Wilhelm Steinitz: A short tribute

5/18/2016 – 180 years ago, on 17th May 1836, Wilhelm Steinitz was born in Prague. In 1886 Steinitz won the first official match for the World Championship in chess against Hermann Zukertort to become the first World Champion in chess history. Steinitz is also considered to be the founder of the scientific approach to chess. A short biography and three games.

Vishy Anand in Oman

5/18/2016 – Aiming to promote chess in the sultanate, Indian icon Vishy Anand was in Muscat, the capital city of Oman, participating in a series of activities—simultaneous exhibitions, lectures, and meetings. One of the leading news portals in Oman, the Times of Oman, covered this visit in great detail, and we bring you an overview of his visit plus an in-depth interview with Vishy.

Gjakova: No player with a 100 percent score

5/17/2016 – Five rounds are played at the European Championship in Gjakova and no player can boast of a clean score. Ernesto Inarkiev (photo) and Radoslaw Wojtaszek both started with 4.0/4 but drew an entertaining game while Baadur Jobava - who also started with 4.0/4 - played a less entertaining draw. After five rounds five players lead with 4.5/5. Results, games, highlights...

Taking the shorter route

5/17/2016 – 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!

Play the openings like a GM!

5/17/2016 – On the night before his last round game Atul Dahale was faced with the eternal question: Which opening will me maximum winning chances? A victory would give him second place and US $600, a loss would mean taking home almost nothing. In this pressure filled situation a Romanian GM unexpectedly came to his rescue. Atul tells us how he was able to make one of the best opening preparations of his chess career.

ChessBase Account - Using cloud engines

5/16/2016 – It is no secret that top players are able to access powerful computers to run a chess engine from anywhere in the world using their laptops. The idea might sound complicated, requiring a technician at the very least to set up. Not so. With Fritz software you can easily set this up for yourself in a minute (really) with a minimum of know-how. Here is a video to teach you how.
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Gjakova: Three players lead with 4.0/4.

5/16/2016 – After four rounds three players lead the field at the European Championship with 4.0/4 each. Baadur Jobava played a fine game, in which he continually put pressure on his opponent. Ernesto Inarkiev was well-prepared and alert and Radoslaw Wojtaszek showed a lot of patience in a King's Indian structure which was rewarded when his opponent finally went wrong.

The wrong bishop

5/16/2016 – As you most certainly know, a bishop and a pawn will generally win against a lone king. However there is one important exception: when the pawn is on the edge of the board and the bishop does not control the promotion square. This has been known for over 500 years, but humans and especially early computers are wont to stumble in the execution. Stories, instructions and a puzzle to solve.

Developing chess for disabled children in Russia

5/16/2016 – "If you really want to do something good or change your life for the better, be determined - don’t hesitate and start to act! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." With these words in mind, Polina Torochkova established the Russian charity foundation "Country of Talents". Since its inception it has been involved in pathbreaking work in the field of chess for disabled children. In this article you can see how top players like Kramnik, Karjakin, Nepo, and others are supporting this endeavour.

Nine leaders in Gjakova

5/15/2016 – After three rounds nine players share the lead with 3.0/3 at the European Championship in Gjakova and only two of them belong to the top ten of the starting list: Radoslav Wojtaszek and Maxim Matlakov. Nine of the 15 top encounters in round three were decided, six times the Elo-favorites won, but in three games the favorites failed to win.

Anti-cheating at the Baku Olympiad

5/15/2016 – The 42nd Chess Olympiad will be held in Crystal Hall in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan (seating capacity: 25,000). After examining the location FIDE representatives were ecstatic: "I think Azerbaijan will organize the best Olympiad in the history of chess," said acting FIDE president Georgios Makropoulos. In an interview vice president Israel Gelfer described the anti-cheating measures that will be in place.

Elo Ratings: how underrated are the kids? (Part two)

5/14/2016 – In his first article studying the ratings disparities of juniors compared to adults, Ganesh Viswanath had studied the causal factors that might be responsible. In this second article, he posits, "I find that on average juniors are statistically underrated by up to 50 Elo rating points against adult players, and this bias increases with the age difference." Here is his statistical study.

