3/13/2023 – As the end of the European Championship approaches, two players share the lead on 8/10 points. Kirill Shevchenko joined Alexey Sarana atop the standings after beating Benjamin Gledura with the white pieces. Twelve players stand a half point behind with one round to go in Vrnjacka Banja. | Photos: European Chess Union

3/13/2023 – Wesley So emerged victorious in the first event of the Armageddon Championship Series 2023, organized by World Chess. So’s flawless performance secured him a spot in September’s Grand Finale, along with Sam Shankland, the tournament’s runner-up. The series was broadcasted live on 16 online and TV platforms, including CNBC, BeIN Sports and FOX Australia. | Photos: World Chess

3/12/2023 – 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 116th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to explain why it is good to study and to play the Sicilian. | Photo: Pascal Simon

3/12/2023 – Karsten Mueller continues his training series for ambitious amateurs in ChessBase Magazine #212. This time it's about basic techniques in the endgame with rook and pawn against rook. You've probably heard about the "Lucena win", "Vancura's draw" - but do you still know how the whole thing works and which details you have to pay attention to? Karsten Mueller's contribution consists of an introductory video in which the techniques and motifs are presented and five interactive training videos in which it is your task to enter the solution on the board. You can watch the introductory video here. The interactive part with video feedback is only available in CBM#212!

3/12/2023 – For the first time at the 2023 European Championship, Anton Korobov is not at least sharing the lead. The Ukrainian GM was defeated by Alexey Sarana, who thus climbed to sole first place in the standings. Now sharing second place with Korobov on 7/9 points are six more players: Etienne Bacrot, Benjamin Gledura, Kirill Shevchenko, Andrey Esipenko, Valentin Dragnev and David Paravyan. | Photos: European Chess Union

3/12/2023 – The last day of play at the Armageddon Series Championship Series in Berlin again promises exciting blitz and frantic chess: Sam Shankland faces Andrew Tang to decide who will play Wesley So in the tournament’s final, which will take place right after that match is over. In both matches, two blitz games will be played; in case of a 1-1 tie, an Armageddon game will follow. Start: 19.00 CET. Follow the games live and with commentary by Simon Williams and Jovanka Houska.

3/9/2023 – Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis, the 101st seed at the European Championship, is sharing the lead with Anton Korobov after beating Eltaj Safarli with the black pieces. The 25-year-old IM from Greece will again get the black pieces in his seventh-round encounter against Korobov. Eight players, all on 5/6 points, make up the chasing pack. | Photos: European Chess Union

3/9/2023 – Chess was among the topics discussed at the 17th edition of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which took place on March 3-4 at the Hynes Convention Centre in Boston. The panel brought together some of the biggest names in the game, including Danny Rensch, Jennifer Shahade, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Daryl Morey.

3/8/2023 – In his “Game of the Week” show #558, Merijn van Delft analyses Anton Korobov’s victory over Ruslan Ponomariov in round 5 of the European Championship. In the game, Korobov came up with a truly remarkable concept! | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

3/8/2023 – Those who love spectacle and drama got their money's worth on Day 2 of the Armageddon Championship Series in Berlin. Especially in the match between Andrew Tang (pictured) and Leinier Dominguez, which Tang won in Armageddon. At the end of the game he had one second left on the clock, while Dominguez had spent all his time. In the second match of the day Jose Martinez prevailed against Ray Robson. | Foto: World Chess

3/8/2023 – Anton Korobov won the all-Ukrainian matchup against Ruslan Ponomariov to take the lead at the European Championship in Serbia. Korobov is the only player to have won his five first games at the extremely competitive event. Four players, including two underdogs, stand a half point behind. | Photos: European Chess Union

3/8/2023 – With close to 250 games being played daily, the European Championship is one of the strongest opens in the chess calendar. Moreover, the players are fighting for an entrance to the World Championship cycle via the World Cup, which makes for very competitive struggles. Karsten Müller is keeping an eye on the games, and has sent us many notable endgames with instructive analyses. Replay here his first seven finds! | Pictured: Marius Gramb | Photo: European Chess Union