3/22/2023 – In the most thrilling match of the tournament so far, Levon Aronian knocked out Fabiano Caruana to remain alive in the elimination bracket, where he is set to face Leinier Dominguez next. In the women’s elimination bracket, Nazi Paikidze and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova were the winners of the day and will face off on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in the champions brackets, draws were seen in both sections. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/21/2023 – In the current ChessBase Magazine #212 you will find new repertoire ideas for eleven different openings - from the English Opening to the King's Indian. In his search for a suitable weapon against the Scotch, Lars Schandorff has come across a fresh idea with which Black immediately seeks active play: After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 (Schandorff's favourite) 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 7.Qe2 he recommends 7...a5!?. In his analysis, this idea has proved so successful that he even sees White facing the task of looking for new ideas in the alternative variations with 5.Nxc6 or 5.Be3. Take a look!

3/21/2023 – The series of open national competitions for the World Solving Cup 2022/23 continued this month, with events in Poland and the Netherlands. Kacper Piorun won the Polish competition, while Nikos Sidiropoulos (Greece) was the winner in the Dutch event. In Poland, eight minutes decided the winner; in the Netherlands, one subtle endgame study made the difference.

3/21/2023 – In Eugene Manlapao's previous articles, he has featured the leading players of 19th century British chess. Among them were Amos Burn, Isidor Gunsberg, and the London residents Johannes Zukertort of Poland and Wilhelm Steinitz of Austria. Another one of their great contemporaries was Joseph Henry Blackburne, Britain's strongest player for nearly three decades. "The Black Death" was always a dangerous rival to his British and foreign peers in local and international tournaments, as well as one-on-one matches. | Picture: Wikipedia

3/21/2023 – Rooks are powerful and two rooks are even more powerful, and given the chance, they can quickly mate the enemy king. In the diagram position the white rooks are passive and seem to be doomed to defend the b-pawn. But it is White to move and win. How?

3/21/2023 – Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So advanced to the final match of the champions bracket in the open section of the American Cup after beating Leinier Dominguez and Fabiano Caruana respectively. Among the women, Irina Krush and Alice Lee scored 1½-½ wins to set up a rematch from last year’s edition in the final. The losers of the day still have chances to win both events, via the elimination brackets. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/17/2023 – Svitlana shows us the basics of the open and closed Catalan. This opening is often played by some world class players, like Magnus Carlsen, or Vladimir Kramnik. It can either get sharp, or super positional. The model game was played by Alekhine, and the most powerful weapon of the Catalan, the bishop on g2, is exchanged rather quickly. But there are more threats, than only the bishop!

3/17/2023 – In his new Power Play Show, GM Daniel King shares more King’s Indian brilliances with us. Vasyl Ivanchuk played the black side in the recent European Championship and his young opponent chose a line where White looks to take over the initiative on the kingside. This was a highly instructive game where one side's strategy triumphed. | Power Play is on air most Fridays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

3/17/2023 – What should you do if your opponent offers a draw at an early stage of the game? What aspects should you take into account when making your own decision? GM Jan Markos gives you a series of rules of thumb in the fifth part of his series "Practical Tips for the Tournament Player" to help you go for the full point more often - or accept the offer if it is advisable. You can watch an excerpt from his video here!

3/17/2023 – Former women's world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, currently in the top ten of women's chess, is one of several top Russian players who have left the country or criticized the invasion of Ukraine. Kosteniuk will in future play under the Swiss flag.

3/17/2023 – Today: Matthias Wuellenweber goes into detail about the new hints option for ChessBase 17. In our new video series, our developers personally explain the new features they have developed themselves. From the new data format to the beauty index. In no time at all, you'll learn how it's done.

3/17/2023 – In his Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks at the game Lupulescu-Donchenko, played in the last round of the European Individual Championships. The game features a highly topical line of the Karpov System (5.Be2 & 6.Be3) against the King's Indian and led to a fine win for Black. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.