3/16/2026 – In the current ChessBase Magazine #230, Nico Zwirs analyses the game between his compatriots Jorden Van Foreest and Anish Giri from the Tata Steel Masters 2026 in the video. The focus is on the opening, as Van Foreest had clearly prepared something special against the Najdorf Variation – known to be one of Giri's specialities. After 11...Qc7, he continued with 12.a3 – ‘A Karpovian move!’. White's idea is to move the b3 knight via c1 and a2 to b4 and from there to target the light squares d5 (and c6). Van Foreest thus invested four moves in improving his knight and securing his king's position. A new concept that paid off in full in this game! Take a look at this week's CBM reading sample!

3/16/2026 – The Prague Chess Festival produced such a nice collection of fascinating games that we are returning to this tournament once more. Jorden van Foreest was well on his way to win the tournament, but crashed in the final rounds, leaving Nodirbek Abdusattorov as the convincing winner and the new number four in the world rankings. Today's Game of the Week is the wildly entertaining attacking game David Navara produced after Nodirbek Yakubboev grabbed a poisoned pawn. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

3/16/2026 – Were you able to solve the challenge positions we gave you last week? Were you able find the way to promote the pawns to win? Today we bring you all solutions, with very instructive video explanations by Jared Modica, a chess content creator from Austin, Texas. He shows us how to solve tatical lines of play, and how to handle pawns in endgames.

3/15/2026 – Ulviyya Fataliyeva claimed clear first place at the IV International Women's Chess Championship in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, finishing strongly to score 6½/9 and a 2590 performance rating. The Azerbaijani representative secured the title with three consecutive wins in the closing rounds, overtaking Nana Dzagnidze, who remained unbeaten and finished second on 6 points. Harika Dronavalli took sole third place with 5½/9 in a compact, high-level round-robin event. | Photo: OSF via Women's Chess Coverage on X

3/15/2026 – Hikaru Nakamura is playing a training match against Awonder Liang in Saint Louis as he fine-tunes his form ahead of the Candidates Tournament, which begins in two weeks' time. The three-day encounter, running from 13 to 15 March, combines classical, rapid and blitz games. Liang, ranked 25th in the world, provides strong opposition in a match broadcast live on Nakamura's Kick channel. | Follow the games live starting at 18.00 CET (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)

3/15/2026 – Two million Swedes play chess online, but only a few thousand are involved in traditional chess activities. This new category of players wants to have fun, be entertained and experience chess in a different way than in a quiet playing hall where competition and results are the focus. On 17-18 April 2026, Swedish chess history will be made when Chessparty Stockholm kicks off at Avicii Arena - a two-day festival that will be the country's biggest chess event ever.

3/12/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

3/12/2026 – The American Cup, one of the United States' premier chess tournaments, returns to Saint Louis. Now in its fifth year, the event runs on March 3-12 at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring sixteen of America's top chess talents. The event concludes on Thursday with the Grand Final Reset of the women's competition, where Alice Lee and Carissa Yip battle for the title. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 18.00 CET (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Pictured: Alice Lee | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/12/2026 – Weeks before the first move is played, the grenke Chess Festival 2026 is surpassing all previous dimensions. More than 3,000 registrations mark a new record for the world’s largest open chess festival. With Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer among the participants, and the chance to qualify for the next Freestyle World Championship, Karlsruhe will become the central meeting point of the international chess scene over Easter. | Photos: Darius Gorzinski

3/12/2026 – For almost a century, the Slovenian spa town of Bled has held a special place in international chess history. With the chess festival currently running until the weekend, this traditional venue continues the legacy of great tournaments – combining its historical prestige with an event for ambitious title holders, amateurs and young players. | Photos: Chess Festival Bled / Luka Rifelj

3/12/2026 – Day nine of the American Cup in Saint Louis brought the open section to a conclusion, with Wesley So winning the fifth edition of the tournament, while the women's event remained unresolved after Carissa Yip forced a Grand Final Reset against Alice Lee. In the open, the title was settled without the need for further tiebreaks, as So converted his lead from Tuesday into overall victory. In the women's section, by contrast, another long day of classical and blitz play still proved insufficient to crown a champion. | Pictured: Wesley So and Maurice Ashley | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

3/11/2026 – The FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 will take place from 28 March to 16 April in Cap St. Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus, where eight leading players will compete in a double round-robin to decide the challenger to the reigning champion, Ju Wenjun. The field combines experienced Candidates participants such as Humpy Koneru and Tan Zhongyi with younger contenders including Zhu Jiner and Divya Deshmukh. | Image: FIDE