12/25/2018 – Knowing typical patterns and tricks makes you play better chess in general and rook endings in particular.

12/25/2018 – The year 2018 is drawing to a close and it was filled with great events, strong tournaments and fantastic games. Now, at the end of the year, we invite you to vote for the player of the year (male and female), the newcomer, the game, the combination and the endgame of the year. What do you think: what was the best endgame of 2018?

12/24/2018 – In Sitges, the Catalan seaside resort near Barcelona, ​the fifth edition of the ten-day "Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival" ended yesterday with the victory of local hero GM Alvar Alonso Rosell. The 26-year-old Spanish grandmaster, like his three toughest rivals, started the final round with 7.0 / 9, but was the only one to win his game to reach 8.0 / 10. A larger chasing group composed of well-known players ended with 7½ the top three of which contested a tiebreak for 2nd-4th place. Photos: sunwaychessfestival.com

12/24/2018 – Ukraine organised its national championships from December 10th to the 20th at the Hotel Raziotel in Kiev. Some big names were absent, but good fighting chess was in display anyway in both ten-player round robins. Rating favourite Anton Korobov got first place in the open section with 5½ points, while Nataliya Buksa managed a better score, 7 out of 9, to become the new Ukrainian champion in the women's category. Analyses and results from the seventh most populous city in Europe. | Photos: Ukrainian Chess Federation

12/24/2018 – On December 24th, 1868 Emanuel Lasker, World Champion from 1894 to 1921, was born. To celebrate this 150-year jubilee the first volume of a monumental trilogy about Lasker recently appeared. In an interview with HARTMUT METZ, Dr Michael Negele, one of the editors and driving forces behind this trilogy, talked about Lasker, the trilogy, and the motivation to carry out such a monumental project. | Pictured: Dr Michael Negele and Dr Richard Forster signing the first volume | Photo: Archive Michael Negele

12/24/2018 – The year 2018 is drawing to a close and it was filled with great events, strong tournaments and fantastic games. Now, at the end of the year, we invite you to vote for the player of the year (male and female), the newcomer, the game, the combination and the endgame of the year. What do you think: what was the best combination of 2018?

12/23/2018 – Two Indians pre-teeners came very close to breaking Sergey Karjakin's record of the youngest GM in history. Sergey made his final norm back in 2002 at the age of 12 years and 7 months. Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh were the boys that were within a hair of bettering that. Pragg missed the target by three months, and yesterday Gukesh, who had a realistic chance to complete his third GM norm at the Sunway Sitges International 2018, narrowly missed it. In the meantime 11-year-old Bharath Subramaniyam made his first IM norm. | All photos: Rupali Mullick

12/22/2018 – Right before Christmas, it is now usual for the Nutracker Tournament to take place in Russia. A squad of young talented players from the largest country in the world (Princes) face a team composed by older stars from around the globe (Kings). This year's edition finished with a tie in points, but the Princes were declared winners due to the fact that they had won the classical portion of the Scheveningen match. In a parallel event, a team of even younger Russian boys defeated their female counterparts. | Photos: Vladimir Barsky / Russian Chess Federation

12/22/2018 – Playing in big open tournaments and watching top grandmasters in action is fine. But playing a small open for fun can also be a chess experience to enjoy. AGNIESZKA MATRAS-CLEMENT knows this and it is what attracts her to the Banff Open in Canada. | Photo: Banff National Park | www.pixabay.com

12/22/2018 – The year 2018 comes to a close and it was filled with great events, strong tournaments and fantastic games. Now, at the end of the year we invite you to vote for the player of the year (male and female), the newcomer, the game, the combination and the endgame of the year. What do you think: what was the best game of 2018?

12/22/2018 – Playing blitz is a lot of fun. But is it useful? This is the question on the minds of many chess players, parents and trainers. The answer is a resounding "Yes!" We have a great instructional video by IM and chess trainer Sagar Shah, who shows how you can make the best use of your blitz games using the normal ChessBase tools. It's a 16-minute tutorial that you shouldn't miss. Follow his instructions and watch the rating points pour in.

12/22/2018 – The week-long Penang Chess Festival 2018 took place from December 3rd to the 9th in the Malaysian city of Penang. This was the tenth edition of the event, which included both an Open and a Challengers section, a blitz turnament and the Wah Seong Penang Chess League. Despite the presence of a GM and several IMs, FIDE Master Muhamad Agus Kurniawan took first place in the main section after scoring 7½ points in nine rounds. | Photos: Penang Chess Association