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).

Komodo 13 comes out tomorrow

5/20/2019 – This program thinks like no other chess engine in the world. Inspired by the ideas of AlphaZero and Leela, the authors set out to implement a "Monte Carlo Tree Search". The result: Komodo 13 MCTS – an engine which looks for candidate moves in an incredible new way, and finds moves no other engine can. It enhances the traditional brute force engine that has reached well over 3400 points on the Elo scale.

Bu Xiangzhi and Lei Tingjie win IMSA Mind Games Blitz 2019

5/20/2019 – The IMSA Mind games Rapid section had been won by Anton Korobov and Alexandra Kosteniuk. After three days of rapid, it was now time for 22 rounds of 3'+2" blitz. Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi played a solid and stable event and with 14½/22 took home the gold. The silver was won by Korobov and the bronze by Rapport. In the women's section it was a fierce fight to the finish line between Lei Tingjie and Kosteniuk. The Chinese player won the gold, Kosteniuk the silver and Tan Zhongyi bronze.

Moscow GP: Duda and Rabjabov are knocked out by So and Nakamura

5/20/2019 – Two rapid games were enough for Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura to take down Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Teimour Radjabov in the first-round tie-breaks of the Moscow Grand Prix. Both Americans had White in the first encounter and scored right off the bat. While Nakamura was never in big danger in the return game, Duda posed many problems to So with the white pieces. Both encounters finished drawn, however. | Photo: World Chess

Development of the Bryntse Gambit

5/19/2019 – Our grandmaster columnist JON SPEELMAN reveals an embarrassing mishap at the closing dinner of the London Chess Classic and continues his investigation of games in the "Bryntse Gambit" queen sacrifice in the opening (on move six!) with theoretical contributions from a Polish IM by the name of Wladyslav Krol. Send in your own games! Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account!

Moscow GP: Only two match-ups go to tie-breaks

5/19/2019 – A day full of exciting chess at the Moscow Grand Prix ended up with six players qualifying to the second round without needing rapid and blitz tie-breaks. Daniil Dubov, Wei Yi, Alexander Grischuk, Peter Svidler, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Radoslaw Wojtaszek secured their spots in the quarter-finals, while Wesley So defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda to tie the score, and Teimour Radjabov signed another quick draw with Hikaru Nakamura. | Photo: World Chess

Moscow GP: Three winners on opening day

5/18/2019 – Ian Nepomniachtchi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radek Wojtaszek won with the white pieces at the start of the FIDE Grand Prix in Moscow, which means Levon Aronian, Wesley So and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov will need to push for a win on Saturday if they want to survive the first round. Three match-ups ended with quick draws, while Peter Svidler and Anish Giri accepted the draws offered by Nikita Vitiugov and Daniil Dubov in games that could have easily kept going. | Photo: World Chess

IMSA Live

5/18/2019 – In Hengshui, China, the IMSA World Master Championships began. IMSA stands for International Mind Sports Association and in Hengshui some of the world's best players in games such as Go, Bridge, Checkers, etc. meet to fight for money and fame. The chess players challenge each other in rapid and blitz. Day 5 of the tournament and day 2 of the blitz starts May 18th at 13:00 local time (7:00 CEST, 1:00 EDT). Follow the games live, with commentary.

Anjelina on Kasparov vs Deep Blue

5/17/2019 – 22 years ago Garry Kasparov played an ill-fated match against Deep Blue. There were many interesting visitors at the event in New York, amongst them a young Women's Grandmaster who, in an interview, said: "I don't think it's my place to criticize a World Champion, but ...". She went on to give a frank opinion of Kasparov's strategy. Today Anjelina Belakovskaia, who is doing remarkable work for American chess (and finance), turns fifty. FREDERIC FRIEDEL looks back at his first encounter with her, and the early days of ChessBase Magazine.

The Power Play Show: "Tony Miles"

5/17/2019 – Friday at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, Noon EDT) Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! Today: "An Endgame by Tony Miles". All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

Ambush

5/17/2019 – Black's 20...Qd5! in the diagram just feels right, with a concrete bonus — the game continuation 21.Qxa6? can be directly refuted. Watch the potential of all black pieces!

Elite Chess Training!

5/16/2019 – What would you do if you could have a different chess training regimen every day of the week? Beginning Monday with Openings and finishing Friday with Tactics? How should one train to be ready for the next weekend tournament? And where to find different trainers and coaches? CBM 189 is packed with videos by different titled players. It was created with a chess training regimen in mind, and will give you a chance to keep every single chess muscle trained, much like a sort of gym for chess. Reading Chessbase Magazine will be the experience of a lifetime.

