12/31/2022 – As a tumultuous year is about to end, let us highlight three tournaments that were particularly impactful in the world of chess. Granted, this list does not intend to be all-encompassing, but it features three events that are sure to be remembered for many years to come: the Candidates Tournament in Madrid, the Chess Olympiad in Chennai and the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis.

12/31/2022 – Magnus Carlsen has become World Blitz champion for the sixth time in his career. He won it in 2009, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and now 2022. The Norwegian also became World Triple Crown champion for the third time in his career (2014, 2019 and 2022). Unlike 2019, this time Carlsen became a clear champion by scoring 16/21, a full point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 15/21. Haik Martirosyan (ARM) scored the same and finished third on tie-breaks. The defending champion, IM Bibisara Assaubayaeva (KAZ) won her last five games to clinch the Gold 13/17. Koneru Humpy scored a magnificent 8.5/9 in her last nine games to secure Silver 12.5/17. IM Polina Shuvalova won the Bronze 12/17. Photo: Amruta Mokal

12/31/2022 – Black has a weak king and a weak back rank - but White's forced win from the diagram is also based on the a7 rook. You'll get it, I'm sure!

12/30/2022 – Magnus Carlsen not only won the Rapid Championship 2022, but also the Blitz Championship. The GOAT of chess, played some remarkable games, and Svitlana takes a closer look at two of them. Funnily enough, in one of the games, Bobby Fischer had a very similar position against Ulf Andersson. Perhaps Carlsen remembered the particular attacking move, and used it for his own victory. But this episode begins with the masterful tactic of Daniil Dubov against Nihal Sarin. What a stunner!

12/30/2022 – Magnus Carlsen and Bibisara Assaubayeva won the World Blitz Championships in Almaty. Carlsen thus grabbed the triple crown, as he is currently the classical, rapid and blitz world champion. The 18-year-old Assaubayeva, on her part, defended the title she had won in 2021. | Find here the standings and all available games. A full pictorial report will be published shortly. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

12/30/2022 – Our time travel journey is over, and we return from 1972 to the present. This year we reached a new world record, with almost 7200 (!) answers. Were the questions too easy, or was the topic particularly interesting? But there was something else, wasn't there? Yes, we solve the tricky last question, which of course the majority answered correctly. Thank you for the lively participation, and the mostly positive comments. Have a great new year 2023!| Photos: Pixabay

12/30/2022 – Bundesliga season 22/23: Stars up close - Eljanov, Van Wely, McShane, Jones, Kasimdzhanov, Cheparinov, Meier and many others comment on games from the first rounds - "Special" on Mikhail Tal: exclusive collection of 21 commented games + contributions on strategy and endgame - "The Scotch Gambit": Daniel King presents another gambit idea: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5. 0-0 (video) - "How to deal with opening surprises": Jan Markos continues his training series for tournament players (video + collection of exercises) - "Jumping across the centre line":over 50 tactics exercises + three selected combinations in video format with Oliver Reeh - Endgame good, all good: Karsten Mueller's new video series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" (Part 1: Rook vs. Pawn) – King’s Gambit: Take it easy! Sergey Grigoriants promotes 1. e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Ne7!? - Gambit time in the French Advance Variation: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.0-0!? and much more.

12/30/2022 – This week Robert Ris presents a fine attacking game by Daniil Dubov who defeated Anish Giri in the World Rapid Championship with Black. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/30/2022 – Now that Argentina has won the FIFA World Cup in memorable fashion, it is a great time to reminisce on the legacy of Miguel Najdorf. ‘Don Miguel’ was born in Warsaw, but was among the many European players who found themselves in Buenos Aires when the Second World War broke out in 1939. Najdorf stayed in Argentina and spent most of his life in the South American country. Najdorf was one of the fifteen players who participated in the legendary 1953 Candidates Tournament in Zurich.

12/29/2022 – Hikaru Nakamura had a magnificent first day at the World Blitz Championship in Almaty, as he won eight games and drew four to go into the final nine rounds a full point ahead of a five-player chasing pack. In the women’s tournament, Valentina Gunina and Polina Shuvalova are sharing first place on 7½/9 points. | Find here the standings and all available games. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

12/29/2022 – The World Rapid Championships 2022 came to an end with some thrilling action. The Gold medal in the open section went to Magnus Carlsen for the 4th time in his career, but it was not without drama. The silver medal went to the young talent Vincent Keymer who played an exquisite event and the bronze medal went to Fabiano Caruana. In the women's section Tan Zhongyi continued her good run by winning the gold. She beat Dinara Saduakassova in the tiebreaks. The local girl had to settle for silver and the bronze went to India's 15-year-old Savitha Shri.

12/29/2022 – The young Uzbek team winning this year’s Olympiad came as a pleasant surprise, but it is not an isolated example in the recent shift of world chess power. Other Central Asian countries are also looking to become more relevant in the elite chess scene, including Kyrgyzstan, a land that was once part of the Timurid Empire — its leader, Timur The Great, was an avid chess player.