The Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most aggressive answers to 1.e4, and its theory develops dynamically – the young German grandmaster Luis Engel brings all aficionados up to date with his two-volume Fritztrainer course. Christian Höthe had a look at the course and is enthusiastic.
Monthly Archives: December 2023
Wesley So beat Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov to keep a perfect score of 6 wins in 6 matches at the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto. Carlsen (5 points) has also secured a ticket to the semifinals, while Hikaru Nakamura (1) and Denis Lazavik (1), who face each other in round 7, will need […]
Ivan Sokolov has risen to the ranks of the top coaches since the team of Uzbekistan, which he coached, won gold at the the Chess Olympiad in Chennai 2022. In his Fritztrainer series “Understanding Middlegame Strategies”, Sokolov regularly shares his grandmaster knowledge and shows what to do in a large variety of positions and structures. […]
After finishing the rapid section in shared second place, Vidit Gujrathi tied for first in the blitz to claim overall first place at the Gashimov Memorial. Vidit managed to keep his ½-point lead over Arjun Erigaisi by winning his final game in Gabala — Arjun also scored a full point in the 18th round of […]
ChessBase India, together with several partners and supported by the Government of Tamil Nadu, is organising the Chennai Masters 2023, the strongest classical chess tournament in the history of Indian chess, from 15 to 21 December. The tournament might decide who will go to the Candidates Tournament 2024. | Photos: ChessBase India.
Magnus Carlsen defeated two of his strongest rivals on Sunday to keep his perfect score at the Champions Chess Tour Finals. The former world champion defeated Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura in consecutive rounds. Joining him in the lead is Wesley So, who got the better of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja. | Photo: chess.com […]
The second part of the ChessBase India winter solving contest contained problems in different chess variants that involve deviation from the standard rules. This can involve finding ways to reconstruct a given position, or changes to pieces or rules, leading to creative and strategic gameplay. We present one challenging example, and a video lesson in […]
Michael Adams became the first Englishman to win the London Chess Classic. At 52, the former World Championship candidate described this victory as “the best ever” in his career. In the final round, Adams drew Shreyas Royal with black, which meant Royal finished with 4/9 points, the score he needed to collect a second GM […]
With one round to go, Michael Adams continues to be the sole leader at the London Chess Classic. Saturday’s round saw Adams holding Luke McShane to a draw with black, while chasers Gukesh and Amin Tabatabaei also split the point in their direct encounter. Two hard-fought encounters did finish decisively, though, as 14-year-old Shreyas Royal […]
Three players grabbed back-to-back wins in the first two rounds of the Champions Chess Tour Finals: Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, with Caruana prevailing twice in Armageddon to end the day sharing the lead. Notably, one of the three players who lost his first two matches is Hikaru Nakamura, who celebrated his 36th […]

