12/23/2023 – In view of his hanging rook on c6 Black needs a good idea in the diagram position - or should I say the right gift idea? Feel free to be generous!

12/22/2023 – In this video course, GM Surya Ganguly joins IM Sagar Shah and drawing from his colossal experience, shares some uncommon endgame wisdom. The material mostly features positions with rook against rook and a pawn, and starts by covering the fundamentals: Lucena, Philidor, and Vancura. But it quickly enters non-trivial territory, likely to challenge even masters: the slippery theoretical nuances of dealing with doubled pawns and pawns on the f- and h-files.

12/22/2023 – In the "Way to the Candidates" match series, which takes place in Chartres, France, and was designed to help Alireza Firouzja to reach the Candidates, Firouzja has won five of the six scheduled games, overtaking Wesley So on the live-ranking list. However, Firouzja still has to win his second game against Sergey Fedorchuk today. Many chess fans criticised the event, and the US federation asked the FIDE not to rate the games played in these matches.

12/22/2023 – Today's episode is about two Dutch grandmasters playing the French defence. Friso Nijboer is facing Jan Timman, and the position is quickly advancing to a very interesting middle game. A tactical masterpiece is ready to be solved by the viewer!

12/22/2023 – Davide Nastasio loves chess - and when he had a weekend off to play, he was delighted to have the new Fritz 19. In a review he describes what you can do with the engine: "The new Fritz 19 has given me endless hours of fun, thanks to games played against it, as well as games played against other engines and chess bots on the internet."

12/21/2023 – D Gukesh drew his final-round game against Pentala Harikrishna. Arjun Erigaisi defeated Sanan Sjugirov. Both Gukesh and Arjun ended up with the same 4½/7 score. Gukesh won the Chennai Masters on tie-breaks, Arjun was placed second. Pavel Eljanov drew against Levon Aronian. Thus, Harikrishna and Eljanov finished with 4/7 each. Harikrishna secured third place. The objective of organizing this event was certainly a huge success. The top three places were claimed by Indian players. This triumph has moved Gukesh ahead of Anish Giri in the FIDE Circuit leaderboard. Sai Akhil Anand designed and helped with the 'Draw of Lots' in the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony was graced by the one and only Vishy Anand. It goes without saying that the tournament brought a lot of Anand (meaning joy) to all. | Photos: Shahid Ahmed

12/19/2023 – Rounds three and four of the Czech Extraliga were affected by the European Rapid Chess and Blitz Championships, which took place at the same time. Many players participated there and some league matches had to be postponed. But Moravska Slavia and Frydek Mistek played and took the lead in the league. | Photo: Brno's chess ambassador Inna Puhajkova made the first move at the board of Boris Gelfand and Anton Korobov. | Photos: Vladimir Jagr

12/19/2023 – The Max Euwe Centre in Amsterdam is an institution. It offers training courses, houses a huge library with more than 10,000 books and helps to support the wide interest in the cultural, social and academic aspects of chess. After 32 years, the Centre must now leave its location, but will be given new premises on the same street, the Max Euweplein. The move will involve some costs and the Euwe Centre would be happy if chess fans could support it.

12/19/2023 – Rook endings are difficult. The diagram shows a position from a game Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Magnus Carlsen played at the Aimchess Rapid Online tournament. It is White to move and win. In the game Abdusattorov failed to find the winning move - can you do better?

12/19/2023 – FIDE has issued a statement in response to the last-minute series of matches in Chartres, France, which began on Monday 18th December and in which Alireza Firouzja is playing three much weaker opponents in an attempt to gain the necessary Elo points that would secure him a place in the 2024 Candidates Tournament.

12/19/2023 – Four players are sharing the lead with 5½ points each after six rounds of play at the Chessable Sunway main tournament in Sitges. Sethuraman S.P. (India), Dominik Horvath (Austria), Brandon Jacobson (United States) and Iniyan Pa (India) are the current co-leaders in the 10-round open event. Two side stories from Sitges dominated the news cycle these days, though: Leinier Dominguez’s withdrawal and Faustino Oro’s participation in Sunday’s blitz tournament. | Photo: David Llada

12/18/2023 – There are still two places available in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. One of these places will go to the player with the highest Elo rating in the January 2024 world rankings who has not yet qualified for the Candidates Tournament. A tournament was therefore organised at short notice in Chennai, India, to give Erigaisi and Gukesh a better chance to qualify. Leinier Dominguez tried his luck at the Sunway Sitges Open, while Alireza Firouzja now suddenly has a chance to gain Elo in a series of matches in France.