#AskYifan: Q&A with Hou Yifan on ChessBase!

10/11/2016 – As a chess fan, what's your daily schedule like? If you are a student, you will probably attend classes and work on assignments, then follow chess games online, play a ton of blitz. But whatever you are doing right now, put it on hold! Hou Yifan, the Women’s World Champion, is in Hamburg, at the ChessBase HQ. And at 7 p.m. CEST on Wednesday she will be doing an interaction session with everybody, via Playchess and ChessBase’s Official Facebook and Twitter handles!

In the firing line

10/11/2016 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Today on the playchess server, 4 pm: Endgame Magic with Karsten Müller and Vidit Gujrathi!

Millionaire Chess 3: Jones, Swiercz, Cordova, and Zhou

10/10/2016 – The rounds five to seven were among the most intense, as they meant the cutoff for those who would get to see a big payday on Millionaire Monday, and those who would be left fighting the last two 'normal' rounds. After the dust settled in round seven, every section saw playoffs needed to choose the qualifiers. It wasn't just about the very top GMs in the Open section, as even players rated under 1200 will fight for thousands of dollars!

Pavel Eljanov wins Isle of Man

10/10/2016 – Two words really summarize the last round of the Isle of Man International: brilliancies and tragedies, and there were plenty of both to go around. Pavel Eljanov concluded his brilliant campaign with a final draw against Wesley So, securing first place. Fabiano Caruana managed to level with him after beating Michael Adams in a big game, but came second on tiebreak. Read the tales of joy and woe with GM analysis.

A truly historic game!

10/9/2016 – In the last round of the Isle of Man International 2016 world's youngest IM, R. Praggnanandhaa, was up against Axel Bachmann. The Paraguayan GM started with an offbeat opening that soon turned into an opposite side castling. The 11-year-old was on top of his game has he started playing with great energy and imagination, and the value of each move became very high in this sharp battle. That's when Bachmann went wrong and Praggnandhaa was all over the white king, scoring a win with the black pieces in 18 moves against a 2645 opponent!

Isle of Man R08: How to mate with a bishop and knight!

10/9/2016 – In this report you will learn how grandmasters above 2700 Elo are able to make short draws which somehow we, normal players, are never able to! You will also see Shirov's attacking flair, Naiditisch's tactical acumen and last but not the least you will learn the technique of how to mate with a bishop and knight. Hou Yifan got that position and the reigning World Champion didn't face any problems! Sagar Shah tells you how it is done – in an important instructional video.

Third edition of Millionaire Chess starts

10/8/2016 – The third edition of Millionaire Chess is now underway, and once more this chess festival offers unique opportunities to chess players of all strengths and origin. This year the event is taking place in Atlantic City with a more modest entry fee, but the philosophy has not changed, with prizes for all that can be life-changing. The field brings dozens of grandmasters from all over the world, plus amateurs seeking fame and fortune. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

Isle of Man 07: Harika beats Hou Yifan!

10/8/2016 – This was the 23rd encounter between them and it was the first time that the Indian emerged victorious! Yes, Harika Dronavalli was able to beat the reigning World Champion Hou Yifan at the seventh round of the Isle of Man International 2016. In another positive result for Indians, 18-year-old S.L.Narayanan crushed his Armenian opponent Sergei Movsesian in just 27 moves! Vidit Gujrathi lost on the top board against Pavel Eljanov when he overstretched in what was an equal position. Sagar Shah reports from an Indian perspective.

The Hijab protest in chess

10/7/2016 – Who is currently in the news, which chess player is dominating the headlines in the straight press? It is not Magnus, Nepo or Anish, but a 22-year-old US/Georgian IM who is boycotting the Women's World Championship in Tehran because of the requirement to wear a hijab of headscarf. Failure to do so in Iran can result in a fine or a prison term. This has unleashed a flurry of attention in the international press.

Isle of Man Rd 6 - Pavel Eljanov leads with 5.5/6

10/7/2016 – Alexey Shirov started the Isle of Man tournament with 4.0/4 but in round five surprisingly decided to use the option of a "bye". He did not play the round and took a rest which brought - or cost, according to perspective - him half a point. In round six Shirov was back at the board but all his fire seemed gone. He played with Black against Pavel Eljanov and found no recipe against Eljanov's cool and creative positional play and was convincingly outplayed. After six rounds Eljanov is now sole leader with 5.5/6.

A classic with a twist

10/7/2016 – Tactics can seem deceptively simple, particularly when seeing an engine analysing grandmaster games. Strange, however, how difficult it is to find the right move and to calculate variations properly when playing yourself. It is easier if you solve tactical puzzles regularly. In the ChessBase Magazine and his tactics column Oliver Reeh helps you to do so.

Just Checking: Jonathan Speelman in "New in Chess"

10/7/2016 – Thanks to his rise to the very top in the chess world French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave made it to the cover of the new issue of "New in Chess". But inside the current issue, in the regular "Just Checking" column is an interesting interview with Jonathan Speelman, grandmaster, mathematician, former World Championship candidate and popular ChessBase author.

