Tal Memorial Blitz won by Mamedyarov

9/25/2016 – The first day of the X Tal Memorial opened with a favorite of fans all over: a blitz tournament. There is nothing quite like spending a Sunday watching the elite go crazy in blitz games all day to fight for the right to an extra white in the event to follow. It was Mamedyarov’s party as he crushed the field, with live video commentary in both Russian and English. Here is the report with some fun positions to test your skills!

Playchess tutorials - Playing and watching a game

9/24/2016 – Online playing has been one of the true wonders for chess. The possibility to play a game against someone at any time of the day, anywhere in the world, is a joy and addictive. As of this writing, no fewer than 666 million games have been played on Playchess, from the most casual unrated game to grudge matches between top GMs. Learn about the many options you have to play games, including filters, the fancy 3D boards, and participating in the tournaments organized around the clock.
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A chat with the author of Chess for Dummies

9/24/2016 – Fide Master James (Jim) Eade has been a chess player, chess organizer, chess politician, and chess publisher. In 2016 he was honored by The University of Texas at Dallas as “Chess Educator of the Year.” Still, while certainly laudable, he is perhaps best known as an author, particularly for his best-selling Chess for Dummies, now in its fourth edition. His book has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide, and has been translated even into Russian. Alexey Root interviewed the best-selling author.

Playchess tutorials - A friendly introduction

9/23/2016 – Playchess is an incredibly rich online server, with tons of options for playing, watching, or simply hanging out. You can also enjoy live lectures, simuls, have private lessons, watch live commentary (and ask questions), watch live and past video shows, and even test yourself with the tactics trainer. You can even set up a private chess club page with special events inside! If you are new to Playchess, or a bit unclear on it, check out this first tutorial.
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How fast was the Cray?

9/23/2016 – The Cray-1 was the most successful supercomputer in history. It was built in 1975 and cost eight million dollars. Soon a chess program was ported to it, and "Cray Blitz" proceeded to win the Computer Chess World Championship twice in a row. So how fast exactly was the Cray, and how much progress we have made in four decades. Are today’s consumer computers faster, and if yes by what factor? Ten? You are not going to believe this.

Dynamic liquidation

9/23/2016 – 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.

Magnus Carlsen plays Handicap Simul: Live Video from New York

9/21/2016 – On 22nd September, 11.30 EST, Magnus Carlsen is ready for another challenge. In a handicap simul in New York the World Champion will play against ten users of his "Play Magnus App" and guests of the Liberty Science Center. Each of Carlsen's opponents will have 30 minutes on the clock, just as Carlsen, who, however, has 30 minutes for all his games. You can follow the simul live on the ChessBase website.

Lots of fun on playchess.com!

9/21/2016 – When the playchess.com server went online 15 years ago it changed the way chess was played, trained, and enjoyed. In part two of his memories of 15 years of playchess.com, ChessBase editor André Schulz reflects about the advantages, the pleasure and the fun online chess offers, and shares memories of the many prominent players who visited the ChessBase studio in Hamburg or at international tournaments.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #20

9/21/2016 – After a short interlude in Baku, we return this week to this column's normal business, with a tale of Agony and revenge in the regional Bundesliga. Sent by Andreas Beyerlein they comprise two games against the same opponent, Miroslav Kalous. In 2010 Andreas got a winning position but then dived into the abyss; two years later he easily converted another won game. Analysis and training by GM Jonathan Speelman.

Kavalek on Huffington: US Team wins Olympic Gold

9/20/2016 – We can't get enough of the 42nd Chess Olympiad that finished last Tuesday in Baku. It was one of the most exciting events of the year, and saw some extraordinary chess and results. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek tells us how the US Americans bested 170 teams to win Gold and gives the three rules required to achieve this. His game analysis is as always profound and entertaining. Perfect for an early autumn Sunday.

Chess goes art: the Tal Memorial begins on Saturday

9/20/2016 – Under the motto "Chess is Art" the Russian Chess Federation and the Timchenko Foundation organise important tournaments and matches in museums. In 2012 the World Championship match between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand was played in the Tretyakov Gallery and on Saturday the strong 10th Tal Memorial (Elo-average 2760) begins with a blitz tournament in the recently opened Museum of Russian Impressionism in Moscow.

Three new exhibitions at the World Chess Hall of Fame

9/20/2016 – The city of Saint Louis plays a substantial role in the chess boom in the US. The city hosts prestigious tournaments such as the Sinquefield Cup or the US Chess Championships, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis supports talents and helps to make the game more popular, and The World Chess Hall of Fame highlights the many fascinating cultural aspects of chess. Recently, the Hall of Fame announced three new exhibitions designed "to celebrate five years in Saint Louis".

