ChessBase Magazine Online

Commonwealth Chess Championships debut in Africa!
26.06.2011 – The Championships are being held from June 25th to July 4th in the spectacular Emperors Palace Hotel in Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The field of over 700 participants boasts more than 40 titled players and is headed by three times past champion GM Nigel Short from England. The chess promises to be exciting, but the surrounding wildlife even more so. See for yourself.
 

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (64)
26.06.2011 – From around the world there came a very strong entry for the photograph quiz set about a week ago by the Editor of Chess Notes. Now it is time for the answers and the announcement of the five winners. Among the names often put forward by readers were Geller, Ivanchuk, Korchnoi, Smyslov, Stein and Tal, but were they there? What was the actual line-up of the mystery seven?
 

Loek van Wely – Dutch Internet Champion 2011
26.06.2011 – GM Loek van Wely recently added a new feather to his cap by becoming the 2011 Dutch Internet Champion, after beating GM Jan Smeets in the final. Every second Saturday, the Royal Dutch Chess Association organizes a tournament open only to Dutch players, giving special master points and crowning a champion every year. For the final, arbiters were sent to the players' homes. Report.
 

International Chess Tournament of Forni di Sopra
25.06.2011 – Chess in paradise – well, as close as it gets, in Europe, in a beautiful town located in the magnificent Dolomiti Alps near the Italian border with Austria. The tournament, which carried a prize fund of 10,000 Euros, was attended by 148 players from 21 countries, wqith 17 GMs and 18 IMs. Winner was Ecuadorian GM Franco Matamoros. Big pictorial report.
 

Problem chess: Bringing back checkmate
24.06.2011 – Ask even a non-chessplayer what the object of the game is. Clearly it is checkmate. But be honest, now: how often do we actually see a king checkmated in a game of chess? There is a branch of chess, however, where mate occurs all the time, in virtually every position. We are talking, of course, of problem chess. Steve Giddins starts a new column on the subject. Prepare to be amazed!
 

Navara beats Movsisian in CEZ Chess Trophy 2011
24.06.2011 – This event gives chess enthusiasts the opportunity to attend lectures, play in simuls – one of them, on thirty boards, by World Champion Vishy Anand – and watch the two strongest players of the Czech Republic and Slovakia play a six-game match, all in the Michna Palace at Prague's Kampa. Navara won the match (+1 =5). We bring you a big pictorial by Vladimír Jagr.
 

CBM Blog: Knight storms the fortress + Do not rush
24.06.2011 – In the game Nakamura-Nisipeanu from the 5th Kings' Tournament White had a solid extra pawn, but it seemed that Black's castle could not be taken. Nakamura opened the gate first on the kingside to finally use the back door on the queenside. In Hector-Tikkanen White messes up a rook and pawn ending by being too impatient. GM Karsten Müller explains.
 

III Int.Chess Festival – Eforie Nord
24.06.2011 – With the summer just starting in the northern hemisphere, numerous tournaments and festivals are held in vacation spots hoping to attract chess players seeking a fun event without forgoing a genuine holiday. The quaint Romanian town of Eforie Nord, with beaches on the coast of the Black Sea, is holding its third chess festival, and we have a lovely photo report by Sergey Tiviakov.
 

80th Ukrainian Championship – pictorial impressions
23.06.2011 – We had completed our report on this championship, the stongest ever in the country, when we received a special report by its tournament director Yaroslav Mazurenko. The details on the final rounds and the fantastic triumph of Ruslan Ponomariov had been told, but the pictures by Yaroslav and Nikolay Gavljuk are worth sharing with our readers. Enjoy.
 

Ponomariov wins 80th Ukrainian Championship with 2853 performance
22.06.2011 – The strongest championship ever was full of exciting chess. That can be especially said of the winner, 27-year-old Ruslan Ponomariov, who showed aggressive, fighting spirit to the very last game. Only needing a draw to clinch the championship he went on to beat his main rival with the black pieces. He has gained thirteen points and will appear in the top ten in the next rating list. Final report.
 

Russian Championship: Sjugirov takes early lead
22.06.2011 – With three coveted spots qualfiying for the Russian Championship Super Final to be held later this year, the eleven-round Higher League is a swiss open with nearly 50 players rated over 2500, including a returning Morozevich. After six rounds, 18-year-old Sjugirov leads with 5.0/6 and a 2846 performance. Held in Taganrog, Russia, here is a panoply of pictures by Anna Burtasova.
 

Medias Kings Rd10: Carlsen-Karjakin draw, Carlsen wins Medias 2011
21.06.2011 – Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin took joint first after a last round matchup was unable to break the tie. The superb results also had an impact on the world rankings as Carlsen will retake first, and Karjakin will pass Kramnik as clear fourth. A last round win by Ivanchuk relegated Nakamura to under 50%, tied third-fourth with Radjabov. Photos, videos, GM commentary.