Hort stories — part 3

1/7/2018 – More Vlastimil Hort stories from his time as a top grandmaster traveling the world to countless tournaments and matches. The living legend saw chess history in the making and share some of his memories. | Photo: André Schulz

Who was the player of the year?

1/7/2018 – At the end of our survey of 2017, we will be voting for the "Player of the Year 2017". We picked ten players who stood out over the past 12 months, excelling in one way or another. Choose your player of the year in our poll.

Who was the female player of the year?

1/6/2018 – After the "Move of the Year", the "Endgame of the Year", and the "Game of the Year" we now ask you to vote for your chess personalities of the year. To start: Who was your "Female Player of the Year"? Vote here.

20 years ago: Anand and Karpov fight for the World Championship

1/6/2018 – Twenty years ago this week, on January 2, 1998, Viswanathan Anand and Anatoly Karpov began their match for the FIDE World Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland — under peculiar circumstances. Anand had qualified for the match by winning the knock-out tournament in Groningen but then had to go immediately to Lausanne to play for the title — without a break or time for preparation.

To exchange or not to exchange: that is the question!

1/6/2018 – The road to becoming a better player passes through many stages. One of these is predicting the future endgame in which one will enter. This is the true mastery, not memorising 25 moves of the Najdorf, but knowing which pieces will be advantageous to keep on the board, and which are better to let go. Through many painful losses, one can discover how difficult the game becomes when, for instance, the dust settles on the board and we find ourselves facing a good bishop with a bad knight. Now thanks to this DVD one can develop into a better player through many practical examples which guide the player through the maze of decisions we need to make when choosing what to exchange, or not, in a tournament game.

Tune your tactics - The Sicilian Exchange Sacrifice

1/5/2018 – 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! Thursday at 15:30 CET (9:30 AM EDT) it's all about the Sicilian Exchange Sacrifice!

Rilton Cup 2018 Live

1/5/2018 – The XLVII Rilton Cup in Stockholm (Sweden) was down to two leaders after eight rounds setting up a dramatic final round showdown. GMs Johan Salomon and Kirill Alekseenko held a half point lead over six GMs going into Friday. And rather than make a quick draw, they played a full game, until Salomon blundered an exchange and was forced to resign on the spot, leaving Alekseenko the sole winner. Commentary by GM Harry Schüssler & FM Martin Lokander. | Photos: Lars OA Hedlund

Who was Paul Felix Schmidt?

1/5/2018 – Only a few chess enthusiasts will remember the name of Paul Felix Schmidt thought Schmidt was one of the world's best players in the 1930s and 1940s, and equal to his Estonian countryman Paul Keres. A new biography by Eva Regina Magacs and Michael Negele invites you to get to know Paul Felix Schmidt and chess in his time.

Pontus Carlsson ponders GM secrets

1/5/2018 – Since October, GM Pontus Carlsson has been experimenting with a relatively unexploited form of online coaching: group webinars. If you're looking for a low-cost way to access professional insights from someone with more than 20 years on the international chess scene as player and coach, the next one is starting on Saturday, January 6th, and is half price!

Background showdown

1/5/2018 – Do you remember this game from the London Chess Classic last year? By playing 43...Rh7 in the diagram position Anand could have completed the line-up of kings and rooks on the h-file, creating the deadly threat ...Kg7+. Do you see the reason why he dismissed this?

Hort stories — part 2

1/5/2018 – For decades Vlastimil Hort, born in 1944, was one of the world's best players. He played countless tournaments and matches, where he saw chess history in the making and met many chess legends. No wonder he has lots of short stories to share. Here are some more... | Photo: André Schulz

Young stars in Al Ain Junior International

1/4/2018 – The very first junior U-20 international open chess tournament in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates is being held from December 29th to January 7th, 2018. Under the auspices of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Al Ain Chess & Culture Club the tournament has attracted top young talent from Armenia, India, Iran, and Uzbekistan. | Pictured: The ceremonial first move made by H.E Sheikh Salem BalRakkad AlAmeri | Photo: Enkhtuul Altan-Ulzii

KCF Young Stars program goes global

1/4/2018 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) program to train young American talents, is expanding to include top prospects from around the world. Here's the info on how you can join. | Pictured: 2016 Under-10 World Champion Rochelle Wu | Photos: Derrick Bryant, kasparovchessfoundation.org

The Life and Sad Endgame of Bill Lombardy

1/4/2018 – William James Joseph 'Bill' Lombardy, who died suddenly in mid-October at the age of 79, has to go down in the annals of U.S. chess — and arguably perhaps the world chess scene — as 'the one who got away', a huge teenage talent equally as gifted as Bobby Fischer, but who gave up the chance to become an elite chess professional at the peak of his career, opting instead to pursue a personal calling to his faith by becoming a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. | Photo: Macauley Peterson

Is the Veresov really wicked?

1/4/2018 – Openings teach us the value of the pieces as well as tactics, patterns, and of course most important of all: pawn structures. They are really the backbone of a player's knowledge, because they open our minds to different middlegame structures, which in turn brings us into different endgames. Openings teach us how to play with different pawn structures — things like when one needs to open the game, and when it is better to keep it closed. The Veresov as taught by IM Andrew Martin can become a good weapon in everyone's repertoire, while helping the player to improve! Davide Nastasio has the review

The first Weekly Show of 2018!

1/3/2018 – Tuesdays at 5pm UK time Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show Lawrence Trent will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from the elite chess tournaments. This week features games from World Rapid and Blitz Championship recently concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Wei Yi wins exhibition match with David Navara

1/3/2018 – In Yancheng, the Chinese Chess Federation organized a competition between Wei Yi and top Czech player David Navara. After the four games of classical chess, the match was tied 2 : 2. Wei Yi won a playoff. | Photo: www.imsa.cn

January 2018 FIDE Ratings: Green and evergreen

1/3/2018 – It was a great month to end the year, with exciting chess throughout. Fabiano Caruana retook the no.2 spot after his win at London, but the biggest news was really Vishy Anand's evergreen result, taking the World Rapid title at age 48, facing a player less than half his age, albeit a bit green in tournament strategy, 22-year-old Vladimir Fedoseev. Let's not forget Magnus Carlsen who took the World Blitz title, and many more results. | Photo: Anastasia Karlovich

Awake in Arica

1/3/2018 – Awaken in the dream: Is failing to plan planning to fail? Chess in the desert – does it exist? An extensive inquiry (with footnotes) on why you should make your chess trip to the ends of the Earth a reality. | Pictured: Arica's landmark: El Morro, a massive cliff of compressed sand and rock looming 110m over the city | Photos: Alina l'Ami

Hort stories — Part 1

1/2/2018 – For decades Vlastimil Hort, born in 1944, was one of the world's best players. He played countless tournaments and matches, where he saw chess history in the making and met many chess legends. No wonder he has lots of short stories to share. Here are some of them. | Photo: André Schulz

Benjamin Bok wins Groningen Open

1/2/2018 – Have you ever imagined being away at Christmas time and maybe just playing chess somewhere in the world? At the chess festival in the Dutch city of Groningen you had a chance — they played a round even on Christmas Eve. The winner of the strong A-Open on New Year's Eve eve was local hero GM Benjamin Bok, followed by Israeli GM Evgeny Postny | Photo: Harry Gielen

Hidden exits

1/2/2018 – Some endgames look hopeless: the king cannot move, the pawns cannot advance and heavy material losses seem to be unavoidable. But sometimes, when everything seems to be lost, there is an escape.

Review: Pattern recognition, and typical plans

1/1/2018 – Chess is mainly a strategic game because of the pawn structures. Different pawn structures require varying approaches. Strategy is the human concept since unlike an engine, we can't find the right move through brute force. We need to know a given pawn structure, and the plans it engenders. In the past we needed years to learn which were the correct plans depending on which pawn structures we encountered in our games. Now, thanks to this DVD made by one of the most expert trainers in the world, we can learn through the videos, and reviewing curated games, to understand how to deal with the different pawn structures, and reach the next level. Davide Nastasio digs in.

World Rapid lookback: Yermo's notes

1/1/2018 – Readers may have noticed the final report on the World Rapid had not been by Alex Yermolinsky, who begged forgiveness as he was very ill. A day later he sent this series of notes he had already prepared, saying it would be a pity for them to go to waste and we could not agree more. Enjoy the chosen moments with his highly instructive annotations. Happy New Year! | Photo: Anastasia Karlovich