Anti-cheating at the Baku Olympiad

5/15/2016 – The 42nd Chess Olympiad will be held in Crystal Hall in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (seating capacity: 25,000). After examining the location FIDE representatives were ecstatic: "I think Azerbaijan will organize the best Olympiad in the history of chess," said acting FIDE president Georgios Makropoulos. In an interview vice president Israel Gelfer described the anti-cheating measures that will be in place.

Elo Ratings: how underrated are the kids? (Part two)

5/14/2016 – In his first article studying the ratings disparities of juniors compared to adults, Ganesh Viswanath had studied the causal factors that might be responsible. In this second article, he posits, "I find that on average juniors are statistically underrated by up to 50 Elo rating points against adult players, and this bias increases with the age difference." Here is his statistical study.

Eric Rosenthal – remembering a chess friend

5/14/2016 – Swept up in the Bobby Fischer-inspired American chess awakening of the early 1970s, three high school boys from Florida, bonded over chess, travelling together to tournaments all over the state. Sadly, one of the trio, Eric, passed away in 1992. Decades later, Eric’s old chess buddies Mike and Marc conceived the idea of organizing a tournament in Eric’s honor, featuring this poignant remembrance of Eric by Marc.

2016 Russian Team Championship Rd6-10 (2/2)

5/13/2016 – In this final report on the Russian Team Championship, you will read about the trials and tribulations of being the top dog, either being beaten down to size as "Malachite" in the Higher League, or utter domination such as "Legacy Square Capital" in the Women's event, winning two rounds in advance! It had it all from guts and glory to children's delight.

Tom Hackney exhibits in World Chess Hall of Fame

5/13/2016 – Chess has always been a topic of artists and painters and some artists were also good players. One of them was Marcel Duchamp, who in the 1920s was one of the strongest players in France and even played in Olympiads. With an exhibition by British artist Tom Hackney the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis now pays tribute to Marcel Duchamp. Press Release...

New: Andrew Martin: Nimzowitsch Defence 1.e4 Nc6

5/13/2016 – If you like to play original and unusual lines, which have a solid positional base and offer good winning chances, you might want to consider playing 1...Nc6 after 1.e4, a surprisingly strong line. On his new ChessBase DVD "Nimzowitsch Defence 1.e4 Nc6" FIDE Senior Trainer and renowned author Andrew Martin presents a complete repertoire for Black. More...

European Championship: Favorites dominate in round 1

5/13/2016 – The European Championship 2016 is played in Gjakova, in the Republic of Kosovo. The field is strong: 245 players registered, five of them have a rating of 2700+, 60 can boast of a rating of 2600+. Top seed is Czech grandmaster David Navara with a rating of 2735. In the first of eleven rounds the favorites had almost no problems to win their games and dominated their opponents.

Chess fever in Cairo (2/2)

5/13/2016 – In this second part of the report, enjoy the visit to the pyramids, and the climb, as well as the timeless ride on a camel, albeit that takes getting used to. It was not the smoothest event for some players, but top Egyptian GM Ahmed Adly had no such issues as he stormed to a near perfect 8.5/9, with very enterprising play. Here is the report with tons of photos and analysis.

Skewers

5/13/2016 – 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.

South African players crowned in Mauritius

5/12/2016 – The Africa Zone 4.3 Chess Championships under the auspices of the African Chess Confederation took place in Mauritius at the RIU Le Morne beach resort from the 23rd April to 2nd May 2016. The tropical Indian Ocean Island is more famed as a beach holiday destination than as organiser of FIDE continental chess tournaments, yet the result was an event in a paradisiacal setting.

Chess and the Panama Papers

5/12/2016 – You have probably heard of Panama Papers scandal, of which a new set of data was released this week. The 11 million leaked documents (2.6 terabyte) from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca lists more than 200,000 offshore account. Two British newpapers have discovered a chess trail – but one that probably contains spurious leads – including Bobby Fischer. Here's what has been reported and denied.

2016 Russian Team Championship Rd6-10 (1/2)

5/12/2016 – The last half of the Russian Team Championship was just as good as the first, with a slew of exciting battles. Although the story of the event was Vladimir Kramnik's majestic performance and ensuing 2812 rating, it could have been more had he not let Karjakin escape a won game. Herein find some of the great games and mind-boggling moves.

One for everyone: Fritz Online

5/11/2016 – Fritz Online is always ready and willing to play against you, no matter if you have a PC, a Mac or want to play on a tablet - and with levels from "beginner" to "grandmaster" he adapts to your strength. On top of that he offers access to the Live Book, automatically saves games in the cloud, and much more. All you need is a Premium Membership and a browser.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #1

5/11/2016 – In his first "Agony Column" Jon Speelman briefly remembers the times when Magnus Carlsen was still a kid and then presents two interesting games by Rudy Van Kamenade, who will soon turn 70. Van Kamenade played these games at the European Senior team Championship in Halkidiki 2016 where he played for Wales. Jon Speelman takes a look at the most instructive moments.

Grand Chess Tour rapid and blitz in Belgium

5/11/2016 – Can you believe it? The world's numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 16 are going to play together in the greatest chess tournament ever staged in Belgium. It's a four-day Rapid Chess and Blitz Chess tournament with a prize fund of $150.000 (€134.100). The dates: Friday 17 June until Monday 20 June. Upfront registration is required – the maximum capacity of the Town Hall cannot be exceeded. Press release.

Ding Liren wins match against Wesley So

5/11/2016 – Ding Liren, China's number one and currently number nine on the FIDE Elo-list from 1st May, wants to establish himself firmly among the world's best. To gain more experience against top players, from 4th to 8th May the Chinese grandmaster played a four game match against Wesley So, currently number ten in the world. Ding Liren won the match 2.5-1.5.

Hasselbacken Open ends in glory

5/11/2016 – Dozens of GMs, hundreds of players, it was a fitting event to celebrate 150 years of chess passion. The tournament saw it all, with tales of glory, and others of woe. At the very top was Dmitry Andreikin, the no.1, who justified his seed by taking first, together with Indian Adhiban who was second on tiebreak. Not to mention the last round when an 11-year-old smashed a GM.

Chess fever in Cairo (1/2)

5/10/2016 – A sprawling modern metropolitan, as well as the birthplace of one of humanity's oldest and greatest civilizations, Cairo, the capital of Egypt has more than can be appreciated in a lifetime. The vibrant city epitomizes the cliché of a 'city that never sleeps' like few others, as Alina'L'Ami discovered in her recent visit to a tournament. Enjoy her pictorial and travelogue.

BritBase – the British Chess Game Archive

5/10/2016 – What makes a chess game interesting to read in a book or a magazine and exciting for an online spectator? In CHESS Magazine John Saunders writes about changes in taste as more of us get our ‘chess fix’ from watching everything in real-time. He goes on to consider how our appreciation of the talents of old-time players is growing, and how he maintains a database of British games

A fast king in the corner

5/10/2016 – 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!

2016 French Youth Championship: Exemplary

5/9/2016 – The 2016 edition of the largest French chess event took place in Gonfreville l'Orcher, a small town near Le Havre, in the northwestern region of France. The lovely rural town with fewer than 10 thousand inhabitants seemed ill-suited for such a large competition where thousands were expected, yet they overcame it with sponsorship and teamwork making it a truly exemplary event.

Sochi: Karjakin searches for his form

5/9/2016 – After winning the Candidates Tournament in Moscow Sergey Karjakin took a break from playing but at the Russian Team Championship in Sochi he is back at the board. However, the World Champion Challenger does not seem to be in top form yet. In round six he was convincingly outplayed by Peter Svidler and in round seven he almost lost against Vladimir Kramnik.

Winners of the 2016 Kenya Open

5/9/2016 – The Kenya Open is East Africa’s most iconic chess tournament and it was held over the three day Easter weekend at the KCB Club, Nairobi. The sponsor of this event was the Kasparov Chess Foundation Africa who contributed USD 1,200 for this event – a huge amount by Kenyan standards. The winners were Ben Nguku and Jane Wambugu. Organiser Kim Bhari has sent us a big pictorial report.

Newsletter # 04 from ChessBase India

5/8/2016 – April turned out to be yet another month of success for Indian chess in general. While the man responsible for the chess boom in this country played some sparkling games in the Candidates tournament in March, his legion of followers continued to progress in the following days. ChessBase India brings you this brief overview of the happenings in chess in India in the bygone month.