1/31/2026 – Let's go: In part 1 of our new tutorial series, we will show you how to quickly enter and save your own games. Just follow the explanations and screenshots and gradually build up your own database of games.

1/31/2026 – With two rounds left, the race for first place remains closely contested in both sections of the Tata Steel Chess tournament. In the Masters, Javokhir Sindarov caught Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the lead after beating Arjun Erigaisi, while Hans Niemann scored a full point to join Matthias Bluebaum and Jorden van Foreest in the chasing pack. In the Challengers, Andy Woodward won and moved into sole first place after Vasyl Ivanchuk defeated former sole leader Aydin Suleymanli. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

1/30/2026 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess. Nagesh Havanur takes a look at the current issue, CBM 229. All games from the FIDE World Cup, 27 annotated, 11 opening surveys, 3 opening videos, demo lectures and several exercises for training. Annotators include Sam Shankland, Wei Yi, Nodirbek Yakubboev and Gabriel Sargissian among others. The icing on the cake is the Special feature "Giri's Gems", offering the Dutch star's eight best games from the year 2025.

1/30/2026 – GM Chris Ward opens the Monthly Dragon with a sharp refresher on a classic Classical Dragon position, showing how certain White sidelines can be punished, especially with the key idea …Qb6 and the tactical “Zollner gambit” packed with pins, forks, and long-diagonal themes. He then moves to a second highlight: Arne’s very first Classical Dragon, played as a delayed Vietnamese Dragon to surprise a Dragon expert, with a practical discussion of move orders of h5 vs. e5. The game itself is a model attacking performance: Black builds dark-square pressure, opens lines, and finishes with a direct king hunt and checkmate. | Photo: John Upham

1/30/2026 – Matthias Blübaum is currently stunning the chess world with his performance at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. After ten rounds, he shares second to fourth place and is half a point behind leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov. In the last two rounds, Blübaum defeated Gukesh and Anish Giri, which helped him break the 2700 rating barrier for the first time in his career. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/30/2026 – With the final weekend of the Tata Steel Chess tournament still ahead of us, the tournament leader is Abdusattorov, followed by Sindarov, Van Foreest and Bluebaum. The latter has crossed the 2700 barrier for the first time and Van Foreest also set a new rating record. Our Game of the Week between Jorden van Foreest and Vincent Keymer is one of the most spectacular games of the tournament. Some opening inaccuracies by Black were punished in the most instructive manner.| Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/28/2026 – The Grand Chess Tour will return in 2026 with a full season of classical, rapid and blitz events, a $2 million overall prize fund and the Finals staged in Saint Louis. Featuring a field of leading grandmasters, including world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and recent Tour winner Fabiano Caruana (pictured), the circuit continues its established format of elite tournaments across multiple time controls, with the top performers advancing to a knockout finale. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/28/2026 – Many users buy our latest software, but don't spend time learning the advanced features it offers. They use ChessBase´26 just like earlier versions. But the new program has hidden treasures that will enhance your chess preparation and understanding – and boost your rating in the process. GM Iniyan Pa has taken the time to explore the new features and give you an overview of what awaits you.

1/28/2026 – Round nine in Wijk aan Zee featured several influential results in both sections of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. In the Masters, Matthias Bluebaum defeated world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, while Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, Jorden van Foreest and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu also scored important wins. Nodirbek Abdusattorov kept the lead with a draw against Javokhir Sindarov, who now shares second place with Erdogmus and Van Foreest. In the Challengers, Andy Woodward moved into sole first place. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

1/27/2026 – The Brazil Chess Series - Floripa Open brought together 542 players from 19 federations for a 10-round Swiss tournament in Florianópolis from 17 to 25 January. A strong field featuring 19 GMs produced a tightly contested event, with four players tying for first place on 8½/10. The title was ultimately decided according to tiebreak criteria, with André Diamant, Aryan Tari and Luis Paulo Supi finishing on the podium. | Photo: Vivian Passig

1/27/2026 – In Wijk, the Masters and the Challengers take centre stage, but there are other tournaments as well. One of them is the Qualifiers, a round-robin event with ten mostly young and ambitious players, whose winner can hope for a place in the Challengers 2027. Fourteen-year-old IM Christian Gloeckler, regarded as one of Germany’s biggest talents, made a perfect start with 4 out of 4 – and played some tactically exciting games. | Photo: Nils Rohde

1/27/2026 – The knight hunt: In a pure endgame a rook usually is much stronger than a knight: Black to move and win.