Stellwagen wins 2009 Yearbook Novelty of the Year Award

Daniel Stellwagen has been voted the winner of the 2009 Yearbook Novelty of the Year by readers of the New In Chess website. The Dutch grandmaster earned 350 Euros for his novelty 24…Qf3 in the King’s Indian against Loek van Wely at the NH Chess Tournament in Amsterdam in August 2009. Read more

Review: Fundamental Chess Openings

Chess is interesting, and chess openings are interesting too. There is nothing scary about opening theory, but there is nothing sacred about it either. This is the message Paul van der Sterren wants to give his readers in his 468-page book Fundamental Chess Openings, published by Gambit. He succeeds wonderfully in bringing this message home. Read more

Salieri down the Rabbit-Hole

Now that I’ve finally accepted that I probably won’t be World Chess Champion, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to set goals in chess. What’s worse, I’ve noticed I am trying to force my will upon my opponents by different means than winning the game. Read more

Review: Dismantling the Sicilian

As soon as I finished the first paragraph of the introduction to Jesus de la Villa’s new book Dismantling the Sicilian, published by New in Chess - one of the most amazing first paragraphs I’ve ever read in a chess book - I thought: this book is either total crap, or it is absolutely brilliant. Let’s see what’s so amazing about this introduction right away. Read more

Finding Nepo (on an old laptop)

For over a decade, I have been ridiculed by chess friends for playing the Centre Game, an opening with a respectable history which nevertheless has a very bad image in modern opening theory. In Mainz, I witnessed Ian Nepomniachtchi and Levon Aronian play a very exciting game, reminding me of a time when internet chess had just begun and I had the golden opportunity to test the Centre Game against some leading grandmasters, including Alexei Shirov. Read more

The Phoenix Attack: a rare line gives the classic Colle System a new lease on life

When most people hear of the “Colle System,” they think of the modest, solid, setup where White plays d4, Nf3, e3, Bd3, c3, Nbd2, and then looks up to see what Black has done with his moves. Guest author David Rudel proves that the system can actually be quite dangerous by introducing a new idea in the Colle.
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What baby names can tell you about chess openings

If you have kids, you’ve probably thought hard about how to name your child. Should you choose a ’special’ kind of name, or rather a very trendy or well-known one? Popularity is an important aspect when it comes to choosing virtually anything. The same goes for chess openings: do you want to go for popular main lines or for ‘off beat’ variations? Read more

Review: Chess Explained – The Gr?ºnfeld

It usually takes a while before beginning chess players realize there are also great chess openings for Black. For me, this moment came when I discovered the Gr?ºnfeld Defence. Here, finally, was a chess opening in which it was possible to create some of the rich dynamics usually reserved for playing with White. I remember xeroxing whole books on this great opening in the Max Euwe Centre in Amsterdam. This also made me discover another property of the Gr?ºnfeld: it’s a highly professional opening. An opening for grown-ups. Read more

Receive the latest opening novelties in your mailbox…

…that’s one of the tag lines we’re using for, tatatataaaaa… ChessVibes Openings. What? Well, that’s our brand new, very first premium product and we’re launching it right here, right now! Interested in opening theory? Don’t wanna wait for books and magazines? Want to receive the latest novelties in your mailbox every week? Well, read on! Read more

Review: The Black Lion

It’s clear that the New in Chess publishers are experimenting. In the past, they have mostly published high-quality opening books for the serious chess student, written by famous grandmasters such as Morozevich and Bologan. With The Black Lion, written by Dutch amateur club players Jerry van Rekom and Leo Jansen, they’re obviously sticking out their necks. Admittedly, the book already was a huge success in The Netherlands, precisely because it appealed greatly to fellow amateur club players, and the new edition also seems to sell very well indeed. Read more

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