12/21/2019 – Evgeny Shtembuliak is having a breakthrough year. The Texas Tech University student won the World Junior Championship earlier this year and has now been crowned Ukrainian Champion. The 20-year-old was first among a strong field of well established grandmasters, including Yuriy Kryvoruchko, Andrei Volokitin and Alexander Moiseenko. In the women's section, Natalia Zhukova had a better tiebreak score than Iulija Osmak, which prompted her to win her first ever national championship. MIKHAIL GOLUBEV reports. | Photos: Oleksandr Martynkov

12/21/2019 – Anton Korobov gave up his first half point at the Sunway Sitges Open in round seven against his compatriot Vassily Ivanchuk (pictured), and his second in Friday's eighth round. But he maintains a half point edge over a quartet of pursuers. Dennis Wagner saved a half point with luck and skill, and he, along with fellow Germans Alexander Donchenko, Rasmus Svane and Andreas Heimann, trail by a full point. | Photos: sunwaychessfestival.com

12/20/2019 – Magnus Carlsen likes to be number one all things. The Guardian recently announced that the chess world champion is one of the world's top players in the Fantasy Premier League. Now he's up to #3 in the world. A quick update from last Friday's account.

12/20/2019 – Have you ever heard the advice, "while solving positions in your practice sessions, don't think for more than 20 minutes!"? The logic is that usually in practical games we do not spend more than 20 minutes for any move or decision, so we shouldn't be spending too much time when training either. But now and then comes a moment when, in a tournament game, an elite GM digs down deep and thinks for over 30 minutes! In Wei Yi vs Sergey Karjakin at the Jerusalem Grand Prix 2019, we saw the young Chinese GM 'in the tank' for 35 minutes! IM SAGAR SHAH tries to decode his thought process!

12/20/2019 – White was well in control until of the game in the diagram position he decided to attack the rook c8 with 22.Bh3? Why did this backfire?

12/20/2019 – Wei Yi will face Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final of the Jerusalem Grand Prix. The 20-year-old from China defeated David Navara in game two of tiebreaks after having split the point in a lengthy first encounter of the day. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and his fans will be following the final closely, as the French grandmaster will be granted a spot in the Candidates if Wei Yi gets match victory. | Photo: Niki Riga

12/19/2019 – In the last Fast & Furious show of 2019, IM Robert Ris tackles the current theoretical state of the Two Knights defence. 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!

12/19/2019 – Rumour has it that the attraction of chess stems from its appeal to the intellect — the player is in control — and luck plays no role. If so, how to explain blunders and mistakes and players’ reference to luck. RUNE VIK-HANSEN explores factors beyond our control favourably influencing the outcome, debunks a few myths about chess playing and aspires to show how luck in chess differs from "lottery luck." With luck a possible part of chess, what might be the implications? Can the human ego handle the blow? Will it reduce the status of the royal game? Will it deepen our understanding, perception and appreciation of chess and ourselves or will we (GASP!) quit chess? Or…might luck even come to our rescue in our darkest moments?

12/19/2019 – Ian Nepomniachtchi drew Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in their semi-final rematch encounter to reach the final of the Jerusalem Grand Prix. The Russian is now one match win away from securing a spot in the Candidates, as Vachier-Lagrave is still leading the overall standings of the Grand Prix by a single point. David Navara and Wei Yi signed another draw, which means the winner will be decided in tiebreaks. | Photo: Niki Riga

12/18/2019 – Arica is a lively port city on the Pacific coast of Chile, not far from the Atacama Desert. An Open with international appeal has been played here for a few years. Alexey Shirov tops the ranking list and started with 5 out of 5. | Live games and video of Round 6 from 19:30 UTC (21:30 CET / 3:30 PM EST)

12/18/2019 – This week IM Merijn van Delft once again brings you his analysis of one of his own games, from the recent Dutch League weekend this time, which he considers quite sharp. Plus a bonus "experimental rook sacrifice"! 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).

12/18/2019 – Looking for a holiday gift for your chess-fan friend or relative? The current World No.2, being a 1.e4 player his entire life, has shared his deep knowledge about the Ruy Lopez in a 3-DVD series, acclaimed by amateurs and professionals alike. In 2018, Fabiano Caruana achieved one of the most prestigious honours in the history of the game: he qualified for a match for the World Chess Championship. He lost, but left many surprised as to how he out-prepared and out-played Magnus in the classical portion of the match. TANMAY SRINATH takes a closer look in this comprehensive review.