1/30/2023 – With Sara Khadem Iran has lost another top chess player. The 2018 rapid and blitz vice world champion has moved to Spain with her family, but plans to continue playing under the Iranian flag. The well-known Spanish journalist Leontxo Garcia met with her and published a portrait of the young Iranian woman in the Spanish newspaper "El Pais". | Photo: El Pais

1/30/2023 – The second event of the 2022-2023 Women's Grand Prix Series will kick off on Thursday in Munich, the capital of the state of Bavaria. Twelve of the world's top female players will dispute an eleven-round all-play-all with their eyes set on the 15,000 euros first prize plus the valuable WGP points that add up for direct qualification to the 2023-2024 FIDE Women's Candidates.

1/30/2023 – The Russian Chess Federation has advised the European Chess Union that they have applied for membership of the Asian Chess Federation, and that they intend to withdraw from the ECU as soon as they have been admitted. The ECU acknowledges that the invasion and war in Ukraine, has obliged the IOC and international sports federations to take difficult decisions and firm positions, and that the intention of sanctions is not to punish individual athletes, especially those players who have not acted against the peace mission of sports. ECU press release.

1/30/2023 – In a late twist at the Tata Steel Masters, Anish Giri leapfrogged Nodirbek Abdusattorov on the final day of action to claim a first title in his home super-tournament. In round 13, Giri defeated Richard Rapport, while 2021 champion Jorden van Foreest got the better of long-time leader Abdusattorov. Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen and Parham Maghsoodloo also ended the tournament with wins to their names. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

1/29/2023 – The first-ever Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities represents a historic event for FIDE and the chess world. From the 29th of January to the 5th of February, the Serbian capital will host the event. Thirty-three countries and three international squads have registered to take part in this team competition. They are led by Poland, the winner of the 2020 Online Olympiad for people with disabilities, and Hungary, the two highest-rated teams.

1/29/2023 – The 85th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament took place on January 14-29 in Wijk aan Zee. Both the Masters and the Challengers were 14-player single round-robin events. Anish Giri and Alexander Donchenko obtained outright victories at the Masters and the Challengers sections, respectively. | Replay all games with computer analyses on our interactive replayers.

1/26/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #552, Merijn van Delft analyses the all-important victory that Nodirbek Abdusattorov obtained (with black) over Magnus Carlsen at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/26/2023 – As the traditional introduction to a new solving season, the 19th International Solving Contest (ISC) will be held this Sunday, January 29. A set of chess problems will be simultaneously offered to more than 500 solvers around the world at 11 AM CET. The ISC hybrid solving competition is becoming increasingly popular since it allows enthusiasts from many countries to participate without extra costs. In 2023, the ISC will reach 42 locations in 26 different countries.

1/26/2023 – This little problem will leave you gawping and sleepless, says Ian Watson in his review of a delightful collection of helpmates by Christopher Jones. Don't be daunted by this problem genre – it is more entertaining than you might expect. Especially when the problems come from a virtuoso composer like Jones. Can you imagine how White, with Black's full assistance, actually execute a mate in eight moves? Think Phoenix (a queen dies and is reborn).

1/26/2023 – Magnus Carlsen and Dommaraju Gukesh continued their good runs of results in round 10 of the Tata Steel Masters, as they scored full points in the only two decisive games of the day. Carlsen has won three games in the last four rounds and is now sharing third place with Wesley So, while Gukesh won two out of his last three encounters to recover from a subpar start in Wijk aan Zee. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

1/25/2023 – A record $2 million prize pot will be on offer in the 2023 season of the Champions Chess Tour. The new season kicks off February 3 with the Airthings Masters, the first of six star-studded tournaments before an eight-player final event in December. The launch of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour follows Chess.com’s acquisition of Play Magnus Group.

1/25/2023 – Rapid interviews are fun: interviewer and guest face each other in an epic rapid chess battle. The chess guest not only has to face the interviewer's questions, but also concentrate on the chess game at the same time. This leads to surprising answers and sometimes to curious chess positions. Indian super talent Savitha Shri recently bagged the Bronze medal in the World Rapid Chess 2022, and reached the fabulous rating of over 2400. Also, today is her birthday, and she turns 16! Congratulations, and well played. | Photo: Instagram Savitha Shri