7/19/2022 – Fifty years ago, after the disaster he suffered in game one, Bobby Fischer was on the verge of abandoning the entire event and returning home. The challenger continued his vigorous protest, and when his demands were not met, Fischer did not turn up for game two. He was forfeited and the score was 0-2. Bobby booked a flight back to New York, but practically at the very last moment decided to play game three – in an isolated ping-pong room!

7/19/2022 – Today we take a look at a quite popular opening. The Pirc Defence. The opening was named after GM Vasja Pirc from Slovenia/Yugoslavia. Thanks to this opening, we were able to enjoy the Immortal game of Kasparov vs. Topalov, or game number 17 of Fischer vs. Spassky, in the World Championship match 1972 in Iceland. We also tackle the question, of how it is pronounced correctly - Pirk, or Pirch?

7/19/2022 – In rook endings checks are often a major defensive weapon. So it is important for the attacking king to find shelter. In the diagrammed position, it is White to move and win. How should he proceed?

7/19/2022 – The national junior and senior chess championships have concluded in Saint Louis, with 15-year-old GM Christopher Yoo taking home the 2022 U.S. Junior Championship, 20-year-old FM/WGM Jennifer Yu winning the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, and U.S. Chess Hall-of-Famer GM Alex Shabalov beating out a field that included five other hall-of-fame inductees to become the 2022 U.S. Senior Champion. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

7/19/2022 – After Vladimir Kramnik had to pull out at short notice due to health reasons, the official opening move of the No-Castling World Masters of the 49th International Dortmund Chess Days took place on the board of Michael Adams and Daniel Fridman. Adams beat Fridman to grab the early lead. | Photos: Michelle Lassak

7/18/2022 – Like any complicated trade or skill, the growth and legacy of chess is built upon the great learned imparting their wisdom on the next generation of practitioners. To develop up-and-coming chess talents, former world champion GM Garry Kasparov, through his Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF), has partnered with the Saint Louis Chess Club (SLCC) for the tenth year to host its Young Stars – USA program. | Photo: SLCC

7/15/2022 – This week Robert Ris picks up from last week, when he looked at a quick loss suffered by Ding Liren with the white pieces. A recent victory by Andrew Hong from the US Junior Championship was similar in that a single mistake by White was quickly punished by his opponent. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

7/15/2022 – Queen endgames often need extreme precision. In numerous instances, passed pawns play a large role, but mating attacks should also be considered. Game 4 of the quarterfinal match between Levon Aronian and Arjun Erigaisi saw the former outplaying his opponent in an ending with queens and four pawns per side.

7/15/2022 – This is the 2nd episode in the series of Olympiad stories with Saravanan. In this episode, we discuss the Madras Tiger Vishy Anand and some of his memorable games at the Olympiad. In discussing the games, Saravanan and Sagar also go into the history of how Vishy developed as a chess player. Saravanan saw the lightning kid style of play of Anand and also the more mature and calm style. This is part of a 6-episode series of the most interesting stories from the Chess Olympiads. | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram.

7/15/2022 – Rating favourites prevailed in the quarterfinals of the FTX Road to Miami online tournament. Levon Aronian and Jan-Krzysztof Duda secured victory ‘in regulation’, after four rapid games, while Richard Rapport and Wei Yi only won in the blitz tiebreakers. In semis, Wei is paired up against Rapport, while Duda is set to face Aronian.

7/14/2022 – ChessBase Magazine presents you with ideas for your repertoire in a variety of ways. In each issue you will find at least ten opening articles with recommendations from our authors, including analyses and annotated games. In addition, Raienr Knaak's collection of topical opening traps offers suggestions with which you can add tricky small weapons to your repertoire. And in each issue you will find three opening videos in which our authors address current developments. For CBM #208 Dorian Rogozenco, Ivan Sokolov and Mihail Marin have recorded opening videos - total playing time: over an hour. You can watch excerpts from all three contributions here!

7/14/2022 – Next Saturday is the official start of the Dortmund Chess Days Festival. The organizers expect up to 500 participants in all tournaments. Those who want to see two world champions and the German chess elite up close can still register at short notice. | Pictured: Vladimir Kramnik and Vishy Anand with the winners of the Sportland NRW Girls' Cup 2021 | Photos: Christian Lünig