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.

World Cities Chess Team Champion in Al Ain, UAE

12/27/2012 – This Olympiad-like competition is held every two years, and is scheduled to be hosted five times, until 2020, by the Al Ain Chess Club in the United Arab Emirates. 24 teams from cities all over the world gathered for the preliminaries, and 16 qualified out of round robin groups for the knockout phase. There the eight for the quarterfinals went through. Here are all the games and results.

AICF-AAI Cup 2012: Gupta beats leader Korobov, who leads with Alekseev

12/27/2012 – Two rounds full of action: in the sixth Sasikiran beat Gupta and started a comeback after a dismal start in this New Delhi tournament. In round seven he continued his climb by outsmarting Parimarjan Negi, while Gupta beat tournament leader Anton Korobov. When the dust had cleared we found Korobov and Alekseev in the lead, with Wojtaszek and Sasikiran half a point behind. Illustrated report.

CBM training: opposition, amazing blows, Fine's rule

12/27/2012 – Have you noticed that you are, of late, taking home more points from tournaments than usual? And is this because you are playing the endgame more masterfully? Dare we ask: is this because you have been following our ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller's regular endgame instructions on this newspage? Here are some additional examples to boost your strength.

The secret to chess with Maurice Ashley

12/26/2012 – There are many topics in chess that are difficult to understand. Maurice Ashley is one of the people who teach these topics in a comprehensive way. His DVD series is an option that many of our readers know. Now he complements this with his monthly show on Playchess. Be there when enthusiastic commentary meets hunger for chess. More information...

Skidelsky: How much is enough?

12/25/2012 – The book of the year, in our humble opinion, is not one on the royal game, but an extraordinary and very important work written by a chess loving economist. Professor Robert Lord Skidelsky is a regular visitor at the London Chess Classic, and this year he came with a recently published book that we can only urge our readers to read. Review by Ingrid Friedel.

AICF-AAI Cup 2012: Korobov leads with 3.5/5

12/25/2012 – Two wins and three draws in the first half of the double round robin event have kept Ukrainian GM Anton Korobov in the lead, half a point ahead of Evgeny Alekseev with two wins and a loss, and a point ahead of Radoslav Wojtaszek and Parimarjan Negi, both at 50%. The games are all exciting and hard-fought. We bring you a report after round five, with games and videos.

Vishy Remembers – Part II

12/24/2012 – In 2008 Viswanathan Anand, who has been the undisputed World Champion since 2007, recorded two DVDs for ChessBase. Prof. Nagesh Havanur has reviewed these gems. In part one he looked at Anand's early career; in this second part he deals with the chess content of the DVDs and has selected a highly entertaining game by Anand against Kasparov. It includes historical video footage.

Solving endgames with ChessBase 12 and Houdini

12/23/2012 – How does one analyse fortress like positions with a computer? In the London Chess Classic round eight game Anand vs Nakamura the World Champion had set up a fortress which Nakamura was unable to penetrate. Using Let's Check and Houdini our ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller was able to do just that and find a clear win – specifically a missed mate in 93 moves.

London Chess Classic – simul at Simpson's

12/23/2012 – We reported extensively on the wonderfully exciting chess that was played in London. But the Chess Classic is also a festival and provides exquisite enjoyment for visitors – especially those who are invited to the VIP room and the closing dinner. One keen amateur, Allan Beardsworth, describes the atmosphere and annotates the game his table played against the Classic masters.

AICF-AAI Cup 2012: Korobov and Wojtaszek lead

12/23/2012 – With a no-draw-offer rule in place this super-tournament, the strongest ever in India, is providing high-quality fighting chess. In round two Parimarjan Negi beat compatriot Krishnan Sasikaran, and Radoslaw Wojtaszek outclassed Evgeny Alekseev. Round three saw Negi falter against Alekseev and the luckless Sasikiran lose to Anton Korobov. Report after round three.

AICF-AAI Cup 2012 starts in New Delhi

12/22/2012 – The All India Chess Federation and the Airport Authority of India are staging a six-player category 18 double round tournament (average rating 2684) in the capital of the country. Games start at 14:00h local time = 09:30 a.m. European time and are being broadcast live with a video feed from the tournament hall. In the first round all games were hard-fought draws. Pictorial and video report.

Fighting like Kilkenny cats

12/21/2012 – The strike 27...Bxg2 leaves the black queen en prise on c7, but rips open the g-file for a discovered check.
The line 28.Qxc7 Bf3+ 29.Bg2 Rxg2+ 30.Kf1 Rxh2 ...
A) ... leads to a winning mate attack for Black;
B) ... is enough for a perpetual check;
C) ... allows White a countertrick to keep the advantage.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Anand in the news: comeback in 2013?

12/21/2012 – World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has not had a great year – the usual spate of tournament wins was not forthcoming. But he is confident that he will come out of the "rough patch" in 2013. Anand says motivation is not the problem and that he plans to play seven tournaments before the next title match in November. Meanwhile in a gala TV special Anand was nominated 'Indian of the Year.'

Podebrady retrospect: Averbakh, Prague and Snowdrops in the snow

12/21/2012 – Russian Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh is ninety year old, but hale and healthy enough to travel to the Czech Republic and hold a lecture on Chess and Art and show spectators some fascinating studies. Two young female talents visit the historical city of Prague, and a "Snowdrop" from India bravely encounters snow for the first time. Big illustrated report.

Caissa Chess Awards in Moscow

12/20/2012 – The Caissa Chess Award night, held in the Central House of Literature in Moscow on Monday, is aimed at popularizing and developing chess. The Award, a glass plaque with the chess goddess Kaissa engraved in it, was given to sixteen players, politicians, businessmen and journalists who had contributed significantly to the world of chess. Big pictorial report.

Aronian and Hou Yifan win blindfold in Beijing

12/20/2012 – The third tournament at the SportAccord World Mind Games in China was blindfold chess, where the players see only an empty board on the computer screen and have to type in their moves. Not easy and fraught with danger for players unused to it. Top seed Levon Aronian and second seed Hou Yifan won the men's and women's section. Big illustrated report.