Alina l'Ami in Lund, Sweden

8/18/2016 – Alina l'Ami has played tournaments all over the world but admits that "whenever I am asked the nearly-impossible-to-answer question: 'which tournament would you recommend?', my brain turns blank and my eyes start blinking. Besides the fact that we are all different, with a different set of needs and priorities, I'm afraid the perfect tournament doesn't exist at all." But Alina l'Ami liked the tournament in Lund, Sweden, she recently played in. In fact, she liked it a lot. And sent an illustrated report.

Jeffery Xiong leads World Junior U20 Chess Championships

8/18/2016 – The World Junior Chess Championships U20 take place from 7th to 22nd August in Bhubaneswan, India. In a 13-round Swiss some of the world's most promising juniors play for the prestigious title of World Junior Champion. After nine rounds 15-year old US Grandmaster Jeffery Xiong has good chances to secure the title. After a wild attacking win in round 8 and a quiet positional victory in round 9 Xiong now has 7.5/9 and is sole leader with four rounds to go.

The joy of getting things done: Jon Speelman's Agony Column #15

8/17/2016 – "Better a bad plan than no plan at all" is a well-known strategic advice that one should perhaps not take too seriously. Nevertheless, it is true that indecisiveness and agony often go together while energetic play puts the opponent under pressure and provokes mistakes. And having the choice to carry out a bad plan is definitely better than having to play bad moves because you are in "zugzwang". Jon Speelman shows why.

French Championship: Yannick Gozzoli leads with 3.0/4

8/17/2016 – The French Championship 2016 can boast of a strong field, even though Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Etienne Bacrot do not take part. But the nine Grandmasters and the one International Master who play a for the title do have an average Elo of 2587. With a rating of 2677 Laurent Fressinet is top seed but after four rounds GM Yannick Gozzoli leads with 3.0/4. Half a point behind follow three players with 2.5/4 each, among them Jean-Francois Jolly, the lowest-rated player in the field.

2016 Sinquefield Cup: Ultimate Moves live!

8/17/2016 – After the fascinating Sinquefield Cup, ending in a resounding victory by Wesley So, comes the Ultimate Moves. This is an exhibition match/event that is designed for pure fun only. It is broadcast live, with Maurice Ashley as the color commentator in his signature dynamic style, in a match between Team Rex, with five players joined by Garry Kasparov, against Team Randy, also with five players joined by Yasser Seirawan. Don’t miss it: 2¼ hours of unadulterated fun!

Poles dominate World Problem Solving Championship

8/17/2016 – Belgrade is a city that has hosted many famous chess events. During the first week of August the 40th World Chess Solving Championship took place there, and the event was covered vigorously in the national media. The main events were dominated by Polish participants, and Casper Piorun became the 2016 World Solving Champion. John Nunn, who won the Seniors section, sent us a report and some very nice problems for you to solve.

A school drop-out, a world class GM and a CEO (2/2)

8/16/2016 – In part one of the interview with Joel Lautier we spoke about Joel's early chess career, his World Junior victory, and his battles against Garry Kasparov. In the second part Lautier narrates his exciting story of working with Kramnik as a second and how the Berlin Defence came into play. He also tells us about the ACP and reveals the reason why he left chess. Reading this interview you will realize that it is absolutely no miracle that the man excels at everything he does. The reason is simple – he is a genius!

The power of the mosquitos

8/16/2016 – 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. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun.

New: ChessBase Magazine #173

8/15/2016 – ChessBase Magazine #173 is out! Top players analyse current games, Simon Williams shows how to "Play like Viktor the Terrible", Peter Heine Nielsen reveals some of the finer points of the play of World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Mihail Marin teaches strategy, Oliver Reeh presents tactics, and thirteen opening surveys help you to keep your opening repertoire fresh, sharp and dangerous.

Sinquefield Rd9: Wesley So takes first

8/15/2016 – With so many players breathing down his neck, it was a wonder that a draw was sufficient for Wesley So to take clear first, and yet it almost wasn’t so. Veselin Topalov was the unlucky soul who reached a winning position against Aronian for a long time but failed to convert it, finishing fifth on tiebreak. The two wins of the day were signed by Caruana and Nakamura over Giri and Ding Liren respectively. Final report with GM analysis.

World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad

8/14/2016 – Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, dominated by its mountainous surroundings. Poprad city, the biggest town of the Spiš, recently organized the World Youth Under-16 Chess Olympiad, attracting 261 chess players from 40 countries, , and thus establishing a new record for the number of countries participating. In a field with traditional chess nations such as Russia and Armenia, the winner was Iran, conceding only one draw. An illustrated report.

Sinquefield Rd8: Exhaustion, gumption, and redemption

8/14/2016 – It was an inauspicious start, with symmetrical positions and split points, but thankfully for the fans it did not last. Anand against Topalov was the final draw, but neither seemed ready to accept it and serious risks were taken to avoid one. Giri sacced a pawn against Svidler, but failed to make the most of it and lost, while Aronian got an advantage early in a QGD against Nakamura and won a superb positional game analyzed in depth by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

Fritz Online: training visualization and calculation

8/13/2016 – Among the most recent updates to the ChessBase Account apps is Fritz Online. In its first incarnation, a placeholder, it was a barebones board with playing functions. Now it has the look and options of the other advanced apps, but it also brings a powerful new tool called ‘Assisted Calculation’ that is designed to help you develop your visualization and calculation skills. Learn about this great tool and how it can raise your game in this step-by-step-guide.

