Web publishing with ChessBase 12 (part 2/3)

12/26/2013 – In this second part on publishing on the web, you learn how to make use of the powerful new javascript replayer, exactly as in the ChessBase News pages, with fancy pieces, figuring notation, highlighted squares and arrows, and more. You can also easily embed these into a personal blog or professional resources, and even publish a replayable game on Facebook in seconds.

Kasparov visits Singapore and Thailand

12/26/2013 – Garry Kasparov, currently the only candidate for FIDE presidency on the campaign trail, recently visited countries of the Far East, where it would seem he is being vigorously supported by the federations. In Singapore the former World Champion stressed the need for sponsorship, education and technology, while in Thailand he received instructions from the Deputy Prime Minister in the rules of Makruk or Thai chess. Big pictorial report.

"Boringly Safe" in Kurdistani Iraq! Part 1

12/25/2013 – The ever adventurous and fearless globetrotter Alina l'Ami has recently finished a tournament in... Kurdistani Iraq! Specifically the tournament was the second Kurdistan Chess Festival held in Erbil, Iraq. Several strong players were not put off by rumors of danger zones or by the unusual location and enjoyed a magnificent and unique experience. Alina brings us a beautiful report.

World Youth Championship: the leaders appear

12/24/2013 – A little over two thirds of the World Youth Chess Championships are done, and the leaders and potential winners are clearer now. As expected of these brutal youth events, the top seeds find it very hard to live up to their favoritism, the reason being that their opponents are quite often falsely represented with ratings that have little to do with their actual ability. A large beautiful pictorial.

2013 ChessBase Christmas party

12/24/2013 – On December 20th, the traditional ChessBase Christmas party was held at the ChessBase headquarters in Hamburg. While a merry-for-all, something different was organized this year in the form of a game between GM Vlastimil Hort and the second-best women in the Bundesliga, WGM Melanie Ohme. Our colleague Nadja Wittman, editor of the Spanish news page, brings a photo essay with video.

Category 23 tournament in Zurich!

12/24/2013 – It's not official yet, but it looks like that for the first time in chess history we are going to see a category 23 (average 2801) tournament. Six players – Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura, Caruana, Gelfand and Anand – will play in the classical round robin Zurich Chess Challenge, from January 29 to February 4th 2014 – with a rapid tagged on. In related news due to health reasons chess legend Viktor Korchnoi's plan to return to tournament chess unfortunately failed.

"Meeting of Generations" handicap tournament

12/23/2013 – A new handicap tournament "Meeting of Generations" was held, in honor of Vladimir Dvorkovich. The system used allows elder players past their prime to still have an enjoyable game against strong grandmasters, and is the brainchild of GM Evgeny Vasiukov, chairman of the Commission of Veterans of the Russian Chess Federation. Here are explanations, a pictorial, and a pawn study.

Sasikirian, Lalith lead in India

12/23/2013 – The Indian Chess Championship has started in the Jain Hills in Jalgoan, a city 400 km from Mumbai. The tournament features some of the strongest chess players in India, with the exception of Harikrishna and Anand. The hopefuls to the throne include Negi, Sasikirian, Adhiban and other strong grandmasters. At the half way mark, the leaders are crushing the event with 5.5/6. Pictorial report.

Pal Benko: Secrets of Study Composition (2)

12/23/2013 – One of the greatest study composers – as well as a former world championship candidate – is our friend Pal Benko, who never fails to send us a special Christmas gift. This year it was an article that offers unique insight into the process of chess composition. We brought you the first part a week ago. Today it is about breaking the pin and avoiding stalemate. And there is a remarkable study for you to solve.

World Youth Championship: challenges and results

12/22/2013 – The World Youth Chess Championship is underway, and after an initial report, we were accused of spreading the "propaganda of the organizers" as complaints were legion after round one. We inquired about this with a reply from a friend in Al Ain, as well as reports from others there. It is not all dire, and many issues are being resolved, as the children fight over the board. A large illustrated report.

Web publishing with ChessBase 12 (part 1/3)

12/22/2013 – A common issue when considering writing a chess blog, or publishing chess news, is how to publish the actual chess material. Diagrams, chess notation, or a nice game replayer such as the one seen in the ChessBase News pages are a must, and the truth is, all our ‘secret’ tools are available in ChessBase 12. Here is an easy step-by-step guide on how to use all the main tools for online publication.

How Technology is Changing Our Minds

12/21/2013 – It's undeniable — is it a change for the better? Amid a chorus of doomsayers, Clive Thompson delivers a resounding "yes" in his latest book "Smarter Than You Think". The Internet age has produced a radical new style of human intelligence, worthy of both celebration and analysis. Thompson, a freelance journalist, blogger and science and technology writer, includes a chapter on Advanced Chess.

