Mihail Marin: Tactic Toolbox Benoni

2/27/2015 – The better your tools, the easier the work - no matter whether you work at the computer or if you pursue a trade. If you study chess openings the typical motifs of that opening are your tools. The better you know them, the better your results. For the Benoni player Romanian grandmaster Mihail Marin has a large box of very useful tools.

Tbilisi Rd10: All drawn, Tomashevsky wins

2/26/2015 – The six draws seen today in Tbilisi do not alter the standings at all, meaning that Tomashevsky claims the Tbilisi Grand Prix with his one and a half point lead. His game against Andreikin was an interesting Noteboom, but it wasn't the only flashy game of the day. Both Dominguez and Kasimdzhanov should have scored, as they held winning positions against Mamedyarov and Jobava.

Bauer wins 2015 French Rapid Ch

2/26/2015 – A record 234 players, including over 30 masters and grandmasters, came to Nancy, France, last weekend to play a blitz tournament on Saturday, and on Sunday the French Rapid Championship. This was the 13th edition of the «Festival du Conseil General» which has alternated between standard round-robins one year, and rapid opens the next. A pictorial by IM Christophe Philippe.

Wesley So: Life at the top (1/2)

2/26/2015 – Wesley So has always been a great talent, now he is seen as potential challenger for the World title. In the last two years the 21-year old has won 106 rating points and is currently number 7 in the world. In an extensive report Eliseo Tumbaga writes about So's new life at the top, the rivalry with Hikaru Nakamura, and the prospects of challenging Magnus Carlsen.

Chess sets for the rich and famous

2/25/2015 – Chess is easily one of the games that seems to most inspire exotic and artistic variations. It can range from the barest minimum, such as pieces of bread in Stefan Zweig's classic novella, to opulence beyond your wildest dreams. Here are a few of the most luxurious sets available, from the $2000 Ferrari set to the one-of-a-kind Art of War set that costs a cool $1 million.

Tbilisi Rd9: Tomashevsky Unstoppable

2/25/2015 – It's possible to say that the race for first is practically over. With only two rounds to go, Tomashevsky has a fantastic 1.5 point lead over Jakovenko and nothing but a complete disaster would prevent Tomashevsky from claiming first, even with two losses to finish he might win the event! Today he played a great game against Kasimdzhanov in the KID, while MVL beat Jobava.

Andrew Martin: First Steps in Chess Technique

2/25/2015 – To improve your chess it helps to learn about pawn structures, the ideas behind the openings, the openings themselves, solve tactical tasks, and learn the basic and not so basic endgames. But it also helps to work on your thinking habits, to find and practice ways how to think properly and efficiently about chess positions. Andrew Martin shows you how.

Huffington: Chess Gems From Zurich

2/25/2015 – The six-player Zurich chess extravaganza was played in multiple stages: a blitz, classical games, a rapid round robin and a final Armageddon. The different formats accounted for many great ideas as well as for unforgiving blunders and the chess fans enjoyed it. Huffington Post correspondent Lubomir Kavalek shows us the role computer preparation played in two key games.

2015 Euro Ch: A stunning opening in Jerusalem

2/25/2015 – The 2015 European Championship was opened on Monday to a very enthusiastic crowd of players, who accustomed to a fairly sedate affair with speeches and welcomes, enjoyed the highly entertaining opening ceremony with mind reading magic acts, and percussion performances. Unfortunately for some, they soon found out there were further surprises in round one.

Anatoly Karpov tells all (4/4)

2/24/2015 – In this final part of the in-depth interview with 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov, the discussion turns to player stamina, chess sets, of which he is a notable collector and designer, including sets made from 40,000-year-old Wooly Mammoth ivory. He also opens the door on his family life, including regrets and successes, and dreams tempered by reality.

Van Wely wins Noteboom Tournament (2)

2/24/2015 – The 75th Daniel Noteboom Weekend Tournament was held in three different groups – for players above the rating of 1900, players between the rating of 1600 and 2000 and players below 1700. The main event was the “Corpus Vierkamp” which had four of Netherlands best chess players pitted against each other in a round-robin tournament. Part two of our tournament report.

Be careful when exchanging

2/24/2015 – "Take care" is a good advice but people are often to careless to follow it. In life this can hurt, in chess one careless moment can ruin hours of concentration and effort. Imagine you reach a won endgame after 50 moves and all it takes to win is the right exchange. Here, it pays to be careful. Karsten Müller shows you how to train this valuable skill.

Former child prodigy returns to chess

2/24/2015 – Jeff Sarwer was a classical prodigy, believed by many to be one of the strongest in history. At seven he was giving simultaneous exhibitions, at eight he won the Under Ten world championship. But then he disappeared from the chess scene to take up professional poker. Now, in his late thirties, this former media star, subject of the film "Searching for Bobby Fischer", is going after the GM title.

Deep Fritz 14 now with ChessBase for Android

2/23/2015 – Step-by-step, ChessBase for Android keeps on adding features, even though it is already a premium tool on mobile platforms. The latest addition to its rich feature set is a new engine that is now packaged with it: Deep Fritz 14. It is added to the ones it already came with, and if you own the app already, the update is free. Read on to learn how to use the analysis of several engines.

Tbilisi Rd8: Jobava, Tomashevsky victorious

2/23/2015 – A day of unusual games! Jobava scored his third win in this tournament, going into a 50% score after a relatively bad start. His win against Svidler was a great example of neutralizing initiative. Tomashevsky won after 91 moves in a game where he had three pieces against a a rook and pawn. He took all of his opponent's pawns and then slowly checkmated him. Now leads by a point!

Movie stars playing chess

2/23/2015 – With the 2015 Academy Awards running its course, it is only fitting to take a look at the many movie stars who chose chess as their preferred pastime or hobby. When they had some time off whilst shooting a movie, they were caught in front of a board more often than not. Some names are well known such as Humphrey Bogart, but how about stars such as James Dean, Marlon Brando, and John Wayne?

Tbilisi Rd7: Crucial Mistakes

2/22/2015 – Decisive mistakes in Tbilisi! Grischuk missed an unusual tactic from Mamedyarov, leaving him in a position down two pawns for very little instead of having great compensation for only one. Dominguez blundered in the dreaded move 39 while Giri was unable to hold an endgame that required precision against Jakovenko, who is now only half a point away from Tomashevsky.

Anatoly Karpov tells all (3/4)

2/22/2015 – Fischer's resignation of the World Championship title in 1975 is one of the great disappointments in chess. In this part of the interview, Anatoly Karpov describes the secret meetings that ensued over the years, from the US, to Spain, and more. The renowned philatelist also shares some wonderful stories as he put together one of the greatest stamp collections on chess.

Adrian Mikhalchishin: Bishop against Knight

2/22/2015 – Bishop or knight, which is the better minor piece in a given position? This question often decides the game. Adrian Mikhalchishin helps you to find an answer. In a one hour seminar, giving you the experience of a one-on-one training session, the renowned coach offers useful rules of thumb to treat bishops and knights the right way. Entertaining, instructive, helpful.

Van Wely wins 75th Noteboom Tournament

2/22/2015 – This tournament was held in the Congress Centre of Leiden, Holland, in memory of Daniel Noteboom, a very talented Dutch player who died at the age of 21 in 1932 – leaving the chess world one of the most exciting positions in modern chess theory, the Noteboom Variation. The top group of four GMs was won in a brave effort by Loek van Wely. Big two-part report.

Cloud Database: saving and updating your games

2/21/2015 – A reader wrote explaining he had a database of his own games, and asked how he could create a database of his games in the Cloud Database, and transfer them there. After two articles on how a player could work with a colleague, student, or team, here is how, and what to do even if you're at a tournament with no computer at hand. A step-by-step guide.

Feynman: Using chess to explain science

2/21/2015 – He was an American theoretical physicist, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965: Richard Feynman is considered to be one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, and due to a remarkable series of lectures and interviews he became one of the best-known scientists in the world. Here's one interview you should not miss.

Tbilisi Rd6: Poisoned Pawn

2/21/2015 – Two decisive games in Tbilisi, but very different ones! The highlight of the day was Radjabov's demolition of his opponent... using an extremely sharp line of the Poisoned Pawn Najdorf. Svidler on the other hand took advantage of a tactical mistake from Andreikin to win a pawn and a long endgame. This is Svidler's first win of the event, while Andreikin falls to last place.

"Le Tournoi", French movie on chess coming soon

2/21/2015 – Chess is clearly in fashion, and you had better put a note in your calendars, since on April 29, a new film based on chess will be released in France and then worldwide. The French film “Le Tournoi” or “The Tournament” will depict a young champion who enjoys playing games even off the board, until he meets a player untouched by them. Here are pictures, the synopsis, and teasers.