6/5/2025 – This year, Valencia is celebrating the 550th anniversary of the birth of modern chess. The date of birth is considered to be 15 May 1475, when the book by Francesch Vicent, who came from Segorbe, was printed in Valencia. For this reason, 15 May has now been declared Chess Day in Valencia. Viswanathan Anand was the guest of honour at the celebrations.

6/5/2025 – 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?

6/5/2025 – What was the chess world like, 32 years ago? How many players were there, how strong were they, how many were grandmasters? In 1993 the newly founded Professional Chess Association, seeking to win Intel as its main sponsor, commissioned the collection of statistics. Today we look at the results, and ask you to comment on the numbers you see. The follow-up article will compare them with those of the current chess world.

6/4/2025 – Nach Weissenhaus und Paris ist das Wynn in Las Vegas die dritte Station der Freestyle Grand Slam Tour. Am 13. Juli spielen ehemalige NBA-Spieler im einem K.o.-Schachturnier gegeneinander. Vom 16. bis 20. Juli wird das Freestyle-Turnier der Schachprofis gespielt. Wer vor Ort dabei sein möchte, kann jetzt schon Tickets ab 90 US-Dollar.

6/4/2025 – The conversation with Matthias Wüllenweber about Fritz 20 highlights the numerous innovations in the new version: A key focus is on the new opponent characters, including legends like Fischer, Lasker, Capablanca, and Karpov. Another highlight is the AI-powered voice commentary, featuring over 170 chess-related themes that provide both entertainment and educational value—available in multiple languages if desired. In addition, the opening repertoires of real chess legends like Fischer have been integrated, and the new "Bullet Training" mode offers practical time-management training against realistically acting opponents. The newly improved engine is also a major upgrade and presents an independent analysis alternative to Stockfish.

6/4/2025 – Tuesday's eighth round at the Norway Chess tournament saw setbacks for Fabiano Caruana and Gukesh Dommaraju, who both lost their classical games to Arjun Erigaisi and Hikaru Nakamura, respectively. Magnus Carlsen, meanwhile, was defeated by Wei Yi in Armageddon for a second time. Despite the loss, Caruana remains the sole leader with two rounds to go, holding a slim lead in a tightly contested event entering its final stretch in Stavanger. | Photo: Michal Walusza

6/4/2025 – Last year FIDE celebrated its 100th anniversary. The book "100 Years of FIDE" is an illustrated history of the World Chess Federation. From it we excerpt passages, with kind permission, this time from the first World Championships in the post-war era – after the sudden death of World Champion Alexander Alekhine. It is a great chance to brush up your knowledge of chess history.

6/4/2025 – Eight days ago, on Saturday, 24 May, the funeral service for Grand Master Vlastimil Hort, who passed away on 12 May, took place in Eitorf. His wife, Brigitte; his son; his grandson; and his friends and relatives said goodbye to this kind-hearted man. One fan expressed his grief by posting a song on YouTube.

6/4/2025 – Humpy Koneru reclaimed the sole lead at the Norway Chess Women tournament by defeating Sara Khadem for a second time in classical play. With two rounds to go, Humpy leads on 13½ points, ahead of Anna Muzychuk and Ju Wenjun. While Muzychuk won in Armageddon against Lei Tingjie, Ju lost to Vaishali Rameshbabu in the tiebreaker. The tournament pauses for a rest day on Wednesday before resuming with the final two decisive rounds. | Photo: Michal Walusza

6/3/2025 – Sam Shankland won the 2025 American Continental Chess Championship in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, after finishing in a seven-way tie for first place and prevailing on the Buchholz tiebreak criterion. The event, held from 23 to 31 May, awarded four places for the 2025 FIDE World Cup. José Eduardo Martínez and Alexandr Fier joined Shankland on the podium, while José Gabriel Cardoso secured the final qualification spot. | Photo: FIDE Americas

6/3/2025 – Recently GM and international trainer Eftratios Grivas reminded us that the knight is a piece that cannot win/lose a tempo. In this series GM of studies he demonstrated the principles involved in using this fact to win, or to defend a dangerous position. Were you able to follow everything? Today you can find out if you really understand this endgame. Test your skills.

6/3/2025 – Fabiano Caruana claimed the sole lead at the Norway Chess tournament by defeating Wei Yi in a technical endgame, while world champion Gukesh Dommaraju scored a second straight classical win, this time against Arjun Erigaisi. Magnus Carlsen also added to his tally by beating Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon. With three rounds remaining and all three frontrunners set to play with the black pieces in round eight, the battle for first place remains closely contested. | Photo: Michal Walusza