Another endgame lesson from the masters

1/19/2008 – Despite three short draws, round six in Wijk aan Zee was very interesting, with many spectacular moments. The longest battle (110 moves!) was Kramnik-Aronian. It offered us an interesting theoretical duel, culminating with a spectacular innovation by Kramnik, a complex (but rather short) middlegame phase and another "tablebases" drawn ending. Explanations by Mihail Marin.

Wijk R07: Aronian, Anand win, Carlsen leads

1/19/2008 – Levon Aronian bounced back from yesterday's loss to score a fine victory over Teimour Radjabov. World Champion Vishy Anand defeated Judit Polgar from a position he had had against her in the same place ten years earlier. Movsesian and Bacrot lead Group B,. In Group C GM Efstratios Grivas brought down the leader Arik Braun and sent us his annotations of the game.

Marin on round five: After the rest day draws and blunders

1/18/2008 – The free day seems to have had a relaxing effect over most of the players. Three draws were agreed in 25 moves or less, while in the decisive games unexpected mistakes could be seen. Especially poignant: Boris Gelfand, 2nd/3rd in the World Championship in Mexico, blundered his queen in one. And that a round after he missed a great chance against Judit Polgar. Mihail Marin comments.

Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland

1/18/2008 – One of the world's greatest chess geniuses, Bobby Fischer, has died at the age of 64. A spokesman for Fischer said the former world chess champion passed away in a Reykjavik hospital yesterday. The US-born former world chess champion, who became famous around the world for beating the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky in 1972, had been seriously ill for some time. Rest in Peace, Bobby.

Wijk R06: Topalov, Kramnik, Carlsen win

1/18/2008 – Magnus Øen Carlsen was not even two when Bobby Fischer played his second match against Spassky. Today the 17-year-old Norwegian is dominating the Super-GM in Wijk aan Zee, where a victory over Judit Polgar kept him on top of the table. Alone, since Aronian lost to Kramnik, who advanced to second. Veselin Topalov continues his comeback with a victory over Peter Leko. Express report.

Problem finding positions? A five-minute fix

1/18/2008 – Big or Mega Database 2008, with over 3.7 million games, are now installed in computers all over the world. Some users have encountered problems when searching for positions. This can be caused by a damaged or incomplete search booster. Luckily there is a quick fix that takes just a few minutes and cures all related problems. Here's how you go about it.

Wijk R05: Topalov draws first blood, Radjabov joins leaders

1/17/2008 – The predicted comeback has been initiated: Veselin Topalov put Boris Gelfand under pressure until the latter broke on move 26. Shak Mamedyarov defeated Loek van Wely to level at 50%, while Teimour Radjabov beat Pavel Eljanov to join the leaders. Bacrot leads Group B, IM Arik Braun Group C. Tomorrow there will be live commentary by Yasser Seirawan. Express report.

An hour and a half in the life of Garry Kasparov

1/17/2008 – "Winter guests" is the name of a Dutch TV program in which international personalities are visited and shown their favourite moments from famous movies. After David Lynch, Naomi Klein and Desmond Tutu presenter Joris Luyendijk visited Garry Kasparov in Moscow and now presents a relaxed 90-minute conversation with the legendary World Champion. Do not miss.

Fridrik Olafsson: the creative genius of a septuagenarian

1/16/2008 – In his hayday he beat Tartakower, Larsen, Fischer, Petrosian, Keres, Tal, Karpov, Korchnoi and contemporaries like Timman and Seirawan. Last August Fridrik Olafsson played Dutch prodigy Vincent Rothuis, whom he spotted 55 years, and surprised everyone with a novelty on move – three! Our Playchess.com lecturer Dennis Monokroussos looks at this amazing game.

Wijk R04: A spectacular round, with three decisive games

1/16/2008 – And with several hard-fought draws. Judit Polgar beat Boris Gelfand with the black pieces, using a far advanced d-pawn combined with a kingside attack; Topalov's opening experiment with black against Van Wely ended in a total fiasco and, although he put up tough resistance until the 81st move; Kramnik's win over Eljanov was a characteristic squeeze. GM Mihail Marin comments.

Wijk R03: All games drawn, excitement in the lower groups

1/15/2008 – After the furious start today the A-Group took a break, with draws in 17 moves (Eljanov-Anand), 22 (Ivanchuk-Gelfand), 23 (Mamedyarov-Kramnik) and 27 (Aronian-Leko). Other games lasted 38, 45 and 85 moves. We will focus our attention on that last in tomorrow's analysis. Today we concentrate on the B and C Groups. In one there is a 13-year-old GM killer on the loose.

A great moment in chess (Part 2)

1/15/2008 – Reykjavik, July 11, 1972. Of the 3000 spectators at the "Match of the Century" 500 have already left, since the position on the board has no winning chances for either side. But then Bobby Fischer plays 29...Bxh2. Gudmundur Thorarinsson, President of the Icelandic Chess Federation, says: "One move and we hit every front page everywhere in the world." Prof. Christian Hesse narrates.

Wijk R03: A highly intstructive endgame struggle

1/15/2008 – All games of round three drawn – but one was a tense 85-move battle from which there is a lot to learn. Watching the tournament on Playchess.com Russian politician Garry Kasparov tried to explain its complexities – without the use of the computer. Our commentator Mihail Marin did have tablebases and attempts to do just that, in an endgame training session you cannot afford to miss.

Wijk R04: Judit, Kramnik win, Topalov loses to van Wely

1/15/2008 – When is the last time you saw Veselin Topalov languishing at the bottom of a table with minus two? A second loss, to Dutch local Loek van Wely, in round four of the Wijk aan Zee Super-GM left the former FIDE world champion at the bottom of the table. Judit Polgar scored a victory over luckless Boris Gelfand. After a draw against each other Carlsen and Aronian remain in the lead. Express report.

Oh the intensity... Wijk round two analysis

1/14/2008 – The second round was characterized by intense fight on practically all boards. True, we saw only two decisive games (compared with three in the inaugural day), but the move average increased dramatically. Gelfand-Aronian featured a complex strategic fight in which Gelfand blundered in a difficult position. Carlsen played a great technical game against Eljanov. Commentary by GM Mihail Marin.

Edward Winter presents: Unsolved Chess Mysteries (22)

1/13/2008 – This further selection from Chess Notes includes a neglected game which Lasker reportedly nominated as his deepest, a discussion of the short-lived American player George H. Derrickson, discrepancies in a Colle v Grünfeld game, and the still-unresolved affair of the termination of the 1984-85 Karpov v Kasparov match. Readers are invited to join in the hunt for clues.

Wijk R01: Did Mamedyarov resign prematurely?

1/13/2008 – Grandmaster Mihail Marin, who is annotating the most important games from Wijk aan Zee 2008, thinks so – and that Anand overlooked a repetition. Marin will be providing simple and instructive notes for chess enthusiasts. We will publish his express commentary on the day after each round, while the next ChessBase Magazine will carry comprehensive analysis. Enjoy and learn.

Wijk R02: Carlsen and Aronian score again

1/13/2008 – After two rounds, it is Aronian and Carlsen who share the lead on 2/2. Aronian showed some deep opening preparation with against Gelfand and won this black game in fine style. Carlsen took much longer to beat Eljanov, grinding down his opponent with relentless determination and technique. Anand drew a promising position against Mamedyarov. Express report.

Wijk aan Zee 2008 starts on Saturday

1/12/2008 – The annual Wijk aan Zee tournament takes place from January 12th to 27th 2008. This year it is a category 20 event with an average rating of 2742, with Anand, Kramnik and Topalov participating. There are two more groups of strong grandmasters. A special treat awaits you: Playchess kicks off with live commentary by former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Full information.

Wijk R01: Anand and Topalov lose, Carlsen wins

1/12/2008 – An explosive start to the 2008 edition of Wijk aan Zee: Teimour Radjabov defeated World Champion Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian took the full point from Veselin Topalov. And youngster Magnus Carlsen started off with a black-piece victory over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the C-Group the drawing ratio was zero percent. Express report with games and pictures.

Fifth Bykova Memorial – the glamour tournament of the year

1/11/2008 – Elisaveta Bykova, the third Women's World Champion (1953-56), was born in a town near the former Russian capital of Vladimir. Every year there is a memorial tournament for Bykova, and this year it was an especially attractive affair. Not just because of the beautiful historical location, and the exciting chess. The highlight was a glamour shoot with the girls. Spectacular photo report.

The essentials

1/11/2008 – ChessBase Workshop columnist Steve Lopez has often mentioned "the essentials" – ChessBase products that he finds himself unable to do without. But he's never provided us with a comprehensive list of said essentials – until now. You'll find his list in the latest ChessBase Workshop.

DGT presents: new clocks, technology – and Vladimir Kramnik

1/10/2008 – The Dutch company Digital Game Technology, founded in 1992 in a 17 sq meter office, has become the world leader in chess clocks and chessboard sensor technology. On January 9th the company moved to new quarters measuring 1000 sq meters. At the opening ceremony they presented new products, including a folding chess clock. Special guest: Vladimir Kramnik.

Ni hao, GM Zhang Zhong and WGM Li Ruofan

1/10/2008 – Ni hao, pronounced second tone-third tone, is Chinese for Hello or Hi ("Ni hao ma?" means "how are you" and "Wo hun hao" means "I'm doing great"). After this short lesson in Chinese first encounters we bring you a portrait of the Chinese dream couple: GM Zhang Zhong, Elo 2634, and his wife WGM Li Ruofan, rated 2417. Bisik-Bisik (Malay for "whisperings") by Edwin Lam.