Matter of honour

6/16/2017 – Missing a forced mate? For the sophisticated chess player definitely a no-go! In the diagram position White is a full rook up and could parry the enemy threats 38.Bb5. But of course he can do much better. How?

Speelman's Agony #54

6/16/2017 – This week's games come from Jim Guill who is 61 and retired in 2015. A USCF A grade player (i.e. between 1800 and 1999) he lives in Virginia and plays for the team Morphy's Mojo, which is entered in both the D.C. Chess League and the Northern Virginia (NVA) Chess League. He hangs out in local, Northern Va coffee shops, "where I sip tea, study chess and observe alien culture (i.e., the non-chess playing world) as it comes and goes and passes by."

Norway Chess Round 8: Carlsen defeats Karjakin

6/15/2017 – It was a very tense round with so much at stake. Not only the top spot, which is still open to be challenged, but the world no.1 spot was under assault. Magnus Carlsen played a topsy-turvy game against Sergey Karjakin in which anything could have happened, but fortunately for him and his legion of fans, he won, and staved off disaster. Vladimir Kramnik was also visibly pressured by the possibility and lost to MVL. Full report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky.

Norway Chess Round 7: Carlsen tied for last

6/14/2017 – My, oh my, what a round. If these words sound like an echo of several of the previous ones, it is for good reason. Once again chess fans were treated to exciting chess, and tremendous drama. Who would have thought to see Magnus Carlsen not only lose his second game, to Kramnik, but also be tied for dead last. On the other hand, Aronian continues his streak, beating Karjakin and taking sole lead. Report with GM analysis by Alex Lenderman and Daniel King.

Vidit Gujrathi: The Fashionable Caro-Kann - An in-depth review

6/13/2017 – Wei Ming Kevin Goh is an International Master from Singapore who works full-time but still has the ambition to become a Grandmaster. He definitely has the enthusiasm it takes. On his chess.com blog he recently reviewed Vidit Gujrathi's DVDs on the Caro-Kann - with passion, an independent analytical mind, and a good eye for details. After some criticism he concludes that "this DVD is a must for anyone rated above 1800 who wishes to study the Caro-Kann from both sides" and "you will not regret buying" it.

A pawn too many

6/13/2017 – The pawnless endgame rook and knight vs rook is usually a draw. Things change, however, when pawns are on the board. But an extra-pawn is not necessarily good for the defending side.

David vs Goliath: My first win against a 2600 GM

6/13/2017 – It happened eight years ago: in the third round of the Mayor's Cup 2009, 19-year-old Sagar Shah was pitted against the strong Russian grandmaster Vladimir Belov. A product of the Russian chess school, Belov was stronger than the Mumbai boy by nearly 400 Elo points. Sagar's confidence had reached rock bottom. He left for the round from his home with a mentality of already having lost the game. On the way to the playing hall, a miracle occurred! Check out the article to see what transpired.

Altibox Norway Rd6: Aronian beats Kramnik and ties for lead

6/13/2017 – Though it was not the only result of the day, it was certainly the most significant one. The opening went well for Aronian, and very quickly things soured for Kramnik who was lost after just 22 moves. A huge win for the Armenian who also rejoins the 2800 club. Anand broke out of his rut as he soundly defeated Caruana with black, while Giri will be kicking himself as he squandered a won game against So. Illustrated report with GM analysis by Daniel King and Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

"The immense depth of the game continues to fascinate me" - An interview with Erwin l'Ami

6/12/2017 – Erwin l'Ami is a strong grandmaster and a popular author. In an interview with ChessBase he talks about his fascination for chess, how he caught the chess virus, gambit play in modern chess, his favorite games, the Dutch Stonewall, how and why to study the opening and why playing blitz can improve your game.

Kasparov at TED: Don't fear intelligent machines. Work with them

6/12/2017 – Garry Kasparov recently released his latest book called Deep Thinking, and was invited to make a presentation at the wonderful online resource TED. The theme was appropriately on the rise of machines, not just in areas such as chess, but how they are quickly encroaching on areas such as medicine and legal work. Instead of a doomsday speech, he reminds us that we should work with them, our creations, and use them to fulfill our dreams. Enjoy the video!

ChessBase Account: Daniel King on Norway Chess

6/12/2017 – While many know and enjoy the videos made by GM Daniel King to comment on games from a wide variety of sources, including as is the case here: Norway Chess. While readers can certainly watch his videos in his YouTube channel, we present you the videos here as they appear in the video library in ChessBase Account, where you can find literally hundreds of videos to watch, including many that are normally for sale, that can be viewed at no extra cost to Premium subscribers.

Altibox Norway Rd5: Back to normal

6/11/2017 – It was a fairly quiet day overall, and after all the action from the previous round, round five was a return to normality. This isn’t to say that the five draws were entirely devoid of interest though. The two that really struck a note were the ones between Kramnik and Nakmaura, who battled it out in a Sicilian, while Caruana played a Petroff against Karjakin with a novelty that sacrificed an exchange. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

Altibox Norway Rd4: Spectacular sacrifices and stalemates

6/11/2017 – Round four of Norway Chess was nothing short of amazing on all boards. Let's just start with Aronian, who delivered a classic Bxh7+ shot to ultimately beat Carlsen. Then Giri beat Anand in a strong game, while Nakamura scored his second win, against MVL, to take sole first. Caruana almost had Kramnik, who survived, and Karjakin escaped So in a finale Houdini, had he been a chess player, would have been proud of. Huge illustrated report with great analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky.

Memory Techniques: Creating a Memory Palace, Dos and Don'ts

6/10/2017 – The idea of learning to create and use techniques like the Memory Palace is both enticing and intimidating. Where to start? How exactly should one go about it? What are the mistakes one can make and should avoid? All this and more is answered in this next article in the series on Memory Techniques, teaching how to build a Memory Palace with some exercises to test yourself. The author also explains what is needed to apply these techniques to chess.

Wesley So: "I’m not entirely satisfied with (world) number two"

6/10/2017 – It should come as no surprise that after his run, and above all, victory at the US Championship, Wesley So has begun to catch the eye of mainstream media in ways that had eluded him somewhat until now. The Washington Post recently caught up with the young star, with an interview and profile, presenting him to the wider audience.

Andrew Martin: The Blumenfeld Gambit

6/9/2017 – It was back in the 1920s that the Russian master Benjamin Blumenfeld invented his famous gambit 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5!?, and to the present day the opening retains great popularity. Black plays for the initiative and the win from the word go. We have a marvellous new Fritztrainer by the very popular English chess trainer Andrew Martin, 4 hours 44 min of intense training with interactive video feedback.

Special position, special measure

6/9/2017 – In the diagram White can win if he finds the right way to parry Black's mate threat ...Qh1++. The game continuation 36.Qc1 did not hit the bull's eye. Can you do better? Unleash your creativity!

Altibox Norway R3: More draws

6/9/2017 – The players continue to exhibit an incredibly high level of chess in Norway, but unfortunately it comes at the cost of a bit too many draws.Five equal results make the tournament seem rather dull, and truly it hasn't been a shell-shocker of a tournament. There was some action today, as Nakamura was pressured by Carlsen, and at least Aronian's game against Giri was quite wild.

Kasparov teaches chess on MasterClass

6/8/2017 – The San Francisco-based company is an online education platform that provides online classes taught by world-renowned instructors: Christina Aguilera (singing), Kevin Spacey, (acting), Gordon Ramsay (cooking), Serena Williams (tennis), Aaron Sorkin (screenwriting), Steve Martin (comedy). Now the teachers are joined by Garry 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov. For $90 you get 20+ lessons, a workbook and Q&A sessions. Pre-enrolment begins today.

European Championship Rd8: And then there was one

6/8/2017 – Round eight of the European Championship finally brought the first sole leader of the event: English GM David Howell. One might have expected a cagey draw between the two leaders of round seven, but the two players battled it out, and Spanish GM Anton Guijarro fell. Now tied for second and third are Bulgarian GM Cheparinov and Russian GM Demchenko. Report and analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

ChessBase Magazine 178: improve your chances

6/8/2017 – This issue is not only packed with thousands of games from top tournaments – Grenke Chess Classic, US Championship, Gashimov-Memorial – many annotated by world class GMs – Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura, Emil Sutovsky. It also contains 24 video lessons, openings training with eleven surveys by leading experts, and a special section on how a prodigy like 12-year-old IM Nihal Sarin thinks.

Altibox Norway R2: Four draws, Two leaders

6/8/2017 – It was a day of small advantages in Norway, but most of them could not be converted. The games were of a very technical nature, without too many fireworks, but with plenty of interesting endgames and technical difficulties. It was not the type of chess that reminds us of people showering chess boards with gold coins, but it was a day of very high caliber...

European Championship Rd7: Let the race begin!

6/7/2017 – Rounds six and seven saw an important development: the number of co-leaders has been drastically reduced to two, as two young Spanish and British GMs scored back-to-back victories to take sole lead with six out of a possible seven points. Both GM David Anton Guijarro and David Howell are now the sole leaders, but being an 11-round event, anything goes still. Also note 13-year-old WFM Bibisara (2244 FIDE) who has a 2558 performance so far, all against GMs and IMs!

Computer Chess World Championship – new format

6/7/2017 – The number of entries for this year's CCWC were disappointingly low, mainly due to the cost of participation. To overcome this problem the International Computer Games Association has decided to change the format and make it much like the FIDE human world championships. This year, from July 3rd-7th, there will be a tournament of four teams, each receiving a subsidy of €2000 from the ICGA. Anf from 2018 on the World Computer Chess Championship will be played as a match, between the reigning World Champion and a challenger chosen by a process that is still to be determined.