2/15/2023 – Top Iranian chess player Sara Khadem has gone into exile, like many other Iranian chess players before her, and now lives with her family in Spain. Yesterday, the BBC published a podcast in which Sara Khadem talks about her motives for leaving Iran. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/15/2023 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation organized the third annual KCF University Cup. This event was played on lichess.org and hosted on chessstream.com on the weekend of February 4 and 5, 2023. The tournament attracted well over 500 university students from every continent and from nearly thirty countries. The event was a resounding success.

2/15/2023 – Grandmasters Anish Giri and Sandipan Chanda gave master classes on the same day (21 Oct 2022) in ProChess, and I got to witness the interesting chess lessons being discussed in those sessions. Any chess fan would be thrilled with it, and my experience was absolutely fascinating! In this article, I share a few interesting positions and thought processes I encountered from these sessions. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed

2/14/2023 – Wednesday evening will see the official opening of the WR Masters at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Düsseldorf. The tournament starts on Thursday at 14:00 with the 1st round. A number of players from the next generation will face the current world elite. For Ian Nepomiachtchi, the tournament is also a dress rehearsal for the World Championship in April. German chess fans are keeping their fingers crossed for Vincent Keymer in particular.

2/14/2023 – The chess world mourns the death of Jorge Vega. The long-time President of the American Continental Chess Federation was a comrade-in-arms of Che Guevara in the Cuban Revolution, though he was later imprisoned in Cuba because of his international contacts. Vega then lived in Mexico and was president of the Confederacion de Adjedres para America (CCA) from 20202. | Photo: Anastasia Karlovich

2/14/2023 – Today: Mathias Feist implemented the feature to analyse after a played game! This wasn't possible before ChessBase 17. ChessBase 17 offers many new features. We help to use them optimally! In our new video series, our developers personally explain the new features they have developed themselves. From the new data format to the beauty index. In no time at all, you'll learn how it's done.

2/14/2023 – In November 2022, the OpenAI company released ChatbotGPT and since then, this programme has been making headlines. It can write poems and stories, reports, articles, computer code and much more. It will, experts seem to agree, change the world. Apparently, the chatbot has now tried its hand at chess. On YouTube, the well-known streamer Levy "Gotham Chess" Rozman presents a game that ChatGPT allegedly played against the programme Stockfish. A game in which ChatGTP repeatedly amazes with surprising moves and never-before-seen manoeuvres.

2/14/2023 – At the Women's Grand Prix in Munich, chess goddess Caissa smiled on Alexandra Kostenuk. Before the last round Kosteniuk was one point ahead of her closes rival Humpy Koneru and only needed a draw to win the tournament. However, Kosteniuk lost against Zhu Jiner, but still won the tournament because Koneru only drew. Ullrich Krause, President of the German Chess Federation, opened the last round. | Photos: Mark Livshitz (FIDE)

2/14/2023 – In the diagram position the white knight has to fight against the black pawns. Black's d-pawn and Black's f-pawn are both weak and seem to fall quickly. But the position is still tricky though White has a hidden way to win. Can you find it?

2/13/2023 – There is no accusation that is more guaranteed to get under a chess player’s skin than dismissing his beloved game as a ‘waste of time’. There is no better way to antagonize a chess player than to say that. But many famous thinkers and writers have done so. In chapter two of his book "Chessays", a collection of thought-provoking essays about a wide range of chess-related issues, Howard Burton has compiled a list of statements by detractors and defenders. Now available: a four-part docuseries directed by Howard, which examines the remarkable impact of chess on culture, art, science, and sport.

2/13/2023 – In his Endgame Magic Show #227 Karsten continues to show endgame highlights of the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

2/13/2023 – From 1 to 13 February, Munich is hosting the second stage of the 2022-23 Women’s Grand Prix series. The two best players from four tournaments will qualify for the Candidates Tournament. The action kicks off at 15.00 CET. Follow the games live, with commentary by Stefan Kindermann and Veronika Exler. | Photo: Mark Livshitz