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.

Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer

2/2/2015 – "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess", a beginners book, is a bestseller. However, it is not clear how much Fischer is in this book. But the former World Champion still teaches chess. Through his games. The first volume of the ChessBase Master Class series shows how much you can learn from them. Diana Mihajlova had a look at the DVD which entertains and instructs.

GRENKE Chess Classic begins

2/2/2015 – Some top players apparently just enjoy playing. One week after the long tournament in Wijk aan Zee Carlsen, Caruana, Aronian meet again, this time in Baden-Baden, Germany, joining Anand, Adams, Naiditsch, Bacrot, and Baramidze for the GRENKE Chess Classic, an eight-player-round-robin. The first round brought entertaining games but four draws and no win. First round analysis.

Jeruchess – the revival of chess in Israel

2/2/2015 – Following what seemed to signal a serious crisis in the Israeli capital’s chess scene, the last decade witnessed unexpectedly a new spring. A new star from France appeared in the sky of Jerusalem: Alon Cohen-Revivo, who migrated to Israel from the French city of Lyon in 1996 and now runs Jeruchess, which has become a leading chess force in the country. Yochanan Afek reports.

ChessBase Online: 3D boards and Fritz 14

2/1/2015 – As you know, ChessBase has been hard at work developing web-based software to allow users to enjoy many of the wonderful functions they have in desktop software. Among those is the Online Database in which you can consult millions of games, and get full statistics and Let's Check engine data. Newly added to its functionality are great 3D boards and engine support!

Gibraltar Rd6: Naka 6-0

2/1/2015 – Streaks are in fashion! Caruana's 7-0 in the Sinquefield, Carlsen's 6-0 in the middle of Wijk, and now Nakamura starts 6-0 in Gibraltar! With this victory he keeps a half point lead over the competition and regains his spot as the #1 American over So. We bring you analysis of his victory over Topalov and a pictorial report of one of the most jovial events in Gibraltar.

New Year 2015 Puzzle Contest – results

2/1/2015 – On the first day of the year we give you four puzzles for a New Year 2015 think fest – and three weeks for you to work on them. As usual there was brisk participation with obvious enjoyment on the part of our readers. Today we present the solutions and announce the prize winners. They get ChessBase software with personalized dedications from some seriously strong players. Did you win?

February 2015 ratings: the fulfillment of promise

1/31/2015 – It should come as no surprise that the list of February is a celebration of youth fulfilling their promise. Though it was not a mere month that revealed it, it was nevertheless a month that seemed to punctuate a year of toil and resolve for stars Giri, So, MVL and Ding Liren. Still, their results were overshadowed by one who became world no.1 and gained 426 Elo in two weeks!