The Game of the Week

9/12/2018 – Ideas and strategies in Grandmaster games can be quite instructive. IM Merijn van Delft presents games like these every Wednesday at 20:00 CEST (19:00 UT, 2 pm EDT). On this week's show: Parham Maghsoodloo!

The Power Play Show

9/12/2018 – Wednesday at 19:00 CEST (17:00 UT) 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, plus Daniel will be looking at a crazy attack in a new line of the Nimzo Indian. Puzzle and the live video...

NEW: Adrian Mikhalchishin: How Bobby Fischer battled the Sicilian

9/12/2018 – Bobby Fischer was a devoted Sicilian player. But the American chess genius and 11th World Champion was also a devoted 1.e4 (“Best by test” as he said) player, and his results against the Sicilian are remarkable. In almost all variations he came up with new ideas and developed systems of his own — such as 6.Bc4 (one of his pet moves) against the Najdorf, and the Rauzer. Fischer liked to play aggressive but basically sound lines against the Sicilian and many of his variations are still very much alive and a good choice for players of all levels.

World Juniors 2018 Round 7: The advantage of having the first move!

9/12/2018 – It is generally agreed that White has a small edge going into the game because he has the first move. At the top level, Black more often than not equalizes. Yet, at the seventh round of the World Juniors 2018, we had a pretty unique case where all six games, the top three in boy's section and the top three in girl's section, all of them ended in the white player winning the games. In this article, we show you all the games along with analysis. Apart from this you also have pictures by Amruta Mokal and videos by IM Sagar Shah.

First Summer Chess Festival in Belgrade (Part 2)

9/12/2018 – The Serbian capital, Belgrade, is recovering from 20th century conflict, and DIANA MIHAJLOVA takes us on a brief photo tour, following the chess tournament (part 1). | Pictured: Saint Sava Temple with a statue of Karadjorgje, the founder of modern Serbia. He led the First Serbian Uprising of 1804–1813 fighting for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Saint Sava and Karadjorgje (Karađorđe) epitomize the Serbian national identity. | Photos: Diana Mihajlova

Diving Chess in London

9/12/2018 – There is another "World Championship" in London this year — the fourth edition of the "Diving Chess" World Championship took place on August 27th at the Third Space Gym in London. Four rounds decided the winners — FM Rajko Vujatovic took gold after scoring 3½/4, while Etan Ilfeld and William Taylor finished second and third on 3/4. In this curious chess variant, each player can think as long as he or she can hold their breath underwater. | Photo: Reuters

The Weekly Show with Lawrence Trent

9/11/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com for a free live show dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week Lawrence covers highlights from the World Junior Championship! Afterwards the show will be available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders.

World Juniors 2018 Round 6: 12-year-old Javokhir Sindarov sizzles!

9/11/2018 – He 12 years and 9 months old. He hails from Uzbekistan and already has a live rating of 2500+ Elo points and one GM norm. Meet Javokhir Sindarov, the big sensation at the World Juniors 2018. The boy has beaten two GMs already and today he crushed a Norwegian IM in brutal style. In the Girls section, WIM Nino Khomeriki from Georgia is dominating the field with 6.0/6 score. She has a full one point lead. Here's the round six report by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from Gebze in Turkey.

Knight or pawns?

9/11/2018 – Knights are tricky. They are versatile, they can be quick, and if they are lucky they can fork queen, king and rook. However, sometimes even a pair of pawns is too much for them.

Sam Shankland and Zhu Chen visit Hong Kong

9/11/2018 – The ActiveKids Chess Academy in Hong Kong hosted two strong events with outstanding players. First, 2722-rated GM Sam Shankland gave a lecture on strategic positions, and then former Women's World Champion Zhu Chen gave a simultaneous exhibition. August has been a busy month for the Hong Kong young chess talents. It was, undoubtedly, a great learning experience. | Photos: Official website

Simon Says — Nezh the great, with white

9/10/2018 – (Live today at 21:00 CEST — so three hours later than usual). In this episode of Simon Says, Simon uncorks the great victories of "one of the greatest attacking players" ever: Rashid Nezhmetdinov. Enjoy!

First Summer Chess Festival in Belgrade (part 1)

9/10/2018 – Aside from celebrating the tennis victories of Novak Djokovic, Serbia is steadily reviving the country’s old chess glory, etched in chess history by the likes of Gligorić, Ljubojević, Matanović, Matulović and Ivkov, to name a few. Now, three grandmaster friends and colleagues, having shared many years of happiness and tribulations as chess professionals, are creating a platform for chess promotion in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and further afield in the country. DIANA MIHAJLOVA takes a look in this extensive photo report. | Pictured: Among the winners, IM Umut Atakisi and WIM Sandra Djukic | Photos: Diana Mihajlova

Endgames of the World Champions

9/10/2018 – The real reason one should study endgames, is not only related to the possibility those endgames actually appear on the board (they seemingly never do!), but to the gain of confidence we need in order to convert a game where we have a material advantage, or a more active position, into a won game. In fact, lately we have witnessed the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, playing many games which seem drawn, and yet when he reaches the endgame, it turns into an almost magical win. In this review by DAVIDE NASTASIO, you can practice many interesting endgame positions against the engine which stem directly from the games of all these great champions. No excuses! Getting some training done today!

