April 1st entertainment

4/1/2019 – Last year we decided to abandon our decades-long tradition of tricking our readers with fake stories on April 1st. Instead, we said, we are going to stick to straight and truthful news. For those who are disappointed by this decision we bring you a really fun (and fully genuine) task proposed by Pal Benko for this auspicious day, and also take a look back at an historic prank we perpetrated in the past — just to prove we have not lost our sense of humour.

Shamkir: All games drawn, Anand misses big chance

3/31/2019 – The 2019 edition of the Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir kicked off with all games drawn in the first round — much like last year, when the first decisive game came in round four. That does not mean there was no fighting in the Azeri town, however, as Teimour Radjabov put pressure on Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand had David Navara against the ropes during most of their encounter. | Photo: Official site

U.S. Championship Round 11

3/31/2019 – The U.S. Chess Championship and U.S. Women's Chess Championship will take place for an eleventh time at the Saint Louis Chess Club from March 20th to April 1st. Sam Shankland is the defending US Champion in the Open, and world number two Fabiano Caruana is the top seed. The Women's Championship features Irina Krush as the top ranked player. Live games and commentary from 19:00 UTC (20:00 CEST, 15:00 EDT). Official site: USChessChamps.com

US Ch: Jennifer Yu takes the title with a round to spare

3/31/2019 – The astounding run of Jennifer Yu continued on Saturday, when she took down the one other contender for first place to get the title in style with a round to spare. The 17-year-old defeated Anna Zatonskih and stands on an unreachable 9 out of 10 score. Meanwhile, in the Open, Fabiano Caruana caught up with Hikaru Nakamura and Leinier Dominguez in the lead thanks to a win over Aleksandr Lenderman. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

Chess calendar: April 2019

3/31/2019 – There are many now-traditional events on the monthly calendar of global professional chess in April. You'll find all of these tournaments and more covered in our live games broadcast area Live.ChessBase.com and we'll also be providing News coverage as well. First up is Shamkir, which starts March 31st (so technically it's only mostly in April.

Check Czech Chess V: Artur Mandler

3/30/2019 – It's the last Saturday of the month, so time once again for a featured study (actually "studies" as there's rarely been just one!) from our expert SIEGFRIED HORNECKER, who focuses his attention in March on Artur Mandler (1891 to 1971) a prolific chess composer. | Photo: Archiv Bondarenko [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

US Ch: Favourites prevail

3/30/2019 – Only three out of twelve games finished drawn in Friday's ninth round at the US Championships in Saint Louis. In the Open, those on top maintained their winning ways, with Hikaru Nakamura and Leinier Dominguez still sharing the lead. Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So also won and are the only ones with realistic chances of leaping to the front in the final sprint. In the Women's, Anna Zatonskih is a half point behind her round ten rival, Jennifer Yu. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

European Championship: Gold for Artemiev

3/29/2019 – There was some drama in the last round thanks to Nils Grandelius who was the only player with 7½ points to win his game. That guaranteed the Swedish number one the Silver medal in Skopje, but it was up to the board one game between Israeli Maxim Rodshtein and tournament leader Vladislav Artemiev to determine the gold. In the end the top seed held on to finish first on tiebreak with 8½. Kacper Piorun took bronze. | Photo: eicc2019.mk

The Power Play Show

3/29/2019 – 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...

US Ch: Dominguez catches Nakamura

3/29/2019 – Leinier Dominguez, playing in his first U.S. Championship, is now co-leader with Hikaru Nakamura. He took a small endgame plus and converted it to a full point against Sam Sevian in round eight. Nakamura and Dominguez are scheduled to play in Saturday's tenth round. Fabiano Caruana remains a half point back. In the Women's tournament Jennifer Yu extends to her lead to a full point after winning her third game in a row. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

European Individual Championship 2019 Round 11

3/29/2019 – The 20th European Individual Championship is an 11-round Swiss tournament taking place from March 18th to 29th in Skopje, North Macedonia at the five-star DoubleTree by Hilton, located along the river Vardar. The top seed is Vladislav Artemiev (2736) from Russia. Live games beginning at 12:15 UTC (13:15 CET, 8:15 EDT) Official site: eicc2019.mk

The new CBM: The focus is on training!

3/29/2019 – There is no talent without training. But where can you find good quality training? The new format of ChessBase Magazine has been designed to answer just that question. To give the competitive and improving chess player a regular dose of training, on par with one might get by hiring a good coach. From endgame training to the latest tournament games, tactical motifs, opening traps, and much more is all covered in ChessBase Magazine 188! Reviewer extraordinaire DAVIDE NASTASIO takes a deep dive.

Kotronias' masterpiece

3/29/2019 – After 16.Rxb7+! in the diagram position White checkmates the black king by force. Four variations, four key moves, and everything goes with check. Enjoy!

European Championship: Artemiev claims the lead

3/29/2019 – Top seed Vladislav Artemiev has moved into the sole lead for the first time, as the only player with 8 points after ten rounds. He beat fellow Russian Andrey Esipenko on board one in Skopje on Thursday. Nine players trail by half a point, including Maxim Rodshtein, who will have White against Artemiev in the last round, which starts two hours earlier on Friday. A score of at least 7½ will be needed to qualify for the World Cup. | Photo: Patricia Claros

NEW: CBM Extra 188 — with "Lucky Bag" and new design

3/28/2019 – Every two months the ChessBase Magazine offers new opening ideas, top class analyses, video training, and much more. In between the ChessBase Magazine Extra updates your database and offers some treats the CBM Extra 188, for example, includes three videos with interesting opening ideas and a video that invites to enjoy brilliancy. More…

US Ch: Nakamura keeps the lead after lively round

3/28/2019 – All four decisive results of round seven had a direct impact on the top of the standings at the US Championship. Wins by Fabiano Caruana, Leinier Dominguez and Sam Sevian allowed them to remain half a point behind sole leader Hikaru Nakamura, who also won on Wednesday. Meanwhile, among the women, for a second day in a row Jennifer Yu survived a losing position and went on to win to stay on top with 6½ out of 7. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

European Championship: Seven on 7

3/28/2019 – With an Elo rating of 2736, Vladislav Artemiev is the top seed at the European Championships in Skopje. And after a convincing attacking victory in round eight, he drew in the ninth round, along with the other players with 6½ points, resulting in a seven-way tie on 7 points together with two other young Russians — Andrey Esipenko and Grigoriy Oparin (pictured) — plus Kacper Piorun, Maxim Rodshtein, Nils Grandelius and David Anton. GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ examines the highlights. | Photo: Patricia Claros

Candidates tournament for Women set for June in Kazan

3/28/2019 – FIDE has announced in a press release the exact dates and the final field for the Women's Candidates Tournament in Kazan. Yifan Hou is not playing and Aleksandra Goryachkina will take her place. The tournament starts on May 29th. A brief history of the Women's World Championship.

Deal of the Week: Wesley So's opening secrets

3/27/2019 – An exclusive discount, only through Sunday, March 31st! Get the two-volume bundle for a special price! Super-GM WESLEY SO published two opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Read the review and get them in a package today and save! Here's a peek.

How to train with ChessBase 15

3/27/2019 – ChessBase 15 offers powerful tools to improve your training and your chess. One such tool is the "Tactical Analysis" that can work as a virtual coach to answer your chess questions. But to get the most of the answers you should know how to ask the right questions! In this tutorial, resident ChessBase expert MARTIN FISCHER demonstrates an effective method to work with a strong chess analysis engine within your ChessBase 15 program. | Drawing: ChessBase
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Life before and after retirement

3/27/2019 – The announcement came as a shock to the chess world: former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, one of the all-time greats of chess, said he would no longer be participating in competitive chess. Journalists rushed to ask him about his motives, and one of the resulting pieces stood out: an interview in the Chennai-based New Sunday Express. We bring you excerpts (with kind permission) and narrative by Frederic Friedel on his first encounter with the super-talent.

US Ch: Caruana wins, but Nakamura leads

3/26/2019 – With a win over Timur Gareyev, Hikaru Nakamura (pictured) took sole lead in the US championship heading into the tournament's only rest day. But Fabiano Caruana is a mere half point behind after he scored his first full point in a classical game since October. Jennifer Yu leads the women's championship but yesterday she got a little help from Caissa the chess goddess. Despite her impressive 5½/6 score, she's also only a half point ahead, as Anna Zatonskih also won. | Photo: Justin Kellar

The Weekly Show: U.S. Championship update

3/26/2019 – 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 first half of the US Championship. Free to watch on-demand for a limited time with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

NEW: Yannick Pelletier: Anti-London System

3/26/2019 – The London System, which for a long time had been the reputation of a rather harmless sideline, has developed into a very popular opening, and World Champion Magnus Carlsen is only one of many top players who plays it regularly. The London System indeed suits the modern approach to openings very well: White does not necessarily strive for an opening advantage but is content to develop his pieces and hopes to outplay his opponent in the middlegame. However, the London System is more dangerous than it seems and if Black is not careful he can easily wind up in a bad position. Theory develops fast today, even in less concrete systems.