Alejandro Ramirez: Attacking with the Benko

5/10/2015 – The Benko Gambit is a provocative opening, in which Black sacrifices a pawn for long-term compensation. Top players like Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, and Veselin Topalov all tried this gambit occasionally or regularly. ChessBase editor Alejandro Ramirez also likes the Benko and a while ago revealed its secrets on a DVD. Which is still worth viewing.

Interview with Surya Shekhar Ganguly

5/10/2015 – It was a tour de force: recently one of India’s top players spent a month playing three very strong events, in India, Australia and Thailand, one after another. He finishing first, third and second. In an interview immediately afterwards Surya Ganguly reveals some trade secrets on how to manage such an arduous schedule, successfully. Enlightening, especially for tournament players.

Perfect endgame play, longest direct mate

5/9/2015 – With the advent of tablebases that know every legal position with a given material configuration, giving you a five-piece problem is fairly pointless. The temptation is too great to fire up your chess engine and wait the millisecond it requires to look up the solution. So we have a weekend puzzle for you that is slightly more devious – and tell you about the longest direct mate ever recorded.

Surprises in Nakhchivan

5/9/2015 – It must be something they put in the water, or maybe it is the nature of a conflict zone, but the Nakhchivan Open is unpredictable! None of the top seeds are leading, or even close to that, and even big names such as Hou Yifan and Rustam Kasimdzhanov are seriously struggling. Currently there is a three way tie for first between Pantsulaia, Idani and Safarli with two rounds to go.

Rus Team Champ: SHSM wins Women's section

5/8/2015 – The Open section of the Russian Team Champion had an unexciting last round: Novisibirsk squashed their opponents and easily won the event with a perfect score. Saint Petersburg and Univeristy of Belorechensk split the plit and finished third and second respectively. The Women's section, however, was far more exciting. SHSM was the favorite, but needed a miracle to win the event.

Team work

5/8/2015 – 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.

Erwin l'Ami: Two Knights Defence

5/7/2015 – "A couple of weeks after his brilliant result in Iceland, l’Ami launches his first instructional DVD," writes New in Chess Magazine. Erwin tackles the Two Knights Defence, which arises after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5. It is one of the oldest opening lines in chess history and has intrigued players for many decades! Order it today and get a signed copy.

Novosibirsk set to win Russian Team Champ

5/7/2015 – There is only one round left in the Russian Team Championship. The strong team of Siberia (Novosibirsk) is poised to win the event, and that should come as no surprise. Excellent performances by Kramnik, Aronian and Jakovenko have the Siberian team leading. In second place is University of Belorechensk, who will have a tough time in their last round against Saint Petersburg.

Huffington: Carlsen collects another victory

5/6/2015 – As you know the world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, 24, scored another amazing victory with seven points in nine games at the Gashimov Memorial tournament in Shamkir, Azerbaijan. Huffington Post chess correspondent Lubomir Kavalek looks back at this remarkable performance, and also at some wonderful chess by Vishy Anand. Read about it in Kavalek's latest chess column.

BBC's Across the Board: Steve Davis

5/6/2015 – Fans of the BBC Radio programme "Across the Board" can rub their hands in glee, since the broadcaster has decided not to wait until October for the next season, and has started Season three now, with a new series of personalities. The first on the list is the English snooker legend, Steve Davis, six-time winner of the world title, and co-author of two chess books.

Fortress or failure?

5/5/2015 – 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. And don't miss the Endgame Magic show today on the server. Special guest: Erwin L'Ami

JAPFA in Jakarta (2/2)

5/5/2015 – The Jakarta GM invitational was everything the organizers and sponsors could hope for and more. In spite of the presence of massive Elo favorites such as Sergey Tiviakov, the event was a resounding success for the locals, considering the overall winner was Sean Winshand Cuhendi, scoring a GM norm, while Medina Aulia scored an IM norm. Report, pictures and games.

Metz Open 2015 – Part 2

5/4/2015 – In our initial report we told you how 24-year-old Vladimir Onischuk (2651) from Ukraine had blasted through the opposition to score 8.0/9 score and win the popular open tournament with a performance of 2844. And about the top scorers. Today we look at some of the other players – and tell you how to tackle the Benko Gambit – in this big pictorial from a beautiful French city.

Luxemburg wins Small Nations Team Tournament

5/4/2015 – With the US Championship, the Gashimov Memorial, the match between Kasparov and Short, and the World Team Championships in Armenia (men) and China (women), April was a busy chess month. Another, albeit smaller, team tournament took place in Guernsey on the Channel Islands. The European Small Nation Team Championships. Luxemburg won convincingly.

Maya’s Move – a short story

5/4/2015 – "I am a big fan of ChessBase, and am a thirty something technology geek/entrepreneur, living in Silicon Valley, California," wrote Sundar Iyer, who sent us a short story on chess. It was inspired by recent world championship matches. A woman grandmaster friend, Nisha Mohota, who herself recently contributed a big report, encouraged him to contribute it for publication. Here it is.

Collins: Korchnoi Gambit against the French

5/3/2015 – If you play 1.e4 you need a line against the French. Why not try the Korchnoi Gambit 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3!?. Named after one of the greatest French experts of all time it promises entertaining attacking chess against the often positional French. Priyadarshan Banjan took a closer look and enjoyed the fun of gambit play.

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.