7/3/2023 – Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Donchenko and Dinara Wagner were crowned champions of the No Castling Masters, the A-Open and the Sportland NRW Cup, respectively. Caruana and Donchenko scored wins on the final day of action to clinch their titles, while Wagner secured tournament victory by drawing Ruben Köllner with the black pieces. Wagner’s performance gained her a GM norm, the second in her career. | Photo: Michelle Lassak

7/2/2023 – The double check is sometimes characterised as the “Atomic Bomb” of the chessboard. Since the checks come from two different lines, these can’t be blocked simultaneously by a single move, and therefore the king has to retreat. If there is no retreat square available, then it may be checkmate out of a clear sky! | Pictured: Aron Nimzowitsch

7/2/2023 – The recently turned 19-year-old Danish GM Jonas Buhl Bjerre was the hero of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2023 Finals. After three draws in the sudden-death matches, he checkmated Javokhir Sindarov (uMM) to etch Triveni Continental Kings as the winners of the inaugural edition. Before this game, Jonas had lost four times against Sindarov. It was not that he was playing bad. Even in the qualifier stage, he had many great positions, but he simply could not convert them. What's important is that the teenager won when it mattered the most. IM Sara Khadem (TCK) was applauded as well. She defended an inferior position against GM Harika Dronavalli (uMM) in the first sudden-death encounter. Triveni Continental Kings made a fantastic comeback from the bottom of the table to win the title. Did you enjoy the tournament and want a second edition? | Photo: Maria Emelianova

7/2/2023 – 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 132nd instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and continues to talk about the skills and the legacy of Emanuel Lasker. | Photo: Pascal Simon

7/2/2023 – The inaugural edition of the Global Chess League is taking place in Dubai from June 21 to July 2, 2023. The league, which introduces the franchise format to the sport of chess, also brings a mixed-team format to the fore featuring the best from the ecosystem among men, women and U21 players. Six squads headed by the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand and world champion Ding Liren participate. Follow the games live from 15.30 CEST (9.30 ET, 19.00 IST). With live commentary!

7/2/2023 – More than 500 players are taking part at the 50th Dortmund Chess Festival — a record number! The A-Open, a 9-round Swiss event, has Matthias Bluebaum, Alexander Donchenko and Michael Adams as the top seeds. Meanwhile, the Sportland NRW Cup is a 10-player round-robin tournament with ambitious players within the 2300-2550 rating band. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CEST.

7/2/2023 – Shamsiddin Vokhidov (Uzbekistan) and Divya Deshmukh (India) were crowned winners of the 2023 Asian Continental Chess Championships. The tournaments took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 3-12. GM Karsten Müller followed the games and selected what he considered to be the most interesting endgame positions to share with us. Find here five remarkable endings with instructive analyses by our in-house expert!

7/2/2023 – Going into the final day of action at the Dortmund Chess Festival, Fabiano Caruana, Frederik Svane and Dinara Wagner are leading the standings in the No Castling Masters, the A-Open and the Sportland NRW Cup, respectively. Caruana defeated Vladimir Kramnik in style to get a half point lead over the former world champion and Dmitrij Kollars. Kollars beat Pavel Eljanov with white in Saturday’s fifth round. | Photo: Michelle Lassak

7/1/2023 – The final day of the double round-robin stage started with SG Alpine Warrior's loss against Chingari Gulf Titans 0-3 (7-8). Magnus Carlsen won the sole game for his team as he beat Jan-Krzysztof Duda. However, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's win over Gukesh gave CGT a crucial victory as all the remaining games ended in draws. Then, Triveni Continental Kings eliminated Ganges Grandmasters by beating them 3-0 (11-6). Wei Yi, Sara Khadem and Jonas Buhl Bjerre scored key wins, which helped the team (TCK) secure a spot in the Finals. SG Alpine Warriors suffered a shockingly huge defeat by 0-3 (2-18) against upGrad Mumba Masters. Alexander Grischuk, Vidit Gujrathi, Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli's wins prompted the top seed and tournament favourite SGAW's elimination. In the last match of the stage, Chingari Gulf Titans went down in flames against Balan Alaskan Knights 0-3 (4-12). Thus, TCK will face uMM tomorrow in Sunday's finals, from 5:30 p.m. local time, 7 p.m. IST. | Photo: Maria Emelianova

7/1/2023 – Kazakhstan is gradually becoming a Mecca for chess. In April 2023 the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi took place in Astana, at the beginning of June the Asian Continental Championship was held in Almaty, to name just two of the biggest events. While looking back at the Asian Continental Championships, Diana Mihajlova describes the development of chess in Kazakhstan and wonders about the predicament of Russian chess players after Russia left the European Chess Federation to join the Asian Chess Federation. | Photo: Panorama of Almaty | All Photos: Kazakhstan Chess Federation

7/1/2023 – In the diagram position, White has just set his centre in motion with 15.e4?, having full confidence in his bishop on h4, which is looking at Black's queen on d8. But this move backfires - can you see how Black gains the advantage? Don't hold your horses!

7/1/2023 – Ray Robson won the 2023 edition of the Prague Masters tournament after beating Bogdan-Daniel Deac in blitz playoffs. Robson’s strong nerves served him well in the blitz encounters, as he never stopped looking for tactical chances despite having lost his advantage in the first of two 5-minute games. Meanwhile, Mateusz Bartel scored a final-round victory to win the Challengers section. | Photo: Petr Vrabec