Sinquefield Rd7: Nothing rotten in the state of Denmark

8/13/2016 – It would be easy to complain there was, and that the five draws in round seven were a sign of something amiss, but like it or not, it is sometimes the nature of the beast. The games were all top-notch efforts, with genuine attempts to break the status quo in the positions, but at no point did any bear the unquestionable hallmarks of a win. The closest any really got was perhaps Anand’s good initiative against Aronian, or Caruana’s marathon efforts to try to beat Ding Liren. Report with GM commentary.

Interview with Lennart Ootes, photographer and do-it-all (2/2)

8/12/2016 – When he first came to Rio de Janeiro, Lennart Ootes explains he was very unsure of what to expect, with a mix of reports of safety issues and postcard views to take home. Needless to say, the truth lies somewhere in between, with a big city's realities and a unique meld with nature. Here he was able to see some of the best Rio has to offer and shares his impressions, some of the things he saw, with a vow to return soon to see more, and a panoply of breathtaking photos.

The decisive file

8/12/2016 – 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.

Sinquefield Rd6: So leads after action-packed round

8/12/2016 – After the dearth of decisive games in rounds with plenty of action but not results, round six saw three wins that could easily have been four. Aronian missed a trick early in his game and could not save versus MVL, while Ding Liren got a decisive advantage early on in a King's Indian against Svidler. The game of the day was Wesley So’s win over leader Veselin Topalov, allowing him to take over the sole lead with 4.0/6. Here is the round six report with annotations by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #14: David vs Goliath

8/11/2016 – Facing a much higher rated opponent can always be a significant challenge, as much psychological as technical. The reverse is also true as playing as hard and focused can be a challenging proposition when our brains relax thanks to excess confidence. In this week's column, grandmaster Jonathan Speelman analyzes a game with just such challenges throughout. Enjoy this lesson and try your hand at the Training questions.

Interview with Lennart Ootes, photographer and do-it-all (1/2)

8/11/2016 – In the world of chess, Lennart Ootes is one of those names you might see crop up here and there, without fully appreciating his role in the grand scheme of things. Much like the arbiters, his name goes unsung for the most part, while having a vital role in helping make a great event what it is. He is a regular guest of top events as the man who runs their DGT boards, he also helps run live video commentary, is a web designer, and talented photographer. Here is an interview with many high-res photos.

A school drop-out, a world class GM and a CEO (1/2)

8/11/2016 – Who is the youngest player to become the World Junior Champion in the history of the game? Kasparov? Anand? Karpov? No, none of them. It is the French grandmaster Joel Lautier. From his ten encounters against Kasparov Joel had a score of +1. He was instrumental in Kramnik winning the World title in 2000 and the formation of the ACP. In 2006, with a healthy Elo of 2656, he retired from chess. Sagar Shah met Joel Lautier in Moscow and brings to us an exclusive two-part interview with the man who excels in everything he does!

Sinquefield Rd5: Topalov takes lead midway

8/10/2016 – A topsy-turvy round started with belliggerent intentions on all boards, but as the round progressed, it began to seem as if we would have another full set of draws. Anand and So played out a striking novelty well past theory and prepared by both, so that in the end, the draw was just. Caruana managed to outfox MVL in the opening and middlegame, but right at the finish line he faltered and let the Frenchman escape. Finally, Topalov took the least obvious route possible to beat Ding and become the leader. Illustrated report with GM analysis.

Michael Adams crushes British Ch. with 10.0/11

8/9/2016 – Michael Adams, the long-time highest rated English player on the FIDE rating list, has won the British Chess Championships 2016 in Bournemouth to add to his 4 previous British titles. His score of 10.0/11 equaled the record set by Julian Hodgson in 1992 and, given that future championships are planned to be run over nine rounds, this was probably the last opportunity for the record to be equaled or exceeded. Illustrated report with commented games.

Sinquefield Rd4: An encore of draws

8/9/2016 – It was another uneventful round, and while several games seemed to hold promise for more than a draw, the wind seemed to peter and die out in the players' sails. The most dynamic game of the round was unsurprisingly between Nakamura and Topalov, players for who the word dynamic seems a weak term, but despite the material imbalance at the end, neither seemed willing to press the issue. Giri pressed hard in an endgame against So, but the American neutralized his attempts and they also drew. Full report with GM analysis.

World Championship 2016 in New York confirmed

8/9/2016 – For a couple of months now the meme has been that the 2016 World Championship is not, as originally stated, going to be staged in New York, but moved to Moscow. Not true. AGON, is the official partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and owner the World Chess brand as well as commercial rights holder to the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle, has now definitely announced that it will take place from November 11th to 30th in the Fulton Market Building, a five minute walk from Wall Street. Press release.