Queen sac ideas

4/29/2016 – 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.

Garry Kasparov still has the magic!

4/29/2016 – It was exciting nine rounds of blitz chess. Day one ended with Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So taking the lead with 5.0/9. While the duo played well, the player of the day was surely Garry Kasparov. The 13th World Champion showed that he still is a force to reckon with as he played some scintillating games. We have loads of analysis, interesting moments and a touch move incident which was handled very maturely by Hikaru Nakamura.

Norway Chess, Rd. 8: Aronian beats Carlsen

4/28/2016 – In round eight Magnus Carlsen suffered a setback at the Altibox Norway Chess tournament: He lost against Levon Aronian, who caught up to Carlsen with this win. Vladimir Kramnik outplayed Pentala Harikrishna and Li Chao, who played against Pavel Eljanov, was rewarded for his willingness to take risks. The two other games ended with a draw.

Improve your chess with Boris Gelfand (1/2)

4/28/2016 – ChessBase editor Sagar Shah met Boris Gelfand at the Candidates tournament 2016 in Moscow and did an hour long interview with him. In this first part we ask Boris about how he became such a strong blindfold player, how one should work on the three phases of the game, his best games of chess and how much importance he gives to computer engines. Besides this, you will also have a chance to test yourself with a study that Boris himself struggled with!

Batumi: Three leaders after round seven

4/28/2016 – The Women's Grand Prix in Batumi remains interesting and produces lively games. After seven rounds none of the twelve players is without a loss and three players share the lead with 4.5/7 each: Valentina Gunina who won against Anna Muzychuk, the leader after round six, Nana Dzagnidze and Zhao Xue who in round seven won her third game in a row.

Norway Chess: Daniel King's "Play of the Day", Rd.7

4/28/2016 – In round seven of the Norway Chess tournament Magnus Carlsen won an impressive game against Vladimir Kramnik by employing a new idea in a line of the Queen's Gambit Declined that had been considered as rather solid. At the board Kramnik found no adequate response to Carlsen's strategy and lost clearly. But maybe Black has alternatives? Daniel King takes a look.

Norway Chess: Carlsen and Aronian win

4/28/2016 – In round seven Magnus Carlsen played against Vladimir Kramnik, one of his predecessors as World Champion. Carlsen seemed well prepared and won a fine strategic game in which he exploited Black's weak square f5 in textbook fashion. Levon Aronian used his space advantage to harass Black's king and to win with a mating attack. The three other games were drawn.

Batumi, Rd. 6: Anna Muzychuk takes lead

4/27/2016 – In the top encounter of round six at the Women's Grand Prix in Batumi Anna Muzychuk won against Almira Skripchenko, who had led the table after round five. Anna Muzychuk now has 4.0/6 and is half a point ahead of five players with 3.5/6 each. Former Women's World Champion Mariya Muzchuk, who had started badly, played against Olga Girya and scored her first win.

The FIDE Grand Prix, Remade

4/27/2016 – The Grand Prix series, which is part of the World Championship cycle, is increasing the number of participants and changing its format. FIDE and Agon have decided to expand the 2016-2017 Grand Prix to 24 players (from previously 16) in nine round Swiss events (from 11 round all-play-all). The total prize fund for the four GP tournaments, scheduled for October 2016 to July 2017, will be 520,000 Euros. Full details.

Jersey: Sunshine state of mind (2/2)

4/27/2016 – From a numbers point of view, the Polar Capital Jersey Open might not impress, but what it lacked in quantity, it made up in quality with several grandmasters and masters, and a conviviality that such intimate affairs produce. Add to that the lovely views and a promise next year to be played in a castle, and it becomes an event to add to your calendar. Pictorial and analysis.

New case of cheating in chess?

4/26/2016 – We use a question mark because the evidence presented by IM Valeri Lilov is circumstantial – no actual pictures of hidden devices or anything. But we cannot forget that Lilov has previously unmasked a notorious cheat in a similar way – a player who has received a life-long ban from tournaments. You can view the evidence presented by Lilov in a 37-minute video and then tell us what you think.

Norway Chess: Daniel King's "Play of the Day", Rd.6

4/26/2016 – Anish Giri enjoys the reputation of being a very solid player who rarely loses. But in round six of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament he lost a surprisingly one-sided game with White against Pentala Harikrishna, in which the Indian outplayed Giri in the French. In his video analysis Daniel King explains the game and the intricacies of the opening.

