Motylev is the new European Rapid Champion

12/20/2021 – At the European Rapid Championship in Katowice, three grandmasters finished level on points atop the standings: Alexander Motylev (Russia), Alexander Donchenko (Germany) and Paulius Pultinevicius (Lithuania), each with 9½ points after 11 rounds. According to the tiebreak criteria, Motylev was declared European Champion, Donchenko got the silver medal and Pultinevicius took home the bronze. | Photos: Michał Walusza

Jaime Santos dominates Salamanca Masters

12/20/2021 – The fifth edition of the Salamanca Chess Festival took place on December 14-18 at the Colegio Arzobispo Fonseca, a historical edifice built in 1519. The main event was an 8-player single round-robin rapid tournament which had living legends Veselin Topalov and Alexei Shirov as the top seeds. In the end, however, it was Jaime Santos who came out on top, as he scored 6/7 points to finish a full point clear of second-placed Romain Edouard. | Photos: Official website

Boxing in White City

12/19/2021 – The recent World Championship appears in hindsight to have been very one-sided, with Ian Nepomniachtchi’s collapse being dramatic but far from unprecedented. Thinking about collapses, star columnist Jon Speelman went back to the famous battle between Viktor Korchnoi (pictured) and Boris Spassky in Belgrade 1977!

Nabaty wins Israel Championship

12/19/2021 – The Israel Open Championship saw 102 players compete in nine Swiss rounds for the top honours as well as for the 80,000 NIS prize-fund. Quite a few of the country’s best junior players were among the participants. GM Tamir Nabaty, the highest rated participant, emerged winner despite an early defeat, ahead of GM Evgeny Postny and Israel’s best female player IM Marsel Efroimsky. Report by Yochanan Afek. | Photo: Ritvo photography.

The Endgame Magic Christmas Calendar - Door 19

12/19/2021 – In door number 18, "Zugzwang is the sharpest endgame weapon" with Ka2!!! In today's door we take a closer look at a game by Jan Timman and find out: "Not all rook ending games end in a draw" if the right move is found.
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Jan-Krzysztof Duda wins the European Blitz Championship

12/18/2021 – The European Blitz Championship took place on Friday in Katowice. Polish grandmaster and rating favourite Jan-Krzysztof Duda won the event after obtaining an 18/22 score. Duda finished a half point ahead of his compatriot Maciej Klekowski. Eight players scored 16½ points. | Photos: Official site

The Endgame Magic Christmas Calendar - Door 18

12/18/2021 – Sometimes there are endgame puzzles that end quite surprisingly. The move Kd4, was the interesting idea yesterday to secure the draw. But we couldn't upset the majority of all the participants. You know your endgames too well. But maybe with door 18? Once again, a very witty move that has to be found.
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From the evergreen tree

12/18/2021 – The diagram shows a position from a game that was played 90 years ago. White here found a combination that is a true classic, and particularly impressive was the quiet third move of the combination. Do you see what White can do here?

The Gashimov Memorial returns with Anand, Caruana and Karjakin

12/17/2021 – The 7th edition of the Gashimov Memorial was officially inaugurated today in Baku. The tournament in memory of Vugar Gashimov, who died at an early age, will be contested by eight players — including Vishy Anand, Fabiano Caruana and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Unlike previous editions, it will be played as a rapid and blitz tournament. The first round will be played on Saturday.

Svitlana's Smart Moves - Positional sacrifices with Anand's help

12/17/2021 – Sometimes, it is not about attacking the king, or winning a piece, but getting an overwhelmingly strong position. And this can be achieved in several different ways. Svitlana picked out a way of gaining advantage through positional sacrificing. The 18-year-old coach, shows us two examples of Botvinnik, and Anand. Viswanathan Anand's game against Levon Aronian is an example of pure beauty.

Nakamura beats Ding in Armageddon, will face So in SCC final

12/17/2021 – In the second semifinal of the Speed Chess Championship knockout event, defending champion Hikaru Nakamura had to work extra hard to defeat Ding Liren, as the match was only decided in Armageddon. The Chinese grandmaster drew the online blitz and bullet specialist both ‘in regulation’ and in the 4-game tiebreaker. Nakamura will face Wesley So in Sunday’s final match.

Chess as sport and culture: The Chess Festival in Salamanca

12/17/2021 – The Chess Festival Salamanca combines chess sport and chess culture and emphasises gender equality. Four top male and four top female players compete in a tournament. After three rounds, Jaime Santos is in the lead. | Photos: Tournament page

The Endgame Magic Christmas Calendar - Door 17

12/17/2021 – In yesterday's door it was a matter of finding Anand's move. g5+! Queen and knight do the rest, as they are stronger here than queen and bishop. Today, the king has four moves to choose from. A tricky puzzle, and a clever idea.
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"Never run away from data!" - A review of the ChessBase Opening Encyclopedia 2021

12/17/2021 – Jon Edwards is a passionate chess player, a passionate chess teacher and one of the world's best correspondence players. He knows how important it is to study openings and to study them with the right tools. In the current issue of the "American Chess Magazine" Jon Edwards had a look at the ChessBase Opening Encyclopedia, a tool he uses "every day".

European Blitz Championship - Live!

12/17/2021 – The European Rapid and Blitz Championships will take place on December 17-19 at the Spodek Sport and Entertainment Centre in Katowice, Poland. Local hero Jan-Krzysztof Duda (pictured) heads the list of participants in the blitz tournament which is played on 17 December. Follow the games live! | Photo: Duda at the World Cup 2021 | Photo: Eric Rosen

Throwback Thursday: Ivanchuk scores 9/10 on the Rock

12/17/2021 – For no fewer than 18 years, the Gibraltar Chess Festival was organized at the Caleta Hotel. Now that the hotel is about to close and a new format will be used in 2022, we look back at a memorable edition of the Masters Tournament. Ten years ago, in 2011, Vasyl Ivanchuk was the rating favourite on the Rock. The Ukrainian lived up to the expectations and won the event with an astounding 9/10 score and a 2968 rating performance.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: A fascinating concept for White in the Pirc Austrian Attack

12/16/2021 – This week, well-known Dutch trainer Robert Ris looks at a promising line that White may try against the Pirc. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Battle of the Sexes in Gibraltar

12/16/2021 – For the past eighteen years the Gibraltar International Chess Festival has been held in the Caleta Hotel. But the organisers have found an ideal replacement: Gibraltar’s historic Garrison Library. The 2022 event, #GibChess, is entitled "Battle of the Sexes Match-Tournament" and takes place from Monday 24 January until Thursday 3 February 2022.

Preview: European Rapid and Blitz Championships

12/16/2021 – The European Rapid and Blitz Championships will take place on December 17-19 at the Spodek Sport and Entertainment Centre in Katowice, Poland. Local hero Jan-Krzysztof Duda heads the list of participants in the blitz section. The tournament serves as a warm-up for the World Rapid and Blitz Championships which will kick off a week later in Warsaw.

Judit Polgar recaps the World Championship match 2021

12/16/2021 – Judit Polgar followed the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi in Dubai particularly closely. She was in Dubai and commentated the match live. In an interview with Sagar Shah after the match she talks about criticial moments of the match, claims that it is sometimes good to be a "bad boy", and reveals what it takes to win a match against Carlsen. | Photo: Screenshot from the interview

34 out of 34: Remembering Gustav Neumann

12/16/2021 – In 1865 Gustav Neumann (15 December 1838 - 16 February 1881) scored 34 points from 34 games in the club tournament of the "Berliner Schachgesellschaft", the Berlin Chess Society. Neumann had not yet played a single international tournament at that time, but he was one of the leading players in Germany and thus one of the leading players in the world. Neumann's opponents in this club tournament were not particularly strong, but to win 34 games without losing or drawing shows ambition and the will to win. Neumann had both.

The Endgame Magic Christmas Calendar - Door 16

12/16/2021 – So many people knew very well that yesterday the Centurini draw position was on the board, and it could only be achieved with the cunning move B. Kf4. Bravo! On Day 16 Anand and Radjabov duel, but what move did the Indian grandmaster make in this game, and what is the "queen and knight attacking duo" called against "queen and bishop"?
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Sunway Sitges Open: 19 players start with 3.0/3

12/16/2021 – On Monday, the 8th Sunway Sitges Open began near Barcelona. 31 players in the strong field have an Elo-rating of more than 2500, but Anton Korobov (pictured), the winner of 2019, is top seed and again among the favourites. He started the tournament with three wins - as did 18 other players. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Game of the Week #494: B. Gelfand vs G. Jones

12/15/2021 – This week, Merijn van Delft takes a looks at a theoretically interesting King's Indian, played by Boris Gelfand and Gawain Jones at the London Chess Classic 2021. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.