Europe's youngest FIDE Trainer

3/16/2019 – He became an IM at the age of 19. The next logical step would have been to work towards his GM title. But Armin Juhasz from Hungary had different plans. He decided to devote his time towards becoming a trainer. Working hard on the subject he was able to create a World under-12 champion, a Hungarian champion and much more. What attracted the youngster to the field of training at such a young age? How does he prepare and what according to him are the qualities that a good coach must have? IM SAGAR SHAH decided to find out. | Photo: www.theophoto.hu

Anton wins Prague Challengers and ticket to Masters

3/15/2019 – The Challengers tournament of the Prague Chess Festival ended yesterday with a victory of Spanish GM David Anton, who drew his last round game with Praggnanandhaa. Runner-up was Jan Krejci from the Czech Republic while Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun came third. In the Masters, Nikita Vitiugov coasted to tournament victory today. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr

The Power Play Show

3/15/2019 – Friday at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST) Daniel King will go on air 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...

How 62nd seed Kaido Kulaots won the Aeroflot Open 2019 (Part I)

3/15/2019 – Every once in a while you have a fairy tale story at a world class event where a player who was given absolutely no chances of winning the tournament, comes out, plays his heart out and takes home the first prize! Something similar happened at the Aeroflot Open 2019 when the 62nd seed Kaido Kulaots scored 7.0/9 and with a rating performance of 2873 won the Aeroflot Open A, a prize of €18,000 and got himself an invitation to the Dortmund super-tournament which will take place later this year. How did Kulaots achieve this phenomenal performance? Sagar Shah caught up with the man of the moment for a detailed interview.

Unnoticed twist

3/15/2019 – With hindsight it's easy to claim that 30.Qxf3! in the diagram position is the right way to recapture for White, but can you also spot the downside of the actual game move 30.Bxf3?

World Team Ch: England take silver, China take bronze

3/15/2019 – The final round of the 2019 World Team Championships decided silver and bronze medallists in both categories, as the winners had already been decided a day earlier. In the Open, England defeated Sweden and took home silver, while China managed to get bronze after a topsy-turvy event overall. In the women's section, China finished with a perfect 18/18, while Russia tied with Georgia, getting both teams to the podium. | Photo: David Llada / Official site

ACP elects new, larger, governing board

3/14/2019 – The Association of Chess Professionals recently enacted changes to its statutes in advance of new board member elections. All the results are in and the newly expanded eleven-person board has a mix of members, including eight new ones, from across the chess world. ACP Chairman Yuri Garrett says the larger board should serve as a "think tank" for chess and avoid conflicts of interest with FIDE despite some overlapping responsibilities among its board members.

Prague International Festival Round 9

3/14/2019 – The 1st Prague Chess Festival is being played in the Czech capital between March 5th and 15th 2019. In total there are three tournaments: the Masters, the Challengers and the Open A tournament. Top seeds in the Masters are Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Rapport Richard and David Navara. Live broadcasts of the games via live.chessbase.com | Photo: Vladimír Jagr

Pragg in Prague: Can he stop David Anton?

3/14/2019 – The Challengers group at the Prague Chess Festival concludes today, and with one round to play Spanish GM David Anton is in pole position, leading by half a point over Jan Krejci. But Anton will face one final challenge as he seeks to qualify to the 2020 Masters: Indian prodigy Praggnanandhaa. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr / PragueChessFestival.com

World Team Championship Round 9

3/14/2019 – The FIDE World Team Championship 2019 takes place from March 5th to 14th in Astana, Kazakhstan. Ten teams compete in a round-robin tournament with matches played on four boards. Teams earn 2 match points for a win and 1 for a draw. Games, standings and commentary by GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko & WGM Anna Burtasova. | Photo: David Llada

World Team Ch: Russia and China secure gold with a round to spare

3/14/2019 – Before completing the nine rounds stipulated in the regulations, Russia and China won the open and women's section of the World Team Championships, respectively. In both cases, a fierce struggle for silver and bronze awaits: China still have good chances of finishing on the podium of the open category, while among the women the Russian defending champions might be taken out of the top three by Georgia, but only if the latter score a big win. | Photo: David Llada / Official site

An Adolf Anderssen anniversary

3/13/2019 – In addition to Lasker's 150th birthday, the German chess had another anniversary to celebrate last year. On July 6, 1818, 200 years ago, Adolf Anderssen was born in Breslau. After his victory in London in 1851, he was considered the best player in the world. He died 140 years ago today, on March 13, 1879. Replay his "Evergreen Game" with notes by Garry Kasparov! | Photo: German Chess Federation

Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Steve Berger

3/13/2019 – Karsten is joined by Steve Berger. This week's show is live at 16:00 UTC (17:00 CET, 11:00 AM EST) and FREE to watch on-demand (for a limited time)!

