1/30/2024 – In the final instalment of the problem-solving experiment, we invited Prof. Dr Vera Spillner to solve the unorthodox chess puzzles, present in the Dec. 31 article! We have already seen a grandmaster, and a former world problem champion solving the problems, so how about a chess amateur and enthusiast? Read on more to find out!
1/22/2024 – In the second segment of our problem-solving experiment, we invited a former world champion of chess solving (!) to answer the unorthodox chess puzzles, featured in our Dec. 31st article. This strong grandmaster breezed past the first two problems, and so we gave a final composition which proved to be slightly more challenging for the mathematician!
1/12/2024 – Today, legendary Grandmaster Vlastimil Hort celebrates his 80th birthday. A long stay of several weeks in the hospital when he was five years old and a caring doctor who played correspondence chess and explained the chess rules to him gave way to his great passion. Eduard Frey celebrates the legend’s anniversary!
1/1/2024 – Today we bring you the first instalment of solutions, to the puzzles on our Christmas Day page. It includes charming video of two 14 year old lads solving one of the problems. Today, both are Candidates for the World Championship. Solutions to the next six puzzle pages will follow soon – together with details on our composition competition, which will end on January 15.
12/27/2023 – Let's say you find an interesting mating motif. Now you want to use it as the final position of a chess problem you will compose. The moves leading to it must be imaginative, clever and not very easy to find. But they must also be unique. There mustn't be alternative sets of move that lead to the final (or any) mate. For amateur composers, here's an example of a fellow amateur making a valid problem out of the position displayed.
12/25/2023 – For two decades we ended each year with traditional Christmas puzzles – here are some of the best from the early years. Many of our younger readers will not have seen them – remember, some of them were not born when we started. For others it will hopefully bring back nostalgic memories. And perhaps some additional joy on the big festive day. From today until January 1st 2024 we revive the tradition, with new contributors who will hopefully maintain it in the decades to come.
12/20/2023 – The name "Hastings" has a very special ring to it in the chess world. In 1895 one of the most important tournaments in chess history took place in the seaside resort on the south-east coast of England, and chess tournaments are still regularly held there today - no tournament in chess history has a longer tradition. The Berlin FM Jürgen Brustkern is a great expert on Hastings and has written a book on the history of this tradition together with Norbert Wallet. In an interview with ChessBase he reveals what fascinates him so much about Hastings.
12/17/2023 – Today, 17 December 2023, Alexander "Big Al" Beliavsky celebrates his 70th birthday. 50 years ago, in 1973, he became World Junior Champion and has been a fixture in the chess universe ever since. For decades he was a world class player and in the course of his illustrious career Beliavsky defeated no less than nine world champions in classical chess - a feat achieved only by Paul Keres and Viktor Korchnoi! Eduard Frey congratulates and presents highlights of a remarkable career. | Alexander Beliavsky at his first Chess Olympiad in Lucerne 1982 | Photo: Dr. Klaus Krtschil via Wikipedia
12/13/2023 – The Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most aggressive answers to 1.e4, and its theory develops dynamically - the young German grandmaster Luis Engel brings all aficionados up to date with his two-volume Fritztrainer course. Christian Höthe had a look at the course and is enthusiastic.
11/9/2023 – Jozsef Pinter is 70 years old today. He is known as a long-standing and important member of the Hungarian team, having won several strong international tournaments during his career, as well as an individual gold medal at the 1984 Chess Olympiad and the first World Team Chess Championship in 1985. Pinter is also a distinguished writer and teacher.| Photo: sakkmezo.hu
11/6/2023 – In the end, the favourites prevailed at the Senior World Championships, but only just. Michael Adams and John Nunn had to settle for a photo finish in the two open events, the 50+ and the 65+. Monica Calzetta Ruiz and Galina Strutinskaia won the senior women's titles. | Photos: Patricia Claros
11/5/2023 – A very strong field, including many grandmasters, will be competing for the title of Senior World Champion in the age groups 50+ and 65+ (in an Open and a Women's tournament) from 25 October to 5 November in Terrasini, Sicily. The field includes renowned players such as Michael Adams, Klaus Bischoff, John Nunn, Rafael Vaganjan, Rainer Knaak, and Nona Gaprindashvili. The rounds start daily at 15.00 local time.
