Learning from an epic endgame defense

5/3/2017 – When faced with a very bad or lost endgame, it is sometimes hard to muster the strength, much less the resources, to truly revert the situation. Yet that is what Hikaru Nakamura did, and against no less an expert than Vladimir Kramnik himself. Somehow the American found ways to keep it alive and justify playing on. Some of the resources he found smacked of black magic even. Here is a look at this epic endgame with detailed analysis by endgame expert GM Karsten Mueller.

Sutovsky and Najer supreme at Karpov-Poikovsky

5/3/2017 – The 18th edition of the Karpov–Poikovsky tournament was just held and it once again brought together a fascinating and eclectic group of players. The tournament ended in a spectacular win by Emil Sutovsky and Evgeny Najer, both finishing with 7.0/9 and both with 2900 performances. There were many very attractive games to enjoy. Here is the illustrated report with analysis and quiz positions.

A strong bishop

5/2/2017 – Passed pawns can be tricky. Especially in the endgame and if they are supported by the enemy king. However, bishops can also be powerful. Karsten Müller shows why.

May 2017 Ratings: Personal bests

5/2/2017 – Although the top players all played, the stratospheric 2800 club all saw losses small or modest. Still it was anything but a dry month, starting with Levon Aronian's crushing win at Grenke ahead of an elite crowd such as Carlsen and Caruana, and not omitting Anish Giri's big win at the Reykjavik Open. Nevertheless, a number of players also enjoyed personal bests such as Nils Grandelius, Varuzhan Akobian, and rising female stars in Spain and Germany. Enjoy the report on the new ratings list!

Gashimov Memorial 2017: Mamedyarov wins second title!

5/1/2017 – There were few surprises in the final round of the Gashimov Memorial, and kudos to Alex Yermolinsky for so astutely predicting the action (or lack thereof). Shakhriyar Mamedyarov capped his great run by taking clear first for a second year in a row, showing the event inspires him. Most games were quiet cautious affairs with one exception: Eljanov-Kramnik that had swings and study-like wins. Here is the report with fascinating analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi. | Photos: ShamkirChess.az

Study of the Month: The hour of the holy men

5/1/2017 – GM Jan Timman, in his work as a chess composer, is a fan of checkmates with the bishop. He may be pleased to see that we will be presenting studies where a bishop is the hero of the day – partly as a gift to Jan, whose 65th birthday composing tourney has as its theme "mate by the bishop or struggle against mate by the bishop". Todays three studies are by Soviet composers, one of whom perished tragically under Stalin. Fortunately (for the chess world) he handed his notebook to Mikhail Botvinnik before he disappeared.

India's strongest online blitz tournament on Playchess

4/30/2017 – At 2.30 p.m. CET ( 6 p.m. Indian standard time) we will witness an extra ordinary event on the Playchess server. The 2nd ChessBase India online prize money blitz tournament. 14 grandmasters and 12 International Masters are going to fight for the champion's trophy. The biggest attraction is the participation of B. Adhiban, who finished third at the Tata Steel Masters. Here's how you can view the tournament live.

Gashimov Memorial 2017: 'I wish I could annotate them all'

4/30/2017 – These were the words that accompanied the present article, and it is no surprise. What a difference a day makes! After a snoozefest in the previous round, today the players unleashed their warrior spirit, and in no small way either. Three decisive games were the result, and in all of them the player with a lower score came on top. Of course, it caused a big upheaval in the tournament standings department. Report and predictions by Alex Yermolinsky.

Martinique c'est magnifique (2/2)

4/29/2017 – A chess paradise must be something like this idyllic setting with gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, clement weather and beautiful beaches, with chess to boot. Concluding her account of the event, people, food, and games, here is the large illustrated report with plenty of high-resolution photos by Alina L'Ami.

Gashimov Memorial 2017: A day off

4/29/2017 – Officially the day off was after round five, but round seven was also a day when not much happened. To be fair to the players, it wasn't all about quiet nothings happening at the board as was the case between Eljanov and So, who played a more interesting game. On the other hand, Topalov could not break from the theory cage Radjabov set up that killed the action before it had a chance to happen. Report and analysis by Alex Yermolinsky.

Reykjavik Open 2017: Anish Giri takes sole first

4/29/2017 – It is always a risky affair for a top GM to play in an open such as the Reykjavik Open, simply because his rating alone is the level usually attained by the winners in the end. In other words, he is unlikely to leave earning more, but Giri showed he was up to the task, winning the event, and even downed Jobava in a Najdorf Poisoned Pawn with black! The unexpected second place was 17-year-old Dutchman Jorden Van Foreest. Final report.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #50

4/28/2017 – After his request he has been receiving a steady trickle of games, and this time in his half-century column Jon Speelman looks at an Agony and an Ecstasy by Mike Healey, a 2360 player and "a total hacker", which is a big compliment coming from Jon. In the first game Mike's brain was "evidently totally sizzled," while in the second he pulled off a "beautiful finish to a splendidly violent game." Enjoy and learn.

Check the check

4/28/2017 – 27.Qc3+ in the diagram position offers itself. If White gains control over the long diagonal, he will be clearly winning - two additional attackers (knight d5 and pawn g5), and the black king is just too exposed. But wait a minute: doesn't 27...Re5 throw a spanner in the works?

Gashimov Memorial 2017: Three wins and Shak widens his lead

4/28/2017 – Though not quite as bloodthirsty as Grenke, the Gashimov Memorial has been very entertaining with good fighting chess overall. Round six epitomized this with three impressive wins, all in different conditions. Mamedyarov secured his lead as he defeated Kramnik in a key game, while Topalov beat Eljanov in a trademark attack, and So beat Karjakin in a fascinating technical bout explained in detailed instructive notes by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

New - Fritztrainer Masterclass Vol 08: Magnus Carlsen

4/27/2017 – Magnus Carlsen was born in 1990, in 2010 he became the youngest number one in the history of chess, in 2013 he was World Champion, and in May 2014 he reached an Elo-rating of 2882, the highest Elo-rating of all time. The new Fritztrainer Master Class DVD invites you to study and to enjoy Carlsen's chess. It contains all games of the World Champions and on videos with a total running time of 7 hours and 39 minutes experts explain the characteristics of Carlsen's play.

ChessBase Opening Encyclopedia 2017

4/27/2017 – In chess, braving the gap often leads to disaster after a few moves. We should be able to avoid things going so far. The ChessBase Opening Encyclopaedia offers you an effective remedy against all sorts of semi-digested knowledge and a means of building up a comprehensive and powerful repertoire. The Opening Encyclopedia 2017 has 5.9 million games, of which more than 85,000 are annotated. There are 6,250 opening surveys by the finest opening specialists, and 1004 specialised theory databases. Don't miss it.

Ranking chess players according to the quality of their moves

4/27/2017 – How do you rate players from different periods? An AI researcher has undertaken to do it based not on the results of the games, but on the quality of the moves played. Jean-Marc Alliot used a strong chess engine running on a 640 processor cluster to analyse over two million positions that occurred in 26,000 games of World Champions since Steinitz. From this he produced a table of probable results between players of different eras. Example: Carlsen would have beaten Smyslov 57:43.

Karsten Müller's “Endgame Magic“ - Review

4/27/2017 – How to improve your chess? By studying the endgame! And how to study the endgame? Go to Karsten Müller. The German grandmaster is considered to be the world's leading endgame expert and he has published numerous books and DVDs about the endgame. In his "Endgame Magic Show", which runs on the ChessBase server, he regularly shows instructive and interesting endgames. The shows are archived. A treasure.

Martinique c'est magnifique (1/2)

4/27/2017 – Sun, sand, coconut trees, crystal clear turquoise waters, fruity drinks and epic cocktails are just some of the things that come to mind when imagining that postcard-perfect-laid-back beach bliss. Ahhh, the Caribbean and its tropical light which seems to promise blue morning after blue morning forever after... Such is the backdrop of the 6th Martinique Open, reported here with plenty of photos by Alina L'Ami.

Praggnanandhaa – yet another Indian super-talent

4/26/2017 – During the last weeks you were comprehensively briefed on Nihal Sarin, twelve years old and on his way to the GM title. Nihal is playing at the Reykjavik Open, where a compatriot is stunning the crowd. Pragga, as he is known to friends, is making life tense for experienced grandmasters, in fact beating the winner of the recent Dubai Open, GM Gawain Jones, rated 2671. And: a fifteen-year-old girl has joined the ranks of young GM killers: Vaishali, who is Pragga's sister.

Roadtrip to Reno

4/26/2017 – Celebrating 20 years of participation in tournaments in Reno, Nevada, GM Alex Yermolinksy made the trip this year to play in the 6th Larry Evans Memorial, where he met other grandmasters such as Nick De Firmian and Elshan Moradiabadi. Caissa smiled warmly at the author as he took clear first. In this report/travelogue by Alex Yermolinsky, you will read what brings him back year after year to the 'Biggest Little City in the World'. Enjoy!

Gashimov Memorial 2017: Crushing wins

4/26/2017 – It seems as if everyone will enjoy the taste of victory at the Gashimov Memorial, and round five saw two new names added to the list of victors. Wesley So’s fans will be heaving a big sigh of relief as he breaks from his funk and scores a powerful win over Vladimir Kramnik. Sergey Karjakin showed he is not just the ‘Minister of Defense’ as he completely demolished Topalov’s king in the center. Here is the illustrated report with extensive analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

A favorable retreat

4/25/2017 – In an endgame pawn race every tempo counts. But rushing blindly forward is rarely a good strategy. Karsten Müller shows why.

Gashimov Memorial 2017: Kramnik sacs his rook

4/25/2017 – With a description such as “sacrificed the rook for some pawns and initiative”, a few players come to mind in the field at such as the current leader Mamedyarov, or Topalov, but Kramnik, in spite of his enormous ability, is not your usual choice. Yet in round four, in a dubious position against Harikrishna, the Russian took preemptive measures and turned the game on its head with a spectacular rook sacrifice. Illustrated report with enlightening analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.