1/16/2025 – After nine intense rounds of classical chess battles, the 16th Inari Penang Heritage City International Chess Open 2024 concluded on December 27, 2024, with a spectacular victory for 15-year-old top seed, IM Poh Yu Tian. In Penang Island, often referred to as the "Pearl of the Orient," Malaysia's top teenage chess player lived up to his billing as the favorite, scoring an impressive 7.5 points out of 9 rounds.

1/16/2025 – Vincent Keymer had an eventful year. He rose to the top of the world rankings and helped Dommaraju Gukesh win the World Championship at the end of the year. For Deutsche Welle, Holger Hank spoke to the German number one about various aspects of top-level chess. Here's the first part of the two-part interview. | Photo: Niki Riga/ ECU

1/15/2025 – The problemist's art has always been a bit of a mystery to chess players. Are chess problems merely puzzles with unique and rather curious solutions, or is there something more to them? Join Satanick Mukhuty, ChessBase India's Composition Editor, as he dissects the art of chess problem-solving in his new blog, "The anatomy of chess solving". The inaugural episode showcases four meticulously curated problems designed to illuminate the subtle nuances and clever craftsmanship of problem chess. To get the most out of this article, take 10 minutes to study each position before reading the explanatory text. This will help you develop your problem-solving skills and appreciate the artistry behind each chess composition.

1/15/2025 – 176 players took part in the International Grandmaster Open in Chennai in the first week of the New Year. Indian GM Inyan PA led the field and went on to win the tournament, beating Deepan, who had been leading the field, in the final round. | Photos: IA R Anantharam

1/15/2025 – The International Dortmund Chess Days will take place from 2 August to 10 August 2025 in the heart of the Ruhr region. The 52nd edition will once again be a chess festival for players of all classes with A-Open and B-Open. In the Open, top German players will compete with international grandmasters for a €20,000 prize fund. The two best German female chess players will play in parallel in an international women's tournament. Elisabeth Pähtz and Dinara Wagner will face 15-year-old Lu Miaoyi, one of the world's greatest young chess talents. | Photos: Dortmunder Schachtage

1/14/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris remembers German Grandmaster Robert Hübner, who died on 5 January 2025, by looking at one of Hübner's contributions to chess theory: the Hübner Variation in the Nimzo-Indian, a line that helped Bobby Fischer to win his World Championship match against Boris Spassky in 1972. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/14/2025 – The Swiss System entered our lives in order to avoid a situation of unpractical number of rounds compared to the Round Robin System. With the advent of computers, pairing players in a Swiss became simple and automatic. But there was a controversy about "forbidden pairings". People could – and often would – prevent certain pairings. International Arbiter Alon Shulman tells us what he thinks of the system.

1/14/2025 – Even before the start of the Bundesliga season, the announcement that Magnus Carlsen would be playing for the Hamburg club St. Pauli caused a huge media stir. Last weekend the world's best chess player made his debut for his new club - and created a real chess hype, not only in Hamburg. | Photos: André Schulz

1/14/2025 – Despite the reduced material, mating attacks can still occur in endgames and should be kept in mind. In the diagrammed position, it is White to move, and he has a chance to attack Black's king and win. How?

1/13/2025 – In the Endgame Magic Show #286 Karsten Müller looks at endgame highlights from the World Championship Match Gukesh vs Ding Liren in Singapore, one of the highlights of the chess year 2024. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

1/13/2025 – The 2024 European Women's Rapid Championship saw four players finish tied for first place with 8½/11 points, with Ukrainian GM Anna Ushenina securing the gold medal on tiebreaks. The former women's world champion remained undefeated throughout the event, climbing to the top with crucial wins in rounds 7 and 8. Yuliia Osmak and Sarasadat Khademalsharieh grabbed silver and bronze, while Eline Roebers finished just outside the podium spots. | Photo: Patricia Claros

1/13/2025 – Johor Chess Association invites you to 9th Johor International Open 2025. The tournament has two categories - Open and Challengers (Below 2000). The top three prizes in Open are RM 10000, 6000 and 4000. For Challengers, the top three prizes are RM 1300, 1000 and 800. A total of 3 GMs, 11 IMs and a WIM have registered from eight countries across the world. Entry is Free for GM, IM and players rated above 2300 in the Open section. Last date is extended to 16th January without any penalty in entry fees. There are few conditions offered for GMs rated above 2400 and IMs rated above 2300. IM Nitin S and Venkatesh M R are the only two Indians to have won this tournament in 2014 and 2017 respectively. The next one can be you. Check out the article to find out all details about the tournament. Photo: Tournament circular