Chessgames.com is a database of historical chess games combined with discussion forums, forming the internet's oldest and best chess learning community. You are encouraged to participate and learn from players stronger than yourself, while guiding those who are weaker.

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To search our chess database, fill out one or more fields on the form above, and click Find Chess Games!

Please take a few minutes to read the Help Page.

What's New

· Be sure to check out the new Chessgames Store, a veritable chess supermarket complete with sets, boards, clocks, books, DVDs--anything your chess-loving heart can imagine!

· The 5th Annual Chessgames Holiday Present Hunt is now over. Congratulations to the winners, who received prizes from New in Chess, Times Chess Correspondent GM Keene, and the Chessgames T-Shirt Shop. You can still see the Clues Page.

· On December 10th, 2011 Chessgames celebrated its 10th birthday! Thanks to everybody who supported us over the years.

· Chessgames Challenge VII is over! The Chessgames Challenge pits world-class grandmasters against teams of thousands of chess fans. The gauntlet was laid down, and GM Varuzhan Akobian was brave enough to accept the challenge. After 32 moves the Chessgames team managed to draw this world-class grandmaster. Congratulations!

· USCF members, be sure to check out the article about Chessgames and the Chessgames Challenge, "Brave New World", in the August 2011 issue of Chess Life.

· Have a question about chess history? Spot an error on a player biography? Want to exchange stories with other chess history buffs? Check out our new Biographer Bistro.

· Chessgames now supports the iPad, iPhone, and Android platforms.

· Our database ratings of active players have been updated by the official FIDE ratings list that was just released in May.

· AnimusEtOblivio won the Championship Leg of the Chessbookie Game with 48,376 "chessbucks", to become the Fifth ChessBookie Champion of the World! The Spring Leg (and new championship cycle) started on March 31st.

· FIDE have released the 1st round pairings of the Candidates Matches in Kazan in May. The pairings are Topalov-Kamsky, Kramnik-Radjabov, Aronian-Grischuk, and Gelfand-Mamedyarov.

· The World vs Natalia Pogonina game is over; after 62 moves it was drawn. Congratulations to both GM Pogonina and the World Team for their fine performances.

· Chnebelgrind won the Fall Leg of the Chessbookie Game with 19,326 "chessbucks". The Winter Leg is starting now--and we've already deposited 1000 chessbucks in your account to get you started! This is the championship leg which entails prizes for the top 10, and a very special prize for the 2011 Chessbookie Champion of the World!

· GM Natalia Pogonina has accepted the Chessgames Challenge. The game will officially began at 2:00 PM (USA/Eastern) August 31st. Sign up now--the world needs you!

· Our new Hot Games feature shows you what games people have been interested in lately. The list appears to the right, below "Example Searches."

· Show off your love for chess with our beautiful high-quality garments available exclusively from the Chessgames Store!

· ChessBookie! gambler "Winter" won the Spring Leg with 22,924 chessbucks, and a premium membership to Chessgames for one year. The Summer Leg has just begun, and we'd already deposited 1000 chessbucks in your account to get you started!

· Chessgames members (and staff!) had a wonderful time broadcasting every round of the 2010 World Chess Championship with special guest commentator Nigel Short. Thanks to everybody who participated.

· The fourth season of the ChessBookie Game ended on March 25th. This year's winner is Barok Espinosa, who wins a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate, a free one year premium membership, and a high quality T-shirt sporting the Chessgames logo. The new season is beginning now. See our ChessBookie Help Page for more information.

· Congratulations to "Barok Espinosa" whose wild last-minute wagers rocketed him to the #1 spot in the ChessBookie Game. He wins a free year of premium membership and qualifies for the ChessBookie Championship which started on January 1st, 2010.

· In June-July 2008, Chessgames helped a research study for University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The results of this study are now available to the public. Please read The Chess Aesthetics Research Survey Results to learn their findings. [requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.]

· Chessgames broadcasted live games from the 2009 Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing, China. WGM Natalia Pogonina provided excellent coverage and we hope to have her back in the future.

· Our Pun Submission Page is back online, along with our Pun Voting Booth. Note that this is now a permanent site feature and no longer a contest.

· The new "My Favorites" feature allows you to track your favorite Chessgames members.

· Think you've got what it takes to become a professional chess gambler? Find out with our fun, free, multiplayer online gambling simulation! Our unique The ChessBookie Game is just starting a new leg, so now's a great time to start playing.

· For the entire month of June we showed top entries from our 2009 Pun Contest for the Game of the Day feature. Congratulations to member tpstar for his winning pun, "Holy Queen Sac, Basman!"

· The Rinus Scholarship gives free premium Chessgames memberships to people who contribute their efforts to the Chessgames Challenge, and all proceeds are placed in a special fund designated to hire grandmasters for upcoming Chessgames Challenges. If you are able, consider making a donation and help support chess learning worldwide.

· Congratulations to our member "holland oats", the 2009 Chessbookie Champion of the World! He will win a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate, and two free years to Chessgames Premium Services. The next season of the The Chess Bookie Game will begin in just a few days.

· We now have over 13,000 Game Collections compiled by our members.

· Chessgames will be broadcasting all games from the 18th Annual Amber Tournament daily. The final round starts at 7:30am (USA/Eastern) on March 26th. Our new customized software allows you to see three games simultaneously while you discuss them with other members. Each day, after the first two blindfold sessions, the action will continue on the Amber Rapid Tournament Page. Everybody is invited to participate; just look for the "live chess graphic" on the New Games sidebar to the left.

· Grandmaster Arno Nickel is the first player to have ever survived an encounter with the formidable Chessgames World Team! After 42 moves, Nickel offered a draw which was accepted by 60% of the opposing team. See the game and leave Arno your congratulations.

· Chessgames was proud to include special guest commentator GM Nigel Short during our live broadcast of the Topalov-Kamsky Candidates Match.

· The FIDE January ratings list is out and player pages have been updated accordingly.

· Former World Correspondence Champion Mikhail Umansky has taken the Chessgames Challenge. This could prove to be the biggest fight that the world has had to date! Register today and meet your team mates.

· Chessgames member "Chnebelgrind" came in first place in the ChessBookie Fall Leg, and the Championship Leg is just beginning. For more information on the ChessBookie game see our ChessBookie Welcome Page; now is a perfect time to get started.

· Little Chess Partner now has an "Analysis Mode" which lets you play the game from any specified position.

· Congratulations to World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand for defending his title against Vladimir Kramnik in the 2008 World Chess Championship.

· We now have completed our History of the World Chess Championship, a historical overview of the most coveted title in chess.

· Chessgames is proud to be sponsored by New in Chess, publishers of "the best chess magazine in the world."

· The chessgames members have defeated former World Correspondence Champion Gert Jan Timmerman. See the Chessgames Challenge and enjoy the dancing rook!

· Chessgames now has over 100,000 registered members! We thank every single one of you for helping us become the best chess site on the internet. If you're not a member yet, invest a minute to register a free account. It's easy, confidential, and will give you access to some of our coolest features.

· What does the future hold? Find out with our new Chess Forecast feature. This is the blue pie-chart you see to the right; it predicts the outcome of an upcoming or current chess game based on data collected from our ChessBookie Game.

· We now have new powerful hardware to better serve our members. Thanks to all of the premium members who made this upgrade possible.

· The Chessgames "World Team" has defeated grandmaster Yury Shulman at the Chessgames Challenge. Well done!

· Chessgames is proud to introduce a revolutionary new chess training tool, Guess-the-Move. It's almost like playing a grandmaster! Non-premium members can try our free sample game.

· Give the gift of Chess! Chessgames Activation Codes make it easy and fun.

· Our new Game Collections Page allows you to search for game collections by keyword.

· Each day, you can sample the powerful Repertoire Explorer for free! Just click on the Player of the Day, and follow the links by the magnifying glass to fully explore his or her openings. For more information on premium membership, please see our Premium Membership Page.

Chess Forecast

Aeroflot Open Rd 4: Zhigalko-Alekseev Member predictions based on the ChessBookie Game