On tour with ChessBase

2/13/2018 – Tools that run in the background and help you when you want help are a fine thing. One such tool is the WebApp "My Games Cloud". It helps you to organise interesting games, allows you to easily find games you discovered on the newssite, and helps you playing chess when you are travelling.
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Pawns and kings and complications

2/13/2018 – Pawn endings often reveal how surprising and beautiful chess can be. But pawn endings also often reveal how complicated the game can be.

Solution to a truly remarkable study

2/12/2018 – Our readers called it "devilish" and "insane" — the study shown to us by Hans Böhm during the Tata Steel Chess Tournament had people really straining their minds — and computers. Today we give you the solution and tell you who won the prize (a signed version of Fritz 16). But more importantly, we provide a full background of the study, published by Dutch composer Gijs van Breukelen, a number of years after it had been seen by friends — including the great Mikhail Tal.

Simon Says — Tradewise Gibraltar action Part 2

2/12/2018 – In this Simon Says, Simon Williams will be taking a look at the best moves and games from the tournament voted chess "open of the year". Come and join the show for lots of entertaining chess! Watch live from 18:00 CET (12 Noon EST). Puzzles, free sample and information inside... | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Chess960: Two wins on day three

2/12/2018 – On the third day of the Chess960 match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, both players scored points. Nakamura won the fifth game; Carlsen won game six and remains in the lead, as the players battle for a prize fund of about 153,000 euros (1.5 million Norwegian kroner). The winner receives 900,000 Norwegian kroner (about 92,000 euros), the loser 600,000 crowns (61,000 euros). | Photo: Lennart Ootes / frchess.com

Exporting diagrams from ChessBase 14

2/12/2018 – If you write about chess in print or if you want to prepare printed training material you might want to insert diagrams into your text. With ChessBase 14 this is easy. In fact, there is more than one way to spice up your chess text with diagrams.
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Speelman's Agony #70

2/11/2018 – Fancy Jon taking a look at your games? Send them in! If you appear in 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!

Chess960: Carlsen grabs a point from Nakamura

2/11/2018 – Magnus Carlsen is the first to score in the "unofficial Fischer Random Chess World Championship" match. After a draw in game three, Carlsen came back with the white pieces, and pulled a rabbit out of a hat, winning a queen and pawn ending that looked to be headed for a near certain draw. Game 5 starts Sunday at 17:00 CET (11:00 AM EST). | Photo: Maria Emelianova / Chess.com

Chess 4 math, a kindergarten book

2/11/2018 – Chess 4 Math is a kindergarten book that aims to bring chess into the educational curriculum. With the tagline "Play chess, learn math and train your mind", the program aims to develop both cognitive and non-cognitive skills among children. Teachers or students do not necessarily need to have chess knowledge to understand the activities, but of course it can provide an on-ramp to competitive chess as well.

Chess960: Nakamura and Carlsen start with two draws

2/10/2018 – The Chess960 competition between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura in Hovikodden near Oslo opened yesterday afternoon with the first two rapid games. The "Fischer Random Chess" (the official name of match) in the "Henie Onstad Kunstsenter" is considered to be the "unofficial world championship" in Chess960. Both games ended in draws. Game 3 starts Saturday at 17:00 CET (11:00 AM EST). | Photo: Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg made the ceremonial first move | Maria Emelianova / Chess.com

A grandmaster opening idea in the Pirc / Modern

2/10/2018 – Priyadharshan Kannappan took a look through GM Victor Bologan's Fritztrainer "How to tame the Alekhine, Scandinavian and Pirc" and found an alternative to Bologan's suggestion for black in the line beginning 3...d5. With the aid of new analysis, he feels that Bologan's appraisal of the resulting positions is in need of an update.

Tune your tactics - Calculation training 3

2/9/2018 – A solid tactical understanding is sure to help any chess player in critical situations. Whether it is a simple exchange or a mating attack, tactics are ubiquitous. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop your tactical understanding in this series with IM Oliver Reeh and Pascal Simon! Thursday at 15:30 CET (9:30 AM EDT) it's all about calculation training!

Carlsen, Nakamura in high-stakes Chess960 match

2/9/2018 – Dubbed the "unofficial world championship in Fischer random chess" (a.k.a. Chess960), World Champion Magnus Carlsen and former Chess960 World Champion Hikaru Nakamura face off in a 16 game rapid and blitz match over five days, February 9th to 13th in Hovikodden, just outside Oslo, Norway. The psychedelic image below comes from an interactive quasi-3D animation by Pnkt design and web agency, which is also responsible for key graphics on the official site of altibox Norway Chess.

Opening disaster

2/9/2018 – The diagram shows a position from a rare Nimzo-Indian line (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 dxe4 7.fxe4 c5!?) in which Black can immediately start making pressure. White commits a single mistake and only seven moves later is plain lost.

15-year-old IM wins Moscow Open 2018

2/8/2018 – This year's Moscow Open was strong, if not outstanding — 16 players sported Elo ratings of 2500 or more, and three came in over 2600. But the surprise winner was 15-year-old IM Semen Lomasov, who started as the twelfth seed but left all the favourites behind, winning the tournament clear with the impressive score of eight points from nine games.

ACM: Cat and Mouse with Vassily Ivanchuk

2/8/2018 – American Chess Magazine #5 is out, featuring a dashing Magnus "Clark Kent" Carlsen on the cover. The issue is packed with great stories, and we present the annotated game from Vassily Ivanchuk's World Cup run. That prompted ACM reader Art Jensen to send in this photo of his own cat "Taz" enjoying the article! The issue also includes reviews of two ChessBase DVDs.

Chess in prisons makes a difference

2/8/2018 – Carl Portman is an English chess player who wrote a unique book on chess. This is not another theoretical book, this is a legacy book as he likes to call it titled 'Chess Behind Bars' by Quality Chess. In his interview with Amruta Mokal for ChessBase India, Carl talks about why he decided to start Chess in Prison voluntarily in England, what motivates him to continue working on this project, how successful he was in this unique project, how he tries to push this in governors' prison agenda, different situations he had to face and how he dealt with it.

How to save your games at playchess.com?

2/7/2018 – Ever wonder how you save your Playchess games? The answer to this question might come as a surprise: you do not need to save them! Why? Because the games are saved automatically. Here's a quick explanation how this works and where you can see the games you have saved.
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Jan Timman's birthday study tournament

2/7/2018 – Jan Timman turned 66 years old on December 14th, 2017, and received an unusual gift from his friend of 50 years, IM Hans Bohm: a study competition launched in his honour. 66 composers from around the world competed for a 2000 euro prize fund. Noted study expert Yochanan Afek brings us the highlights — pull up a chair, settle in, and enjoy. | Pictured (clockwise from left): The jury: Jan Timman, Hans Böhm, Yochanan Afek, Harold van der Heijden | Photo: Dorette van der Heijden

Rapid match Hou Yifan vs Anatoly Karpov

2/7/2018 – The northern Chinese city of Harbin was the venue for a friendly competition between Hou Yifan and Anatoly Karpov. Over two days, the pair contested six rapid games. Karpov won the match 3½ : 2½. These days the 66-year-old Karpov rarely competes in serious tournaments. But he is still dangerous. | Photo: Imsa.cn

Filatov remains head of Russian Chess Federation

2/6/2018 – On Saturday, February 3, the Russian Chess Federation held presidential elections. The current president Andrey Filatov started the day facing several challengers, notably Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the current FIDE president, who is expected to stand for reelection to the body in September at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi. Ilyumzhinov received support from an unlikely source in former ECU president Silvio Danailov, but ultimately Ilyumzhinov withdrew his bid before the actually voting was held, and Filatov was easily returned to office, along with his team. | Photo: ruchess.ru

The Power Play Show

2/6/2018 – Tuesday at 6pm UK time Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free. Daniel King will be discussing a positional masterpiece by Levon Aronian. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

The Weekly Show with Lawrence Trent

2/6/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CET (5pm UK time, Noon EST) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show, Lawrence will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week features games from the German Bundesliga.

Checks — and how to escape them

2/6/2018 – "All rook endings are drawn", is an often quoted witticism. However, things are not that simple. In fact, a lot of rook endings are won — provided the side that has an advantage knows what to do with this advantage. Which, of course, is easier said than done.