Biel 08: Navara, Wojtaszek lead

7/28/2015 – The super tournament in Biel is coming to a close, but the fighting continues in strong fashion. Two decisive games were seen today, and the one draw could easily have been a win for Eljanov in his duel against Wojtaszek. The Pole survived and shares the lead against Navara, who simply wiped Rapport off the board. MVL put the positional pressure on Adams, who eventually cracked.

Politiken Cup: 15 players share lead

7/28/2015 – The Politiken Cup is a chess festival with a great tradition and a strong and big open. This year the tournament is played in Helsingør and the open attracted 430 players, among them a number of strong GMs. After four rounds 15 players share the lead with 4.0/4. One side-event is a ChessBase seminar that teaches you how to get the most out of your programs.

Welcome to Abu Dhabi Masters 2015

7/28/2015 – The European continent is a hotbed of strong open events taking place throughout the year. What are the other options for participating in a good tournament? The perfect location for players all around the world to participate is the Middle-East, perhaps in the 22nd Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival which will take place from the 23rd to 31st of August 2015.

Master Class vol.5 - Emanuel Lasker

7/28/2015 – It is interesting that the World Champion of 27 years, Emanuel Lasker, is also one of the hardest to define. In the fifth volume of the Master Class series, the topic is not only the breakdown of all the individual features of his play, from openings to endgames, with all the videos and games you could hope for, but a remarkably deep investigation of the secret of his success.

The right corner

7/28/2015 – 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. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and GM Niclas Huschenbeth!

Biel 07: Wojtaszek leader

7/27/2015 – Two of the three leaders faced each other, and it was Wojtaszek that came out on top in that game with a strong positional grind against MVL. Navara only managed a draw against Eljanov in a complicated position which dissolved into a drawn endgame. Catching him in second place is now Adams, who took a long time to convert an extra piece against now last place Rapport.

Genesis Potini – Kia ora tautini tonu te kingi!

7/27/2015 – That's Maori for "Long live da king!" The Dark Horse is a heart-warming drama about the struggles and failures, the triumphs and successes of the life of New Zealander Gen “da man” Potini. But doing a film review of the movie wasn’t enough for Desmond Rooplal: he researched the man himself and the people around him. His follow-up article contains unique images and narrative.

ChessBase in Pardubice

7/27/2015 – The Czech Open is part of the International Chess and Games Festival. Almost 300 players start in the A-Open, top seed is Viktor Laznicka, the number two in the Czech Republic. He won the first three rounds and leads with nine other players with 3.0/3. Martin Fischer represents ChessBase in Pardubice and offers advice how to get the best out of your programs.

Enos Grant Memorial Blitz in Jamaica

7/26/2015 – Attorney-at-law Enos Grant was the founder of the Jamaica Chess Federation in 1969, which he served as President for nineteen straight years. Recently the JCF and the Kasparov Chess Foundation staged an inaugural Blitz tournament in memory of the "founding father" of Jamaican chess, an event full of controversy, excitement, spills and thrills. Ian Wilkinson reports.

Biel 06: Three at the top

7/25/2015 – The day before the rest day, and it was almost a round with three black victories! Adams defeated Navara after the Czech player allowed some rather obvious sacrifices to shatter his position. Rapport's opening was not good, Wojtaszek enjoyed an extra pawn from the opening and converted it. Finally, MVL seemed to be cruising to victory against Eljanov, but he gave his opponent counterplay.

Crushing queen sacrifices

7/25/2015 – .... or not. That is the question asked of the reader here. Normally, positions like these come with the prelude "White to play and win", and the answer is the timeless queen sac. Not so here. Here you are told up front that White plays Qxg6, and now must work out the consequences. Is it winning? Losing? Neither? How many of the position's secrets can you uncover?

Grand Granda in Andorra Open

7/25/2015 – Nestled in the Pyrenees mountain range, the microstate Andorra, continues its chess tradition and is now celebrating the 33rd edition of its yearly Andorran Open. In a time when competition for the chess tourists is the highest, this year's event drew literally dozens of masters and grandmasters, thanks to excellent organization with exemplary media-friendly material.

Biel 05: Close Calls

7/24/2015 – We are on the half way mark in Biel, and it is David Navara that still leads after the fifth round saw three draws. Navara equalized without effort against MVL. Not so easy were the draws that Rapport and Wojtaszek obtained. The Polish player was against the ropes against Adams, but survived, while Rapport's resourcefulness found a miracle draw against Eljanov.

Ashritha Eswaran continues to win

7/24/2015 – Coach Dejan Bojkov and his student Ashritha Eswaran had a hectic schedule in June and July. First Ashritha played the US Championship for Girls U20 and then they flew to Colombia to play in the Pan Americanships Girls U18. After that the Pan American Championships G20 followed in El Salvador. But there still was time to visit the past.

Interview with GM Kovalenko

7/24/2015 – Becoming a 2700 GM is a not an easy feat, sometimes they are even separated with the fictitious title of "super grandmaster". Very few grandmasters have crossed the 2700 mark, but it is almost unheard of that one of them does it by only playing open events! Dorsa Derakshani sat down with Igor Kovalenko after the Najdorf memorial and asked him: "how did you do it?"

Summer classic: Lasker

7/24/2015 – 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.

Youth Chess Festival Adriatic 2015

7/24/2015 – It's a golden opportunity to combine your passion for chess with a holiday in one of the most beautiful Mediterranean resorts of Europe. This youth chess festival takes place from August 25-30, with tournaments for U20, U16, U12 and U10. Accommodation is very reasonable (€25 per night) and beaches are in walking distance. And: you get to spend time with one of the greatest legends of chess.

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.