8/23/2022 – GM Ivan Sokolov is well-known for taking on challenging projects as a trainer. This year he turned his attention to the Uzbekistan team, a team that, like Iran (which Sokolov trained before), was very young. How did it so happen that the team surpassed all expectations and clinched the gold in the Chennai chess Olympiad? What was the role of Ivan Sokolov? How much time did he spend with the team? What were his training techniques? All of this and much more in this hour-long interview by IM Sagar Shah. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/23/2022 – ...but holding a difficult rook endgame at the board is often not easy. In the diagrammed position Black is a pawn down but can draw with precise play. What should he do?

8/22/2022 – In chess, you learn best by making mistakes. And best of all, through the mistakes of others - because that hurts less. That is the concept of Nicholas Pert, the English grandmaster, who is an experienced trainer and knows the problems at every chess level. In 3 Fritztrainer courses he presents the typical mistakes categorised according to playing strength in order to increase sensitivity to one's own sources of error. This week we offer all 3 courses as a bundle at a special price: instead of €79.90 this week only €59.90

8/22/2022 – In the Endgame Magic show #208 Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler take a look at endgame highlights from the Chess Olympiad in Chennai. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

8/22/2022 – Ever since the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) emerged as chess’ governing body, the Candidates’ Tournament has been vital to the selection and making of the game’s world champion. Remade more than a few times in the seventy-two years that it has been running, the tournament has been a story on its own. Eugene Manlapao traces its history from its first edition in 1950, to its latest in 2022 that may have produced the combatants for the next world championship match. | Photo: The participants of the Candidates Tournament 1956 in Amsterdam | Photo: Herbert Behrens (ANEFO) (Cropped from GaHetNa (Nationaal Archief NL)) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

8/22/2022 – Robocop. This was what GM Yermolinksy dubbed IM Conor Murphy as he followed his superlative result. While the 2022 Olympiad was dominated by the performance of the youthful and brilliant Gukesh, and other stars on the rise, it is also much more than a collection of super grandmasters, so let us sing the praises of the unlikely heroes who rose to the occasion.

8/22/2022 – Magnus Carlsen won the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami after losing in tiebreaks against Praggnanandhaa in the final-round tournament-deciding match. Pragg stood two points behind the world champion before the round, so his victory was not enough to claim first place (he gained 2 points to Carlsen’s 1). The youngster nonetheless finished in second place, despite tying on points with Alireza Firouzja, as he had defeated the Frenchman in their round-1’s direct encounter.

8/21/2022 – The FTX Crypto Cup kicked off on Monday with world champion Magnus Carlsen and new rival Alireza Firouzja topping a stellar line-up. The all-play-all tournament is the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour’s second Major of the season and is taking place on-site at the Eden Roc Miami Beach in Miami, Florida, from August 15 to 21. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 18.00 CEST (12.00 ET, 21.30 IST)

8/21/2022 – Pushing the g-pawn early in the game has become so common that when GM Jon Speelman watches Shakhriyar Mamedyarov play, he feels tempted to bet with himself when ‘the bayonet’ will be deployed. This week’s thematic column features a couple of classics (by Paul Keres and Alexei Shirov), an example from Mamedyarov’s practice and a remarkable win by Richard Pert from the British Championship. | Photo: Niki Riga

8/21/2022 – A field with well-established GMs and young stars is fighting it off in Miami at the FTX Crypto Cup. Our in-house expert Karsten Müller is following the games looking to find the most intriguing and instructive ending positions. Do not miss his on-point analyses! | Pictured: Anish Giri | Photo: Amruta Mokal

8/21/2022 – Magnus Carlsen has a 2-point lead on Praggnanandhaa going into Sunday’s final round. The young Indian star will get a chance to win the whole thing if he beats the world champion in the rapid section of their direct encounter — winning in tiebreaks will not cut it for Pragg. In round 6, Carlsen beat Alireza Firouzja in an exciting match that went to tiebreaks, while Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated Pragg, also in tiebreaks.

8/20/2022 – World Chess, a chess gaming company, has announced the inaugural edition of Armageddon Championship Series, a brand-new format of chess tournaments where the world’s top grandmasters compete under immense time pressure in blitz and Armageddon time controls. Prize fund: 460,000 EUR – anyone can participate. The format has been developed for television and will be televised globally from a purpose-built Argamgeddon studio in Berlin. That is where the final over-the-board stage will be held.