Tata Steel Rd8: Carlsen storms into sole lead

1/18/2015 – After a disappointing start, Magnus Carlsen has put his foot on the accelerator and has now overtaken the lead with his fifth straight win in a row. There was still the question of Ivanchuk, but Wesley So beat him with a fantastic piece sacrifice and attack from preparation he later explained, "I saw this in a ChessBase article". Round eight report with GM analysis.

Playchess: watching fourteen boards at a time

1/18/2015 – One of the unique abilities of Playchess is being able to watch a large number of boards at the same time on the same screen. With Wijk aan Zee, that can mean as many as fourteen boards, but the problem is that it might seem completely impractical. Open fourteen games one at a time? Try to follow all of them on those teeny tiny boards? Learn how to do it easily and comfortably.

Mamedov wins 2015 Azerbaijan Championship

1/17/2015 – The 70th Azerbaijan Championship was held from January 6-15 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Though it did not attract the nation's greatest players due to a modest prizefund, it did have a few trumps up its sleeve to bring in many other strong grandmasters, notably qualification spots for the European Championship and the World Cup. Illustrated report and tactics.

Tata Steel Rd7: Errors, blunders, and hallucinations

1/17/2015 – It would be tempting to point out Carlsen's surge to equal first, among other results of the day, but what stood out was the sheer number of mistakes and blunders that plagued so many games. Saric lost a drawn game in two moves, Van Wely lost a won game to Ding Liren, Carlsen nearly botched a win, only to see Hou hallucinate and end it. And this was but a taste. Diagrams of many blunders!

Karsten Mueller instructs: Wijk Endgames (1)

1/17/2015 – Wijk aan Zee has reached the midway mark, and left a lasting impression with so much fighting chess and great games. Many have gone deep into endgames with mind-boggling situations that even the best had trouble handling. Resident endgame expert Karsten Mueller, author of numerous reference works takes a look at a few of the more fascinating ones.

Tata Steel Rd6: Important wins

1/16/2015 – It was a much-awaited round: the World Champion and the #2 player in the World faced each other, but the affair was one-sided: Carlsen outplayed Caruana convincingly and joins the pack of players trailing Ivanchuk by half a point. In that pack is now also So, who beat Jobava. MVL dispatched Ding Liren, catching up to the Chinese player on 3.5/6. We bring you pictures, analysis and videos!

Zhao Xue wins New Zealand Open with 8.0/9

1/16/2015 – The traditional New Zealand Open, dating back well over 100 years, was held in Auckland, New Zealand in a church bought by GM Murray Chandler, who also sponsored the event, and uses the locale as a chess center. The main competition was dominated by GM Zhao Xue in yet another great Chinese victory. Here is the final report with analysis.

Structural change

1/16/2015 – 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.

Aeroflot Open rises from the ashes

1/16/2015 – Tournaments come and go, and it is a fact of life we all understand and accept. When the Aeroflot Open downgraded to a rapid event in 2013, it was not big surprise to read it had been canceled the year after. Imagine the surprise (and delight) to learn that the classic event, which has helped hone the skills of so many, will be back this year. Find out how you can join.

13th Parsvnath Delhi Open led by Mozharov

1/15/2015 – IM N Srinath staked his claim for a top prize by defeating GM Cristhian Cruz of Peru in the seventh round of 13th Parsvnath Delhi International Chess tournament now underway at the Ludlow Castle sports complex. He joined the three other leaders in this massive chess festival with 1343 players. In this midway report see the challenges of concentration and chess organization.

Tata Steel Rd5: Excitement from Rotterdam!

1/15/2015 – Tata Steel on tour: the round was played in De Rotterdam, where we were treated with even more impressive and exciting chess. On a normal round, the headline would be "Carlsen defeats Aronian", but his clean victory was overshadowed by Wojtaszek's win: The Polish player has now defeated the number one and two players in the world, and ties with Ding Liren for second place.

Hidden talents

1/15/2015 – Chess talent and a love for the game are fine things to have. However, many good chessplayers also had and have other passions. Emanuel Lasker held a PhD in Mathematics and liked to play Bridge and Go, Paul Keres was an excellent tennis player, and Anatoly Karpov owns an exquisite collection of stamps. Top players often reveal surprising skills.

NY Times: Fostering Sevian's talent

1/14/2015 – It was not long for the US media to gravitate to one of its newest stars, fourteen-year-old Samuel Sevian, the youngest grandmaster in American chess and the youngest in the world at the moment. The New York Times published an article describing how the Kasparov Chess Foundation has helped put the player in touch with a top trainer as well as give him training with Kasparov himself.

Unstoppable Ni Hua crushes the Australian Open

1/14/2015 – It was the penultimate round of the Australian Open 2015. The Chinese GM Ni Hua was up against the young Australian IM Moulthun Ly. At this point Ni Hua stood at 8.5/9 with a 1.5 point lead ahead of his nearest rival. Instead of playing it safe, he went on to win with a fantastic 10.5/11 taking his rating to 2704. In this illustrated report, Sagar Shah analyzes the secret to his success.

Fighting the odds: Kenny Solomon

1/14/2015 – Kenny Solomon, South Africa's first Grandmaster, was born in 1979. At that time Apartheid still enforced racial segregation in South Africa. This also affected the life of Solomon. He grew up in Mitchell Plains, a densely populated township near Cape Town, plagued by poverty, violence and crime. Chess helped Solomon to discover new worlds.

Tiviakov victorious at Keres Memorial

1/14/2015 – While Estonia has had several significant chess players, there can be no doubt that its greatest son is none other than Paul Keres, a player whose career spanned generations of champions, and the author of numerous classics. Celebrating its 24th edition, the Paul Keres Memorial was held in Tallinn, Estonia, and was won by Sergey Tiviakov. Here is the final report.

Tata Steel Rd4: Action all around

1/13/2015 – The tournament has seen a tremendous amount of action-packed games! With four games ending in decisive results, three of them with black victories, it was certainly a treat for chess fans. After all was said and done, Ivanchuk emerges as the sole leader. His victory over MVL brings him to 3.5/4, half more than Caruana and Ding Liren, who scored his third win in a row!

The outside pawn race

1/13/2015 – 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. And don't miss the Endgame Magic Show, 4.00 p.m. Special guest: Mihail Marin.

Grandmasters at the Shogi Forum (2/2)

1/12/2015 – In this second part, GM Peter Heine Nielsen describes the unique atmosphere of the 6th Shogi Forum, in which shogi and all chess variants are explored and exhibited. As an example of how different it is, he recounts how he, and fellow amateurs suddenly notice a multiple world champion join the analysis and offering suggestions! They are then given a tour with temples and blessings.

Tata Steel Rd3: Too many pieces

1/12/2015 – The top seeds all found themselves down material, voluntarily or involuntarily. The first surprise was Carlsen's loss to Wojtaszek, when he preferred to give a piece for swindling chances but lost. This was followed by Aronian who blundered a piece to Wesley So. In the Challengers, lowest-rated Dale drew Wei Yi after he sacrificed two pieces. Annotations of some tragic games!

13th Parsvnath Delhi Open has record draw

1/11/2015 – The 13th Parsvnath Delhi International Chess Tournament, the biggest chess festival of India, started one more time with a record participation of over 1200 chess players. The highest caliber event is being held in the Ludlow Castle Sports Complex, in New Delhi, India, with 22 GMs and 27 IMs fighting for a nearly US$50 thousand prize fund. Here is an illustrated report with video.

Grandmasters at the Shogi Forum (1/2)

1/11/2015 – Ever wondered what the Shogi equivalent of the Chess Olympiad is like? GMs Nielsen and Pelletier qualified to play in the International Shogi Forum, where they learn just how big a gap there is between Westerners and Japanese in the game. In this cultural exchange. Nielsen gives them a book signed by Kasparov in his recent training session with Carlsen.

Tata Steel Rd2: Caruana wins again, event heats up

1/11/2015 – The second round showed the players warming up as Ding bounced back to beat Hou, while Caruana who won his second straight game. Carlsen was unable to make a dent versus So and drew, while Van Wely squandered a winning advantage to the despair of his fans. In the Challengers event, Gunina beat top Arab GM Saleh, while Wei Yi blew apart Potkin in a powerful display. Report with GM analysis.

Al Ain Classic: the people, the places, the sights

1/10/2015 – With its third edition concluded just before the end of the past year, the Al Ain Classic has proven that it is firmly joining ranks with the Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Opens. All playing would agree that Al Ain Classic is becoming not only one of the best tournaments in the Gulf but also in the world. See what makes it so special in this large illustrated report with videos.