12/27/2013 – In the recent article Chess in Movies, many readers clamored about the terrible omission of films actually about chess. This was deliberate, as it had been designed solely to be on films in which chess made a distinct appearance, but was not the star of the show. In this follow-up, the subject is precisely films where chess is central to the plot. Added to the list are reader recommendations.

12/27/2013 – "Viswanathan Anand shows cold feet for Candidates", said the Times of India headline on December 21. "Most likely I won't play," the newspaper quoted the deposed World Champion saying. Then, two days later, the tone changed to ""I haven't decided yet". And now one billion fans can take heart: "Most probably I will play," said Anand a few days ago. Press reports.

12/27/2013 – The Russian Cup finished with its rapid play in Khanty-Mansiysk. The knock-out was certainly hard fought, but at the end of the day it was Jakovenko that was able to take the win yet again. His win was far from easy as he barely survived his first game in the finals against Kovalenko and had to win in Armageddon in the quarter finals. Pictorial report of the event.

12/26/2013 – In this second part on publishing on the web, you learn how to make use of the powerful new javascript replayer, exactly as in the ChessBase News pages, with fancy pieces, figuring notation, highlighted squares and arrows, and more. You can also easily embed these into a personal blog or professional resources, and even publish a replayable game on Facebook in seconds.

12/26/2013 – Garry Kasparov, currently the only candidate for FIDE presidency on the campaign trail, recently visited countries of the Far East, where it would seem he is being vigorously supported by the federations. In Singapore the former World Champion stressed the need for sponsorship, education and technology, while in Thailand he received instructions from the Deputy Prime Minister in the rules of Makruk or Thai chess. Big pictorial report.

12/25/2013 – The ever adventurous and fearless globetrotter Alina l'Ami has recently finished a tournament in... Kurdistani Iraq! Specifically the tournament was the second Kurdistan Chess Festival held in Erbil, Iraq. Several strong players were not put off by rumors of danger zones or by the unusual location and enjoyed a magnificent and unique experience. Alina brings us a beautiful report.

12/24/2013 – A little over two thirds of the World Youth Chess Championships are done, and the leaders and potential winners are clearer now. As expected of these brutal youth events, the top seeds find it very hard to live up to their favoritism, the reason being that their opponents are quite often falsely represented with ratings that have little to do with their actual ability. A large beautiful pictorial.

12/24/2013 – On December 20th, the traditional ChessBase Christmas party was held at the ChessBase headquarters in Hamburg. While a merry-for-all, something different was organized this year in the form of a game between GM Vlastimil Hort and the second-best women in the Bundesliga, WGM Melanie Ohme. Our colleague Nadja Wittman, editor of the Spanish news page, brings a photo essay with video.

12/24/2013 – It's not official yet, but it looks like that for the first time in chess history we are going to see a category 23 (average 2801) tournament. Six players – Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura, Caruana, Gelfand and Anand – will play in the classical round robin Zurich Chess Challenge, from January 29 to February 4th 2014 – with a rapid tagged on. In related news due to health reasons chess legend Viktor Korchnoi's plan to return to tournament chess unfortunately failed.

12/23/2013 – A new handicap tournament "Meeting of Generations" was held, in honor of Vladimir Dvorkovich. The system used allows elder players past their prime to still have an enjoyable game against strong grandmasters, and is the brainchild of GM Evgeny Vasiukov, chairman of the Commission of Veterans of the Russian Chess Federation. Here are explanations, a pictorial, and a pawn study.

12/23/2013 – The Indian Chess Championship has started in the Jain Hills in Jalgoan, a city 400 km from Mumbai. The tournament features some of the strongest chess players in India, with the exception of Harikrishna and Anand. The hopefuls to the throne include Negi, Sasikirian, Adhiban and other strong grandmasters. At the half way mark, the leaders are crushing the event with 5.5/6. Pictorial report.

12/23/2013 – One of the greatest study composers – as well as a former world championship candidate – is our friend Pal Benko, who never fails to send us a special Christmas gift. This year it was an article that offers unique insight into the process of chess composition. We brought you the first part a week ago. Today it is about breaking the pin and avoiding stalemate. And there is a remarkable study for you to solve.