2/15/2018 – What's the best way to study and train openings? It's a common question. Whether you use ChessBase 14, Fritz 16, the Web Apps or the Fritztrainer video series, you have tools at your disposal to make your opening work easier and more effective. Here's a short tutorial how to study and practice an opening with the help of ChessBase!

2/14/2018 – Bad press for FIDE as Dr. Adrian M. Siegel, the organisation's treasurer, has informed all officials and members of the World Chess Federation via an open letter that the FIDE account has been closed by the Swiss UBS bank, due to the more than two year old sanctions of the US Treasury against FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. | Photo (of Dr. Siegel): GFHund (Sarah Hund) CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

2/14/2018 – Magnus Carlsen made up for the minor setback on day four in the eight game blitz portion on Tuesday, winning the match with three games to spare. Nakamura is known as a blitz specialist but he has lost several blitz matches against Carlsen in recent years, and the "weirdness" introduced by Chess960 was not enough to tip the balance in the American's favour.

2/14/2018 – The "Top Chess Engine Championship", TCEC for short, is considered a kind of unofficial computer world championship. Currently the 11th season is played, now in the form of a league with promotion and relegation. After the preliminaries, the "Premier League" started on Tuesday with the eight top programs. S.O. Platz gives an overview of the history of this unofficial chess computer world championship.

2/13/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CET (5pm UK time, Noon EST) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show, Lawrence will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week features games from the 4NCl and the Carlsen-Nakamura Fischer Random Match.

2/13/2018 – In a truly bizarre turn of events, Magnus Carlsen turned a match that should have been all but over into an exciting blitz battle on the final day, with Nakamura just two points behind. The World Champion literally threw away a half point, evidently disgusted that he did not manage to convert his clearly winning position earlier. One of the stranger spectacles you will ever see. Both games are analysed by GM Daniel Fernandez. Eight blitz games are played Tuesday beginning at 17:00 CET (11:00 AM EST). | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

2/13/2018 – Erwin l'Ami is a Dutch Grandmaster and well known DVD author for ChessBase. He's in Hamburg to record a DVD. He played the B-Group in Wijk aan Zee in January and also is a second to Anish Giri. Today he joins Karsten to look at some fascinating endgame from recent tournament praxis! Live at 15:00 CET (9:00 AM EST)!

2/13/2018 – Tools that run in the background and help you when you want help are a fine thing. One such tool is the WebApp "My Games Cloud". It helps you to organise interesting games, allows you to easily find games you discovered on the newssite, and helps you playing chess when you are travelling.

2/13/2018 – Pawn endings often reveal how surprising and beautiful chess can be. But pawn endings also often reveal how complicated the game can be.

2/12/2018 – Our readers called it "devilish" and "insane" — the study shown to us by Hans Böhm during the Tata Steel Chess Tournament had people really straining their minds — and computers. Today we give you the solution and tell you who won the prize (a signed version of Fritz 16). But more importantly, we provide a full background of the study, published by Dutch composer Gijs van Breukelen, a number of years after it had been seen by friends — including the great Mikhail Tal.

2/12/2018 – In this Simon Says, Simon Williams will be taking a look at the best moves and games from the tournament voted chess "open of the year". Come and join the show for lots of entertaining chess! Watch live from 18:00 CET (12 Noon EST). Puzzles, free sample and information inside... | Photo: Alina l'Ami

2/12/2018 – On the third day of the Chess960 match between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, both players scored points. Nakamura won the fifth game; Carlsen won game six and remains in the lead, as the players battle for a prize fund of about 153,000 euros (1.5 million Norwegian kroner). The winner receives 900,000 Norwegian kroner (about 92,000 euros), the loser 600,000 crowns (61,000 euros). | Photo: Lennart Ootes / frchess.com