Chess News

1. Tata Steel Chess R5: Abdusattorov catches Pragg, Fedoseev stuns Caruana
   Round 5 of the Tata Steel Masters saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov taking down Jorden van Foreest in a sharp encounter to join Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in the lead, each with 4/5 points. Meanwhile, Gukesh Dommaraju collected a second win as world champion and Vladimir Fedoseev obtained an upset victory over Fabiano Caruana. In the Challengers, Erwin l'Ami beat Divya Deshmukh to grab the sole lead. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit
2. Opening surprises on move 2 and 3!
   ChessBase Magazine offers three opening videos in each issue (total playing time: over an hour). In the current issue #223, our authors, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Daniel King, present two intriguing and very early ‘deviations’: Sicilian with 2.a4 and Petroff with 3...Nxe4 - both have recently been used by notable players, in the first case it was Kasimdzhanov himself in his game against Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei, in the second case Wesley So against Hans Moke Niemann. The third opening video of CBM 223 is by Robert Ris: Spanish Delayed Exchange Variation with 7.Re1 - since the 2023 World Championship match, this variation can be seen again and again at top level. Take a look! Until the end of the week, you can watch all three opening videos as a free reading sample in ChessBase Books format!
3. Volodar Murzin and his coach in conflict with the Chess Federation of Russia
   Volodar Murzin is currently one of the greatest Russian talents, and showed his skills by winning the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York in December. However, a conflict subsequently developed between him and his coach Mikhail Kobalia on one side and the Russian Federation on the other. Awful experiences with his violent father have also massively hindered his development as a player. | Photos: Sport.ru
4. Special offer: Judit Polgar's books
   Judit Polgar, the strongest female chess player of all time, wishes our readers a "Happy 2025, which will hopefully be filled with exciting challenges and successes – both on and off the chessboard!" To kick off the year she has prepared something special for us: you can get Judit's books, personally signed by her, at discounted prices in her Webshop. This exclusive offer is valid until January 31, 2025.
5. GM Iniyan on ChessBase 18 – (1)
   Are there any advantages of moving to the latest ChessBase 18? Are strong chess players doing it, and finding the software useful in their every-day tournament activity? A decided 'Yes!' is given by Indian grandmaster Pa. Iniyan, who sent us an in-depth three-part review. You would do well to read about his experience carefully, and learn how you too can dramatically improve your level of chess study and preparation.
6. My First Endgame Study: A Chess Composition Tourney by WFCC and ChessBase India
   Beneath its deceptively simple facade of a game, chess conceals a rich tapestry of human ingenuity and thought. It is, as Anatoly Karpov succinctly remarked, art, science, and sport all rolled into one. Yet, while the competitive aspect of chess basks in the limelight with its high-stakes, action-packed tournaments and matches, the subtle but no less fascinating endeavour of chess composition, where artistry shines the brightest, languishes in relative obscurity. As a step towards redressing this imbalance, ChessBase India and the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) present My First Endgame Study, a beginner-friendly study composing contest designed for chess enthusiasts eager to explore the creative world of chess composition, specifically studies. Details follow.
7. World Championship: Gukesh takes the title!
   Gukesh D became the youngest-ever undisputed world chess champion after beating Ding Liren in the last classical encounter of their 14-game match in Singapore. Ding voluntarily entered a pawn-down endgame which was objectively drawn, but a blunder by the Chinese GM on move 55 meant Gukesh would take the title by winning the match with a 7½-6½ score. | Full report to follow shortly.
8. Stocking fillers: From Boy to Man, ChessBase 18
   Yes, it is that time of the year again. Time to leave your copy of CHESS Magazine open, ‘non-suspiciously’, hoping that the family will take the hint and place a big order at Chess & Bridge. If the hint is not taken, then just order one or more of the items yourself, safe in the knowledge that there are much worse things you could be doing.
9. ESPN: 'Love at first sight'
   This ESPN article describes how former World Champion Viswanathan Anand created the Gukesh-Grzegorz team that's shaken the chess world. Grzegorz who, you ask?
10. London Chess Classic - Live!
    The London Chess Classic elite section is an 8-player all-play-all tournament taking place from 29 November to 7 December at the Emirates Stadium, home to Arsenal Football Club. Four English players and four international representatives make up the lineup, which includes Azerbaijani star Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, living legend Michael Adams and women's world champion Ju Wenjun. | Follow the games live and with commentary by Peter Svidler and Lawrence Trent, starting at 17.00 CET (11.00 ET, 21.30 IST)
11. Chess Stories – now in English!
    The book was originally published in German, has now been published in English by ChessBase India. The luxury hard cover version, printed in full colour, is available for less than $12, and the eBook version for just $9.50 – with all proceeds going to the HelpChess Foundation. Advanced copies of the book were given to former World Champions and other notable personalities in Singapore.
