Arlington Chess Club
Est. 1954

“If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure.”
(Garry Kasparov)
“All that matters on the chessboard is good moves”
(Bobby Fischer)

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ARCHIVE - ACC News & Tournament Reports

Our newswire covers club news and local tournaments as well as any particularly unique or interesting chess articles, videos and other items from around the web. We leave coverage of most other national and international events to TWIC, Chessbase and others, though we do cover really big events.

REMINDER: Other than club updates and a few articles by club members, nearly all articles in this listing are links from other sources and authors.

September 1, 2019

August Wrap-Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament continues to be played at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone raves about this new location for our tournaments! This month we had a bit of a light turnout with Praveen Balakrishnan winning clear first (4.5/5) followed by Daniel Clancy in second (4/5) and a 3-way tie for 3rd and the U1900 prize which included a great result for Will Osborne in his first Open event, and gaining about 75 ratings points! In the U1700 section, Samuel He, Anish Srinivasan and Malachi King (in his first event) tied for 1st (4/5). There was also a 2-way tie for the U1400 prize by Atharva Hanldankar and Youran Wang, while Andrew Sha won the U1200 prize.

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out 53 players, Casey Valentine and Michael Hiban finished tied for first (3.5/5) a half point over Thomas Moore. The ACC Quads had a strong turn-out with five quads. Isaac Chiu (3/3) won the top Quads. Other quad winers included Peter Snow, Will Osborne, Danny Podratsy, and one quad had a 3-way tie for first. And finally, in the ACC Blitz tournament (2 games against each 5 opponents) saw Juan Vera top an 8-player field by a point and a half (8/10).

August 31, 2019

More Things You Need To Know About Pawn Stucture‎; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

I am continuing my articles about pawn structures, since people seem to enjoy them and also learn from them. So here is another one! What is a pawn structure? From my online glossary, I define it as “the positioning of the whole pawn mass. Also referred to as the pawn skeleton. This positioning of the pawns is what usually dictates the types of plans available in a given position due to open files, space, pawn weaknesses, etc.” Oh, one other thing: If you run into a pawn structure that befuddles you (it can be from a grandmaster game or one of yours), feel free to send me the position and I might use it for another of these articles.

August 31, 2019

Understanding chess composition competition; By Siegfried Hornecker; ChessBase

This month Study of the Month columnist Siegfried Hornecker looks at the WCCI, or World Championship in Composing for Individuals, and the legacy of Nenad Petrović. As per a rather new rule, the best compositions there automatically qualify for the official FIDE Album, which will be covered in a follow-up article.

August 27, 2019

Pál Benkö dies at 91; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

He was a world-class grandmaster, twice World Champion candidate, friend of Bobby Fischer (whose participation in the 1972 World Championship match he directly enabled), inventor of the eponymous Benko Gambit and the 1.g3 Benko Opening (which he used to beat Fischer and Tal). He is also known as the composer of some of the finest endgame studies and chess problems we have ever seen. Pál was also a loyal friend who provided us with countless articles over the last decade. He will be deeply missed.

More: Benko Problem
More: Chess24
More: Chess.com

August 26, 2019

How To Lose A Move To Win The Game!‎; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

The concept of time in chess is one of the most difficult topics for young kids to grasp. While they have no trouble understanding how you can lose a piece, a pawn or the right to castle, the subject of losing time is usually confusing for them. That's why the moves h2-h3 and a2-a3 are always popular in scholastic tournaments. Their unwritten rule says, "when you don't know what to do, push a rook pawn!"

August 23, 2019

The Man Who Beat Mikhail Tal‎; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

If you have seen the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, you may remember one of the Washington Square Park hustlers who held a sign offering a photograph or a game with the man who beat Mikhail Tal. Just like most of the movie's chess characters, this guy really existed. His name was Josif Israel Zilber.

August 23, 2019

Cheating: How to quit chess in one move; By Andris Tihomirovs; ChessBase

A photo of a chess player using a mobile phone in a toilet during a tournament game made international headlines for the sport and rekindled fears of cheating in chess. Igors Rausis, the grandmaster caught in the act, says that it was his chance to quit the world of chess in one move. ANDRIS TIHOMIROVS spoke to the accused.

August 21, 2019

Exploring Stereotype Threat; By Alexey Root; ChessBase

In Alexey Root’s first article about FM and WGM Jennifer Yu’s ½ of 9 score in the U.S. Junior Championship, Root speculated about whether research on “stereotype threat” and on the difficulty of second-half “comebacks” could apply to Yu’s performance, which was around 2½ points less than her expected score. In this first follow-up article, WIM Alexey Root explores stereotype threat in chess.

More: Kramnik
More: Kramnik

August 20, 2019

GM Kaufman speaks about his pet dragon — Komodo 13; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

Some people keep a Komodo dragon in their yard, and some keep it in their living room, safely inside their computer! In this interview with Grandmaster Larry Kaufman, one of the creators of Komodo, the World Chess Software Champion, we gain new insight into the latest release of the popular chess program. Komodo has gained strength both in the standard version, but particularly in the Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS), making the engine a valuable research tool for correspondence games, and openings.

More: Komodo

August 20, 2019

New Puzzle Rush Formats Released; By Staff; Chess.com

Puzzle Rushers, rejoice! For today we added two new modes! You can think of them as time controls for Rush! There is more new-feature coolness on the way for Puzzle Rush very soon. Stay tuned!

August 16, 2019

Kramnik training six Indian super-talents; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

It is a new development that will boost Indian chess beyond measure: Vladimir Kramnik, the 14th World Champion, has started to work with six talented Indian youngsters in a training camp that will be held in Chens-Sur-Leman, France. It is the first of four sessions and is sponsored by the Chennai-based company Microsense Private Limited. ChessBase India has played a pivotal role in bringing all of the elements of the camp together.

More: Kramnik

August 13, 2019

The Unusual Side Of Blitz Chess; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

When we talk about blitz chess, we usually think about tactics, blunders and opening surprises that force our opponents to spend their precious seconds. I doubt that many people would mention good endgame technique as an integral element of blitz.

August 13, 2019

Fat Fritz – What on Earth is that?; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

It's a semi-secret development, an AlphaZero clone, engineered over the past nine months for ChessBase. Fat Fritz was tested by some of the best players in the world, who expressed unmitigated delight over the ideas and improvements it came up with. Now the program is publicly available on the ChessBase Engine Cloud. And it is running on awesome hardware.

More: Fat Fritz Cloud
More: Engine Cloud
More: Fat Fritz & KID

August 13, 2019

Making a difference in Africa; By Evan Rabin; ChessBase

A New York-based chess instructor and entrepreneur reports on teaching chess in Tanzania. After working in corporate America, doing enterprise sales for the likes of Oracle, Evan Rabin rekindled his interest in teaching children and formed Premier Chess in September 2017, quickly expanding to 58 programs.

August 10, 2019

MVL Interview: "I was very motivated to get back to winning ways"; By Dhananjay Khadilkar; ChessBase

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave staged an impressive turnaround by first reaching the final of the Grand Prix in Riga and then followed it up by winning the Paris leg of the Grand Chess Tour. This, after encountering setbacks in Norway Chess and the Zagreb leg of the Grand Chess Tour. In an exclusive interview with Dhananjay Khadilkar, the French Grandmaster and World No. 5 talks about the factors contributing to this turnaround and why he will continue to play the Gruenfeld defense.

August 9, 2019

A knight on the rim is...what now?; By Alexey Root; ChessBase

To annoy chess players, orient a board incorrectly or reverse the kings and queens. Claim that a knight on a3 controls the centre, or that Stan Vaughan is a world chess champion. WIM Alexey Root shares chess sayings (like "a knight on the rim is dim") and songs to move chess players from exasperation to pleasure. Perfect for some Friday Fluff!

August 9, 2019

Gruenfeld grinder; By Oliver Reeh; ChessBase

In the diagrammed position White must act fast since his centre is about to be blown apart. What would be your choice? This whole line with an early h4-h5 is a hyper-sharp attempt to tackle the Gruenfeld. Why care about complicated opening details if you can play for mate instead!?

August 8, 2019

The Chelyabinsk Meteorite; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

A meteorite can pass through the atmosphere burning — a fulgent light in the darkness. Igor Kurnosov, who died six years ago today, passed through the chess world like a meteorite, leaving many interesting games in his wake. DAVIDE NASTASIO reviews the book which celebrates a life cut too short. What impressed me was the array of GMs commenting the games. Each one different, with a different style.

August 8, 2019

Titled Ladies‎; By Sarah Beth C. (a.k.a. Batgirl); Chess.com

At one time there were no official titles in chess. In 1950 FIDE created the Grandmaster, the International Master and the International Women Master titles. The first two sets of titles weren't based on ratings, which were almost non-existent at that time anyway, but on other criteria.

August 5, 2019

How To Deal With Outrageous Chess Openings‎; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

I am sure that you've encountered the situation where your opponent played an opening move that breaks all known chess rules. What is your second thought when this happens? (I assume that the first thought is usually: "You gotta be kidding me!"). Can you keep your cool and play your best chess? Outrageous opening moves can be played for a variety of reasons, which we discussed in this article. So a beginner-like move doesn't necessarily mean that your opponent is a beginner, and therefore you need to take it seriously.

More: Chess.com

August 5, 2019

Preparing against your opponent’s favourite variation; By Dhananjay Khadilkar; ChessBase

French Grandmaster Thal Abergel finished second in the recently held Paris Championship. Dhananjay Khadilkar spoke to him about tips and tricks of the trade for club players looking to improve their opening preparation. Preparing opponent-specific variations is one of the prime aspects of training before and during tournaments.

August 5, 2019

The Sveshnikov: A top level guest that never leaves!; By Tanmay Srinath; ChessBase

The Sveshnikov Sicilian is currently the hot topic of debate at the top level. With Magnus Carlsen scoring win after win with it, his compatriots are taking up the challenge and playing it themselves! With both White and Black finding hitherto hidden resources, it was high time that a FritzTrainer was made on the subject. Who better to do it than the man who has garnered numerous accolades for assisting Anish Giri?

August 1, 2019

Jan's Opening Clinic 24: Part 1; By Staff; Chess24

Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson gets straight down to tackling the chess opening questions that were posed by chess24 premium members earlier this week. In this first batch he again tackles all kinds of openings - the Catalan, KID, Sicilian, Colle, English, Four Knights Scotch, Semi-Slav and more. There's also a variation on one of Jan's favourite questions about how you can play both solidly with Black and get winning chances. Will he reveal the Holy Grail?

More: Part 2
More: Part 3
More: Part 4
More: Part 5

August 2017

American Chess Is Great Again; By Oliver Roeder; 538.com

“It was from Steinitz that the era of modern chess began,” wrote Garry Kasparov, possibly the best player of all time. But American chess was in the midst of a bleak century, only rarely punctuated by triumph. But this string of misfortune may be about to end, thanks to some quintessentially American ideals: mobility and prosperity. A trio of players — both native and immigrant — have found their way to the U.S., and each now ranks in the top seven in the world.

July 3, 2019

Ancient Chess Piece Bought For £5, Sold For £735,000; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

An ancient chess piece kept in a drawer for 55 years and originally bought for £5 was today sold at auction for £735,000 (U.S. $927,062, or 820,232 euro). It is almost certainly one of the famous Lewis Chessmen that date from the late 12th or early 13th century. The piece, 8.8 cm (3.5 inch) high and made of walrus ivory, is named warder. It represents a rook. It is a standing, bearded warrior holding a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left. The many similarities make it almost certain that it is part of the famous Lewis Chessmen, found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides in 1831.

June 30, 2019

June Wrap-Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament continues to be played at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone raves about this new location for our tournaments! This month we had yet another great turnout of nearly 55 competitors. In the Premier section, Justin Paul dropped in and swept the field (5/5) to win outright a full point and half ahead of a 4-way tie for 2nd and 3rd place. Donovan Chong pulled off some magic as well to win the U1900 prize this month. In the U1700 section, Ted Covey drew his final game to win first place (4.5/5) a half point ahead of a 4-way tie for 2nd, 3rd and the U1400 class prize. Remember: a player can win one prize and wins the highest prize s/he qualifies for - so when a class prize qualifier finishes tied for 1st to 3rd place, s/he wins the higher of either the class prize or the place prizes (including ties). So the two players who qualified for the class prize, they were awarded a tie including 2nd and 3rd because it was a higher prize split. There was also a 3-way tie for the U1200 prize. For their great performances, Ameya Haldankar and Lulu Huang, the two U1400 players who tied for second, they BOTH also earned about 200 ratings points! The 3 players who tied for the U1200 prize, A. Rajeev, M. Jiang, and A. Nguyen, also gained 50, 100 and 200 ratings points, respectively! Ya He also gained over 70 ratings points. Congrats to all of them!

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out of nearly 50 players, David Podratsky finished a half point ahead of new father and son club members Aundre Dudley Sr and Jr. In the ACC Quads tournament (3 games at a G/30, d5 time control) turnout EXPLODED when nearly double our previous high turnout showed up to battle each other. We had 36 players show up making 9 full quads. Quad winners included: Jason Liang, Mark Hyland, Bhaswar Bhattacharjee, Sean Olson, Kent Korgan, Tchenly LaGuerre, Chi Ton Cong Nguyen, Ameya Haldankar, and Dequan Albury. And finally, in the ACC Blitz tournament (2 games against each of 5 opponents), 10 players came out with Justin Paul and Isaac Chiu splitting their head-to-head pairing to tie for first place (9/10).

June 28, 2019

Carlsen flexing influence in Norway; By André Schulz; ChessBase

The Norwegian Chess Federation is facing a democratic dilemma. The betting company Kindred Group, registered in Malta and Gibraltar with offices in Stockholm, has offered the federation a sponsorship agreement worth about five million euros. The deal is controversial and the association wants to vote on the matter on July 7th. Magnus Carlsen is in favour of the deal and has now set up a chess club to gain direct influence on the vote.

More: Carlsen

June 27, 2019

Ernst Karl Falkbeer and his countergambit; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

With Falkbeer's Countergambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4!?) Black tries to spoil the fun White wants to have in the King's Gambit. A number of top players have tried this countergambit which led to entertaining games. Today, the line is only rarely seen but today, June 27, 2019, Ernst Karl Falkbeer, who gave the countergambit its name, would have celebrated his 200th birthday.

June 22, 2019

Proposing a new system for top tournaments; By Miguel Illescas Córdoba; ChessBase

Entrepreneur, trainer, and Grandmaster Miguel Illescas puts down some thoughts on how to make elite chess touranments more fan friendly. Inspired by the Norway Chess Armageddon experiment, he offers a proposal to improve the format with tweaks to the scoring and time control.

June 21, 2019

American chess in the melting pot; By Staff; American Chess Magazine

Home run: Grandmaster and former U.S. Champion Joel Benjamin muses on the effect of immigration on the US chess scene in an opinion piece reproduced with kind permission from American Chess Magazine #11.

June 21, 2019

Learning Basic Pawn Structures; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

What is pawn structure? From my online glossary, I define it as "the positioning of the whole pawn mass. Also referred to as the pawn skeleton. This positioning of the pawns is what usually dictates the types of plans available in a given position due to open files, space, pawn weaknesses, etc." It’s normal to develop pieces, put a rook on an open file and make threats. Normal stuff, but not very exciting. Others get a few pieces out and go for an attack. That’s probably more fun, but many of these “piece-only” attacks just fail. In this article, for players from 1000 to 1600 (my next article will be for 1600 to 2000), we will look at the creation of useful pawn structures.

June 20, 2019

The Method in Chess: 5 new video series; By Staff; Chess24

“Clearly the best educational book about chess” is how Alexander Grischuk once described Iossif Dorfman’s “The Method in Chess”, and we’re thrilled that the legendary Soviet and French Chess Champion has now filmed a 9-hour video series on his method with Jan Gustafsson. That’s just one of five new series you can check out now on chess24, including Sopiko Guramishvili on playing 4.f3 against the Nimzo-Indian and Romain Edouard providing a full repertoire for the French Defence as well as taking us through some great attacking games by Veselin Topalov

More: Dorfman

June 19, 2019

Interview: How Carlsen thinks; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

On May 22, 2019, before the Lindores Abbey Tournament and Norway Chess, Energi Danmark invited Magnus Carlsen to come to Copenhagen, Denmark, to play a two-game exhibition match against 14-year old Danish IM Jonas Suhl Bjerre and a simul against 24 opponents. Carlsen won the match 2-0 and the simul 24-0 but between simul and match he still found time for an interview in which he talked about his development, how he got better, strategy, planning, and the way he thinks.

June 16, 2019

A simul, AlphaZero and more; By Carl Portman; ChessBase

AlphaZero changed the chess world and the way chess players think. But how does the program think and what makes its chess so special? In their book "Game Changer" Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan give answers and present a lot of games by AlphaZero. Carl Portman liked the book so much that he invited Sadler and Regan for a simul and a lecture about AlphaZero. Which was instructive and fun.

June 15, 2019

New Mastery Course: Using Time In Chess; By NM Sam Copeland; Chess.com

Do you find that you sometimes miss opportunities to punish your opponent when leading in development? This week we are proud to release our new Mastery course, Using Time In Chess by GM Simon Williams. GM Williams shows you how to smell opportunity knocking and take the pawn by the horns. Learn how to speed up the game and punish your opponents for their incautious play!

June 11, 2019

Queen sacrifice on move nine; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Chances to sacrifice your queen after nine moves are rare. But in round five of the Asian Continental Championship in Xingtai, China, the Indian Grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali had such a chance. He used it to win a brilliancy against Alireza Firouzja and to take the lead in the tournament.

June 2, 2019

Chopping Down Goliath; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In general, when a very strong player faces a lesser one, the result is usually easy to guess. However, once in a while the “victim” turns the tables and devours the giant. In this article I will give you six games where the little fish somehow eats the big fish. It’s up to you to see if you could have done the same.

June 1, 2019

Caruana's Fireworks In The Petrov Defense; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

The Petrov Defense is one of the most hated openings in chess. Probably only the Ruy Lopez Berlin Defense is hated more by chess fans. Both openings are the weapons of choice in many super tournaments where the main goal of many participants playing as Black is just to equalize the game following 30+ moves of computer analysis. Nevertheless, such a viewpoint towards these openings is not fair. As I mentioned in my article 10 years ago: "But is this reputation justified? In my opinion, if one of the opponents wants to see blood, then there will be blood on the board!"

May 31, 2019

May Wrap-Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament continues to be played at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone raves about this new location for our tournaments! This month we had yet another great turnout of 50 competitors - which turns out to be the breadth of the field for this event since the beginning of the year. This month Jason Liang pulled some of his magic to finish in clear first (4.5/5) a half point ahead of Andrew Samuelson and a point ahead of Larry Gilden. Eddie Guo won the U1900 prize this month. Notably, in the U1700 section, Jason's dad Chunlei also had an excellent tournament as he tied for first with Elvin Baim (4.5/5) followed by a 3-way tie for 3rd place. Andrew Valliere won the U1400 Class Prize and young Kelsey Routman won the U1200 Class Prize. For their great performances, Guo picked up over 60 ratings points and Kelsey over 100 points - Congrats to both of them!

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out of nearly 50 players, John Sullivan, Tchenly LaGeurre and Zak Butterfield finished in a 3-way tie (3/4) a half a point over 2 other members. The ACC Quads tournament (3 games at a G/30, d5 time control) had 22 players in over five quads with the last becoming a 6-player Swiss. Alex Emmons bested two higher rated players to win the top quad. Peter Bertel swept the next quad including a win over Yours-Truly. The 3rd quad of 1400-1500 level players ended in a 3-way tie. The 4th quad ended in a tie between Jack Hall and John Fontaine. The bottom quad (actually a 6-player Swiss) was swept by Mike Schecter as a number of players were blooded in their first rated event. And finally, in the ACC Blitz tournament (2 games against each of 5 opponents) saw newcomer Sathya Gnankumar top an 8-player field a full point (8/10) ahead of the field.

May 30, 2019

Hort Stories: Leonid Stein; By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

During his peak the Ukrainian born Soviet Grandmaster Leonid Stein (November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973) was one of the best players of the world. He had a fantastic flair for the attack and was famous for his ability to demolish his opponents quickly. But fortune did not smile on him. Vlastimil Hort knew Stein well and shares memories.

May 25, 2019

Romantic Steinitz; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

As is well known, Wilhelm Steinitz justified positional chess theory and thus ended the Romantic era. It is less well-known that Steinitz himself was previously a great chess romantic. A contribution by Stephan Oliver Platz.

May 25, 2019

Ready for Reti; By Siegfried Hornecker; ChessBase

Many will know the Austro-Hungarian (and later Czechoslovakian) Richard Réti as a world-class player, but also as a great composer of endgame studies, so — in time for his 130th birthday — we continue our exploration of European chess composers with him. As it would go too far to analyze his entire biography, just the important details will be given here, while also exploring the history of the Réti manoeuvre.

More: Part 2

May 17, 2019

Anjelina on Kasparov vs Deep Blue; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

22 years ago Garry Kasparov played an ill-fated match against Deep Blue. There were many interesting visitors at the event in New York, amongst them a young Women's Grandmaster who, in an interview, said: "I don't think it's my place to criticize a World Champion, but ...". She went on to give a frank opinion of Kasparov's strategy. Today Anjelina Belakovskaia, who is doing remarkable work for American chess (and finance), turns fifty. Frederic Friedel looks back at his first encounter with her, and the early days of ChessBase Magazine.

April 12, 2019

A Short Look At The Great Mikhail Chigorin; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

The great Russian chess player Mikhail Chigorin (born 1850, died 1908) was put in the Gatchina orphanage at the age of 10 (his parents died young). Here is a small bit of what that was like, written by a historian of the Gatchina Institute: “The brutal masters subjected the children only to fear and continuous punishment and in this way engendered in them, at a very early state of their life, deep hatred towards their whole environment and forever separated them from society.” It’s clear that this was not a good way to start his (or anyone's) life. Yet, he became one of the most famous chess players in history.

April 1, 2019

March Wrap-Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament continues to be played at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone raves about this new location for our tournaments! This month we had yet another great turnout of 50 competitors with Larry Gilden and Daniel Clancy tying for first (4/5) followed by a tie for 3rd between Andrew Samuelson and Alex Emmons (3.5/5) and the U2000 Class Prize the last of which went to Sergey Patsuk (3.5/5) for the second month in a row - what out for this kid! In the U1700 section, Lang Xiong and Samuel He tied for 1st (4/5) followed by a 4-way tie for 3rd. Jonathan Fox won the U1400 Class Prize while ther was a3-way tie for the U1200 Class Prize. Xiong, Fox, Mia Fuller and Braeleigh Crowell all snagged up about 100 ratings points - Congrats to all of them!

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out 57 players, Lev Bargramian had a strong month (4/5) to finish a whole point over 3 other members. The ACC Quads had over three quads with the third becoming a 6-player Swiss. Akshay Indusekar won the top Quads with Yours-Truly upsetting 2 players to gain nearly 60 ratings points(!). Returning from a long time out of the DC area, Michael Abron won the second quad, and there was a 4-way tie in the bottom quad (actually a 6-player swiss). And finally, in the ACC Blitz tournament (2 games against each 5 opponents) saw Isaac Chiu top a 10-player field with a perfect score.

April 1, 2019

US Chess Championships 2019; By Mark Crowther; TWIC

The US Chess Championships took place 20th March to 2nd April 2019. Players: Open: Caruana, So, Nakamura, Dominguez Perez, Shankland, Robson, Xiong, Sevian, Lenderman, Akobian, Liang, Gareyev. Women's Championship: Krush, Zatonskih, Abrahamyan, Wang, Sharevich, Yip, Foisor, Yu, Gorti, Eswaran, Feng, Nguyen.

Hikarua Nakamura shared the lead with Leinier Dominguez and Fabiano Caruana going into the final round, he was the only one of these players to manage a win so he won his fifth title with 8/11 half a point clear of these rivals. The women's championship saw a remarkable performance by 17 year old Jennifer Yu, she was not at all one of the favourites but demolished the field with a fine 10/11 score.

March 31, 2019

US Championship: Jennifer Yu Wins With A Round To Spare; By Antonio Pereira; ChessBase

The astounding run of Jennifer Yu continued on Saturday, when she took down the one other contender for first place to get the title in style with a round to spare. The 17-year-old defeated Anna Zatonskih and stands on an unreachable 9 out of 10 score.

More: Chess24
More: Chess.com
More: TWIC
More: USCF
More: YouTube
More: Wash Times

March 31, 2019

Nakamura Wins 5th U.S. Championship; By FM Mile Klein; Chess.com

When the top four players all think a round is "must-win" then that's a good sign for the man who actually does. And so it was for GM Hikaru Nakamura in today's final round of the 2019 U.S. championship. Thinking that other players with a share of the lead might bag the full point, he pulled yet another rabbit out of the hat by playing the Dutch to land young GM Jeffery Xiong in unfamiliar waters.

March 28, 2019

Women's Candidates set for June in Kazan; By Press Release; FIDE

FIDE has announced in a press release the exact dates and the final field for the Women's Candidates Tournament in Kazan. Yifan Hou is not playing and Aleksandra Goryachkina will take her place. The tournament starts on May 29th.

March 27, 2019

Kramnik: Life before and after retirement; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

The announcement came as a shock to the chess world: former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, one of the all-time greats of chess, said he would no longer be participating in competitive chess. Journalists rushed to ask him about his motives, and one of the resulting pieces stood out: an interview in the Chennai-based New Sunday Express. We bring you excerpts (with kind permission) and narrative by Frederic Friedel on his first encounter with the super-talent.

March 25, 2019

Why Is This Chess Gambit So Weird?; By GM Gregg Serper; Chess.com

As I grew up, I learned about possible gambits in chess. All of them had something in common. When you play a gambit, you sacrifice some material and therefore avoid possible trades, as they would reduce the power of your initiative or attack. Naturally, your opponent tries to do just the opposite and trades as many pieces as he can, trying to get the game into an endgame where his material advantage would become decisive. That's why when I first saw games played with the Benko Gambit I couldn't understand what was going on. Black sacrifices a pawn there to get an initiative on the queenside and then tries to trade the queens and go straight into an endgame! What's going on?

March 24, 2019

Find the winning move; By David Cox; CHESS Magazine

Here's another opportunity to sharpen your tactical skills: twelve positions taken from recent tournaments. But we have a little surprise for you: on the diagram boards you can not only move the pieces around to analyze — there is also an embedded engine that will actually play out the position against you.

March 23, 2019

A trip to Saudi Arabia; By Irina Bulmaga; ChessBase

The 1st Hail Rapid Chess Tournament for men and women took place from the 15th to the 18th of March in Hail, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It gathered more than 200 participants from 18 countries. Wang Hao took clear first in the men's tournament while IM IRINA BULMAGA won the women's tournament and sends her reflections.

March 22, 2019

US Champs: So's Endgame Squeeze; By André Schulz; ChessBase

In the second round of the US Championships, Wesley So showed flashes of brilliance against Timur Gareyev, giving a master class in the endgame with rook and knight against rook and knight. Just when everyone thought it was a draw, that's when the struggle really began.

March 22, 2019

In Fischer's footsteps; By Oliver Reeh; ChessBase

Would you dare to play 30.Rxf7 in the diagram position? The 11th world champion did, a good omen — but can you walk the talk following Black's reply 30...Rc1+ then?

March 21, 2019

Carlsen and Giri campaign for racial equality; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

"Breaking a rule in chess to change behavior in life." World Champion Magnus Carlsen and GM Anish Giri team up in a social campaign dubbed "Move for Equality" in honour of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The pair shot a brief video in Oslo on Tuesday for the promotion.

March 18, 2019

India: Young talents and preteen GMs; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

In January our editor emeritus Frederic Friedel took a trip to India, to visit our partners at ChessBase India, to visit two big GM Opens, and to meet some of the incredible young talents the country is currently producing. There was a preteen grandmaster, a number of candidate GMs in their very early teens, and a delightful U12 girl's world champion. Frederic made many new friends, but he also used the opportunity to conduct his famous talent test on them. Here are the results and a biographical video.

March 18, 2019

A Valentine’s ode to chess; By Nagesh Havanur; ChessBase

He beat two legends — Capablanca and Alekhine in succession on their way to the world championship. In those days, 'Capa' was invincible and Alekhine irresistible. This son of Barcelona made his city proud even if it those victories came about “only” in simultaneous displays. But it is not on these chance victories that this player’s claim to fame rests. Valentin Marin y Llovet (1872-1936) was a composer with more than 250 problems to his credit. If the name rings a bell, we showed a challenge from Vladimir Kramnik and a solution with Vishy Anand last month. Here is a tribute to the great master. Don’t miss the problems in the end. They are for you.

March 18, 2019

2019 National High School Championship; By John Hartmann; US Chess Federation

The 2019 National High School Championship was a record-breaker, both officially and unofficially. This 51st edition of the High School Championship set an official attendance record with 1,689 players, shattering the previous best of 1,569 at the 2017 National High School in Nashville, TN. That year’s NHS was part of Supernationals VI; the record for largest stand-alone event was 1,492 in Columbus, OH in 2016.

March 18, 2019

Do You Believe Your Lying Eyes?; By GM Gregg Serper; Chess.com

In his famous comedy routine, Richard Pryor tells a story about being caught cheating with another woman by his wife. While that was just a comedy performance, I've seen many chess players who trust anything but their own eyes!

March 17, 2019

"Chess is the second biggest sport in Venezuela"; By Carlos Alberto Colodro; ChessBase

Venezuela is going through a devastating economic crisis, with hyperinflation, hunger, disease, massive emigration and death rates rising dramatically. Among the millions of emigrants is Juan Blanco, a PhD in Education that has worked with chess as a learning tool for over twenty years. He is now living in Peru and in conversation with ChessBase he talked about his current projects, the situation of chess in Venezuela and some of the reasons for this crisis.

March 16, 2019

This 8-Year-Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile; By Nicolas Kristof; New York Times

In a homeless shelter in Manhattan, an 8-year-old boy is walking to his room, carrying an awkward load in his arms, unfazed by screams from a troubled resident. The boy is a Nigerian refugee with an uncertain future, but he is beaming. He can’t stop grinning because the awkward load is a huge trophy, almost as big as he is.

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March 15, 2019

Chess24 and Play Magnus join forces; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Today we’re proud to announce that chess24 has merged with Play Magnus, the Norwegian company behind a family of apps building on the brand of World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. Play Magnus and chess24 will continue to operate independently online, but with our joint resources and know-how we believe we’re better equipped than ever to provide the very best possible chess experience.

March 14, 2019

Deadly French Defense?; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Last year, I wrote about the French Defense. I am bringing this up because this new article is all about the French Defense and many of you will learn a lot if you read the old one too. During the Batumi Olympiad in 2018 I noticed a young lady on the Japanese team wipe out her Israeli opponent (rated 600+ points higher) in the first game. And then it happened again in the same tournament. Why happened in both games and why?

March 13, 2019

Who Was Abe Kupchik?; By Sarah Beth C. (a.k.a. Batgirl); Chess.com

In 1903 eleven year old Abe Kupchik arrived in New York from Belarus with his parents, Pinchas and Bessie and his five siblings. Where he went to school, when he learned chess, in fact everything for the next 9 years remains a mystery to me but by 1912 his name is appearing in the chess news...

March 13, 2019

An Adolf Anderssen anniversary; By Andre Schultz; ChessBase

In addition to Lasker's 150th birthday, the German chess had another anniversary to celebrate last year. On July 6, 1818, 200 years ago, Adolf Anderssen was born in Breslau. After his victory in London in 1851, he was considered the best player in the world. He died 140 years ago today, on March 13, 1879. Replay his "Evergreen Game" with notes by Garry Kasparov!

March 11, 2019

Kramnik: Championship Candidate; By GM Gregg Serper; Chess.com

As you know from my previous article, in 1992 Vladimir Kramnik transformed from a FIDE master into one of the world's leading players. The year 1993 made it official: Kramnik became a candidate for the world title. Again we played in the same tournaments many times that year. First it was the traditional super-tournament in Dortmund, Germany. It is funny that both of us won only one game each and came in second. But while Kramnik didn't lose a single game, I lost three!

March 8, 2019

Advice from the "Chess Educator of the Year"; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Elizabeth Spiegel is a public school chess teacher in Brooklyn, New York. Her program at IS 318 was the subject of the 2012 documentary film "Brooklyn Castle". Recently she was given an award as "Chess Educator of the Year" by the University of Texas at Dallas, which has published her 55-minute talk that contains useful advice for parents and chess teachers gleaned from her 20 years of experience teaching chess.

March 7, 2019

Stanley Kubrick: Inspired by chess; By Andre Schultz; ChessBase

Stanley Kubrick was a giant in film history. Almost all of his films were milestones in their genre. He was also a great chess lover. In almost every one of his films, there is at least an allusion to the game of chess. He died 20 years ago today, on March 7, 1999, at the age of 70. We take a brief look at his career use of chess and chess imagery.

March 6, 2019

Golden Age of US Chess, for players ages 50 and older; By Alexey Root; ChessBase

A “golden age” for tournament players ages 50 and older has arrived in the United States. In the past three years, US Chess has authorized new tournaments and prizes restricted to seniors. However, women ages 50 and older have not been affected. That may change in March 2019, when US Chess begins grant applications for women’s chess programs. WIM Alexey Root explains...

March 6, 2019

USA Upsets China At World Team Chess Championship; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

A fine combination by Alexsandr Lenderman was part of the USA's upset victory against China in round two of the World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan. With Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So and Sam Shankland on the team in the Batumi Olympiad, the U.S. drew China on all boards in the final round and had to be content with silver.

March 6, 2019

Chess Coach Banned For Life From USCF?; By FM Mike Klein; Chess.com

In an update to a story that Chess.com broke last year, a nationally-recognized chess team from Texas may now face multiple disciplinary actions after the US Chess Federation's ethics committee found that more than two dozen games were lost on purpose to lower players' ratings.

March 5, 2019

TCEC Season 15 – To A/B or NNot to A/B, That is the Question; By Staff; Chessdom

Season 15 of the Top Chess Engine Championship will begin this March 5th. It will feature a record number of engines to accommodate the booming sector and a record ELO of the participants. A total of 44 engines will face off in a division based system to determine the current status quo of strength and the grand champion of TCEC.

March 5, 2019

Shankland: “My goal is to be World Champion”; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

At the age of 26 Sam Shankland suddenly stopped being a “solid 2650 grandmaster” to win the 2018 US Championship ahead of Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura. That catapulted him into the 2700 club, and he followed up with a string of results that have taken him into the world top 25. It’s fascinating, therefore, to hear a recent lecture at the Los Angeles Chess Club where he talks about what changed, his ambitions for the future and what separates Magnus Carlsen from the rest.

March 4, 2019

How Kramnik Became A Super GM; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

I have been lucky to play in tournaments with chess players who later became super grandmasters or even world champions. The transformation of talented juniors into the best players in the world was usually a gradual process. With Vladimir Kramnik it was totally different.

March 4, 2019

Flying High: GM Timur Gareyev; By Macauley Peterson; Chessbase

When you think about popularizing the game of chess, a lot of ideas may cross your mind, but few could be crazier than what Timur Gareyev did in collaboration with US Chess Federation last year: Sky-diving for the Chess Life magazine cover. Watch the amazing video and read a new interview along with recollections from IM Sagar Shah on Gareyev's trip through India.

March 4, 2019

Sharing the challenges of chess; By Matt Fernandez; ChessBase

Chess, often referred to as “the game of kings,” is a centuries-old game enjoyed by people of all ages. Expert ranked chess player Jay Stallings has made it his mission to help Santa Clarita students find joy in this ancient battle of wits.

March 3, 2019

Stars Gather In Berlin For Bundesliga Chess; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

Superstars like Fabiano Caruana, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vishy Anand and Levon Aronian were among the players in Berlin this weekend, where the Bundesliga teams gathered for three joint-rounds, organized once again by the Berlin chess club.

March 2, 2019

Interview: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave; By David Cox; Chess.com

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave tells us about his chess origins, the state of elite chess and his world championship ambitions. Known for his sharp, tactical style, the Frenchman is one of the finest attacking players in chess, but despite being a fixture in the world’s elite since 2013, Vachier-Lagrave has yet to challenge Magnus Carlsen’s world championship.

March 2, 2019

Are Elo ratings going down?; By Walter Wolf; Chessbase

Chess fans tend to focus on the FIDE ratings of the top players in the world which are updated monthly. But the Elo system wants to reflect the strength of the chess players of all strengths all over the world. Since its introduction in 1970 it has become immensely popular and important for the chess world. However, it is not without problems. Why, for example, are junior players from Russia or India continuously underrated and how does this affect other players? To answer this and other questions, we took a close look at the development of some ratings over time.

March 2, 2019

TCEC14 Computer Chess Superfinal: A Perspective; By GM Matthew Sadler; Chessdom

Season 14 has been amazing! The clash of styles between STOCKFISH and LEELA produces consistently interesting chess – just like the match between STOCKFISH and ALPHAZERO did. You really hope that this sort of clash of styles can continue for the next few seasons.

March 1, 2019

February Wrap-Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament was again played at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone continues to rave about this new location for our tournaments! This month we had yet another great turnout of 50 competitors with a 3-way tie (4/5) in the Premier section between Isaac Chiu, Jason Liang and William Marcelino. Sergey Patsuk snagged the U2000 class prize. In the U1700 section, Rahul Ponugoti won clear first (4.5/5), followed by Juan Diaz in clear second (4/5) and a 3-way tie for 3rd. Trista Crowell won the U1400 class prize and Lulu Huang won the U1200 class prize. Both Diaz and Huang also nabbed over 100 ratings points(!).

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out 40+ players, newcomer Steve Draughn had a strong month (4/4) to win the prize by a whole point over Ghezai Menelik and Michael Hiban (3/4). The ACC Quads had over two quads with the second becoming a 6-player Swiss. Abraham White won the top Quads while 3 players tied in the Swiss. And finally, the ACC Blitz tournament saw only 6 competitors battle it out for a prize in the double-swiss structure (2 games against each 5 opponents) with winner Justin Paul playing to perfection (10/10) .

March 1, 2019

Stockfish continues to dominate computer chess, wins TCEC S14; By Staff; Chessdom

Defending its title by Stockfish in Season 14 started in the Premier Division. There Stockfish was merciless – it qualified for the Superfinal as clear first and without losing a single game. Considering this was the strongest Premier Division in the history of TCEC, the achievement of Stockfish may remain a unique feat for many seasons to come.

February 31, 2019

Magnus Carlsen On The Ancient Appeal Of Chess; By Chris Smith; Forbes

On November 28, I won my fourth straight World Chess Championship, a hard-fought victory to defend my position as the leading chess player in the world. At the top level, chess is both rewarding and quite demanding. Always having a chess position running in the back of my mind is the only way I know how to continue to learn and improve. Still, even that is not enough.

February 27, 2019

Re: Arnold Denker; By Johannes Fischer; Chessbase

In the 1930s and 1940s Arnold Denker (February 20, 1914 – January 2, 2005) was one of the strongest players in the US and in 1944 and 1946 he became US Champion. After the end of his chess career Denker became a successful businessman, chess promoter and chess official. He is also the co-author of "The Bobby Fischer I knew", a wonderful and charming collection of chess memories. On February 20, 2019 Denker would have celebrated his 105th birtday.

February 27, 2019

20 Best Players: 2000-2019; By Frederick Friedel; Chessbase

Today it is possible to calculate things fairly easily, but it becomes really useful if you are able to present the results in a comprehensible way, like with dynamic graphs and bubbling. This was done very nicely for historical chess strength in 2016 by Abacaba, a site that makes videos about data and math. Now a YouTube channel called The Ranker has published a 10-minute video visualization tracking official FIDE ratings from 2000 to the present.

February 27, 2019

Can You Solve These Old Time Chess Puzzles?; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

The old time brilliancy prize games are fun to watch, but for some people they are even more fun if you can solve them in puzzles. Then, when you get little bios for the players too (winners and losers)…well, it’s a good time for all. If you fail to solve a puzzle, just click the “?” and you’ll see all the right moves and notes.

February 26, 2019

Jan’s Opening Clinic 23; By Staff; Chess24

Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson is back for his first Opening Clinic since helping a certain Magnus Carlsen retain his World Championship title against Fabiano Caruana in London. Jan will endeavour to answer all the questions in the coming weeks, before returning to Thailand for his latest date with destiny: the 2019 Bangkok Chess Club Open.

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February 25, 2019

Kramnik And Kasparov: The End Of An Era; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

Vladimir Kramnik’s decision to quit professional chess shook the chess world. Many people even sense deja vu. Indeed, there is an uncanny resemblance to 14 years ago when Garry Kasparov quit chess. Oddly enough, both great players lost their last professional games in the same suicidal way.

February 25, 2019

The 4 Longest Chess Games In History; By Staff; Chess.com

Think you have played some long chess games? Check out the games in this article and see if your marathon games match up! Warning! All but one of these games is over 200 moves! Here are the top-four longest-rated chess games ever played.

February 25, 2019

Magnus Carlsen stars in birthday extravaganza; By IM David Martinez; Chess24

Magnus Carlsen was the star of our fifth anniversary after winning against Peter Svidler in a match we were able to follow along with the players' comments. The event aimed to show what chess24 aspires to be: a place where the best authors teach us chess in a dynamic and fun way. The result was an incredible show!

February 25, 2019

Find Kramnik’s Mate-In-3; By Sagar Shah; Chessbase

Here's a very tough problem which was given to Vishy Anand by Vladimir Kramnik — a challenge from one World Champion to another. Anand was in the city of Pune, India for a two-day workshop for players from all over the country. At one stage he showed them a chess problem that his predecessor Vladimir Kramnik had given him. A crowd, including three GMs and seven IMs racked their brains, more or less unsuccessfully. We ask you to do the same.

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February 23, 2019

Endgame Studies: Liburkin; By Siegfried Hornecker; Chessbase

Composer Mark Liburkin is the focus of "Study of the Month" author SIEGFRIED HORNECKER. Little is known of this study composer born in 1910, but his "chameleon echo" is sure to delight and we fill in the biographical gaps as best we can. And, as usual, don't miss the instructive studies!

February 20, 2019

The London System; By Stephan Oliver Platz; Chessbase

Today, the London System (1.d4 Nf6 - or 1...d5 - 2.Bf4) is a very popular opening but it took a while before it was taken seriously. Though it is a rather old line, and James Mason, one of the strongest players of the 19th century, used to play it regularly and with success. Stephan-Oliver Platz tells more about Mason and the development of the London System.

February 19, 2019

Going Back To Square One; By Arne Moll; Chess.com

The Austrian chess master Heinrich Wolf (1875-1943) is not exactly a household name for most chess players these days. Yet he is father to one of the most profound concepts in modern opening theory. The idea of retreating your light square pieces to “square one” is often surprising to chess players who have just started out playing chess. And yet it is a profound idea based on logic and a deep understanding of the dynamics of the light pieces.

February 19, 2019

Did Yoo know?; By Antonio Pereira; Chessbase

Child stars are a common sight in the chess world these days, but getting to know them more closely remains to be an enticing activity. At 12, Christopher Yoo already earned three IM norms to become the youngest American IM in history. And if he gets three GM norms in less than twenty months he will overcome Sam Sevian, United States' youngest ever grandmaster. Let us explore some curious facts about the future star.

February 18, 2019

How To Build A Chess Fortress, for Beginners; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

The recently concluded Tata Steel chess tournament was very memorable for the U.S. grandmaster Sam Shankland. Sam will be remembered as a grandmaster who resigned in a book-drawn position. I hope the tragicomic episode that happened to Sam Shankland will urge you to study basic fortresses that can happen in endgames. It is not so uncommon to see a lonely king able to survive against a much bigger army of an opponent.

February 15, 2019

TCEC Cup 2 Report; By Haworth and Hernandez; Chessdom

This is the third in a new series of analytical articles on past TCEC events. We give the usual generic statistics on the defined openings and game-lengths, plus a selection of interesting endgames that arose. Fuller data and the somewhat annotated pgn files of TCEC Cup 2 are available.

February 15, 2019

Reactions to Kramnik's retirement; By Staff; Chessbase

Kramnik's sudden retirement from tournament chess caused great consternation among chess fans and his fellow professionals alike. Numerous players have commented on Twitter, and so have ChessBase readers. We sample the growing body of reactions.

February 15, 2019

The Olympic Dream; By Conrad Schormann; Chessbase

When, if not now? FIDE tries again to include chess into the Olympic Programme. In 1924 FIDE was founded when the Olympic Games took part in Paris, and in 2024 FIDE wants to celebrate this anniversary by making chess olympic. Conrad Schormann explains why the chances for this to happen are better than ever.

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February 15, 2019

Time Controls And The Grand Chess Tour; By NM Matt Jensen; Chess.com

In a continuation from the last article, Is Classical Chess Dead, we will be comparing different time controls in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT). The data for this article contains all Grand Chess Tour games from 2016-2018. The collection includes 257 classical games, 272 rapid games, and 540 blitz games. GM Robert Hess helped with the interpretation of the data.

February 14, 2019

Stanley Kubrick and chess; By Staff; Chess24

Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) is considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, but he was also a great fan of chess. He is considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, but he was also a great fan of chess.

February 14, 2019

Chess Tactics for Beginners | 38 Definitions and Examples; By Staff; Chess.com

Tags allow us to label each puzzle in Tactics Trainers with one or more tactical motifs (types of tactics) commonly encountered in chess. Understanding these motifs will help you recognize tactical patterns - both in Trainer, and in your actual games!

February 13, 2019

The Best Chess Openings For Beginners; By Staff; Chess.com

The first few moves of a chess game can be some of the most important moves you make. In those moves, you will establish your early plans and fight for your place on the board. Most beginners don’t need to memorize exact opening moves and should instead focus on good opening principles like controlling the center and developing your pieces. However, it is useful to know some openings as they can be common, and they do help reinforce good plans. But don’t become too reliant on memorization or you will soon find yourself feeling lost.

February 13, 2019

Grand Chess Tour Confirms 2019 Participants; By Staff; Chessbase

After Vladimir Kramnik's announcement to retire from tournament chess the Grand Chess Tour now revealed the names of the 12 players who will be competing as full tour participants in 2019. In an interview with Maurice Ashley, Michael Khodarkovsky, the GCT Spokesperson, talked about the new format of the GCT.

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February 12, 2019

Colossal battle in the TCEC; By IM David Martinez; Chess24

The Superfinal of the 14th edition of the TCEC is becoming an incredible show. The traditional competition between engines, which has always lately been dominated by consecutive versions of Stockfish, has encountered a new spectacular finalist: Leela, an engine that, despite being only 10 months old, already proved superiority in the last round to well-established engines such as Komodo and Houdini. In this article we will go through some of the most memorable moments of the Superfinal, which has been ongoing since the 4th of February.

February 12, 2019

Research Finds Chess More Beneficial In Lower Grades; By FM Mike Klein; Chess.com

The preliminary findings of a multi-year study across the state of Alabama seem to indicate that chess instruction may improve student performance, especially amongst younger students. The study, conducted by researchers at Tennessee Tech and the University of Alabama and in conjunction with the Alabama Chess in Schools, released its findings last month.

February 9, 2019

Interview: Kramnik; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Vladimir Kramnik spoke to Marina and Sergey Makarychev for over an hour on their Russian YouTube channel about his retirement from chess and plans for the future. He explained how he felt the moment had come to retire after the Berlin Candidates, when he noticed the outcome of games had ceased to bother him as much as before. His plans now include writing books and the “moral duty” to help develop a new generation of Russian chess talents in the same way as Mikhail Botvinnik and others helped him, while he wouldn’t rule out a rematch with Garry Kasparov.

February 9, 2019

Petrosian honoured on new bill; By Andre Schultz; Chessbase

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Armenian Dram currency, the country's central bank has recently issued new banknotes. The newly introduced 2000 Dram certificate honors the Armenian world chess champion Tigran Petrosian.

February 8, 2019

Opening Trends from Gibraltar; By Thorson Cmiel; Chessbase

The Gibraltar Masters was the first very strong open of 2019 and it might indicate which openings will be particularly popular in 2019. Thorsten Cmiel had a look which openings were "trendy" in Gibraltar and how the Grandmasters started the new year. Previously he examined the openings in the last major event of the year the World Blitz and Rapid. In focus in Part II is 1.e4, met by the Caro-Kann, Sicilian and French.

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February 7, 2019

Even More Little Things to Help Your Chess; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Why another? Because I think it’s very instructive. Once again, I am giving you another five puzzles. And, once again, do your best to solve them. Then look at the copious notes hiding behind the board. As always, if you fail to solve them, DO tweak that little “?” mark and all the goodies will fall at your feet.

February 6, 2019

Recapping Various Recent FIDE News Items; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

The World Chess Federation limited its cooperation with Agon/World Chess, announced the new Grand Prix series and provided details on the new Women's Candidates' tournament. Here's a round-up of recent FIDE news.

February 6, 2019

Wrap-Up: Gibraltar Chess Festival; By Jan Werle; Chessbase

One more look back at the Gibraltar Chess Festival with one of the players, GM JAN WERLE, who takes a tour of the highlights from this year's tournament, including a selection of games from the winners — Vladislav Artemiev, Karthikeyan Murali and Tan Zhongyi — plus the best game prize-winner: Gawain Jones vs Alejandro Ramirez. You'll also find video from GM Simon Williams and IM Lawrence Trent and interviews with Vassily Ivanchuk, Levon Aronian and D. Gukesh — one of the young stars of the festival.

February 6, 2019

Interview: Lyashuk: Recent Success of LC0; By Staff; Chessdom

The neural network chess engine Lc0 (aka Leela Chess Zero) is making the headlines with its performance in the Top Chess Engine Championship. First, it qualified for the Superfinal of the competition by finishing second in the Premier Division, and a few weeks after it conquered its first major comupter chess title by winning the TCEC Cup.

February 5, 2019

Carlsen: No Second-guessing Intuition"; By Chris Smith; Forbes.com

Magnus Carlsen has published a guest post for the website of American business magazine Forbes about his own chess career and the positive effects of learning chess on children and adolescents in general. Chess helps to master other tasks of life, Carlsen is convinced.

February 5, 2019

The Adventure of Chess Programming (1); By Frederick Friedel; Chessbase

The recent World Championship in London was closely followed by Europe's largest (and most influential) news portal. Der Spiegel posted a three-part series on the history of chess programming, authored by Frederic Friedel. In the early 1980s Frederic was instrumental to bringing computer chess to the attention of the German public, and in 1987 he co-founded ChessBase. Here is part one of his series.

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February 4, 2019

Improve Your Chess With Puzzle Rush; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article about Puzzle Rush. Even though I could see its educational value right away, to me at that time it was mostly a new and very addictive toy. These days it is a must-have training tool for all my students rated below USCF 1800.

February 4, 2019

First major title for a Neural Network in chess: LC0 wins TCEC Cup; By Staff; Chessdom

Neural Network chess fans around the world are celebrating as the first major computer chess title for the self-learning engine Lc0 (Leela Chess Zero) is a fact. LCO conquered the gold medal of the TCEC Cup in a 32 player knockout against the best engines in the world.

February 4, 2019

Interview: Anand on Wijk; By Aditya Pai; Chessbase

The Tata Steel has been one of Vishy Anand's very favourite tournaments. He has played there nineteen times thus far and has bagged five tournament titles. This year, he completed 30 years since his maiden appearance there, scoring a solid 7½/13.

February 4, 2019

Women Take Center Stage at Cairns Cup; By Staff; Chessbase

Ten of the world's top female chess players will soon compete in a new event at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis: The "Cairns Cup" from February 6th to 16th. The tournament is similar to the Sinquefield Cup, but for women. The top six, including World Champion Ju Wenjun, are not attending, however. All the info, and how to watch ...

February 3, 2019

Strongest Ever Chess Boom In Iran; By Shahrokh Mojtabaei; Chessbase

Prior to 2018, there were few world-class chess tournaments dominated by Iranian players — just the odd youth championship. Now Iran is climbing the list of the top countries in the world — currently at number 25, with the average rating of the top ten players rising by the month.

February 2, 2019

January Wrap-Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament was again played at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone continues to rave about this new location for our tournaments! This month we had yet another good turnout as Andrew Samuelson (4/5) narrowly edged out 4 players tied for 2nd in the Premier Section. In the U1700 section, Stephen Scala and Joshua Liu tied for 1st place (4/5) followed by Ted Covey and Hanchi Yao tied for 3rd (3.5/5). Both Joshua Liu and Kyle Zhuang picked up over 100 ratings points!

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out 40+ players, Randall Henri had a strong month (4/4) to win to win the prize by a whole point over Ian Turner (3/4) and Ghezai Menelik (2.5/4). The ACC Quads had four full quads (!) won respectively by Isaac Chiu, Kebadu Belachew, Timothy Balton and the bottom quad as a tie between Stephen Parsons and Leonardo Diperna. And finally, the ACC Blitz tournament saw 11 competitors battle it out for a prize in the double-swiss structure (2 games against each 5 opponents) with winner Isaac Chiu (9/10) only losing a single game to second place finisher Saigautum Bonam (8/10).

February 2, 2019

Team Tal: Epilogue; By Nagesh Havanur; ChessBase

The story of Tal can never be finished and his fans always want more. Only this series has to end for now. In the concluding installment here our columnist offers his final observations on Team Tal, the last testament of Valentin Kirillov.

February 1, 2019

Interview: Nakamura; By David Cox; Chess.com

Sometimes outspoken, and certainly never conventional, the American super-GM Hikaru Nakamura has always been an intriguing character, ever since he first achieved international recognition at 15 as his country’s youngest-ever GM (at the time). Over the course of an hour-long interview, Nakamura talked about how he started off in the game, the financial challenges of making it as a chess pro, the impact of supercomputers on the global chess scene, the rise of U.S. chess and why he intends to quit the pro game for good once he hits 40.

February 1, 2019

Interview: Magnus Carlsen; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen spent 40 minutes talking to chess24’s Jan Gustafsson on Thursday. They began with Vladimir Kramnik’s retirement and didn't shy away from the tweet that Magnus sent out when he heard of the news, before the Norwegian went on to pay tribute to the impact Kramnik's games made on him when he was growing up. Magnus provides a blow-by-blow account of the recent Tata Steel Masters and at one point confesses there’s something, “I should like to address, because I’m living a lie and it’s bearing down on my conscience!”

January 31, 2019

TCEC Season 12; By Haworth and Hernandez; Chessdom

This is the second in a new series of analytical articles on past TCEC events. After the successes of Season 11, the Top Chess Engine Championship moved straight on to Season 12, with the same divisional structure if somewhat evolved. Five divisions, each of eight engines, played two or more double round robin phases each.

More: Chess.com
More: Chess.com
TCEC Rules plus: Chessdom
Stockfish Wins Premier Division: Chessdom
First Neural Network Title: Chessdom

January 29, 2019

Kramnik quits at 43; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The 14th World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik today announced his retirement from chess at the age of 43. His last professional game was a loss to Sam Shankland in Wijk aan Zee, but the decision had been taken a couple of months earlier. Kramnik says his “chess player motivation has dropped significantly in recent months” and he now wants to focus on projects “in the field of chess for children and education”. Vladimir will go down in chess history as the man who managed to beat Garry Kasparov in 2000, before holding on to the World Championship title for 7 years.

More: Chessdom
More: Chess.com

January 29, 2019

How To Think In Chess; By FM Jacob Chudnovsky; Chess.com

In my experience teaching, playing, and hanging out at the local chess club, I have come across many players who succeed in reaching a level in the 1600-2000 range but get stuck, often for life, trying to get beyond that and become an expert or master. My aim is to give you tools to take your game to that next level. Let's tackle the problem of how to think in chess.

January 28, 2019

Lessons That Will Make You A Winner; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

How to introduce less experienced players to the magical kaleidoscope of chess? Where to start? Fortunately, before we said farewell to the year 2018, Chess.com prepared a very nice gift to both teachers and students of the game! The new lessons take care of [many problems raised with me by beginners of all levels]!

January 26, 2019

Czech Chess Composer: Duras; By Siegfried Hornecker; ChessBase

"Study of the Month" author Siegfried Hornecker returns to his deep dive into Czech chess composers with a fascinating column on Oldřich Duras. The fourth column in this mini-series builds upon his research from the second half of 2018.

January 25, 2019

Grand Chess Tour Expands; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The Grand Chess Tour is expanding in 2019 to eight tournaments. The Your Next Move Blitz and Rapid in Leuven is replaced by tournaments in India, Ivory Coast and Romania and a new classical tournament is planned for Croatia. There will be twelve full GCT participants and a $1.75 Million Prize Fund.

More: Chess.com

January 25, 2019

Wonderful chess compositions; By Frederick Friedel; ChessBase

It's a new discovery — a collection of the most interesting chess problems and puzzles, from the tenth century until today. The unique thing is that each puzzle has a little story attached to it, telling you something about the circumstances of its composition and its place in the history of chess problems. We bring you a small sample from the book "Chess Compositions". Try working out the positions before you peek at the solutions.

January 24, 2019

Introducing Sub-Saturdays Chess On Twitch; By Staff; Chess.com

The chess world is growing fast on Twitch, and we need more events to show our appreciation! Starting Saturday, January 26, and continuing every Saturday at 12 noon Pacific time, the Twitch channel with the largest following of chess enthusiasts will be taken over by a different chess streamer or top grandmaster.

January 24, 2019

More Little Things That Help Your Chess; By IM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In our last "Little Things" article, I made use of specific moments in IM Cyrus Lakdawala's games to teach you how to deal with common, instructive situations. I am giving you another five rich puzzles. If you don’t solve them, please DO tweak that little “?” mark (with the exception of puzzle one) and immerse yourself with the instructive notes. If you don’t, you’ll be missing some very important stuff.

January 23, 2019

The Road to the 2020 Candidates; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The road to the Candidates tournament in 2020 is starting to emerge. World Chess / Agon will no longer organize either the Candidates or the 2020 World Championship match. FIDE has launched a new qualification path — the FIDE "Grand Swiss"— a Swiss tournament for which 100 players will be eligible. The winner (and maybe more) qualify for the Candidates Tournament. The Grand Prix series is back too, albeit as a quintet of knockout tournaments. Dates and host cities are still TBA. Here's what we know now ...

January 23, 2019

On the Death of Morphy; By Sarah Beth C. (a.k.a. Batgirl); Chess.com

Of all the death notices for Paul Morphy, the following transcription from the New Orleans Times-Democrat, Sunday, July 13th, 1884, written by Charles de Maurian and graciously supplied by Wilhem the 2nd (nom de plume), is by far the best.

January 21, 2019

Can Pre-arranged Draws Hurt Your Openings?; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

Many prearranged draws have their secret stories. And [you will see] that some of these prearranged draws can hurt you. So, next time you are going to follow the opening of some exciting, sharp game that ended with a quick perpetual, check the database. If you see a dozen of similar short draws, you will know what it means.

January 17, 2019

Nimzowitsch’s System; By Conrad Schorman; ChessBase

Aron Nimzowitsch was an original chess thinker but he liked to share his ideas in a peculiar way. His most important book, "My System", is at times brilliant but Conrad Schorman thinks the book sometimes simply contains too many warm words. Still, there's much to learn: "We still use some of the terms he used, coined and made popular — but in a different way". As for his eccentricities, you be the judge.

January 16, 2019

Would Fischer Beat Karpov; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

What if Bobby Fischer had played Anatoly Karpov in 1975? It's a persistent question and thought experiment that fascinates our readers, but also contributor Stephan Oliver Platz, who shares a computer simulated 1975 World Chess Championship match, to add his own fuel to the fires of speculation.

January 15, 2019

2nd Youngest GM in History; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

12 years, 7 months and 17 days — that's the age of the new second youngest ever, GM-elect D. Gukesh. He's also the 60th grandmaster from India! How did this youngster achieve it? On the surface, it looks like an extremely smooth journey where Gukesh achieved one milestone after another. "But when you delve deeper", writes SAGAR SHAH, "you see tremendous amount of sacrifices, grit, determination and much more from not just the youngster and his entire family."

More: Chess.com

January 14, 2019

Italian prison Chess; By Mirko Trasciatti; ChessBase

Two years ago we came across an interesting and heartwarming tale about a chess expert who accepted a very challenging job to teach the game of chess to prisoners in Italy. He shared at length about his experience at the maximum-security prison of Spoleto and how it changed his perspective about life. The best part of it was the testimonies of prisoners on how the game brought a change in their lives. In this follow-up article, Mirko Trasciatti is back to share an update on the story.

January 14, 2019

The Secrets Of Prearranged Draws; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

Prearranged draws are the reality of chess. You might hate it, you might fight it, but if two players want to make a draw, they will find the way to do it. Sometimes such players just agree to a draw before the game and when the game starts they try to trade pieces as quickly as possible to reach the desired result. There are designated opening variations that help you to achieve the goal quickly and efficiently.

January 14, 2019

Fischer's Best Chess Quotes; By Staff; Chess.com

Bobby Fischer is easily the most famous chess player of all time. When Bobby spoke about chess naturally people listened! Here are ten of his famous quotes.

January 12, 2019

Interview: Vlastimil Hort; By Andre Schultz; ChessBase

If Vlastimil Hort did not exist one would have to invent him. He was born in Kladno, Czechoslovakia, on January 12, 1944, and in the 1970s he was one of the world's best players and World Championship candidate. He also enriched chess with his stories full of wit, humour and a deep knowledge about the game he loves. Today, Vlastimil Hort celebrates his 75th birthday.

January 11, 2019

European Individual Championship 2019; By Staff; ChessBase

This year's European Championship is open to all players from member federations of the European Chess Union and will be held from March 17th to 30th in Skopje. Details and Press Release. Registration deadline is February 17, 2019.

January 11, 2019

Tata Steel Chess Starts; By Staff; ChessBase

The annual "Tata Steel Chess Tournament" starts on Saturday in the Dutch North Sea town of Wijk aan Zee. The "Masters" is super-strong this year: Of the 14 participants in the round-robin tournament, only the local hero GM Jorden van Foreest has an Elo rating below 2700; three players are over 2800 including World Champion Magnus Carlsen, the defending champion and six-time tournament winner. The average Elo of the tournament is 2753. The participants in the "Challengers" also has a mouthwatering field. Here you'll find all the details!

January 10, 2019

Big Swiss open to decide a 2020 Candidates spot; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

One spot in the 2020 Candidates Tournament to decide Magnus Carlsen’s next World Championship challenger will be determined in an 11-round Swiss Open later this year. The new “FIDE Grand Swiss” will invite the Top 100 rated players from mid-2018 to mid-2019, plus a few others, for an all-expenses paid 15-day event that recalls the old Interzonal tournaments. The extra spot comes at the cost of a rating qualification place, with Mamedyarov and Ding Liren now leading the race for just one place.

January 10, 2019

Best of 2018; By Staff; ChessBase

A few weeks ago we launched a reader poll with nominations for the best game, endgame and combination of 2018. The results are in! The "endgame of the year" was hotly contested, and best game of the year contest was virtually a dead heat. Games of Kramnik, Carlsen and Caruana were the top vote-getters in that category. But readers clearly felt that Ivan Cheparinov deserved to be recognized for the best combination of 2018 for his brilliant rook sacrifice way back in January at the Gibraltar Masters. Take a look ...

January 10, 2019

So's South African Swing; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Wesley So made his first trip to Africa, as 2018 was drawing to a close, where he served as an ambassador for the sport to great acclaim at the South African Junior Chess Championship. From simuls, Q&As, blitz, and a healthy dose of photo opportunities, the USA' No. 2 player was certainly kept busy, but he also had an experience which was, in his words, "like a dream come true."

January 8, 2019

Yermo: Chihuahua Open 2018; By Alex Yermolinsky; ChessBase

Americans invade Mexico! At least to play some chess! Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky recounts his recent trip to a memorable tournament (with a memorable name) "south of the border", in an installment of his ongoing travelogue featuring Latvian legend GM Alexei Shirov and GM Alex Shabalov and a photo tour of Chihuahua's central Plaza de Armas.

January 8, 2019

Can you solve the "Money" problem; By Staff; ChessBase

"The best things in life are free." This puzzle came to us by way of Joaquim Crusats of the Spanish Society of Chess Problemists (SEPA). It's a problem that, unlike money itself, you really can take with you. Perhaps you'd like to print it out and bring it with you to your next chess club meeting? We tweeted this out last week, but now present the solution.

January 8, 2019

Is Classical Chess Dead From Draws?; By NM Matt Jensen; Chess.com

In part one of this two-part series, we will explore the draw rate in chess and examine ways to keep the game exciting for spectators. The 2018 match made history as the first world championship to end in all classical draws. The 12th and final game saw Carlsen offer a draw in a position many thought he should press on for a win.

January 8, 2019

Tal’s Last Game; By Staff; Chess24

Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal (Riga, 9 November 1936 – Moscow, 28 June 1992) was a chess player with a unique style of play that at the time was revolutionary, completely changing how people looked at the game. In this article Paraguayan Grandmaster Zenón Franco looks back on his career, and in particular on the last classical game Tal played, in Barcelona in 1992.

January 7, 2019

How To Play Karate Chess; By GM Greg Serper; Chess.com

In one of my recent articles I shared a story of how I became a lucky owner of an amazing book that really helped my chess development. Indeed, I started playing more aggressively, my games became more dynamic and as a result I scored a master's norm with one round to spare in the semifinal of the Soviet championship! But, my next tournament turned out to be a cold shower for me.

January 5, 2019

60 years ago: Fischer’s 2nd championship; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Sixty years ago, on January 4th 1959, 15-year-old Bobby Fischer won his second US Championship with a draw against Robert Byrne. A year before, Fischer had won his first US championship at the age of 14. In defending the title, the eventual world champion showed excellent opening knowledge and endgame skills, but above all, fighting spirit.

January 1, 2019

Women's Candidates Tournament Announced; By Andre Schultz; ChessBase

As announced following the 2018 Woman's World Championship knockout, FIDE has adopted a new format more closely aligned with the open World Championship. Earlier this week, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich added the date and city for the 2019 Candidates Tournament, to begin at the end of May in Kazan, Russia. Eight players have qualified for the fight for the right to challenge Ju Wenjun in a match.

January 1, 2019

Webster Wins 7th PanAm Title; By Al Lawrence; USCF

A big roster of stars is a blessing in any sports team. The Pan American Intercollegiate Championships are no different, where chess programs with deep pockets bring a deep bench—multiple teams with strong GMs.

December 31, 2018

December Wrap Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament returned to the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone continues to rave about this new location for our tournaments! This month was dominated by the returning Daniel Lowinger (4/5) as he prepared for a run through the Eastern Open at the end of the year. Dan started out fast but ended with draws against the #2 and 3 finishers. Daniel finished tied for first with improving player Jason Liang. Andrew Samuelson and Dennis Norman tied for 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Timothy Balton nearly ran the boards (4.5/5) on the way to nailing down first place. He was followed by Tom Laaman in 2nd and newcomer Juan Diaz in 3rd. Prachet Godlaveti also had a great tournament.

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out of nearly 50 players, new member Casey Valentine topped 5 other members by a whole point (3/4) to win the prize. And finally, the ACC Quads had two full quads with Lev Bagramian winning the prize in the top quad and visitor Robert Savaria winning the second quad. The ACC Blitz tournament was not held due to a busy tournament schedule in the area this month.

December 31, 2018

Looking back – Christmas puzzles; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

It is another entertaining type of chess problems. The point of retro is you must consider the moves that led up to the given position. They are often quite difficult to guess – you have to think out of the box. We are not going to slay our doubtlessly inexperienced readers with complex retrograde analysis, but instead show you a number of fairly simple examples, some of which will still have you frowning in puzzlement. One thing for sure: they are all very entertaining.

December 30, 2018

Team Tal: an Untold Story; By Nagesh Havanur; ChessBase

Valentin Kirillov and Misha Tal are childhood pals. Destiny takes them on separate paths and then brings them together. The former world champion now has a devoted friend serving as his official second. What does it mean to live and work with a wayward genius? Read on to see a memorable portrait drawn by a friend who loved Misha and paid the price. (Based on an episode in “Team Tal” by Valentin Kirillov, Elk and Ruby. 2017)

December 30, 2018

Ilyumzhinov’s appeal to CAS is settled; By Staff; Chessdom

FIDE and Kirsan Ilyumzhinov have concluded a Settlement Agreement for his appeal, which was approved by the FIDE Ethics Commission and by the CAS Panel. Previously, on 12 July 2018, the FIDE Ethics Commission unanimously decided that Mr. Ilyumzhinov is guilty of the violation of the FIDE Code of Ethics.

December 27, 2018

Little Things That Help Your Game; By GM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Most lower-rated players want to improve their game, but many just want to slug it out in blitz and have a great time. I certainly understand that! However, for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard. Play opponents who are better than you (being able to squash the same opponent again and again is sadistic and doesn’t teach you much). Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success.

December 26, 2018

Interview: WGM Gaprindashvili; By Sakelsek & Mikhalchisin; ChessBase

About a month ago, Nona Gaprindashvili took clear first at the 65+ Women's World Senior Championship. During her stay in Bled, the European Chess Academy made a lengthy interview with the living legend. Nona talks about personal experiences and gives her opinion on topics ranging from the Carlsen-Caruana match to her love for the Dinamo Tbilisi football club.

December 23, 2018

Karjakin's GM record still stands; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

Two Indians pre-teeners came very close to breaking Sergey Karjakin's record of the youngest GM in history. Sergey made his final norm back in 2002 at the age of 12 years and 7 months. Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh were the boys that were within a hair of bettering that. Pragg missed the target by three months, and yesterday Gukesh, who had a realistic chance to complete his third GM norm at the Sunway Sitges International 2018, narrowly missed it.

December 21, 2018

?10 Best Chess Games Of 2018?; By IM Mike Klein; Chess.com

Chess.com's content team had the fun task of ranking the year's most memorable games. Each person then voted on his 10 favorite games, with the top game getting 10 points, and the 10th-best game getting one point, and so forth.

December 18, 2018

Blindfold Problem Challenge; By Aditya Pai; ChessBase

Vidit Gujrathi, the youngest Indian to breach the 2700 Elo mark, is known for his thorough opening preparation and solid style of play. The following video shows Vidit’s mind in action as he solves four studies and a real-game puzzle, while also explaining how he found his way through the woods of variations. We invite you to take a dig at the studies yourself and try to find the pretty ones before you proceed to the video.

December 17, 2018

Memorable Robert Byrne games; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Robert Byrne was born on April 20th, 1928. Although he only became a chess professional after the age of 40, Byrne was one of the best players in the United States in the 1950s to 1970s. He died in 2013 at the age of 84 years.

December 15, 2018

So in South Africa; By Alessandro Parodi; Chess.com

The place is Johannesburg, the occasion the South African Junior Chess Championship. In the wake of social trends such as Fabiano Caruana's bucket challenge and Magnus Carlsen's basketball moves, shortly before Christmas So went from super GM to superhero to take on a pack of club players, park swindlers and rising youth in an intense bughouse tournament which counted more than 200 teams.

December 13, 2018

How To Calculate Long-Term Advantages In Chess; By GM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In the game, we see that Black sacrificed a queen for two minor pieces claiming that the white pieces are not in sync and hence White’s king will be mated if Black can bring all his forces towards the king. The problem is, though we can understand the principle, calculations are very difficult. I am sure he calculated many variations and several moves ahead, but how are we able to calculate like him and learn to sacrifice pieces for long-term advantages? More importantly, how do we gather all the guts to sac a piece from the beginning?

December 11, 2018

London Chess Classic Starts; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

There was not much of a breather for Fabiano Caruana after his defeat in the tiebreak at the World Championship. He is back in London joining Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as the four players qualified for the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour, from December 11th to 17th. Can Caruana regain his mojo in rapid chess against Nakamura? Meanwhile, the top four players in England fight for the British Knockout Championship in a parallel semifinal and final.

More: Chess24

December 7, 2018

Chess, a Drosophila of reasoning; By Garry Kasparov; Science Magazine

Soon after I lost my rematch against IBM's Deep Blue in 1997, the short window of human-machine chess competition slammed shut forever. Unlike humans, machines keep getting faster, and today a smart phone chess app can be stronger than Deep Blue. But as we see with the AlphaZero system, machine dominance has not ended the historical role of chess as a laboratory of cognition.

December 7, 2018

Inside the (deep) mind of AlphaZero ; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

It was a long time coming, but the wait is over. After nearly a full year, being ping-ponged from one peer reviewer to the next, the final paper on AlphaZero is out, shedding light on a number of hitherto unknown or misunderstood elements in its construction, not to mention some clarifications and corrections. These include sample code to help implement their work and all the games of the match against Stockfish, of which 20 were specially chosen by GM Matthew Sadler.

December 4, 2018

Kasparov: We Are Living in Chaos; By Masha Gessen; The New Yorker Magazine

Last month, the group published a collection of essays, called “Fight for Liberty,” in which members call for a centrist effort to reinvigorate liberal democracy. On the eve of its publication, Kasparov sat down with me at a coffee shop in Manhattan.

December 3, 2018

Annotated highlights from the World Senior Championships; By Adrian Mikhalchishin; ChessBase

GM Adrian Mikhalchishin takes a look at some of the key games from the World Senior Championships recently concluded in Bled, Slovenia. Featured are the games of 65+ runner-up Yuri Balashov and third place Nukhim Rashkovsky, Women 65+ winner Nona Gaprindashvili, best 50+ woman Elvira Berend, Open 50+ champ Karen Movsziszian and runner-up Giorgi Bagaturov.

December 1, 2018

The perfect Babson; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Remember our article on the Babson task? Tim Krabbé told us the tragic story of how a fanatical problem composer failed, after 22 years of exhausting labour, to find a position that required quadruple echo promotion — only to see a 26-year-old soccer trainer succeed with multiple examples. Today there are 20 known examples, but none are free of duals. A very erudite 99-page paper by Peter Hoffmann describes the current state of affairs, and problemist Werner Keym is offering substantial cash prizes for the perfect Babson.

December 1, 2018

Video: Chess Skydiving; By IM Mike Klein; Chess.com

Video in background to related USCF article.

November 30, 2018

More Brilliancy Prize Chess Tactics; By GM Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Everyone loves crazy tactics, and when all the games were brilliancy prizes it makes it even more fun. Imagine: If you solve it you can say, “I could have won that brilliancy prize!” Or, perhaps not. The tactics didn’t fall from a tree. The players had to build the position from move one onwards until the board explodes into tactical retribution.

November 29, 2018

Misha Tal: The Fall of the Eagle; By Nagesh Havanur; ChessBase

Last time our columnist offered a glimpse of young Tal as seen by his friend, Valentin Kirillov: Then we saw a young eagle soaring in the sky. Now we see him with wings burning and falling. Here is how the tragedy unfolded.

November 28, 2018

New format for the Women's World Championship Cycle; By Staff; ChessBase

The 2018 Championship ended last Friday, with Chinese GM Ju Wenjun winning the 64-player knockout tournament to retain her title. In the meantime FIDE had revised the system, and surprised the chess world with a comprehensively revised new format. It consists of an eight-player double round robin Candidates Tournament to be held in the first half of 2019, with the winner playing the reigning Women's World Champion at the end of the same year.

November 9-28, 2018

**SPECIAL** 2018 World Championship (Updated After Each Round)

The World Chess Championship takes place in "The College" in central London (WC1B 4AF) Friday 9th Nov to Wednesday 28th Nov 2018. Defending Champion Magnus Carlsen faces Fabiano Caruana as his challenger. Play starts at 3pm each day. There are many sources of live coverage to choose from including the official commentary with Judit Polgar. All key details follow ...

Essential Links:

Pre-Match:
-- Official Website: Official Website
-- Venue: London
-- Bio: Carlsen: London
-- Bio: Caruana: London
-- Schedule: Chess.com
-- Results: Updated Each Round
-- Photos: Various

-- Chessbase Preview: Looking Ahead
-- Chessbase Preview2: Analysis
-- The Week In Chess: Preview: TWIC
-- The Week In Chess:TWIC Preview2: TWIC
-- Chess.com Preview: 13 Things
-- Chess.com Preview2: Preview
-- Chess.com Opening Day: London
-- TIME Magazine: Chess24
-- USCF Guide: Couch Potato
-- Women's Championship Player Opinions: Opinions
-- Chess24 Carlsen Prep: Chess24
-- Chess24 Championship Webpage: Chess24
-- Opening Press Conference: True to Form
-- Opening Press - Chessbase: Presser
-- All Games (w/computer analysis): Chess24

Post-Match - Immediate:

Chess 24: Alpha Zero on Games 1-8
Closing Ceremnoy: Live
ChessBase: Carlsen's Win
Guardian: Magnus Wins
ChessBase:
NY Times: NYT
CNN: Magnus
Anand's Analysis: Video

Post-Match - Later:

Magnus Blogs: Winning 4th Championship: Chess24
Anand Recp (1): ChessBase
Anand Recp (2): ChessBase
Magnus keeps Crown: ChessBase
12 Unexciting Draws: ChessBase
Norwegian Fever: ChessBase
Kasimdzhanov: ChessBase
St Louis Guest Star Analysis: ChessBase
Mueller: Missed win in game 6: ChessBase
Carlsen Interview (@ London Classic): Chess24
Team Magnus: Chess24
Alpha Zero (Games 1-8): Chess24
Alpha Zero (Games 9-12): Chess24
GM Serper: What Went Wrong?: Chess.com
GM Tisdall: The End: Chess.com

---

Round-By-Round:

Tiebreaks:

TWIC: Carlsen Remain Champ
Chess24: Carlsen Wins
ChessBase: Magnus Keeps Crown
Chessdom: Tiebreaks w/ analysis
Chess.com: Carlsen Dominates
USCF: Stunning Display
Kramnik: On Rapids
Yermolinsky Rapid Game 1: Video
Yermolinsky Rapid Game 2: Video
Yermolinsky Rapid Game 3: Video
Daniel King Rapids: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 12:

TWIC: Carlsen Offers Draw
Chess24: Carlsen Wants Tiebreaks
ChessBase: On To The Rapids
Chessdom: Game 12 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Carlsen Wants Rapids
USCF: 12 Draws
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 11:

TWIC: Easy Draw For Caruana
Chess24: Cold Hard Facts
ChessBase: Peak Tension
Chessdom: Game 11 w/ analysis
Chess.com:
USCF: Caruana Neutralizes
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 10:

TWIC: Fighting Draw
Chess24: Too Much at Stake
ChessBase: Double-Edged
Chessdom: Game 10 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Draws Continue
USCF: Wild Game
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 09:

TWIC: Carlsen Yields Draw
Chess24: Injured Pride
ChessBase: Missed Chance
Chessdom: Game 9 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Draw Sets Record
USCF: Record
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 08:

TWIC: Fizzled ADvantage
Chess24: Fabi Lets Another Go
ChessBase: Carlsen in Luck
Chessdom: Game 8 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Carlsen Dodges Bullet
USCF: Caruana Misses Opp
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 07:

TWIC: Another Quiet Draw
Chess24: Way Too Soft
Chess24 More: Carlsen Commentates
ChessBase:
Chessdom: Game 7 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Another QG, Another Draw
USCF: Holding Solid
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 06:

TWIC: Caruana Flames Out
Chess24: 80 Move Thriller
ChessBase: Petroff Marathon
Chessdom: Game 6 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Caruana Misses Win
Chess.com Half-Time: Midway Review
USCF: Pressing w/ Petroff
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 05:

TWIC: Tense Draw
Chess24: Carlsen's Idol
ChessBase: Gurgenidze Variation
Chessdom: Game 5 w/ analysis
Chessdom More: Anand Review
Chess.com: Surprise Queen's Gambit
USCF: Draw Perfection
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 04:

TWIC: Unimpressive Draw
Chess24: Videotape
ChessBase: Chessbase
Chessdom: Game 4 w/ analysis
Chessdom More: Avrukh: Caruana Facing the English
Chess.com: English
USCF: Tension Builds
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 03:

TWIC: Frustrating Short Draw
Chess24: Squandered Edge
ChessBase: Chessbase
Chessdom: Game 3 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Rosso #2
USCF: Another Draw
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 02:

TWIC: Comfortable Draw
Chess24: Grovel
ChessBase: Preparation Counterpunch
Chessdom: Game 2 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Caruana Opening Surprise
USCF: Caruana Presses for Draw
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

Round 01:

TWIC: Missed Chances
Chess24: Let Off the Hook
ChessBase: Bullet Dodged
Chessdom: Game 1 w/ analysis
Chess.com: Caruana Struggles
USCF: Review
Yermolinsky Review: Video
Post-game Presser: Video

November 19, 2018

Capablanca's 130th anniversary; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Today, November 19th, José Raúl Capablanca, would have celebrated his 130th birthday. After World War I the Cuban was the world's best player and World Champion from 1921 to 1927. During his career, he played more than 500 tournament games but lost only 36 of them.

November 15, 2018

Garry Kasparov's Brilliancy Prizes; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In March 2017, I looked to see who made the most official brilliancy prizes. This led to three articles. Mikhail Tal was number one with 15 brilliancy prizes. Anatoly Karpov and Rashid Nezhmetdinov both had 10, putting them in a tie for second-third. I had intended to write an article about Kasparov, who came in second with 12, but for some reason (old age?) I completely forgot to do it. Now it’s time (before I forget again!) to show all 12 brilliancy prize games by Kasparov.

November 15, 2018

Misha in memoriam; By Nagesh Havanur; ChessBase

Last week saw the birth anniversary of Mikhail Tal, (1936-1992) 8th World Champion and legendary player. Few players captured the imagination of the chess world as he and Bobby Fischer did. We offered him a small tribute and here is another by our columnist who also draws our attention to a slim volume that deserves to be better known.

November 12, 2018

More Than Meets the Eye; By Caroline Newman; UVAToday

Novelist (and chess player - she played for a Reserve team in DCCL last winter) Shea Megale Adds a UVA Chapter to Her Own Extraordinary Story. Shea Megale describes writing as a window to the world. Even before she wrote novels, Megale wrote and published several children’s books starring her first service dog, Mercer.

November 9, 2018

Tal: A keen eye for tactics; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Mikhail Tal was born on November 9th, 1936 in Riga, and died June 27, 1992 in Moscow. He probably would have been happy to know that the World Championship match between Carlsen and Caruana begins on his birthday. Tal loved chess and chess fans loved him for his bold, enterprising play and his stunning combinations. He had a very keen eye for tactics — which sometimes best showed in more light-hearted events. Here are two examples to commemorate the birthday of this great player and tactician.

November 3, 2018

Fischer vs Karpov in 1975: Who would have won?; By Matthew Wilson; ChessBase

In the USA, chess fans are eagerly awaiting the World Championship match to see how Caruana fares as the first American to challenge the undisputed World Champion since 1972. But what about that other eagerly awaited contest that never was: Fischer-Karpov, 1975. It was a match that the whole chess world would have loved to see. Who can say what beautiful ideas the players would have shown us in their games? And who would have won?

November 1, 2018

Can You Solve These Brilliancy Prize Chess Tactics?; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Once again I offer puzzles full of tactics or sharp attacks. And, as in the previous article, all of them won brilliancy prizes. I’m offering small bios so you know who these players are, and I often give lots of analysis and prose, which you can see by clicking the question mark at the bottom of the board. So, wake up, put on your magic beanie cap, and let’s get ready to RUMMMMBLE!!!!.

October 31, 2018

Youth Championship marred by bribery accusation; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The 2018 World Youth Chess Championship in Greece was a celebration of how diverse chess has become, with 626 players from 78 federations competing and no federation winning more than 3 of the 18 medals on offer. In fact only 3 expected medallists won medals, with 17-year-old Polina Shuvalova from Russia the only top seed to win gold, something she did with a round to spare! There was late controversy after ECU President Zurab Azmaiparashvili claimed with no proof that a German player had thrown his final game, depriving a Georgian player of gold.

October 29, 2018

Chess as an art: the beauty behind unnatural moves; By Sundararajan Kidambi; ChessBase

Chess is a beautiful game, but sometimes the beauty is not so obvious to an untrained eye. When an experienced grandmaster like Sundararajan Kidambi carefully studies a game between two world-class players, you know that you are in for a treat. Kidambi doesn't do a superficial job. He puts himself into the shoes of Wesley So and tries to understand the logic behind his every move. When studied carefully, this can seriously help you improve your chess understanding as well as appreciate the art of the game.

October 23, 2018

Capablanca vs Marshall Attack, 100 years later; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Exactly 100 years ago today, on October 23, 1918, one of the most famous games in history was played. (Even Wikileaks founder Julian Assange knows about it!) Frank Marshall, one of the world's strongest players at the time, had prepared a very special opening for his game against future world champion Jose Raul Capablanca.

October 22, 2018

Chess featured on HBO's "Real Sports"; By HBO Real Sports; ChessBase

HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" explores the grassroots movement to reenergize chess in America when a new edition of the show debuts on Tuesday, October 23rd. Soledad O’Brien (pictured) interviews Saint Louis Chess Club founder and patron, Rex Sinquefield who confesses to being a "passionate addict" who has sunk nearly $50 million dollars into the sport.

October 22, 2018

Do You Have This Amazing Chess Book?; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

When I played through Kasparov's games, I guess I experienced the same kind of euphoria as Marvin Berry from Back to the Future. Remember his famous line: "Chuck! Chuck, it's Marvin. Your cousin, Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you're looking for? Well, listen to this!" Yes, Kasparov's chess was a completely new chess sound.

October 20, 2018

"If a player is determined to cheat, it will happen"; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

In the United States, there are many weekend tournaments, thanks to the efforts of many independent tournament organizers nationwide. Some of these tournaments provide significant prize money, over USD $12,000, and the chance to play against strong master level players. Georgia-based Davide Nastasio recently spoke to one such veteran organizer, Walter High, and sent this brief interview along with annotated games from the North Carolina Open.

October 20, 2018

Garry Kasparov – did he actually exist?; By John Nunn; ChessBase

A full century after the Doomsday Worm had erased all the world’s electronic records, British scientists discovered, excarvations in the suburbs of Hamburg, Germany, evidence of the existence of a game that was popular in the 20th century, and of the existence of a legendary champion of the game. We have a transcript of a lecture held in Oxford in 2147 by Prof. Eduard Sommer, which we quote in this spoof article by John Nunn. It also contains two remarkable puzzles.

October 18, 2018

How to Start Out in Chess; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

I’ve written many articles about low-rated players, and everyone has the same problems. Youth is important (starting around five years old is ideal). However, what about adults? This is what you need to do.

October 18, 2018

Sindarov: second youngest GM ever; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The last half year went well for the young Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov: In June he got his first GM norm in Voronezh, Russia. In September, at the World Junior Championships in Turkey, he scored a second and elevated his Elo rating to 2500. Now, less than a month later, Sindarov has reportedly earned his third and final GM norm, making him the second youngest GM ever, at the age of 12 years, 10 months and 8 days.

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October 18, 2018

Championship problem solutions; By John Nunn; ChessBase

Some weeks ago the World Chess Problem Solving Championship took place in Ohrid, a beautiful lakeside town in Macedonia. Mathematician and grandmaster John Nunn, 63 years of age, did extremely well, winning the Open section. In his report John provided us with a sample of six problems, which showed us what the participants had to go through. Today he provides the solutions, explained in his unmatched style of unravelling complex chess ideas.

October 17, 2018

Closing Gambit (movie): The inside story of the World Championship match of 1978; By CHESS Magazine

Ahead of the release of Closing Gambit, which tells the full story of the infamous 1978 Karpov-Korchoi match — which ended on October 17th, 1978 — we caught up with Alan Byron, the film’s producer.

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October 16, 2018

Vsevolod Rauzer: A Fanatical Researcher; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

110 years ago, on October 16th, 1908, the Soviet Master and famous opening theoretician Vsevolod Rauzer was born in Kiev, Ukraine. Rauzer died in 1941 but during his short career, he discovered a number of new ideas in the opening and the endgame. Rauzer was convinced that 1.e4 is better than 1.d4 and wanted to prove that with all his might.

October 15, 2018

The Cursed Knight In The Petrov; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

Petrov's Defense is not a common opening in club tournaments. It almost doesn't exist in scholastic tournaments, either. The reason is the opening is not very exciting, and in most lines leads to slow, positional play. Therefore, as Wikipedia puts it: "The Petrov has a reputation of being dull and uninspired." Nevertheless, I have noticed a very interesting ... if White wins in 15 moves or fewer, then it is practically always the result of Black losing his knight on e4!

October 15, 2018

Miguel Illescas previews Carlsen vs. Caruana; By Miguel Illescas; ChessBase

We are only weeks away from the start of the World Championship in London, where Magnus Carlsen meets his latest challenger, the American Fabiano Caruana, and the fans wait impatiently for this impending train collision. It's a match which a priori promises great emotions and high-quality games because we will witness the indisputable numbers 1 and 2 of the world ranking. Grandmaster Miguel Illescas reflects on AlphaZero and wonders if secret preparation tools could make the difference.

October 11, 2018

Norway Chess Armageddon gambit; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The organisers of the 2019 Altibox Norway Chess tournament have unveiled a new format aimed at reducing the rate of draws. It's either "innovative" or "bizarre" depending on who you ask but is sure to be an interesting subject of debate in the months leading up to the June, 2019, tournament. We explain the new idea.

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October 9, 2018

Remembering Ragozin; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Many will know the name of Viacheslav Ragozin above all as the eponym of the Ragozin variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined. Ragozin was a successful tournament player in the 1930s to 1950s, becoming the second correspondence chess World Champion in 1958 and was active as a journalist, arbiter and official. Yesterday was the 110th anniversary of his birth.

October 6, 2018

How China conquered the 2018 Olympiad; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

The excitement levels had gone off the charts for the final round of the Batumi Olympiad 2018. The strongest teams were fighting against each other to decide who would take gold. USA and China were pitted against each other in the open section and China and Russia faced off against each other in the women's. The matches ended in 2-2 draws with a lot of drama surrounding them. The tiebreaks favoured China in both the sections and they went home with a double gold! In the Open, the USA took the silver and Russia the bronze while in the Women's Ukraine had to be content with silver, and bronze went to Georgia's first team.

More: Chess24

October 4, 2018

Dvorkovich wins FIDE election; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

A Russian politician is the new FIDE President. Arkady Dvorkovich defeated incumbent Georgios Makropoulos by 103 votes to 78, after the third candidate Nigel Short withdrew his application. The election was held during the 89th FIDE general assembly in Batumi – where the Chess Olympiad is currently under way. Dvorkovich has announced an annual budget of three million Euros for developing countries. Read the international news reports.

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October 2, 2018

Makropoulos in-depth interview; By American Chess Magazine; ChessBase

"Georgios Makropoulos, the person who has ruled chess for almost three decades, has barely given any interviews," starts a new interview profile of the FIDE presidential candidate on the new American Chess Magazine blog. We run down the topics and key quotes with kind permission of ACM.

October 2, 2018

African Chess Confederation candidates; By African Chess Media; ChessBase

Later this week, delegates to the African Chess Confederation will vote on a new presidential administration following the FIDE General Assembly in Batumi. Three candidates, each a veteran of African chess politics, will face off in a race which in some ways mirrors the larger FIDE election campaigns. There has already been a preliminary debate-like discussion, however, held via the group chat application WhatsApp, and we share that with you here.

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October 1, 2018

Do You Like Weird Chess?; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

Imagine what I, a grandmaster who has been playing chess for over 40 years, feel when I look at any initial position of Fischer random chess and have no clue what's going on there. In moments like this I feel that I would rather watch soccer! Actually, this is exactly what I did. I've ignored all Fischer random events, including the recent Carlsen-Nakamura match.

October 1, 2018

Magnus Carlsen commentates on the Olympiad; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

World Champion Magnus Carlsen sprung a surprise on Monday when he joined the chess24 Spanish Olympiad broadcast and spent 90 minutes discussing the Round 7 action. He talked about his preparation for the World Championship match and revealed it does bother him that the no. 1 spot he’s held for the last seven years might be in danger. He discussed the impressive performance of Jan-Krzysztof Duda and the Polish team and revealed what he thinks is behind the poor showing of the Russians. It was a special day of commentary on the Batumi Olympiad. In English the usual commentators Sopiko Guramishvili and Ivan Sokolov were replaced for one day by the legendary Polgar sisters. It’s hard to beat that, but on the Spanish broadcast GM Pepe Cuenca, who’s reporting live from Batumi, was joined on Skype by none other than the World Champion Magnus Carlsen! You can watch his full 90-minute appearance.

September 30, 2018

September Wrap Up; By ACC President

The ACC Action Plus tournament was held again at the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. Everyone continues to rave about this new location for our tournaments. This month was dominated by Andrew Samuelson as he ran the boards to a perfect score (5/5) in a field of 24 players in the Premier section. Larry Gilden and Alex Marler finished tied for second (4/5). In the U1700 section, visiting player Ryan Howard won clear first (4.5/5), with Nassim Gannoun winning 2nd place (3.5/5) and a 3-way tie for 3rd. Vedanth Iyer and Zach Lessner tied for the U1400 prize.

Separately, on the ACC Ladder, out of nearly 50 players, Andrew Lott topped the field by a whole point (4/5) to win the prize. He was followed by James K. Williams and Elvir Husicic (3/5). In the ACC Blitz tournament, Larry Gilden held off the competition in a 14-player field to win by half a point (7.5/10) over both Alex Jian and newcomer Anant Dole (7/10). And finally, the ACC Action tournament was not held due to a busy tournament schedule in the area this month.

September 28, 2018

How To Cure A Serious Chess Disease; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Most amateurs run into the same problems: undefended pieces, being unaware of their opponents' best moves, falling victim to simple tactics, etc. Those things are common. However, once in a while you’ll see a player making one specific mistake over and over. A fear of pawn and piece tension makes you trade pawns and pieces for no reason. Its a top mistake and in fact those trades ruin many a game.

September 27, 2018

Searching for good governance; By Stefan Löffler; ChessBase

Less than a week before the FIDE election, the international chess community is focused on who shall govern chess in the next four years. JOHN FOLEY and STEFAN LÖFFLER want to bring the conversation back to the principles, structures and procedures by which chess should be governed. Chess, they suggest, can learn from other sports, and what better way than to bring together international experts on sports governance in a conference "New Governance Standards in Sport: Lessons for Chess" which will take place this Saturday, September 29th, in Batumi during the 43rd Chess Olympiad. Entry is free.

September 24, 2018

VA Senior Open 2018; By Adam Chrisney; VA Chess Federation

Over 50 players competed in the September 2018 version of the VA Senior Open. The thought on everyone's lips throughout the event was: how Q~U~I~T~E senior events are (!). The event is open to any USCF member in any state as long as they are aged 50 as of the last day of the tournament. Players competed in 5 rounds over 3 days at a G/120, d5 time control.

The 50+ entries were a 25% increase over turnout in recent years and likely reflected the increased prizes, the ease of access to the newly centralized location in the Washington, DC area and the many great features of the new location, the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. There are multiple, large, indoor and outdoor skittles areas, a few semi-private booths, a few free-to-use computers, and free parking and free Wifi. Then, nearby are numerous restaurants and eateries just within 1 block of the hotel! Players not only expressed eagerness to come back next year, they urged organizers to annually sponsor more senior events at this location.

For the tournament, newly-qualified NM Shawn Hoshall came out of relative tournament seclusion to run the boards (5/5), including beating both last year's champ, NM Willie Marcelino, in the final round, and perennial senior competitor NM Geoff McKenna the round before. In addition to the 1st place prize and trophy, as the top Virginian Hoshall wins a free entry to next year's Open and he becomes Virginia's selection next year to the USCF's newly instituted invitational, the National Tournament of Senior Champions. This is an annual free-entry event only open to the senior tournament champions for each state. Having won the VA Senior Open last year, Marcelino was Virginia's first entrant to this tournament (held earlier this year) where he placed a respectable 14th in a field of 42 invitees that included 5 GMs.

In addition to Hoshall, NM Narciso Victoria won clear second place (4.5/5) followed by a tie for 3rd place and the U2000 prize between NM Salvador Rosario and Raymond Duchesne (4/5). The U1800 prize was awarded in a 4-way split between Peter Snow, Carla Naylor, Karl Peterson and Phil Newcomb (of DC). Pennsylvania native Joe Sackey, Jr. (3/5) outperformed expectations by winning the U1600 prize and Steven Chilson (1.5/5) won the U1400 prize. Trophies for the Top Player Over Age 70 and the Top Player Aged 60-69 went to Leif Karell and Salvador Rosario, respectively. Teammates from DC Chess League teams were well represented among the prize winners: from the Coral Reef (Rosario, Karell) and Morphy's Mojos (Snow, Peterson).

September 22, 2018

USA favourites as Olympiad set to begin in Batumi; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The 43rd Chess Olympiad starts this weekend, with 1600 players descending on Batumi, Georgia for the biggest event in chess. The surprise this year is that the defending champions USA are also the top seeds, a role held by the USSR or Russia every time they’ve played since their debut in 1952. Magnus Carlsen is missing from the Norwegian team, but Vishy Anand plays for India for the first time in 12 years. In total, a record 336 teams are registered for the 11-round open and women’s tournaments that begin on Monday.

September 19, 2018

Carlsen: “I hope Caruana is feeling the pressure!”; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

With less than two months to go before the 2018 World Championship match begins in London, Magnus Carlsen spoke to Norwegian media at his training camp in the Kragerø Resort southwest of Oslo. He was hoping the pressure of playing a match for the first time will tell on Fabiano Caruana, but had no illusions it was going to be easy, describing Fabi as a player he’s long felt had “the strength to be almost at my level.”

September 17, 2018

Jan's Opening Clinic 22; By Staff; Chess24

German no. 2 Jan Gustafsson will be coaching the Dutch men's team at the upcoming Olympiad, but you don't need to be Anish Giri to get some opening tips from a world renowned expert. Chess24 Premium Members can simply leave a question on any aspect of chess openings under this article, and Jan will respond in a series of shows over the coming weeks. Don't let your chance slip!

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September 14, 2018

The Power Of Will; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

One of the most important things in chess is willpower (a branch of chess psychology). Most players glance at a possibility, shrug it off as too risky or just plain bad or boring, and toss out some generic move instead. This, of course, is just plain wrong. So what should you do when you see something interesting or red hot if it works, but fear that it might lead you to destruction.

September 10, 2018

Who Is The Most Influential Chess Player Ever?; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

We Chess aficionados love to debate about the best player of all time. As I mentioned in my old article, this is the question that has no answer. Indeed, it is very difficult to guess who would have won the world championship match Fischer-Karpov in 1975, let alone a completely hypothetical encounter like Capablanca-Carlsen.

September 5, 2018

"Queens in Training" portrays the social side of chess; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

Two years after Disney produced the chess-themed "Queen of Katwe", a D.C. crew has presented a short documentary on a similar subject. "Queens in Training" tells the story of two African-American girls that are getting ready to participate in a city-wide chess tournament in Washington D.C. The documentary brings to light the social difficulties that arise when a minority group strives towards a goal in a sport historically dominated by white men.

September 4, 2018

Petroff: dependable or dangerous? ; By Aditya Pai; Chessbase

The placid outwardly appearance of the Petroff Defence could easily trick one into believing that he or she could use it to enjoy a quiet draw. It isn't unusual these days to see grandmaster games that drift into this line end in quick draws. But the Petroff has been around since the times of Greco and white players have found their fair share of traps, tactics and attacking opportunities in it. Even in some of the very recent games from master practice, black players have fallen prey to brilliant attacks. So, is the Petroff really as innocuous as advertised?

September 3, 2018

The Match of the Century: Fischer-Spassky, 1972; By Zenon Franco; Chess24

It's a pleasure to begin my collaboration with chess24 at the start of September, as we celebrate the 46th anniversary of the "Match of the Century" — the 1972 World Chess Championship played in Reykjavik between Boris Spassky and his challenger Robert "Bobby" Fischer. It was much more than a sporting confrontation, and it had an unexpected level of acclaim at the time, provoking chess to gain much popularity. Hence, it is not strange that so many books have been written about it — it has also been the subject of several films and documentaries. Let's briefly summarize the context and the development of this historic match.

September 3, 2018

The Match of the Century: Fischer-Spassky, 1972; By GM Zenón Franco; Chess24

It's a pleasure to begin my collaboration with chess24 at the start of September, as we celebrate the 46th anniversary of the "Match of the Century" — the 1972 World Chess Championship played in Reykjavik between Boris Spassky and his challenger Robert "Bobby" Fischer. It was much more than a sporting confrontation, and it had an unexpected level of acclaim at the time, provoking chess to gain much popularity. Hence, it is not strange that so many books have been written about it — it has also been the subject of several films and documentaries.

More: Chess.com

September 1, 2018

August Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$10 per game.

The theme this month was “everyone must be on vacation” as turnout was suppressed in all of our events. The ACC Action Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) continues to be held in a new location for ACC tournaments, the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston. There are lots of comfy skittles area with a spacious tabled outdoor area, a few computers, and free Wifi. Nearby, there are tons of eating options just within 1 block of the hotel (!). And prizes will continue to grow as attendance grows. This month, Larry Gilden (4/5) won 1st place over Franco Jose and Alex Emmons who tied for 2nd-4rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, newcomer Rahul Chaudhury had an excellent tournament picking up nearly 200 ratings points and running the boards on the way to clear first place (5/5). Brynn Toops travelled from Baltimore to win clear 2nd (4/5) and Andrew Lott won 3rd (3.5/5) – they too picked up 300 and 200 ratings points, respectively. Pracheth Godlaveti won the U1400 prize and Arjun Srinivasan won the U1200 prize. Separately, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), only 6 players competed with newcomer Chaz Daly (9/10) narrowing holding off Larry Gilden 8,5() for the win (7/10). On the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), out of nearly 50 players, Andrew Lott topped the field by a whole point (4/5) to win the prize. He was followed by James K. Williams and Elvir Husicic (3/5). And finally, in the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Robert Cousins (3/3) edged out Kebadu Belachew (2.5) for 1st place out of just 8 players.

August 29, 2018

Beats So to Last Grand Chess Tour Spot; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Fabiano Caruana will join Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the $300,000 Grand Chess Tour final in London this December after beating Wesley So 1.5:0.5 in the playoff for fourth place. Fabiano described his year so far as, “more than I could ever have expected”, though the one event that really matters is the World Championship match this November. His opponent, Magnus Carlsen, warmed up for that with a little trash-talking at the Sinquefield Cup closing ceremony.

August 27, 2018

Top 10 Benefits of Chess; By Staff; Chess.com

Chess is played every day around the world and brings people of different cultures and backgrounds together. Let's take a look at the top 10 benefits of learning and playing chess!

August 25, 2018

Solve These Tactics That Won Brilliancy Prizes; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

After sharing positional puzzles to the raging masses, I thought that it was only right to offer tactical puzzles and sharp attacks. However, there’s a tiny blip: All these games won brilliancy prizes. Anyway, whether you solve it or not, you should have a lot of fun trying. As usual, please look at the notes after you try to solve the puzzle.

August 24, 2018

Homage to Ingmar Bergman; By Andre Schulz; ChessBase

One of the most famous chess scenes in a film is the game between the knight Antonius Block and Death from Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Bergman's film inspired the German director Margarethe von Trotta to become a director herself, and as a homage to Bergman she now made a documentary about her idol: "Searching for Ingmar Bergman", a film in which the chess scene from "The Seventh Seal" also plays a role.

August 23, 2018

10 Great Chess Traps; By Staff; Chess.com

Chess tricks and traps have always caught the imagination and appreciation of chess fans as long as chess has been played. A nice trap shows tactical ideas, combinations, and fascinating concepts that capture our attention and stand the test of time. The traps in this article will give you ideas to try in your own games!

August 23, 2018

Uhlmann’s defense: when they come for your king; By Conrad Schorman; ChessBase

For more than three decades Wolfgang Uhlmann was East Germany's number one player and in the 60s and 70s he was one of the world's best players. Uhlmann is particularly famous for his handling of the French Defense. After 1.e4 he invariably played 1...e6, no matter how well-prepared the opponent might be. Of course, he contributed a lot of ideas to the French. Conrad Schormann takes a look at one particularly useful and important defensive concept Uhlmann introduced into practice.

August 20, 2018

The Trojan Horse Trick In Chess; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

Everyone knows the story about the Trojan Horse that helped the Greek army win the Trojan War. Since chess is a model of war on 64 squares, can't we use this 3,000-year-old trick on the chessboard?

August 18, 2018

The Greatest Chess Games Of All Time (?!); By Staff; Chess.com

Chess is a rich game, dating back over a millennia. On Chess.com alone, over 2,000,000,000 games have been played! Which games are the very best ever played? No one can answer that conclusively, but we are going to give you Chess.com's opinion. We asked Chess.com staff and contributors to give us their top 10 lists, and then we ordered each list, awarding 10 points to their top game and one point to their 10th game. Here's our top 10, and check out our full list at the end of the article!

August 21, 2018

GM Smerdon explores Kenya; By David Smerdon; ChessBase

Australian Grandmaster DAVID SMERDON is semi-retired from chess after getting married, returning to his hometown of Brisbane to take up a professorship in the School of Economics at the University of Queensland. He still blogs occasionally and recently published a fascinating two part story about a trip to Kenya, which we bring you with kind permission of the author.

August 18, 2018

Retro chess — simply entertaining; By Frederick Friedel; ChessBase

Everyone knows — and some even love — chess problems. But apart from straightforward "mate in x tasks" there are also other very interesting types: helpmates, self-mates, and retrograde analysis, a genre where the legality of a position or a move is what we are looking for. Sound boring? Well, take a look at some examples and decide for yourself. You may find it fascinating.

August 13, 2018

Bet You've Never Heard Of This Opening; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

On March 24, 1937, the leading Soviet chess magazine 64 published a theoretical article about a new opening system the magazine called the "Panov Defense." I challenge you to identify the moves of this opening line. Yes, you can Google it if you wish! Just don't confuse the "Panov Defense" with the "Panov Attack" in the Caro-Kann defense. Give up already?

August 13, 2018

The Immortal Game (1851); By Staff; Chess.com

The "Immortal Game" is one of the most famous chess games ever played! Played in 1851 as an informal match between two European math professors, Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky, this game has become a true showcase of classic 19th century chess where startling attacks and sacrifices were all the rage.

August 11, 2018

Can You Pass This Positional Chess Test?; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Welcome again to another learning chess experience. You will look at eight positional puzzles and, as you finish each one, you will click the question mark (“?”) underneath the board next to the light bulb. This will allow you to see all the instructive prose. If you fail the puzzle, don’t worry! This isn’t a contest, it’s just an enjoyable way to learn new things.

August 11, 2018

Russian diplomatic effort to influence the FIDE election; By Tim Wall; ChessBase

Given the recent history of Russian diplomatic resources being exercised to aid the re-election bids of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, it is not terribly surprising that evidence is emerging of similar official government actions in support of the Russian candidate in 2018, Arkady Dvorkovich. However, in a new development, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin himself has apparently directly intervened in the Kremlin’s global campaign to get national chess federations to support his former deputy prime minister, adding weight to communiqués from embassies which are also surfacing.

August 10, 2018

Nine-year-old to stay in the UK; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The family of a nine-year-old at the centre of a visa battle has been allowed to remain in the United Kingdom rather than be deported to India. Shreyas Royal has spent nearly six of his nine years resident in the UK, and has been tipped as “the best prospect the country has ever seen”, according to Grandmaster Chris Ward. The family had been told they were to leave by September 10th, but with a month to go, they have now been given a reprieve.

August 10, 2018

The knights of Africa (part 1); By Alina L’Ami; ChessBase

The Egyptian GM Bassem Amin won the Invitational Rapid & Blitz event held in Abidjan, July 24th to 30th. We previously reported on the results but now give it the ALINA l'AMI treatment.

More: Chess.com

August 9, 2018

75 years young: Lubomir Kavalek; By Andre Schulz; ChessBase

Lubomir Kavalek was born in Prague, but left his country in 1968 and found a new home in the USA. In the 1970s, he was one of the world's best players and also successful as a second and coach, including Bobby Fischer, and a prolific writer with dozens of columns shared on ChessBase over the years. Today he celebrates his 75th birthday.

August 9, 2018

Jan's Opening Clinic 21; By Staff; Chess 24

Season 21 is already in full swing, with Grandmaster Jan Gustafsson answering the first 10 questions on chess openings from chess24 Premium Members. It's the show of 3-letter abbreviations, with Jan helping a young Indian prodigy out with the QGA (Queen's Gambit Accepted), while a few users ask about the KIA (King's Indian Attack). At least no-one is talking about Killing the KID, to the relief of chess players' wives and girlfriends everywhere!

Part 1: Chess.com
Part 2: Chess.com
Part 3: Chess.com
Part 4: Chess.com
Part 5: Chess.com
Part 6: Chess.com

August 8, 2018

Letter: FIDE Elections; By Ukrainian Chess Federation President; Chessdom

The circumstances around the election of FIDE President encourage me to address my colleagues with this letter....

August 8, 2018

Mamedyarov on beating Carlsen in Biel; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

In Berlin Shakhriyar Mamedyarov narrowly missed out on qualifying to play a match against Magnus Carlsen, but since then he’s gone on to reach a career best live rating of 2817 after beating Magnus in Biel. They’ll meet again in the Sinquefield Cup, but before heading to Saint Louis Mamedyarov has been in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he’s given a master class and simultaneous displays.

August 6, 2018

How To Play The Boiling Frog Attack ; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

I want to present to you a game played by two famous super-grandmasters where White won in just 16 moves. Black didn't break any opening rules, was fully developed and castled. Moreover, he didn't blunder anything and yet had to resign after White played his 16th move. How is that possible?

August 3, 2018

Press Release: FIDE Forward; By FIDE Forward team; Chessdom

As the FIDE elections of 3 October are approaching, we are pleased to announce the launch of our “FIDE Forward”...

August 2, 2018

Virginians Win Scholastic Invititationals; By Staff; USCF

For the first time ever, two Virginia students win USCF invitationals in the same year! IM Praveen Balakrishnan repeated as winner of the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. And NM Andy Huang justifiably pressed on—and on and on—in to win the Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions and another scholarship sponsored by the US Chess Trust, through the generosity of Dewain Barber.

August 1, 2018

World Championship Venue Announced ; By Antonio Pereira; ChessBase

Shortly after the last round of the Biel Tournament was over, World Chess announced the venue for this year's most important chess event. The Carlsen-Caruana match will take place at The College in Holborn, Central London.

August 1, 2018

Bobby Fischer's Best Chess Quotes; By Staff; Chess.com

Bobby Fischer is easily the most famous chess player of all time. When Bobby spoke about chess naturally people listened! Here are ten of his famous quotes.

August 1, 2018

July Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$10 per game.

The ACC Action Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) returned and was held in a new location for ACC tournaments, the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston and attendance was high for the new venue. There are lots of comfy skittles area with a spacious tabled outdoor area, a few computers, and free Wifi. Nearby are a ton of eating options just within 1 block of the hotel (!). And prizes will continue to grow as attendance grows. This month, we had 42 players compete in two sections with 4 competitors tying for 1st in the Open section (4/5), Andy Samuelson, Daniel Lowinger, Isaac Chiu, and Richard Tan. In the U1700 section, newcomer Anish Srinivasan won clear first place (4.5/5) and picking up 75 ratings points (!) followed by Don Loos (4/5) in second and two-way tie for third (3.5/5) by Tim Paper and Sachin Satishkumar. Separately, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 14 players competed with Larry Gilden eking out the win (7/10) over Joe McDougall (6.5/10) On the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), a record 8 players tied for first (2/4). No one seemed to be able to clear the field. And finally, in the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Akshay Indusekar tied with Murray Newcomb for 1st place (2.5/3).

July 27, 2018

Dvorkovich: FIDE Campaign; By Georgios Souleidis; ChessBase

Arkady Dvorkovich has been on tour for his electoral campaign and made stops at the Biel International Chess Festival and, a day after, at the Sparkassen Chess-Meeting in Dortmund (where he made the ceremonial first move for the game Kovalev-Kramnik). Macauley Peterson and Georgios Souleidis interviewed him on topics ranging from his plans for FIDE if elected, his connection to the Russian government, Agon, and political campaign wrangling.

July 26, 2018

Judit Polgar designs educational program for China; By Staff; Chessdom

Multiple Olympic champion’s innovative educational chess programs Chess Palace and Chess Playground are set to be introduced into Chinese schools to help the younger generation prepare for the challenges of our future.

July 26, 2018

New US Treasury Problems for FIDE?; By Staff; Chessdom

After the inclusion of its former president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov in the sanctions list of the US Treasury, the banking problems of FIDE seem to never end. The problem is that Russia’s new candidate is also included in a pre-sanctions list of the US Treasury for, among others, alleged “human rights violations, annexation of Crimea and ongoing military operations in eastern Ukraine” by Russia:

July 23, 2018

2018 U.S. Junior Champions; By Antonio Pereira; ChessBase

Saint Louis hosted the 2018 editions of the U.S. Junior Chess Championship and the U.S. Girls Junior Championship last week. Awonder Liang and Carissa Yip qualified to the national main event by winning in each category. This was Liang's second consecutive win in this event, while Yip improved greatly on her eighth place from last year.

July 21, 2018

Test Your Positional Chess; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Please keep in mind that these puzzles aren’t like usual tactical puzzles. Here, you might not have to find the “one and only one” move since the position could offer several reasonable choices. So, if you think you found the right move (or idea) but the software tells you to keep trying, look for something else and, afterwards, look at my notes; the move you initially thought was best might likely be there.

July 20, 2018

Pattern Recognition — Fact or Fiction?; By Rune Vik-Hansen; ChessBase

Chess players, chess authors and chess psychologists attempt to teach and explain chess playing and development of chess skills with the concept of pattern and pattern recognition. However, the lack of a precise definition of pattern raises the question of what we are supposed to recognise and if chess may not be too diverse and too complex to be reduced to simplified didactic devices like 'patterns.'

July 19, 2018

Memoir: Korchnoi; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

40 years ago this week, Karpov and Korchnoi started their fight for the world title in Baguio City on the Philippines. Yesterday we published a lengthy interview with Karpov, who won the match 6 : 5, but Korchnoi almost became world champion. A good occasion to take a look at Genna Sosonko's new book "Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi", a fine memoir of one of the most interesting chess players of the 20th century.

July 18, 2018

Interview: Karpov; By David Llada; ChessBase

Today is the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1978 World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio, the Philippines. To mark the occasion we bring you an epic interview from DAVID LLADA, who spoke to the 12th World Champion following his 184th tournament win in Plato d'Aro, outside of Barcelona, Spain.

July 16, 2018

United States is World Champion 50+; By Staff; Chessdom

The 6th World Team Championship 50+ & 65+ took place from the 7th to the 15th of July 2018 in Radebeul near Dresden in Germany.

July 15, 2018

Going Berserk In Chess!; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

Some 20 years ago I had a conversation with a grandmaster who grew up in a bad neighborhood. He was recollecting his youth years when street fighting was pretty common. I don't remember much from his stories, but one of his phrases has stuck in my mind: "It is not the strongest who wins the fight but the craziest!"

July 14, 2018

3 Different Chess Views You Need To Know; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

The vast chess masses are all begging for some magical trick that will make their brain suddenly light up and understand all that needs to be understood. Alas, it just doesn’t work that way.

July 13, 2018

FIDE Ethics Commission suspends Kirsan Ilyumzhinov; By Staff; Chessdom

Mr Ilyumzhinov is sanctioned with a temporary exclusion from holding any position for a period of 18 months from today, of which a period of 12 months are suspended for a period of 2 years. The immediately effective suspension is one of 6 months, commencing on 13 July 2018 and ending on 12 January 2019.

More: ChessBase

July 9 & 12, 2018

Yermo's travels; By Alex Yermolinsky; ChessBase

The United States sent a strong squad to the World Team Championship 50+. ALEX YERMOLINSKY is playing, spending time with good old friends and sending some pictures and stories for us to enjoy. The account until round six includes images of the team's trip to Dresden and, as Yermo calls it, the German Grand Canyon.

More: ChessBase

July 12, 2018

Interview: Tiviakov; By André Schulz; ChessBase

A few days ago Sergei Tiviakov became Dutch Champion 2018 and added another victory to his impressive list of successes. In an interview with ChessBase the former World Junior Champion and successful coach talks about his career, his style, about training, and his series of 110 games without defeat.

July 12, 2018

Chess on the move in Hong Kong; By Antonio Pereira; ChessBase

The 9th Annual Hong Kong Scholastic Championship took place on June 10 at Kellett School. The activity was a great success, as more than 150 children participated. Individual and team winners received awards after struggling during seven hours of rapid play. A big pictorial report shows that Hong Kong might have a bright future in chess, if these initiatives take root.

July 11, 2018

The Chess Train rolls again; By André Schulz; ChessBase

The chess train continues this year, with the great route Prague-Ostrava-Warsaw-Krakow-Hradec Králové and back to Prague. During the ride, a rapid chess tournament is played. In the afternoon there is enough time to see the cities. Find out about this now-traditional and quickly-becoming-legendary tournament.

July 11, 2018

Chess on the beach; By Alina l'Ami; ChessBase

Would you be able to sit in a dark quiet room for, say, two months, with nothing to read, nothing to do, nothing but your own thoughts? According to (I think it was) Goethe, that's the veritable test of a true man. But as a chess player, and under the influence of Stefan Zweig's "Schachnovelle", my surmise is that we could all do it! Philosophers should rebuild their furnace because the supreme test for a grandmaster — and an amateur alike — is to play (and play well!) at the Hersonissos Open.

July 10, 2018

Interview: Gelfand and Nepo; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The Gideon Japhet Cup recently ended in Jerusalem with Ian Nepomniachtchi finishing a point ahead of the chasing pack, but it’s continued to provide interesting material. At least one of the photos of Boris Gelfand and Vassily Ivanchuk on a later trip to the Dead Sea deserves to go viral, while both Nepo and Gelfand also gave long interviews to Emil Sutovsky. Ian considers Magnus somewhat overrated as a match player, while Boris compares the Carlsen-Caruana match to Karpov-Kasparov and reveals how a young Fabiano once surprised him with his devotion to chess.

July 7, 2018

Pal Benko – eleven twins; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

In problem chess "twins" are two or more problems, normally composed by a single author, that are slight variations of each other. This is usually brought about by moveing pieces slightly or subtly, or adding, removing or exchanging a piece. Sometimes the position is moved to another location on the board. The solutions should be different. Now our dear and faithful friend Pal Benkö has sent us a record-setting eleven twins. Have fun solving these unique problems.

July 6, 2018

Will Caruana Beat Magnus?; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

It is the first time he will defend his title against a younger challenger, the 25-year-old American Fabiano Caruana. Besides, the rating gap between the opponents, which is currently a measly 20 points, is going to be the smallest of all Carlsen's previous matches. So, who will celebrate a victory this fall?

July 6, 2018

A chat with Pragg; By Aditya Pai; ChessBase

R Praggnanandhaa recently qualified for the Grandmaster title at the Gredine Open in Italy. Besides scoring his final grandmaster norm with a round to spare, the little champ also finished joint first in the tournament alongside GM Ivan Saric. But this success came after a dismal finish at the Schaakweek Apeldoorn where he had finished at the bottom of the leader board. In this interview, he tells how he remains confident despite setbacks, his meeting with Vishy Anand and his preference for sambhar and rice over pizza.

June 19 - July 5, 2018

Jan's Opening Clinic 20; By Staff; Chess24

In case you missed Jan’s Opening Clinic 19, the questions were asked under this article, and then Jan responded in five parts. After five weeks of answers it’s finally time to ask the good doctor and chess grandmaster Jan Gustafsson some questions again! “Season 20” of the show will follow the same format as Season 19, with Jan not trying to respond in a 4-hour live show but in a series of 1-hour shows published weekly until he’s cured all the chess opening ailments of chess24 Premium Members.

Part 1: Chess.com
Part 2: Chess.com
Part 3: Chess.com
Part 4: Chess.com
Part 5: Chess.com
Part 6: Chess.com
Part 7: Chess.com

July 4, 2018

FIDE presidential race is all set; By André Schulz; ChessBase

During the next Chess Olympiad, a new president will be elected at the FIDE Congress. That much became clear after Kirsan Ilyumzhinov officially withdrew his candidacy last weekend. The three options, now officially confirmed by FIDE, are Georgios Makropoulos, Nigel Short and Arkady Dvorkovich. Let us bring you — even the FIDE political neophyte — up to date. Break out the popcorn folks, it's going to be an interesting three months!

Makropoulos: Chess.com
Ilyumzhinov withdraws: Chess.com
Candidates: Chessdom

July 3, 2018

Polgar and Hou on BBC The Conversation; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The two best female players of all time recently came together for The Conversation, a BBC podcast interview. They spoke about their respective chess careers as the best women in the sport, the challenges they each faced, and how they chose to transition away from dedicated competition. These are subjects both have dealt with often before, but rarely have the two come together for a direct back-and-forth conversation like this.

July 2, 2018

Ludek Pachman; By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

Ludek Pachman was an important theoretician, an industrious author, and a controversial personality. In Czechoslovakia he was a staunch communist but after the "Prague Spring" he changed from Saul to Paul or, as some people think, from Saul to Saul. Vlastimil Hort shares memories of Ludek Pachman.

More: ChessBase

July 1, 2018

June Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$10 per game.

The ACC Action Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) returned and was held in a new location for ACC tournaments, the Marriott Residence Inn - Ballston and attendance was high for the new venue. There are lots of comfy skittles area with a spacious tabled outdoor area, a few computers, and free Wifi. Nearby are a ton of eating options just within 1 block of the hotel (!). And prizes will continue to grow as attendance grows. This month, we had 41 players compete in two sections with Andy Samuelson securing first place (4/5) over a three way tie for second place by Akshay Indusekar, Richard Tan, Dennis Norman (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, newcomer Naveen Balakrishnan tied for first with Don Loos (4.5/5), both picking up nearly 100 ratings points, followed by Oliver Heggli-Nonay in sole third place (4/5). Vedanth Iyer won the U1400 class prize (along with about 150 ratings points!) and new tournament player Mike Burns won the U1200 class prize. Separately, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 10 players crossed swords over their chess boards with Larry Gilden dominating the opposition (9/10) by 3 whole points! On the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), nearly 50 players competed with Xing Jian and Jason Northcutt tying for 1st (2.5/4) a half point ahead of nine other members. And finally, in the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), a small turnout of 6 players was won jointly by Andy Tichenor and Ken Chieu (2.5/3).

June 30, 2018

The Ilyumzhinov era is over; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

We Yesterday Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced that after 23 years as FIDE President he won’t be standing for re-election this October. The writing had long been on the wall, with Ilyumzhinov crippled by US sanctions, scraping together an election “ticket” that included a fictitious person and finally abandoned by the Russian Chess Federation and government, which have thrown their weight behind Arkady Dvorkovich. We’re currently heading for a 3-horse race, with Dvorkovich taking on Georgios Makropoulos and Nigel Short.

June 30, 2018

Americans playing for the title: Wilhelm Steinitz; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

For the less historically enlightened, the first official American to become World Champion was the great Bobby Fischer, but the native New Yorker can only claim to be the second as the title of first goes to the father of modern strategy: Wilhelm Steinitz. Read on to find out more on the great champion with annotations by Garry Kasparov.

June 30, 2018

Friends in France: Rinck and beer; By Siegfried Hornecker; ChessBase

It's rare to be able to smoothly segue from beer to endgame studies, but that's what our Study of the Month columnist SIEGFRIED HORNECKER manages to do in this month's investigation into the life and work of Henri Rinck. Born into a family of brewers, he would come to brew his own endgame studies while living near Barcelona. Here are five favorites.

June 29, 2018

Magnus' Kingdom, confidence and Caruana; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Magnus Carlsen weighs in on "peak performance" in a video published by Inc.com, and Play Magnus has launched a new app aimed at children five to nine years old called Magnus' Kingdom of Chess. The World Champion will play two tournaments plus the European Club Cup in the run-up to his title bout with Fabiano Caruana.

June 29, 2018

Commonwealth 2018: A wealth of chess improvement; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

Chess reports are filled with news and updates, but this report from Commonwealth 2018 is different. It is filled with high level of instructional content. IM SAGAR SHAH, says, "To go through this entire report will take two hours of your time. But if you do it carefully, it is bound to teach you a lot about chess."

June 28, 2018

Four legends meet in Platja d'Aro; By Antonio Pereira; ChessBase

A small town in Catalonia's beautiful Costa Brava has welcomed four renowned chess players from the past. Anatoly Karpov, Ljubomir Ljubojevic, Anatoly Vaisser and Eugenio Torre are playing a unique rapid and blitz tournament in Platja d'Aro.

Karpov Wins: ChessBase

June 27, 2018

Zweig: A Chess Story and a dramatic death; By Sergio Ernesto Negri; ChessBase

One of the most popular writers in Europe — the most translated in the interwar period — Stefan Zweig escaped the Nazi regime as a prominent writer. Since he thought Hitler's threat would spread throughout the world, he emigrated repeatedly and visited South America several times, considering the continent "a promised land". An admirer of Argentina, he finally settled in Brazil, where he died in 1942. In this article, SERGIO NEGRI reviews his extensive and successful literary work, including the one that has chess as its fundamental protagonist, "Schachnovelle."

June 26, 2018

Talking modern correspondence chess; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

Does correspondence chess have any meaning in 2018, when chess engines definitely overcame the best humans already back in about 2005? Is it useful for a chess player to study a database of correspondence chess games? Or to use it as a reference? Discover more in an interview with Wolff Morrow, one of the top ten correspondence chess players in the USA!

June 25, 2018

"I don’t see Nigel as a great leadership candidate"; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

IM Malcolm Pein, now a candidate for FIDE Deputy President, took time out from a full schedule for a chat with Macauley Peteron in Leuven at the end of the "Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz" tournament. Malcolm discussed the Grand Chess Tour, the FIDE / Agon proposed "broadcast policy," the upcoming World Championship in London, and his thoughts on the election including having his old friend Nigel Short as a political sparring partner.

June 24, 2018

Is Tal's Queen Worth 12 Pawns?; By John Doe; Chess.com

At the very end of my article about MVL's, I mentioned that Tal was famous for his queen play. There was even a joke that a regular queen is worth nine pawns and Tal's queen is worth 12 pawns! The Chess.com member "fiercebadger" asked in the comment section: "Perhaps you can show us these classic Tal 12-pt queen games?" Thank you for a very good suggestion, fiercebadger!

June 23, 2018

Steinitz: The Official World Chess Champion; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

1886 was an epic year. Though past players were viewed as the world chess champion, there never was an official title. Now the two best players in the world (Zukertort and Steinitz) would butt heads and the fans of both players would have to accept that the victor was the real deal. The match was played in three cities: New York, St. Louis, and New Orleans (in honor of Morphy, who died in 1884). It started badly for Steinitz, who won the first game but then lost four games in a row.

June 23, 2018

Indonesia's red hot chili peppers; By Alina l'Ami; ChessBase

Surakarta, also known as Solo or Sala, a city in Central Java, Indonesia, hosted two round-robin tournaments earlier this year — one for GMs and one for WGMs. Alina l'Ami was there and prepared a long article filled with anecdotes, chess games and some extra spicy dishes.

June 22, 2018

Pia Cramling to miss first Olympiad in 40 years ; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Pia Cramling was born in 1963, the same year as Garry Kasparov, and she is also a chess legend. 40 years ago, when she was 15, she played in her first Olympiad. But this year she won't in play the Olympiad in Batumi 2018. In an extensive interview, the Swedish grandmaster reveals what drove her decision and reflects on her long career.

June 20, 2018

Who put the "Indian" in Indian openings?; By Conrad Schormann; ChessBase

Why, after all, are the Indian openings called "Indian"? Conrad Schormann tried to find an answer to this question and found it in the ChessBase Mega Database. It led him back to a clash of classical and hypermodern theory in old India.

June 19, 2018

"FIDE should be encouraging chess, not discouraging it"; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Nigel Short is in a four-way race for President of FIDE, to be decided in an election in Batumi at the Chess Olympiad on October 3rd. Until a few days ago, it was a three-way race with one of those being the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. But now the Russian Chess Federation is poised to nominate someone else: Russian economist and politician Arkady Dvorkovich. Macauley Peterson spoke to Nigel for an hour in Leuven, during the first stop of Grand Chess Tour, to get his current thoughts on the race.

Dvorkovich: Chess.com
Russia: Chess.com

June 19, 2018

TCEC 12: Komodo wins Premier Division; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

The "Top Chess Engine Championships" (TCEC) is a competition of the world's best computer programs which play in several divisions. The strongest programs start in "Division Premier". TCEC Season 12 just came to an end and was won by the new Komodo 12, place two went to Stockfish. On Monday, June 18, Komodo 12 and Stockfish started to play their 100-game superfinal.

More: Chessdom

June 18, 2018

Swaminathan says no to compulsory hijab; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

“Tournaments should be held in places which uphold the rights of chess players”, says WGM Soumya Swaminathan after withdrawing from the Asian Nations Cup 2018 due to a dress code that requires women to wear a hijab. The Asian Nations Cup will be held from July 27th to August 4th, 2018 in Hamadan, Iran. Soumya has refused to travel to the tournament as she thinks that the dress code violates her human rights. This stand by Soumya which started as a small Facebook post has snowballed into international coverage.

More: Chess.com

June 18, 2018

Studies of Isenegger; By Udo Nouvertne; ChessBase

Samuel Isenegger was a Swiss chess composer who worked as an editor of the "Schweizerische Schachzeitung" (the Swiss Chess Newspaper). Udo Nouvertne explores one of his most famous compositions, and how different authors made the same mistake when reproducing it in their collections.

June 17, 2018

Do You Know This Rare Chess Tactic?; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

Some chess tactical ideas are very common. For example, I cannot imagine any experienced chess player who never had back-rank problems in his games. Interference is pretty much at the opposite end of chess spectrum. Here is how Wikipedia describes it: "In the game of chess, interference occurs when the line between an attacked piece and its defender is interrupted by sacrificially interposing a piece. It is a chess tactic which seldom arises, and is therefore often overlooked."

June 15, 2018

Komodo MCTS: the boa constrictor approach; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

The inclusion of the new Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) version of Komodo has had many users surprised, confused, and even describing it as a gimmick. However, its value is not to be underestimated, and it allows the astute user to find resources the very best engines are completely blind to. GM Karsten Mueller has helped illustrate this with some finely chosen examples in the following article.

June 15, 2018

The Art Of Time Management; By Daniel Naroditsky; Chess.com

We kick off our journey with an exploration of the very thing that makes blitz: time. In the pantheon of blitz mastery you can find players with every conceivable style: there are gung-ho tacticians, Karpovian boa constrictors, and everything in the middle. But every blitz expert possesses the ability to astutely manage his or her time game in and game out.

June 13, 2018

Find the winning moves; By John Doe; CHESS Magazine

Here's another opportunity to sharpen your tactical skills: twelve positions taken from recent tournaments, for you to solve. As a special service, the diagram boards allow you not only to move the pieces around to analyze — there is also an embedded engine that will actually play the positions against you!

June 11, 2018

Interview: Ju Wenjun; By Niklesh Kumar Jain; Chessbase

In May, Ju Wenjun played a fine match against Tan Zhongyi to become the Women's World Champion. She took the lead early on in the match and never let it go. Immediately after the World Championship, Ju Wenjun went to play the Chinese league. Niklesh Jain and Angela Franco sent a few questions to the World Champion and she was kind enough to share her thoughts on the match and much more.

More: ChessBase

June 10, 2018

Young offenders sentenced to play chess in Canada; By Antonio Pereira; Chessbase

Courts have a range of different sentences for young offenders. Community service, custodial sentences and detentions are among the most frequent. A different approach is now being tested in Lethbridge, Canada, where a group of scientists created a program to use chess instead. The program is called "Chess for Life" and so far has been a success.

June 9, 2018

The warlord enjoys himself; Nagesh Havanur; Chessbase

A few days ago, the 6th of June, happened to be the death anniversary of Viktor Korchnoi (1931-2016), the legendary player who strode the chess world like a colossus. The warlord simply loved playing, whatever the format, blitz, rapid or classical. He reveled in simultaneous displays. The public adored him and he, in turn, enjoyed their adulation. In such events his play was uninhibited and he moved pieces with fiery spirit and energy.

June 2, 2018

Behold, The Austrian Morphy!; By Jeremy Silman; Chessbase

I’m writing this since whenever chess players get together and talk about the past top players, some open their mouths and spew out nonsense about Steinitz, the first world champion. My favorite: “If Steinitz were playing today he would not have a 2200 rating.” Really? From 1866 to 1894, this guy was far stronger than any other player who ever lived (with the exception of Morphy, though Morphy never played anyone as strong as Steinitz!).

More: Chess.com

June 2, 2018

The "Asterufer" match in Hamburg; By Johannes Fischer; Chessbase

The city of Hamburg, Germany, is shaped by two rivers: the Elbe that runs from East to West and connects Hamburg to the sea, and the more idyllic Alster that runs from North to South through the city. In 1957 schoolteachers in Hamburg had the idea to let schools lying to the right of the Alster play chess against schools to the left of the Alster. In 1958 the first "Alsterufer" match took place. 60 years later it is one of the world's biggest chess tournaments - and a fantastic chess spectacle.

June 1, 2018

Interview: Anand; By Organizers, 2018 Olympiad; Chessdom

The Organizing Committee of the 0218 Chess Olympiad conducted an interview with the Indian Grandmaster and the former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand, who is also the Goodwill Ambassador of the 43rd Chess Olympiad.

May 31, 2018

May Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$10 per game.

This month, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 12 players crossed swords over their chess boards with Nicolas Theiss finishing in 1st place (9/10) just ahead of Isaac Chiu in 2nd (8/10). In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), 50 players competed with Jason Northcutt and new member Elvir Husicic tying for 1st (3/4) a half point ahead of two other members. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 12 players competed and Nicolas Theiss again won (3.0) this time ahead of father and son duo Leonid and Sergey Patusk who tied for second (2/3). And finally, due to our host's space needs, the ACC Action Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) was not held this month.

May 31, 2018

Nicolas Rossolimo; By Vlastimil Hort; Chessbase

The Rossolimo variation in the Sicilian is well-known and popular but who remembers Rossolimo? He was a connoisseur of the art of living, a chess artist, and an imaginative attacker with a passion for live and chess.

May 30, 2018

Bad Boys; By "Batgirl"; Chess.com

There has never been any doubt that chess attracts some peculiar individuals. Most are fairly harmless but others have attained an aura of notoriety and some even prison sentences. Below is a handful of the most publicized bad boys who a some strong connection to chess.

More: Chess.com

May 30, 2018

Pattern recognition in chess; By Qiyu Zhou; Chessbase

Is there a correlation between the strength in chess of players and their ability to recall a position in chess using short-term memory? This was the research question of a budding young scientist, QIYU ZHOU, who gave professional and casual chess players positions to study and then attempt to reconstruct them within 30 seconds. Her results are meticulously documented in a paper we are pleased to publish. At the end, there is an appeal to our readers to help with associated material.

More: ChessBase

May 27, 2018

In memoriam: Evgeni Vasiukov; By Dagobert Kohlmeyer; Chessbase

On May 10, 2018, Evgeni Vasiukov died in Moscow. In his prime, he was one of the best players in the world and amongst other things he won the prestigious Moscow Championship no less than six times. Later he was a renowned coach, second, and organiser and achieved a number of successes in senior tournaments.

More: Chess24
More2: Chess.com

May 23, 2018

What's Your Favorite Chess Move?; By Mike Klein; Chess.com

If you were to list your five favorite chess moves, how would you pick them? Would you have to research them, or do you already have them memorized?

May 21, 2018

Twenty GMs play blitz for charity; By Steve Abrahams; Chessbase

More than twenty Grandmasters including the World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana (pictured playing tandem blitz) came together in New York on Sunday for the 2nd annual event, a day of quad tournaments, GM blitz, simuls, and other special events. The proceeds from the event will go to Mount Sinai Hospital Ovarian Cancer Translational Research Laboratory. Last year's donation to another cancer charity exceeded $20,000! GM Maxim Dlugy was the blitz winner.

May 19, 2018

On the origins of chess (2/5); By Sergio Ernesto Negri; Chessbase

"Never play with drunkards and desperate men and quarrelsome people for it leads to a brawl”. Chess researcher SERGIO NEGRI continues his deep dive into the origins of our game, this time focusing on the most widely recognized theory, that of an Indian origin.

May 19, 2018

Adolf Anderssen, Mr. Slice And Dice!; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Adolf Anderssen (born 1818) was born in the German Empire (Breslau, which is now Wroclaw, Poland). He learned how to play chess at the age of nine, and learned much of his chess understanding by going over all the games of the legendary Labourdonnais vs. McDonnell match.

More: Chess.com

May 18, 2018

Chess on the high seas; By Michael Dombrowsky; Chessbase

The chess tournament at sea will take place on board the new Norwegian Bliss from Miami through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles this year. The first part of the journey followed in the footsteps of pirates and the slave trade along the coast of Cuba through the Caribbean to Cartagena, Colombia.

More: ChessBase
More 2: ChessBase

May 14, 2018

FIDE Money Transferred To Fiduciary Accounts; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

On May 4, FIDE transferred its money to two fiduciary accounts after the Swiss bank UBS had closed its account at the start of the month. This was revealed by FIDE's treasurer on Sunday. It took the World Chess Federation two weeks, but finally the national chess federations and everyone else have been informed about the whereabouts of FIDE's money. And still, questions remain.

May 14, 2018

The 5 Most Dangerous Chess Players Ever; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's result in the last Candidates' tournament has cemented his position as one of the world's very best players. In a year-old article, we already discussed what makes his chess so sparkling and powerful. Today I would like to talk about one of his favorite chess patterns, which perfectly fits the description from the above-mentioned article: "he uses a well-known classical concept as an inspiration and then produces a much more sophisticated and beautiful gem."

May 10, 2018

Nigel Short runs for FIDE President; By Conrad Schormann; Chessbase

Nigel Short wants to become FIDE President. In 2010 and in 2014 Short supported the campaigns of Karpov and Kasparov. It's been a while since three candidates ran for president in the FIDE elections, but now Ilyumzhinov, Makropoulos, and Short are all in the running. CONRAD SCHORMANN recounts a bit of history and shares his opinion of what is bound to be an interesting period in international chess politics.

May 6, 2018

Tal's Attacking Secret; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

I bet many of you have heard the famous chess saying: "If Tal has an open file, there will be mate," but do you know how this expression was born? Mikhail Tal's second, Alexander Koblencs, who coined this phrase, tells the story in his book On The Road Of Chess Battles.

May 4, 2018

Test Your Positional Chess; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In this series I will offer eight positional puzzles. Some are fairly easy and others are difficult. However, unlike a normal puzzle where the winning side has to (usually) find that one special move, here the superior side will often have several reasonable choices. The real goal is to understand the position and then and only then look for moves that cater to the position's needs.

More: Chess.com

May 3, 2018

Blitz Chess Manifesto; By Daniel Naroditsky; Chess.com

In "The Blitz Manifesto"—my new bi-weekly column—I will endeavor to provide a comprehensive guide to blitz mastery. There are probably a thousand questions on the tip of your tongue. The short answer: all in due time. To lay the foundation, I will address four critical questions that will give you a better sense of what this column is all about. More important, we will begin to negotiate the treacherous path to blitz mastery.

May 3-19, 2018

Ju Wenjun becomes 17th Women's World Champion; By Macauley Peterson; Chessbase

Ju Wenjun has done it: In the tenth and final game of the World Championship match against Tan Zhongyi, she secured herself a world title with a draw. Tan had to win the game, and looked desperately for opportunities, but she could do nothing against the very careful play of Ju Wenjun. The Women's World Championship match between defending champion Tan Zhongyi and challenger Ju Wenjun was played over ten games, half in Shanghai (Ju Wenjun's hometown), half in Chongqing (Tan Zhongyi's hometown).

More "Base" 1: ChessBase
"Base" 2: ChessBase
"Base" 3: ChessBase
"Base" 4: ChessBase
"Base" 5: ChessBase
"Base" 6: ChessBase
"Base" 7: ChessBase
"Base" 8: ChessBase

"dom": Chessdom

"24" 1: Chess24
"24" 2: Chess24
"24" 3: Chess24
"24" 4: Chess24
"24" 5: Chess24

May 2, 2018

FIDE's future; By Malcolm Pein; CHESS Magazine

What's going to be the next twist in the race for FIDE President? The election is set for October and, for now, we have only two candidates — the controversial incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and his long-time deputy, Georgios Makropoulos, who has now turned against him. MALCOLM PEIN weighs in on the situation following the recent FIDE Presidential Board meeting in Minsk, Belarus.

April 30, 2018

April Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

This month, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 15 players crossed swords over their chess boards with Andy Huang finishing in 1st place (8.5) well ahead of Nicolas Theiss in 2nd (7.0). In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), 55 players competed with Lev Bagramian and Don Loos tying for 1st (3.5/4) a half point ahead of Jason Northcutt. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 15 players competed and Andy Huang again won (3.0) this time just a half point ahead of a 3-way tie for second. And finally, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), Andy Samuelson held off the competition to win (4.5) a half point ahead of a tie for second between Jason Liang and Kenneth Chieu in the Premier section. In the U1700 section, Anthony Horne (4.5) beat out Jack Dunn (4.0) for 1st place and a 3-way tie for third place (3.5) between T. Paper, P. Godlaveti and J. Robinson.

April 30, 2018

FIDE: 'UBS Closing FIDE Bank Account Today'; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

Today, UBS Bank's deadline for FIDE to find a new financial partner expires. As was announced in February, the Swiss bank will now be closing the account, says FIDE Treasurer Adrian Siegel. A closing of the account would mean all operations between FIDE and UBS will be terminated. Payment orders will no longer be executed and incoming payments will be returned to the sender. Debit and credit cards will be blocked.

April 29, 2018

The Bundesliga: World Champs and veterans; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

From Sunday through Tuesday, the German League's central finals takes place in Berlin. Solingen SG and the OSG Baden-Baden are fighting for first place. The unified Bundesliga has been around for 37 years, with the first season played in 1980 and 1981. At that time the Solingen SG won, after a tie against the team of SG Porz. There was a world champion among the participants.

April 29, 2018

What Is Levon Aronian's Favorite Move?; By Gregory Serper; ChessBase

The Candidates' Tournament was a real nightmare for Levon Aronian. Aronian, one of the pre-tournament favorites, ended the competition dead last. While Aronian's numerous fans hoped for a miracle for a long time, it was absolutely clear that he was in very poor form. Moreover, there was one big red flag in Aronian's very first game of the tournament: His favorite move failed him.

April 18-28, 2018

**SPECIAL** 2018 US Chess Championship (Updated After Each Round)

The 2018 U.S. Championships were held in Saint Louis, Missouri. The open and the women's championships will once again be held in parallel. The first prize in the Open Tournament is $50,000, with $25,000 for the winner of the U.S. Women's Championship. Wesley So is the defending champ, but both U.S. number one Fabiano Caruana and former U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura are also playing. All the key details follow ...

Essential Links:

Pre-Match:
-- Wikipedia: Wiki
-- Official Website: Official Website
-- St Louis Website: St. Louis
-- Results: Who Won
-- Photos: Pics
-- The Field - OPEN: Playas
-- The Field – Women: Playas
-- All Games – Open: Open
-- All Games – Women's: Women's

-- Chess24 Preview: Chess24
-- ChessBase Preview: ChessBase
-- Chess.com Preview: Chess.com
-- The Week In Chess: TWIC
-- Live on Twitch: LIVE

Post-Match:
-- Shankland Is Champ: ChessBase
-- Shankland Is Champ2: Chess.com

-- Paikidze Is Women's Champ: Chess24
-- Paikidze Is Women's Champ2: Chess.com
-- Paikidze Is Women's Champ3: ChessBase

Round-By-Round:

Playoff Round:

St Louis Club: St Louis

Round 11:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 10:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 09:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 08:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 07:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase
PowerPlay: Caruana vs Akobian: PowerPlay

Round 06:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess.com: Chess.com
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 05:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase
Zibbit: Shankland vs. Caruana: Zibbit

Round 04:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 03:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase

Round 02:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase
Power Play Chess: YouTube

Round 01:

Chessdom: Chessdom
St Louis Club: St Louis
Chess24: 24
ChessBase: ChessBase

April 28, 2018

The Crown Jewel: WIM Annie Wang; By Yuanling Yuan; American Chess Magazine

At 15, Annie Wang is already a world champion. Last autumn, the California-born American girl took home the gold medal at the 2017 World Youth Chess Championship U16 girls with an impressive score of 10½ / 11, two and a half points ahead of the runner-up from Russia. Her performance rating? An incredible 2589 - practically that of a grandmaster. The rising star was the pride of the nation.

April 26, 2018

Leela Chess Zero: AlphaZero for the PC; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

It might sound like a joke, but it is not: the revolutionary techniques used to create Alpha Zero, the famous AI chess program developed by DeepMind, are now being used to engineer an engine that runs on the PC. This project has now been underway for about two months, and the engine, Leela Chess Zero, is already quite strong, playing at 2700 on good hardware, and is freely available. As will be seen, just about every aspect of this new engine is revolutionary and breaks all the paradigms that had dominated the field until now.

April 25, 2018

The battle for world's tallest chess piece; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened across the street from the Saint Louis Chess Club in September, 2011, has long boasted of having the "world's largest chess piece" outside its front door. King ‘Kong’, as it was known, was massive and many doubted the record — officially sanctioned by Guinness World Records — would ever be broken. But in 2014, St. Louis were bested by a small town in Belgium! Now they've taken the record back.

April 24, 2018

Nino Khurtsidze 1975-2018; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Nino Khurtsidze died Monday in Tbilisi after a long illness. The multiple times youth and junior world champion was one of the best players in Georgia. In 2017, she was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 41.

April 21, 2018

Tucano, the Brazilian chess engine; By Staff; Chessdom

Season 12 of the Top Chess Engine Championship has started. In division 4 we find several new participants and among them is the Brazilian chess engine Tucano. It is written by the IT professional and game programmer Alcides Schulz and is quickly approaching the 3000 ELO mark, with which it earned a totally deserved invitation for TCEC. Here is an interview with Alcides Schulz where he discusses the development of the engine, the computer chess sector, machine learning, NN engines, and TCEC in general.

March 15, 23, April 7, 14, 21, 2018

Marshall: The Growth Of A Chess Champion; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Let’s talk about Frank Marshall. This man was U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936. He was a man who beat Emanuel Lasker once and Capablanca twice, a player who feared no one. He won many tournaments against world class competition. He was an American hero who dared dream of being world chess champion

Part 2: Chess.com
Part 3: Chess.com
Part 4: Chess.com
Part 5: Chess.com

April 20, 2018

US college chess: UTRGV ends Webster's reign; By Priyadharshan Kannappan; ChessBase

The 2018 edition of Final Four of Collegiate Chess was held from March 30th to April 1st at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. This edition was also touted as the strongest Final Four in history, as out of a total of 22 players, there were 18 grandmasters! The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) team (pictured) was the surprising winner, taking their first collegiate chess title.

April 19, 2018

Interview: Tukmakov on coaching So; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Wesley So’s more than year-long collaboration with Vladimir Tukmakov came to end a few months ago, after Wesley’s team decided not to renew the contract. The 72-year-old Ukrainian Grandmaster, who previously coached Anish Giri for two years, reveals the story behind their success – Wesley went on an unbeaten run as he climbed to world no. 2 and won the Grand Chess Tour, Tata Steel Masters and US Championship – and how things later went wrong.

April 18, 2018

Who was Rudolf Charousek?; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Today in 1900, Rudolf Charousek, the Czech-Hungarian master, died at the age of 26. Charousek learnt to play chess when he was 16 but in the course of his short career managed to beat a number of strong players — among them World Champion Emanuel Lasker. The writer Gustav Meyrink immortalised Charousek in his novel "The Golem", one of the classics of fantastic literature.

April 18, 2018

Interview: Hou Yifan; By Christian Gödecke; Der Spiegel/ChessBase

The 24-year old former Women's World Champion, in an interview with Spiegel Online's Christian Gödecke, explains her current plans for the future, as she shifts her focus in the wake of her impending Rhodes Scholar status at Oxford University and says, "I would prefer not to distinguish between men and women players."

April 17, 2018

Mamedyarov on the Candidates and Shamkir; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who finished second in the Berlin Candidates and is second on the April FIDE rating list, will be looking to win his third Gashimov Memorial title when the tournament starts in Shamkir on Thursday. It’s not going to be easy, though, since a certain World Champion Magnus Carlsen will be looking to do the same! On the eve of the event Shak talked about how the Candidates went for him, the way his style has changed and his future plans.

April 17, 2018

Johan van Hulst, 1911-2018; By Yochanan Afek; ChessBase

Prof. Johann van Hulst, a teacher, parliamentarian, active chess player until his last days passed away last month in Amsterdam at the age of 107. For his humanitarian actions, saving over 600 Jewish children during World War II, he received the Yad Vashem distinction "Righteous Among the Nations" from the State of Israel in 1972.

April 16, 2018

Prodigy watch, Short’s Bangkok blues & more; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

By Thursday all but three of the world’s Top 10 will be in action in Shamkir or St. Louis, but there’s plenty going on before then. 12-year-old Praggnanandhaa is still GM norm hunting, but 13-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov, the world’s youngest grandmaster, beat Arkadij Naiditsch in the Sharjah Masters, while 17-year-old Parham Maghsoodloo leads on 5/5. Valentina Gunina took the sole lead in the European Women’s Championship, Nigel Short is suffering in the Thailand Open and Stockfish completed a 59-41 crushing of Houdini.

April 16, 2018

Tour of a chess set collection; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

Are you fascinated by pieces and clocks? Ever lust after an expensive wooden Staunton? Davide Nastasio takes a break from reviewing chess videos to bring you a glimpse behind the scenes of a Singaporean chess collector who specialises in chess sets. But that's not all! Wait until you see his clocks! The physicality of the tools of the game provides a window into chess history as well.

April 15, 2018

Nationally-Recognized Chess Team Under Scrutiny; By Mike Klein; Chess.com

Scholastic chess is full of inspiring stories of kids overcoming adversity. It's also replete with its share of controversies. Henderson Middle School, subject of the 2017 book "The Champions' Game," has had a lot to be proud of in the past few years. But now it's under the microscope due to complaints about the eligibility of some of their players.

April 15, 2018

Wesley So Teaching Chess; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

In an old article, I expressed the opinion that some games played by really strong grandmasters shouldn't be studied by inexperienced players. Naturally, I got a question in the comments about which chess player's games are suitable for less experienced players. Thank you for a very good question! In the article I recommended to study Capablanca's games, but if you are looking for more recent games, then you cannot go wrong with Wesley So!

April 15, 2018

The Learning Curve for Chess Skill; By Robert Howard; ChessBase

ChessBase recently reported on the new artificial intelligence program "AlphaZero" and its astoundingly steep learning curve for chess skill. Given just the rules of chess, in 24 hours of playing games only against itself, it improved to a superhuman level. Compared to Deep Mind's AlphaZero, the human learning curve for chess skill is much shallower and develops over many years.

April 13, 2018

FIDE Suspends GM Solozhenkin For Making Cheating Accusations; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

The FIDE ethics commission has suspended GM Evgeniy Solozhenkin for making unsubstantiated allegations of cheating, published in different articles on the internet. A group of grandmasters has written an open letter in support of Solozhenkin.

April 13, 2018

Kasparov's 55th birthday; By André Schulz; ChessBase

The 13th of April is "Kasparov-day". Today, 55 years ago, arguably the best player in chess history was born and since then has shaped the history of chess like no other player — not only on the board! Andre Schulz briefly traces Kasparov's history from his first international moves, through the peak of his career in 1999, his life in politics (both in and out of the chess world) and on to his recent advocacy work.

April 12, 2018

When Harry meets the English; By New In Chess; ChessBase

The popular S.O.S. column from New In Chess Magazine, recently featured an almost comical second move for black against the English early fianchetto: 2...h5. NIC columnist Jeroen Bosch notes, ‘A move like 2...h5 gives rise to a lot of early creativity, of course.’ See what he means in this entertaining article from the leading global English chess magazine.

April 12, 2018

Nakamura supports chess talent in Africa; By Kasparov Chess Foundation; ChessBase

American Hikaru Nakamura, one of the world’s top chess Grandmasters, has shown his generosity by honouring a pledge he made earlier this year to assist two promising junior players from South Africa to further their chess careers. Hikaru identified the two young talents during his visit to South Africa in January while he was attending the South African Junior Chess Championships. Khanya Mazibuko (pictured), one of the selected players, was able to secure a win against his idol during the 100 player Simul in Johannesburg.

More: Chess.com

April 11, 14, 2018

Different Thinking; By Amatzia Avni; CHESS Magazine

A lot of chess writing is devoted to the thought process of players. Chess coaches direct their students to look for good, healthy, strong moves – not to search for beautiful ones. Problemists are quite different. For them beauty is a major goal. Composers search for extraordinary positions, which will bring the Aha! or OMG effect. In CHESS Magazine the well-known Israeli problemist examines some of the characteristics which separate those who play from those who compose and solve studies and problems.

More: ChessBase

April 9, 2018

Makropoulos declares candidacy for FIDE president; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Last weekend the Belarus Chess Federation hosted the FIDE President meeting for the first quarter of 2018. The backdrop is the application of Belarus as host of the 2022 Chess Olympiad. In a blow to Kirsan Ilymzhinon, the Presidential Board called for his immediate resignation as president. After the meeting, Georgios Makropoulos announced his candidacy as FIDE president.

Mak 2: Chess.com
Mak 3: Chessdom
FIDE: Kirsan must resign: Chessdom

April 8, 2018

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: Master Of Trapped Rooks; By Gregory serper; Chess.com

The games of the 11-year-old Caruana reminded me of the classical games of Capablanca. I quickly forgot about [that first] game till MVL became a super-GM. His games are full of truly remarkable, unorthodox concepts. Trapping his own rooks is one of them!

April 8, 2018

Memories of Fischer (3); By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

75 years ago, March 9, 1943, Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago. He was [both] genius and madman. In 1972 he became World Champion after winning a dramatic match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, and he is still considered as one of the greatest players of all time. Vlastimil Hort knew the 11th World Champion personally and shares memories of "Bobby."

April 6, 2018

On the origins of chess; By Sergio Ernesto Negri; ChessBase

In September 2017, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sergio Negri, a researcher specialized in chess of Argentine origin, completed an epic treatise on the origins of chess. Thoroughly detailed, and thought-provoking, we bring it to you in a new series of articles over the coming weeks. This first part introduces the topic and discusses the first of several theories: a Persian origin.

April 4, 2018

The struggle is worth more than records; By Aditya Pai; ChessBase

R Praggnanandhaa had been making headlines ever since he became the world's youngest IM in May 2016. All eyes were on the little genius, with everyone eager to see if he could become the world's youngest GM too. The kid gave it his all, and as the deadline to break the record approached closer, he travelled across the globe playing every tournament that offered him the possibility of scoring a norm. But, in the end, he lost the race against time. However, Praggna earned heaps of admiration and love, and, most importantly, his zeal to excel remains undeterred. So, all things considered, wasn't the struggle worth a lot more than the record?

April 3, 2018

13-year-old steals the spotlight from Carlsen and Co.; By Hartmut Metz; ChessBase

On Easter Monday, the GRENKE Chess Open ended with a sensation. Vincent Keymer won Europe's largest open chess tournament with 8.0 points from nine rounds. He started as number 99 in the ranking list, yet left behind 49 grandmasters, including such well-known names as Etienne Bacrot (France), Richard Rapport (Hungary), Alexei Shirov (Latvia) and Anton Korobov (Ukraine). What makes the victory all the sweeter is that it comes with a GM norm and a cash prize of 15,000 euros.

More: Chess.com

April 3, 2018

John Nunn: Fifty years of chess; By John Nunn; ChessBase

“Last year I took part in the British Over-50 Championship,” our friend and author writes. “A number of people wondered why I had entered. The explanation is that 2017 made it exactly half a century since I first took part in the British Championship, and it seemed reasonable to mark the occasion by once again playing in the event. I thought it would be interesting to tell the story of these two events, although I have allowed myself to wander off-topic to some extent.”

April 3, 2018

Karjakin, Kramnik: Reflections On The Candidates; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

Last Saturday, Sergey Karjakin and Valdimir Kramnik were in Nice, France to participate in a one-day charity event that supported the Red Cross. Chess.com took the opportunity to ask them about their recently concluded FIDE Candidates' Tournament. The two Russian grandmasters gave a simul and a masterclass and also participated for a few rounds in the "super blitz" tournament that took place the famous Hotel Negresco.

April 2, 2018

Americans playing for the title: Samuel Reshevsky; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

Samuel "Sammy" Reshevsky was possibly the greatest player ever to never be a full-time chess professional, even as he vied for the no.1 spot during his prime. He was also one of the greatest prodigies of his day, conducting master level simuls around the world as a child. He played in many World Championship cycles, including the 1948 World Championship tournament. We bring you photos and a historic game commented by Reshevsky himself!

April 1, 2018

The Unknown Fabiano Caruana; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

The tournament of the year is over and we have a deserved winner. The quality of Fabiano Caruana's games was higher than anyone else's in the Candidates' Tournament and he kept his cool throughout the whole competition.

April 1, 2018

Grenke: An exciting start as Carlsen and Caruana face off; By Alex Yermolensky; ChessBase

The 5th Grenke Classic could not have come any sooner, as it features a preview of the upcoming World Championship match. By luck of the draw the two rivals Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana got to play each other in the opening round. While the engine jockeys screamed Carlsen had missed an 'easy win' as they drew, author and annotator GM Alex Yermolinsky shows that this was anything but true.

April 1, 2018

Meet the Drunken Master; By Wesley Falcao; ChessBase

How would you react if your opponent just moved all their pawns to the third rank of the board in the opening and still managed to hold ground? Wesley Falcao, a National Master living in New York, did exactly this in some of his blitz games. The result: this seemingly drunken manner of opening the game actually caught some strong players off guard, provoked errors and produced some really entertaining games.

March 2018

I Want My ChessTV; By Kevin Lincoln; Topic/Chess.com

It's perhaps an unlikely eSport, but tens of thousands of viewers are tuning in for the fast-playing, trash-talking, chair-throwing, high-stakes world of online chess. When you think of chess, what do you picture in your head? Chances are it’s either Bobby Fischer staring at a set of chess pieces. Compare that to a typical session with the Chessbrahs, the most popular chess streamers on Twitch.

March 31, 2018

Caruana vs Carlsen in St. Louis?; By Leonard Barden; Guardian Magazine

Fabiano Caruana’s victory in the Candidates series in Berlin has sparked rumours that November’s world title contest may switch from London to the United States and offer a larger financial prize to the winner. Billionaire Rex Sinquefield, who has made St Louis a renowned global chess centre, and who has supported Caruana's chess career, might bid to host the match against Magnus Carlsen in the US. Leonard Barden, chess correspondent of The Guardian, shares his view.

March 30, 2018

Interview: Caruana; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

Chess.com sat down with Caruana the day after his victory at the Candidates Tournament in Berlin. We met on the third floor of the Scandic Hotel at Potsdamer Platz, where the players had stayed during the event. Casually dressed, wearing a hoodie with the logo of the Saint Louis Chess Club, he was in the middle of a full day of interviews. These are days which he might encounter more often, so hopefully he will get used to them.

March 30, 2018

Americans playing for the title: Frank Marshall; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

Fabiano Caruana’s victory at the Candidates not only promises an exciting match, but will also be the first title match by a player born in the USA in 46 years, since Bobby Fischer’s famous bout against Boris Spassky in 1972. However, theirs were hardly the only ones by US players. The very first was by Frank Marshall in 1907 against none other than Emanuel Lasker. Here is a look at that chess legend and his title match with annotations by Garry Kasparov!

Part 2: ChessBase
Part 3: ChessBase

March 29, 2018

February Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

This month, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 14 players crossed swords over their chess boards with Isaac Chiu snatching 1st place (8/10) from Larry Gilden in 2nd (7.5/10) and with Justin Paul in 3rd (6.5/10). In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), 50 players competed Victor Guzman charging to the fore and winning 1st (3.5/4) a half point ahead of Jason Robinson and 6 other players tied for 3rd (2/4). In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Nick Theiss won (3/3) a full point ahead of 2 other players. And finally, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had not taken place when the newsletter was posted.

March 10-28, 2018

**SPECIAL** 2018 Candidates Tournament (Updated After Each Round)

The Candidates Tournament 2018 is an eight-player double round-robin chess tournament, held in Berlin, Germany, between 10–28 March 2018. The winner earns the right to challenge the defending world champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, in the 2018 World Chess Championship match. The first round took place on Saturday, March 10th. Players received 100 minutes to play 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second bonus starting from the first move.

Essential Links:

Pre-Match:
-- Wikipedia Candidates, General : Wiki
-- Wikipedia Candidates, 2018: Wiki18
-- What the Experts Say: Experts

Follow your players on Twitter:
-- Sergey Karjakin: Karjakan
-- Fabiano Caruana: Caruana
-- Levon Aronian: Aronian

-- Official Website: Berlin
-- Venue: Venue
-- Schedule: Day-to-Day
-- Pairings: Pairings
-- Opening Press Conference: Presser
-- Tiebreak scenarios: Tiebreaks

PostMatch:
-- Candidates Round-up Shows: RoundUp
-- First American Challenger Since Fischer: American
-- Caruana's First Reaction: Caruana

Round 14:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: Coming Soon
ChessBase Game Analysis: Coming Soon
Chess24: Coming Soon

Round 13:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: Coming Soon
ChessBase Game Analysis: Coming Soon
Chess24: Coming Soon

Round 12:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube.

Round 11:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24: Live Commentary: YouTube .

Round 10:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: " class="red">YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube .

Round 09:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube .

Round 08:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube .

Round 07:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase,
Chess24,
YouTube .

Round 06:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube.

Round 05:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube.

Round 04:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube.

Round 03:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube .

Round 02:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Commentary: YouTube .

Round 01:

PowerPlayChess Analysis: YouTube,
ChessBase Game Analysis: ChessBase,
Chess24 Analysis: Chess24,
Chess24 - Live Commentary: YouTube .

March 28, 2018

Like a Jewel (Morphy); By "Batgirl;" Chess.com

Paul Morphy has a world-wide reputation, and he deserves to have it, because he simply mowed down every one he came across;—but if the fame of Morphy be analyzed it will be seen that his victory over Anderssen in 1858 weighs more with chessplayers than all his other triumphs put together. Morphy's brilliant career lasted only three years.

March 26, 2018

The New Queen Of African Chess?; By Alessandro Parodi; Chess.com

Ghanaian chess players know her as "the prodigy." At age 16, Maud Benson went from zero to hero in local chess tournaments and quickly made her way into the female national team for the upcoming Olympiad which will take place in Batumi, Georgia.

March 25, 2018

Recent dramatic history of the Candidates; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

In 2013 the classical candidates tournaments celebrated a comeback. With success: the Candidate Tournament in London 2013 was exciting, dramatic, and full of brilliant games. It also brought Magnus Carlsen one step closer to the title. The candidate tournaments 2014 and 2016, both held in Russia, were also fantastic. And you'll recognize many familiar names currently nettling in Berlin.

March 22, 2018

Psych tips for chess players; By Dr. Shrirang Joshi; ChessBase

Chess is a mind game. When you sit at the board, it is just you, your thoughts and your emotions. In such a scenario having the right psychology is of utmost importance to serious tournament players. You may polish your opening knowledge, endgame skills, combinational abilities endlessly, but if you are not able to get in the right frame of mind then improving at the game is very difficult. With this in mind, Dr. Shrirang Joshi, a well-known psychiatrist and counsellor gives us three tips which can help us before, during and after the game. These are simple directives which are easy to understand, but quite difficult to implement.

March 21, 2018

Has the number of draws in chess increased?; By Qiyu Zhou; ChessBase

People are generally worried about draws, which are often considered “boring”, where games may last up to six hours. To the common viewer (non-chess player), this may seem dull, and many believe this has led to a decline in sponsorship. But what do the statistics tell us? Using data now available, Qiyu Zhou, a remarkably young scientist has undertaken a thorough study of the numbers and provides a paper on her findings.

March 19, 2018

Test your tactics; Chess Magazine

Test your tactical ability with these positions grouped in rough order of difficulty. The games come from various recent events: Gibraltar, Moscow, Riyadh, etc.. Don’t forget that whilst sometimes the key move will force mate or the win of material, other times it will just win a pawn.

March 16, 2018

The Tigress of Madras: Aruna Anand; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

When 26-year-old Vishy Anand got married to Aruna, his career was at a very delicate juncture. He was one of the top chess players in the world, but had not yet become a world champion. If the marriage didn't suit him well, he would have bled a lot of rating points. However, the marriage worked like a charm. Within a few years Vishy not only reached the number one ranking in the world, but also became multiple time World Champion. If there was one person who would get the major credit for all of Vishy's successes, it has to be his wife and manager Aruna Anand. Today being the Women's day, there could be no better time to acquaint you with the Iron lady of Indian chess, the Tigress of Madras - Aruna Anand.

March 15, 2018

The Growth Of A Chess Champion; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

More: Chess.com

Let’s talk about Frank Marshall. This man was U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936. He was a man who beat Emanuel Lasker once and Capablanca twice, a player who feared no one. He won many tournaments against world class competition. He was an American hero who dared dream of being world chess champion.

March 14, 2018

Memories of Bobby Fischer (2); By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

75 years ago last Friday, on March 9, 1943, Robert James Fischer was born. His chess was clear, logical and powerful, but his behaviour off the board was erratic and irrational and later in his life he was mentally ill. A lot has been written about Fischer but he still remains a mystery. Vlastimil Hort knew the American chess genius personally and shares memories of Bobby.

March 13, 2018

The Candidates Tournaments 1959 and 1962; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Candidates tournaments have always been special tournaments. After all, the winner of the candidates becomes the challenger the reigning world champion and, possibly, new world champion. The candidates tournament 1959 was won by a brilliant Tal, the candidates tournament in Curacao 1962 caused a scandal.

March 12, 2018

The importance of knowing endgames; By Staff; Chess Magazine

Can you play rook and pawn vs rook? It is one of the most common endgames, and your ability to win it, when it is winnable, or draw it when that is possible, will bring you a fair number of rating points. The endgame expert André Chéron did pioneering work in this field, and Milos Pavlovic, grandmaster and chess trainer, gives us some vital tips, based on Chéron's work. It's all in the latest edition of the UK-based Chess Magazine.

March 10, 2018

Final 2018 Grand Tour participants; By Staff; ChessBase

The players for the next Grand Chess Tour circuit have been announced, settling the question of whether or not Magnus Carlsen would return to defend his 2017 win — he won't. The demanding schedule of the GCT was too much to commit to fully during a World Championship match year.

March 10, 2018

Interview: Computer Chess with Mathias Feist; By Jorge I. Aguadero Casado; ChessBase

Meet Mathias Feist, the soul of Fritz, and a core member of the ChessBase team. Matthias has been the lead developer of Fritz since its inception, over 25 years ago. Fritz has been a world computer chess champion, but nowadays the focus is more on how to make it increasingly useful for humans as a fun and engaging training tool. Fritz 16 has raised the bar in this regard and in this interview with the Spanish magazine Peon de Rey, Jorge Casado seeks to uncover how the program and computer chess generally has evolved over the years. Mathias Feist has had a front row seat!

March 9, 2018

Memories of Bobby Fischer (1); By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

Robert James Fischer was born on March 9, 1943. He died January 17th, 2008, and today he would have celebrated his 75th birthday. He was madman and genius, full of contradictions, and though much has been written about his life and games he still remains a mystery. Vlastimil Hort knew Fischer personally and shares memories of "Bobby."

March 9, 2018

The Twitter war between Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

More 1: Chess24
More 2: Chess.com

Twitter is becoming a battlefield of exchanges between top players these days. The Candidates 2018 is beginning in a couple of days from now and Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri have already had quite some serious battle of words on Twitter. While Magnus attacked Anish with all his might, the Dutch GM has been able to maintain his cool. A lot of this happened after it was made public that Anish Giri is working with Vladimir Kramnik in Berlin. We bring you chronologically all of what happened along with some background behind the tweets!

March 9, 2018

Gelfand on returning to Belarus after 20 years; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

49-year-old Boris Gelfand was born in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, but moved to Israel in 1998. Since then the 2012 World Championship challenger hadn’t been back until this month, when he visited his old home partly to promote a bid to hold the next World Chess Olympiad in Minsk in 2022. In an interview with Sergey Kanashits for the Belarus Tody newspaper he talks about how the city, and also chess, has changed in the intervening period.

March 8, 2018

Women in focus; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Last Sunday in Moscow the contest "blondes against brunettes" was held for the eighth time. Alexandra Kosteniuk led the "brunettes" to a clear victory. In India, IM Tania Sachdev launches a "Powerless Queen" project, and in Belgrade, there's a 50th International Women's tournament ongoing.

March 7, 2018

Chess victories win Pakistan's 'Queens of Karachi' confidence and freedom; By Zofeen Ebrahim; Reuters/Chess.com

With a score of 24-4, her team of blue-and-white uniformed teenagers from SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, trounced a group of boys from a prestigious private school. With echoes of Uganda’s “Queen of Katwe”, the Pakistani teens have defied expectations about girls in their conservative nation by thrashing men nearly twice their age at chess.

March 7, 2018

The Candidates Tournaments 1950, 1953, and 1956; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

On March 10th, the Candidates tournament 2018 will begin in Berlin. In November, the winner of this tournament will play a match for the world championship against Magnus Carlsen in London. Candidates tournaments have always been special, providing memorable moments in chess history, with scandals, drama and, of course, brilliant games. In the run-up to the start of this year's tournament, it's a good time to take a look at some previous classics.

March 7, 2018

Run your own games and tournaments on the web; By Martin Fischer; ChessBase

New: Start a private tournament in your browser! Chess clubs, schools, companies, or any other collection of players, can also offer chess online — on their own chess server — for free! It is simple and does not does require much of any technical skill. In fact, all it takes are a few mouse clicks. It's a powerful and completely free self-service tournament system in your web browser! Here's how to get started in a few easy steps!

March 6, 2018

Anatoly Lein, an Émigré Chess Grandmaster, Dies at 86; By Dylan Loeb McLain; New York Times

Anatoly Lein, a Russian-born American chess grandmaster who was among the world’s top 30 players at his peak, won two of the most prestigious tournaments in the United States and recorded victories against some of the game’s greatest players, died on March 1 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He was 86.

March 5, 2018

What engines calculate; By Staff; ChessBase

Nodes, and lots of them! When you analyse with an engine do you understand all the data in the engine window? Fritz calculates with 2317 kN/sec and a cloud engine with 121 MN/sec? Sure, this has to do with the speed and the performance of the engine but what exactly are nodes?

March 5, 2018

"Beating top players is a part of my destiny"; By Aditya Pai; ChessBase

Positivity, ambition, a never say die attitude and an enterprising style of play make Adhiban Baskaran one of the best and most loved chess players in India today. Recently, at the Indian National Team Championship, he proved his mettle yet again. After a rather dismal performance at the Tata Steel Masters which concluded a few weeks ago, Adhiban made a strong comeback scoring an unbeaten 8.0/9. In this interview, he talks about how he keeps himself motivated, his first ever head to head encounter with his idol Vishy Anand, his recent gold medal-winning performance at the National teams and a lot more!

March 4, 2018

How To Save A Lost Position Like Tal; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

In his famous book My Great Predecessors, Garry Kasparov titled a chapter about Mikhail Tal "Bluff as a Weapon of Victory." Indeed, there is no other world champion who sacrificed as many pieces and took as much risk as Tal. Yet as GM Averbakh humorously noted, Tal's opponents always had a win, but for some reason only in analysis after the game! Tal deservedly earned a nickname "the Magician", but unlike Harry Houdini, he performed his escape tricks on the chessboard. So, how did Tal do it?

March 3, 2018

Dior couture: surrealism and chess; By Diana Mihajlova; ChessBase

Chess has been presented in various art forms throughout the centuries. The chess surreal, mysterious quality has been embraced in the visual arts, literature, music and particularly the fashion. Our own chess queens (and sometimes kings, cavalry and soldiers), often make fashion statements with chess-themed garments and accessories. Diana Mihajlova explores the Spring-Summer collections and their chess inspiration.

March 1, 2018

February Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

In a busy month, the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 14 players crossed swords over their chess boards with Daniel Clancy winning 1st place (9.5/10) well ahead of Isaac Chiu (7/10). In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), 55 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, there was a 3-way tie (3/4) between James Custodio, Jason Robinson and Thomas Moore. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 20 players fought for the prize with Zach Martin and Mustapha Diomande tying for 1st (3/3) a full point ahead of a 5-way tie for 3rd. And finally, in the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), Evan Ling and Bora Yagiz tied for 1st in the Premier section (4/5) a half point ahead of Andy Huang (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Barzin Badiee and Jack Dunn tied for 1sy (4/5) and Jonah Treitler in 3rd place. The U1400 class prizes was won by David Tay.

February 28, 2018

Jensen's Masterpiece; By Batgirl; Chess.com

Anchor Otto Johannes Jensen was an artist and a man of many talents and interests. Primarily, he designed and crafted jewelry and intricate silver pieces for profit but none of there things could compare with the chess set he created for his personal gratification.

February 28, 2018

The problem with Chess960; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Two weeks ago there was a World Championship — in Chess960, a variant that symmetrically shuffles the position of the pieces behind the row of pawns. The game has gained some popularity since it eliminates the staggering amount of preparation that is required in regular chess. But Chess960 has a few problems that probably prevent it from really taking off. We discuss some possible solutions to these problems.

February 28, 2018

Bent Larsen; By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

Bent Larsen was born 83 years ago, on March 4, 1935, in Tilsted, a small village in Denmark. He never had a trainer but became one of the best players in the world. "If in hell, then first class," was his motto. Vlastimil Hort knew him well.

February 22, 2018

Ilyumzhinov decries FIDE treasurer account as "fake news"; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

More: Chess.com

The FIDE president, locked in a power struggle with former allies, pushed back on the recent letter from FIDE's treasurer Adrian Siegel in a public statement Wednesday, calling it "fake news". In this editorial, we take a brief look at Ilyumzhinov's response and what it portends.

February 22, 2018

ChessKid: New Features Update; From ChessKid.com

ChessKid.com, the scholastic extension of Chess.com, has added a flurry of new features in the last few months. Several new members of the programming team have been hard at work delivering the kinds of fun learning features that kids, coaches, and parents want!

February 21, 2018

The Candidates: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

Mamedyarov is currently the 2nd best rated player in the world, with a 2814 rating. The Azeri qualified for the Berlin Candidates by virtue of finishing first in the 2017 FIDE Grand Prix. This will be his third participation in a Candidates tournament — the second one with this format.

February 20, 2018

The Candidates: Vladimir Kramnik; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

Kramnik is currently the 3rd best rated player in the world, with a 2800 rating. The Russian has been participating in World Champioship cycles of all kinds since 1994. In fact, since the unification of the world title Kramnik has been part of either the Candidates or the World Championship of all cycles, except the last one. He will be the organizers' nominee at the 2018 edition.

February 20, 2018

Emanuel Lasker and His Successors; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Emanuel Lasker was born on December 24, 1868, in Berlinchen, which today is Barlinek in the northwest of Poland. This year Lasker would celebrate his 150th birthday — reason enough for the German Chess Federation to declare 2018 as Lasker-year. From 1894 to 1921 — 27 years — Lasker was World Champion, longer than any other player before or after him. Let's take a look at the legacy of the second official World Champion.

February 20, 2018

The Imprisoned Bishop; By Karsten Müller; ChessBase

Endgames with opposite-coloured bishops are often paradoxical — sometimes they are drawn although one side is two or even three pawns up. This often leads to surprising tactical opportunities.

February 18, 2018

How To Discover An Opening Novelty; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

These days, when opening theory grows exponentially, it is very difficult to come up with an opening novelty. The new move you are considering was either already played by someone, analyzed in some publication or already stored in somebody's computer! We need a new way to find novelties that will astonish our opponents! Sometimes Lady Luck can help you, like in the following game.

February 18, 2018

The Candidates: Levon Aronian; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

Aronian is currently the 5th best rated player in the world with a 2797 rating. He qualified for the Candidates Tournament after winning the World Cup in Tbilisi — for a record second time. The Armenian is the only contender who has played in each of the last five editions of the Candidates.

February 16, 2018

The Candidates: Alexander Grischuk; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

Grischuk is currently the 12th best rated player in the world with a 2767 rating. He qualified to the Candidates Tournament after finishing second in the FIDE Grand Prix, where he did not lose a single game (out of 27). This will be his fourth Candidates — two of his three previous appearances were played using the knockout format.

February 16, 2018

How To Learn Chess Patterns; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In this article, I’m going to show you how to start your adventure down the road of patterns. The one thing you have to accept is that real chess improvement is dependent on repetition. LOTS and LOTS of repetition. Seeing a pattern once won’t help you. But seeing examples of a particular pattern dozens and dozens of times (even hundreds of times) eventually makes it a part of you. Once you absorb the pattern you will, of course, use it quite often, you will have a good idea where both sides' pieces should be placed, and you’ll understand how to deal with it if an opponent is using that pattern. Even better, you will often be able to see all these things at a glance.

February 15, 2018

The Candidates: Fabiano Carua; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

The American is currently the 7th best rated player in the world with a 2784 rating. He qualified for the 2018 Candidates by virtue of his rating average throughout the 12 official lists of 2017. This will be his second Candidates — in his first appearance, he came very close to victory.

February 14, 2018

Hope Chess: Passive vs Basic; By Dan Heisman; Chess.com

There are many things for which you can "hope" when playing chess: for example, you can hope that your opponent doesn't see that your move was a blunder and fails to exploit it; you can hope that your opponent doesn't see your threat and will let you execute it next move, or you can hope that your opponent will make a mistake and give you an advantage. But when I first wrote about "Hope Chess" about 20 years ago, I meant none of those ideas. I specifically meant "consistently making moves without analyzing the opponent's possible forcing replies (checks, captures, and threats) and thus, if he makes one, hoping you have a safe answer next move."

February 14, 2018

FIDE's bank account closed; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Bad press for FIDE as Dr. Adrian M. Siegel, the organization's treasurer, has informed all officials and members of the World Chess Federation via an open letter that the FIDE account has been closed by the Swiss UBS bank, due to the more than two year old sanctions of the US Treasury against FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

February 14, 2018

TCEC 11: Premier Division starts; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

The "Top Chess Engine Championship", TCEC for short, is considered a kind of unofficial computer world championship. Currently the 11th season is played, now in the form of a league with promotion and relegation. After the preliminaries, the "Premier League" started on Tuesday with the eight top programs. This is an overview of the history of this unofficial chess computer world championship.

February 13, 2018

The Candidates: Ding Liren; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

Ding Liren is currently the 11th best rated player in the world with a 2769 rating. The Chinese player qualified for the Candidates Tournament thanks to his second place in the 2017 World Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia. In the semifinals he eliminated Wesley So, who qualified for the Candidates by rating anyway. Like So, Ding Liren will have his debut in Berlin.

February 12, 2018

Solution to a truly remarkable study; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Our readers called it "devilish" and "insane" — the study shown to us by Hans Böhm during the Tata Steel Chess Tournament had people really straining their minds — and computers. Today we give you the solution and tell you who won the prize (a signed version of Fritz 16). But more importantly, we provide a full background of the study, published by Dutch composer Gijs van Breukelen, a number of years after it had been seen by friends — including the great Mikhail Tal.

February 11, 2018

The Candidates: Wesley So; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

The 2018 Candidates Tournament will be played in Berlin on 10-28 March. The winner will get a chance to fight for the World Championship title against Magnus Carlsen this November in London. We take a look at each candidate, analyzing his previous participations in similar events and his performance during 2017 and 2018 - next up is Wesley So.

February 10, 2018

The Extremely Important Manipulation Of Pawn Structures.; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Clearly, understanding pawn structure is something that needs to be discussed over and over again. If you don’t understand pawn structure, you will find yourself making moves that have nothing to do with the position. You’ll be playing in the dark without knowing it.

February 9, 2018

The Candidates: Sergey Karjakin; By Carlos Colodro; Chess24

The 2018 Candidates Tournament will be played in Berlin on 10-28 March. The winner will get a chance to fight for the World Championship title against Magnus Carlsen this November in London. We take a look at each candidate, analyzing his previous participations in similar events and his performance during 2017 and 2018, starting with Sergey Karjakin.

February 8, 2018

Chess in prisons makes a difference; By Amruta Mokal; ChessBase

Carl Portman is an English chess player who wrote a unique book on chess. This is not another theoretical book, this is a legacy book as he likes to call it titled 'Chess Behind Bars' by Quality Chess. In his interview with Amruta Mokal for ChessBase India, Carl talks about why he decided to start Chess in Prison voluntarily in England, what motivates him to continue working on this project, how successful he was in this unique project, how he tries to push this in governors' prison agenda, different situations he had to face and how he dealt with it.

February 7, 2018

In Memoriam: John T. Campbell

In solemn news, ACC President Emeritus John T. Campbell passed away at 7am Wednesday morning, February 7, 2018, after a long period of declining health. John had just turned 91 the previous Monday. While an official obituary is still in development, we can share that John joined the US Navy at the tail end of World War II, though he never served overseas during the war. He later graduated from UC Berkeley, taught at Johns Hopkins University, worked at the National Science Foundation and later with the Department of the Interior.

John became Arlington Chess Club President in the 1960's after moving from Texas to Arlington and joining the club in 1959. For too long in recent years, ACC was only kept alive by John's dedicated efforts. Even through several moves, John kept ACC housed in quality venues. He was an "A" Player who was also a several times Virginia Seniors Champion. He was also the long-time leader of the Arlington Argyles team of the DC Chess League. This octogenarian Texan was still going strong as ACC's inspirational leader until he passed away. We miss our friend and leader.

According to his family, John's funeral will be held Monday, March 12th at the Advent Funeral Home in Falls Church. The address is 7211 Lee Highway, Falls Church 22046; Tel: 703-241-7402. The service beings at 11:30am, followed by transportation to the Navy cemetery in Quantico, VA where John will be interred with his wife, Frances, who passed in early 2017.

February 7, 2018

What's Inside AlphaZero's Chess Brain?; By Mel O’Cinneide; Chess.com

In this article I’ll cover how AlphaZero learns, by itself, to play chess. It’s learning happens using a neural network. A neural network is an attempt at making a computer system more like the human brain and less like, well, a computer.

February 6, 2018

Filatov Remains Head of Russian Chess Federation; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

On Saturday, February 3, the Russian Chess Federation held presidential elections. The current president Andrey Filatov started the day facing several challengers, notably Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the current FIDE president, who is expected to stand for reelection to the body in September at the Chess Olympiad in Batumi. Ilyumzhinov received support from an unlikely source in former ECU president Silvio Danailov, but ultimately Ilyumzhinov withdrew his bid before the actually voting was held, and Filatov was easily returned to office, along with his team.

February 6, 2018

Petrosian Put On Armenian Money; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Armenia honours its World Chess Champion Tigran Petrosian with a banknote. The likeness of the 9th World Chess Champion graces the new 2000 dram which has recently been issued for the first time in the country, as part of a new series of notes.

February 5, 2018

A male dominated game?; By Andrew Martin; ChessBase

On Sunday January 14th 2018, something very unusual happened in England. A chess tournament took place with upwards of 260 players, all of whom were female. The southern semi-final of the ECF National Schools Girls’ Championships was made up of eighty seven separate teams of three. Thirty two schools took part. This may be commonplace in countries such as Turkey, India, the USA and others, but in the UK it is almost unique.

February 5, 2018

Impressions from Tata Steel 2018; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

The Tata Steel Tournament, often called the "Wimbledon of Chess", is held in a wind-swept Dutch coastal resort, Wijk aan Zee, in the middle of winter. It is very prestigious and attracts top players from around the world, as well as hundreds of amateurs, who play in subsidiary tournaments or simply come to watch the action in the top groups. We bring you impressions of this year's 80th anniversary event, and a wonderful chess study to solve.

February 2, 2018

Odds Behind Hou Yifan’s pairings in 2017; By Johannes Meijer; ChessBase

The Gibraltar Masters wrapped up Thursday, with Levon Aronian in first place. This year round ten passed without incident, in contrast to 2017 when, on February 2nd, the story of the day was a rare scandal involving women's World Champion Hou Yifan deliberately losing a game in protest of the high number of women she was paired against. She was further confounded when a similarly unlikely string of pairings happened in October at the Isle of Man Open. Johannes Meijer looks at the odds in detail. Hou did not return to Gibralter in 2018, but instead competed in the Tata Steel Chess Masters.

February 1, 2018

Gibraltar: More Than Meets the Eye; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

There's a lot more going on every year in Gibraltar aside from the main Masters tournament. From player interviews, to master classes, to the always entertaining "Battle of the Sexes" here's some of what's been happening.

February 1, 2018

50 games you should know: Tarrasch vs Lasker, 1908; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

#3: Rotlewi-Rubenstein
#2: Pillsbury-Lasker
#1: Morphy-Duke of Brunswick

Good chess players are often bad losers. After defeats they throw tantrums, berate themselves or their opponents and throw things around. But bad losers often train harder than others and learn from their defeats, provided they are self-critical enough. Some bad losers shy away from a critical look at their play. One of them was Siegbert Tarrasch.

January 31, 2018

January Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

The club had a great turnout in our events this month. In the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), 20 players crossed swords over their chess boards with Daniel Clancy and Isaac Chiu tying for 1st (8/10) followed by Robert Cousins in 3rd (7/10). In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), over 55 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, William Sarrano outlasted the competition (3.5/4.0) followed by Jason J. Robinson in 2nd (3/5) - with both picking up over 60 ratings points! In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 3 players out of 16 tied for 1st (2.5/3.0) including Francisco Morales, Ken Chieu, and Rodney Flores. And finally, 52 players showed up for the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), with Andrew Samuelson taking sole first (4.5/5.0) in the Premier section followed by Daniel Clancy in 2nd (4/5) and a 4-way tie for 3rd. In the U1700 section, Timothy Balton edged out 3 other players for 1st place (4.5/5.0). Owen Underwood won the U1400 prize (4/5) while a whopping 5 players split the U1200 prize (2/5).

January 31, 2018

The final years of Zukertort; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

In 1886 Johann Hermann Zukertort played the first official match for the World Championship and lost to Steinitz. But at that time Zukertort already suffered from severe health issues which two years later led to his early death. Stephan-Oliver Platz takes a look at the health of Zukertort in the final years of the chess legend.

January 30, 2018

Changing the Rules (FIDE); CHESS Magazine

Recently a World Championship blitz game between Magnus Carlsen and Ernesto Inarkiev ended in bizarre fashion: Inarkiev stopped the clock because his opponent had "made an illegal move" — and was awarded the point. But then it was ascertained that it was he who had moved illegally on the previous move, and the point was given to Carlsen. We reported extensively on the incident. Now International Arbiter Alex Holowczak weighs in, taking a closer look at the recently released revised rules of the game.

January 30, 2018

Interview: Caruana; By Ben Tippett; Deadspin/Chess.com

I spoke to Fabi this month during the 80th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, about his routine, artificial intelligence, cheating in chess, and that awful World Championship logo.

January 29, 2018

Ancient Chess Piece Discovered in Norway; By Sydney Pereira; Newsweek/Chess.com

People have been playing chess for centuries—but a new chess piece found in Norway further reveals the spread of the ancient game to the Nordic region, and provides some intriguing insights about the game's history. An 800-year-old chess piece was excavated at a site in Norway, covered with a unique pattern of circles. The piece depicts a horse-like figure, but in today’s game it would be known as the knight.

January 29, 2018

Rediscovering Morphy; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

Review: Certain legendary champions form the foundation on which every player should learn and improve one's chess. Morphy is definitely among the first players one must learn from, as his games can be used for teaching, for learning on one's own, or simply for enjoying the beauty of human creativity. Thanks to a team of ChessBase titled players we have a selection of the most beautiful combinations, endgames, and openings played by Morphy.

January 29, 2018

Lewis Carroll envisioned his Alice playing chess; By Sergio Ernesto Negri; ChessBase

If we were to create a list of notable writers who made significant contributions to chess, along with Alfonso X of Castile — also known as "the Wise" — Stefan Zweig, Vladimir Nabokov and Jorge Luis Borges, we would have to include Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), that is to say Lewis Carroll, the pseudonym chosen by the Briton to present his literary work.

January 26, 2018

Remembering Karel Treybal; By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

Karel Treybal was a strong Czech player but an amateur and a judge by profession. However, he could beat players such as Alexander Alekhine or Geza Marozy. In 1941 the Gestapo charged Treybal with illegal possession of firearms and executed him. Vlastimil Hort remembers a Czech patriot and a "chess gentleman."

January 26, 2018

The Art Of Looking At Your Opponent; By Jeremy Silman; ChessBase

After looking at a lot of amateur games (on Chess.com and also in tournaments)—and at those by titled players—I see (sadly) that most people are still dancing with themselves. Okay, titled players don’t make horrific errors too often, and if they do it’s usually for different reasons than amateurs. Nonetheless, everyone is vulnerable to the “dancing with themselves” disease.

January 25, 2018

Solutions: Benko's Christmas problems; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Every year Pal Benko, grandmaster, former World Championship candidate, and one of the best problem composers in the world, sends our readers very special seasonal greetings. They come in the form of chess problems in which the pieces represent figures — this time a Christmas tree and candles. This year it was seven problems, one shaped like a tree and six like candles. Here the solutions — and some new and amusing problems to tickle your mind.

January 24, 2018

What is Garry up to? ; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Kasparov has been making the media rounds as he does, but lately he's been fielding questions on chess rather than the subjects that are more often in his sights: Russia, politics, and AI. He's recently been featured in a serious conversation with conservative commentator Bill Kristol, a not-so-serious Q&A session with Twitter users published by Wired Magazine, and a wonderful mini-history lesson for The New Yorker magazine.

January 24, 2018

An amusing problem from Zukertort; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

Johannes Zukertort (1842-1888) was a student of Adolf Anderssen and one of the world's best players of his time. In 1886 he played a match against Wilhelm Steinitz which was the first official World Championship match in chess history. Zukertort was also a prolific chess publisher. Stephan Oliver Platz presents an amusing chess problem by Zukertort.

January 23, 2018

How God plays chess; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

In the early 1980s Ken Thompson, working at the Bell Laboratories, generated one of the world’s first chess endgame databases — king and queen vs king and rook. At the time he explained to Frederic Friedel how this revolutionary new technology worked. He did it in the form of a parable: God calculating the 32-piece endgame and playing chess. It is an amusing thought experiment that has gained interesting relevance at the current time.

January 21, 2018

Carlsen's Biggest Secret; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

When I analyzed Carlsen's games from the World Rapid and Blitz championships in Saudi Arabia, I indeed noticed that Carlsen used dozens of different patterns in his games, and I am talking only about patterns familiar to me. Just imagine hundreds of patterns familiar only to Magnus! So, maybe Carlsen's unique pattern-recognition ability—based on his excellent memory—is the big secret of his success?

January 20, 2018

Learning to play blindfold; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

The overriding theme of Fritz 16’s new functions is chess improvement, and among them is a special feature for blindfold chess that can help you refine your visualization skills like no other. It was designed to help players who cannot play a blindfold game yet. The following tutorial not only shows you how it works, but also techniques to fast-track your improvement.

January 19, 2018

Mamedyarov's recent rise; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has been a regular feature of elite tournaments for a decade, and yet he seems to have recently made a breakthrough, winning almost everything in sight in 2017 and climbing the Elo list to challenge World Champion Magnus Carlsen. 2018 offers him a rare chance to actually challenge for the World Title, as perhaps his biggest success of the past year was qualifying for the Candidates tournament in March. We take a brief look at some of his 2017 highlights.

January 17, 2018

1/17/1951: Bobby Fischer's first simul; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Ten years ago, on January 17, 2008, Bobby Fischer died at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland. It is a strange coincidence that Fischer died on the same date that he played the first public game of his life. This was January 17, 1951, at a simul against American Master Max Pavey.

January 17, 2018

Bobby Fischer’s final days; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Today, ten years ago, one of the greatest chess players of all time, Robert James Fischer, passed away. He had spent three years in Iceland, two in relative comfort and harmony, but struck by horrendous illness at the end of 2007. He had one true friend who tended to him to the end: Gardar Sverrison, who eight years later wrote a remarkable book on the Fischer he knew and who became part of his family. Today, with Gardar's permission, we bring you very moving excerpts from the final section of his book.

January 14, 2018

Gain Rating Points; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

Today we will talk about what you can do in order to gain a lot of rating points as quickly as possible. I bet you've all heard the famous cliche that "chess is 90 percent tactics." While this saying is a bit overused, it correctly underlines the importance of the tactical skills.

January 12, 2018

Paul Keres (VIII): Gulliver among the Lilliputians; By Staff; Chess24

Paul Keres ended his amazing sequence of finishing second in four Candidates Tournaments in a row when he lost a match to Boris Spassky in 1965, but while that may have ended the Estonian legend's World Championship ambitions he never quit the game. A decade later, in 1975, he finished above Spassky to win the Tallinn International at the age of 59. Alas, a few months later he was dead. In this final part of his series, Joosep Grents recounts the final decade of Paul Keres' life and reflects on the question of why he never quite became World Champion.

January 12, 2018

7 questions before the 80th Tata Steel Masters; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Magnus Carlsen takes on Fabiano Caruana in Saturday’s first round of the Tata Steel Masters as he aims for a record 6th title, but it’s not going to be easy! Fellow 5-time Champion Vishy Anand plays for the first time since 2013, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik plays for the first time since 2011, and in fact six of the world’s Top 10 play in the strongest Wijk aan Zee in many years after the organisers pulled out all the stops for the 80th edition! We take a look at seven questions before the tournament begins.

January 10, 2018

Kasparov Interview ; By Mike Klein; Chess.com

Garry Kasparov had a busy spring and summer of 2017 in which he recorded his Master Class and then participated, after a 12-year absence from competitive chess, in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament. While he's been on television much recently to discuss politics, his passion is still the game that made him famous. In an exclusive interview for Chess.com, he speaks about all matters relating to chess.

January 10, 2018

Best of 2017 poll results; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The results are in! Find out how ChessBase readers rated our nominations for Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, Game of the Year, Endgame of the Year and Move of the Year. From Anand to Zhongyi, we look back at the highlights of 2017, as selected by ChessBase editors and voted on by members!

January 9, 2018

60 years ago: 14-year old Bobby Fischer wins US Championship; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

60 years ago this week, on January 7, 1958, to be precise, the tenth U.S. Championship came to an end with a sensation: the 14-year old Bobby Fischer won with 10½ / 13 ahead of a strong field. With this win Fischer qualified for the Interzonal tournament in Portoroz 1958, and won the first of his eight U.S. titles.

January 6, 2018

20 years ago: Anand and Karpov; By Dagobert Kohlmeyer; ChessBase

Twenty years ago this week, on January 2, 1998, Viswanathan Anand and Anatoly Karpov began their match for the FIDE World Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland — under peculiar circumstances. Anand had qualified for the match by winning the knock-out tournament in Groningen but then had to go immediately to Lausanne to play for the title — without a break or time for preparation.

January 5, 2018

Who was Paul Felix Schmidt?; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Only a few chess enthusiasts will remember the name of Paul Felix Schmidt though Schmidt was one of the world's best players in the 1930s and 1940s, and equal to his Estonian countryman Paul Keres. A new biography by Eva Regina Magacs and Michael Negele invites you to get to know Paul Felix Schmidt and chess in his time.

January 5, 2018

Pontus Carlsson ponders GM secrets; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Since October, GM Pontus Carlsson has been experimenting with a relatively unexploited form of online coaching: group webinars. If you're looking for a low-cost way to access professional insights from someone with more than 20 years on the international chess scene as player and coach!

January 5, 2018

My Favorite U.S. Chess Magazines: Part 1; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

More magazines: Part 2
More magazines: Part 3

I was recently thinking about the best U.S. chess magazines ever. There were quite a lot. Two favorites are Joel Benjamin’s magazine, Chess Chow (1991 to 1994), which was hilarious, and Inside Chess, Yasser Seirawan’s excellent magazine. However, the oldies but goodies rule the roost. Chess Life has been around forever (it started in 1946 as a bi-weekly 8-to-12 page newspaper). Chess Review (from 1933 to late 1969) was, without any doubt, the best U.S. chess magazine until, in 1961, it ran into a remarkably improved Chess Life. Both tried to beat the other

January 4, 2018

Young Stars Program Goes Global; Kasparov Chess Foundation website

The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) program to train young American talents, is expanding to include top prospects from around the world. Here's the info on how you can join.

January 4, 2018

FIDE Laws Changes – Blitz and Rapid; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

As of January 1, the FIDE Laws of Chess are slightly different than before, when it comes to rapid chess and blitz. However, as GM Peter Heine Nielsen and others have pointed out, there's still plenty of room for debate. The official rules of chess are changed every four years, but for the latest change, FIDE made an exception. During the 88th FIDE Congress, last October in Turkey, amendments to the Laws of Chess 2017 were approved by the FIDE Executive Board. The changes are in effect since the start of the new year.

January 4, 2018

The Life and Sad Endgame of Bill Lombardy; CHESS Magazine

William James Joseph 'Bill' Lombardy, who died suddenly in mid-October at the age of 79, has to go down in the annals of U.S. chess — and arguably perhaps the world chess scene — as 'the one who got away', a huge teenage talent equally as gifted as Bobby Fischer, but who gave up the chance to become an elite chess professional at the peak of his career, opting instead to pursue a personal calling to his faith by becoming a priest in the Roman Catholic Church.

January 3, 2018

Awake in Arica; By Alina l'Ami; ChessBase

Awaken in the dream: Is failing to plan planning to fail? Chess in the desert – does it exist? An extensive inquiry (with footnotes) on why you should make your chess trip to the ends of the Earth a reality.

January 3, 2017

Vladas Mikėnas, Grandmaster Killer; By Staff; Chess24

Vladas Mikėnas was active in top level chess for five decades. He met all the World Champions from Lasker to Kasparov, beat Alekhine, Botvinnik, Petrosian, Smyslov and Tal, represented Lithuania on top board at five Olympiads and played in ten USSR Championships. Besides playing himself he was a theoretician, coached Keres and worked as an arbiter at such high profile events as the 1985 Karpov-Kasparov match. Laurynas Barkauskas’ article on a legend of Baltic chess covers Mikėnas' “immortal game” and some anecdotes about his encounters with top players.

December 31, 2017

December Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

The club held its Holiday Party on Dec 23 and over 60 members participated - a good time was had by all! As part of the party, the ACC held the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5) in which a field of 19 players competed. Oliver Kayende won clear first followed closely by a 3-way tie for 2nd (2.5/3). Even though this was a long month (5 club meetings) and over 50 players participated, the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), ended in a four-way between J. Custodio, O. Underwood, I. Turner and T. Moore (3/5). In the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-swiss rounds, G/3 +2), 22 players fought over the board with Larry Gilden taking clear first (8/10) followed closely by Justin Paul (7.5/10). Due to church construction issues, the ACC Action Plus tournament was not held this month.

December 29, 2017

Which is the best game of 2017?; By André Schulz; ChessBase

In 2017 many fantastic games were played. We have selected ten of the best. What's your pick for game of the year? Vote for your favorite!

December 29, 2017

Which is the endgame of the year?; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Vote for the best endgame of 2017! As the year comes to a close, we are once again looking for the chess events and personalities of the year, more precisely here, move of the year, the game of the year, the endgame of the year, and the player of the year. Join in and vote for your favorites.

December 28, 2017

Beware Of Undefended Pieces; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Players from 1600 all the way down to beginner dream of hitting the 2000 mark but, alas, they rarely even get close. Most look at chess books, though they often find that their book isn’t very helpful. Others just play a lot of blitz, hoping that experience will carry them to the promised land. And others think that their chess books were okay, though their rating doesn’t move an inch. Frustrating, isn’t it? Allow me to help you escape this rut. Ready? Okay, here we go: Put the books down! Ignore the authorities. In fact, before doing all the stuff everyone recommends, you first need to fix the most deepest, darkest problems in your game.

December 28, 2017

What was the move of 2017?; By André Schulz; ChessBase

As 2017 comes to a close, we are once again looking for the chess events and personalities of the year, more precisely here, move of the year, the game of the year, the endgame of the year, and the player of the year. Join in and vote for your favorites. First up: Move of the year!

December 26, 2017

FIDE's Riyadh Gambit; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

More: Chess.com

The World Rapid Championship attracted significant international media attention as it began on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the focus was mostly centred around the absence of Women's World Rapid and Blitz Champion Anna Muzychuk, and all players from Israel, who were denied visas to travel to the country.

December 26, 2017

John Nunn puzzles – the solutions; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

A little over a week ago we told you about the activities of our English friend, mathematician, grandmaster, author and publisher. He is also a world champion chess problem solver, and a composer – which is why we gave you a selection of his problems and studies. Today, as a Christmas puzzle week present, you get the solutions, annotated by John, as well as the answers to his logical and mathematical problems. And the lovely knight tour questions. Only one reader solved a majority of the tasks, and he gets the personally dedicated book from John.

December 25, 2017

Pal Benko's Christmas problems; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Every year Pal Benko, grandmaster, former World Championship candidate, and one of the best problem composers in the world, sends our readers very special seasonal greetings. They come in the form of chess problems in which the pieces represent figures – this time a Christmas tree and candles. It is the start of our Christmas puzzle week, which we bring you for the eighteenth year in succession. Prepare for puzzles that cannot be easily solved with a computer, tasks which require you to think all by yourself. And a nostalgic look to the past.

December 24, 2017

Morozevich on trying things other than chess; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Alexander Morozevich is still only 40, but in recent years has been missing from the very highest level of chess. In a new interview he reveals that while not abandoning chess he took the life decision to try out new things rather than continuing to devote himself entirely to the game. He also talks about the 2018 Candidates Tournament, Carlsen and the young generation of Russian players, noting that Vladislav Artemiev struck him as the most talented but has struggled to build on that talent in the last three years.

December 23, 2017

A Short trip to Kyrgyzstan; By Alexandra Samaganova; ChessBase

Nigel Short got to cross another country off his already impressive list (now at 123 countries at last check) as he made his first foray to Kyrgyzstan in November at the invitation of MiniChess Central Asia. Alexandra Samanagova's photo report shows a jam-packed five day tour.

December 23, 2017

Mamedyarov ends 2017 on new high; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov will go into 2018 with a new lifetime best official rating of 2804 after starring as the Kings beat the Princes in the classical section of the Nutcracker Battle of the Generations. The world no. 3 scored three wins and was close to four, but the Kings were prevented from sealing the match by Sergei Rublevsky losing to Andrey Esipenko, Grigoriy Oparin and Vladislav Artemiev. Eight rounds of rapid chess will now decide the match.

December 22, 2017

The Secret of Chess (?); By David Smerdon; ChessBase

Other chess reviewers have been at best dismissal and at worst harshly critical of The Secret of Chess, by Lyudmil Tsvetkov. However, according to GM David Smerdon, this book is a one of a kind work that legitimately has the potential to revolutionize how we think about chess.

December 21, 2017

Interview: Svidler; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Peter Svidler recently won the Russian Championship for an 8th time, setting a record that’s going to be extremely tough to beat. Afterwards he gave a fascinating interview to Fontanka.ru where he discussed not only the latest championship but his first successes in the 1990s, how his university career was cut short, his first encounter with Garry Kasparov and how Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s alleged alien abduction affected chess.

December 21, 2017

Efim Geller vs Bobby Fischer; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Geller was a fantastic opening theoretician and, as a result, he was a master of many openings, with the Sicilian (on both sides!) being his main money-earner. He has played a zillion Sicilians from both sides of the board. So, instead of overwhelming you with hundreds of Sicilian pages, I’ll show you how Geller played the Sicilian by posting all of his decisive games against Fischer.

December 19, 2017

Vlastimil Hort remembers Vasja Pirc; By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

Vasja Pirc was born 110 years ago today. His name is immortalised in the opening theory, but the man himself is almost forgotten, although the Slovenian history professor was at times one of the best players in the world. Vlastimil Hort has met the wine-lover and remembers.

December 18, 2017

Alleged Cheater Expelled From Spanish Tournament; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

An amateur chess player was expelled from a chess tournament in Benidorm, Spain after an electronic device similar to a TV remote control was found in his pants. The player, who was a participant of the B tournament for players with an Elo below 2000, was checked by arbiters after suspicions of possible cheating. At times his games had shown a level of play much higher than is rating.

December 17, 2017

Nunn problems: solutions and compositions; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Last week we gave you some interesting problems to solve, today we bring you the solutions thereof. And some logical puzzles, which the veteran Super-GM gave us during spectacular walks along the cliffs of Cornwall. For some we need mathematical assistance and invite our readers to provide this. Finally a selection of prize-winning compositions, published over the years, by John Nunn himself. If you do participate there is a a very nice personal prize to win.

December 15, 2017

Svidler wins incredible 8th Russian Championship; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

More: Chess.com

23 years after winning his 1st Russian Championship as an 18-year-old Peter Svidler is now an 8-time Champion after defeating Nikita Vitiugov in a playoff finish. He picked up the 1 million rouble top prize, will get a Renault Captur car in January and also returned to the World Top 10 at the age of 41. 19-year-old Aleksandra Goryachkina is just starting out, but at this rate may match Peter someday. She already has her 2nd Russian title after beating Natalia Pogonina in a thrilling finish to the women’s event.

December 15, 2017

A year of Perpetual Chess (Podcast) ; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Chess podcasting is still in its infancy, even as the medium as a whole gains mainstream adoption. In the past year, Ben Johnson's Perpetual Chess Pod has racked up and impressive guest list and a dedicated fan following. This week Ben released his 51st episode and the first episode dropped a year ago on December 15th, 2016.

December 15, 2017

Efim Geller, Killer On The Chessboard; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Lately I’ve experienced the same thing when I talk to young (10 to 20 years old) chess players: Have you read Eugene Znosko-Borovsky’s books? — “What is a Borovsky?” Have you studied the games of Leonid Stein? — “Who?” How about Isaac Boleslavsky? — “A bowl of what?” In my mind, if you don’t know all the greats from the past, then you’re missing the heart and soul of what chess is about.

December 14, 2017

Hort interviews Geurt Gijssen; By Vlastimil Hort; ChessBase

Geurt Gijssen is one of the most renowned chess arbiters and during his active time witnessed many dramatic and historical moments of chess history. In an interview Vlastimil Hort asked the veteran arbiter about his career, his passion for chess, and his take on incidents and scandals in recent chess history.

December 14, 2017

Interview: Nepomniachtchi ; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

After a tough year Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi scored a triumph in the London Chess Classic, finishing tied for first and sharing the prize money with Fabiano Caruana before missing out on the trophy in the playoff. He gave an interview afterwards where he talked about the tournament, why Magnus Carlsen has stopped dominating in the way he used to and why he’s not as impressed with AlphaZero as some of his colleagues.

December 13, 2017

The Most Beautiful Chess Book; By Anna Rudolph; Chess.com

It's a chess book like no other, a visual tribute to the royal game. The book is 208 pages of Fedrigoni paper filled with tension in the eyes of silent protagonists. Club players, Olympic members, world champions. All focused, deep in thought, pondering their next move over the black and white board. I met the author, the renowned chess photographer David Llada in Madrid to ask him about his journey toward chess photography and the publication that is now called the most beautiful chess book ever printed: the Thinkers.

December 13, 2018

Kasparov on Deep Learning in chess; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

More: Chess.com

Garry Kasparov's match against the IBM computer Deep Blue was considered a milestone in Artificial Intelligence, a watershed moment. But was it really that? Kasparov has written a number of best-selling books on chess and other subjects, but his latest work, Deep Thinking, could be the most important one. It puts his 1997 defeat at the hands of a brute force computer and the latest development of self-learning systems into perspective. Who do you think is the ideal person to review this book?

December 13, 2017

Alpha Zero: Comparing "Orangutans and Apples"; By André Schulz; ChessBase

In time for the start of the London Chess Classic DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google, published a remarkable report about the success of their "Machine Learning" project Alpha Zero. Alpha Zero is a chess program and won a 100 game match against Stockfish by a large margin. But some questions remain. Reactions from chess professionals and fans.

December 13, 2017

Houdini wins TCEC Superfinal; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

More: Chessdom

Interview: Houdini Author: Chessdom

In recent years the TCEC tournament has turned into the unofficial Computer Chess World Championship. This year Houdini and Komomo made it to the final, a 100 game match. But even before all 100 games were played Houdini decided the match in its favour. In an interview during the match the programmers of Komodo and Houdini revealed their views on current developments in computer chess.

December 12, 2017

Andrey Filatov on FIDE elections; By Oleg Bogatov; R-Sport via ChessDom

Four or five candidates may run for President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in the election to be held at the General Assembly of the organization in 2018, the President of the Russian Chess Federation (RCF) Andrey Filatov told R-Sport. The election will be held during the World Chess Olympiad in 2018 in Batumi, Georgia. The permanent president of the organization since 1995 is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who earlier announced his decision to run again.

December 11, 2017

All London Chess Classic interviews; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

The official Grand Chess Tour webcast is a treasure trove of information, and the best, most convenient way to hear directly from the players after nearly every game. But at five hours or more, it can be tiresome to scan through each days full show to find the interesting guests spots. No more! We've pinpointed every major interview for one-click access.

December 10, 2017

New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018; By Pein, Khodarkovsky, and Rich; ChessBase

The organizers of the Grand Chess Tour announced changes to the format for 2018, including a new format for next year's London Chess Classic. The traditional classical tournament will be replaced by a semi-final and final held in mid-December that will combine classical, rapid and blitz chess over six days. The change is being made to make the tour final more dynamic, accentuate the purpose of the GCT's "Universal Rating" system (combining all three disciplines) and avoid conflict with the World Championship which will be also held in London from November 9th to 28th.

December 10, 2017

The Ugly Castle; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

Even beginners know that castling is a very important part of an opening strategy since it moves your king away from the center into a comfortable home created by a rook and three pawns. But what if the new king's house is not so cozy, since the roof provided by the three pawns has a huge hole in it?

December 9, 2017

The 7 Most Amazing Chess Records; By Sam Copeland; Chess.com

Records inspire us all to strive for greatness. The long legacy of chess has birthed some records which have stood for decades, and some that may well stand for centuries. Here are seven of the most amazing chess records ever etched into history.

December 9, 2017

Morocco Chess Federation hit with corruption troubles; By Diana Mihajlova; ChessBase

Part 2: Chessbase

The Royal Morocco Chess Federation has been in discord since members of its governing body raised the alarm over impropriety on the part of its leadership, including the disappearance of the equivalent of $200,000 US Dollars. Diana Mihajlova reports on a host of allegations which have beset the federation's president Mustapha Amazzal. This is part one of a two-part chronicle.

December 8, 2017

How Can An Expert Become A Master?; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

I’ve had students in the 2000-to-2200 range who gave up chess completely when they entered university or college. Then, once they got a degree, they might return to the game or toss it away permanently. Of course, many strong players in university or college continue to play in tournaments or for their school’s team.

December 8, 2017

John Nunn these days; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

At 15 he was Oxford University's youngest undergraduate since Cardinal Wolsey in 1520; and at 23 he did his doctorate in algebraic topology — and achieved his final grandmaster norm. He went on to become one of the top ten players in the world, and a world champion chess problem solver. Today John Nunn, at 62, is slowly gliding into retirement (from his chess publishing business), but that does not mean sitting idly around. He is addicted to rational thinking, puzzles, mathematics and beautiful vacations.

December 8, 2017

AlphaZero: Reactions From Top GMs, Stockfish Author; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

AlphaZero's Great Predecessors: Chess.com

How Does It Play Chess?: Chess.com

The news about AlphaZero beating Stockfish 64-36 without a single loss after just four hours of self-training has shocked the chess world. Chess.com has early reactions from the London Chess Classic participants and from one of the original authors of Stockfish.

December 7, 2017

The Tsar, Matilda and the Russian Chess Championship; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

If you are bored with the turn of events in London classic (with only two decisive games in five rounds), look into Russian "superfinal", where the clash between hungry young talents, seeking to make a name for themselves, and experienced players such as seven-time Russian Champion Peter Svidler. So far the tournament has created a lot of decisive and creative games, and dramatics moments to delight spectators and chess fans alike.

December 6, 2017

Google's AlphaZero Destroys Stockfish In 100-Game Match; By Mike Klein; Chess.com

Chess changed forever today. And maybe the rest of the world did, too. A little more than a year after AlphaGo sensationally won against the top Go player, the artificial-intelligence program AlphaZero has obliterated the highest-rated chess engine. Stockfish, which for most top players is their go-to preparation tool, and which won the 2016 TCEC Championship and the 2017 Chess.com Computer Chess Championship, didn't stand a chance. AlphaZero won the closed-door, 100-game match with 28 wins, 72 draws, and zero losses. Oh, and it took AlphaZero only four hours to "learn" chess. Sorry humans, you had a good run.

December 6, 2017

The future is here – AlphaZero learns chess; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

Imagine this: you tell a computer system how the pieces move — nothing more. Then you tell it to learn to play the game. And a day later — yes, just 24 hours — it has figured it out to the level that beats the strongest programs in the world convincingly! DeepMind, the company that recently created the strongest Go program in the world, turned its attention to chess, and came up with this spectacular result.

December 6, 2017

How XiangQi can improve your chess; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

Caruana, Ivanchuk, Nielsen are all learning and playing different forms of chess to keep their chess at the top in terms of interest and creativity. In this article you'll discover a form of chess played by more than 100 million Chinese just in China, but also in many other countries in the world like: Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan etc. It's very easy to learn, but like the version most dear to our hearts, it takes a lifetime to master! Here's the backstory from Davide Nastasio plus five reasons chess players specifically should play XiangQi.

December 6, 2017

DeepMind’s AlphaZero crushes chess; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

20 years after DeepBlue defeated Garry Kasparov in a match, chess players have awoken to a new revolution. The AlphaZero algorithm developed by Google and DeepMind took just four hours of playing against itself to synthesise the chess knowledge of one and a half millennium and reach a level where it not only surpassed humans but crushed the reigning World Computer Champion Stockfish 28 wins to 0 in a 100-game match. All the brilliant stratagems and refinements that human programmers used to build chess engines have been outdone, and like Go players we can only marvel at a wholly new approach to the game.

December 5, 2017

Pillsbury: enormous talent, early death; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Henry Nelson Pillsbury was one of the strongest players of his time who never became World Champion. He impressed his contemporaries with his fantastic memory and his amazing blindfold exhibitions. He died at only 33 years of age from syphilis, and suffering from mental illness. Today, December 5, 2017, would be his 145th birthday.

December 4, 2017

Vera Menchik, A Biography; By Davide Nastasio; ChessBase

A biography on the first Women's World Champion Vera Menchik offers the chance to know more about the chess world of nearly 100 years ago. Women in chess have a rich history, and this book paints a great historical portrait, showing us beautiful games played by Miss Menchik against top chess players of her day. Davide Nastasio has the review.

December 3, 2017

50 games you should know: Rotlewi-Rubinstein; By Johannes Fischer ; ChessBase

Some players seem to be able to give their pieces magical powers. An invisible force seems to unite the pieces, and even if one, two or more of them are hanging or have to be sacrificed, the power of the remaining pieces easily compensate this. A classic example for such a dynamic is the game Rotlewi against Rubinstein.

December 3, 2017

Have You Seen These 2 Amazing Capablanca Games?; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

The games played by Jose Raul Capablanca have been analyzed in countless chess books, magazines and videos. Today, I want to show you two of his less famous games. Both were played against the strong American master Alexander Kevitz and both deserve to be called amazing even if for different reasons.

December 3, 2017

Levon Aronian's Armenian Interview; By Meri Grigoryan; ChessBase

After winning the FIDE World Cup, Levon Aronian sat down for an in depth interview published by the Champord Newspaper and conducted in Armenian. Meri Grigoryan painstakingly translated the full 43-minute conversation between Levon and Mark Grigoryan (no relation to Meri!), which we shared with Champord to subtitle the original video on YouTube. Enjoy both the video and the complete transcript!

December 1, 2017

Interview: World Junior Champion Zhansaya Abdumalik; By Romualdo Vitale; ChessDom

After the closing ceremony, where she proudly had the Kazakh flag on her, I asked if I could ask a few questions. At first she laughed because she thought I was joking, but then she kindly agreed. The result is an unusual interview where we both laugh a lot and, more importantly, you have an often undervalued insight on what a chess player looks like when she lays down her [hair].

December 1, 2017

Video Interview: Judit Polgar on Chess in Schools ; By Staff; ChessDom

Best female player of all time, Judit Polgar, speaks about the importance of Chess in Schools.

December 1, 2017

Leko on surviving the "Swiss ping-pong"; By Bernd Vökler; ChessBase

Vincent Keymer is 13 years old and the youngest International Master Germany has ever had. But playing the World Junior Championship U20 for him was still a bit like "swimming with sharks" and the tournament gave him insights into the rules of "Swiss ping-pong". Keymer was supported by Peter Leko who shares his impressions in an interview.

December 1, 2017

Carlsen and Kasparov in clash of the GOATs; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov, rivals for the chess title of Greatest Of All Time, met on Thursday in the Pro-Biz Cup held in London’s Google Headquarters. Magnus was handed a birthday defeat, but of course the charity event, where the players were paired with amateurs, was more about fun than serious chess.

November 31, 2017

November Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

Most notably this month, the club held a Blindfold Simulultaneous Matchon November 11, 2017, with the widely recognized Blindfold King, GM Timur Gareyev. GM Gareyev was very generous to ACC with his time as he also gave a Small Group lesson to 11 players on October 4th and dropped by the Friday club meeting on October 6th for another impromptu lecture.

The GM is originally from Uzbekistan and has held the rank of the 3rd highest rated chess player in the US with a peak USCF rating of 2780. He is best known for his exceptional Blindfold Chess playing ability. Blindfold chess is where the player has no sight of the chess board or position of the pieces on the board. He broke the world record in number of opponents (48) for a blindfold simul in Las Vegas in December of last year.

He is also a very active and successful GM having won the recent Atlantic Open with final round wins over local players LM Andrew Samuelson, WIM Jennifer Yu and GM Sergey Erenberg. See more on this performance at this webpage on the US Chess Federation website. For the ACC event, GM Timur Gareyev discussed blindfold simuls and took general Q&A for about an hour before taking on all challengers in the Blindfold Simul match. Unlike most simuls where players move when the GM comes to their board, GM Gareyev remained blindfolded and exercising on a stationary bike while a "Mover" took care of making the physical moves for the GM on each board. In an unusual move, the GM played Black on all boards and, unlike normal simuls, all players were put on a clock instead of getting 3 "passes."

The GM's record in the 16 games played at ACC was 15 wins and 1 draw, which he gave to young Ronen Wilson. Ronen said, "It was an honor to play the Blindfold King. I felt really good that I was able to get a draw." Ronen's dad noted, "It was a rare and thrilling experience playing Timur - he is a great guy and a wonderful ambassador for Chess." The GM offered one other draw, to yours truly, but the offer was declined to see how the game unfolded (I lost on time). For my part, I was amazed how quickly the GM moved from move-to-move and board-to-board, as he averaged about 1-2 minutes on each move throughout the match. Game scores from the Simul can be found in the latest edition of the VA Chess Federation newsletter.

Separately, in a short month, due to the Turkey Day holiday, the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), only had about 45 players compete for the Ladder Prize with young newcomer Donovan Chong grabbing first place (3/3). In a field of 14 players in the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Andrew Samuelson and Zachary Martin split first place (2.5/3) followed closely by 5 players a half point behind them (2/3). In the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) Andrew Samuelson tied with Larry Gilden (4/5) amongst low turnout with Yobo Chen and Sam Schenk tying for 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Brian Tay tied for first with Barzin Badiee (4/5) followed by a 3-way tie for third place. Finally, with the truncated number of playing dates, the ACC Blitz tournament was not held in November.

November 29, 2017

World Championship 2018 to be in London; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Magnus Carlsen will defend his World Championship title in a 12-game match to be held in London from November 9th to 28th, 2018, World Chess confirmed today. He will play the winner of the Candidates tournament to be held in Berlin in March.

November 27, 2017

Players Suspended In Italian Cheating Scandal; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

Four chess players have been convicted by an Italian federal court for their involvement in rigging games and attempts to manipulate results at the Montebelluna tournament in January of this year. The story has a deep impact on the Italian chess scene, and the verdict was widely published in mainstream media.

November 27, 2017

The man who was Dr. Zhivago: Fedor Bohatirchuk; By André Schulz; ChessBase

Even chess players hardly remember Fedor Bohatirchuk although the Ukrainian-Canadian doctor and chess master led a life worth remembering. He lived in turbulent times, and he was a strong chess player with a life-time score of 3½-½ against Mikhail Botvinnik. He also inspired Boris Pasternak to the character of "Doctor Zhivago". Today, Bohatirchuk would celebrate his 125th birthday.

November 27, 2017

Building a $500 chess machine; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

We recently published an article on the ultimate PC for chess, designed for the pro on the road, or the enthusiast seeking the best, setting a budget ceiling of $2000-$2500. The question many asked was what about those who cannot spend so much? The size of the budget isn’t everything, and here is a full PC with eight cores of chess processing power for just $500!

November 27, 2017

Mamedyarov & Grischuk take final Candidates spots; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk have qualified for the 2018 Candidates Tournament after their rivals failed in their missions at the Palma de Mallorca Grand Prix. Both Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Teimour Radjabov could ultimately have qualified with last-round wins, but Maxime went down in flames to Dmitry Jakovenko while Teimour inexplicably offered a draw in a playable position against Richard Rapport. Mamedyarov and Grischuk therefore join Aronian, Caruana, So, Kramnik, Ding Liren and Karjakin as contenders to be Magnus Carlsen’s next challenger.

November 26, 2017

Tari & Abdumalik 2017 World Junior Champions; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

18-year-old Aryan Tari has won the 2017 World Junior Championship in Tarvisio, Italy so that we now have two Norwegian World Champions. He held his nerve in a tense last-round clash with top seed Jorden van Foreest, while 12-year-old Praggnanandhaa couldn’t get anything with Black against Rasmus Svane and had to settle for fourth place despite a brilliant tournament. Manuel Petrosyan and Aravindh sneaked into the medal places after slow starts. 17-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik took the girls title by a full point, improving on her previous bronze and silver medals.

November 24, 2017

Anand on the psychology of chess; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Vishy Anand recently spent 90 minutes talking to Deepak Jayaraman for the Play to Potential podcast. The 47-year-old multiple World Champion went into real depth as he talked about how top chess players have had to adapt to the advance of computers and find new ways to differentiate themselves against players with the same knowledge. He comments “your brain is a wild horse” as he explains there’s no way you can fully control either yourself or the game of chess, but there are strategies that increase your chances.

November 23, 2017

TCEC: Superfinal Houdini vs Komodo; By Stephan Oliver Platz; ChessBase

Over the years the "Thoresen Chess Engines Competition" (TCEC) has become the unofficial Computer World Championship and the very best programs start in this tournament. After two qualifiers, season 10 now finishes with the superfinal in which Komodo faces Houdini. They play 100 games against each other, and the games are shared live on PlayChess. As a bonus, we bring you a brief modern history of computer chess.

November 23, 2017

Give thanks for a chess cake; By Anya Corke Allen; ChessBase

For those who don't give a fig for pumpkin pie this Thankgiving, here's a dessert treat even your grandmaster will love. Anya Corke Allen is a chess player with a penchant for baking, and shared her adventures making a chocolate chess cake.

November 23, 2017

Were Players In The 1800s Terrible?; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

To belittle those chess masters that came before us is the height of egotism or stupidity. Nowadays people on Twitter and other places that have reader comments think they know everything.

November 22, 2017

Kasparov Chess Foundation turns 15; By K-Foundation; ChessBase

The Kasparov Chess Foundation celebrated 15 years of global chess outreach with a gala reception and dinner at the New York Athletic Club on November 6th. World-famous commentator GM Maurice Ashley was the host for an evening, which included a 10 board simul by the 13th World Champion.

November 21, 2017

The Deadly Pawn Sacrifice; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

In last week's article we learned some of the favorite chess patterns of super-GM Ding Liren. As you probably remember, he loves to play for domination when his opponent's pieces can barely move. His most common recipe to get this kind of a position is an exchange sacrifice. However, in the next game he achieved his goal by a mere pawn sacrifice. Nevertheless, by move 23 he controlled all the key squares of the board. Judge for yourself.

November 18, 2017

Stockfish Wins Chess.com Computer Championship; By "Pete;" Chess.com

The powerful, open-source chess engine Stockfish narrowly beat out two strong commercial engines to win the first Chess.com Computer Chess Championship this week. Stockfish placed clear first in the 10-engine round robin to reach the superfinal, and then edged the second-place Houdini in the rapid, blitz, and bullet finals to win the championship, which was shown on Chess.com's live server Nov. 13 through 16.

November 17, 2017

Tania Sachdev's Twelfth Knight; By Carl Portman; ChessBase

Simultaneous events, the battle of one player against many, are fun, fascinating and exciting. Sometimes they are even charming. Carl Portman reports about such a simul, given by Tania Sachdev in the village of Shutford near Banbury in Oxfordshire.

November 17, 2017

12-year-old beats top GM; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

The World Junior Chess Championships is considered one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world – great players like Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Anand have been the World Junior Champions in the past. Players are 20 years old or younger. But after five rounds, in place three we find a 12-year-old who has beaten the top seed (GM Jorden van Foreest, rated 2616) in a flawless game for which we have video analysis. And in round five Indian prodigy R. Praggnanandhaa beat another GM and chalked up a rating performance of 2830!

November 16, 2017

Evaluating our favourite brain boosters; By David Ludden Ph.D.; ChessBase

Most parents want their children to reach their academic potential, and they’re willing to go through great effort and expense to help them achieve that goal. In recent years, a number of researchers have offered evidence suggesting that two activities in particular are especially effective at improving children’s cognitive abilities. These are playing chess and learning a musical instrument.

November 13, 2017

Russia's "Amazing People"; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

Talent shows such as Britain’s Got Talent, now exported to many other countries, American Idol, and so many others are now staples of contemporary TV, but it takes a country such as Russia to feature such a show with winning performances by chess players playing chess! But not only chess, of course.

November 11, 2017

Ding Liren: Game of the Year?; By Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Ding Liren, the Chinese number one and participant in the Candidates Tournament 2018 in Berlin, enjoys the reputation of being a solid positional player. But in round 18 of the Yingmei Cup — the Chinese Team Championship — he showed that he is also a world class attacking player by demolishing Bai Jinshi with Black in one of the most beautiful and most spectacular games of the year. Grandmasters Daniel King and Rustam Kasimdzhanov both had a closer look.

November 10, 2017

FIDE Criticized For Hosting World Rapid, Blitz In Saudi Arabia; By Peter Doggers; Chess.com

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has received strong criticism for its decision to host this year's World Rapid & Blitz Championships in Saudi Arabia.

November 10, 2017

Chess Tests For Players 1400 And Up; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

They might be tactics, they might be positional, or the puzzle might be about understanding some hidden deep, dark, strategic concept. In other words you need to face real-world problems and figure out real-world solutions. In a actual game nobody tells you, “that such and such is weak, you should attack it.”

November 9, 2017

Remembering Mikhail Tal; By Nagesh Havanur; ChessBase

November 9th is the birthday of Mikhail Tal, one of the most fascinating and adored World Champions. Tal loved to play chess, whether it was blitz, simultaneous events or games with classical time-control, and his imagination led to countless wonderful games. On the occasion of the birthday of the "Chess Magician" Prof. Nagesh Havanur shows brilliant games and a haunting elegy to pay a short tribute to Tal.

November 8, 2017

Carlsen & Ding Liren in Champions Showdown; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

World Champion Magnus Carlsen will play 30 rapid and blitz games against Chinese no. 1 Ding Liren in a 4-day match in St. Louis as part of the Champions Showdown. The prize fund is $100,000 with $60,000 for the winner, but that’s just one of four matches, as Hikaru Nakamura takes on Veselin Topalov, Fabiano Caruana plays Alexander Grischuk and Wesley So faces Leinier Dominguez.

November 6, 2017

50 games you should know; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

#2 - Pillsbury vs Lasker: Chessbase

In chess the goal of the game is to checkmate the enemy king. However, most chess games are not decided by elegant mating attacks. Sacrifices suspend these brutal rules of materialism, that makes them so enchanting. And some sacrifices seem to be almost magical. One of the most famous example of such a magic is a game (#1) between Wilhelm Steinitz and Curt von Bardeleben which has enchanted generations of chess players.

November 5, 2017

How to lose to a 9-year-old at chess; By Steve Barrett; CHESS Magazine

Gone are the days of old men smoking pipes, playing chess in silence in draughty church halls. There has been an influx of youth, especially since the rise of extremely strong computers that allow youngsters to learn and advance in the game much faster than previously. This is especially the case in the U.S., where there is a seemingly endless stream of young talent coming through, most of them wildly underrated and poisonous for your Elo standing.

November 5, 2017

What does 2018 hold for the FIDE Presidency?; By Dylan Loeb McClain; ChessBase

The election for the presidency of the World Chess Federation is a year away, but there is already intrigue swirling around whether Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the current president, can or will run again. Though Mr. Ilyumzhinov recently lost a no-confidence vote by the executive board, it is not clear that will be enough to dissuade him, and the acting president, Georgios Makropoulos, has ducked repeated questions. This article updates the current situation.>

November 5, 2017

Why Study Chess?; By Greg Serper; Chess.com

Recently a chess player asked me a simple question: "I have no chess talent, so should I spend my time on reading chess books and studying chess games?" I am sure that at some point (usually after a disappointing game or a tournament) many people have asked a similar question. In order to answer it, I need to split this question into two parts.

November 3, 2017

Chess Tests For Players 1600 And Up; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

When I answer reader questions, I try to stay (vaguely) in that player’s rating group (two hundred points more or less). Of course, a beginner might feel left out, but I also answer beginner players’ queries. I do my best to give something for everyone from article to article. In this article there was no reader question. I just felt like offering a bunch of puzzles that may be tactical, or positional. Just like in a tournament game of chess, it’s up to you to find if the position is a minefield that might ignite at any moment, or a simple positional move that makes a position better. In other words you need to face real-world problems and figure out real-world solutions.

November 2, 2017

The land of Gandhi invites you for World Youth (U-16) Olympiad 2017; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

The World Youth Olympiad (under-16) will be held in India in the city of Ahmedabad from the 10th to 19th of December 2017. Already 17 teams have registered for the event. India is fielding their strongest team which includes GM Aryan Chopra and two of the biggest talents R. Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin. Will there be any team to stop the hosts? In this article you get all the information about the event and also get to know why from a tourist point of view, Gujarat is one of the most scenic destinations in the country.

November 2, 2017

The $1 Million Chess Puzzle.; By Mike Klein; Chess.com

Forget all the Chess.com job postings seeking computer programmers. There's now a prize much higher than helping us code four-player chess. The Clay Mathematics Institute of America is offering a cool $1 million to the person or team that successfully programs a computer to solve larger versions of a problem you've likely attempted yourself.

November 1, 2017

Remembering Alexander Alekhine; André Schulz; ChessBase

Alexander Alekhine himself thought that he was born on November 1, 1892, but historians checked again and concluded that he was born on October 31. The confusion seems to be due to an error in the conversion of the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. All the same, we celebrate the fourth World Champion's birthday — reason enough to look back on his life and career.

October 31, 2017

October Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game.

In big news, on Saturday November 11th, Timur will play a BlindFold Simul at the Arlington Chess Club - Claim Your Spot and Register Early! Come check this event out!

Timur is a Super-GM topping out at 2780 and currently in the high 2600s. He has made a name for himself by holding BlindFold Simuls and last December (2016), he set the world record for playing 48 opponents on the way to winning 35 of the games and drawing over half of the rest.

In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), nearly 50 players competed for the Ladder Prize with young Tony Lin grabbing first place (3.5/5) a full point ahead of X. Jian and M. Hiban (2.5/5). Of the 12 players in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), Larry Gilden held off the opposition to win first place (7.5/10) a half point ahead of young Geoffrey Davis (7/10) and a full point ahead of 3-way tie for 3rd place. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Ken Chieu has returned to ACC events after a long hiatus to start collecting wins including running the boards against 11 other players to secure 1st place (3/3) ahead of a 3-way tie for 2nd place (2/3) by A. Indusekar, V. Guzman and Richard A. Allen (also returning after a long hiatus). And finally, in the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) we had a super low turnout as only 28 players slogged it out with Andrew Samuelson sweeping the opposition (5/5) in the Premier section to finish a full point and a half ahead of Zack Martin and Jason Liang who tied for 2nd place. In the U1700 section, Andy Chang won clear first (4/5) a half point ahead of Steven Scala and Isaac Stevens who tied for 2nd place(3.5/5). All in all, a busy month in which fun was had by all!

October 27, 2017

East or West; IM Malcolm Pein; Chess Magazine

In the November issue of CHESS Magazine, International Master and organiser Malcolm Pein shares his views regarding the recent 88th FIDE Congress in Antalya, Turkey, where one of the more unusual decisions coming out of the Executive Board meeting was a non-binding "motion to "request the FIDE President [Kirsan Ilyumzhinov] not to run in the next Presidential elections."

October 24, 2017

Opening trends; Staff; Chess Magazine

The Reti retains its seemingly inexorable grip on the top of our chart, while that club player favourite, the King’s Indian, makes a welcome return to the second spot. Elsewhere those non-c4 options after 1 d4 Nf6 continue to do well and the Kan has made gains under the patronage of Caruana, Andreikin and Artemiev. The statistics and a key game is given in this month's edition of the English chess magazine.

October 20, 2017

Vladimir Kramnik gets Candidates wild card; Colin McGourty; Chess24

Vladimir Kramnik has been nominated as the wild card to play the Candidates Tournament in Berlin next March to determine the next challenger for World Champion Magnus Carlsen. While not a big surprise – to date significant sponsorship has only been announced from Russian companies – the timing of the decision means no changes are possible based on the result of the final Grand Prix. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Teimour Radjabov now know there’s no lifeline if they fail to qualify via that event in Palma de Mallorca next month.

October 19, 2017

The Eternal Battle: Bishops vs Knights; Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

An examination of each piece's strengths and weaknesses.

October 18, 2017

50 games you should know; Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Occupying the center, developing pieces, opening lines, mating the enemy king: Paul Morphy knew how to win quickly. His most famous game also followed this pattern. Morphy played it November 2, 1858, against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard in the Duke's loge in the Paris Opera. Morphy's brilliancy is more than 150 years old but the strategic pattern is still relevant. As Magnus Carlsen knows.

October 18, 2017

Stockfish & Komodo lead as TCEC Season 10 starts; Colin McGourty; Chess24

The Stockfish and Komodo chess engines have taken an early lead on 3.5/4 as the 10th season of TCEC, the unofficial World Computer Chess Championship, kicks off. It sees 24 of the world’s top chess engines play weeks of round-the-clock classical games both to determine this year’s champion and to showcase the play of our new computer overlords. You can watch non-stop here on chess24 and will probably be surprised at how the games are not only of extremely high quality but also great fun to watch.

October 17, 2017

Aronian: “We should be like wolves”; Colin McGourty; Chess24

Levon Aronian has had a fantastic year, both on and off the chessboard. The world no. 2 won the GRENKE Chess Classic, Altibox Norway Chess, the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz and finally the World Cup, before then marrying his long-term girlfriend Arianne Caoili. In a new interview he talks about coping with stress, irritating habits of opponents, how he proved people wrong as a late-starter and more.

October 17, 2017

Kramnik and the Reti; Alex Yermolinsky; ChessBase

More: Chessbase

Among the top active players, few if any can claim to have made as many powerful contributions to opening theory as Vladimir Kramnnik. One need only recall that Kramnik is the only player on record to 'out-prepare' Garry Kasparov, and for the World title no less. In recent times, one of his latest pet openings has been the Reti, and guiding the reader through some of the changes along the way is GM Alex Yermolinsky.

October 14, 2017

In Memoriam: William Lombardy (1937-2017) ; Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

More: Chessbase

Grandmaster Bill Lombardy died in California on Friday morning, of a likely heart attack. Lombardy was the World Junior Champion in 1957 (the first American to win that title) scoring a perfect 11-0, a performance that has never been repeated. He shared first at the U.S. Open Championship three times (1963, 1965 and 1975). But he is perhaps best known as a coach of Bobby Fischer. Lombardy was with Fischer throughout the 1972 World Championship match in Reykjavik. He would have turned 80 years old in December.

October 13, 2017

Memory Techniques: the chess equation; David Fadul; ChessBase

Concluding the series on memory techniques, after detailed tutorials on how to create a Memory Palace, its history, and the Peg system, here is the chapter on how it all ties together to be used in chess. Timur Gareyev, who broke the world record for a blindfold simul, wrote to the author detailing his personal adaptation used to help him break the record. We hope you enjoyed this series and find it useful.

October 10, 2017

Remembering Milan Vidmar; André Schulz; ChessBase

Milan Vidmar was a phenomenom: Despite being an amateur, between 1910 and 1930 he was one of the world's top players and regularly finished among the top in world class tournaments. Vidmar was an electrical engineer by training and in this field he also made a career. He died 55 years ago, on October 9, 1962.

October 8, 2017

What Is The Best Move?; GM Gregory Serper; Chess.com

All chess players encounter this situation in every single game. You are considering your next move and see numerous tempting opportunities. All the moves look equally strong, so which one should you prefer? What is the best move to play?

October 7, 2017

Kovalyov case moves to Ethics Commission; By Editor; ChessBase

More: Chessbase

It's tempting to make light of this affair by, for instance, referring to it as "the short(s) report". But when a tournament as prestigious as the FIDE World Cup is making international headlines for what amounts to dress code enforcement, it should be no laughing matter. We take a comprehensive look at the facts in evidence and Kovalyov's response to the previously published report.

October 6, 2017

Find the winning moves; Staff; Chess Magazine

Test your tactical ability with these positions grouped in rough order of difficulty. The games come from various recent events, not least the British Championship and the Grand Chess Tour. Don’t forget that whilst sometimes the key move will force mate or the win of material, other times it will just win a pawn. Take your time analysing the positions, on our news page, assisted by a JavaScript chess engine.

October 5, 2017

How To Improve Your Calculation; Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Everyone wants to be able to calculate. Of course, there are those that are gifted (like Alekhine, Tal, Kasparov, etc.), but there are also grandmasters who admit that long, crazy calculations are their weakness.

October 4, 2017

Karjakin: “I’m simply a fighter”; Colin McGourty; Chess24

Sergey Karjakin was knocked out of the Tbilisi World Cup by Daniil Dubov in Round 2, but says in a new interview that “part of me was glad”, since it meant he could spend a full three weeks at home with his wife and their new son. His thoughts are already turning to the Candidates Tournament this March in Berlin, though, with Sergey estimating he’ll need four months to prepare for the event. He also talks about fame in Russia and reveals Vladimir Kramnik and Anatoly Karpov both helped him before the World Championship match.

September 31

September Wrap-Up by ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

In big news, the club was visited twice this month by the BlindFold Simul King, GM Timur Gareyev. First, as a Reminder: On Saturday November 11th, Timur will play a BlindFold Simul at the Arlington Chess Club - claim your spot early! Timur is a Super-GM topping out at 2780 and currently in the high 2600s. He has made a name for himself by holding BlindFold Simuls and last December of 2016, he set the world record for playing 48 opponents on the way to winning 35 of the games and drawing half of the rest. This month, his first event with the club was a Small-Group Lesson in which 11 players received tournament prep guidance. Then Timur dropped by the club meeting a few nights later and gave an Impromptu Lecture on one of his games from the recent Atlantic Open.

In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), 64 players competed for the Ladder Prize with Ian Turner grabbing first place (4.5/5) a half point ahead of Jason Robinson (4/5). Of the 18 players in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), young Sam Schenk played lights out (8.5/10) through tough competition to secure first place and ending a half point ahead of Larry Gilden (7.5). In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 3 players out of 15 entrants tied for 1st place (2.5/3) including Eduard Hagara, Larry Gilden and Leonid Patsuk. And finally, in the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) 44 players slogged it out with newcomer Yibo Chen winning clear first (4.5/5) in the Premier section followed by Geoff Davis in second (4/5) and Larry Gilden and Bijan Tahmasebbi tied for 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Donovan Chong swept through the opposition to win first place (4.5/5) followed by Frank Huber in sole second (4/5) and Elliott Lee in third (3.5/5). The U1400 Class Prize was won by Kevin Su and the U1200 Class Prize was split 3 ways. All in all, a busy month in which fun was had by all!

September 28, 2017

Investigating Hou's pairings; Albert Silver; ChessBase

There is a bit of déjà vu in the current controversy surrounding Hou Yifan's pairings Isle of Man. Readers will recall how Hou resigned her last round game in the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters after just five moves to protest what she felt had been manipulated pairings against women in seven out of nine rounds. Four rounds paired against women in the Chess.com Isle of Man International, was unnerving enough to lead her to take a fifth round bye. To set everyone's mind at ease, we investigated and share the results.

September 27, 2017

Forgetting our Intention; Amatzia Avni; CHESS Magazine

The practical point of this article is to minimise certain errors. Standard chess mistakes usually occur when a player misses a move or moves available to his adversary. FIDE Master Amatzia Avni, a psychologist by profession, focuses on mistakes that occur when you play a move without going back and rehearsing prior calculations and previous conclusions. Like Pal Benko in the 1962 Curacao Candidates, when he missed a clean draw against none other than Bobby Fischer when he forgot his original plan.

September 27, 2017

Hou mystified by pairings, sits out round five; Albert Silver; ChessBase

Since round four ended with the four leaders drawing their respective games, now seven share first with 3.5/4, from Magnus Carlsen to Alexander Lenderman. Hou Yifan, who faced her fourth consecutive female opponent, requested a half point bye in round 5, but contrary to rumour has no intention to withdraw for now.

September 26, 2017

Chess photography: Do's and Don'ts; Albert Silver; ChessBase

Photography, and notably chess photography, is a tricky thing, since on the one hand it seems so simple, while on the other it is clear some do it a lot better than others. You might be inclined to dismiss this as a matter of talent or expensive equipment, but the truth is one can do very well even with a smartphone following some basic rules of thumb.

September 24, 2017

Key Players Respond To Kovalyov Incident; Mike Klein; Chess.com

Two weeks after the most famous missing fabric in chess, the principal participants and some associated parties have responded. Mostly, they've dug in to their positions.

September 24, 2017

World Solving Championship solutions; John Nunn; ChessBase

Additional Article:
More Solutions

This Problem Solving event took place in Dresden, Germany, in early August. We reported extensively on it and gave you eight problems from the Championship to solve. Not an easy task, as most of them required some experience in this entertaining and challenging field. The solutions are wonderfully annotated by top problem solver Dr John Nunn. Learn and enjoy!

September 23, 2017

Armenian Lion vs Chinese Dragon and tour of Tbilisi; Sagar Shah; ChessBase

Both of them have qualified for the Candidates 2018 by reaching the finals of the World Cup 2017. But as Aronian put it, "The main goal has been achieved, how about a little bonus!" Winning a major event like FIDE World Cup would be a great addition to the resume. We have the statistics of previous encounters between Aronian and Ding Liren and also a poll for you to let us know your opinion. Finally, do not miss the rest day pictures of the Jvari monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

September 23, 2017

Reconstructing Turing's "Paper Machine"; Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Can you guess when the first chess program was written – relative to the invention of computers? Ten years later? Wrong. The great mathematician Alan Turing did it earlier than that. During the celebrations of his 100th anniversary, in Manchester, June 2012, Garry Kasparov and Frederic Friedel delivered a lecture on the reconstruction of the engine Turing had programmed. Now the process has been described in a scientific paper.

September 22, 2017

"All my life I try to improve my chess level"; Sagar Shah; ChessBase

Interviews with Vassily Ivanchuk are rare. The man is happy playing chess and would rather find new ideas, or indulge in a game of draughts, than answer questions from journalists. However, the chess world is always intrigued by his brilliance. They want to know more about him. At the World Cup in Tbilisi, Ivanchuk agreed for a short interview with ChessBase. In it he speaks about his World Cup performance, future plans, checkers, his inspiration for new ideas and whether he still would like to become the World Champion. Video with complete transcript.

September 21, 2017

Has The King's Indian Attack Been Forgotten?; Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

The Chess.com member Kingdom_chess2 asked: “Why is the King’s Indian Attack less popular at the top level? Is there any specific reason?” I think the KIA is still quite popular in amateur chess. Regarding grandmaster chess, it’s still seen at the highest levels. However, the tactics and tricks that used to blow Black out of the water are now known to everyone. Thus what was once a very dangerous line has pretty much been tamed (the mates from the past are now rare, and many games end up with a murky, though complex, kind of game).

September 15, 17, 2017

Grivas teaches: Rook vs Bishop; Efstratios Grivas; ChessBase

More installments:
Rd 4 World Cup
Still More

Like to earn some extra rating points? Or progress one more round in the World Cup? Last Friday in Tbilisi the young Hungarian GM Richard rapport drew our admiration by flawlessly winning a difficult endgame against Chinese GM Wei Yi. We reported on that fateful game, and now thankfully a top international chess trainer provides systematic instruction on how to play the rook vs bishop ending. Then in Round 4 of the FIDE World Cup, the endgame rook vs bishop occurred again, this time with a pawn each on the same side. The experienced Armenian Levon Aronian, currently number two in the world, decisively defeated the young Russian Daniil Dubov. Grivas tells us exactly how. Where did Grischuk go wrong and how could he have won? World-class trainer Efstratios Grivas show you how — and gives you the chance to win rating points in the process.

September 15, 2017

Noticing Change Or Opportunity On The Chessboard; Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

At the beginning of a game the professional chess player understands the ins and outs of the opening he plays which, of course, has been deeply studied. He knows where his pieces should be, he is well-versed about the pawn structure’s needs, and he’ll know if it’s going to be a slow positional battle or a raw, vicious, tactical war. Of course, if his opponent makes a mistake or somehow changes the position’s dynamics, then that slow positional battle might be tossed away and taken over by the hammer of Thor. Naturally, the same thing can happen in the middlegame. But, simply put, how can you notice change when it occurs? And how can you make use of opportunities if you’re not looking?

September 14, 2017

CHESS Magazine: That missed draw; Jonathan Speelman; ChessBase

While reading the chess column in The Times, Jonathan Speelman realised that Wolfgang Unzicker might have drawn a famous opposite-coloured bishop endgame. It’s one of a couple of opposite bishop endings ‘The Patriarch’ won by creating passed pawns on both flanks. There's a valuable lesson for you to learn from this article by Jonathan Speelman.

September 13, 2017

Chess.com Announces Computer Chess Championship; Editor; Chess.com

The world's strongest computer engines will compete in a first-of-its-kind speed chess tournament on Chess.com this November, the site announced today. As computer engines have claimed the undisputed title as the best chess-playing entities on earth, interest in the machines has risen among chess fans. The first annual Chess.com Computer Chess Championship (CCCC) will decide which engine is the best at the format of chess most played online: speed chess. The Computer Chess Championship is scheduled for Nov. 13-16, with all four days featuring full live coverage on Chess.com/TV with master commentary and high production values to promote computer chess as a fun viewing experience for the modern gaming audience.

September 13, 2017

The road to the Candidates 2018; Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Checking in on World Championship candidates qualification, the twists and turns that have already occurred and are still to come as the drama mounts and the pool of players shrinks. For many potential candidates the World Cup is the only possible route to qualification, but some have multiple paths to follow. Will Mamedyarov and Caruana stay on track despite being eliminated from the World Cup? Who else can join Sergey Karjakin to attempt to overthrow Magnus Carlsen next year?

September 12, 2017

ESPN portrait of the strongest female player; Staff; ChessBase

"She has never really worked extremely hard," said Vladimir Kramnik, "and, of course, that's a big compliment — never working like the professional male top players and yet achieving so much." Chinese GM Hou Yifan, the greatest female talent in chess today, wants her life to be to be "rich and colorful, not narrow." In 2012 she enrolled in Peking University, and is now scheduled to do a course at the University of Chicago. Read all about her in this extensive ESPN article.

September 7, 2017

3 Of Emanuel Lasker's Greatest Hits; Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

I’m back with three more of my favorite Emanuel Lasker games. Remember that they might or might not be his best games. All that matters is that they are games that affected me over the years. Though Lasker was one of the greatest tacticians in history, and though he was also one of the best endgame players ever, his style was all about pressure. He loved to drag himself and his opponents to the edge of a precipice since he knew that most of his opponents couldn’t handle the slippery slope Lasker created.

July 4 – September 7, 2017

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago; Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

In the final week of June 1972 the chess world was in turmoil. The match between World Champion Boris Spassky and his challenger Bobby Fischer was scheduled to begin, in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, on July 1st. But there was no sign of Fischer. The opening ceremony took place without him, and the first game, scheduled for July 2nd, was postponed. Then finally, in the early hours of July 4th, Fischer arrived. Frederic Friedel narrates.

More installments:
Segment #2
Segment #3
Segment #4
Segment #5
Segment #6
Segment #7
Segment #8
Segment #9
Segment #10
Segment #11
Segment #12
Segment #13
Segment #14

September 4, 2017

Spassky, Averbakh, Karjakin headline Moscow TV studio showcase; Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Boris Spassky, Yury Averbakh, Sergey Karjakin and four-year-old Mikhail Osipov, were the headliners at a glitzy day of chess in the Moscow TV studio Ostankino (www.ostankino.ru) on Tuesday, August 29th

September 3, 2017

The Beautifully Useless Chess Piece; Gregory Serper; Chess.com

Strong and weak squares are a cornerstone of chess strategy. The definition of a weak square is very simple: it is any square that cannot be defended by a pawn. Usually such a weak square in our opponent's camp is the ideal place to put our pieces. Therefore our opponent's weak squares are actually strong squares for our pieces! In most cases it is the knight who benefits the most from being placed on such a strong square.

August 31

August Wrap-Up by ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

The club had a great turnout in our events this month. In the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), Aditya Ponukumati (7.5/10) again battled through tough competition to secure first place ending a half point ahead of Nikolas Theiss and Bora Yagiz who tied for second (7.0). In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), nearly 50 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, we had a 5-way tie for first (3/4) between X. Jian, D. Franco, C. Shoemaker, T. Vanderplas and E. Guo. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Isaac Chiu (3/3) held off a field of 16 players including Andy Rea in second place (2.5/3.0) and 6 players tied for third (2/3) to win the tournament. And finally, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) was not held this month.

August 30

Chess Olympiads: Havana '66; Avatar: “Batgirl”; Chess.com

A look at the Chess Olympiad held in Havana in 1966. Amongst a slew of photographs, it includes a history of chess sponsorship in Cuba, a review of the global political context, a brief recap of outcomes as well as post-event perspectives from Larry Evans and Viktor Korchnoi, and then wraps up with a FBI report on Bobby Fischer. Its an interesting snapshot of mid-60s politics and chess.

August 30

Averbakh, Spassky, Karjakin & 4-year-old Misha; Colin McGourty; Chess24

The world’s oldest grandmaster, 95-year-old Yuri Averbakh, played 4-year-old child star Misha Osipov yesterday, while Sergey Karjakin gave a simultaneous display and 80-year-old former World Champion Boris Spassky looked on. The remarkable meeting of the chess generations took place as part of a Day of Chess in the Ostankino TV studios in Moscow, helping ensure it was covered heavily in the Russian media.

August 29

Chess without borders; Marco Baldauf; ChessBase

"Schach ohne Grenzen" ("Chess without limits" or "Chess without borders") is the confident name and motto of a young club from Kufstein/Tyrol in Austria. The club wants to promote chess in general and junior chess in particular. This summer the club organised its fifth "Chess and Adventure Camp". Almost 90 kids took part.

August 28

Play Chess, Win Wine, And 9 Other Stories You Missed; Mike Klein; Chess.com

Summer is not the time for pros to take a vacation. With tournaments in Paris, Leuven, Biel, St. Louis, Dortmund, Danzhou, Geneva, Khanty-Mansiysk, and many others, the news section has been crowded with tales of 2700s and 2800s plying their trade. That's left a lot of other chess news stories in the file cabinet, and this edition of in other newsis the largest yet. Here are 10 topics from the last month that you may have missed.

August 27

Why Was Kasparov Deep Thinking?; Gregory Serper; Chess.com

In last week's article we stated the obvious fact that the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament was effectively ruined for Kasparov by his extremely poor time management. Today we'll try to figure out how such an experienced player like Kasparov could get himself in those extreme time troubles in every single game!

More Kasparov:
Chess.com

August 26

The World Cup starts in 1 week! Predictions?; Colin McGourty; Chess24

World Champion Magnus Carlsen tops the 128-player field for the most enjoyable and democratic event in the chess calendar when the World Cup starts next Sunday in Tbilisi, Georgia. The huge knockout will see almost a month of non-stop action, with the complete world elite fighting for a $120,000 top prize and two places in the 2018 Candidates Tournament. We preview the action, look at who may win and give you a chance to predict the outcome yourself.

More Pre-Cup:
Chess.com

August 24

Kasparov in St. Louis: a Closer Look; Marco Baldauf; ChessBase

In 2005 Garry Kasparov, World Champion from 1985 to 2000 and arguably the best player of all times, withdrew from tournament chess. At the Grand Chess Tour Rapid- and Blitz Tournament in Saint Louis in August 2017 he dared a comeback and played a serious tournament again. His final score of 13.0/27 indicates that he was not as dominant as he used to be - but how good did he play, how good was his opening repertoire and did he miss chances? Let's take a closer look.

July 6 - August 23, 2017

World Champions: Exercises in Style; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

World Champions have style. At least, this is often claimed. Kasparov loved to attack, Karpov excelled in prophylaxis, Capablanca liked positional play crowned by a "petite combinaison", Tal loved intuitive sacrifices while Botvinnik preferred clear strategic plans. But do you recognize the style of the World Champions when you see only the moves of their games? Try it out!

More installments:
Segment #2 - Solutions
Segment #3
Segment #4 - Solutions
Segment #5
Segment #6 - Solutions
Segment #7

August 20

Remembering Rudolf Spielmann; Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

The Austrian Rudolf Spielmann was a brilliant attacking player and a predecessor of Mihail Tal. His book "Richtig Opfern!" (The Art of Sacrifice in Chess) is considered to be a classic of attacking chess. Spielmann died under tragic circumstances on 20. August 1942, 75 years ago.

August 17

Reader Questions, Gripes, And Advice; Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

I used to do a lot of reader question columns but, for some reason, I haven’t done it in a long time. Why, I don’t know. However, I’m finally in the mood to discuss some of the Chess.com members' thoughts.

August 16

The Man Who Built The Chess Machine; Jimmy Soni; Chess.com

If anyone has a claim to be considered the founder of the information age, Claude Shannondoes. In his groundbreaking work at the intersections of mathematics, engineering, and computer science, Shannon (1916-2001) laid the theoretical groundwork that made modern digital computers possible.

August 15

All Sinquefield Cup interviews; Macauley Peterson; ChessBase

Ever wanted to see what the players said on the live commentary, but didn't have the time to go searching for their post-game interview (or whether they even had one)? Well, we've put together a quick reference for you! Here you'll find all player interviews from the Sinquefield Cup 2017. Every...single...one, linked for ease of use.

August 14

U.S. Open: It's Lenderman!; Staff; ChessBase

Lenderman wins the U.S. Open in Norfolk, Virginia, with 8.0/9. From considering quitting professional chess a few months ago, to qualifying for the 2018 U.S. Championship, it's been a stark turnaround for the 27-year-old grandmaster from Brooklyn. “Apparently the game of chess doesn’t want me to leave yet.”

August 13

Indian 12-year-old prodigy crosses 2500; Sagar Shah; ChessBase

On 10th of August, R. Praggnanandhaa turned 12 years old, and crossed 2500 FIDE Elo. He has an opportunity to go after Sergey Karjakin's record as the youngest grandmaster ever. In Vlissingen, in the Zeeland province of southwest Netherlands last week, he dominated a simultaneous exhibition, scoring 20-0, then played the annual HZ Tournament there, narrowly missing a GM-norm.

August 10, 2017

Frank Marshall's 140th Anniversary; Andre Schulz; ChessBase

American Frank Marshall was born 140 years ago today. Marshall was an ingenious chess gentleman who enriched opening theory with gambits and immortalised himself with many splendid combinations.

August 10, 2017

World Chess wants to hook up grandmasters to heart monitors to make matches ‘more exciting’; By Marissa Payne; Washington Post

Watching two grandmasters play chess can be a tedious affair, especially for those unfamiliar with the nuances of the game. But now organizers of the World Chess Championship, the game’s largest and most prestigious event, have come up with a plan to make it more exciting for spectators — strap biometric monitors to the players.

August 10, 2017

Awonder Liang Now World's Youngest Grandmaster; By Sam Copeland; Chess.com

FIDE has confirmed Awonder Liang's grandmaster title by written resolution. This makes the 14-year-old American the 10th youngest grandmaster of all time, and the youngest in the world today.

August 10, 2017

Emanuel Lasker's Greatest Hits; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Though Lasker was one of the greatest tacticians in history, and though he was also one of the best endgame players ever, his style was all about pressure. He loved to drag himself and his opponents to the edge of a precipice since he knew that most of his opponents couldn’t handle the slippery slope Lasker created. In most cases his opponents simply wilted and, in the end, capitulated in the face of Lasker’s superior mind and iron will.

August 4, 2017

Beat Your Opponent by Retreating!; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In general, amateur chess players do their best to push their pieces forward and attack. However, sometimes they think they have to retreat due to the opponent threatening something or starting to take over the game (I said “think” because in many cases threats aren’t threats at all, and retreat is often unnecessary). In fact, amateurs retreat in fear more often than you would imagine, and they react all the time, even though the reaction is counterproductive.

August 2, 2017

7 questions before the 2017 Sinquefield Cup ; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Magnus Carlsen will have the black pieces against Fabiano Caruana as the 2017 Sinquefield Cup starts in St. Louis today, with live commentary in English and Spanish available here on chess24. The big question is, can the World Champion win his first classical chess tournament in over a year? We ask that and more as we preview an event that sees ten of the world’s top players compete for $300,000 in the third stage of the 2017 Grand Chess Tour.

August 1, 2017

Fedoseev on Dortmund and his World Cup dreams; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

22-year old Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Fedoseev has had a spectacular year, climbing 73 rating points and 68 places since January to reach 2731 and 28th place on the August FIDE rating list. He recently finished 2nd in Dortmund after beating Vladimir Kramnik in the first round and talked about his performance in an interview with Sport-Express. He revealed he has a two-year plan to break into the Top 10, but is also dreaming of qualifying for the Candidates Tournament from the World Cup in one month’s time.

August 1, 2017

July Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

The club had a great turnout in our events this month. In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), nearly 70 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, Dr. E. Von York, Sr. (3.5/4) edged out M. Hiban (3/4) for the win. The ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had nearly 55 players show with venerable L. Gilden (4/5) tying for 1st with A. Samuelson and Tan Nguyen. An U2000 prize was split by N. Jay, G. Davis and C. YU (3/5). In the U1700 section, F. Huber, S. Scala and M. Vivek tied for 1st (4/5) with S. Sapre and S. Sachion tying for the U1400 prize and K. Su and M. Harikumar tying for the U1200 prize. The ACC Blitz tounament (5 double-swiss rounds, G/3 +2) had 16 members compete with L. Gilden (7.5/10) edging out N. Theiss (7/10) for the 1st place win. And finally, the ACC Action tournament was not held due to the plethora of competing events this month.

August 1, 2017

Alex Yermolinsky wins US Senior Open; By Alex Yermolinsky; ChessBase

After years of eligibility to participate in the US Senior Open, GM Alex Yermolinsky finally caved in' and added his name to the roster when it coincided in date and location with a summer chess camp he was teaching at. This event came down very much to him and coleague GM Dmitry Gurevich, as they dueled for the title, but they were not alone. Still, it was not just a chance to compete, but also to catch up with old friends.

July 31, 2017

World juniors crush the USA in St. Louis; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Extra segment: Segment #2

World Junior Champion Jeffery Xiong said “they managed to blow us out of the building” as his US team was crushed 30.5:17.5 in the Match of the Millennials by a world team featuring the likes of Praggnanandhaa and Abdusattorov. What had looked and begun as a balanced contest was all but decided on the third of four days, when the world racked up a 10.5:1.5 score. Vishy Anand and Wesley So were on hand to award the trophies as they returned to St. Louis for the Sinquefield Cup, which starts on Wednesday.

July 27, 2017

Kasparov opens USA vs. World match in St. Louis; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

“Now we have the future,” said Garry Kasparov as he opened the Match of the Millennials in St. Louis. The event sees US and Rest of the World teams compete in U14 and U17 age categories, with some of the world’s top juniors such as 11-year-old Praggnanandhaa and 12-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov getting their first feel for the intense scrutiny of elite events. The match is also notable in terms of chess politics, with Kasparov and St. Louis working together with FIDE under acting President Georgios Makropoulos.

July 26, 2017

The Chess Guessing Game; By Rune Vik-Hansen; Chess.com

In our previous installment, we discussed the concept of pattern recognition and this time we present a method for developing overall chess skills without having to rely on static generalizations or idealized simplicity (patterns).Playing chess requires a variety of skills and miracles both for our positional and general chess understanding: the guessing game, where we take an annotated game of a strong chess player and try to guess the moves played one-by-one.

July 26, 2017

Morozevich entertains at 50th Biel Chess Festival; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The 50th Biel Chess Festival has brought some chess legends back into the limelight, with former champions Anatoly Karpov and Vlastimil Hort playing in the opening rapid knockout, while 65-year-old Rafael Vaganian is playing in the main 10-player round-robin. Perhaps the highlight so far, however, has been 3-time Champion Alexander Morozevich. He’s played three spectacular games, even if his sacrifice in Round 1 backfired against Hou Yifan, who currently leads with Ruslan Ponomariov and Etienne Bacrot.

July 24, 2017

“Women’s chess”: A misleading and counterproductive label; By Alisa Melekhina; ChessBase

The label has settled into chess parlance, but its usage is a disservice to the inherent meritocracy of chess that all players appreciate. FM Alisa Melekhina argues it's time to let the term “women’s chess” fade into our patriarchal past.

July 22, 2017

Awonder Liang, Akshita Gorti are U.S. Junior champs; By Alejandro Ramirez; ChessBase

The 2017 U.S. Junior Championship and Girls Junior Championship were held in Saint Louis, in the same hall as the prestigious Sinquefield Cup and U.S. Championship. After ten days of gruelling chess, we had two very different tournaments. Akshita Gorti dominated the Girls section from beginning to end, while the Juniors had an absolutely last-minute result, in which GM-elect Awonder Liang prevailed. | Photos: Austin Fuller, Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

July 20, 2017

Precision count on Playchess; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

Some of you may not have noticed: in our live broadcast of international tournaments, when computer analysis is added to the games, there are "precision" statistics given at the end of the notes. They give the percentage of relevant (non-forced) moves that are identical with the ones a top chess engine would play. In top events we find correlations between 15% and 97%. You can compare the level of precision of different players, and also look for suspicious values. Here's how, and why you should care.

July 19, 2017

Help Nino Khurtsidze overcome cancer; By Sagar Shah; ChessBase

Top Georgian player Nino Khurtsidze is fighting cancer. She underwent surgery in Germany and now has to undergo five rounds of chemotherapy. The total cost is beyond what she can afford. Her friends have asked the chess community to support her efforts to overcome the situation and return to the chess board.

July 18, 2017

Alexander Morozevich turns 40; By Staff; Russian Chess Federation

Today, Alexander Morozevich celebrates his 40th birthday. Morozevich is one of the most original grandmasters in the chess scene and was in his best year, 2008, number two in the World Cup. The Russian Chess Association honors the anniversary with a portrait.

July 13, 2017

Passionate About Squares: Oddities; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In this article we’ll take a look at "deep squares" (6th, 7th, and even the 8th!). So far we’ve used knights as the conqueror of squares, and most of the games will indeed highlight knights. However, this time I’ll also give examples of bishops moving into holes in the enemy camp, and even a rook.

July 11, 2017

Jerusalem Hosts the National Cup Games; By Yochanan Afek; ChessBase

National Cup games, in chess and in other sports, are usually run in a “knock out” system with half of the remaining competitors eliminated in each round. For already more than a generation, Israeli chess has been adopting a more innovative and dynamic method to run this traditional enterprise. At the end of the league season, 40 teams from the top divisions regroup for a day of real fun: A five-round rapid Swiss competition with almost all the country’s top players taking part.

July 11, 2017

25 years in Dortmund for Vladimir Kramnik; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

In a few days the Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2017 will begin in Dortmund. As always, it is a strong Grandmaster tournament but this year it is dedicated to Vladimir Kramnik, with good reason: Dortmund and the former World Championship have a long and special relationship.

July 7, 2017

The World Computer Championships: A History; By David Levy; Chess.com

The history of chess programs competing in tournaments is exactly 50 years old. … The World Computer Chess Championship (WCCC) normally takes place every year, with no restriction on the computer hardware on which the programs may run. This event aims to find the world’s best chess software/hardware combination.

July 6, 2017

Some dramatic games you may have missed; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The Grand Chess Tour recently took over chess coverage for two weeks (and with Garry Kasparov playing in St. Louis they’ve snatched a couple of days more!) so we’d like to take a brief look at some of the other action you may have missed. Queens were sacrificed with abandon at the Dutch Championship, a 10-year-old beat an experienced grandmaster in Corsica, 17-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik beat three GMs to score her first GM norm at the World Open, Anatoly Karpov and other legends were in action in Spain and there’s been some wild chess at the Russian Higher League.

July 6, 2017

Garry Kasparov returns to chess for US tournament; By Staff; Guardian

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov is coming out of retirement to play in a US tournament next month, organisers have said. Kasparov, who dominated chess for more than 15 years, will compete against nine top players in St Louis, Missouri. “Ready to see if I remember how to move the pieces! Will I be able to announce my re-retirement afterwards if not?!,” Kasparov tweeted sardonically.

July 5, 2017

Pattern recognition and pawn structures; By Matthew Sadler; ChessBase from NIC

In the recent issue of New in Chess magazine GM Matthew Sadler, having switched jobs and looking for a low-effort way to keep his feeling for chess alive, watched some ChessBase DVDs on positional themes. He started with Sergei Tiviakov and progressed to Adrian Mikhalchishin, whom he calls "an entertaining and lively host ... who kept me thoroughly entertained all through the many hours of content. He does however make tactical mistakes, caused by the author's unbridled enthusiasm. Still: definitely a series worth consideration.

July 4, 2017

Bobby Fischer in Iceland – 45 years ago; By Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

In the final week of June 1972 the chess world was in turmoil. The match between World Champion Boris Spassky and his challenger Bobby Fischer was scheduled to begin, in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, on July 1st. But there was no sign of Fischer. The opening ceremony took place without him, and the first game, scheduled for July 2nd, was postponed. Then finally, in the early hours of July 4th, Fischer arrived. Frederic Friedel narrates.

July 4, 2017

Controversial Finish To Canadian Championship; By Mike Klein; Chess.com

The 2017 Canadian Chess Championship was turned upside down this weekend, literally. Black advanced several passed pawns in the game's waning moments and was the first to promote. Note that he was not first to "queen" despite that being his intention. With six seconds remaining, Black played ...d1, scrambled to find a Black queen, and with none in sight, grabbed a captured rook. He announced "queen" and turned it upside down on d1 before pressing his clock with four seconds remaining. That's when the on-looking Chief Arbiter intervened by waving his hands and stopping the clock.

July 2, 2017

When Chess Legends Play Against Their Own Openings; By Gregory Serper; Chess.com

There are many openings in chess that were named after chess players who invented or make them popular. But what happens when such a chess player is forced to play against his own opening? When we study such games we can expect some opening revelations because who knows how to refute an opening better than the inventor himself?

July 1, 2017

June Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

The club had a great turnout in our events this month. In the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), over 60 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, Roberto Aguirre (4.5/5) was a full point ahead of Jason Northcutt (3.5) for the win. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Sam Mikhelson (3/3) held off a field of 16 players, including a 5-way tie for second, to secure the prize. The ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had over 40 players show with venerable Larry Gilden (4/5) holding off the young Nguyen brothers, Trung and Tan (3.5) in the premier section. In the U1700 section, Pranav Chinthakuntla (4.5/5) also swept through the opposition for the first place prize followed by a 3-way tie for second by Max Yan, Jonah Treitler and Charles Willis (all 3.5). Andrew Welbaum earned the U1400 Class Prize and young newcomer Amber Tien won the U1200 prize. And finally, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), Aditya Ponukumati (7.5/10) battled through tough competition to secure first place ahead of a 4-way tie for second (6.5).

June 29, 2017

I’m Still Passionate About Squares; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

In my first “Passionate About Squares” article I demonstrated how important it is to create weak squares in the enemy camp (often referred to as “holes”). In many cases putting one’s pieces (knights in particular) on these holes give you a serious positional plus. However, the piece living in the weak square is sometimes so powerful (think of Zeus throwing lightning bolts) that it convinces the whole army to start an attack against the enemy king.

June 25, 2017

Kramnik on Carlsen’s slump & the Candidates Race; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Vladimir Kramnik turned 42 today, and the former World Champion did so as the no. 2 rated player on the live rating list after beating World Champion Magnus Carlsen in Altibox Norway Chess. In an interview afterwards he talked about the slump in form of both Magnus and his recent challenger Sergey Karjakin and also discussed his own hopes of qualifying for another World Championship match.

June 22, 2017

I’m Passionate About Squares; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

Many chess players have a limited understanding of the game. They think it’s all about mating the enemy king. They think it’s all about tactics and attack. They think it’s about creating threats. Of course, all these things are indeed part of chess, but there is so much more. And it’s these “other” things that turn a random “threat and tactics” player into a person who stands above the masses.

June 20, 2017

Kasparov on hand for Paris Grand Chess Tour launch; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Garry Kasparov was again on hand as the 2017 Grand Chess Tour was launched in Paris on Tuesday. Magnus Carlsen tops the 10-player field for the Paris stage of the series, where he’ll face tough competition from tour regulars Nakamura, So, MVL, Karjakin and Caruana as well as wildcards Grischuk, Mamedyarov, Topalov and Bacrot. Three days of rapid chess begin on Wednesday to be followed by blitz over the weekend, with $150,000 and tour points at stake.

June 20, 2017

Chess moves help Iraqi refugees; By Robert Cole; ChessBase

For over a year the city of Mosul, a major city in northern Iraq, has been under siege by the Iraqi army, which is trying to dislodge the militant forces of ISIS. The civil population is suffering unimaginable horrors, with 100,000 currently trapped in the final assault of the Old City. To help refugees overcome trauma and grief the British NGO AMAR arranged a three-day chess encounter with two Azerbaijani grandmasters in Dohuk, less than 75 kilometres from Mosul.

June 20, 2017

Interview: 12-yr old Nihal Sarin; John-Paul Wallace; ChessBase from Chess Magazine

"I had the pleasure of first meeting Nihal in Stockholm at the end of last year," writes John-Paul Wallace. "He looked even younger than his tender age of 12, but it was immediately clear that he was a powerful chess player. A few days after this event I conducted a Skype interview with Nihal. As I think you will see, he is a very humble young man and undoubtedly he has a fantastic future ahead of him. I wish him all the best!" Interview in the June issue of CHESS Magazine.

June 17, 2017

Bringing a smile on the faces of children with disabilities; By Polina Torochkova; ChessBase

When the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2017 was in progress in Moscow, a group of children with disabilities visited the playing venue at the Central Telegraph building on 19th of May. They saw all the top players in action and then got a chance to play the FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and GM Alexander Motylev in a simultaneous exhibition."

June 16, 2017

Jon Speelman's Agony Column #54; By Jonathan Speelman; ChessBase

This week's games come from Jim Guill who is 61 and retired in 2015. A USCF A grade player (i.e. between 1800 and 1999) he lives in Virginia and plays for the team Morphy's Mojo, which is entered in both the D.C. Chess League and the Northern Virginia (NVA) Chess League. He hangs out in local, Northern Va coffee shops, "where I sip tea, study chess and observe alien culture (i.e., the non-chess playing world) as it comes and goes and passes by."

June 1, 2017

Bisguier's Greatest Hits; By Jeremy Silman; Chess.com

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Quite a few obituaries have appeared, so I’m not going to do a study on Bisguier’s life. And, for personal details, I feel that his close friends are better suited for that task. What I will do is immerse you in some of his most interesting games. After all, his fame is all about his very creative chess, so let’s enjoy Bisguier the chess player.

June 1, 2017

May Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

The club had another good turnout this month for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as nearly 50 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, young newcomer Sungjoon Kim (3/4) beat out 7 other club members (2/4) for the win. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Bora Yagiz ran the tables to win 1st place (2.5/3) in a field of 10 players. The ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had good player turnout and in the Premier Section Ronnie Coleman and Aditya Ponnukumati tied for first place (4/5) followed a half point behind by Cosmo Zheng in 3rd place (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Zahir Muhammed tied for 1st with Daniel Ricciotti (4/5) followed closely by Satvik Lolla in sole 3rd (3.5/5). Young Dominic Earle won the U1400 Class Prize for the second month in a row and newcomer Shaka Green won the U1200 prize. And finally, in a busy month, there was no room to run the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control) - it will return on June 16!

May 31, 2017

Fedoseev on crossing the 2700 barrier; By Staff; Chess24

22-year-old Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Fedoseev has had a great year – he won the Aeroflot Open and qualified to face Kramnik, MVL and co. in Dortmund, came very close to winning both the Winter Chess Classic in St. Louis and the GRENKE Open and then starred for his team in the Russian Team Championship, where he crossed the 2700 barrier for the first time. IM Dorsa Derakhshani talked to the young star before his appearance in the European Championship.

May 30, 2017

Memory Techniques: An Introduction; By David Fadul; ChessBase

Have you ever read about some genius who seemingly had a memory reserved for movies or fiction? Have you ever wished you had some of that, even if you have a good memory now, or can barely remember the number of your mobile phone? The fact is that these seemingly impossible feats are well within the grasp of anyone, if they learn some basic techniques of memorization. Here is an introduction.

May 29, 2017

Chess Informant: Jubilee of Chess Studies; By Yochanan Afek; ChessBase

Older readers will remember it well: for decades the Chess Informant – Šahovski Informator – was a lifeline for serious chess players. Two, later three issues per year provided a selection of games and top-grade analysis. Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, and Viswanathan Anand have all said that the Informant was central to their tournament preparation. Now, after 50 years of publication, we are treated to a Jubilee Tournament of chess studies, which we bring you with the kind permission of Tourney Director Yochanan Afek.

May 27, 2017

Kupreichik: a chess eulogy; By Alex Yermolinksy; ChessBase

The unforgettable Viktor Kupreichik passed away a few days ago at the age of 68, and with him one of the greatest creative minds in chess passed away as well. Alex Yermolinsky readily admits he was one of his fans from an early age, and later had the chance to face him over the board. Instead of trying to neutralize Kupreichik's wild play, he invited it, leading to a game he explains "is so insane I can't even annotate it properly." Have fun!

May 24, 2017

How do chess engines think?; By Pepe Cuenca; Chess24

It’s rare to find a chess player unaccompanied by a chess-engine equipped computer during tournaments or training sessions at home. Gone are the days when in order to analyse a complicated position various grandmasters needed to spend hours and even days to try and get to the bottom of things – often without success. Nowadays it’s a matter of seconds for the “machine” to tell us the best move in any position more reliably than the World Champion Magnus Carlsen himself could manage. In this article we’re going to try and understand how engines function and the way in which they think. That means talking about some mathematical concepts, principally algorithms.

May 24, 2017

Paul Morphy: how good was he really?; By Johannes Fischer; ChessBase

Did you ever wonder who was or is the best player of all time? Who would win if all 16 World Champions, Philidor, Labourdonnais, Anderssen and Morphy could play against each other in a tournament? How would Steinitz, Lasker or Capablanca cope against the best players from today? Such questions have no answer, of course, but are hotly debated.

May 24, 2017

Botvinnik and the Pirc/Modern; By Alex Yermolinksy; ChessBase

Continuing his look at how champions began to include new openings later in their careers, the tireless student of the game, GM Alex Yermolinsky, looks at Mikhail Botvinnik, 'The Patriarch', and his employment of the Pirc-Modern defense. He also shares his first encounter with the great player as a junior, speculates on what a Botvinnik-Fischer match would have looked like, and even mentions his secret match with Gata Kamsky when he was 14. Enjoy this great article!

May 22, 2017

Paul Keres VII: Last chance in Curaçao; By Staff; Chess24

When Paul Keres was asked where he came closest to reaching a World Championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik, he responded “Curaçao”, referring to the 8-player, 28-round Candidates Tournament played on the Caribbean island in 1962. 46-year-old Keres went in to the penultimate round tied for first, but would once again finish second in a tournament infamous for Bobby Fischer’s accusations of collusion among the Soviet players. Joosep Grents continues his series on the life of the great Estonian player.

May 10, 2017

Garry Kasparov on A.I., Chess, and the Future of Creativity; By Tyler Cowen; Mercatus Center Podcast

The chess grandmaster, political activist, and author joins Tyler for a conversation on artificial intelligence, Russia, Putin, how education must change, favorite cities for chess, the most likely challenger to Magnus Carlsen, Tolstoy v. Dostoevsky, the benefits of pressure for performance, and why we should speed up our search for new frontiers and challenges.

May 9, 2017

Using your home chess engine anytime, anywhere; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

Recently, a grandmaster was explaining that one of the biggest problems when travelling was that analyzing on his laptop would eat up his battery in an hour or two at most. When asked why he didn’t just connect to his desktop, he said he was not a ‘computer whiz’ like some. Do you sympathize with him? If so, learn how incredibly easy it is to set this up with Fritz or ChessBase so you can access your personal desktop anytime, anywhere.

May 8, 2017

Returning to Reyjavik; by Alina L'Ami; ChessBase

There is clearly something that works in the formula of the Reykjavik Open, which continues to attract a wide range of players every year, from the world's elite such as Giri, Andreikin, and Jobava this year, to rank amateurs who pack the venue. Looking back at the tournament and locale is Alina L'Ami in her report with games, quiz positions and of course high-res photos!

May 7, 2017

Trump protesters clash with chess players; By Albert Silver; ChessBase

Readers may recall the astonishing accusations leveraged against Mihaela Sandu during the 2015 European Championship, after her great start, in which 15 players filed a letter of petition accusing Sandu of cheating, and requesting her games alone not be broadcast. Needless to say, computer analysis in no way backed their claims, and Sandu filed an official complaint against her accusers. The FIDE Ethics Commission has published its results.

May 5, 2017

Trump protesters clash with chess players; by Vanessa Sun; ChessBase

To be fair, the clash was not meant to be a direct confrontation, but chess players at Union Square were caught in the middle of a clash between protesters, and found their games interrupted with tables tossed and chess pieces sent flying, in spite of trying to stay apart from the angry banner bearers. Still, the community showed its spirit as a couple of Good Samaritans came to the rescue, and replaced the missing or destroyed material.

May 5, 2017

Forbes: Making A Living In Chess; by Albert Silver; ChessBase

It is not unusual to see chess appear in the mainstream press, but the topics are usually on either a scandal, a player profile, or a singular event such as the World Championship. Forbes published an interesting article regarding the state of professionalism in chess, making a living, and how the internet has opened doors not just for fans but working pros. Here are excerpts and a a video report.

May 5, 2017

Ivanchuk: “I’d like to play Bobby Fischer”; by Colin McGourty; Chess24

Vassily Ivanchuk won the World Rapid Championship at the turn of the year, recently beat Hou Yifan in a match and will play in the Capablanca Memorial later this month. In an interview with the Ukrainian Sport-Express he talked about his victory in Doha, how he now combines chess tournaments with checkers, his problems with losing on time and which of the World Champions he would most like to meet.

May 4, 2017

Sigeman returns after 3 year hiatus; by Staff; Chess24

Even long-established tournaments sometimes vanish, and that's what appeared to have happened to the Sigeman Chess Tournament in Sweden, which last took place in 2014 after more than 20 years as a fixture on the chess calendar. But now the event is being revived along with a new corporate partner TePe. Now dubbed the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament, the format remains a short sprint — a 6-player single round robin played at the Hipp Theater in Malmo, from May 10th-14th. The lineup is an interesting generational and stylistic mix with Pavel Eljanov, Nigel Short, Baadur Jobava, Nils Grandelius, Erik Blomqvist and Harika Dronavalli

May 4, 2017

Scandle Over Dress Code in Malaysia; By Peter Long; ChessBase

By now everyone, even those who are not primarily interested in chess, knows the story: at the National Scholastic Chess Championship 2017 in Putrajaya, Malaysia, a 12-year-old girl was warned by the chief arbiter because of the "improper dress" she was wearing, which was deemed to be seductive and "a temptation from a certain angle". The girl, fairly traumatized, withdrew from the tournament and all hell broke out in the press, with many thousands of reports appearing in the international news portals. Peter Long has harsh words for the Malayian Chess Federation.

May 3, 2017

Learning from an epic endgame defense; by Albert Silver; ChessBase

When faced with a very bad or lost endgame, it is sometimes hard to muster the strength, much less the resources, to truly revert the situation. Yet that is what Hikaru Nakamura did, and against no less an expert than Vladimir Kramnik himself. Somehow the American found ways to keep it alive and justify playing on. Some of the resources he found smacked of black magic even. Here is a look at this epic endgame with detailed analysis by endgame expert GM Karsten Mueller.

May 1, 2017

The hour of the holy men; By Siegfried Hornecker; ChessBase

GM Jan Timman, in his work as a chess composer, is a fan of checkmates with the bishop. He may be pleased to see that we will be presenting studies where a bishop is the hero of the day – partly as a gift to Jan, whose 65th birthday composing tourney has as its theme "mate by the bishop or struggle against mate by the bishop". Todays three studies are by Soviet composers, one of whom perished tragically under Stalin. Fortunately (for the chess world) he handed his notebook to Mikhail Botvinnik before he disappeared.

April 30, 2017

April Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

Again this month, the club had another large turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as over 50 players competed for the Ladder Prize - even in a short 3-week month. This month, young Tony Lin tied with Jason Northcutt and new club member Sungjoon Kim (2/3). In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Isaac Chiu and Abraham White tied for 1st (3/3) in a field of 12 players. The ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had a solid 50 player turnout and in the Premier Section we saw the return of Trung Nguyen who tied with Alexander Moises for first place (4/5) followed a half point behind by a 3-way tie for 3rd place (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Parth Jaiswal swept the boards and won first place (5/5) followed by Akshay Kobla in sole 2nd (4/5) and a 5-way tie for 3rd place (3.5/5). Newcomer Dominic Earle won the U1400 Class Prize and Jason Robinson won the U1200 prize. And finally, in the ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), Franco Jose held off the opposition to win (7.5/10) followed closely by Saigautum Bonam and Stan Fink tied for 2nd (7/10).

April 29, 2017

Baden-Baden claim 11th Bundesliga in 12 years; by Colin McGourty; Chess24

Baden-Baden have won the 2016-7 German Chess League with two rounds to spare, after the team that boasts Caruana, MVL, Aronian and Anand among its ranks won its 13th match in 13 this season. Sunday’s showdown with 2016 winners Solingen will now be a formality as far as the title is concerned, though we can expect to see top players in action and Baden-Baden will still be chasing a perfect 100% score. The women’s Bundesliga is going down to the wire, though Schwäbisch Hall are big favourites after a narrow win in Round 13.

April 27, 2017

Ranking chess players according to the quality of their moves; by Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

How do you rate players from different periods? An AI researcher has undertaken to do it based not on the results of the games, but on the quality of the moves played. Jean-Marc Alliot used a strong chess engine running on a 640 processor cluster to analyse over two million positions that occurred in 26,000 games of World Champions since Steinitz. From this he produced a table of probable results between players of different eras. Example: Carlsen would have beaten Smyslov 57:43.

April 25, 2017

Why Postal Chess Was Banned During Wartime ; by Daniel Oberhaus; Motherboard

The United States banned postal chess during WWII because it feared the game was being used to send secret messages. But how would this actually work?

April 25, 2017

The Link Between Chess and Options Trading; video; Bloomberg

Hikaru Nakamura, one of the top chess players in the world (number 7 right now), joined Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on "What'd You Miss?" to talk about using some of the same tactics in chess to trade options.

April 24, 2017

On human and computer intelligence in chess; by Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

In March there was an international furore over a chess position, published by famous mathematics professor Sir Roger Penrose. It purported to show a key difference between human and computer thinking, and have general implications for our understanding of Artificial Intelligence. The example was unconvincing, but as a reaction a number of chess players and AI researchers have sent us papers we want to share with you. We start with a challenge to humans and machines issued by GM Miguel Illescas.

April 23, 2017

Kasparov Chess Foundation promotes chess education in Asia; by Peter Long; ChessBase

In conjunction with the Kasparov Chess Foundation's 15th Anniversary Celebration, the Kasparov Chess Foundation Asia-Pacific proposed five activities as its contribution and four of them came together with a tour of four countries in Asia with the common theme of Chess in Education.

April 19, 2017

Morozevich: “There are players more talented than Carlsen”; by Colin McGourty; Chess24

Alexander Morozevich has somewhat dropped off the chess radar recently, but at his peak he was not only one of the most exciting and imaginative players in the world but reached no. 2 on the official FIDE rating list and no. 1 on the live list. He recently gave a lecture at his old university in Moscow, and also gave an interview where he talked about what makes Carlsen no. 1, gender differences in chess and how chess has changed for young players compared to when he was starting out.

April 16, 2017

Nihal Sarin announces his arrival; by Srinath Narayanan; ChessBase

Nihal Sarin has announced his arrival and how! It is true that he had already started making a name for himself as a dangerous 12-year-old boy who could crush you if you give him one small opportunity. But the TV2 Fagernes GM International saw the 12-year-old genius score his first GM norm, stay undefeated, smash a 2600 GM on the way, tie for second (take fourth place on the tiebreak), and play breathtaking chess. We have a report with grandmaster analysis of Nihal's games.

April 13, 2017

American Chess Magazine; Albert Silver; ChessBase

The second edition of the American Chess Magazine is out, and for those wondering whether this new foray into the challenging print chess magazine market could continue the promise of its first edition, the answer is a resounding yes. The main focus this time is of course the World Championship, but you will also find many fascinating articles, such as the tournament report on Nakamura's win in Gibraltar by... Hou Yifan!

April 11, 2017

US chess legend Arthur Bisguier passes at 87; by Frederic Friedel; ChessBase

He was recognized as the “Dean of American Chess” – in honor of his promotion of and many contributions to the game. During the 2017 US Championship, a title he had himself won 63 years earlier, this giant of chess, considered one of America's "most dangerous players", died of respiratory failure. He worked for decades for the United States Chess Federation and for its magazine Chess Life. There we find a touching eulogy.

April 11, 2017

Ilyumzhinov Loses Even More Power; Peter Doggers; Chess.com

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is still the FIDE president, but all major powers are in the hands of deputy president Georgios Makropoulos. Yesterday's extraordinary presidential board meeting in Athens, described as "peaceful" by attendants, further confirmed Ilyumzhinov's weakened position. Chess.com interviewed the key players in Athens after the meeting concluded.

April 10, 2017

Stalemate in the FIDE power struggle?; By Frederic Friedel; Chessbase

After the turmoil of the past weeks – the official FIDE web site announced the resignation of its President, ollowed within hours by emphatic denials from Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – an Extraordinary Presidential Board meeting was held in Athens today. It was attended by Ilyumzhinov, Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, and fourteen other voting members, representing a quorum. Ilyumzhinov apologized for making certain statements, and seems to remain in power. FIDE press release.

April 10, 2017

Foisor triumphs as 2017 US Champ; By Colin McGourty; Chess24
Also see: Chess.com

Sabina-Francesca Foisor described herself as “sad and excited at the same time” after winning a brilliant attacking game that made her the US Women’s Champion in the same year her mother passed away. Nazi Paikidze lost with White to 15-year-old Jennifer Yu, who has taken giant killing to a whole new level.

April 10, 2017

Wesley So is the 2017 US Champion; By Colin McGourty; Chess24
Also see: The Guardian
Official Website
TWIC
Chess.com
The Guardian

World no. 2 Wesley So got the one he wanted on Monday in St. Louis as he won the US Championship on his third attempt. Alexander Onischuk put up a heroic fight in the rapid playoffs but lost his way in complications in the first game and then needed to win the second to force Armageddon. He came incredibly close, but ultimately couldn’t stop Wesley snatching the $50,000 first prize.

April 7, 2017

Alexander Grischuk: Chess is “just a game”; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Alexander Grischuk hasn’t been playing much of late – and is skipping the main events in the coming month – but he’s been making it count. He won $54,000 in the Doha World Rapid and Blitz Championships and took first place in the first FIDE Grand Prix in Sharjah. In a recent interview he talked about how chess isn’t “sacred” for him, how he’s turned his back on poker and why he doesn’t take an annual salary from the Russian Chess Federation.

April 7, 2017

Bobby Fischer on the Dick Cavett Show; By Johannes Fischer; Chessbase

Bobby Fischer's reclusiveness was legendary. But in 1971, before his Candidates Match against Tigran Petrosian, he was a guest of talkshow legend Dick Cavett. In 2008 a video of this show appeared on YouTube and by now it has more than a million views. Less known is the fact that Fischer appeared a second time on the Dick Cavett Show, this time before his match against Spassky. A video of this show was just published on YouTube.

April 6, 2017

Iconic Greenwich Village Chess Shop Perseveres; By Neil Giardino; NBC News 4 New York

The Chess Forum is steeped in history. The shop's yellowing walls are cluttered with framed photos of grand masters and the owner proudly displays vintage sets, including a civil war chess set with pieces representing the Union and Confederate armies. "This belongs in the Museum of Natural History," Imad Khachan, 52, said of his Greenwich Village business. "This is a dinosaur. But the appeal of it is that it's a dinosaur."

April 5, 2017

Ilyumzhinov announces $30 million 'Kirsan Fund' for chess; By Frederic Friedel; Chessbase

You know about the power struggle for control of the International Chess Federation FIDE, on which we have reported extensively. On the eve of his 55th birthday the embattled President made an clear attacking move: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced that he has registered a charitable foundation, the "Kirsan Fund", in the United States, and plans to invest 30 million dollars in its activities: Chess in Schools, Chess in villages, Chess in families and Chess for people with disabilities. "We set an ambitious task to bring the number of chess players to one billion."

April 1, 2017

Pal Benko: April Swindles – unusual chess problems; By GM Pal Benko; Chessbase

Eighty-eight – that is what the first two problems in the April 1st collection symbolize. That is the age of the composer, the indefatigable Pal Benko, who sent us five very unusual positions for this auspicious day. Do not expect to fire up the positions on your computer and press Ctrl-Alt-Del for engine assistance. Today you will have to think – you know, mobilize all that grey matter. And a fair bit of humour. We wish you fun and unusual enjoyment.

March 31, 2017

MArch Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

Again this month, the club had another large turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as over 60 players competed for the Ladder Prize. This month, Xing Jian and Ghezai Menelik fought in the last round with Xing winning to pull him even with Ghezai for the month (4/5). In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), Mike Fellman fended off the opposition to win the tournament outright (3/3), followed by Dan Killian in second (2.5/3) who took down much higher rated opponents (and gaining over 100 ratings points!). The ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had a solid 43 player turnout and in the Premier Section saw Isaac Chiu win sole first place (4.5/5) followed by Justin Paul in 2nd place (4/5) and Muskee Books in 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, Akshay Kobla won first place (4.5/5) followed by Briab Milian and Jonah Treitler tied for 2nd-3rd (4/5). Max Yan won the U1400 Class Prize and Brian Tay won the U1200 prize. And finally, due to such a busy regional tournament activity this month, no ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control) was held this month.

March 29, 2017

The power struggle continues: letter from Makropoulos; By Frederic Friedel; Chessbase

Georgios Makropoulos, seven time Greek Champion, is the Deputy President of FIDE, and has been in that role for twenty years now. In December 2015, after the US Treasury had placed FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov on the sanction list, forbidding US citizens from conducting business with him, FIDE decided transfer the powers of legal, financial and business operations to Makropoulos. In the latest FIDE power struggle "Makro", as he is known to friends, has described his view of the events.

March 28, 2017

Power struggle at the top of the chess world; By Frederic Friedel; Chessbase
Also see: The Guardian

We reported yesterday: the official International Chess Federation web site announced the resignation of its President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, followed within hours by emphatic denials from Ilyumzhinov. Today there are new letters on the FIDE page, describing the circumstances of his alleged resignation: "During the Presidental Board Meeting in Athens, you several time threatened to resign, and at the end of the meeting three times you repeated 'I resign' before leaving the room." In a press conference of the Russian Chess Federation Ilyumzhinov explained his position.

March 27, 2017

Ilyumzhinov Resigns, Or Does He?; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

The FIDE website today claimed that its President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, announced his resignation yesterday at the end of the quarterly Presidential Board meeting in Athens. No sooner had that notice appeared, though, when both Ilyumzhinov and Russian Chess Federation President and FIDE VP Andrey Filatov took to Russian media to dismiss that version of events, describing what took place as “a set-up”. Kirsan says he signed nothing and will continue in his role. UPDATE: FIDE respond to say Ilyumzhinov ended a meeting by 3 times saying "I resign", while Ilyumzhinov insists he'll remain in power at least until the 2018 FIDE General Assembly in Batumi.

March 27, 2017

Did Ilyumzhinov resign? Apparently not!; By Frederic Friedel; Chessbase

It is on the official FIDE web site: at the end of the Board meeting on the 26th March 2017, "Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced his resignation from the position of FIDE President. The Presidential Board has been formally advised of this announcement..." But within hours there was a denial from Ilyumzhinov: "They wanted to oust me, but they could not pull it off," he said in an interview with TASS. A failed putsch by the FIDE officials in Athens?

March 27, 2017

Capablanca and the Nimzo-Indian; By Alexander Yermolinsky; Chessbase

The following article is an example of how a lifelong student of the game amuses himself. GM Yermolinsky noticed that right after losing his title to Alekhine in 1927, Capablanca began to play the Nimzo-Indian, something he had never done before. A remarkable change after the 31 Queen’s Gambit Declined games out of 34 from the match. Enjoy this fascinating analysis.

March 22, 2017

Iron Tigran: Clash of the Cavalries!; By Srinath Narayanan; Chessbase

"There have been many instances in history when an inspired cavalry charge disrupts the momentum of a battle," writes International Master Srinath Narayanan who thinks Tigran Petrosian is one of the greatest players of chess, ever. He dissects the play of the former world champion in the first of his planned series of articles on chess history. He tees off with an ode to the Iron Tigran. Enjoy.

March 21, 2017

Daniel King analyzes Bobby Fischer (part 1); By Albert Silver; Chessbase

If there is one player in chess, whose mystique and fascination know no bounds, it is the legendary Bobby Fischer. Ask GM Daniel King, chess author and video maker extraordinaire, who asked the patrons of his channel what they most wanted to see him look at. The result is a series analyzing games by the former World Champion, Bobby Fischer and starts with a positional masterpiece he played when he was 16.

March 21, 2017

Computer chess history – knowledge vs brute force; By Frederic Friedel; Chessbase

There has been considerable discussion surrounding the Penrose puzzle we recently presented, where computers "falsely evaluate" a drawn position as a win. We explained in our article that while they display a massive advantage the opponent, computers will play flawlessly to a draw for the defending side. That reminded us of a similar situation in the very early days of computer chess. In 1978 the most powerful computer in the world thought it was completely lost against a strong IM, but easily held the theoretical draw using nothing but brute force.

March 19, 2017

Maurice Ashley on One on 1; By Albert Silver; Chessbase

'It's hard to name something that Maurice Ashley hasn't done in the world of chess. He's played, coached, taught, created tournaments, done play-by-play for tournaments and traveled the world, preaching the gospel of his beloved game.' Thus opens the article and video profile on Maurice Ashley by Budd Mishkin on One on 1.

March 18, 2017

Which GM Said:"I was starving in the jungle"; By Alexey Root; Chessbase

Though a grandmaster of chess, Sam Shankland is a novice at surviving in the jungle. As such, he was one of ten novice contestants paired with survival experts. Shankland’s team was the third team eliminated. Although out of contention for the $500,000 prize for the winning team, Shankland says the experience was valuable and that he gained lifelong friends. Enjoy this report with comments and impressions by Sam Shankland.

March 17, 2017

An Evening at the UN with Judit Polgár.; By Staff; Chess24

As part of the ‘Planet 50/50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality’ initiative, chess grandmaster and Planet 50/50 Champion Judit Polgár spoke on the theme of ‘fighting stereotypes’ at a special event held on the evening of March 15 at the United Nations (UN) in New York. The event was a chance for engaged dialogue, a question and answer session, and a fast-paced simultaneous game with two teams of talented young chess players. The evening, though celebratory, also highlighted the amount of work needed to address gender equality in chess.

March 16, 2017

Petrosian on talent, character and near misses; By Colin McGourty; Chess24

Arshak Petrosian has had a highly successful coaching career, leading the tiny Armenian nation to an astonishing hat-trick of Olympiad victories. He was also a promising player in his own right, but in a recent interview he reflects on why he failed to reach the very top level. He also talks about what’s held Levon Aronian back from playing a World Championship match, and why his son-in-law and long-term protégé Peter Leko fell just short of becoming the 15th World Champion when he faced Vladimir Kramnik in 2004.

March 13, 15, 2017

Women World Championship: Looking back; By Elshan Moradiabadi; ChessBase

After a thrilling Women World Championship that provided entertaining chess rife with drama and excitement, a new World Champion was crowned. Elshan Moradiabadi looks back at some of the highlights of the competition, providing his usual insightful summaries and annotations as well as a focus on the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and lastly the standout qualities in Tan Zhongyi, the new world champion. GM Elshan Moradiabadi provides his analysis of the turning points of missed or hit shots that ultimately decided the title.

March 13, 2017

Oxford defeats Cambridge in 135th Varsity Match; By Macauley Peterson; Chess24

In a centuries-old rivalry, Oxford and Cambridge Universities squared off over the weekend for an 8-board match at the Royal Automobile Club in central London. Oxford won this round 4½-3½, narrowing Cambridge's overall lead to five match wins. The two teams have been competing in a variety of sports, notably rowing, since the 19th century. The first chess match was in 1873 and this is now the 135th — the encounter was suspended during the World Wars. Described as "one of the great traditions of British Chess", the match was attended by various alumni guests including grandmasters. Luke McShane and Jon Speelman — both graduates of Oxford — provided a brief commentary on the games in progress for the chess24 broadcast.

March 10, 2017

Learning from Kramnik; By Alexey Root; ChessBase

Dr. Chandramallika Basak is one of the leading researchers in the area of working memory and cognitive control, training strategies, cognitive and brain plasticity, aging, and biomarkers of complex skill learning (e.g., video games). She has now begun research on children and chess. Alexey Root attended Dr. Basak’s lecture “Cognitive Benefits of Learning to Play Chess and Other Strategy Games” and reports here.

March 9, 2017

Chess and comics at the World Chess Hall of Fame; By Macauley Peterson; Chess24

Did you know that Superman plays chess? Well he does. Not only that, he appeared as a chess piece 70 years ago. You know who also plays chess? Batman. He was spotted, even earlier, playing the joker as Robin looked on in 1944. In fact the entire Justice League of America enjoys planning sessions around a chessboard. Who knew? Apparently the history of chess in comics is so rich you can fill a museum exhibition and that's precisely what the World Chess Hall of Fame in Saint Louis, USA, have now done.

March 9, 2017

Interview with "celebrity oldie" Nigel Short; By Junior Tay; ChessBase

He is the oldest player in the world's top 100, and last December he won the British Knockout Championship, to the surprise of some. In the quaterfinals he was dragged into a tie-break by the lowest-rated player in the event, but he then went on to beat Luke McShane and David Howell to take the title. "I am very happy with my status as celebrity oldie – I suppose now that Viktor has gone, someone had to step up," says Nigel in this interview with Junior Tay.

March 8, 2017

International Women's Day; By David Martínez; Chess24

Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day and at chess24 we want to contribute to awareness of the occasion in the chess world, a world in which the sport continues to be overwhelming represented by men. Chess24 gave the floor to a few players from different parts of the world to express their opinion.

Mar. 7, 2017

Iran ban on chess players revisited; By Arash Akbarinia, ChessBase

Iran, the country that has just finished hosting the 2017 Women's World Championship, has been in the mainstream news of late for different reasons. In a remarkable incident during sidelines of the Championship the Iran Chess Federation banned two siblings for "hurting Iran's national interests" (e.g. not wearing a hijab in the Gibraltar Open). This has caused an international outcry, and now an Iranian player and computer scientist, Arash Akbarinia, weighs in.

Mar. 6, 2017

Chess and Physics in the classroom; By Ioannis Halkias, ChessBase

While comparisons between chess and mathematics and chess and science are not new, with greats such as Feynman elaborating, the article here is more than yet another comparison, it is an actual lesson that will appear in high school physics classes in Crete. Enjoy this excellent article by physicist Ioannis Halkias.

Mar. 4, 2017

Chess podcasts, then and now; By Macauley Peterson, Chess24

When you think "chess", you probably don't think "on the radio". A handful of chess fans and professionals are looking to change that via the medium's modern offshoot: downloadable on-demand audio — commonly known as podcasts (a mashup of Apple's "iPod" and "broadcast"). Let's take a brief look at this relatively dormant domain of chess media, which recently got a new lease on life.

Mar. 3, 2017

Tan Zhongyi is the new Women's World Chess Champion; By IM David Martínez, Chess24

Tan Zhongyi became the new Women's World Champion after defeating Anna Muzychuk in tiebreaks. The 25-year-old has kept the title in China, after showing good technique and an astounding competitive spirit. Tan Zhongyi played no less than 34 games, and overcame a number of highly tense encounters.

Mar. 3, 2017

AMD releases new Ryzen processor; By Albert Silver, ChessBase

One of the most important days in years for computer consumers was the launch yesterday of AMD’s newest microprocessor, the R7 Ryzen. For a decade, AMD had been out of the race in high-end desktop CPUs, but the release of the new architecture has shown it is not only back, but at a far more affordable price, and what is more: the best deal around for chess analysis.

March 1, 2017

February Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

Febuary saw another excellant turnout in our renewed ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), as 16 players fought for glory and a prize! When the dust settled, Nick Theiss and Isaac Chiu finished in first place (8/10) ahead of William Mercellino in sole second (7/10), a full point ahead of four other competitors. While the club hopes to sponsor blitz tournaments most months this year, we expect there will be months when we cannot hold a blitz tournament due to competition for dates with other tournaments. The club saw the usual fist-to-cuffs on the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as over 50 players fought for the Ladder Prize. This month, Tom Hoopengardner and Demetrio Aragon held off the competition (3.5/4) to secure the prize. In an awesome turnout for the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), regular Zach Martn and Daniel Weissbarth tied for first with perfect tournament scores (3/3) followed by 6 players a full point behind. And finally, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had to be cancelled this month due to construction at our host church for that weekend.

Feb. 28, 2017

What went wrong in Sharjah?; By Colin McGourty, Chess24

The Sharjah FIDE Grand Prix ended fittingly with Alexander Grischuk and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave signing a quick draw on the top board to ensure they shared first place. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov joined them by beating birthday girl Hou Yifan, while Ding Liren also beat Levon Aronian, but it couldn’t stop the first stage of the Grand Prix being one of the least memorable top events in recent years. What went wrong?

Feb. 27, 2017

The power of chess!; By FM Mirko Trasciatti, ChessBase

Chess is a powerful game. It has the ability to transform lives. But what happens when the inmates of a high security prison in Spoleto, Italy are taught chess? FM Mirko Trasciatti was entrusted with this task and he tells about the impact that his teachings had on the lives of the prisoners. A heart warming story on how potent the game of chess is.

Feb. 23, 2017

Match of the Millennials; By Staff, ChessBase

There's going to be an extraordinary event in July in Saint Louis: eight American players will face some of the best juniors from around the world – four players under 17, two boys under 14 and two girls under 14 years old. "An extra-ordinary opportunity for the best juniors, both Americans and World, to test their skills and fighting spirit in a prestigious event," said GM Efstratios Grivas, who will be one of the trainers selecting the World Delegation.

Feb. 22, 2017

Memories of Salo Flohr; By Vlastimil Hort, ChessBase

Before World War II Salo Flohr was one of the world's best players. In 1939 Flohr was to play a World Championship match against Alexander Alekhine but the outbreak of the war destroyed Flohr's hopes to become World Champion. Vlastimil Hort knew Flohr well and shares memories.

Feb. 21, 2017

Iran bans teenage chessplayers for "harming national interests"; By Staff, ChessBase

Dorsa Derakhshani is a talented teenaged chessplayer residing in Spain, originally from Tehran, Iran. She is only the second female in Iran's chess history to have become an international master. Her younger sibling Borna Derakhshani is a talented lad of fifteen and has a good career ahead of him. Imagine their surprise when they were informed by Dorsa's friends that she and her younger brother had been 'banned' by the Iranian Chess Federation!

Feb. 20, 2017

In order to beat the monsters I had to become one myself!; By Sagar Shah, ChessBase
Part II Article; By Sagar Shah, ChessBase

It was the first super tournament of his life. B. Adhiban started as the last seed at the Tata Steel Masters 2017. Not much was expected from him. But he shocked the chess world with a performance of 2812 and finishing third behind So and Carlsen! We go in touch with Adhiban and spoke to him about his tournament, mind set, expectations, and last but not the least, his crazy opening choices. In the second part of the interview we continue the dissection of the key moments in Adhiban's games along with his views on them.

Feb. 16, 2017

Greater Scholastic Tournaments in America; By Alejandro Ramirez, ChessBase

2017 marks the 15th anniversary for the Kasparov Chess Foundation, and they are celebrating with record-breaking events around the U.S. This past weekend, despite sharing a busy schedule with the traditional Super Bowl, the Greater New York, Greater Chicago and Greater Baltimore Scholastic Chess tournaments brought in over 2000 players! Garry Kasparov himself made an appearance in New York.

Feb. 15, 2017

Video: Daniel King on Bobby Fischer; By Daniel King, ChessBase

Bobby Fischer was known for his eccentric behavior and for his principled, clear and aggressive chess. On his Power Play Chess Show on YouTube ChessBase author Daniel King recently analysed one of the many strategically instructive Fischer games. Daniel King on Bobby Fischer...

Feb. 14, 2017

Pal Benko's Valentine Day problems; By GM Pal Benko, ChessBase

Since the days of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century Valentine's Day, February 14, has been associated with romantic love, with the presentation of flowers, confectionery and (often anonymous) greeting cards called "valentines". Our indefatigable friend, problem composer Pal Benko, sent us something different: twin problems in valentine shapes. Take a look, but be warned: they are trickier than you would expect – and definitely more romantic.

Feb. 11, 2017

Women's World Championship Starts in Tehran; By Elshan Moradiabadi, ChessBase

After an almost non-stop stream of controversy regarding the Women World Championship, whether because of the infamous Hajibgate, or simply the country itself, the grand championship has finally begun its cycle to determine the next title-holder. The opening proceedings were somewhat overshadowed by the recent demise of Romanian IM Cristina Foisor, who remained in the roster as a tribute. Here is the amply commented report on the opening.

Feb. 9, 2017

Paul Keres VI: The Eternal Second; By Staff, Chess24

Paul Keres will always be remembered as one of the greatest players never to become World Champion. He never even got to play a match, though as the latest instalment of Joosep Grents’ centennial series on the Estonian legend shows, he couldn’t have come much closer. From 1953 until 1959 he finished second in three Candidates Tournaments in a row. Youngsters Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal also appear on the scene, with Keres more than holding his own as he enters his fifth decade.

Feb. 7, 2017

Former Chess Champion Checkmates Donald Trump; By Alexey Root, ChessBase

On January 30, 2017, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued to block key portions of President Trump’s executive order on travel. Trump’s executive order had barred entry to the United States by refugees and visa holders from seven predominantly Muslim countries. On February 3, a judge granted Ferguson’s request for a temporary restraining order, meaning that federal employees cannot enforce Trump’s executive order. Result: Ferguson-Trump 1-0. Report by Alexey Root, who knew Ferguson as a chess opponent.

Feb. 6, 2017

Grand Prix Lineup Announced; By Colin McGourty, Chess24

Six Top 10 players turned down their FIDE Grand Prix invitations, but that still leaves Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Levon Aronian, Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri topping the lineup for the four-tournament series that starts in the United Arab Emirates city of Sharjah in under two weeks’ time. Moscow-based anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab, which sponsors Sergey Karjakin individually, has also been announced as a partner of the Grand Prix series.

Feb. 2, 2017

Hou Yifan Resigns in 5 Moves!; By ChessBase

In a curious case at the Gibraltar Masters, women's world champion Hou Yifan resigned in a mere 5 moves, breaking the record previously held by Viswanathan Anand for the quickest loss by a grandmaster. The 'scandal' occurred during the final round of the Masters tournament, known to be the best Open in the world. In a bizarre series of events, Hou Yifan lodged a unique form of protest at the Gibraltar Masters by choosing to make uncharacteristic moves in the opening and resigned soon after.

Feb. 1, 2017

Aronian Replaces Kramnik in Grand Chess Tour; By Colin McGourty, Chess24

Vladimir Kramnik has rejected his invitation for the 2017 Grand Chess Tour, citing a busy schedule that would have made playing four tournaments a problem. Levon Aronian takes his place as first reserve, with the full line-up for the $1.2 million series featuring all of the world’s top nine players except Kramnik – Carlsen, Caruana, So, MVL, Anand, Aronian, Nakamura and Karjakin – as well as Nepomniachtchi. Kramnik could still potentially take part in individual events as a wild card.

February 1, 2016

January Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

January 2017 saw the return of the blitz tournament to the Arlington Chess Club. We had an excellant turnout in our renewed ACC Blitz tournament (5 double-rounds [10 games] at a G/3 +2 time control), as 15 players fought for glory and a prize! When the dust settled, Willie Marcelino stood well ahead in first place (8.5/10) followed by Andrew Tichenor in sole second (7/10), a half point ahead of three other competitors. While the club hopes to sponsor blitz tournaments often this year, we expect there will be months when we cannot hold a blitz tournament due to competition for dates with other tournaments.

The club had another large turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as nearly 60 players fought for the Ladder Prize. This month, newcomer Wael Shreiba ran over his opposition (3/4) while narrowly edging out long-time member Roberto Aguirre (2.5/4) to secure the prize. In an awesome turnout for the month, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had nearly 50 players compete over boards of 64 squares. With the higher than usual turnout, the club added a class prize in the Premier section. Big surprise (not!), Andrew Samuelson returned to his winning ways and ran the boards (5/5) to collect top prize in the Premier section. He was followed by young Andy Huang in sole second (4/5) and Zach Martin in sole third (3.5/5). The Premier class prize went to young Bradley Guo who also picked up just over 100 rating points! In the U1700 section, two up and coming young players, Jason Liang and Sachin Satishkumar, tied for 1st-2nd (4/5), followed by a 3-way tie for 3rd just a half point behind. Though she qualified for both, Neha Konduru snagged the U1200 Class prize leaving a 5-way tie for the U1400 prize. Note: under USCF prize rules, any player that qualifies for more than one cash prize will be awarded the highest prize (to include accounting for split prizes). And finally, for the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), we had another great turnout as 16 players competed. Nikolas Theiss outlasted many higher rated opponents to win sole 1st place (3/3) while Andy Huang and Isaac Chiu tied for 2nd (2.5/3). Even with adding a new event, the club had a huge turnout for all of our events. We thank everyone who played at ACC this month!

January 30, 2017

Gibraltar Round 6: Short Defeats Caruana; By John Saunders, ChessBase

At the end of five rounds of play, six players led the standings with 4.5/5. After a trio of bloody battles at the top boards in the sixth round, three players are left in the lead. Early leaders Emil Sutovsky and Ju Wenjun were 'punished' by the goddess Caissa according to Nigel Short, who was also the highlight of the day as he defeated the world number two Fabiano Caruana. John Saunders reports from Gibraltar.

Jan. 29, 2017

The Day Donald Sutherland Showed Me Some Chess Moves; By Fiona Cummins, The Guardian

As a former show business journalist, I’ve met my fair share of celebrities—George Clooney and Michael Jackson to name(drop) a couple of them—and been invited to the glitziest parties in the A-list calendar. But in December 2006, work was the furthest thing from my mind. I’d just married my lovely husband Jason, and we were beside ourselves with excitement at the prospect of our three-week honeymoon in Australia.

Jan. 29, 2017

Wesley So Wins Tata Steel; By Mark Crowther, The Week in Chess

Wesley So started 2017 just as he finished 2016 with a major tournament victory in the Tata Steel Masters. So was playing black against Ian Nepomniachtchi and it was seen as likely someone would catch him after a draw. All those calculations went out of the window as Nepomniachtchi played the Trompowsky as White, got it completely wrong and was lost after just 9 moves. So didn't make any mistakes. It's taken So a little while to settle after his move to the U.S. but he is now clearly one of the main prospects to be Carlsen's next challenger. So is very much a self-made man and deserves huge admiration.

Jan. 26, 2017

Speelman's Agony: The Truth or Reality; By Jonathan Speelman, ChessBase, plus ACC member Tom Harley

In his ChessBase column this month, Jonathan Speelman analyzes a game between Arlington Chess Club members Tom Harley and Josh Hiban. Tom had submitted the game and Speelman selected it for his column.

Jan. 25, 2017

Chess In Africa; By Maurice Ashley, ChessBase

After visiting Africa on a tour, GM Maurice Ashley was deeply moved by the extreme poverty, underlying beauty, and promise of hope. Instead of just writing about all this, he decided to take action, and together with Graham Jurgensen, they enlisted the help and patronage of the Paul Allen Foundation, as well as the Kasparov Chess Foundation in the USA and Africa, to take three grandmasters on a training tour for 18 weeks in Africa.

January 24, 2107

Conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson; By Albert Silver, ChessBase

The famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, a tireless promoter of science, and considered by many as the spiritual successor of Carl Sagan, opened game eight of the World Championship Match. He accepted to sit down with a few journalists for a casual conversation where he talked about his connection with chess and what he finds interesting about chess and chessplayers, as well as how he sees it relative to education. A revealing piece.

January 16, 2107

Hans Berliner, Player and Programmer, Dies at 87; By Dylan Loeb McClain, New York Times

He learned chess at the age of 13, and played for the US Olympiad team and four times in the US Championship. He later graduated in computer science and became a professor at the Carnegie Mellon University. There he pioneered hardware programming and built the first machine that exceeded 2400 Elo points. Last Friday he passed away in Florida. Hans Berliner is also remembered for what many have called the greatest chess game ever played. An excellent eulogy of Berliner appeared in the Monday edition of the New York Times.

January 14, 2107

The Tale Behind The (48) Blindfold Record; By Albert Silver, ChessBase

On December 4, 2016, Timur Gareyev played against 48 opponents in a blindfold simul that lasted nearly 20 hours to set the new world record, a truly unbelievable exhibition of human strength and stamina. However, the road to the record was one of extensive preparation during which he met with leading experts in memory techniques, and even brought in the last surviving opponent of Najdorf's 1947 record, 92-year-old Luciano Andrade. Here is the full story behind the world record.

Jan. 12, 2017

Women's World Championship: Who Plays, Who Doesn't?; By Johannes Fischer, ChessBase

The Women’s World Championship 2017 will be played from 10 February to 5 March in Tehran. The decision to play in the Iranian capital was controversial, not least because women in Iran are forced to wear a headscarf in public, and all players have to comply to this rule. But Fide stood by its decision and now published a list of the 64 players who will fight for the women's title. Top seed is Ju Wenjun, second seed Anna Muzychuk. But a number of top players refused to start.

Jan. 11, 2017

2017 World Chess Calendar; By Colin McGourty, Chess24

2017 is a chess year without a World Championship match or an Olympiad, but it’s set to be packed with events. We have the World Cup, the World and European Team Championships as well as two major competing series. After the FIDE Grand Prix in 2016 was postponed all four events are set to be crammed into 2017, alongside five Grand Chess Tour events. Then, of course, we have all the traditional events, including Tata Steel Chess and the Gibraltar Masters this January.

Jan. 9, 2017

Paul Keres 5: The 1948 World Championship; By Staff, Chess24

The death of Alexander Alekhine in 1946 left the chess world without a World Champion for the first time in 60 years. The question of what to do next was resolved with a five-player match-tournament held in The Hague and Moscow in 1948. On paper it was another chance for Paul Keres to fulfill his dream, but as Joosep Grent explains in his latest installment of the series on the Estonian genius, it wasn’t to be. Four losses in a row to Mikhail Botvinnik meant the “Patriarch” of Soviet chess became the 6th World Champion.

Jan. 6, 2017

Svidler on Carlsen–Karjakin, Computers, and More; By Colin McGourty, Chess24

There’s a week to go until the chess year kicks off in earnest on Saturday, 14th January in Wijk aan Zee, with Peter Svidler commentating on the first seven rounds here on chess24. In a recent in-depth Russian interview the 7-time Russian champion talked about commentary, the Carlsen-Karjakin match, the influence of computers, how Kramnik has adapted his style and much more.

Jan. 6, 2017

Best Move of 2016; By ChessBase

Have a look at the spectacular, surprising, paradoxical or simply beautiful moves Oliver Reeh selected from games played in 2016. Which of these moves, do you think, is the best move of 2016?

Jan. 5, 2017

In Memoriam: Gary P. Taylor, Sr.

(July 17, 1955 - September 27, 2016) Gary "Ricky" Paul Taylor Sr. was born July 17, 1955 at DC General Hospital in Washington, D.C. Ricky was adopted as an infant and blessed to become the only child of his proud, doting parents Paul and Margarette Taylor, who loved him unconditionally. Gary departed this life on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at the Washington Adventist Hospital, Takoma Park, MD surrounded by the love and presence of family. Ricky attended DC Public Schools throughout his childhood and graduated from McKinley Tech High School in 1973. He then went on to attend college at Monmonth University in New Jersey. Ricky was an Electrician by profession. For many years he worked for Amtrak until his retirement. As his pastimes, Ricky loved playing chess: he was a chess aficionado. He faithfully attended his weekly Chess Club meetings, travelling across the local District, Maryland and Virginia (DMV Chapter) to attend them. He also would participate and compete in the Annual Chess Conference [World Open]. He taught the game of chess as a business enterprise "Gary's School of Chess" and would encourage others to play, tutor family members and local children on the tactics of the game. Along with chess, Ricky enjoyed studying martial arts, playing tennis, reading books and also writing poems and books. He wrote his first book and became a published author of the book titled, "Love Deprived". Ricky married Robin Wright Hairston and from that union were born two children. Gary Paul Taylor Jr. and Tinisha Taylor. Ricky spent a number of his years searching for his biological family. Finally after extraordinary effort and diligent search, in 1998, he located his biological siblings; three sisters, Veronica Graves, Victoria Pendegraph, and Michelle Pendegraph who all welcomed him into the family, and shared love with him. From that point on, Ricky spent many of his holidays and birthdays celebrating in the company of his sisters, brothers-in-law, nephews, nieces and cousins. He leaves one son Gary Paul Taylor Jr. one daughter Tinisha Taylor, three sisters Veronica Edwina Lyles Graves, Paula Victoria Marie Pendergraph (deceased), Michelle Pendergraph, one brother Carige Pendergraph (deceased), one brother-in-law marcus I. Graves, two nieces Talibah Pendergraph, Khadiyah Alia Ali Pendergraph, two nephews Lamont Pendergraph, Scott Pendergraph and many cousins and friends.

Jan. 4, 2017

The Story of Fred and Bruce; By Bob Jones, ChessBase

Back in 1997, after early retirement from teaching, I found myself being drawn into the world of old chess books. Not that that was what I’d originally intended—it was just the way things were developing. One day, late in the year, I got a phone call from a young lady in London, asking if I’d be interested in a collection of books she was having to clear out from the house of a recently deceased elderly relative. It was a long way from Exmouth, but it sounded an interesting proposition and at that time I was keen to build up a credible stock, so I agreed.

Jan. 4, 2017

Best of 2016: Best Game; By ChessBase

2016 brought a a lot of entertaining, fascinating and amazing games. But what was the "best game" of 2016? Our expects created a shortlist of ten games; now it's your turn. What, do you think, is the best game of 2016?

Jan. 3, 2017

Indonesia: Always the Same, Yet Always Different; By Alina L'Ami, ChessBase

With about 260 million inhabitants Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, and it is a land full of natural beauty and diversity. Economically, Indonesia is on the rise and it also has a flourishing chess community. When revisiting Jakarta to play a tournament in the Indonesian capital, Alina l'Ami was again struck by the many fascinating facets of Jakarta and Indonesia.

Jan. 3, 2017

Who Was the Best World Champion in History?; By IM Daniel Rensch, Chess.com

What if we had a time machine? What if we could bring all the greatest chess players in history together, removing any advantages of opening theory or other evolved knowledge of our game for a super-tournament? What if Fischer played Kasparov? Kramnik played Alekhine? Carlsen played Morphy? This long-asked, yet virtually impossible-to-answer question might finally have a starting point.

January 1, 2016

December Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

The club had a large turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as over 60 players fought for the Ladder Prize. This month, Demetrio swept the opposition to secure the prize (3.5/4). In decent turnout for the month, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) had nearly 40 players compete over boards of 64 squares. For a second month in a row Larry Gilden tied for first place in the Premier section, this time with Zachary Martin (4/5) followed by a 4-way tie for 3rd (3/5). In the U1700 section, Max Yan had an excellent tournament running the boards to win first place (5/5), followed by Michael Jennings (returning after quite some time away) in second place (4/5) and another 4-way tie for 3rd place. Zach Strasberg won the U1400 prize and newcomer Andrew Lachtman won the U1200 prize. For the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), we had a near record turnout as 22 players competed. Akshay Indusekar and Andrew Tichenor tied for 1st and 2nd (3/3) and Andy Huang and Andy Rea tied for 3rd (2.5/3)!

Dec. 31, 2016

Seirawan: A Radical Solution, Final Thoughts; By Yasser Seirawan, ChessBase

I really must beg for your indulgence. When I wrote my original article, “A Radical Solution,” it was a knee-jerk rant of sorts. Reeling from the “thirty-five-minute punch,” of Game 12 in the World Championship Match (WCM) was simply too much of a disappointment for me to bear. With the whole world tuning in to watch a dramatic final game of a competitive sporting duel, we witnessed instead a dud masquerading as a classical game, leaving me greatly annoyed. The players can’t be faulted—it was the match rules that were to blame.

Dec. 30, 2016

Ivanchuk, Karjakin Win World Rapid and Blitz Championship; By Mark Crowther, The Week in Chess

Vassily Ivanchuk edged out Alexander Grischuk and Magnus Carlsen to take the rapid title after they all scored 11/15. The blitz saw Sergey Karjakin win the title on tie-break from Magnus Carlsen with a win in the final round vs Jobava after both scored 16.5/21. Daniil Dubov was a distant 3rd on tie-break. Anna Muzychuk scored a fine double triumph in both rapid and blitz in the women's section.

Dec. 29, 2016

Kasparov on the Future of Artificial Intelligence; By Frederic Friedel, ChessBase

"You will go down in history as the first person to be beaten by a machine in an intellectual pursuit where you were the most advanced member of our species," says American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist in this extraordinary podcast interview with Garry Kasparov. After discussing the current world political situation they go on to the subject of machine intelligence. Kasparov also announced a book called Deep Thinking that is due for release in May.

Dec. 25, 2016

Christmas puzzles; By Pal Benko, ChessBase

Another year passes, and we end it with our traditional Christmas puzzles – this year for the seventeenth time. Over the holidays we try to give you something unusual: puzzles that cannot be easily solved with a computer, tasks which require you to think all by yourself. And once again, as happened frequently in the past, we received three wonderfully entertaining problems from the great composer Pal Benko, who wished us and our readers a Happy Christmas.

Dec. 22, 2016

Who Is the World's Best Junior?; by Marco Baldauf, ChessBase

Wei Yi and Richard Rapport are the world's top two juniors and both are known for their entertaining and uncompromising attacking chess. From 20th to 23rd December they play a match in Yancheng, China. Wei Yi won the first game, Rapport the second, the third was a draw and this leads to a current score of 1.5-1.5. Analyses and photos.

Dec. 22, 2016

Caruana's Queen Sacrifice; By Arno Nickel, ChessBase

Caruana's positional queen sacrifice in his game against Hikaru Nakamura at the London Chess Classic fascinated the public particularly. But are modern engines able to evaluate such a queen sacrifice and its consequences correctly? Arno Nickel grandmaster of correspondence chess took a close look at the critical phase of that game.

Dec. 20, 2016

Kavalek: 50 Years Of Chess; By Lubomir Kavalek, ChessBase

His graduation from National Master and International Master to full GM took just seven months and happened 51 years ago. “A grandmaster title is like a driver’s license,” an experienced colleague told him. “You don’t yet know how to drive well, you learn on the go.” In his Huffington Post column Lubomir Kavalek looks at memorable players – Flohr, Spassky, Petrosian, Fischer – and games from that time. His article is historically and didactically interesting.

Dec. 20, 2016

Paul Keres IV: The War Years; from Chess24

In our previous article marking the centenary of the great Paul Keres, we saw him win the Avro Tournament but have his hopes of a World Championship match with Alexander Alekhine thwarted by the outbreak of World War II. The years that followed were full of upheavals, with Keres’ native Estonia occupied first by the USSR, then Germany and then again the USSR. He found time to marry, have two children, and play in the USSR Championship, but his main concern was survival. Joosep Grents continues his account of Keres’ life.

Dec. 18, 2016

Am I Too Old for Chess?; By Gserper, Chess.com

If your goal is to become the world champion, then forget about it! If you want to become a grandmaster, while it is very unlikely to happen, who knows, you can be the first! If you are aiming for a master title, then it is a difficult, but definitely a doable task. After all, Oscar Shapiro became the oldest person to obtain the USCF master title at a very respectable age of 74!

Dec. 18, 2016

Wesley So: Double Winner in London; By ChessBase

Winning the Grand Chess Tour is a great achievement for Wesley So. He did it on the penultimate round—and he considers this success the biggest win of his career. On Sunday he also secured first place in London—so he won $295,000 in total. Fabiano Caruana couldn't catch up with his compatriot. Veselin Topalov finally managed to win a game, Anish Giri finished with 9/9 draws.

Dec. 16, 2016

The Americans Love Wesley So; By Sabrina Chevannes, ChessBase

Wesley So might be the newest member of the U.S. Chess team, and many may consider him to be a “transfer," but he is slowly growing in popularity. After helping the U.S. team win a gold medal in Baku and doing it with such grace and style, it is no wonder the U.S. is falling for the American-Filipino.

Dec. 16, 2016

Caruana's Brilliancy: The Engine Challenge; By ChessBase

When a grandmaster analyzing a game, professes a move or type of move as exceptionally challenging for an engine, it is obviously going to be scrutinized left and right. That is precisely what happened in the analysis of Fabiano Caruana’s fantastic queen sacrifice against Hikaru Nakamura in game six of the London Classic. The comments on engines were not entirely wrong, but as we will see, there are notable exceptions! Learn how the entire sacrifice could have been solved in seconds.

Dec. 12, 2016

Maurice Ashley: 12 Games Are Enough!; By Maurice Ashley, ChessBase

Yasser Seirawan did not like the 12 game format in Carlsen vs Karjakin and proposed a "Radical Solution". Now Maurice Ashley disagrees. After asking the top players for their opinion and looking back at previous matches he concludes that 12 games and a rapid tiebreak are enough!

Dec. 9, 2016

Reflections on the World Championship by Carlsen's Trainer; By André Schulz, ChessBase

Peter Heine Nielsen is the second of Magnus Carlsen. In an extensive interview he looks back on the World Championship match in New York, tells us about Carlsen's helpers, explains why it is difficult to prepare with White, how Carlsen felt after losing game eight and what mindset is best for Magnus to play good chess. Q & A with Peter Heine Nielsen.

Dec. 9, 2016

Karjakin in War of Words with Kasparov after World Championship; By Leonard Barden, the Guardian

After Sergey Karjakin v Magnus Carlsen, the next bout was Karjakin v Garry Kasparov in a sharp war of words. The legend and former world champion Kasparov, defeated in his bid for president of the global chess body, Fide, lives in New York but did not attend a single session at the match site in Manhattan. At the end of the series Kasparov tweeted, “Congratulations to Magnus! His lack of preparation angered the goddess Caissa, but not enough to drive her into the drab Karjakin’s arms.”

Dec. 8, 2016

Kasparov: "Karjakin as Champion would have been a misunderstanding"; By Vera Jürgens, ChessBase

Of course, the match between Carlsen and Karjakin was closely followed by the Russian chess press. Karjakin lost narrowly but in Russia he is still a hero. Garry Kasparov, however, was blunt: "A World Champion Karjakin would have been a misunderstanding." Here are more reactions from the Russian press, including an interview with Sergey Karjakin.

Dec. 7,10,13, 2016

Carlsen vs Karjakin: Missed opportunities; By Yasser Seirawan, ChessBase

Sierawan reviews games 1 to 6.

Seirawan reviews last half of match.

Having a World Championship in Manhattan, in New York, the financial and media capital of the world - this sounds like a dream come true. A golden opportunity to put chess into the limelight, to experience three weeks of chess fever and a chance to show the world why the game is so exciting. In his three-part review of the Carlsen vs Karjakin match in New York, Yasser Seirawan first criticizes that a lot of opportunities were missed, then reviews games 1-6, then reviews the balance of the match.

Dec. 7, 2016

Post Match GM Analyses ; various authors, ChessBase

Post mortem: before the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin we asked experts for predictions and prognoses. Now we asked again and gathered views from von David Navara, Markus Ragger, Mikhail Golubev, Daniel King, Dorian Rogozenco, and lots of others. Some of them think that Carlsen deservedly won the match while praising Karjakin's defensive skills and his preparation. Ruslan Ponomariov, however, criticises the performance of the World Champion. He claims that Carlsen has stopped making progress as a chess player.

Dec. 6, 2016

Championship match format: Sutovsky; By Emil Sutovsky, ChessBase

Yasser Seirawan does not like the current format of the World Championship and proposed a number of hotly debated changes. Now, Emil Sutovsky, President of the Association of Chess Professionals, counters. He offers an out-of-the box proposal and invites readers to make their opinion heard.

Dec. 5, 2016

Another world record: simul match; from ChessBase

Timur Gareyev used the weekend to set a new world record in Las Vegas by playing 48 games blindfold simultaneously, and David Navara and Sergei Movsesian spent the weekend in Prague to also set a new world record in simultaneous chess: they played 12 games against each other - at the same time. Navara won 8.5-3.5.

Dec. 5, 2016

Gareyev breaks blindfold record; from ChessBase

On December 3, at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas Timur Gareyev made an attempt to break the world record in blindfold simultaneous play. Without seeing the board Gareyev played against 48 opponents at the same time, more than any player before him. With a mask before his eyes and on an exercise bike. 35 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses later Gareyev could say: "Yes, world record."

December 1, 2016

November Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. Come check us out!

While, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), was cancelled for 3 straight months at the request of our host, the Arlington Forest United Methodist Church, the tournament returned this month on October 22, 2016! For a returning event after a period of inactivity, we had a solid turnout with nearly 40 players matching wits on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. Andrew Samuelson and Isaac Chiu tied for 1st (4/5) followed by Mahbub Shahalam and Doug Malcolm tied for 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, newcomer Daniel Schaeffer ran the board against the competition finishing in 1st place (5/5) followed by Thomas Lane in second (3.5/5) and a 5-way tie for 3rd. Another newcomer who is newly moved to the Richmond area, Pranav Chinthakuntla, won the U1400 prize and Isaac Stevens won the U1200 prize.

For a short month, as we do ever year we only met 3 Fridays because of Thanksgiving, ACC had a good turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as 55 players fought for the Ladder Prize. There are more 2000- and 2100-level players participating lately. This month, Ghezai Menelik secured the Ladder Prize (3/4) followed by a 6-way tie right behind (2/4). For the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 10 players competed with Akshay Indusekar winning for the second month in a row (3/3) followed by young Sam Schenk in 2nd place (2.5/3.0). The result got Sam over 2000!

November 11-30, 2016

**SPECIAL** 2016 World Chess Championship (Updated After Each Round)

The World Championship began on Nov. 11 in New York between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Challenger Sergey Karjakin. Below, we are providing round-by-round one-stop coverage of the match from the official site and all of the major chess news websites.

Essential Links:

Pre-Match:
-- Before the Match: Pre-Match
-- Pre-match Press Conference Presser
-- What the Experts Say: Pre-Analysis
-- Sergey Karjakin Bio: Wiki-Bio
-- Magnus Carlsen Bio: Wiki-Bio
-- Karjakan on Winning Candidates: Video
-- Interview: Karjakan (Chess 24): interview
-- Speelman: How Will Karjakan Fare?: here
-- Kramnik's & Gelfand's Pre-match Views: here
-- Carlsen's Pre-Match Views: here

-- Official Website: New York
-- Schedule: Day-By-Day
-- Rules: Rules
-- Get Tickets: Buy Now
-- Opening Ceremony: Flags

-- Broadcasting Lawsuit Part 1 Lawsuit-1
-- Broadcasting Lawsuit Part 2 Lawsuit-2
-- Karjakin: The Inside Story Karjakin's Story
-- New York Times: NYT
-- Washington Post: W-Post
-- Who Will Win Match?: ChessBase

Post-Match:
-- Official Website: New York
-- Schedule: Day-By-Day

Round - Tiebreaks: Carlsen Remains the Champion!

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 12: The Match Goes into Tiebreaks

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 11: A Tense Draw

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 10: Carlsen Evens the Score

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 9: A Tense Draw

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 8: First Blood! Karjakin Wins!

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 7: Karjakin Switches from 1.e4 to 1.d4

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 6: Comfortable Draw

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 5: Magnus "Screws Up"?

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 4: Carlsen Is Better but Can't Convert

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 3: Karjakin Escapes

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 2: No Berlin, No Thriller

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Round 1: Carlsen Starts with the "Trumpowsky"

ChessBase,
TWIC,
Chess24.

Nov. 29, 2016

Yasser Seirawan: A Radical Solution; By Yasser Seirawan, ChessBase

Still reeling from the 35-minute punch of Game 12 of the “Classical” World Chess Championship match, I am writing this opinion article under the duress of disappointment. As a long-time critic of FIDE’s Rules Committee, I’m fully loath to enter its realm of spirited self-delusion but feel compelled to do so. Likely, in the morning, after a good night’s rest, I’ll disavow this commentary in whole or in part. Perhaps even hoping it may self-destruct. Before today’s shock wears off let us muse about the following ...

Nov. 28, 2016

Mark Taimanov Dies at 90; By Dylan Loeb McClain, New York Times

In Memoriam Mark Taimanov (1926–2016); By Dagobert Kohlmeyer, ChessBase

Mark Taimanov: 1926–2016; By Peter Doggers, Chess.com

In the night between Sunday and Monday, Mark Taimanov died in St. Petersburg at the age of 90. He was a world-class player for decades and one of the participants of the legendary Zurich 1953 Candidates' Tournament. Besides being a top grandmaster, Taimanov was a renowned musician—and both of his talents developed at an early age. He learned to play the piano from his mother, who was a piano teacher.

Nov. 23, 2016

An American Chess Resurgence?; By Vanessa West, ChessBase

Is chess really thriving in the U.S.? Is the game really moving forward between New York City and Los Angeles after the U.S. won the Olympiad, has three players in the Top 10 and hosts the World Chess Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin in New York? Our author Vanessa West takes a look at the chess scene in the U.S., browses through the media coverage and provides ample food for thought...

Nov. 10, 2106

Mark Dvoretsky's final interview—Part III; by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal, ChessBase

Part III, the finale of Mark's interview, deals with his current students, his favourite chess books and what prophylaxis means to him. With interesting anecdotes about an American author, a Russian tribe and two students facing each other, Mark gives us some invaluable pearls of wisdom. His final message caps his approach perfectly – everything can be achieved with normal, effective, rationally organized work, good books, articles, materials and regular training.

Nov. 10, 2016

What the Experts Say; By ChessBase

Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin - who will win the match in New York? Is there a clear favorite? What are strengths, what are weaknesses of Carlsen and Karjakin? We asked experts, officials and chess authors how they see the match and what they expect from Carlsen and Karjakin. A lot of experts, a lot of opionions. Statements.

Nov. 9, 2016

Remembering Mihail Tal; By Dagobert Kohlmeyer, ChessBase

Tal's World Championship match against Mihail Botvinnik in the spring of 1960 was one of the most interesting World Championship matches in the history of chess. Tal's convincing victory surprised and rattled the chess world. A bit later I had the chance to see the new World Champion in person: in the fall of 1960 Tal came to Leipzig, East Germany, to take part in the Chess Olympiad 1960. Here he played a fantastic game against the young American Bobby Fischer, which made headlines. We memorised the game by heart and were simply stunned by the bold moves and maneuvers of this exciting duel. Of course, as a 14-year-old I could not imagine that I would one day meet these two chess heroes face to face.

Nov. 7, 2016

A Baby-Faced Chess Grandmaster Meets His Match; By Alex Hawgood, New York Times

Perhaps surprisingly, being an international chess superstar comes with many of the same perks as Hollywood A-listers, including flashy sports cars and parties like the championship gala on Nov. 10 at the Plaza hotel, for which the actor Adrian Grenier will be the host. “Recently in Moscow it became a trend to add some intellectual chess flavor to V.I.P. social events,” he said. “I like being part of it, but mainly to promote the game among different audiences.”

Nov. 6, 2016

Queen of NY: Judit Polgar Talks about Analyzing the Match; by Fernando Offermann, ChessBase

After officially retiring from professional play, many fans might have worried the Hungarian star would drop out of the chess world, but these fears seem to have been put to rest. We first saw Judit Polgar embrace new roles such as coach of the Hungarian ‘Open’ team at the Olympiad, and now as another first, when Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin battle it out in New York City, she will be the official commentator. Judit Polgar talks about her expectations, her preferences and her plans.

Nov. 6, 2016

Carlsen vs. Karjakin: The Final Countdown; By GM Gregory Serper, Chess.com

The most awaited chess event of the year is right in front of us, and there is definitely no lack of forecasts. Both professional players and amateurs have their opinions about the coming world championship match. Of course, we have discussed this subject here too. In trying to find the components that might influence the outcome of the match, we looked at variety of factors.

Nov. 4, 2016

World Class Smackdown on South Street!; By John Leland, New York Times

In the other big showdown this coming week, two guys will play chess at the South Street Seaport. It’s a match for all the marbles in the chess world. How many marbles that is remains to be seen.

November 1, 2016

October Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

While, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), was cancelled for 3 straight months at the request of our host, the Arlington Forest United Methodist Church, the tournament returned this month on October 22, 2016! For a returning event after a period of inactivity, we had a solid turnout with nearly 40 players matching wits on a pleasant Saturday afternoon. Andrew Samuelson and Isaac Chiu tied for 1st (4/5) followed by Mahbub Shahalam and Doug Malcolm tied for 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 section, newcomer Daniel Schaeffer ran the board against the competition finishing in 1st place (5/5) followed by Thomas Lane in second (3.5/5) and a 5-way tie for 3rd. Another newcomer who is newly moved to the Richmond area, Pranav Chinthakuntla, won the U1400 prize and Isaac Stevens won the U1200 prize.

Elsewhere in the club, ACC had a good turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as 55 players fought for the Ladder Prize. There are more 2000- and 2100-level players participating lately. This month, Ghezai Menelik secured the Ladder Prize (3/4) followed by a 6-way tie right behind (2/4). For the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 10 players competed with Akshay Indusekar winning for the second month in a row (3/3) followed by young Sam Schenk in 2nd place (2.5/3.0). The result got Sam over 2000!

October 31, 2106

Mark Dvoretsky's final interview—Part II; by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal, ChessBase

In Part II of our interview with Dvoretsky we go into more specifics. We ask Mark how can we improve at tactics and endgames. We ask for his opinion on famous authors like Jacob Aagaard and Karsten Müller, and also great trainers like Tukamkov and Chuchelov. He also narrates a funny incident about working with ChessBase software and reads out a passage written by Lev Psakhis that had him in splits. It's an interview from which you can learn a lot, and even though you might not agree with everything that Mark says, it's definitely food for thought.

October 25, 2106

Mark Dvoretsky's final interview—Part I; by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal, ChessBase

It was 15th of March 2016, the fourth round at the Candidates tournament 2016, Moscow. Sitting in the press room, I was working on the analysis of the four games that were in progress. Suddenly I noticed Amruta (my wife), who was busy taking pictures, making a dash into the press room. With heavy breath and great excitement, she blurted, "He is here, he is here, come quick!" I left all my work. I knew who had entered into the tournament venue. Before coming to Moscow, Amruta and I had decided that if any of us saw Mark Dvoretsky we would leave whatever it was that we were doing, no matter how important, and spend maximum time with the legend.

October 19, 2016

New York chess hustlers get pwned by Magnus; By Frederic Friedel, ChessBase

No, it's not a typo! Background: there is vigorous chess activity in New York's Washington State Park, and plenty of hustling going on there. Sometimes, though, someone turns up who is really, really strong. And then the hustlers get owned. A viral video shows this happening recently: World Champion Magnus Carlsen took a detour to the park, watched his manager get "crushed" and then, with Liv Tyler watching, proceeded to restore the honour of Norwegian chess.

October 16, 2016

Why Bother to Bone Up on Steinitz?; By IM Craig Pritchett; Full Article From: ChessBase

"I have always been hooked on the game’s history," writes IM Craig Pritchett, a leading Steinitz authority, in the British magazine CHESS. "As I struggle to keep my FIDE rating afloat into my chess-playing seniority, I have taken to writing books on great players, their styles, times and significance. I have never had the slightest doubt that striving to understand the contribution to the game’s development made by Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) and others is not just intrinsically of interest, but that it also positively benefits our own chess."

October 13, 2016

The Time-Trouble Blues; By IM Jeremy Silman; Full Article From: Chess.com

Time trouble plagues beginners, strong amateurs, masters, and grandmasters. There is no universal cure. Some players simply accept that it’s a part of the “chess rush.” Some, like Sammy Reshevsky (one of the best three or four players in the world during his prime), never did find a way to avoid time pressure, but he did something most can’t do: With seconds left, he suddenly played even better!

October 11, 2016

Karjakin: "If Carlsen wants to beat me he needs to show the best play of his life"; By Colin McGourty, Chess 24

The Carlsen-Karjakin World Championship match starts exactly one month today in New York, with the players now entering the finishing straight of their preparation. Magnus Carlsen is said to have already entered his “bubble,” while Sergey Karjakin recently gave a final press appearance in Russia before he heads to Miami on 17 October for a training camp. In a lengthy interview with R-Sport Karjakin talked about his “killer instinct,” his work with Mamedyarov and Nepomniachtchi, and what he expects in New York.

October 7, 2016

The Hijab Protest in Chess; Full Article From: ChessBase

Who is currently in the news, which chess player is dominating the headlines in the straight press? It is not Magnus, Nepo or Anish, but a 22-year-old US/Georgian IM who is boycotting the Women's World Championship in Tehran because of the requirement to wear a hijab of headscarf. Failure to do so in Iran can result in a fine or a prison term. This has unleashed a flurry of attention in the international press.

October 5, 2016

Why bother to bone up on Steinitz? (1/2); Full Article From: ChessBase

"I have always been hooked on the game’s history," writes IM Craig Pritchett, a leading Steinitz authority, in the British magazine CHESS. "As I struggle to keep my FIDE rating afloat into my chess-playing seniority, I have taken to writing books on great players, their styles, times and significance. I have never had the slightest doubt that striving to understand the contribution to the game’s development made by Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) and others is not just intrinsically of interest, but that it also positively benefits our own chess. ...

October 5, 2016

Financial Times: Inside the Home of Magnus Carlsen ; Full Article From: ChessBase

Did you ever wonder how World Champion Magnus Carlsen lives? The "Financial Times" did, and asked journalist Mihir Bose and photographer Ilja C Hendel to visit the world's best chessplayer and take a look into the "home and (mind)" of Magnus Carlsen. When talking to Bose Carlsen revealed amongst other things a great interest in political figures and military history. ...

October 5, 2016

Millionaire Chess: an interview with Maurice Ashley ; by Johannes Fischer; Full Article From: ChessBase

On 6th October the 3rd Millionaire Chess tournament starts in Atlantic City. And again it is a tournament in which players can win a lot of money. Chess organiser, author, coach and commentator GM Maurice Ashley is one of the driving forces behind the Millionaire Chess tournament. In an interview he openly talks about expectations, this year's tournament, Chess in the US and why he is so enthusiastic about the game. ...

October 2, 2016

September Wrap-Up; By ACC President

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

Big News! While, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), was cancelled for 3 straight months at the request of our host, the Arlington Forest United Methodist Church, the tournament will be returning again starting October 22, 2016! There is a new pastor and the church needed the space for welcoming events. This inactivity had no effect on the regular Friday evening ACC club meetings or DC Chess League matches. ACC meets every Friday starting at 7pm and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future!

Elsewhere in the club, ACC had a great turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), as nearly 70 players battled it over boards of 64 squares for the Ladder Prize. There are more 2000- and 2100-level players participating lately. For the second month in a row, Dennis Franco tied for first place on the Ladder, this time with young Akshay Kobla (4.0/5.0), both holding off 3 players tied for 3rd (3.5/4) just a half point behind the leaders. In another high turnout for the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), another 16 players competed with Akshay Indusekar returning from a long hiatus to win sole 1st place (3/3) followed by Alexander Moises in 2nd place (2.5/3.0).

October 1, 2016

Creativity: Why it cannot be a machine property ; Full Article From: ChessBase

A month ago, we published an article discussing the topic of machine creativity entitled “Machine creativity: What it is, and what it isn’t”. Naturally, this was not meant as the final word on the topic, but rather an invitation to discuss and deliberate on it. In the pursuit of that discussion, author and programmer Dr. Ofer Shamai, a PhD in Philosophy of Science, sent a thoughtful reply to it, expounding his thoughts on the subject with a slightly different definition of 'creativity'. Food for thought. ...

September 30, 2016

An Interview with Chess Legend Judit Polgar; By Manuel Weeks; Full Article From: ChessBase

Judit Polgar was a chess prodigy and is the only woman who has ever made it to the top ten in chess. After the Chess Olympiad in Tromso 2014 Judit Polgar retired from tournament chess but of course remained faithful to the game she loves. At the Chess Olympiad in Baku 2016 she was captain of the Hungarian team that played in the Open and she is the driving force behind the Global Chess Festival in Budapest, a fine celebration of chess.

September 30, 2016

World Youth Championships: a perspective by a coach ; Full Article From: ChessBase

The World Youth Championships U14, U16 and U18 are played from 20th September to 4th October in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. More than 400 players travelled to the Siberian city, accompanied by more than 260 parents and coaches. David Koetsier is coach of the Australian team and sends a report about the adventures of the Australian team that reflects on the unique atmosphere of youth tournaments....

September 29, 2016

Protest against playing the Women's World Championship in Iran ; by André Schulz; Full Article From: ChessBase

During the Chess Olympiad 2016 in Baku the General Assembly of FIDE made two important decisions which concern major tournaments. FIDE decided to play the Chess Olympiad 2020 in Khanty-Mansiysk and to let the Iranian Chess Federation organise the Women's World Championship 2017. This decision caused furious protests because in previous tournaments in Iran the women participants were forced to wear a headscarf. ...

September 28, 2016

Timur Gareyev Breaks World Consecutive Blindfold Chess Record; By Eric Vigil; Full Article From: ChessBase

GM Timur Gareyev is a man with a mission: the man who likes to call himself "Blindfold King" wants to set records in blindfold chess. And he does: on September 24th, at the Coralville Marriott Hotel in Iowa, from 9:32 in the morning to 7:45 in the evening, he played 64 consecutive blindfold games, winning 54, losing 8 and drawing 2. That's a new world record!

September 28, 2016

How Anand trounced Mamedyarov's speculative sacrifice ; by Priyadarshan Banjan; Full Article From: ChessBase

Vishy Anand joined the lead at the 2016 Tal Memorial in a stylish manner. He fended off a sacrificial attack by Mamedyarov to emerge a piece up in a winning endgame, despite Black's three passed pawns as compensation. A study-like finish gave a nice win to the Indian former World Champion. Find out all about this endgame in step-by-step analysis by Sagar Shah, and in comments by Viswanathan Anand himself! Very instructive....

September 27, 2016

Carlsen wins Handicap simul 11-0; by Johannes Fischer; Full Article From: Source Name

Maybe Magnus Carlsen took it as a good omen. On 22nd September 2016, 50 days before his World Championship match against Sergey Karjakin in New York, which will begin on 11th November, he played a handicap simul against eleven opponents in New Jersey. All his opponents were users of the Play Magnus App and they all had 30 minutes for the whole game while Carlsen had 30 minutes for all his games. But the World Champion had no trouble to win with a clear 11-0 score. Games, impressions, video ...

September 26, 2016

Mark Dvoretsky passes away at 68; by André Schultz; Full Article From: ChessBase

Also see:"> Actual Q&A Today, the Russian Chess Federation announced that the well-known Russian chess coach and author Mark Dvoretsky had died. As a young player Dvoretsky was a promising talent but he soon decided to end his career as a player to focus on a career as a coach. Since then he has supported and trained countless strong players and has helped many of them to make it to the top. ...

September 25, 2016

Spassky stars as Mamedyarov crushes Tal blitz; by Colin McGourty; Full Article From: Chess24

Boris Spassky was the surprise revelation of the opening day of the 2016 Tal Memorial. The 79-year-old 10th World Champion told the story of Botvinnik’s escape against Fischer in the 1962 Olympiad before the modern players engaged in a fast and furious nine rounds of blitz. Mamedyarov cruised to victory with six wins and three draws, leaving second-placed Aronian two points adrift. Nepomniachtchi, Svidler and Giri were the other players to win the prize of five Whites in the main event, while Kramnik narrowly missed out. ...

September 23, 2016

How fast was the Cray?; by Frederic Friedel; Full Article From: ChessBase

The Cray-1 was the most successful supercomputer in history. It was built in 1975 and cost eight million dollars. Soon a chess program was ported to it, and "Cray Blitz" proceeded to win the Computer Chess World Championship twice in a row. So how fast exactly was the Cray, and how much progress we have made in four decades. Are today’s consumer computers faster, and if yes by what factor? Ten? You are not going to believe this. ...

September 22, 2016

Baku Olympiad 2016 - an insider's guide ; by WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni; Full Article From: Chess24

It has now been a week since I came back from Baku and there has been plenty of time to reflect on what made this Olympiad special, but also on what can be improved upon. This was my eighth participation in an Olympiad and, as such, I felt I was well-placed to draw some comparisons. Most of all, though, I just want to share some insider impressions and hopefully give you a bit of a taste of what it was like to be in Baku for this super event, as well as sharing my opinion about some of its main talking points. ...

September 20, 2016

Carlsen-Nakamura Blitz Championship Set For October 27; By PeterDoggers; Full Article From: Chess.com

You can't afford to miss it, so mark your calendar right now. It's the match everyone has been waiting for, and it's coming soon. The dream finale of Chess.com's inaugural Grandmaster Blitz Battle Championship, featuring the two best speed chess players on the planet, is scheduled for October 27.

September 19, 2016

Best game in the Bundesliga ; by Johannes Fischer; Full Article From: ChessBase

In Germany's first league, the "Bundesliga", 16 teams with eight players each play a 15-round round-robin team tournament. Now, the readers of "schachbundesliga.de", the internet portal of the "Bundesliga", voted for the best game of last season. However, voters did not have to go through all games of the season, 15 made it to the shortlist. The most votes received Jan-Krzysztof Duda's win against Grzegorz Gajewski, a fine example of the power of pawns. ...

September 19, 2016

Learning from Kramnik!; Full Article From: ChessBase

Among the many brilliant performances turned in at the Baku Olympiad was Vladimir Kramnik's gold medal performance on board two, and taking him to 2817 Elo and world no.2. While everyone appreciates his brilliance, understanding the games and moves of such a deep player often requires the help of a grandmaster who can shed light on seemingly baffling choices. Providing just that is GM Elshan Moradiabadi who shares his insights in this wonderful class on strategy....

September 17, 2016

Even Kramnik couldn't find this one!; by Sagar Shah; Full Article From: ChessBase

Three years ago Vladimir Kramnik won the 2013 FIDE World Cup in Tromsø, a 128-player knockout tournament. It was a fine and stunning victory, which involved defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (currently the World's number two) in the sixth round. In game two Kramnik could have settled matters with a study-like win he had on the board, but failed to find. Not surprising in short time controls under high pressure. Try to solve the position and let Sagar Shah of ChessBase India teach you a bit about an important endgame. ...

September 16, 2016

World Championship 2016 – new broadcast, new sponsors; Full Article From: ChessBase

The 2016 World Championship, which will take place from November 11th to 30th in New York, has announced that it has a new sponsor, EG Capital, and has partnered with Livestream to build a Virtual Reality broadcast platform that will allow people all over the world a 360° view of the match. This is a first for any sport and will cost viewers $15 – for all twelve games. Naturally there will be traditional broadcast with partner chess news sites. Press release + video....

September 16, 2016

Pre-Tal Memorial Q&A with Peter Svidler; Full Article From: Chess24

Also see:"> Actual Q&A We’ve been spoiled rotten with Peter Svidler shows in the last week, with no less than four Banter Blitz sessions! He’s about to embark on a busy schedule that starts with the Tal Memorial (Kramnik, Anand, Aronian…) in 10 days’ time, but first we have one last treat – a Q&A session where you can ask the 7-time Russian Champion a question and see it answered in his live show on Saturday. ...

September 15, 2016

Nigel Short calls anti-cheating rule “anti-chess”; Full Article From: Chess24

Nigel Short’s greatest moment of the Olympiad – a match-winning victory over China’s Li Chao – almost turned to disaster. He received an official warning, but not a forfeit, for refusing to undergo a security check during the game. In this interview with IM Dorsa Derakhshani, the former World Championship Challenger vents his fury at those behind some of the new anti-cheating regulations, commenting, “they are ruining the very beauty that is chess.” ...

September 15, 2016

Anand: "In Chess, 40 Is the New 50"; By Editor; Full Article From: ChessBase

Former World Champion Vishy Anand is now 46 and a new father but doesn't plan to give up the game any time soon. He talks about his age and fatherhood and, of course, chess, in a recent interview with Susan Ninan of ESPN. Of the other players in the Candidates, he says, "I played my first Candidates before three of them were born or maybe one was a toddler." But he does admit that chess is becoming harder for older players to keep up, and one of the reasons is computers. He says, "So everyone is drowning in all this computer information, learning new things. The speed in which chess evolves, if you generate an idea you can probably use it just once since everyone else figures it out then. These are general trends which affect all players; it's just that it's possibly harder for our generation of players." See the full interview ...

September 15, 2016

Can Anyone Be an IM or GM?; By Editor; Full Article From: Chess.com

The odds are very low, probably impossible if you've started as an adult. But chess coaches continue to get this question, so it deserves an answer. See how chess teacher IM Jeremy Silman answers it honestly from a new 19-year-old player with high hopes ...

September 14, 2016 e

18 conclusions from the 2016 Baku Olympiad ; by Colin McGourty; Full Article From: Chess24

The new-look USA team lived up to the hype to win the Chess Olympiad for the first time in 40 years, edging out Ukraine in a tiebreak cliff-hanger. All the big teams won as expected in the final round, giving Russia bronze and meaning India missed out this time round. In the women’s event it looked for a while as though Russia would beat China and win their 4th Olympiad gold in a row, but instead China turned the tables, giving Hou Yifan her first team gold medal as Poland took silver and Ukraine bronze. The Russian women didn't make the podium. We draw some conclusions from the event. ...

September 14, 2016

Daniel King's final report from the Baku Olympiad; by Frederic Friedel; Full Article From: ChessBase

In the final video report on the Baku Olympiad, Daniel King brings images and comments on the eleventh round. He talks about the big matches with the historic US victory, including the surprising tiebreak conundrums, which turned into a vertiable cliff-hanger, and a small chat with Ukraine's top board Pavel Eljanov. He discusses China's first Gold with Hou Yifan, and other tidbits from Azerbaijan. Plus additional on the spot interviews.

September 13, 2016

USA Wins the Olympiad; By Editor; Full Article From: TWIC

The American men's team has won its first Olympiad since 1976. Ukraine came in second, Russia third, India fourth, and Norway fifth. The team was composed of Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Samuel Shankland, and Ray Robson, with a very strong average of 2746. China won the women's section, and the American women (Irina Krush, Nazi Paikidze, Anna Zatonskih, Katerina Nemcova, and Sabina-Francesca Foisor) took a respectable sixth. See the story and games ...

September 13, 2016

Favorite website? Chessbase.com!; by Johannes Fischer; Full Article From: ChessBase

Chessplayers from all over the world meet at the Chess Olympiad in Baku, super grandmasters and professionals, amateurs and casual players. This creates a unique atmosphere and lots of chances for a little chat. Which the ChessBase team in Baku likes to use for interviews with a variety of players. Fabiano Caruana and Robert Hess were both ready to answer a barrage of questions in 99 seconds. ...

September 12, 2016

The "Chess Train" rolls again ; Full Article From: ChessBase

The "Chess Train" journey is one of the most entertaining and charming chess events of the year. The voyage of the "Chess Train 2016" begins 7th October 2016 in Prague where it also ends on 11th October 2016, after stops in Regensburg, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Český Krumlov. During the day the participants play chess on the train, in the evening there is time to visit some of the most beautiful and culturally interesting cities of Europe. However, keep in mind that only a limited number of tickets are available - and these are very much in demand. ...

September 12, 2016

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov applies for US citizenship; Full Article From: ChessBase

At first it seems to be hard to believe but according to the Russian News Agency TASS Kirsan Ilyumzhinov sent a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama to apply for US citizenship. This surprising move by the FIDE President seems to be directed against the sanctions imposed on him by the U.S. Department of Treasury. As Ilyumzhinov explained, as a US citizen the sanctions "could be considered at a local court". ...

September 10, 2016

The Record Holder: Eugenio Torre ; Full Article From: ChessBase

Eugenio Torre from the Philippines, Asia's first grandmaster, is a phenomenon. In Baku he plays his 23rd Olympiad, more than any other player in chess history. Torre, who once qualified for the Candidate Matches and at his peak was number 17 in the world, gave his olympic debut in Siegen 1970 and since then has won three bronze medals for his results on board one. He is 64 years old, but still very strong. In Baku he plays on board three for the Philippines and started with 6.0/7 and an Elo-performance of 2712. A short tribute. ...

September 5, 2016

Lesson in strategy: knowing your classics; Full Article From: Chessbase

In the third round of the Baku Olympiad 2016, Evgeny Tomashevsky was playing Iordachescu. In their game, the Russian had a dominating knight on d4 against his opponent's sick-looking bishop on e6, yet he captured the bishop with his knight in what seemed to be a positively paradoxical move. Had he blundered? Or was there a hidden reason behind this choice? The answer lies in a classic game played exactly 31 years ago by Anatoly Karpov! ...

September 3, 2016

How to Follow Elite Tournaments

Do you skip out on following the top GM tournaments, telling yourself, "Why bother? I'll never be able to understand games at that level"? Nonsense, says FM Kostya Kavutskiy, who has three tips for getting the most out of elite tournaments. One, watch live commentary, he says. "Apart from live lessons, this is the best way to hear a GM's unfiltered thoughts," he says. Two, read daily reports, where you can get analysis by the players themselves. And, three, choose a player and play what he or she plays. See Kavutskiy's article:
Here.

September 3, 2016

Playing Chess for 100 Years ?!

From ChessBase: It is tempting to think that must be a typo. 110 years old? Or that the description is a generous exaggeration to link this supercentenarian (the official term for anyone reaching 110) to the noble game, but neither is the case. Zoltan Sarosy, born in Hungary in 1906, is the oldest man living in Canada, and was a professional chess player with titles from the 1920s to the 1980s, winning the Canadian Correspondence Championship three times. Here is a look at a man who has literally played chess for 100 years.
Here.

September 3, 2016

Protest of FIDE's New Anti-Cheating Toilet Rule

Three team captains at the Olympiad are collecting signatures to protest a new anti-cheating rule in effect there: players must inform the arbiter when they have to use the toilet. The protesters say the rule is humiliating for players, that it is unnecessary since the bathrooms have always been part of the playing area, that it will give the opponent a clock advantage, and that it will require arbiters to remain always at their posts in case a player has to use the bathroom urgently. They say, for example, that older players have to go more often, and that doesn't mean they are cheating. See the story: here.

September 2, 2016

Carlsen Opens with 1. e3

At the 42d Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, World Champion Magnus Carlsen opened his round 2 game with 1. e3, the first time he has ever played that move. Now, that can happen on the Internet when your mouse slips, but this game was over the board! Carlsen transposed into a Nimzo/Queen's Indian and won in 33 moves. Baku has spent 13.3 million euros on this year's Olympiad, making it the most lavish ever, and parts of the opening ceremony reminded us of the Olympics. See the story:
Chess.com: Here,
ChessBase: Here.

September 1, 2016

August Wrap-Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

Big News !! While, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), was postponed again at the request of our host, the Arlington Forest United Methodist Church, the tournament will be returning again starting October 22, 2016. There is a new pastor and the church needed the space for welcoming events. This inactivity has and will have no effect on the regular Friday evening ACC club meetings or DC Chess League matches. ACC meets every Friday starting at 7pm and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

In other club activity, ACC had a great turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), a over 50 players battled it out in a normally slow month for the Ladder Prize. There are more 2000- and 2100-level players participating lately. This month, Mark Hyland tied with Dennis Franco (2.5/4.0) both holding off 10 players tied for 2nd (2/4) just a half point behind. In a high turnout for the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 16 players competed with newcomer Niccolo Hilgendorf winning sole 1st place (3/3) followed by Andy Huang in 2nd place (2.5/3.0) and SIX players tying for 3rd behind them (2/2). For a change, there were few draws in this event.

August 31, 2016

Tactical Detector

From ChessVibes: Tactics. After thousands of books written on this concept, after the development of several excellent tactical training tools (such as Chess.com's own Tactics Trainer), after the release of countless free engines that serve as paragons of tactical invincibility, what else can be said? I'll answer in one word: plenty! See more:
Here.

August 31, 2016

FIDE Congress - New chess laws, championships and more

From ChessBase: The Olympiad in Baku is about to start, and naturally all eyes in the chess world will turn towards this huge event. However, the team competition is not the only noteworthy event taking place, there is also the very significant FIDE Congress held near the end. Here is a preview of what will be covered, from the proposed change to allow challenges for the title, to the Chief Arbiter report of the Candidates, and even changes in the Laws of Chess.
Here.

August 31, 2016

World Championship: Sponsorship Agreement

From ChessBase: The 2016 World Championship will take place from November 11th to 30th in the Fulton Market Building in New York. Now AGON, is the official partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and owner the World Chess brand as well as commercial rights holder to the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle, has announced that a green Russian fertiliser manufacturer has signed a strategic partnership with AGON to finance the match. See press release:
Here.

August 29 & 27, 2016

Take a Crack at These Killer Chess Problems

For the second straight year, Polish player Kacper Piorun won the 40th World Chess Solving Championship held last month in Belgrade. Now, we should warn you that these problems are tough, but former champ John Nunn has selected some of the easier ones and provided clear explanations to help you become a better solver.
Solutions part 1: Here,
Solutions part 2: Here.

August 29, 2016

Chess Volunteer Gets Hit with a £300,000 Tax Bill

For 20 years, Mike Basman has organized the Delancey UK Schools Chess Challenge, which includes 1200 British schools and up to 70,000 children, making it the largest chess championship anywhere. But now Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (the British IRS) has told Mr. Basman he owes £300,000 for value-added taxes that must be levied on entry fees. Mr. Basman, 70, doesn't have the money. He said, "There's no way I can pay this. I'm a chess teacher, and my work is to run a tournament, not to collect tax." See the story:
Here.

August 28, 2016

Machine creativity: what it is and what it isn't

From ChessBase: As technology and computer science advance, the contributions of computers to human knowledge have made it harder and harder to delineate which part of the equation was the more essential, humans or the computers they used. Obviously we cannot outcalculate the top computers anymore than we can outrun a car, but one area we still outdo machines is in creativity, right? Is this still true, and if so, for how long? See more:
Here.

August 27, 2016

40th World Chess Solving Championship – solutions

From ChessBase: During the first week of August the city of Belgrade, famous for many notable chess events in the past, hosted the 40th World Chess Solving Championship. The event was covered vigorously in the national media, and it was won by the Polish participants. John Nunn, who won the Seniors section, sent us a report with some very nice problems for our readers to solve. Today he presents the solutions, annotated in his wonderfully lucid style. Full article:
here.

August 23, 2016

Impressions From British Championship

From ChessBase: Michael Adams has been a member of the world’s elite for twenty odd years. Like Anand, Gelfand, Ivanchuk, and others he is a player who has turned 40 but refuses to go away. These days he often has to face opponents half his age. In the recently concluded British Championship Adams scored a stunning 10.0/11 points to take his fifth title. Manuel Weeks shows us some of the highlights from the event with training questions for you to solve. More:
Here.

August 22, 2016

Interview: Hou Yifan

Before becoming a chess player, Women's World Champion Hou Yifan says she wanted to be a detective. "I found out that there are similarities between the two things, because both need theoretical thinking," she says. In a recent interview with online trading company Tradimo, she also says she would rather achieve 2700 than another world championship. On being rich, she says, "If we can play the top men’s events, be a Top 10 player in the world, it could be kind of promising, but for a women’s player, even if you are playing a World Championship match, it is probably a little bit better than a normal job, but it is nevertheless far away from the 'rich' level." See more:
Here.

August 21, 2016

Interview: Jeffery Xiong, World Junior Champion

From ChessBase: It was a dominating performance from the American, as he secured his tournament win with a round to spare. Jeffery Xiong (pictured with his father) becomes the first player from the US to win this tournament in 19 years! We bring you an express report on his tournament, including annotations on his key and flashy victory against Aravindh, and will update with an extensive interview.
ChessBase: Here,

Chess 24: Here.

August 20, 2016

Huffington Post: Wesley So

From Huffington: “I am living a dream,” exclaimed Wesley So after winning the 2016 Sinquefield Cup, the strongest tournament of his life and one of the year's best. With this victory he took the lead in the Grand Chess Tour. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek shows us how Wesley handled a sharp Catalan against Hikaru Nakamura, Kavalek also looks at the best game of the event, Nakamura vs Ding, and a geometrical gem by Ulf Andersson from 2012. There's a lot to learn. See more:
Huffington: Here,

ChessBase Interview: Here,

TWIC: Here.

August 19, 2016

Paul Keres: Prince without a Crown

From Chess24: In 2016 the chess world lost Viktor Korchnoi, many people’s choice as the strongest player never to become World Champion. Another contender for that title is Paul Keres (1916-1975), the great Estonian grandmaster, who would have turned 100 this year. To mark his centenary his compatriot Joosep Grents looks back on the life and career of the “Eternal Second”, starting with Keres’ early years until his explosion onto the international scene at the 1935 Olympiad.
Here,
Here.

August 18, 2016

Mate with Bishop and Knight

Could you pull off the K+B+N vs. K mate, the most difficult of the elementary mates? We have at least one ACC club member who was in that situation and was able to find the way against an opponent who wouldn't resign and made him play it out to the bitter end. Here's a great two-part lesson on the mate from lichess.org:
Here.

August 16, 2016

Chess Trash Talk

Isn't chess supposed to be a gentleman's game? Alas, trash talk has come now even to chess. After the Sinquefield Cup concluded, Garry Kasparov, Yasser Seirawan, Rex and Randy Sinquefield, and the tournament players got together for some informal team blitz. But the trash talk was the highlight. See for yourself:
Here.

August 16 & 11, 2016

Someone Who Excels At Everything Including Chess

From ChessBase: Who is the youngest player to become the World Junior Champion in the history of the game? Kasparov? Anand? Karpov? No, none of them. It is the French grandmaster Joel Lautier. In part one of the interview with Joel Lautier we spoke about Joel's early chess career, his World Junior victory, and his battles against Garry Kasparov. In the second part Lautier narrates his exciting story of working with Kramnik as a second and how the Berlin Defence came into play. He also tells us about the ACP and reveals the reason why he left chess. Reading this interview you will realize that it is absolutely no miracle that the man excels at everything he does. More:
Part 1: Here,
Part 2: Here.

August 15, 2016

Wesley So Wins Sinquefield Cup

$75,000 is not bad for nine day's work. That was the size of American Wesley So's check for winning the Sinquefield Cup with a score of 5.5/9 and an amazing performance of 2857. But it was hard work. He had to compete against nine of the world's top players, six of them in the world top ten. The Sinquefield Cup is the third of four Grand Chess Tour tournaments. See the story:
Here.

August 13, 2016

What Does Nakamura Think about the World Championship?

When world #6 Hikaru Nakamura was recently asked what he thought about the World Championship, he said he was disappointed with the location and thought the World Championship cycle should be more like tennis's Grand Slam. Hear his reasons in the following video (the Nakamura interview begins at 3:22):
Here.

August 9, 2016

Sinquefield Cup Round 4 Report

Round 4 of the Sinquefield Cup has ended with draws in all 5 games, making a total of 10 consecutive draws. One of those games can be blamed on food poisoning. In what could have been an exciting Benoni, Aronian transposed into a drawish Queen's Gambit against Caruana, and the game ended in a short, 30-move draw. Aronian apologized afterwards, explaining that he had a bout of food poisoning and wanted to get the game over quickly. At this point in the tournament, four players (So, Anand, Aronian, and Topalov) are tied with 2.5 points each.
Round 4 report: Here,
Live games here: Here.

August 8, 2016

Confirmed: World Championship in New York

The 2016 World Championship Match between champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Sergey Karjakin will be held in the Fulton Market Building in New York City Nov. 11–30, thus dispelling rumors that the match might be moved to Moscow. The sponsors for the event have not yet been announced. ChessBase has pictures of the setting as well as the schedule here:
Here.

August 5, 2016

Does Playing Chess Make Your Children Smarter?

Educational experts have long thought that chess improves concentration and confidence in children, therefore improving their grades. However, a recent study in England showed no improvement in math scores. After 30 hours of chess instruction each, 3000 primary school children did no better on two key math exams than did other students who had not received the chess lessons. Perhaps chess lessons only improve your chess game. See the story:
Here.

August 4, 2016

Russian Federation Proposal to FIDE

From ChessBase: The FIDE office in Athens has received a proposal by the President of the RCF suggesting that World Champion should in the future be allowed to "accept the challenge of any player who can contribute to the prize fund and the costs of holding of the match." FIDE would get 50% of the prize fund. The proposal, which is to be discussed in September at the FIDE Congress in Baku, has met with immediate protest from the Association of Chess Professionals. Full article:
Here.

August 3, 2016

Interviews with Chess Legends in Denmark

From Chess24: In Round 8 of the Xtracon Chess Open Alexei Shirov beat Jan Timman while Boris Gelfand commentated live on the game, as though 25 years of chess history had never happened. Shirov went on to tie for first place with six more players, and while 19-year-old Matthias Bluebaum took the trophy on tiebreaks it was the veterans who stole the show. Simen Agdestein and Julio Granda were among the players interviewed by the organisers, with top seed Granda confessing to never having been a chess fan and finding most elite chess games boring. We have highlights from the interviews.
Here.

August 3, 2016

What GMs Fear Most II (in Simuls)

From ChessBase: In this part two of this article – part one had grandmasters tell us what they fear most during simuls – two FIDE masters recall their most memorable games from playing in simuls. Normally, FMs give simuls rather than play in simuls. Long before he became an FM, Keith Hayward played in grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek’s simul. The second FM, William Schill, couldn’t pass up the chance to play the current World Champion. They describe the experience:
Here.

August 3, 2016

Live Coverage of British Championship

Chess24 has live coverage of the 103rd British Championship. After 9 rounds, Michael Adams leads a field of 86 players with a score of 8/9. This is a good tournament to watch because many of the players are well known to us because we have so many of their excellent chess books! The tournament concludes on Aug. 5. Get live coverage:
Here.

August 2, 2016

July Wrap-Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

In July, the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), had to be cancelled at the last minute at the request of our host, the Arlington Forest United Methodist Church. There is a new pastor and the church needed the space for welcoming events. The August event also had to be cancelled. This new activity will have no effect on the regular Friday evening ACC club meetings or DC Chess League matches. ACC meets every Friday starting at 7pm and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

But otherwise, ACC saw excellent turnout for the other events held this month. For the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5), a whopping 75 players battled it out for the Ladder Prize (usually club Ladder entries tops out in the fifties each month). There are more 2000- and 2100-level players participating lately. This month, Xing Jian tied with newcomer Reevu Adakroy (4/5) both holding off 3 players tied for 3rd (3.5/4) and two others at (3/4). In a high turnout for the ACC Action tournament (5 rounds, G/30, d5), 18 players competed with Isaac Chiu and Missaka Warusawitharana tying for 1st place (3/3) with SEVEN players tying for 3rd behind them (2/2). For a change, there were few draws in this event.

August 1, 2016

A Gamer? or Just a Chess Player?

From ChessBase: The Czech Open held in Pardubice is one of those events that is just a joy to follow and see unfold. Although chess is its greatest focus with a very strong open, followed by opens of all kinds for every variant there is such as Chess 960, bughouse, problem solving… you name it, it is a festival of games from classics such as bridge, go and backgammon, to Rubik’s cube, Mankala and Smoking Cat! Here is a huge pictorial with commented games.
Here.

August 1, 2016

5 Reasons Chess Is Better Than Pokémon Go

Chess.com writer "Pete" says, "Pokémon Go is the fastest-growing smartphone game in history, and it's been dominating the news since its launch in July, at least in the gaming world. But is it a better game than chess? We don't think so." Read his funny article here to find out why he thinks so:
Here.

August 1, 2016

Kramnik Withdraws from Sinquefield Cup

Citing "health issues," world #3 Vladimir Kramnik has withdrawn from the Sinquefield Cup, which will start Aug. 5. Russian Peter Svidler was invited to take his place, and he has accepted. The Sinquefield Cup, the third of four tournaments in the Grand Chess Tour, is the strongest annual tournament on U.S. soil and will feature ten of the world's top players, including three Americans. How strong is it? The lowest-rated player is rated 2754!
Story here: Here,
Player bios: Here.

August 1, 2016

Video Master Class: Korchnoi

Among the many activities and events hosted at the Biel Chess Festival were two excellent Master Classes. The first was presented by MVL, and this second one is by GM Daniel King together with GM Yannick Pelletier. The theme is suitably a tribute to Viktor Korchnoi, who was a Swiss citizen for much of his life, and his games played at the Biel tournaments. Enjoy this video presentation on Viktor the Terrible! See video:
Here.

July 31, 2016

What GMs Fear Most (In Simuls))

Your best chance to draw or win against a grandmaster is to play one in a simultaneous exhibition. In part one of this article by WIM Dr Alexey Root, grandmasters tell us what they fear most during simuls – and why, despite those challenges, they enjoy giving them. Read more:
Here.

July 31, 2016

Interview: Karjakin On Spain

Sergey Karjakin’s last individual tournament before his World Championship match against Magnus Carlsen didn’t go to plan. He failed to win a single game in the 2016 Bilbao Masters, and lost the first game and came close to losing the second against the World Champion. The Russian star reflects on his performance in a recent interview and talks about the Russian team’s chances in the upcoming Olympiad in Baku. See more:
Here.

July 30, 2016

Mihalcisin: Critical Moments

The idea of critical moments is not hard to understand, and perhaps because of this is so easy to underestimate. These key moments in our games are essentially the turning point, leading to a decisive and negative change if missed or played improperly. Veteran trainer Adrian Mikhalchishin casts his expert eye on this topic to teach the student to recognize them and not misplay them. See more:
here.

July 27, 2016

Interview: Svidler

On his 40th birthday Peter Svidler was in Almaty to play in the Eurasian Blitz Cup and gave an interview for the Kazakhstan edition of Esquire magazine. He talked about the life of a chess player, the phenomenon and likely consequences of the popularity of chess in Norway, and how he’s already beginning to think about what he might do when he can no longer play chess at the very highest level. Hear more:
here.

July 22, 2016

Interview: Nigel Davies

Currently, Grandmaster Nigel Davies, author of 40 DVDs and 17 books, does not play in tournaments. But he attends them, as parental support for his 14-year-old son Sam. In this interview, Nigel discusses chess improvement, the concept of being fully engaged, martial arts and fighting, chess parenting, and why he and Sam are in different chess federations. Read more:
here.

July 22, 2016

Chess Dodging Terror

In a world that seems to have gone mad, it was yet another act of terror that has almost left us numb after so many in succession. Gunmen had entered the Olympia mall in Munich, killing eight. The laws of probability said that even chess might someday become a casualty and today seemed like that day might have come as a massive chess event took place right there expecting over ten thousand children. Read more:
here.

July 22, 2016

Featured Website: ChessKid.com

From time to time, we like to point out nice discoveries we've made on the internet, and this week we want to tell you about ChessKid.com, which is a part of Chess.com. The site says, "ChessKid.com is specifically designed to be a safe and fun place for kids. The website is kid-friendly and easy to navigate. Lessons and videos are short, engaging and fun!" You'll see that it also provides help to parents, schools, clubs, teachers, and coaches. Check it out:
here.

July 21, 2016

Bilbao: World Championship Preview?

In round 8 of the Bilbao Masters, Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen played for the last time before their World Championship Match in November. If fans were expecting an exciting preview of the fierce duel to come, they didn't get it. The two played to a quick draw by repetition in only 19 moves in one of the least exciting games of the tournament. Carlsen has a comfortable lead in the 6-player tournament with two rounds to go. See the story:
here.

July 20, 2016

Dawn of Komodo

Komodo is a chess program that is different from the rest. Its search makes greater use of extensions than any other top engine, which allows Komodo to often see deeper than the others, even if it is displaying a slightly lower search depth. Still, have you ever wondered about the birth of a top chess engine? Here is its tale and the actors whose passion and genius fueled its creation. Read more:
here.

July 17, 2016

The Perfect Pawn Center

Is a "perfect" pawn center, one in which your king and queen pawns are on the fourth rank, a winning advantage? As John Nunn explains in his Understanding Chess Move By Move, "A pawn center well supported by pieces is desirable, whereas one that is overextended and vulnerable is not. The dividing line between these two cases is often quite fine, and may depend on tactical nuances specific to the given position." Chess.com writer "GM Gserper" uses some obscure games to show the difference. See his enjoyable article:
here.

July 16, 2016

The Big Book of World Chess Championships

During World War I, Alexander Alekhine, who would go on to become the fourth World Champion, was captured by the Germans, later served with the Red Cross in Italy, and later narrowly escaped a death sentence because a Ukrainian chess master was able to get him a pardon. Mikhail Tal, the eighth World Champion, was a good piano player despite having only three fingers on his right hand. In the Candidates Tournament leading up to the match with Bobby Fischer in 1972, reportedly there was match fixing between Petrosian and Korchnoi because Soviet officials felt that Petrosian had the better chance to beat Fischer. These stories and more appear in Andre Schulz's The Big Book of World Chess Championships. See John Watson's excellent review of the book:
here.

July 15, 2016

** New ** ACC Club Pictures

Arlington Chess Club has uploaded a host of club pictures from the last two years including from the DC Chess League. All the older pictures are still available as well - they can be found of the link to the Photo Archives page. You can see them all:
here.

July 14, 2016

Chess Informant: Annotation Symbols

Every chess player knows what ? and ! mean, but do you really know what all those other, more obscure annotation symbols mean in chess books? Here is the list of the Chess Informant symbols adopted by many chess book publishers, and it's a good website to bookmark:
here.

July 16, 2016

Bibao Rd 3: Carlsen Trounces Karjakin

Magnus Carlsen took the sole lead after three rounds of the Bilbao Masters Final with a convincing win against Sergey Karjakin. With three points for a win and one for a draw Carlsen leads with 6/9 a point clear of Hikaru Nakamura. Read more:
King Video: here,
TWIC: here,
Chessbase: here.

July 13, 2016

Bilbao: Nakamura Beats Carlsen in Round 1

American Hikaru Nakamura has beaten Magnus Carlsen in round 1 of the Bilbao Masters. This is the first time Nakamura has beaten Carlsen at classical time controls. The tournament is the strongest underway now and features 6 of the world's top players, but what is most interesting about it is that it will be the last time we see World Champion Carlsen playing against Challenger Sergey Karjakin before their World Championship Match in November. See the story:
here.

July 12, 2016

Picking the Correct Opening Repertoire

"You must pick an opening that gives you a sense of excitement and joy whenever that opening appears on the board," writes GM Simon Williams. "After all," he continues, "if you enjoy an opening, you will naturally play it well." Williams goes on to give 4 other rules for choosing an opening repertoire, and you can see them all:
here.

July 12, 2016

Speelman: Korchnoi Tribute

arguably the strongest player never to become world champion. Viktor Korchnoi died just under a month ago, and a lot has been written about this super-grandmaster who had played against six generations of chess players. Jonathan Speelman, who faced him 18 times, has written an insightful eulogy in CHESS magazine, which includes a number of little-known pictures. Check it out:
here.

July 11, 2016

Summer Chess Festivity, Jerusalem

The National Cup games in Israel are a traditional one-day rapid team competition. For the first time this popular event was hosted by the Israeli capital, Jerusalem. Alongside this massive team competition with 38 teams was a series of parallel activities for aficionados and children, with balloons, chess, arts and craft, chess, actors, and more chess! Read more:
here.

July 10, 2016

Q&A with Mark Dvoretsky

Mark Dvoretsky, perhaps the world’s best known chess coach, has been in Hamburg this week to film two video series for chess24. With the hard work over, he’s now available for one final treat – a live Question and Answer session on Monday. Ever wanted to ask a true expert about how to approach your own chess – or want to hear about his experiences with some chess legends? This was your chance!
Chessbase: here,
Video: here.

July 9, 2016

Chess Masters Tackle the Gender Gap

The gender gap in chess persists: there are no women on the list of the world's top 100 rated players. No one yet understands why, but perhaps there is progress. At an elite clinic for young masters at the Marshall Chess Club last week, 4 of the 14 top young masters were girls. One of them was Virginia's 14-year-old Jennifer Yu. See the story:
here.

July 6, 2016

Germany Wins World Senior 50+ Team Championship

Many of us would take offense that the chess world considers you a "senior" if you're over 50, but that is how the World Senior Team Championship in Radebeul, Germany, classified it. Germany won the 50+ section, but Russia remains a major chess power and won the 65+ and women's sections. Each team was made up of five players. See the story:
here.

July 5, 2016

Komodo Is World Computer Chess Champion

Komodo 10 has won the International Computer Games Association (ICGA) World Computer Chess Championship. Komodo, running on a 48-core computer, beat out five other very strong chess engines, including Jonny, which was running on 2400 cores. Although many chess engine enthusiasts consider the TCEC competition the real world championship and note that Stockfish, Komodo's usual strongest competitor, did not participate, the ICGA tournament is nevertheless an extremely strong one. Komodo was developed by the late Don Dailey, Mark Lefler, and Arlington Chess Club's GM Larry Kaufman. It is rated 3362. That's 507 points higher than the current human world champion! See the story:
here.

