1/20/2017 – 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.

1/20/2017 – It isn’t every day that so many astonishing things happen in a single round, but such was the case in round five. The news came on several fronts, notably Eljanov losing to Aronian, and thus relinquishing his top position. Carlsen wasn’t the one to snatch it after a draw by Nepomniachtchi, but rather Wesley So, who defeated Harikrishna. Bottom seed Adhiban smashed Karjakin in a French Defense. Today’s report includes a Masters thesis by Alex Lenderman on the French Defense.

1/19/2017 – Who could have predicted it? While Pavel Eljanov had been making headlines with his grip of sole lead, all eyes were also on Magnus Carlsen who had been chasing after the lead, punctuated by a super win over Wei Yi in round four. Still, after Carlsen drew in round five against former second Nepomniachtchi, and Eljanov lost to Aronian, it was Wesley So who scored a fantastic victory over Harikrishna to take the sole lead. Karjakin fell surprisingly to Adhiban in a French Defense. Express report.

1/19/2017 – Niel Hickman, a retired judge in his sixties, used to get regularly beaten up in college by the young Tony Miles, and then by the likes of GM Jim Plaskett. He now lives in Norfolk, does Guardian crosswords and writes a bit – on jurisprudence and chess. Niel has submitted two games, a tragedy from 2011 and a very nicely played attacking effort from 2015. They are annotated and explained by him and Jon Speelman. Agony and ecstasy.

1/18/2017 – Nisha Mohota is an International Master and an experienced trainer. Last year she was in Hamburg to record a DVD in the ChessBase studio. "Strengthen your chess foundation" contains important theoretical and practical knowledge on openings, middlegames and endgames. The DVD also focuses on one extremely important element in chess that is rarely spoken about – psychology. Six hours of high quality content.

1/18/2017 – If the third round was deserving of the title “bloody round” then the fourth was even more so. Not only were there three high quality wins in the Masters by Eljanov, Carlsen, and So, but there might have been four had Giri not slipped at the last moment. The Challengers saw all seven games end in decisive results. It wasn’t all smooth sailing as will seen, while some, like Ragger continued his steamrolling ways with a fourth straight win. Full report with annotations by GM Georg Meier.

1/18/2017 – During our coverage of the Tata Steel tournament, we have once again enlisted the help of GM Daniel King, who has been producing round-by-round videos in which he recaps the action of the day in the Masters, as well as a close look at one of the games of the round, such as the ultra exciting So-Rapport game of round three. However, he has also been hosting a lengthy daily show on Playchess where all the games get scrutinized. Check out these great videos.

1/18/2017 – He learned chess at the age of 13, and the game became a preoccupation and obsession. Hans Berliner played for the US Olympiad team and four times in the US Championship. He later graduated in computer science and became a professor at the Carnegie Mellon University. There he pioneered hardware programming and built the first machine that exceeded 2400 Elo points. Last Friday he passed away in his retirement home in Florida. Hans Berliner is also remembered for what many have called the greatest chess game ever played.

1/17/2017 – The leaders are certainly making themselves felt and noticed, and it was never clearer than in round four. Magnus Carlsen faced Chinese prodigy Wei Yi, and it was a fascinating game to watch as he eventually broke his resistance and scored a win. Not to be outdone, leader Pavel Eljanov overcame B. Adhiban in an excellent endgame, while Wesley So kept pace with a fine win of his own over Loek Van Wely. The Challengers was all-out war with not one draw in seven games. Express report.

1/17/2017 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun!

1/17/2017 – The Berlin Defence gives White a hard nut to crack – after 5.d4 White has trouble proving any advantage. Top Latvian GM Alexei Shirov proposes a different approach: play 5.Re1 and you will get a symmetrical position that is not boring at all. With a whole range of grandmaster games Shirov shows that White can indeed develop pressure and seize the initiative, and that the position is full of subtleties. His latest DVD gives you a first-class weapon against the Berlin and helps you to be at least one step ahead of your opponent.

1/17/2017 – Ju Wenjun won the tournament in Khanty Mansiysk and with it the overall women's Grand Prix as well. This gives her the right to challenge the World Championship winner in Tehran 2017. ChessBase India's Niklesh Jain got in touch with the women's world number two and asked her questions, not only about her Grand Prix victory, but also about the hijab controversy, Hou Yifan's decision to pull out of the cycle and her personal ambitions in chess.