FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich speaks out against the war in Ukraine

3/15/2022 – The American magazine "Mother Jones", seven times winner of the "Magazine of the Year" award from the American Society of Magazine Editors, just published interviews with 36 prominent personalities from the world of chess about the war in Ukraine. One of them is FIDE President and former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who spoke out against the war: "My thoughts are with Ukrainian civilians. ... Wars do not just kill priceless lives. Wars kill hopes and aspirations, freeze or destroy relationships and connections." | Photo: David Llada

Sanan Sjugirov wins GM tournament in Belgrade

3/15/2022 – With 6.5/9 (four wins, five draws, no loss) Sanan Sjugirov concinvingly won a strong Grandmaster tournament in Belgrade that was played in parallel to the FIDE Grand Prix. Nihal Sarin, Velimir Ivic and Nodirbek Abdusattorov shared places two to four with 5.5/9 each. | Photos: Tournament page

Rook vs bishop

3/15/2022 – In the diagrammed position Black is an exchange up but both sides have dangerous passed pawns. What should Black do to make his passed pawn on the g-file more dangerous than White's passed pawn on the b-file?

Howell beats Grandelius in England versus Sweden match

3/15/2022 – In London, a match facing David Howell and Nils Grandelius was held at the residence of the Swedish Ambassador. The occasion was the 30th anniversary of Chess & Bridge. The 10-game confrontation was won by Howell. Three games ended decisively, and all of them had plenty to offer chess-wise. | Photo: Chess & Bridge

Karsten Müller’s Endgame Magic Show #185 - with Dutch GM Sipke Ernst

3/14/2022 – Sipke and Karsten look at recent endgames and analyse three endgames of Sipke. In one of these endgames he had two minor pieces against a rook and won in style. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

Can a chess grandmaster save the world?

3/14/2022 – Cobicistat is a drug that was originally devised for HIV/AIDS therapy. Now a new study shows that it can inhibit the replication of SARS-CoV-2 – which would mean we could have a powerful therapeutical drug against Covid-19. Very encouraging news – but why are we reporting this on a chess news page? Because one of the virologists working on the project happens to be a chess grandmaster. Here's his story. | Photos Lara Gallucci.

New: Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol. 3 + Vol. 4

3/14/2022 – Ivan Sokolov is well-known for his stunning attacking games. Most of them originate from middlegames, so no wonder he wrote various books about this topic. Now he continues his video series at ChessBase and presents further tools for a better chess understanding with the hedgehog and dynamic pawn structures. Not only as a player, but also through his work as a trainer of various top players, Sokolov knows how to make complex topics understandable through instructive examples. Start improving your understanding of the middlegames now!

Rapport tempts fortune, wins Belgrade Grand Prix

3/14/2022 – A win with white in Sunday’s second game of the final gave Richard Rapport tournament victory at the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix in Belgrade. Rapport beat Dmitry Andreikin after rejecting a draw by triple repetition in a double-edged position. This victory, combined with his reaching the semifinals in the first leg of the series, places him as a clear favourite to get a spot in the Candidates Tournament. | Photos: Mark Livshitz

Understanding before Moving 70: Ideas in the King's Indian (3)

3/13/2022 – 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 70th instalment of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving", Herman continues to show ideas in the King's Indian. | Photo: Pascal Simon

Belgrade Grand Prix Final - Games and results

3/13/2022 – The last two spots in the upcoming Candidates Tournament will be decided in the FIDE Grand Prix Series, with the second leg of the series taking place in Belgrade on March 1-14. The new format consists of four-player double round-robins and a knockout stage. Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CET (09.00 ET, 19.30 IST)!

Belgrade GP Final: A quiet draw

3/13/2022 – The first game of the Belgrade Grand Prix final ended drawn, with Dmitry Andreikin and Richard Rapport playing 37 moves out of a Petroff Defence before splitting the point. Andreikin had to deal with his family’s delayed flight the night prior to the game, which prevented him from taking proper rest. The Russian will have the black pieces in Sunday’s second game of the final. | Photos: Mark Livshitz

Sam Sevian and Abhimanyu Mishra triumph in Saint Louis

3/13/2022 – The Saint Louis Spring Classic had a thrilling final day of action. In the A group, Sam Sevian prevailed after beating Ilya Nyzhnyk in a rapid playoff. In the B group, the youngest grandmaster in history Abhimanyu Mishra (pictured) won the event with an impressive Tournament Rating Performance. | Photo: Crytal Fuller

England vs Sweden Challenge - All games

3/12/2022 – On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, the "London Chess Center" is organizing a match between two top Grandmasters: David Howell from England and Nils Grandelius from Sweden. The match is taking place from 2 to 12 March at the Swedish Ambassador's residence in London. Going into the final game, Howell leads by a 5-4 score. Game 10 starts Saturday at 15:00 CET (2pm GMT, 9:00 am ET). Follow the game live and with commentary.

