12/17/2020 – After beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in round 9, Daniil Dubov also beat Sergey Karjakin, the second rating favourite, to decide the title race in the open tournament — in favour of Nepomniachtchi. The women’s championship was decided in a playoff. Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated long-time leader Polina Shuvalova in Armageddon. | Photo: Eteri Kublshvili

12/17/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/16/2020 – The video and audio function of Playchess is being used more and more often by our premium members. Of course, during the pandemic people are thankful for having an option available to see, hear, and play chess with a single friend, a group of friends, or even the whole chess club. Furthermore, in the second half of December, you will be able to face three VIP players! We will also premiere our very first double-round bullet chess evening. Just sign up to play against Regina Pokorna, Elshan Moradiabadi and Germany’s fastest chess player, Ruben Mantel!

12/16/2020 – In his Game of the Week show, Merijn van Delft analyses a game that was not only spectacular but also critical in the fight for first place at the Russian Superfinals. Daniil Dubov played an absolutely fantastic game to defeat Sergey Karjakin, who needed a draw to tie for first place with Ian Nepomniachtchi! | Merijn's show is available at 16.00 UTC (17:00 CET, 12:00 EDT) and on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

12/16/2020 – The Russian Chess Superfinals (Open and Women’s) are taking place at the Central Chess Club in Moscow on December 5-16. Both events are 12-player single round robins. Top seeds in the open event are Ian Nepomniachtchi (2784), Sergey Karjakin (2752) and Peter Svidler (2723); the highest-rated participants in the women’s section are Aleksandra Goryachkina (2593), Alina Kashlinskaya (2494) and Natalija Pogonina (2474). All rounds start at 3 PM Moscow time (13:00 CET, 7:00 ET). | Photo: Russian Chess Federation

12/16/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi and Sergey Karjakin are still tied atop the standings after 10 rounds (of 11) at the open section of the Russian Superfinals. Nepomniachtchi defeated Andrey Esipenko while Karjakin got the better of Vladislav Artemiev. In the women’s tournament, Polina Shuvalova and Aleksandra Goryachkina surprisingly drew their direct encounter rather quickly. | Photos: Eteri Kublashvili

12/14/2020 – In Round 8 of the Russian Championship Sergey Karjakin immediately redeemed himself for his previous loss to Ian Nepomniachtchi with a win over Peter Svidler. As Nepomniachtchi had to settle for a draw against Vladimir Fedoseev, Karjakin is now only half a point behind the leader. In the women’s tournament, Polina Shuvalova, who continues to lead the field, suffered her first defeat. | Photos: Vladimir Barsky

12/13/2020 – The final of the Speed Chess Championship between Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was played on Saturday, with Nakamura getting a clear 18½:12½ victory. A total of 31 blitz and bullet games were played with three different time controls. Nakamura’s superiority only came to light in the bullet-chess section. This surprised no one, as the American grandmaster is known for his astounding strength in 1-minute games. | Image: chess.com

12/13/2020 – 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 fifth part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman takes a look at a game that might cheer you up when you doubt your chess abilities, and pieces that are locked up. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

12/13/2020 – A big point for Nepomniachtchi. In Round 7 of the Russian Superfinal, Ian Nepomniachtchi won the top match against Sergey Karjakin in fine style. With 5½ points, the leader now has a full-point lead over Karjakin, who despite the defeat managed to hold on to second place for the time being. In the women’s competition, Polina Shuvalova did not win for the first time in Round 7, as she “only” managed a draw against Leya Garifullina. | Photos: Eteri Kublashvili

12/13/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/13/2020 – Vlastimil Hort is a charming and elegant story teller, and likes to share his memories of past and present masters. About a year ago he published a book with 64 of his chess stories in German, which now appears in English. Reason enough to reread what André Schulz wrote about Hort's book! | Photo: Alina l'Ami