The opening day of the World Blitz Chess Championships in New York brought electrifying action, with top players battling for a spot in the knockout stages. In the open section, 10 players tied for first place with 9½/13, but only 8 advanced, including Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann (pictured) and newly crowned rapid champion Volodar Murzin. […]
Monthly Archives: December 2024
In the latest episode of their “Two Knights Talk” show, Arne Kähler and Johannes Fischer talk about the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York, dress codes, harsh decisions, diplomacy and how Magnus Carlsen and his jeans dominate the coverage of these events. Arne Kähler also presents a position from chess history that […]
It happened during a training session we arranged for three young talents in the ChessBase office. It was conducted by Dr. Karsten Müller, who is a leading endgame expert. Some time later, Karsten wrote an article in the (German language) Chess Calendar describing how the pre-teen Dommaraju Gukesh refuted a Tal brilliancy by the legendary […]
After our Christmas Puzzles, involving kings and a couple of pawns, you may be tempted to call Ding Liren’s oversight in the final game of the World Championship match a gross blunder. It was a catastrophic mistake that cost the World Champion millions of dollars of potential future income. How it came about is explained […]
The World Rapid Chess Championships concluded with outright victories in both the open and women’s sections. In the open category, 18-year-old Russian GM Volodar Murzin stunned a star-studded field to claim the title with an unbeaten 10/13 score, becoming the second-youngest champion in the event’s history. Meanwhile, India’s Humpy Koneru clinched her second women’s world […]
The World Championship match between Gukesh Dommaraju and Ding Liren demonstrated how important it can be to catch your opponent on the wrong foot in the opening. In her 60-minute course, Svitlana Demchenko shows how this can be achieved with both colours and very little theory. | Photos: Nils Rohde
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 […]
Simple pawn endings are vital, and can win you a World Championship. Ask Gukesh. So can you understand and play them proficiently? Do you recognize winning chances in your calculations? In the second part of our Christmas pawn endgame puzzle suite, we bring you new and entertaining positions that will test your skills. And hopefully […]
The World Rapid and Blitz Championships began in New York on 26 December. Sagar Shah is reporting for ChessBase India, while Anish Giri is participating. They are good friends and, before the start of the tournament, Sagar invited the Dutch top player to try his luck in a little quiz about the most famous chess […]
Would you know that Black (to play) in this position can win? Would you recognize that, instantly, in your calculations? And would you be able to play it to victory? That could win you a World Championship! Today we want to check your pawn ending skills, with positions to solve and techniques to learn. It […]