1/28/2025 – "All rook endgames are drawn" is a well-known witticisim that is often attributed to Tarrasch or Tartakower. It emphasises the drawish tendencies of rook endings. However, you still have to find the right moves. In the diagram position Black can draw with best play but in the game Black lost. Can you do better?

1/27/2025 – After giving his Bundesliga debut for St. Pauli, Magnus Carlsen travelled on to the ICE Gaming Fair in Barcelona. In an interview, Carlsen commented on the controversy with FIDE, though he did not mention it explicitly. Still, it was an interesting and open interview.

1/27/2025 – Wei Yi and Fabiano Caruana scored victories in round 8 of the Tata Steel Masters, with Wei beating Max Warmerdam and Caruana getting the better of Vincent Keymer. The two winners of the day stand a full point behind co-leaders Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Meanwhile, Thai Dai Van Nguyen defeated Lu Miaoyi to become the sole leader in the Challengers section. Monday marks the penultimate rest day for the players. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Jurriaan Hoefsmit

1/27/2025 – The Djerba Chess Festival is steadily securing its place on the international chess scene as an exciting blend of competition, tourism, and cultural experience. Known as the "sweet Djerba" or the "island of dreams," this enchanting destination on Tunisia's southeast coast will host its fifth edition from February 15–23, 2025.

1/27/2025 – Every last Wednesday of the month the ECU Education Commission holds a Discussion Group meeting for chess educators to share experiences and discuss their ideas and knowledge on various topics related to Chess in Education. These meetings allow participants to learn from each other and gain new insights through different perspectives. The next discussion group convenes on Wednesday, January 29th at 7:00 pm European time. Registration closes 15 minutes before the start of the event.

1/27/2025 – Over the past 18 months, the "Chess for Protection" programme has transformed lives in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, Kenya, using chess as a tool for empowerment and development. Led by FIDE's Sonja Johnson, the initiative has built sustainable infrastructure, introduced chess to over 2,100 students, and achieved global recognition. From organising youth championships to fostering partnerships with UNHCR, the programme highlights the game's power to inspire resilience and community building among refugees.

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

1/22/2025 – After the Freestyle Chess Organisation had set up a series of freestyle tournaments, the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, FIDE sought contact and asked for possibilities of cooperation. However, the FIDE representatives seemed primarily interested in payments to the World Chess Federation. Negotiations dragged on, and after a recent statement by FIDE and a video by Hikaru Nakamura, the tone of the debate became more controversial.

1/22/2025 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu claimed a third consecutive win in the Tata Steel Masters, defeating Leon Luke Mendonca to take the sole lead after four rounds. Pentala Harikrishna and Vladimir Fedoseev also scored victories, with Harikrishna winning in just 23 moves against Max Warmerdam and Fedoseev defeating an out-of-form Arjun Erigaisi. In the Challengers, Thai Dai Van Nguyen, Erwin l'Ami and Lu Miaoyi retained their co-lead after drawing their games, while Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh and Benjamin Bok secured wins to close the gap at the top. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes