82nd Brazilian Ch: Mekhitarian leads bloodbath

1/14/2016 – It would be precipitous to say that Leitão’s chances for a record eighth title are jeopardized, but it will most certainly be a small mountain to climb. After five rounds, Mekhitarian and Choma shared first with 4.0/5, but a dramatic win over Leitão, left Krikor in sole first with 5.0/6. The tournament has been a bloodbath with almost 80% wins. Report, photos, and games.

Kasparov on GPS with Fareed Zakaria

1/13/2016 – "Since retiring from chess [ten years ago] he has become a campaigner for human rights and democracy in Russia," CNN host Fareed Zakaria introduced Garry Kasparov on his weekly GPS show. Zakaria, who also writes a weekly column for The Washington Post, asks the 13th World Chess Champion why Russia is in a dangerous stage right now. Watch this explosive seven-minute segment.

Interviews from Al Ain

1/13/2016 – The Al Ain Classic took place from 22nd to 31st December and was one of the strongest open tournaments of the year. The Chinese grandmaster Wang Hao finished clear first ahead of "Fire on board" chess legend Alexei Shirov. Prathamesh Mokal talked with Wang, Shirov, and the organiser of the tournament about chess, the Al Ain Classic and life in general.

Norwegian Rapid and Blitz Championships

1/13/2016 – Magnus Carlsen, Norway's number one, did not start in the Norwegian Blitz- and Rapid Championships that were played in Fredrikstad at the beginning of January, and attracted a record number of participants. But Norway's number two Jon Ludvig Hammer and Norwegian talent Tari Aryan played. Hammer won the blitz tournament, Aryan the rapid tournament.

Ivan Bukavshin dies at the age of 20

1/13/2016 – He was one of the brightest talents in the world of chess, with an impressive rating of 2658. On 12th of January 2016, at the age of just twenty years and eight months, Ivan Bukavshin died from a stroke, leaving the entire chess world in a state of shock. The 2015 Russian Cup winner is no longer with us. What a player he was, what a beautiful chess career it would have been. A heartfelt eulogy.

The mating net

1/13/2016 – 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!

82nd Brazilian Championship starts seeking history

1/12/2016 – The 82nd Brazilian Championship has started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will run from January 9-16, 2016. This event brings not only a highly eclectic field of players who qualified from events all around the country, but also a potential for a little bit of history as Rafael Leitão tries to break a record he shares with three players: the most titles held. A rich illustrated report.

Basel: Naiditsch wins again

1/12/2016 – After winning the Open in Zurich at the end of 2015 GM Arkadij Naiditsch also won the tournament in Basel at the start of 2016. The tournament was marred by an incident when the Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami refused to play against Yuliya Shvayger from Israel. Chessplayers from Iran are advised by their government not to play against Israelis. Press release...

What makes the London Chess Classic special?

1/11/2016 – How do you make a chess festival special? How do you bring together all the resources, spark the interest of the entire chess community, ignite in thousands a passion for the game, and yet make the entire project financially feasible? Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal were in London for the entire duration of the London Chess Classic and sent us thirteen reasons why this annual event is an example of one of the best planned chess festivals in the world.

Best of 2015: Summary

1/11/2016 – After asking you to vote for the "Best of 2015", we now want to show you the results. Daniel King dedicated his latest Power Play Show to the poll and presented the winners. In the following article you can see if there were any surprises or if all polls ended as you expected. Have a look at the winners.

Kovalenko wins the Keres Memorial - ACP Open

1/10/2016 – With a strong finish Igor Kovalenko became sole winner of the Keres Memorial - ACP Open in Tallinn. He started the last day with 6.5/8, sharing second place with four other players. But after winning against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Peter Svidler he only needed a draw against Boris Gelfand in the final round to take sole first place with 9.0/11.

Keres Memorial - ACP Open: David Howell leads

1/9/2016 – Chess legend Paul Keres was born on 7th January 1916. To celebrate his 100-year jubilee a strong rapid tournament is played in Tallinn, in which world class players such as P. Svidler, Boris G. or P. Eljanov take part. But after eight rounds the English GM David Howell leads the field with 7.0/8. Half a point behind follow Duda, Svidler, Kovalenko and Gelfand.

25th World Senior Championship (2/2)

1/8/2016 – The 25th World Senior Chess Championships in Acqui Terme, Italy, was an amazing event. More than three hundred players started, including over 100 titled players, among them 18 GMs and 34 IMs. GM Nona Gaprindashvili won the Women’s 65+ section with 7.0/9, GM Predrag Nikolic the Open 50+ with 9.5/11. Ian Wilkinson remembers the event from a Jamaican perspective.

ChessBase New Year's Puzzle 2016 – solutions

1/8/2016 – QM3: A game ends with the move 6...Nf1 mate – find moves that achieve this. That was our New Year's Puzzle. Solutions were sent in from around the globe – hundreds in all. Many letters were quite interesting, so we bring you a substantial selection. One of them has won the historic prize. Finally the coin problem by John Nunn: the solution is a five-second eight-word sentence that any ten-year-old can understand.

Surprise winners in Hastings

1/8/2016 – The Hastings Chess Congress has a very long tradition and the legendary Hastings tournament 1895 was one of the strongest tournaments of its time. Emanuel Lasker, Wilhelm Steinitz and Siegbert Tarrasch took part but in the end the American Harry Nelson Pillsbury won the tournament. A real surprise at that time. This year's Congress also had two surprise winners.

Tricky diagonals

1/8/2016 – 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.

Estonia celebrates Keres' 100th birthday

1/7/2016 – Paul Keres was born 7th January 1916 in Narva, Estonia, and was one of the best players in the history of chess. He played in eight candidates tournaments and four times he finished second. He won games against nine World Champions but never played a match for the title. He was also a fantastic chess writer and an impeccable sportsman. In Estonia he is a national hero.

Rodshtein wins Rilton Cup

1/7/2016 – Jon Ludvig Hammer from Norway and Maxim Rodshtein from Israel were both in good form at the traditionally strong Rilton Cup in Stockholm. Both grandmasters played a number of impressive games and both managed to raise their ratings to 2700+. But fortune smiled a bit brighter on Rodshtein who won the tournament with 8.0/9, half a point ahead of Hammer.

Grand Chess Tour gets smaller

1/6/2016 – Last year the three supertournaments Norway Chess, Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic merged to become the "Grand Chess Tour" series. Now the organisers of Norway Chess decided to go their own ways again and in a press release announced their intention to leave the series: Norway Chess will not be part of the Grand Chess Tour 2016. Press Release

Hunting knights

1/5/2016 – 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!

Naiditsch wins Chrismas Open in Zurich

1/5/2016 – With a rating of 2698 Arkadij Naiditsch was the favorite to win the traditional Chrismas Open in Zurich that took place from 26th to 30th December. Naiditsch lived up to his role and won the tournament with 6.0/7. Half a point behind followed five players of whom Vitaly Kunin and Christian Bauer had the best tie-break. They finished second and third.

Fritz 15 engine - questions and answers

1/4/2016 – With the arrival of Fritz 15, and the new engine, a large number of questions have arisen regarding its strength, its origin, and its future. One of the very strongest grandmasters in activity expressed his concern quite simply, “The rumours say that it's some kind of old Rybka”. Here are the answers as well as an introduction to the Fritz 15 engine.

Best of 2015: Best Endgame

1/4/2016 – The year 2015 is over now, so we thought it's time to let you vote for the highlights of the past year. Today we want you to vote for the best endgame of the year 2015. The following article features a selection of six endgames picked by GM Karsten Müller. Which, do you think, is the best endgame of 2015?

Groningen Festival won by Jorden van Foreest

1/4/2016 – The traditional Groningen Chess Festival, now in its 53rd edition, was won by 16-year-old IM Jorden van Foreest, a Dutch player on the rise. He and Indian GM Shyam Sundar both finished with 7.5/9, but as van Foreest had won their individual encounter, he took the title. With plenty of activities, and plenty of chess, it was very enjoyable event. Report, pictures, and video.