Hovhannes Gabuzyan grabs North American Open

1/5/2020 – Close to a hundred chess players spent the last days of 2019 participating in the 29th edition of the North American Open at the Bally's Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Hovhannes Gabuzyan and Zviad Izoria finished atop the standings on 7 out of 9 — Gabuzyan took home the bonus prize money reserved for the winner, as he had a higher score in the second tiebreak criterion. GM RUIFENG LI sent us a report with expert analyses and a selection of noteworthy games. | Photos: Crystal Jiuzhou Gu

Ken Thompson: Moscow adventures (2)

1/5/2020 – In the early 1980s, FREDERIC FRIEDEL spent a week in Moscow with Unix pioneer Ken Thompson, who was supposed to demonstrate his computer chess world champion machine Belle to the Soviet Chess Federation, and to former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, who was developing a rival strategy in chess programming. He takes us on a trip down memory lane. Read part 1.

The quest for a third IM norm

1/4/2020 – Improving one's chess rating is a tough task at every level, especially when one reaches an apparently insurmountable plateau. As we go up the rating ladder, things only get more difficult, as Anatole Vlachos (pictured) and Thal Abergel explain in this article by DHANANJAY KHADILKAR. A look into what it takes to go from FM to IM, and from IM to GM. | Photo: Dhananjay Khadilkar

Coming soon: Ju Wenjun vs Aleksandra Goryachkina

1/4/2020 – The new chess year 2020 starts with a World Championship. World Champion Ju Wenjun and her challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina compete for the title of World Champion for women in a match split between Shanghai and Vladivostok. The first of a total of 12 games will be played on Sunday, January 5th. | Photos: cca.imsa.cn

Ken Thompson: Moscow adventures (1)

1/4/2020 – In the early 1980s, FREDERIC FRIEDEL spent a week in Moscow with Unix pioneer Ken Thompson, who was supposed to demonstrate his computer chess world champion machine Belle to the Soviet Chess Federation, and to former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, who was developing a rival strategy in chess programming. Unfortunately Thompson's computer did not arrive with him in Moscow. But in spite of this, the trip turned out to be quite an adventure.

The Best of 2019

1/3/2020 – At the end of 2019 ChessBase readers were invited to vote for the player, the female player, the game, the combination, and the endgame of the year. A lot of readers took part in the votes and here are the results — the favourites of our readers. | Photo: Maria Emelianova

The Power Play Show: Unconventional Korobov

1/3/2020 – Power Play in 2020! On the show today: Anton Korobov's Najdorf. Power Play is live most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

Kunin collects in Zürich

1/3/2020 – There are several prominent opens held over the Christmas and New Year holidays. One of the long-running traditions is the Christmas tournament in Zurich which took place for the 43rd time. In all, 90 players, including ten grandmasters took part, and first prize went to Vitaly Kunin. | Photo: Gerd Densing

Dubov's king chase

1/3/2020 – In the diagram position, Black must give his queen on e6 to stay in the game - instead, 29...Kc6? 30.Qf3+ Kb5 sends his king on a journey of no return. Happy hunting!

Magesh Chandran clear leader in Hastings

1/3/2020 – Six out of nine rounds of the Hastings Chess Congress have been completed, and a player has emerged as the undisputed leader. Indian grandmaster Magesh Chandran Panchanathan has a full-point lead over a five-player chasing pack after having collected an astounding 5½ points. The player from Madurai already faced the three top seeds of the event, beating David Howell and Erik van den Doel, and drawing Romain Edouard, who is currently part of the group on 4½. | Photo: Official site

Fast and Furious: Scandinavian 3...Qd6

1/2/2020 – Welcome to 2020 Fast & Furious! IM Robert Ris checks out the theoretical implications of a Carlsen win from the World Rapid Championship. Tune into the live show at 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET / 1 PM EST) which is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. In the diagram, it's Black to play!

ChessBase Magazine: A gateway to chess improvement

1/2/2020 – ChessBase magazine is a great training tool, but a very important feature not to be overlooked in today's modern world is that it's a time-saver! Want to find the best endgames played in the last couple of months, or the latest opening novelties? It's all well packaged in one neat product, the latest ChessBase Magazine 193! Loads of videos cover the needs of those who are visual learners. Prolific reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO (known by his students as Mr. Checkmate) gives us the details.

Friedel on Anand — the makings of a genius

1/2/2020 – Viswanathan Anand has not only achieved the highest honours in the game of chess but has also led India to become one of the chess superpowers in the world. But how was he when he was young? FREDERIC FRIEDEL (pictured), co-founder of ChessBase, has been a very close friend of his for decades. He has seen him grow from a prodigiously talented teenager into a mature and highly accomplished man. In a recent interview with IM Sagar Shah, Frederic related many of his interesting experiences with a young Vishy when he was still climbing to the upper echelons of the chess world. He winds back the clock and take you on a journey which is as nostalgic as it is insightful.

