GRENKE Rd4: Two Blunders, Two Black wins

2/6/2015 – What a round! Two major blunders defined the two victories, games that were on the verge of being wildly interesting and dissipated into a win for Black as in both cases the White side simply missed Black's resources or overestimated his own attacking chances. Carlsen bounced back with a win over Anand in a stonewall, while Baramidze basically gave Naiditsch the tournament lead.

Open to everything

2/6/2015 – 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.

Computer generated chess problems for everyone

2/6/2015 – Now they are composing problems that fulfil basic aesthetic criteria! Chesthetica, a program written by Azlan Iqbal, is churning out mate in three constructs by the hundreds, and the author is posting them in a very pleasing format on Youtube. How long will Chesthetica theoretically be able to generate new three-movers? Quite possibly for tens of thousands of years.

Michal Krasenkow: "The Triangle Setup"

2/6/2015 – A solid, firm setup, no matter what White plays, has many advantages. White has the first move, but Black determines the structure of the game and sets the terrain for the upcoming struggle. And if he knows this terrain it's even better. Therefore Polish GM Michal Krasenkow recommends to counter 1.d4 with "The Triangle Setup". Interesting and easy to learn.

Moscow Open Rd6: A brawl to the end

2/6/2015 – After six rounds, the previous leaders were unable to maintain their immaculate results, and suddenly nothing is clear. While Inarkiev continues in the lead, he is no longer alone, while Goryachkina is looking at nine others with the same scores, in what will be an open brawl to the end. In the student's event, Dubov defeated Belous with a spectacular sacrificial attack.

Gibraltar Rd10: Steady Final Standings

2/5/2015 – Hikaru Nakamura emerged as the clear winner in Gibraltar since the three draws on the top boards did not change the standings much. This did allow, however, a good group of people to tie for third with 7.5/10, while David Howell took second at the last possible minute - Hou Yifan blundered in a winning position against the Englishman and a win would have given her clear second.

Moscow Open: The four-year-old veteran

2/5/2015 – We have all read the tales about Kasparov at age four solving a problem on his own, Capablanca beating his father at the same age, and though we never question them, they remain a bit of folklore that is hard to visualize. Meet Timur Yonal, champion of Kosteniuk's children's chess school, competing at the Moscow Open, and... he is just four years old!

How about a nice game of chess?

2/5/2015 – Do you long for a quick fun game against Fritz, but miss the days when that did not necessarily mean being brutalized by the machine? ChessBase has just the thing for you. Among its newest series of apps for the web is Fritz 14, designed specifically to be played against. It can be an easy friendly game, will give you hints, and allow takebacks. And above all, it can be beaten.

Mueller on Endgames: Moscow mastery

2/5/2015 – An opponent is most dangerous when his back is to the wall, and this is especially true in chess. In the first position, 13-year-old Iranian prodigy shows his alertness as he brings home the point. The obvious move can be wrong, but would you have seen it? How about the adage that states a rook belongs behind the pawn? So true, yet here it takes on a rather spectacular form.

Gibraltar Rd9: Four GM norms!

2/4/2015 – Another day of successes in Gibraltar! Hikaru Nakamura keeps his lead, but shortened to half a point as David Howell beat Daniel Naroditsky on board two. Another half a point behind Howell are Hou Yifan, Nikita Vitiugov, Pentala Harikrishna and Axel Bachmann. Today the Minister of Tourism visited the event, in time to see that an amazing four players achieved their GM norms!

GRENKE Rd3: Naiditsch beats Carlsen, again!

2/4/2015 – A big day in Baden-Baden as the standings changed dramatically. Magnus Carlsen went a little haywire against Arkadij Naiditsch, sacrificing a piece and then losing an endgame where he usually would have tried to push for a win. This is the German's second victory against Carlsen in a row. Aronian and Baramidze collapsed against Caruana and Adams. Round three report.

Mueller on Endgames: Lessons from Gibraltar

2/4/2015 – With so many grandmasters playing in Gibraltar, and then masters, you might expect endgame guru Karsten Mueller to choose some mindboggling sequence by a big name for his selection, but enlightenment can come from anywhere as he shows in his first example. See also how lack of endgame knowledge can lead you to fall for that 'last trap'. These and others await your pleasure.

Andrew Martin: ABC of the Leningrad Dutch

2/4/2015 – Do you have "strong nerves and a thirst for battle"? And are you looking for a good answer to 1.d4? Try the Leningrad Dutch! Andrew Martin, experienced coach, commentator, and popular ChessBase author, shows the basic ideas of this interesting, sharp and double-edged opening, which is dangerous for both sides but in which you score if you know your way.

The Imitation Game

2/4/2015 – On 22nd February Hollywood celebrates the Academy Awards. Nominated for eight oscars is "The Imitation Game" by Morten Tildum, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. The film tells the story of Alan Turing, mathematician, codebreaker, and author of the very first chess program. But this is not the only role chess plays in the film.

ChessBase Magazine 164 – A day well spent!

2/4/2015 – "The latest issue of ChessBase Magazine, CBM 164, had just been released," writes Sagar Shah. "I decided to work with complete dedication on everything that was given in it!" The Indian IM spent a whole Sunday studying the issue, looking at analysis, solving the lessons. In a two-part review he tells us what he found and how everything in the magazine works. Don't miss it!

£1 million 'Golden League' is leaked

2/4/2015 – It was in the middle of a chat in his Masterclass that Veselin Topalov let slip there would be a series akin to the FIDE Grand Prix, but in this case including the top tournaments in St. Louis, Stavangar, and London, with more to come. GM Ian Rogers got the scoop and posted on Twitter, and it was confirmed. Here is what is known so far about this breaking news.

Moscow Open Rd4: A chat with Paco

2/4/2015 – With so many options, and such a hard field, it might seem a bit surprising to see the top Spanish player, Francisco ("Paco") Vallejo Pons playing in the Moscow Open, especially when the no less prestigious Gibraltar Open is running its course far closer to home. In an interview, Paco explains his reasons for the longer route. The action continues in round four.

Gibraltar Rd8: One point lead

2/3/2015 – There are only two rounds left in Gibraltar, and today could not have gone better for Hikaru Nakamura. A nice win over Yu Yangyi combined with draws in the following six boards gives him a one point lead over three players and one and a half points over the main pack. A win tomorrow might seal the deal. Oh, and he also catapulted himself to his highest live rating ever.

Rafael Leitao ties record seventh Brazilian Ch.

2/3/2015 – The Brazilian Championship held its 81st edition in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1927, and even before that if one counts unofficial matches. The three foremost winners of the title are the legendary Joao de Souza Mendes, Jaime Sunye Neto, and Giovanni Vescovi, now equaled by top Brazilian player Rafael Leitao. Report with analysis by the winner.

GRENKE Rd2: Carlsen early leader

2/3/2015 – The second round of this tournament was certainly more exciting than the first one, despite the three draws. Caruana-Bacrot was certainly a bizarre game, as White won the queenside battle but his bishop got trapped on g5 (?!). Carlsen put his typical World Champion pressure on Adams, slowly poking at his opponent's pawns, until the Englishman simply collapsed.

Small army, big attack

2/3/2015 – 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. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun.

Stunningly simple: One-click-training

2/3/2015 – Chess training has never been easier. Trainers can simply put a link to a virtual training room on playchess.com on a website of their choice, students, no matter where they are, simply click the link and will be directed to the playchess.com server. There coach and student meet and can choose from a whole range of training opportunities to get better.

Gibraltar Rd7: Finally Stopped

2/3/2015 – It came down to the wire, the last seconds of the game. David Howell was defending tenaciously the entire game against Hikaru Nakamura, but a last minute blunder... went unpunished! In a series of mistakes late in the game Howell finally held the draw against the tournament leader. Board two was a crazy duel between Yu Yangyi and Hou Yifan. Nakamura keeps his half point lead.

2015 Moscow Open starts with over 1500 players

2/2/2015 – The Moscow Open is somewhat of a misnomer and perhaps Moscow Festival or Bonanza would be more appropriate. Set in the capital of Russia, where chess has lived and breathed for over a century, this massive event is comprised of no fewer than eight separate tournaments, including dozens of grandmasters and over 1500 players in all. Illustrated report and video.