Svitlana's Smart Moves - How to find candidate moves

8/19/2026 – In this episode of Svitlana’s Smart Moves, Svitlana Demchenko explains how to work with candidate moves and build a more reliable thinking process at the board. Using several practical examples, she shows how comparison, calculation, prophylaxis and piece improvement help narrow down the right choices in critical positions. Special attention is given to knowing when a forcing line deserves deeper calculation and when positional understanding should guide the decision instead. The lesson ultimately shows how strong candidate moves combine concrete calculation with a clear sense of what the position actually demands.

Cairns Cup: Important wins for Tan Zhongyi and Alice Lee

8/19/2026 – Tan Zhongyi (pictured) is on course for her second Cairns Cup title in Saint Louis after her 2024 triumph. Following her win against Bibisara Assaubayeva in the eighth round, she needs just a draw to secure overall victory. The only player who can still catch her is Alice Lee. She defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu, and a draw against Carissa Yip in the final round would be enough for the 16-year-old to earn her first grandmaster norm. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

Sinquefield Cup: Pragg wins to catch So, Sindarov and Keymer also score

8/19/2026 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu caught Wesley So in the lead of the Sinquefield Cup with one round remaining after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in 27 moves. So drew Sam Sevian, leaving both players on 5/8. Vincent Keymer and Javokhir Sindarov are half a point behind after scoring wins on Tuesday, with Sindarov's victory keeping his hopes of reaching the Grand Chess Tour Finals alive. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
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Andrew Martin: Evans & Friends Vol.1 & 2

8/19/2026 – IM Andrew Martin presents a complete White repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, with the Evans Gambit as its aggressive centerpiece for tactically minded players up to around 1800 Elo. Volume 1 covers the key lines, attacking ideas and traps of the Evans Gambit, while Volume 2 provides practical answers to the Petroff, Philidor, Two Knights Defense, Hungarian Defense and several sharp gambits and traps. The aim is a ready to play repertoire that seizes the initiative early, sharpens tactical vision and puts Black under pressure from the very first moves.
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Review: Calculation Training by Robert Ris

8/18/2026 – With his FritzTrainer “Calculation Training”, Robert Ris tackled one of the most important topics in chess back in 2018: how to calculate correctly – and clearly struck a chord. Several more courses on the subject followed. Jochen Schwarz has taken a closer look at these courses and presents an overview.
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ChessBase Summer-Special! – Part 7

8/18/2026 – Dear chess friends! We’ve got another great offer for you: this week (until August 23rd, 2026), you can get up to 30% off all Fritz Trainer courses by Robert Ris and Felix Blohberger!
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The power of the bishops

8/18/2026 – The power of the bishops: In an endgame the bishop pair is often as strong as rook and knight: White to move and win.
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Cairns Cup: Tan comes from behind to beat Deshmukh, extends lead

8/18/2026 – Can someone stop Tan Zhongyi? In round seven of the Cairns Cup, the Chinese star turned around a very poor position against Divya Deshmukh and, with two rounds remaining, now holds a full point lead and is in an excellent position. Alice Lee, meanwhile, missed an important winning chance against Anna Muzychuk, failing to convert a rook ending with an extra pawn. The other winner of the round was Bibisara Assaubayeva, who beat Stavroula Tsolakidou to draw level with Lee. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club
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Sinquefield Cup: Sindarov outplays Keymer, keeps chances of reaching GCT Finals alive

8/18/2026 – Javokhir Sindarov scored his first win of the Sinquefield Cup by beating Vincent Keymer with the black pieces, drawing level with the German GM on 3½/7 and tightening the race for a place in the Grand Chess Tour Finals. Wesley So remains the sole leader on 4½/7, half a point ahead of Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with two rounds left to play. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
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Quo vadis, Fischer Random Chess? (1)

8/17/2026 – As you have noticed, this form of chess is becoming increasingly popular. Everyone seems to like it, sponsors are lining up to stage high-prize tournaments, even World Championships. In this series we look back at the origin of Fischer-Random, Chess960 or Freestyle, as it is now called, and discuss the reasons for its popularity. In the end we will propose some modifications to the rules and how the game should be played. Stay tuned.

