Looking back at the BBC Master Game – thirty years later

12/26/2011 – Until 1980 the only way to show a chess game was for a master to stand in front of a demo board and move the magnetic pieces by hand. Then BBC Television pioneered a radical new technology: using a glass chess table and chess pieces with symbols stuck to their bases they brought us animated games, commented semi-live by the players. You can watch these shows on YouTube.

Women's World Team Championship: Mesopotamia and Zhao

12/25/2011 – During the rest day of important events, it is customary to organize activities to entertain the players as well as show off the region's interesting options. The Turkish Federation organized a great program showing sites and ancient ruins of Mesopotamia. In the seventh round, no changes in rankings, though Zhao Xue played a great attacking game. Don't miss Mesopotamia and Zhao.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (75)

12/25/2011 – It seems that the exchange of Christmas greetings cards has never been a particularly common practice in the chess world, and such ephemeral items from yesteryear are quite difficult to find. The Editor of Chess Notes has brought together a selection of cards sent by prominent figures, including Géza Maróczy, Edward Lasker and Irving Chernev. It is time to revel in some Yuletide nostalgia.

Master Moves #19

12/24/2011 – All the deepest plans or endgame technique are useless if you fall victim to a shot that leaves you in a lost position. Likewise, sometimes that superior play will only offer a single window of opportunity to deliver that final blow, so it is vital to be ready for it when it does. All the shots were played at the European Rapid Championship. Raze these rousing positions!

Women's World Team Championship: China crushes Russia 4-0

12/24/2011 – The fifth round brought the much anticipated encounter between the leaders, China, and the reigning Olympic champions, Russia, but no one could have expected the crushing 4-0 score the Chinese ladies inflicted. They won again in the sixth round, and are on their way to a perfect score. Runners-up India fell to the Russians in round six though continue in second. Here are the report and pictures.

Chessbase Online: Quick opponent preparation

12/23/2011 – In many, if not most, of today’s tournaments, demanding fewer and faster rounds, the chances are you will play more than one round a day, and quality opponent preparation may seem an impossible task. However, with an Android smartphone, internet access, and the new Chessbase Online app, you really have all you need. Learn how in this How-To guide by Albert Silver.

Kavalek in Huffington: The Chess Player Vaclav Havel

12/23/2011 – President Vaclav Havel died last Sunday and the sad news spread quickly. The Czechs lost one of their best statesmen – a good, modest man who was respected throughout the world. Havel was perhaps the only head of state who played – and won – an actual game during a ceremonial opening of a chess tournament. GM Lubomir Kavalek recalls.

Ladies' duel

12/23/2011 – Playing 25.R1f6 (diagram) White has attacked her opponent's queen and at the same time taken the point h6 under fire. Now the reply 25...Qxe4 leads to...

A)... a mate final;
B)... the loss of the queen for Black;
C)... perpetual check.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Women's World Team Championship: China leads with perfect score

12/22/2011 – Not to be outdone by the men, the Women's World Team Championship is underway in Mardin, Turkey, from December 17-28, and has the world's top national teams. China, with Hou Yifan on top board, leads with a perfect four in four score, followed by India, a half-point behind, led by Humpy Koneru. Russia is third, and fielding their Olympic Gold lineup. Follow the action in this illustrated report.

CBM training: The hiding place, long march, and breakthrough

12/22/2011 – Sounds a bit like the Chinese Revolution, doesn't it? But actually it is a new set of chess positions by our endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller, who provides us with instructions in his popular ChessBase Magazine section. You can get a sample of it on our news page, replaying and downloading his analyses. It will do wonders for your practical playing strength.

Magnus Carlsen – 'I don't quite fit into the usual schemes'

12/22/2011 – He is by his own admission a chess genius, weaned on computers, a supreme expert on openings, and the hardest worker amongst the top players. Actually, when you have gone through this remarkable ChessPro interview with Magnus Carlsen – which you must – you will recognize that all of the fairly plausible claims in our initial statement are false – in fact the opposite is true.

Kavalek in Huffington: The Great London Chess Debate

12/21/2011 – The London Chess Classic brought the English capital close to its former glory – in the mid-19th century, when the first two world tournaments were held in the capital. Did the Classic eclipse the events played roughly 150 years ago? In his extensive Huffington Post column GM Lubomir Kavalek looks back at the action, the players, and specific moves that caught his eye.

