8/6/2025 – German national player Dinara Wagner has won the blitz tournament at the Sparkassen Chess Trophy International Women's Tournament. She prevailed against the competition at the German Football Museum – a strong performance that will have an impact on the ongoing main tournament at the International Dortmund Chess Days. It was not only a closed tournament on the stage of the "N11" in the football museum, but also served as an early tiebreak for the classic tournament format, which will continue until Sunday. | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski/ Dortmunder Schachtage

8/6/2025 – Seven players share the lead at the halfway mark of the traditional Zeeland University Open in Vlissingen, each with 4.5 points after five rounds. Among them are top seed Pavel Eljanov, as well as two Germans: Daniel Hausrath and Tim Ronge, the U16 champion of Rhineland-Palatinate. A mid-tournament report by Gerd Densing. | Photos: Gerd Densing

8/6/2025 – It was the ever observant Leonard Barden who pointed it out to me: for the first time since FIDE began publishing its rating lists, 1971, there are no Russians in the top ten. The Guardian's weekly chess columnist turns 96 this month, and still keeps providing us with interesting reports.

8/5/2025 – The third edition of the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters will take place from 6 to 15 August at the Hyatt Regency in Chennai. Featuring a ten-player round-robin in both the Masters and Challengers sections, the event brings together top international grandmasters and India's most promising talents. The Masters is headlined by Arjun Erigaisi, Anish Giri, and Vincent Keymer. With FIDE Circuit points and a substantial prize fund, the tournament is becoming a key fixture on the global chess calendar.

8/5/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko’s Smart Moves show began in 2021 and has produced over 120 nearly weekly episodes on topics ranging from openings and endgames to tactics and all things chess. Now, she is speaking at the World Schools Summit in Washington, DC—fittingly named the Smart Moves Summit 2025! | Photo: ChessBase India Interview

8/5/2025 – Round three of the British Chess Championship saw five players maintain their perfect scores, including top seed Nikita Vitiugov and young grandmaster Shreyas Royal. Michael Adams and Gawain Jones both returned to winning ways, while 18-year-old Yichen Han continued to impress. With a number of experienced players and rising talents in close pursuit, the tournament remains wide open heading into the middle rounds at Liverpool’s St George's Hall. | Photos: Official website

8/5/2025 – In the new episode of his Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft presents a game by young Dutch FM Saša Albers. He played it at the Dieren Open and he played it brilliantly. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

8/5/2025 – At the 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Championships in Penang, the spotlight wasn't only on young talents like Huynh Thien An and Oo Ke Chien, but also on the devoted parents supporting them. The story of Nagalakshmi, mother to Indian stars R. Praggnanandhaa and R. Vaishali, highlights the sacrifices behind success. Across cultures and continents, chess mums and dads ensure their children thrive - one packed lunch, quiet word and long wait at a time. | All photos: Edwin Lam

8/5/2025 – In the diagram position, Black seems to be in deep trouble: he is two pawns down, and it's hard to see how to stop the white pawns. However, there is a way. In the game, Black failed to find it - can you do better?

8/5/2025 – Round two of the Women Masters and round three of the A-Open were played on Monday at the Dortmund Chess Festival. In the Women Masters, Lu Miaoyi claimed a second win with the black pieces to become the sole leader going into the first rest day. Meanwhile, eight players reached a perfect score in the A-Open, including rating favourite Matthias Bluebaum. A costly blunder by Swiss youngster Cristian Arsenie featured in one of the day's key encounters. | All photos: Sparkassen Chess Meeting

8/4/2025 – Since 1986, we've been building chess software that inspires millions of players worldwide. Now, we're looking for someone with both technical and chess intuition. Not just to join the team, but to help lead it into the future.

8/4/2025 – The World Schools Team Championship 2025 officially got underway at Episcopal High School, located in the historic city of Alexandria, just outside Washington, D.C. A flagship event in the global scholastic chess calendar, the tournament brings together hundreds of students representing nearly 50 countries. | Photos: Michal Walusza