Khanty 06: Few changes at the top

4/16/2014 – Both Hou Yifan and Muzychuk drew their games which means that the only change on the leader-board was on who was tied for third place. Zhao Xue lost quite badly against Girya, not only losing her opening advantage with white early on but giving black the better chances quickly. Kosteniuk won a crazy game against Dzagnidze, and now both Girya and Kosteniuk are tie for third place.

Big finish expected for the 2014 Dubai Open

4/15/2014 – After eight from nine rounds French GM Romain Edouard is leading, with 7.0/8 points. Half a point behind is his main contender, former Juniour World Champion Abhijeet Gupta of India, and six players still have chances at 6.0/8. Everthing will be decided on the final day (Tuesday). We bring you a big pictorial report with three games annotated by GM Gupta, who has just launched a new web site.

Khanty 05: Relative Peace

4/15/2014 – Most of the games were drawn today, and Hou Yifan was the one that came on top of the round as she beat the lowest rated player in the event, Nafisa Muminova. Her closest competitor, Anna Muzychuk, is now a point behind her as she was only able to draw Kateryna Lagno. Hou Yifan will face stiff competition in the next few rounds. Will she mantain her 2831 performance?

Malachite wins Russian Team Championship

4/15/2014 – Four teams were way ahead of the other nine, with Malachite Sverdlovsk taking gold in the end. That was in no small part due to a 6.0/7 score and 2940 performance on board two by Alexander Grischuk, who gained 15 rating points and is now the number three player in the world. In the women's section Ugra won ahead of SHSM. Big report with lots of pictures.

Edouard leads alone in the 16th Dubai Open

4/14/2014 – This very strong tournament has attracted 148 players from 39 countries, including 38 GMs, in a field that averages 2214 rating points. After six rounds of play the young French GM Romain Edouard is in the sole lead, with 5.5 points. There has been some exciting action, with promises of more to come. We have a big report with pictures and detailed game analysis.

The little talent from India on the rise

4/13/2014 – A few months ago we reported on a remarkable Indian chess talent: 14-year-old Aravindh Chithambaram won the Chennai GM Open and achieved a first GM norm. As a special prize we provided him with ChessBase software, and promised more for each new norm. Now the lad has completed an international tour of tournaments and returned with a second GM norm. Big illustrated report.

Khanty 04: Muzychuk catching up

4/13/2014 – Many missed opportunities today in Khanty-Mansiysk as the players head to their first rest day. Muzychuk took advantage of Muminova's lack of endgame knowledge and converted a position which is theoretically drawn, but very hard to do so without prior knowledge of the position. Hou Yifan and Lagno drew, still leaving the Chinese ahead by half a point. Pictures, games and standings.

Carlsen at MIT – Moscow style

4/12/2014 – The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology – MIPT – is a Russian counterpart of the Massachusetts university. Magnus Carlsen was there for another high-profile PR event: a one-hour interview with TV presenter Tina Kandelaki, plus two simultaneous exhibitions. You will want to read and listen to this interview with the World Champion, who is becoming a great ambassador for chess.

Khanty 03: Good day for the Chinese

4/11/2014 – It was a good day for both of the Chinese players in Khanty-Mansyisk. Zhao Xue took advantage of a major blunder by Stefanova in a drawn endgame to take the full point. Meanwhile Hou Yifan crushed Dzagnidze with a wonderful attack and it is the second game in a row in which she wins in less than 25 moves. Not only that, she currently has the lead by a full point...

Chess players in Georgia

4/11/2014 – After the lavish birthday celebrations for local star Zurab Azmaiparashvili our reporter Maria Emelianova accompanied the guests to Sighnaghi, a 2000-soul town in Georgia's easternmost wine-growing region. There guest of honour Judit Polgar inaugurated a chess school, while the Georgian Chess Federation is investing 14.5 million Euros in two major events. Pictorial report.

Khanty 02: Hou Yifan solo 2/2

4/10/2014 – After another thrilling day in Khanty-Mansiysk, again with five out six games being decisive, Hou Yifan has emerged an early leader by being the only player to have won both of her games. She is closely followed by Stefanova, who beat Ushenina, and Muzychuk, who drew Dzanigdze. Although it's only round two, nine of the twelve participants have already suffered a defeat...

ChessBase Magazine #159 – with free download

4/10/2014 – "The latest issue of ChessBase Magazine offers the usual blend of top tournament coverage, instructional material and opening surveys. Danny King presents excellent video coverage from Zurich and Wijk aan Zee, and his analysis of the key games is typically insightful." You can download the free article by Michal Krasenkow on the Modern Benoni with 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.h3. Review at Marsh Towers.

Khanty GP: Near Whitewash

4/9/2014 – It was not a bad day to be white! With five of the six games resulting in white victories it was only Kosteniuk that, miraculously, with black was able to hold a draw against Stefanova. The World Champion started with a win against Kosintseva, and the only upset of the round was Girya's win against Dzanigdze. Round one report.

Kavalek: Two immortal chess cavalcades

4/9/2014 – Anderssen-Kieseretzky, London 1851, was the original immortal game. Another 19th century encounter, Blake vs. Hooke, was also an immortal culminating in a queen sacrifice. Last Sunday Croatian GM Mišo Cebalo, 69, wrote his name into the history of immortal chess games, as his colleague GM Lubomir Kavalek narrates in this latest Huffington Post column.

$1,000,000 Open Tournament announced

4/9/2014 – GM Maurice Ashley and his partner Amy Lee have given confirmation that the Millionaire Chess Open, with a prize fund of one million dollars, will take place in Las Vegas in October later this year. The tournament hopes to attract amateurs from around the world, as well as top grandmasters, as they battle for huge category prizes. Will you be the next big winner from chess?

Preview of the Women's Grand Prix

4/8/2014 – Only a week after the Candidates tournament has finished in Khanty-Mansiysk, the new "Chess Mecca" is host to the fourth Women's Grand Prix of the cycle. The tournament is full of stars including Hou Yifan, Stefanova, T. Kosintseva, Muzychuk, Zhao Xue etc. Alina l'Ami has traveled all the way to the playing site and brings us an impressive and beautiful pictoral report.

Visual presentation of world chess ratings

4/8/2014 – Mining the ratings section of the FIDE web site, and combining it with United Nations population statistics, reveals a lot about chess and its popularity in different parts of the world. However rows and columns of numbers are difficult to comprehend. Michal Paterek, a software engineer from Poland, presents the data with some really cool interactive maps. Prepare to be stunned!

Improve your chess with Tania Sachdev

4/7/2014 – If you google her images you might mistake her for a Hollywood actress or a fashion model. And IM Tania Sachdev has taken part in some fairly extravagent shows. But her greatest talent is chess, and specifically chess teaching. Which makes her latest ChessBase DVD we predict a surefire bestseller. Is there a more pleasant way to study chess? Review by Sagar Shah.

Children’s Grand Prix, Ambassador for Talent

4/7/2014 – The Spring Festival is a yearly event in Budapest, Hungary, with representations of all arts, whether they be performing arts, visual arts, or... chess! In this festival, there are many events for children and adults, all overseen by its Ambassador of Talent, Judit Polgar. It is not a figure of speech, as she is given this role for a five-year tenure. Here is an illustrated report.

World Champions – reclaiming a lost century

4/6/2014 – The players of Asian board games like Shogi and Go honor their champions at least as far back as the 1600s. Chess, on the other hand, crowned its first official World Champion in 1886, although the game has been around since the 6th century. The chess community recognizes sixteen title holders – too few for historian Paul Lillebo, who proposes we include five earlier champions.

Bad Königshofen German Champions

4/5/2014 – The German Bundesliga (team championships) is one of the strongest in the world, as is the women's section. In the 2013-2014 season two teams won all their matches – until they played against each other in round ten. SC 1957 Bad Königshofen beat OSG Baden Baden to take the title. One of their stars, Indian IM Tania Sachdev, sent us wonderfully insightful annotations of a key game.

Müller: Endgames from ChessBase Magazine

4/5/2014 – Ready for your weekend homework? As so often you can improve your endgame skills by going through practical examples from recent games, explained by our resident expert GM Karsten Müller. This time he start with a spectacular between Hikaru Nakamura and Vladimir Kramnik. Study the four endgames selected by Dr Müller and watch your ratings soar. Best of all: it's free of charge.

On an oil rig? You gotta be kidding!

4/4/2014 – Indeed we were, in the traditional spirit of April Fool (or "April Fish", as the French call it). The announcement that the Carlsen-Anand 2014 World Championship match would be held in the middle of the North Sea was a carefully faked hoax by a ChessBase editor. We've been perpetrating April pranks for at least thirteen years now, and provide you with links to all of them. Prepare to waste a lot of time.

Benko: Fun problems to celebrate the day

4/4/2014 – Our friend and world famous chess composer GM Pal Benko got into the spirit of the day and sent us three problems to solve. They look deceptively easy, but you must consider the day of publication and not be fooled by the guile of the composer. We will leave you to work things out for a few days, and then give you the answers which may come as a surprise to some. [Now with solutions!]