Lilit Mkrtchian’s Best Games of 2025 - Learning positional pressure

2/10/2026 – In this “Best Games of 2025” episode, Lilit Mkrtchian takes us through a deeply instructive win from the Tegernsee tournament, showing her full ChessBase-style preparation workflow and how she chose an offbeat setup to get her opponent out of comfort early. The lesson then turns into a masterclass on positional pressure: exploiting the weakened d5-square, improving pieces step by step, and using concrete calculation to avoid tempting but incorrect tactics. The game finishes with clean technique—converting a queenside advantage and a dangerous passed a-pawn—while the big takeaway is clear: smart prep + strong squares + not spoiling a better position wins games.

Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: King's Indian Bluebaum-Giri

2/10/2026 – One more miniature from the Tata Steel Masters. In round 10 the game between the two Candidates Matthias Bluebaum and Anish Giri featured a rather unusual opening line. After the moves 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 c5 5.d5 Black gives up its dark-squared bishop on c3 and locks up the centre and places its pawn on e5. This invention was made back in 1969 by the Dutch IM Johan Barendregt and has recently been seen in quite a number of games. The imbalances in the structures guarantee fire on the board and one mistake may decide one's fate. In this episode of the Fast & Furious show you'll learn more about the ins and outs of this trendy line!

Endgame Magic #324: Highlights from Tata Steel with Sipke Ernst Part 2

2/10/2026 – Sipke and Karsten show one endgame highlight from the Tata Steel rapid tournament. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

The chess elite (of the future) meets in Prague

2/10/2026 – The Futures tournament at the Prague International Chess Festival 2026 brings together ten of Europe’s most promising young female talents. Held under the patronage of Czech First Lady Eva Pavlová and with chess legend GM Pia Cramling (pictured) as ambassador, the event provides top-level junior chess and inspiration within one of Europe’s most attractive chess festivals. | Photo: Prague Chess Festival
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Check promotion

2/10/2026 – Check promotion: Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a large drawish tendency. But the race of passed pawns is of a different nature: White to move and win.
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Abdusattorov tops FIDE Circuit 2026-27 leaderboard after Tata Steel triumph

2/10/2026 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov heads the FIDE Circuit 2026–27 standings after winning the Tata Steel Masters, earning 25.78 points at one of the season’s most significant events. Javokhir Sindarov, Hans Niemann, Jorden van Foreest and Vincent Keymer follow closely behind, while other early results from Wijk aan Zee, the Rilton Cup and the Brazil Series have also shaped the leaderboard. A dedicated page tracks the latest standings and regulations for the new cycle. | Image: FIDE
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Bundesliga: Viernheim still perfect, Baden-Baden one match point back

2/9/2026 – Eight rounds into the 2025/26 Chess Bundesliga season, SC Viernheim and OSG Baden-Baden occupy the top two places in the standings. Viernheim remain on a perfect 16/16 match points, while Baden-Baden trail by a single match point after drawing once. Schachfreunde Wolfhagen stay within reach on 13/16. The latest weekend saw both leaders collect two further victories, with Fabiano Caruana (pictured) making his debut for Baden-Baden. | Photo: Sven Noppes
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Most attractive chess players

2/9/2026 – Who is your favourite chess player – of all time, from the history of chess? Whose games do you enjoy the most? Is it one of the greats from the 19th century, the world champion legends of the twentieth? Or is it a player who is still active? Tell us your choices – and we will compare them with what a chess AI chooses, after evaluating millions of games.

Chess in the Esports Nations Cup

2/9/2026 – Chess is set to take the global stage at the Esports Nations Cup: 128 players representing their nation will compete in one of the largest international Chess competitions ever. The The inaugural event will consist of 128 players competing in a round-robin group stage, featuring 16 groups of eight players. It is set to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2 through 29, 2026.
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Carlsen beats Firouzja, claims fifth Speed Chess Championship title

2/9/2026 – The Speed Chess Championship concluded in London, with live matches deciding both the title and third place. Magnus Carlsen defeated Alireza Firouzja 15–12 to claim a third consecutive crown, while Denis Lazavik edged Hikaru Nakamura in the consolation match. The event introduced the Daniel Naroditsky Cup, with past and future champions' names to be engraved on the trophy. | Photo: chess.com / Luc Bouchon
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Queens' Online Chess Festival returns in March 2026

2/9/2026 – The Queens' Online Chess Festival returns in March 2026 for its sixth edition, offering a free, month-long celebration of women's chess around International Women’s Day. Organised by the FIDE Commission for Women's Chess, the event features a global Women's Open with continental qualifiers and a separate Princesses' tournament for unrated girls. Blitz competitions, titles, training prizes and fair-play safeguards form part of a programme open to players of all ages and levels worldwide.
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ChessBase´26 –Tips for beginners, part 2: Insert variations and add engines

2/8/2026 – ChessBase´26 offers a unique range of professional features. This series gives users of ChessBase tips for the first important steps. In the first part of this series we showed you how to enter and save your own games. In part 2 of our tutorial we will show you how to add new variations to a game in ChessBase´26. These can be your own moves or those of an engine, which you might want to add.
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Speed Chess Championship Finals - Live!

2/8/2026 – The final weekend of the Speed Chess Championship moves from the online arena to a live stage in London, combining rapid, blitz and bullet segments. On Sunday, Hikaru Nakamura faces Denis Lazavik in the match for third place, while Magnus Carlsen will attempt to successfully defending his title against Alireza Firouzja. | Follow the games live with expert commentary. The consolation match starts at 14.00 CET, while the final starts at 19.00 CET.
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Speed Chess Championship: Firouzja and Carlsen advance to the final match

2/8/2026 – The semifinals of the Speed Chess Championship in London took place on Saturday at 180 Studios. It began with Magnus Carlsen facing Denis Lazavik, and was followed by the match between Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja. Carlsen defeated Lazavik 17–9. The encounter between Firouzja and Nakamura was much more closely contested. After the scheduled 5+1, 3+1 and 1+1 games, the players went into overtime games until a winner was decided. Firouzja eventually won by a 15–13 score. | Photo: chess.com / Luc Bouchon
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How chess helped me through cancer and recovery

2/7/2026 – This article talks about how a frightening diagnosis unfolds into an unexpected but tender journey. Ariana Hinckley-Boltax is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes surgeries and chemotherapy. During such an uncertain period, chess became an escape and a comfort zone for her. Her dream of attending the World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2025 leads her to Doha, where the experience proves far more beautiful than she imagined. Her mission was to get her chessboard signed by the players. | All photos: Ariana Hinckley-Boltax
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Svitlana's Smart Moves - Austrian Attack vs Modern Defence

2/7/2026 – In this episode, Svitlana takes on one of the most aggressive setups against the Modern Defence: the Austrian Attack. She explains the key ideas behind White’s early central pawn storm, typical attacking plans, and what you should be aiming for before the tactics even begin. A practical, idea-driven lesson that helps you understand when to attack, how to build it up, and what Black is trying to survive.
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Who am I - Solution

2/7/2026 – A regular fixture in the German "Schachkalender", edited by Wolf Böese and Stefan Löffler, is the biographical puzzle. Yesterday we asked which player would have celebrated a milestone birthday today. Here's the solution…
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From local vision to European stage: New Zagreb Classic's remarkable rise

2/6/2026 – Just two years after its launch, the New Zagreb Classic has become one of Europe's largest open tournaments, attracting more than 500 players from dozens of federations. Conceived by local organisers to give young talents broader competitive opportunities, the event combines a compact weekend format with wide participation across rating levels. The 2026 edition in Zagreb featured established masters, emerging juniors and first-time competitors, reflecting the tournament’s growing place on the European chess calendar. | Photos: Official website
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How to win against a GM in 20 moves

2/6/2026 – On Sunday you have the opportunity to see a legendary chess mind: Alexander Beliavsky, a four-time USSR Champion, three-time Olympiad Champion, who has defeated no fewer than nine World Champions. In a live training session at the Kasparov Chess Foundation Academy "Big Al", as he is known for his bold, uncompromising style, offers a rare chance to understand how grandmasters think when the stakes are highest. Keep February 8, 18:00 CET to listen to him.
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