6/13/2023 – The ninth round of the Cairns Cup saw Alexandra Kosteniuk grabbing a third consecutive win to secure clear second place in the final standings. Kosteniuk defeated Elisabeth Paehtz with black, while Irina Krush, who was sharing second place with Kosteniuk before the final round, failed to get the better of tournament winner Anna Zatonskih in a tricky endgame. In the other decisive game of the day, Nana Dzagnidze defeated Gunay Mammadzada. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

6/13/2023 – The last pawn is often worth its weight in gold. How did it help White to win in the diagram position?

6/13/2023 – The first day of the Europe and Africa Regional qualifier kicked off with a top match between British number one Michael Adams and Poland's top player Jan-Krzysztof Duda. After several ups and downs Duda won with a bit of luck. The second match of the day saw an all-German clash between Vincent Keymer and Alexander Donchenko, in which Keymer (pictured) was a bit more lucky and won.

6/13/2023 – Remember The Queen's Gambit? It was released in October 2020, and became Netflix's most-watched scripted miniseries, making it the top program in 63 countries. The series received high critical acclaim, but also resulted in a massive general interest in the game. Now Netflix is poised to release a game that combines the story and character elements from the show, while training players the strategy of the game.

6/13/2023 – The FIDE World Cup, a knock-out chess extravaganza held every two years, will celebrate its 10th edition in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 30 July to 24 August 2023. Many of the participants in the open and the women’s sections have confirmed their presence. Heading the open will be Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana, while the women’s event will have Humpy Koneru, Ju Wenjun and Aleksandra Goryachkina as the top seeds. The fields will be completed before June 30.

6/12/2023 – The Cairns Cup is taking place on June 3-12 at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Humpy Koneru, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Harika Dronavalli are the top seeds in the 10-player single round-robin with a classical time control. The event will feature one of the strongest female fields, as they compete for a total prize fund of $180,000. | Follow the action live starting at 20.00 CEST (14.00 ET, 23.30 IST)

6/9/2023 – In his new Power Play Show, GM Daniel King looks at a strategically complex line in the Najdorf that surfaced in a recent game in Norway Chess. And Daniel knows what he is talking about! | 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.

6/9/2023 – D. Gukesh was the only player to win his classical game in the penultimate round of the Norway Chess Tournament by creating a veritable work of art against Aryan Tari. Hikaru Nakamura lost to Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Armageddon, but still has a chance to win the tournament. Fabiano Caruana remains in the lead, and Magnus Carlsen won his seventh Armageddon game, but with 10.5/24 he is still in the lower part of the table. | Photos: Lenart Ootes/ Norway Chess

6/9/2023 – Last Monday, 5 June, Ukrainian grandmaster Vadim Malakhatko died of a heart attack in Kyiv. During his career Malakhatko won numerous open tournaments and played for the Ukrainian national team, although he moved to the Belgian Chess Federation in 2007. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

6/8/2023 – The Alekhine (1.e4 Nf6) is a rare guest in general and especially at a high-level. During the pandemic, however, this daring opening has been employed on several occasions, notably by the World Champion Magnus Carlsen. A faster time-control and perhaps the unusual atmosphere created by online games probably helped some players unleash, from time to time, a marginal opening to surprise their opponents.

6/8/2023 – Before round 5 of the Cairns Cup began, the organizers announced that Humpy Koneru had to withdraw due to medical issues. Humpy’s games in the first four rounds will not be counted in the tournament standings, though they will be rated by FIDE. In the fifth round, Bella Khotenashvili scored a third consecutive victory, as she defeated Nana Dzagnidze after the latter failed to make the most of a deadly kingside attack. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

6/7/2023 – The new Hamburg champion is Arne Bracker. In nine rounds, Arne Bracker did not lose a single game, leaving Elo favourite Malte Colpe behind. Winning the tournament means that Arne has qualified for the German Championships. | Photo: Christoph Schroeder (4.) - Arne Bracker (1.) . Malte Colpe (3.) - Robin Keyser (2.) (Hamburger Schachverband).