8/20/2024 – The two most anticipated matchups of the Sinquefield Cup were seen in the very first round of the event. The duel between World Championship contenders Ding Liren and D Gukesh ended drawn after Ding went for a trying line with the white pieces only to see Gukesh defending the position accurately. Meanwhile, the two frontrunners in the Grand Chess Tour standings, Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja, played a tense, 85-move game. Firouzja ended up prevailing with the black pieces. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

8/20/2024 – In pawn endings, precise calculation is important. In the diagram position, Black is a pawn up and can win. What would you do?

8/20/2024 – Three games ended decisively in the exciting fifth round of the Tbilisi Women's Grand Prix. Nana Dzagnidze and Mariya Muzychuk grabbed full points to join the lead, while Sara Khadem (pictured) obtained an uplifting victory after having struggled in the previous 4 rounds. Dzagnidze and M. Muzychuk are sharing the lead with Stavroula Tsolakidou and Bibisara Assaubayeva. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

8/19/2024 – In the Endgame Magic Show #280 Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler have fun with two interesting rook endgames. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

8/19/2024 – Nico Zwirs beat Christopher Yoo with white to become the outright winner of the A-Open in the 51st edition of the Dortmund Chess Festival. Out of a Sicilian Defence, the Dutch GM first defended resourcefully and then showed excellent technique in a rook ending. In the match between Elisabeth Paehtz and Dinara Wagner, a sixth draw (in six games) was signed on Sunday. | Photos: Hoogeveen Chess 2018 / Frans Peeters

8/19/2024 – In this week's Summer Special you can save a lot on our Fritztrainer packages. They are by Jan Markos, a Slovak grandmaster, coach, and author, a former European Youth Champion; and by Robert Ris, an International Master from The Netherlands, who nowadays is active mainly as an online chess trainer. You can get Jan Markos Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 +2 for €39.90 (instead of €59.80) and Robert Ris Calculation Trainingfor €79.90 (instead of €119.60). Don't miss your chance!

8/16/2024 – The fourth event of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour is the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament. Taking place on 12-16 August, the event starts with 9 rounds of rapid action, followed by 18 rounds of blitz. Included in the field are the three frontrunners in the race to win the 2024 Grand Chess Tour: Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja and R Praggnanandhaa. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 20.00 CEST (14.00 ET, 23.30 IST)

8/16/2024 – For his new Power Play Show GM Daniel King selected a number of "tactical tales from the British Championship" which test the tactical imagination and help the ability to calculate. | Power Play is on air most Fridays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

8/16/2024 – Alireza Firouzja took the sole lead after the first day of blitz at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament. The French representative goes into the final 9 rounds of 5-minute games with a 1½-point lead over Wesley So and Ian Nepomniachtchi. It was So who obtained the best score on Thursday, as he scored 7/9 points despite losing his round-12 encounter against Firouzja. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/16/2024 – Recently, chess has been dogged by allegations of cheating, by some of the world’s best players. Promising the showdown to end all showdowns, World Chess has organised a rematch between grandmasters Vladimir Kramnik and José Martínez Alcántara, after their initial high-stakes game in Madrid earlier this year led to an inconclusive outcome. The highly anticipated rematch to be held in London from August 19-21, dubbed ‘Clash of Blames,’ will take place in person and on a state-of-the-art platform, which features an innovative anti-cheating engine endorsed by FIDE, ensuring no room for doubt or deception.

8/16/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris takes a look at a game between Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, in which Caruana tried the Cozio Variation (3...Nge7) against the Ruy Lopez. Black's third move might appear harmless, but the board was quickly on fire. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

8/16/2024 – At 3 PM local time on August 15, Georgia has become the epicentre of the chess world for the next ten days, as elite women grandmasters embark on an intense competition that will extend into the coming year. The tournament is under way and can be watched live on the FIDE/Tblisi news page. It includes wonderfull photos by Anna Shtourman.