The German Masters was exciting right up to the final round. Alexander Donchenko, Dennis Wagner and Rasmus Svane battled it out for victory in the open tournament, while the women’s Masters saw Dinara Wagner and Hanna Marie Klek fighting for firs place in a direct duel. In the end, the Wagners were declared victorious in both tournaments. Congratulations! | Photos: Paul Meyer-Dunker
Greetings chess friends! I beg your indulgence for this month’s column; I am just now finishing up the manuscript for a book that is to be released next year (details later!), and this month’s column is an idea I have had for some time, and for which I have many recent games (including several of my own) to work with. This allows me to make use of some recent post-game analyses. So, without further ado, I offer you my testimony on behalf of the Queen’s Gambit Declined!
In football, the area around the center line is usually a hazard-free space. But in chess, when a knight crosses the centre line – i.e. if it jumps from his own half of the playing field to that of the opponent – then it "usually sends a clear attack signal", writes Oliver Reeh in his tactics section in ChessBase Magazin #211. His collection of tasks in the new edition includes 38 games, which are peppered with many training questions. Attacking knights play an important role in almost all cases. We would like to present the first three tasks from the collection as well as an excerpt from his first interactive video here. Have fun!
After Dorian Rogozenco had concluded his "Classics" series in ChessBase Magazine in summer last year, he started his new column "Modern Classics" in CBM #210 with a game Fischer-Petrosian from the 1971 Candidates Match. In CBM #211 he takes up the "Special" of the new issue and presents a brilliant game by Mikhail Tal. On the programme is the sixth game of the World Championship match from 1960 against Mikhail Botvinnik. You can watch an excerpt from Rogozenco's video analysis here!
Mikhail Tal's meteoric rise shook the chess world in the late 1950s, taking him straight to the very top. His victory over Botvinnik in the 1960 match won him the world title. In the process, the 'Wizard from Riga' thrilled fans with his unprecedented combination style – “There are two kinds of sacrifices - correct ones and mine!” For CBM 211 we invited our authors to comment on their favourite Mikhail Tal games. The total of 21 encounters, the last played in 1991, show the eighth World Champion above all, in his element - as a brilliant tactician. A little-known game from the National Open in Chicago 1988 is presented by Yannick Pelletier in CBM 211 - you can watch his analysis in abridged form here. Enjoy!