8/19/2025 – Vincent Keymer celebrated one of the greatest successes of his career at the Chennai Masters. He won the strong tournament by a two-point margin, achieved a performance rating of 2917 and gained more than 20 Elo points. For the first time in his career, he has entered the world’s top ten in the live rankings. After the tournament he sat down with Himank Ghosh of ChessBase India for an in-depth interview, speaking about the event, his career, his rivals, his collaboration with Peter Leko, life as a top player, his goals, and much more.

8/19/2025 – Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler use Fritz 20 to compare game analysis with the 4 Player Types standard model. Using a game by Elisabeth Pähtz against the ‘Bull,’ they explain the strategic mistakes of an Active player and how other player types (Reflectors, Theorists, Pragmatists) would have avoided them. In conclusion, they emphasize that Fritz 20 with its player type model offers a valuable training opportunity to specifically prepare for opponents with a certain style – even for Freestyle Chess events.

8/19/2025 – Grandmaster Jonathan Levitt has recently ventured into an unexpected field: songwriting. Inspired by a shared poetry routine with his wife, he has written lyrics dedicated to figures such as Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. With nine chess-themed songs now available, Levitt continues to explore new forms of creativity while maintaining his deep connection to the game. | Photo: Jonathan Levitt

8/19/2025 – Cutting the enemy king off is a typical and useful technique in rook endgames. How did White use this technique to win the diagram position?

8/19/2025 – The Sinquefield Cup began in Saint Louis with two decisive results in the first round. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored an important win over world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, which was Pragg's first classical victory over his compatriot since 2022, moving him to world number three in the live rankings. Levon Aronian also made a winning start, defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov, while Sam Sevian missed a chance to beat Wesley So. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/18/2025 – In the Endgame Magic Show #307, Karsten Müller shows endgame highlights from the US Senior Championship, including a study-like win in an endgame bishop vs knight. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

8/15/2025 – After the summer break, Svitlana shares one of her favourite tournament games, where she tried the O’Kelly Sicilian for the first time against a 2357-rated FM, using it to steer her opponent out of theory. She explains the strategic ideas behind the variation, demonstrates her pawn-storm attack on the kingside, and navigates through complex middlegame tactics while maintaining the initiative. The game concludes with a precise tactical finish, combining long-term piece coordination and threats to secure victory in a well-prepared and creatively played encounter.

8/15/2025 – The fourth event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour is the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament. Taking place on 11-15 August, the event starts with 9 rounds of rapid action, followed by 18 rounds of blitz. Included in the field are the three frontrunners in the race to win the Grand Chess Tour: Alireza Firouzja, R Praggnanandhaa and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)

8/15/2025 – After the first day of blitz at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, the cross table is split into two parts. Five players scored six points, including Levon Aronian, who has taken the lead in the overall standings. Gukesh Dommaraju and especially Fabiano Caruana suffered setbacks. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

8/15/2025 – In the penultimate round of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025, all games in the Masters section ended in draws, confirming Vincent Keymer as tournament winner with a round to spare. The German number one, who now enters the live world top 10, maintained his 1½-point lead over Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali. In the Challengers, M. Pranesh took sole lead on 6½ points and can secure victory - and promotion to next year's Masters - with a final-round win. | Photos: Dr. Vidhi Karelia

8/15/2025 – In his youth, Jason Kouchak had two great idols: lyricist Don Black and designer and game inventor Ernö Rubik. He later had the opportunity to meet both of them in person, and all three share a love of chess. Kouchak's two heroes from his youth are now over 80 years old, but they draw a great deal of inspiration and strength from their involvement with chess.

8/14/2025 – The Babson Task, one of the most difficult feats in chess composition, has finally been achieved in an endgame study for the first time in history. Italian composer Daniele Guglielmo Gatti succeeded where others, including leading figures, had fallen short, creating a fully legal, perfectly economical and thematically pure version. Published in EG in January 2025, the work marks a historic milestone in the art of chess composition.