Mega 2014: the Rolls-Royce of databases

12/11/2013 – When describing Mega Database 2014, it is easy to get caught up in all the numbers, however impressive they may be, but this truly is the Rolls-Royce of chess databases. The reason is not in the numbers, but every aspect that make it such a wonderful tribute to chess, and indispensable tool. From pictures of Philidor, to commented games by Carlsen, it is all there. Here is a detailed review.

Snowdrops defeat Old Hands by 17.5:14.5

12/10/2013 – Round six of this battle in the Czech city of Podebrady brought the first win of a veteran GM against a young female talent. But the fight back came too late: in the end the Snowdrops – average age 22 – clinched the team match by three points. WGM Alina Kashlinskaya, 20, scored five points in eight games, with a performance of 2561. Final illustrated report. Final illustrated report.

Battle of Generations: Shirov wins 5-1

12/10/2013 – Though the result of the match was no longer in doubt, one might have wondered whether Daniil Dubov and Alexei Shirov would play out their last game. To the delight of those watching it was a fascinating Meran, which saw Shirov sacrifice the exchange for a powerhouse pawn on b2. In the end, they drew and went on to the blitz games where Dubov had the edge. A fitting end to a great match.

2013 Ugra Governor's Cup

12/9/2013 – The city of Khanty Mansiysk recently held the IX Ugra Governor's Cup, a strong swiss that is a part of the Russia Cup circuit from November 27-December 6, 2013. The tournament brought in dozens of grandmasters, as well as players of all ages and gender. The "A" tournament, open to all players rated 2350 and above, included dozens of grandmasters and was won by Denis Khismatullin. Report, pictures and games.

Ivanov restarts his chess career

12/9/2013 – In early October we reported that Borislav Ivanov had announced that he will retire from chess, after the Bulgarian FM had forfeited a game in the Blagoevgrad Open for refusing to allow the arbiter to check his shoes for hidden devices. Now Ivanov is back at it again: he started the Navalmoral de la Mata Open in Spain with 4.5/5 points, beating two GMs and drawing a third. But then there was, once again, a problem with his shoes.

Amazing functionality and value

12/9/2013 – The whole history of chess in an app: five million chess games, updated once a week with new games from world class tournaments. The app comes with full statistics, an email service and even a chess engine. "The beauty of this application is that it works much the same as ChessBase itself, but in a manner that is totally portable," writes Chris Wainscott in his Chess Cafe review.

Chessboxing for men, women and children

12/9/2013 – The subject of chessboxing is not new, and while fascinating on a multitude of levels, has resisted common acceptance with the less adventurous. Nevertheless, ten years into the sport's inception, reports are multiplying on how this ultimate hybrid of brains and brawn is gaining traction with unexpected audiences: white-collar workers, women, and children.

Snowdrops lead Old Hands by five points

12/8/2013 – After five rounds the score is 12.5-7.5 in favour of the female chess players, who have all scored better than their veteran male counterparts. The latter, with an average age of 71, are not in the best shape and feeling the heat from their young opponents, whose average age is 22. Especially Russian WGM Alina Kashlinskaya, 20, has scored 3.5/5 points. Second illustrated report.

Corsica, the land of chess

12/8/2013 – Which country has the highest percentage of registered chess players per capita? Russia, China? India? Nope, not per capita. Iceland? That's closer, but the correct answer is Corsica, which is part of France. It has over 6000 players from a population of 310,000. Léo Battesti, former Vice-President of the French Chess Federation, has produced a video illustrating this success.

Battle of Generations: Shirov massacre

12/7/2013 – The friendly match between Alexei Shirov and Daniil Dubov has been a massacre in favor of the Latvian as he takes a 4.5-0.5 lead with one game to go. The match is ensured a full six games, but there has been little need of that to satisfy the audience's bloodlust. Though Dubov may have been unable to contain Shirov's nuclear brand of chess, the games have been highly entertaining.

Houdini 4: the 800-pound gorilla

12/7/2013 – Houdini 4 has just been released and contains many improvements in all phases of the game making it about 50 Elo stronger than its predecessor. The improved strength means that Houdini 4 nearly doubles the chess performance of your PC for game analysis and match play. It also includes the expected perks: Cloud Engine, 3D board, Live Book and more. Here is a full description.

Nelson Mandela - a man for the ages

12/6/2013 – Last night, Africa’s greatest son passed away, and while it might seem strange for us to do a tribute to Nelson Mandela, considering the very specific focus of our news site, but chess surrounded him and he played it. If ever there was a leader whose strategic planning rivaled even the deepest plans of the chess world champions, it was him. We pay homage to Nelson Mandela and his legacy.

