3/4/2026 – Together with Keti Tsataslashvili, Alojzije Jankovic works as a commentator at the Prague Chess Festival – a role that suits him well. The Croatian grandmaster (peak Elo 2593) had his own chess show on Croatian television for many years and runs a YouTube channel. He was editor-in-chief of the magazine ‘Sahovski Glasnik’, has written chess books, studied economics and is vice-president of the European Chess Union. In an interview with ChessBase, he talks about his passion for chess, his career, his favourite player, chess in film, and explains how systematic thinking can help you play better and be more successful in life.

3/4/2026 – Five weeks ago our Game of the Week was Jorden van Foreest with White against Vincent Keymer, from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, and today our Game of the Week sees the exact same pairing, from the Prag International Chess Festival. The Dutchman is one fire and again managed to win, bringing him very close to the top 10 in the world rankings. One of his strengths is constantly coming up with new ideas in the opening, this time around against the notorious Berlin. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

3/4/2026 – During the rest day of the Prague International Chess Festival, organisers held a special programme devoted to supporting women's chess and highlighting the Futures tournament for young female players. Swedish legend Pia Cramling gave a lecture and a simultaneous exhibition, while Czech actress Aňa Geislerová attended the event and received an introduction to the game from Indian star Divya Deshmukh. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

3/4/2026 – David Navara is playing an excellent tournament in his hometown. After round six of the Masters in Prague, he is only half a point behind the leader, Jorden van Foreest, together with Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The direct encounter between Van Foreest and Navara ended in a draw. At the other end of the table, a player stands alone: none other than Gukesh Dommaraju. The world champion, still without a win, has lost his third game of the tournament. Against his compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram, he squandered a good position while in time trouble. Hans Niemann and Vincent Keymer drew the longest game of the day. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

3/4/2026 – Only one game was decisive in round six of the Challengers at the Prague International Chess Festival, where Benjamin Gledura (pictured) defeated Jachym Nemec. The remaining encounters were drawn, though several featured complex positions and missed chances. Leader Vaclav Finek let a promising opportunity slip against Zhu Jiner, but the result was still enough for the 16-year-old to retain a full-point lead. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

3/3/2026 – The knight's knightmare: Knights are concrete pieces. Sometimes they can work wonders and sometimes they can be outfoxed: Black to move and win.

3/3/2026 – After a small break, GM Harshit Raja made a fine return to classical chess at the Saint Louis Masters, an elite invitational tournament featuring a powerhouse lineup of just 70 players. Facing a gauntlet of opponents with an average rating of nearly 2580, Harshit proved what a strong player he is, leading to a performance rating of 2600+ and a gain of 13 Elo points. From daring "coffeehouse complications" against Grigoriy Oparin to a strategic masterclass in the Najdorf, Harshit shares the insights behind his "chill" and inspired approach to the game. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/3/2026 – The new FIDE world ranking for March includes the tournaments played in Wijk aan Zee. Among the biggest gainers are Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, as well as Matthias Bluebaum. The top of the women's world ranking remains firmly in Chinese hands. World Champion Gukesh, in his final year as a junior, is still number one on the U20 list. The (temporary) return of Sergey Karjakin caused some irritation.

3/2/2026 – Mikhail Antipov won the Saint Louis Masters ahead of Fabiano Caruana. The Russian-born grandmaster, playing under the US flag, scored an impressive victory over Andy Woodward in the final round. He had gone into the last round level on points with the rating favourite. However, Caruana was only able to add half a point to his tally after drawing with Francesco Sonis, despite having reached a winning position. As a result, Caruana finished half a point short - the same half point he had voluntarily given up by requesting a bye in round five. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/2/2026 – Two weeks ago we looked at a spectacular victory by Mamedyarov at the National championship of Azerbaijan. The pre-tournament favorite eventually managed to reach the final but was surprisingly defeated by GM Muradli. It seemed as if both players surprised each other with the Open Catalan (5...Bd7) and in a well-known theoretical position Mamedyarov committed the decisive blunder already on move 12. This variation used to be quite popular 10-15 years ago, but isn't seen often any longer. In this episode I'll offer an overview of the theoretical possibilities for both sides.

3/2/2026 – All five games ended decisively in round five of the Masters at the Prague Chess Festival. Jorden van Foreest kept the lead after capitalising on a single opening mistake by Hans Niemann, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeated world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in another tense encounter. David Navara (pictured) also scored, producing one of the most memorable wins of the tournament so far. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

3/2/2026 – A clear leader has emerged in the Challengers tournament at the Prague International Chess Festival, as 16-year-old Vaclav Finek moved a full point ahead of the field after defeating Daniil Yuffa with the white pieces. Divya Deshmukh, meanwhile, scored her first win of the event, while the remaining games ended drawn. The players now get a rest day before the final four rounds of the event take place from Tuesday to Friday. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival