Kasparov on Real Time with Bill Maher

5/2/2015 – We always cheer when a chess player is on a mainstream show – and handles himself well. Bill Maher, the American comedian, writer, political commentator, actor, media critic and television host, is not one to be obsequious to famous guests, and he starts off with a brief altercation when Kasparov chides him: ("Garry, shut up – I make jokes about everything.") Amusing and enlightening.

Women's chess in India – myths and facts

5/2/2015 – A week ago Nigel Short unleashed a storm in the international press with his article on the gender difference in chess. Now one of India's top female players, IM Nisha Mohota, has thankfully taken it upon herself to describe the situation in her country – where chess is not very attractive for women players. Nisha tells us what can and must be done to alleviate an unfortunate situation.

JAPFA in Jakarta (1/2)

5/1/2015 – Held in Jakarta, Indonesia, the GM JAPFA round-robin event was recently held, bringing strong players such as Sergey Tiviakov as well as local talents to provide norm opportunities and experience. Among the list of invitees was WGM Alina L'Ami who brought along her good cheer, enthusiastic and colorful photography, and confessional travel writing. Here is her illustrated chronicle.

Yet another case of cheating in chess

5/1/2015 – When a young 1500-player grinds down a grandmaster rated 900 points above him, people jump to the conclusion that he must have had computer assistance. But the evidence is usually circumstantial and based on logical deduction. "These are just speculative accusations," readers tend to say. "Do you have any real proof?" In the latest case the answer is: yes we do!

"The Most Dangerous Match"

5/1/2015 – "Just one more thing" - when Inspector Columbo, hero of the legendary TV series, uttered these words, usually at the end of a seemingly harmless interrogation, things got sticky for the criminals. Incidentally, Peter Falk, the actor of Columbo, was a passionate chessplayer and one episode was all about the game. Oliver Reeh looked at it and has just two more questions.

May 2015 ratings: Vishy Anand is world no.2

4/30/2015 – A new month and a new ratings list, and what a list, with so many eye-opening results. However, the one that just begs to be yelled from rooftops by his legion of fans, and imposes silence from detractors and critics, is Vishy Anand's fantastic climb back to world no.2 with a 2804 rating. It is not the only remarkable swing or change since now China has seven 2700 players.

Chengdu Closing

4/30/2015 – The Chengdu Women's World Team Championship was definitely a success. From many compliments players had for the wonderful organization, to the drama over the board, it was certainly a memorable event. The team medals were handed out, with Georgia, Russia and China on top, but also the individual laurels were awarded. We bring you impressions from the award and closing ceremony.

ChessBase apps for the web

4/30/2015 – Over the last couple of years, ChessBase has been releasing a series of apps that run exclusively in the browser, and thus on any operating system, whether it be Windows, MacOS, or Linux. These powerful tools have a few things in common, notably they are all free, and they all have addresses that end in chessbase.com. Here is a detailed overview.

Vladimir Onischuk wins Metz Open 2015

4/30/2015 – A very strong event, in Metz, 300 km east of Paris, had 38 players, 23 rated above 2300, nine GMs, one WGM and nine IMs. 24-year-old Vladimir Onischuk (2651) from Ukraine lost his second round game but won all the others for a 8.0/9 score and a 2844 performance. We bring you two wonderfully annotated games (with video commentary) that provide extraordinary insight into key moments.

Marin: Winning against the King's Indian

4/30/2015 – "Do you want to learn tactics? Do you want to learn important pawn structures?", asks reviewer Davide Nastasio and recommends to study the King's Indian. With the help of renowned author and theoretician GM Mihail Marin who shows how to win against this popular opening - with the main line. At the same time Marin teaches a lot about chess.

Wall Street Journal: chess culture shock

4/29/2015 – The Wall Street Journal carries a number of interesting sections on their website that share articles on a variety of slightly offbeat topics. One of these is called “Expat”, and is self-captioned as ‘for global nomads everywhere’. Yuanling Yuan, a top Canadian chess player who recently moved to the US to study at Yale described her astonishment at chess in the USA.

Chengdu Final: Georgia World Champions!

4/29/2015 – They led from beginning to end, and their performance (especially Khotenashvili's) was absolutely fantastic. The Georgian team, perhaps not one of the pre-tournament favorites to take first, was able to win over the strong Chinese team in the last round to secure their gold medal! Russia and China finished silver and bronze, respectively. Last round overview.

Shamkir Recap

4/29/2015 – Without a doubt the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir will be one of the strongest tournaments of the year. The quality of the games was very high, and the mix of players gave us some excellent rounds of chess. We bring you a recap with an analysis of the play by each player, their highlights, and some impressions from the short but sweet closing ceremony.

World Team: China takes gold, Ukraine silver

4/29/2015 – With regards to drama, rises and falls, the World Team Championship certainly had it all. The start was all about the disasters of Russia and the US, and the heroic results by Israel and Cuba, while the second half inverted this, but ultimately it was the very same gold medalists at Tromso who came out supreme: the irrepressible Chinese.

Power Strategy 1: development is everything

4/28/2015 – Development! Development! Development! This could just as well have been the title of the first DVD in the Power Strategy series by GM Mihail Marin, whose lesson on the topic will help emphasize not only its importance, but also the myriad ways it can be leveraged, exploited or punished for lack of. A fascinating and profound presentation.

The king's helping hand

4/28/2015 – 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!

World Team Rd8: China is sole leader

4/28/2015 – As the saying goes: You can't keep a good man down. Or boy for that matter. Indeed although a team event, some individual players have been taking matters into their own hands as they help change the fate of their squad. The US beat Ukraine thanks to an important win by Lenderman over Ivanchuk, while China takes the lead helped by Ding Liren and top-scoring Wei Yi.

John Nunn's 60th Birthday Blitz

4/27/2015 – Sixteen players, most of them with GM titles, gathered together in the splendid Home House in London's West End to play a blitz tournament. This was to celebrate the 60th birthday of one of their most esteemed colleagues, Dr John Nunn, mathematician, former top world class GM, author, problemist. We wish John a very happy birthday with this big pictorial report.

World Team Rd7: The mad battle for bronze

4/27/2015 – The clash of the titans, to abuse an oft-used movie reference, took place in round seven, with leaders Ukraine and China facing off against each other on the top boards. It was a dogged fight with blood spilled on both ends, but ended in a draw. With Cuba and Israel losing once more, seven teams, including tailenders USA and Russia, now have chances at bronze.

ChessBase's free tactics training

4/27/2015 – Tactics, tactics, tactics. There isn't a teacher or manual that does not press this point mercilessly, and with good reason: strategy collapses if the tactics are flawed. After releasing a slew of web applications, from cloud database to Fritz or children instruction, ChessBase now presents its latest addition, a free tactics trainer with over 34 thousand positions!

Battle of the Legends (2/2)

4/27/2015 – "Gold does not rust". What an applicable scientific fact! Garry Kasparov absolutely annihilated the 60th best active chess player on the planet with a score of 5-0, bringing the total to 8.5-1.5 A humiliation for Nigel Short and an absolute spectacle and bloodbath for the onlookers. We bring you a full report, and of course the highlights of the decisive moments.

Chengdu R7: Couldn't keep up!

4/27/2015 – All the top teams had a tough match ahead of them. Georgia passed their test: thanks to Arabidze's win they were able to score a 2.5-1.5 victory against the strong India squad. Ukraine was a slight favorite against China, but the Chinese team were trying to win to keep in gold medal contention, a 2-2 draw was the result. Meanwhile, the resilient team of Kazakhstan held Russia to a draw.

Shamkir Final Round: Undisputed Winner

4/26/2015 – Wesley So started crushing the field with 3.5/4. Viswanathan Anand had a wonderful performance, a fantastic near 2900 TPR that will put him on second place in the in the next rating list. However, at the end of the day, it is still all about Magnus Carlsen. A near 3000 performance, a full point ahead of second place, the best player in the World won again.

World Team Rd6: Ukraine and China lead

4/26/2015 – Round six of the World Team championship confirmed the swing in the balance of power, as both the earlier leaders Israel and Cuba, faced the new ones in a match that would either shower them in glory, and relegate them to fighting for a spot on the podium. Both Ukraine and China showed they were up to the task, setting up a decisive clash between the two.