1/12/2011 – As most chess players will tell you, how or where to attack an enemy king is not always obvious. Chess traniner and GM Daniel King provides the necessary knowledge on this DVD. "I cannot praise this 'DVD of the Year' enough," says retired teacher Ralph Deline. "Every chess player from beginner to master, coach to trainer, should go through it until they understand the contents." Review.

1/11/2011 – In December Ian Nepomniachtchi caught the leading Sergey Karjakin in the last round of the Russian Superfinal and then won the playoff in an Armageddon blitz game. Now Karjakin had a chance to avenge the defeat – and avenge it he did. Yevgeny Potemkin captured the action in video, and we are able to offer you a special treat: watch the match from a front seat.

1/10/2011 – It was not illegal computer assistance – Alexander Zubov proved that it is possible for an amateur to win a big tournament. The Ukrainian IM, rated 2574, is a honey producer by profession, but was able to win the Cracovia Open (for a second time in succession), held from December 27th 2010 to January 4th 2011 in Cracow, Poland, on tiebreak points. Big pictorial report by Piotr Kaim.

1/10/2011 – 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. Here are some positions from recent master and grandmaster practice. Test you tactical eye.

1/10/2011 – "China Rises, and Checkmates" – that the title of a report by Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, who met with the new women's world champion, 16-year-old Chinese GM Hou Yifan immediately after her title win in Antakya – and even played a friendly game against her. Yifan is also the subject of an article by Dylan Loeb McClain, who wrote about her immediately after her victory. Excerpts.

1/10/2011 – Every year the city of Tallinn, the birth place of Paul Keres (January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975), stages a memorial tournament. 2011 is the 95th anniversary of the city's proudest son, and it was Alexei Shirov from neighboring Latvia who won the three-day 20th Keres Memorial Rapid by a full point. Second was native son Jaan Ehlvest. Report and memorial.

1/9/2011 – ... in front of your own king is something you should always think at least twice about. Here Black had just snatched a pawn with 23...Qh6xh4, intending to answer 24.Rh3 (diagram) with 24...Qxc4+ and after 25.Kg1 to get out of the affair with 25...g6 26.Qf6 Be7. How would you judge the situation after that? This ...
A)... wins for White;
B)... is good for Black;
C)... leads to balanced play.
The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

1/8/2011 – "German GM Jan Gustafsson is one of the top experts on the Marshall. He is a very strong player with a reputation as a theoretician and analyst. Aside from this, it emerges on the DVD that he has a tremendous sense of humor, enabling him to make a rather entertaining presentation from the countless long lines in the Marshall Attack." Chess Cafe review by Carsten Hansen.

1/7/2011 – After a startling win over Vallejo Pons, Gashimov went into the final sprint with a psychological initiative. The Spaniard showed just how weakened he was by trouncing Onischuk in round eight. Vugar was faced with a must-win situation in a lost position against Navara. The Czech missed his chance and the tables were turned, which the Azerbaidjani did not miss. Final report with games.

1/7/2011 – December was rich for chess events in Tashkent. This report is about the most important one – the First Safin Memorial. Shukhrat Safin, one of most prominent Uzbek chess grandmasters, died in September last year (we published an obituary). The Memorial was a seven-round rapid Swiss and included his colleagues from the Uzbek Olympic team. Illustrated report by Jamshid Begmatov.

1/7/2011 – It's the place where the Pope spends his holidays – a small hilly village in the affluent outskirts of Rome. It is also the venue of a day-long nine-round rapid tournament, with more than 140 participants, organised by Caissa Italia, a publishing house of quality chess books in Rome. The guest of honour this year was Judit Polgar, who went on to win the tournament. Diana Mihajlova reports.

1/6/2011 – Bishop endings when both are of the same colour are often extremely drawish, since after all the bishop can only go on to half of the squares on the board. Thus in this game from the Schaakfestival in Groningen a draw would have been unavoidable after  40...b3? 41.Bc1 Bxe5 42.Bb2. But over the board the Dutch grandmaster Sipke Ernst found a much better move, which leads by force to a position in which the choice of the correct route for the king is decisive. Can you also see which liquidation he chose? You will find analysis of the endgame by GM Dr. Karsten Müller at ChessBase Magazine Online.