3/26/2020 – After Russia closed down air traffic from and to Russia the FIDE announced this morning that it will cancel and postpone the Candidates Tournament 2020 to allow players to get home. It did not take long before the first reactions followed on Twitter. Here is a small selection.

3/26/2020 – The Candidates Tournament is postponed! In a statement from March 26, 8:42, the FIDE announced that the "FIDE President decided to stop the tournament. It will be continued later, with the exact dates to be announced as soon. ... The results of the 7 rounds played remain valid, and the tournament will be resumed in the same composition starting with the games of the 8th round."

3/25/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi went into the second rest day of the Candidates Tournament leading by a full point. The only other player with a plus score was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Today the two played each other, and Vachier-Lagrave, who had the white pieces, outplayed the Russian and caught up with him in the standings table, a full point ahead of the field. The remaining three games ended drawn. Expert analysis by GMs DANIEL FERNANDEZ and SIMON WILLIAMS. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/25/2020 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament is getting very interesting and IM Merijn van Delft takes a look at the highlight of the day. | The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). Merijn is live this week starting at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET / 3 PM EDT).

3/25/2020 – Ian Nepomniachtchi went into the second rest day of the Candidates Tournament leading by a full point. The tournament has been suspended. The only other player with a plus score was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In round seven the two played each other, and Vachier-Lagrave, who had the white pieces, outplayed the Russian and caught up with him in the standings table, a full point ahead of the field. The remaining three games ended drawn. | Live games and commentary from 11:00 UTC (12:00 CET / 7:00 EDT). | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

3/25/2020 – Originally, the 44. Chess Olympiad was scheduled to take place from 5-17 August 2020 in Moscow and Khanty-Mansiysk. But yesterday, 24 March, the FIDE declared in a statement that it decided to postpone the Olympiad "to the summer of 2021 at the same locations".

3/25/2020 – Chess fans follow the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg closely: they enjoy live-commentary of the games by top grandmasters, they read the daily reports, they check the analyses of the games and they want to know which novelties were played. However, as almost all big sport events in the world have been cancelled due to the coronavirus other media also report about the Candidates. Here's a short selection of articles.

3/24/2020 – The entire world is in disarray, everything has ground to a halt. No more parties, movie theaters, pubs or restaurants, no more public sporting event – even the 2020 Olympic Games and the Chess Olympiad have been cancelled — both today. One chess tournament after the other is being abandoned, leagues, opens, everything. And at least one top player has caught the virus, another is trapped. Everyone is search for a cure — even the AlphaZero team of DeepMind!

3/24/2020 – The first six rounds of the Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg brought a number of opening duels and saw a number of interesting novelties. On her new YouTube channel Elisabeth Pähtz takes a closer look at these novelties and their theoretical value.

3/24/2020 – IM Lawrence Trent has been rounding-up the Candidates day by day, but today he tackles a game he has yet to present. | Puzzle time: In the diagram, suggest the best way for White to continue? | Lawrence is live this week from 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 1pm EDT) and free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can always register a free 90-day account to watch.

3/24/2020 – Whether as a player, author, organizer, provider of ideas or commentator: For more than 40 years Yasser Seirawan has been one of the most distinctive personalities in the world of chess. Moreover, it seems as if chess has made him happy and still makes him happy. Today, on March 24, 2020 Seirawan celebrates his 60th birthday and ChessBase congratulates by taking a look at a remarkable career. | Photo: David Llada

3/24/2020 – IM Dagne Ciuksyte has represented Lithuania and England in Chess Olympiads. Her peak FIDE rating was 2450. Now she coaches chess, in the shadow of COVID-19. Inspired by a ChessBase article, she is adding “chess writing” to her career. WIM ALEXEY ROOT interviews Dagne Ciuksyte.