6/2/2025 – The new FIDE rankings are out. Magnus Carlsen and Hou Yifan continue to lead the open and women’s lists, while world champion Gukesh remains the top junior despite Elo losses. The month also brought shifts just behind the leaders, with strong performances from rising stars and established players alike.

6/1/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer, and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 232 of his "Understanding before Moving" show, Herman continues his exploration of brilliant moments from chess history. | Photo: Pascal Simon

6/1/2025 – When it comes to endgames, there's nobody better than Karsten Müller. Michael Kotyk, the young Hamburg chess trainer, knows this well. He's taken out his magnifying glass and dedicated himself to Müller's latest work: His endgame courses are ChessBase classics. The most recent edition also employs the interactive options that have become indispensable in video courses. The new edition of the Endgame Academy kicks off with Checkmate & Pawn Endgames.

6/1/2025 – Humpy Koneru is now the sole leader of the Norway Chess Women tournament after defeating Lei Tingjie in Armageddon following a drawn classical game. Anna Muzychuk was held to a draw in both games by Ju Wenjun, allowing the women's world champion to claim 1½ point, as she stands in sole third place. In the day's only classical win, Vaishali Rameshbabu beat Sara Khadem with black to climb to fourth place in the standings. | Photo: Michal Walusza

6/1/2025 – Magnus Carlsen holds a 1½-point lead at the top of the Norway Chess standings after defeating Fabiano Caruana in Armageddon following a drawn classical game. All three encounters in round five required tiebreaks, with Arjun Erigaisi and Wei Yi also securing 1½ points each after winning their respective sudden-death games against Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh Dommaraju. Wei's result marked his third straight Armageddon victory. | Photo: Michal Walusza

6/1/2025 – We've compiled some additional tips for our latest tutorial. These allow you, for example, to quickly open endgame positions from Karsten Müller's articles in ChessBase, and compare structures you're interested in with positions from the Mega Database. Check out the example and use these practical features for your training!

5/31/2025 – The fifth Hungarian Parachess Championship, held from 22–25 May, brought together visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically disabled players and organ transplant recipients in a unique national event. Organised by the Hungarian Chess Federation, FODISZ and the Hungarian Paralympic Committee, the tournament celebrated inclusion and sporting spirit. FM Zoltán Zambó won overall gold, with strong performances across categories and a record 24 participants, highlighting growing support for parachess in Hungary.

5/31/2025 – Surrounded by the fianchetto bishop on g7 and the queen on e7, the black king can feel completely safe in the diagram position - or don't you think so?

5/31/2025 – The First Continental Chess Championships for Prisoners, held from 13 to 23 May 2025, brought together 77 teams from across five continents in a milestone event under FIDE's Chess for Freedom initiative. Incarcerated players competed in high-level, organised tournaments across Open, Women's and Youth sections. With standout performances from Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Serbia and India, the event highlighted the global reach and rehabilitative potential of chess in correctional facilities.

5/30/2025 – In this episode of Svitlana's Smart Moves, Svitlana and Arne analyse a historic World Championship game from the 1985 match between Karpov and Kasparov. The focus is on Kasparov's bold pawn sacrifice, 9...d5, in the Sicilian, which showcases deep home preparation and leads to him getting a powerful "octopus knight" on d3. The analysis reveals how Kasparov's strategic mastery and piece coordination slowly restricted Karpov's position until it collapsed under pressure. The episode highlights how classical games still offer valuable lessons, especially in regard to positional dominance and long-term planning.

5/30/2025 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation is pleased to announce that grandmaster Michael Prusikin will be delivering a live lecture at KCF Academy on Sunday, June 1. Prusikin is a German chess grandmaster and a renowned chess coach, originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, born on January 19, 1978. Alongside his playing career, he has always focused on chess teaching, making it a significant part of his professional life. He holds the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. Listen to him live this Sunday.

5/30/2025 – In the latest episode of the Power Play Show, GM Daniel King goes through a game from the Norway Chess super-tournament that caught his attention - Hikaru Nakamura's remarkable victory over Fabiano Caruana out of an Exchange Slav. Unmissable! | Watch Power Play on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.