7/30/2119 – From July 20th to the 31st, the Swiss watch metropolis of Biel/Bienne will once again be a focus of chess activity in Europe. The festival features many interesting and young players as well as a new format that combines rapid, classical and blitz chess. Vidit won again with Black adding to his immpressive run. Shankland is second. Live games and commentary from 12:00 UTC (14:00 CEST / 8:00 AM EDT).

10/7/2021 – In a recent article Walter Wolf took a close look at the current development of the Elo ratings. IM Dirk Sebastian and IM Martin Voigt, who are both from Hamburg, have also examined the trends in the recent developments of the Elo ratings and try to answer the question whether there currently is an inflation or a deflation of Elo?

10/1/2021 – Ratings are full of mysteries and by no means coherent. Sometimes, you suspect an inflation of ratings, sometimes a deflation. In some countries ratings are distorted by too many young players - or not enough adult players. And how did the lack of tournaments in the Covid era affect the Elo ratings? Walter Wolf has gathered a lot of statistics and tries to draw conclusions.

10/10/2021 – Forty-three teams from 31 countries will play in the 1st Intercontinental Online Championship for Prisoners, a two-day event that starts on October 13, the International Day of Education in Prisons. The championship is a part of the “Chess for Freedom” Program, launched earlier this year.

10/1/2021 – The FIDE world ranking lists in October 2021 are headed by the "usual suspects". With a rating of 2855 Magnus Carlsen is still the clear number one, but though he played 13 rated games in September he did not win or lose any points. Alireza Firouzja is still the best junior, but for the first time he is now also among the world's top ten. Hou Yifan continues to lead the women's ranking list and Polina Shuvalova remains the highest rated player on the "Girls" list.

5/24/2021 – The International Chess Federation has published the qualification criteria that will be used to determine who participates in the next Candidates Tournament, scheduled to take place in 2022. Notably, Teimour Radjabov was granted a spot after the Azerbaijani withdrew from the previous edition, rightfully predicting that the sanitary crisis would become a real obstacle for the normal development of the event. FIDE has also eliminated the chance to qualify by rating. | Photo: FIDE

7/22/2021 – The International Chess Federation recently announced the FIDE Online Olympiad 2021, to be held between August 13 and September 15. The event will follow a format similar to one used last year, with member Federations being represented by their best players and top juniors. The national teams will compete in rapid chess matches played on six boards.

6/25/2021 – The final lists of the FIDE World Cup and the FIDE Women’s World Cup’s participants have been published. The knock-out events will be held from July 10 to August 8 2021 in the Gazprom Mountain Resort in Sochi. The two finalists of the open event will qualify for the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament, whilst the three best players of the women’s competition will get spots in the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. Top seed in the open section is World Champion Magnus Carlsen, top seed in the women's tournament is Aleksandra Goryachkina.

7/20/2021 – On 20 July 1924 the FIDE was founded in Paris, and in 1966 the UNESCO proposed to celebrate this date as "International Chess Day". Of course, you can celebrate chess every day but FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and David Llada, the FIDE Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, still have some ideas how chess players all over the world can help to make today a very special day for chess.

6/30/2021 – Over 460 female players from 82 countries participated in the individual and team tournaments within the Queens’ festival global chess tournaments run from June 11 to June 27. The ambitious global project aiming at connecting women chess players from around the world of all ages and all rating groups was organized by FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess in cooperation with FIDE Events Commission and with the support of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as Asian Chess Federation, African Chess Confederation, European Chess Union, and Confederation of Chess for Americas. | Pictures: FIDE

6/17/2021 – The FIDE World Cup in July and the World Champion match in November still have to be played but FIDE and World Chess already plan ahead and just announced the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022. It will take place from February to April 2022 and will consist of three tournaments, which will be played in one city. The two best players qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2022.

6/17/2021 – Chess is not all about competitiveness, and Gibraltar has become a place that embodies the multi-faceted character of the royal game. Following this vein, FIDE recorded a series of well-produced videos with the participants of the Women’s Grand Prix that came to an end a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy getting to know a bit more about some of the strongest female chess players in the world! | Photo: David Llada

5/21/2021 – The International Chess Federation announced the new dates of the final stage of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix, to be played in Gibraltar from May 22 to June 2. The best female chess players in the world will be competing in a crucial event in the race for the World Championship title, since the two best players from the Women Grand Prix Series qualify directly for the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: David Llada / FIDE

5/4/2021 – On 1 May the FIDE published the new World Ranking List. Magnus Carlsen (2847) continues to be the world's number one, followed by Fabiano Caruna (2820) on two. The second half of the Candidates Tournament helped Ding Liren (number 3, 2799) to eight additional rating points while Ian Nepomniachtchi (number 4, 2792) gained three rating points and Anish Giri (number 6, 2780) four. But it was the Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo who made the biggest jump ahead: after convincingly winning the Iranian Championship he now has a rating of 2698 and is the world's number 41.

5/7/2021 – The International Chess Federation will hold an online conference dubbed “Chess for Freedom” on May 11th at 15:30 CET (8:30 US Central Time). The conference will present a newly launched project focused on introducing chess to prisons. This conference will feature FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and other invited guests.

11/19/2119 – When Magnus Carlsen decides to leave the Norwegian Chess Federation or gives interviews in Norway or plays for his new club in Norway's second league it is usually Tarjei Svensen who shares the news with the world, via his twitter account @TarjeiJS, which has thousands of ardent followers. STEFAN LOEFFLER spoke with the Norwegian chess journalist about Carlsen, chess in Norway and his wish to be always up-to-date. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

9/22/2119 – The 2019-2020 FIDE Women's Grand Prix, part of the Women's World Championship cycle, takes place in Skolkovo, a business centre in Moscow also known as the Russian Silicon Valley. Twelve players are competing in the first of four single round-robin events that will grant two spots at the next Women's Candidates Tournament. In the final round, Humpy Koneru earned the final half point needed to clinch victory ahead of Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Official site

5/5/2021 – On Sunday, 2 May, Magnus Carlsen won the New in Chess Classic Online Tournament, the first of the so far five Meltwater Champions Chess Tour tournaments the World Champion, who is as spoilt for success as he is hungry for it, could win. But Carlsen did not only entertain and impress at the board (or screen). In short video clips, shown during the live broadcast, he revealed what he thinks about previous World Champions and showed his amazing chess memory. | Image: Screenshot

4/29/2021 – If Bobby Fischer had not retired after becoming World Champion in 1972 we would have seen a decade dominated by Fischer, Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Kortschnoi. What would have happened, if there had been a match Fischer - Karpov or Fischer - Kortschnoi? And why did Fischer not play against Karpov in 1975? And how would Fischer's decision have turned out if the challenger had not been Karpov, but Kortschnoi? Some thoughts by Stephan Oliver Platz.

9/27/2021 – William Steinitz, the first official World Chess Champion, was born in 1836 in Prague and died on August 12, 1900 in New York, where he was also buried. Emanuel Lasker, the second World Champion, was born in Berlinchen, which today is Barlinek, a small city in Poland. But Lasker also died in New York and was buried close to his former rival Steinitz. IM Yury Lapshun and FM Jon Jacobs visited the graves of the two chess legends. | Photos: IM Yury Lapshun and FM Jon Jacobs

10/14/2021 – Three decisive results in round 7 left Wesley So, Sam Sevian and Aleksandr Lenderman in the shared lead of the US Championship. Former co-leader Ray Robson was beat by Fabiano Caruana, who bounced back from two painful consecutive losses. In the women’s championship, Carissa Yip beat Anna Zatonskih to grab the sole lead. Irina Krush and Katerina Nemcova stand a half point behind. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/6/2021 – How does Magnus Carlsen spend his time when he is not playing chess? He is quite active, in fact! For example, he is one of the contestants on a Norwegian reality show — in “Ikke lov å le på hytta”, the contestants try to make the other residents of the house laugh while not laughing themselves. And this is only one of his many side activities.

10/3/2021 – After the 7th round of the final tournament of the "Meltwater Champions Chess Tour" played on Saturday, Magnus Carlsen is now the "Tour Winner". Although neither the World Champion nor his direct rival Wesley So scored, So cannot catch up to Carlsen's seven-point lead with only two remaining rounds. Carlsen lost to Teimour Radjabov 1:3, while So lost to Levon Aronian 0.5:2.5 after just three games. Radjabov is now only half a point behind So and could challenge him for second place - the prize money difference between second and third place is USD 20,000. | Graphic: Play Magnus Group

9/30/2021 – Magnus Carlsen again increased his lead in the Champions Chess Tour final. In his round five match against Hikaru Nakamura Carlsen demonstrated impressive endgame technique by winning two instructive rook endings which brought him a 2.5-0.5 victory. Wesley So, who can still hope to catch Carlsen, was on the brink of defeat against Anish Giri, when the Dutch number 1 blundered the crucial game away. | Graphics: Champions Chess Tour

10/5/2021 – Magnus Carlsen, who won the Champions Chess Tour with plenty of time to spare, ended his short losing streak with a win over Wesley So. The Filipino-bornd grandmaster dropped to fourth place as Teimour Radjabov and Levon Aronian won their matches.

9/27/2021 – After two days of play Magnus Carlsen leads the final of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour - which he, thanks to the 16.5 bonus point he received because of his successes in the previous tournaments of the tour - did from the very start of the event. But in round 2 the World Champion had to overcome serious problems before beating Shakhryar Mamedyarov in a tense and eventful match that went into Armageddon. | Graphics and photos: Tournament Site

9/23/2021 – The Saint Louis chess club and its sponsor Rex Sinquefield have done a lot for chess in the U.S. and the world, and they continue to organise top tournaments. Beginning on the 5th of October, the club will host the U.S. chess championship tournaments 2021, for women and men. With players such as Caruana, So, Dominguez, Shankland, Xiong, Krush and Yip both tournaments are strongly contested, though Hikaru Nakamura, U.S. Champion 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2019 is missing from the line-up. Over the course of eleven rounds, the 2 x 12 competitors will battle for a prize-fund of almost 200,000 USD, the qualification for the World Championship cycle, and of course, the title of U.S. Champion 2021.

9/23/2021 – Currently, Magnus Carlsen is in Struga, in North Macedonia, where he plays in the European Club Cup for Offerspill, his Norwegian club. During the event Carlsen found time to sign the contract about the regulations of the World Championship Match against Ian Nepomniachtchi in November. Carlsen's sponsor Unibet used the occasion to ask the World Champion some questions about the contract, the match and his preparation. | Photo: Unibet

9/4/2021 – The top international chess superstars are set to battle it out over the board from September 7-10 in Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX. The tournament will feature legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov, World Number 2 Fabiano Caruana, and the recent 2021 Grand Chess Tour winner, Wesley So. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

6/20/2021 – A comment in the previous column prompted Jon Speelman to share with the readers which players he considers to be the best to have ever lived. He starts with Bobby Fischer, whom he characterizes as having “precise power”; and with Anatoly Karpov — “deft control”. Chime in your thoughts in the comments section and, if you like, characterize your favourite players’ styles in a couple of words! | Artwork: Unknown (via Quora)

10/9/2021 – After escaping with draws from two inferior positions in the first rounds of the US Chamionship, Fabiano Caruana scored his first win of the event on Friday to join a group of 4 co-leaders atop the standings table — Sam Sevian also won to join the leading pack. In the women’s section, Katerina Nemcova continues to be the sole leader. | Photo: Bryan Adams

9/18/2021 – Magnus Carlsen beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in Armageddon to secure first place at the 2021 Norway Chess Tournament. This is the world champion’s third straight triumph in his home super-tournament. Alireza Firouzja had a great performance, ending the tournament with four wins in a row to get sole second place and climb to ninth place in the world ranking. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/2/2021 – In the 6th round of the "Meltwater Champions Chess Tour" played on Friday Wesley So has suffered a significant setback, which may prove to be decisive: In his 1:3 against Teimour Radjabov, Wesley So, 2nd in the standings, failed to score, while Carlsen, still occupying the top spot, extended his lead by two more points in the overall ranking thanks to his victory (in a tiebreak) against Anish Giri. The world champion's lead over So is now 7 points - almost insurmountable given that there is only a maximum of 9 points still to be earned. The tournament organizers might therefore soon proclaim Magnus Carlsen as the "world's top online chess player" as the potential winner of the tournament. | Fotos: Play Magnus Group

10/12/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game when both sides have queened. The main guideline in these positions is that the side with the safer king wins. In the diagram position Black might be able to queen his pawn but White will definitely queen first - and then will hunt Black's king. However, Black can still draw. How?

10/9/2021 – In the diagram position White just played 14.Bd4 to neutralize the enemy Dragon bishop on the long diagonal. But this solid looking move actually allowed Black to get the advantage. How did he continue?

10/13/2021 – Most players look at endgame study as a necessary evil, akin to taking a very bitter medicine, that may yield results, but is boring. However, what if your study of endgames was punctuated at every corner and turn by fireworks and wondrous moves? This can be achieved, at least partially, thanks to the Studies app from ChessBase Account, making your study of endgames much more fun!

10/7/2021 – Solving tactical puzzles can be fun, but what if you could automatically create your own, even from your own games? Nothing could be easier thanks to the analysis tools in both the Fritz interface or ChessBase. In fact, it can be a fun way to review your online games and be tested on the moves where you or your opponent missed a shot. Read on to learn how!

10/5/2021 – Passed pawns can be very powerful in the endgame. In the diagram position Black is a pawn and a knight down but he has a strong passed pawn on d2 that can save the game. It is Black to move and draw. How?

9/30/2021 – Since the earliest days of Fritz, there have been automated ways to analyze games, and over time the sheer variety of tools and options has expanded to cover just about every choice, from the shallow blunder check to the deep full game analysis. But calling the blunder check shallow is to not do it justice, so see why it deserves to become your go-to tool for all your online games.

10/16/2021 – Once you worked out why Black should refrain from opening the diagonal of White's bishop on a2 with 20....cxd3??, you should also know how to refute the move played in the game: 20...Qd7??. Enjoy!

9/26/2021 – When mentioning the name Mega Database, many players automatically think of either the millions of games contained in it, or the equally impressive number of annotated games – well over 80 thousand. However, the price tag also includes a full year of weekly updates, which can then be renewed every year. Learn all here.

10/2/2021 – Opposite-coloured bishops favour the attacker - this well-known chess wisdom was impressively proven in the diagram position. How did White start the action?

8/27/2021 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess, and it also provides arsenal for the tournament player. This issue offers 456 games from 3 major events, Candidates’ Tournament, New in Chess Classic and the Russian Team Championship. It also includes games annotated by Ian Nepomniachtchi, Boris Gelfand and Anish Giri, to mention a few. The icing on the cake is a tribute to Timman who turned 70 this year, with 25 annotated games. Prof. Nagesh Havanur takes a look. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

9/28/2021 – After opening, middlegame and endgame comes the 4th phase of the game, when both sides have queened. In this phase it is important to start checking the enemy king first. In the diagram position Black just gave a check. But where should the white king go? And how should White prepare a transition to the fourth phase of the game?

9/23/2021 – While the Solve Tactics mode is undoubtedly the meat of the of the Tactics web app, there are two other modes that provide a very different sort of training, excellent to stay sharp. Both are based on trying to solve as quickly as possible, but each with a slightly different angle. They are also the perfect trainer for bullet chess. You will also find part one demonstrated in a video!

9/20/2021 – Among the myriad apps and services offered with a subscription to ChessBase Account is the Tactics web app. This concept is hardly new, and readers undoubtedly are aware of a plethora of rival sites and apps offering this same service, so what makes this one so special? What makes it deserving of the headline "best by test"? Read on to find out!

9/25/2021 – In the diagram position Black has enough material for the queen, so the key to victory for White must be the attack on the king. Which is protected by a lot of pieces - but how can White break through Black's defence?

9/21/2021 – Even in endgames one should not forget that mate ends the game. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What did he do?

10/1/2021 – The new ChessBase Magazine Extra #203 is out - with two instructive and interesting videos: Jan Werle examines what Carlsen's 4.c4 in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation is all about and Robert Ris presents a highly topical weapon against the Sicilian Taimanov. Total playing time of the two videos: over an hour. The issue also offers lots of opening recommendations and analyses by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Sagar Shah, Spyridon Kapnisis and Tanmay Srinath. ChessBase Magazine Extra is the perfect complement to ChessBase Magazine and is available as a single issue or by subscription (6 issues per year). Available on DVD or as download. Don't miss it.

9/18/2021 – In the diagram position, Black just burned his bridges by playing 7...Bg4 which forces White to win a piece with 8.f3. Putting aside "modern objectivity" - what I like about the following attack is the energy of Black's moves. He only has one goal in mind: to mate the enemy king. A full-speed nostalgia trip - enjoy!

9/14/2021 – Sometimes, the trio king, bishop and pawn cannot win against a lone king: if the pawn is a rook pawn, the enemy king makes it to the corner and the bishop does not control the queening sqare of the pawn. Knowing this might help you to save positions that seem to be entire lost. In the diagram position it is White to move and draw. How?