Fifteen years of ChessBase Christmas Puzzles

12/27/2014 – For the fifteenth time we end the year with our traditional Christmas puzzles. To celebrate we bring you a retrospective of some of the best puzzles from the early years. Remember some of our readers were not born when we started, for others it may bring back nostalgic memories. Looking back at 2001 today we have added two "retro" problems by Raymond Smullyan.

Komodo 8: Deep Blue revisited (part one)

12/26/2014 – When Garry Kasparov faced IBM's super computer Deep Blue, there was not a player alive who did not secretly dream of having their own private Deep Blue to consult on demand. That day has already come and passed as today's engines such as Komodo 8 can outperform the famous computer even on a smartphone. Here we take a look at the famous match and key moments.

The Chess Phoenix and New Year's books

12/26/2014 – Lubomir Kavalek calls former World Champion Viswanathan Anand the "Phoenix of Chess" – many times down, but never out. For New Year's gifts the Huffington Post columnist recommends a book that gives the impression the players played games while they were drunk. Two more books by Judit Polgar and about Bent Larsen caught his attention. Read his latest column.

Rook resources

12/26/2014 – 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.

26th Carlos Torre Repetto in Memoriam

12/25/2014 – Latin America has but a few strong tournaments that are held every year. One of the more important ones is the Carlos Torre in Memoriam, hosted every year in the city of Merida, Mexico. This year's edition was won by GM Lazaro Bruzon from Cuba with a fabulous performance. GM Alejandro Ramirez brings us his impressions of the tournament and the city of Merida.

'The Nutcracker': Kings and Princes trade punches

12/24/2014 – Although there has been no shortage of generations matches, whether one-on-one or a duel between teams, one thing that is certainly true, and behind their popularity: there is no shortage of hard fights. This particular flavor is no exception and the players and games have displayed great fighting spirit. Here is the report, and don’t miss Fedoseev’s spectacular queen sacrifice.

Al Ain: Nigalidze leads with 5.5/6

12/24/2014 – He is the 28th seed, rated 2536, but he is on a rampage, beating three 2600+ GMs and conceding a single draw in six rounds of the Al Ain Chess Festival. Gaoiz Nigalidze has an amazing rating performance of 2889 and is already gaining 25 Elo points. Behind him are Yuriy Kryvoruchko, Vladimir Onischuk and Sergei Zhigalko with 5.0/6. Big pictorial report with game analysis.

Loek van Wely: An Anti-Sicilian repertoire

12/23/2014 – What to do against the Sicilian? In the sharp and highly theoretical main lines you have to spend hours to be well prepared. Why not play a dangerous system that offers White good chances and that is easy to learn? Loek van Wely shows you what to do. In 60 minutes the Dutch GM prepares you for the Sicilian and gives you a solid repertoire for White.

India wins U16 Olympiad in Gyor

12/23/2014 – The U16 Olympiad finished with drama. Before the last round the Iranians led the field and winning against Hungary would have given them gold. But they lost and finished third. Now India secured gold by beating Turkey convincingly. Russia won against Ukraine to take silver. Mihail Marin sends a final report with pictures and an interview with Judit Polgar.

Switchback

12/23/2014 – 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!

'The Nutcracker' Rd2: The Kings strike back

12/22/2014 – With the lineups favoring the 'Kings' in both experience and Elo, it was clear the 'Princes' could not be reasonably expected to hold onto their opening edge for long, and sure enough in round two, Morozevich avenged his round one loss by beating Vladimir Fedoseev in the second round. Artemiev once again emerged up material in an endgame, but could not ooutsmart Shirov. Round two report.

The future is here: Cloud Databases (2)

12/22/2014 – ChessBase is moving into the cloud. We showed you yesterday how you can keep your databases, preparation and even look after your repertoire on a remote server, ready for access from anywhere and in many different ways. Today we show you how you can share games and analysis with other users, in real time using browsers. Tournament players and trainers please take note!

Wesley So shooting for the stars (2/2)

12/22/2014 – In this second part of an in-depth look at Wesley So, the reasons for his surprising and somewhat controversial change to play for the United States are made clear. Many of his compatriots reacted emotionally to this announcement, accusing him of being 'unpatriotic', but he explains the reasons that led to the decision, and vows he will never lose sight of his Filipino heritage.

Final impressions of the Qatar Masters

12/21/2014 – "The best tournament I have ever played in," and "definitely the strongest of my life." These were some of the opinions of participants of the Qatar Masters 2014 – incidentally the first Open with Vladimir Kramnik in 22 years. Our reporter in Doha, 15-year-old IM Akshat Chandra, spoke with him and with the winner Yu Yangyi. The latter interview was conducted on a Google Translate page.

Master Class Vol. 3: Alexander Alekhine

12/21/2014 – Alexander Alekhine, World Champion from 1927 to 1935 and from 1937 to his death in 1946, is widely admired for his attacking games. Garry Kasparov, for instance, often said how much he gained from studying Alekhine's games and writings. The Master Class Series now offers a chance to take a new or first look at one of the classics of the game. Inspiring.

Ukrainians lead Al-Ain after three rounds

12/21/2014 – The Al-Ain Open is one of the strongest in the world, and with its first place prize of $11,000 has attracted 150 players from 27 nations of which 43 grandmasters fighting for the top spot on the podium. After three rounds, seven players are in the lead with a perfect score, including the top seeds. We bring you pictorial impressions and game annotations.

'The Nutcracker' to end year in style

12/21/2014 – After the match of generations between Dubov and Shirov last year, entrepreneur Oleg Skvortsov decided to improve on it with two full teams who will face each other in classical games and rapid. The teams promise action with names such as Morozevich, Shirov, Leko, Dreev for the seniors, and Fedoseev, Artemiev, Dubov and Oparin for the youngsters. An exciting first round.

Chess Eruption by Mount Etna (2/2)

12/20/2014 – Although Sicily is not famous for its chess culture, it does have a spectacular standout exceptions. For example, one of the first manuals on chess, an eight-volume treatise, was written by a Sicilian in 1617, and perhaps more impressively, the 25th World Correspondence Chess championship was won a couple of years ago by the octagenarian Fabio Finocchiaro.

Gyor, U16: Surprises, fun and delight

12/20/2014 – Chess talents from all over the world gather at the U-16 World Youth Chess Olympiad in Gyor, Hungary. In the first rounds Russia and India dominated the event but in the seventh round Russia suffered a surprising upset and lost to the Iranian team. After eight rounds India and Iran share the lead with 14 from 16 possible points. One point behind Russia is third.

Wesley So shooting for the stars (1/2)

12/20/2014 – Wesley So is hardly a new name on the horizon as one of the youngest grandmasters ever, and a prodigy in every sense of the word. He went to the United States on a chess scholarship, where he has now transferred as a player, but after a series of successes in 2014, breaking into the world's Top 10, he has decided to go all out for chess after announcing his next goal of 2800.

Al Ain Chess Festival begins

12/19/2014 – The Middle East is currently becoming one of the hubs of world chess. Just a fortnight after the super-strong Qatar Open another powerful tournament begins on the 19th of December in Al Ain, UAE, with 44 GMs (17 above Elo 2600) and 19 IMs. The event was kicked off with a one-day rapid which was won by UAE GM Salem A. R. Saleh. Big pictorial report by Sagar Shah.

Fierce resistance

12/19/2014 – 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.

European Individual Championship Jerusalem 2015

12/19/2014 – It's an 11-round Swiss, open to players from the 54 European federations regardless of title or ratings. The prize fund is a minimum 100,000 Euros, and there are plenty of opportunities to obtain norms. The Championship runs from Feb. 23 to March 8th, 2015. On the free Saturdays there are special guided excursions in one of the most historically interesting places on the planet.

Chess Eruption by Mount Etna (1/2)

12/19/2014 – In the summer, a very successful tournament ‘Terre degli Elimi’ took place in Erice. Now, at the beginning of the winter, on the opposite side of the island, another successful tournament has just concluded. The First International Etna Chess Festival took place from 5 – 8 December, in Nicolosi, on the eastern side of Sicily, on the slopes of Etna volcano.