Queen in the crossfire

10/27/2017 – Black has just transferred his queen to the kingside with 18...Qa5-h5 (diagram), planning after 19.g4 Qg6 to challenge the mighty white queen e4. Will he get away with this manoeuvre — or has he built on sand?

ChessBase Reader 2017

10/27/2017 – Are you on the lookout for easy to use Windows software that can read all relevant data formats used in the saving of chess games and positions? If so, you absolutely have to install the latest version of our ChessBase Reader 2017 on your computer. It's a free download!
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1st Laos International Open

10/27/2017 – Laos is not a country that garners many international headlines, much less regarding its chess scene. But Singaporean contributor Edwin Lam reports that they seem to have made good progress, particularly in the area of Chess in Schools, which has the strong support of the government. Most importantly, they are hitting key milestones in chess education at the grassroots level, amongst administrators (for instance via FIDE Arbiters' seminars), and in tournament play (running local events). And come this January, 2018, they will be hosting Laos' first-ever international open!

Hoogeveen Tiebreak

10/26/2017 – Vassily Ivanchuk took on Wei Yi and Baskaran Adhiban faced Jorden van Foreest in a rapid tiebreak in Hoogeveen. Ivanchuk and Van Foreest both won 2-0. Full report on the second half coming Friday. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

A chess tournament on a train

10/26/2017 – The 7th annual Chess Train tournament rolled into Prague's main station after five days and nine rounds of rapid chess October 13th to 17th. With games played entirely on board a dedicated train from Czech Railways, this is a one-of-a-kind event that is a lot of fun — so much so that some players return year after year. International Master Roman Khaetsky from Ukraine took top honors, as he finished undefeated, yielding just three draws. | Photos: Anezka Kruzikova

A chess tournament at sea

10/26/2017 – The "Chess tournament at sea", organised by Jörg Hickl, recently set out from Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, and is currently nearing its destination in Miami, Florida, on a route that takes it via the Azores, St. Maarten and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Among the special features, that make this seven round Swiss open unusual: the players will cover 7800 km during the tournament! German entrant Michael Dombrowsky, Elo rated 1997 (the number two seed!), sent us this "postcard".

Shattered illusions: "The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein"

10/25/2017 – David Bronstein is a chess legend. In his critical memoir, The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein, Genna Sosonko shares memories of the life and the career of the grandmaster who has inspired the chess world with his ideas and his games, and who in 1951 almost became World Champion. | Photo (right): Anne Fürstenberg

Diego Flores Champion of Argentina 2017

10/25/2017 – The 92nd Final Argentine Superior Championship was played between October 12th and 24th. Diego Flores was undefeated scoring 9½ points in 13 rounds. His triumph increases his Elo rating by 13 points, getting him back over 2600 for the first time since 2013. In positions two, three and four, were Federico Perez Ponsa, Ernesto Real de Azua and Sandro Mareco, all with 8 / 13 points. | Photo: Carlos Ilardo

Paul Morphy Masterclass

10/25/2017 – Even at the age of 12, Paul Morphy (1837-1884) was regarded as an extraordinary chess player in the USA. But on his European tour of 1858-59 he showed himself to be also superior to players across the continent. We've taken several opportunities to celebrate Morphy of late, and now here's one more. The new masterclass DVD — the ninth in the series — we attempt to decipher the "Mythos Morphy".

The Weekly Show with Lawrence Trent

10/24/2017 – Tuesdays at 5pm UK time Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show Lawrence Trent will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from the elite chess tournaments. This week Ivanchuk vs. Wei Yi from the Hoogeveen Tournament was undoubtedly the star of the show.

Hoogeveen: A power-packed first half

10/24/2017 – After three rounds of play at the Hoogeveen Matches, Vassily Ivanchuk took the lead against the Chinese star, Wei Yi after his win in the third round. In the other match between Adhiban Baskaran and local lad, Jorden van Foreest, the Indian number five was the first to taste blood in round two but van Foreest came back strongly in the third round to level scores. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

Losing a rook = Losing the game?

10/24/2017 – Rooks are strong but passed pawns are also strong, particularly in the endgame. But who is stronger — the rook or the passed pawns? It depends!

CHESS Magazine: Opening trends

10/24/2017 – The Reti retains its seemingly inexorable grip on the top of our chart, while that club player favourite, the King’s Indian, makes a welcome return to the second spot. Elsewhere those non-c4 options after 1 d4 Nf6 continue to do well and the Kan has made gains under the patronage of Caruana, Andreikin and Artemiev. The statistics and a key game is given in this month's edition of the English chess magazine.

German League kicks off new 2017-2018 season

10/23/2017 – One of the world's strongest team events, the Bundesliga, pits 16 teams with eight boards each against each other, on seven weekends over six months for a round-robin tournament. As each team can nominate as many non-German players as money allows, top players such as Fabiano Caruana, Vishy Anand, and Anatoly Karpov, to name just a few, regularly show their skills in the league. This season's favourite is the OSG Baden-Baden, which has dominated for more than a decade. But Hockenheim and Solingen hope to have a shot at the title should Baden-Baden stumble. On the first weekend it did not.

Endgame Magic with Lawrence Trent

10/23/2017 – Lawrence Trent is an International Master from England and also a popular chess commentator and an author for ChessBase. He recorded DVD's about the Grand Prix, Two Knights System and the Morra Gambit. But tonight he joins endgame expert Karsten Müller to take a look at some endgames - from his own practice and recent tournaments. Live at 15:30 CEST (7:30 AM EST)!

Judit Polgar's Global Chess Festival

10/22/2017 – The 2017 edition of this now well-established chess festival was held last weekend in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. The festival, now in its third year, was held at a new location, and ChessBase contributor Alina l'Ami was invited to serve as an official photographer. We're thrilled to present her unique 'angles'. | Photos and report: Alina l'Ami

The Tactical Chigorin, a Review

10/21/2017 – If you are looking for a new opening against 1.d4, look no further! Here the review of an exciting DVD made by GM Williams for keeping our repertoire always spicy and fresh! Williams excels at communicating the ideas behind the openings, and here brings a dose of recent chess history to the table, noting the influence of Alexander Morozevich in the resurgence of The Chigorin.

What to watch this weekend

10/21/2017 – What are the most interesting live tournaments going on this weekend? We have compiled them conveniently in one place. Do you fancy to watch Ivanchuk take on Wei Yi in Hoogeveen? Or the new season of the German Bundesliga? Maybe the European Women's Rapid and Blitz Championships in Monaco? The start of a new Corsican Circuit, and the SPICE Cup in Saint Louis are also on tap. | Photo: Pascal Simon

9th Penang International Open: Lu a-bui register?

10/21/2017 – Lu is the Penang Hokkien slang for “You”, and A-bui is the equivalent for the English phrase “have not yet”. Hence, the headline above stands for: “Have you not registered yet?” If you haven't, here is your chance to play in the forthcoming Penang Heritage City International Chess Open 2017 that will take place in December at the World Heritage site in Malaysia.

Tune your tactics - Rook on the 7th rank

10/20/2017 – 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! Friday at 3.30 pm CEST it's all about the rook on the 7th rank!

Tactics: Triumphal march

10/20/2017 – White's activity is impressive, but she must not hesitate and allow her opponent to block the long diagonal with ...Nd4. Five times the very best and the case is closed. Can you see everything until the end?

Kramnik and the Reti (Part 2)

10/20/2017 – In the second part covering Kramnik's recent adoption of the Reti, you will find not only illustrative games, highlighting some of the ideas Vladimir Kramnik has used, but annotations of the highest order, providing deep insights into what goes on with many of the mysterious moves we see, and that engines are no help in understanding. A true masterclass by GM Alex Yermolinsky! | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

American Chess Magazine: It's cool to be smart

10/19/2017 – That's the tagline of the quarterly print magazine, which soon celebrates its one year anniversary. The 150+ page colourful glossy "Issue No. 4" recently arrived at the ChessBase office, and includes a dose of "endgame strategy" from Karsten Mueller, a review of Simon Williams' DVD on The London System and an intriguing article on Tablebases by Jon Edwards, among extensive coverage of tournaments, player interviews, and educational features.

Endgame Magic with Julian Grötzbach

10/19/2017 – Julian Grötzbach is a chess player from Hamburg. Many years ago he was an intern at ChessBase but today he joins endgame expert Karsten Müller to take a look at some endgames - from his own practice and recent tournaments. Live at 14:30 CEST (6:30 AM EST)!