Alekseenko and Santos top scorers in Salamanca

5/2/2023 – The sixth edition of the Salamanca Chess Festival took place on April 25-29. The Masters Tournament was the main event, with eight players (four men and four women) fighting in a single round-robin event. The time control was 40 minutes plus 5-second increments. Kirill Alekseenko and Jaime Santos were the top scorers with 5½ points. Alekseenko was declared champion based on tiebreak criteria. | Photo: Official site
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Computer Challenge 01 – analysis

5/2/2023 – Last week we presented a Computer Challenge. It's a position in which even the best chess engines will not find the solution — even if you run them for a very long time. Our readers were asked to come up with the logic and strategy of the solution themselves, and then confirm everything with the help of the computer. The result: success? Here is the full truth on the historical endgame puzzle.

FIDE ratings May 2023

5/2/2023 – The world's chess elite did not play too many classical games in April, so there were no major changes at the top of the world rankings. However, the FIDE World Championship match, which ended on the last day of April, affected the list: Ding Liren gained one point (new: 2789, 3rd place), Ian Nepomniachtchi lost one point (new: 2794, 2nd place). But with a rating of 2853, Magnus Carlsen - though no longer World Champion - is still the clear number one.
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The French á la Carlsen

5/2/2023 – The new ChessBase Magazine #213 once again delivers a big swing of ideas for your repertoire in eleven opening articles - from Caro-Kann to the King's Indian! Sergey Grigoriants examines a new idea on move four that has become the latest fashion thanks to Magnus Carlsen, among others: 4...h6 in the French Defence! Black offers a pawn sacrifice – after the exchange on f6 the pawn on d5 is simply hanging. Can this be any good? The new engines and Sergey Griogoriants show that Black gets "compensation and great piece activity in all lines". Take a look!
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Grivas World Championship wrap-up

5/2/2023 – The final phase of the Astana World Championship brought us unparalleled drama. You saw Ding pull it off with tenacious defence in game 14, and then continue with extraordinary defensive skills in the first three playoff game. In the fourth game the Chinese GM took a very brave decision in the ending, to reject a draw and play for a win – a decision that paid off handsomely. Once again we have deep, instructive commentary for you to study, kindly provided to us by grandmaster Efstratios Grivas. We include pictures and the closing ceremony video.

Endgame Magic #238: Highlights from the Chessable Masters (I)

5/1/2023 – In this week's show, Karsten Müller looks at endgame highlights from the Chessable Masters. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Explained by the engineers! - Analyzing endgames with Buddy!

5/1/2023 – Today: Matthias Wuellenweber shows us how to use Buddy for analyzing tablebase endgames. In our new video series, our developers personally explain the new features they have developed themselves. From the new data format to the beauty index. In no time at all, you'll learn how it's done.
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The Glorious 55 — Top five players since the introduction of the Elo list

5/1/2023 – The following survey lists all chess players who have reached a top five or top ten status at least once in their career, ranked by their highest position, then in chronological order. Of course, the start of the FIDE Elo list and the current date are arbitrary, but the chess world has now had an established rating and ranking publication for more than fifty consecutive years. How many different TOP FIVE players would you expect? Well, there are only 55 luminaries in the last 55 years or so! Check it out. | Photo: Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
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Finding a safe place

5/1/2023 – In endgames, it is usually a good idea to activate the king. However, the king also needs to be safe. In the diagram position it is Black to move. What should he do to make his king safe and to win the game?

Ding Liren is the new world chess champion!

4/30/2023 – By winning game 4 of the rapid tiebreakers — after three draws — Ding Liren became the 17th undisputed world chess champion! Ian Nepomniachtchi seemed to have things under control in the deciding game, and even a bit of an advantage at times, but he overestimated his chances and allowed Ding to get a dangerous passer. Ding kept his nerves and converted his advantage brilliantly. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
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Understanding before Moving 123: Chess history in a nutshell (5)

4/30/2023 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 123rd instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell". | Photo: Pascal Simon
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Robert Ris: Calculation Training for 1000-1400 & 1400-1600 players

4/30/2023 – The Calculation Training series continues with two volumes explaining the main tactical motifs of our game. Mastering these tactical motifs is essential to deepen your understanding of the game and become a better player.
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World Championship, Playoff - Ding Liren takes the crown!

