He qualified to the Tour finals and will also play at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Runner-up Raunak Sadhwani scored only two draws in the 15-round event, while Gukesh and Surya Ganguly were placed third and fourth. The top eight finishers get an automatic invitation to the next leg, which is scheduled to take place in June.

FIDE Grand Prix Final - Games and results

4/4/2022 – The last two spots in the upcoming Candidates Tournament will be decided in the FIDE Grand Prix Series, with the third leg of the series taking place in Berlin starting March 22. The format consists of four-player double round-robins and a knockout stage. Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CET (09.00 ET, 19.30 IST)!

FIDE ratings April 2022

4/4/2022 – At the beginning of April, the FIDE published its new ranking list. With a rating of 2864 Magnus Carlsen continues to lead the Top 100 by a wide margin - he is exactly 60 points ahead of Alireza Firouzja, who has a rating of 2804 and is officially the world's number two. Richard Rapport climbed to seventh place and now has a rating of 2776. Hou Yifan leads the women's ranking list, Firouzja is the best junior and Zhu Jiner is number one on the girl's list.

Berlin GP: Nothing to see here

4/3/2022 – A second quick draw in the final of the Berlin Grand Prix means the match will be decided in rapid (and potentially blitz) tiebreakers on Monday. The second draw between Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So was even shorter than the first one, as the players went through the motions in a game that followed what has become an infamous line of the Berlin Defence. The game lasted less than half an hour. | Photo: World Chess

Defence and the unforeseeability of voluntary rerouting

4/3/2022 – It can be confusing when the opponent’s pieces don’t go where you were expecting them to go. After looking at a couple of games from the recent Grand Prix by Amin Tabatabaei, Jon Speelman decided to write about unexpected defensive moves! | Pictured: Murray Chandler, Jonathan Speelman and Jonathan Mestel at the British Zonal in February 1987

Understanding before Moving 73: Pawn chains in the French Defense (2)

4/3/2022 – 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 7rrd instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to talk about pawn chains in the French Defense. | Photo: Pascal Simon

Endgame riddle: Tal vs Najdorf, Bled 1961

4/3/2022 – A strong 20-player round-robin tournament took place in 1961 at the traditional chess city of Bled. Mikhail Tal won the event ahead of a young Bobby Fischer, who impressed with his undefeated performance. In the final round, Tal converted an endgame with rook and bishop against rook and knight in his game against Miguel Najdorf. But was the endgame winning all along? Or could have Najdorf held a draw? Help GM Karsten Müller find the answer to these questions!

MPL Indian Chess Tour - Games and results

4/3/2022 – India’s own elite online chess tour starts on March 31 with a star-studded line-up of 16 top talents from every corner of the Asian country. A prize pot of $100,000 is at stake in the MPL event plus golden tickets to the elite Champions Chess Tour. Leg 1 will be a four-day rapid chess tournament running from March 31 to April 3, starting every day at 15:30 IST / 12 CEST. The time control is 15m + 10s.

Berlin GP Final: Following theory

4/2/2022 – The final match of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin kicked off with a quick draw. Wesley So had the white pieces, but was content with keeping things under control in a game that only left theory on move 27. Hikaru Nakamura happily followed suit, as he will get a chance to get ahead on the scoreboard when he gets white on Sunday. | Photos: World Chess

Challengers challenge I

4/2/2022 – In the diagrammed position, Black has full control over the long diagonal and the e-file. Now it's time to turn these factors into something concrete. How would you proceed?

Anand set to support Dvorkovich’s reelection bid

4/1/2022 – FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich visited Delhi to sign a contract with the All India Chess Federation granting the Asian country the rights to host this year’s Olympiad. At a press conference, Dvorkovich announced his intention to run for a second term as FIDE President, and informed that Vishy Anand would actively support him in his reelection bid. | Photo: FIDE

Berlin GP: Nakamura and So win tiebreakers, reach final

4/1/2022 – Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So moved on to the final of the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin after getting 2-0 victories in the tiebreaks of the semifinals. The American duo showed excellent rapidplay skills, moving quickly and confidently even in somewhat inferior positions. Nakamura’s pair of wins allowed him to climb to first place in the rapid-chess live ratings list. | Photos: World Chess

Daniel King’s Power Play Show: The main line of the Rossolimo

4/1/2022 – In this week’s edition of the Power Play Show, GM Daniel King focuses on a battle in the main line of the Rossolimo between Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Magnus Carlsen. Outstanding tactical finishes from the Charity Cup are also presented! | 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.

New: ChessBase Magazine Extra #206

4/1/2022 – Opening videos: Robert Ris shows the latest trends in the Hennig-Schara Gambit. Mihail Marin presents a Fianchetto setup against the Gruenfeld and King's Indian. Total playing time of the videos: just under one hour. "Lucky bag" with over 80 analyses by Anish Giri, Nijat Abasov, Romain Edouard, Marie Sebag and many others. In "The brilliancy" between the new rapid chess champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov and world champion Magnus Carlsen - commented by Anish Giri! - with 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 a trendy variation of the English Opening appeared on the board. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine. Available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available as download or on DVD.
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Trent's Tactics - Outrageous moves by Nezhmetdinov

4/1/2022 – Rashid Nezhmetdinov was largely considered to be one of the sharpest players in the chess world, although he never reached the Grandmaster title. Certainly, it is worth to spend a few days in the Mega Database browsing through his 500+ games.

New chess table to ensure security

4/1/2022 – Two years ago, to the day, we reported that Garry Kasparov had launched a project called "Corochess", introducing a new chess table that would enforce full social distancing during the pandemic. Now a Russian leader has taken it a step further. His table is designed to ensure that he cannot be physically attacked during a game. Take a look at what his future mastches will look like.

Berlin GP: Tabatabaei bounces back

4/1/2022 – A heavy underdog, Amin Tabatabaei continues his excellent run at the third leg of the Grand Prix series in Berlin. The Iranian star bounced back in his semifinal match against Wesley So by scoring a remarkable 30-move victory to take the encounter to tiebreaks. Meanwhile, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Hikaru Nakamura drew for a second day in a row and will also decide their match in rapid and blitz. | Photos: World Chess

Dubov: "The only way to change anything in Russia is a revolution"

3/31/2022 – Vladimir Putin uses athletes for his propaganda. But Russian chess grandmaster Daniil Dubov is standing up to the Russian leader and the war in Ukraine. In an interview with Europe's premier news magazine, the 25-year-old explains why he is willing to take that risk. "Nuclear war could break out and I could miss the end of the world while analysing the Italian opening." | Photo: Jacek Prondzynski/Newspix/Imago

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Predke’s miniature in Berlin

3/31/2022 – This week Robert Ris takes an in-depth look at the miniature Predke vs. Vachier-Lagrave from the Grand Prix series in Berlin, featuring a sharp line in the Symmetrical English. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.