NEW: Trent's Tactics - Cutting off, like Kasparov

3/12/2022 – Trent's Tactics has a new format since today! From now on, this is your personal, interactive tactic trainer, and Lawrence Trent is your tactical coach. Try to solve the puzzles on the interactive board on your own, pause the video when we tell you to, and use your brain to find the tactical approaches. Lawrence will give you some hints, advice, and techniques to get to reach your goal. Also, please tell us how you like it in the comments.

Only one check wins!

3/12/2022 – In the diagram position 35.Rxg6+! would have led to victory for White - if followed by the right checks after 35...Kh7. Can you find them all?

Belgrade GP: Andreikin knocks out Giri

3/12/2022 – Dmitry Andreikin will face Richard Rapport in the final match of the FIDE Grand Prix’s second stage, taking place in Belgrade. The Russian grandmaster got a 1½-½ win over Anish Giri in a rapid tiebreaker to remain in the fight for overall victory in Serbia’s capital. It was a heartbreaking loss for Giri, who had winning chances in both rapid encounters played on Friday. | Photos: Mark Livshitz

Daniel King’s Power Play Show: A brilliant attack by Nils Grandelius

3/11/2022 – Two creative players are facing each other in a match in London. Nils Grandelius, representing Sweden, is playing David Howell, representing England. In game 7, Grandelius employed an unexpected plan to get a brilliant win with the white pieces. | 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.

Born in Odessa: Efim Geller

3/11/2022 – Efim Geller, one of Ukraine’s greatest chess talents, would have turned 97 years old on March 8 this year. An extraordinary player, he also had a doctorate in Physical Education, and worked as a second to Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky and Anatoly Karpov. Experts estimate Geller was among the top ten players in the world for about twenty years.

Svitlana's Smart Moves - Judit Polgar's genius games

3/11/2022 – International Women's Day calls for something out of the ordinary. How about watching some games of the world's best player Judit Polgar. Not only has she played at the highest level of chess for a long time, but she is also Svitlana's favourite player!

Robert Ris’ Fast and Furious: The Bishop's Opening

3/11/2022 – This week Robert Ris takes a look at a game he played in the Icelandic Team Championships against IM Bjorn Thorfinsson. In the Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4) Robert followed a nice attacking scheme for White inspired by a game between Firouzja and Carlsen. Robert will discuss the ins and outs of this plan and also explain why it is actually not doo dangerous (at least if Black knows what to do of course). | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

Endgame Riddle: Kurajica vs Karpov, Skopje 1976

3/11/2022 – Anatoly Karpov, World Champion from 1975 to 1985, was famous for being able to exploit tiny advantages in the endgame, and an often cited example for these skills is a seemingly drawish endgame with opposite-coloured bishops which Karpov managed to win against the Croatian-Bosnian Grandmaster Bojan Kurajica in Skopje 1976. But Karsten Müller wondered where Kurajica went wrong and whether Karpov's play was indeed as flawless as it seemed - and invites ChessBase readers to take a close look at this famous endgame.

Belgrade GP: Rapport escapes, reaches final

3/11/2022 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave got good winning chances but could not bounce back in his match against Richard Rapport at the semifinals of the FIDE Grand Prix in Belgrade. Rapport’s resilient defence made him the first finalist of the event. The Hungarian will get a rest day before facing either Anish Giri or Dmitry Andreikin in the final. Giri and Andreikin drew both their semifinal games and will play a rapid and blitz tiebreaker on Friday. | Photos: Mark Livshitz

Saint Louis Spring Classic 2022 - Games and results

3/10/2022 – Samuel Sevian took down former sole leader Ray Robson in round 8 of the Saint Louis Spring Classic. Going into Thursday’s final round, Sevian is sharing first place with Ukrainian GM Ilya Nyzhnyk, who got the better of Aram Hakobyan in round 8. | Round 9 starts Thursday at 11:00 local time (18:00 CET, 17:00 UTC) with live commentary from the Saint Louis Chess Center.

Tykhon is safe!

3/10/2022 – At the beginning of February, the now 12-year old chess talent Tykhon Cherniaiev from Ukraine was about to start a new show on ChessBase called "Challenge Cherniaiev". But then Russia invaded Ukraine and Tykhon and his family had to flee from their home in Kharkiv. Fortunately, many chess fans offered help and Tykhon and his family are now safely housed in a ChessBase flat in Hamburg.