When the king is cut off

4/11/2017 – Bishop and "wrong" outside pawn cannot win if the defending king manages to occupy the square on which the pawn wants to queen. Therefore the bishop has to prevent the enemy king from reaching this corner: Black to move. Today on the playchess server, 3:30 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Andrew Martin.

US Championship playoff: Wesley So is 2017 champion

4/11/2017 – What a fantastic US Championship it has been, and the last day presented a very exciting playoff match between Wesley So and Alexander Onischuk. After two very exciting games, with game one seeing pawns tossed left and right, and game two almost saw Onischuk come back in a powerful endgame display, it was Wesley So’s turn among the Big Three to hoist the winner trophy. Final report.

Ivanchuk beats Hou Yifan 3 - 1

4/10/2017 – After three games, Vassily Ivanchuk held a one game lead over Hou Yifan. In the event of a draw after four classical games, there would be a series of playoff games, but Ivanchuk was not to be denied as he took game four in just 20 moves and ended the match 3.0 - 1.0. The organizers have also announced a series of other matches to come. Report and analysis.

Stalemate in the FIDE power struggle?

4/10/2017 – After the turmoil of the past weeks – the official FIDE web site announced the resignation of its President, followed within hours by emphatic denials from Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – an Extraordinary Presidential Board meeting was held in Athens today. It was attended by Ilyumzhinov, Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, and fourteen other voting members, representing a quorum. Ilyumzhinov apologized for making certain statements, and seems to remain in power. FIDE press release.

Nihal in Hamburg: impressions of a super-talent (1)

4/10/2017 – At the age of just twelve years and eight months, exactly the same as Magnus Carlsen, Nihal Sarin became a full IM, one of the three youngest in the world. This remarkable young chess talent from the southern Indian state of Kerala last week visited us in Hamburg, deeply impressing all and sundry in the ChessBase office. The idea was for him to get instructions in the optimum use of our software, and a little bit of GM training on the side. The only question was who learned what from whom?

Sabina Foisor is 2017 US Women's Champion!

4/10/2017 – While the men's event will need to wait for the playoff on Monday to decide between Wesley So and Alexander Onischuk, the US Women's championship ended in a fairy tale win for Sabina Foisor. Both she and Nazi Paikidze were tied for the lead, but while Paikidze succumbed to Jennifer Yu, Sabina Foisor ended her incredible campaign with a spectacular queen sacrifice to mate her opponent and win the championship! Report and analysis by Alex Yermolinsky | All photos by Lennart Ootes

US Championship Rd10: Setting up the final showdown

4/9/2017 – Round ten of US championship saw a strange turn of event in both groups: in the open section Alexander Onischuk got the better of out-of-shape world junior champion Jeffery Xiong to join Akobian and Wesley So to tie for first. With a three-way tie the players will feel a lot of heat going into the last round. In the meantime, both Nazi Paikidze and Sabina Foisor lead the women’s event. Illustrated report by Elshan Moradiabadi.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #48

4/9/2017 – This week’s pair of games are by Simon Knight, an Englishman who was born and brought up in England, but then married a Mexican and has lived there since 1994. Simon sent in two games from Gibraltar and the Mexican Open. His Agony game contains "one of my all-time worst nightmares turning a completely won position into a horrible loss and sending me out of contention for any possible prize." Jonathan Speelman dissects the submitted games.

US Championship Rd9: The bigger they are...

4/8/2017 – ...the harder they fall. And what a crazy crazy round it was! Wesley So had the most comfortable game of the Big Three, as Jeffery Xiong played right into his preparation and got stomped. Nakamura was jonesing to grab his chance, but pushed too hard against Onischuk and it backfired. Still, the shocker was Caruana, who was crushing co-leader Akobian, and after losing all his advantage, he then blundered and lost! Illustrated report by Alex Yermolinsky.

Hou-Ivanchuk: Game three is short but intense

4/8/2017 – Game three of the match between Hou Yifan and Vassily Ivanchuk ended in a draw in 19 moves… but what a draw! It would be a mistake to skip this short but intense battle of theoretical importance and covered with tactical veneer. If all short draws were like this, no one would ever complain. Report and analysis.

US Championship Rd8: Akobian and Foisor join leaders

4/7/2017 – As we reach the final rounds, the 2017 edition of US championship is becoming more and more tenacious. With three rounds to go, the previous leaders were both joined by others. Wesley So drew Nakamura and was joined by Varuzhan Akobian who beat Zherebukh in a brilliant game, while Nazi Paikidze drew Feng and was joined by Sabina Foisor who won her 5th game with white! Report and analyses by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

New: Simon Williams - The London System with 2.Bf4

4/7/2017 – For a long time the London System (White plays d4, Nf3, Bf4 etc.) enjoyed the reputation of being solid but dull and boring. But World Champion Magnus Carlsen and a lot of other players have discovered the possibilities of White's set-up. On his new DVD Simon Williams shows the many advantages of 2.Bf4, looking first of all at lines that are "simple but aggressive".

Bobby Fischer on the Dick Cavett Show

4/7/2017 – Bobby Fischer's reclusiveness was legendary. But in 1971, before his Candidates Match against Tigran Petrosian, he was a guest of talkshow legend Dick Cavett. In 2008 a video of this show appeared on YouTube and by now it has more than a million views. Less known is the fact that Fischer appeared a second time on the Dick Cavett Show, this time before his match against Spassky. A video of this show was just published on YouTube.

Chesthetica Composes Custom Mates

4/7/2017 – He has written extensively about Chesthetica, an automatic and computationally creative composer of chess problems, in the past, and now would like to update interested readers and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers about a new feature he has implemented into the program. Dr Azlan Iqbal, who has a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence, thinks that his program could abide by all the requirements of a good, traditional chess problem, given a year’s additional work customizing the code.

Petite combinaison

4/7/2017 – Elegant tactical strikes to cap off positional play were a speciality of the third World Champion José Raúl Capablanca - definitely worth emulating! Can you see such a little combination in the diagram which gives White a clear advantage?

Hou-Ivanchuk: Ivanchuk wins game two

4/7/2017 – Vassily Ivanchuk took the lead by winning game two in the “MEWE Cup” 2017 World Champion Summit Chess Match, which is ongoing in Shenzhen, China. Hou Yifan had white, and proceeded to try to put pressure, but instead she was the one who felt the heat, and in a game full of swings, committed the crucial blunder on move 37.

Jeel Shah Cheating Incident—Mobile Phone under the Sleeves!

4/6/2017 – Yesterday, we reported on the cheating scandal that took place at the Dubai Open 2017 where and Indian chessplayer Jeel Shah was caught cheating red-handed by the arbiters. Today, we have a detailed report narrating the entire story from Dubai, along with comments by various victims of the cheater, including titled players. Also, you will be shocked to know Jeel Shah's profession. Report.

US Championship Rd7: Zherebukh beats Caruana

4/6/2017 – The seventh round was chock full of surprises, starting with Yaroslav Zherebukh's powerful win over Fabiano Caruana, who failed to give him the respect he deserved and paid the price. Alexander Shabalov came prepared to the ears, and his young opponent, Jeffery Xiong, kindly obliged and also paid the price for his temerity. Finally, Kamsky completely overpowered Dan Naroditsky. Report and analysis by Alex Yermolinsky.

ChessBase: customizing the windows layout

4/6/2017 – One of the nice things about a program such as ChessBase or Fritz is the ability to be able to customize it the way you like. It is no secret you can move the pane (windows) around so the engine window is on top, on the bottom, on the side, but this is not always obvious. In this quick tutorial, you will learn how to move them around and how to save your favorite setup.
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Hou Yifan and Vassily Ivanchuk start match

4/5/2017 – A four-game chess battle of genders, the “MEWE Cup” 2017 World Champion Summit Chess Match, kicked off at 2:30 PM on April 5 in Shenzhen, China. The four-time Women Chess Champion GM Hou Yifan will play four classical games against the reigning world rapid chess champion GM Vassily Ivanchuk at the rate of one per day.

US Championship Rd6: Nazi Paikidze beats Irina Krush

4/5/2017 – Round 6 of US championship saw another topsy-turvy turn of events especially in the women’s section, when Irina Krush declined a draw against Nazi Paikidze, and ended up losing instead. In the men’s, Wesley So came close to losing against Varuzhan Akobian, but held, while Kamsky blundered a pawn early and lost to Caruana. Illustrated report and analyses by Elshan Moradiabadi.

Indian Player Jeel Shah caught cheating in Dubai Open!

4/5/2017 – In an unfortunate event that occurred a few minutes back at the Dubai Open 2017, Surat-based Indian player Jeel Shah, rated 1764, was suspended from the tournament for cheating during the game. Find out what happened.

Ilyumzhinov announces $30 million 'Kirsan Fund' for chess

4/5/2017 – You know about the power struggle for control of the International Chess Federation FIDE, on which we have reported extensively. On the eve of his 55th birthday the embattled President made an clear attacking move: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced that he has registered a charitable foundation, the "Kirsan Fund", in the United States, and plans to invest 30 million dollars in its activities: Chess in Schools, Chess in villages, Chess in families and Chess for people with disabilities. "We set an ambitious task to bring the number of chess players to one billion."

Kortchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge starts next week

4/5/2017 – In honor of the unforgettable chess legend Viktor Kortchnoi, who passed on June 6th, 2015, the Zurich Chess Club is organizing an Easter tournament, from April 13th to 17th 2017, at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, Switzerland a Grandmaster Tournament with the two world champions, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand, and the world class players Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Peter Svidler. Come and watch – everyone is welcome, entry is free.