On the origins of chess (4/7)

6/17/2020 – In the fourth instalment of his treatise on the origins of chess, researcher Sergio Negri explores a hypothesis that did not quite cement an alternative paradigm, that of an Egyptian origin. While presenting this theory, he introduces a couple of ancient games, the Greek ‘petteia’ and the Egyptian ‘senet’.

Giants of Modern Studies - Steffen Nielsen Part I

6/16/2020 – In this article (the first part of what hopefully will turn into a series) we will delve into the life and work of the prominent study composer Steffen Slumstrup Nielsen. It is especially interesting to read how this first-rate creative mind may spot a motif in a top GM game, and then use that in a prize-winning endgame study | Foto: Niels Jørgen Jacobsen, Silkeborg

The Weekly Show: Clutch Chess Champions Showdown Final

6/16/2020 – In his weekly show IM Lawrence Trent takes a look at the final day of the Clutch Chess International between Caruana and Carlsen. | Lawrence' show is available at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST, 13:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Keres wins AVRO Tournament!

6/16/2020 – Before the 14th and final round of the AVRO tournament, Paul Keres and Reuben Fine shared first place with 8.0/13 each. And as chance would have it, they had to play against each other in the final round. However, their game was not particularly exciting but ended in a draw after only 19 moves – which was good for Keres who won the tournament on tiebreak. After this outstanding success, the 22-year-old Estonian can hope for a World Championship match against Alexander Alekhine. | Photo: Valter Heuer (Archive)

Once upon a time on wooden boards (1)

6/16/2020 – While the abrupt and dramatic changes in the world’s lifestyle caused by the omnipresent "you know what" naturally make people rethink important existential questions, like "What is the meaning of life" or "How did this virus shrink my jeans so fast – they fitted loosely just a week ago?!", today I have a chess-specific question, less complex and painful than those other two: why can’t women, in general, play chess as well as men?

Dancing with a knight

6/16/2020 – Mate ends the game but most games are won because one side is material up and the opponent prefers not to drag things out till the bitter end. However, being a whole knight up in the endgame is not always an automatic win.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins World Stars Sharjah Online

6/16/2020 – Due to the coronavirus outbreak, pretty much all over-the-board action was cancelled or postponed. Some tournaments decided to compensate a bit by organizing online events. The World Starts Sharjah Online was a six-player double round-robin with participants rated between 2661 and 2764. Top seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won the tournament convincingly by scoring 7½/10 points. Pentala Harikrishna and Radoslaw Wojtaszek finished second and third respectively. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Simon Says: Carlsen vs Caruana, The Final of the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown

6/15/2020 – In this Simon Says we look at the final of the Clutch Chess Champions Showdown. An event where the two highest-rated players in the world, Carlsen and Caruana faced each other for the title. | Watch for free and on-demand (for a limited time, or forever with a ChessBase Premium account). (Normally 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EST).

AVRO 1938, Round 14 - Live

6/15/2020 – The AVRO Tournament 1938 comes to an end. After 13 of 14 rounds Paul Keres and Reuben Fine have 8.0/13 each and lead the field. In the last round they play against each other. The winner of this game will also win the tournament. In case of a draw Keres is first on tiebreak because he won against Fine in round 7. Transmission of all rounds starts at 17:00 CEST (16:00 UK, 10:00 EST).

New: Pruijssers/Zwirs: How to slay the Sicilian Vol. 1-3!

6/15/2020 – Do you find the Sicilian difficult to cope with? Are you afraid to play the Sicilian with White because you do not want to learn a huge amount of variations by heart? Well, Roeland Pruijssers and Nico Zwirs can help. The two Dutchmen have created a complete repertoire against the Sicilian based on the Open Sicilian. A repertoire that is easy to learn.

AVRO, Round 13: Fine beats Alekhine

6/15/2020 – Reuben Fine started the AVRO Tournament with 5½/6, but then suffered a setback and scored only 1½ points in the next six rounds. But at the end of the tournament Fine seems to have found his form again and in round 13 he outplayed Alexander Alekhine with amazing ease. The other three games of the round ended in a draw and with one round to go Fine and Keres now share the lead with 8.0/13 each, and will decide the tournament winner in their direct duel in the last round. | Photo: Alekhine and Fine during their game in round 6

Magnus Carlsen wins Clutch Chess International in dramatic final

6/15/2020 – The final match of the Clutch Chess International was as exciting as can be! Out of the last six games, five were decisive, with Magnus Carlsen getting a clutch win in game 12 to defeat Fabiano Caruana. Caruana only needed a draw in the last encounter to win the event, as he came from scoring an impressive victory in the previous clutch game, but it was not meant to be. Carlsen bagged US$ 75,000 for his efforts. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Clutch Chess International: Carlsen v Caruana Live!

