11/29/2019 – The World Senior Championships in Bucharest came to an end and with Vadim Shishkin (50+), Rafael Vaganian (65+), Elvira Berend (w50+), and Nona Gaprindashvili (w65+) the chess world now has four more World Champions. Thorsten Cmiel played in the 50+ Open and in his report talks about the tournament, what brilliancy prizes have to do with taste, and the dangers of taking a cab in Bucharest. | Photo: Rafael Vaganian | Tournament page | All other photos: Thorsten Cmiel

11/21/2019 – The 2019 Senior World Championships are taking place in Bucharest from November 12th to the 23rd. Parallel events for players over 50 and over 65, both in open and women's categories, are in full swing. After eight rounds, all four events have sole leaders, with Ukrainian grandmaster Vadim Shishkin heading the field at the 50+ Open. | Photos: Thorsten Cmiel and Tea Patatishvili

10/26/2019 – Germany's long and illustrious chess tradition has been shaped by top players such as Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch, Emanuel Lasker, Wolfgang Unzicker, Wolfgang Uhlmann or Dr. Robert Hübner. However, the youngest German Grandmaster ever is the 14-year old Vincent Keymer who just got the title at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss tournament on the Isle of Man. Thorsten Cmiel had a closer look at Keymer's way to this historic record. | Photo: John Saunders

9/13/2019 – The top echelons of chess are obviously getting younger and younger. The World Cup features some of the world's strongest young players looking to make their mark against current elite. THORSTEN CMIEL introduces the young savages and their tasks. Three out of four have advanced to the second round.

4/19/2019 – The 2019 edition of the European Senior Championships for men and women over 50 and over 65 was played between the 6th and the 14th of April. The organizers decided to reschedule the event earlier than initially announced, which complicated some of the logistics. Elena Fatalibekova, Tatiana Grabuzova, Jens Kristiansen and Zurab Sturua took home gold medals. The Amateur Championships for players U-1700, U-2000 and U-2300 took place concurrently. | Photo: Official site

4/5/2019 – Magnus Carlsen played his first traditional international tournament in October 2000 in Bad Wiessee against FM Ingo Cordts. It was the first game that made it into our Mega Database from the future World Champion. Talking to Thorsten Cmiel, the German FIDE master remembers this memorable encounter of almost twenty years ago.

2/9/2019 – The Gibraltar Masters was the first very strong open of 2019 and it might indicate which openings will be particularly popular in 2019. THORSTEN CMIEL had a look which openings were "trendy" in Gibraltar and how the Grandmasters started the new year. Yesterday we looked at Black's choices after 1.e4. Now Thorsten tackles 1.d4 and 1.c4/1.Nf3 openings.

2/8/2019 – The Gibraltar Masters was the first very strong open of 2019 and it might indicate which openings will be particularly popular in 2019. Thorsten Cmiel had a look which openings were "trendy" in Gibraltar and how the Grandmasters started the new year. Previously he examined the openings in the last major event of the year the World Blitz and Rapid. In focus in Part II is 1.e4, met by the Caro-Kann, Sicilian and French.

1/21/2019 – The World Rapid and Blitz Championships in St. Petersburg at the end of 2018 offered interesting insights into the openings. After all, some of the strongest players took part and many games were played over the five-day event. THORSTEN CMIEL had a closer look to see what opening trends may be in store for 2019.

12/7/2018 – Everyone talks about the Indian "wunderkinder" Nihal Sarin or Praggnanandhaa, but it's also increasingly possible a future world chess champion will come from Iran. Alireza Firozja is the world's highest rated player born in 2003 (he turned 15 in June), and his style is reminiscent of a famous "magician" from Riga. THORSTEN CMIEL shares this extensive portrait and GM IVAN SOKOLOV explains to SAGAR SHAH why he is reminded of a young Vishy Anand. | Photo: All-Indian Chess Federation

11/26/2018 – Chess enjoys the reputation of being a rational game in which chance plays no or only a very limited role. However, one of the sponsors of the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London is "Unibet", the Swedish company that provides an internet platform for sports betting and online gambling. Thorsten Cmiel looked at odds, betting and possible manipulation in chess. | Photos: World Chess