Biel 04: King March!

7/23/2015 – Navara takes the lead in the Biel Super Tournament, and in incredible fashion! A deep opening preparation against Wojtaszek forced the Czech player to advance his king through the ranks... White's king ended up on h8! Black seemed to have a draw at hand, but in severe time pressure Wojtaszek could not find it. Adams made a grave blunder and allowed Eljanov back into the tournament.

Anish and Sopiko tie the knot

7/23/2015 – For the last few years they have been one of the darling couples in chess, combining charm, charisma, and composure. At last, Anish Giri and Sopiko Guramishvili tied the knot in a wedding that took place in her home nation Georgia. It was a beautiful ceremony, bringing many friends from all over to see the two united. Alina L'Ami brings her account and many photos.

Kovalenko pays fitting tribute to Najdorf

7/23/2015 – Grandmaster Igor Kovalenko, who was born in 1988 in Ukraine, but now plays for Latvia - he was Latvian Champion in 2013 and 2014 - has been in good shape recently: in May 2015 he had a rating of 2650, now he has a virtual rating of 2702. At the MetLife Najdorf Memorial in Warsaw he gained 20 points by winning with 8.0/9 and showing a superb performance.

Biel 03: Three wins, Three leaders

7/22/2015 – Three decisive results today in Biel, just to keep us busy! Wojtaszek positionally squeezed Eljanov and won a long endgame. Meanwhile MVL's calculation prevailed over Adams' and he won a pawn almost out of the opening. The Englishman sought unsound complications and lost. Rapport had Navara against the ropes from a weird Chigorin sacrifice, but blundered near the end.

Adhiban wins XXXV Benasque Open

7/22/2015 – The 35th edition of the Benasque Open had 412 participants, with players from 37 different countries, including 104 titled players. It was won by the 22-year-old Indian player B. Adhiban with a half-point margin, ahead of Peruvians Granda and Cori. The winner gave us an interview and also sent us an exciting and instructive game that he has analysed in great detail.

Boris Chatalbashev wins Pirc Memorial

7/22/2015 – Vasja Pirc (19. December 1907 – 2. June 1980) was a strong grandmaster and name-giver of the Pirc Defence, who lived most of his life in Maribor. His club ZSK Maribor regularly remembers the grandmaster with strong tournaments. The 19th Pirc Memorial was part of the Maribor Games Festival and was won by Boris Chatalbashev with a convincing score of 8.0/9.

Ding Liren defeats Boris Gelfand 3-1

7/21/2015 – Match of generations, or call it what you like, the match between young Ding Liren versus Boris Gelfand was a contrast in styles, which nearly always promises a thrilling game. Held in Wenzhou, China, parallel to the high-profile Russia-China match a four-game confrontation took place between China's top-rated Ding Liren versus Israeli legend Boris Gelfand, and it did not disappoint.

Biel 02: King's Gambit steals the show

7/21/2015 – There was only one decisive game today: David Navara bounced back from his loss yesterday by defeating Pavel Eljanov with Black. This puts the Czech player at 50% and drops Eljanov to last place with -1. However, today all eyes were focused on an absolutely crazy game. Richard Rapport's King's Gambit was so bizarre and so entertaining that it was easily game of the day.

Alejandro Ramirez: The Tajmanov-Scheveningen

7/21/2015 – Would you like to play a solid yet aggressive opening? Try the Sicilian Tajmanov-Scheveningen! In really critical games a lot of grandmasters rely on it. On his ChessBase DVD about this Sicilian GM Alejandro Ramirez shows you how to play and win with this line. His chess knowledge and his eloquent, smooth style of presentation make this DVD a pure pleasure to watch!

Tania Sachdev: Red Bull Battle for the Queen

7/21/2015 – Red Bull and Twitter have joined hands to launch a unique online match which will pit the entire world against the Indian International Master Tania Sachdev. The match starts tomorrow, July 22, at 2 p.m. Indian Standard Time, with both the IM/WGM and her opponents getting three minutes to ponder each move. Let's take her on: the game starts at 10:30 a.m. CEST, 09:30 a.m. UK.

China beats Russia

7/21/2015 – In the traditional match between China and Russia the Chinese celebrated a double victory and confirmed their status as a new chess superpower. The Chinese men won 14-11, and the Chinese women, who were nominally weaker than the Russian women, had a strong finish and won 15-10. Best players were Bu Xiangzhi, Maxim Matlakov, and Shen Yang. Mehr...

Endgame weapon zugzwang

7/21/2015 – 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. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun!

Biel 01: Adams early leader

7/20/2015 – Three hard fought games to start the tournament in Biel. The only winner, however, was Michael Adams over David Navara in a long opposite colored bishop endgame. MVL, the defending Champion, was unable to break through Pavel Eljanov's Berlin Defense. Lastly, Wojtaszek definitely let go of a very clear advantage against the always eccentric Richard Rapport and his Chigorin!

Barbera del Valles: chess and architecture

7/20/2015 – Alina L'Ami likes to travel and there are many places in the world where she feels like home. But that does not stop her from seeing the places she is in with fresh eyes. When she took part in the open tournament in Barbera del Valles she used the opportunity to visit Barcelona again and enjoyed the city and its amazing architecture. Report and pictures.

MVL supreme in Corsica

7/20/2015 – The summer always brings a wide variety of activities, not least among which is the vibrant Corsican chess federation that has made chess one of the most played games among youngsters. They recently held a blitz open which attracted not only the platoons of youth, but top French players Etienne Bacrot and Maxime Vachier Lagrave. Illustrated report with videos.

Biel Festival Starts Tomorrow

7/20/2015 – Well, technically, the Biel Chess Festival has already kicked off in Switzerland, but the main two attractions, the grandmaster tournament and the master tournament, start tomorrow. With an average rating of 2720, the GMT is a must-follow event. The festival has a myriad of activities, and ChessBase will be on-site following everything. For now Danny King provides a video preview!

Vaishali wins Indian Women Challengers

7/20/2015 – Most of the strongest female players of the country took part in this beautifully staged event. The nine top finishers qualify for the National Premier Championship in October 2015. The winner – ahead of a host of experienced IMs and WGMs – was a 14-year-old girl from Chennai. R. Vaishali scored at 9.0/11, gaining 80 rating points. Big illustrated report with interview and game analysis.

Akshat Chandra wins 2015 US Junior Championship

7/19/2015 – The Championship is open to the best US juniors younger than 21 years. Previously it has been won by the likes of Fischer, Bisguier, Seirawan and Nakamura. This time the title went to 15-year-old Akshat Chandra, who scored 7.0/9 and a performance of 2688. Akshat is well known to our readers – he writes reports for us. Which led Garry Kasparov to refer to him as 'the journalist'.

Pal Benko's birthday problems

7/18/2015 – On July 14 Hungarian problem componist GM Pal Benkö turned 87. His wife Gisela is 78, his daughter Palma 45, son David 44 and his grandson Adam 12. Why are we telling you this so specifically? Because Pal is celebrating with some wonderful number problems: positions shaped like digits, to share with his family and with problem lovers all over the world. Now with solutions!

China vs Russia

7/17/2015 – The traditional match between China and Russia this year is played in Yinzhou, a precinct of the Chinese city Ningbo. A five board men's and a five board women's team play a five round match according to Scheveninger system. After three rounds the Chinese men lead with 9-6 while the Chinese women trail by 7-8. Results, pictures, games.

Sam Collins: Attack with the Schliemann

7/17/2015 – Some players like to sacrifice. They gambit pawns in the opening and later give their queen to mate the king. Others are more careful with their material and refuse to sacrifice even a pawn in the opening. But maybe they should once in a while. It leads to interesting chess and it helps to improve your rating - and your chess understanding.

Yes2Chess Grand Finals in London 2015

7/17/2015 – It was the second edition of an initiative to get children all over the world to play chess. 4,200 competitive games took place in a special Yes2Chess room on Playchess, and in person, and 40 finalists from the UK, Spain, Portugal, the US, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Norway played the final matches of the international tournament in Hyde Park on 24th June to determine the overall winning school.

Dutch defence

7/17/2015 – 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.

An interview with Hou Yifan

7/16/2015 – Hou Yifan is currently the world's best women player and extremely popular with the public. Inviting her to the Sparkassen-Chess Meeting in Dortmund was definitely a good move by the organisers. German chess journalist Dagobert Kohlmeyer used the chance to talk with the Chinese about the World Championship, the young Chinese players, and much more.