12/9/2023 – In the diagram position, White wins by activating his queen in a way worth seeing - beware of seduction!

12/9/2023 – The first three rounds of rapid chess at the Gashimov Memorial ended with Nijat Abasov as the sole leader in the standings. Abasov, who is likely to play in the Candidates Tournament next year, beat Boris Gelfand and Richard Rapport in consecutive rounds to finish the day with 5/6 points (wins are worth 2 points in the rapid section). Sharing second place on 4/6 scores are Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Rauf Mamedov. | Photo: Official website

12/8/2023 – In painting, each style has distinctly recognizable characteristics in form, color, light, and technique. The subjects of paintings are a reflection of their respective times. The series Chess Art on cards.chessbase.com, depicts all chess pieces in 14 different paintic styles. Take a look at the pictures, and become an art connoisseur in no time.

12/8/2023 – In the new episode of his Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris analyses Gukesh's win against Volokitin from the Chess Classic in London - an instructive game and maybe a crucial win for Gukesh who still has chances to qualify for the Candidates. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/8/2023 – The strong line-up of the Masters and the Challengers tournaments, a large Open, an interesting supporting programme and, last but not least, the city itself make the Prague Chess Festival 2024 an attractive event. The 6th edition of the festival will take place from 26 February to 7 March 2024 and will continue Prague's long chess tradition. A tradition whose traces can be found even when you only take a short sightseeing walk through the city. As Johannes Fischer discovered during a visit to the 5th Prague Chess Festival. | Photo: View of Hradcany with the castle, Prague | Photo: Stefan Bauer, Wikipedia

12/8/2023 – Michael Adams still has a half-point lead at the London Chess Classic after his round-6 opponent, Jules Moussard, blundered the game away from a winning position. Gukesh, Amin Tabatabaei and Andrei Volokitin also scored full points. In the longest game of the day, Nikita Vitiugov failed to make the most of a big advantage against underdog Shreyas Royal. With three rounds to go, Gukesh stands in sole second place. | Photo: John Upham

12/7/2023 – The battle for the final Candidates' tickets continues at the London Chess Classic. English legend Michael Adams is in the lead with 3.5 out of 5, followed by a group of players on 3 out of 5. Gukesh, who needs to win the tournament to qualify for the Candidates, had a great start with 3 out of 4, getting a superior position against Moussard, but then there was high drama. The bold approach taken by both players in this game easily qualifies it as our Game of the Week. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/7/2023 – The Kaissa Foundation was founded by entrepreneurs Rinat and Erlan Naimanov. Recently Rinat and partner Alexander von Gleich met with the founders of ChessBase, Matthias Wüllenweber and Frederick Friedel in Hamburg, to sign of a memorandum of cooperation with our company. KAISSA will begin the process of translating training programs into the Kazakh language with the support of ChessBase and the Chess Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

12/7/2023 – Earlier this year, the Qualifications Commission (QC) initiated a review of the FIDE rating regulations, inviting federations, officials and the public to contribute their thoughts and suggestions. A dedicated group of contributors worked together with mathematician Jeff Sonas on reforming the existing ratings’ system.

12/6/2023 – For the first time, the eight-player Champions Chess Tour Finals will be held fully in person and over the board from December 9 to 16 in Toronto, Canada. The winner will be crowned Tour Champion 2023 and pick up the $200,000 first prize in addition to winnings already earned. Carlsen, the world number-one and reigning Tour champion, and Nakamura, the world’s top chess streamer, have dominated the 2023 season so far and their rivalry has been a joy to watch. But they will face stiff competition from a world-class field.

12/6/2023 – Soon after Carl Schlechter's early death the wish arose to organise a memorial tournament in his honour. In 1923 several important chess masters met at the Café Universale and played such a tournament that ended on 4 December with a victory of Savielly Tartakower. Michael Ehn invites you to travel back in time to Vienna in the early 1920s. | Photo: The building with the former Café Universale | Photos: Archive Michael Ehn

12/6/2023 – Michael Adams continues to be the sole leader at the London Chess Classic after a fifth round with one decisive result. Going into the rest day, Adams has a half-point lead over four players, including Mateusz Bartel, who was the one participant to collect a full point on Tuesday. Adams played Gukesh in round 5, got a very promising position, and agreed to a draw by repetition while still in the driver’s seat. | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh