1/27/2020 – A new trainer for the new year. FC Barcelona, one of the strongest football squads in the world, recently appointed Enrique Setién as their new head coach. Known as 'Quique', Setién has a tough task ahead, as he is expected to succeed at the Spanish "La Liga", the "Copa del Rey" and the Champions League. But why are we talking about this? Has ChessBase turned into a football site? No. Besides being a highly successful coach, Setién is a huge chess fan and, in fact, quite a strong player. JESÚS BOYERO interviewed the Cantabrian back in 2016, focusing on his relation with the royal game. | Photos: Jesús Boyero / El Desmarque

1/27/2020 – Fabiano Caruana continued his astounding run at the second half of the Tata Steel Masters by grabbing the only win of the final round to end the event — a remarkable first out of 14 with a 10/13 score. Magnus Carlsen ended up in sole second place two points behind the American, while Wesley So, who drew the world champion in round thirteen, finished third. In the meantime, David Anton qualified to next year's Masters event by grabbing clear first in the Challengers. Expert analysis by GMs SAM SHANKLAND and DANNY KING. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/26/2020 – The second edition of the Prague Masters and Challengers round-robin tournaments are set for mid-February. The tournaments, which are modelled after the Tata Steel Chess Master and Challengers, aim to find a permanent home on the chess calendar, positioned as the second major round-robin event of the year, following these traditional Wijk aan Zee tournaments. | Photo: Vladimír Jagr

1/26/2020 – The 82nd edition of the chess festival in Wijk aan Zee takes place from January 11-26. By beating the previously undefeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Fabiano Caruana scored his third straight win to secure first place at the Masters with a round the spare. Starting with his victory over Daniil Dubov last Saturday, Caruana showed why he has maintained his second place in the ratings list for so long. The final round starts an hour and a half earlier, at 11:00 UTC (12:00 CET / 6:00 AM EST) with live games and commentary by GM Peter Leko and IM Sopiko Guramishvili | Photo: Alina l'Ami / TataSteelChess.com

1/26/2020 – By beating the previously undefeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Fabiano Caruana scored his third straight win to secure first place at the 2020 Tata Steel Masters with a round the spare. Starting with his victory over Daniil Dubov last Saturday, Caruana showed why he has maintained his second place in the ratings list for so long. In hindsight, there was some luck involved in the American's path to victory, as things could have gone very differently had Vishy Anand beaten him from a superior position in round eight. Expert analysis by IM MICHAEL RAHAL and GM YANNICK PELLETIER. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/25/2020 – Those who follow the column know that due to the high amount of Czechoslovakian chess composers a tongue-in-cheek subseries “Check Czech Chess” was created. We paused it for a while so as not to overload readers, but believe that there are a few more composers with interesting studies you will enjoy. While he might not be the most well-known composer, you might have seen the name “Dedrle” above a diagram or two in some endgame book, most likely the one pictured.

1/22/2020 – Chinese defending champion Ju Wenjun and her challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina from Russia are playing a twelve-game match at locations Shanghai and Vladivostok. Game 11 of the Women's World Championship Match ends in a draw after 40 moves. Defending champion Ju Wenjun is leading 6-5. In the final game on Jan 23, the challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina has White in a must-win situation. Ju Wenjun took the lead with back-to-back wins in Game 9 and Game 10. The second half in Vladivostock starts two hours earlier with games commencing at 5:30 UTC (6:30 CET, 12:30 AM EST). | Photos: Zhang Yanhong, Eteri Kublashvili (FIDE / official site)

1/22/2020 – Fabiano Caruana became the sole leader of the Tata Steel Masters after Magnus Carlsen took down former co-leader Alireza Firouzja in a highly anticipated match-up between the world champion and the 16-year-old. Carlsen is now one of four players trailing the leader by a half point. In the meantime, David Anton and Erwin l'Ami caught up with Pavel Eljanov in the lead of the Challengers. Expert analysis by GMs CONSTANTIN LUPULESCU and YANNICK PELLETIER. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/21/2020 – A journey into a distant and foreign land always begins by choosing a good guide. If one is interested in knowing more about rook vs minor piece endgames, there is no better guide than the latest book from renowned endgame expert: GM Karsten Mueller. DAVIDE NASTASIO is back for an instructive breakdown on his latest stop on the road to chess improvement.

1/21/2020 – The 18th Gibraltar International Chess Festival starts today at the Caleta Hotel on the east side of the Rock of Gibraltar. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov tops the starting ranking list, joined by fellow "2700 club" members Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wang Hao, Veselin Topalov, David Navara, Le Quang Liem and Kirill Alekseenko. Anatoly Karpov opened the festival with a simultaneous exhibition. Live games and commentary with GM David Howell and Fiona Steil-Antoni from 14:00 UTC (15:00 CET, 9:00 EST). | Pictured: Mayor of Gibraltar John Gonçalves, made the first move on the top board at the start of the 2020 Gibraltar Masters with top seed GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov from Azerbaijan. Currently No.8 in the world he played his first round game against 12-year-old Candidate Master Raahil Mullick from India. Photo: Niki Riga

1/21/2020 – First the work then the fun, Karsten welcomes back repeat Endgame Magic guest GM Mihail Marin. Live at 14:00 UTC (15:00 CET; 9:00 AM EST) and on-demand for ChessBase account holders. Don't have an account yet? You can register a free 90-day account to watch!

1/21/2020 – Apparently simple pawn endings are often, in fact, surprisingly tricky. Is there a way for White to convert her extra-pawn in the diagrammed position?