Update in the Sicilian Four Knights Variation

8/6/2021 – In ChessBase Magazine #201 (May/June 2021) IM Robert Ris presented an interesting line in the Sicilian Four Knights Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4 and now 9...Rb8. The rook move is an interesting alternative to the deeply analysed main line 9...Qb6. Meanwhile, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in particular has tried 9...Rb8 in a number of games, and Levon Aronian recently came up with an entirely new move: 9...Bb7. In the current issue of ChessBase Magazine Extra #202 Robert Ris analyses these new developments on a video. Take a look!

Jan-Krzysztof Duda wins the 2021 FIDE World Cup

8/6/2021 – Thanks to a 30-move victory over Sergey Karjakin, Jan-Krzysztof Duda was crowned champion at the 2021 FIDE World Cup in Sochi. The Polish grandmaster had an undefeated performance in the 24-day event and knocked out none other than world champion Magnus Carlsen in the semifinals. Carlsen, who had high praise for Duda, beat Vladimir Fedoseev for a second day in a row to claim third place. | Photos: David Llada

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Winnning on demand - with the King's Indian Attack

8/5/2021 – This week, well-known Dutch trainer Robert Ris takes a look how Sergey Karjakin won a must-win game in spectacular fashion against Sam Shankland at the FIDE World Cup - with the King's Indian Attack as a surprise weapon. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Istvan Csom (2 June 1940 - 28 July 2021)

8/5/2021 – Last week, on 28 July 2021, the Hungarian Grandmaster Istvan Csom died at the age of 81. In the 1970s he was one of Hungary's best players and he was part of the Hungarian team that sensationally won gold ahead of the heavily favoured Soviet team at the Chess Olympiad 1978 in Buenos Aires. | Photo: Obuda Media

World Cup Final - Duda wins

8/5/2021 – Sergey Karjakin and Jan-Krzysztof Duda drew their first game of the final at the FIDE World Cup in Sochi — Duda has the white pieces in game 2. Meanwhile, Vladimir Fedoseev (pictured) needs to win with black to level the score against Magnus Carlsen in the match for third place. Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CEST (12.00 UT, 08.00 ET). | Photo: David Llada

Chessable Masters: Artemiev beats Nakamura in Armageddon

8/5/2021 – Day 2 of the Chessable Masters quarterfinals saw Wesley So, Vladislav Artemiev, Le Quang Liem and Levon Aronian securing a spot in the semifinals. In the most exciting match of the day, Artemiev and Hikaru Nakamura went all the way down to Armageddon after trading wins with the white pieces both in rapid and blitz — fittingly, the Russian grandmaster won with white in the sudden-death decider to move on to the semis. | Photo: Eric Rosen / FIDE World Cup

Biel: Kamsky beats Keymer and wins Grandmaster Triathlon

8/5/2021 – Gata Kamsky, the leader of the Grandmaster Triathlon in Biel, finished the tournament in style. In the last round he won with Black against Vincent Keymer to win the classical tournament and the triathlon. Kirill Alekseenko and Nihal Sarin finished second and third in the triathlon, Boris Gelfand was third in the classical tournament. Salem Saleh won the Master Open on tiebreak. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

World Cup: Carlsen’s brilliance on display

8/4/2021 – A brilliant victory with the black pieces gave Magnus Carlsen the lead in the match for third place against Vladimir Fedoseev at the FIDE World Cup in Sochi. Meanwhile, Sergey Karjakin was surprised in the opening by Jan-Krzysztof Duda, which prompted him to agree to a quick draw in his game with the white pieces. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Game of the Week 475: L. Engel - R. Svane

8/4/2021 – This week, Merijn van Delft takes a close look at the game Luis Engel against Rasmus Svane, which was played at the German Masters and in which the young German Grandmaster Engel shows his attacking and his tactical skills. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Chessable Masters: Le takes the lead against Firouzja

8/4/2021 – The first sets of the quarterfinals at the Chessable Masters were played on Tuesday. Le Quang Liem and Levon Aronian took the lead in their matches against Alireza Firouzja and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov respectively, while Wesley So vs Jorden van Foreest and Hikaru Nakamura vs Vladislav Artemiev finished drawn. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

A.XAT Montemor O Velho wins Portuguese Team Championships

8/4/2021 – On the Peniche peninsula, a center of fish processing and surfing, the Portuguese team champion was determined. Two Spanish Grandmasters put in a special effort for the winning team A.XAT Montemor O Velho, reports Stefan Löffler. | Photos: The Portuguese Chess Federation

Biel: Round 7 - Live!

8/4/2021 – The final round in Biel begins at 11:00 CEST and promises to be exciting. Boris Gelfand plays against Noel Studer and Nihal Sarin faces Maxime Lagarde, but the tournament will be decided in the games Alan Pichot vs Kirill Alekseenko and Vincent Keymer vs Gata Kamsky. At the moment Kamsky leads the overall standings, but if he draws against Keymer, Alekseenko will be first if he wins against Pichot. | The action starts at 11:00 CEST (05:00 ET, 09:00 UTC). Follow the games live.

