5/25/2026 – The 2026 European Women's Chess Championship kicked off in Batumi with 165 players from 32 federations competing for the continental title and ten places in the next FIDE Women's World Cup. The opening round saw several higher-rated players defeated, including Klaudia Kulon and Irina Bulmaga, while four games on the top ten boards were drawn after the favourites failed to convert or had to defend difficult positions. | Pictured: Oliwia Kiolbasa (Poland) | Photo: European Chess Union

5/25/2026 – On Africa Day, attention turns to the growth of chess across the continent, from expanding federation activity and international events to social projects in schools, refugee camps and prisons. African players' achievements on the global stage are also highlighted, alongside FIDE's plans to support further development, including Africa's priority status for hosting the 2032 Chess Olympiad, while acknowledging the infrastructure, funding and access challenges that still need to be addressed. | Image: FIDE

5/25/2026 – This year's Eurochess tournament took place at the Deutsche Bundesbank's conference centre in Eltville am Rhein. The Bundesbank chess group had last hosted the tournament at the same venue in 2007. This time around, the event was jointly organised with the chess group of the European Central Bank. | Photos: Gerd Densing

5/24/2026 – Demanding weeks for a number of elite grandmasters: Vincent Keymer, Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu get just one day off between their appearance at the GCT event in Bucharest and the start of the super-tournament in Norway. They will once again face a lineup of world-class players, led by world number-one Magnus Carlsen and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. In the women's tournament, world champion Ju Wenjun will be competing. The six participants in each event will play a double round-robin tournament. | Photos: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza

5/24/2026 – There is a famous photograph of Mikhail Tal hunched over the board during a tournament game, eyes burning into the pieces. Somewhere behind that stare, an entire mating attack is unfolding. Every chess generation, from Morphy to Magnus, has been defined by one skill: extraordinary calculation. The pieces move on the board - but the game is won and lost in what you can visualize. Let us show you how Fritz 21 trains the one skill every great chess player has lived or died by.

5/24/2026 – We've compiled some additional tips for our latest tutorial. These allow you, for example, to quickly open endgame positions from Karsten Müller's articles in ChessBase, and compare structures you're interested in with positions from the Mega Database. Check out the example and use these practical features for your training!

5/23/2026 – Vincent Keymer secured outright victory at the Super Chess Classic in Bucharest with a final-round win over Jorden van Foreest. Fabiano Caruana, who had started the day level with Keymer, missed a winning chance against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and had to settle for second place. Keymer finished on 6/9, gained 7.8 rating points and called it his "biggest classical tournament victory ever". | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/23/2026 – The Giovanni Longo International Chess Museum has opened in Marostica's 14th-century Lower Castle, beside the city's Chess Square. Created from a donation by collector Giovanni Longo, the museum displays around 150 items, including 90 chess sets and boards from several continents. Its accessible exhibition space highlights the links between chess, art and culture, with works ranging from 18th-century craftsmanship to contemporary pieces by artists including Enrico Baj and Max Ernst. | Photo: FIDE

5/23/2026 – It has gained 40 Elo points, and now stands at 3620 Elo. It can show you the best moves, the most promising lines. But it concentrates on teaching. It will play practice games against you, at your level of play, and imitate the style of famous players if you wish. It has AI-supported training with subtle hints, and will train tactics and endgames with you. It even teaches you Freestyle Chess. It practically forces you to become a stronger player.

5/23/2026 – The second event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour is the Super Chess Classic Romania, which is taking place on 14-23 May in Bucharest. Vincent Keymer and Fabiano Caruana enter the final round tied for first place, while Javokhir Sindarov, Wesley So and Jorden van Foreest stand a half point back and still have chances of taking the title. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting two hours earlier than usual, at 13.00 CEST (7.00 ET, 16.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/23/2026 – The 25th edition of the European Women's Chess Championship begins on 25 May in the Georgian city of Batumi. The tournament will take place at the Euphoria Convention & Casino Hotel. More than 150 players from more than 30 European federations have registered to participate. Ten players have an Elo rating above 2400. The defending champion, IM Teodora Injac of Serbia, has not entered the eleven-round Swiss-system tournament, which will be broadcast live on ChessBase. | Photos: Mark Livshitz, Jim Laga (European Chess Union) / Title image: Uwe Brodrecht, Wikimedia Commons

5/23/2026 – Javokhir Sindarov scored his second win in a row in the penultimate round of the Super Chess Classic Romania, defeating Jorden van Foreest with the black pieces. Meanwhile, Bogdan-Daniel Deac collected his first win of the event, as he got the better of Anish Giri. Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer drew their direct clash and remain tied for first, with three players half a point behind before the final round. | Photo: Lennart Ootes