7/5/2021 – Levon Aronian had a short day at the office on Sunday, as he scored back-to-back wins against Vladislav Artemiev to secure first place at the Goldmoney Asian Rapid tournament. Meanwhile, Ding Liren bounced back from his loss in the first set by remarkably beating Magnus Carlsen 3-0 in their second mini-match. However, it was the world champion who prevailed in the blitz tiebreakers to take third place.

7/5/2021 – For a long time, the Classical Variation in the French Defence (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6) has been considered as slightly dubious for Black. But recently Black found new possibilities and the line became attractive again. In the new ChessBase Magazine #202, opening expert Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows the latest developments of this variation. The French expert uses the game Alekseenko-Grischuk from the Candidates Tournament 2020/2021 as a starting point. Take a look at an excerpt of his video analysis!

7/5/2021 – It was a great shock to wake up and learn that Yury Dokhoian had died, at the age of just 56, struck down by the accursed virus that has immobilized the world. Yet another reminder that we are not over it, yet. It is still going to take friends and loved ones. Frederic Friedel shares some memories of his friend Yury, with whom he spent a great deal of time. | Photo: Wiki, Porto Carras, 2011

7/4/2021 – Star columnist Jon Speelman reactivates his “mirror”, a potent if imaginary artefact intended to reflect the best chess players ever. This week, a couple of games by Garry Kasparov, “an (un)caged tiger who revels in violent conflict”. | Pictured: Kasparov with ChessBase’s Matthias Wüllenweber

7/4/2021 – Boris Gelfand defeated Jaime Santos and is facing Leinier Domínguez in the final of the “Magistral de León”. Gelfand beat Dominguez in the final match. A 2-2 tie in the rapid games meant it would all come down to the blitz tiebreakers. After a draw in the first 5-minute game, Gelfand managed to convert a rook vs bishop endgame to get tournament victory. | Replay the games with computer analysis.

7/4/2021 – It was a rather quick victory by Levon Aronian in the finals of the Goldmoney Asian Rapid tournament. The Armenian won the first set on Saturday and scored back-to-back wins in the second mini-match to make it impossible for Vladislav Artemiev to equalize the score and take the match to tiebreaks. Karsten Müller analyzes two endgames in which Aronian showed his excellent technique with the black pieces.

7/4/2021 – Levon Aronian had a short day at the office, as he scored back-to-back wins against Vladislav Artemiev to secure first place at the Goldmoney Asian Rapid tournament. Meanwhile, Ding Liren bounced back from his loss in the first set by remarkably beating Magnus Carlsen 3-0 in the second mini-match. However, it was the world champion who prevailed in the blitz tiebreakers to take third place. | Full report to follow shortly.

7/4/2021 – 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 34th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman talks about the chess principles Dutch International Master and chess thinker Dick Van Geet, advocate of 1.Nc3. | Photo: Tommy Grooten

7/3/2021 – The chess world mourns the passing of Yury Dohkoian. The successful coach and long-time second of Garry Kasparov died on July 1 in Moscow due to a Covid-19 infection. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili / Russian Chess Federation

7/3/2021 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has had a roller coaster 2021. A faltering start after resumption in the Candidates Tournament meant Maxime could never catch up with the eventual winner Ian Nepomniachtchi. The disappointment of the Candidates was compounded by a drop in rating points. In an exclusive interview, the French Grandmaster touched upon these topics and much more. | Photo: Nadja Wittmann

7/3/2021 – Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren were leading in their matches against Levon Aronian and Vladislav Artemiev before Friday’s second day of play in the semifinals of the Goldmoney Asian Rapid. But in both matches, Thursday’s winners lost the second set and were eliminated in the tiebreaks. | Photo: Maria Emelianova

7/3/2021 – In the diagram position Black seems to be able to win a pawn with 20...Rxa4?? 21.Rxa4 Rxa4. But taking this pawn leaves Black's back rank unprotected which White can exploit. How?