Woodward’s Unusual Classical Dragon - The Monthly Dragon

8/17/2026 – Chris Ward examines an uncommon Classical Dragon line from the game between Andy Woodward and 2600+ GM Vasif Durarbayli. The system resembles a Yugoslav Attack, but White develops the bishop to e2 instead of playing the typical f3, leading to different strategic and tactical possibilities. Chris highlights several critical moments and believes Black could have improved with Rxc3, although Woodward eventually took over the initiative and won an entertaining game. | Photo: John Upham
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Cairns Cup: Lee upsets Koneru, climbs to sole second place

8/17/2026 – Alice Lee turned around an important game to defeat Humpy Koneru in round six of the Cairns Cup. Carissa Yip, meanwhile, missed a significant winning opportunity against Bibisara Assaubayeva. Tan Zhongyi remains in the lead with 4½ points out of a possible 6 after drawing with Alexandra Kosteniuk, but Lee's victory has moved her to within half a point. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club
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Sinquefield Cup: Giri beats Van Foreest

8/17/2026 – Wesley So is still the sole leader at the Sinquefield Cup after four draws kept the top of the standings unchanged in round six. The only decisive result saw Anish Giri defeat fellow Dutchman Jorden van Foreest, who remains alone in last place on 1/6. So leads with 4/6, while Fabiano Caruana, Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are half a point behind. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
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Endgame Magic #335: Three endgames from Croatia 2026

8/17/2026 – Karsten shows 3 endgames from rapid games. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Saco Oliveros de Lince takes gold as San José School Championship closes with tribute to mothers

8/17/2026 – Saco Oliveros de Lince won the American Continental Stage of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship in San José, finishing unbeaten on 15/16 match points. Harvest Park Middle School from the United States and Crescent Heights Academy from Canada took second and third, with all three teams qualifying for the Grand Final in December. The closing day also featured board prizes, perfect individual scores and final side events for the young players. | Photos: ISCF, Arlan Olzhabay
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Carlsen beats Lazavik, successfully defends Esports World Cup title

8/17/2026 – Magnus Carlsen successfully defended his title. After winning the Esports World Cup in 2025, he came out on top again this year. In the final, he faced Denis Lazavik, a young talent who is particularly strong in online chess. Carlsen won both matches, each of which consisted of four games. Overall, he defeated Lazavik four times and drew the other four games. In the match for third place, Hikaru Nakamura beat Alireza Firouzja. Their encounter was not without drama. | Image: Esports World Cup webcast
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From Friday to Sunday: French Championships Finals

8/16/2026 – The French Championship is taking place in Vichy from 7 to 16 August 2026. The competition follows a knockout format, with each match consisting of two classical games, followed, if necessary, by rapid, blitz, and Armageddon tiebreaks. Etienne Bacrot and Maxime Lagarde face off in the final match of the open, while Sophie Milliet and Pauline Guichard are the finalists in the women's chahmpionship. | Photo: Ambrose Ducable
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Cairns Cup: Tan leads going into second half

8/16/2026 – All the games in round five ended in draws. As a result, Tan Zhongyi (4/5) maintains her one-point lead at the top of the standings. Alice Lee, Stavroula Tsolakidou, Bibisara Assaubayeva and Divya Deshmukh follow on 3 points. Playing white against Stavroula Tsolakidou, Alexandra Kosteniuk scored her first half-point. Humpy Koneru and Candidates Tournament winner Vaishali Rameshbabu have yet to score a win. | Photo: Crystal Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

ChessBase´26 – Tips for beginners, part 27: Creating Effective Training Material (Part 1)

8/16/2026 – Chess trainers love ChessBase´26 — and for good reason! With just a few clicks, you can create outstanding training material and even enrich it with interactive exercises. In this first part, we’ll show you how to set up a thematic database in no time — perfect for your own practice or for your students. In the upcoming parts, you’ll discover powerful ways to use it to boost training results quickly and effectively.
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