11/16/2025 – Hardly any opening polarises opinion online as much as the London System. Black has numerous ways to achieve a comfortable position. Nevertheless, there are many followers who have remained loyal to this opening for years. What if there were a surprise weapon that could lure White out of his comfort zone and into positions that require precise play instead of formulaic thinking? Andrew Martin has a secret weapon up his sleeve that he wants to share with us – Lukas Koepl presents the course.

11/15/2025 – Four players secured their places in the quarterfinals on Saturday at the FIDE World Cup in Goa. Javokhir Sindarov held a draw with black to confirm his lead from the first game, while Arjun Erigaisi, Wei Yi and Nodirbek Yakubboev (pictured) each won their rematches to move on. With half of the round-of-16 matches settled, the remaining four spots will be decided in Sunday's rapid and blitz tiebreaks. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

11/15/2025 – A new meeting place for chess fans has opened in Gothenburg, as Svarta Hästen launched its second bar on 14 November. Following the success of the original Stockholm venue, the new location offers the same mix of casual play, social atmosphere and distinctive red-and-yellow chess tables. Housed in the converted stables of the Dickson Palace, it aims to provide an inviting space for beginners and experienced players alike.

11/15/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks into the Frankenstein-Dracula Variation played in the game Dubov vs Meier.| Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

11/15/2025 – Friday's action at the FIDE World Cup in Goa saw all eight round-of-16 matches begin with closely fought encounters. Seven games were ultimately drawn, even though Arjun Erigaisi and Daniil Dubov managed to put their opponents under real pressure. The only player to score a full point was Javokhir Sindarov, who outplayed Frederik Svane in an Italian Opening to take the early lead and leave the German grandmaster needing a win on Saturday. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

11/14/2025 – “It's difficult to make predictions, especially about the future” is a well-known witticism about the pitfalls of predictions. The quote is often attributed to American baseball legend Yogi Berra, but sometimes also to physicist and Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr. Predictions about the future may be difficult, but they can still be fun. Hikaru Nakamura recently ventured predictions about the round of the last 16 and the possible winner of the World Cup 2025.

11/11/2025 – This interview with Matthias Wüllenweber, Head of Development at ChessBase, was recorded last week, just before the official release of ChessBase 26. In it, he presents the major innovations of the new version, including the redesigned Opening Report, the Fashion Index, and the powerful Monte Carlo Analysis. If you missed it then, now’s the perfect time to discover how ChessBase 26 has evolved into a smarter, more intuitive tool for your chess training.

11/11/2025 – On November 11, 2025, the time has come: ChessBase’26 will be released and available in the ChessBase Shop. Don’t miss out — get ChessBase’26 with its many exciting new features! Look forward to the latest edition of your chess database software and order it from tomorrow in our shop. Then you can start enjoying all the new features right away.

11/11/2025 – Matthias Wuellenweber presents ChessBase 26’s major innovations, beginning with the Enhanced Opening Report, which automatically generates deep statistical and thematic analyses — including pioneer players, popularity graphs, and tactical training positions — all tailored by Elo level to show how openings perform from club players to grandmasters. He introduces new analytical tools, such as Monte Carlo Analysis (engine-vs-engine simulations revealing true practical chances), AI plan descriptions that explain positions in natural language, and piece-manoeuvre visualizations that display typical movement patterns on the board. Finally, he showcases improved usability and design updates, including faster ray-traced 3D boards, streamlined engine management, upgraded duplicate-game detection, and modernized database icons for a smoother, more visually appealing experience.

11/11/2025 – On 9 November 1985, Garry Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov in the 24th game of their World Championship match and became the 13th World Chess Champion. It was the conclusion of an extraordinary duel. The first match between the two, begun in 1984, had been abandoned after 48 games without a decisive result. In the rematch, the rules were changed: the match was limited to 24 games, and the reigning champion would retain the title in case of a tie. Across the two matches, Kasparov had to play a total of 72 games against Karpov to claim the crown — one of the most demanding World Championship battles in chess history. | Photos: Tass Archive

11/11/2025 – The second rank defense: This is one of the two main defensive systems in the endgame rook and bishop against rook. The computer tablebases have confirmed that it holds: Black to move and draw.

11/11/2025 – Hikaru Nakamura has completed his campaign to qualify for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament by reaching the required 40 classical games. The world number two played the Washington Dulles Open last weekend, sharing first place and fulfilling the FIDE threshold. His strategy of entering smaller North American tournaments has proved effective, leaving him well-placed to claim the rating qualification spot for the Candidates. | Photo: Rick Massimo / US Chess