ChessBase

• Turlov: Chess is massively undervalued

  He has been elected FIDE President. Shortly before the ballot decided it in Samarkand, American Chess Magazine conducted an interview with Timur Turlov, discussing his upbringing and background, the ecosystem of his company Freedom, his involvement in chess and what he would do to enhance its popularity and status in the world. Long, must-read description.

• Behind the scenes in Samarkand: Inside the Expo

  Arne Kähler sets off by golf cart from the entrance gate to the exhibition area at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. He shows the stands of WR Chess, DGT and ChessBase, while also passing the ChessBase India workspace, the food court and the souvenir shop. Arne then visits the press area and the game zone before meeting a special guest at the ChessBase stand - elite grandmaster Levon Aronian! | Photo: ChessBase

• ChessBase´26 – Tips for Beginners, part 32: Training with style

  It’s once again time to think about aesthetics in ChessBase´26 training: Have you ever noticed the “Style” option? If not, in this episode we’ll explain briefly and concisely how you can better adapt your screen display to your own taste.

• 25 years ago  –  ChessBase news

  "Yesterday, in one of the most horrifying terrorist atrocities in history, the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed..." Those were the words with which we launched our brand new database-driven news page, on September 12, 2001. It was the very first report we filed. It had a special meaning for the world – but also for chess. Exactly six years earlier the World Chess Championship had been staged on the Observation Deck on the 107th floor.

• ChessBase´26 – Tips for Beginners, part 30: Use "Folders"

  ChessBase´26 is amazingly versatile and often surprisingly user-friendly — as the first 29 parts of this tutorial series have already shown! One particularly important feature in this context is the “Folders” window, which lets you quickly locate anything you want to use within your storage directories. In this episode, we’ll show you how to activate the window (in case it’s been disabled) and what you can view and work with there.

• Fridrik Olafsson Memorial

  Chess players, mark your calendars. The Icelandic Chess Federation, Goðinn Chess Club, and Reykjavík Chess Club are joining forces to present "Town and Country" – two spectacular tournaments that together offer 15 rounds of high-level chess in just 11 days, set against two of Iceland’s most contrasting backdrops. It all begins on Thursday, 19 November at 19:00. On Tuesday, 24 November, the Friðrik Ólafsson Memorial Tournament opens – honouring Iceland’s first grandmaster.

• Hassabis on chess and AI

  In a 15-minute video, Demis Hassabis, one of the central scientists working on artificial intelligence, tells us why he worries about AI going rogue. Hassabis, head of Google AI research, is a very strong chess player who created Alpha zero, the first neural network program on which all modern chess engines are based. It is his vivid description of how AI handled chess that will be of particular interest to the readers of our news page.

• Quo vadis, Fischer Random Chess? (1)

  As you have noticed, this form of chess is becoming increasingly popular. Everyone seems to like it, sponsors are lining up to stage high-prize tournaments, even World Championships. In this series we look back at the origin of Fischer-Random, Chess960 or Freestyle, as it is now called, and discuss the reasons for its popularity. In the end we will propose some modifications to the rules and how the game should be played. Stay tuned.

• Sinquefield Cup Tiebreaks - Live!

  The Sinquefield Cup is taking place on 10-20 August at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It is a 10-player single round-robin with a classical time control. Besides battling for a share of the $475,000 prize fund, players battle to get one of the four spots in the upcoming Grand Chess Tour Finals. Follow the games live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• Andrew Martin: Evans & Friends Vol.1 & 2

  IM Andrew Martin presents a complete White repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, with the Evans Gambit as its aggressive centerpiece for tactically minded players up to around 1800 Elo. Volume 1 covers the key lines, attacking ideas and traps of the Evans Gambit, while Volume 2 provides practical answers to the Petroff, Philidor, Two Knights Defense, Hungarian Defense and several sharp gambits and traps. The aim is a ready to play repertoire that seizes the initiative early, sharpens tactical vision and puts Black under pressure from the very first moves.