Kosintseva sisters abandon the Russian women's team

2/6/2013 – From 2-13 March 2013 the Women's World Team Championship will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Russian team, which won the Chess Olympiad last September, has lost its two top players, Nadezhda and Tatiana Kosintseva. The sisters say they refuse to play for the team under the leadership of the trainer Sergei Rublevsky, citing 'psychological incompatibility'. News and interview.

Feedback on Chess Cash Kings 2012

2/6/2013 – The recent article and project by Peter Zhdanov – to create a live list of the prize money winnings of top GMs – received a mixed response. "It leads the way to communicating chess success to the public," wrote one reader, while an unnamed GM announced he needed to give us "crap about that Zhdanov guy's article". One letter explains how how chess can become a cash sport.

Judit Polgar: How I beat Fischer's record

2/5/2013 – It is not often that we review books, but some simply call for attention. Such as this one by the strongest female in chess history, which was given to us by Judit during the London Chess Classic. We have known her since early childhood, and followed her career. The book was a trip down memory lane. We are pleased to share with you a sample chapter and a wonderfully annotated game.

ChessBase 12 – primer on installation and new functions

2/4/2013 – Our flagship program has been on the market for two months now – and people are beginning to realise how powerful some of the new functions are. For those of you who have not yet switched to ChessBase 12 here are full instructions on how to go about it. And for those who are wondering whether the switch to the latest version is warranted, take a look, for starters, at the new online search.

Tradewise Gibraltar: Nikita Nudges Out Nigel

2/3/2013 – The final round of this very strong event – seven 2700+ players, 14 players rated between 2600 and 2699 – was full of drama: four players tied for first on 8.0/10, necessitating a knock-out play-off to decide the winner of the £20,000 first prize. It boiled down to serial Gibraltar winner Nigel Short vs the young Russian GM Nikita Vitiugov. What a tiebreak final that was – and it was all caught on video!

Who are the Chess Cash Kings 2012?

2/2/2013 – The idea of creating a live rating list of the prize money winnings of top GMs was suggested a year ago on our pages by Peter Zhdanov. The key message of his article was that making the financial details publicly available is a crucial step towards transforming chess into a mainstream sport and making the game more popular. Peter has now progressed from theory to practice.

Tata training: Pin and win, Magnus Magic II, the Great Wall

2/2/2013 – We return to the very exciting Tata Steel tournament: for this weekend ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller has three final examples of instructive and entertaining endgames that appeared on the boards in Wijk aan Zee. They involve Nakamura beating Caruana, Carlsen outplaying L'Ami and Hou Yifan building an effective defensive wall against Anand. Learn and enjoy.

Cheating in chess – it's all in the news

2/1/2013 – The problem simply won't go away. The latest incident involves the former mayor of an Italian town who has been banned for allegedly using a hidden micro camera and earpiece to receive electronic assistance in tournament games. The ACP has launched a petition for players to get FIDE to address the general cheating issue. So far 517 players have signed, including 190 GMs.

Soft spots

2/1/2013 – In the diagram position White went for the continuation 21.Bxe6 fxe6 in order to clear the 7th rank and fire against the point g7 with 22.Qg5. How would you evaluate the position after that? Black ...
A) wins;
B) gives perpetual check;
C) loses;

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Kavalek in Huffington: Carlsen eyeing the world chess title

2/1/2013 – After triumphing in two major tournaments Magnus Carlsen is a clear favorite to win the eight-player Candidates event in London (March 15-April 1). He is the only Western-born competitor in the field – all his opponents were born in the Soviet Union. The winner of the double-round robin plays in the world championship match against the titleholder Vishy Anand. Why should Carlsen win?

FIDE February 2013 ratings – Carlsen reaches record 2872 rating

2/1/2013 – After shattering Garry Kasparov's legendary 2851 rating record Norwegian chess genius Magnus Carlsen still continues to climb. With his +7 score in Wijk aan Zee he has added eleven more points to his stratospheric Elo and is now 62 points (!) above his nearest rival. Who happens to be Vladimir Kramnik, father of Vadim, born last Monday in Paris. February rankings.

ChessBase Magazine 152 with a brand new Reader

1/31/2013 – Look who's having fun analysing their game! ChessBase Magazine brings you the latest games from all important events, with top-level analysis, superb openings surveys, tactics, endgame sections, video lectures, everything you need to keep your skills up-to-date in the fast-moving chess world. CBM is a stand-alone product and the latest edition comes with an advanced new reader.

