Test your IQ(P) III

12/8/2011 – Following 16.Bg5xe7 the second player can try to exchange as many pieces as possible at one go with 16...Nd5xc3, however, doing so she must reckon with a certain white intermediate move. This ultimately leads to what?
A) clear disadvantage for Black;
B) minimal initiative for White;
C) complete equality.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Nigel Davies: Tricks & Traps, Vol. 1

12/7/2011 – "Who doesn't want to get a quick advantage, right out of the gate? In this entertaining DVD, Nigel Davies explores various types of subterfuge from openings beginning with 1.e4." In his Chess Cafe review Steve Goldberg summarises: "Nigel Davies has put together a compelling array of traps, particularly suited to the club or scholastic player looking for a couple surprises to carry around in his back pocket.

London Classic: Black is more than okay

12/7/2011 – There was one decisive game in round one, two in round two and three in round three. Logically, there should have been four in round four, but in fact there were ‘only’ three again, making nine out of sixteen games so far. This is an amazing percentage for an elite event and we have to congratulate all the players for going at it hammer and tongs yet again. Report and annotations by John Saunders.

Kasparov: 'Putin's just like Al Capone'

12/6/2011 – After a poor showing by Russia's ruling party in Sunday's parliamentary elections, thousands of citizens are gathering in opposition to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin – reminding us of the Arab Spring uprisings and the Occupy Wall Street movement. One of the opposition leaders, former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, has to take care when sipping his tea, as the Telegraph reports.

London Classic Rd4: Nakamura beats Anand in rollercoaster game

12/6/2011 – It was another action-packed round in which three of four games ended in Black wins. The nailbiter was Anand's game against Nakamura, in which he seemed headed for a clean victory; however a mistake changed the course and the American never looked back. McShane overcame Howell in a hard game, Short beat Adams, while Carlsen and Kramnik drew. Report with video commentary by the players.

London Classic: Carlsen – probably the best chess player in the world

12/5/2011 – If Magnus Carlsen kept a diary... “Got up. Had breakfast. Looked at some chess games. Had lunch. Played chess with Hikaru. Beat him (again). Went to a football match. Fulham won 1-0. Nice day.” John Saunders admits he's putting words in the young man's mouth, but that pretty much summarises his day in the manner that he often presents to the world. Round three annotations.

London Classic – Fewer interesting games, please, I can’t cope

12/5/2011 – "I'm submitting a formal complaint to the players," says tournament commentator John Saunders, "the games are far too interesting. They should be rationed to only one exciting game per round, as it is not fair to chess journalists." John annotated two games from the second round, Short-Kramnik and Nakamura-Aronian. He also explains how the scoring and tiebreak systems work.

London Classic R3: Carlsen beats Nakamura; McShane is second

12/5/2011 – It was a very exciting round, with three decisive games, almost four had Vishy Anand not pulled a miracle escape against David Howell. The biggest clash was Magnus Carlsen against Hikaru Nakamura, in which the Norwegian cracked open the American's kingside. Nigel Short lost to Levon Aronian, and Luke McShane beat Michael Adams. Report with video commentary by the players.

Curing your engine doldrums

12/5/2011 – Many users and pros have complained about a common problem with top engines: they can take forever to start, and slow their computer to the point where even the mouse cursor stutters around the screen. Some have resigned themselves to accept this as the cost of modern computing, or a sign of a bug the programmers failed to fix. However there are easy cures for both these problems.

World Senior Championship won by IM Vladimir Okhotnik

12/4/2011 – The World Senior Championship is more than simply a title, it is an event that draws chess aficionados from all around the globe for a chance to meet others, play chess, and even enjoy a bit of R and R. Players and spouses came from Brazil, Singapore and Australia, among other places, sometimes enduring trips of up to 23 hours. Enjoy this extensive illustrated report by Adolivio Capece.

London Classic: Punditry in round one

12/4/2011 – Half the fun of chess is predicting the outcome. Quite a few armchair pundits had predicted that Kramnik-Nakamura, Aronian-McShane, Adams-Anand would be draws, but that the top seed Magnus Carlsen would beat the bottom seed David Howell. If you had placed your money that way... you would have won. We bring you analysis by John Saunders of the two most interesting games.