SportAccord World Mind Games – Hou Yifan wins gold twice

12/21/2011 – The SportAccord World Mind Games ended in a great success for all the games and participants, drawing top players in all disciplines. After the Rapid competition in chess, there were blitz competitions, won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hou Yifan respectively, followed by blindfold competitions in which Zoltan Almasi snatched the gold, while Yifan took her second. Pictures and videos.

ChessBase Online for Android - A review

12/21/2011 – In ChessBase's first foray into the world of Android, the new ChessBase Online app has been released. It is an invaluable tool for opponent preparation, searching by player, year, and event, as well as giving detailed opening statistics from over five million games. It is also ideal to replay games commented with text and color markers on your phone and tablet. Buy it now or first read the review.

The joys of chess – and the value of the pieces

12/21/2011 – Christian Hesse is a PhD from Harvard and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Stuttgart. He is also an avid chess fan and has written a number of articles for our news page. As a book author he has been successful with instructive and entertaining works on chess. Now one of his best is available in English. We bring you an interesting chapter to study and enjoy.

Arab Games 2011 in Doha (Qatar)

12/20/2011 – The games, which are taking place from December 9th to 23, include a chess event with blitz, rapid individual and classical team championships for women and men. After six rounds six rounds of the men's team championship Egypt is in the lead by three points. A number of medals have already been awarded. WGM Anastasiya Karlovich sent us this big pictorial report with many new faces.

Gustafsson's Marshall Gambit: review in the British Chess Magazine

12/20/2011 – The idea of playing the Marshall Gambit has always appealed – giving up a pawn but immediately gaining a lasting initiative as Black seems like a fair deal. And what better way to have the opening explained than by the German grandmaster Jan Gustafsson (current FIDE 2634), who by all accounts is one of the leading authorities on this particular opening. Review in the BCM.

Bogotá 2011 – Frigid and uncaring

12/19/2011 – When you look at photo reports sent from all over the world, you might think how nice it is to be a chess player: You see the world, visit exotic countries and win tournaments. Unfortunately, sometimes it is neither nice nor easy, and the playing conditions can make the experience a nightmare. Bogotá 2011 was an example, despite the beautiful city. An illustrated report by Sergey Tiviakov.

2011 European Rapid and Blitz – An event for everyone

12/19/2011 – When one thinks of events such as the European Rapid and Blitz championships, the names that come to mind are invariably part of the 2700 club. However, this event is one that also breaks the barriers of rating, age, and gender, ranging from 84-year-old Stanislaw Szczepaniec all the way down to five-year-old Helena Kucharska, who played in both tournaments. A pictorial overview.

A history of cheating in chess (3)

12/18/2011 – In January 1999 the main topic of conversation amongst top players like Kasparov, Anand and others: who was the mysterious German chess amateur, rated below 2000, who had won a strong Open ahead of GMs and IMs, with wonderfully courageous attacking chess and a 2630 performance? How had he done it? Turns out it was with unconventional methods, as subsequent investigation uncovered.

Chess Classic Retrospect: Pictures and people at Olympia

12/18/2011 – Ten days at the London Chess Classic, every one filled with action and activities, with meetings and encounters with interesting people closely or less closely associated with chess. We produced two reports per round, but didn't come close to using all the material we collected. Here is the first of what is bound to be two or three retrospects, introducing you to well and lesser known personalities.

CBM training: Bodycheck, pawn breaktroughs, patience

12/17/2011 – Chess endgame training – get your weekend Elo boost. Our endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller, who provides us with extensive instructions in his popular ChessBase Magazine section, gives us a taste of his teaching skills on our newspage, where he shows us examples of practical endings in recent international tournament games. Learn and improve.

Playing on the Flanks: Not Just for Hypermoderns

12/17/2011 – "This one gets a near-perfect score from me," writes Steven Dowd in his Chess Cafe review of Nigel Davies' recent DVD: Tricks and Traps in the Flank Openings. "I was even able to immediately implement some of the traps and ideas in my online games, which is a test I use for every trainer I review." He warmly recommends this Fritz Trainer 'for anyone 1600 and above.'

Rogoff on chess addiction and why he had to give up the game

12/16/2011 – One of the highlights of the London Chess Classic has been the visits of a large number of important and interesting people. One of them, the Professor and world-renowned economist Ken Rogoff, is also a chess grandmaster. He was whisked away from the VIP room at Olympia for an interview with the BBC, in which he very frankly discusses the dangerous side of his former chess career.