Chess in the movies

12/21/2013 – Chess and Hollywood have long been close friends, and even when the silver screen was not showing movies that were outright about chess, they never hesitated to slip in some scenes with chess. Here is a look at the films where the royal game makes a cameo appearance, but is not the outright star. Each movie listed includes the key scene and a bit of commentary. Expanded list with reader feedback.

Huffington: Nakamura Conquers London Classic

12/20/2013 – On the day the Washington Redskins fumbled six times and threw one interception, Hikaru Nakamura's performance in England seemed almost flawless. Last Sunday, the top American GM won the London Chess Classic, a rapid chess competition, leaving many world class players behind, including two former world champions. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek comments.

World Youth Championship 2013 started in Al Ain

12/20/2013 – This very important FIDE event is being staged between December 17th and 29th in the UAE »Garden city« of Al Ain. More than 1800 participants from 120 national chess federations have come to take part in six girls and six open sections, U8 to U18. "Chess is a global sport – it is a message for the world of unity and friendship," said Organizing Committee Chairman Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa.

Russian Cup gold for Jakovenko and Bodnaruk

12/20/2013 – The Russian Cup Final has finally concluded with two winners after twelve months of competition and a final phase to determine the grand prize winners. Anastasia Bodnaruk overcame Margarite Schepetkova for the Women's gold, while Dmitri Jakovenko and Vladimir Fedoseev made the final. Fedoseev, who had arrived with 100%, was finally stopped by Jakovenko who took gold. A large photo report.

Playchess for Web: usernames and rated games

12/20/2013 – The launch of Playchess’s web client brought an incredibly convenient way to watch games through the browser, but was missing that one key feature: the ability to login using one’s subscriber username. Until now you could only login as a guest, but now that has been fixed and you play rated games, and of course watch any master or grandmaster game of your choice.

Hou? Yifan? What's in a name...

12/19/2013 – "Your discussion of 'Kosteniuk, Kosintseva, and Yifan' in recent articles sounds as dissonant to a Chinese reader as 'Clinton, Bush, and Barack'", writes Fabien Simonis from Dongguan, China – and goes on to give us a primer on the correct use of Chinese names. To his very useful instructions we add a reprint of a 2004 article explaining Indian, Russian and other names.

BBC Radio 4 to broadcast chess chats

12/19/2013 – Believe it or not, but on Monday, December 30, BBC Radio 4 will start a week-long series of 15-minute chat shows on… chess! The program Across the Board will feature Dominic Lawson, the Sunday Times and Daily Mail columnist, who will play against and interview a different guest each episode on five consecutive days. This is the first time in 50 years since the 1960s radio show with Bobby Fischer.

Mind Games Final: Karjakin, Zhao Xue top Basque

12/18/2013 – The SportsAccord World Mind Games has come to an end in Beijing, China. The last chess event was the unique Basque rapids. Karjakin crushed the men's section with an amazing 8.5/10 including 2-0 wins against Leko and Le Quang Liem. In the women's China took places one two and three, but Gunina almost cut in by taking out Hou Yifan. However, like in the blitz, a blunder spoiled her chances...

Kasparov on the campaign trail – Indonesia

12/18/2013 – So far, to the best of our knowledge, only one candidate has registered for the 2014 FIDE presidential election: Garry Kasparov. The former World Chess Champion has been extremely active in key regions of the world: east of India, south of Sahara, north of Greece. After an extensive tour of southern Africa Kasparov undertook a trip to the Far East, with a start in Jakarta.

Battle of Moscow defense celebrated

12/18/2013 – A small tribute to the defense of the famous Battle of Moscow was held with chess at its center. A small tournament with a rather prestigious clique of players was organized at the Prechistenke Peace Foundation regarding a historic battle with millions of soldiers on both sides. The opening was attended by two world champions, Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov. A pictorial and small history lesson.

London Closing Ceremony

12/17/2013 – The London Chess Classic has come to an end. Nakamura ended victorious in the Super Sixteen rapid, but that was not all there was to the festival. A women's invitational took place while in the FIDE Open, from which Istatescu and Sutovsky qualified to the rapids, was ultimately won by Jon Ludvig Hammer. Impressions of a traditional and fun closing ceremony...

Kolkata wraps up Indian circuit

12/17/2013 – The tournaments that comprised the small circuit to celebrate the World Chess Championship in India have come to an end. The last leg, held in Kolkata, finished with a triumph by Armenian GM Ter Sahakyan. IM Mozharov was able to score a GM norm in every tournament in the circuit! Many norms were earned by locals. Tournament report by Professor Anantharam.