7/17/2025 – Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer are out of title contention at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas after failing to qualify for the upper bracket. In the White Group, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov shared first place with 4½/7, while Levon Aronian claimed the final qualifying spot after beating Carlsen in a blitz tiebreaker. In the Black Group, Hikaru Nakamura dominated with 6/7, ahead of Hans Niemann, Fabiano Caruana and Arjun Erigaisi. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

7/17/2025 – After a rest day, the Women's World Cup in Batumi resumed with the fourth round, with 16 players remaining in the competition. Both Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi maintained their winning streak. However, Zhu Jiner was defeated by Divya Deshmukh. | Photos: Anna Shtourman

7/17/2025 – Chess is very popular in Sri Lanka. Well over 500 players, mainly children and young people, took part in the 12th Dhamso International Chess Festival in 2025. A A C B Amarasinghe scored 9 points from 10 rounds to win the tournament. | Photo: From left: Mr Nuwan Karunakalage, Mr Chamin Dennis Livera, CM A A C B Amarasinghe, Mr Yasindu Vithanage (organiser)

7/17/2025 – After the second round of classical chess at the Biel Grandmaster Triathlon, Aravindh Chithambaram has taken the sole lead in the Masters. Despite being behind at times, he managed to beat Svane, while his rivals Fedoseev and Wojtaszek both ended their games with an unspectacular draw. The Challengers tournament is now clearly structured: Theodorou, who defeated Navara today, is now 3 ½ points ahead of Hakobyan, who in turn even has a 6-point lead over the rest. | Photos: Official website

7/16/2025 – The fourth stage of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam will take place in Las Vegas from 16 to 20 July, featuring 16 players and a structured mix of round-robin and double-elimination knockout formats. Top US players including Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana will compete alongside international stars headed by Magnus Carlsen. All participants will play for final placement, with varying time controls and tiebreak systems used throughout the five-day event. | Photo: Stev Bonhage

7/16/2025 – The ninth edition of the Abierto Sesc Caiobá turned the Brazilian city of Caiobá into a prime destination for chess enthusiasts. With over 200 participants and a diverse program, the event combined classical tournaments, rapid and blitz competitions, training sessions, and community activities—all set against the backdrop of a stunning seaside location. Brazil’s Alexandr Fier emerged as the winner of the main event, while Argentina’s Sandro Mareco and the USA’s Conrad Holt claimed victories in the rapid and blitz sections, respectively. | Photos: CEX Paraná

7/16/2025 – In every issue of ChessBase Magazine, our experts present new opening ideas and trends in the video. In the current CBM #226, Luis Engel delivers part I of his analysis of the increasingly popular 6.Bd3 against the Sicilian Najdorf Variation. Daniel King examines the remarkably successful move 5...h5 in the Czech Benoni. And Mihail Marin summarises the current state of theory in the French Advance Variation with 5...Bd7 6.Ne2 Nge7 7.0-0. You can watch all three videos in this week’s CBM reading sample. Enjoy!

7/16/2025 – In chess, escaping with the king is a well-known way of parrying an attack. On the first rest day, the organisers invited the grandmasters from the two invitational tournaments to test their escape skills in the Biel Adventure Rooms. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

7/16/2025 – The opening round of classical chess at the Biel Chess Festival's Triathlon produced contrasting fortunes across both sections. While the Masters section saw all three games conclude in draws, maintaining the standings from the rapid phase, the Challengers section delivered three decisive results. David Navara's victory over Daniel Dardha marked the day's most significant development, propelling him from last place to third overall. | Pictured: Vladimir Fedoseev and Aravindh Chithambaram. | Photos: Official website

7/15/2025 – The third round of the Women's World Cup concluded with six matches decided in tiebreaks, completing the round-of-16 lineup. While most favourites advanced, 19-year-old Song Yuxin upset Anna Muzychuk to join fellow rising stars Meruert Kamalidenova and Umida Omonova in the next stage. All three had already secured impressive victories earlier in the event. A rest day now follows before the tournament resumes in Batumi with the final sixteen players. | Photo: Anna Shtourman / FIDE

7/15/2025 – The chess world is showing increasing interest in what many now refer to as “Freestyle Chess.” Having served as Chief Arbiter at two such events this year - one in Weissenhaus, Germany in February and another in Paris, France in April - Gerhard Bertagnolli has encountered a number of unique challenges. These are worth sharing, as Freestyle Chess differs from classical chess in several subtle yet significant ways.

7/15/2025 – At the Dutch National Chess Championships, Jorden and Machteld van Foreest delivered a remarkable double triumph for the Van Foreest chess family. Jorden van Foreest claimed the men's title with an impressive attacking victory over Loek van Wely in the final. In the women's event, Machteld van Foreest won in the playoff against Robin Duson. | Photos: Dutch Chess Federation