Game of the Week: Vachier-Lagrave vs Nepomniachtchi

3/25/2020 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament is getting very interesting and IM Merijn van Delft takes a look at the highlight of the day. | The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). Merijn is live this week starting at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET / 3 PM EDT).

The Candidates: Postponed after Round 7

3/25/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi went into the second rest day of the Candidates Tournament leading by a full point. The tournament has been suspended. The only other player with a plus score was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In round seven the two played each other, and Vachier-Lagrave, who had the white pieces, outplayed the Russian and caught up with him in the standings table, a full point ahead of the field. The remaining three games ended drawn. | Live games and commentary from 11:00 UTC (12:00 CET / 7:00 EDT). | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

FIDE moves Chess Olympiad to 2021

3/25/2020 – Originally, the 44. Chess Olympiad was scheduled to take place from 5-17 August 2020 in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk. But yesterday, 24 March, the FIDE declared in a statement that it decided to postpone the Olympiad "to the summer of 2021 at the same locations".

Press review of the Candidates

3/25/2020 – Chess fans follow the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg closely: they enjoy live-commentary of the games by top grandmasters, they read the daily reports, they check the analyses of the games and they want to know which novelties were played. However, as almost all big sport events in the world have been cancelled due to the coronavirus other media also report about the Candidates. Here's a short selection of articles.

The coronavirus, and its effect on chess

3/24/2020 – The entire world is in disarray, everything has ground to a halt. No more parties, movie theaters, pubs or restaurants, no more public sporting event – even the 2020 Olympic Games and the Chess Olympiad have been cancelled — both today. One chess tournament after the other is being abandoned, leagues, opens, everything. And at least one top player has caught the virus, another is trapped. Everyone is search for a cure — even the AlphaZero team of DeepMind!

Elisabeth Pähtz on the novelties in the Candidates

3/24/2020 – The first six rounds of the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg brought a number of opening duels and saw a number of interesting novelties. On her new YouTube channel Elisabeth Pähtz takes a closer look at these novelties and their theoretical value.

The Weekly Show: On Caruana

3/24/2020 – IM Lawrence Trent has been rounding-up the Candidates day by day, but today he tackles a game he has yet to present. | Puzzle time: In the diagram, suggest the best way for White to continue? | Lawrence is live this week from 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 1pm EDT) and free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can always register a free 90-day account to watch.

Congratulations: Yasser Seirawan turns 60!

3/24/2020 – Whether as a player, author, organizer, provider of ideas or commentator: For more than 40 years Yasser Seirawan has been one of the most distinctive personalities in the world of chess. Moreover, it seems as if chess has made him happy and still makes him happy. Today, on March 24, 2020 Seirawan celebrates his 60th birthday and ChessBase congratulates by taking a look at a remarkable career. | Photo: David Llada

Chess coaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

3/24/2020 – IM Dagne Ciuksyte has represented Lithuania and England in Chess Olympiads. Her peak FIDE rating was 2450. Now she coaches chess, in the shadow of COVID-19. Inspired by a ChessBase article, she is adding “chess writing” to her career. WIM ALEXEY ROOT interviews Dagne Ciuksyte.

Running for cover

3/24/2020 – Rook endings have drawish tendencies. However, precision is required.

Candidates Round 6: Nepomniachtchi wins again, widens the gap

3/23/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi goes into the second rest day of the Candidates Tournament leading by a full point after beating Ding Liren with White on Monday. The only other player with a plus score is Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who held Wang Hao to a draw. Anish Giri defeated Kirill Alekseenko in a game that lasted over seven hours, while Alexander Grischuk had to be precise to split the point with Fabiano Caruana. Expert analysis by GM SAM SHANKLAND and IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

Simon Says: Candidates, a deeper look

3/23/2020 – The Candidates Tournament is one of the most anticipated events of 2020, and GM Simon Williams is watching it attentively. Today, a look at the highlights of the first six rounds. | Watch for free live and on-demand (for a limited time, or forever with a ChessBase Premium account) starting as soon as Round 6 of the Candidates concludes. (Normally 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET / 12 Noon EST).

Predictions: Who will win the Candidates?

3/23/2020 – "It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future." This well-known witticism has been ascribed to Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Yogi Berra, and others, and applies, of course, also to the Candidates. However, after five of 14 rounds it is tempting to take stock and to look at the past to predict the future. | Photo: Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Roven Vogel reviews the "Modern Italian" by Wesley So

3/23/2020 – After winning the U16 World Champion title five years ago, things became a bit more quiet for Roven Vogel. Those times might be over now, since he could win the qualifier tournament in Wijk aan Zee just a couple of weeks ago. Preparation is key. International Master ROVEN VOGEL took a deeper look at Wesley So’s DVD and discusses the many benefits of the black secrets in the ‘Modern Italian’.

Candidates Round 5: Nepomniachtchi takes the lead

3/22/2020 – The 2020 Candidates Tournament has a sole leader for the first time, as Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Wang Hao with the white pieces in round five. The three other games finished drawn. Kirill Alekseenko and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave entered a sharp Najdorf which ended in a repetition, while Anish Giri could not make the most of the very promising position he got against Fabiano Caruana. Expert analysis by GM ELSHAN MORADIABADI and IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

Speelman's Agony: A Scandi and a French

3/22/2020 – This week GM JON SPEELMAN breaks down a French and a Scandinavian from an Indian. Once again, Jon recorded a video version of his analysis. | Send in your own games! | Jon welcomes submissions from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account!

Enjoying ChessBase live coverage properly

3/22/2020 – Here's a brief tutorial on how to get the most out of ChessBase's live broadcast game viewer. Learn about all the powerful features and buttons that make ChessBase's live tournament watching experience one of the best around. Did you know it's all embeddable on your own web site too!?

Candidates Round 4: Draws

3/21/2020 – All games of round four at the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg finished peacefully, which means Wang Hao, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are still sharing the lead on 2½ out of 4. Caruana pushed his h-pawn against Nepomniachtchi's Grünfeld but could not convert his slight advantage, while Grischuk entered his usual excessive time trouble while defending a complicated position against Vachier-Lagrave — in the end, he managed to hold the balance. Expert analysis by GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ and IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

The Coldest Game

3/21/2020 – "The Coldest Game" is a spy movie which came out exclusively on the streaming service Netflix. Fortunately for all chess lovers, it includes a couple of very interesting chess games which consist of some analysis. Although this movie is fictional, some real events and politicians are part of it, like the Cuban crisis, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. The fictional chess games also follow real examples and it is a joy to replay some of the beautiful combinations the film cites.

New York Times on cheating

3/20/2020 – In baseball trainers used a live video feed to decipher the signs of opposing catchers, and then banged on a trash can to signal the next pitch to the batter. Smartphones, buzzers, even yogurt — chess has nearly seen it all in both live and online tournaments. And just as in baseball, technology only makes it harder to root out. | Image: New York Times

The Power Play Show: The Candidates and a Fischer-Spassky classic

3/20/2020 – Grandmaster Daniel King was supposed to be in Yekaterinburg now, but will instead take a look at the Candidates from home in London. Power Play is live most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

The Candidates and Corona in tweets

3/20/2020 – The coronavirus changed the world and has slowed social life down. But the Candidates Tournament still takes place, despite all concerns. A controversial decision. Here's a short collection of twitter posts that show how chess players feel about the Candidates and Corona. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Researching age-related decline

3/20/2020 – Vaci, Gula, & Bilalić (2015) found that “the more able players deteriorated more quickly” after their peak, but that their decline started to stabilize earlier in middle adulthood. The authors claimed the validity of Simonton’s (1997) model of career trajectories for chess players, and highlighted the beneficial influence of tournament practice in old age. They doubted the appropriateness of the FIDE database for scientific studies, and instead recommended the German database. It is now shown why Vaci et al.’s model led to drastically incorrect results, and how it has to be changed to work correctly. Chess trajectories are characterized by a long plateau phase and a gradually increasing decline. Playing more or fewer games does not affect the rating in old age.

Bernstein's brilliancy

3/20/2020 – White's 48.Rcc8! in the diagram position starts the mate finale even if 48...Qe4 gives the black king an escape square on g6. Enjoy!