July 5, 2016

Interview - Dvoretsky on Computers

Mark Dvoretsky is the world’s best known chess coach. In a recent interview the 68-year-old talked about how Magnus Carlsen has been the trendsetter for chess players to move away from opening theory, the influence of computers on the middlegame and endgame, and how Sergey Karjakin is in a similar position to the Russian football team as he tries to win the World Championship. See more:
here.

July 2, 2016

Impeachment for Ilyumzhinov?

Chess-News learnt that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov might face an impeachment procedure during the coming FIDE General Assembly that will take place in Baku in September. In order to do so it is necessary to collect 50% plus one delegates' vote. See more:
here.

July 2, 2016

Interview - Gelfand: On Missing Baku

Boris Gelfand will not play in the 2016 Olympiad in Baku, his first absence from the world’s top team event since he moved from Belarus to Israel in 1998. The reason is a dispute with the Israeli Chess Federation management, who he accuses in a recent interview of having “absolutely forgotten about such things as the prestige of the country”. The interview covers much more than that sad topic, though, including Boris’ thoughts on how lucky his generation was to be able to combine the best of the pre-computer age with new technology. See more:
here.

July 2, 2016

Carlsen Drops Out of GCT

Although Magnus Carlsen is leading the Grand Chess Tour after two events, he is dropping out to start preparing himself for the World Championship in November against challenger Sergey Karjakin. The first two GCT tournaments were speed events. The next two, in St. Louis and London, will have classical time controls. In the GCT, players get to drop their lowest result from the four events. See the story:
here.

July 1, 2016

June Wrap-Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

In June, the DC Chess League (DCCL) decided to hold all matches at the Arlington Chess Club for the near future. The first couple of rounds have been put in the books and the transition appears to have completed without a hitch though some Amateur section teams have dropped out for at least the summer session. Some 50 players fought it out over boards of 64 squares on the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5) this past month. Xing Jian tied with Lev Bargramian (2.5/4) both holding off Kevin Carriere and Thomas P. Moore by a half point (2/4) to win the Ladder. In a low turnout in the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), newcomer Lokesh Palani swept through the competition to win first place (4.5/5) followed by Andrew Samuelson in second (4/5) and Mauro Boffa in 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 Section, David Lin spotted the field a game after an early loss but then ran the board to win first place (4/5) followed by Yevgeny Dodzin in second (3.5/4) and Micah Shenk-Evans in third (3/5). Adamson Steiner won another class prize (U1400) as did Sachin Satishkumar (U1200). In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 14 players competed with both Sam Schenk and newcomer Missaka Warusawitharana sweeping their opponents to tie for first place(3/3).

June 30, 2016

What Is the Initiative?

We all know that having the initiative in chess is an advantage. But what is it, really? Chess teacher Jeremy Silman says, "An initiative isn’t necessarily an attack. It just means that you are calling the shots and your opponent has to respond." But the initiative is only a temporary advantage; you must convert it into a long-term, static one. Silman goes on to elaborate with examples, and you can read his article:
here.

June 30, 2016

The Blindfold King

Later this year, GM Timur Gareyev is going to play 47 opponents at once while blindfolded in an attempt to break the current world record of 46. While preparing for it, he agreed to let a team of neuroscientists from UCLA put him in an MRI and observe how his brain worked as he played four chess games blindfolded. It turns out that Gareyev has above average visualization regions in his parietal lobe. Read his story:
here.

June 29, 2016

Interview - Wojtaszek on Carlsens

Radosław Wojtaszek is Poland’s no. 1 and one of the top 30 players in the world. The highlight of his career so far has been beating World Champion Magnus Carlsen and then world no. 2 Fabiano Caruana in the space of three rounds in the 2015 Tata Steel Masters. In a recent interview he talks about what went right, and then wrong, at that tournament, and, as the husband of Russian Grandmaster Alina Kashlinskaya, he talks about men and women in chess.. See more:
here.

June 28, 2016

Interview - Karjakan: Prepping for Carlsen

Sergey Karjakin will take on Magnus Carlsen in the Bilbao Masters in two weeks’ time, though it’s of course just a dress rehearsal for the big one – the 2016 World Chess Championship match in New York this November. In a recent interview the challenger talked about that match and how it’s affecting his tournaments this year. See more:
here.

June 24, 2016

A month in the life of Garry Kasparov

What does a legendary World Chess Champion do when he retires? Appear as a VIP guest at chess events, or as a celebrities at social events. Not the 13th World Champion who jets across the globe holding political, business and chess speaking events, with participation in a world class blitz tournament as a quick interlude. Garry Kasparov sent us a description of hs recent activities. You should especially watch the video lecture at the end of the report. See more:
here.

June 23, 2016

Luxury Weekend in Marrakech

Looking for something special – we mean really special? How about a weekend of chess, with two well-known British GMs (Short and Conquest) providing daily classes and lectures, in the most luxurious surroundings you can imagine (in Marrakech, Marocco)? It will set you back £2,000 per person, all inclusive, plus £600 for a partner in the same room. Before you shelve the idea take a look at these pictures. See more:
here.

June 22, 2016

Chess to Music

One of the most popular youtube video channels is run by Kurt Hugo Schneider. The young US-American can boast of seven million followers which makes him more popular than the NBA. Schneider is also an excellent chessplayer and was once one of the most promising talents in the US. But he then decided to use his creativity to change modern music. See more:
here.

June 20, 2016

Carlsen Wins YourNextMove

World Champion Magnus Carlsen has won the YourNextMove GCT rapid and blitz tournament, the second of four Grand Chess Tour events for 2016. American player Hikaru Nakamura, normally a superstar at blitz, finished in a disappointing fourth place. The tournament was played in Leuven, Belgium. The next Grand Tour event will be the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, which starts on Aug. 1. See the story:
here.

June 20, 2016

Carlsen wins Grand Chess Tour Leuven

In Paris, at the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2016, Hikaru Nakamura was able to get the better of World Champion Magnus Carlsen. But at the second Grand Chess Tour tournament 2016 in Leuven Carlsen came back with a vengeance. He showed an impressive performance in the second part of the blitz tournament and won the event convincingly. See more:
ChessBase Report: here,

Reviewing Tour: here.

June 16, 2016

Russia Beats China

The tenth friendship match between Russia and China in Moscow ended in a narrow 25.5-24.5 victory for Russia. It was Russia's women's team that decided the event in Russia's favor. The men drew their match 12.5-12.5 but the Russian women beat the Chinese 13-12. The result could have even been clearer had the Russian women used all their chances in the final round. See more:
ChessBase Report: here,

Inside The Match: here.

June 14, 2016

IM Daniel Kopec dies at 62

A highly talented home-bred US player, New York High School Champion at 14, National Master at 17, Scottish Champion at 26, he was also a computer science professor at Brooklyn College, with a PhD in Machine Intelligence. In the chess world he is best known for the "Bratko-Kopec" test used to evaluate the positional understanding of chess programs. We bring you a video eulogy with analysis of his games. See more:
here.

June 13, 2016

Russia v. China

Since 2001 Russia and China play friendship chess matches against each other. The tenth of these friendship matches takes place from 11th to 15 June in Moscow. Each team consists of five players and each player of one team plays against all players from the other team. After three rounds the score in the men's event is even but in the women's event Russia leads 8.5-6.5. See more:
here.

June 13, 2016

Nakamura Wins Grand Chess Tour Paris

American GM Hikaru Nakamura is practically unbeatable at fast time controls, and he's proved it once again. Paris was the home of the first tournament of this year's Grand Chess Tour. The format for the tournament was a grueling two days of 9 rapid games followed by two days of 18 blitz games. With two games to go, Nakamura was 2.5 ahead and had already cliched the win. He won the rapid portion of the tournament with a performance of 3001! He tied with World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the blitz portion, but that was enough to win overall. American players Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana finished in 4th and 8th places, respectively. Stay tuned for more Grand Chess Tour events, which pits ten of the world's top players together. See the story:
here.

June 10, 2016

Chess Vacations

Playing chess in nice surroundings has a lot of advantages. If you play well, you will enjoy the nice surroundings even more. And if you do not play well, you can always enjoy the nice surroundings. When Alina l'Ami played a small, fine tournament in Salento, Italy, her results could have been better but she enjoyed the tournament and the place. Large pictorial report. See more:
here.

June 6, 2016

Viktor Korchnoi Dead at 85

GM Viktor Korchnoi, considered to be the strongest player never to have won the World Championship, died on June 6 at the age of 85. Korchnoi was the Soviet champion four times. He played in ten Candidates Tournaments, winning twice. In the 1974 Candidates, he lost to Anatoly Karpov, who was 20 years younger than he was, in a very close match. When Fischer declined to play the following year, Karpov became World Champion. After a tournament in Amsterdam in 1976, Korchnoi defected from the Soviet Union and settled eventually in Switzerland, where he later became the oldest player to win a national championship at the age of 78. Despite a stroke in 2012, he was the oldest active GM, having played in a simul as recently as 2015. Here are tributes by the chess world and the press:
ChessBase: here,

ChessBase 2: here,

Various Homage: here,

Kasparov: here,

Telegraph: here,

New York Times: here,

Chess 24: here,

Karpov: here,

Svidler: here,

Golubev: here,

Historic, Acers 1: here,

Historic, Acers 2: here,

Historic, Acers 3: here.

June 4, 2016

Mamedyarov Beats Caruana in Playoff at Shamkir

Although American Fabiano Caruana had been leading most of the way, Azerbaijani player Shakhriyar Mamedyarov made an amazing sprint at the end of the tournament, winning his last two games and then the playoff against Caruana to win the very strong Vugar Gashimov Memorial Tournament, which was held in Shamkir, Azerbaijan. Caruana is ranked third in the world, and Mamedyarov, 18th. See the story:
here.

June 3, 2016

Youngest IM Ever

Indian player R. Praggnanandhaa has become the youngest IM in history at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days, when he won his third norm at the KiiT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar, India. Incidentally, the player whose record he broke is Sergey Karjakin, the new challenger for this year's upcoming World Championship Match against Magnus Carlsen. Praggnanandhaa's rating is now 2415, and if he follows Karjakin's rapid rise, perhaps it's not too early to learn how to pronounce his name. Chess.com has the story here, as well as a list of the youngest GMs:
here.

June 2, 2016

"Developing the Initiative" by Timur Gareyev

By now you have seen and read the reports on GM Timur Gareev and his blindfold chess exploits. Aside from his unique focus, and fashion sense, his chess is also very attractive with a disregard for material and talent for attack that make for very enjoyable viewing. Sharing his understanding, he recorded a 60-minute masterclass on the initiative. See more:
here.

May 30, 2016

May Wrap-Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

This month,just under 50 players battled it our in the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5) as Josh Hiban (4/4) held off Xing Jian (3.5/4.0) by a half point. Their closest competitors had only a couple of points (2/4). In the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) 41 players battled it out with Yuri Barnakov (4.5/5.0) coming back to the area for a brief visit to spot the field half a point and then run the tables including beating top seed Andy Samuelson, who finished in sole second (4/5). In the U1700 Section, Ken Borghese and Srini Aiyer dominated (4/5) their way to tied 1st place (4/5) a half point ahead of Sachin Satishkumar in 3rd (and who picked up over 150 ratings points!). Adamson Steiner won the U1400 Class Prize (and about 100 rating points!) and Ritvika Palani won the U1200 Class Prize. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), 19 players competed with Isaac Chiu (3/3) knocking off Franco Jose on his way to a clear 1st win followed by Jason Spector and Kebadu Belachew tied for 2nd (2.5/3).

May 25, 2016

New Cheating Incident

The scourge of cheating continues to threaten the integrity of our game. The prize fund for the Delhi (India) Chess Association's Under 1600 Tournament was a million rupees (about $15,000). Such large prize funds can attract cheaters, and sure enough, this one did. After player Shrang Rajendra won the tournament with a score of 8.5/9, officials searched him and found a hidden cell phone and power supply in his trousers, as well as a micro earpiece in his right ear. In his statement, Rajendra admitted that he had used the phone and microphone to communicate moves with an accomplice, who was using a chess engine. You can see the devices used in the pictures that accompany the article here:
here.

May 23, 2016

Happy Birthday, Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Karpov, the 12th World Chess Champion, turned 65 on May 23. ChessBase writer Priyadarshan Banjan provides a fascinating look back at Karpov's career. Karpov was the world #1 player for 90 months, a record beaten only by Garry Kasparov. Karpov dominated chess from 1975 until Kasparov defeated him in 1985. But was that only because Bobby Fischer defaulted on the 1975 match? Read Banjan's fascinating story here:
here.

May 22, 2016

The Touch-Move Rule Outbreak

There has been a recent spate of touch-move rule infractions. Or has there? Maybe it only seems like it because so many more games are captured on video nowadays. Chess.com has an interesting set of videos of several very famous players, including Karpov, Kasparov, and Carlsen, all of whom apparently need a refresher on the rule. For example, in one of the videos, former World Champion Karpov castles by touching the rook first; that's a no-no. Watch the videos here:
here.

May 22, 2016

When Computers Used to Go Wrong

Tired of having your computer crush you at chess every time? Even when you turn on the "dumbed-down" settings? ChessBase founder Fredric Friedel, however, remembers when computers weren't so strong. Most readers will know that a bishop and a pawn against a lone king is a draw if the pawn is on the a- or h-file and the bishop doesn't control the queening square. Human players have known this for 500 years, but Friedel tells the story of how computers had to be taught it in the 1980s. Read his story:
Part 1: here,

Part 2: here.

May 21, 2016

Crushing Queen Pawn Openings

Some of our club members prefer to learn chess from books, some prefer chess teachers, and other prefers learning over the Internet. If you haven't discovered that last category yet, you're in for a pleasant surprise. YouTube has a huge number of chess lectures online, and they're mostly free. In the link below, we provide just one example, taken almost at random. It's an hour-long lecture by Bulgarian IM Valeri Livov in which he promises to show you "how to crush all those solid, positional 1.d4 players." See his "Crushing Queen Pawn Openings" here:
here.

May 21, 2016

Chess Progress: Making The Big Leap

Contrary to some fields where controlled steady progress is the norm, chess is dominated more often than not by timely bursts forward preceded by periods of seeming stagnation. It can be tricky knowing when it is one or the other. Here is the tale of just such a leap forward, as well as tips and recommendations to help you make your big leap. Full article:
here.

May 20, 2016

Hou Yifan Drops Out of the Cycle

Women's World Champ Hou Yifan has dropped out of the Women's World Championship cycle, in protest. She has been urging FIDE to adopt a qualifiers-Candidates-World Championship Match cycle for women, just as the men do, but FIDE won't go along. As it is now, the winner of the Women's Grand Prix circuit is the new World Champion. Hou Yifan believes the winner should be the challenger, not the new champion. Perhaps Hou Yifan is now strong enough to made changes. See her story here:
here.

May 18, 2016

Wilhelm Steinitz: A Short Tribute

In 1886 Steinitz won the first official match for the World Championship in chess against Hermann Zukertort to become the first World Champion in chess history. Steinitz is also considered to be the founder of the scientific approach to chess. A short biography and three games follow:
here.

May 14, 2016

How Underrated Are Kids? (Part 2)

In his first article studying the ratings disparities of juniors compared to adults, Ganesh Viswanath had studied the causal factors that might be responsible. In this second article, he posits, "I find that on average juniors are statistically underrated by up to 50 Elo rating points against adult players, and this bias increases with the age difference." Here is his statistical study:
here.

May 11, 2016

Carlsen: The Cool GM

The Norwegian has brought designer clothes and interactive apps to chess and in six months time he puts his reputation as the world’s best player on the line. ednesday marks the start of a six-month countdown to the World Chess Championship in New York, where Russia’s Sergey Karjakin will try to snatch the title from the champion, Magnus Carlsen from Norway, who has been holding it since 2013. See more:
here.

May 10, 2016

Ernesto Inarkiev Is the 2016 European Champion

Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev has won the European Championship with a score of 9/11 and a performance of 2882. Inarkiev is on a tear because he finished the Russian Team Championship just the week before with a 2901 performance. We probably need to keep our eye on this 30-year-old. The Week in Chess has the results here:
here.

May 10, 2016

A Fast King in the Corner

Some endgames are just magic. Endgame guru Karsten Müller writes a weekly column for ChessBase, and this week's has a position that looks hopeless for White. White's king is all the way in the corner while Black's king is nicely centralized, and Black has a passed pawn that White can't get to. Yet, by precise play, White can draw. Try the puzzle for yourself:
here.

May 9, 2016

Kramnik Puts Karjakin to Carlsen Test

An entire team of trainers has been working with Sergey Karjakin for quite some time; exactly how many new GMs have joined his team since he became the official world championship challenger will probably remain a mystery right until the end of his match with Carlsen this November. But yesterday in Sochi Karjakin gained a free yet priceless 138-move training game with Vladimir Kramnik. See more:
here,

here.

May 9, 2016

Russian Team Championship

You might expect the competition at the Russian Team Championship to be ferocious, and you would be right. Chess24 is closely following the event and has posted seven stories from the last three rounds, including the blunder of the tournament by rising star 18-year-old Vladislav Artemiev. See the stories here:
here.

May 8, 2016

China-USA Grandmaster Summit

Chinese #1 player Ding Liren and American #3 Wesley So played a 4-game match in Shanghai May 4-8. Ding won game 3 (the others were draws) and took the $20,000 first prize. So won $10,000, not bad for second place! See the games:
here.

May 6, 2016

In Memoriam: Dennis Strenzwilk

Denis F. Strenzwilk, Abingdon, MD, 04/14/16. He is predeceased by his parents, Frank Strenzwilk and Reca Strenzwilk of Rochester NY. He is survived by brother Alan Strenzwilk (Judy) and sisters Judy Scarlato and Karen Bryant-Rossi (Anthony) of Rochester NY and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Denis held a PhD in solid state physics and spent his entire working career at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. His avocations were golf and chess. He was a member of Maryland Golf and Country Club for many years and was active in The United States Chess Federation both as a player and authoring many chess articles. Services will be held privately. Published in Baltimore Sun on Apr. 21, 2016.

May 6, 2016

Kavalek: Immortal Blitz Game

The spectacular game Wesley So played at the Ultimate Blitz Challenge against legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov – with echos of Anderssen and Morphy – will go down in history. But there were other highlights in a month filled with exciting chess. Huffington Post columnist Lubomir Kavalek treats us to seven examples taken from the events in Norway and St Louis. See full article:
here.

May 2, 2016

Kavelek: US Championship and Norway

Grandmaster Kavalek reports on 2016 United States Championship and 4th Norway Chess with analyses of a game and some positions. See much more:
here.

April 30, 2016

Nakamura Blitz Champ!

Hikaru Nakamura dominated day two of the Ultimate Blitz. He scored 11.0/18 and finished a full point ahead of others. Wesley So took the second spot with 10 points and Garry Kasparov was right behind him on 9.5. Caruana was able to muster only 5.5 points. The event was a huge success as it attracted a lot of attention from fans all over the world. More: here.

April 30, 2016

April Wrap-Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

This month, we had the return of ACC's GM Simultaneous Exhibition Match (and lecture) this time featuring GM Sergey Erenberg! He gave a nearly 2-hour lecture examining a game of his where the continuation was very unclear and for which computer analysis cannot find the correct continuation. He followed this with a lecture on how to actively play with the isolani (isolated pawn). Those in attendance thought that not only did the games he chose excellently illustrate his points but Sergey had spent so much time preparing to examine every significant variation that everyone was left wanting to continue the lecture for another hour! A great time was had by all - where were you?!

Also this month, in the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) 42 players battled it out with Mauro Boffa and Andrew Samuelson tying for 1st-2nd (4/5) followed close behind by Muskee Books and Ako Heidari tied for 3rd (3.5/4). In the U1700 Section, Ben Siegel dominated (5/5 and 175 ratings points!) a full 1.5 points ahead of Gideon Lohr and Gary McMullin (3.5) who tied for 2nd-3rd. Rahul Palani won the U1400 Class Prize (and over 150 rating points!)and Jonah Treitler won the U1200 Class Prize. The club had another strong showing for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5) as nearly 70 players pushed wood! Youngster Phap Nguyen (4/4) held off Thomas Shupe (3.5/4) and Adam Chrisney and Tom Moore (3/4) to win the Ladder this month. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), only 10 players competed this month. Ako Heidari (3/3) took down 2100-rated Zach Martin on his way to a clear 1st win followed by Isaac Chiu (2.5/3).

April 30, 2016

Nakamura Blitz Champ!

Hikaru Nakamura dominated day two of the Ultimate Blitz. He scored 11.0/18 and finished a full point ahead of others. Wesley So took the second spot with 10 points and Garry Kasparov was right behind him on 9.5. Caruana was able to muster only 5.5 points. The event was a huge success as it attracted a lot of attention from fans all over the world. More: here.

April 29, 2016

Kasparov still has the magic!

It was exciting nine rounds of blitz chess. Day one ended with Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So taking the lead with 5.0/9. While the duo played well, the player of the day was surely Garry Kasparov. The 13th World Champion showed that he still is a force to reckon with as he played some scintillating games. We have loads of analysis, interesting moments and a touch move incident which was handled very maturely by Hikaru Nakamura. More: here.

April 28, 2016

Midwest Renaissance

Ashley: "Right now ... there are a few countries with a head start in chess development: China, Russia, India. But the U.S. now has collected a core talent base—three of the top ten players in the world—and with the scholastic programs we have and the initiatives happening around the country, led by the one here in St. Louis, the United States is fast becoming the best chess country on Earth. More: here.

April 28, 2016

Interview: Gelfand

ChessBase editor Sagar Shah met Boris Gelfand at the Candidates tournament 2016 in Moscow and did an hour long interview with him. In this first part we ask Boris about how he became such a strong blindfold player, how one should work on the three phases of the game, his best games of chess and how much importance he gives to computer engines.
Part 1: here,

Part 2: here.

April 27, 2016

The FIDE Grand Prix, Remade

The Grand Prix series, which is part of the World Championship cycle, is increasing the number of participants and changing its format. FIDE and Agon have decided to expand the 2016-2017 Grand Prix to 24 players (from previously 16) in nine round Swiss events (from 11 round all-play-all). The total prize fund for the four GP tournaments, scheduled for October 2016 to July 2017, will be 520,000 Euros. More: here.

April 13-26, 2016

2016 U.S. Championships

The 2016 U.S. Championship and Women's Championship will be played from Apr. 13 to Apr. 30 in St. Louis. Each of the two tournaments has 12 players. By average Elo, this is the strongest U.S. men's tournament ever. The Women's Championship includes two players from Virginia, Akshita Gorti, a 13-year-old from Chantilly, and Jennifer Yu, a 14-year-old from Ashburn. Here is our round-by-round coverage:
Tournament Site: Here,
Standings & Results: Here,
The Week in Chess - Overview: Here.

Round 11: Caruana & Paikidze Triumph

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 10: Caruana Stays Ahead; Tatev or Nazi?

ChessBase: Here.

Round 9: Abrahmian & Caruana Pull Ahead

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 8: Crowded Leaderboards For Both Men & Women

ChessBase: Here.

Round 7: So Joins Caruana; Women Still in a Bunch

ChessBase: Here.

Round 6: Caruana pulls ahead; Women Bunched

ChessBase: Here.

Round 5: Wesley So Catches Caruana, Paikidze Leads Women

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 4: Caruana is sole leader in men's tournament, 3 women tied for lead

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 3: No Fischer prize

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 2: 3 Men, 2 Women Still Perfect

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 1: Favorites Dominate

ChessBase: Here,
Chess24: Here.

April 20, 2016

Barden's Record-breaking Column

According to our calculations Leonard Barden has been at it for sixty years and seven months – making him the longest running uninterrupted weekly chess column in the world and in history. At 86 Leonard remains hale and his columns are topical and refreshing. And they are always accompanied by a chess puzzle that is great fun to solve. Here are excerpts and links to his recent Guardian chess columns: here.

April 15, 2016

Interview: Carlsen

Before the Altibox Norway Chess tournament, Klaudia Prevezanos interviewed Carlsen for the "Deutsche Welle" and Carlsen talked about computers, his preparation for the Norway Chess tournament, the World Championship, and his relationship to Sergey Karjakin. Full Interview: here.

April 11, 2016

Philidor Position: Moscow Turning Point

In the 2016 Candidates tournament round thirteen, Fabiano Caruana - Peter Svidler reached a position with Rook + Bishop vs Rook. During play, Svidler drifted into a losing position (at one point exactly within the 50 move rule) and Caruana was unable to win. The position is the Philidor Position, known since 1749. What happened? See: here.

April 10, 2016

Speelman: Karjakin’s Decision-Making

Sergey Karjakin’s emergence as Magnus Carlsen’s challenger has sparked an intense debate of his chances, which Jon Speelman was delighted to stoke a week ago with an article here. Even though he agrees that Carlsen is a favorite, he presents here some analysis of Karjakin's key moments and just how good his decision-making was in Moscow, under pressure. Fascinating analysis here: here.

April 10, 2016

How Underrated Are Kids?

An interesting phenomenon of the ELO rating system is that when examining game outcomes for a group of lower rated players, higher rated players tend to underperform relative to the theoretical ELO probability, and lower-rated players overperform. What are the causal factors explaining the inability of the ELO system to predict results? A study by Ganesh Viswanath. here.

April 9, 2016

Movie: 'Queen of Katwe' Announced

Based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi, a starving Ugandan girl living in the streets who learned chess at age nine while looking for food handouts and became the Ugandan Open junior champion (defeating the boys) at age 16, Disney will be releasing a film on her later this year starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. here.

April 9, 2016

Interview: Karjakin

On 29th of March, one day after the Candidates tournament came to an end, our editor Sagar Shah along with two other journalists met Sergey Karjakin at the Four Seasons Hotel for an interview. The Russian had hardly slept the night before, but looked fresh as a daisy! In this interview Sergey throws light on what helped him to win the Candidates and how he doesn't fear Magnus Carlsen. All this and much more in this Q&A session. here.

April 8, 2016

The Death of the Berlin Defense (?)

About the Berlin Defense, Chess.com writer GM Gregory Serper writes, "Spectators hate it, most chess players hate it . . ., and yet it remains the weapon of choice of the super elite." The Berlin became popular after Kramnik used it in his World Championship Match against Kasparov, and Kasparov was unable to win a single game out of four against it. This caused some GMs to abandon 1.e4 altogether, and fans hated it because the opening goes into a boring endgame right from the start. In his article, Serper suggests a few ways to play against it if you have White. See the article: here.

April 8, 2016

3 Americans in the Top 10

In the FIDE April ratings, Americans Fabio Caruana (no. 3), Hikaru Nakamura (no. 6), and Wesley So (no. 10) are in the top 10. It's unusual for this many Americans to be in the top 10 at the same time, and all three of them are playing each other now in the U.S. Championships. Russian player Sergey Karjakin's victory in the Candidates has pulled him back into the top 10. It's a good thing for the challenger to the World Championships to be in the top 10! See the story: here.

April 8, 2016

Who Was Bobby Fischer's Father?

Love him or hate him, American chess players are still fascinated by Bobby Fischer. One of the mysteries about him is, who was his father? Prof. Nagesh Havanur has investigated and presents his findings in a 2-part series for ChessBase. See the articles here:
Part 1: here,

Part 2: here.

April 8, 2016

Norway Chess

While we Americans are focused on the U.S. Championships in St. Louis, there is an even stronger tournament under way in Norway, the Altibox Norway Chess 2016 Tournament. After three rounds, World Champion Magnus Carlsen leads with a score of 2.5/3. Here's the coverage:
Tournament Site: here.

ChessBase: here,

The Week in Chess: here.

April 8, 2016

Historical Chess Ratings

Were the best chess players of long ago as good as those of today? Is it even possible to compare them? Mathematician Ron Edwards has come up with the Edo historical chess rating system as a way to compare the ratings of players separated in time. See the story: here.

April 7, 2016

Karjakin Withdraws from Norway Chess

Candidates winner Sergey Karjakin has withdrawn from the elite Norway Chess Tournament in Stavenger just 12 days before the start of the tournament. His manager wrote that Karjakin was exhausted from the Candidates Tournament and now needed to focus on preparation for the World Championship Match later this year. But the Norway organizers have responded by writing that Karjakin had a contract and that it was disrespectful to withdraw. The fans had hoped for a preview of the coming World Championship because both Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen would have played together at the Norway tournament.
See the story: here.

April 6, 2016

Blindfold King Timur Gareyev on Tour

In 2016 Timur Gareyev wants to break the world record in blindfold play by taking up 47 opponents simultaneously. In March he played a 35 player blindfold simul in Santa Clara, California. Gareyev lost one game, drew two and won 32. As Gareyev believes that physical fitness and mental excellence go together he spun a stationary bike for over 9 hours during the simul!
See full story: here.

April 5, 2016

Player Profile: Karjakin

In 2002, Sergey Karjakin of Russia became the youngest grandmaster ever at the age of 12 years and 7 months, a record that still stands today. His win at the recent Candidates Tournament means he is the challenger for this year's World Championship Match against current champion Magnus Carlsen. Chessgames.com has an interesting player profile for Karjakin.
See more: here.

April 4, 2016

Shogi: Japanese Chess

Shogi is the Japanese variation of chess. In Shogi you can use the pieces you captured from your opponent to strengthen your own army. Thanks to the internet Shogi is becoming more and more popular in Europe and in March beginners and experienced players tried their skills in the Open German Championships.
See more: here.

April 2, 2016

Interview with Hou Yifan

In March Hou Yifan, number one on the women's ranking list, regained the world title, which she had lost when she did not take part in the knock-out World Championship the year before. In an interview with Dagobert Kohlmeyer the World Champion criticises the mode of the Women's World Championship and reveals that her proposals for a different system were made in vain.
See interview: here.

April 1, 2016

Giri's "60 Memorable Draws"

GM Anish Giri, the world no. 4, drew some criticism for drawing all 12 of his games at the recently concluded Candidates Tournament. The website Chess24 had some fun with this by writing that Giri planned to publish his "60 Memorable Draws." The story turned out to be an April Fool's joke.
See the story: here.

March 31, 2016

March Wrap Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

This month, the club had another strong showing for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5) as nearly 60 players battled it out over boards of 64 squares! A 5-way tie amongst T. Hoopengardner, G. Menelik, J. K. Williams, D. Aragon, and M. Hiban (2.5/4) held off 7 other members (2/4) to win the Ladder this month. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), only 8 players showed for an early event this month. Newcomer Alex Emmons had a strong event as he took down the top two players and won clear 1st followed by a three-way tie for second a full point behind (2/3). In the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) 42 players battled it out with Richard Tan and Andrew Samuelson tying for 1st-2nd (4.5/5) followed by Mauro Boffa and Zachary Martin tied for 3rd. In the U1700 Section, Maz Yan dominated the field (4.5/5) snagging first place (including about 140 ratings points!) followed by Ronen Wilson and Srini Aiyer tied for 2nd/3rd place (4/5). Rahul Ponugoti won the U1400 Class Prize and John Rossi won the U1200 Class Prize.

March 11-30, 2016 **SPECIAL** - Updated After Each Round

One-Stop Round By Round: 2016 Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament began on Mar. 11 in Moscow, pitting eight players against each other to fight for the right to play Magnus Carlsen in the next World Championship Match. Below, we are providing round by round one-stop coverage of the World Championship from the official site and all of the major chess news websites:

Essential Links:

-- Official Website: Moscow,
-- Karjakan on Winning: Video,
-- Interview: Karjakan (Chess 24): interview,
-- Candidates Closing Ceremony: here,
-- More On Closing Ceremony: here,
-- Speelman: How Will Karjakan Fare?: here,
-- TWIC Recap: here,
-- Huffington Post: here,
-- NYT: Masters of Chess, But Not PR: here,

-- Schedule/Results: here,
-- Rules and Regulations: here,
-- **LIVE** Games: here,
-- Photos: here , and more: here , and more: here , and more: here
-- Opening Ceremony: here,

-- History of the Candidates: Part 1: here,
-- History of the Candidates: Part 2: here,
-- Kramnik's & Gelfand's Views: here,
-- Carlsen's Views: here,
-- Speelman - Early Analysis - As Of Rd. 3: here,
-- Speelman - Analysis As Of Rd. 6: here,
-- Speelman - Analysis As Of Rd. 9: here,
-- Speelman - Looking to Final Rounds: here,

Round 14: Karjakin to Challenge Carlsen!

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 13: Draws Abound, Either Caruana or Karjakin to Win

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 12: Topsy-Turvy: Anand Loses, Karjakin Wins

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 11: Anand Wins to Leap Back to Sharing Lead

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 10: Caruana Wins to Join Lead

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 9: Anand and Karjakin Share the Lead

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 8: Caruana Wins His First Game

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 7: Nakamura Beats Topalov

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 6: Anand and Aronian Win

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 5: Caruana Tries the Benoni

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 4: Karjakin Takes the Lead

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 3: Aronian Gets the Only Win

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 2: Nakamura Blunders

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

Round 1: Anand Gets First Win

King Video Analysis: Here,
Chessbase: Here,
TWIC: Here,
Chess24: Here.

March 25, 2016

Historic Sets Auctioned at Sotheby's

When discussing expensive chess sets, the reason for their premium value usually falls into two categories: unusual materials and workmanship, or precious metals and gems. Next month, the famous auction house Sotheby’s will be offering rare and old chess sets and pieces expecting to fetch top prices, such as ivory pieces carved during the Samanid Empire more than 1,000 years ago!
See more: here.

March 21, 2016

Troitsky In Memorium

Endgame studies are without a doubt that area of chess where the lines between science and art are blurred. While they offer great beauty as an art form, they are also prime tools to develop imagination and calculation. This month marks the 150th birth anniversary of Alexey Troitzky, a great pioneer of the modern endgame study.
See more: here.

March 20, 2016

The New York Gambit

Two Americans, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, both of whom grew up in New York, are currently playing in the Candidates Tournament, the winner of which will become the challenger for the World Championship to be held in New York this November. As New York Times writer John Leland says, "It is exceedingly rare for a single American to make it this far, let alone two." If either man wins, this will be the first time an American has had a chance to become World Champion since Bobby Fischer in 1972.
See Leland's article: here.

March 17, 2016

Kids Interview: Magnus Carlsen

In February Magnus Carlsen was in Hamburg, Germany, to play a simul. Henrike and Luis, two young chessplayers were invited by "Dein Spiegel", a magazine for children between the age of 8 and 14, to interview the World Champion. They used the chance to ask unusual and open questions, e.g. whether Carlsen cries after losing a game or why chess is better than the gameboy.
See more: here.

March 16, 2016

Lombardy Faces Eviction

The New York Times has a big story on William Lombardy, a former catholic priest and strong chess grandmaster, who coached and seconded Bobby Fischer from the age of eleven to the World Championship in 1972. Lombardy, now 78, faces eviction from his apartment in New York, over rent arrears that he hotly disputes.
See more: here,
Related Video: here.

March 2-14, 2016 **SPECIAL** - Updated After Each Round

2016 Women's World Championship: Hou Yifan Regains the Title

The 2016 Women's World Championship between current World Champion Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine and Challenger Hou Yifan of China, herself a former World Champion, has concluded after 9 games with Hou Yifan regaining the title with a score of 6/9. Muzychuk was unable to win a single game.
Opening ceremony: Here,
Official site: Here.

Game 9: Hou Yifan Is the World Champion: Here,
Game 8: Another Draw. Hou Yifan Is a Half Point From the Title: Here,
Game 7: 81-Move Draw: Here,
Game 6: Win by Hou Yifan Puts Her 2 Points Ahead: Here,
Game 5: A Short Draw: Here,
Game 4: Short but Exciting Draw: Here,
Game 3: Muzychuk Tries 1.d4 but Draws: Here,
Game 2: Hou Yifan Draws First Blood: Here,
Game 1: Tournament Starts With Draw: Here.

March 11, 2016

Remembering Bobby – Part 1

Eight years ago Bobby Fischer, American prodigy and World Champion passed away at the age of 64 (the significance of that number is not lost on our readers). Today he would now be 73, and to celebrate his birthday just passed on March 9th, ChessBase brings you a series of articles on the life and games of this legendary player.
See more: here.

March 10, 2016

Computer Beating Top Human Go Player

Remember how in 1997 World Champion Garry Kasparov lost a match to IMB's Deep Blue? That was a watershed moment in computer history, but Artificial Intelligence has one last insurmountable barrier to cross: beat the best players in the world at the ancient Chinese game of Go. Played on a 19x19 grid the task seemed impossible – until today, when a five-game match has begun in Seoul, Korea. See more:
Preview: Here,

Mid-Match: Here.

March 4, 2016

Marketable Candidate Wanted for World Championship

The $460,000 world title candidates tournament starts in Moscow next Friday. Challenging for the global crown carries high prestige, and especially so for the two Americans in the eight-player field. Fide, the international body, has announced that Magnus Carlsen’s 12-game championship defence against the candidates winner will be staged in New York, starting on 10 November. See more:
here.

March 4, 2016

Spassky Interview: "I'm waging a War!"

Boris Spassky was talking to Yury Golyshak and Alexander Kruzhkov in a long “Friday interviews” section of the Russian newspaper Sport Express. Chess24 has translated some of the highlights:
here.

March 4, 2016

Candidates Tournament Is One Week Away

The 2016 Candidates Tournament, the final step in determining the challenger for the next World Championship, will begin in Moscow on Mar. 10. The tournament is an 8-player, double-round robin event, and this year there are two American players: Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. So, it's possible that we could have another American World Champion later this year, the first since Bobby Fischer in 1972. ChessBase has a nice summary of the players and venue:
here.

March 4, 2016

WWCh, Game2: Hou Yifan Takes the Lead

Hou Yifan has taken the lead by winning game 2 against Mariya Muzychuk. Hou Yifan had White in an Open Spanish. See the game report:
here.

March 3, 2016

Women's World Championship

The 2016 Women's World Championship between current World Champion Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine and Challenger Hou Yifan of China, herself a former World Champion, has gotten under way in Lviv, Ukraine. Game 1 was an Italian game, and ended in a draw. Interestingly, this was the very first time Hou Yifan, who had Black, has played 1...e5 against 1.e4.
Opening ceremony: here;
Game 1 report (ChessBase): here;
Official site: here.

March 1, 2016

Febuary Wrap Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

This month, the club had another strong showing for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5) as over 60 players crossed swords over their chessboards! Newcomer Rajendra Adhikari (3/4) held off two ACC members by a half point, Kebadu Belachew and Demetrio Aragon (2.5/4) and eight others by a full point (2/4) to win the monthly Ladder prize. In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), only 8 players showed for an early event this month. Newcomer Alex Emmons had a strong event as he took down the top two players and won clear 1st followed by a three-way tie for second a full point behind (2/3). In the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5) 45 players fought it out with Sergey Erenburg (2653) dominating the field (4.5/5) to win first in the Premier section followed by Daniel Lowinger a half point behind in sole 2nd (4/5) and Justin Paul and David Bennett tying for 3rd (3.5/4). In the U1700 Section, Mark Hyland swept the field (5/5) for first place (plus 70 ratings points!) followed by a 3-way tie for 2nd/3rd place (4/5). Doug Bahnick won the U1400 Class Prize and Shaurya Bisht won the U1200 Class Prize.

February 29, 2016

Aronian Interview: "They wrote me off"

Levon Aronian sneaked into the 2016 Candidates Tournament at the last possible opportunity, failing to qualify but gaining the wild card of the Armenian sponsors. In a new interview he talks about his desire to exploit that opportunity and prove he’s the best, while he also discusses his early days when people had given up on his chances of ever becoming a top player. See more:
here.

February 29, 2016

Women's World Championship Starts

Ukrainian GM Mariya Muzychuk is the current title holder, having won the 2015 Knockout Women World Championship in Sochi. The Challenger is Hou Yifan of China, former World Champion 2010-2012, 2013-2015 (who did not participate in Sochi). The venue is Potocki’s Palace in Lviv, Ukrain – a city that has 30 GMs. The opening ceremony is on Tuesday, round one on Wednesday. See more:
here.

February 29, 2016

The Joys of Correspondence Chess

Correspondence chess is a challenge and offers the chance to explore chess in real depth. And modern correspondence chess is not a battle between engines but a battle in which humans use modern engines to play strong and correct chess. If you like to analyse deeply and if you like to search for the truth, then it might be time to try correspondence chess. See more:
here.

February 26, 2016

Five new players in the Hall of Fame

An induction ceremony in April will recognize five exceptional players for a places in history as members of the World and U.S. Chess Halls of Fame. FIDE has selected David Bronstein, Sonja Graf­Stevenson and Howard Staunton. The trustees of the U.S. Chess Trust selected grandmasters Maurice Ashley and Gata Kamsky to join the other 55 players currently in the U.S. Hall of Fame. See more:
here.

February 24, 2016

ACP: Grand Chess Survey

ACP has published its Grand Survey. It has 60 questions and it includes topics like Rules of Chess, Time Controls, Draw Offers, Anti-Cheating, World Championship Cycle and a lot more. You are invited to take part and make your opinion count! We will report on the results once the data has been evaluated. The survey, in English and Russian, will run until March 15 and is open to everyone. See more:
here.

February 22, 2016

Carlsen's 70-board Simul

Germany's very prestigious news weekly, Die Zeit, have just chalked up seventy years of publication. As part of the anniversary celebration they invited the World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen to play a seventy-board simultaneous exhibition. A number of prominenten opponents took part, and a number of fairly strong players. The event took six hour and ended in a veritable massacre. See more:
here.

February 21, 2016

Video: Crazy Ivans

Those Crazy Ivans are up to it again with an ice-water chess tournament. Russian swimmers braved the icy water and freezing temperatures of Lake Shartash in the Ural mountains to hold a chess tournament. The players, who were submerged up to their chest in the water, said it helped them to concentrate and speed was a key factor for success. They decided their next move within seconds during each game, which lasted about 10 minutes. See more:
here.

February 20, 2016

Die Zeit Magazine: Carlsen Interview

"Die Zeit" is one of the most prestigious German weeklies. The first edition was published on 21st February 1946 in Hamburg, and to celebrate the jubilee, the "Zeit" hosts a number of cultural events, among them a 70 board simul with the World Champion. "Zeit"-journalist Ulrich Stock spoke with Carlsen about the Candidates, chess and islam, and how he motivates himself. See more:
here.

February 18, 2016

30-Month Tournament

Nowadays, a match for the world championship in chess lasts about three weeks. Despite computers, engines, databases and critical voices - correspondence chess is very much alive. Of course computers have changed correspondence chess but to play it with success handling engines well is not enough. See more:
here.

February 17, 2016

Video: Trash-Talking Maurice

In Washington Square Park, to be precise, where masters set up chess boards and clocks to play people at $5 a game. Traditionally the master trash talks the opponent – deprecation and humiliation are part of the experience. But what if the hustler inadvertently challenges a grandmaster? It was recorded as part of a "Tim Ferriss Experiment” and is a great pleasure to watch. See more:
here.

February 12, 2016

Why Chess Players Blunder

How is it that when our blunders are pointed out to us, the correct moves are obvious? And why do we make blunders in the first place? After all, the chess board is completely visible right there in front of us. Chess.com writer Vik-Hansen uses the latest findings of neuroscientists to show that we apparently come up with our moves subconsciously, and only then use conscious thought to accept or reject them. In other words, our conscious minds act only to veto what our subconscious minds have already found. And our subconscious minds look at only a small, manageable number of "bits" of reality, rejecting the rest, which means we're not really seeing everything there is to see on the chessboard. Read this fascinating article:
here.

February 11, 2016

Nakamura Wins Gibraltar

At the Tradewise Gibraltar Tournament, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura finished the regular games tied at 8/10. In the tie-break, the players drew four games in a row, but then Nakamura won the Armageddon blitz game, giving him the overall win. Nakamura also won this tournament in 2015. Chessgames.com has all the games with readers' comments:
here.

February 11, 2016

Grand Chess Tour: Rejuvenated?

Last year it was three events, in Norway, Saint Louis and London. This year Norway drops out and is replaced by two rapid+blitz events, in Paris and Brussels. The three top finishers from 2015 are invited, as well as the five highest average rated players of 2015. The participants are still to be announced, the total prize fund is US $1,050,0000 across the four events. See more:
here.

February 10, 2016

King Dance

In his game the world's top-rated woman Hou Yifan World Champion Magnus Carlsen found himself in an endgame that was a theoretical draw. But it was not as easy as one may have thought: the Chinese GM would have to find a precise defense in a wonderful world of zugzwangs, stalemates and critical, correspondence or conjured squares. See more:
here.

February 10, 2016

Zurich Chess Challenge 2016

From Feb. 12 to 15, six of the world's top players (Kramnik, Nakamura, Anand, Shirov, Aronian, and Giri) will play the Zurich Chess Challenge at the Zurich Chess Club, billed as "the oldest chess society in the world." There will be five rounds of classical play, followed by a blitz round with colors reversed. How can they play that many games in only three days? Because the club is promoting a faster classical time control of 40 minutes per game plus an additional 10 seconds per move. On its website, the club says, "We think that in the future classical chess could pass to 1 hour control for each player. We have come to the conclusion that the game needs to become faster." See the website:
here.

February 9, 2016

Magnus Loses Simul Game

World Champion Magnus Carlsen lost a game while playing a simul against 30 politicians in the Dutch Parliament. That player was Jeroen van den Berg, the organizer of the Wijk aan Zee Tournament. Van den Berg, obviously a strong player himself, had played Carlsen before in a simul and drew that game. Asked by a reporter afterwards how he had prepared, Carlsen said, "I prepared by playing chess all my life." See the story:
here.

February 9, 2016

Kasparov's Revenge?

We think not but in an interview to a Russian newspaper Sport-Express, Vladimir Kramnik shares his opinion on the sanctions the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed on Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. See more:
Kramnik: here
Kasparov: here.

February 7, 2016

Taimanov's 90th

Today, 7th February 2016, Mark Taimanov celebrates his 90th birthday. Taimanov is a living legend and when he celebrates his 90th birthday on Sunday many guests will come to St. Petersburg to congratulate him. In the course of his long career Taimanov met all the great chessplayers of his time and a number of historical personalities such as Winston Churchill, Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro. See more:
here.

February 5, 2016

Hesse: Threats of the nth degree

Averbakh called them "threats of the 1st degree" – moves which directly and bluntly threaten to bring about a concrete mate or the win of material. 2nd degree threats are moves which are intended to enable threats of the 1st degree. And so it continues, recursively. In his wonderfully entertaining book Joys of Chess Prof. Christian Hesse goes all the way to threats of the 5th degree. See more:
here.

February 2, 2016

Paul Keres: Chess Composer

For his 100th jubilee there was a Keres Memorial tournament in Talinn, Estonia. Paul Keres, the strongest player who never made it to World Champion, is still a legend for his adventurous play and astounding combinational skill. But he was also a remarkable composer who started with a clever two-mover at the age of thirteen. Prof. Nagesh Havanur presents a collection of Keres problems and studies for you to solve. See more:
here.

February 1, 2016

Pawn Star: Aronian - The Beckham Of Chess

It isn’t every day that a chess player is compared to a sports star of David Beckham’s stature, yet that is precisely what CNN did in a recent portrayal of Levon Aronian. Of course, the comment must be put in context before any ado. It is his home and country, Armenia, that have elevated him to such heights, by virtue of their singular love of chess, and where he reigns supreme. See more:
here.

January 31, 2016

January Wrap Up

ACC events continue to be a great value with lots of quality competition at every rating level. All of our events are $1-$9 per game. You won't get overcharged for phantom prizes. You won't see us skimp on prize pay-outs. Come check us out!

Our regular monthly schedule was SHATTERED by Snowzilla. We expected five Friday club meetings and got four ... the monthly Action tournament was CANCELLED ... and our first-in-a-long-time Simul Match with GM Erenburg was POST-PONED until April ... Boo, Hiss, Boo! That all said, we still had a record monthly turnout for the ACC Ladder (30/90, SD/60, d5) as nearly 65 players battled it out for the monthly Ladder prize. Randall Henri held off Xing Jian to win the Ladder prize this month. In the ACC Action-Plus tournament (5 rounds, G/45, d5), a low turnout saw 30 players fight it out with Andrew Samuelson taking first place (4.5/5) in the Premier section followed by Oladapo Adu securing 2nd place (4/5) and David Bennett winning 3rd (3.5/5). In the U1700 Section, Frank Huber continued his streak of good performances by winning sole first place (4/5) followed by Michael Hu in second place (3.5/5) and a logjam of six players tied for 3rd (3/5). In the ACC Action tournament (3 rounds, G/30, d5), as previously noted, nothing happened - as the event was cancelled by Snowzilla. Finally, the Simultaneous Chess Match and Lecture to be given by GM Sergey Erenburg has been postponed until Saturday April 2nd. All details for the Simul will remain the same - see main webpage for more info.

January 29, 2016

Chess24 Video: Q&A GM Peter Svidler

World Championship Candidate Peter Svidler answered questions from chess24 Premium Members on their live Q&A show hosted by Jan Gustafsson on the final Wijk aan Zee rest day. See more:
here.

January 28, 2016

Interview: Longtime Tata Steel TD

On January 24, during the 8th round of the 78th Tata Steel Chess tournament, Chess-News interviewed the long-time director of the tournament, Jeroen van den Berg. The interview of course covered the Tata Steel Chess Tournament itself but van den Berg also discussed the future of the game, how chess could develop, covered many organizational issues and other curious things. The full text follows:
here.

January 24, 2016

Top Saudi Cleric Says Chess Is Forbidden

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, Saudi Arabia's top cleric, has said the game of chess is "the work of Satan" because it "wastes time and money and causes rivalry and enmity." He justified his claim by referring to a Quran verse that bans gambling, intoxicants, and idolatry.
New York Times article: here
Saudi Chess Association response: here
US Chess Writer's take: here.

January 22, 2016

Carlsen: "Ignorance Is Bliss!"

In the 6th round of Tata Steel Chess Masters, World Champion Magnus Carlsen seemingly crushed Evgeny Tomashevsky taking only 25 moves to reach a complete domination on position as well on the clock against the 2700+ Russian GM. Right afterwards, Magnus joined IM Robert Ris in the studio to describe what had happened in the game. Here is the transcript:
here.

January 21, 2016

Introducing the New Chess.com (Version 3)

It's been a long time coming, but a brand-new version of Chess.com is finally ready to be unveiled. In this new version 3 (v3), everything is new: new graphics, revised user and mobile web experience, and new anti-abuse and anti-cheating technology site-wide - but it still feels like Chess.com — just now easier, faster, and more powerful. And more fun. See more:
here.

January 21, 2016

Sanchez: Capablanca Biography

Cuban writer Miguel Angel Sánchez has published a new book about Raul Capablanca which is an update on his original biographical work from nearly 40 years ago. The new book is a well researched biographical work about one of the most revered chess geniuses of all time. See more:
here.

January 17, 2016

10 Chess Lowlights of 2015

Fiona Steil-Antoni of Chess24 says that not all of 2015 was just great results, fantastic events and remarkable moves. In the following piece, she highlights a top-10 of chess lowlights in the past year. See more:
here.

January 13, 2016

In Memoriam: Hal Mouzon

Harold Alwyn “Hal” Mouzon, 86, died of natural causes on December 15, 2015. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Mr. Mouzon lived most of his life in Alexandria, Virginia. He was a dedicated public servant, volunteering for the Army during the Korean War and working as an attorney for the Department of Labor. Mr. Mouzon was an avid chess player who won many tournaments, and he was a long time member of the Arlington Chess Club. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 51 years, Denyse, and is survived by their five children—Elizabeth (Jeff Isenhour), Sally, Adele (Mark Perry), Didi, and Wyn (Shannon)—and nine grandchildren—Adele, William, Emilie, Elise, Susannah, Thomas, Eloise, Benjamin, and Henry. A memorial service was held Dec. 19 at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Alexandria. Following is a memorial article in the Washington Times:
here.

January 12, 2016

Carlsen Leads Tata Steel

Tata Steel, the world's strongest tournament, is taking place in Wijk ann Zee, Netherlands. The tournament has two sections of 14 players each, with the top "masters" section including the world champion and 13 other top GMs and the "challengers" section including 14 lesser-rated but still strong players. After 7 rounds, Carlsen and Caruana were tied for first place in the masters section, but Carlsen drew and Caruana lost in round 8, moving Carlsen into sole first place. Indian player Baskaran Adhiban (rating 2653) is leading the challengers section. The tournament runs until Jan. 31. See the Week in Chess's coverage:
here.

January 10, 2016

More Best of the Year

What was the best game of 2015? And how about best player, best chess engine, best move, best tournament, best up-and-coming player? See Chess.com's picks for all these categories and more:
here.

January 9, 2016

Game, Endgame, and Opening of the Year

ChessBase is holding a vote for the best game and endgame of 2015, as well as the most popular opening. The final results have not been announced yet, but you can see the candidates and preliminary votes here:
Best game: here
Best endgame: here
Most popular opening: here

January 8, 2016

ChessBase's New Year's Puzzle

ChessBase finished its annual Christmas series of puzzles with an especially hard "proof" one on New Year's Day. The problem, labeled QM3 in the article, gives only the final result, and you have to come up with the moves that lead to that result. Be warned: many readers spent hours on it.
Problem here: here
Solution here: here.

January 7, 2016

Great Chess Minds Think Alike

World Champion Magnus Carlsen finished the year by winning the Qatar Masters, and we have already reported that in an earlier article, but now chess Lubomir Kavalek has written an article for the Huffington Post about the fascinating parallels between Carlsen's play and that of the greatest games of two great players: Bent Larsen and William Steinitz. In the Qatar tournament, Carlsen played a masterpiece in his tie break against Chinese GM Li Chao, and after the 19th move in that game, Kavalek shows an amazing similarity to his 1970 game against Larsen. In that game, considered by Larsen to be his best, Larsen played a beautiful line-clearing attack to get at his opponent's king. Five moves later in the modern Carlsen–Liao game, Carlsen played a wonderful interference move that mimicked that in a game played by Steinitz 120 years ago, a game Steinitz later considered to be his best ever. Kavalek's comparisons with the earlier games make this analysis fun to read. Check out his article:
here.

January 5, 2016

Fritz 15 - Q&A

The new engine has come with a large number of questions have arisen regarding its strength, its origin, and its future. Here are the answers as well as an introduction to the Fritz 15 engine. See more:
here.

January 4, 2016

Interview: Boris Gelfand

Boris Gelfand ended 2015 on a high with the best performance in the Nutcracker Battle of the Generations. However, it was otherwise a year to forget for the Israeli no. 1. In two interviews he focused on how there were “fewer interesting games,” but highlighted Vladimir Kramnik as perhaps the “most vivid player” of 2015. See more:
here.

January 3, 2016

More Best of the Year

What was the best game of 2015? And how about best player, best chess engine, best move, best tournament? See more:
here.

January 1, 2016

Carlsen Emulates Spassky

Praise continues to pour in for Magnus Carlsen's winning performance at the Qatar Masters, the first time a reigning World Champion has played in an Open tournament since Spassky in 1971. We've already covered the tournament in previous articles, but we wanted to add just one more item: Leonard Barden's excellent chess column in the Guardian. Barden gives some analysis from one of the tie-break games and adds insight about current tournament formats. See the article:
here.

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