6/20/2022 – On May 7, 2022 the world received sad news when it was announced from Moscow that Yuri Averbakh passed away. Averbakh excelled in many fields and at this peak he was one of the world's best ten players but he is best known for his contributions to endgame theory. To pay tribute to the endgame expert, Zoran Petronijevic had a look at endgames that were close to Averbakh's heart. | Photo: Eric Koch / Anefo

6/20/2022 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) and Saint Louis Chess Club have been running the very successful Young Stars – Team USA program for the past six years. The club proved to be perfect training grounds for three of the Young Stars. Garry Kasparov lead the session and was assisted by FIDE Senior Trainer Michael Khodarkovsky.

6/20/2022 – In the June issue of the venerable British Chess Magazine, Macedonian GM Aleksandar Colovic takes a deeper look at the strengths and weaknesses of the eight players fighting for a chance to be the next world champion. In agreement with BCM, ChessBase will publish BCM’s evaluation of the chances of the individual players. Today we are publishing a part of the evaluation that takes a deeper look at the chances of two players: Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja. While Caruana (29) is a perennial favourite when it comes to the Candidates ever since 2016, the whole world will probably have their eyes set on Alireza Firouzja, who will turn 19 at the start of the event.

6/20/2022 – All four games finished drawn in round 3 of the Candidates Tournament. Richard Rapport survived from an inferior position with black for a second time in the event, as he managed to keep the balance in his encounter against Ding Liren. In the longest game of the day, Hikaru Nakamura showed great calculation skills to split the point with Alireza Firouzja. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/19/2022 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 84th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to explain why playing the Benko Gambit might be a good choice for club players. | Photo: Pascal Simon

6/19/2022 – Eight of the strongest players in the world are fighting in Madrid to get a shot in the next match for the world crown. Deep opening preparation and maximum focus often lead to slightly better (or worse) endgames. GM Karsten Müller aims his attention at the last stage of the game, as he compiles the most salient and instructive endings from the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

6/17/2022 – The first round of the Candidates will start today at 15.00 CEST (09.00 ET, 18.30 IST) in Madrid, Spain. At the press conference that started the Candidates officially, Fabiano Caruana, who has already played in three Candidates Tournaments, and who was the only player participating in the press conference, explained which tournament strategy promises success. Report and video...

6/17/2022 – Pentala Harikrishna beat Saleh Salem in the penultimate round of the Masters tournament in Prague, thus climbing to the shared lead going into the final day of action. Similarly, in the Challengers, Hans Niemann collected a second win in a row to catch Vincent Keymer and Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the lead. Friday’s final round kicks off four hours earlier than usual, at 11.00 CEST. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

6/16/2022 – This week Robert Ris looks at a game between the two young Indian Grandmasters Aravindh and Erigaisi, which was played at the MPL Indian Chess Tour and is a good example of Aravindh's attacking skills. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

6/16/2022 – The French Defence is an opening with a marked strategic character, but it also offers rich tactical possibilities to both sides. This video course is aimed as a tactical guide for Black, featuring the most typical combinations for the French structures. The reader is also invited to find combinations delivered by White, in order to become aware of the possible dangers.

6/16/2022 – The 2022 FIDE Presidential election will be held on August 7, 2022, at the FIDE General Assembly in Chennai, India. The Electoral Commission, after a preliminary exam, approved the following list of valid Presidential ticket candidacies: Mr. Andrii Baryshpolets and Mr. Peter-Heine Nielsen; Mr. Inalbek Cheripov and Mr. Lewis Ncube; Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich and Mr. Anand Viswanathan; Mr. Bachar Kouatly and Mr. Ian Wilkinson.

6/16/2022 – Le Quang Liem continues to lead the Masters tournament at the Prague Chess Festival, as wins for Saleh Salem and Sam Shankland in round 7 did not affect the status of the fight at the top of the standings table. Meanwhile, in the Challengers, co-leaders Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Vincent Keymer drew their direct encounter. Top seed Hans Niemann scored a full point, and is now in sole third place, a half point behind the leaders. | Pictured: Kamil Warchol, co-leader in the Futures tournament. | Photo: Petr Vrabec