5/23/2025 – With six rounds completed at the Sharjah Masters, Anish Giri and Aleksandar Indjic share the lead on 5 points, closely followed by top seed Nodirbek Abdusattorov on 4½. The open tournament remains tightly contested, with fourteen players trailing half a point behind Abdusattorov. Among the standout performers are lower-rated contenders Dai Changren and Visakh N R, as well as 11-year-old Faustino Oro, who remains undefeated. | Photos: Himank Ghosh / ChessBase India

5/22/2025 – Magnus Carlsen has reached the Grand Final of the Chess.com Classic after victories over Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Hikaru Nakamura in the Winners Bracket. Nakamura's unexpected resignation in a winning position brought the day's play to a dramatic close. Several top players, including Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren, were eliminated, while Abdusattorov, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vladimir Fedoseev and, of course, Nakamura continue their campaigns in the Losers Bracket. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/22/2025 – Vincent Keymer began the German Championships in style, scoring 6.5 points from his first seven games. His game in round 1 already indicated that he was in great shape. In his new Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft takes a closer look. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

5/22/2025 – The first two rounds of the 2025 TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament have produced a mix of decisive results and hard-fought draws in Malmö. Richard Rapport, Javokhir Sindarov (pictured) and Yagiz Erdogmus lead the standings with 1½ points each. Tan Zhongyi, meanwhile, has suffered two losses and both with the white pieces. Round three will feature a clash between co-leaders Sindarov and Erdogmus, the youngest players in the field. | Photo: Mikael Svensson

5/21/2025 – The first day of the Chess.com Classic Playoffs determined the four semi-finalists in the Winners Bracket: Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Ian Nepomniachtchi. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju was eliminated after two defeats—first by Vladimir Fedoseev in the round of 16, then by compatriot Arjun Erigaisi in the Losers Bracket. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Denis Lazavik and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu were also knocked out. | Photo: Anmol Bhargav

5/21/2025 – Following round four of the Sharjah Masters, Anish Giri (pictured) and Aleksandar Indjic are sharing the lead with 3½ points. Ten players are in close pursuit, just half a point behind, including both pre-tournament favourites and lower-rated contenders. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Faustino Orocontinues to perform well against experienced opponents, as he has collected an undefeated 2½ score so far. | Photos: Himank Ghosh / ChessBase India

5/20/2025 – During the Grenke Chess Open in Karlsruhe, nearly 3,000 players gathered to compete in either classical chess or the freestyle variant. It was an ideal opportunity to find out how accurately the participants could assess their own chess expertise. Arne Kaehler interviewed more than 50 players listed in the MegaDatabase, asking them to rate themselves in opening theory, playing style (aggressive or positional), and how often they reach endgames in their careers.

5/20/2025 – The Play-In stage of the Chess.com Classic was held on Monday and decided the final eight players who qualified for the upcoming Playoffs. Vladimir Fedoseev secured first place in the nine-round Swiss event and advanced directly. Seven others - Arjun, Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Aronian, Duda, Artemiev and Lazavik - earned their spots through two-game matches. They will join eight invited grandmasters (pictured) in the next stage, which runs from 20 to 23 May

5/20/2025 – Pawn endings are often tricky and require precise calculation. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What should he do?

5/19/2025 – The TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament returns to Malmö this May, bringing together a carefully selected mix of seasoned grandmasters and emerging talents, this year including the likes of Richard Rapport, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Nils Grandelius (pictured) and Turkish rising star Yagiz Erdogmus. Known for its thoughtful organisation and competitive format, the event continues its recent focus on promoting top female players, with Tan Zhongyi joining the 2025 edition. | Photo: Mikael Svensson

5/19/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

5/19/2025 – In ChnessBase Magazine, our team of authors regularly explores new ideas and current trends in opening theory. CBM #225 once again offers ten opening articles – from a Dutch setup against the London System to 9...Bg4 in the Alapin Sicilian to the Queen's Indian with 8.Bd2. In his theory article, Robert Ris examines Gukesh's 7.a3!? in the Classical System of the French Defense – a "useful waiting move" that opens up various options for Black while simultaneously giving him the chance to make an early mistake. Ris' starting point is game 13 of the World Championship match between Gukesh and Ding Liren at the end of last year. The IM from the Netherlands also analyses two games by Magnus Carlsen, who adopted Gukesh's idea just a few days later against Nepomniachtchi. You can check out the article with all the analyses in this week's free CBM sample. Don't miss it!