Ian Nepomniachtchi wins Tal Memorial

10/7/2016 – After a power rush in the early rounds with 4.5/6, Ian Nepomniachtchi was unable to maintain the momentum as he finished with three draws. This allowed other players to make their move and try to change their fate, but it never worked out. Anish Giri, who trailed by only half a point, had a golden opportunity as he held a completely winning position, but a slip on move 41 cost him his advantage, and a drew ensued. Mamedyarov was the only win as he beat Kramnik. Report, games, and GM analysis.

Karpov and Timman play match in Murmansk

10/6/2016 – This year the Russian city of Murmansk celebrates its 100th birthday. Part of the celebrations is the 4. Basamro International Chess tournament, a tournament with junior teams from Russia, Rotterdam, Sussex, St. Petersburg and Paris. Part of the celebrations is also a four-game match between Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman. Karpov and Timman are old rivals and after their match in Murmansk they will have played more than a hundred games against each other. The match starts today. Follow it live on playchess.com.

Why not study chess with Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So, and MVL?

10/6/2016 – ChessBase Magazine #174 is out! With analyses by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Boris Gelfand, Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, tournament reports, a masterclass from Biel with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and lots of training material. Not to forget the opening surveys that help you to get inspiration for your opening repertoire and to surprise your opponents in the opening. To stay ahead of your competition, you need this!

Isle of Man Rd5 - Upsets and superstitions

10/6/2016 – Some days you have quiet rounds where the top seeds do their business without much fuss, most of them win with a few draws but the fifth round of the Isle of Man tournament saw a few big names have a real setback. Second seed Hikaru Nakamura, former world championship challenger Peter Leko and top Paraguayan GM Axel Bachmann were all defeated by lower-rated opponents in very sharp games. Report with games and test positions.

Tal Memorial Rd8: Five draws, and Nepo leads

10/5/2016 – In a sense, the event was both uneventful in that it ended with five draws, yet not quite so, as it leaves Ian Nepomniachtchi in the driver’s seat going to the last round, with Anish Giri right behind. Of the five games, the two hardest fought were Levon Aronian against Li Chao, and Kramnik’s 7-plus hour battle with Tomashevsky as he tried his hardest to convert a material advantage. Report with analysis by GM Moradiabadi.

Financial Times: Inside the Home of Magnus Carlsen

10/5/2016 – Did you ever wonder how World Champion Magnus Carlsen lives? The "Financial Times" did, and asked journalist Mihir Bose and photographer Ilja C Hendel to visit the world's best chessplayer and take a look into the "home and (mind)" of Magnus Carlsen. When talking to Bose Carlsen revealed amongst other things a great interest in political figures and military history.

Millionaire Chess: an interview with Maurice Ashley

10/5/2016 – On 6th October the 3rd Millionaire Chess tournament starts in Atlantic City. And again it is a tournament in which players can win a lot of money. Chess organiser, author, coach and commentator GM Maurice Ashley is one of the driving forces behind the Millionaire Chess tournament. In an interview he openly talks about expectations, this year's tournament, Chess in the US and why he is so enthusiastic about the game.

Isle of Man Rd 4 - Shirov takes sole lead with 4.0/4

10/5/2016 – Alexei Shirov is famous for his wild tactical play and his intuitive sacrifices. However, in the top encounter of round four in the Isle of Man tournament he defeated the young and tremendously talented Indian Grandmaster Santosh Gujrathi Vidit with dry but strong technical chess to take the sole lead with 4.0/4. Half a point behind follow five players with 3.5/4 each. One of them is Wesley So who won with Black against Julio Granda Zuniga, showing very energetic play.

Why bother to bone up on Steinitz? (1/2)

10/5/2016 – "I have always been hooked on the game’s history," writes IM Craig Pritchett, a leading Steinitz authority, in the British magazine CHESS. "As I struggle to keep my FIDE rating afloat into my chess-playing seniority, I have taken to writing books on great players, their styles, times and significance. I have never had the slightest doubt that striving to understand the contribution to the game’s development made by Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) and others is not just intrinsically of interest, but that it also positively benefits our own chess.

Tal Round 7: Peace in Moscow

10/4/2016 – As the title suggests, there were five draws today in Moscow after we had been spoiled with hard-fought, violent rounds. Several of the games saw little to no chances for either side to win, or even create real threats. Nepomniachtchi keeps his half point lead over Giri, who had amazing news yesterday! On the rest day his son Daniel was born! Congratulations to him and Sopiko.

The World Youth Championships end in Khanty-Mansiysk

10/4/2016 – With a populuation of about three million Armenia is a small country. But a country with a strong chess tradition and lots of talent. At the World Youth Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia, Armenia won two of six possible (U18 Open, U18w, U16 Open, U16w, U14 Open and U14w) gold medals. The four other gold medals went to Russia, China, India and Greece. All in all, Russia won the most medals: seven from eighteen.

The stalemate box

10/4/2016 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun!