Hidden talents

1/15/2015 – Chess talent and a love for the game are fine things to have. However, many good chessplayers also had and have other passions. Emanuel Lasker held a PhD in Mathematics and liked to play Bridge and Go, Paul Keres was an excellent tennis player, and Anatoly Karpov owns an exquisite collection of stamps. Top players often reveal surprising skills.

NY Times: Fostering Sevian's talent

1/14/2015 – It was not long for the US media to gravitate to one of its newest stars, fourteen-year-old Samuel Sevian, the youngest grandmaster in American chess and the youngest in the world at the moment. The New York Times published an article describing how the Kasparov Chess Foundation has helped put the player in touch with a top trainer as well as give him training with Kasparov himself.

Unstoppable Ni Hua crushes the Australian Open

1/14/2015 – It was the penultimate round of the Australian Open 2015. The Chinese GM Ni Hua was up against the young Australian IM Moulthun Ly. At this point Ni Hua stood at 8.5/9 with a 1.5 point lead ahead of his nearest rival. Instead of playing it safe, he went on to win with a fantastic 10.5/11 taking his rating to 2704. In this illustrated report, Sagar Shah analyzes the secret to his success.

Fighting the odds: Kenny Solomon

1/14/2015 – Kenny Solomon, South Africa's first Grandmaster, was born in 1979. At that time Apartheid still enforced racial segregation in South Africa. This also affected the life of Solomon. He grew up in Mitchell Plains, a densely populated township near Cape Town, plagued by poverty, violence and crime. Chess helped Solomon to discover new worlds.

Tiviakov victorious at Keres Memorial

1/14/2015 – While Estonia has had several significant chess players, there can be no doubt that its greatest son is none other than Paul Keres, a player whose career spanned generations of champions, and the author of numerous classics. Celebrating its 24th edition, the Paul Keres Memorial was held in Tallinn, Estonia, and was won by Sergey Tiviakov. Here is the final report.

Tata Steel Rd4: Action all around

1/13/2015 – The tournament has seen a tremendous amount of action-packed games! With four games ending in decisive results, three of them with black victories, it was certainly a treat for chess fans. After all was said and done, Ivanchuk emerges as the sole leader. His victory over MVL brings him to 3.5/4, half more than Caruana and Ding Liren, who scored his third win in a row!

The outside pawn race

1/13/2015 – 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. And don't miss the Endgame Magic Show, 4.00 p.m. Special guest: Mihail Marin.

Grandmasters at the Shogi Forum (2/2)

1/12/2015 – In this second part, GM Peter Heine Nielsen describes the unique atmosphere of the 6th Shogi Forum, in which shogi and all chess variants are explored and exhibited. As an example of how different it is, he recounts how he, and fellow amateurs suddenly notice a multiple world champion join the analysis and offering suggestions! They are then given a tour with temples and blessings.

Tata Steel Rd3: Too many pieces

1/12/2015 – The top seeds all found themselves down material, voluntarily or involuntarily. The first surprise was Carlsen's loss to Wojtaszek, when he preferred to give a piece for swindling chances but lost. This was followed by Aronian who blundered a piece to Wesley So. In the Challengers, lowest-rated Dale drew Wei Yi after he sacrificed two pieces. Annotations of some tragic games!

13th Parsvnath Delhi Open has record draw

1/11/2015 – The 13th Parsvnath Delhi International Chess Tournament, the biggest chess festival of India, started one more time with a record participation of over 1200 chess players. The highest caliber event is being held in the Ludlow Castle Sports Complex, in New Delhi, India, with 22 GMs and 27 IMs fighting for a nearly US$50 thousand prize fund. Here is an illustrated report with video.

Grandmasters at the Shogi Forum (1/2)

1/11/2015 – Ever wondered what the Shogi equivalent of the Chess Olympiad is like? GMs Nielsen and Pelletier qualified to play in the International Shogi Forum, where they learn just how big a gap there is between Westerners and Japanese in the game. In this cultural exchange. Nielsen gives them a book signed by Kasparov in his recent training session with Carlsen.

