9/23/2024 – The Chess Olympiad has a well-established history for revealing young talents on the rise, and while the focus in Budapest 2024 has deservedly been the astounding domination by India, other nations have shown glimpses of possible rivals for the future. One notable is Türkiye, whose team is bolstered by two teenage grandmasters aged 15 and 13. We are witnessing a golden age unfolding. | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

9/23/2024 – If you don't know your opening variations inside out, you can be shipwrecked right from the start. If you don't know how to build a fortress, you will end up resigning some of your games without needing to. In the last issue of ChessBase Magazine, Dorian Rogozenco started his series “The fortress”, which will gradually develop into a systematic collection of classical fortresses. In the new issue CBM #221, he presents two related motifs from the endgame bishop+pawn vs. pawn. The former coach of the German national team starts by explaining the motifs in the video. This is followed by no less than five interactive videos in which you can playfully put your building skills to the test. Take a look at the CBM reading sample of the week!

9/23/2024 – Can you mate with two bishops? And how about with bishop and knight? Really, can you do it, if it comes up in a tournament game? Before that happens, it would be well to check. You can do it easily by playing it against our diagrams. And if you have trouble, let Gauri Shankar, chess trainer from Chicago, give you instructions. In addition try and solve our puzzle by finding the long-range strategic solution.

9/23/2024 – The closing ceremony of the 45th Chess Olympiad was held at the BOK Sports and Conference Centre, as the tournament's playing hall was transformed into a celebratory space. The atmosphere was light-hearted, with players shedding the seriousness and pressure of the event. Besides the awards for the teams that reached the podium in both sections, individual medals were given to the best performers on each board. | Photo: FIDE

9/22/2024 – India made history by achieving a double gold in the Chess Olympiad, winning outright in both the open and women's sections. Both Indian teams dominated in the final round, securing convincing 3½-½ victories. In the open section, Dommaraju Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi led the way, while Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal starred in the women's section. All four players capped their stellar performances with individual gold medals. The United States and Uzbekistan took silver and bronze in the open section, while Kazakhstan and the United States claimed silver and bronze in the women's section.

9/22/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In the 196th episode of his ChessBase show "Understanding before moving" Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and looks at the career of Veselin Topalov. | Photo: Pascal Simon

9/19/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris analyses one of the many fascinating games played at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. This time around, he has a look at a ramarkable attacking victory obtained by Israel's Maxim Rodshtein out of a Semi-Tarrasch. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/19/2024 – India maintained their perfect score at the Chess Olympiad after defeating one of the main title contenders, China, in a tense round-7 encounter. While boards 2-4 ended in draws, it was Dommaraju Gukesh who delivered the decisive point for India on the top board. Gukesh outlasted Wei Yi in a tough endgame, converting a two knights vs rook position into a remarkable win. With this victory, India remain the only team with a perfect score. Iran, standing in sole second place, trail by 1 point after edging out Vietnam by the narrowest of margins. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

9/19/2024 – Arjun Erigaisi is officially India's number 1, but at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest he is playing for the Indian team on board 3, behind Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa. This seems to have been a good decision, as Erigaisi started the Olympiad with 6.0/6! In his new Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft takes a look at Erigaisi's win over Sanan Sjugirov in round 6. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/19/2024 – India, the top seeds at the Women's Chess Olympiad, extended their lead after defeating second-seeded Georgia 3-1 in Wednesday's round 7. This victory gives India a commanding 2-point lead over Poland, Kazakhstan, and France. Poland, the third seeds, were held to a 2-2 draw by Ukraine, while Kazakhstan and France secured crucial victories over Azerbaijan and Spain, respectively. In the next round, India will face Poland in a high-stakes clash. | Photo: FIDE / Maria Emelianova

9/18/2024 – Sacrificing a queen is one of the most rewarding manoeuvres in chess. Such a drastic measure is often connected to a forcing sequence, which either delivers checkmate quickly or allows us to escape with a draw. In the first half of the Chess Olympiad, we saw both cases appear on the board in important matches of the open section. Arjun Erigaisi, who is on fire in Budapest, gave up his queen to checkmate Peter Prohaszka, while Valentin Dragnev (pictured) found a way to force a repetition by giving up his queen in his game against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

9/18/2024 – It is halftime at the Chess Olympiad. On Monday night, the famous Bermuda Party took place. On Tuesday, the players relaxed and recharged their batteries. Time for a little halftime review. | Photos: FIDE / Michal Walusza, Maria Emelianova, Mark Livshitz