1/19/2023 – In his "Fast & Furious" show Robert Ris presents a new concept for White in the Ragozin. It was prepared by Anish Giri who used it to beat Gukesh at the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee in great style. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/19/2023 – The FIDE World Championship 2023 is due to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from April 7th to May 1st. A new World Champion will be crowned, as Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren will battle to seize the throne left vacant by Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal. The General Partner of the event, which boasts a sensational prize fund of 2 million euros, will be Freedom Holding Corp, a US-based corporation with Kazakh roots.

1/19/2023 – The 37th edition of the Reykjavik Open will be held from March 29th until April 4th, 2023 in Harpa, the 28.000 sq. m. concert and conference hall in downtown Reykjavik. The tournament has been the flagship of Icelandic chess for many years and one of the most prestigious and well-liked open tournaments on the calendar every year. | Press release, Icelandic Chess Federation.

1/19/2023 – Round 5 of the Tata Steel Challengers tournament took place on Wednesday, while the participants of the Masters had their first rest day. Three decisive results left Mustafa Yilmaz as the sole leader in the standings. The Turkish champion defeated top seed Amin Tabatabaei with the black pieces. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

1/18/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #551 Merijn van Delft takes a look how Anish Giri won against Magnus Carlsen in round 4 of the Masters at the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/18/2023 – For much of its storied existence, Howard University in Washington D.C. – a historically Black university located in America’s capital city – has been known as "The Mecca of Black Education," or just "The Mecca". This year, at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Championship the Howard University Chess Club achieved the best result it has ever achieved in the Team Championship. A success that is partly due to hard training and the help of Jerald Times, an award-winning chess educator from New York City, and Tani Adewumi, the 12-year old chess talent from Nigeria, who helped the team to prepare. | Photo: (from left to right: Goodness Atanda, Lawrence D. Custis, Samir Acharya, Malcolm Wooten and Malik Castro-DeVarona | Photo: Jerald Times

1/15/2023 – As Wijk aan Zee gets underway this weekend, we can look forward to a magnificent battle of the generations. In my time this would have been utterly impossible — surely the young guns used to play in the B group? Find here analyses of three formidable wins by the Indian prodigies that are playing in Wijk aan Zee. | Photos: Tata Steel Chess

1/15/2023 – Ding Liren and Nodirbek Abdusattorov were the first winners at the Masters section of the 2023 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Both players scored with the black pieces, as Ding got the better of Dommaraju Gukesh and Abdusattorov defeated Richard Rapport. In the Challengers, Max Warmerdam and Abhimanyu Mishra collected full points on opening day. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

1/14/2023 – According to the calendar put forth by the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the World Championship match between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren is set to begin on April 7. However, FIDE has yet to announce a host or a location for the event. The pandemic, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and the withdrawal of reigning champion Magnus Carlsen have caused many complications for the organization.| Photo: FIDE

1/14/2023 – In the diagram position it is White to move. Black just played 48...Qe2??, a move that looks strong but allows White a surprising win. What should White do?

1/13/2023 – The traditional Tata Steel international invitation tournament series, annually ongoing since the year 1938, held in Wijk aan Zee and earlier in Beverwijk, is a highlight in the calendar of classical chess. Eduard Frey presents funny Trivia from the rich history of this remarkable tournament. | Photo: Playing Hall, Organiser

1/13/2023 – While Eugene Manlapao was doing research on Amos Burn (pictured on the right) and Isidor Gunsberg (left), the subjects of his last two articles, he came upon an interesting episode in their careers. Burn and Gunsberg were two of the leading British players in the late 19th century, and they naturally became fierce rivals. This rivalry, however, triggered a controversy that spilled to the press. Burn, Gunsberg, and another master dragged into the issue, all turned contentious. Public opinion was divided.