London Classic R2: Nakamura beats Aronian, Carlsen escapes McShane

12/4/2011 – In round two, Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian resumed their theoretical battle (the third in a row) and once again the American got the better of it. Nigel Short had such an off-day that even Vladimir Kramnik, who won, was deeply sympathetic. Magnus Carlsen escaped by a whisker (he is old enough) from Luke McShane in a losing endgame after a long struggle. Illustrated report.

Let's Check on Playchess

12/4/2011 – A lot has been made of the revolutionary effect Let's Check will have on openings study and preparation. While unquestionable, it brings more than this, since spectators run their engines using Let's Check, and the analysis is stored for all to see. Let's Check users also have fun competing to 'discover' a move while watching broadcasts on Playchess. Find out how you can stake your claim.

London Chess Classic – Arrival, press conference, Twitter game

12/3/2011 – All the participants of the Chess Classic have arrived safely in London, After a welcome dinner on Thursday evening, the next afternoon saw them attending the press conference, after which there was an interesting novelty: a Twitter game of the Category 20 field against "The World", led by tennis star Boris Becker. Guess who won. Big pictorial report from London.

WWCC R08: Closing ceremony in Tirana

12/3/2011 – The closing ceremony of the World Women's Championship match was held on the evening of the 30th of November. It was attended by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of state of the USSR, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for "his leading role in the peace process which today characterizes important parts of the international community". Pictorial report.

Master Moves #17

12/3/2011 – 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 positions are from the 2011 European Team Championship. Bring in the bazookas!

London Classic Rd1: Carlsen wins, McShane escapes Aronian

12/3/2011 – At the start of this year's Classic it was Magnus Carlsen who chalked up a win with a superb attack against David Howell, while Luke McShane pulled off a perpetual when he appeared lost to Aronian. The guest of honour on this first day followed the action with intense interest and actually played two games against the resting Nigel Short. Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, who stole the show.

Long diagonals

12/2/2011 – After 18...Ng4 (diagram) White 'parried' the threat against his king's position with 19.Rd1. Now capturing on f3 followed by 20...Qxh2+ leads to:

A) advantage for Black;
B) advantage for White;
C) roughly even play.

ChessBase Magazine, larger diagram and solution.

Anand in The Guardian: I found Bobby Fischer surprisingly normal and calm

12/2/2011 – A day before the start of the London Chess Classic the broadsheets are picking up on the chess event. For starters there is a nice interview with World Champion Vishy Anand, who is grilled on his preparation, on his most difficult opponents, on his encounter with Bobby Fischer, on his love for Monty Python and on age taking its toll. Entertaining, must-read interview.

The Lewis Chessmen on a Fantasy Iceland

12/2/2011 – Oh dear. The Icelandic-Norwegian war over the origin of the Lewis Chessmen – they are a collection of chess pieces, handcrafted in the 12th century from walrus tusks and whale teeth and discovered on the Isle of Lewis – continues with unabated (academic) vigor. In this installment it is Norway's turn to claim heritage over the chessmen. CCGM Morten Lilleøren explains.

Chess on TV, Take One: American Chess Star

12/1/2011 – Who says chess can't make it on the small screen? Watch American Chess Star, a trailer for a chess reality TV show. The clip is brought to you by the producers of the Xtreme Chess Championships, a made for TV chess competition featuring eight of the top young chessplayers in America, which is coming in December. Videos and studio shots.

Interview with Levon Aronian

12/1/2011 – After his success at the 6th Tal Memorial, edged out by Carlsen by virtue of an odd tiebreak system (most Blacks played - not won), Levon Aronian continues his steady rise and is close to threatening Carlsen for the top ranking. In an interview after the event, he was asked about his thoughts on the draw rate, conditions, and more. Here is the interview by Maria Manakova.

Bishop against Knight in 60 minutes - A review

12/1/2011 – Most players can sum up their knowledge of the bishop against knight struggle as favorable for the bishop with open lines, while closed positions favor the knight. In the new, highly affordable "60 minute" series, only available for download, GM Adrian Mikhalchishin teaches how to recognize which piece is the stronger, and how to play the attacker or defender.

CBM training: Knight tactics, the umbrella, rook's pawn races

11/30/2011 – Here, unusually, is a middle-of-the-week training session from our resident endgame expert, who has a very popular section in ChessBase Magazine. Today GM Karsten Müller has picked three games from the recent 18th European Team Championship, one with a female player showing that, when the opponent stumbles, she could win a pawn race. Look, learn and enjoy.