4/25/2025 – We are thrilled to announce an exclusive live lecture with IGM Athanasios Mastrovasilis at KCF Academy on April 27. He will be focused on one of the most crucial and underappreciated aspects of chess mastery: defending tough and even lost positions. Come watch and learn!

4/25/2025 – 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?

4/25/2025 – At the U.S. Championship in October 2024, Christopher Yoo—one of the greatest talents in U.S. chess—seriously damaged his career. After losing to Fabiano Caruana in round five, he struck a videographer from behind while leaving the venue. As a result, he was banned from the St. Louis Chess Club, faced a charge of fourth-degree assault, and was suspended by the USCF for one year. Yoo later publicly apologized, explaining that he had lost his temper after the defeat. He subsequently hired mental coach Ebru Ceylan. During the Grenke Open in Karlsruhe, Arne Kähler took the opportunity to speak with her.

4/25/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious show, Robert Ris looks at an interesting, surprisingly tricky line in the Reti. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/25/2025 – Looking for a very nice gift for a dear friend? Someone special who really love chess. Then the Rolls-Royce set is definitely something you should consider. It is magnificently designed, elegant as they come, and certainly something that will billionaires like yourself to play a game. Take a look.

4/25/2025 – FIDE has launched the Social Chess Storytelling Challenge 2025, inviting filmmakers, federations, and changemakers worldwide to share short films that showcase the social impact of chess. Under the theme "Every Move Counts", the competition seeks stories of resilience, inclusion, and opportunity inspired by the game. Open to all, with professional and grassroots categories, submissions run from 24 April to 25 October. Winning entries will be honoured at the 2026 Olympiad and featured across FIDE’s platforms and global events.

4/22/2025 – I have told the story often: in an interview in 2020 I said that in five years I expected at least two of the top ten players in the world would be Indian. My prediction was met with deep scepticism. It was clearly the unrealistic optimism of a friend and admirer of young Indian talents. It is true I was wrong. In five years since the prediction three have risen into the top ten bracket, and a fourth is on his way into it.

4/22/2025 – In the diagram position it is White to move and win. He is a pawn up, but has to keep an eye on Black's f-pawn - and should not forget that knights are tricky pieces! What should White do to win the game?

4/22/2025 – Magnus Carlsen claimed victory at the 2025 Grenke Freestyle Chess Open with a flawless 9/9 score - an exceptional achievement at this level of competition. The event, held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 17 to 21 April, featured a nine-round Swiss format and classical time control in the Freestyle (chess960) variant. Carlsen secured first place with a round to spare and finished two points clear of the field. Seven players tied for second place and will play a tiebreaker to determine Grand Slam qualification. | Photo: Dariusz Gorzinski

4/21/2025 – Humpy Koneru seized the lead at the Women's Grand Prix in Pune with a crucial win over Zhu Jiner in Monday's round seven, turning the tournament standings on their head with just two rounds remaining. Divya Deshmukh also impressed, scoring a dominant victory to stay in contention ahead of her key clash with Zhu. While three other games ended in draws, they were far from uneventful, with tactical complications and endgame fortresses keeping things exciting across the board. | Photo: Abhilash Shinde

4/21/2025 – In the Endgame Magic Show #294, Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler look at endgames from the European Championship that was won by German Grandmaster Matthias Blübaum. German Grandmaster Frederik Svane finished in second place. In the course of the tournament, both showed their endgame skills. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

4/21/2025 – Baden-Baden has a long chess history, mainly thanks to great classics from the early days of tournament chess: Baden-Baden 1870 and Baden-Baden 1925. Hartmut Metz brings back the super tournament from 1925 on the occasion of the grenke Open. It was the time of the "hypermodernists".