9/19/2025 – Doha gets ready to welcome the participants of the world’s fastest chess tournament for a spectacular end to the year. FIDE today announced the regulations for the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz, which will be held from 25 to 30 December and feature a one million euro prize fund.

9/19/2025 – In his new Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft takes a look at a game by Matthias Blübaum, who won the European Individual Championship in 2022 and 2025, and recently qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament by finishing second at the 2025 Grand Swiss in Samarkand. One of the key moments was his win with Black against Arjun Erigaisi. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/19/2025 – Vincent Keymer needed a win in the final round of the FIDE Grand Swiss to get a spot in next year's Candidates Tournament, and faced second seed Arjun Erigaisi with black. The German star obtained a promising advantage but failed to find the precise continuation on several key moments, allowing Arjun to hold a draw. Below, Wolfram Schön analyses the critical points where Keymer could have pressed for more. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

9/18/2025 – Victor Bologan’s Chess Academy Vol. 3 & 4 offers a complete, low-maintenance repertoire for both White and Black, built on the philosophy of his legendary coach Chebanenko: focus on understanding typical pawn structures and recurring piece setups rather than memorising endless theory. For Black, Bologan recommends the universal 1…d6 system, leading to flexible Philidor-style positions against 1.e4 and solid setups against 1.d4, emphasizing resilience and strategic clarity. For White, the repertoire begins with 1.e4 followed by d3, using quiet but powerful systems like the King’s Indian Attack, Closed Sicilian ideas, and anti-Caro-Kann setups—practical approaches that avoid heavy theory while still being played successfully at the highest level.

9/18/2025 – On October 12, the U.S. Championship begins in St. Louis. Twelve of the country’s top players will compete, nine of whom also played in the Grand Swiss, which concluded on September 15 in Samarkand. Their performances there point to an interesting championship, with Abhimanyu Mishra and Andy Woodward delivering particularly notable results. | Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE

9/18/2025 – On Friday, the FIDE Cadet World Championships will begin in Almaty (Kazakhstan) with the first round. Almost 90 countries have registered players who will compete in six age groups — U8, U10, and U12 — each with an open section and a girls’ tournament for the titles.

9/14/2025 – How do you train endgames? To be honest, the question might be better phrased as: Do you even train endgames at all? After all, the magical richness of the final phase of a game is something not everyone appreciates. This makes it all the more important that training is enjoyable and not bogged down by unnecessarily long searches for the right solution. In this regard, the LiveBook feature of ChessBase 18 may not be familiar to everyone. All the more reason, then, to introduce this highly practical tool in this tutorial.

9/14/2025 – Matthias Bluebaum's quiet draw with Nodirbek Abdusattorov allowed three players to catch him at the top of the FIDE Grand Swiss standings, setting up a four-way tie with two rounds to go. Alireza Firouzja outlasted Nihal Sarin in a dramatic 82-move encounter, Vincent Keymer claimed a second consecutive win by beating Parham Maghsoodloo, while Anish Giri overcame Jorden van Foreest in a tense Queen's Gambit Declined. In the women's tournament, Kateryna Lagno survived a lost position against Bibisara Assaubayeva to hold the lead by half a point. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

9/14/2025 – The FIDE Social Chess Storytelling Challenge 2025 is underway, inviting filmmakers, educators, and community leaders to share how chess transforms lives. Open to all ages and nationalities, the competition accepts both professional and grassroots submissions until 25 October. The best films will be showcased at the Social Chess Conference and across FIDE platforms, with winners receiving trophies, global recognition and an invitation to the 2026 Chess Olympiad Opening Ceremony.

9/13/2025 – From 17 to 25 September, the closed tournament “Legends and Prodigies” will be held in Madrid, featuring five GMs and five IMs in a generational clash. The event will be played as a single round-robin with a classical time control. Among the participants are Peruvian GM Julio Granda, a legend of Latin American chess, and the young talents Faustino Oro and Lu Miaoyi. The tournament will award a GM norm to players scoring 6/9 points. | Photo: Andina

9/13/2025 – In the diagram position, White has to win back the piece without to simplify the position and without letting his development advantage evaporate. What would you suggest?

9/13/2025 – Round eight of the FIDE Grand Swiss tightened the race without changing the leaders, as Matthias Bluebaum and Nihal Sarin drew quickly to remain joint frontrunners. Vincent Keymer scored his fourth win of the event, this time against defending champion Vidit Gujrathi, while Jorden van Foreest claimed his first classical victory over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the women's tournament, Vaishali Rameshbabu's first loss of the event allowed Kateryna Lagno (pictured) to take over the sole lead, with Bibisara Assaubayeva, Song Yuxin and Vaishali now in joint second. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza