General

GM Viktor Moskalenko

Viktor, Viktor and… Viktor!

One of our favourite authors, Viktor Moskalenko, was awarded a prestigious prize on 6 September this year… the Viktor prize! This prize, offered by the Emanuel Lasker Gesellschaft e.V., was not named after ‘Moska’ himself, but after his legendary namesake Viktor Korchnoi. It is presented to people who have made a special contribution to the promotion of chess as a sport. There is also a ‘female’ version of this prize, called Vera (after Vera Menchik). Last year, the ‘Viktor’ had gone to the long-standing editor of the German magazine Schach, Raj Tischbierek, while the ‘Vera’ had gone to Judit Polgar. Another prize, the ‘Lasker’, went to Magnus Carlsen in 2024. The prize ceremony was held during the General Assembly of the Chess History & Literature Society, which took place in Valencia on September 5 and 6. Lasker Association board member Rebekka Schuster, who called herself one of Moskalenko’s biggest fans, gave him the prize. In her speech, she said: ‘I have played chess on a moderate175

Simul by New In Chess author and editor for the 100-year Anniversary of Chess Club Wassenaar

Simul by New In Chess author and editor

As a company located in the Netherlands, we have the habit of sponsoring some local events with books and magazines. Frank Erwich is a FIDE Master and an experienced chess trainer from the Netherlands. He holds a Master’s degree in Psychology. Frank is a book editor for New In Chess and has published the best-sellers: 1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players and 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players. More recently, he published 100 Tactical Patterns You Must Know and an accompanying workbook. On July 5, Chess Club Wassenaar celebrated their 100-year jubilee. As this was Frank’s first club, he was asked to give a simultaneous display as part of the celebration. There was only room for 30 players, but players who finished early were replaced by people who were anxiously waiting to get a chance to participate. In the end, Frand played against 35 opponents, all of them getting a small prize sponsored by New In Chess. On the club’s website, you can find more photos and an extensive report175

Join us at the New In Chess Group!

Join us at the New In Chess Group!

** The application period is closed for now ** We are seeking a Courses Editor to convert books from the New In Chess Group into Chessable Courses. About the Role:We’re looking for a detail-oriented Courses Editor to help bring Quality Chess, New In Chess, Popular Chess, and Everyman Chess publications to life inside Chessable’s MoveTrainer. You'll be a bridge between the New In Group and Chessable, and be responsible for converting course files to ensure they are correctly structured and of high quality. You’ll also work with the community to beta test new courses, gather feedback, and help fine-tune the final release. Key Responsibilities: Import and format course content (e.g., PGNs, PDFs) into the MoveTrainer platform Review and edit course materials for accuracy, structure, formatting, content issues & user experience Run beta tests with community users to identify bugs, confusion points, or areas for improvement Track feedback and help implement final course updates before launch175

Revealing mistakes by a strong grandmaster

Revealing mistakes by a strong grandmaster

I have often noticed that even very experienced (top) grandmasters sometimes lack the knowledge of theoretical endgames. A lifetime simply contains too little time to learn everything that might be needed to play an endgame perfectly. Funnily enough, even in positions with very little material on the board, problems sometimes crop up that you wouldn't expect. The margin between win and draw is sometimes so close that it pays to delve into seemingly simple positions. I found two interesting cases where the strongest player had a very difficult time against an opponent that was (much) weaker on paper. In the Cambridge Open 2025 (in England), top British player Michael Adams (2661 and former world number four) played in the second round against Dutch player Marcel Schroer (with a modest rating of 2085). The rating difference was hardly reflected during the game so the game slipped into the endgame, in which both players had only one rook and one pawn each as of move 59. In the process, the175

The difference between theory and practice

The difference between theory and practice

The difference between endgame theory and practice can sometimes prove to be very difficult. Even the greatest players in the world in several cases go wrong in making decisions that are sometimes taken for granted by the outside world. For example, I think most strong chess players in rook endgames are familiar with the principle of the “shoulder budge” which played a significant role in the famous example Alekhine – Bogoljubow (1929) in which the black player made a historic blunder by taking the wrong “turn” with his king causing him to miserably lose the remaining endgame of rook against pawn. In my book, I refer to this concept in the section on the endgame of “rook against pawn” (p. 94). Afterward, on p. 251, I draw attention to the aforementioned example from the 1929 World Cup game. How great then is my surprise when I see how the very respectable Croatian grandmaster Ivan Saric (didn't he once beat Magnus Carlsen beautifully in the 2014 Olympiad?) appears to have momentarily forgotten175

Forward Chess

The New in Chess Group buys a minority stake in Forward Chess

After the merger between Quality Chess, Everyman Chess (Now Popular Chess), and New in Chess, the landscape of chess publishing has changed. The goals of the merger have been to learn from each other while maintaining separate identities and keeping the diversity of books released intact.  We want our content to be available in whatever format readers wish to access it. Our books will be available in paperback and hardback, on Kindle, at Chessable, Chesstempo, and Forward Chess. In the search for efficiency as a path to longevity for our companies, we decided to partner with Forward Chess, purchasing a minority share. This has three practical effects. The New in Chess App will close at the end of this year. Customers who have purchased the magazine and books on the New in Chess App in the past will still have access to the books on Forward Chess. We are in the process of converting 52 New in Chess books that were on the App but not on Forward Chess. The highly competent New in Chess175

All rooks ending are drawn, or…??

All rooks ending are drawn, or…??

People sometimes say that all rook endgames are drawn. But is that really the case? Why is this statement so often made? The reason seems clear: some endgames, even with two extra pawns, may appear won but still end in a draw. That makes evaluating of such positions especially tricky. And sometimes a rook endgame with an equal number of pawns is simply lost because one player’s pieces are much more active than the opponent’s. Proper evaluation of such positions requires specific knowledge. Hence the tongue-in-cheek phrase in the title of this article. In my book Chess Endgames for Club Players, I’ve devoted relatively much attention to rook endgames. There are two main reasons for this: Statistically speaking, this type of endgame occurs most frequently. This can be explained by the fact that rooks typically enter the game quite late, making it logical that other pieces are exchanged earlier. Rook endgames contain so many hidden tactical ideas and beautiful techniques that it’s very worthwhile175

Converting to a pawn endgame

Converting to a pawn endgame

In the previous installment of this (short) series on endgames, we talked about pawn endgames. Every chess player knows the dilemma that arises at some point: can he simplify the position by converting to a pawn endgame? Of course, the word “simplify” must be qualified. Because pawn endgames are often far from simple. It depends mainly on two aspects: How much knowledge a player has of pawn endgames How good are the player's calculation skills?   If both conditions are met, it becomes much simpler, and a player can confidently go for the pawn endgame, in which he is sure to win! The Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman once wrote that it is not a matter of finding the most optimal way to win but of accurately calculating the variation to the win and getting it right, after which you can play it confidently. In the examples below, the players with the advantage decide to convert their positions to a pawn endgame that still requires the necessary technique and calculations to force a win. But175

Treacherous pawn endgames by Herman Grooten

Treacherous pawn endgames

In modern times, many games end up in phases in which there is little time on the clock to make quick decisions. Not infrequently, these are endgames in which a winning position must be converted into a win, or a bad/lost position can sometimes still be kept as a draw. For many tournament foxes, the study of endgames is not high on their wish list, but in doing so, they regularly do themselves wrong. It is sometimes said that pawn endgames are the basis of every other endgame. Because almost always the opportunity arises to convert one endgame into another, and of course that can end up in a pawn endgame. Then you have to assess the evaluation of that remaining endgame. In addition to the necessary basic knowledge, a certain insight is needed to evaluate a pawn endgame properly. And if a player is in a winning position, he also needs to find during the game sometimes the only line (occasionally even the only move!) that will give him victory in which every choice listens very closely. It175

GM Jacob Aagaard

Upcoming camp and tournament in Roquetas in Spain

New in Chess is among the sponsors of a camp and tournament in Roquetas in Spain, starting 3rd May (arrival for camp) and 9th May (arrival for the tournament). Both can be found at kctchesscamps.com. You can participate in one without participating in the other. Or both, of course. The tournament was renamed Saturday when we heard the tragic news of the untimely death of one of the arbiters of the event, Malaysian FM Peter Long. Peter was one of my closest friends. The tournament will be called: The Peter Long Memorial – 2nd Killer Chess Training The Open Participation fee for the camp is €1,250, while the entry fee for the tournament is €100. The early bird discount has expired, but the hotel has highly affordable rates as well. In other news, we have published a number of books in the last few weeks: Mastering Chess Exchanges by Jacob Aagaard and Renier Castellanos Chess Opening Repertoire: Accelerated Dragon by Nigel Davies Learn from the Legends 2 by Mihail Marin Chess Opening Repertoire:175

2024 Chessable Awards

New In Chess group books and authors on Chessable

Of course, we are mainly into print ourselves. However, the content of our books is also available in various electronic formats. We have our Interactive eBook library at https://www.newinchess.com/booksdigital, and on Forwardchess.com, you can get all the eBooks of the New In Chess group. Some of our books are very well suited for a slightly different format, and that’s where Chessable comes in! On February 6th, Chessable announced the winners of the 2024 Chessable Awards. You can check all the winners in the 15 categories on their excellent blog, but here, I want to highlight a few related to the New In Chess group. Chessable Course of the Year – The Woodpecker Method 2: Positional PlayFrom the report: “The famous Woodpecker Method has long been regarded as one of the best ways to supercharge your tactical skills. But last year, GM Axel Smith published the sequel and it’s proving a great way to hone your strategic skills too.” You can check out the course or have a look at the book. Best175

Happy New Year - an update from Jacob Aagaard

Happy New Year!

Three weeks in 2025 and I thought it was time for me to update you a bit on what is happening with the New in Chess Group. But first, I want to say a few words about New Year’s Resolutions. In 2023, I decided to hit 10,000 steps on average and succeeded, so in 2024, I decided to practice guitar for at least 20 minutes each day. I used an App created by a music student called Andante to keep track, which is very basic and has a few flaws (if you go to another time zone, your stats get all mangled up, and rather than having a day being 6 am-5.59 am, it runs from Midnight, which is inconvenient to night owls). When a friend decided to get serious about chess, I asked him to use the same app to keep track. His streak is way past 300 days now – while I crashed and burned at 120 or so. While I stopped using the app, once the streak died, it helped me get into a much better practice regimen. So, I failed to keep the streak and use the app – but I got into the habit of practicing the guitar, which175