Talking modern correspondence chess

6/26/2018 – Does correspondence chess have any meaning in 2018, when chess engines definitely overcame the best humans already back in about 2005? Is it useful for a chess player to study a database of correspondence chess games? Or to use it as a reference? Discover more in an interview with Wolff Morrow, one of the top ten correspondence chess players in the USA!

Evans Gambit for the new generation

6/26/2018 – A romantic gambit? A modern product of top engines? How to define the Evans gambit? In today's frenetic chess world, with new tournaments every weekend, a chess warrior must keep the competition always unprepared using different sharp openings. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO has the review as GingerGM (AKA Simon Williams) continues his journey helping other chess players to spice up their openings and gain points while playing exciting chess.

The fortress - real or an illusion?

6/26/2018 – Some players believe in fortresses, others do not. But no matter whether you are believer or not, some fortresses are real and really solid. In the endgame rooks are usually much better than a knight. But with pawns on one side, the defending side might build a fortress:

"I don’t see Nigel as a great leadership candidate"

6/25/2018 – IM Malcolm Pein, now a candidate for FIDE Deputy President, took time out from a full schedule for a chat with Macauley Peteron in Leuven at the end of the "Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz" tournament. Malcolm discussed the Grand Chess Tour, the FIDE / Agon proposed "broadcast policy," the upcoming World Championship in London, and his thoughts on the election including having his old friend Nigel Short as a political sparring partner. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Simon Says — The English Defence

6/25/2018 – In this Simon Says, Simon looks at an opening for black today: The English Defence against 1.d4 or 1.c4. The action is live most Mondays starting at 18:00 CEST (Noon EDT). | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Using ChessBase on your Mac computer

6/25/2018 – ChessBase, Fritz & Co. are programs for Windows but they do also run on Mac computers if you install Windows, which is nowadays easy to do using, for instance, Boot Camp, Parallels, or VMware Fusion. We compare these three alternatives and describe how you can use them to install ChessBase on your Mac.
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GCT Paris: Nakamura by a nose

6/25/2018 – Sergey Karjakin seemed unstoppable after Saturday's first nine rounds of blitz, however, Nakamura finally emerged as the winner of the Paris Grand Chess Tour. Hikaru fought until last minute and finished one and a half points ahead of the field. Meanwhile, Wesley So played it safe to get clear third and keep the lead in the Tour overall standings. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Grand Chess Tour Paris LIVE

6/24/2018 – Wesley So won the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2018, the combined rapid chess and blitz tournament in Leuven. The tour continues with an equivalent tournament in Paris, where the French conglomerate Vivendi and its "Canal plus" TV channel is a leading partner of the tournament. Indeed, the games will take place in a television studio. Read our report on day four.

GCT Paris: Surging Sergey

6/24/2018 – Sergey Karjakin jumped out to a small lead after a stellar performance on the first day of blitz in Paris. Nakamura also had a good day and is second. Wesley So has slipped to third place, but along with Vachier-Lagrave and Aronian, remains in contention. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Ivory Coast to host major African tournament

6/23/2018 – An unprecedented rapid & blitz invitational tournament is being organised in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Ten players from ten different African countries will participate in an event that will mimic the Grand Chess Tour format. The French mass media conglomerate that sponsors the Paris GCT, Vivendi SA, is sponsoring this novel initiative. | Pictured: Abidjan city center at night | Photo: Cedric Favero

Praggnanandhaa, a Grandmaster!

6/23/2018 – In a small town of northern Italy called Ortisei, history is being made. The young uber-prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa is playing the 4th Gredine Open 2018 and he has qualified for his final GM norm making him the second youngest GM in the history of the game. In this article IM Sagar Shah analyzes one of Pragg's fine wins over Aryan Gholami from Iran. His sister Vaishali is also in fantastic form as she is on track to making her maiden IM norm. Also get to see some breathtaking pictures sent to us by Sushir Lohia.

Indonesia's red hot chili peppers

6/23/2018 – Surakarta, also known as Solo or Sala, a city in Central Java, Indonesia, hosted two round-robin tournaments earlier this year — one for GMs and one for WGMs. Alina l'Ami was there and prepared a long article filled with anecdotes, chess games and some extra spicy dishes. | Photos: Alina l'Ami

GCT Paris: So takes slim margin to blitz

6/23/2018 – Another single round-robin of rapid chess was completed in Paris over the past three days. This weekend the French capital hosts a double-round blitz tournament, with the scores of the two tournaments combined to produce an overall winner. As before in Leuven, the lead in the standings is in the hands of the American Wesley So, but this time his margin is much narrower, as he has only one point more than his compatriot Hikaru Nakamura and the Russian former World Blitz Champion Sergey Karjakin. Today, So calmly drew all three of his games. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Pia Cramling to miss Olympiad 40 years after her first

6/22/2018 – Pia Cramling was born in 1963, the same year as Garry Kasparov, and she is also a chess legend. 40 years ago, when she was 15, she played in her first Olympiad. But this year she won't in play the Olympiad in Batumi 2018. In an extensive interview, the Swedish grandmaster reveals what drove her decision and reflects on her long career. | Pictured: Juan Bellon, Anna Cramling, Pia Cramling; Photo: Swedish Chess Federation

Learn from the great Mikhail Botvinnik

6/22/2018 – If Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik could learn from the great Patriarch of chess Mikhail Botvinnik, we are sure you can also learn a great deal from this great master. Hence, ChessBase has launched its tenth DVD in the Master Class series in which capable tutors like GMsYannick Pelletier, Mihail Marin, Karsten Mueller and IM Oliver Reeh dissect the play of the fifth World Champion. In this article IM SAGAR SHAH explains how studying the classics helped him to become a stronger chess player. He shows you one of his favourite games of Botvinnik and how he applied what he learnt in his own game at the under-19 nationals back in 2007!

Light summer mate II

6/22/2018 – White's queen is threatening to take the rook e8 with a back rank mate, while his own exposed king might get ready to escape via e2. How would you continue as Black in the diagram position?

GCT Paris: So steps up the scoreboard

6/21/2018 – After the second day of the GCT rapid tournament in Paris, as in Leuven last week, Wesley So has taken the lead again. Today, the US Grandmaster won two games and played one draw. In the live Rapid Elo list So has now gained 86 points and is second behind Magnus Carlsen. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Tune your tactics - Rook lifts - from classic to modern

6/21/2018 – A solid tactical understanding is sure to help any chess player in critical situations. Whether it is a simple exchange or a mating attack, tactics are ubiquitous. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop your tactical understanding in this series with IM Oliver Reeh and Pascal Simon! (Normally) Friday's at 15:30 CET (9:00 AM EDT) it's all about Tactics!

Crucial Chess Skills for the Club Player

6/21/2018 – International Master Robert Ris, well known for his Chessbase DVDs, has now published his first print book. In it he gives special attention to three essential elements of practical play, all key elements for every ambitious player seeking to improve. The first part of the book explores essential knowledge of rook endgames, offering a clear method to learn them. Then focus on tactical play and the way one should think, and how to cultivate one's own ability to sense the opportunity for a tactical strike. Ris also examines important aspects of positional play which will lead to a deeper understanding of the game. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO looks at how Ris' teaching approach can help serious chess students master all the facets of the game.

GCT Paris: Three lead after three rounds

6/21/2018 – The second leg of the Grand Chess Tour has begun, with three rapid chess rounds played in Paris today. After the first third of the rapid round-robin, Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian and Wesley So are in the lead with 4 points each. Paris, like the tournament in Leuven last week, uses double-points scoring for the rapid games, which will be combined with the scores in the blitz tournament this weekend to produce an overall winner. Photos: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

NEW: Master Class Vol. 10: Mikhail Botvinnik

6/20/2018 – Mikhail Botvinnik became world champion in 1948 and remained so until 1963. During this time he either successfully defended his title against David Bronstein, Vassily Smyslov and Mihail Tal or got it back in a return match. The systematic, scientific method of working in chess begins with Botvinnik. Karsten Mueller, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Yannick Pelletier break down his legacy in this latest entrant into our Master Class series.

KCF Young Stars "working with Garry"

6/20/2018 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) and Saint Louis Chess Club have been running the very successful Young Stars – Team USA program for the past six years. Team USA’s program has helped develop several American chess prodigies from across the country, including the likes of GM Jeffery Xiong and GM Sam Sevian. Young Stars has been capped off with individualized training sessions with Garry Kasparov’s coaching staff and special training sessions with Kasparov himself. | Photo: Andrew Tsay

Who put the "Indian" in Indian openings?

6/20/2018 – Why, after all, are the Indian openings called "Indian"? Conrad Schormann tried to find an answer to this question and found it in the ChessBase Mega Database. It led him back to a clash of classical and hypermodern theory in old India.

"FIDE should be encouraging chess, not discouraging it"

6/19/2018 – Nigel Short is in a four-way race for President of FIDE, to be decided in an election in Batumi at the Chess Olympiad on October 3rd. Until a few days ago, it was a three-way race with one of those being the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. But now the Russian Chess Federation is poised to nominate someone else: Russian economist and politician Arkady Dvorkovich. Macauley Peterson spoke to Nigel for an hour in Leuven, during the first stop of Grand Chess Tour, to get his current thoughts on the race. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour