Etienne Bacrot on reliving the winning feeling

9/20/2021 – Etienne Bacrot went into this year’s World Cup without any expectations, including qualifying for the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix, a series of three tournaments that will serve as a qualifying route for the next Candidates. Understandably so, as the last time the French Grandmaster had played in a Fide Grand Prix was in 2013. "Based solely on my rating (2658), I could not have qualified for the Grand Prix. It’s crazy that I made it this time," Bacrot said on the sidelines of a rapid tournament that was held in Asniéres-sur-Seine near Paris on September 11 and 12. | Photo: Pascal Simon (Archive)

Play The Author - Thematic tournament with Lars Schandorff

9/20/2021 – Last week, Grandmaster Lars Schandorff from Denmark faced nine brave CBM readers for the fourth "Play The Author" round-robin tournament this year. The chosen opening was 4.Bg5 Bg7!? in the Grünfeld. The Danish GM won the tournament and all games, except one draw. While a Canadian player reached the second place, the youngest participant (13 years old) from Germany, managed to get the third place. | Photo: Facebook - Lars Schandorff

ChessBase Tactics web app: Best by test

9/20/2021 – Among the myriad apps and services offered with a subscription to ChessBase Account is the Tactics web app. This concept is hardly new, and readers undoubtedly are aware of a plethora of rival sites and apps offering this same service, so what makes this one so special? What makes it deserving of the headline "best by test"? Read on to find out!

Hou Yifan Challenge: Pragg keeps up the pace

9/20/2021 – Apparently there is no stopping Praggnanandhaa at the Hou Yifan Challenge for young stars. The Indian prodigy has won all 9 of his games so far in the rapid tournament taking place online. Vincent Keymer is currently in second place, two points behind Pragg, albeit with one game less to his name. Keymer will face Pragg on Monday, in round 11. | Pictured: Pragg during a training session with Vladimir Kramnik in 2019 | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Do pawns disregard Einstein?

9/19/2021 – A pawn promotion is a huge event in a chess game, as the energy garnered by the pawn advancing up the board is transformed in a most un-Einsteinian way (surely a pawn’s advance doesn’t create that much energy) into serious amounts of matter. Star columnist Jon Speelman looks at overwhelming pawn avalanches, and analyses a game in which Albert Einstein got the better of Robert Oppenheimer. | Pictured: Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer in 1947

Understanding before Moving 44: Attacking with opposite-coloured bishops

9/19/2021 – 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 44th instalment of his ChessBase show “Understanding before Moving”, Herman shows how to attack with opposite-coloured bishops. | Photo: Tommy Grooten

Hou Yifan Challenge: Pragg still perfect

9/18/2021 – Day 1 of the Hou Yifan Challenge, the last regular event of the Julius Baer Challengers Tour, saw Praggnanandhaa scoring five wins in as many games to take the sole lead. Vincent Keymer won his first four games, but lost against Christopher Yoo in the final round of the day, and now stands in sole second place. Pragg’s sister Vaishali was the strongest among the women, as she collected 2½ points in four games. | Pictured: Vaishali and Pragg with their mother, Nagalakshmi | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Carlsen wins Norway Chess, Firouzja shines

9/18/2021 – Magnus Carlsen beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Armageddon to secure first place at the 2021 Norway Chess Tournament. This is the world champion’s third straight triumph in his home super-tournament. Alireza Firouzja had a great performance, ending the tournament with four wins in a row to get sole second place and climb to ninth place in the world ranking. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Chess Pioneer Sues Netflix

9/18/2021 – Nona Gaprindashvili, a history-making chess champion, has sued the giant video portal Netflix over a line in the series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, where it was claimed that the female world champion had never faced men. Nona and her attorneys called the statement grossly sexist and belittling. "By 1968, the year in which the episode is set, she had competed against at least 59 male chess players." The international news is full of the story.

An uncompromising attack

9/18/2021 – In the diagram position, Black just burned his bridges by playing 7...Bg4 which forces White to win a piece with 8.f3. Putting aside "modern objectivity" - what I like about the following attack is the energy of Black's moves. He only has one goal in mind: to mate the enemy king. A full-speed nostalgia trip - enjoy!

Young stars ready to battle at Hou Yifan Challenge

9/17/2021 – The Hou Yifan Challenge, the final regular event on the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, will take place on September 18-21 in the chess24 Playzone. The prize fund is $15,000, with $3,000 for the winner, who also gets to play alongside Magnus Carlsen and co. in the next edition’s first event of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Nepo's King's Gambit

9/17/2021 – This week, well-known Dutch trainer Robert Ris shows how Ian Nepomniachtchi used the goold old King's Gambit to score a quick win in his Armageddon match against Alireza Firouzja at the Norway Chess Tournament. | “Fast and Furious” is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Norway Chess - Carlsen takes first place

9/17/2021 – Magnus Carlsen beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Armageddon to secure first place at the 2021 Norway Chess Tournament. This is the world champion’s third straight triumph in his home super-tournament. Alireza Firouzja had a great performance, ending the tournament with four wins in a row to get sole second place and climb to 9th place in the world ranking. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / norwaychess.no

Young Stars return to in-person session

9/17/2021 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) and Saint Louis Chess Club have been running the very successful Young Stars – Team USA program for the past six years. Team USA’s program has helped develop several American chess prodigies from across the country. including the likes of GM Jeffery Xiong and GM Sam Sevian. Team USA has been capped off with individualized training sessions with Kasparov’s coaching staff and special training sessions with Garry Kasparov himself. | Photo: Left to Right standing: Christopher Yoo, Michael Khodarkovsky, Garry Kasparov, Brandon Jacobson. Sitting: Carissa Yip and Rochelle Wu | Photos: Kasparov Chess Foundation

Norway Chess: Carlsen grabs the lead

9/17/2021 – A fourth straight win prompted Magnus Carlsen to grab the lead at the Norway Chess Tournament in Stavanger. The world champion had an inferior position in the middlegame against Sergey Karjakin, but ended up making the most of his material advantage after the Russian gave up an exchange for the initiative. Meanwhile, Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Richard Rapport in Armageddon, and Alireza Firouzja scored his third consecutive win in classical chess. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Understanding before Moving 43: Good bishops, bad bishops

9/16/2021 – 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 43rd instalment of his ChessBase show “Understanding before Moving”, Herman looks at "good" and "bad" bishops. | Photo: Tommy Grooten

Russia wins Online Olympiad 2021

9/16/2021 – In the finals of the 2. FIDE Online Olympiad Russia had to play against the USA, and in this match Russia was seen as the favourite. The Russian team lived up to this role: by winning both matches of the finals 3.5:2.5 the Russians also won the Online Olympiad 2021. | Photos: FIDE

Impulses for the Chess Community: The Work4Chess Online Conference

9/16/2021 – How do you plan chess events with Covid-19 in mind? What to offer non-club players fascinated by online chess and "The Queen's Gambit"? What is hybrid chess good for? The Work4Chess online conference on Saturday, 18 September, tries to answer these and other questions. Access to the online conference is free. | Photos: ChessTech

Norway Chess: Carlsen beats Rapport in third straight win

9/16/2021 – By scoring a third straight win — taking down sole leader Richard Rapport — Magnus Carlsen is now only a half point behind the Hungarian with two rounds to go at the Norway Chess Tournament. Round 8 also saw Alireza Firouzja beating Sergey Karjakin and Aryan Tari getting the better of World Championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Game of the Week 481: R. Rapport vs S. Karjakin

9/15/2021 – This week, Merijn van Delft takes another look at the impressive performance of Richard Rapport at the Norway Chess Tournament, focusing on Rapport's fine win against Sergey Karjakin in round 7. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Online Olympiad, Finals: Live

9/15/2021 – Today, the finals of the Online Olympiad will be played: In the double-round final, Russia will play the USA. Russia is favorite, but the US team has already surprised against India. Match 1 starts at 18:30 CEST (12:30 ET, 16:30 UTC), match 2 begins at 19:30 CEST (13:30 ET, 17:30 UTC). If necessary, the play-off match will beginn at 20:30 CEST (14:30 ET, 18:30 UTC). Follow the games live!

Svitlana's Smart Moves - Rook endgames you HAVE to know

9/15/2021 – Svitlana's Smart Moves conquers some easier, advanced, and even high level examples for getting better at chess. Sometimes it is good to take a huge leap back, and start with the absolute basics. Probably everybody has heard of the "Philidor Position" and "building a bridge", and some players might even know these positions by heart. Unfortunately, Arne is confronted with these postions for the first time in his life, and fails miserably. This episode is especially for people who have trouble with rook endings as they will learn and never forget these important concepts.

Norway Chess: Rapport wins again

9/15/2021 – There were three decisive games in the seventh round of the Norway Chess Tournament. Richard Rapport defended his lead with a win over Segery Karjakin. Alireza Firouzja staked a claim as the next world challenger with a win over Ian Nepomniachtchi, while Magnus Carlsen gave another endgame lesson against Aryan Tari. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The wonderful world of chess machine emulators

9/15/2021 – Even if it is from before your time, any chess player will know there was a time when standalone machines were the dominant computer opponents, ranging from compact plastic jobs to large wooden boards to fill any player with envy. That time is gone, and many of the machines are disappearing, but you can play any one of them, free, thanks to the amazing chess emulators.