5/31/2024 – Do you know the typical mistakes made by club players when choosing their opening? They follow fashionable variations; they stick to one opening because it's the only one they've learnt at some point; or they play secondary variations out of fear of their opponent's supposed knowledge. Things do not have to be this way. Play what suits you. Let yourself be inspired! The series of opening tutorials in the new, web-based ChessBase books format offers you a highly competent and innovative guide to opening theory. This is an updated new edition in the new web-based ChessBase-books format!

5/31/2024 – For the first time in this year’s edition of the Norway Chess super-tournament, all three games in a single round ended decisively. Hikaru Nakamura defeated former leader R Praggnanandhaa to climb to sole first place; Alireza Firouzja is Nakamura’s closest chaser after beating world champion Ding Liren; while Magnus Carlsen stands in third place thanks to his victory over Fabiano Caruana. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess

5/30/2024 – ChessBase Magazine Extra is the ideal supplement to the ChessBase Magazine. In the new Extra #219: New double sacrifice against the French Defence (video by Felix Blohberger) and part 3 of the video series "Mikhalchishin's miniatures". "Lucky bag" with 44 analyses by Emanuel Berg, Romain Edouard, Alexandr Fier, Michal Krasenkow, Yago Santiago, Vaibhav Suri and many more. Plus over 50,000 new games for your database!

5/30/2024 – In his new Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft presents a unique endgame: two knights and six pawns fight against the queen! | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

5/30/2024 – Building up a suitable opening repertoire is no easy task and can take some time. If you have an experienced trainer to help you with tips and advice, that is extremely helpful and also saves a lot of time. The Dutch grandmaster Sipke Ernst (photo: Frans Peeters) offers this help with his video course "A practical repertoire for the positional player after 1.d4".

5/30/2024 – A draw with black in Armageddon allowed R Vaishali to keep the sole lead in the Norway Chess Women tournament. The Indian representative faced Anna Muzychuk in Wednesday’s third round. Standing in sole second place is Ju Wenjun, who signed two draws with black against Pia Cramling, thus grabbing a third Armageddon victory in Stavanger. The one decisive game of the day was seen in the rapid tiebreaker between Humpy Koneru and Lei Tingjie, as the Indian GM scored a 49-move victory with the white pieces. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess

5/30/2024 – R Praggnanandhaa defeated Magnus Carlsen in a classical game for the first time in his career in round 3 of the Norway Chess super-tournament. The victory allowed Pragg to become the sole leader in Stavanger. Standing in second place is Fabiano Caruana, who beat Ding Liren in their classical encounter. Hikaru Nakamura stands in third place after getting the better of Alireza Firouzja in Armageddon. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess

5/29/2024 – Astrologers may feel vindicated. After all, Dommaraju Gukesh, the winner of the 2024 Candidates Tournament, and Tan Zhongyi, the winner of the 2024 Women's Candidates Tournament, were both born on 29 May, Gukesh in Chennai, India, in 2006 and Tan Zhongyi in Chongqing, China, in 1991. Congratulations! | Photos: David Llada (Gukesh) and Lennart Ootes (Tan Zhongyi)

5/29/2024 – For a chess player, chess pieces are like specific tools in a toolbox. We need to know how best to use them, just as a craftsman knows his tools. We shouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail; and we shouldn’t close the position when we have the bishop pair.

5/29/2024 – R Vaishali became the sole leader at the inaugural edition of the Norway Chess Women tournament after beating Humpy Koneru in their round-2 classical confrontation. Top seeds Ju Wenjun and Lei Tingjie stand in shared second place after defeating Anna Muzychuk and Pia Cramling, respectively, in Armageddon tiebreakers. | Photo: Stev Bonhage

5/29/2024 – Round 2 of the Norway Chess super-tournament saw all three classical games ending drawn once again. Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja and Ding Liren all won with white in the subsequent Armageddon tiebreakers to collect 1½ points each. Carlsen, who defeated Hikaru Nakamura on Tuesday, is now leading the standings with 3 points to his name. | Photo: Stev Bonhage / Norway Chess

5/28/2024 – In the 1971 Candidate Matches Bobby Fischer faced Mark Taimanov In Vancouver, Canada. The American defeated his opponent from the Soviet Union with a "dry" 6-0 score. But matters could have started differently. In the first game it was Taimanov who put on the pressure, and even had winning chances. He played 27.h3, which nobody considered a bad move – until Kasparov pointed out its defect in 2004. Today's riddle deals with the position before White's 27th move. Computers find it devilishly difficult to find the best continuation. Can you?