Nielsen switches from Anand to Carlsen

1/31/2013 – Danish GM Peter Heine Nielsen (39) has worked very productively with Anand for around ten years. From February 1st, however, he will be part of Team Carlsen, and the two will soon go on a training camp to prepare for the Candidates Tournament in March – a tournament that determines who gets to play the title match against Anand at the end of the year. VG reports.

Gabor Kallai: Portrait of a Dedicated Chess Worker

1/30/2013 – What started as a festive meal with a friend in Budapest, GM Gabor Kallai, turned into a heartfelt story about chess, arts and talent. Here is a tale of 30 years involved first-hand in the workings of chess in Hungary as a chess competitor, trainer, coach, captain, arbiter, organiser, writer, media reporter, Radio and TV commentator. A fascinating tale with many great stories.

Spassky surfaces – on Russia 1TV's Tonight Show

1/30/2013 – You read about it last August: 75-year-old former World Champion fled from his house in Meudon near Paris and turned up in Moscow, with a harrowing story of "house arrest" in France and danger to his life. In October he appeared on Russian TV, looking frail and out of sorts. Spassky, who turned 76 today, appeared on a popular TV show, with short hair and in better shape and good spirits.

Gibraltar: Forty somethings on the rampage

1/30/2013 – In our previous reports we extolled the performance of mainly young players at the Tradewise Chess Festival. Today John Saunders concentrates on players over forty, like Georgiev, Short and Adams, who are still amply able beat up youngsters. After nine rounds of play three players share the lead with 7.5 points each, followed by seven with 7.0 points. Report and analysis.

Can chess make you smarter?

1/29/2013 – A research project in Israel is going to study the correlation between chess and cognitive enhancement. The group will also develop the first Hebrew-language educational software program for teaching chess in preschools and elementary schools, and establish an international program for training chess instructors and coaches. The online news magazine Israel21c reports.

Tata training: Aronian's activity, Nakamura's Fort Knox, Magnus Magic

1/28/2013 – Our ChessBase Magazine columnist GM Karsten Müller has been following the games at Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee attentively. For today he has picked three highly instructive and entertaining games, featuring three of the top top players in the event, to explain some valuable techiques that you can use in practical tournament play. Learn and enjoy.

The secret to chess with Maurice Ashley

1/28/2013 – 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...

Gibraltar: Four Amigos and the Battle of the Sexes

1/28/2013 – After four rounds of the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2013 there were four players in the lead with perfect 4.0/4 scores, after five rounds just two were left (Le Quang Liem and Nikita Vitiugov) and after six there are three GMs with 5.5/6 points. We bring you another long and very entertaining report by John Saunders, with pictures and analysis, but which ends in something completely different.

Wijk aan Zee/Tata round thirteen preview

1/27/2013 – Who will win the 75th Tata Steel Tournament? Okay, we know Magnus Carlsen has already clinched the A Section, but the B and C sections are still hotly contested. The final round starts on Sunday, January 27, at 12:00 noon (i.e. an hour and a half earlier than usual). To make things especially interesting we recommend you update your Playchess client and try out our latest Guess-a-Move feature.

Tata R13: Karjakin, Wang score, Carlsen wins Wijk by 1½ points

1/27/2013 – In the final round the Chinese GM Wang Hao ruined all Vishy Anand's chances of gaining Silver by beating the World Champion. Levon Aronian drew, to take sole second place, while Sergey Karjakin defeated Loek van Wely to join Anand in 3/4 places. Magnus Carlsen drew his game with black against Anish Giri and ended a full 1½ points ahead of the field. Full round 13 report.

Gibraltar: The Magnificent Eight Ride Again

1/26/2013 – "Seven" would have been much more appropriate, but there happen to be eight Super-GMs with ratings over 2700 in the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2013. After three rounds, only three of the Magnificent Eight remained on 100% – together with a 18-year-old GM from China, Yu Yangyi, who is rated 2688 and clearly a prodigious talent. John Saunders reports.

Tata R12: Carlsen, Anand, Hou win, Carlsen clinches Wijk

1/26/2013 – Today Magnus Carlsen outplayed the US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura to score his seventh win in the Tata Steel tournament, having reached a total of 9.5/12 points with one round to go. His closest rivals, Anand and Aronian, have 8.0/12. Anand caught up with Aronian after a fine win over Erwin L'Ami, while the Chinese GM Hou Yifan beat Ivan Sokolov with black. Postgame and GM analysis.