Benefits of chess in the school population

1/3/2023 – When we see a child playing chess, it is easy for us to associate such activity with the development of important cognitive skills. Chess is perceived as a way to improve logical reasoning and the ability to solve complex problems. However, what level of scientific verification have we obtained so far on this issue? Peruvian psychologist Percy Guzman carried out an experimental study to elucidate these questions. | Photo: Nadja Wittmann
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Studying chess with a legend: Kasparov trains young talents

1/3/2023 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with a gala on November 16th. However, the gala event was not the last event of the year as there was one more work session left. In the week before Christmas, from December 16-18, Garry Kasparov trained six talented youngsters, who had an average age of 13 and an average Elo rating of 2490. | Photos: Kasparov Chess Foundation
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A surprisingly solid fortress

1/3/2023 – In the diagram position White is a piece up but if Black plays correctly White cannot win - after an exchange of queens White often lands in a position in which he has the h-pawn and the "wrong" bishop. But how should Black proceed in the diagram position?

Rilton Cup: Indian Grandmaster Raja Rithvik leads after five rounds

1/2/2023 – The Rilton Cup in Stockholm celebrates its 50th anniversary. The tournament is now one of the top international tournaments through which players can qualify for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. After five rounds, 18-year-old Indian Grandmaster Raja Rithvik is sole leader with 4.5/5. | Photo: Dana Reizniece starts the round (Photos: Rilton Cup)

Endgame Magic #221: Highlights of the Tata Steel India Tournament

1/2/2023 – In the Endgame Magic Show #221 - the first in 2023 - Karsten shows entertaining endgame highlights from the Tata Steel India Tournament 2023. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Alexandra Kosteniuk switches to Swiss Chess Federation

1/2/2023 – The exodus of Russian chess players continues. In 2024 Alexandra Kosteniuk will play for Switzerland. The top Russian player and Women's World Champion from 2008 has both Russian and Swiss citizenship, and in 2013 Kosteniuk won the Swiss Championship (in the open tournament). | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili
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Where is chess going?

1/2/2023 – Today, ChessBase India CEO Sagar Shah wants to touch on a subject that has been playing around on his mind, and to which he has no concrete answers. Is chess levitating towards shorter time formats. Are sponsors driving this trend? And will classical chess be abandoned? "I just want to put the question out there, maybe our readers can see why I feel a bit confused as a chess fan," Sagar says.

FIDE ratings January 2023

1/2/2023 – At the beginning of 2023 FIDE published its new ranking list. With a rating of 2859 Magnus Carlsen continues to be clear number one, and apart from Ding Liren he is the only player with a rating of 2800+. 40 players have a rating of 2700+. Hou Yifan remains number one the the women's list, Alireza Firouzja is the best junior and Bibisara Assaubayeva is the new number one on the list of female junior players.
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Two World Championship titles in five days - an interview with Magnus Carlsen

1/2/2023 – For Magnus Carlsen, 2022 ended well: in the last week of the year he first won the World Rapid and then the World Blitz Championship. In an interview with Sagar Shah Carlsen spoke about the pleasure of winning both titles, explained interesting moments from the games he played in the two tournaments and talked about his plans for 2023. | Photo: Screenshot from the interview
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King's Gambit – Take it easy!

1/2/2023 – Online chess with its short time controls has also led to a renaissance of romantic openings like the King's Gambit. After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.f4 gxf4 3.Nf3 Black is faced with a fundamental decision. Should one try to hold the extra pawn on f4 with g7-g5 at all costs? With little time on the clock and against a potential theory expert, this involves some risks. So should one instead focus less on the material but on development and good piece play? With 3...Ne7!? Sergey Grigoriants recommends the second approach in his article for CBM #211 The "Bacrot Variation" is of course no refutation of the King's Gambit, "but it is an excellent practical choice for Black". Take a look!
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Shoot-outs, a stand-off and the traditional round-up

1/1/2023 – I’m not a particular devotee of Westerns, but I’ve seen enough to know that at the end there’s normally a shoot-out in which the protagonists have to be at their best to avoid losing their lives. Games of chess are thankfully not fatal, but in many of them there is a final tactical shoot-out, and however well you’ve played beforehand, you have to be able to handle this at least passably to get the win or draw that you deserve. | Pictured: Benny Watts, a main character in Netflix’s ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster
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Understanding before Moving 106: A remarkable plan in the hedgehog

1/1/2023 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 106th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman shows a game that every chess player should know and continues to explain why it is good to study and to play the Sicilian. | Photo: Pascal Simon

Chess prodigies and mini-GMs update

1/1/2023 – We have been trying to keep track of incredible playing strength and title wins at a very early age. It started with Capablanca and Reshevsky, and today we are seeing full grandmasters aged thirteen — and in two cases even just twelve! Most recently it was Abhimanyu Mishra who achieved the title at twelve years and just under five months. It is time to update our prodigy page, with better graphics and a few telling graphs. We also invite our readers to contribute.

Capricorn and their Strategy

1/1/2023 – There are currently 40 female chess players worldwide who have been awarded the grandmaster title. Nine of them are Capricorn! Then there were the two legendary elite players Paul Keres, and world champion Emanuel Lasker. Capricorn doesn't mess around, works hard and never gives up. That's why his strategy seems easy to see through, but there's a lot more to it than that. | Photo: Pixabay
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A new wave of chess stars (III)

1/1/2023 – Turko-Mongol ruler Timur was appreciative of the arts and culture. The emperor was as fierce, cruel and ambitious as his predecessor, Genghis Khan. However, apart from his soft spot for the arts, he had one more peculiar weakness: chess. It is said that he even invented a chess variant called ‘Tamerlane Chess’. Diana Mihajlova tells us more.
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Study of the Month - Best of... FIDE Album 2016-2018

12/31/2022 – 64 squares. For some they mean the world. In the past month, the World Congress for Chess Composition was held, as I quickly reported. Among the new books there was also the FIDE Album 2016-2018 (for a history of the FIDE Albums see our September 2019 article) | Photo: Pixabay

Three tournaments that marked the 2022 elite chess circuit

12/31/2022 – As a tumultuous year is about to end, let us highlight three tournaments that were particularly impactful in the world of chess. Granted, this list does not intend to be all-encompassing, but it features three events that are sure to be remembered for many years to come: the Candidates Tournament in Madrid, the Chess Olympiad in Chennai and the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis.
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Magnus Carlsen and Bibisara Assaubayeva are the World Blitz 2022 champions

12/31/2022 – Magnus Carlsen has become World Blitz champion for the sixth time in his career. He won it in 2009, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and now 2022. The Norwegian also became World Triple Crown champion for the third time in his career (2014, 2019 and 2022). Unlike 2019, this time Carlsen became a clear champion by scoring 16/21, a full point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 15/21. Haik Martirosyan (ARM) scored the same and finished third on tie-breaks. The defending champion, IM Bibisara Assaubayaeva (KAZ) won her last five games to clinch the Gold 13/17. Koneru Humpy scored a magnificent 8.5/9 in her last nine games to secure Silver 12.5/17. IM Polina Shuvalova won the Bronze 12/17. Photo: Amruta Mokal
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Long-distance goal

12/31/2022 – Black has a weak king and a weak back rank - but White's forced win from the diagram is also based on the a7 rook. You'll get it, I'm sure!
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Svitlana's Smart Moves - Fantastic games of the Rapid Championship 2022

12/30/2022 – Magnus Carlsen not only won the Rapid Championship 2022, but also the Blitz Championship. The GOAT of chess, played some remarkable games, and Svitlana takes a closer look at two of them. Funnily enough, in one of the games, Bobby Fischer had a very similar position against Ulf Andersson. Perhaps Carlsen remembered the particular attacking move, and used it for his own victory. But this episode begins with the masterful tactic of Daniil Dubov against Nihal Sarin. What a stunner!
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World Blitz: Carlsen clinches triple crown, Assaubayeva defends her title

12/30/2022 – Magnus Carlsen and Bibisara Assaubayeva won the World Blitz Championships in Almaty. Carlsen thus grabbed the triple crown, as he is currently the classical, rapid and blitz world champion. The 18-year-old Assaubayeva, on her part, defended the title she had won in 2021. | Find here the standings and all available games. A full pictorial report will be published shortly. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
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The World Champion 1972 Christmas Calendar Winners

12/30/2022 – Our time travel journey is over, and we return from 1972 to the present. This year we reached a new world record, with almost 7200 (!) answers. Were the questions too easy, or was the topic particularly interesting? But there was something else, wasn't there? Yes, we solve the tricky last question, which of course the majority answered correctly. Thank you for the lively participation, and the mostly positive comments. Have a great new year 2023!| Photos: Pixabay
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NEW: ChessBase Magazine #211

12/30/2022 – Bundesliga season 22/23: Stars up close - Eljanov, Van Wely, McShane, Jones, Kasimdzhanov, Cheparinov, Meier and many others comment on games from the first rounds - "Special" on Mikhail Tal: exclusive collection of 21 commented games + contributions on strategy and endgame - "The Scotch Gambit": Daniel King presents another gambit idea: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5. 0-0 (video) - "How to deal with opening surprises": Jan Markos continues his training series for tournament players (video + collection of exercises) - "Jumping across the centre line":over 50 tactics exercises + three selected combinations in video format with Oliver Reeh - Endgame good, all good: Karsten Mueller's new video series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" (Part 1: Rook vs. Pawn) – King’s Gambit: Take it easy! Sergey Grigoriants promotes 1. e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Ne7!? - Gambit time in the French Advance Variation: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0!? and much more.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: Dubov attacks

12/30/2022 – This week Robert Ris presents a fine attacking game by Daniil Dubov who defeated Anish Giri in the World Rapid Championship with Black. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.