Baku 02: Missed Chances

10/3/2014 – An exciting second round has left four leaders with 1.5/2, though the standings could have been very different. Caruana missed a chance to win against Gelfand while Grischuk missed several finishing blows against Karjakin. Svidler and Nakamura outplayed Mamedyarov and Andreiking to join the leaders. Meanwhile Dominguez tortured Tomashevsky for 100 moves...

Super Six for India at WYCC 2014

10/3/2014 – Chess in India is booming, and you know it is when the nation returns with two golds, two silvers and two bronze medals from the World Youth Championships in South Africa – the best tally of medals there. While the bronze medal at the Olympiad in Tromsø had shown how strong India has become, it is now clear that the future of Indian chess is in the safe hands of promising youngsters.

Mihail Marin: A Passion for the Pirc

10/3/2014 – For Mihail Marin chess is passion, profession and hobby. No wonder the Romanian Grandmaster is one of the most prolific and renowned chess authors today. Recently he published two DVDs on the Pirc, a complete repertoire for black. In an extensive interview Marin talks about his approach to chess, inspiration, and why the Pirc is one of his favorite openings.

Strong Baku Open is won by Inarkiev

10/3/2014 – With the FIDE Grand Prix currently underway in Baku, you would be forgiven for thinking the Baku Open was somehow related to it, but in fact it did not. The Baku Open was held just before, and brought a powerful contingent of grandmasters and masters as is typical of the region. Despite many known names, what stood out was the number of significant results by teenagers.

Vis-à-vis

10/3/2014 – Major pieces opposing each other on an open file – a tricky situation, offering both sides plenty of tactical opportunities. Good if you see what your opponent wants, even better if you spot tactical ideas for yourself. But do not forget to calculate precisely. Because it is not always obvious whether a move leads to a win, a draw or a loss.

Durban GM brings fourteen grandmasters

10/2/2014 – Held simultaneously with the WYCC in Durban, South Africa, the Durban GM Open was also held over eleven hard rounds of play. This provided an important opportunity for players from South Africa and surrounding nations to get some valuable competitive practice against titled players. Fourteen grandmasters starred in the lineup, not to mention numerous masters. Illustrated report.

Baku 01: Caruana, Gelfand strike first

10/2/2014 – The tournament has started with some exciting games, even if some of the most important variations in plenty of games were not executed on the board. Two decisive games kicked things off: Gelfand overwhelmed Andreikin by following a new trend in the QID that the Russian wasn't familiar with while Caruana took advantage of an overpress by Karjakin. Round one analysis and impressions.

October 2014 ratings: Faby! Faby! Faby!

10/2/2014 – The month of September was somewhat breathtaking to follow as a change in the guard took place so swiftly and aggressively that fans and pundits were left scratching their heads. After two super results, Fabiano Caruana added 43 Elo, moved to world no.2 and is within 19 Elo of Magnus Carlsen. No less impressive is Hou Yifan who is now within two Elo of ending a 25-year domination.

Baku Grand Prix begins on Thursday

10/2/2014 – The race for the 2016 Candidate's Tournament starts now. The first Grand Prix stage in the 2014-2015 FIDE GP series is in Baku, Azerbaijan. The matches start tomorrow but today the opening ceremony and drawing of lots took place. The locals cheered when out of coincidence the very first round includes a duel between the locals Radjabov and Mamedyarov!

Now released: ChessBase Magazine 162

10/1/2014 – The Chess Olympiad in Tromsø is at the center of this issue, with annotations by many of the participating players, Daniel King's "Game of the Day" videos, video analysis by Rustam Kasimdzhanov and several hours of ChessBase TV videos with outstanding players and trainers. Saint Louis and Biel are also there, as are eleven opening surveys. Can you afford to miss it?

WYCC 2014: The winners and the stories

10/1/2014 – The night before the last round, only two players slept well, knowing they had bagged the gold. For the rest it meant a nail-biting last round to decide their fates. Would they be able to bask in everlasting glory, or would they lie awake for weeks to come, wondering about that one move, that defining moment? Here is the final report with all the results, pictures, and stories.

Rapport vs. Laznicka: Contrasting Styles

10/1/2014 – Each year, Victor Laznicka, the Czech Republic's number two, plays a six-game-match against a strong opponent. This year it's young Hungarian GM Richard Rapport, famous for his unconventional style. Nominally Rapport is favorite but in the past he often had problems against Laznicka. But things were different in the first game of the match.

Swiss Championship celebrates 125th Anniversary

10/1/2014 – The Swiss Championships started with a special flavor in the air. The reason is that the Swiss Chess Federation is celebrating its 125th anniversary, a milestone in its seminal existence. Compare this to the US Chess Federation which is 74 years old, or the French which is just over 80. Surrounding the event is a wide range of activities, from simuls to an exhibit on Chess and Art.

Bobby Fischer's Winning Streaks: 1963 to 1965

9/30/2014 – When Fabiano Caruana started the Sinquefield Cup with 7.0/7, the chess world wondered whether this was indeed the best performance ever. Memories of Bobby's Fischer legendary 11.0/11 in the US-Championship 1963/1964 were evoked. But it is little known that Fischer's fantastic victory was only part of a much longer winning streak.

ChessBase Magazine 161 – 'Uneasy lies the head...

9/30/2014 – ...that wears the crown. After the runaway success early this year Magnus Carlsen is slowing down a bit.' This issue of ChessBase Magazine deals with the Norway Chess, the Poikovsky Karpov and the Capablanca Memorial tournaments. But there is also a wealth of opening training, including some surprise lines, to explore. Review by Prof Nagesh Havanur.

Double rooks and double threats

9/30/2014 – Chess enjoys the reputation of being a logical game, one reason why the cold calculating power of the computer prevails against the human mind. However, in chess 1+1 does not always equal two. For instance, in double rook endgames the two rooks often can create more threats in one game than one rook could in two. Dangerous double threats!

Isenegger Memorial Study Tourney

9/30/2014 – The Swiss composer Samuel Isenegger, who died 50 years ago, specialized in the David vs. Goliath theme of pawns fighting pieces. To commemorate his anniversary the Dutch-Flemish endgame study society ARVES staged a tourney with this motif. The composition judge Yochanan Afek has kindly sent us the entries of the winners – wonderful chess compositions from which we can all learn.

Album 61

9/29/2014 – In 2012 Boris Gelfand reached the peak of his career by playing against Anand for the World Championship. He narrowly lost the match in the rapid-tie-break. Gelfand's father has meticulously recorded the career of his son in 61 photo albums. These pictures inspired the documentary "Album 61" which now is shown at the Filmfest Hamburg in Germany.

WYCC 2014: The sprint to the finish

9/29/2014 – For one player, Dinara Saduakassova, the gold is decided, as she crushed her Girls Under-18 rivals a round in advance, but for others, it will all be decided in the final round. Some will be between two or three dominant forces, and others will be a mad sprint to the end, such as the Boys Under-16 where six have claims on the gold. Once more we bring a wonderful pictorial.

Shirov overpowers Sveshnikov with 5.5/6

9/29/2014 – It was a match that had been discussed over twenty years ago, but never came to fruition, which is a pity since the match was great fun despite neither being in his prime. Shirov was always the stronger of the two, and time did Sveshnikov no favors despite his great fighting spirit. Still, for those who accompanied the games live, there was no shortage of entertaining chess.

Hartmann – choosing a chess engine

9/28/2014 – Three chess programs today dominate the scene, with new versions supplanting each other in the computer rating lists. Currently Komodo is leading, and conveniently is released as a brand-new ChessBase engine. But is it really the one that ambitious chess players should use (or switch to)? Chess book reviewer John Hartmann offers some very useful advice.

Jayalalithaa Jayaram sentenced in Bangalore

9/28/2014 – She was a famous actress and singer, the "heart throb of Tamil movies". Then she became Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Yesterday she was arrested in a disproportionate assets case originally filed against her 18 years ago. Jayalalithaa was sentenced to four years in prison and a one billion Rupee fine. Why do we report this? There is a chess connection.

Museum of Chess inaugurated in Moscow

9/27/2014 – It was six years in the making, but the highly anticipated Museum of Chess in Moscow was finally inaugurated to great fanfare. Behind its doors, fans and players will find chess sets, many of which are the envy of collectors, rare books that quicken the heartbeat of seasoned bibliophiles, and trophies won by the Russian and Soviet chess players at the most prestigious tournaments.

Shirov-Sveshnikov match starts

9/27/2014 – A friendly match between two famous GMs from Latvia, Alexey Shirov and Evgeny Svshnikov, is taking place in Riga from September 26 to September 28. It is a match the two wanted to play 25 years ago, but issues prevented it from happening then. Now the two legendary Latvians meet at the board in a match where their reputations alone promise fun games, and the two do not disappoint.