8/20/2009 – ... in order to show off their maximal strength, so it's no wonder that they tend to be particulary strong in endgames. Here Black had just played 32...Rxd5. How would you assess the situation now?
A) The position is balanced, both sides have active rooks.
B) Black can realize the advance ...d6-d5 when his mobile pawn centre will give him the edge.
C) No need for endgame subtleties, White can employ a winning combination.
The solution is herebut first ponder it with a larger version of the diagram.

8/19/2009 – With seven of nine rounds completed in the Baltic Queen, IM Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey has taken the sole lead with 5.0/7, followed by GMs Arakhamia and Cramling. With the top contenders meeting in the final rounds a climatic finish is expected, Viktorija Cmilyte, 4.0/7, may certainly make a statement as well. Feel the atmosphere in St Petersburg in this big photo report by IM Irina Sudakova.

8/19/2009 – At eighteen years of age, WFM Abby Marshall is making waves in the United States. In addition to being the only girl to hold two Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls titles, achieved consecutively in 2005 and 2006, she has recently added a victory at the Denker Tournament of High School Champions to her mantle - the first female to do so. We follow her activities in Indianapolis.

8/19/2009 – 240 players participated, from 14 different countries. For one week the 2009 edition of the Asian Youth Championships witnessed the vibrant and energetic activities of children on and off the board, in New Delhi. The Indian contingent faced little resistance and grabbed gold medals in seven categories, mustering 23 out of 36 medals in total. Illustrated report with Bhangra dance instructions.

8/19/2009 – Remember the study we showed you in one of our Chess Classic reports? The one which top grandmasters failed to solve, while the program Rybka succeeded in just over a minute? We promised to give you the astonishing solution, which we now do, together with a number of interesting – and sometimes delicate – anecdotes describing how the humans fared. 1-0 for the computers on this one.

8/19/2009 – The new ChessBase Magazine taster is a threefold package: read CBM for half a year at reduced price; choose your favourite bonus DVD – by Anand, Kramnik, Kortchnoi, or Hort; and with the December issue of CBM you will get a special offer for the new Mega Database 2010 at only a third of the regular price. Order your CBM taster now, or read more about the new CBM 131 here.

8/19/2009 – It was arguably the most dramatic match in chess history. Challenger Anatoly Karpov was on the verge of winning it, when he took game 23, but was foiled by World Champion Garry Kasparov in the very last game. History only remembers the winners, but as Dennis Monokroussos shows in his Wednesday night Playchess lecture, Karpov's best efforts are worth another look. So are these videos.

8/19/2009 – Six draws from seven games – but happily there was quite a bit of excitement in at least two games. One was of course Rustam Kasimdzhanov's victory over Ivan Cheparinov, which brought the former FIDE World Champion into the lead group of Peter Leko and Vassily Ivanchuk, a full point ahead of the field. We bring you a big illustrated report with impressions by Arman Karakhanyan.

8/18/2009 – In the final round the Dutch team were three points down and ready to fight for victory. Jan Smeets did the necessary against Luke McShane, but just as Loek van Wely appeared to have Nigel Short on the ropes the Rejuvenated One struck back and took the full point. Nigel is now over 2700 on live ratings and, at 44, once again Britain's top grandmaster. Final report by Steve Giddins.

8/18/2009 – This unique event, which takes place in the heart of Amsterdam, pits five highly talented young chess players against five older and experienced colleagues. You may remember that last year the Experience team got a painful drubbing. They lost to the Rising Stars for the third time in a row, but never was the score so dramatic: 33½-16½. For this year's event drastic measures were required.

8/18/2009 – Watching games on the Fritz Server – a high-class tournament or a blitz match between top players – is great fun. As a kibitzer, you feel the tension of such encounters, and even if you are "only" a hobby or club player, you enjoy the pleasant feeling that you have learned something. But there is much more, especially when you upgrade to ChessBase Light 2009 Premium (Euro 49.99). Take a look.

8/17/2009 – Innovations after move 20? There is no need to wait that long. In Aronian-Kamsky, Jermuk 2009, the Armenian came up with his innovation on move five! And five moves later he basically had a winning position. What the bizarre opening moves 1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.d4 have to do with the Grünfeld Defence was explained by Mihail Marin in CBM 126 (buy it now!); we reproduce here a shortened version of his article. Kamsky certainly hadn't had a look at Marin's analysis – you better do it!
Aronian-Kamsky with annotations
Mihail Marin on the variation 1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.d4