Tata Steel Rd2: Caruana wins again, event heats up

1/11/2015 – The second round showed the players warming up as Ding bounced back to beat Hou, while Caruana who won his second straight game. Carlsen was unable to make a dent versus So and drew, while Van Wely squandered a winning advantage to the despair of his fans. In the Challengers event, Gunina beat top Arab GM Saleh, while Wei Yi blew apart Potkin in a powerful display. Report with GM analysis.

Al Ain Classic: the people, the places, the sights

1/10/2015 – With its third edition concluded just before the end of the past year, the Al Ain Classic has proven that it is firmly joining ranks with the Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Opens. All playing would agree that Al Ain Classic is becoming not only one of the best tournaments in the Gulf but also in the world. See what makes it so special in this large illustrated report with videos.

The secret history of chess (1)

1/10/2015 – Unexpectedly we see a very old chess board in an Italian church from circa 873. If it is a chess board, it should not be there, since chess is supposed to enter Europe via Spain in the beginning of the 11th century. Or could there be some truth in the legends which connect Charlemagne with chess? We will start our journey to reveal the secret history of chess.

Tata Steel Rd1: Caruana, Ivanchuk and MVL win

1/10/2015 – The start of the first elite event of the year did not disappoint, and the Masters group saw a violent series of games with a nervy start. Carlsen and Giri had a balanced game and drew, while Caruana, Ivanchuk and Vachier-Lagrave won their respective games. The last game of the day was a wild affair between So and Wojtaszek in which either could have won, but drew. Round one report.

Grenke Chess Classic to have elite lineup

1/9/2015 – The Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee finishes on January 25th, but in case you wondered how long until the next elite tournament, the answer is: exactly one week! From February 2-9, eight top players including Carlsen, Caruana, Anand, Aronian, Adams, Bacrot, Naiditsch, and Baramidze will play in Germany, in Baden-Baden at the Grenke Chess Classic. Press release.

Komodo 8: Deep Blue revisited (part three)

1/9/2015 – Nearly eighteen years later, the matches between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue continue to stir the imagination and fascination of people around the world. It has inspired books, documentaries, and theatrical productions. Looking over the games with a top engine such as Komodo 8, and comparing with the computer logs, sheds new light, and even reveals a missed win by Kasparov.

Interview with Ivan Sokolov (2/2)

1/9/2015 – In the second part of the interview with Ivan Sokolov, the Dutchman touches on all kinds of subjects, from the difficulties of writing chess books, to the state of affairs for professional chess players in the Netherlands, to his employment in the United Arab Emirates and even Kasparov's match against Deep Blue! A fitting conclusion for this interview of a very lively character.

The g-file catch

1/9/2015 – 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.

Best of 2014: Magic tactics

1/8/2015 – One of the simple joys in chess is seeing a position from a game in which one player wins the game with a sweet tactical shot, and finding it on your own with the thought "I can do that!". 2014 was replete with such moments, in which the very best players in the world won games and lost games to both simple shots, and others that leave you gaping. Can you do as well?

Interview with Ivan Sokolov (1/2)

1/8/2015 – Ivan Sokolov needs no introduction. He has been one of the elite players in the world for more than two decades now. In this exclusive interview for ChessBase Ivan reveals about his beginnings, his idols, his path breaking win against Garry Kasparov, Vishy Anand, the 2014 World Championship match, why Magnus is the best and why Fabiano Caruana won't be Carlsen's next opponent in 2016!

Tata Steel 2015 Preview

1/8/2015 – The first Super-Tournamnet of the year is upon us! The 77th edition of the Wijk Aan Zee chess tournament, or the Tata Steel, begins with its first round this Saturday! The field is bolstered with super stars and upcoming powerhouses, both in the Masters and Challengers section. Leading the Masters are Carlsen, Caruana and Aronian, but they face very, very stiff competition!

Zhao Jun bulldozes Hastings Chess Congress

1/7/2015 – The Hastings Chess Congress – the oldest tournament on the planet - was held from 29th December 2014 to 6th January 2015 at the Horntye Park Sports Complex at Hastings. Top seeds Maxim Rodshtein and Romain Edouard led the field of 104 players with fourteen Grandmasters, but Chinese GM Zhao Jun bulldozed through the field with 8.0/9. Enjoy this report with attacks and combinations.

The dangerous "Zwischenzug"

1/7/2015 – 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!