Korobov and Kosteniuk dominate IMSA Rapid 2019

5/16/2019 – The rapid section of IMSA chess tournament came to conclusion. Anton Korobov emerged as the sole leader in the open section after a swashbuckling 4.0/4 on Day 2 and a steady 2.0/3 on Day 3 of the event. He won the tournament with a margin of 1½ points! In the women's section it was Alexandra Kosteniuk who dominated the last day with a clinical 4.0/4 sweep to bag the first prize. In this report we bring to you the glimpses of exciting action from days 2 and 3.

Fast and Furious: The Berlin with 5.Re1

5/16/2019 – Today on the Fast & Furious show we will have a look at how White can try to beat the Berlin with sharp play, starting with 5.Re1! The live show at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT) 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.

Polish Ch: Two leaders in the Open, Socko ahead in the Women's

5/16/2019 – The Trading Room of the Warsaw Stock Exchange has received yet again the Polish Chamionships. This year, the events are taking place from the 11th until the 19th of May, with the two top finishers in each group getting spots in the Polish Olympiad team. In the Open, Kamil Dragun and Bartosz Sock are sharing first place on 3½/5, while in the Women's Monicka Socko is the sole leader on 4½/5. | Photo: Marek Skrzypczak

Review: "Marin's English Love - A complete repertoire for White after 1.c4"

5/16/2019 – What to do play with White? Mihail Marin, Romanian Grandmaster and renowned author, knows the answer to this difficult question: follow your passion! For Marin this is 1.c4 - the English, an opening Marin knows and loves. To share this love - and to give readers a repertoire with White - Marin recently made two ChessBase DVDs about the English. FIDE Master Mark Haast also likes to play the English - and he liked what Marin has to say about it.

Game of the Week: Topalov vs Amin

5/15/2019 – Ideas and strategies in Grandmaster games can be quite instructive. IM Merijn van Delft presents games like these every Wednesday. On this week's show: Topalov vs Amin from the Grand Chess Tour rapid/blitz tournament in Abidjan. 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).

First leg of the Grand Prix Series kicks off Friday in Moscow

5/15/2019 – The race to qualify to the 2020 Candidates Tournament begins this Friday, with the first leg of the Grand Prix Series in Moscow. The tournament is a 16-player knock-out that will use similar rules to the ones seen at previous World Cups. Only one player in the field has a rating below 2700, although we all know that current World Rapid Champion Daniil Dubov (2690) is completely capable of upsetting any member of the elite. | Photo: worldchess.com

Bisik-bisik with GM Daniel Fernandez

5/15/2019 – In Malay "Bisik-bisik" means whispering privately but candidly about a certain topic, and this is what Edwin Lam did with GM Daniel Fernandez. Fernandez, who regularly annotates games for ChessBase, was born in England, lived in Singapore as a junior, has a mathematics degree from Cambridge, England, speaks several languages and currently studies in Australia. | Photo: Daniel Fernandez at the Sydney International Open 2019 | Photo: Helen Milligan

4th IMSA mind games begin in Hengshui, China

5/15/2019 – The International Mind Sports Association World Masters Championship is taking place in Hengshui, China from 13th until 18th of May. It includes 5 sports — bridge, chess, draughts, go, and xiangqi — with 17 disciplines in total. 170 players have gathered from 36 countries. 16 players in open and 16 in women will indulge in 11 rounds of rapid and 11 rounds of blitz. After four rounds on day 1 we have Dominguez and Fedoseev leading in the open, while Mariya Muzychuk, Nana Dzagnidze Valentina Gunina and Zhansaya Abdumalik lead in the women's section.

Simon Says — Beauty and Fun

5/14/2019 – In this Simon Says, "games which ooze beauty, games which are a joy to behold." Who wouldn't want some of that? On-demand starting at the usual time: 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT).

Vassily Ivanchuk wins Capablanca Memorial for the eighth time!

5/14/2019 – After scoring a clutch victory over Adhiban, Vassily Ivanchuk won his eighth Capablanca Memorial title on Monday night. He had arrived in the final round tied in first with David Antón, but the latter could not convert a rook endgame a pawn up against Carlos Albornoz, thus allowing the Ukrainian to claim clear first. Samuel Sevian also won in round ten and caught up with Antón on 6½ points. | Photo: Abel Rojas / Mi Columna Deportiva

Endgame Magic with Karsten Mueller and Nihal Sarin

5/14/2019 – More endgame training with an Indian prodigy! Karsten is joined by 14-year-old GM Nihal Sarin. Live at 13:00 UTC (15:00 CEST; 9:00 AM EDT) and on-demand for ChessBase account holders. Don't have an account yet? You can register a free 90-day account to watch!

The crucial d-file

5/14/2019 – Rook endings often have drawish tendencies. But some rook endings that are theoretically drawn are sometimes still very difficult to defend.