Jerusalem GP Final: Nepomniachtchi strikes

12/22/2019 – Game one of the final in Jerusalem favoured Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won a 96-move game with the black pieces after Wei Yi declined to force a draw by repetition in the middlegame. Nepomniachtchi now only needs a draw in the second classical game to reach the Candidates Tournament, leaving Maxime Vachier-Lagrave out of the race to challenge Magnus Carlsen in the next World Championship match. | Photo: Niki Riga

Sally and Misha: Parting of ways

12/21/2019 – Sally Landau marries Misha Tal for love. Soon she discovers the downside of his character. He is a philanderer and enjoys amorous conquest. His affair with actress L becomes a scandal. Early in 1964, he is summoned to the Central Committee and is told that he has to choose between his wife and his mistress. He is reminded that he is a public figure and has to conduct himself as a responsible citizen. He tells them curtly it’s none of their business, and he will do as he pleases. “Well, you can make your own decision”, the officials tell him. He is soon to learn of their decision… | Photo: Svetlana Punte

Shtembuliak and Zhukova are 2019 Ukrainian Champions

12/21/2019 – Evgeny Shtembuliak is having a breakthrough year. The Texas Tech University student won the World Junior Championship earlier this year and has now been crowned Ukrainian Champion. The 20-year-old was first among a strong field of well established grandmasters, including Yuriy Kryvoruchko, Andrei Volokitin and Alexander Moiseenko. In the women's section, Natalia Zhukova had a better tiebreak score than Iulija Osmak, which prompted her to win her first ever national championship. MIKHAIL GOLUBEV reports. | Photos: Oleksandr Martynkov

Sitges: Korobov still leads with two to go

12/21/2019 – Anton Korobov gave up his first half point at the Sunway Sitges Open in round seven against his compatriot Vassily Ivanchuk (pictured), and his second in Friday's eighth round. But he maintains a half point edge over a quartet of pursuers. Dennis Wagner saved a half point with luck and skill, and he, along with fellow Germans Alexander Donchenko, Rasmus Svane and Andreas Heimann, trail by a full point. | Photos: sunwaychessfestival.com

Magnus Carlsen a double #1?

12/20/2019 – Magnus Carlsen likes to be number one all things. The Guardian recently announced that the chess world champion is one of the world's top players in the Fantasy Premier League. Now he's up to #3 in the world. A quick update from last Friday's account.

Inside Wei Yi's mind: 35 minutes for one move

12/20/2019 – Have you ever heard the advice, "while solving positions in your practice sessions, don't think for more than 20 minutes!"? The logic is that usually in practical games we do not spend more than 20 minutes for any move or decision, so we shouldn't be spending too much time when training either. But now and then comes a moment when, in a tournament game, an elite GM digs down deep and thinks for over 30 minutes! In Wei Yi vs Sergey Karjakin at the Jerusalem Grand Prix 2019, we saw the young Chinese GM 'in the tank' for 35 minutes! IM SAGAR SHAH tries to decode his thought process!

Nimzovich was right

12/20/2019 – White was well in control until of the game in the diagram position he decided to attack the rook c8 with 22.Bh3? Why did this backfire?

Jerusalem GP: Wei Yi in the final

12/20/2019 – Wei Yi will face Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the Jerusalem Grand Prix. The 20-year-old from China defeated David Navara in game two of tiebreaks after having split the point in a lengthy first encounter of the day. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and his fans will be following the final closely, as the French grandmaster will be granted a spot in the Candidates if Wei Yi gets match victory. | Photo: Niki Riga

Fast and Furious: The current state of the Two Knights

12/19/2019 – In the last Fast & Furious show of 2019, IM Robert Ris tackles the current theoretical state of the Two Knights defence. Tune into the live show at 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET / 1 PM EST) which is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. In the diagram, it's Black to play!

Chess and Luck

12/19/2019 – Rumour has it that the attraction of chess stems from its appeal to the intellect — the player is in control — and luck plays no role. If so, how to explain blunders and mistakes and players’ reference to luck. RUNE VIK-HANSEN explores factors beyond our control favourably influencing the outcome, debunks a few myths about chess playing and aspires to show how luck in chess differs from "lottery luck." With luck a possible part of chess, what might be the implications? Can the human ego handle the blow? Will it reduce the status of the royal game? Will it deepen our understanding, perception and appreciation of chess and ourselves or will we (GASP!) quit chess? Or…might luck even come to our rescue in our darkest moments?

