Open provocation

6/5/2015 – 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.

Nicholas Pert: The solid Slav Defence

6/5/2015 – Solid, yet aggressive, popular among the world's best players but easy to learn, strategically and tactically rich and complex - that is the Slav Defence. One of the biggest Slav experts is English GM Nicholas Pert. He has played it for years with an overwhelming score. Now he presents a comprehensive Slav repertoire and explains the attractions of this opening.

2015 Arnold Classic: Chess and the Terminator

6/5/2015 – The 2015 Arnold Classic Brasil came and went and was a great success by any measure. The event that was once essentially a bodybuilding competition with a few sideshows has grown into an international franchise with sports of all kinds, including chess. More than an afterthought, Arnold Schwarzenegger shared how and why he constantly played chess on the Terminator set.

Igor Kovalenko wins Zalakaros Open

6/4/2015 – The Zalakaros Open is the strongest tournament held on Hungarian soil. With the partipation of 29 GMs and 24 IMs in a field of 80 players, it was an extremely hard-fought event. Igor Kovalenko from Latvia stormed the field winning it with a score of 7.0/9. Our on-site reporter, Sagar Shah, sent us impressions and in-depth analysis, but also pictures of this beautiful spa-resort. Big illustrated report.

White Rook finals begin in Dagomys

6/3/2015 – The White Rook tournament in Russia has a long tradition. Established in 1969 it aims to attract young players to chess. In 2015 more than 5,500 pupils younger than 14 took part in the qualifying events that were played all over Russia. On 3 June the finals, in which Russian and international teams compete, begin in Dagomys. The opening ceremony had magical moments.

Ramirez: Artificial Castling in the Benko

6/3/2015 – Last week we published the review of GM Alejandro Ramirez' DVD “Attacking with the Benkö Gambit”. The author Piotr Kaim found that there are still some issues that need to be clarified. Does Benkö really offer at least equal chances in every line? What is the line the DVD’s author fears most, while playing Black? Ramirez responds to these and other questions in a short interview.

Euro Women Rapid heats up

6/3/2015 – The second day of the European Women's Rapid was confirmation of two world champions as favorites: both Antoaneta Stefanova and Alexandra Kosteniuk took the lead with 6.5/8. While Stefanova slowed down on day two with three draws, Kosteniuk was on fire and won all four of her games. They will meet in round nine with challengers waiting for just one slip.

The revenge check

6/2/2015 – 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 Sagar Shah

European Women Rapid starts

6/2/2015 – The ACP-ECU European Women's Rapid championship is currently underway in Kutaisi, Georgia, following directly after the end of the standard time control championship. It is an eleven-round competition held over three days with plenty of rapid action to be followed live. Four rounds have taken place, and the players also visited Prometheus Cave.

European Women CC is won by Natalia Zhukova

6/1/2015 – There is no question that the entire European Women's Championship was overshadowed by the baseless accusations undersigned by a number of the players, and certainly more was written on the topic than the event itself. Zhukova took gold, and Batsiashvili silver, while at stake were 14 spots in the world championships. Report with analysis of one of the controversial games.

Jeffery Xiong rocks Chicago

6/1/2015 – The Chicago Open has $100,000 in prize money, and is one of the strongest opens in the World. This attracted some of the top players in the continent, including Gata Kamsky and Lazaro Bruzon. However, everyone was in for a big shock as it was a 14-year old boy from Coppell, Texas that took the big prize, earning his GM title in the process. Who exactly is Jeffery Xiong?

June 2015 ratings: Stars and Stripes

5/31/2015 – The ratings list this month brings milestones, not so much in records, but in personal bests that remain remarkable and noteworthy. The first is by Hikaru Nakamura who gains three Elo this month. It might not seem worth mentioning, but that was all it took to finally break 2800, in a month in which the US had plenty to celebrate. Here are the ratings, stats, and stories.

Celebrating 300 machine generated problems

5/31/2015 – As we reported before, Chesthetica, a program by Azlan Iqbal, is autonomously generating mate in three problems by the hundreds, and the author is posting his selections in a very pleasing format on YouTube. The technology behind the program’s creativity is a new AI approach and Dr. Iqbal is looking for a substantial research grant for applications in other fields.

Wei Yi youngest Chinese Champion

5/30/2015 – The wunderkind from China strikes yet again! His meteoric rise seems to have no stop - he becomes the youngest Chinese Champion in history after scoring an excellent 7.5/11 in Xinghua. Not only that - his live rating catapults him to the top 30 players in the World. In the Women's section, it was Tan Zhongyi that dominated the event. We bring you a recap of the tournament.

Opening Encyclopedia 2015 - endless inspiration

5/30/2015 – In the ChessBase family of products, the Opening Encyclopedia has earned itself a special place as that Goldilocks item with so much packed into it, it has no peers in price/performance. In it you will find tens of thousands of commented games, a monster database, and detailed surveys and articles by top grandmasters on every opening under the sun.

Support for Mihaela Sandu

5/30/2015 – Yesterday we reported on the suspicions that had been expressed after the remarkable performance of WGM Mihaela Sandu at the European Women's Individual championship in Chakvi, Georgia. The protest was lodged by her rivals in the event. Now the Romanian Chess Federation and other players have expressed their support, and Mihaela Sandu herself has issued a press statement.

Women in chess: role of innate-ability beliefs

5/30/2015 – What could the chess world learn from problems in the academic world, with regard to the participation of men and women? This "gender gap" is much bigger in physics or music composition than in molecular biology or psychology. A recent study found what matters is whether people believe you need to be brilliant to succeed in the field. Prof. Wei Ji Ma tells us what this study might mean for chess.

Suspicion at the European Women's Championship

5/29/2015 – As we reported last Sunday, the 45th seed at the 16th European Women's Individual championship in Chakvi, Georgia, Romanian WGM Mihaela Sandu, rated 2300, was sensationally leading, with 5.0/5 points. 32 other participants became suspicious of this result and demanded that during the live broadcast of the games the organisation should implement a fifteen-minute delay.

Simplification - not always easy

5/29/2015 – 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.

Carlsen blitzes blindfold clock simul

5/29/2015 – Carlsen did a blindfold exhibition in New York, blitzing three opponents in a clock simul, averaging three minutes per opponent. Normally, there is no video available from the conference because it is only open to paying attendees ($5000 admission fee) and a few invited guests. However, the video link has been made available to the public who can see the mindboggling exhibition.

Khanty-Mansiysk GP Recap

5/28/2015 – It was an interesting Grand Prix, despite the high draw ratio. Three players emerged victorious at the end, though only two of them qualified for the Candidates. All three took very different approaches to the podium: Jakovenko with six decisive results, Nakamura with only two, and Caruana who, despite being in danger in the last round, won the tournament and the Grand Prix series.

Am. Continental Rd11: Winners and qualifiers

5/27/2015 – It was a long and epic competition, worthy of accolades on a variety of levels. The American Continental championship, held in Montevideo, Uruguay, was exciting through and through, from the constant change of leaders, to the six-way fight in the rapid tiebreaks to determine the lucky ones to leave with a place in the forthcoming World Cup. Large illustrated report.

Anand's mother Sushila passes away

5/27/2015 – Sushila Viswanathan, the mother of five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, passed away on May 26. She was 79. Sushila hailed from a family of lawyers who played chess. Besides teaching her son the basic moves, she played and nurtured him into the champion he is today. Clearly she is a role model parent for the present generations. Eulogy by the AICF.

Chess and Charity

5/26/2015 – In a human society that is afflicted with all manner of misfortunes, charity is an inseparable and vital activity. To give is to perform a human duty. Chess can also play a role in this most noble of acts as WFM Meri Grigoryan shows us. Now in the fifth year, she has organized a series of activities to bring attention and donations to fight cancer. An example to be embraced.