Snowdrops vs Old Hands 2013

12/6/2013 – From November 30th to December 8th the historical spa city of Podebrady is once again hosting a match between a rising generation of female chess players and chess legends of the 20th century. The games are being played in Hotel Zámecek in Podebrady, and after three rounds the Snowdrops were leading by 7.5:4.5. Read all about it in our first illustrated report.

World Team 09: Russia takes gold; China silver

12/6/2013 – There was little chance of any surprises in the last round as the leader Russia defeated Egypt as expected, taking gold. Ukraine managed to overcome Armenia, but was outscored by China's 3-1 victory over Turkey, giving the Chinese Silver, and Ukraine Bronze. Aronian was the biggest performer, but of note is Nakamura moving into no.3, only the third American in Elo history.

Small Nations with big dreams

12/5/2013 – The European Small Nation Team Championship was organized by the Monaco Chess Federation in Monte Carlo. Ten nations competed in the round robin tournament, and in spite of the seemingly modest lineups compared to the World Team, for them it was just as important since dreams and goals lay behind a grand result. The event brought in anecdotes and history with Bobby Fischer and Princess Grace.

Chess Problems: Excelsior Again

12/5/2013 – We recently published a very famous chess problem by the great Samuel Loyd, in which a pawn that moves from its original square all the way to promotion to deliver mate. This theme became known as an "Excelsior", and we asked our readers to provide other examples of the theme. Problem expert David Friedgood collected four examples and traces the full history of the Excelsior.

2013 National Chess Congress

12/4/2013 – Niclas Hushenbeth first made a name for himself when still an international master, he won the German Championship at age 18. He is now studying in the United States and took the time off to play in the National Chess Congress during the Thanksgiving holiday, where despite a lack of play managed to come in third. He brings here his personal account with video analysis.

World Team 08: Goliath beats David

12/4/2013 – Russia was able to topple a team that seemed completely untouchable. Nepomniachtchi was Ukraine's executioner as he took advantage of a strange time trouble blunder by Kryvoruchko who basically trapped his own queen. With this result Russia leads, China leapfrogs over Ukraine on tiebreaks and the team lead by Ivanchuk is now third. A dramatic round.

Attacking with the Italian and Ruy Lopez

12/4/2013 – When it comes to openings DVDs, there are essentially two types: the instructive work endeavoring to teach the theory, the plans, or both, and the thematic games collections. Sergey Tiviakov's "Attacking with the Italian and Ruy Lopez" defies easy classification as it teaches opening ideas, shares 30 exciting games, and is a master class in attack. Review by Albert Silver

World Team 07: A close one

12/4/2013 – The Ukrainian team survived a potential disaster as they narrowly beat Egypt, the lowest rated team and the only team that has scored no points at all in this event. However they were almost victorious against the leaders and only mistakes in time pressure allowed Ukraine to remain on the top. A predictable day, and Russia and China are now in the second and third spots.

World Youth Championship 2013 in Al Ain

12/4/2013 – Between December 17th and December 29th 2013 the most important youth chess event of the year will be organized by Al Ain Chess Club in United Arab Emirates in the country’s »Garden city« Al Ain. A spectacle that is already promising new records, since around more than 1780 players and 1715 accompanying persons from 107 different countries have already registered to participate in the event.

Battle of Generations: Shirov-Dubov

12/3/2013 – As the brainchild of Russian businessman Oleg Skvortsov, a match called the Battle of Generations is being held at the Digital October center between rising junior Daniil Dubov and legendary Alexei Shirov. It is a six-game match with blitz games if any end in a draw, and enjoys high-res video broadcast via ChessTV. The opening ceremony was a party at a chic Moscow restaurant. Great games and pictures.

World Team 06: Dutch defeat Ukraine

12/3/2013 – Ukraine has finally been stopped and it was done by a resilient Dutch team. Despite being worse in almost every board at some point, the team led by Anish Giri was able to win thanks to Loek Van Wely outplaying Anton Korobov with black. Russia crushed Turkey and is now in close striking distance. Replay today's beautiful combinations.

World Championship Chennai: Reports and opinions

12/3/2013 – It's ten days since Magnus Carlsen snatched the most valuable title from India's Viswanathan Anand. There are literally hundreds of reports in the international press – and a number of remarkable interviews with the players. In case you missed them we bring you a selection, with titles like "My turn to teach Anand now" and speculation on the super-secret men who helped Magnus.