5/11/2024 – After scoring three wins in as many games on Thursday, Wei Yi grabbed two more consecutive wins (before signing a draw in round 9) to secure first place in the rapid section of the Superbet tournament in Poland. Going into the 18 rounds of blitz, set to take place on Saturday and Sunday, Wei leads Magnus Carlsen by a full point, while R Praggananandhaa stands at a 2-point distance from the world number one. Carlsen was the only player to remain unbeaten in the rapid. | Photo: Grand Chess Tour / Lennart Ootes

5/10/2024 – In their search for ways to throw their opponents off balance and create unusual positions, players such as the American GM Brandon Jacobson and Magnus Carlsen have recently tried out the so-called 'Meadow Hay Gambit' in blitz games: 1.a4 e5 2.Ra3!? An offer to win the exchange that Black cannot really refuse though White gets a surprising amount of compensation. Gambit expert Robert Ris has now made a 60-minute video course on this variation, and ChessBase readers who want to surprise their opponents with this sacrifice - or don't want to be surprised by it - can get this course for free now until Sunday.

5/10/2024 – With 5.0/6 each, the Indian Grandmasters Aravind Chithambaram and Visakh N R are still the leading duo at the Dubai Masters. Top seed Yu Yangyi, Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun and chess legend Vasyl Ivanchuk belong to the group of 11 pursuers with 4.5/6. | Photo: Aravind Chithambaram (right) at the start of his game against Vladislav Artemiev in round 6. | Photos: Aditya Sur Roy (ChessBase India)

5/10/2024 – On the second day of the Chess.com Classic the knockout rounds of the play-in were played to decide who would make it to Division I. After dramatic knockout matches Velimir Ivic (pictured), Denis Lazavik, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alexey Sarana and Jan-Krzysztof Duda qualified, but co-favourites Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana will have to be content with playing in Division II.

5/10/2024 – Each issue of ChessBase Magazine honours an outstanding chess player with a portrait. The current issue is dedicated to Fabiano Caruana. Several authors shed light on the qualities of the 2018 World Championship runner-up. Stefan Liebig took a look at the issue. | Photo: FIDE

5/10/2024 – Magnus Carlsen and Wei Yi emerged as co-leaders after the second day of action at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz tournament in Poland. Carlsen grabbed two wins and then failed to make the most of clear winning chances against D Gukesh, while Wei obtained three wins in a row to recover from his somewhat underwhelming performance on Wednesday. Former leader Kirill Shevchenko and R Praggnanandhaa stand a full point behind the leaders (wins are worth 2 points in the rapid section of the event). | Photo: Grand Chess Tour / Lennart Ootes

5/6/2024 – Why is the rook’s pawn called the "worst enemy of the knight"? How do you make best use of the "Knight Check Shadow" and when should you enter the "Karpov Distance"? In the new ChessBase Magazine #219, Karsten Mueller shows you the most important techniques in the endgame with knight against pawn(s) in part #9 of his series "Fundamental Endgame Knowledge". Take the chance and test your technique in two interactive training videos in this week’s CBM reading sample. Have fun!

5/6/2024 – The Dubai Police Global Challenge Masters kicked off on Saturday with 135 participants, including three 2700+ rated players. After two rounds, 11 players are tied for first place with 2/2 points. Surprisingly, this group only includes two players belonging to the top-20 in the starting rank. The tournament is a 9-round Swiss open with a classical time control. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

5/5/2024 – One of the most interesting aspects of the Candidates Tournament was the superb opening preparation, and in particular how they managed to set each other problems which hadn’t been foreseen. This is a special skill that involves interacting with the fearsome engines not to find the “best” moves but ones which are almost as strong according to the silicon evaluation — but lower down the food chain! | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

5/5/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In the 176th episode of his ChessBase show "Understanding before moving" Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and continues to take a look at the career and games of Bobby Fischer, World Champion from 1972 to 1975. | Photo: Pascal Simon

5/5/2024 – Leon Luke Mendonca was the surprise winner of the Tata Steel Challenger tournament in Wijk aan Zee. He started with 3 out of 6 points, and was lost in the lower part of the table, until he recovered with 6.5 points out of his last 7 games, to reach first place! The Indian Grandmaster and ChessBase Host, Arne Kaehler, started a video series in 2023, on how a typical day in a life of a professional chess player looks like. In the third episode, Leon talks about his own approach to learning tactics, and gives us some examples to solve! | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024

5/5/2024 – The main event of the Sardinia Chess Festival, a 9-round Swiss open featuring 11 players rated 2600 or above, took place from April 27 to May 4 on the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. An eventful final round saw former co-leaders Alan Pichot and Yair Parkhov both losing their games. The outcomes of the games on the top boards resulted in four players tied atop the standings with 7/9 points each. Daniel Dardha, who beat Pichot in the final round, had the best tiebreak score and thus claimed the title. | Photos: Davide Locatelli