Biel: Kamsky defends lead, Alekseenko and Keymer score

8/4/2021 – In the penultimate round of the Grandmaster Tournament in Biel Kirill Alekseenko (pictured) and Vincent Keymer came to victories, while Gata Kamsky defended his lead with a draw against Nihal Sarin. In the Masters Open, the Indian Grandmaster Murali Karthikeyan remains sole first. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

World Cup: Duda knocks out Carlsen, qualifies to Candidates

8/3/2021 – Jan-Krzysztof Duda advanced to the final of the FIDE World Cup and secured a spot in the next edition of the Candidates Tournament by knocking out Magnus Carlsen in the rapid tiebreakers of their semifinal match. Meanwhile, Tan Zhongyi got third place in the women’s event, thanks to a 1½-½ playoff victory over Anna Muzychuk. | Photo: Eric Rosen

The Weekly Show: Alexandra Kosteniuk wins the Women's World Cup!

8/3/2021 – In his "Weekly Show" IM Lawrence Trent will take a look at the entertaining draw that meant that Alexandra Kosteniuk became winner of the Women’s World Cup. He will also look at other events e.g. the Chessable masters and the Grandmaster Tournament in Biel. | Lawrence's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.Does White have everything under control or can Black break his opponennt’s defences?

Eleven years of chess in Holland Park in London

8/3/2021 – In October 2010, on the initiative and with financial support of London-based French pianist, composer, singer-songwriter, and chess fan Jason Kouchak, a large chess set was installed in Holland Park in London. Recently, and with a long Corona-related delay, Kouchak celebrated the ten-year anniversary of this event with a few friends. It was not the only public celebration of chess in London this summer: In July, Trafalgar Square saw a big chess festival with references to Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland who was also a big chess fan. | Photos: Julian Paix (if not otherwise indicated)

Svitlana's Smart Moves - Episode 9

8/3/2021 – After analysing her first game of the World Cup in the last episode, today Svitlana Demchenko takes a more in-depth look at the second game. The game starts with the Petroff, which is considered one of the most drawish opening choices out there. After most of the pieces have been exchanged, a couple of pawns, two knights and two kings remain on the board. Now the endgame is very difficult for Svitlana. But luckily, we all know, she has some smart moves in her repertoire.

Chessable Masters: Favourites go through

8/3/2021 – Wesley So continued his excellent run at the Chessable Masters and was the clear winner of the preliminary stage with an 11/15 score. There was not much of a fight to make it into the quarterfinals, as all but one favourite had almost fully secured their spots in the knockout with two rounds to go. | Pictured: Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Biel: Kamsky extends lead

8/3/2021 – In round 5 of the Grandmaster Tournament at the Biel Chess Festival, Gata Kamsky won with Black against Alan Pichot and extended his lead as his closest rivals Kirill Alekseenko and Nihal Sarin both drew: Alekseenko against Noel Studer, Sarin against Vincent Keymer. In the MTO Master Open the Indian Grandmaster Murali Karthikeyan defended his lead. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

Pushing the pawns or retreating the king?

8/3/2021 – In the diagram position both sides have dangerous passed pawns. But it is Black to move and he faces a choice: should he try to stop the white pawns with his king or should he push his g-pawn ahead? What would you do - and why?

Alexandra Kosteniuk triumphs in Women’s World Cup

8/2/2021 – A draw with white was enough for Alexandra Kosteniuk to claim victory at the first edition of the Women’s World Cup in Sochi. Aleksandra Goryachkina could not create imbalances in her must-win game and ended up agreeing to a draw in a lost position. In the match for third place, Tan Zhongyi and Anna Muzychuk drew again and will decide their match in tiebreaks. Meanwhile, in the open section, Sergey Karjakin moved on to the final, where he will face either Magnus Carlsen or Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who will return to the playing hall on Tuesday to face off in rapid and blitz tiebreakers. | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova

Karsten Mueller’s Endgame Magic #154

8/2/2021 – In the "Endgame Magic Show #154" Karsten Mueller and his guest Arne Kaehler take another look at endgame highlights from the Goldmoney Asian Online Rapid Tournament that ended early July and was won by Levon Aronian. Karsten and Arne were particularly fascinated by a tactically complicated endgame position in which Nihal Sarin missed a win against Anish Giri. | "Endgame Magic" is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Chessable Masters: Aronian and Le climb to shared second place

8/2/2021 – Wesley So continues to top the standings of the preliminaries at the Chessable Masters after 10 rounds. Levon Aronian and Le Quang Liem had a great second day and climbed to shared second place, a half point behind So. The last 5 rounds of the preliminary stage will be played on Monday, with half the field set to advance to the quarterfinals. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

FIDE ratings August 2021

8/2/2021 – After the long lockdown, the chess world is slowly returning to over-the-board FIDE-rated games. However, there are still only a few changes in the current world rankings list. Magnus Carlsen is still clear number one, a position he has been holding for more than ten years now, since July 2011. Number one on the women's list is Hou Yifan, who is 47 points ahead of Aleksandra Goryachkina. The two best juniors are Alireza Firouzja and Andrey Esipenko, number one on the "Girls"-list is Polina Shuvalova, number two Zhu Jiner.