London Chess Classic: Magnus on tilt

12/11/2017 – Round 8 saw a startling blunder from the World Champion whose frustration following the game was palpable. We have analysis of that critical game by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson. Ian Nepomniachtchi now leads the tournament alone, half a point ahead of Fabiano Caruana, who drew his game. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in third. | Photo: Pascal Simon

New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018

12/10/2017 – The organisers of the Grand Chess Tour announced changes to the format for 2018, including a new format for next year's London Chess Classic. The traditional classical tournament will be replaced by a semi-final and final held in mid-December that will combine classical, rapid and blitz chess over six days. The change is being made to make the tour final more dynamic, accentuate the purpose of the GCT's "Universal Rating" system (combining all three disciplines) and avoid conflict with the World Championship which will be also held in London from November 9th to 28th. | Pictured: Malcolm Pein, Michael Khodarkovsky, and Tony Rich | Photo: Pascal Simon

London Classic: Nepomniachtchi joins lead

12/10/2017 – The tournament is now in full swing, and the thrilling battles in round seven show it. Magnus Carlsen had the strangest game, finding himself dead lost after 13 moves with his queen stuck in enemy territory. Somehow he cast his voodoo spell and turned it around to a win. Karjakin decided to test MVL's Najdorf and was to regret it, while Nepomniachtchi scored his second win, over Anand this time. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Pascal Simon

Morocco Chess Federation hit with corruption troubles

12/9/2017 – The Royal Morocco Chess Federation has been in discord since members of its governing body raised the alarm over impropriety on the part of its leadership, including the disappearance of the equivalent of $200,000 US Dollars. DIANA MIHAJLOVA reports on a host of allegations which have beset the federation's president Mustapha Amazzal. Part one of a two-part chronicle. | Photo: Members of the Moroccan team at the chess Olympiad in Baku (from right to left): Khalid Becham, FA Amina Bamous, IA Akkour Abdel Fattah, Hind Bahji, Mehdi Ait, Hmidou, Ferdaous Idrissi, Adil Choukri, Firdaouss Myar Idrissi (seated), the Moroccan Women’s Champion | Mouhcine Bennadi's Facebook page

London Classic: Nakamura misses win against Carlsen

12/9/2017 – What a fun round it was. Round six may not have had many wins, but it was not short of excitement. The big game was between Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen, with the American completely winning all the way until move 59 when he missed his chance. Aronian continues to play with no inhibitions, though drew against So, while Nepomniachtchi beat Adams. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Norway's second World Champion interviewed

12/8/2017 – Magnus Carlsen single handedly uplifted the chess culture in Norway when the 22-year-old became the World Champion in Chennai in 2013. Thanks to Magnus' achievements a major chess boom has been witnessed in Norway. One of the players who is a product of this boom is GM Aryan Tari, just 18 years old, who has already broken into 2600, and recently won the World Junior Championship. ChessBase India caught up with the young achiever for an interview on his fantastic achievement. | Photo: Regani CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Grand Prix concept #1

12/8/2017 – Sometimes it is enough to make just one right decision in a position — afterwards the rest of game (almost) plays itself. In the diagram White intends 17.Nf3 followed by 18.Bg5. Which black continuation hits the bullseye now?

John Nunn these days

12/8/2017 – At 15 he was Oxford University's youngest undergraduate since Cardinal Wolsey in 1520; and at 23 he did his doctorate in algebraic topology — and achieved his final grandmaster norm. He went on to become one of the top ten players in the world, and a world champion chess problem solver. Today John Nunn, at 62, is slowly gliding into retirement (from his chess publishing business), but that does not mean sitting idly around. He is addicted to rational thinking, puzzles, mathematics and beautiful vacations. Frederic Friedel joined him on one.

Runavik Open 2017

12/8/2017 – The 2nd edition of Runavik Open took place in Runavik, Faroe Islands from November 20-26. Blue water, enchanting skies, lush green land and mountains all around! With 12 GM’s and a total of 25 titled players in a field of 59 players, there may have been expectations of a drawfest. There were 4 Indians, an army of ex soviet GM’s, and more than a handful of exciting young players. Nikita Maiorov broke through everything to win with 7.5/9. He had to go through more than his share of difficult moments, trials and tribulations, but deservedly came out on top. Read on to find games and pictures. | Photo: Fiona Steil-Antoni

Tsar Nicholas II, Matilda and the Russian Chess Championship

12/7/2017 – The secret star of the Russian Championships is the villa in which they are played. Today it is a museum but it was once owned by Matilda Kschessinskaya, the famous ballerina and lover of the future Tsar Nicholas II. The love-story of the Tsar and the ballerina was recently turned into a movie ("Matilda"). Vladimir Fedoseev leads the "Superfinal" after five rounds. | Photo: H X YouTube along with numerous other historical photos

London Classic: Caruana wins again

12/7/2017 – Round five promised a lot more than what it yielded, but the audience won’t have left feeling the players did not deliver. Magnus Carlsen played a masterful game against Wesley So, achieving a won endgame, only to blunder it and draw. The winner of the day was once again Fabiano Caruana, who defeated Vishy Anand and now leads by a full point. Report with analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The future is here – AlphaZero learns chess

12/6/2017 – Imagine this: you tell a computer system how the pieces move — nothing more. Then you tell it to learn to play the game. And a day later — yes, just 24 hours — it has figured it out to the level that beats the strongest programs in the world convincingly! DeepMind, the company that recently created the strongest Go program in the world, turned its attention to chess, and came up with this spectacular result.

How XiangQi can improve your chess

12/6/2017 – Caruana, Ivanchuk, Nielsen are all learning and playing different forms of chess to keep their chess at the top in terms of interest and creativity. In this article you'll discover a form of chess played by more than 100 million Chinese just in China, but also in many other countries in the world like: Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan etc. It's very easy to learn, but like the version most dear to our hearts, it takes a lifetime to master! Here's the backstory from Davide Nastasio plus five reasons chess players specifically should play XiangQi.

"The Semi-Slav": a fine performance by Peter Heine Nielsen

12/6/2017 – Peter Heine Nielsen is a considered to be one of the world's best seconds. He worked for former World Champion Vishy Anand and now works for current World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Naturally, Nielsen knows his openings, and one of his favourites is the Semi-Slav. On a ChessBase DVD he shared his knowledge and expertise. Hartmut Metz, German chess journalist and strong amateur, had a look. | Photo: Hartmut Metz

London Classic: Caruana breaks the deadlock

12/6/2017 – A win! A win was scored! Let us all dance, rejoice and make merry! For those who have followed this very disappointing start to an all-star lineup, such words are not hyperbole in any way or form. 19 draws and one decisive game represents a 95% draw rate after all. Sergey Karjakin fell to Fabiano Caruana when he found himself in unknown territory, and the latter, sensing weakness, pounced in a game annotated by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Henry Nelson Pillsbury: enormous talent and an early death

12/5/2017 – Henry Nelson Pillsbury was one of the strongest players of his time who never became World Champion. He impressed his contemporaries with his fantastic memory and his amazing blindfold exhibitions. He died at only 33 years of age from syphilis, and suffering from mental illness. Today, December 5, 2017, would be his 145th birthday.

A (very) good bishop

12/5/2017 – Of course, a rook is stronger than a bishop. This is one of the first things you learn in chess. But sometimes rooks are helpless against bishops. Particularly so if passed pawns join the game.

London Classic: Peace at all costs

12/5/2017 – The bad news is that after three rounds, it has been 100% draws. Caruana even tweeted tongue-in-cheek, "We're thinking of renaming it to the Anish Giri Cup." The good news is that some players are clearly trying their best to break the fast. Aronian did everything he could, sacrificing material helter-skelter against Karjakin. When he was dead lost... he offered a draw. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Vera Menchik, A Biography

12/4/2017 – A biography on the first Women's World Champion Vera Menchik offers the chance to know more about the chess world of nearly 100 years ago. Women in chess have a rich history, and this book paints a great historical portrait, showing us beautiful games played by Miss Menchik against top chess players of her day. Davide Nastasio has the review. | Photo: Menchik (centre) at a simul at the Bury and West Suffolk Chess Club in 1936 | suffolkchess.org.uk

ChessBase Magazine #181

12/4/2017 – Peter Heine Nielsen explains how Magnus Carlsen "cold as ice" took his chance against Fabiano Caruana in Isle of Man. Oliver Reeh gives clues on how to calculate variations well with an interactive tactical video. Simon Williams brings his enthusiasm for 2.Be2!? against the Sicilian, Karsten Mueller warns of double-rook endgame traps, Max Illingworth gives a summary of a trend in English Opening theory: Grischuk's 6...Bc5, etc.

London Classic: A tepid start

12/4/2017 – If the first round looked like a car left in neutral, then round two was barely in second gear. Karjakin and Carlsen left their battles for another time, while So failed to make the most of a strange opening choice by Nepo. The game of the day was the sharp as nails Sicilian Dragon between Maxime Vachier Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura, giving the audience something to cheer for. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

50 games you should know: Rotlewi-Rubinstein

12/3/2017 – Some players seem to be able to give their pieces magical powers. An invisible force seems to unite the pieces, and even if one, two or more of them are hanging or have to be sacrificed, the power of the remaining pieces easily compensate this. A classic example for such a dynamic is the game Rotlewi against Rubinstein. | Photo: Deutsche Schachzeitung 1908

New: Erwin l'Ami - The Beasty Botvinnik Variation

12/3/2017 – Ever wanted to release your inner Tal or Shirov? This is your chance! On this DVD you will be taken on a journey through what is arguably the sharpest opening line known to men: the Botvinnik Variation! Ever since its birth, in the late 30’s of the previous century, the Botvinnik Variation has fascinated generations of dynamic players. To date, the opening is very much alive and is considered the sharpest and most principled way to meet 5.Bg5 in the Semi-Slav.

Levon Aronian's Armenian Interview

12/3/2017 – After winning the FIDE World Cup, Levon Aronian sat down for an in depth interview published by the Champord Newspaper and conducted in Armenian. Meri Grigoryan painstakingly translated the full 43-minute conversation between Levon and Mark Grigoryan (no relation to Meri!), which we shared with Champord to subtitle the original video on YouTube. Enjoy both the video and the complete transcript!