10/13/2023 – After White's first move, it is usually Black, who determines the character of the game. The Keymer System 1.Nf3 and 2.e3 is an attempt from White to steer the game into lines and structures White likes. On his first Fritztrainer the young Indian Grandmaster Leon Mendonca shows the potential and the advantages of the Keymer System. Christian Höthe took a look at the course.

10/13/2023 – In his Game of the Week show #589 Merijn Van Delft analyses how Magnus Carlsen defeated Vincent Keymer, who had come close to eliminating Carlsen from the World Cup, in the European Club Cup. A clash of generations in which Carlsen tried an interesting concept against the Najdorf. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/13/2023 – While two consecutive rounds ended with draws on all six boards in the U.S. Championship, three players got win after win in the U.S. Women’s Championship. Co-leaders Carissa Yip and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova have each grabbed three full points in a row to remain tied for first, while Alice Lee has in fact collected four back-to-back victories to climb to shared second place. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/13/2023 – Offerspill Sjakklubb started the 38th European Chess Club Cup Open as fourth seed. Magnus Carlsen, Offerspill's first board, was certainly the main reason for this - after all he is the world number one with a rating of 2839. But it was still a big surprise that the Norwegians won the cup! One team member in particular - Pranav Venkatesh (whose birthday is today!) - rocked the house with 5.0/7 points. His game against Super Grandmaster Jorden Van Foreest was particularly daring. Robert Ris shows this magical Underdog victory.

10/13/2023 – In the FIDE World Junior Rapid Chess Championship, which was played in Pula, Italy, and which is part of the ongoing World Junior Rapid & Blitz Championships, Raunak Sadhwani and Govhar Beydullayeva emerged as the undisputed champions of their open and girls sections, respectively. | Photos: NIKIEL.PHOTO

10/12/2023 – In a shocking development, 23-year-old Kazakh GM Alisher Suleymenov (rated 2512) defeated Magnus Carlsen in round 2 of the Qatar Masters — it was a crushing 31-move victory. Carlsen later shared some concerns on his X account, noting that it is “incredibly frustrating to see organisers still not taking anti-cheating seriously at all”, as he had been distracted by Suleymenov’s playing with an analog watch. Carlsen clarified that he was not accusing his opponent of cheating. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

10/9/2023 – The renowned New York University has taken a scientific approach to the omnipresent question marks around the effects of gender bias in chess. It concludes: "This study provides the first large-scale investigation of bias against young female players and holds implications for the role of parents and mentors." | Logo: Courtesy of the New York University

10/9/2023 – Svitlana Demchenko celebrated her 20th birthday recently, marking this year's World Junior Championship in Mexico as her final appearance. She enjoyed the tournament atmosphere, and met many chess friends. In this episode, she shows us a well-prepared Italian Game.

10/9/2023 – In the new episode of his Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris presents a fine attacking game Nihal Sarin played at the European Club Cup, which finished last weekend. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/8/2023 – The star-studded Levitov Chess Week rapid tournament saw Ian Nepomniachtchi grabbing the title ahead of Vishy Anand and Peter Svidler. GM Karsten Müller followed the games closely and found five remarkable endgame positions. Find here the compilation of his pragmatic, instructive and enjoyable analyses!

10/8/2023 – An exciting final round of the European Club Cup in Durrës saw Offerspill and Superchess grabbing gold medals in the open and women’s sections, respectively. In the open, the Norwegian team, led by Magnus Carlsen, beat Asnieres with wins by Pranav Venkatesh and Aryan Tari, while in the women’s tournament, Superchess beat Garuda Ajka in a close match, thanks to victories by Dinara Wagner and Marsel Efroimski. | Photo: Niki Riga

10/8/2023 – 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 146th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and continues to take a look at the ideas and games of Alexander Alekhine. | Photo: Pascal Simon