12/23/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/23/2020 – Just a quick reminder! Today GM Elshan Moradiabadi will participate in our video blitz tournament at 15:00 CET. The good news is that we still have two open seats available! If you apply, you will be raffled and might take part in our little tournament.

12/22/2020 – Vishy Anand has ruled the number one spot in Indian chess for over three decades now. The five-time World Champion is now 51 years old and is still very much one of the best in the world. But Anand also wants to ensure that there are youngsters in India who rise quickly to the top of the world rankings in the years to come. It is with this objective in mind that the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy has been created. Nihal Sarin, Praggnanandhaa, Raunak Sadhwani, Gukesh and Vaishali are the five youngsters who received a fellowship and will be personally mentored by Vishy Anand.

12/22/2020 – In his “Weekly Show” IM Lawrence Trent looks at a couple of games from the over-the-board tournament taking place in Sitges, paying special attention to the remarkable victory obtained by 17-year-old Hans Niemann over Matthieu Cornette in round 6. | Lawrence's show is available at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 12:00 ET) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

12/22/2020 – The second event of the Champions Chess Tour — an online series of tournaments organized by the Play Magnus Group — will kick off on December 26. Unlike the Skilling Open, which was a ‘Regular’ event and included 16 players, the Airthings Masters will have 12 players in its lineup, as it is the first ‘Major’ in the schedule. The tournament will run until January 3.

12/22/2020 – Remember what it was like to find new ideas and opening novelties in the past. First you had to go through a pile of books, making notes on lines of interest. When ChessBase was launched (over 30 years ago) you could do it on a computer – but it still took hours and days to find a powerful weapon for your next tournament. Now ChessBase 16 has reduced the search to a few clicks of the mouse. Let Sagar Shah tell you how to use this powerful feature to dramatically improve your results in the next tournament.

12/19/2020 – The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has signed a contract with IOM International Chess Limited to organise and host the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss and the inaugural FIDE Chess.com Women’s Grand Swiss in 2021. The open event is returning to the island after a successful first edition held in 2019, while the women’s tournament will feature 50 of the strongest female players competing for a prize fund of USD 125,000.

12/19/2020 – What does it take to become a grandmaster? Can it be almost anyone with enough willpower as U.S. president Calvin Coolidge argued, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence… Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent”. Or does it require much natural talent, including a high IQ score, and extensive practice? Robert Howard takes a deep look. | Pictured: Frank Marshall

12/19/2020 – If you want to play a chess tournament in December with sunshine, spring-like temperatures and a Mediterranean atmosphere, you will get this — and much more — at the Sunway Open in Sitges. Sebastian Siebrecht is having a good time! | Photos: Lennart Ootes

12/19/2020 – The KCF University Cup, which will take place online, February 6-7, 2021. The tournament is open to teams from colleges and universities from all over the world. It will be a nine-round team, Swiss system tournament to taka place over the two days, with a rapid time control. | Pictured: Michael Khodarkovsky and Garry Kasparov with a group of young talents at KCF’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan

12/19/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/18/2020 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King takes a look at a powerful victory by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who recently won the Russian Championship in Moscow. Daniel also sets up another mate-in-two for you to solve, this time by André Chéron, a three-time French champion who was also an endgame theorist. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET). All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili