Invitation to the Al-Ain Classics

11/14/2014 – If you want to play a strong tournament in idyllic surroundings, the Al-Ain Chess Classics might be just the tournament for you. From 18th to 27th December a lot of Grandmasters, International Masters and also rank amateurs will travel to the United Arab Emirates to play for a sizeable prizefund in Al-Ain, the so-called "Garden City" in the Arabian Gulf. Sagar Shah offers a preview.

The missed combination of a lifetime

11/14/2014 – We’ve all had games where we have overlooked a dazzling combination, and in fact went on to lose. It’s an extremely painful feeling when you find out that you missed out on winning the game with a beautiful finish. Akshat Chandra spotted a particularly dramatic example from the Asian Continental in 2012, and discussed it with the player involved. It's a jewel of a combination.

Into the pin

11/14/2014 – 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.

Review: Parimarjan Negi on the Modern Scotch

11/13/2014 – The Scotch is an opening that evolved from the swashbuckling games of the 19th century. It has long been associated with exciting play, but people often doubt its positional base. In recent times, however, it has evolved into an aggressive alternative to the Spanish. In his first Fritz-Trainer DVD Parimarjan Negi explains the latest revolution in Scotch theory. Review by Diana Mihajlova.

Who will win the match?

11/13/2014 – The match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand is getting exciting. Four of twelve games are played, in the first two Carlsen dominated, but in game three Anand inflicted the first loss in a World Championship match on Carlsen. The fourth game was an unspectacular, hard-fought draw. Today's a rest day. A good opportunity to predict who will win the match.

World Senior brings back legends

11/13/2014 – One of the wonderful things about the World Seniors Championship is that it brings back former giants in chess back to what they did best: play chess. At the 24th edition held in Katerini, Greece, there were many such legends, and in this detailed illustrated report, you will find pictures, profiles, plus analysis by 15-year-old IM Akshat Chandra, ChessBase's youngest ever author.

Analyzing games with Komodo (Part two)

11/13/2014 – In this second part of the tutorial exploring the automated options to analyze your games, you will see how to get quick and efficient analysis of your online games in just seconds, or full analysis with opening references, and human-like verbal commentary. You will also find tips for preferred settings to get you started in this step-by-step guide with a new video tutorial.

Sochi G4: Level game ends in Draw

11/12/2014 – Anand tried to stir things up! Rather than going for a positionally sound line in the Spanish, a Carlsen specialty, Anand tried to enter a theoretical battle in the Sicilian! Which type of Sicilian will remain a mystery as Carlsen avoided a sharp, theoretical confrontation, chose a quieter line, but obtained no advantage. With sound play the game was eventually drawn.

Sochi WCh G3: The Tiger roars

11/12/2014 – After the loss in game two, the expectation was a repeat of the 2013 match, with hopefully a final result whose description did not include words such as catastrophic. So far, as much as his supporters wanted to believe, describing him as a 'different' Anand, a 'dangerous' Anand, the results were missing. Game three changed that. Report wtih analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

Tashir Final: Quick draw clinches

11/12/2014 – Certainly disappointing for the fans, but a good and fair result for Alexander Grischuk who finalizes his performance in Moscow by forcing a quick repetition against Vladimir Kramnik, giving these players the first and second place of the tournament. Both Aronian and Gelfand won their games against Inarkiev and Leko respecitvely to finish in a tie for third place. Final report!

Analyzing games with Komodo (Part one)

11/12/2014 – One of the chief attractions of the Fritz interface is the many options to automatically analyze your games and help you reach your potential. We often shy away from this, since if the world's elite can blunder, imagine the less privileged players. However, they can do more than show us our mistakes if you look at it from the right perspective. Learn how in this new video tutorial.

"A delightful problem to have"

11/11/2014 – In chess you often do not have time enough to find the right move. ChessBase Magazine helps you to find it, while this two-monthly publication is also entertaining and instructive with its mix of theoretical articles and extensive commentary by world class players. However, as Open File editor Carl Portman found out, you might not have time to enjoy all the material offered to you.

Sochi G3: Anand strikes back – with a vengeance!

11/11/2014 – The match has exploded and is now wide open! Last year's match finished with not a single win for Viswanathan Anand, and today this has changed! The Indian struck back immediately after his loss in the previous round and used a combination of precise play and opening preparation to vanquish the World Champion. The match is now tied 1.5-1.5 The tiger is back!

A knight imprisoned

11/11/2014 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. This week he chose the game Cuenca Jimenez-Bluebaum. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun!

Tashir 06: All about Kramnik!

11/11/2014 – Kramnik came up with an incredibly unusual-looking attack that dispatched Alexander Morozevich when Black cracked under pressure. Many people were wondering if it wasn't Morozevich handling the white pieces, as the game was creative and difficult to predict. Kramnik now trails Grischuk by one point, and he can tie for first as they play each other in the last round.

IX American Continental in Pipa Beach

11/11/2014 – The IX American Continental took place in Brazil from October 18-26 in the Pipa Atlântico Hotel in the beautiful resort of Pipa Beach, about 80km from the city of Natal. 198 players from eleven countries came to compete for one of the four qualifying spots to the next World Cup. Those fortunate enough to make it through can then dream of paving a path to glory for the world title.

Sochi WCh G2: A day to remember

11/10/2014 – November 9 was a day of anniversaries and birthdays, large and small, and was almost incidentally the day of the second game of the world championship match. Around the world, it represents the 25th anniversary of a world made whole, while for chess players it is also the day when, 29 years earlier, Garry Kasparov became the youngest world champion in history.

FIDE conducts first training in China

11/10/2014 – By January 2015, FIDE will have conducted 150 seminars to qualify and prepare trainers in over 75 countries and federations. 30 of these were conducted in Africa, over 20 in South America and more. One country had eluded this effort to provide top training, China, but no longer. With various titles for different levels of training, FIDE has now more than 3000 certified trainers.

Tashir 05: Grischuk, Gelfand win

11/9/2014 – Grischuk's spectacular run in Moscow is far from over. He played an unusual and aggressive system against Leko's Orthodox Queen's Gambit, and after a tense struggle he ended up winning yet another game. Gelfand finally found the key to victory against a Morozevich who is clearly out of shape. Grischuk only needs a draw tomorrow to clinch at least a tie for first place.

World Championship 02: Carlsen strikes first

11/9/2014 – Today on November 9, 2014, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and fittingly the prospect of a Berlin appeared on the board. Magnus Carlsen declined the option, and a long strategic battle ensued. Threats on the kingside led Anand astray and he got into a difficult position, blundering before the time control. Carlsen leads already!

A suitable primer for an improving player

11/9/2014 – The First Steps series of Fritztrainer DVDs by ChessBase is originally aimed at players rated below 2200. Andrew Martin's First steps in Pawn Structures is a "heartily recommended" example, according to Priyadarshan Banja, who thinks the practical value of this DVD is immense. The latest interactive format enables you to study positionand recall all the plans and ideas you had learnt. Review.

Sochi WCh G1: Climbing back up Mount Olympus

11/9/2014 – The World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand has finally started and what a match we are in for. The first game was an exciting draw with ups and downs and drama aplenty. Nevertheless, the very idea of this match was already a long shot, if not an impossibility, in the eyes of many, even in the challenger's. Consider how we got to this point.

Tashir 04: Many, many missed chances

11/9/2014 – We saw two very back and forth games in Tashir as the players enter the second half of the event. Grischuk drew Ding Liren in a quiet affair, and he keeps his lead. Morozevich and Inarkiev had many chances to win the game against each other, but somehow they kept missing their chances. Even more surprisingly, Leko built a winning attack agains Aronian, but it slipped away.

World Championship 01: First fight, first draw

11/8/2014 – A hard-fought draw kicks off the match in Sochi. Anand was the one that came in with guns blazing, ruining his pawn structure for activity and a bind on e6. Carlsen slowly pushed it back and eventually it was Black that found himself with the initiative, attacking White's pawn structure on the kingside and the weak king on a1. Alas, it was insufficient. Round one analysis!