12/21/2024 – The stage is set for a thrilling final encounter at the Champions Chess Tour Finals in Oslo, as Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi stormed into the title match with commanding semifinal wins. Carlsen defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 3½-1½, showcasing his trademark composure in critical moments. Nepomniachtchi delivered an even more dominant performance, crushing Alireza Firouzja with two games to spare. The two rivals, who contested the 2021 World Chess Championship, are set to clash again on Saturday in what promises to be a hard-fought battle for the title. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

12/20/2024 – The Caro-Kann Defence was once considered a quiet, safe and somewhat drawish opening. But this view has changed fundamentally. With many different variations and structures, the Caro-Kann actually offers exciting positions and winning chances for both sides. Àlvar Alonso Rosell presents the opening on two new Fritz trainers. Christian Hoethe has taken a look at the course - and liked it!

12/20/2024 – Last weekend, the Swedish Chess Federation organised a major rapid chess open in Malmö, in which around 200 players from the Baltic Sea region took part. Axel Smith won because he had a better tiebreak than his two closest rivals, Hampus Sörensen and Tiger Hillarp-Persson, who both had the same number of points. | Photo: Linus Johansson and Tiger Hillarp Persson | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund

12/20/2024 – The Champions Chess Tour Finals in Oslo are heading into the semifinals after an action-packed Thursday that saw the conclusion of the round-robin and the intense survival stage. Magnus Carlsen dominated the all-play-all phase to secure first place, with Alireza Firouzja taking the second direct semifinal spot. Ian Nepomniachtchi (pictured) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave emerged victorious in the survival stage, completing the final four. Carlsen has chosen to face Vachier-Lagrave in the semis, while Firouzja will battle Nepomniachtchi. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

12/20/2024 – The opening tournament of the 2025 Freestyle Grand Slam Tour begins in WEISSENHAUS on 7 February. The current world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, will be competing, along with two of his predecessors, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

12/20/2024 – In his new Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft looks at a game Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Leon Mendonca played at the Qatar Masters - a game that was fascinating and full of surprises from beginning to end. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/19/2024 – The World Championship match between Ding Liren and Gukesh in Singapore ended with a blunder: In a drawn position, Ding wanted to simplify and allowed his opponent to liquidate into a winning pawn ending - making Gukesh the youngest World Champion ever. In the latest episode of "Two Knights Talk", Arne Kähler and Johannes Fischer use Ding's mistake as a starting point to talk about incredible blunders, errors and inexplicable oversights in the history of the World Chess Championship.

12/19/2024 – Day 2 of the Champions Chess Tour Finals saw Magnus Carlsen take the sole lead, but the spotlight was on Alireza Firouzja, who won all three of his matches to join Ian Nepomniachtchi and Denis Lazavik in shared second place. As the battle for direct semifinal spots heats up, the fight to avoid elimination is just as fierce. With one round of the round-robin left, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vincent Keymer and Levon Aronian are all vying for survival. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

12/19/2024 – The World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships for boys and girls in the U14, U16 and U18 age groups were held over three days at Terme Čatež (Slovenia). The most successful nation was Vietnam. | Photos: Luka Rifelj

12/19/2024 – ChessBase 18 has many spectacular new features, but also hidden innovations: The new superpower in the reference search provides knowledge you need: Do you know the best way to prepare your team-mates for a team match? How do you find typical draw variations? Which opening variations are currently played in amateur chess?

12/19/2024 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation is thrilled to announce the lineup for the KCF Academy Premium Package Lecture Series in January 2025! This month’s program features an extraordinary roster of world-class chess legends who will share their insights, strategies, and personal experiences to help elevate your game to new heights.

12/18/2024 – Despite the ongoing war with Russia, the Ukrainian Chess Federation is holding its 92nd national championship and 82nd women's championship in Lviv. Around 150 Ukrainian players are taking part. The venue in Lviv is the Dnister Premier Hotel. | Photos: Lana Chess Photography