Believe it or not, a fortress can hold

5/28/2019 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen once famously quipped that he doesn't believe in fortresses. But sometimes fortresses are strong enough to save a draw despite a heavy material disadvantage. White to play and draw...

Moscow GP Final: A Grünfeld, a draw

5/27/2019 – Alexander Grischuk had the white pieces in the first classical game of the final at the Moscow Grand Prix. Ian Nepomniachtchi played the Grünfeld and showed great preparation to equalize and even get some hopes of getting an advantage. Correct play by both sides, however, led to a 38-move draw. After the draw, a decisive result on Tuesday will put an end to the tournament. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Magnus Carlsen wins his fifth title of the year at Lindores Abbey

5/27/2019 – Magnus Carlsen won the fifth tournament of the year 2019. But things were not so simple for the World Champion. He struggled quite a bit in this tournament and was losing against Karjakin as well as Ding Liren in rounds 5 and 6. Through sheer fighting spirit and hanging in there, he was able to win the first place with 3½/6. IM Sagar Shah who was present at the venue, brings you all the action.

NEW: Learn from the endgames of the World Champions

5/27/2019 – All world champions leave their mark on chess. Past champions had different styles but each and every one of them played the endgame exceptionally well. Steinitz laid the first foundations, Lasker embodied fighting spirit, Capablanca pure techique, Alekhine attack, Tal magic, Petrosian defence, Smyslov harmony. Let one of the greatest endgame experts, Karsten Müller, improve your endgame skills with this historical review — in 13 hours of interactive video lectures!

Understanding Le Système de Londres avec 2.Ff4

5/27/2019 – Chess players in the past spoke many languages to be able to travel to different countries, and to read chess literature, which in that time was scarce. Today, while some still do, with the advent of computers and a globalized age we've witnessed an expansion of English as a lingua franca, much like Latin in its day. However, ChessBase's production of DVDs in different languages (German, Spanish and now French) continues apace, so we can stir our curiosity for foreign languages, and eventually be able to follow a GM teaching a fashionable opening in his own mother tongue. Italian-expat in America DAVIDE NASTASIO tried just that with GM Christian Bauer's London System.

Romantic Steinitz

5/26/2019 – As is well known, Wilhelm Steinitz justified positional chess theory and thus ended the Romantic era. It is less well-known that Steinitz himself was previously a great chess romantic. A contribution by Stephan Oliver Platz. | Photo: Austrian National Library

Ding Liren and cold stand between Carlsen and Lindores Abbey Chess Stars 2019 victory!

5/26/2019 – Yes, you read that right! The two crucial factors that will make Carlsen's task difficult of winning the Lindores Abbey Chess Stars 2019 are Ding Liren, who has fared excellently against Carlsen in recent times and the other being cold. The tournament is being played in a distillery and Magnus is feeling quite cold in there. After three rounds Carlsen and Ding Liren are leading with 2.0/3, Karjakin is on 1½/3 while Vishy is on the last spot with ½/3. A detailed day one report by IM Sagar Shah from the venue.

Moscow GP: Nepomniachtchi reaches the final

5/26/2019 – An all-Russian final will kick off Monday in Moscow, as Ian Nepomniachtchi will face Alexander Grischuk to decide the champion of the first leg of the Grand Prix. 'Nepo' defeated Radoslaw Wojtaszek on tie-breaks, with a win in the fourth rapid game, after the first three encounters finished drawn. Curiously, Grischuk and Nepomniachtchi have the exact same live rating at the time. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Ready for Reti

5/25/2019 – Many will know the Austro-Hungarian (and later Czechoslovakian) Richard Réti as a world-class player, but also as a great composer of endgame studies, so — in time for his 130th birthday — we continue our exploration of European chess composers with him. As it would go too far to analyse his entire biography, just the important details will be given here, while also exploring the history of the Réti manoeuvre. | Photo: Ernst & Cesanek, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

All eyes on Lindores Abbey as Carlsen, Anand & co. gather for a two-day rapid

5/25/2019 – The chess world was following the FIDE Grand Prix happening in Moscow. There's the women's candidates tournament coming up and there is also the Norway Chess super tournament that will take place in a few days. Amidst all of these big events, a small town Lindores Abbey in Scotland decided to host one of the strongest rapid tournaments on 25th and 26th of May. How did Lindores decide to hold such a strong event in such a short period? Who are the organizers? How did they manage to get Carlsen, Anand, Ding Liren and Karjakin playing? IM Sagar Shah who is present at the venue brings you an opening report.

Moscow GP: Grischuk takes down Nakamura

5/25/2019 – While Ian Nepomniachtchi and Radoslaw Wojtaszek drew their second semi-final game and are set to decide their fate on tie-breaks, Alexander Grischuk defeated Hikaru Nakamura with the white pieces and is the first finalist of the Moscow Grand Prix. Grischuk was better out of the opening and kept increasing the pressure until Nakamura blundered away the game. Expert analysis by GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Iweta Rajlich and Kamil Dragun win the Polish Championship

5/24/2019 – At the Polish national championships in Warsaw, the two Elo favourites only came in second place. The Open Championship was won by Kamil Dragun, who spent several years in the USA as a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Iweta Rajlich took the Women's Champion title, finishing a full point clear of Polish women's number one Monika Socko. | Photos: Marek Skrzypczak / mp2019.pzszach.pl

Pure elegance

5/24/2019 – In the diagram position the white king seems reasonably protected, but the game continuation gives Black an irresistible attack. What would be your idea?

Moscow GP: No reason to press on

5/24/2019 – Alexander Grischuk and Radoslaw Wojtaszek drew their first semi-final encounters with the black pieces, and will move first against Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi in Friday's return games. Both draws were signed with plenty of play on the boards, but given the format the players decided it was too risky to keep going. Expert analysis by GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

ChessBase Apps: Live Chess

5/23/2019 – ChessBase invites you to follow the top players and the top tournaments live — with the WebApp "Live Chess". This section of the ChessBase ecosystem offers more than just viewing the games: you can analyse in our full-featured game viewer, check current theory, tweet the game, open the games in the Live Database, MyGames or Fritz and much more. Try it! | Drawing: ChessBase
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Moscow GP: Grischuk, Nepo and Nakamura advance

5/23/2019 – Only two rapid games in each of the three quarter-finals matches were enough to complete the draw for the semi-finals at the first leg of the Grand Prix in Moscow. Daniil Dubov, Wesley So and Wei Yi were knocked out by Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi, respectively. The first games of the semis will be played on Thursday, with Nakamura set to face Grischuk and Nepomniachtchi paired up against Wojtaszek. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

A "futuristic" Game of the Week: Dubov vs Giri

5/22/2019 – The FIDE Grand Prix tournament in Moscow is played in KO format, starting with 16 players. Top seeds Giri and Mamedyarov were eliminated in the very first round, which pretty much illustrates that everyone can beat anyone in this elite tournament. The only downside is that some players prefer quick draws, to save their energy for the tie-break. Nevertheless, some amazing chess is being played and tonight we'll focus today on the futuristic game Dubov vs Giri. The live show 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. Merijn is live at 18:00 UTC (20:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT).

Moscow GP: Wojtaszek is the first one in the semis

5/22/2019 – Peter Svidler was the first player to be eliminated from the Moscow Grand Prix quarter-finals, after Radoslaw Wojtaszek defeated him with the white pieces on Tuesday. Alexander Grischuk and Wei Yi had difficult positions against Wesley So and Ian Nepomniachtchi, respectively, but they ended up getting a second draw in their match-ups after all. GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ analyses the games. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Why IMSA had “Men’s” not “Open” Chess

5/21/2019 – Some press coverage of the 2019 IMSA World Masters tournament, including articles on ChessBase, mentioned a "Women’s" section and an "Open" section. Those reporters erred: In fact, there was a Women’s section and a Men’s section but no Open section. ALEXEY ROOT explores the advantages and disadvantages of Men’s sections, historically and today, in chess and in other sports. | Photo: hengshui2019.fide.com

The Weekly Show: The French Top 12

5/21/2019 – On the show today, the French team championship is taking place in Brest, and Lawrence was intrigued by some upset wins scored by 2200 players. A harbinger of the improvement of average standard? Live beginning at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 12 Noon EDT) 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.

NEW: Simon Williams: The Colle–Koltanowski System and Torre Attack

5/21/2019 – NEW: A pair of new releases from the popular English grandmaster Simon Williams are out today. The Torre Attack and the Colle–Koltanowski System work perfectly against most Black setups and will be a perfect accompanying DVD to Williams' earlier best-seller on the London System. Info and sample videos...

Two knights and a pawn too many

5/21/2019 – It is strange but two knights alone cannot force checkmate. However, things are different when the defending side still has a pawn at or behind the so-called Troitzky-line. It also depends on where the defending king is placed. Karsten Mueller explores some of the secrets of this unusual endgame.

Moscow GP: Drawing is better than losing

5/21/2019 – The quarter-finals of the Moscow Grand Prix (Watch LIVE) kicked off on Monday with draws on all four boards, here annotated by GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ. Alexander Grischuk and Wesley So were the last ones to leave the playing hall, after signing a 28-move draw — Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi drew in 31 moves, but signed the score sheets earlier. The highlight of the day was Daniil Dubov's unorthodox plan with Black against Hikaru Nakamura. | Photo: World Chess

Simon Says — A topical line in the Caro-Kann

5/20/2019 – In this Simon Says we look at pros and cons of this variation in the Caro-Kann: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.♘c3 (or ♘d2) dxe4 4.♘xe4 ♞f6 5.♘xf6 exf6! Watch live for free starting at the usual time: 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT).