Michal Krasenkow: The Triangle Setup - a review

2/27/2017 – What to do against 1.d4? Michal Krasenkow recommends the "Triangle Setup": Black puts his pawns on c6, d5 and e6 - a solid and flexible system that offers Black still a lot of scope to play for a win. This is what FM Markus Hochgräfe was looking for and why he had a careful look at Krasenkov's DVD.

The power of chess!

2/27/2017 – Chess is a powerful game. It has the ability to transform lives. But what happens when the inmates of a high security prison in Spoleto, Italy are taught chess? FM Mirko Trasciatti was entrusted with this task and he tells about the impact that his teachings had on the lives of the prisoners. A heart warming story on how potent the game of chess is.

Sharjah Grand Prix Rd8: Grischuk beats Mamedyarov and joins lead

2/27/2017 – Good news or bad news first? The good news is that only one game ended in a short draw, while almost all games were played out to a proper end. The bad news is that only two ended in a decisive result, and it could have been just one. The unquestionable win was that of Pavel Eljanov over Jon Hammer, while the most important was Grischuk's victory over Mamedyarov. Mamedyarov had an equal endgame, but blundered fatally on move 49, and resigned soon after. Full report with analysis by Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

Aeroflot Open R04-05: Evgeniy Najer on a roll!

2/26/2017 – There is something about Aeroflot Open that brings out the best in Evgeniy Najer. In 2016 he went on to win the tournament ahead of Boris Gelfand. In 2017 he is already the sole leader with 4.5/5. Najer played some exquisite games to beat players like Jobava and Bluebaum. In this report we have the analysis along with some excellent pictures.

Women's World Ch.: Muzychuk and Zhongyi in the final!

2/25/2017 – What an amazing semifinal it was for all involved and watching. After a very close affair in game one, which she won, Anna Muzychuk won her second game against Kosteniuk to make the final with no tiebreaks and 9.0/10 in the standard games. On the flip side, Harika Dronavalli and Tan Zhongyi played a gripping tiebreak that went to the tape with constant swings that left everyone on the edge of their seats. Here is the large illustrated report.

Sharjah GP Rd7: Battle of preparation

2/25/2017 – One interesting aspect of the FIDE Grand Prix in Sharjah has been some of the extreme opening preparation battles in which neither player shirked the opportunity to test the other. In round seven, two such examples that led to fascinating battles were Ding Liren vs Nakamura, as well as Salem vs Riazantsev. The latter saw Salem win that battle as he emerged with the lead and converted. The top standings are unchanged with two rounds to go. Full report with analysis by Alex Yermolinsky.

Kavalek on Huffington: Chess Triumphs, Stumbles and Embarrassments

2/25/2017 – Two American grandmasters won the first major chess events of 2017. Wesley So triumphed in the traditional Dutch tournament in Wijk aan Zee and Hikaru Nakamura prevailed in Gibraltar. Their victories were almost upstaged by the Women’s world champion Hou Yifan. She deliberately lost a last round game in five moves with the white pieces. GM Lubomir Kavalek recapitulates with seven annotated games.

Sharjah GP Rd6: The one that got away

2/24/2017 – It was the closest of affairs, and Nakamura had to think it was in the bag as he pressed forth with a won endgame against Grischuk, but a late misstep was all it took, and the chance to join the leaders slipped away. Nepomniachtchi made no such mistakes and took down Li Chao to enter the group a half point behind the leaders, while Rapport is back at 50% after defeating Riazantsev. Full report with analysis by Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

What to do against the Queen's Gambit - an interview with Robert Ris

2/24/2017 – In round four of the Fide Grand Prix tournament in Sharjah Shakriyar Mamedyarov won an energetic game against Michael Adams' Queen's Gambit Declined. A game ChessBase author and International Master Robert Ris followed with great joy. After all, Mamedyarov played an opening Ris also favors and recommended on one of his DVDs. In a short interview Ris talks about this line and about openings and opening research in general.

Women's World Ch. 5.1: Epic Accidents

2/24/2017 – Harika's woes with the black pieces continued. In the first game of the semi-final clash, she failed to defend reasonably and had to suffer a terrible crash. One can only hope that she makes a comeback in the next game with the white pieces. Meanwhile, a huge accident of epic proportions took place in the game between Kosteniuk and Muzychuk. Report.

Defend to checkmate

2/24/2017 – Tactics can seem deceptively simple, particularly when seeing an engine analysing grandmaster games. Strange, however, how difficult it is to find the right move and to calculate variations properly when playing yourself. It is easier if you solve tactical puzzles regularly. In the ChessBase Magazine and his tactics column Oliver Reeh helps you to do so.

The prestigious Aeroflot Open 2017 begins!

2/24/2017 – After the Gibraltar Masters, we have another super strong open tournament on our menu - the Aeroflot Open 2017. With an average rating of 2582 and players like Yu Yangyi, Vitiugov, Inarkiev, Jobava, taking part, it is a tournament that is packed with action. We bring you an illustrated report from first three rounds of the event.

Match of the Millennials – USA vs. The World

2/23/2017 – There's going to be an extraordinary event in July in Saint Louis: eight American players will face some of the best juniors from around the world – four players under 17, two boys under 14 and two girls under 14 years old. "An extra-ordinary opportunity for the best juniors, both Americans and World, to test their skills and fighting spirit in a prestigious event," said GM Efstratios Grivas, who will be one of the trainers selecting the World Delegation.

Tehran WWCh Rd4 TB: Harika maintains control, reaches Semis

2/23/2017 – There was only one tiebreak game. It was Harika all the way. The Indian poster girl stayed true to her style and won the first 25-minute tiebreaker with the white pieces and drew the next game to reach the semi-finals of the Women's World Championship 2017. She is in with the chance to become the first women's world champion ever from India. Illustrated report.

Sharjah GP Rd5: Adams, Grischuk, and Jakovenko win

2/22/2017 – Although the games were harder fought this round compared to the previous anemic one, only three games out of nine ended in a decisive result. Nakamura seemed to have excellent chances against co-leader Mamedyarov, but in the end drew. Adams bounced back from his bad loss to Mamedyarov yesterday, and overpowered Hammer, while Grischuk and Jakovenko both broke their four draw streaks with wins over Eljanov and Riazantsev respectively. Full report with fascinating analysis by Alex Yermolinsky.

Singapore Chess Federation: this is no ban

2/22/2017 – We recently reported that the "golden couple" GM Zhang Zhong and WGM Li Ruofan, Singapore's top players, had been "banned" from participating in the the forthcoming Asian Zonal 3.3, because they showed "insufficient involvement in the local chess life." The Association of Chess Professionals protested, and now the Singapore Chess Federation has replied with the following letter.

Memories: Vlastimil Hort on Salo Flohr

2/22/2017 – Before World War II Salo Flohr was one of the world's best players. In 1939 Flohr was to play a World Championship match against Alexander Alekhine but the outbreak of the war destroyed Flohr's hopes to become World Champion. Vlastimil Hort knew Flohr well and shares memories.

Tehran WWCh Rd4 G2: The sign of three

2/22/2017 – Maybe this is what Hou Yifan meant when she chose not play the 2017 World Championship. The top seed Ju Wenjun was caught completely unawares in the opening against Tan Zhongyi who pushed her off the cliff to qualify for the semis. Joining Zhongyi were Kosteniuk and Muzychuk. Harika had to hold a draw with black to qualify as well. But the experienced Nana Dzagnidze played exactly what the doctor ordered. Illustrated report.

Sharjah GP Rd4: Mamedyarov joins MVL in lead

2/22/2017 – With breathtaking verve, Mamedyarov went all out against Adams, and scored a powerful win to join MVL in the lead. Most games drew, some with little or no effort to fight, though not all such as Eljanov vs Hou Yifan that went the distance. Li Chao was the other winner of the day, defeating Tomashevsky. Enjoy the illustrated report with analysis by Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

Tehran WWCh Rd4 G1: A Man's got to know 'her' limitations!

2/22/2017 – The exciting quarterfinals clash between most of the best female players in the world yielded two results and two draws. While Ju Wenjun huffed and huffed to safety against Tan Zhongyi, Kosteniuk held Ni Shiqun with black, with hopes of pressing in the next round with white. Stefanova looked to be in trouble against Muzychuk until she was let off the hook. Not content with drawing with black, the Bulgarian played adventurously and lost. Harika won as well, thanks to some help. Illustrated report.

Stopping the pawns

2/21/2017 – To be a piece up is nice. Usually. However, in the endgame you have to take care to keep enough pawns on the board that can queen and mate your opponent. In his endgame blog Karsten Müller shows how this is done.

Iran bans teenage chessplayers for "harming national interests"

2/21/2017 – Dorsa Derakhshani is a talented teenaged chessplayer residing in Spain, originally from Tehran, Iran. She is only the second female in Iran's chess history to have become an international master. Her younger sibling Borna Derakhshani is a talented lad of fifteen and has a good career ahead of him. Imagine their surprise when they were informed by Dorsa's friends that she and her younger brother had been 'banned' by the Iranian Chess Federation!

Sharjah GP Rd3: Nakamura overcomes Rapport

2/20/2017 – Although round three saw the vast majority of the games end in draws, the wild battle between Hikaru Nakamura and Richard Rapport left few doubts any such thing would happen to their game. After a QGD Chigorin, Rapport castled queenside, and the gloves were off! MVL continues sole leader. Illustrated report with analysis by Alex Yermolinsky.

Tehran WWCh Rd3 TB: The magnificent eight

2/20/2017 – With half of the matches going into the tie-break, the world championship saw another exciting, although slightly less dramatic, match-ups. however, the trend clearly favoured the higher rated players, who dominated their respective strong opponents. There were moments of great play and lapses worthy of mentioning. Joining Muzychuk, Stefanova, Dzagnidze, and Shiqun are four others. Here is the illustrated report with GM analysis.