6/2/2021 – Due to the ongoing pandemic the Asian Individual Hybrid Chess Championship 2021 was played online. From 21 to 29 May 82 players from 15 countries battled in a hybrid tournament for the title, a place in the FIDE World Cup 2021, and the pitfalls of online play. After nine rounds the 19-year old Grandmaster Shamsiddin Vokhidov from Uzbekistan and IM Tin Jingyao from Singapore shared first with 7.0/9 each, but Vokhidov won the tournament on tiebreak. Top seed Parham Maghsoodloo from Iran finished tenth and suffered from power failures.

6/1/2021 – Chess education is based on examples of great players of the past. Most of the typical methods of attack, analogous plans and correct ways of conducting different endgames happened for the first time in their games. On the basis of these games, numerous books have been written about endgame subjects and endgame technique. Even concerning openings, the great Alexander Alekhine said that theory is simply the practice of the masters!

6/1/2021 – In his "Weekly Show" IM Lawrence Trent will focus on the fantastic performance by Zhansaya Abdumalik at the Women’s Grand Prix in Gibraltar. She is s currently two points clear of the field and, perhaps more importantly, crossed the 2500 barrier and has officially got her Grandmaster title. | Lawrence's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

6/1/2021 – Garry Kasparov is perhaps the best player of all times, and he has done a lot to promote and support chess all over the world. In May the Kasparov Chess Foundation and the Saint Louis Chess Club continued their Young Stars program and invited a number of promising juniors to get chess insights from the 13th World Champion. | Photo: ChessBase

6/1/2021 – Magnus Carlsen won the sixth tournament of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour after beating Wesley So in an exciting final match which was only decided in Armageddon. This was the third time Carlsen and So faced each other in a final of the tour, and So was inches away from scoring an unlikely third victory in a row. Meanwhile, Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Teimour Radjabov in the match for third place.

6/1/2021 – In the duel between bishop and knight it is often the knight which is too slow. However, one should not underestimate knights - they are versatile and often surprisingly quick, e.g. in the diagram position. Can the black knight play on both wings to help Black win the game?

6/1/2021 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen won the FTX Crypto Cup after beating Wesley So in a dramatic final. The match on day 1 of the final ended with a 2-2 and that was also the result of the match on day 2. In the blitz-tiebreak Wesley So won the first game after a blunder by Carlsen, but Carlsen bounced back by winning on demand with Black and then also won the Armageddon game. In the match for place three Ian Nepomniachtchi won against Teimour Radjabov. Full report to follow soon. | Games and commentary.

5/31/2021 – The Grand Chess Tour is back - and the tour begins on Thursday, 3 June 2021 with an over-the-board classical tournament in Bukarest. Ten top players take part, the top seeds are Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, Alexander Grischuk, and Wesley So. After the end of the tournament on 15 June, the players travel to Paris to take part in a Rapid & Blitz tournament.

5/31/2021 – Thanks to back-to-back wins in rounds 7 and 8, Zhansaya Abdumalik is now leading the standings of the Women’s Grand Prix in Gibraltar by a full point over closest pursuers Gunay Mammadzada and Mariya Muzychuk. Mammadzada is making a strong impression on the Rock, as she collected three consecutive victories in rounds 6-9, coincidentally over the three Russian participants. Follow the games of round 9 live with commentary. | Photo: David Llada

5/31/2021 – 264 players started in the European Hybrid Qualification Tournament. The first three rounds of this knock-out tournament consisted of 2-game matches (followed by a blitz-tiebreak and an Armageddon game, if necessary) and the 36 players, who were still in the race after the third round, qualified for the World Cup 2021, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, from 10 Juli to 6 August 2021. These 36 also played a 9-round Swiss blitz tournament (10+3) for prizes and placement. After nine rounds Vladislav Artemiev (pictured) and Aleksandar Indjic both had 6.5/9 and shared first place but Artemiev had the better tiebreak and won the tournament. | Photo: Vladimir Barsky

5/31/2021 – Wesley So and Magnus Carlsen traded blows in the first set of the FTX Crypto Cup Finals which will be decided in Monday’s second mini-match — and potential blitz tiebreaker. A draw was also seen in the match for third place, except that Teimour Radjabov and Ian Nepomniachtchi decided to give themselves a rest day, as they signed four quick draws on Sunday. | Photo: Nick Barton

5/30/2021 – 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 29th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman talks about good and bad bishops and wonders which pieces to exchange and which pieces to keep on the board. | Photo: Tommy Grooten