1/24/2025 – The 2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships will be held in London from 10 to 16 June, offering a record $500,000 prize fund. Now in its third edition, the event will bring together top players, emerging talents, and amateurs in mixed-team competition. With London’s rich history of hosting major chess tournaments, the championship is set to showcase high-level chess while highlighting the city’s role in the global chess boom.

1/23/2025 – On January 26, 2025, the KCF Academy subscribers will witness an extraordinary event as Garry Kasparov, the legendary grandmaster and former World Chess Champion, delivers an exclusive live lecture. This lecture is a must-attend for chess enthusiasts and professional players, offering a rare opportunity to learn directly from one of the greatest minds in chess history.

1/23/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris takes a look at three fascinating games from the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Enjoy! | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/23/2025 – Round 5 of the Tata Steel Masters saw Nodirbek Abdusattorov taking down Jorden van Foreest in a sharp encounter to join Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in the lead, each with 4/5 points. Meanwhile, Gukesh Dommaraju collected a second win as world champion and Vladimir Fedoseev obtained an upset victory over Fabiano Caruana. In the Challengers, Erwin l'Ami beat Divya Deshmukh to grab the sole lead. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

1/23/2025 – ChessBase Magazine offers three opening videos in each issue (total playing time: over an hour). In the current issue #223, our authors, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Daniel King, present two intriguing and very early ‘deviations’: Sicilian with 2.a4 and Petroff with 3...Nxe4 - both have recently been used by notable players, in the first case it was Kasimdzhanov himself in his game against Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei, in the second case Wesley So against Hans Moke Niemann. The third opening video of CBM 223 is by Robert Ris: Spanish Delayed Exchange Variation with 7.Re1 - since the 2023 World Championship match, this variation can be seen again and again at top level. Take a look! Until the end of the week, you can watch all three opening videos as a free reading sample in ChessBase Books format!

1/22/2025 – Volodar Murzin is currently one of the greatest Russian talents, and showed his skills by winning the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York in December. However, a conflict subsequently developed between him and his coach Mikhail Kobalia on one side and the Russian Federation on the other. Awful experiences with his violent father have also massively hindered his development as a player. | Photos: Sport.ru

1/18/2025 – Indian chess celebrates a remarkable milestone as Gukesh Dommaraju and Vantika Agrawal are honoured with prestigious national awards for their outstanding achievements. Gukesh, the youngest undisputed world chess champion in history and a double gold medallist at the 45th Chess Olympiad, received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024. Vantika, who also clinched double gold at the Olympiad and a silver at the 19th Asian Games, received the Arjuna Award 2024.

1/18/2025 – Can White play 11.e4 in the diagram position to consolidate his space advantage - or will it backfire because of 11...Nxd4 12.Qxd4 Nxe4? Your verdict, please!

1/18/2025 – The KCF Academy training program kicked off in style on the weekend of January 11-12 with a 4-level Training Program and an exclusive live lecture by Fabiano Caruana! The next guest star at KCF Academy is the chess legend Levon Aronian, who will host an exclusive lecture on January 19, 2025. Known for his profound creativity and dynamic playing style, Aronian remains one of the most respected figures in modern chess.

1/18/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris takes another look at the Rubinstein Variation of the Nimzo-Indian. And shows a fine attacking by Parham Maghsoodloo. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/17/2025 – The World Chess Hall of Fame invites you to embark on a whimsical journey with "Paws and Pawns: Exploring Animal Chess Sets", an enchanting exhibition running from 30 January to 31 August 2025. Featuring over 50 animal-themed chess sets from around the globe, this family-friendly showcase highlights the creativity of artists who reimagine the chessboard through the lens of the natural world. From regal lions to playful mice, these unique designs celebrate the diversity of wildlife and artistic traditions!

1/17/2025 – It's still the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac, but on the 29th of January, it will turn into the Year of the Snake. But for Chris Ward, every year is the Year of the Dragon, and new games continue to show up month by month. In this episode, Chris examines the variation without f3 for White. What are the plans? How should they be countered? The English GM knows it all. | Photo: John Upham