4/5/2022 – Since it is likely that Sergey Karjakin will not play in the upcoming Candidates Tournament — his six-month ban is still pending a potential appeal — the spot left behind by the Russian will be filled by the highest-rated, eligible player in FIDE’s ranking list published on May 1. Ding Liren is the clear frontrunner in this race, but he only played 4 games since June 2021, with the regulations stipulating that a minimum of 30 games are needed to be eligible. Ding is quickly making up for lost ground, as three events have been organized in China to get him to play the 26 games needed by the end of the month. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/5/2022 – With a 1½-½ victory in Monday’s rapid tiebreakers, Wesley So became the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix’s third leg in Berlin. So beat Hikaru Nakamura with the white pieces in game 2 of the playoff to take home €24,000 in prize money and finish the series in third place overall. | Photos: World Chess

4/5/2022 – In his Endgame Magic Show #189 Karsten Müller talks with Elisabeth Pähtz about the endgame. Elisabeth, World Junior Girls Champion in 2005, European Women's Rapid Champion in 2018, and currently number 13 on the women's ranking list, has an active style, and this also shows in her endgames, e.g. in an entertaining game against Zhansaya Abdumalik at the Online-FIDE-Steinitz-Memorial 2020. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

4/5/2022 – In his "Game of the Week" show #509, Merijn van Delft shows how Hikaru Nakamura won against Andrey Esipenko in the final round of the preliminaries at the FIDE Grand Prix in Berlin - it was an interesting, tense fighting game and winning it guaranteed Nakamura a place in the Candidates. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/5/2022 – The diagrammed position is tricky: Black is two dangerous passed pawns up but it is White to move and the rook on h7 is hanging. Now, should White take the rook or look for something better to save the draw?

4/4/2022 – Arjun Erigaisi won his fourth consecutive individual tournament as he bagged the first leg of the MPL Indian Chess Tour. This was his fifth overall triumph of the year 2022. He qualified to the Tour finals and will also play at the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Runner-up Raunak Sadhwani scored only two draws in the 15-round event, while Gukesh and Surya Ganguly were placed third and fourth. The top eight finishers get an automatic invitation to the next leg, which is scheduled to take place in June.

4/4/2022 – The last two spots in the upcoming Candidates Tournament will be decided in the FIDE Grand Prix Series, with the third leg of the series taking place in Berlin starting March 22. The format consists of four-player double round-robins and a knockout stage. Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CET (09.00 ET, 19.30 IST)!

4/4/2022 – At the beginning of April, the FIDE published its new ranking list. With a rating of 2864 Magnus Carlsen continues to lead the Top 100 by a wide margin - he is exactly 60 points ahead of Alireza Firouzja, who has a rating of 2804 and is officially the world's number two. Richard Rapport climbed to seventh place and now has a rating of 2776. Hou Yifan leads the women's ranking list, Firouzja is the best junior and Zhu Jiner is number one on the girl's list.

4/3/2022 – A second quick draw in the final of the Berlin Grand Prix means the match will be decided in rapid (and potentially blitz) tiebreakers on Monday. The second draw between Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So was even shorter than the first one, as the players went through the motions in a game that followed what has become an infamous line of the Berlin Defence. The game lasted less than half an hour. | Photo: World Chess

4/3/2022 – It can be confusing when the opponent’s pieces don’t go where you were expecting them to go. After looking at a couple of games from the recent Grand Prix by Amin Tabatabaei, Jon Speelman decided to write about unexpected defensive moves! | Pictured: Murray Chandler, Jonathan Speelman and Jonathan Mestel at the British Zonal in February 1987

4/3/2022 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 7rrd instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to talk about pawn chains in the French Defense. | Photo: Pascal Simon

4/3/2022 – A strong 20-player round-robin tournament took place in 1961 at the traditional chess city of Bled. Mikhail Tal won the event ahead of a young Bobby Fischer, who impressed with his undefeated performance. In the final round, Tal converted an endgame with rook and bishop against rook and knight in his game against Miguel Najdorf. But was the endgame winning all along? Or could have Najdorf held a draw? Help GM Karsten Müller find the answer to these questions!