Riga GP: Vachier-Lagrave and Mamedyarov are the finalists

7/20/2019 – No tiebreakers were needed to decide who will play the final match of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew Wesley So (after having beaten the American in game one) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave took down Alexander Grischuk in the rematch encounters of the semi-finals. Given that the sole rest day was scheduled for Sunday and the potential tiebreaks were to take place on Saturday, the finalists will have two days to recover before the deciding match-up. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting LIVE

7/19/2019 – After a rest day, the Sparkassen Chess meeting in Dortmund continues today with the 3rd round. In a German derby meet the national team Daniel Fridman and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu each other. Live from 13.15 UTC (15:15 CEST / 9:15 AM EDT).

The Power Play Show: Grischuk-Vitiugov

7/19/2019 – On the show today: GM Daniel King will be examining Grischuk vs Vitiugov 2019 — a classic attack from the Russian maestro. Power Play is live most Fridays at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, Noon EDT) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

When the dust has cleared

7/19/2019 – The diagram saw a board hoovering sequence: 22...Bxa3 23.Qxg6 hxg6 24.Bxa6 Bxb2 25.Bxb2 bxa6 26.Rxa6. Your first task is to imagine this final position. The second — to then see Black's win!

Riga GP: Mamedyarov beats So

7/18/2019 – In the first game of the semi-finals at the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga we saw a couple of elite chess battles, as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov surprised Wesley So to get a quick win and Alexander Grischuk got himself in trouble out of a Berlin Defence against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Grischuk and So will have the white pieces in Friday's rematch encounters. | Photo: World Chess

Fast and Furious: The Yates variation of the Ruy Lopez

7/18/2019 – Russia-China duel: This episode of the Fast & Furious show considers the recent mini-match between Ding Liren and Dmitry Andreikin, which has been largely overshadowed by other events. The live show at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT) is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows.

Dortmund: Four draws in round four

7/18/2019 – In yesterday's 4th round of the Sparkassen Chess meeting, all games ended without a winner. Leinier Dominguez (pictured right) thus defended his lead in the tournament. Wojtaszek, Radjabov (pictured left) and Rapport remain a half point back in this short seven-round sprint. Thursday is the tournament's second (and final) rest day. Play resumes on Friday at 13:15 UTC (15:15 CEST, 9:15 AM EDT) | Photos: Georgios Souleidis

4 ways to play chess online with ChessBase

7/18/2019 – Playing online is both fun and helps you to improve. ChessBase offers a number of possibilities to do so, including in your web browser. Here's a short and easy introduction to the various ways and possibilities to play online chess with ChessBase for free.

Riga GP: Grischuk, So and Mamedyarov in semis

7/18/2019 – Alexander Grischuk and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov knocked out Yu Yangyi and Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the first two games of the quarter-finals tiebreaks at the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga. Meanwhile, Sergey Karjakin and Wesley So drew all their 25'+10" and 10'+10" games — in the end, So emerged the winner after turning around a sharp tactical position in the first 5'+3" encounter and saving a draw in a roller-coaster of a rematch game. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

Game of the Week: Veselin Topalov vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

7/17/2019 – The training game focus this week is the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga and the quarter-final match between Veselin Topalov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. Merijn is on-demand this week starting at 18:00 UTC (20:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT).

Dortmund: Leinier Dominguez takes the lead

7/17/2019 – Leinier Dominguez seems to be in good shape at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund. In round three he won against defending champion Ian Nepomniachtchi with a nice, tactical combination and is now in sole first place with 2½/3. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu scored the second win of the round, with black against Daniel Fridman. Kaido Kulaots and Radoslaw Wojtaszek drew, as did Teimour Radjabov and Richard Rapport. Live games of round four from 13:15 UTC (15:15 CEST, 9:15 EDT). | Photos: Georgios Souleidis

Endgame Magic with Karsten Mueller and Mihail Marin

7/17/2019 – Renowned trainer and author Grandmaster Mihail Marin is Karsten's guest today. Live at 13:00 UTC (15:00 CEST; 9:00 AM EDT) and on-demand for ChessBase account holders. Don't have an account yet? You can register a free 90-day account to watch!

Riga GP: Topalov's shocking decision

7/16/2019 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has already secured his spot in the semi-finals of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, as Veselin Topalov shocked everyone by offering a draw after merely twelve moves in a must-win situation. The rest of the match-ups are still tied and will be decided on tiebreaks — while Wesley So, Sergey Karjakin, Yu Yangyi and Alexander Grischuk played it safe, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Jan-Krzyztof Duda got into a real fight in Tuesday's round. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess