11/14/2025 – “It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future” is a well-known witticism about the pitfalls of predictions. The quote is often attributed to American baseball legend Yogi Berra, but sometimes also to physicist and Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr. Predictions about the future may be difficult, but they can still be fun. Hikaru Nakamura recently ventured predictions about the round of the last 16 and the possible winner of the World Cup 2025.
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In his video, Nakamura goes through the matches of the round of the last 16 one by one and assesses the chances of the players.
In the duel between Frederik Svane and Javokhir Sindarov, he considers Svane to have no chance. The Uzbek is stronger in all time formats and therefore a clear favourite.
In the match between Pentala Harikrishna and José Martínez Alcántara, Nakamura is confident in Harikrishna's experience. Although Martínez is dangerous in rapid and blitz chess, he expects Harikrishna to win in regular time.
In the other matches, Nakamura also sees the nominally stronger players coming out on top in most cases. He considers Nodirbek Yakubboev the big favourite against Gabriel Sargissian, and he gives Alexander Donchenko little chance against Le Quang Liem.
In the duel between Dubov and Shankland, Nakamura sees Dubov as the clear favourite, considering him "the best player in the entire field" in rapid chess. In Grebnev versus Esipenko, on the other hand, he is backing the underdog Grebnev, whose online blitz strength has impressed him.
In the contest between Wei Yi and Sam Sevian, he believes in his compatriot Sevian. He describes the top match between Aronian and Erigaisi as completely open, but admits that he is rooting for Aronian.
In general, Nakamura believes that Le Quang Liem has the best chance of reaching a place in the Candidates Tournament among the players in the upper bracket.
However, he attributes the greatest chances of victory in the overall tournament to Daniil Dubov, mainly because of his strength in rapid and blitz chess.
Johannes FischerJohannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".
11/13/2025 – Thursday's tiebreakers at the FIDE World Cup in Goa saw several high seeds eliminated, including Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Vincent Keymer and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who were knocked out by Daniil Dubov (pictured), Andrey Esipenko and Aleksey Grebnev respectively. Six lower-rated players advanced overall, while five favourites held firm to reach the round of 16. With only five players from the top 20 still in contention and eight national federations represented, the field has tightened considerably as the Candidates race enters its decisive phase. | Photo: Michal Walusza
11/3/2025 – The opening round of the 2025 FIDE World Cup neared its conclusion on Sunday, with most matches already producing a winner after the second classical game. Out of 78 encounters, 58 were decided without the need for tiebreaks, while 20 remain level and will continue on Monday. A few players managed to level their matches after early setbacks, and China's IM Wang Shixu (pictured) delivered the day's biggest surprise by eliminating Leon Luke Mendonca. | Photo: Michal Walusza
King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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