ChessBase 12 – from a club/county player's perspective

1/8/2013 – "Getting a ChessBase program for the first time was for me a bit like buying my first SLR Camera," writes Carl Portman. "You know that it will benefit you if you use it properly, but you have to take time to understand it to maximise its potential." Carl got himself our latest program and took his first steps with it. Here are the impressions of an interesting Internet personality.

11th Parsvnath Delhi International Chess Festival 2013

1/7/2013 – This major event, with a record-breaking 700+ participants and a total prize fund of Rs. 1.25 million (= US $22,000 or €16,800), got under way in the Indian capital on Saturday. But why was everyone wearing heavy winter clothing? Because Delhi was experiencing the coldest temperatures recorded since 1935. After some early upsets four players lead with 3.5/4 points. Big illustrated report.

International chess match Skripchenko-Habu in Tokyo

1/7/2013 – There are many millions of Shogi players in Japan, and some are finding out that Western chess is not so different from the game they play. Yoshiharu Habu, one of the greatest Shogi players ever, has reached IM level. Recently he played an exhibition match against the French Women's Champion IM Almira Skripchenko, who has kindly annotated their games – while coming to grips with sumo!

Krasenkow wins the XLII Rilton Cup with 7.5/9

1/7/2013 – The Polish GM won the first four games of Sweden's biggest international chess tournament, then drew three games, then won the last two, the final one with the black pieces. That gave Michal Krasenkow sole first place, with Aleksandr Shimanov and Erwin l'Ami half a point behind. From and around the tournament in Stockholm we bring you pictorial impressions by Alina L'Ami.

Chess Festival in Basel – Grachev wins on tiebreak

1/6/2013 – The 89-player Open in Switzerland finished with four players tied for first on 5.5/7 points. With a performance of 2729 it was the Russian GM Boris Grachev who took Gold, with GMs Vajda Levente of Romania and Robin van Kampen, Holland, getting Silver and Bronze. In our final report we bring you games, results and once again, as a special service, some tactical highlights for you to enjoy.

Gawain Jones wins 88th Hastings Masters

1/6/2013 – After eight round three players were tied for first. In round nine English GM Gawain Jones, by pure dint of determination, ground out an endgame win against his main rival Daniel Alsina Leal, and then drew his final game to take sole victory with 7.5/10 points and a 2678 performance. Behind him eight players with half a point less. Final report with analysis by GM Karsten Müller.

Fighting for e4: Kasimdzhanov's 'Meet the Nimzo-Indian'

1/5/2013 – The Nimzo-Indian Defense, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, is a hyper-modern opening developed by Aron Nimzowitsch. Rustam Kasimdzhanov, FIDE World Champion 2004, examines the Classical Variation with 4.Qc2. His DVD "arms the viewer with the necessary knowledge to confidently include this variation in their repertoire." Chess Cafe Review.

Category 19 Super-GM tournament in Baden-Baden

1/4/2013 – In 1870 the first really strong chess tournament was held in Baden-Baden – with Anderssen, Steinitz, Blackburne, Paulsen, Winawer, etc. In the course of a century many fine tournaments were held in the German spa town. This year there will be a very strong six-player event, led by the World Champion Vishwanathan Anand and the World number five Fabiano Caruana. Press release.

Wijk aan Zee 2013: Tata Steel Chess Super-GM lineup

1/4/2013 – This event, which has been played in the wind-swept Dutch sea resort since 1938 and was formerly known as the Corus Chess Tournament, is now named after the Indian steel company that bought Corus. The GM Group A features the world's number 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 players and is a Category 20 tournament. The first round is on January 12. Pre-tournament information with history and statistics.

Cheating suspicion at the Zadar Open in Croatia

1/4/2013 – In this event, with 16 GMs and a host of other strong players, one participant stood out especially: the 25-year-old untitled Bulgarian Borislav Ivanov scored 6.0/9 points, with a rating performance of 2697. In the January FIDE list Ivanov has gained 115 points over his previous 2277 rating, gained in over 400 games over three years. A certain suspicion once again raises its ugly head.

Journey king

1/4/2013 – White's monarch is subject to all kinds of harassments in the centre. Following 25.Kd3 e4+ 26.Kc3, Black can ...
A) ... checkmate;
B) ... reconquer her exchange;
C)... achieve nothing concrete and must play 26...Rc4+ 27.Kd2, with an unclear situation.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Chess Festival in Basel – three GMs lead with perfect scores

1/3/2013 – The seven-round Swiss Master tournament has a lot of high-rated grandmasters in a field of 89 players, with second seed Boris Grachev leading together with two other players after three rounds (all with 3-0 scores). We bring you games, results and portrait pictures – but in addition, as a special new service, a selection of tactical highlights for you to enjoy.

