How many points should you get for a draw?

8/20/2015 – Arno Nickel is chess fan and a GM of correspondence chess. But he is worried about the future of correspondence chess. In June he published an Open Letter, in which he proposed to change the scoring system to address the problem of the high number of draws in correspondence chess. With a survey he invited chessplayers to a discussion. Now he presents the answers.

Tomashevsky and Goryachkina close to the title

8/20/2015 – 10 of 11 rounds are played in the Superfinals and Evgeny Tomashevsky and Aleksandra Goryachkina have good chances to win. After a win in round nine and a draw against his closest rival, Sergey Karjakin, Tomashevsky now is half-a-point ahead of Karjakin. Goryachkina also fought off her rivals and is half-a-point ahead of the field. Games and analyses.

Watch Fischer enact his mental chess match

8/20/2015 – Pawn Sacrifice, the 2015 American biographical thriller film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Tobey Maguire (whom we remember as Spiderman, or more fondly from Seabiscuit) as Bobby Fischer, is set to be released in the US on September 18, 2015. Huffington Post has posted an exclusive featurette, to which we have added some clips from the past. Happy viewing.

Ostroda: 39th World Solving Championship (2)

8/20/2015 – After the first day of the 2015 Championship our reporter was in the lead, but faced a stiff challenge on the second day from the reigning champion Kacper Piorun. In the end the young Polish solver secured the title by just half a point, while John Nunn won silver medal and took gold in the Seniors category, thirty points clear of the field. We must remind you: John turned sixty this year.

CBM 167 and Bailet’s immortal combination

8/19/2015 – As we all know studying and practicing tactics is an important component in boosting your chess skill. An excellent way to keep yourself sharp is to solve the selection of tactical positions that have occurred in recent tournament play – selected and annotated by IM Oliver Reeh, who presents them as an interactive quiz with loads of instructive points. Here's a truly brilliant example.

Ostroda: 39th World Solving Championship (1)

8/19/2015 – The 2015 Championship was staged in a beautiful lakeside hotel in Poland, with the world's best chess problem solvers being tested to the utmost in six solving sessions spread over two days – with the problems to be solved under ‘school exam’ conditions. One of the top competitors is grandmaster John Nunn, who sent us a report with a selection of championship compositions.

Li Chao leads in Szeged

8/19/2015 – The City of Szeged and the Hungarian Chess Federation organize a six-game match between Leko Peter (Hungary) and Li Chao (China), aimed at helping Leko prepare for the upcoming World Cup at Baku. However it seems to be the Chinese player who is ready for the competition. After two solid draws, Li Chao won two in a row and currently leads by a comfortable. 3.0-1.0...

The magic of Madagascar (2/2)

8/18/2015 – Visiting a country such as Madagascar, one might easily expect the report to be all about the culture, and of course the efforts by the Kasparov Chess Foundation Africa to promote the game, but there was another story: that of 16-year-old Fy Rakotomaharo who ran away with the tournament with a perfect 9.0/9, and who has gained 300 Elo in the last year. A great talent.

The Trojan Horse

8/18/2015 – 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 Mihail Marin!

Superfinals 8: Three rounds to go

8/18/2015 – Eight of eleven rounds are played in the Superfinals. In round eight only one game had a winner in the men's tournament - Khismatullin defeated Motylev - but there were no changes at the top and Tomashevsky kept the lead. Aleksandra Goryachkina scored the only win the women's tournament. The 16-year old is now a-point ahead of Alexandra Kosteniuk. Games and analyses.

A documentary on blind chess

8/18/2015 – In India a group of boys dream of becoming chess masters. But this is no ordinary chess and these are no ordinary players. Algorithms is a documentary on the thriving world of Blind Chess. Filmed over three years, it travels with three talented boys to national and world championships, documenting their struggles, anxieties and hopes. Preview tonight in Mumbai, premiere on Friday.

The magic of Madagascar (1/2)

8/17/2015 – Among the many African nations, Madagascar is certainly one that both fascinates and remains elusive, sharing no borders with any of its neighbors. Having barely left Angola, globetrotting photographer and player, WGM Alina L'Ami jumped on the opportunity to play in a tournament made possible thanks to the Madagascar Federation and the Kasparov Chess Foundation Africa.

Viktor Bologan: Caro-Kann Advance Variation

8/17/2015 – The Caro-Kann enjoys the reputation of a solid opening that is difficult to crack. In his DVD on the Caro-Kann Advance Variation GM Viktor Bologan recommends a repertoire that is based on 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5. Davide Nastasio had a look at the DVD, learned a lot about strategic patterns, was inspired, and "grateful to have such a good teacher".

Superfinals 7: Tomashevsky, Kosteniuk, Goryachkina

8/17/2015 – The seventh round of the Russian Superfinals in Chita brought a number of interesting games and a change at the top - at least in the men's tournament. E. Tomashevsky won against I. Khairullin to become sole leader with 5.0/7. In the women's tournament A. Kosteniuk and A. Goryachkina both won their games and continue to share the lead. Games and analyses.

A unique chess prodigy

8/17/2015 – Have you ever seen a GM move his rook in the second move of a game – not in a simultaneous exhibition or against a patzer, but facing a strong opponent in the final crucial round of an international tournament? GM Aravindh Chithambaram did exactly this, echoing his last year's defeat of Alexei Shirov with 1.b3. This 15-year-old super-talent is clearly on his way to world class.

Gata Kamsky dominant in Washington

8/16/2015 – For the fourth year, the Washington International was held by the Maryland Chess Federation, and once more was a resounding success if one is to judge by the lineup. At the very top was five-time US Champion Gata Kamsky, far from the only GM, but in the mix was a very large number of juniors on the rise, seeking a chance to outshine their peers.

Visiting Vlissingen

8/16/2015 – After a few years in the US on a strict regime of study or its frenetic opens, GM Elshan Moradiabadi explains the bliss of not only some deserved rest, but also a change of pace with a classic one-round-a-day as he visited Vlissingen, Holland. With 240 players the lineup included names such as GM Baadur, Loek Van Wely, and more. Here is the report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

Russian Superfinals 6: Three and two leaders

8/15/2015 – The Superfinals reached the half-way-mark and promise an exciting end. In the men's tournament E. Tomashevsky, V. Artemiev, and N. Vitiugov lead with 4.0/6 each. In the women's tournament Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alexandra Kosteniuk share the lead with 4.5/6 each. Goryachkina won against Ovod, Kosteniuk defeated Kateryna Lagno. Analyses.

Corr 2015 - Fearless games, fantastic gambits

8/15/2015 – When one talks about the highest quality of chess, and games, the usual knee-jerk response is the world champion or anyone in the top ten. However, there is usually one source of games that go beyond even that in sheer depth and quality of analysis: correspondence chess. These are games defined by fearlessness, openings exploration, and fireworks. Here is an update to the ultimate collection.

Thinking blockade

8/14/2015 – 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.

Superfinals Rd 5: Peaceful men, fighting women

8/14/2015 – The men were rather peaceful in round 5 of the Russian Superfinals - only Ivan Bukavshin won against Ildar Khairullin, the other games were drawn. The women were less peacefully inclined - they did not play a single draw in round 5. And Anastasia Savina managed to stop Aleksandra Goryachkina who had to suffer her first loss. Report and analyses.

2015 North American Junior Championships

8/14/2015 – This event was staged in the multicultural city of Kitchener, Canada from July 26 to 30, and attracted 65 players from around North America to compete in the open section and girls section. Neither of the top seeds placed with a medal. One of them, Qiyu Zhou, sent us a lovely report. We dug into her background and pulled up some inspiring material that left us speechless. | Photos: John Upper and Penny Yu

90th French Championship starts in style

8/13/2015 – The French Championship is now in its 90th edition, and much like the very appropriate saying 'like good wine, it only gets better with age', the massive event brings together no fewer than eight competitions with 597 players. In spite of the excellent lineups, it is not the numbers that warrant that description, but the lengths to which the organizers went to set a standard.

Superfinals: Goryachkina leads

8/13/2015 – Aleksandra Goryachkina, born 1998, is the number one on FIDE's August rating list for girls. At the Russian Superfinals she shows her talent. In round four she won against Anastasia Bodnaruk and now leads with 3.5/4. In the men's tournament Vladislav Artemiev won his second game in a row and now leads together with Evgeny Tomashevsky. Report and analyses.