5/20/2025 – The Play-In stage of the Chess.com Classic was held on Monday and decided the final eight players who qualified for the upcoming Playoffs. Vladimir Fedoseev secured first place in the nine-round Swiss event and advanced directly. Seven others - Arjun, Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Aronian, Duda, Artemiev and Lazavik - earned their spots through two-game matches. They will join eight invited grandmasters (pictured) in the next stage, which runs from 20 to 23 May

5/20/2025 – Pawn endings are often tricky and require precise calculation. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What should he do?

5/19/2025 – The TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament returns to Malmö this May, bringing together a carefully selected mix of seasoned grandmasters and emerging talents, this year including the likes of Richard Rapport, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Nils Grandelius (pictured) and Turkish rising star Yagiz Erdogmus. Known for its thoughtful organisation and competitive format, the event continues its recent focus on promoting top female players, with Tan Zhongyi joining the 2025 edition. | Photo: Mikael Svensson

5/19/2025 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

5/19/2025 – In ChnessBase Magazine, our team of authors regularly explores new ideas and current trends in opening theory. CBM #225 once again offers ten opening articles – from a Dutch setup against the London System to 9...Bg4 in the Alapin Sicilian to the Queen's Indian with 8.Bd2. In his theory article, Robert Ris examines Gukesh's 7.a3!? in the Classical System of the French Defense – a "useful waiting move" that opens up various options for Black while simultaneously giving him the chance to make an early mistake. Ris' starting point is game 13 of the World Championship match between Gukesh and Ding Liren at the end of last year. The IM from the Netherlands also analyses two games by Magnus Carlsen, who adopted Gukesh's idea just a few days later against Nepomniachtchi. You can check out the article with all the analyses in this week's free CBM sample. Don't miss it!

5/19/2025 – In the Endgame Magic Show #298, Karsten Müller continues to analyse endgames from the Women's World Championship match between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi. Defending champion Ju Wenjun won the match 6.5-2.5 and impressed with her endgame skills. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

5/16/2025 – Anna Muzychuk claimed a bittersweet victory in the final leg of the Women's Grand Prix. Despite sharing first place, it was not enough to secure a spot in the Women's Candidates Tournament. With the overall Grand Prix points tallied, Zhu Jiner emerged as the winner of the 2024/2025 series, with Aleksandra Goryachkina taking the second qualifying spot for the Candidates. | Photo: Przemysław Nikiel

5/16/2025 – Heading into the final round of the Superbet Chess Classic, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu holds the sole lead after defeating Wesley So with Black in a well-played Benko Gambit. Gukesh Dommaraju also secured a full point in round eight, overcoming Levon Aronian after a questionable pawn sacrifice by the US grandmaster. Meanwhile, Alireza Firouzja, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana remain half a point behind Pragg after drawing their games, setting up a tense finish in the second tournament of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/15/2025 – Recently, on the last day of the Paris Freestyle chess even, Sagar Shah of ChessBase India was served dinner by a master chef, someone who takes traditional French dishes to a new dimension. The restaurant he visited, Cellar, provides some remarkable food and equally remarkable chess vibes. Sagar's video report shows you more.

5/15/2025 – The sixth and final leg of the 2024/25 Women's Grand Prix series is taking place in Grosslobming, Austria, on 6-15 May. A 10-player single round-robin, the event will decide who wins the series and who gets the two spots in the next edition of the Women's Candidates Tournament. Among the participants, Zhu Jiner, Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi have the best chances to fight for the coveted top spots in the series. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CEST (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST)

5/15/2025 – The Pirc Defence is a dynamic opening strategy that temporarily allows the opponent to control the centre, enabling you to attack more aggressively there later on. This creates complex and often imbalanced positions in the middle game, offering many opportunities for counterplay, even against well-prepared opponents. In a recent course, French grandmaster Fabien Libiszewski explored Black's possibilities in the Pirc. Bahne Fuhrmann took a look and was impressed.

5/15/2025 – The seventh round of the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov scoring his first win of the event, defeating Jan-Krzysztof Duda to join the chasing pack standing a half point behind the four co-leaders. The remaining games ended drawn, with Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu missing a chance to press for a win against Alireza Firouzja after an imprecise bishop retreat. With two rounds to go, eight players remain in contention for the title in a tightly contested event. | Photo: Lennart Ootes