CBS news correspondent Bob Simon dies at 73

2/13/2015 – He was a giant of broadcast journalism, who over a 47-year career at CBS News earned more than 40 major awards, including 27 Emmys and four Peabodys. Bob Simon, who died tragically in a car accident on Wednesday night, covered most major overseas conflicts from the late 1960s to the present. In 2011 he did a wonderful 60 Minutes segment on chess, which you should watch again.

Zurich Chess Challenge Preview

2/12/2015 – The super tournaments keep rolling this year. The Zurich Chess Challenge begins tomorrow, repeating its format of last year with six players and three different events. The blitz section, which is tomorrow, will determine the pairings while the classical and rapid parts determine the winner (with the former counting for double). We bring you a preview of a must-see event.

Young talents in India

2/12/2015 – Early practice might make the master but more important seems to be the joy of playing. India now has lots of masters and might soon have many more because the Indian talents practice early. Very early indeed. And they enjoy the game. Which could be seen at the National School Chess Championships played in Goa at the end of January. Illustrated report.

C.H.O'D. Alexander: Chessplayer and codebreaker

2/11/2015 – The film "The Imitation Game" speculates about the fate of Alan Turing, codebreaker, mathematician, and author of the first chess computer program. Turing is not the only character in the film with a connection to chess. There is also Hugh Alexander, played by Matthew Goode. He was modeled after C.H.O'D. Alexander, cryptanalyst, writer, and strong player.

Master Class Vol.3: Alexander Alekhine

2/11/2015 – Is studying chess like eating chocolates? Well, sometimes. At least, that's what Moshe Rachmuth thought when he had a look at the Fritztrainer Master Class DVD about Alexander Alekhine. Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh, and Karsten Müller present Alekhine's chess. So much good chess that it is difficult to decide what to enjoy first. A true delicacy.

Anatoly Karpov tells all (1/4)

2/10/2015 – The 12th World Champion, Anatoly Karpov, conceded a long and in-depth interview with the Russian news paper Sport Express. In this first part he discusses a wide variety of topics such as the quality of the Carlsen-Anand match ("even an out-of-shape Karpov would beat either of them..."), the memory of chess players, and he also answers questions on the 1978 match.

Syzygy tablebases: maximizing performance

2/10/2015 – Tablebases are wondrous tools to help analyze the endgame, and improve engine evaluation, but they do come at a cost. While the five-piece set will easily fit into almost any computer's memory without accessing the hard disk, the much larger files for six pieces can cause significant slow downs on some machines. Here are some tips to maximize performance.

Permanent pursuit

2/10/2015 – In the opening and in the middlegame the king usually has to run for cover but in the endgame, with few pieces on the board, he can turn the tables around and and threaten his pursuers. However, as he is not particularly quick, the king usually has to be content with pursuing knights and pawns. But sometimes his majesty can even frighten a bishop.

GRENKE Final: Carlsen wins in Armageddon!

2/10/2015 – What a thrilling finish! Carlsen missed a chance to convert against Bacrot, and had to settle for a tiebreak match to determine the winner against Naiditsch... though both were lucky that Caruana did not join them as he missed a win against Baramidze! In the match Carlsen won the first, Naidtisch retaliated, and after two draws The World Champion triumphed in the Armageddon...

Chess For Kids: online and free

2/9/2015 – Among the most popular programs by ChessBase, is the series designed to teach chess to children, "Fritz and Chesster". Until now it was only available on CD from the shop, but now you can enjoy the fun and games approach for free on the web. The colorful cartoons, with cute mini-games to teach the moves, can now be accessed from any browser, even on a mobile device.

Marin: Winning against King's Indian

2/9/2015 – Mihail Marin, several times Romanian champion, possesses a rare gift for a grandmaster: he is able to explain in readily comprehensible terms the ideas behind moves, variations and positions. In his latest Fritztrainer DVD he shows you how to handle the classical system of the King’s Indian, how to rely on natural play instead of chasing ghosts. Four hours of instructions from a top trainer.

Moscow Open won by Inarkiev and Tingjie

2/8/2015 – The final rounds were nervy ones on all fronts as the top spots were decided. It was Inarkiev's tournament from end-to-end and he finished clear first with 8.0/9, a full point ahead of the rest, with Korobov in second, and Paco in third. Chinese WGM Lei Tingjie also won the Open B by 8.0/9 ahead of Goryachkina. Report, pictures and games.

GRENKE Rd6: Anand only win

2/8/2015 – A relatively quiet round before the big finale tomorrow in Baden-Baden. The monster match up of Caruana-Carlsen was a bit of a disappointment as Carlsen forced a quick draw with a clever perpetual in a Berlin defense. Bacrot and Naiditsch played a very dry game, while Adams could not convert his advantage against Aronian. The only winner today was Anand who beat Baramidze.

Syzygy Tablebases: newest, fastest, smallest

2/8/2015 – The concept of tablebases is not new, and there have been several generations of them, such as the Thompson tablebases, the Nalimov tablebases and more. The latest engines such as Houdini 4 and Komodo 8 provide special support of the new Syzygy format. Discover what is so special about them, why you should not be without them, and learn just how easy they are to install.

GRENKE Rd5: Carlsen back in the lead

2/7/2015 – He seems to be doing the same as he did in Wijk aan Zee: Carlsen has his second straight win after losing. This gives the Norwegian a tie for first with Naiditsch, who was held to a draw by a stubborn Caruana. Another fantastic game today was Aronian-Anand, in which the Indian player was outplaying his opponent... only to get hit by a bolt from the blue!

Moscow Open Rd7: Chess and Shogi

2/7/2015 – It was the clash of the titans as the two leaders locked horns in round seven. Inarkiev, the leader throughout, was caught up by top seed Nepomniachtchi and an all-out Najdorf unfolded. With superb play, Inarkiev dispatched his rival and is now clearly ahead. In the meantime, showing the cultural exchange with Japan is mutual, there was even a shogi-chess tournament.

ChessBase Magazine 164 – A day well spent (2)

2/7/2015 – This unique electronic publication, appearing every two months, provides invaluable instructions of all parts of the game, as our reviewer found during his intense workout with CBM 164: "The hours simply flew for me, I worked for more than ten hours and it was an extremely enjoyable day training with some of the best grandmasters in the world." What more can you ask for?

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!