How chess, and eventually ChessBase, led me to a great life

3/28/2021 – He started with ambitions to become a tennis professional – only to discover how much better well-trained players are. Then started to study chess. Six years after his first tournament he had become a master. Where does ChessBase come into all this? Kevin Cotreau bought our database program, and KnightStalker (US version of Fritz 1.0), and that changed his life. Today he is a leading chess analyst – just ask Dr. Karsten Müller.

The Magic of Mikhail Zinar II: Curiosities and more

3/27/2021 – In this month’s column, Siegfried Hornecker concludes his tribute to the recently deceased master Mikhail Zinar. This time around, his more unusual ideas are presented while providing more background information on an eventful life. | Photo: arves.org

The most beautiful chess club in the world

3/27/2021 – The Central Chess Club in Moscow is the most beautiful chess club in the world. The edifice on Gogolevsky Boulevard has a long history and an even longer prehistory which offers a profound look into the society of pre-revolutionary Russia. | Photo: admagazin.ru

Carlsen's rollercoaster

3/27/2021 – In the diagram position, White has just played 17.e5, attacking against Black's queen on f6 and Black's bishop on b7. The World Champion first defended cooly, but then blundered which allowed his opponent a spectacular finish. Enjoy!

Tournaments postponed in Sweden and Norway due to the sanitary crisis

3/27/2021 – Scattered over-the-board tournaments have been played during the first quarter of the year, and a number of well-known events announced the dates for this year’s editions. However, there are countries that have been showing a rising trend of Covid-19 cases, which has prompted the organizers of the TePe Sigeman & Co and the Norway Chess tournaments to postpone their starting dates. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The ChessBase News Review

3/26/2021 – Lawrence Trent and Arne Kaehler talk about what happened chess-wise last week. They each choose three articles, which might be interesting, and worth talking about the most. They give their opinions on various topics, and encourage you to think about the subject, analyse games, or read the articles thoroughly yourself.

Chess in film: “Casablanca”

3/26/2021 – For more than 70 years, the 1942 film Casablanca has made lovers — and those who want to be lovers — dream. In 2002, the American Film Institute voted it the best American love story of all time and, in 2007, it was voted the third best American Film of All Time. Numerous dialogues from Casablanca have become part of the cultural collective memory. And chess also plays a small role in the film.

Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Test your calculation with Wesley So

3/26/2021 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King looks at a brilliant game from the Magnus Carlsen Invitational featuring brilliant calculation skills by Wesley So. | Power Play is on air most Fridays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

European hybrid qualification tournament for the FIDE World Cup

3/26/2021 – The European Hybrid Qualification Tournament for the FIDE World Cup will take place on May 22-30 and will be played Online as a hybrid event. 36 players will qualify for the FIDE World Cup 2021. The event will be played under a knock-out system with matches consisting of 2 standard games plus tiebreaks if needed.

The French Chess Federation turns 100

3/26/2021 – Last weekend, renowned chess personalities and historians held an online conference on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the French Chess Federation. Over two days, lectures shed light on the history of chess in France. Co-organisers Herbert Bastian and Frank Hoffmeister sent a report.

Throwback Thursday: McShane makes a splash at the London Classic

3/25/2021 – The first edition of the London Chess Classic was played in 2009 as an 8-players single round-robin event, with half the field comprised of top English grandmasters and the other half including some of the strongest players in the world. Luke McShane left a strong impression in his five showings at the Olympia Conference Centre, winning the brilliancy prize in 2009 and getting shared second place in 2010.

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: The Nakhmanson Gambit

3/25/2021 – In this week’s show, well-known Dutch trainer Robert Ris takes a look at the surprising Nakhmanson Gambit. Give up a piece and go for a devastating attack — it will be tough for your opponent to find the precise defensive setup. | “Fast and Furious” is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

CBM 200 - EXTRA

3/25/2021 – One hour video training. Plus 33 extensively analysed games by Anish Giri, Romain Edouard, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Dejan Bojkov, Erigaisi Arjun, Davorin Kuljasevic and others. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect addition to ChessBase Magazine and can also be obtained by subscription (6 issues per year). Available on DVD or as a download.

The Match of the Century: USSR vs the World

3/25/2021 – The match between the USSR and the Rest of the World in 1970 featured no fewer than five world champions. Fifty years after the celebrated event took place, the Chess Informant has released a revised edition, extended and compiled by Douglas Griffin, chess historian and connoisseur, and Igor Zveglic, Chess Informant commissioning editor. Diana Mihajlova sent us a review.

CBM Jubilee: "The Classic"

3/24/2021 – Dorian Rogozenco's video series "The Classic" has been part of the ChessBase Magazine since issue #160 - for almost seven years! Right at the beginning of his very first video, Rogozenco emphasized that looking at classical games is not about keeping the whole game in mind. It is much more important to develop and improve the understanding of certain moments, certain positions, ideas or plans that appear in these masterpieces. To celebrate the 200th issue of the ChessBase Magazine, we would like to treat you today to a selection from Rogozenco's popular column. Take a look and enjoy!

Game of the Week: Anish Giri vs Ian Nepomniachtchi

3/24/2021 – This week Merijn van Delft takes another look at the relatively new and highly fascinating 7.g4 variation in the Taimanov Sicilian, a line which Anish Giri used to win a crucial game against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. | Merijn's show is available at 16.00 UTC (17:00 CET, 12:00 EDT) and on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Hybrid Chess is here to stay

3/24/2021 – In a world under the shadow of Covid, Hybrid chess is becoming increasingly popular. It is arbiter-supervised Internet tournaments in which players gather at a venue to play against opponents similarly gathered elsewhere. That’s a whole lot cheaper than schlepping from one end of the country to another, and it certainly reduces the carbon footprint of chess events. Perhaps it will reinvigorate competitions that have generally declined over the years.

A methodical coach: Radjabov interviews Chuchelov

3/24/2021 – Vladimir Chuchelov developed a well-known method based on his ideas on what he dubs “strategic balance”. Teimour Radjabov, who was introduced to the method in 2014, recently interviewed Chuchelov for an hour and a half. In the light-hearted conversation, Chuchelov talks about his decision to become a full-time trainer, his experiences with Giri and Caruana, and his predictions for the coming Candidates Tournament. | Pictured: Chuchelov at the 2014 Tashkent Grand Prix | Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich

The Weekly Show: A fine game by Anish Giri

3/23/2021 – In his "Weekly Show" IM Lawrence Trent will look at the finale of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, specifically the first blitz game between Anish Giri and Ian Nepomniachtchi. It was a very well conducted attack by the Dutch #1 despite it being a blitz game. Lawrence will also do a quick recap of the current situation at the Candidates. | Lawrence's show is available at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 12:00 ET) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Remembering Viktor Kortschnoi (23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016)

3/23/2021 – Viktor Kortschnoi is a phenomenon. He started his chess career in 1943 when he joined the Pioneer Palace in Leningrad and played until his death in 2016 when he was confined to a wheelchair. Today Kortschnoi would have celebrated his 90th birthday. | Photo: De Telegraaf via David Llada

A stunning attack

3/23/2021 – Magnus Carlsen still lacks a tournament victory at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Four tournaments have been played so far, but the World Champion, who is so used to success, has not been able to win one of them. At the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, which ended at the weekend, he lost in the semi-finals against Ian Nepomniachtchi, who then lost to Anish Giri in the final. But then Carlsen scored a surprisingly smooth win against Wesley So in the match for third place. Particularly surprising was the first game, in which Carlsen won with a stunning mating attack. Daniel King took a closer look. | Photo: Lennart Ootes, Archiv

Achilles heel

3/23/2021 – Rook endings have drawish tendencies and the diagram position is no exception to this rule. But White must still defend extremely carefully. How exactly?

Riddle solved: Kasparov could have drawn

3/23/2021 – Karsten Müller once again asked our readers for help to solve an endgame riddle. This time, he looked at the 27th game of the first World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. Was Kasparov right when he claimed that the endgame contains a number of mistakes? Turns out he was as, after all, he could have held the draw!

The new Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour

3/22/2021 – Chess legends Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik have joined forces with Play Magnus Group to launch a new elite online tour designed to support rising young players and advance gender equality in the sport. The Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour will feature some of the world’s top talent and include a healthy balance of male and female competitors.