12/31/2023 – Today we have two very special problems. They are doubtlessly like no other chess puzzle you have seen. And warning: they are very hard. You could easily spend a substantial part of the final day of the year 2023 struggling to solve them. But if you succeed, you will experience an exhilarating feeling of pride. Take a look.

12/31/2023 – Once again, a fantastic chess year is coming to an end. As usual, Svitlana gathered some of her absolute favourite tactics, for the viewer and Arne to solve. Happy new year everybody, and see you in 2024!

12/30/2023 – Magnus Carlsen grabbed his 17th World Championship title — the 7th in blitz — by scoring 16/21 points at the World Blitz event in Samarkand. After losing his first game of the day, against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Carlsen grabbed six wins in a row to retake the sole lead. Two draws in the final rounds allowed him to outscore Daniil Dubov by a half point. In the women’s championship, Valentina Gunina got outright victory thanks to a final-round win over Anna Muzychuk. Alexandra Kosteniuk came close to catching the eventual champion, but fell just short and took the silver medal. | Photo: FIDE / Anastasia Korolkova

12/30/2023 – In the last Fast & Furious episode of 2023, Robert Ris analysed a spectacular victory obtained by his 15-year-old student IM Arthur de Winter. Out of a fashionable line in the Sicilian Najdorf, White’s attack turned out to be faster than his opponent’s. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/30/2023 – In the diagram position White wins with 51.Qc8! - but please don't make the move until you've seen the forced checkmate after 51...Qd4. Do we have a deal?

12/30/2023 – The World Rapid and Blitz Championships are taking place on December 26-30 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Almost the entire world elite will be competing, with Magnus Carlsen the favourite in the open tournaments and world champion Ju Wenjun participating in both women’s events. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 11.00 CET (5.00 ET, 15.30 IST)

12/30/2023 – Today you get three puzzles that are simply enjoyable to solve. Very strong players should try to solve them in their minds, straight from the diagrams, mere mortals can move pieces. They may be surprised to see that our live diagrams will defend for the black side, stopping you from reaching the goal. Unless you find the unexpected solutions, which will be presented to you with instructive and entertaining videos in the new year.

12/30/2023 – There was no shortage of controversy on day 1 of the World Blitz Championships in Samarkand. A dispute regarding an alleged clock malfunction delayed the start of round 7 by close to an hour, while a 13-move draw — featuring only knight moves — between Daniil Dubov and Ian Nepomniachtchi resulted in both players losing a half point as their encounter, according to the Chief Arbiter, would “bring the game of chess into disrepute”. Meanwhile, Valentina Gunina got a 1½-point lead in the women’s tournament after finishing day 1 with an astonishing 8½/9 score. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

12/29/2023 – Karsten Müller is both an endgame expert and a major enthusiast of the final phases of a chess battle. Here he presents the 10 top endgames of the year, a selection of the most interesting and substantial positions seen on the board throughout 2023!

12/29/2023 – In his new Game of the Week show, Merin van Delft analyses one of the wins that gave Magnus Carlsen his fifth World Rapid Championship title, an interesting battle against blindfold-chess expert Timur Gareyev. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/29/2023 – 36 analyses from the Grand Swiss 2023: the champions Vaishali and Vidit comment on their best games as well as Abdusattorov, Deac, Erigaisi, Giri, L'Ami, Mendonca, A. and M. Muzychuk, Praggnanandhaa, Saric and others - Strategy special by Mihail Marin: Richard Rapport between originality and classicism - Creeping poison: Patrick Zelbel sheds light on the current 1. e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Bg4 4.d4!? in the Caro-Kann Two Knights Game - "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" part #7: Karsten Mueller shows how to play pawn endgames with pawns on both wings – Surprise in the Scottish Four Knights Game: Rustam Kasimdzhanov analyses the increasingly popular 5...Nxe4!? (Video) and much more.

12/29/2023 – Today we provide you with a master-level lesson. Leonid Ivanovich Kubbel, born in 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia, was one of the greatest composers in chess history. One of the greatest composers of our time was GM Pal Benkö, born in 1928, died in 2019. The latter shows us how he improved on one of the most famous studies of all time, composed by the former.