Eric Rosenthal – remembering a chess friend

5/14/2016 – Swept up in the Bobby Fischer-inspired American chess awakening of the early 1970s, three high school boys from Florida, bonded over chess, travelling together to tournaments all over the state. Sadly, one of the trio, Eric, passed away in 1992. Decades later, Eric’s old chess buddies Mike and Marc conceived the idea of organizing a tournament in Eric’s honor, featuring this poignant remembrance of Eric by Marc.

2016 Russian Team Championship Rd6-10 (2/2)

5/13/2016 – In this final report on the Russian Team Championship, you will read about the trials and tribulations of being the top dog, either being beaten down to size as "Malachite" in the Higher League, or utter domination such as "Legacy Square Capital" in the Women's event, winning two rounds in advance! It had it all from guts and glory to children's delight.

Tom Hackney exhibits in World Chess Hall of Fame

5/13/2016 – Chess has always been a topic of artists and painters and some artists were also good players. One of them was Marcel Duchamp, who in the 1920s was one of the strongest players in France and even played in Olympiads. With an exhibition by British artist Tom Hackney the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis now pays tribute to Marcel Duchamp. Press Release...

New: Andrew Martin: Nimzowitsch Defence 1.e4 Nc6

5/13/2016 – If you like to play original and unusual lines, which have a solid positional base and offer good winning chances, you might want to consider playing 1...Nc6 after 1.e4, a surprisingly strong line. On his new ChessBase DVD "Nimzowitsch Defence 1.e4 Nc6" FIDE Senior Trainer and renowned author Andrew Martin presents a complete repertoire for Black. More...

European Championship: Favorites dominate in round 1

5/13/2016 – The European Championship 2016 is played in Gjakova, in the Republic of Kosovo. The field is strong: 245 players registered, five of them have a rating of 2700+, 60 can boast of a rating of 2600+. Top seed is Czech grandmaster David Navara with a rating of 2735. In the first of eleven rounds the favorites had almost no problems to win their games and dominated their opponents.

Chess fever in Cairo (2/2)

5/13/2016 – In this second part of the report, enjoy the visit to the pyramids, and the climb, as well as the timeless ride on a camel, albeit that takes getting used to. It was not the smoothest event for some players, but top Egyptian GM Ahmed Adly had no such issues as he stormed to a near perfect 8.5/9, with very enterprising play. Here is the report with tons of photos and analysis.

Skewers

5/13/2016 – 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.

South African players crowned in Mauritius

5/12/2016 – The Africa Zone 4.3 Chess Championships under the auspices of the African Chess Confederation took place in Mauritius at the RIU Le Morne beach resort from the 23rd April to 2nd May 2016. The tropical Indian Ocean Island is more famed as a beach holiday destination than as organiser of FIDE continental chess tournaments, yet the result was an event in a paradisiacal setting.

Chess and the Panama Papers

5/12/2016 – You have probably heard of Panama Papers scandal, of which a new set of data was released this week. The 11 million leaked documents (2.6 terabyte) from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca lists more than 200,000 offshore account. Two British newpapers have discovered a chess trail – but one that probably contains spurious leads – including Bobby Fischer. Here's what has been reported and denied.

2016 Russian Team Championship Rd6-10 (1/2)

5/12/2016 – The last half of the Russian Team Championship was just as good as the first, with a slew of exciting battles. Although the story of the event was Vladimir Kramnik's majestic performance and ensuing 2812 rating, it could have been more had he not let Karjakin escape a won game. Herein find some of the great games and mind-boggling moves.

One for everyone: Fritz Online

5/11/2016 – Fritz Online is always ready and willing to play against you, no matter if you have a PC, a Mac or want to play on a tablet - and with levels from "beginner" to "grandmaster" he adapts to your strength. On top of that he offers access to the Live Book, automatically saves games in the cloud, and much more. All you need is a Premium Membership and a browser.

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #1

5/11/2016 – In his first "Agony Column" Jon Speelman briefly remembers the times when Magnus Carlsen was still a kid and then presents two interesting games by Rudy Van Kamenade, who will soon turn 70. Van Kamenade played these games at the European Senior team Championship in Halkidiki 2016 where he played for Wales. Jon Speelman takes a look at the most instructive moments.