Jerusalem GP: Candidates suspense continues

12/19/2019 – Ian Nepomniachtchi drew Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in their semi-final rematch encounter to reach the final of the Jerusalem Grand Prix. The Russian is now one match win away from securing a spot in the Candidates, as Vachier-Lagrave is still leading the overall standings of the Grand Prix by a single point. David Navara and Wei Yi signed another draw, which means the winner will be decided in tiebreaks. | Photo: Niki Riga

Shirov leads in Arica

12/18/2019 – Arica is a lively port city on the Pacific coast of Chile, not far from the Atacama Desert. An Open with international appeal has been played here for a few years. Alexey Shirov tops the ranking list and started with 5 out of 5. | Live games and video of Round 6 from 19:30 UTC (21:30 CET / 3:30 PM EST)

Game(s) of the Week: Sharp fights from Dutch house mates

12/18/2019 – This week IM Merijn van Delft once again brings you his analysis of one of his own games, from the recent Dutch League weekend this time, which he considers quite sharp. Plus a bonus "experimental rook sacrifice"! 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 / 4 PM EST).

Your Spanish is Fab!

12/18/2019 – Looking for a holiday gift for your chess-fan friend or relative? The current World No.2, being a 1.e4 player his entire life, has shared his deep knowledge about the Ruy Lopez in a 3-DVD series, acclaimed by amateurs and professionals alike. In 2018, Fabiano Caruana achieved one of the most prestigious honours in the history of the game: he qualified for a match for the World Chess Championship. He lost, but left many surprised as to how he out-prepared and out-played Magnus in the classical portion of the match. TANMAY SRINATH takes a closer look in this comprehensive review.

Jerusalem GP: Advantage Nepomniachtchi

12/18/2019 – Ian Nepomniachtchi obtained a crucial victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in their first encounter of the semi-finals in Jerusalem. The Russian needs a draw to reach the final and get a step closer to next year's Candidates Tournament. For Vachier-Lagrave, this surely brings back bad memories, as he fell just short of qualification in the previous cycle. Meanwhile, Wei Yi and David Navara signed a 52-move draw. | Photo: Niki Riga

Midway though the Sunway Sitges Open 2019

12/17/2019 – The Sunway Sitges Open started on the Catalonian coast south-west of Barcelona over the weekend. The starting list was led by Parham Maghsoodloo and there are also several other strong grandmasters in the field. After five rounds, Anton Korobov and Narayanan S.L share the lead. | Photos: @SunwayChessOpen on Twitter

The Weekly Show: Sunway Sitges Open

12/17/2019 – Back on the road, but playing this time, IM Lawrence Trent is reporting from Sitges, Spain for this Weekly Show. | Puzzle time: In the diagram, it's White to move! | Lawrence is on-demand this week beginning at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET / Noon EST) and free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

Welcome to Portugal

12/17/2019 – Europe's westernmost country does not have as rich a chess tradition as Spain and has so far been under the radar of chess lovers who like to combine tournaments and tourism. That is now changing thanks to the Portugal Chess Tour, an annual series of classical and rapid tournaments, especially the Portugal Open in Lisbon at the end of January 2020. STEFAN LOEFFLER explains. | Photos: Portuguese Chess Federation

The art of stalemate

12/17/2019 – "All rook endings are drawn", is a well-known witticism that contains more than a grain of truth. One reason for the drawish tendencies of rook endings is the fact that even a single pawn often draws against the enemy rook.

Jerusalem GP: Nepomniachtchi and Vachier-Lagrave to meet in semis

12/17/2019 – Two of the three players that arrived in Jerusalem as favourites to get the remaining spot in the Candidates will face-off in the semi-finals. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave went through by defeating Wesley So and Dmitry Andreikin in the first pair of rapid games during Monday's tiebreakers. The other winner of the day was Wei Yi, who knocked out Sergey Karjakin. | Photo: Niki Riga

'Women’s Chess' and equal footing

12/16/2019 – As Honorary Director of the London Chess Conference, which had the theme in 2019 of Chess and Female Empowerment, Grandmaster Judit Polgár wrote, “I make a point of never separating girls and boys, nor awarding special prizes for girls...Meanwhile, national federations use their resources, and public subsidies are creating more female-only competitions. It is high time to consider the consequences of this segregation — because in the end, our goal must be that women and men compete with one another on an equal footing.” WIM ALEXEY ROOT responds.

Simon Says: Recent and great games

12/16/2019 – GM Simon Williams goes hunting for recent tournament games and brings in a handful, great enough to remind him of a Karpov classic. | Watch live for free (or on-demand for a limited time) starting at the usual hour: 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET / 12 Noon EST).

Jerusalem GP: Navara ousts Jakovenko

12/16/2019 – David Navara was the first player to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the Jerusalem Grand Prix, as he got a clean 37-move victory over Dmitry Jakovenko. The rest of the games finished drawn, which means three match-ups will be decided in Monday's tiebreaker rounds: Vachier-Lagrave v Andreikin, So v Nepomniachtchi and Wei Yi v Karjakin. | Photo: Niki Riga

Fyodor Duz-Khotimirsky: the man who beat Lasker and Rubinstein

12/16/2019 – Fyodor Duz-Khotimirsky is a chess legend. After all, at the great international tournament in St. Petersburg 1909 he won against both winners, Emanuel Lasker and Akiba Rubinstein. This success later helped him in a rather precarious situation. VLASTIMIL HORT knows more.