12/14/2023 – Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the first sets in the semis of the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Toronto. Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruana in a thrilling match which featured five decisive results and the Norwegian winning from a lost position (a queen down). Abdusattorov, on his part, lost the first game against Wesley So, but then won two in a row and drew the fourth to claim overall victory. | Photo: chess.com / Thomas Tischio

12/13/2023 – The FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission (EDC) has deliberated on Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup following his defeat to Hans Niemann in September 2022 and has now reached a verdict. Carlsen has been fined 10,000 euros for his unjustified withdrawal. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Center

12/13/2023 – The Sicilian Najdorf is one of the most aggressive answers to 1.e4, and its theory develops dynamically - the young German grandmaster Luis Engel brings all aficionados up to date with his two-volume Fritztrainer course. Christian Höthe had a look at the course and is enthusiastic.

12/13/2023 – Fabiano Caruana and Nodirbek Abdusattorov advanced to the semifinals of the Champions Chess Tour Finals after going through the ‘survival stage’ on Tuesday. The two players who were knocked out of the competition in this stage were Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura, with the latter coming inches away from reaching the semis via the longest path. The U.S. star would have needed to win three matches on a single day — he beat Denis Lazavik and MVL before losing in Armageddon to Abdusattorov. | Photo: chess.com / Thomas Tischio

12/12/2023 – Magnus Carlsen is the world number one chess player and Pep Guardiola is regarded as one of the best football coaches in the world who has changed the way football is played and thought about. Guardiola has celebrated numerous national and international successes with FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. In a revealing conversation organised by PUMA, Carlsen and Guardiola talked about the similarities between football and chess and gave insights into their strategies and tricks.

12/12/2023 – Passed pawns can be powerful. The diagram shows a position from a game Alexander Grischuk played against Yu Yangyi at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League event. It is White to move, and do you see how Grischuk can use his powerful pawns?

12/10/2023 – With one round to go, Michael Adams continues to be the sole leader at the London Chess Classic. Saturday’s round saw Adams holding Luke McShane to a draw with black, while chasers Gukesh and Amin Tabatabaei also split the point in their direct encounter. Two hard-fought encounters did finish decisively, though, as 14-year-old Shreyas Royal turned the tables in his game against Jules Moussard, and Andrei Volokitin got the better of the adventurous Matuesz Bartel. | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh

12/10/2023 – Three players grabbed back-to-back wins in the first two rounds of the Champions Chess Tour Finals: Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, with Caruana prevailing twice in Armageddon to end the day sharing the lead. Notably, one of the three players who lost his first two matches is Hikaru Nakamura, who celebrated his 36th birthday on Saturday. | Photo: chess.com / Thomas Tischio

12/9/2023 – No player has managed to remain undefeated after six rounds at the Gashimov Memorial in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Rounds 4-6 were played on Saturday and featured a number of entertaining encounters. Three players emerged as co-leaders, with Arjun Erigaisi and Aydin Suleymanli (pictured) joining early leader Nijat Abasov at the top of the standings, all with plus-one scores. A very closed competition, all remaining seven participants have either fifty-percent or minus-one scores. | Photos: Official website

12/9/2023 – On Wednesday, the Alef Super Stars 2023, a 4-player multi-format tournament featuring grandmasters Yu Yangyi, Sanan Sjugirov, Nihal Sarin and Saleh Salem, came to an end. Yu finished first in the overall standings. Nihal, who was the top scorer in the blitz portion, grabbed second place. | Photos: Sharjah Chess Club and Aditya Sur Roy

12/9/2023 – The fun continues in London. Round 7 of the 10-player round-robin featured two highly entertaining, decisive games. Mateusz Bartel, who has yet to draw a game in the event, never gave up in a losing-yet-tricky position and ended up beating Hans Niemann, while Amin Tabatabaei grabbed his fourth win of the tournament by defeating Nikita Vitiugov in a sharp tactical struggle. Michael Adams is still the sole leader. | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh

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