3/31/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #561, Merijn van Delft focuses his attention on Leon Luke Mendonca, who recently scored a perfect 9 out of 9 in Slovenia. In one of his wins, against Sabino Brunello, the youngster successfully combined his positional approach with tactical alertness. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

3/31/2023 – I had the incredible opportunity to interview R.B. Ramesh, one of the world's most renowned and accomplished chess coaches. Ramesh has trained many of India's top players, including former World Champion Vishwanathan Anand, and has helped mold the country into a chess powerhouse. In our interview, Ramesh shared his insights on a range of topics, from his early days in chess to his coaching philosophy and techniques. He also discussed the challenges of coaching at the highest level and the importance of mental preparation in chess. With his vast knowledge and experience, Ramesh provided invaluable insights into what it takes to become a successful chess player, both on and off the board. Overall, the interview provided a fascinating glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest chess coaches of our time.

3/31/2023 – Middlegame secrets are revealed - in a series of articles featuring videos by Jan Markos. We'll begin with the Queen, exploring things to avoid when playing with the most powerful chess piece! If you wish to know more, we recommend the full course by Jan Markos: Middlegame Secrets Vol.1: The Power of the Queen | Photo: Alexis Fauvet/Unsplash

3/31/2023 – John Foley is the Director of the 2023 London Chess Conference. Stefan Löffler was involved as a facilitator and was the founding director of the conference in 2013. Here they report from a breakthrough edition which established how chess enhances 21st century skills, interest in STEM subjects and even pre-school education. | Pictured: Rita Atkins, John Foley and Dana Reizniece-Osola | Photo: John Yip

3/31/2023 – Grandmaster (GM) Leon Mendonca is a rising star in the chess world and one of India's most promising young talents. Recently, he won the HIT Open 2023 in Slovenia, with an insane 9 out of 9 points. In this ChessBase article, Leon provides an in-depth analysis of three of his games from the tournament, offering insights into his decision-making process and the strategies he employed to secure victory. By sharing his experiences and expertise, Leon offers valuable lessons for chess players of all levels looking to improve their game.

3/31/2023 – Employing impressive technique in the second game, Lei Tingjie relentlessly jumped back into the match at the Women’s Candidates Final in Chongqing. After nearly six hours of play and seventy gruelling moves, with everything pointing towards a draw, a last-minute mistake by Tan Zhongyi in severe time trouble put the 1-1 result on the scoreboard. | Photos: FIDE

3/28/2023 – 16-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh is one of the brightest talents of India and World Chess. He is now World no.18 with a FIDE Rating of 2730. The current India no.2 graced the ChessBase India Chess Club with his presence on Saturday, 18th March 2023. There was a big challenge in front of him – he was to give a simultaneous exhibition to 21 players, with the top five seeds having an Elo rating of over 2000. The spectacular even simul was held at the Phoenix Marketcity Mall in Mumbai. | Photo: Abhyudaya Ram

3/28/2023 – The "Ginger GM" Simon Williams enjoys playing the Dragon a lot, but is an even bigger fan of the Dragadorf. But, what happens if the opponent plays the interesting 6.f4 Levenfish variation for White? Simon Williams knew the answer and dominated his opponent. Chris Ward analysed the game closely, and found some interesting options for Black and White to take care of!| Photo: John Upham

3/28/2023 – Castling in endgame studies is a rich and entertaining topic - be it real castling, the threat of castling, or even just retroanalysis that proves that castling is impossible. Last year we began a new series in which we chronologically explore the most interesting endgame studies with castling ideas. We aim at a mix between informative and interesting endgame studies again this month, a mostly light-hearted article without too much text. | Photo: Pixabay

3/28/2023 – In the diagram position, it is White to move and draw. White is an exchange up but he still is in trouble because his pawns are weak and his rook has trouble defending them. In the game White did not find a way to draw the game and lost. Can you do better?

3/28/2023 – The second-round games of the Women’s Grand Prix in New Delhi were played on Monday. Bibisara Assaubayeva, the 19-year-old IM from Kazakhstan, is the only player who has so far scored a win in the tournament, as she defeated India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu with black. A look at the standings does not help much at the moment: six players have played two games, four have played only one. | Photo: FIDE / Ismael Nieto

3/27/2023 – Hikaru Nakamura pulled through to become the 2023 American Cup Champion after defeating Wesley So 2½-1½ in a difficult final Elimination Match. The finale started out with three solid draws, but finished abruptly in the fourth game after a blunder by So got his queen trapped inside Nakamura’s territory. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes