5/2/2025 – Many of the top players were mainly involved in Freestyle Chess in April, which is not rated by FIDE. However, the end of the Austrian and German Bundesliga seasons did bring about some changes in the world rankings. And in the junior women's category, Divya Deshmukh and Li Miaoyi are engaged in an exciting duel.

5/2/2025 – The sixth and final leg of the 2024/2025 FIDE Women's Grand Prix begins on 6 May in Grosslobming, Austria, with three players still in contention for the overall title. Aleksandra Goryachkina currently leads the standings but will not compete in the final stage, leaving Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk with a chance to overtake her. The event will also determine which two players qualify for the 2026 Women’s Candidates, making this final stage a pivotal moment in the Women's World Championship cycle.

5/1/2025 – April saw notable shifts in the FIDE Circuit 2025 leaderboard, with Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu moving into first place after a strong showing in Poland. Vladimir Fedoseev’s victory in Warsaw propelled him to third, while Vasyl Ivanchuk's success in Menorca earned him fourth. Other key movements include Lu Shanglei rising to eighth and Parham Maghsoodloo entering the top ten.

5/1/2025 – Chess 960, or Freestyle Chess, is currently experiencing a boom with many tournaments and games. The idea is that each new game with an unknown starting position brings new challenges. Now the first major collection of games is available, the Chess 960 Yearbook by Arno Nickel. Hartmut Metz took a look at it.

5/1/2025 – Prague Chess Festival 2025: Analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara, Nguyen, Shankland, Wei Yi and others - ‘My favourite miniature’: Entertaining, instructive, short - 27 games under 20 moves, annotated by CBM authors - Dutch vs. London: Yago Santiago counters with 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Nc6! - ‘Rooks in seventh heaven’: Oliver Reeh's tactical tests with over 30 current games + four interactive videos - ‘3.Bf4! – Something for the lazy?": Sam Shankland dissects his victory over Ediz Gurel from the Prague Masters with the London System – Opening videos by Daniel King, Jan Werle and Robert Ris and much more.

5/1/2025 – Vladimir Fedoseev delivered a standout performance at the 2025 Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament, securing overall victory with three rounds to spare and finishing five points ahead of the field. The Slovenian grandmaster lost only one game out of 27 and posted one of the highest scores in Grand Chess Tour history. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished in clear second place, while Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu claimed third after a final-round win over Levon Aronian. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/28/2025 – When an inexperienced young person enters the gym hoping to build big muscles and an attractive body, there are two mistakes they often tend to commit. Firstly, they go weights far heavy for them. Secondly, they tend to focus on one particular body part (especially arms when it comes to boys), omitting the body core. However, the body core is essential.

4/27/2025 – Vladimir Fedoseev and Alireza Firouzja are sharing the lead after two days of action at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament, the opening event of the 2025 Grand Chess Tour. The tournament has seen both frontrunners remain undefeated after six rounds of rapid play. Close behind are Aravindh Chithambaram, Levon Aronian, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Bogdan-Daniel Deac, while Veselin Topalov sits at the bottom of the standings | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/27/2025 – ChessBase 18 offers great possibilities for analysing with several menu windows at the same time. Having been introduced to the practical options in the last tutorial, today you will learn about options that will take your analysis to a new level.

4/27/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 227 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks at the career of Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi. | Photo: Pascal Simon

4/27/2025 – FIDE has announced the first group of recipients for its 2025 support programme for chess veterans, awarding a total of €21,500 to eleven distinguished players, coaches and organisers. Among those honoured are Grandmasters Jesús Nogueiras, Igor Zaitsev and Petar Velikov, alongside prominent figures such as Valentina Kozlovskaya and Marija Petrović. This initiative, now in its eleventh year, has so far distributed nearly €500,000, recognising the lifelong contributions of veterans to the global chess community. The next awards will be made in late 2025.

4/27/2025 – From Friday to Sunday, the teams from the Bundesliga and the Women's Bundesliga will play their final rounds together in Deggendorf. Düsseldorf and Bad Königshofen have the best chances of winning the championship. The question of relegation is still open. Live here: Friday from 16.00 CEST, Saturday from 14.00, Sunday from 10.00.