2/25/2025 – At the end of the Freestyle Chess tournament in Weissenhaus, Magnus Carlsen had the opportunity for a short interview with Alexandra and Andrea Botez. The three talked about Carlsen's wedding, how to find love, talent and hard work, how to improve, why chess should be fun, Freestyle Chess, and much more.

2/25/2025 – In endings with bishops of the same colour it is often good for the attacking side to put their pawns on squares of the opposite colour. This gives the king room to maneuver and the enemy pawns can be attacked. As Black demonstrated in the diagram position - what would you do?

2/25/2025 – Svitlana Demchenko is sharing a game from the Canadian University Chess Championships, where she faced International Master Nicholas Vettese from the University of Toronto. Despite a strong start and some exciting tactical moments, the game ended in a loss. Svitlana walks through key moments, including her opening choices, the decision to play aggressively or defensively, and the importance of managing time and evaluating critical moments. Reflecting on the game, she highlights areas for improvement and emphasizes the valuable lessons learned from this loss.

2/25/2025 – Round six of the Monaco Women's Grand Prix saw two decisive games, as Aleksandra Goryachkina and Tan Zhongyi (pictured) claimed victories to shake up the standings. Sole leader Kateryna Lagno held a quick draw to maintain her lead, while Humpy Koneru and Sara Khadem suffered defeats. Goryachkina's endgame technique allowed her to overcome Humpy, while Khadem faltered in a difficult defensive position against Tan. With three rounds remaining, Goryachkina and Batkhuyag Munguntuul now trail Lagno by just half a point. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/24/2025 – Harshit Raja is a talented chess player with a deep understanding of the game, and in this interview, he reveals the dedication and mindset that helped him reach the Grandmaster level. The Indian GM was also a valuable commentator for the ChessBase India broadcast of the Freestyle event in Weissenhaus 2025.

2/24/2025 – The 7th Prague Chess Festival kicks off on Tuesday 25 February. Among the players is Czech grandmaster Thai Dai Van Nguyen, who won the Challengers Tournament in Wijk aan Zee in January. He is ranked ninth in the Masters, but last year he finished just half a point behind the winner, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, in joint second to fourth place. In a short interview published on the festival website, he talked about his expectations for this year's tournament and revealed which game he is particularly looking forward to. | Photo: Thai Dai Van Nguyen in Wijk 2025 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/24/2025 – A trapped piece is a piece that has no escape squares or squares where it can safely move without being captured. A trapped piece can be a bishop or a knight, but also ‘heavier’ pieces such as a rook or a queen can be ensnared. Even the king can be put into a position where it no way to move around. In the first part of his article GM Efstratios Grivas deals with a trapped king and trapped queens.

2/23/2025 – French Grandmaster Marc'Andria Maurizzi delivered a commanding performance to win the Djerba Masters, a 10-player single round-robin held on the paradisiac Tunisian island. The 17-year-old secured first place with a round to spare and finished with an impressive 7½/9 score. Belgian GM Daniel Dardha claimed second place as the only other undefeated player, while Parham Maghsoodloo and Volodar Murzin shared third. | Photos: Djerba Chess Festival

2/23/2025 – As the Monaco Women's Grand Prix reached its rest day, all five games in round five ended in draws, leaving Kateryna Lagno in the sole lead. Three players - Humpy Koneru, Sara Khadem and Batkhuyag Munguntuul - remain just half a point behind. Lagno held a solid draw with black, while both Humpy and Elisabeth Paehtz (pictured) missed opportunities to convert promising positions. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/23/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 218 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks at the career of Ian Nepomniachtchi. | Photo: Pascal Simon

2/23/2025 – If you've only been using ChessBase for a short time and want to benefit from as many of its unique functions as possible, our series offers you valuable, short and easy-to-digest tips for a successful start with ChessBase 18. In the third part of our new tutorial series, we show you how easily and conveniently you can insert variations from the engine analysis and the references into the notation (see the first two tutorial episodes) with ChessBase 18.

2/22/2025 – On 15 February, Sportstar premiered the Sportstar Aces Awards 2025 on their YouTube channel. Divya Deshmukh received the award for sportswoman of the year (non-Olympic). She won the World Junior Girls Championship 2024 and achieved a double gold (individual and team) at the Chess Olympiad. The Indian Men and Women's teams received the National Team of the Year award for winning historic gold medals at the Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary. | Photos: Sportstar