GM Timur Gareev wins chess tournament in ‘Sin City’

1/2/2013 – Las Vegas plays host every year to one of America's biggest class opens, the North American Open (NAO). Chess enthusiasts of all strengths from all over the world flock to the entertainment metropole for these tournaments, with hopes of winning relatively big prizes ($80,000 guaranteed for this year's NAO) and experiencing all that the city has to offer. Report by Beau Mueller.

ChessBase Magazine 150 – looking back at Biel and Dortmund

1/2/2013 – CBM 150, which comes as a DVD and booklet, contains 20 tournaments with nearly 100 annotated games. It has live commentary, notes by outstanding experts, 13 detailed opening surveys, ranging from the Slav to the Sicilian, strategy, tactics, endgames – something for everyone. CBM 151 is out, but before reviewing it Prof. Nagesh Havanur looks back with a touch of nostalgia at volume 150.

Vocaturo leads at the 88th Hastings Masters

1/2/2013 – This famous turn-of-the-year tournament is held in the seaside town on the south coast of England. This year it includes 13 GMs and players from 22 countries, as far afield as New Zealand, Indonesia, Iceland and the USA. At the half-way mark the Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo leads, with 4.5/5 points. We bring you results and games, and some remarkable player portraits by John Upham.

FIDE January 2013 ratings – Carlsen with record-breaking lead

1/1/2013 – We enthusiastically reported it in our London Chess Classic coverage: Magnus Carlsen has shattered Garry Kasparov's legendary 2851 rating record. Now the chess sensation from Norway has officially been recorded at 2861 in the FIDE rating lists. Vladimir Kramnik has replaced Levon Aronian in second place, Sergey Karjakin has overtaken World Champion Vishy Anand. January rankings.

Krasenkow leads in XLII Rilton Cup with 4.0/4 points

12/31/2012 – The Rilton Cup is Sweden's most famous chess tournament. It is being held in the Clarion Hotel in Stockholm, where in the winter months people seem to be afraid of colds, the flu or perhaps the dreaded norovirus. Many played with medical face masks. Not so the Polish GM Michal Krasenkow, who after four rounds leads the field barefaced with a perfect score. Illustrated report by Alina L'Ami.

On top of the world – Vachier-Lagrave at Tokyo Skytree Tower

12/30/2012 – At 2000+ feet it is the tallest tower in the world. Recently the French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ascended the Tokyo Skytree for a simultaneous exhibition against two Shogi legends: Yoshiharu Habu and Meijin Toshiyuki Moriuchi. The IM-strength chess masters played interesting games (Grünfeld and Taimanov), which Maxime won – and graciously annotated for them to study.

AICF-AAI Cup 2012: Anton Korobov wins last round and tournament

12/30/2012 – With a sharp tactical stroke Anton Korobov turned the tables on Radoslaw Wojtaszek, who could have won in the final round of the strongest-ever tournament on Indian soil. With his victory the Ukrainian GM finished on 6.5/10 and a 2788 performance, winning twelve rating points on the FIDE list. Second was Evgeny Alekseev, and third Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran. Final report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (94)

12/30/2012 – In a wild game against Johannes Hermann Zukertort in Breslau in 1862, Adolf Anderssen salvaged a draw by means of an ingenious queen sacrifice. His play was highly praised, but 70 years later Alexander Alekhine discovered, without sight of the board, an even more brilliant line which would have won the game for Anderssen. The Editor of Chess Notes presents a spectacular labyrinth of tactics.

Korchnoi in a clinic recovering from a stroke

12/29/2012 – The chess legend and multiple World Championship Challenger Viktor Korchnoi is in a Swiss clinic after suffering a stroke and experiencing heart problems. The octogenarian has been in poor health for some time now, and it is unlikely that this great fighter will return to competitive chess. We wish him a speedy recovery, a return to his home and peace and rest in his twilight years.

AICF-AAI Cup 2012: Korobov leads after penultimate round

12/29/2012 – After nine rounds of play in this six player double round robin Ukrainian GM Anton Korobov leads with 5.5 points, followed by Evgeny Alekseev of Russia half a point behind. In the final round, which starts four hours earlier than usual, Korobov faces top seed Radoslav Wojtaszek, who can catch him with a white-pieces win. Watch it all on Playchess.

Diagonal attack

12/28/2012 – The first player has invested a rook to get to grips with the black king on the light squares. In the diagram position, the continuation 21.Qh7 finally yields White what?
A) a victorious attack;
B) the win of the black queen;
C) a material minus.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Hoogeveen win World Cities Team Champion in Al Ain

12/28/2012 – The Dutch team, featuring Anish Giri, Ivan Sokolov, Sergey Tiviakov and Jan Smeets, went through the knock-out phase of the event successfully, eliminating Saratov, Tashkent and finally Baku in the finals. The hero of the Hoogeveen team was Sergey Tiviakov, who scored the decisive wins in the quarter-finals and the finals. Baku came second, Novi Sad third. Here are all the games and results.