Carlsen vs Caruana: Looking back and looking ahead

9/9/2018 – The World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London will begin in exactly two months on November 9th, and their last direct encounter before the match in London was at the Sinquefield Cup 2018 in Saint Louis. Together they won the tournament along with Levon Aronian. They drew each other, although Carlsen was close to winning. What does that mean for the World Championship in London? CONRAD SCHORMANN looks for answers, and you can have your say in our poll! | Graphic: World Chess

World Juniors 2018 Round 5: Maghsoodloo and Khomeriki are sole leaders

9/9/2018 – Five rounds have been completed at the World Junior Championships 2018 in Gebze, Turkey and we have sole leaders in each of the sections. In the Girls, WIM Nino Khomeriki from Georgia displayed fierce attacking skills to beat Alicja Sliwicka, move to 5.0/5 and become the sole leader. In the open section Parham Maghsoodloo, once again emerged unscathed from a tense fight and with 5.0/5 is half a point ahead of three players — Firouzja, Christiansen and Sindarov. We have a detailed report from Turkey by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal with photos, videos, analysis and more.

Chess problems out of the box

9/8/2018 – Recently we did an article on Retro Chess, purely for entertainment. Amongst the many letters we received, one was particularly gratifying. "I was very pleased to read the article — simply entertaining, because I have been occupied with the subject for 50 years." It was from the former Mayor of the town of Meisenheim, located near Frankfurt, Germany. His letter and subsequent gift were quite invaluable. We will tell you why.

World Juniors 2018 Round 3+4: Fight until the very end

9/8/2018 – It was a day of double rounds at the World Junior Championships 2018. In the open section we have four leaders with a score of 4.0/4 - Maghsoodloo, Firouzja, Sindarov and Bharathakoti. Each one had their own unique way to reach the 100% score. We look at their games in this report. Special focus also on one of the longest games of the fourth round between Maghsoodloo and Hakobyan. In the girls section Alicja Sliwicka and Nino Khomeriki are in the lead with 4.0/4. Report from Gebze by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.

Beatriz Marinello: "A good leader must have the heart of a teacher"

9/8/2018 – Beatriz Marinello is a Vice President of FIDE, the head of the FIDE Social Action Commission and a Woman International Master. Born in Chile, she moved to the United States in 1990 and started working in chess projects until becoming President of the U.S. Chess Federation. In an interview with the Spanish magazine "Ajedrez Terapéutico", she talks about chess in education, women's chess, Phiona Mutesi and shares some Bobby Fischer stories. | Photo: Dora Martínez / Ajedrez Social y Terapéutico

Meeting Nicholas Pert

9/7/2018 – As we are privileged with so many interesting visitors and authors coming to the ChessBase office in Hamburg and frequenting our studio, we often try to grab them for a few quick questions to see how they are and what's new. This time it was GM Nicholas Pert who visited us in Hamburg in order to prepare a new Fritztrainer. Here's a short impromptu interview, and Nick was also a guest on Karsten Mueller's Endgame Magic show. | Photos: Nadja Wittmann

World Juniors 2018 Round 2: The boy who works ten hours each day

9/7/2018 – Chess tournaments become interesting because of the players who are participating in the event and the quality of their games. At the World Juniors we have a player who is extremely interesting not only off the board, but also on it. He finds moves which even the engines have difficulties understanding, and he works for at least ten hours each day. He is none other than the top seed of the World Juniors 2018 - Parham Maghsoodloo. In this article we acquaint you with this big talent and also bring you the report from round two. Photo: Amruta Mokal

Rooks as bodyguards

9/7/2018 – In the diagram position White decided to force matters with 21.Re7 Ngxe7 22.dxe7+ Nxe7 23.Qd6, threatening perpetual check. Can you see the only way for Black to emerge victoriously now?

Sinquefield Cup video highlights (Part 3)

9/7/2018 – (Continued from Part 2) Wrapping up our tour of the extensive and high-quality Sinquefield Cup coverage on the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube Channel, we've pulled out a number of the interviews and bonus material you may have missed. Have a look and keep it in mind for future reference. There are game annotations from GM Daniel Fernandez too!

Endgame Magic with guest GM Nicholas Pert

9/6/2018 – Joining Karsten for a look some recent endgames from tournament practice today is English Grandmaster Nicholas Pert, a professional chess player and trainer, who is representing England at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi. This week's show is FREE to watch on-demand (for a limited time)!

World Juniors 2018 Round 1: Record breaking participation

9/6/2018 – The World Junior Championships are being held from the 5th to the 16th of September 2018 in Gebze, Turkey. This year this exciting event witnesses a record-breaking participation with 263 players from 62 countries. The open section has 25 GMs and 40 IMs making it a highly exciting tournament to follow. With players like Maghsoodloo, Van Foreest, Donchenko, Karthikeyan, Martirosyan, Esipenko, etc. the brightest chess talent in the world is fighting it out for the gold. ChessBase reporters Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal are present at the venue and will bring you detailed coverage each day. | Photo: Amruta Mokal.