2/21/2025 – Some chess players are remembered mainly for their spectacular defeats. One of them is the Chilean champion René Letelier, who lost a game to Bobby Fischer at the 1960 Chess Olympiad in Leipzig that went down in chess history. But Letelier also had many successes during his career. FIDE awarded him the IM title in 1960, he played for Chile in seven Chess Olympiads and was Chilean Champion five times. And in the course of his long career he played a number of remarkable games.

2/21/2025 – This week Magnus Carlsen was a guest of Joe Rogan, host of the very popular podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience". In a two hour interview Carlsen talked about the beginning of his chess career, chess engines, Hans Niemann, golf, creativity, how Vishy Anand and Garry Kasparov helped him to a deeper understanding of chess, his continuing passion for the game and the highlights of his career.

2/21/2025 – The 2025 Champions Chess Tour kicks off with the Chessable Masters, featuring a faster 10+0 time control. With only two online events to earn CCT points, the stakes are higher than ever. The knockout stage takes place from Tuesday to Friday, as sixteen players, including Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, battle in a double-elimination bracket. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 17.00 CET (11.00 ET, 21.30 IST)

2/21/2025 – Five players competed on Thursday for a place in the Chessable Masters Grand Final against Magnus Carlsen, who had already secured his spot in the winners' bracket. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja and Arjun Erigaisi faced a tougher path than Hikaru Nakamura, needing three consecutive wins to advance. Nepomniachtchi emerged from the knockout rounds to challenge Nakamura, but the American grandmaster held firm in an Armageddon decider to secure his place in the final, setting up a rematch with Carlsen. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

2/21/2025 – At the last World Rapid and Blitz Championship in New York, Magnus Carlsen was reprimanded for violating the FIDE dress code by wearing jeans. This led to a dispute that attracted a lot of media attention. Carlsen is now making the best of it by auctioning off the jeans on Ebay for charity. You can still bid. | Photos: Magnus Carlsen via Ebay

2/20/2025 – The third round of the Monaco Women's Grand Prix saw all four co-leaders hold their positions at the top of the standings after drawing their games. Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Humpy Koneru split the point in the only direct clash between frontrunners, while Sara Khadem and Kateryna Lagno secured safe draws with the black pieces. Meanwhile, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alexandra Kosteniuk bounced back from first-round losses with victories over Bibisara Assaubayeva and Tan Zhongyi. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

2/17/2025 – In his Endgame Magic Show #289, Karsten Müller looks back to 2024 and presents a highly subjective selection of endgames that have impressed him in the last year. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

2/17/2025 – Did you know how to play freestyle chess with ChessBase 18? By clicking on the board, and after that on "new game", a new tab opens with some options to choose from. One is Chess 960! Have fun playing against Fritz.

2/17/2025 – Anna Cramling is one of the most popular chess streamers, and she also streamed from the Freestyle Chess Tournament in Weissenhaus. Arne Kähler took the opportunity to interview Anna, and she shared her bittersweet feelings about the end of the Freestyle Chess event, expressing how much she would miss the atmosphere and the people. She also reflected on her experience of playing against Alexandra Botez, emphasising how Freestyle Chess made her think from the very first move. Anna also discussed her journey as a chess streamer, how her content has evolved through travel and street chess, and her excitement at winning the Twitch Streamer Award. She revealed plans for extensive travel, including a secret event in Paris, and expressed hope for more women's freestyle chess tournaments in the future.

2/17/2025 – The Catalan Opening is a very ambitious weapon against various Black defences. Depending on how Black reacts, different, usually very challenging structures emerge. Jan Werle has presented the opening in two Fritztrainer volumes, and Hannes Langrock took a close look at volume one.

2/17/2025 – Recently, the game Thomas-Alekhine, Baden 1925, from move 34...Qc4, was published on this site, with a request that readers get involved to help solve this riddle. Was the position really lost for White? And did Black maintain his winning advantage until the end of the game? Today we give the solution.

2/17/2025 – The Chessable Masters Qualifier took place online on Sunday, featuring 115 players competing for a place in the Play-In stage. IM Saparmyrat Atabayev (Turkmenistan, pictured) won the event with 7½/9 points, while IM Read Samadov (Azerbaijan) and Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov (Uzbekistan) also secured qualification. The three will now face a grandmaster field in the Play-In on Monday, where eight players will advance to the final stage alongside elite competitors such as Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. | Photo: TKF Tarapyndan Berlen