6/29/2025 – Discover a powerful tool in ChessBase 18: Medals! With just a few clicks, you can highlight tactical brilliancies, strategic masterpieces, or typical mistakes—and find them again at any time. Medals help you analyze your games more effectively, organize them, and build up valuable training material. This turns your database into a personal success coach. Learn how to make the most of this powerful feature!

6/29/2025 – International Chess Day 2025 will be celebrated on 20 July under the theme "Every Move Counts", as FIDE continues its Year of Social Chess. This global initiative highlights the power of chess for inclusion, education and well-being. Celebrations include a 24-hour online blitz tournament, creative chess challenges and inclusive over-the-board events worldwide. Players of all levels are invited to take part and share how chess connects and empowers communities.

6/29/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris takes a look at a candidate for the "Game of the Year" 2025: Richard Rapport's creative attacking win against Praggnanandhaa at the UzChess Cup in Tashkent. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

6/28/2025 – Born in 1994, Anish Giri turns 31 years old today, on 28 June 2025. Anish is a player whom we have known for almost a decade now. In this article, we go down memory lane with some selected images that tell the story of what a gem of an individual Anish is. Amruta and I first met Anish in 2015 at the London Chess Classic. The then young GM has turned into an experienced player - as he remains at the top of the world rankings! | Photos: Amruta Mokal

6/28/2025 – The 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship match between Gukesh D and Ding Liren has been named Best Sports Event of the Year (Exhibition/Competition) at the 2025 Singapore Sports Awards. Held in Singapore, the match crowned the youngest undisputed World Champion in history and captivated global audiences. The award recognises not only the thrilling contest but also the exceptional organisation and community engagement that made the event a landmark moment in chess history. | Photo: FIDE

6/28/2025 – In this episode, Svitlana offers a comprehensive guide on how to play against the King's Gambit, an aggressive and historic opening that begins with 1.e4 e5 2.f4. While it's less common in high-level chess today, it still appears in club-level play and can lead to sharp tactical battles. Svitlana walks through multiple lines, including sideline traps and the main variations with 3.Nf3 and 3.Bc4, emphasising key defensive setups for Black, such as the flexible ...Nf6 line and the importance of early counterplay. She highlights thematic tactics, development priorities, and typical traps, ultimately showing how to neutralize White's initiative and even seize the advantage with correct preparation.

6/28/2025 – In the diagram position White has to fight. Your first challenge is to make 27.Qc2! Bxe1 work for him. And then two moves later you can reveal a knockout for Black that he missed in the game - enjoy!

6/27/2025 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won the second edition of the UzChess Cup after defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov on demand in the final round of classical chess and prevailing in a three-player blitz tiebreaker. The 19-year-old Indian grandmaster, who also beat Arjun Erigaisi in round eight, secured the title ahead of Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov. This marks Pragg's third super-tournament win of the year, all decided in tiebreaks, and moves him to fourth in the live world rankings and first among Indian players. | Photo: UzChess

6/27/2025 – In this episode of The Underdog with Robert Ris, we witness 13-year-old IM Kagan Ahmad from Azerbaijan defeating world blitz legend Hikaru Nakamura in a dramatic 112-move battle during the World Blitz Team Championship. Despite Hikaru’s deep experience and early initiative in a quiet Anti-Sicilian, he blunders with 21.h4, falling into a tactical shot Nxe5, allowing Ahmad to seize material and survive. Ahmad defends tenaciously, even under extreme time pressure, finding key tactical resources like Qa2 and Qf6 with only seconds on the clock. The endgame sees Hikaru applying relentless pressure, but Ahmad methodically converts his advantage and finishes with a brilliant checkmate sequence—proving that even the greatest can be toppled, and that this young prodigy might soon be making waves in the global chess scene.

6/27/2025 – They are absolutely vital. Gukesh won the World Championship with one – or we could say Ding Liren lost his title because he misplayed it. So can you understand and play pawn endings proficiently? Take a look at this position: White has six legal moves, all with his king. But only one of them ensures the win. Which one? We have four instructive and entertaining positions that will test your skills. And hopefully leave you a better, more effective player.

6/27/2025 – European Championship 2025: Analyses by Bluebaum, F. Svane, Abasov, Alonso Rosell, Cheparinov, Grandelius, Lagarde, Navara, Ponomariov, Rodshtein, Sargissian, Suleymanli, Tari, Velten, Vogel, Volokitin, Wojtaszek and Yuffa – Raid in the Sveshnikov: Lars Schandorff shows that Black has to be extremely careful after 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Nb8 9.Qf3!? – ‘Queen sacrifice with dividend’: Oliver Reeh's tactical tests with over 30 current games + four interactive videos – Kramnik at his best: Dorian Rogozenco reviews the ‘Modern Classic’ Kramnik-Ehlvest (Tal Memorial 1995), including the novelty in move 16 and the impressive play by the former world champion, and much more.

6/27/2025 – From 2 to 10 August, the focus in Dortmund will not be on football, but on chess. As part of the 52nd Dortmund Chess Days in the Alte Schmiede, the Sparkassen Chess Trophy will be held, featuring European champion Matthias Blübaum, among others, and an international women's tournament. | Photo: Dinara Wagner (left) and Elisabeth Pähtz (right)