Long-distance goal

12/31/2022 – Black has a weak king and a weak back rank - but White's forced win from the diagram is also based on the a7 rook. You'll get it, I'm sure!
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Svitlana's Smart Moves - Fantastic games of the Rapid Championship 2022

12/30/2022 – Magnus Carlsen not only won the Rapid Championship 2022, but also the Blitz Championship. The GOAT of chess, played some remarkable games, and Svitlana takes a closer look at two of them. Funnily enough, in one of the games, Bobby Fischer had a very similar position against Ulf Andersson. Perhaps Carlsen remembered the particular attacking move, and used it for his own victory. But this episode begins with the masterful tactic of Daniil Dubov against Nihal Sarin. What a stunner!
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World Blitz: Carlsen clinches triple crown, Assaubayeva defends her title

12/30/2022 – Magnus Carlsen and Bibisara Assaubayeva won the World Blitz Championships in Almaty. Carlsen thus grabbed the triple crown, as he is currently the classical, rapid and blitz world champion. The 18-year-old Assaubayeva, on her part, defended the title she had won in 2021. | Find here the standings and all available games. A full pictorial report will be published shortly. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
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The World Champion 1972 Christmas Calendar Winners

12/30/2022 – Our time travel journey is over, and we return from 1972 to the present. This year we reached a new world record, with almost 7200 (!) answers. Were the questions too easy, or was the topic particularly interesting? But there was something else, wasn't there? Yes, we solve the tricky last question, which of course the majority answered correctly. Thank you for the lively participation, and the mostly positive comments. Have a great new year 2023!| Photos: Pixabay
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NEW: ChessBase Magazine #211

12/30/2022 – Bundesliga season 22/23: Stars up close - Eljanov, Van Wely, McShane, Jones, Kasimdzhanov, Cheparinov, Meier and many others comment on games from the first rounds - "Special" on Mikhail Tal: exclusive collection of 21 commented games + contributions on strategy and endgame - "The Scotch Gambit": Daniel King presents another gambit idea: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5. 0-0 (video) - "How to deal with opening surprises": Jan Markos continues his training series for tournament players (video + collection of exercises) - "Jumping across the centre line":over 50 tactics exercises + three selected combinations in video format with Oliver Reeh - Endgame good, all good: Karsten Mueller's new video series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" (Part 1: Rook vs. Pawn) – King’s Gambit: Take it easy! Sergey Grigoriants promotes 1. e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Ne7!? - Gambit time in the French Advance Variation: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0!? and much more.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Dubov attacks

12/30/2022 – This week Robert Ris presents a fine attacking game by Daniil Dubov who defeated Anish Giri in the World Rapid Championship with Black. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Throwback Thursday: Miguel Najdorf at the Zurich Candidates

12/30/2022 – Now that Argentina has won the FIFA World Cup in memorable fashion, it is a great time to reminisce on the legacy of Miguel Najdorf. ‘Don Miguel’ was born in Warsaw, but was among the many European players who found themselves in Buenos Aires when the Second World War broke out in 1939. Najdorf stayed in Argentina and spent most of his life in the South American country. Najdorf was one of the fifteen players who participated in the legendary 1953 Candidates Tournament in Zurich.
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World Blitz: Nakamura a full point ahead!

12/29/2022 – Hikaru Nakamura had a magnificent first day at the World Blitz Championship in Almaty, as he won eight games and drew four to go into the final nine rounds a full point ahead of a five-player chasing pack. In the women’s tournament, Valentina Gunina and Polina Shuvalova are sharing first place on 7½/9 points. | Find here the standings and all available games. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Magnus Carlsen and Tan Zhongyi are World Rapid 2022 Champions

12/29/2022 – The World Rapid Championships 2022 came to an end with some thrilling action. The Gold medal in the open section went to Magnus Carlsen for the 4th time in his career, but it was not without drama. The silver medal went to the young talent Vincent Keymer who played an exquisite event and the bronze medal went to Fabiano Caruana. In the women's section Tan Zhongyi continued her good run by winning the gold. She beat Dinara Saduakassova in the tiebreaks. The local girl had to settle for silver and the bronze went to India's 15-year-old Savitha Shri.
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A new wave of chess stars (II)

12/29/2022 – The young Uzbek team winning this year’s Olympiad came as a pleasant surprise, but it is not an isolated example in the recent shift of world chess power. Other Central Asian countries are also looking to become more relevant in the elite chess scene, including Kyrgyzstan, a land that was once part of the Timurid Empire — its leader, Timur The Great, was an avid chess player.
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Game of the Week #548: Erwin L'Ami vs S. Tiviakov

12/28/2022 – In his “Game of the Week” show #548 Merijn van Delft looks at a game from the Dutch Championship and analyses a fine straightforward win which Erwin L'Ami scored against Sergey Tiviakov. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

World Rapid: Carlsen and Tan take gold

12/28/2022 – Magnus Carlsen won his fourth World Rapid Championship title by scoring 10 points in 13 rounds at the open tournament in Almaty. Vincent Keymer and Fabiano Caruana completed the podium. Meanwhile, Tan Zhongyi grabbed the gold medal among the women, with Dinara Saduakassova and Savitha Shri finishing second and third respectively. | Find the final standings and all available games here. A full pictorial report will be published later today. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
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Magnus Carlsen well set to become World Rapid Champion 2022

12/28/2022 – Magnus Carlsen became the triple champion in 2019 - in classical, rapid and blitz. However, in 2021, he lost both his rapid and blitz titles to Abdusattorov and MVL respectively. This year, the Norwegian has come with great willpower in order to reclaim his dominance on the world of chess. And he is doing it in style at the World Rapid Championships 2022 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. After 9 rounds, he is in sole lead with 7.5/9. In the women's section we have three leaders - Tan Zhongyi, Goryachkina and the surprise Savitha Shri. All three of them on 6.5/8. A detailed day 2 report.
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Carlsen on ambitions in Almaty and the greatest lesson learnt from chess

12/27/2022 – In the first press conference of the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, Magnus Carlsen and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich answered a broad set of questions from the media. Among other topics, Carlsen discussed his ambitions in Almaty, chess and mental health, and whether he will play Hans Niemann if they happen to be paired up against each other. | Photos: Sergey Alekseenok and Lennart Ootes
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Endgame Magic #220: Endgame Highlights of 2022

12/27/2022 – In the Endgame Magic Show #220 - the last one before the end of the year - Karsten shows endgame highlights from 2022. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

The right exchange

12/27/2022 – Endings with opposite coloured bishop have drawish tendencies but they are often also full of surprising tactics. In the diagram position it is Black to move and win. How would you proceed with Black?

World Rapid Day 1: Magnus Carlsen channels the spirit of Bobby Fischer

12/27/2022 – The World Rapid Championships 2022 kicked off on the 26th of December 2022 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Five rounds were played in the open section and four rounds in women. We have four leaders in the open with 4.5/5 and they are Magnus Carlsen, Arjun Erigaisi, Vladimir Fedoseev and Jorden van Foreest. Meanwhile in the women's section we have a sole leader after four rounds on 100% score - Valentina Gunina. We bring you the full day one report along with pictures, analysis, videos and much more.
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Fier and Terao are the 2022 Brazilian champions

12/26/2022 – GM Alexandr Fier and FM Juliana Sayumi Terao obtained outright victories at the Brazilian Championships (open and women’s, respectively). The events took place on December 15-23 at the Hotel Jangadeiro in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. Fier grabbed his fourth national title by scoring 9½/11 points, while Terao dominated the women’s field and obtained a perfect 9/9 to claim her sixth national title. | Photo: Albert Silver (2018)
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Glorious opening ceremony at World Rapid and Blitz 2022

12/26/2022 – The World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2022 kick off in Almaty, Kazakhstan on the 26th of December 2022. On 25th of December, one day before the start of the event, there was an opening ceremony held at the venue. The first thing you notice when you enter the premises of the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace is how massive it is and how spacious it is going to be for the players. Next you get to see the Kazakh culture in the opening ceremony and the love for chess that the country possesses. Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal have filed a large pictorial report from Almaty.
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A new wave of chess stars

12/25/2022 – The young Uzbek team winning this year’s Olympiad came as a pleasant surprise, but it is not an isolated example in the recent shift of world chess power. Uzbek boys, Kazakh girls, Azeri youth, Chinese, Indian and Iranian young phenoms ever more frequently lit the chess sky. What do their countries have in common? They all once lined the Silk Road.
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Understanding before Moving 105: Play the Sicilian! (7)

12/25/2022 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 105th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to explain why it is good to study and to play the Sicilian. | Photo: Pascal Simon
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Merry Christmas!

12/25/2022 – ChessBase wishes all chess friends a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Stay healthy and enjoy chess! | Picture PublicDomainPictures by Pixabay
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Christmas CHESS Quiz

12/25/2022 – To help you enjoy your seasonal feast, we have a turkey, a tree and a turbulent priest; a circus trip, a corkscrew and a silent (k)night – and lots more for your festive chess delight! Graham Phythian presents some fun and challenging positions to help you while away the festive period. They all appear in the Christmas section of CHESS Magazine, which has a special gift ready for you. You can download the entire magazine to read, free of charge! In any case we all wish you a Merry Christmas – CHESS and ChessBase.

The World Championship 1972 calendar - Door 24

12/24/2022 – The 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spasski is regarded as one of the most critical moments in the history of chess, occurring 50 years ago. To present you with this year's Christmas calendar in the proper setting, Arne swiftly constructed a time machine, and went back 50 years. Of course, the 1972 World Cup is the main calendar focus this time! You have the opportunity to guess, count, and conduct research every day for a chance to win one of 90 ChessBase prizes. Your chances of winning one of the major prizes increases, the more questions you can correctly guess. | Photo: Original by World Chess Hall of Fame