Caruana and Paikidze are the new US Champions!

4/26/2016 – Before the last round of the US Championship 2016 Fabiano Caruana was half a point ahead of his rivals and had to play with Black. But Caruana played energetically and this strategy paid off: he won the game and the title. Wesley So finished on place two, Hikaru Nakamura became third. The final round of the US Women's Championship was much more dramatic.

It's blitz: Kasparov against Caruana, So and Nakamura

4/26/2016 – On 28th and 29th of April we will witness 18 rounds of blitz chess: the top three finishers of the US Championship 2016 will fight Garry Kasparov. The last time we saw Garry playing blitz in public was exactly a year ago when he thrashed Nigel Short 8.5-1.5. He will now face the best in the business: Caruana, So and Nakamura. Here are the details and some pre-match trash talk!

Stark's strong passed pawn

4/26/2016 – 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. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Pascal Simon!

Jersey: Sunshine state of mind (1/2)

4/26/2016 – To most US readers, saying a tournament was held in Jersey will bring up images of New York's neighbor across the Hudson, but to Europeans, it is a small island between England and France. This little haven off the coast of Normandy has gorgeous views from above and across the sea, and has just organized the second edition of their tournament. Here is a large illustrated report.

Norway Chess Rd. 6: Harikrishna and Eljanov win

4/25/2016 – In round six of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament Magnus Carlsen played with Black against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and had to fight for a draw. He was a piece down in the endgame but finally managed to draw. But Anish Giri lost against Pentala Harikrishna - his second loss in the tournament. Pavel Eljanov won against Nils Grandelius. Kramnik and Aronian drew, as did Li and Topalov. Mehr...

US Champ. Rd10: 12-year-old beats grandmaster

4/25/2016 – In round ten, the leaders of both events were made to sweat quite heavily in order to get positive results. Fabiano almost blew away his lead when he allowed his opponent to get a winning position while Tatev played a dubious middlegame and got into trouble. Still, the result of the day was Carissa Yip's upset win over Irina Krush. Report and GM analysis.

Women Grand Prix in Batumi

4/25/2016 – From 19th April to 3rd May the third leg of the Women's Grand Prix 2015/2016 takes place in Batumi, Georgia. After four rounds four players share the lead with 2.5/4 each: Anna Muzychuk, Lela Javakhisvili, Nana Dzagnidze and Almira Skripchenko (picture). Former World Champion Mariya Muzychuk still has to find her form. After four rounds she has 1.0/4. More...

New: Opening Encyclopedia 2016

4/25/2016 – The entire opening theory on one DVD: The ChessBase Opening Encyclopedia offers a wealth of opening surveys and opening articles: almost 6000 surveys and more than 900 theory articles from 15 years of ChessBase Magazine. The Opening Encyclopedia also contains more than 5.6 million games, 84000 of them annotated - everything to help you find your way in the opening. More...

WSJ on odds chess match Nakamura vs Komodo

4/25/2016 – Computers have become stronger than humans at chess – vastly and incredibly stronger. No grandmaster, however high-ranked, would dare to play against a top engine. Except Hikaru Nakamura, currently number seven in the world. But even he has to accept odds and start a pawn or exchange ahead. How a match between him and one of the most powerful chess programs went is recorded in the Wall Street Journal.

Norway 2016 Rd5: Harikrishna and Topalov win

4/25/2016 – After the rest day, fans were looking forward to the clash between Carlsen and Giri a player the world champion has yet to beat in classical time controls. There was no blood and a relatively uneventful draw was the result. The two players to post full points had also not won a game yet: Harikrishna who beat Li Chao, and Topalov who defeated Grandelius. Report with GM analysis.

US Champ. Rd9: Abrahamyan takes lead in Women's

4/24/2016 – The closer we approach the finish line, the higher the stakes are and nerves are claiming their first victims. Such was the case in the crucial encounter between Anna Zatonskih and Tatev Abrahamyan, saw the blunder of the tournament considering the impact on the standings. Nevertheless, it was a great round with many entertaining games. Round nine with GM commentary.

Game of Thrones and Bobby Fischer

4/24/2016 – The Game of Thrones is a wildly popular TV series watched by young and old alike across the world with unmatched devotion and it has achieved near cult status. It is based on the equally popular series of books named 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. Did you know that George RR Martin, the author of the books and TV series, was a chess player and organizer?