11/1/2023 – It is the halftime at the World Senior Chess Championship 2023, and after six rounds the participants were enjoying a day off. After visiting the city of Palermo the players are getting ready to continue battles for the titles in second half of the tournament, starting on November 1. | Photos: Denis Burko
10/11/2023 – Last year GM Yuri Averbakh turned 100 and set a world record. He became the oldest ever grandmaster in chess history. Sadly, he passed away in May. Averbakh led a rich and extraordinary life that he narrated himself in his autobiography, “Centre-stage and Behind the Scenes”. In the series here, our columnist draws on this important work and also explains much that was left unsaid. | Photo: Averbakh playing Kasparov (B. Dolmatovsky via Douglas Griffin’s website)
9/29/2023 – Drama and excitement dominated the final round of the World Senior Team Championship. In the end, the United States (pictured), England and Iceland reached the podium in the S50 section, while Germany Lasker Schachstiftung GK, England and Slovakia finished in the top three spots in the S65 category. | Photo: Mark Livshitz
9/27/2023 – The seventh round brought some unexpected results in the S50 section and very predictable results in the S65 section of the World Senior Team Championship in North Macedonia. After beating the United States, Italy grabbed the sole lead in the S50 section, while Germany Lasker Schachstiftung GK lead the S65 section with a perfect score after seven rounds. | Pictured: Gabriel Barandiaran (Uruguay) | Photos: Mark Livshitz
9/22/2023 – The third round of the FIDE World Senior Team Championship featured a number of exciting clashes between some of the favourites to take home first place. In the end, the S50 section has England and Iceland tied in the lead, while in the S65 section Germany and England are the teams sharing first place after three rounds. | Pictured: England’s John Emms | Photo: Mark Livshitz
9/20/2023 – The first round of the FIDE World Senior Team Championship was played on Tuesday in Struga, Ohrid Lake, North Macedonia. Two parallel events, in the 50+ and 65+ categories, are being played. The United States, England and Italy are the favourites in the 50+ section, while Germany, England and Slovakia are the top seeds in the 65+ tournament. | Pictured: Michael Dougherty (Canada) | Photo: Mark Livshitz
9/13/2023 – MegaBase 2023 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 10 million games, many of them annotated. Our columnist offers a review with focus on modern master play. There is a lot more to discover in this treasure trove: grand battles, opening novelties and exemplary endgames.
7/27/2023 – There is a new celebrity chess couple: Atousa Pourkashiyan and Hikaru Nakamura announced their wedding and now join the list of prominent chess couples. Given their playing level, they are surely near the top of the unofficial couples’ rating list. | Photo: Atousa Pourkashiyan’s Instagram profile
7/14/2023 – The 56th Biel Chess Festival, one of the most traditional and beautiful chess tournaments, begins next Saturday, 15 July 2023. In his review, Eduard Frey presents ten surprising and interesting facts about the history of the tournament. | Photo courtesy of the organiser: Playing Hall, Congress Centre Biel
6/18/2023 – When a strong player looks at a position (in a real game of chess, not a problem) he or she will automatically see it not as a random collection of pieces but as a series of chunks — patterns that are recognisable and have known features. And the patterns will also generate ideas of moves which may be profitable. Curiously, sometimes apparently insignificant changes can be crucial, and today I’m focussing on an instance of this phenomenon. | Pictured: Mikhail Tal
5/31/2023 – The European Senior Championships have been underway in Acqui Terme since last Friday. John Nunn is the favourite in the 65+ category. However, with 4 out of 4 the German player Matthias Kierzek had the best start. In the Under-50s, six players are tied for the lead with 3.5 points.
5/1/2023 – The following survey lists all chess players who have reached a top five or top ten status at least once in their career, ranked by their highest position, then in chronological order. Of course, the start of the FIDE Elo list and the current date are arbitrary, but the chess world has now had an established rating and ranking publication for more than fifty consecutive years. How many different TOP FIVE players would you expect? Well, there are only 55 luminaries in the last 55 years or so! Check it out. | Photo: Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
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