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.

On human and computer intelligence in chess (with solution!)

4/24/2017 – In March there was an international furore over a chess position, published by famous mathematics professor Sir Roger Penrose. It purported to show a key difference between human and computer thinking, and have general implications for our understanding of Artificial Intelligence. The example was unconvincing, but as a reaction a number of chess players and AI researchers have sent us papers we want to share with you. We start with a challenge to humans and machines issued by GM Miguel Illescas.

Alexei Shirov: How to crack the Berlin Wall with 5.Re1

4/24/2017 – The Berlin Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6) is a very solid line for Black - so solid that players dubbed it "The Berlin Wall". But Alexei Shirov has some ideas "how to crack the Berlin Wall". Hedinn Steingrimsson liked these ideas - and so did Hou Yifan who used Shirov's recommendations to beat Fabiano Caruana in round 1 of the Grenke Classic.

Gashimov Memorial 2017: Mamedyarov beats Eljanov and leads

4/24/2017 – Round three saw intriguing matchups, and two decisive results. The first matchup was the classic between Kramnik and Topalov, who always promise a game worth watching for the spectators, but no blood was spilled this time. The big one due to the standings, was between Mamdeyarov and Eljanov. It was an extremely complicated King's Indian that saw both players have winning edges, and the Azeri with the last word. See the game, and read the notes by Aleksander Lenderman!

Kasparov Chess Foundation promotes chess education in Asia

4/23/2017 – In conjunction with the Kasparov Chess Foundation's 15th Anniversary Celebration, the Kasparov Chess Foundation Asia-Pacific proposed five activities as its contribution and four of them came together with a tour of four countries in Asia with the common theme of Chess in Education. Here is an illustrated report by Peter Long

Gashimov Memorial 2017: Topalov wins brilliancy

4/23/2017 – The opening salvo of rounds at the Gashimov Memorial have certainly been with their fair share of surprises. Winning his second straight game, this time against Pentala Harikrishna, Ukrainian Pavel Eljanov has taken the early lead in round two with a perfect 2.0/2. Still, the crowd-pleaser of the round was unquestionably Veselin Topalov's spectacular win over Radoslaw Wojtaszek with his trademark sacrifices to win a beautiful game. Analysis by GM Aleks Lenderman.

Grenke Classic 2017: Aronian misses win in exciting finale

4/23/2017 – It was a thrilling end to a great tournament. In spite of the four draws that might suggest less than exhilarating chess, one game stood out far more than the others: Caruana vs Aronian. Any dreams he had of being the spoilsport, Caruana was forced to set aside as he found himself fighting for his life, a piece down in the endgame. There wouldn't be much to say if he didn't actually pull it off. See all, read all, in this final report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

Reykjavik Open 2017: For the love of chess

4/22/2017 – The Reykjavik Open is one of the highlights of the year's chess calendar with amazing scenery, top notch organization, and chess for all. It is now underway with hundreds of players, including names such as Anish Giri, Dmitry Andreikin, Jobava Baadur, as well as budding talents such as Liang Awonder, Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. Enjoy this report with tactics to solve and gorgeous photos by Alina L'Ami.

Gashimov Memorial 2017: So falls to Mamedyarov

4/22/2017 – As the Grenke Chess Classic wraps up, another Super GM tournament has just started to fill the gap: The Gashimov Memorial, the 4th edition of the event in tribute to Vugar Gashimov, taken away at the much too young age of 27. Playing in it are players such as Wesley So, Kramnik, Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Topalov, and more. The first round already brought in the shocker as So lost with white to Mamedyarov. Here is the report with detailed analysis by GM Aleks Lenderman.

Grenke Classic 2017: Levon Aronian wins all the marbles!

4/22/2017 – What do you get when you ad one plus one plus one plus one? You get first place at Grenke! Levon Aronian has been unstoppable, and in round six he clinched clear first with a round to spare when his potential rivals Carlsen and Caruana drew their respective games, while he won his fourth in a row, beating Hou Yifan. This took his tally to 5.0/6, a full 1.5 points ahead. Read the report by GM Elshan Moradiabadi with analysis by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.

Backup idea

4/21/2017 – Major pieces love open files. That's why White has just played 13.g5! (diagram position) because he has seen a speedy way to line them up against the black king following 13...hxg5 14.hxg5 Qxg5 - all three of them! How this?

Grenke Classic 2017: Magnus scores; Levon leads

4/21/2017 – Round five saw Magnus Carlsen finally score as he soundly defeated Georg Meier with black. He still remains a full point behind the leader since Levon Aronian also won, beating Arkadij Naiditsch in an inspired performance. After sacrificing an exchange to keep Naiditsch's king in the center, he entered a pawn up into an opposite-colored bishop he handled superbly. Read the report with the highly instructive analysis by Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

ChessBase Broadcast: now with live chat!

4/20/2017 – Grenke Chess Classic, Reykjavik Open, Karpov Poikovsky, Chinese League. You can start watching the games with a single click, here in your browser. And if you have been using our Live Broadcast service you will have noticed that it is being constantly upgraded. We have engine analysis and advanced cloud functions, and now also chat in the browser, where your attention is drawn to interesting things that are happening in the games. You can jump to games in other tournament when people point to them – and that with single click in the chat.

Grenke Classic 2017: Levon takes the lead

4/20/2017 – Without a doubt, round four brought in a number of dramatic moments for those watching the games live. The one ‘letdown’, if one may, was the uneventful draw between Carlsen and Caruana on top board. Naiditsch and Meier had a crazy game that drew in the end, while Aronian defeated Bluebaum very cleanly to take the lead after Hou Yifan lost to MVL in a tough endgame that is annotated in detail by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.

Nihal Sarin in Hamburg (2): fun with chess

4/19/2017 – Two weeks ago one of the youngest IMs in history, all of twelve years old, and now with one GM norm under his belt, came to visit us in Hamburg. We told you how impressed everyone it the ChessBase office was, by his tactical vision and his deep understanding of positional aspects of the game. But also by his obvious love and enjoyment of the game. Nihal entertained everyone with humorous chess puzzles, of which we bring you a small selection. You can solve two and win a valuable prize.

Speelman's Agony #49

4/19/2017 – The Agony and Ecstasy column offers readers a unique chance to have their games analysed by one of the greats, who was once world no.4, not to mention a prolific author. As if that weren’t enough, you get a free one-month Premium subscription to ChessBase Account. This month, Jonathan Speelman dissects one of his own recent painful losses, to share his Agony with you as well as what he learned.

Vidit Gujrathi: The Fashionable Caro-Kann

4/18/2017 – Are you looking for a tricky opening with Black? Something that offers dynamic play based on a strong strategic foundation? Let Indian grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, currently rated 2673, show you the lines he personally prefers and has employed successfully in practice (recently against Vachier Lagrave, Radjabov, Jobava and Anand). Total running time 4½ + 3¾ hours of invaluable instructions.

Kortchnoi Zurich Challenge: Nakamura scores a hat trick

4/18/2017 – They were tied for first in the New Classical games but the battle went in a different direction in the final blitz phase. Nakamura played good, fast chess and dominated the proceedings while Nepomniachtchi finished with a loss. We have beautiful pictures by Eugeny Atarov and grandmaster analysis by Srinath Narayanan.

Storming the fortress

4/18/2017 – "I don't believe in fortresses", said Magnus Carlsen during his World Championship match against Sergey Karjakin in New York 2016. This skepticism has a reason: a lot of fortresses look stronger than they are.

Grenke Classic 2017: A feast of fighting chess

4/18/2017 – It is impossible to predict how a tournament will pan out, whether quiet or all-out war. Round three at the Grenke Classic has definitely put it in the latter category. For the second straight day, three of the four games ended in decisive results, and although Carlsen drew against Hou Yifan, he got into trouble! Caruana, who won in style, has now played nine straight games ending in decisive results! Here is the large illustrated report with GM commentary.

Korchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge: Nakamura supreme

4/17/2017 – After having shared first in the New Classical games, both Nepomniachtchi and Nakamura fought to confirm their place under the sun in the final blitz phase. Here it was all Nakamura as he dominated proceedings, taking clear first, with Anand in second. The combined overall standings gave Nakamura clear first with a point lead, ahead of Nepomniachtchi in second, and Anand in third. Express report.

Kortchnoi Zurich Challenge: Nakamura, Nepo take pole position

4/17/2017 – At the end of the ‘new classical’ part of the tournament, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniatchi are on top with 10 points each. They’ll have the edge, as play moves on into the blitz phase. In the blitz phase, however, we move back to the conventional scoring system. Illustrated report with grandmaster analysis.

Grenke Classic 2017: Hou Yifan is queen for the day...again!

4/17/2017 – What can one say, except: wow. Of the four games in round two, three ended in decisive results, and Levon Aronian's escape from Magnus Carlsen was a small miracle. Round one's losers Fabiano Caruana and MVL struck back with enormous determination to get back to 50%. The exception was Hou Yifan who broke past Georg Meier with a mating attack with black to now lead with 2.0/2! Here is the illustrated report by Elshan Moradiabadi with detailed analysis by Aleksandr Lenderman.

Daniel King's Games of the Round at Zurich

4/16/2017 – With so much great chess, and it is hard to keep up. As you probably know already, Daniel King has been providing live commentary of the games in Zurich. What you may not know, is that he has also been producing a commented Game of the Round video. Short and sweet, here are the first five. Enjoy!