8/16/2025 – Vincent Keymer concluded the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters tournament with a commanding overall victory, finishing two points ahead of his nearest rivals after defeating Ray Robson in the final round. The result gave the 20-year-old a 2917 performance rating, a gain of over 20 Elo points, and secured his place in the live world top-10 for the first time in his career. In the Challengers, a dramatic last round saw all three leaders lose, allowing M Pranesh to claim the title despite his own defeat. | Photos: Anmol Bhargav

8/15/2025 – Wasselonne is one of the many picturesque towns in France's Alsace region. The local Mossig Chess Club invited players to an open tournament. In addition to many French players, several chess enthusiasts from neighbouring Germany also accepted the invitation, including Bettina Trabert and her son Max. Vladyslav Larkin from Ukraine won the tournament on tiebreak criteria. | Full report with photos and anecdotes by Bettina Trabert, who participated alongisde her son Max.

8/15/2025 – After the summer break, Svitlana shares one of her favourite tournament games, where she tried the O’Kelly Sicilian for the first time against a 2357-rated FM, using it to steer her opponent out of theory. She explains the strategic ideas behind the variation, demonstrates her pawn-storm attack on the kingside, and navigates through complex middlegame tactics while maintaining the initiative. The game concludes with a precise tactical finish, combining long-term piece coordination and threats to secure victory in a well-prepared and creatively played encounter.

8/15/2025 – The fourth event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour is the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament. Taking place on 11-15 August, the event starts with 9 rounds of rapid action, followed by 18 rounds of blitz. Included in the field are the three frontrunners in the race to win the Grand Chess Tour: Alireza Firouzja, R Praggnanandhaa and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)

8/15/2025 – After the first day of blitz at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, the cross table is split into two parts. Five players scored six points, including Levon Aronian, who has taken the lead in the overall standings. Gukesh Dommaraju and especially Fabiano Caruana suffered setbacks. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

8/15/2025 – In the penultimate round of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025, all games in the Masters section ended in draws, confirming Vincent Keymer as tournament winner with a round to spare. The German number one, who now enters the live world top 10, maintained his 1½-point lead over Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali. In the Challengers, M. Pranesh took sole lead on 6½ points and can secure victory - and promotion to next year's Masters - with a final-round win. | Photos: Dr. Vidhi Karelia

8/15/2025 – In his youth, Jason Kouchak had two great idols: lyricist Don Black and designer and game inventor Ernö Rubik. He later had the opportunity to meet both of them in person, and all three share a love of chess. Kouchak's two heroes from his youth are now over 80 years old, but they draw a great deal of inspiration and strength from their involvement with chess.

8/14/2025 – The Babson Task, one of the most difficult feats in chess composition, has finally been achieved in an endgame study for the first time in history. Italian composer Daniele Guglielmo Gatti succeeded where others, including leading figures, had fallen short, creating a fully legal, perfectly economical and thematically pure version. Published in EG in January 2025, the work marks a historic milestone in the art of chess composition.

8/14/2025 – The battle for victory in the rapid chess tournament in Saint Louis was a duel between Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian. In the final round, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju added some excitement with a victory over Caruana. However, Aronian was unable to capitalise on Caruana's defeat. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

8/14/2025 – The latest instalment of the Game of the Week series features Germany's highest-rated player, Vincent Keymer, who currently leads the Chennai Grandmasters with 5½/7 and has entered the top 10 in the live world rankings. In the game, Keymer surprises Karthikeyan Murali by adding 1.e4 to his repertoire, unveiling sharp preparation that paves the way for an impressive attacking victory | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

8/14/2025 – Vincent Keymer claimed his fourth victory of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters in round seven, defeating Awonder Liang with black to extend his lead in the standings and become the first German since Robert Hübner to enter the world's top ten. Karthikeyan Murali and Nihal Sarin also won in the Masters, while Pranesh M and Leon Luke Mendonca emerged as co-leaders in the Challengers after both secured important wins, with former leader Abhimanyu Puranik now half a point behind. | Photos: Dr. Vidhi Karelia

8/13/2025 – The inaugural Smart Moves Summit in Washington, D.C., jointly organised by FIDE and the International Schools Chess Federation, concluded with a declaration urging the integration of chess into education worldwide. Over two days, more than 50 experts and practitioners shared research, personal stories, and strategies for using chess as a tool for learning and social inclusion, while exploring ways to market the game effectively and build sustainable, community-focused chess initiatives.