12. Remote Engine in ChessBase 18: Power Everywhere
    A remote engine does not run on your computer but in a data center. Here you’ll learn why the new remote engine is a smart addition to our proven cloud engines. How to run a remote engine without spending ducats? Why did our Helsinki machines give us quite a scare before the autumn discount day? And how did Fritz wreck a server rack?
13. Females and Males Working Behind The Scene
    In the Spotlight article of the ECU magazine we were introduced to the women but also men working behind the scene, doing a fantastic work to support women in chess. They play a key role as players, arbiters, coaches, volunteers, says Antonina Gora from Ireland.
14. Underpromotion Milestones – part 3
    Finally, in this three-part series, we come to the first full Babson task endgame study, composed by Gady Costeff. Many thought it was not possible to fulfil this extremely difficult task. Harold van der Heijden describes the full story. But one problem remains: the position is not legal. Costeff had already constructed it in 2011 and tried in vain to find a legal version. So this is still an open problem. Maybe you can give it a try?
15. Learning the Shirov Killer
    There are tactical motifs which are continuously repeated and can be learned exactly like we learn opening theory. I feel that the correct approach is to collect thematic, nearly identical positions which are involved on similar patterns which you should look for. In this survey I will present an often met tactical motif I call the "Shirov Killer." It was wonderfully demonstrated by legendary GM Alexei Shirov in an Internet blitz game.
16. European Championship in Montenegro: Live
    Almost 400 players will take part in the European Individual Championship 2024 (8 to 19 November) in Petrovac (Montenegro). After ten of eleven rounds, the Serbian GM Aleksandar Indjic leads with an 8½/10 score, while Daniel Dardha stands in sole second place a half point back. The 20 best players qualify for the World Cup. The final round starts at 13.00 local time. Follow it live with the official commentary of the European Chess Union.
17. £33,500 FIDE Masters event at Arsenal
    New entries are being sought for an iconic edition of Britain’s most prestigious chess event, the 2024 XTX Markets London Chess Classic, starting on November 29 at Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium. The event’s FIDE Masters tournament, which will take place alongside the main tournament, is open to amateur and professional players alike and currently has an impressive line-up of strong masters. Like to join in? Here's your chance.
18. Tata Steel Chess India - Live!
    The Tata Steel Chess India tournaments are taking place on 13-17 at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata. An open tournament and a women's tournament run concurrently. Rapid and blitz take place one after another. The last two days see the players fighting in a double round-robin with a 3+2 time control. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 9.30 CEST (4.30 ET, 14.00 IST)
19. The ULTIMATE ChessBase tutorial: Learn the basics in less than 20 minutes
    Reading about the latest and greatest new features in ChessBase is exciting, but if you can barely use the basics, then it can also be frustrating. But worry not! You can learn them all in under 20 minutes, and even how to customize the work space, in this crystal clear video tutorial.
20. Ancient chess problems to solve
    Chess was invented in India, and brought to Europe in the 9th Century by the Arabs – who also introduced the first “mansuba” – middle or endgame puzzles with well-defined tasks, with stories and legends surrounding them. Today we give you three of the oldest mansuba to solve – in your head or against our live chess diagrams.
21. ChessBase 18: New dimensions in study and preparation
    The latest version of the standard chess study program has received a major update. It now allows you to evaluate your opponents, study their repertoire, their strengths and weaknesses, all at a click of the mouse. It draws its conclusions by replaying all their games – it has access to many billions of online games. Head programmer Matthias Wuellenweber has written about the new program in the latest issue of ChessBase Magazine. Check out the details and decide whether you can afford not to have the program.
22. Underpromotion Milestones – part two
    Recently, the famous Babson task (Black promotes to one of the four possible pieces and White must promote to the same piece in all four cases to win) has been conquered by in an endgame study. Many thought it to be impossible to realize this extremely difficult task. In this second part of the three part series Harold van der Heijden describes how study composers progressed towards solving the problem.
23. Mate in Two Solutions
    FIDE, together with the World Solving Championships for Youth and Cadets, hosted a series of free online lessons to get participants ready for the inaugural FIDE World Solving Championships. They were run by Anirudh Daga and WFCC President Marjan Kovačević. Today we bring you the solutions to the two-movers we gave you to solve last week. Were you able to solve them?
24. ARTE: Kasparov – Chess Rebel
    ARTE Culture, the French-German film production and TV channel, recently made a full six-part dramatic re-enactment of the epic 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and the super-computer Deep Blue. At the same time they broadcast a 50-minute portrait that traces the extraordinary life and career of the global icon. The film contains many historically interviews by personalities from the time. It is well worth watching.
25. Fischer vs. Greece – clock simul 1968
    In 1968 the Greek Chess Federation, which had organised multiple Olympiads and Zonal tournaments, invited the 25-year-old American grandmaster to play a clock simultaneous exhibition match against five strong Greek players. The historical games played in Athens have been recorded and carefully annotated by Greek grandmaster and trainer Efstratios Grivas.