12/23/2024 – The greatest chess player of this era, Magnus Carlsen, has been announced as the Global Ambassador of chess at the Esports World Cup. The world's top online chess players will compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a US$ 1.5 million prize pool. The event will take place from 31 July to 3 August 2025. The time control will be 10 minutes for the game, with no increments. Twelve players hoping to compete at the EWC will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour, which will host two online tour events in February and May. A final Last Chance Qualifier will take place in Riyadh to select the final four competitors. That competition will be open to amateur and professional players alike.

12/22/2024 – The chess tournament scene has exploded in recent years. And in addition to many exciting attacking games, there are also many amazing and instructive endgames. Karsten Müller is one of the world's greatest endgame experts. The sensitive radar of the grandmaster from Hamburg hardly misses an instructive endgame that has been played on this planet. At the end of the year, Müller shared with us the best, most interesting and most instructive endgames of the year.

12/22/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 209 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks back to the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Gukesh D in Singapore. | Photo: Pascal Simon

12/22/2024 – World Chess Championship 2024: All games with analyses by Giri, Howell, Shankland, So and others - ‘World Championship Special’: Dorian Rogozenco sheds light on the decisive moments of the match in his video analysis - ‘All in One’: A wing gambit against Sicilian and French! - ‘Show your inner Gukesh!’: Replay the victory of the new world champion against Fedoseev from the 2024 Chess Olympiad move by move with Robert Ris!- ‘Olympic Combinations’: Oliver Reeh's tactics column with 40 games and four interactive videos - ‘Black's Leverage on the Kingside’: In the French Steinitz Variation Christian Braun plays 7...h6!? and 8...g5 and much more.

12/22/2024 – Magnus Carlsen has once again proven his supremacy in the world of chess, claiming his fourth consecutive Champions Chess Tour title with a commanding 4-1 victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final. Dominating the series since its inception, Carlsen's brilliance shone through in critical moments. With the World Rapid and Blitz Championships just around the corner, the Norwegian superstar shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to redefine excellence in the game. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

12/22/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris looks at a game in which Nodirbek Abdusattorov lost against a much lower-rated player, who was bold enough to try the Benoni against his famous opponent. Initially, Abdusattorov was better, but then fell victim to a counterattack by Iranian FM Reza Mahdavi. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

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

12/18/2024 – This Christmas, New York City transforms into a chess battleground as nearly 300 players, including the world's best, compete in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Magnus Carlsen leads a star-studded Open field, joined by Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi and a host of top grandmasters. The women's competition is equally dazzling, headlined by reigning champion Ju Wenjun and former titleholders.