Happy Birthday: 15 years of playchess.com!

9/20/2016 – Today the ChessBase playchess.com server celebrates its 15th birthday. On 20th September 2001 the server went public and only minutes later the first chess fans wanted to play. Today, thousands of chess fans from all over the world play and train on the server, watch the many audio- and video-files, and follow top tournaments live. ChessBase and playchess made online chess incredibly comfortable! To celebrate, ChessBase has presents for its readers, customers and friends.

Racing pawns

9/20/2016 – 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!

Jan-Krzysztof Duda plays best game in the Bundesliga!

9/19/2016 – In Germany's first league, the "Bundesliga", 16 teams with eight players each play a 15-round round-robin team tournament. Now, the readers of "schachbundesliga.de", the internet portal of the "Bundesliga", voted for the best game of last season. However, voters did not have to go through all games of the season, 15 made it to the shortlist. The most votes received Jan-Krzysztof Duda's win against Grzegorz Gajewski, a fine example of the power of pawns.

"Truth, beauty and annihilation: my quest for chess mastery"

9/19/2016 – Stephen Moss is a successful English journalist, and he is a passionate chessplayer. On 22 September 2016 his book "The Rookie: An Odyssey through Chess (and Life)" will apear. Last week, in "The long read" column of the English "Guardian" Moss published a long article in which he takes his readers on to an excursion into the world of chess and talks about his chess career, the pain of defeat, and the charm and allure of the game.

Learning from Kramnik!

9/19/2016 – Among the many brilliant performances turned in at the Baku Olympiad was Vladimir Kramnik's gold medal performance on board two, and taking him to 2817 Elo and world no.2. While everyone appreciates his brilliance, understanding the games and moves of such a deep player often requires the help of a grandmaster who can shed light on seemingly baffling choices. Providing just that is GM Elshan Moradiabadi who shares his insights in this wonderful class on strategy.

Hockey and Football at the chess board

9/18/2016 – If you thought the three activities hockey, football and chess don’t mix, think again. During the summer break, the Doprastav Bratislava Chess Club (Slovakia) organized a chess exhibition match between hockey players and footballers. This match between big names of the sport in Slovakia, included such players as Miroslav Šatan, a hockey player who was world champion and even won a Stanley Cup. His personal love for chess motivated him to help make this unlikely event possible. Illustrated report with a mind-boggling video.

View from The Pack: Australia at the Baku Olympiad

9/17/2016 – An event such as the Baku Olympiad will generate enormous interest, great games, and historic moments, but have you ever wondered what it was like from an insider's point of view. We don't mean from the perspective of an on-site reporter, but rather one who had to make the tough decisions each and every day: the captain! What follows is an article by Manuel Weeks, the captain of the Australian team, as he dealt with the decisions and worries that might decide his team's fate. A fascinating account with games and quizzes.

Even Kramnik couldn't find this one!

9/17/2016 – Three years ago Vladimir Kramnik won the 2013 FIDE World Cup in Tromsø, a 128-player knockout tournament. It was a fine and stunning victory, which involved defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (currently the World's number two) in the sixth round. In game two Kramnik could have settled matters with a study-like win he had on the board, but failed to find. Not surprising in short time controls under high pressure. Try to solve the position and let Sagar Shah of ChessBase India teach you a bit about an important endgame.

Feeling fine against 1.d4

9/16/2016 – A solid mix of solid play and aggression - that is what Black wants with the Queen's Gambit Declined. And that is what Daniel King wants to give you on his DVD "Powerplay 23" - a "Repertoire For Black With the Queen's Gambit Declined". German amateur Sebastian Vigl, who now seems to be an ardent fan of the QGD, had a look at the DVD and shares his impressions in a personal review.

IM Li Ruifeng wins North American Junior Open U20

9/16/2016 – Chess is on the rise in the US, symbolized by the gold medal the US team won at the 42nd Chess Olympiad in Baku. And there seems to be no lack of talent in the US. Jeffery Xiong is the top rated player in the world born in or after 2000 and he recently became World Junior Champion. Li Ruifeng is the top rated player in the world born in or after 2001 and he recently won the North American Junior Open U20. After a dramatic last round.

Nerves of silicon steel

9/16/2016 – 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.

World Championship 2016 – new broadcast, new sponsors

9/16/2016 – The 2016 World Championship, which will take place from November 11th to 30th in New York, has announced that it has a new sponsor, EG Capital, and has partnered with Livestream to build a Virtual Reality broadcast platform that will allow people all over the world a 360° view of the match. This is a first for any sport and will cost viewers $15 – for all twelve games. Naturally there will be traditional broadcast with partner chess news sites. Press release + video.