5/31/2023 – Perfection is fine, but it might cause problems. Performance ratings are also fine, but perfect scores can cause problems in calculating appropriate performance ratings. Matthew Wilson, a chess player, mathematician and economics teacher at the University of Richmond, has found a way to solve these problems. | Pictures: Sinquefield Cup 2014, a top level tournmanent, in which Fabiano Caruana started with 7.0/7. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

5/31/2023 – For the first time the CBM Extra comes with three opening videos: Nico Zwirs (Najdorf Variation with 6.Bg5), Sipke Ernst (3.h4 against the Gruenfeld), Romain Edouard ("Critical Lines in the Dragon" Part II) - total playing time over an hour. Plus the "Lucky bag" with analyses by Anish Giri, Spyridon Kapnisis, Adrian Mikhalchishin and many others!

5/31/2023 – The European Senior Championships have been underway in Acqui Terme since last Friday. John Nunn is the favourite in the 65+ category. However, with 4 out of 4 the German player Matthias Kierzek had the best start. In the Under-50s, six players are tied for the lead with 3.5 points.

5/31/2023 – Do you own an Xbox? Then you will want to play against Fritz. The new program offers you a spectacular visual experience with 2D and 3D graphics. It is easy to use, with comfortable console operation that give you only really important functions that are needed for playing against Fritz. During the game the AI engine will make cheeky comments, but will offer you ingenious tips to improve your skill. Buy it now, for just $19.99!

5/31/2023 – On our last show, we checked out a very popular Dragon line in the Yugoslav Attack. And just a couple of days later, Chris had a similar game on the board. So, now the British GM had the choice to carry on with his suggested idea, or use a more active move. Well, you might have already guessed what Chris did, right? This game turned into a typical Dragon beauty, full of tactics, and surprising ideas. | Photo: John Upham

5/31/2023 – The spectators were treated to an entertaining opening round of the Norway chess tournament and saw two surprises. Carlsen was defeated by Caruana. And the duel of the young stars was won by Gukesh against Firouzja. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

5/30/2023 – From 29 July to 25 August Azerbaijan will host the World Cup and the Women's World Cup. FIDE has now published a first provisional list of participants. | Photos: FIDE/ azernews.az

5/30/2023 – The modern defence is another systematically easy to learn hypermodern opening, giving the king a safe place, and implementing a hidden centre attack, as the game continues. Svitlana shows us the basic plans, and gives us the right moves to play. In the game example, we can see how powerful the move 1. .. g6 can be!

5/30/2023 – Endings with opposite colored bishops endings often end in a draw. But in the diagram position Black found a way to break through and win the game. What did he do?

5/30/2023 – Traditionally, the Norway Chess Tournament begins with a blitz tournament to determine the pairings for the classical tournament. The big favourite to win Norway Chess is of course Magnus Carlsen, former World Champion and the clear number one in the world. Carlsen was also the favourite in the Blitz tournament, but things did not go his way. It was Nodirbek Abdusattorov who blitzed the best. He finished first with 6.0/9, half a point ahead of Alireza Firouzja and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Carlsen finished seventh with 4.5/9 and will now play five games with Black in the classical tournament, where he, however, is still favourite. | Photo: Norway Chess

5/29/2023 – The Global Chess League is a new team tournament launched by Tech Mahindra in cooperation with FIDE. The first edition will be held in Dubai from 21 June to 2 July.

5/28/2023 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 127th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell". | Photo: Pascal Simon