A methodical coach: Radjabov interviews Chuchelov

3/24/2021 – Vladimir Chuchelov developed a well-known method based on his ideas on what he dubs “strategic balance”. Teimour Radjabov, who was introduced to the method in 2014, recently interviewed Chuchelov for an hour and a half. In the light-hearted conversation, Chuchelov talks about his decision to become a full-time trainer, his experiences with Giri and Caruana, and his predictions for the coming Candidates Tournament. | Pictured: Chuchelov at the 2014 Tashkent Grand Prix | Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich

The Weekly Show: A fine game by Anish Giri

3/23/2021 – In his "Weekly Show" IM Lawrence Trent will look at the finale of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, specifically the first blitz game between Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi. It was a very well conducted attack by the Dutch #1 despite it being a blitz game. Lawrence will also do a quick recap of the current situation at the Candidates. | Lawrence's show is available at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 12:00 ET) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Remembering Viktor Kortschnoi (23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016)

3/23/2021 – Viktor Kortschnoi is a phenomenon. He started his chess career in 1943 when he joined the Pioneer Palace in Leningrad and played until his death in 2016 when he was confined to a wheelchair. Today Kortschnoi would have celebrated his 90th birthday. | Photo: De Telegraaf via David Llada

A stunning attack

3/23/2021 – Magnus Carlsen still lacks a tournament victory at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Four tournaments have been played so far, but the World Champion, who is so used to success, has not been able to win one of them. At the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, which ended at the weekend, he lost in the semi-finals against Ian Nepomniachtchi, who then lost to Anish Giri in the final. But then Carlsen scored a surprisingly smooth win against Wesley So in the match for third place. Particularly surprising was the first game, in which Carlsen won with a stunning mating attack. Daniel King took a closer look. | Photo: Lennart Ootes, Archiv

Achilles heel

3/23/2021 – Rook endings have drawish tendencies and the diagram position is no exception to this rule. But White must still defend extremely carefully. How exactly?

Riddle solved: Kasparov could have drawn

3/23/2021 – Karsten Müller once again asked our readers for help to solve an endgame riddle. This time, he looked at the 27th game of the first World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. Was Kasparov right when he claimed that the endgame contains a number of mistakes? Turns out he was as, after all, he could have held the draw!

The new Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour

3/22/2021 – Chess legends Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik have joined forces with Play Magnus Group to launch a new elite online tour designed to support rising young players and advance gender equality in the sport. The Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour will feature some of the world’s top talent and include a healthy balance of male and female competitors.

Feelgood move

3/22/2021 – In the diagram position, Black's rook and knight threaten White's exposed king. Time to bring up a third attacker - how?

Anish Giri wins Magnus Carlsen Invitational

3/22/2021 – Anish Giri defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in tiebreaks to win the second edition of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. In the second set of the match, Nepomniachtchi had kept the score tied by winning the fourth game on demand. Magnus Carlsen beat Wesley So in the match for third place.

When the fat lady hits the wrong note

3/21/2021 – Star columnist Jon Speelman explores the topic of players sometimes failing to find the finishing touches after getting a big edge during a game. “Sometimes things go wrong and rather than ‘the fat lady singing’ truly, she hits the wrong notes: and while it is over it ain’t in the way it ought to have been.” | Pictured: Nils Grandelius | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

Giri beats Nepo to win the Magnus Carlsen Invitational

3/21/2021 – Anish Giri beat Ian Nepomniachtchi to get first place at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, while Carlsen had little trouble to secure third place in his match against Wesley So. | Replay the games or relive the commentary webcast by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from ChessBase India. Full report to follow shortly.

International Online Blitz Open

3/21/2021 – Dr. N Mahalingam Chess Academy is for the first time organizing an international online blitz open tournament, with a total prize fund of ₹100000. It will take place on Sunday, 21st March at 7 p.m. IST (2:30 p.m. CET, 09:30 New York) in the ChessBase India webroom on Playchess. Entry is FREE for GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. For everyone else the entry fee is ₹200 for Indians, and 3 Euro for foreigners. The tournament can be played via Windows software, desktop or laptop browsers only. So far 279 participants – including lots of GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs – have registered. | Photo: Yugam 2021

Understanding before Moving 19: The rook lift

3/21/2021 – 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 19th instalment of his ChessBase show “Understanding before Moving”, Herman shows how a rook can revitalize an attack after being lifted. | Photo: Tommy Grooten

Magnus Carlsen Invitational: First set drawn in the finals

3/21/2021 – In the first set of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational finals on Saturday all the games played between Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi ended in draws. In the first game, Giri missed a chance to win, while the remaining three games were evenly matched. In the match for third place, Wesley So had no chance against Magnus Carlsen: the World Champion won the first set 3:1. | Photo: FIDE

The Piece Project: Interview with Ashley Yan, founder

3/20/2021 – High school student Ashley Yan started a chess nonprofit organization, The Piece Project, where she and her friends teach free chess lessons to children through Zoom. Anyone can get involved, as a student, instructor, or partner. Woman International Master Alexey Root interviews Yan. | Pictured: Ashley Yan

CBM Jubilee: New ideas for your repertoire

3/20/2021 – Improving one’s opening repertoire is the top priority for many chess fans. Of course, ChessBase Magazine takes this into account and provides over 10 opening articles and 3 videos with each issue — in other words, lots of new ideas for the initial phase of the game that are just waiting to be tested by you (and hopefully converted into full points!). As part of the CBM anniversary, we have put together a small selection of opening articles for you to study and download!

Magnus Carlsen Invitational: Nepomniachtchi knocks out Carlsen

3/20/2021 – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri only needed draws on day 2 of the semis to reach the finals of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. While Giri in fact defeated Wesley So for a second day in a row, Nepomniachtchi knocked out Magnus Carlsen in the blitz tiebreakers. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / FIDE

Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Devilish stalemate ideas

3/19/2021 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King looks at contemporary games in which one of the players swiftly escapes from defeat by using devilish ideas. Daniel also looks at how theory has developed in the Spanish Steinitz variation. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET). All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

Centenary of the Lasker v Capablanca World Championship match

3/19/2021 – A hundred years ago, from March 15 to April 28, the historical 1921 World Chess Championship match between Lasker and Capablanca was played in Havana, Cuba. Conversations to organize the match began in 1911, but World War I got in the way. In the end, the Cuban grandmaster obtained a convincing victory.

The ChessBase News Review

3/19/2021 – Lawrence Trent and Arne Kaehler talk about what happened chess-wise last week. They each choose three articles, which might be interesting, and worth talking about the most. They give their opinions on various topics, and encourage you to think about the subject, analyse games, or read the articles thoroughly yourself.

Giri and Nepomniachtchi make it into the final of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational

3/19/2021 – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri only needed draws on day 2 of the semis to reach the finals of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. While Giri in fact defeated Wesley So for a second day in a row, Nepomniachtchi only knocked out Magnus Carlsen in the blitz tiebreakers. | Replay the games or relive the commentary webcast by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from ChessBase India. Full report to follow shortly.

Magnus Carlsen Invitational: Giri and Nepomniachtchi pull ahead

3/19/2021 – Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So are favourites in their semifinal clashes against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. But they are both behind after the first set. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

Petra Korchnoi dies at 93

3/19/2021 – It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Petra Korchnoi – Petronella Leeuwerik before her marriage to the two-fold World Championship Challenger. She was a remarkable personality and a great friend, and will be sorely missed. The pink framing of her obituary picture has a reason: it was promised to her a few years before her passing.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Toppling the Berlin wall

3/18/2021 – In this week’s show, well-known Dutch trainer Robert Ris takes a look at a remarkable game in which Ian Nepomniachtchi found a brilliant idea to take down Hikaru Nakamura’s Berlin Defence. Have fun and enjoy! | “Fast and Furious” is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.