World Team Ch: It's Russia's to lose in the Open

3/13/2019 – Russia defended its lead at the World Team Championship in Astana with a narrow 2.5: 1.5 win over the USA. In the women's tournament, the Chinese were able to extend their lead to three points as Russia scored a point against Ukraine. | Photos: David Llada

The Weekly Show: Spring Classic

3/12/2019 – IM Lawrence Trent brings you the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments every Tuesday at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST). This week he looks at a game from the last round of the Spring Classic in St. Louis. Free to watch on-demand for a limited time with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

NATO Chess Championships

3/12/2019 – The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has organised chess tournaments for over four decades. LtCol Sławomir Kędzierski reports on the most recent championship from the perspective of the Polish Armed Forces (PAF) team to commerate the 20th anniversary of Poland’s presence in NATO. Pictured: IMCC Chairman Col Tomasz Malinowski who introduced Polish Armed Forces to NATO Chess, holding the trophy of King Canute | Photo: Wojciech Król

Good to know: stalemate tricks

3/12/2019 – Usually, a rook and a pawn win easily against a bishop. But there are exceptions. Here's a practical endgame example that could help you save a half point some day!

World Team Ch: Russian lead shrinks

3/11/2019 – Russia, the leading team at the World Team Championship, unexpectedly gave up a team match point to Azerbaijan round six. India and England are only one point behind. England scored an important win over Iran 3-1 despite the early loss of their reserve player Jon Speelman on board four. In the Women's section, China continues to lead the field. | Photos: David Llada

Xiong springs to classic first

3/11/2019 – 18-year-old American GM Jeffery Xiong (pictured, left) scored a clutch last round win to avoid a play-off and take top honours in the St. Louis Spring Classic. He finished with six points from nine games, a half point more than Ukrainian GM Illya Nyzhnyk. In the parallel "B" tournament, Chinese GM Bai Jinshi (pictured, right) was clear first with the same score, despite losing his last round game! ALEX YERMOLINSKY reports on the highlights from the past ten days of chess action in the U.S. chess 'capital'. | Photos: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

Duda leads in Prague

3/11/2019 – Five rounds of the Prague Chess Festival have been played so far, both in the Masters and the Challengers. Jan-Krzyztof Duda leads the main event on 3½ out of 5, but has Nikita Vitiugov and Radoslaw Wojtaszek breathing down his neck a half point behind. The Challengers had women's world champion Ju Wenjun in the lead until round four but, after her loss against Praggnanandhaa, she now shares first place with three other players. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr / Official site

St. Louis Spring Chess Classic 2019

3/10/2019 – The Spring Chess Classic is a pair of 10-player round-robin tournaments at the Saint Louis Chess Club. After eight rounds, Jeffrey Xiong, Ray Robson and Illya Nyzhnyk are leading with 5 points. Vassily Ivanchuk and Rustam Kasimdzhanov are surprisingly in the last two places. Live games from 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET, 2 PM EDT) / Live commentary webcast from 21:30 UTC (22:30 CET 4:30 PM EDT). | Pictured: Commentary hosts Ben Simon and GM Aman Hambleton

Accentus Young Masters: Studer wins, Yankelevich grabs GM norm

3/10/2019 – The Swiss Grandmaster Noel Studer confidently won the Accentus Young Masters, which took place from February 27th to March 7th at the Hotel Schloss in Bad Ragaz in Switzerland. He started with 5 out of 5 and finished with 7½ out of 9. One point behind was Lev Yankelevich and Nikita Petrov who shared places two and three, while Yankelevich also achieved a GM norm. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

World Team Ch: China beat Russia in key women's match-up

3/10/2019 – Two devastating attacks gave the Chinese women a crucial victory over the defending champions from Russia, who now need other teams to cooperate — by beating China — in order for them to take gold. Meanwhile, in the open section, Russia took down Kazakhstan despite Sergei Karjakin's loss on board one and are still the sole leaders. England and India tied their direct encounter and are the only chasers, two match points behind. | Pictured: Lei Tingjie | Photo: David Llada / Official site

Spring Classic: Youth leads

3/9/2019 – The Spring Chess Classic is a pair of 10-player round-robin tournaments at the Saint Louis Chess Club. After four rounds, the A group field was surprisingly tight with five out of the ten players tied on 3 points. But after seven, Jeffrey Xiong (pictured) and Illya Nyzhnyk have taken the lead. Vassily Ivanchuk and Rustam Kasimdzhanov, meanwhile, are struggling. | Photo: Austin Fuller