Game of the Week: A Carlsen clash

1/1/2020 – Kicking off 2020, IM Merijn van Delft reviews a game from the absolute elite: Aronian vs Carlsen from the World Rapid Championship in Moscow. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). Merijn is live this week starting at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET / 4 PM EST).

Chess calendar: January 2020

1/1/2020 – A Women's World Championship match and two traditional elite events will keep chess fans busy during the first month of the new year. On the one hand, the Tata Steel Tournament, which has Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja among the Masters, and a nice mix of strong talents in the Challengers. On the other, the Gibraltar Chess Festival, with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Wang Hao as top seeds. In parallel, Ju Wenjun and Aleksandra Goryachkina play a match in China and Russia. | You'll find all of these events and more covered in our live games broadcast area Live.ChessBase.com and we'll also be providing News coverage.

January 2020 ratings

1/1/2020 – Happy New Year! World Champion Magnus Carlsen heads into 2020 with a 50 Elo point lead in the classical ratings and a 45 point lead on the rapid list. Yet, despite winning the recent World Blitz Championship in a playoff over Hikaru Nakamura, the American clings to a 13 point margin atop the world blitz rankings. Alireza Firouzja, who gave both a run for their money in Moscow, is now #1 on the Juniors rankings. | Photos: Amruta Mokal / Jingda Chen on Unsplash

Wesley So on becoming the first Fischer Random World Champion

1/1/2020 – Magnus Carlsen is now the reigning World Champion in classical, rapid and blitz chess. But there's one official World Championship that eluded him in 2019: the newly codified Fischer Random World Championship. Wesley So, the 26-year-old Filipino-American Grandmaster created a sensation by beating the mighty Norwegian in the finals of a knockout tournament with a sweeping score of 13½-2½! How did he do it? IM SAGAR SHAH spent some time with So at the Tata Steel Chess India tournament.

The Weekly Show: Goodbye 2019!

12/31/2019 – Happy New Year to all! Wishing you and your families a very healthy and successful 2020 and beyond. | Puzzle time: In the diagram, it's Black to move! | Lawrence is live this week beginning at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET / Noon EST) and free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

Magnus Carlsen and Kateryna Lagno are World Blitz Champions

12/31/2019 – What an exciting final day we had at the World Blitz 2019. A controversy between the World Champion and one of the brightest young talents of the game, a blitz playoff to determine the winner, a retired player making a comeback, and winning the bronze and the defending women's world champion defending her title! The World Blitz 2019 was filled with exciting moments, and we bring you a detailed report with information of all the things that happened at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Passed pawns push ahead

12/31/2019 – Endgames with bishops of opposite-colour are often difficult to win. In the diagram position White is a pawn down but can still save the game.

Hastings Chess Congress regains strength

12/31/2019 – The long-established Hastings International Chess Congress has reached its 95th edition, and the newly obtained sponsorship from Caplin Systems Limited has reinvigorated the end-of-year event. The 2019/20 tournament includes 123 players from 27 countries, with 17 GMs and 7 IMs in the mix. After three rounds of play, no fewer than nineteen players are sharing the lead on 2½ out of 3, including top seeds David Howell and Romain Edouard. | Photo: Official site

Sally and Misha: Paradise regained...and lost again

12/30/2019 – Sally Landau married Misha Tal for love. The marriage did not last, but love did. Each went their way till fate brought them together in an unexpected fashion. An incredible story of a wayward genius as seen by his first wife. | Photo extracted from "Checkmate", a book by Sally Landau

World Blitz Championships: Magnus grabs the triple crown!

12/30/2019 – It was a memorable final day of action at the World Blitz Championships in Moscow! Magnus Carlsen arrived as sole leader, but was caught up by an inspired Hikaru Nakamura. Two extra games were played to decide the champion, and the Norwegian prevailed. Carlsen won his third world blitz title and became the world champion in all three formats — classical, rapid and blitz! In the women's section, Kateryna Lagno defended her title from 2018. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

World Blitz 2019: Understanding why Magnus Carlsen is so strong in blitz

12/30/2019 – Magnus Carlsen won the World Rapid Championship title with a score of 11½/15, a full point ahead of the rest of the field. He picked up from where he left off and scored 10/12 to become the sole leader of the World Blitz Championships after day one. Magnus is closely pursued by Maxim Matlakov on 9½ points. In the women's section, Kateryna Lagno is the sole leader. In this article, we tell you about the blitz event and also present to you six points about why we think Magnus Carlsen is so good at the shorter format of the game. | Photo: Amruta Mokal