4/30/2023 – By winning game 4 of the rapid tiebreakers — after three draws — Ding Liren became the 17th undisputed world chess champion! Ian Nepomniachtchi seemed to have things under control in the deciding game, and even a bit of an advantage at times, but he overestimated his chances and allowed Ding to get a dangerous passer. Ding kept his nerves and converted his advantage brilliantly. | Replay the games with computer-assisted analysis. Full report to follow shortly.
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Vladimir Fedoseev first at Chessable Sunway Formentera Open

4/30/2023 – The second edition of the Chessable Sunway Formentera Open took place on 18-28 April 2023 in Spain. Vladimir Fedoseev was one of four players who finished on a 7/10 score, leading the standings. The Russian GM won the rapid playoff to claim the tournament’s title. Karthik Venkataraman and Leon Luke Mendonca finished in second and third place, respectively. | Photo: Sunway Chess
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World Championship Game 14: On to the rapid playoff as Ding escapes

4/29/2023 – Ding Liren boldly tried to create winning chances with white in game 14 of the World Championship match, the last classical encounter of the confrontation. The strategy backfired, as the Chinese GM misplayed the position and needed accurate defence to hold a draw in a game that ended up lasting over six and a half hours. Rapid playoffs on Sunday will decide the winner. | Photo: FIDE / David Llada
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Endgames from Kazakhstan (2)

4/29/2023 – The Satty Zhuldyz rapid and blitz tournament took place in Astana as a side event of the World Championship match. A number of international chess stars participated. Karsten Müller followed the games, looking for endgame highlights. Find here five instructive positions, with on-point analysis by our in-house endgame expert. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

Mating parade

4/29/2023 – By playing the powerful 22.Rxe4! dxe4 23.Nxe4 in the diagram position, White gained a decisive attack, with magnificent checkmate patterns on the horizon. You can really let off steam here - enjoy!

Svitlana's Smart Moves - How to win against the Italian Game

4/29/2023 – Svitlana is finally back, and brought us one of her games of the Canadian Women's Closed, which she won! In the example, she played against the Giuoco Piano with Black, and presents us plenty of opening ideas, plans, and strategies, on how to win against this opening with the Black pieces. You need to watch to the end because the last tactic which decided the game is brilliant!
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Robert Ris: Anand beats Topalov in the final game of their 2010 match

4/28/2023 – A new world chess champion is about to be crowned. Game 14 of the match facing Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren will be played on Saturday. The score is tied, so a draw will lead to a rapid playoff on Sunday. As a preview to what is likely to become a memorable weekend for chess fans, Robert Ris recaps similar deciding encounters, focusing on the 2010 match in Sofia — the score was also tied, and defending champion Vishy Anand beat Veselin Topalov with the black pieces to keep the title!
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Interview with Ruslan Ponomariov

4/28/2023 – Recently the brillant Grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion Ruslan Ponomariov visited Hamburg to record his first FritzTrainer, and Arne Kähler used the chance to interview him. Throughout the conversation Ponomariov offered invaluable insights into his chess journey and the key moments that have shaped his career, but he also talked about his personal life, the books he reads and how he spends his time in the Basque sun. As an added treat, the Grandmaster also presented a thrilling game where he emerged victorious against the formidable Vassily Ivanchuk.

NEW: ChessBase Magazine #213

4/28/2023 – WR Masters 2023: The tournament winner, Levon Aronian, comments on two of his games. Plus analyses by Keymer, Duda and others. Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa each present one of their games in video! - European Individual Championship 2023: The winner Sarana comments on his groundbreaking game against Korobov, plus analyses by Shevchenko, Esipenko, Ponomariov and many others - "Special" on Vishy Anand: exclusive collection of 26 annotated games + contributions on strategy and endgame - French Gambit á la Carlsen: Sergey Grigoriants examines 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 h6!? – 0-0-0 against Bogo-Indian: Spyridon Kapnisis shows how White gets good play after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 a5 5.a3, long castling not excluded! – “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge” Part 3: King and Pawn against King and much more!
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Grivas on Nepo-Ding 12-13

4/28/2023 – The last free day of the Astana World Championship: time to take another look at the two previous games. Once again we have deep, instructive commentary for you to study, kindly provided to us by grandmaster Efstratios Grivas, trainer and FIDE international organizer. Our replay app makes it very easy to follow the annotations. You can even start an engine to work out the most subtle questions you might have.

World Championship Game 13: Tense draw keeps match tied, one game to go

4/28/2023 – The penultimate classical game of the World Championship match finished in a 39-move draw. Ding Liren got good chances to go for the win with the black pieces, failed to handle them well, and ended up needing to play accurately to hold the draw. This was Ian Nepomniachtchi’s last game with white in the classical portion of the match. Game 14 will be played on Saturday. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
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The Monthly Dragon - Revisiting the old main line in the Modern Variation!

4/27/2023 – Grandmaster Chris Ward found an interesting Sicilian Dragon game, in which the recent strategy of castling queenside early on is used. This variation is actually old, but due to recent popularity, it is considered a modern line. How to defeat the white pieces now? Chris shows us how, and gives us plenty of helpful tips!| Photo: John Upham
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