12/30/2019 – It was a memorable final day of action at the World Blitz Championships in Moscow! Magnus Carlsen arrived as sole leader, but was caught up by an inspired Hikaru Nakamura. Two extra games were played to decide the champion, and the Norwegian prevailed. Carlsen won his third world blitz title and became the world champion in all three formats — classical, rapid and blitz! In the women's section, Kateryna Lagno defended her title from 2018. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
This interactive video course of over 8 hours, provides an in-depth exploration of the Pirc Defence, a favoured opening for people looking to play for the win with the black pieces.
€49.90
Lagno still the queen of blitz
It was all Magnus Carlsen in 2019! The Norwegian star came from a 2018 in which he had won the World Championship title in London and the World Blitz Championship at the end of the year (he finished a half point behind Daniil Dubov in the Rapid). When things seemed all but impossible to improve for the ultra-talent from Tønsberg, he went on to obtain a host of tournament wins and get the triple crown the very next time he got a chance!
A remarkable 2019: ten super tournament victories, sitting on three thrones once again (classical, rapid, blitz), an unprecedented streak of three consecutive world blitz titles, a streak of 107 games without a loss, and a Ragnar Lothbrok-like beard in progress. pic.twitter.com/cWTNLmdPG4
But there was no lack of drama in Moscow. Hikaru Nakamura and Vladimir Kramnik had remarkable runs of good results to put extra pressure on the leader. After beating Kramnik in round 18, Carlsen faced 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja, who ended up losing on time after failing to convert a winning position (there was a huge controversy involved though — Sagar Shah sent a detailed video explaining what went on). The all-important half point left Carlsen in the sole lead, but did not prevent Nakamura from catching up with him thanks to back-to-back wins in the final two rounds!
Thus, Carlsen and Nakamura tied for first place on 16½/21 and, although prize money was distributed evenly (each received USD 55,000), the title had to be decided in tiebreaks. After drawing game one with Black, Carlsen scored the win he needed to close a remarkable year with yet another triumph.
Vladimir Kramnik won the bronze medal after scoring six wins and a single loss in the final day of action. Let us not forget that the Russian is currently retired from classical chess.
Meanwhile, Kateryna Lagno began the day with a full-point advantage over a four-player chasing pack, but a loss against Alisa Galliamova in round 13 meant she had to suffer a bit before getting the title. In fact, she reached the final round tied with Anna Muzychuk atop the standings table. Lagno drew Antoaneta Stefanova with the white pieces, while Muzychuk fell against Tan Zhongyi. Muzychuk got the silver nonetheless, while Tan Zhongyi clinched the bronze with her last round win.
Lagno defended the Women's World Blitz title she had obtained in Saint Petersburg in 2018.
Replay the games with computer analysis. Full report will be published shortly.
The rapid event
Magnus Carlsen and Humpy Koneru were crowned 2019 World Rapid Champions in Moscow. Carlsen all but secured first place with a round to spare, and then confirmed it with a 22-move draw against Hikaru Nakamura. Humpy, on the other hand, caught up with Lei Tingjie in the final round after the latter lost against Ekaterina Atalik — the Indian star would then go on to beat Lei in the Armageddon phase of tiebreaks.
At the airport, in the hotel or at home on your couch: with the new ChessBase you always have access to the whole ChessBase world: the new ChessBase video library, tactics server, opening training App, the live database with eight million games, Let’s Check and web access to playchess.com
Because there are only 17 rounds in the women's tournament, there is no round at 15.30, 16.00 or 16.30 (UTC) on Saturday or 14.00 (UTC) on Sunday. Otherwise the schedule is the same for both tournaments.
In this course, you’ll learn how to take the initiative against the London and prevent White from comfortably playing their usual system by playing 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Nh5.
London System Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains in all 11 285 games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 282 are annotated.
The London System Powerbook 2026 is based on more than 410 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Opening videos: Open Spanish (Sipke Ernst) and Classical Sicilian (Nico Zwirs). Endgame Special by Igor Stohl: ‘Short or long side’ – where should the defending king be placed in rook endgames? ‘Lucky bag’ with 35 master analyses.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
