Komodo 8: bringing creativity back to chess

9/10/2014 – It is a different kind of chess engine. It makes extensive use of extensions, which leads to sounder positional play and the discovery of ideas that are much deeper and more subtle than other leading engines. In the process Komodo remains tactically sound and has achieved the top ranking in the computer rating lists. The latest version has now been released by ChessBase.

Pegasus chess extravaganza in Dresden

9/10/2014 – Do you recognize the three chess legends in our thumbnail image? All three played in the 1971 Candidates cycle (which Bobby Fischer won to become the challenger). The same three met again, 43 years later, to play a consultation game with live chess pieces in Dresden. We bring you the game and pictures of the legends today, playing in the Pegasus Chess Summit.

Radjabov's Rook

9/9/2014 – 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 Radjabov-Batista Bruzon. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun!

Monastir – the chess hub of Tunisia

9/9/2014 – Tunisia is one of the most active chess nations in the Magreb and Africa. Today, the country's enthusiasm for the game has not diminished, and a lot of efforts are being made to strengthen the position of chess and give it an important place in the cultural and sport activities of the country. Diana Mihajlova reports on the big chess festival in the beautiful city of Monastir.

Karsten Müller: Understanding the Vancura draw

9/9/2014 – "It is insulting that Aronian is not resigning," said spectators on the server. Magnus Carlsen was two pawns up and chess engines were displaying +5 for the World Champion. But after a while it became clear: Levon Aronian knew the "Vančura position" and how to reach it. The game was drawn. For those of you who do not know the strategy here is a complete primer by Karsten Müller.

Humpy’s spectacular Indian wedding

9/8/2014 – Marriage in Europe or America can be lavish, but we cannot compete with the beauty and tradition of an Indian wedding. Recently the third strongest female chess player in history, Humpy Koneru, tied the knot in a wonderfully colorful ceremony. Sagar Shah, who celebrated his own wedding earlier this year, describes the traditions and practices. Congrats to Humpy and Anvesh!

Sharjah Final: The Two Chinese take it

9/8/2014 – With no big surprises in the last round it was Hou Yifan and Ju Wenjun, the long time leaders of the event, that finished at the very top of the field with an excellent 8.5/11, two more points than the big tie for third between Zhao Xue, Batchimeg Tuvshintugs, Harika Dronavalli and Anna Ushenina. Final round report and pictures of the small closing ceremony.

Carlsen signs for Sochi; will defend title!

9/7/2014 – After a tumultuous process to decide if the World Championship was or was not happening, it is now official. Magnus Carlsen has finally signed his contract and is scheduled to defend his title against contender Viswanathan Anand. Today was the World Champion's final day to decide whether he was agreeing to FIDE's terms or not, and for the good of chess he officially has.

Interview with GM Chuchelov - Caruana's Coach

9/7/2014 – ChessBase conducts an exclusive interview with the World’s strongest chess trainer. GM Vladimir Chuchelov has coached top players such as Van Wely, Radjabov, Giri, and is currently seconding Fabiano Caruana in the Sinquefield Cup. Read on to discover the insights into Caruana’s preparation to the strongest tournament in history. Interview by Alisa Melekhina.

Sinquefield 10: Draws end magnificent event

9/7/2014 – Despite the three relatively short and event-less draws that we saw today in the Sinquefield Cup, the fans have nothing to complain about. The event provided amazing chess and one of the most impressive – if not the most impressive – streak seen in all of chess history. The fight for second was won by Carlsen, who drew Topalov, who clinched third. Final report.

Sharjah 10: Ju Wenjun one round away

9/6/2014 – The players took the time to visit different touristic parts of UAE in their rest day and prepared themselves for the penultimate round in Sharjah. Batchimeg Tuvshintugs continues with a fantastic tournament and held Hou Yifan to a draw. The Mongolian player only needs a draw for a GM norm. Ju Wenjun's draw with Humpy still keeps her in the lead by a mere half point.

Sinquefield 09: Lucky Breaks

9/6/2014 – Two players in this tournament have had difficulties holding acceptable positions and converting advantageous ones. However today finally both of these players received a little "break" and managed to draw their lost games. Aronian entered a complicated rook endgame against Carlsen, but White misplayed it and allowed a Vancura defense. Nakamura held on by the skin of his teeth.

Karsten Müller: Olympiad Endgames

9/5/2014 – Today we start a special course, brought to you by one of the world's leading endgame experts, Dr. Karsten Müller, whom you all know from ChessBase Magazine. Even the strongest players study his didactic analyses. This course shows you how the endgame was handled by great players during the recent Chess Olympiad in Tromsø. And best of all: it's completely free!

Step by step

9/5/2014 – Sometimes you just feel that you have a winning position, a winning move, a winning continuation. Chess intuition simply tells you that the win must be there, somewhere, even if it is well hidden and you cannot see it yet. But how to find the winning move, the winning continuation? Well, practice helps. And Oliver Reeh helps you to practice.

Sinquefield 08: Streak stopped, Event clinched.

9/5/2014 – Caruana's streak has been stopped by Carlsen, though barely. The Norwegian was lucky to survive the position against the tournament leader.... well, the tournament winner now that mathematically it is impossible for anyone to catch up to him despite there being two more rounds! Aronian forgave MVL's mistakes while Topalov was ruthless in a Berlin endgame against the local legend.

Sharjah 09: Ju Wenjun leads, Hou Yifan wins GP

9/4/2014 – With a fantastic and risky game Ju Wenjun was able to vanquish Harika with the Black pieces, leaving her as the sole leader of the Sharjah Grand Prix. Hou Yifan drew against Danielian, which puts her three points ahead of Humpy and with two rounds to go this means that the World Champion is now also the 2013-2014 Grand Prix series Winner. Report of a very well fought round.

Legal Moves: Melekhina on Chess & Law (Part 2)

9/4/2014 – Upon transitioning from the chess world into the law school world, Alisa Melekhina, one of the top female players in the US, noticed her chess results declining. In the second part of her article Alisa attempts to identify the unexpected cause of her descent, and describes her unique solution to remaining competitive and balancing her many pursuits. Read on.

Sinquefield 07: "He's not making a mistake"

9/4/2014 – Those were Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's words when describing Fabiano Caruana's play in the 2014 Sinquefield Cup. "I've never seen this. I've never even seen Carlsen play so well." The Italian player severely punished MVL's mistakes and moves to a jaw-dropping 7-0. Carlsen is in "hot pursuit" three points behind him after beating Nakamura. Aronian and Topalov drew their game.

Huffington: Chess in the Time of War

9/3/2014 – Chess has often flourished under totalitarian regimes and in the middle of wars. How do chess players deal with that? Do they raise their voices or did they keep silent? Huffington Post chess columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek, who fled his native Czechoslovakia in 1968, ten days after the Soviet invasion, was only able to go back after 21 years. He writes about the current minacious situation.

Sinquefield 06: He cannot be stopped

9/3/2014 – His attacks are well timed, his novelties uncomfortable to play against, his technique exquisite. Fabiano Caruana (picture from 1995!) moves to a gorgeous 6-0 after blowing Veselin Topalov off the board with a great tactical sacrifice that destroyed the Bulgarian's king position. The other games were interesting, but some players are imprecise and difficult to recognize. Round six report.

Sharjah 08: Not many changes

9/2/2014 – The two Chinese leaders sat at the board and played a chess game, though not the most thrilling one. After 30 moves they had wiped out most of the pieces and it was obvious that a draw would be agreed. Tuvshintugs continues in hard pursuit and today she took advantage of a blunder of l'Ami when the Mongolian had a worse position. She is currently one point behind the leaders.

Magnus' mighty knight

9/2/2014 – Bobby Fischer's favorite piece was the white-squared bishop. However, given the opportunity, he did not mind to win a game or two with the help of his knights. Magnus Carlsen sure likes winning but does not seem to have a favorite piece. He treats all of them and the pawns equally well. But in the following example he made the knight shine.

Legal Moves: Melekhina on Chess & Law (Part one)

9/2/2014 – “Sorry you’re having a tough tournament, but you’re in law school now – it must be difficult to balance.” That’s essentially the mantra that Alisa Melekhina, one of the top US female players, has been hearing since she began at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. "In a way it’s a compliment," she says, "but in more ways it’s prognosticating defeat." Read her inspiring story.

Sharjah 07: They're unstoppable!

9/2/2014 – Both Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan won their games to continue their streak in Sharjah. Ju Wenjun won cleanly against Muminova, and although the World Champion's game was far rockier she achieved her goal regardless. Tuvshintugs drew her game and is the closest to the leaders, but at 1.5 points away she isn't a a serious threat. The Chinese meet tomorrow for a decisive match..