Blindfold king Timur Gareyev on tour

4/6/2016 – In 2016 Timur Gareyev wants to break the world record in blindfold play by taking up 47 opponents simultaneously. In March he played a 35 player blindfold simul in Santa Clara, California. Gareyev lost one game, drew two and won 32. As Gareyev believes that physical fitness and mental excellence go together he spun a stationary bike for over 9 hours during the simul!

2016 Arnold Classic Brasil: bonanza of fun (1/2)

4/6/2016 – For the fourth time, the Arnold Classic Brasil took place in Rio de Janeiro, and once again the sports and health bonanza attracted record numbers for the South American edition, with over 80 thousand visitors, 8500 competing athletes in 37 sports events. It would not be complete without Arnold Schwarzenegger’s presence, who once again reaffirmed his love of the royal game.

Polish Championships in Poznan

4/5/2016 – This year the Polish Championships offer particularly attractive prizes: the winners of the men's and the women's championships both receive 4,700 Euros, and the top two in each tournament earn a spot on the national teams that will play in the Olympiad in Baku later this year. No wonder both tournaments attracted the best players of the country.

An interview with Daniel Gormally (1/2)

4/5/2016 – Insanity, passion and addiction: A year inside the chess world is a book by Grandmaster Daniel “Danny” Gormally which just came out. His previous work focused on chess improvement but Insanity is deeply personal. In an interview with WIM Alexey Root, Gormally talks about his experiences with the chess world and what made him write such a candid memoir.

Knight shield

4/5/2016 – 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!

Shogi - the Japanese form of chess

4/4/2016 – Shogi is the Japanese variation of chess. In Shogi you can use the pieces you captured from your opponent to strengthen your own army. An idea bughouse fans might find appealing. Thanks to the internet Shogi is becoming more and more popular in Europe and in March beginners and experienced players tried their skills in the Open German Championships.

Newsletter #03: ChessBase India

4/4/2016 – India is an upcoming chess super-power. The ChessBase India web portal is dedicated to the Indian chess tournaments and news. It is making a big impact in Indian chess circles, with content that can only be termed humongous. We bring you a summary of all the important events and tournaments that ChessBase India covered in recent months, with links to the articles. Take a look.

Short, Izzat and Cheng win 50th Ballarat Begonia

4/3/2016 – The 50th Ballarat Begonia chess tournament was held in the state of Victoria from the 12th-14th of March 2016. All the best players from Australia along with the super strong GM Nigel Short and talented Azerbaijani IM Kannan Izzat took part. It was a tensely fought event which ended in a three way tie between Short, Izzat and Cheng. We have an illustrated report filled with pictures, analysis by the Ballarat Chess Club President.

April Fool: it was the Trump problem

4/3/2016 – Our two fake April Fool's stories – Benko's bafflers and Karjakin's BMW – were perfectly legit and true in every respect. And most of the Hillary report: she did appear on a show seeking to identify the real Irina Krush; Bernie Saunders did play in a simul; and Ted Cruz did send the picture of a badly set up chessboard to Senator Mike Lee. Only Trumps four-move composition – that was made up.

Interview with Hou Yifan

4/2/2016 – In March Hou Yifan, number one on the women's ranking list, regained the world title, which she had lost when she did not take part in the knock-out World Championship the year before. In an interview with Dagobert Kohlmeyer the World Champion criticises the mode of the Women's World Championship and reveals that her proposals for a different system were made in vain.

Candidates closing ceremony revisited

4/2/2016 – The closing ceremony of the Candidates 2016 was held at the Central Telegraph building on March 29, with prominent Russian political leaders like Igor Levitin, Alexander Zhukov, Pavel Kolopkov in attendance. Sergey Karjakin was awarded the medal, trophy, €95,000, Beluga Vodka and toy BMW car! In this report we bring you more exclusive pictures from the venue that give you the feel of the festivities in Moscow.

Hillary Clinton: looking for Irina Krush

4/1/2016 – It happened in the Steve Harvey Show. Recently the TV host had Democratic front runner in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton, as a guest, and in one segment the former First Lady and Secretary of State had to identify a "female groundbreaker" who was concealed between two imposters. The groundbreaker was Irina Krush, first and only US female grandmaster. Watch the video.

A BMW i8 super-car for Sergey Karjakin

4/1/2016 – As you have probably registered by now, Sergey Karjakin won the Candidates Tournament in Moscow, and went home richer by €95,000. But he also received a special prize from the car manufacturer (and Candidates transport sponsor) BMW: the super sports car BMW, a plug-in hybrid that sells at around $140,000 and has a top speed of 250 kmh (= 155 mph). He can use it to cruise the Russian highways.

Pal Benko's April entertainment

4/1/2016 – Our loyal friend, Hungarian GM and problemist Pal Benkö, who at the age of 87 is still composing wonderfully imaginative problems and studies, has sent us four very unusual (and tricky!) puzzles to solve on this auspicious day. We present them to you without solutions, so you have a few days to try and find the hidden subtleties and traps. One thing is certain: Benko never ceases to delight.

CBM 170: A symphony on board and unheard melodies

4/1/2016 – ChessBase Magazine #170 has 1737 recent games, of which 180 are annotated in depth. Particularly interesting for reviewer Prof. Nagesh Havanur was the encounter between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Li Chao from the Qatar Open. A game for anthologies! He also makes special mention of a new concept in a Sicilian - on the second move! Review...

Dividing knights

4/1/2016 – 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.

April 2016 ratings: Superb Karjakin and Ding Liren

3/31/2016 – The star of the newest ratings list is without question Sergey Karjakin, who gained 19 Elo after winning the Candidates Tournament with a point ahead. However, one should not discount the incredible result by Ding Liren who gained 140 Blitz Elo and is now world no.3. Also of note is the drop in 2700 players, now matching the number from 2010. Feast on the numbers!

NYT: Masters of Chess, Not Self-Promotion

3/31/2016 – In an interesting piece on the recently held Candidates tournament, the New York Times discusses the various issues involving the promotion of chess for corporate sponsorship, from the broadcast exclusivity demanded by AGON to magazine photoshoots with the players. Accompanying the write-up is an excellent gallery of images by James Hill. Well worth a look.

Huffington: It’s Karjakin vs. Carlsen...

3/31/2016 – ... for the World Chess Title. Karjakin’s one point victory margin at the Candidates seems large, but the tournament’s finishing stage was dramatic and exciting, with veteran Anand playing a key role in determining the winner. Huffington Post columnist Lubomir Kavalek looks back at the final phase of the event and points out to some interesting tidbits from the rich history of the Candidates.

Grandelius gains entry to Norway Chess

3/31/2016 – On 18th April one of the strongest tournaments of the year will begin: the Altibox Norway Chess Tournament 2016. M. Carlsen, V. Kramnik, A. Giri, L. Aronian, M. Vachier-Lagrave, V. Topalov, S. Karjakin, P. Eljanov and Pentala Harikrishna were invited, the tenth participant was established in a qualifier. Which Swedish GM Nils Grandelius managed to win.

Chess instruction in schools: A quantitative review

3/31/2016 – Does chess in school make children smarter? In this review of the available evidence, Giovanni Sala and Fernand Gobet show that chess instruction in schools provides some moderate effects, especially in boosting children’s cognitive and mathematical skills. Ultimately, it is shown that while providing measurable benefits, the more one studies the greater the results.

Looking back: Abhijeet Gupta in Reykjavik 2016

3/30/2016 – With more than 230 participants and many top grandmasters the Reykjavik Open boasted a strong field. The Harpa Hall, where the tournament was played, was another attraction: the summer smile of GM Abhijeet Gupta and IM Tania Sachdev in the inconsistent cold of the Icelandic capital. In this first part of our in-depth round-up, we bring you an illustrated report with the comments of Abhijeet himself.

Matthias Blübaum wins GRENKE Chess Open

3/30/2016 – 587 players used the Easter holidays to play in the GRENKE Chess Open in Karlsruhe, Germany. The huge open attracted five grandmasters with a rating of 2700+ and 21 2600+ grandmasters. But in the end the young German GM Matthias Blübaum (Elo 2605) left all favorites behind. With 7.5/9 he shared first place with five other players and won on tie-break.

Speelman: How will Karjakin fare against Carlsen?

3/30/2016 – After a fortnight and a bit of ferocious combat we can now congratulate Sergey Karjakin on becoming Magnus Carlsen's next challenger. It's been a roller coaster ride of wildly swinging emotions and will certainly merit much examination in retrospect. GM Speelman looks at it not only from a historical point of view, but also from personal experience as a player and as a second.