4/21/2025 – The Grenke Freestyle Chess Open is taking place from 17 to 21 April at the Karlsruhe Convention Centre in Germany. The tournament follows a nine-round Swiss format with a classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move. Players from the parallel Grenke Chess Open could switch to the Freestyle event between rounds two and five while keeping their scores. | Follow the games live with expert commentary.

4/21/2025 – The fifth leg of the 2024/25 Women's Grand Prix series is taking place in Pune, India, on 14–23 April. A 10-player single round-robin, the event has Humpy Koneru, Zhu Jiner and Polina Shuvalova as the top seeds. The top two finishers in the series will qualify for the next edition of the Women's Candidates Tournament. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST)

4/20/2025 – Renowned US chess trainer and International Master John Watson had a close look at the recently released ChessBase 18 for a review in Chess Life. He concluded: "Casual online players will understandably not feel the need for such a powerful tool, but anyone serious about significantly improving their chess will almost certainly benefit from this program". The review first appeared in Chess Life 4/2025. Reprinted with kind permission.

4/20/2025 – With three rounds to go in the Women's Grand Prix in Pune, Zhu Jiner and Humpy Koneru remain as the frontrunners to take the title, both winning their games in round six. They are now set to face each other in a crucial round-seven clash, with Humpy needing a win to overtake the tournament leader. Players enjoyed a cultural break on Sunday ahead of the final push for the title. | Photo: Abhilash Shinde

4/20/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 226 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks at the career of Alireza Firouzja. | Photo: Pascal Simon

4/20/2025 – ChessBase 18 also impresses with its clarity: Analysing with multiple menu windows without losing the overview is no problem. Are you familiar with the six standard layouts or do you prefer your own? Explore the options and try them all out. You will be amazed at how you can use this ChessBase feature to visually organise your analysis in a meaningful and effective way.

4/20/2025 – Magnus Carlsen leads the Grenke Freestyle Chess Open after five rounds, standing as the only player with a perfect score in a field of nearly 300 participants. The nine-round Swiss tournament, which includes 16 players rated 2700 or above, is a notable application of the Freestyle Chess format in an open setting. Seven players are half a point behind Carlsen, including Awonder Liang and Parham Maghsoodloo. Carlsen will face Liang with the black pieces in round six. | Photo: Stev Bonhage

4/19/2025 – In his latest Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft analyses an encounter played at the Reykjavik Open between Lu Shanglei and Eltaj Safarli. Lu conducted the game in beautiful positional fashion, and once White gained the upper hand, the tactics all started to work in his favour. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/19/2025 – Despite expectations of a quiet day before the rest break, round six of the Women's Grand Prix in Pune saw four hard-fought encounters and just one quick draw between Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli. Vaishali Rameshbabu scored her first win of the event, while Nurgyul Salimova stunned Zhu Jiner with a brilliant queen sacrifice - though a win slipped away in time trouble. | Photo: Abhilash Shinde

4/19/2025 – In the diagram position White opted for 32.Qf7, and I'd like your opinion on this move - before you play it!

4/19/2025 – In this insightful discussion, Dr. Karsten Müller reflects on his evolution as a chess player, particularly his transformation from an aggressive "Hyperactivist" to a more universal and pragmatic style. Through a comparison of his early years and later career, Müller's playing style is analysed using the ChessBase Style Report. His experiences highlight how his strengths developed over time and how this shift mirrors broader patterns in chess players' evolution.

4/18/2025 – The 2025 FIDE Women's World Championship Match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi concluded after nine intense games played across two cities. In over 517 moves and nearly 38 hours of play, both competitors delivered sharp openings, complex middlegames and dramatic endgames. Ju emerged victorious for a fifth consecutive time, but not without serious resistance from Tan. With standout performances, including a 98% accuracy win in Game 8, the match will be remembered for its fighting spirit. | Photo: Anna Shtourman