6/1/2026 – Magnus Carlsen has started Norway Chess with 0.5 out of 3 and his two losses seem to be a direct result of the unusual time control: increment only starts after move 40. Reasonably well played games are ruined by terrible blunders in time trouble. It's questionable how this makes chess more fun and it's strange to see that all important tournaments are using a different time control. Anyway, the game between Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen was a big adventure with many interesting moments.Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

6/1/2026 – Ju Wenjun scored only the third classical win of the Norway Chess Women tournament, defeating Divya Deshmukh in a tense Ruy Lopez to move back into contention. Bibisara Assaubayeva regained the lead after drawing quickly against Humpy Koneru and then winning the Armageddon decider, while Zhu Jiner also collected 1½ points by beating Anna Muzychuk in the tiebreak. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

6/1/2026 – Wesley So took the lead at Norway Chess after beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in round six, while Alireza Firouzja lost his long-held first place following a defeat against Magnus Carlsen. Vincent Keymer scored his first win of the event by defeating world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. All three classical games were won by the player with the white pieces in battles involving technical precision more than brilliant tactical shots. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/31/2026 – Chess can be read alongside Egyptian ideas of order, judgement and self-discipline. Beginning with senet and its symbolic links to the afterlife, the text follows the later arrival of shatranj in Islamic Egypt and considers how the chessboard became a useful metaphor for ethics, strategy and human limits. These connections are treated cautiously, avoiding claims of direct continuity where evidence is uncertain. | Image: Painting in tomb of Egyptian queen Nefertari (1295–1255 BCE)

5/31/2026 – Anastasiia Hnatyshyn crossed the halfway point of the European Women's Championship in Batumi with a perfect 6/6 score after defeating Oliwia Kiolbasa on Saturday. The 15-year-old Ukrainian WFM now leads by a full point over Ulviyya Fataliyeva, Meri Arabidze and Sabrina Vega, while a 13-player group on 4½/6 remains within range with five rounds still to play. Sunday is a rest day in the Georgian capital. | Photo: European Chess Union

5/31/2026 – After all the analysis tips from the past few weeks, this time it’s simply about aesthetics! But that’s not unimportant — after all, you spend a lot of time with ChessBase´26, so the look should be appealing and match your personal taste. Discover how to customize “your board” exactly the way you like it.

5/28/2026 – After three rounds at the 2026 European Women’s Championship in Batumi, seven players still maintain a perfect score of 3/3. Varvara Poliakova, seeded 110th, currently leads the standings on tiebreak. Close behind the leading group is a pack of 15 players on 2.5/3. | Photo: European Chess Union

5/28/2026 – Trompowsky fans are in for a treat this week, as we are looking at a spectacular 22 moves miniature played at the Chinese Championships. Personally, I was glad to see that the players Bai Jinshi and Li Shilong followed a line I do recommend in my course The Top-Tier Trompowsky. Black opted for the well-known pawn grabbing idea with ...Qb6xb2 but soon found himself far behind in development. Bai didn't hesitate and was willing to invest two more pawns to launch a massive attack against the black king. Just when it looked as if the black king found a safer place, White came up with another powerful idea (see diagram).

5/28/2026 – Bibisara Assaubayeva kept the lead at Norway Chess Women after drawing her classical game against Divya Deshmukh, but her advantage was reduced when Desmukh won their Armageddon decider. All three classical games in round three were drawn, with Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner also prevailing in the tiebreaks. Assaubayeva's round-one win remains the tournament's only decisive classical result so far. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/28/2026 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu scored the only classical win of round three at Norway Chess, beating Magnus Carlsen in a rollercoaster game. Alireza Firouzja kept the sole lead by defeating Gukesh Dommaraju in Armageddon, while Wesley So beat Vincent Keymer in the other tiebreaker. Carlsen is now last after two classical losses in three rounds. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/27/2026 – On Tuesday, 5 May 2026, on the sidelines of the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament in Warsaw, a very special event took place. The Polish Minister of Finance and Economy, Andrzej Domanski, met the legendary Judit Polgar. They discussed how chess can be made accessible to all. And following the discussion, they also played a game of chess. Check out the encounter to see how strong the Minister actually is! | Photo: ChessBase India

5/27/2026 – After two rounds, as many as 18 players remain on a perfect 2/2 score and share the lead at the European Women’s Championship in Batumi, Georgia. But some of the favourites stumbled. Second seed IM Yuliia Osmak of Ukraine (2451) lost to Germany’s Charis Peglau (2238), while England’s Bodhana Sivanandan (2374, pictured) lost a theoretical battle against Switzerland’s Sofiia Hryzlova. | Photo: Tournament page