8/28/2025 – Fiona Steil-Antoni is a well-known and popular figure in the chess world. In an interview with ChessBase, she explains how she moved from being a competitive player to becoming an interviewer, commentator, and host — a transition that happened almost by accident. She talks about her love for events like Tata Steel, her recent involvement with St. Pauli, and the growing range of chess-related projects, from GothamChess and Freestyle Chess to chess boxing. While she admits she currently lacks the motivation to play competitively, she remains passionate about interviewing, hosting, and exploring new formats in chess, emphasizing both the importance of human connection and the representation of women in the game.

8/28/2025 – Wesley So left his best until last at the Sinquefield Cup, turning a quiet start into a tournament victory on the final day in Saint Louis. After outplaying Nodirbek Abdusattorov in round nine, he joined Fabiano Caruana and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in a three-way tie for first. A tense blitz playoff followed, where So defeated Pragg and then held Caruana to a draw, enough to secure the title - even if it was not quite enough to reach the Grand Chess Tour Finals. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/28/2025 – Round four of the Fujairah Global Chess Championship’s Superstars tournament concluded with nine players sharing the lead on 3 points. Wins by Amin Tabatabaei, Gleb Dudin and Zhu Jiner with the white pieces allowed them to join the players who entered the round as co-leaders. Zhu, the only female participant and lowest seed, defeated Alexander Motylev to continue her rise. Her performance has lifted her to fourth place in the women's live ranking. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

8/27/2025 – In his latest Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft analyses an instructive game from the Sinquefield Cup: Fabiano Caruana's impressive positional victory over Alireza Firouzja. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

8/27/2025 – The Sinquefield Cup, the only event to feature in every Grand Chess Tour since 2015, returns to Saint Louis from 18 to 27 August. As the concluding leg before the revived Finals in São Paulo, it will play a decisive role in determining the four qualifiers, with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave currently leading the standings and strong challengers close behind. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)

8/27/2025 – Arpad Emmerich Elo, born 122 years ago, revolutionised competitive chess with his groundbreaking rating system, officially adopted by FIDE in 1970. A physicist and accomplished player, Elo helped bring structure and fairness to measuring performance, with his system later extending beyond chess into other sports. From Fischer topping the first FIDE list in 1971 to Carlsen's record 2882, ratings have shaped the modern game. Today, FIDE continues refining the system to meet new challenges and a growing global player base.

8/27/2025 – The Fujairah Global Chess Championship made its debut in the United Arab Emirates with over 530 players from more than 70 countries competing across three sections. The main event is the Superstars tournament, a nine-round Swiss open which is part of the 2025 FIDE Circuit. The tournament began with notable surprises, including Pranav Venkatesh's (pictured) victory over top seed Nihal Sarin in the first round. | Photo: Vivek Sohani

8/27/2025 – In the penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup, Nodirbek Abdusattorov finally found success after a difficult event, defeating Alireza Firouzja to claim his first win. The result confirmed Firouzja's elimination from the Grand Chess Tour Finals race, ending his hopes after two consecutive losses. Elsewhere, Fabiano Caruana and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu both drew and remain joint leaders on 5 points, while Levon Aronian and Wesley So trail just half a point behind heading into the final day. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/26/2025 – The Abu Dhabi Masters, the flagship event of the 31st Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival, concluded with a five-way tie at the top of the standings. After nine rounds, Denis Lazavik, Arkadij Naiditsch, Zeng Chongsheng, Aleksey Grebnev and Maksim Tsaruk all finished on 7/9. Lazavik was declared the winner on tiebreaks. The open attracted over 200 participants, including 25 rated above 2500, and once again demonstrated the competitiveness of large international tournaments. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy / ChessBase India

8/26/2025 – The FIDE World Cup 2025 is coming to Goa! From October 30 to November 27, 2025, the world’s top players will gather on India’s west coast for one of the most exciting chess events. This knockout spectacle brings together 206 players fighting for a share of USD 2,000,000 and three coveted places in the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Every round is win-or-go-home, making the World Cup one of the most dramatic tournaments on the calendar.

8/26/2025 – Endings with opposite coloured bishops are often a draw. To create winning chances it is often helpful to create dangerous passed pawns. How can White do so in the diagram position?

8/26/2025 – Round seven of the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis brought three decisive games, the most in a single day so far. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu defeated Alireza Firouzja with black in a Rossolimo Sicilian, his first classical win against the French grandmaster, and joined Fabiano Caruana in the lead on 4½ points. Wesley So overcame world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, while Jan-Krzysztof Duda beat Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Caruana v. Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave v. Sevian ended drawn. | Photo: Lennart Ootes