9/15/2023 – Vladimir Kramnik recently caused a stir with an online game against Hans Niemann, in which he wanted to let himself be mated quickly in protest of Niemann’s alleged cheating in the previous game. Kramnik, however, is not so much concerned with Niemann himself, but with the cheating problem in online chess in general. He estimates that the problem is much bigger than people think and presented his arguments in a long video interview. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

9/15/2023 – The Armageddon Championship Series: Grand Finale began on September 14 at the World Chess Club in Berlin. In an evening filled with suspense and strategic brilliance, Gukesh D and Jan-Krzysztof Duda emerged as victors, each securing a commanding 2-0 win against their formidable opponents, Wesley So and Sam Shankland. | Photo: World Chess

9/15/2023 – ChessBase Magazine #215 offers over an hour of video playing time with its three opening videos alone (the total playing time of all videos in CBM #215 is more than seven hours). Robert Ris uses three new games by Richard Rapport to examine what White can hope for in the Vienna Game after 5.Qf3. Ivan Sokolov examines the highly topical variation 11.h4!? in the Semi-Tarrasch, especially Giri's novelty 13.Rh3 against Praggnanandhaa. And Daniel King gives a recommendation for the side line 3...e5 against the Sicilian Rossolimo Variation which has already been tested at the highest level. You can watch an extract from Robert Ris' analysis here!

9/14/2023 – Grandmaster Leon Mendonca is a rising star in the chess world and one of India's most promising young talents. This year, at seventeen, he crossed the 2600 Elo barrier (current Elo is 2622) for the first time and is probably one of the most active chess players in 2023 (almost 100 rated games). Leon has recorded a very interesting Fritztrainer on the venomous variation 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3, which most club-level players do not know how to effectively counter.

9/14/2023 – Fabiano Caruana had to face the underdog Nijat Abasov in the match for third place at the Baku World Cup. In round 8.2, the US player made a fairly unknown move in the Four Knights Sicilian, by moving the bishop to f4. Svitlana offers insights into various variations arising from this opening. The endgame provides valuable lessons as well!

9/13/2023 – MegaBase 2023 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 10 million games, many of them annotated. Our columnist offers a review with focus on modern master play. There is a lot more to discover in this treasure trove: grand battles, opening novelties and exemplary endgames.

9/13/2023 – During a visit to the ChessBase office to record his latest Fritztrainer, Grandmaster Nick Pert was interviewed. In a conversation with Arne Kaehler, Nick delved into his background, sharing stories of his upbringing, his introduction to chess, and the competitive dynamic with his twin brother. He also discussed his decision to follow a chess career over pursuing his field of study, and touched upon his achievement of becoming a world champion in 1998.

9/13/2023 – 150 years ago, from 21 June to 29 August 1873, the “First International Vienna Chess Congress” was held in Vienna. Some of the best players in the world accepted the invitation and played mini-matches against each other. In the end, Wilhelm Steinitz and Joseph Blackburne tied for first place. A play-off match decided the tournament’s winner.

9/13/2023 – The Armageddon Championship Series Finale is set to start in Berlin, Germany. An eventful year of chess rounds up with the most exciting format of them all — Armageddon. Taking place from September 14th to 20th, this high-stakes series will be broadcast across a network of 17 international television channels, making it an event of unparalleled magnitude.

9/13/2023 – Thanks to his tournament wins in the American Cup and Norway Chess this year, Hikaru Nakamura moved up to second place in the FIDE world rankings (August 2023). In the "Special" of ChessBase Magazine #215 our authors analyse their favourite games of the top grandmaster - an exclusive collection of 19 great encounters from the period 2007 to 2023 awaits you! In addition, Mihail Marin sheds light on "Nakamura's strategy in practice" with videos + many training exercises. And Karsten Mueller presents a selection of the most beautiful endgames from "H-Bomb". As a sample from the "Special" you can watch Michal Krasenkow's analysis of his game against Nakamura from 2007 here. Have fun!

9/13/2023 – The FIDE World Cup was a complete success, as top players fought for spots in the Candidates, both in the open and in the women’s section. Magnus Carlsen and Aleksandra Goryachkina were the winners. As ever, GM Karsten Müller compiled the most interesting positions from the tournaments. Find here five more instructive endgames from the open category! | Photo: Stev Bonhage

9/12/2023 – Holger Blauhut is a Norwegian Candidate Master who enjoys playing in tournaments himself and looks after his talented daughter Anna. In mid-August, he took part in the RTU Open in Riga with his daughter, and experienced the typical adventures of chess travellers.