6/23/2025 – It might well be the world’s biggest scholastic chess tournament: the “Rechtes gegen Linkes Alsterufer” match, played every year in Hamburg. Schools from the right bank of the Alster – the river that runs through the city – compete in teams of eight against schools from the left bank. The event began in 1958, with the left bank winning 65–33 and taking a 1–0 lead. Today, the left bank leads with 40–22 in team points and 31,277.5 to 30,512.5 in board points. Over the years, a total of 123,738 students have taken part in the event. The most recent match took place on June 18, outdoors in the center of Hamburg. The left bank won 966.5 to 769.5. | Photos: Nils Rhode

6/23/2025 – Four top Uzbek players will face six international world-class opponents in the 2nd UzChess Masters. The top seed is world number three, Arjun Erigaisi. The players are competing for prizes, prestige, and points in the FIDE Circuit. Alongside the Masters, a Challengers event (featuring living legend Vasyl Ivanchuk), a Futures and an Open are taking place - modelled after the Tata Steel tournaments. | Live coverage daily from 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST).

6/23/2025 – This week's Summer Special can give your game a real boost. Use the Masterclass series to study the most instructive games, the tricks and techniques of the greatest players in chess history. Get the complete 18-volume bundle for only €199.00 (regularly €399.00). Or maybe you'd like to spice up your play with the Pirc, a solid yet combative opening? Then Fabien Libiszewski’s Master the Pirc might be just what you're looking for — this week only €34.90 (instead of €49.90).

6/23/2025 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu joined Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the lead of the UzChess Cup after defeating Javokhir Sindarov in round four. Both co-leaders stand on 3/4 points with one round to go before the tournament's rest day. Arjun Erigaisi and Parham Maghsoodloo are half a point behind. Pragg's win came in a complex Semi-Slav, where queenside passers and accurate endgame play proved decisive in a game marked by time trouble and tactical subtleties. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

6/22/2025 – Hans Niemann secured the tenth spot in the upcoming Las Vegas leg of the 2025 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam by winning a competitive online Play-In tournament. The event featured a 9-round Swiss followed by a 16-player knockout, with Niemann defeating Denis Lazavik in a tense Armageddon decider. With nine invitees already confirmed, including Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, the full line-up for the 16-player July event continues to take shape. | Photo: Frans Peeters

6/22/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer, and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 235 of his "Understanding before Moving" show, Herman presents his favourite endgame studies. | Photo: Pascal Simon

6/22/2025 – You can find the perfect games for your training in no time: using the shortcut CTRL+F, you can search your databases specifically for players, game phases, or strategic and tactical themes. These search results let you focus your training exactly where you or your students want to improve.

6/22/2025 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov leads the Masters section of the UzChess Cup after three rounds, having defeated Richard Rapport with the white pieces in the only decisive game of the day. The Uzbek grandmaster now stands on 2½ points, ahead of a trio of players on 2. The key encounter of the round featured a sharp Sicilian and a complex endgame, as Abdusattorov outplayed Rapport in a bishop-versus-knight ending marked by time pressure and strategic imbalances. | Photo: Uzbek Chess Federation

6/21/2025 – In the latest episode of the Power Play Show, GM Daniel King explores one of the most instructive themes in chess theory: opposite-coloured bishops in the middlegame. To do so, he goes over a couple of games from the Norway Chess super-tournament. | Watch Power Play on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

6/21/2025 – In this exciting video, Germany’s strongest female chess player, Elisabeth Pähtz, takes on the Aggressive Bull from Fritz 20 – a virtual opponent known for its uncompromising attacking style. Can a grandmaster title stand up to the raw calculating power and fiery play of this digital challenger? A duel on equal footing awaits you – full of tactics, tension, and surprising twists!

6/21/2025 – In the diagram position, Black has three possibilities to fend off the white threat Txb7: 17...Rb8, 17...Bc8 and 17...b6. In the game he made the wrong decision - can you do better?

6/21/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris takes a look at the game Nodirbek Yakubboev vs Arjun Erigaisi from the UzChess Cup Masters in Tashkent. In the first round of the tournament Erigaisi decided to try the Pirc Defence against Yakubboev and was rewarded with a surprisingly quick and easy win. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.