4/30/2026 – Aram and Karsten show 2 endgame highlights | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

4/30/2026 – Recent events, including the Candidates and the European Championship, have significantly reshaped the FIDE Circuit standings. Nodirbek Abdusattorov remains in front, but Javokhir Sindarov has closed the gap, while Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana have moved into the top ten. In the women's circuit, Vaishali Rameshbabu now leads after her Candidates victory, with several new contenders rising in the rankings. | Photo: ChessBase / Nils Rohde

4/29/2026 – Changes to the 2026 lineup of the Grand Chess Tour have been confirmed ahead of the opening events in May. Gukesh Dommaraju has withdrawn from the full tour schedule, with Javokhir Sindarov stepping in as his replacement - though the two upcoming World Championship contenders will still meet at the first leg in Poland. Levon Aronian will miss the Bucharest event due to illness, with Jorden van Foreest (pictured) stepping in as tour regular. | Photo: ChessBase / Nils Rohde

4/29/2026 – This time a very spectacular attack for Black in the Sicilian Rossolimo with 3...e6. In the game Ljepic-Anton Guijarro from the European Individual Championships in Katowice the players were following the opening theory for quite some time. White's plan of expanding on the queenside was nicely met by a powerful bishop sacrifice on h2, offering Black two pawns for the piece. Although objectively speaking White's position was still OK, from a practical perspective it seemed pretty difficult for him to navigate these complications, as Black's pawncentre dominated the board and prevented White from activating its forces. A true modelgame how to play against the Rossolimo and an inspiring performance for all of us seeing the uselessness of White's extra rook.

4/29/2026 – This episode explains how to use the quick access toolbar in ChessBase to manage game notation more efficiently. It shows how to handle variations, delete or hide moves, and quickly add comments, diagrams, and evaluation symbols.

4/29/2026 – The chess pieces for the 2026 Candidates have only just been put back in their boxes, but I am getting in early to preview the Gukesh-Sindarov match by looking at their previous classical encounters. There are only three of them, but they were all thrilling affairs. | Free for all to watch. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

4/29/2026 – The World Senior Team Championship 2026 has concluded in Durrës, with USA 1 securing the 50+ title after drawing their final match, while Italy and Kazakhstan completed the podium. In the 65+ section, Germany – Lasker claimed gold ahead of Italy, with Iceland taking bronze on tiebreaks. The women's standings were led by USA Women and the FIDE Women's Team respectively, following closely contested tournaments across both categories. | Pictured: Artur Yusupov (top board for Germany-Lasker in the 65+ section) | Photo: International Senior Chess Events

4/28/2026 – With almost 500 participants, the European Individual Championship in Katowice proved to be an attractive tournament for chess players in the Old Continent. However, it was somewhat lacking in top-level players. Among the "rank and file" was Roger Lorenz, who was impressed by the organisation, though less so by his own result. Nevertheless, his overall conclusion is positive. | Photos: Roger Lorenz

4/28/2026 – The fourth edition of the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships will take place from 16 to 22 June in Hong Kong, marking the event’s first appearance in East Asia. Top teams have already confirmed their participation, featuring some of the biggest names in the game, including world number one Magnus Carlsen, alongside the most recent FIDE Candidates and Women’s Candidates winners, Javokhir Sindarov and Vaishali Rameshbabu. | Photos: Rafal Oleksiewicz and Michal Walusza

4/28/2026 – Black's bishop's knightmare: The duel knight against bishop can be tricky. The right knight road: White to move and win.

4/28/2026 – "Madwoman's Game" premiered on 16 April at the Miami Chess Festival, presenting a chess-focused documentary that follows Bianca Mitchell-Avila's journey through competition, mentorship and personal development. The film explores how the game informs decision-making beyond the board. Its production was notably supported by Keanu Reeves, whose involvement came as an unexpected boost to the project. | Image: Screenshot from "Madwoman's Game"

4/27/2026 – "I was intrigued to see the list of the youngest players to reach the top ten," said chess statistician Jeff Sonas. "As the article states, my monthly Chessmetrics historical ratings are indeed unofficial, but being able to look further back, more than a century before FIDE Elo ratings started, certainly does help to place the modern FIDE-rated players into a historical context for comparisons like this." Here is Jeff's historical data.