8/13/2025 – Vincent Keymer retained his one-point lead in the Masters section of the tournament in Chennai after drawing with Arjun Erigaisi in their much-anticipated round-six clash. Wins for Jorden van Foreest, against Nihal Sarin, and Awonder Liang, over Pranav Venkatesh, brought the latter level with Arjun in second place. In the Challengers, Abhimanyu Puranik suffered his first loss to M Pranesh, who joined him and Leon Luke Mendonca in a three-way tie for first with three rounds remaining. | Photos: Anmol Bhargav

8/12/2025 – “Pin and win” may be a well-worn saying, but it still carries plenty of truth. Keeping it in mind can help you spot tactical chances — as White did in the diagram position. Can you find how he wins with a pin?

8/12/2025 – Recently, a 17-year-old player in Germany won the national girls' under-18 tournament. The head of the German commission for women's chess was less thrilled. The winner, you know, who identifies and officially categorizes as female, was born as a boy. Dominic Lawson, who writes for many major British newspapers, a strong chess player (and president of the English Chess Federation), in his words "managed to smuggle in chess as the subject" in his Sunday Times column.

8/12/2025 – Levon Aronian made the best start at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, winning all three games on the first day to take the lead with six points (wins are worth 2 points each). Fabiano Caruana did not finish the day far behind, scoring two wins and a draw. In round two, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju dazzled with a queen sacrifice. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/11/2025 – In the 2025 Vlissingen Open, 2117-rated Joel Van der Werf, playing Black, faced Dutch GM Erwin l’Ami, nearly 500 rating points higher, and impressively outplayed him for much of the game. Using precise, prophylactic pawn moves and harmonious piece coordination, Van der Werf steadily restricted White’s activity, expanded on the kingside, and reached a clearly superior position. However, in a critical moment on move 40, he traded his strong bishop for a knight, and the game eventually ended in a draw, a fine underdog result but one that could have been an upset win.

8/11/2025 – Sharpen your chess skills and put them to the test with Fritz 20 plus Fritz Powerbook! This ultimate duo gives you powerful training and deep opening knowledge for your next game. Get the Summer Special between August 11–17 and get it for a special price!

8/11/2025 – After an exciting ninth round, Michael Adams, Stuart Conquest, and Peter Roberson were tied for the lead. Adams went on to win the ensuing playoff, securing his ninth British Championship title. | Photos: Yuri Krylov / English Chess Federation (ECF)

8/11/2025 – Reigning European champion Matthias Blübaum put in an outstanding performance from start to finish and secured a narrow victory in Dortmund. Indian grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly tied for second place. Third place was the sensation of the tournament: 14-year-old Khuong Dau Duy defeated two grandmasters, drew with two others and finished just ahead of Dmitrij Kollars on tiebreak. | Photos: Michelle Lassak

8/11/2025 – Vincent Keymer kept the sole lead in the main section of the Chennai Grand Masters after drawing with Anish Giri, while Nihal Sarin scored his first win by defeating top seed Arjun Erigaisi. Karthikeyan Murali also won, against Jorden van Foreest. Keymer leads on 3½ points, a full point ahead of Arjun. In the Challengers, Abhimanyu Puranik reached 3½/4 with a win over Vaishali Rameshbabu, moving half a point clear of M Pranesh, Diptayan Ghosh and Leon Luke Mendonca. | Photos: Anmol Bhargav

8/10/2025 – The 111th edition of the British Chess Championship is taking place on 2-10 August at the St George's Hall in Liverpool. The main event is a 9-round Swiss open with a classical time control. Topping the starting rank are Nikita Vitiugov, Michael Adams and Gawain Jones. Also noteworthy is the presence of 16-year-old GM Shreyas Royal and 10-year-old prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan. | Follow the games live starting at 15.30 CEST (9.30 ET, 19.00 IST)

8/10/2025 – The 52nd edition of the Dortmund Chess Festival is taking place on 2-10 August at the Kulturzentrum in the largest city of the Ruhr District. European champion Matthias Bluebaum is the rating favourite in the A Open. On Sunday, the International Women's Tournament begins, featuring four representatives from three countries: Elisabeth Paehtz, Dinara Wagner, 15-year-old Chinese champion Lu Miaoyi and Deimanté Daulyté-Cornette of France. | Follow the action live starting at 15.00 CEST (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST)

8/10/2025 – It’s often the small tricks that make training clearer and more effective. One such feature in ChessBase 18 is the ability to insert null moves. This can be especially helpful in chess training or analysis. In this short and concise tutorial, you'll learn how to use null moves effectively.