Festive violence

12/20/2020 – “I couldn’t easily decide on what to do for the last column of this very difficult year and eventually fell back on some cheerful ultra-violence”, writes Jon Speelman. Our star columnist analyses the two most famous games by Rashid Nezhmetdinov and presents a couple of studies by French composer Henri Rinck. | Speelman’s photo: David Llada

Understanding before Moving 6: Paralyzed

12/20/2020 – 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 sixth part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman demonstrates ways to break through your opponent's paralyzed position. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

European Online Blitz Championship: Live!

12/20/2020 – The European Blitz Championship is taking place online on December 18-20. An 11-round Swiss tournament, played on Friday, served as a qualifier for the knockout to be played on Saturday and Sunday — 16 players from the Swiss event will get a spot in the knockout. The action kicks off at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET).

Riddle solved: Smyslov could have drawn!

12/20/2020 – In game 14 of the 1958 World Championship match between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov, Botvinnik played what he called “maybe his most subtle rook ending”. Endgame specialist Karsten Müller asked our readers to help him find any mistakes that might have been made in the game. The verdict? Smyslov could have drawn!

The Fritztrainer Christmas Calendar - Door 20

12/20/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!
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FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and Women’s Grand Swiss 2021 announced

12/19/2020 – The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has signed a contract with IOM International Chess Limited to organise and host the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and the inaugural FIDE Chess.com Women’s Grand Swiss in 2021. The open event is returning to the island after a successful first edition held in 2019, while the women’s tournament will feature 50 of the strongest female players competing for a prize fund of USD 125,000.

Grandmaster trends 1972-2020

12/19/2020 – What does it take to become a grandmaster? Can it be almost anyone with enough willpower as U.S. president Calvin Coolidge argued, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence… Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent”. Or does it require much natural talent, including a high IQ score, and extensive practice? Robert Howard takes a deep look. | Pictured: Frank Marshall

Sunway Sitges: A feel-good atmosphere in Catalonia

12/19/2020 – If you want to play a chess tournament in December with sunshine, spring-like temperatures and a Mediterranean atmosphere, you will get this — and much more — at the Sunway Open in Sitges. Sebastian Siebrecht is having a good time! | Photos: Lennart Ootes

KCF University Cup to be played online in February

12/19/2020 – The KCF University Cup, which will take place online, February 6-7, 2021. The tournament is open to teams from colleges and universities from all over the world. It will be a nine-round team, Swiss system tournament to taka place over the two days, with a rapid time control. | Pictured: Michael Khodarkovsky and Garry Kasparov with a group of young talents at KCF’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan

The Fritztrainer Christmas Calendar - Door 19

12/19/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!
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Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Deadly Nepo

12/18/2020 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King takes a look at a powerful victory by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who recently won the Russian Championship in Moscow. Daniel also sets up another mate-in-two for you to solve, this time by André Chéron, a three-time French champion who was also an endgame theorist. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET). All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

CBM 198: From Kasparov to Carlsen

12/18/2020 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess, and it also provides an arsenal for the tournament player. This issue offers coverage of two major events, the Carlsen Chess Tour Final and the FIDE Online Olympiad. 5759 games, 11 opening surveys, demo lectures and exercises for training. It also includes games annotated by Wesley So, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Peter Heine Nielsen, just to mention a few. Our columnist Nagesh Havanur takes a look. | Photo: Frederic Friedel

New van der Heijden studies database

12/18/2020 – Dr Harold van der Heijden composes chess studies, but for decades he has also been collecting (and meticulously documenting) them. Just before his 60th birthday, he has released the latest version of his studies database, the largest in the world. You guess how many studies it contains, and how long it would take you to play through all of them.

This weekend: European Online Blitz Championship

12/18/2020 – The European Blitz Championship will be played online on December 18-20, with over 200 players already registered to participate. An 11-round Swiss tournament, played on Friday, will serve as a qualifier for the knockout to be played on Saturday and Sunday — 16 players from the Swiss event will get a spot in the knockout. A press conference was held on Monday at the International Congress Centre in Katowice, with the participation of Poland’s number one Jan-Krzysztof Duda. | Photo: Official site

The Fritztrainer Christmas Calendar - Door 18

12/18/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!
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Aggressive Opening Play II

12/18/2020 – In the diagram position, Black wants to play a5-a4 to harass the knight on b3 - a threat, which White decided to ignore with 7.c4?. Why does this move deserve a question mark?

IM Martin Neubauer on Simon Williams’ Budapest Gambit

12/17/2020 – The Budapest Gambit is an excellent opening if you want to have as much fun as you have success — the ideal opening for Simon Williams. IM Martin Neubauer watched the DVD and sent a review, noting that the fun factor makes this a system especially suited for blitz games on the internet.

Grandmaster Chef: Wang Hao

12/17/2020 – Wang Hao is ranked second in China, behind Ding Liren. In round 1 of the 2020 Candidates Tournament, Hao defeated Liren, a game that National Master Mike Walder annotates. Walder also creates a recipe for a dish that Hao might like. WIM Alexey Root tells why Wang Hao is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / FIDE

Harikrishna to replace Mamedyarov at Tata Steel Masters

12/17/2020 – The full lineup of the 2021 Tata Steel Chess Tournament was announced a week ago, with Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana heading the field. Today, almost exactly a month before the start of the event (it will run on January 15-31), the organizers have informed that Shakhriyar Mamedyarov will not be able to participate. His replacement will be Indian star Pentala Harikrishna. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess Tournament

Nepomniachtchi and Goryachkina are the 2020 Russian champions

12/17/2020 – After beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in round 9, Daniil Dubov also beat Sergey Karjakin, the second rating favourite, to decide the title race in the open tournament — in favour of Nepomniachtchi. The women’s championship was decided in a playoff. Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated long-time leader Polina Shuvalova in Armageddon. | Photo: Eteri Kublshvili

The Fritztrainer Christmas Calendar - Door 17

12/17/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!
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Upcoming VIP Video tournaments on Playchess

12/16/2020 – The video and audio function of Playchess is being used more and more often by our premium members. Of course, during the pandemic people are thankful for having an option available to see, hear, and play chess with a single friend, a group of friends, or even the whole chess club. Furthermore, in the second half of December, you will be able to face three VIP players! We will also premiere our very first double-round bullet chess evening. Just sign up to play against Regina Pokorna, Elshan Moradiabadi and Germany’s fastest chess player, Ruben Mantel!

Game of the Week: Dubov does his magic!

12/16/2020 – In his Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft analyses a game that was not only spectacular but also critical in the fight for first place at the Russian Superfinals. Daniil Dubov played an absolutely fantastic game to defeat Sergey Karjakin, who needed a draw to tie for first place with Ian Nepomniachtchi! | 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. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

Russian Superfinals: Live!

12/16/2020 – The Russian Chess Superfinals (Open and Women’s) are taking place at the Central Chess Club in Moscow on December 5-16. Both events are 12-player single round robins. Top seeds in the open event are Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784), Sergey Karjakin (2752) and Peter Svidler (2723); the highest-rated participants in the women’s section are Aleksandra Goryachkina (2593), Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) and Natalija Pogonina (2474). All rounds start at 3 PM Moscow time (13:00 CET, 7:00 ET). | Photo: Russian Chess Federation