Dortmund Rd1 – Kramnik strikes in first round

7/21/2011 – With so much elite chess taking place at once, spectators might get whiplash as they glance from one board to the next, but one thing is clear: Dortmund is never to be missed. The lineup is mouthwatering with legends, fighters, and talents-on-the-rise, and the games were to their credit. Kramnik locked horns with Ponomariov and emerged the sole victor in round one. Round one report.

Biel Rd.3: postgame analysis of the players

7/21/2011 – Our live broadcast of Biel 2011 is attracting press attention. Not just the live GM commentary during the games, but especially the post-game sessions by the players themselves, who analyse for a world-wide audience while the moves are still fresh in their minds. You can follow these sessions live on Playchess or your browser. Here are video captures with the analysis files in PGN.

World Team Ch. Rd4 – Azerbaijan crushes Russia 3-1

7/21/2011 – The only clear thing about the rankings after the fourth round is that Armenia leads...barely. After that it is a giant jumble with no fewer than four teams tied for second after non-stop strike and counterstrike by the teams as they battle for the gold. The biggest news was Azerbaijan's crushing win over Russia, but China nearly whitewashed the US after a 3.5-0.5 win. Round four report.

Short question

7/21/2011 – The knight invasion 30.Nxd6 in the diagram leads after 30...Rf6 to which assessment of the position?

A) good for White
B) balanced
C) good for Black

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

Rogoff: Technology and Inequality – parallels in chess

7/21/2011 – When a leading economic thinker happens to also be a strong chess grandmaster, his explanations of financial matters tend to draw allegories from the game he loves. Prof. Kenneth Rogoff periodically sets out his views in TV interviews and newspaper columns. Here is one from Project Syndicate that has appeared in many news sites. A while ago Ken sent warm birthday greetings to ChessBase.

Biel Rd.2: postgame analysis of the players

7/20/2011 – It is sometimes referred to as a "post mortem" session: in Biel the winning player, or the more satisfied one, sometimes both, will appear on the stage to analyse with the resident GM. This analysis goes to the local audience, but also via Playchess to chess fans all over the world. You can follow these sessions live or in our special postgame report, which includes video captures.

Swedish Championships 2011: Hector takes an early lead

7/20/2011 – GM Jonny Hector is in the lead in the national championsh, which is taking place in Västerås, Sweden, from July 16–24. There are seven grandmasters in the ten-player round robin. In round two the 47-year-old Hector played a killer novelty on move 13 of a Sicilian Najdorf, and started thinking for the first time on move 25. That's called good home prep – you should definitely study this game.

Biel Rd3: Shirov beats Caruana, Carlsen leads

7/20/2011 – Another fighting day in Biel. Yannick Pelletier, with a rook for a bunch of pawns, came very close to his first win, against Vachier-Lagrave. But the game was a draw, as was the exciting battle between Alexander Morozevich and Magnus Carlsen. Alexei Shirov had a roller-coaster game against Fabiano Caruana, with the Spanish GM (Shirov) winning in the end. Express report.

Mating Attack out of the Blue

7/20/2011 – "The best chess training you can receive on the Internet," wrote one appreciative reader; "I can hear the Elo points plonking in" another. The regular CBM chess blog columns written by our endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller is greatly appreciated by our readers. This time GM Müller shows us an attacking king and an exciting pawn race. Enjoy and learn.

Biel International: the great chess analysis festival

7/19/2011 – The 2011 Biel Chess Festival, a double round robin with six top GMs, offers chess fans something very special: breathless live analysis by the players immediately after the game is over. You can watch these sessions on Playchess, or even in your plain vanilla Internet browser. We also capture the analysis and can present it to you here to explore. A wonderful lesson on how grandmasters think.

Biel Rd.2: Carlsen wins again, Vachier self-destructs

7/19/2011 – If a title had to be given to the day’s round, it would be Beauty and the Beast. For ‘Beauty’, Magnus Carlsen confirmed his return to form as he outplayed Shirov in a Meran, taking his score to 2.0/2 (6/2 in the Biel scoring system). The ‘Beast’ would be Vachier-Lagrave’s reversal of fortune against Morozevich as he went from winning to dead lost after a tragic hallucination. Express report.

World Team Ch. Rd3 – Day of Opposites

7/19/2011 – It was a day of opposites in the third round, and the villains of round two, were the heroes in round three and vice-versa. Aronian came back with a big win over Karjakin to help Armenia hold the Russians 2-2, while Israel pulled off a win over home team, China. Nevertheless, Judit Polgar was the hero(ine) of the round beating Mamedov and securing Hungary's victory over Azerbaijan. Round three report.

