7/15/2025 – Golden State Warriors forward Quinten Post has claimed the title of first-ever NBA Chess Champion, winning the blitz tournament at the inaugural Chesstival, a unique crossover event co-hosted by Derrick Rose and Freestyle Chess at the Wynn Las Vegas. Post scored an impressive 4.5 out of 5, defeating several top basketball personalities in five fast-paced rounds. | Photo: Tania Sachdev and Quentin Post playing "Head and Hand" | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Freestyle Chess

7/14/2025 – In the new episode of his Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft looks at a game from the Dutch Championship that helped Jorden Van Foreest to win the title: Van Foreest's win again Sergei Tiviakov, who is notoriously hard to beat. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

7/14/2025 – In the Endgame Magic Show #303, Karsten Müller shows a selection of endgames from the Uz Chess Cup. Guest tonight: Arne Kähler| You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

7/14/2025 – 107 players started in the Women's World Cup, but only 32 of them made it to round three. With the exception of Aleksandra Goryachkina, the top favorites remain in the field. The top Chinese players Lei Tingjie, Zhu Jiner, and Tan Zhongyi all advanced comfortably to the fourth round without needing a tiebreak. However, players like Anna Muzychuk, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Harika Dronavalli will have to win their tiebreaks to advance to round four. | Photos: Anna Shtourman

7/14/2025 – The Grandmaster Triathlon began on Sunday in Biel with the discipline of rapid chess. After five games of rapid chess the two favourites, Vladimir Fedoseev and Aravindh Chithambaram (pictured), lead in the Masters. Wojtaszek, the 2020 Biel winner, is lurking just behind them. Theodorou took the lead in the Challengers, remaining undefeated, as did his closest rival Hakobyan. GM Benjamin Bok won the open rapid one-day-tournament. The Dutchman prevailed against 149 competitors ahead of GM Mikhail Kobalia and Chen Yuan. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

7/14/2025 – With an opening press conference at Wynn Las Vegas, Freestyle Chess has officially launched its first-ever U.S. event: a full week of chess, celebrity, and competition. The week began with the Chesstival on July 13, and will continue with the $750,000 Freestyle Chess Grand Slam from July 16 to 20. | Photo: freestyle_chess and wwwchesscom

7/9/2025 – Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi secured a convincing victory over US representative Levon Aronian in the 2025 Yanwu Cup Grandmaster Match, held in Yancheng, China. Originally scheduled for eight games, the match concluded early after Wei Yi built an unassailable lead. Featuring both classical and rapid formats, the event highlighted Wei's consistent form and boosted his international rankings. | Photo: Frans Peeters / Tata Steel Chess

7/9/2025 – Svitlana presents an unconventional yet effective way to combat the English Opening by responding with 1...e5 and then an early ...h5, aiming to unsettle White's typical kingside fianchetto plans. The line offers dynamic attacking potential with ideas like ...h4, or even ...g5, depending on how White responds, and even top blitz players have experimented with it. While engines consider some White responses (like Nf3 followed by h4) slightly better, the surprise value and aggressive intent behind this line make it a strong practical weapon, especially in blitz and rapid games.

7/9/2025 – The Albin Counter Gambit is a provocative attempt to combat the Queen's Gambit: after 1.d4 d5 2.c4, Black sends the second centre pawn forward unprotected with 2...e5. After 3.dxe5, the idea behind the pawn sacrifice is to advance boldly with 3...d4, limiting White’s queen's knight and claiming space advantage in the centre. This is an ambitious move, but one that promises active play for Black. While analysing a highly topical variation, our author Luc Henris recently came across the astonishing piece sacrifice 10...Bc5 – which turned out to be ‘a completely new and incredible concept for Black’! He shares his discovery with you in the current ChessBase Magazine #226. Take a look at this week's free sample!

7/9/2025 – "Chess problems demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwhile art: originality, invention, conciseness, harmony, complexity and splendid insincerity," wrote Vladimir Nabokov. Problem expert Werner Keym illustrates this in a new book which he makes available, as an eBook, to everyone, free of charge. Here are some excerpts to give you a taste.

7/8/2025 – In today's competitive chess landscape, even legends would struggle to maintain spotless records. This reflective piece contrasts the rare losses of Capablanca with the regular defeats modern players face, particularly in rapid formats. From Nodirbek Abdusattorov's heartbreaking loss in Tashkent to Richard Rapport's brilliant comeback, the article explores the psychological toll of losing - and recovering - in elite chess. Personal memories and missed chances add an introspective touch to this insightful journey through triumph and defeat. | Pictured: A 16-year-old Jon Speelman | Photo: Hulton Archive

7/8/2025 – More than 25,000 people, including stars from the BBC’s chess show Chess Masters: The Endgame, are expected to descend on London’s Trafalgar Square on Sunday, July 13, for ChessFest 2025. Last year, the event drew 23,300 people. The UK’s biggest chess event, now in its fifth year, will draw chess enthusiasts from across the country, including many of the country’s top grandmasters, for a free day of fun suitable for every level of player.