6/14/2020 – In this second instalment of Clutch Chess, the tournament will expand internationally. Eight of the world's top chess players will battle online from Saturday, June 6 - Sunday, June 14, 2020 for an extraordinary $265K in prize money. Replay the games live with engine comments and evaluations starting at 20:00 CEST.

AVRO 1938, Round 12: Euwe puts a stop to Botvinnik's momentum

6/14/2020 – After his brilliant win over Capablanca, Mikhail Botvinnik certainly hoped to win the AVRO tournament in the Netherlands, but just one round later the 27-year-old turned in an inexplicably weak performance against Max Euwe (the other ex-world champion in the tournament, left in the picture) and lost a short game. With all the other games of round twelve drawn, Paul Keres remains at the top of the standings table a half point ahead of Reuben Fine, while Botvinnik, with two rounds left to play, is a full point behind the leader.

Clutch Chess International Final: All square

6/14/2020 – The first half of the final hardly could have been more exciting, as Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana each collected four points after trading blows in the last four games of the day. The match started with two draws, and from that point each of the finalists scored two wins with white. Game 6 was the biggest thriller — Carlsen got a winning position out of the opening, erred in time trouble, and ended up conceding defeat. | Photo: Justin Kellar

AVRO 1938, Round 11: Botvinnik's masterpiece

6/13/2020 – The victory of Mikhail Botvinnik (photo) over José Raúl Capablanca in the eleventh round of the AVRO tournament will be enjoyed by many generations of chess players to come. At the outset of the game, the 27-year-old single-mindedly implemented a crystal-clear strategy against the former world champion, based on a central advance; then, he launched the final attack on the king with two brilliant piece sacrifices. In the shadow of this brilliant game, the most important development was almost ignored: Paul Keres secured the sole lead after Reuben Fine conceded yet another defeat.

Grandmaster Chef: Anish Giri

6/13/2020 – Anish Giri is the best chess player in the Netherlands and is currently ranked number 10 in the world. To show appreciation for Giri, this article has a recipe for a dish that he might like to eat. And, also, an analysis of one of his wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Giri is the first Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Clutch Chess International SF: Carlsen and Caruana to face off in the final

6/13/2020 – The semifinals of the Clutch Chess International came to an end on Friday. Magnus Carlsen cruised to victory and comfortably knocked out Levon Aronian, while Fabiano Caruana pulled out a remarkable comeback against Wesley So. Thus, the two highest-rated players in the world will face each other in the final, starting Saturday. | Photo: Austin Fuller

Daniel King's Power Play Show: A chess problem and a spectacular game

6/12/2020 – In this Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King makes an excursion into the world of problem chess but the main focus of the session will be a spectacular game by the 2018 World Senior Champion, Vlastimil Jansa. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UK (18:00 CEST, 11:00 EST) on playchess.com. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

Challenges for humans

6/12/2020 – Take a look at this position. Can White (on the move) win? And if so what must he play? The position looks deceptively simple, but if you are able to solve it in your head, congratulations! Today's challenge is mainly to humans, and we bring you simple-looking positions from which there is a lot to learn. Have fun.

Do you have an eye for tactics? (2)

6/12/2020 – In the diagram position White's last move was 14.Qh3 which creates a classical threat ... which Black happily ignored! Can you imagine what happened?

AVRO, Round 10: Four draws and some drama

6/12/2020 – Four draws, no win - that was the outcome of the tenth round of the AVRO Tournament 1938, which was played in the Dutch city of Breda. But despite the four draws the spectators in Breda got their money's worth as they could watch two fascinating tactical duels: Samuel Reshevsky (pictured) used hidden tactics to attack Mikhail Botvinnik, Reuben Fine used hidden tactics to defend against José Raúl Capablanca. Of course, nothing has changed in the standings. After 10 of 14 rounds Fine and Keres share the lead with 6½/10, Botvinnik follows with 5½/10. | Photo: Samuel Reshevsky (Archive)

Clutch Chess International SF: Leading by four

6/12/2020 – Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So have both taken four-point leads going into day two of the semifinals in the Clutch Chess International Tournament. Levon Aronian missed a big chance to beat Carlsen in game 1 and could never quite recover as the world champion had better positions in almost all the remaining encounters, while Fabiano Caruana's strategy of using offbeat systems backfired against So. Nothing is yet decided though, as Friday's games 11 and 12 each grant three points! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Checkmate in six moves!

6/11/2020 – Stuart Rachels is not only a former chess prodigy and great writer, he also made some beautiful chess puzzles. We are happy to showcase four self-mate riddles which are worth looking at. They are creative in a way, that the white king has to be check-mated in as little moves as possible, on a certain square.