ChessBase

• Weissenhaus Play-In: Abdusattorov gets final spot in Freestyle Chess World Championship

  The knockout stage of the online Play-In for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship decided the last place in the February championship. Nodirbek Abdusattorov progressed through the semifinals and went on to face Pranav Venkatesh in the final. The four qualifiers competed in two-game matches with a 15+3 time control. Amin Tabatabaei prevailed in the Armageddon tiebreak against Grigoriy Oparin to grab third place. | Photo: Amruta Mokal / Freestyle Chess Grand Slam

• Beers by the Bay launches women's-only beginner chess class in San Diego

  Beers by the Bay Chess & Social has announced the launch of a women's-only beginner chess class in San Diego, created in collaboration with Let's Go Girls – San Diego. Aimed at adult beginners, the monthly class offers a relaxed, social introduction to chess in an in-person setting. Held at a local venue in Pacific Beach, the initiative seeks to address the underrepresentation of women in community chess by providing an accessible and welcoming environment. | Photo: chessandsocial.com

• Estonians and Lithuanians honor Paul Keres

  The Estonian diplomat and chess enthusiast Mart Tarmak organized a consultation game between politicians and diplomats at the Estonian Embassy in Vilnius in commemoration of Paul Keres on the occasion of his 110th birthday. Viktorija Cmilyte and Peter Heine Nielsen led the teams. | Photos: Embassy of Estonia in Vilnius

• Christmas Puzzles 7 – long and short

  Take a look at this relatively simple position. Can you figure out how White can win? And how many moves it will require to overcome Black's most resolute defence? You won't believe it. To relax we bring you the arguably easiest chess study ever composed, and other entertaining puzzles, many from the out-of-the-box legend Karl Fabel.

• Christmas Puzzles 6 – cover the board!

  In August 2019 I spent a week in France, at the training camp I had organized (together with ChessBase India) for young Indian super talents. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik did the chess training, while I pestered the kids with logic puzzles. Most did not involve chess, but some did. Here are a couple for you.

• Christmas Puzzles 5 – Rotary problems

  In rotary problems the board is rotated by 180° for a second position with a different solution. It is usually pawns that make a different when you turn the board around. Or the king/queen positions, or castling is involved. Can one devise problems where these factors do not play a role? Yes one can, as our expert for out-of-the-box problems, Werner Keym, proves.

• Christmas Puzzles 4 – Retractors

  These days it is not easy to challenge anyone with problems or studies. Loading the PGN and clicking Start will usually get you the solution in seconds. So we are trying to provide you with "computer resistant" puzzles in this year's Christmas Puzzle Week. Today the subject is taking back a move in a given position and looking for a move to fulfil the condition. As in this 100-year-old problem by Thomas Dawson: it requires you to take back one move and then mate the opponent in two. Can you think how?

• Christmas Puzzles 3 – Just some text

  There are chess puzzles which only consist of a line of text, asking you to construct a position or a game that it describes. Some can be awesomely difficult, like the puzzle we first posted 41 years ago. Two world champions were not able to solve it. We tell you about that, and present a new ones, not quite as tough, for you to solve.

• Christmas Puzzles 2 – Not that easy!

  Take a look at this position, in which White should mate in two. Looks very easy, and hundreds of readers of the newspaper in which it appeared submitted a solution. But it was not correct. In our Christmas Puzzle week the consummate expert of unusual chess problems, Werner Keym, asks you to look carefully at the position and find a genuine way for White to mate Black in two moves. There are two other problems to solve.

• ChessBase Christmas Puzzle Week

  Christmas day is usually celebrated with a Christmas tree – in problem chess circles occasionally with a puzzle shaped like a Christmas tree. Like this example, composed by the famous Thomas Rayner Dawson, 101 years ago. It illustrates the universal principle of symmetry, and how it can be broken in a chess problem. Mathematics professor Christian Hesse delves into the very profound thinking behind the problem. But you are invited to solve it first.