1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Tournament

7/18/2011 – The 1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament can easily be ranked as a women chess super tournament with a fantastic lineup includes many of the cream of the crop in women chess, such as Hou Yifan, the Kosintseva sisters, recently-wed Dzagnidze (congratulations), and others. Ju Wenjun has taken the early lead with 3.5/4. Here is the report by chess reporter Liang Ziming.

Tiviakov wins 5th Leiden Chess Tournament

7/18/2011 – One round before the end it looked as though Predrag Nikolic would wrap it up. But the Bosnian GM had to face his closest rival, GM Sergey Tiviakov of Holland, who won the crucial game and the tournament. Sergey not only did that, but periodically supplied us with pictures from Leiden and, this time, Scheveningen, where a famous opening was invented. Final report.

44th Biel International Chess Festival under way

7/18/2011 – It started with a bang: top seed Magnus Carlsen, Norway, had black against bottom seed Yannick Pelletier, Switzerland, and went into a tough ending of queen and extra pawn against queen. But the world's number one worked out a sound strategy and took home the full three points (which you get for a win) in 88 moves. The round was highlighted by a lot of live action on Playchess.com.

World Team Ch. – China beats Ukraine; USA holds Armenia

7/18/2011 – The second round of the World Team championship, brought two very surprising results, potentially skewering the predictions of the pundits. The first was Ukraine's loss to the home team, China, when Ding Liren broke the deadlock with a win on board four. The second was the US's surprising draw against Armenia after Kamsky capitalized on errors by Aronian. Round two report.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (66)

7/17/2011 – The first two decades of the twentieth century saw many initiatives to create bodies with names such as the International Chess Masters’ Association, International Chess Association, Supreme Court, Chess Council and, eventually, International Chess Federation. The Editor of Chess Notes reports on these pre-FIDE attempts to organize the chess world and, in particular, the world championship.

22nd Czech Open – Giant games and chess festival

7/17/2011 – This year marks the 22nd year of the Pardubice festival, where events with tons of games, and modalities for all tastes can be found, attracting 1445 players from 44 countries including 60 GMs and WGMs, and 81 IMs and WIMs. For example there are the Polgar Superstar Chess World Championship, the Fischer Random Chess event, four-player team events, and you name it. Report.

World Team Championship starts in Ningbo, China

7/17/2011 – It is a kind of exclusive Olympiad, in which only ten elite teams compete for top honors. With such a high level selection, including the likes of Aronian, Karjakin, Ivanchuk, and more, there are no weak match-ups, and the very first round saw Goliath versus Goliath, and in one case, a Goliath versus David, with a result similar to the Bible tale. Big opening pictorial.

XXXIV Barbera del Valles - Sun, fun, and a GM norm

7/16/2011 – It was a euphoric Alina L'Ami who sent in a second photographic report on the international tournament in sunny Barbera del Valles. In spite of her 2312 rating, she scored a full-fledged GM norm with a 2612 performance against no fewer than five GMs. Despite this, she found the time to also visit Barcelona and share her pictures and impressions with Chessbase readers. A pictorial by Alina L'Ami.

Kings on the h-file

7/15/2011 – His exposed majesty had caused Black to go for the deflecting strike 48...Nc3xe4 before, in order after 49.Qf3xe4 Qa2-f2 (diagram) to get out of the affair by the mate threat on g1. Which move wins for White now?
A) 50.Bg2
B) 50.Qf5+
C) neither (draw)

The solution is here, but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.

FIDE has announced qualifiers for the World Cup 2011

7/15/2011 – "FIDE gave me a wildcard for the World Cup!" wrote GM Peter Heine Nielsen. "Thanks a lot for your help, Vladica, Jeff and Fred. Can't tell how much I appreciate that." It is, PH assumes, the result of a series of articles we published in April, and the support they generated. The World Cup will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk from August 26 to 21 September 2011. Here's a list of all participants.

CBM 142 – something for everybody

7/14/2011 – "ChessBase Magazine no. 142," writes reviewer Sean Marsh in his chess blog, "is like its predecessors a top quality chess product at a very reasonable price. It remains the best single piece of chess merchandise on the market." Powerful words about a product that combines a luxurious printed magazine with a DVD chock full of chess training.

CBM Blog: 'Rook endings are always drawn?'

7/14/2011 – Well, in a certain sense yes, but usually the defender must play actively, as our our endgame specialist Dr Karsten Müller meticulously demonstrates. In his second example GM Müller shows us how in a "wrong rook pawn" ending the defender can often hope to construct a fortress, and how this can be overcome by the attacker. Valuable lessons for your next tournament.