2/2/2025 – When should you take the plunge on a risky move? GM Jon Speelman explores this question by diving deep into a single position from his recent 4NCL game against IM Richard Palliser. Analysing a critical moment in the Caro-Kann, Speelman weighs the dangers of a bold knight leap and the fine margins between courage and calamity. His conclusion? Sometimes, the gamble is worth it — especially if the worst outcome is losing in style.

2/2/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 215 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks at the career of legacy of Judit Polgar. | Photo: Pascal Simon

2/2/2025 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu won the 2025 Tata Steel Masters after beating world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a blitz tiebreaker. The two Indian stars entered the final round tied for first place and, notably, both lost their classical games on Sunday. Pragg then won the blitz tiebreaker by a 2-1 score after Gukesh misplayed a knight endgame in the third encounter. Meanwhile, Czech GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen won the Challengers, as he had a better tiebreak score than Aydin Suleymanli, who finished tied for first in the single round-robin. | Replay all the games with computer-assisted analysis. Full report to follow shortly.

2/1/2025 – With one round to go at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Gukesh Dommaraju and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu are tied for first place in the Masters after Pragg claimed a third consecutive win, this time against Alexey Sarana. Meanwhile, the Challengers section saw a dramatic penultimate round, with Erwin l’Ami drawing his game while Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Aydin Suleymanli won to create a three-way tie at the top. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

2/1/2025 – In his new Game of the Week show Merijn van Delft takes a look at the performance of World Champion Gukesh at the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee and wonders how risky Gukesh plays. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

2/1/2025 – In the diagram position, White gains an advantage by basically moving only one piece. An absolute classic - I wish you historic enjoyment!

2/1/2025 – The fight for first place remains fierce in both sections of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with two rounds to go. In the Masters, Gukesh Dommaraju retained the sole lead, but Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu closed the gap by scoring a crucial win over Fabiano Caruana. Meanwhile, in the Challengers, Erwin l'Ami emerged as the new sole leader after defeating Lu Miaoyi, while Thai Dai Van Nguyen suffered a setback against Frederik Svane. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

1/31/2025 – ChessBase Magazine Extra is the ideal supplement to ChessBase Magazine. In the new Extra #223: Videos by Leon Mendonca: French and Nico Zwirs: King's Indian. “Lucky bag” with 50 analyses by Ganguly, Giri, Praggnanandhaa and many more + two video analyses by Josefine Heinemann (in German). New: From issue #223, CBM Extra is also available as ChessBase Book directly on books.chessbase.com for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!

1/31/2025 – The 2025 Norway Chess tournament, set to take place from May 26 to June 6 in Stavanger, will once again feature some of the world's strongest players. Both the main event and Norway Chess Women will follow a six-player double round-robin format, with the Armageddon tiebreak system ensuring a decisive result in every round. Norway Chess Women returns for its second edition, maintaining the same financial rewards, structure and venue as the main event.

1/31/2025 – A handshake controversy at the Tata Steel Challengers tournament sparked heated debate after GM Nodirbek Yakubboev declined Vaishali Rameshbabu's pre-game gesture, citing religious reasons. The incident drew widespread criticism, with many questioning the inconsistency of his actions. In response, Yakubboev publicly apologised and later met Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh, offering chocolates and flowers. | Photo: ChessBase India

1/30/2025 – Suhani Shah is one of the finest mentalists we know. Certainly one of the most entertaining. In one of her acts she proceeded to read the minds of two chess World Champions – Vishy Anand and D.Gukesh. Check out the videos in our report to see how she fared works – and try to explain the techniques she uses. A word of caution: this is one really clever lady!

1/30/2025 – Surya Ganguly recently visited the ChessBase office to record exclusive ChessBase Training videos. An ideal opportunity to interview a true chess legend. Known for his deep philosophical reflections, captivating anecdotes, and life-changing experiences, Ganguly brings the same mindset to both his chess and coaching career, allowing him to continuously find joy in the game and in guiding others.