I have told the story often: in an interview in 2020 I said that in five years I expected at least two of the top ten players in the world would be Indian. My prediction was met with deep scepticism. It was clearly the unrealistic optimism of a friend and admirer of young Indian talents. […]
Monthly Archives: April 2025
Magnus Carlsen claimed victory at the 2025 Grenke Freestyle Chess Open with a flawless 9/9 score – an exceptional achievement at this level of competition. The event, held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 17 to 21 April, featured a nine-round Swiss format and classical time control in the Freestyle (chess960) variant. Carlsen secured first place with […]
Humpy Koneru seized the lead at the Women’s Grand Prix in Pune with a crucial win over Zhu Jiner in Monday’s round seven, turning the tournament standings on their head with just two rounds remaining. Divya Deshmukh also impressed, scoring a dominant victory to stay in contention ahead of her key clash with Zhu. While […]
Baden-Baden has a long chess history, mainly thanks to great classics from the early days of tournament chess: Baden-Baden 1870 and Baden-Baden 1925. Hartmut Metz brings back the super tournament from 1925 on the occasion of the grenke Open. It was the time of the “hypermodernists”.
Renowned US chess trainer and International Master John Watson had a close look at the recently released ChessBase 18 for a review in Chess Life. He concluded: “Casual online players will understandably not feel the need for such a powerful tool, but anyone serious about significantly improving their chess will almost certainly benefit from this […]
ChessBase 18 also impresses with its clarity: Analysing with multiple menu windows without losing the overview is no problem. Are you familiar with the six standard layouts or do you prefer your own? Explore the options and try them all out. You will be amazed at how you can use this ChessBase feature to visually […]
The Grenke Freestyle Chess Open is taking place from 17 to 21 April at the Karlsruhe Convention Centre in Germany. The tournament follows a nine-round Swiss format with a classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move. Players from the parallel Grenke Chess Open could switch to the Freestyle event between […]
Magnus Carlsen leads the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open after five rounds, standing as the only player with a perfect score in a field of nearly 300 participants. The nine-round Swiss tournament, which includes 16 players rated 2700 or above, is a notable application of the Freestyle Chess format in an open setting. Seven players are […]
Despite expectations of a quiet day before the rest break, round six of the Women’s Grand Prix in Pune saw four hard-fought encounters and just one quick draw between Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli. Vaishali Rameshbabu scored her first win of the event, while Nurgyul Salimova stunned Zhu Jiner with a brilliant queen sacrifice – […]
In this insightful discussion, Dr. Karsten Müller reflects on his evolution as a chess player, particularly his transformation from an aggressive “Hyperactivist” to a more universal and pragmatic style. Through a comparison of his early years and later career, Müller’s playing style is analysed using the ChessBase Style Report. His experiences highlight how his strengths […]