12/9/2022 – This week, Daniel King presents a mix of attractive themes: Novotnys, stalemates, and an endgame squeeze (by none other than Magnus Carlsen). What more could you want? | 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.

12/9/2022 – The third game of the Women’s Candidates semifinal in Khiva between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Tan Zhongyi also ended in a draw. Playing white, Goryachkina could not get anything against Tan’s Bogoljubov Defence. A balanced position was quickly reached and the game ended in a draw on move 45. | Photo: Timur Sattarov / FIDE

12/9/2022 – On 11 December, IM Lawrence Trent, chess player, author and commentator, will play the most combative chess match of his career at the Galen Center (10,200 seats) in Los Angeles. He will face Canadian GM Aman Hambleton in the main match of the Mogul Chess Boxing Championship. Organiser of the event is the well-known Youtube streamer Ludwig Ahgren.

12/9/2022 – The 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spasski is regarded as one of the most critical moments in the history of chess, occurring 50 years ago. To present you with this year's Christmas calendar in the proper setting, Arne swiftly constructed a time machine, and went back 50 years. Of course, the 1972 World Cup is the main calendar focus this time! You have the opportunity to guess, count, and conduct research every day for a chance to win one of 90 ChessBase prizes. Your chances of winning one of the major prizes increases, the more questions you can correctly guess. | Photo: Original by World Chess Hall of Fame

12/8/2022 – The 2022 edition of the Speed Chess Championship is in its final stages. Magnus Carlsen returned to participate after losing at the 2020 semifinals, and will be looking to stop Hikaru Nakamura’s reign, who has won every single edition since 2018. In the quarterfinals, Carlsen will face none other than 2018 World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana.

12/8/2022 – The Chechen federation has nominated the 2016 World Championship challenger to run against incumbent Andrey Filatov. Karjakin was banned for six months by the FIDE Ethics Commission for advocating Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and continues to be an ardent supporter of Putin. | Photo: Tass

12/5/2022 – The 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spasski is regarded as one of the most critical moments in the history of chess, occurring 50 years ago. To present you with this year's Christmas calendar in the proper setting, Arne swiftly constructed a time machine, and went back 50 years. Of course, the 1972 World Cup is the main calendar focus this time! You have the opportunity to guess, count, and conduct research every day for a chance to win one of 90 ChessBase prizes. Your chances of winning one of the major prizes increases, the more questions you can correctly guess. | Photo: Original by World Chess Hall of Fame

12/5/2022 – Mustafa Yilmaz emerged as the winner of the 2022 Turkish Championship. The native of Mamak claimed his third national title, repeating his triumphs of 2009 and 2017. The 2022 Turkish Championship, a 10-player round-robin tournament with classical time control, took place in Kemer, a seaside resort in the province of Antalya, from 25 November to 3 December. | Photos: Turkish Chess Federation

12/4/2022 – Following Daniel King’s recap of ‘Novotny’ patterns, Jon Speelman could not deny himself the pleasure of analysing the game played by Vasyl Ivanchuk which motivated the theme’s resurgence. Speelman writes of Ivanchuk: “Of all the players that I’ve ever faced over the board, I’ve always considered Ivanchuk the most talented, with no exceptions”. | Photo: Amruta Mokal / ChessBase India

12/4/2022 – At the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Khiva, Tan Zhongyi and her opponent Kateryna Lagno played the tiebreak of their quarterfinal match on Sunday. Tan won the first 15+10 game and drew the next three encounters to make it to the semifinals, where she will face Aleksandra Goryachkina in a similar 4-game match starting Tuesday. | Photos: FIDE / Timur Sattarov

12/4/2022 – Two young rising stars claimed titles in the blitz section of the Tata Steel Chess India event. Arjun Erigaisi and Vaishali Rameshbabu made their country proud as they got clear victories in the 18-round tournaments organized in Kolkata. The Indians outscored top-notch opposition on their way to memorable triumphs at the imposing National Library of India. | Pictured: Nihal, Arjun, Ushenina and Vaishali | Photo: Lennart Ootes

12/4/2022 – In 1968, the American magazine Chess Review introduced Michael Basman as “another bright B” in the tradition of famous British chess players represented by Bird, Blackburne and Burn. "Basman would never be the brightest chess star in this constellation of Bs, but he became the most doggedly extra-terrestrial of all of them," writes Jonathan Manley in the December issue of CHESS Magazine. Here's his fine tribute.